After that Hogsmeade weekend, there were only three days of class left before the winter break began on the 21st. Over those days, Harry watched Ron, and he grew more and more worried about what he saw.

The other boy was pale and exhausted. He was incredibly quiet, so much so that if he wasn't specifically watching, Harry wouldn't have noticed he was there. The redhead was sleeping all the time, and missed breakfast every day that Harry watched him. The meals he did attend were even more worrisome, as Ron (who was normally known to eat nearly as much as Hagrid) was just pushing food around his plate listlessly.

At breakfast on the last day of class, Harry decided he had had enough. He approached the twins. "Fred, George, after breakfast could I have a word? Er, in private."

"Why Harry, old sport-"

"Old buddy-"

"Old pal-"

"We would be simply delighted to accept your invitation-"

"Provided that there is no funny business, of course."

"We take our virtue very seriously-"

"And we won't risk it to go into a broom closet with you."

"Not even if you promised us a spot in the harem!" As they spoke, the twins had gotten louder and louder, until most of the table were staring at them. As if that weren't enough, the two swooped down to kiss Harry on his cheeks, in sync, and then proceeded to walk out of the hall with absurdly exaggerated hip swaying.

Harry's cheeks burned even more when he realized that he had to follow Fred and George after they had put on that display. He got up, and was immediately heckled by his roommates.

"Go get 'em, Potter!" Seamus practically crowed.

"You know what they say about redheads." Dean elbowed his friend.

"Well, he's already got a blonde and a brunette, so he needs a redhead. Plus, who doesn't love twins." Luna said with a completely straight face, and Harry (along with most everyone else who had been listening) stared.

"I knew it!" Neville yelled triumphantly, breaking the silence. "Dean, Seamus, eight sickles."

"No, NO!" Harry interrupted as the boys pulled out their money. "I do NOT have a harem, Fred and George are just being Fred and George, and also, what the hell Neville?"

The other boy shrugged. "It was easy money."

"So you wanted to speak with us, Potter?" Fred(?) asked.

"Yeah, it's about Ron, actually. Have the two of you noticed anything going on with him lately?"

"Well, he's certainly been less annoying." George said thoughtfully, "Which, come to think of it, is concerning on its own."

"And I haven't gotten sprayed with food in a while." Fred added.

"Yeah, I think he's sick or something. He's pale and quiet and sleeps all the time." Harry admitted. "Do you think you could convince your parents to take him to a healer or something over break?"

"We'll look into it-"

"But dear Ronnie is going home tomorrow anyway, and we're staying for the ball."

"Oh, Minnie." Fred said dreamily.

"So we won't be home for another week."

"We'll write Mum, though, tell her to keep an eye on him-"

"Mention that he's been a bit peaky."

"Yeah, that'll set her off-"

"You should've seen her when Ginny had mumblemumps-"

"Mum had her on bedrest nearly two weeks after the healer had cleared her."

Harry had no clue what mumblemumps were, and after a brief glance at the grinning twins decided that he didn't need to. "Well, er, thanks. That was pretty much it."

"But what about our spot in the harem!" They cried in sync, and Harry groaned.

Harry, Hermione, and Luna spent lunch and the open period following it in the library that day. It was an open for Harry and Hermione, at least. For Luna, it was History of Magic, so basically an open. They did this partially to avoid heckling (though Harry wouldn't admit that that was a reason), but mostly to do one last push to decode the golden egg.

Midway through lunch, they were joined by Viktor Krum. Well, joined might be a soft word for it, Harry mused, seeing as the other champion had sprinted around the corner, glanced behind himself frantically, and turned frightened eyes toward the trio to whisper, "Hide me."

Harry had been shocked, but Luna and Hermione were both completely nonplussed. Luna twisted her chair so that Krum had an opening to dive under their table, and Hermione got up and pushed an armchair to hide the rest of him from view. This evasive maneuver was completed just in time, as Romilda Vane and her entourage of gigglers came around the corner. They stopped short when they found themselves in the presence of three underclassmen rather than the Bulgarian bonbon they had been seeking.

"Spit it out, where is he?"

"We just saw him!"

Hermione turned toward them and sat in the newly repositioned armchair. "Where is who?"

"Viktor Krum!" About half of the excited teenagers shouted and or squealed. Harry winced. Poor Krum. The bloke had been joining them more and more often at their corner of the library lately, but Harry hadn't realized that the harassment had gotten this bad. The Bulgarian champion mostly just sat quietly and worked, though he did add witty comments occasionally to their discussions. Harry considered him an acquaintance at the very least, maybe even a friend at this point, and he wasn't about to watch him get mauled by fangirls. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione beat him to it.

"Have you no shame? Chasing boys through the castle like you're nifflers who've spotted a button?"

"Hermione!" Luna sounded upset, "Nifflers are quite nice creatures. Please don't ruin their good name."

"Sorry Luna."

"Thanks Hermione."

"Anyway." Hermione continued, "We haven't seen him, and we wouldn't tell you even if we had."

Romilda opened her mouth to speak, but Hermione glanced meaningfully in the direction of Pince's desk, and the other girl closed it with a huff. "Come on, then." She said to the others, "Viktor wouldn't be caught dead with this narky lot."

They waited for a minute, and Hermione got up and peeked to see if the girls were really gone. "All clear!"

Viktor climbed out from under the table with a groan. Harry offered him a hand, and the other seeker took it with a pained half-smile. "Not my best dive, no?"

"I dunno mate. I'd say that was almost as good as the World Cup. Might want to use a broomstick next time, though." Harry said.

The Bulgarian let out a small chuckle, then sat down in what was quickly becoming his usual spot. "Thank you. I vant to hex them, but my manager, she says vould be bad for image."

"What was all that about, anyway?" Hermione asked, moving the armchair back to its original position.

"The ball. The girls, they haff found out I do not haff date, so they chase me."

"You don't have a date?" Harry raised his brows in surprise. Viktor raised a brow, and the Gryffindor backtracked, "Er, I mean, I just thought it would be easy for you."

Thankfully, the Bulgarian was not offended, "Yes, you vould think. But vhen girls are like that, it is very hard to find one who vill not, ah, misunderstand?"

Luna nodded sagely, "They'll all think you want to date them, when that's the last thing you want."

"Da." He turned toward Hermione and Luna imploringly, "Do either off you not haff dates? Or know girl? Or nice house elf?"

"No, we're both going home tomorrow." Hermione answered kindly, "We made plans before the ball was announced, you see."

Viktor's brow furrowed as he turned to Harry, "Then who are you taking…?"

"Harry's not available either, Viktor," Luna said, reaching across the table to pat his hand consolingly. Harry and Viktor both sputtered, and Hermione tried to cover her laugh with a cough, but was unsuccessful.

"What she means is, if I can avoid it, then I'm not going to the ball." Harry clarified.

Viktor nodded, not arguing about how it was required. "I vould skip too, if I had choice."

Any further bemoaning of Viktor's fate was stalled by the arrival of two rambunctious redheads. "Oh Harrykins!" They chorused in sync.

"Whatever it is, no." Harry deadpanned.

Fred(?) pretended to faint into George(?)'s arms, "You would turn down a meeting with the headmaster?"

"Ballsy, Potter-"

"Really, a true Gryffindor move-"

"Old Albus might be impressed, even-"

"This isn't about the harem?" Harry interrupted.

"Harem?" Viktor asked.

"Unfortunately for you, no." Tweedle Dee cheerfully shoved a note into Harry's hand. "Dumbledore wants to see you, straight away."

Harry sighed, "Well, the open period was pretty much over, anyway. 'Mione, could you tell Flitwick why I'm late?"

"Of course, Harry."

And with that, Harry left to go see the headmaster. Hermione and Luna stayed behind for a bit to chat with Viktor some more, but a few minutes later they also had to leave. This left Viktor alone with Fred and George, and for some reason, this sent an odd shiver down his spine.

"So, Viktor Krum-" One of the menaces began.

"We couldn't help but hear your dilemma about the Yule Ball-"

"We're terrible snoops, you see-"

"And we may have a solution."

"We might know someone who would make an excellent date-"

"Be able to hold conversation-"

"Have no expectations of romance-"

"And confuse all of the fangirls-"

"Might even confuse them enough to leave you alone."

"I am listening." The Bulgarian crossed his arms.

The redheads grinned. "Excellent. How do you feel about causing a bit of a scandal?"

Viktor was regretting this already.

Harry,

I quite enjoy Aero Bars as of late.

Harry crumpled the note with a snort as he gave the gargoyle the password. Why Dumbledore bothered to write his passwords in 'code' was beyond him. Especially when anyone who knew the man at all would know exactly what it meant.

He reached the top of the staircase and raised his hand to knock, but was called in before he got the chance. "Harry, my boy, welcome! Come in, come in, have a seat. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"No thank you, sir." He said simply. He waited, but as Dumbledore seemed content to sit in silence for the moment, he spoke again. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but I am supposed to be in Charms now, and I'd hate to miss the last lesson before the holidays."

"Oh, yes, of course! Forgive an old man his distractions, my boy." Dumbledore smiled warmly at him, but Harry just looked back. "Yes, well, this meeting is just to discuss two things. First, how did your chat with the aurors go?"

Oh, so it was a 'chat' now. "It was fine sir. Someone told them that I was planning to hatch a dangerous creature. That's not true, so the case was dropped."

The headmaster hummed. "Was that all that was said?"

"Yes sir. You could verify with Professor McGonagall, if you'd like."

"Oh, no, I'm sure that won't be necessary. But, I am curious—have you any clue who would have started that rumor?"

Harry's mind flashed to Malfoy. "I've an idea, but nothing certain."

"Hmm." Dumbledore sipped his tea, once again content with silence.

"The other reason, sir?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes! That's about your winter break plans, I'm afraid. You forgot to put your name down to stay, so I took the liberty of adding it for you."

"That wasn't a mistake, sir, I intend on going home tomorrow."

The man smiled at him in a way that was probably meant to be understanding, but came across as condescending. "Now, Harry, you know that I can't allow that. You're a champion, and the champions have to open the ball."

Harry held his tongue. "Yes sir. I understand. Could I put my name down to take the second train then, on the 26th?"

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Of course! I'm sure the Weasleys will be glad to see you again."

Harry didn't bother to correct the man about his holiday plans, and after a few more minutes of idle chatter, he was excused. He half-jogged to charms, and made it just in time for the practical portion. He handed Flitwick the note Dumbledore gave him and slid into a seat beside Hermione.

Hermione slid her parchment over to him. 'Did it go alright?'

'Time for plan B.' He scrawled back, and her eyes flashed before she nodded and turned her attention back to the lesson. Harry was not going to that damn ball.

A/N: I am so excited to write the winter break scenes, and the Yule Ball debacle, and and and-

Any guesses on who the twins have in mind for Viktor? Or what plan B is (other than a pill you get at Walmart)?

Also, any requests for goofy scenes, or awkward teen crush-y scenes? Both will be coming shortly :) Though I might switch to slightly longer chapters every other week instead of weekly, depending on how busy I am this semester. I'm going to be tutoring, and TAing, and working in a couple other places on campus, and serving on a committee. And leading a club. Anything for the resume. But we'll see how it goes, and I'll let y'all know what I decide.

I don't really have anything else to say, so let me know what you think, and I'll see you next time!