December 1994

Things were never really the same after that.

Bethany, Ron and Hermione were still a trio, and still spent the majority of their time together, but Bethany and Hermione remained much closer with each other than they were with Ron.

Maybe such a thing would have happened anyway as they grew up, but in latter years, all three would point to the Triwizard Tournament as the moment things changed.

The prize for the first task turned out to contain a clue leading to the second, and Bethany had been talked into opening it at the Gryffindor after-party - at least once the Lionesses had taken her aside and berated and congratulated her in turn for being so reckless.

Angelina and Alicia were firmly of the opinion that it was Oliver Wood's fault and, with the man himself no longer there to defend himself, they sent a Howler to tell him such.

(Not that the Howler had the desired impact - Wood simply sent one back the next day to Bethany that just screamed "THAT'S MY GIRL!" through the Great Hall.)

Opening the egg had done nothing but release a high-pitched wail that had Seamus guessing at a banshee; Neville worried about the Cruciatus Curse; and Fred and George warning Bethany that she'd have to attack Percy in the shower, because it sounded like him singing.

Bethany had assured everyone who asked that she was working on the clue, but in all honesty she had other things on her mind.

Apparently the Triwizard Tournament meant that there was going to be a Yule Ball.

And McGonagall had told her that, as a champion, she and her partner (PARTNER) would have to open the Ball.

Bethany had immediately hunted down Alicia, who clearly knew something about contracts, and desperately asked if she absolutely had to.

Alicia just laughed, and offered to set her up with some people.

Bethany refused, but that led her to her current predicament. Opening the Ball in front of everyone was scary.

Going on a date was scarier.

And to do that in front of everyone?

The idea made Bethany feel sick.

Already several boys had asked her, and she had turned them all down, the first few purely out of shock. She hadn't known any of them by name, but she did know they'd all been wearing those ridiculous badges before the first task.

No, if she had to do this, she wanted it to be someone who at least had believed her.

Unfortunately, that narrowed the field considerably, to a handful of boys, most of whom were like brothers to her, and none of whom would probably look twice.

The ones that were looking twice were not an attractive bunch, by any stretch of the imagination.

"Bethany!"

Bethany flinched automatically, before the voice registered with her, and she relaxed.

"Sorry," Cedric said, slowing down as he reached her. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," Bethany said, managing a smile. "I just escaped a seventh year." Her eyes swept the corridor, making sure that the unknown student was definitely not still in sight.

Cedric frowned. "Who?"

"No idea," Bethany said, "but he was very insistent I go to the Yule Ball with him."

Cedric's frown deepened. "You said no, right?"

"Hence the escaping," Bethany agreed. "Oh bloody hell, hide me."

The seventh year in question had just entered the corridor - whether he was looking for her, Bethany didn't know, but she didn't want to trust that he wasn't.

Cedric reached behind her and swept aside a tapestry, allowing her to dart into the hidden corridor behind it.

He let the tapestry fall back to conceal her, but she remained where she was, assuming he had been looking for her for a reason.

Presumably something to do with Quidditch - she'd heard some of the older students muttering about playing a few pick-up games.

Sure enough, a few moments later, when the footsteps had passed, he slipped through himself.

"Yeah, I know him," he said with a scowl. "Thinks he's Merlin's gift to women. You probably gave him a heart attack saying no."

"Well, he was wearing those ridiculous badges a few weeks ago," Bethany said, rolling her eyes. "So, to summarise, I've never seen him before in my life, he clearly doesn't have a brain, and apparently doesn't understand the word no."

"When you put it like that, he sounds like a dream date," Cedric said with a grin. "Why did you turn him down again?"

Bethany smiled back. "Must've taken leave of my senses. So what's up?"

Cedric seemed to falter, his usual confidence apparently failing him. "So … I was thinking. There's a Hogsmeade trip next week, right?"

Not Quidditch then.

"Right," she agreed slowly, "which is a good thing, because I was so focused on the first task on the last one that I forgot Christmas was a thing."

"Yeah, me too," Cedric said, relaxing a little. "I was thinking maybe we could go together."

Bethany's heart fluttered a little in her chest. "Like a date?"

"Yeah." Cedric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "And maybe …"

"Maybe …" Bethany prompted, when he trailed off.

"Maybe you'd come to the Ball with me?" Cedric asked, his eyes fixed on the wall above her head. "I mean, that was going to be my first question, but I figure that night's going to be enough pressure for both of us without throwing a first date in the mix."

It was so incredibly thoughtful, and Bethany had to bite back the immediate urge to say yes - she could see a problem with that plan, and it was a big one. "Wouldn't your girlfriend be a bit upset by that?"

Now his eyes met hers. "Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"

She didn't need Hermione's Empathy to know his confusion was entirely genuine. "Cho? Fifth year? Ravenclaw?"

Cedric groaned. "For Hecate's sake, why?!"

"I take it," Bethany said dryly, pretending she couldn't feel herself blushing, "she's not your girlfriend."

Cedric sighed. "We went on one date last spring, because one of my friends was dating one of her friends and I somehow got talked into a double-date. It was a complete disaster, and I have not gone anywhere near her since. Not willingly anyway."

"Oh," Bethany said. "Because I think she thinks otherwise."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no. No girlfriend. Unless you're offering."

The burn potion had done wonders; there was a faint mark on his cheek, but other than that no one would ever guess he'd almost had his face melted off, and it certainly hadn't affected his smile.

He had an utterly charming smile, and now it was being aimed at her.

Bethany leaned against the wall behind her so it wasn't completely obvious (she hoped) that her knees were going weak. "Why me?"

That hadn't been what she was going to say, and she winced a little, but he didn't seem put off by the question at all.

"You're fun," he said simply. "You're smart. You've got the most amazing sense of humour. You're an amazing flyer. We get along very well. And you're gorgeous."

Bethany's stomach did a little somersault, even as her heart sank. She couldn't say yes.

She shouldn't.

Cedric leaned against the wall beside her. "You look conflicted. I can take no for an answer, I promise. No hard feelings."

"It's not that," Bethany said, before she could think better of it. She looked into his eyes, and made a split-second decision. "Weird things happen around me."

"I had noticed," Cedric said dryly.

"People around me … tend to get caught up in them," Bethany continued.

Cedric nodded slowly, something like understanding dawning on his face. "And you're worried that I'll be one more person to get caught up in them?"

"Something like that," Bethany said.

"What if," Cedric shifted a little closer to her, "I'm willing to get caught up in them?"

He was so close she could feel the warmth from his body in the cold of the castle. He smelled of sandalwood and chocolate, and Bethany forced herself not to lean in closer and take a deep breath.

"That seems like a very big thing to say when you don't know what they are."

"Then tell me," Cedric said with a shrug.

Bethany sighed. "Okay. Okay, but not here, and not now. Meet me on the seventh floor at 7pm, by the tapestry for Barnabas the Barmy."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "There are no rooms on that corridor."

"There are if you know where to look," Bethany said with a grin.

Cedric chuckled. "There she is. Alright, I'll be there." He pushed away from the wall, and took her hand, lifting it to brush a kiss to her knuckles. "I promise."

As he strode away, Bethany stayed where she was until she knew her legs would hold her weight, her hand tingling where he had touched her. Finally, she pulled herself together and hurried through the school, looking for Hermione.

She found her out by the lake under the beech tree, wrapped up warm against the cold.

Hermione looked up with a smile as she approached, a smile that vanished almost immediately.

"What happened?"

Bethany sat down beside her. "Cedric just asked me on a date."

Hermione muffled a very un-Hermione-like squeal. "Are you kidding?!"

"No! He asked me to Hogsmeade and then asked if I wanted to go to the Ball with him!"

Hermione beamed at her. "Beth, that's … wait." Her smile was immediately replaced by a look of immense suspicion. "You did say yes, right?"

"We're meeting at the Room this evening," Bethany said. "I need to tell him everything first."

"Everything?" Hermione repeated.

"Well, maybe not everything," Bethany conceded, thinking about the number of laws they had broken the previous year. "But people around me get hurt, Mione. He deserves to know what he's getting himself in to."

Hermione pursed her lips in a way that told Bethany she didn't agree at all. "I suppose," she said finally. "Take the Cloak."

"Yes Mum," Bethany said, partly to tease her, and partly because these days Hermione's advice was actually sometimes passed on from her actual mother.

Hermione turned her head a little to focus on the empty space near the lake. "Your parents are in two minds."

"About me telling him?" Bethany asked, her heart sinking a little more. "Or about Cedric?"

"Cedric," Hermione said. "Your mum thinks he's a very nice boy. Your dad's not sold. But …" she frowned. "Oh, okay. It sounds like there's history with his father."

"Cedric is not his father," Bethany said to the empty space. "If he was, I wouldn't be considering it."

Hermione wrinkled her nose in agreement. "Well, I don't think he's going to turn around and change his mind. You saw how he was looking at you after the first task."

Bethany frowned. "Did I?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He was looking at you like you'd just made the sun rise for the first time in years."

Bethany's face heated up again. "What about you? What are you going to do about a date?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. "Actually I … already have one."

Bethany's mouth fell open. "Mione! I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"It only happened this morning," Hermione protested.

"So who?" Bethany asked.

Hermione's blush got even deeper. "Krum."

Bethany raised an eyebrow. "Viktor Krum? Seriously?"

"Just as friends," Hermione added hastily. "He's got a girlfriend in Bulgaria who can't be here, and he figured since you and I are friends I'm not going to be … like them." She waved a hand across the lake, where a group of girls were loitering near the Durmstrang ship.

"That makes sense," Bethany said. "And I guess it's not like he can lie to you, can he? Not with your gift." She grinned suddenly. "Do you want to tell Ron or shall I?"

"I'm not saying anything until the Yule Ball," Hermione said with a smirk. "Hopefully he won't kick up as much of a fuss with that many witnesses."

"Don't count on it," Bethany muttered.

"Not a word to Ron," Hermione said firmly.

"My lips are sealed," Bethany assured her, raising a hand in greeting as Neville and Ginny approached them.

"Hello, hello," Ginny greeted. "You both look rather flushed; is their gossip to be had?"

"It's Hogwarts," Bethany said. "There's always gossip to be had."

"How goes the date-finding?" Ginny asked, sitting down beside them.

"We've both got one," Hermione answered. "Beth's just being Beth about it."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "Well, excuse me for thinking someone should have fair warning."

"Fair warning," Hermione muttered. "You're not a nuclear bomb! What about you two?" She asked, before either of the purebloods could ask.

Neville blushed and shook his head. "No. Well, I was … I was going to ask one of you, as friends, I mean, but …"

Hermione smiled apologetically. "If I didn't have a date, I would have said yes, Neville."

"So would I," Bethany agreed.

"Really?" Neville asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course," Hermione said. "Why wouldn't we? Stop selling yourself short."

"If you're happy to take a friend instead of a date," Ginny said a little shyly, "I'd quite like to go to the Ball."

Bethany gave Neville a nudge with her foot.

"I'd be delighted to escort you, Miss Weasley," Neville said, in an oddly formal tone. "Just as a thought, Beth," he added, sounding like himself again. "Do you know how to dance?"

Bethany froze. "What? Properly?"

"Most purebloods get taught as kids," Ginny said. "I'm a little rusty. Ron can't," she added, before either of them could ask. "He ran away when Mum tried. I liked it."

"We can teach you," Neville added, helping Bethany to her feet. "Ginny, count us in."

Bethany tried to focus on the steps they were giving her while not stepping on Neville's feet. She did rather well, in her opinion, given how many times he stepped on hers.

"Sorry," he said for the hundredth time.

"It's fine," Bethany said with a grin. "I'm wearing shoes."

"Still," Neville said. "Listen, I promised Professor Sprout I'd help in Greenhouse Three, Ginny, can you …?"

"I'll take over," Ginny said, as Neville jogged away. "Right, Beth, one hand on my upper arm, leaning into the left. And one-two-three, one-two-three, one …"

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

He was standing on the path leading down to the lake, watching them with a bewildered expression.

"Teaching Beth to dance," Ginny said, spinning Bethany out to face him. "She's got to open the Ball, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Ron sank down next to Hermione, squinting up at them. "Got a date then?"

"Something like that," Bethany said vaguely.

"Alright for some," Ron grumbled.

Ginny smiled sweetly. "Still reeling from the Fleur disaster?"

"Fleur disaster?" Hermione repeated, beating Bethany to it.

"He asked Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball," Ginny said.

Bethany gaped at him. "You did what?"

"I don't know what came over me," Ron groaned. "She was standing there, talking to Diggory, and I just blurted it out!"

"What did she say?" Hermione asked sympathetically.

"Nothing!" Ron cried. "She just looked at me like I'd crawled out from under a stone or something! Then I came to my senses and ran for it!"

"Oh, she is part-Veela," Bethany said, remembering that she and Ron hadn't been talking when she learned that. "You were right; her grandmother's one."

"See?" Ginny asked. "She was probably turning on the charm for Cedric, and you got a blast of it. She's wasting her time anyway - he's going with Cho Chang."

"No, he's not," Bethany said. "She's just full of it."

"How do you know?" Ginny asked.

Bethany shrugged, making a non-committal noise in the back of his throat.

"To be fair," Ginny added. "It is just Chang that I've heard say that. And I've never actually seen them together."

Ron cleared his throat. "Anyway, you'll never guess who Neville's going to ask."

"I'm going with Neville," Ginny said. "I'd like to go, and I can't unless a fourth year or above asks me. And don't give me that look; we're just going as friends."

Ron was frowning, but made a clear attempt at making it look like he wasn't. "He said he was going to ask Hermione."

"Yeah, he said he was going to," Hermione agreed. "But I told him I already had a date and …"

Ron sniggered. "I don't blame you."

Hermione glared at him. "Ron …"

"Hey!" Ron interrupted. "Neville's right, Hermione - you are a girl!"

"Thanks for noticing," Hermione said icily.

"Well, then you can go with me!" Ron said.

Bethany's jaw dropped again at the blatant audacity. "Ron …"

He didn't even look at her, hushing her. "Come on, Hermione; we're going to look really stupid if we don't have dates!"

"We?" Hermione asked acidly. "I have a date."

Ron laughed. "Come on, Hermione! You and I both know you just said that to get rid of Neville."

"Actually I mentioned that before he even brought it up," Hermione snapped. "And if I didn't have a date, I would have said yes."

"No you wouldn't," Ron disagreed. "Who would?"

"Me," Bethany and Ginny answered in unison, both of them glaring daggers at Ron by this point.

Ron ignored them. "So are you going with me?"

Hermione jumped to her feet, shaking with anger. "Just because it's taken you four years to realise I'm a girl doesn't mean it's taken the rest of the world that long!" She turned on her heel and ran, but not before Bethany saw the tears in her eyes.

"You," Bethany said, grabbing Hermione's bag along with her own, "are a complete arse."

"What?" Ron asked blankly, but Bethany didn't answer, leaving him to his sister in favour of racing after Hermione.

Near the greenhouses, she collided with one of the twins.

"Oh thank goodness," he said. "Fred's with her, but Hermione's in a state. I was looking for you or Ron …"

"I got it," Bethany said hastily. "You go and yell at your brother for me."

George groaned. "Oh, what's he done now?"

"Both feet in his mouth," Bethany said bitterly. "As usual." She rounded the corner and faltered, seeing Hermione sobbing into Fred's chest as he rocked her gently.

When she approached, he looked up, pure fury in his eyes.

"Who hurt her?"

"To summarise," Bethany said, sitting down on Hermione's other side, "Hermione's a girl and has a date to the Yule Ball. Ron's only just realised the former and doesn't believe the latter."

Something flickered in Fred's eyes, and when he spoke his voice sounded a little odd. "You've got a date?"

Hermione stiffened pushing him away. "Yes, I know it's ridiculous that anyone wanted to ask me."

"No!" Fred said hastily. "No, of course not. I just …"

"We pride ourselves on knowing what's going on in this school," George said, helping his brother out. "Surprised we hadn't already heard. Who's the lucky boy?"

"Not telling," Hermione said, accepting a tissue.

"Really, Mya, it's like you don't trust us," Fred said, putting a hand on his heart. "Anything we can do?"

"Yeah," Bethany said darkly. "Go and teach Ron some tact."

"Better men than us have tried," the twins chorused.

"But we'll give it a go," George added.

"I'm being silly," Hermione said, wiping her eyes.

"You're not," Fred said, his eyes serious. "If it's upset you, it's not silly. We'll have a word with Ron for you."

With that, he transferred Hermione into Bethany's arms and rose to join his twin. Bethany stroked Hermione's hair, watching the two walk off.

It looked rather like George was berating his brother about something, but they were too far away for her to hear.

"Are you alright?" Bethany asked, turning her attention back to Hermione.

"I will be," Hermione said. "Just Ron being … Ron. That's all."