I do not own Harry Potter, only any OC that may or may not appear in my stories.

Hello guys, Badger here. Here we are. New chapter. You know the drill by now, I'm sure. Now, before you get onto reading this new chapter. I would like to take some time to mention that this chapter is shorter then a few previous entries. Whilst it isn't the shortest of the lot, it's still relatively short compared to other chapters I've done for this story, and other stories I have ongoing at the moment. Originally, I did plan for this chapter to be longer but, if I did choose to end it where I planned to end it originally, there would have been so much going on, and I felt like the chapter would be to overloaded, so I hope you don't mind a shorter chapter.

Anyway, I won't leave you waiting any longer. Read on, I hope you enjoy and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 9

Dancing Partners?

Harry rolled his shoulder, which still felt stiff after the bones were repaired by Madam Pomfrey. It had been a few days since the First Task and Harry had spent most of that time, trying to figure out the clue for the Second Task. After the scores were given, The Champions were informed that the Golden Egg contained the clue for the Second Task. However, when Harry opened his egg, his ears were immediately assaulted by a high pitch screeching noise. He was, almost, certain that there was still a ringing in his ears from how loud it was. James and Daphne, who were with him at the time, were equally knocked back a peg or two from the assault on their senses. Thankfully, Harry had closed the egg just a few seconds after opening it. After taking a few moments to gather her bearings, Daphne stated that the screeching must have been some kind of magical creature and she will let him know if she finds anything.

Currently, Harry sat in Transfiguration, keeping his distance from Ron and Hermione, who had tried approaching him more then once. Even though he was a Champion, meaning he wasn't required to attend lessons, he still attended those he felt could help him with the other Tasks. Near the end of the lesson, McGonagall ended things early, but before she allowed the students to leave, she had an announcement to make.

"Now, some of you may not be aware" She said "During the TriWizard Tournament, as a tradition, they host something called the Yule Ball…a Ball for third years and over…it isn't mandatory to partake in the dances, but for those who wish to do so, will be required to find a dance partner…and it will be mandatory for all students to attend dancing lessons, even if you choose partake in the dances during the Yule Ball…now, whilst the Yule Ball is a chance for you all to let your hair down, the Yule Ball is a sacred tradition, so it is expected that everyone acts professionally and respectfully…any disorderly conduct and misbehaviour will see you punished severely…now, off you go and Mr Potter, I want a word with you before you leave"

Harry felt a little nervous as he continued sitting in his seat, whilst the other students began making their way out of the classroom, where the female students seemed to be excitedly chatting to one another about the Yule Ball. As soon as the last student left and the classroom door closed, Harry got out of his seat and approached the front of the classroom, where McGonagall was sat at her desk, the ever present stern look on her face.

"Now, Mr Potter" She said "The reason I have asked for you to stay behind, is to inform you about the dance you and your dance partner will have to partake in"

"Dance…partner?" Harry repeated, not liking where this was going

"Yes, dance partner" McGonagall replied "Yes, you may be in this Tournament by mistake, but you are still a Hogwarts Champion…and as a Hogwarts Champion you will be required to partake in the opening dance, the Champions Dance, at the Yule Ball…to do so, you will need a dancing partner"

"But…I don't dance" Harry said, fidgeting slightly

"You will have to, Mr Potter" McGonagall gave him a stern glare "And you better learn in time for the Yule Ball…you better not let Gryffindor, and Hogwarts, down Mr Potter…now you may go"

Harry nodded, before he practically ran out of the classroom, as he processed everything that he had been told. As he made his way down the corridors, he found James and Daphne talking to one another, as they looked through their notes, presumably for another class. However, the two looked up, when they heard him coming down the corridor, where they immediately took note of his, slightly worried appearance and stance.

"You okay Harry?" James asked "What has your robes in a twist?"

"The Yule Ball" Harry replied

"Oh yes" Daphne said, realisation immediately coming to her "And, as a Champion, you will have to partake in the opening dance…with a dancing partner"

"I know" Harry said, running a worried hand through his hair "But, I don't know how to dance…I mean, they'll be giving us dancing lessons but…I'm still worried that I'm going to step all over my dancing partners toes"

"Harry relax!" James spoke up, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, which seemed to snap Harry out of his manic state, at least temporarily "If its worrying you that much, me and Daphne can help you, me and her have had to dance at parties hosted by some of the Pureblood families, we can give you some private lessons"

"Thank you" Harry sighed "But what do I do about my dancing partner…I don't know who to take with me…and I definitely don't want to take some crazy, Boy-Who-Lived, fangirl"

James opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again as he looked into space, in thought. There were a few moments of silence between the three, before he looked at Daphne. The blonde haired Slytherin looked back at her fellow snake, her eyes narrowing, wondering what he was thinking. There was another few moments before her eyes widened, where she realised what James was thinking.

"You're kidding right?" She asked

"What?" James shrugged "What's wrong with the idea…you are a good dancer, and you aren't a 'crazy Boy-Who-Lived fangirl'…I'm sure out of all the girls in school, Harry would trust you the most to be his dance partner…and I'm sure he'll try not to step all over your toes"

Daphne glared at James for a second, before turning to Harry, where the look in her eyes softened.

"What do you think Harry?" She asked "Feel like going to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Well…if you don't mind if I do step on your toes" Harry scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather go with either"

"Then that's settled" Daphne said, looking back to James "However, if I'm going with Harry to the Yule Ball…then you are going to take Astoria"

Harry watched as James took a step back, where his cheeks began turning red, as he looked everywhere, refusing to make eye contact with Daphne. Harry remembered when he saw James and Astoria in one of the corridors in, what would have become a rather intimate moment. Harry wondered if Daphne knew about it, though he chose not to say anything, as James coughed, looking back at Daphne, where his cheeks seemed to still be turning red.

"Fine" He said "I'll take her…I'll go ask her now, because I know you'll keep badgering me until I do it"

"You know me so well" Daphne replied with a sweet smile

"Whatever, see you in potions" James said, before he began walking off

Harry and Daphne stayed where they were, watching their friend disappear round the corner, and out of view. It was that moment, when Harry turned to Daphne.

"Daphne" He said "I don't know if I should tell you this but, James…"

"If you're going to tell me that James and Astoria have a thing for one another, then I know" Daphne said "I've been friends with James for years and Astoria is my twin sister, if anyone would know, it would be me…for the last two years I've watched the two pine for one another, with neither brave enough to make the first move…hopefully by taking her to the Yule Ball, either James or Astoria will finally do something about it…though I'm curious, how do you know about them?"

"Well, after finding out about the dragons I came across them in one of the corridors" Harry said "They were quite close to one another…if they hadn't noticed me, they probably would have…well, you know…though I'm surprised you want them to make a move…I would've thought you would be warning James to stay away from Astoria"

"If there is anyone I can trust to look after Astoria, it will be James" Daphne said "Unlike some of our fellow snakes in the dungeons, he doesn't have a bad bone in his body…I dread to think what would happen to Astoria if she got married to someone like Malfoy…besides, after everything that's happened in James' life thus far, he needs someone to make him happy"

"What has happened in his life?" Harry asked, remembering a previous conversation, when James informed him that he has also lost his family, though something was telling Harry there was more to it than that

Daphne's eyes widened at his question, realising she accidentally said more then she meant to. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before opening them once more.

"I can't tell you" She said "It's not my place to tell…if you want, you could ask James yourself…you'd be surprised just how much he trusts you…if you were to ask him, he would, most likely, tell you…as I said, it's not my place to tell…he wouldn't want me talking to you about his life story behind his back anyway…me and him may be friends but we respect each other's boundaries…anyway, I'll see you later Harry, you may not have to attend classes but I do…and I do not want to be late"

…

Inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, inside the Professors Office, Professor Moody, otherwise known as Barty Crouch Jr, escaped Azkaban convict, and loyal follower to the Dark Lord, had his head inside the fire place, a headache pounding inside his skull, as he listened to Pettigrew, the sleazeball that he is, ranting over and over again about how the Dark Lord demanded that Barty succeeds and does not fail the Dark Lord.

"I know what my mission is Pettigrew!" Barty growled, repeating himself for the tenth time

"I mean it Barty!" The squeaky voice of Pettigrew replied "The Dark Lord demands for Potter to be in the graveyard…the very future of the Dark Side depends on it…if Potter isn't there…"

"I know Pettigrew!" Barty roared, interrupting Pettigrew, before he could rant on once more "I know what I need to do, and I know what will happen, if I fail…you don't need to keep reminding me…believe me, Potter will be at the graveyard, if I have break every bone in my body to make sure it happens, he will be there…now, I have to go, I'll make sure to update the Dark Lord on any news regarding the brat!"

Not giving Pettigrew a chance to respond, Barty cut off the Floo connection before removing himself from the fireplace. Rubbing his temple, Barty reached for a nearby bottle of Fire-Whiskey, as he sat down at his desk. After listening to the rat go on and on, he was in dire need of a drink. Barty couldn't help but wonder why the Dark Lord kept Pettigrew around. The rat was useless and a coward. Whatever reasons the Dark Lord had for keeping him around, were questionable at best. True the sleazeball claimed to be loyal to the Dark Lord, and his cause, though Barty believed it was out of fear and nothing else. Taking a sip of the Fire-Whiskey, Barty nearly dropped the bottle, when a nearby trunk began to bang and shake, as someone began screaming for help. Jumping up from his chair, Barty slammed his fist against the trunk several times.

"Shut your mouth!" He yelled, as he continued to slam his fist against the trunk "If you don't keep quiet, I will not hesitate to kill you, as long as your hair keeps growing, I don't need you alive to keep my Polyjuice supply up!"

Immediatley the trunk stopped shaking and the cries for help ceased. Satisfied, Barty gave the trunk a kick before sitting back down in his seat, where he began thinking of Potter and the remainder of the Tournament. The boy done surprisingly well in the First Task. Barty figured it was thanks to the help of Potters new friends. As a former Slytherin himself, Barty was very observant and was able to hide in plain sight when possible. He had seen Potter conversing with the Lord Badger and Greengrass Heiress. From what he had seen, the two have been helping Potter, whilst mostly the rest of the school, including Granger and Weasley turned their backs on the boy. Though, after his performance in the First Task, that seems to have immediatley changed. But that wasn't important. The boys performance in the First Task was.

With how well Potter did, without any manipulations of interference from Barty, was proving to be a good thing. The boy could possibly win the Third Task and end up in the graveyard, without him having to pull any strings. However, it wouldn't hurt to pull just a few, short, strings. Especially with the egg which held the clue for the Second Task. Whilst he had no doubt that Potter could learn the clue without his interference, Barty was sure he could find a way to speed up the process a bit. And when Potter learnt the clue, Barty could look into ways he can tip the scales more in Harry's favour for when the Second Task begins. Thankfully the Second Task is a good few months away, taking place after the Yule Ball, so that gives him plenty of time to come up with a plan.

Raising his bottle, as if he was giving a toast, Barty took another swig of Fire-Whiskey, the pleasant vision of Potter dead at the Dark Lords feet, when he gained a new body. And Barty was certain he would be rewarded handsomely for his efforts.

…

And that is the new chapter done. Thoughts? Good? Bad? Feel free to let me your thoughts, if you wish.

Like I said, this chapter was originally longer, which would have involved things like the first dancing lesson in preparation for the Yule Ball, as well as an interesting conversation between Harry and Dumbledore. However, I've decided to save it for the next chapter. I think you'll like some of the things that happen then, but we'll just have to wait for when that chapter is published.

Now, when looking through some of the views of the previous chapter, I saw one where someone was begging me to not just throw Ron and Hermione to the curb, and try to have Harry make amends with the two. Honestly, I'm not sure what role Hermione and Ron will play from this moment on. As Harry is still mad at the two and wants nothing to do with them, as of this moment this is how it will continue to play out, until I have a better idea with what to do with them. If you have any ideas for what you think I should do with Ron and Hermione, feel free to let me know.

Anyway, that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time, in whatever story I see you in.

Badger Out