Family is More Than Blood

by DeathRanger

Tonks and Harry had a close bond before their worlds changed and they were separated. Dora continued on with the life she was always meant to have while Harry went to his muggle relatives. When tragedy strikes, and old memories surface, what happens when a simple letter reveals to Harry the family he didn't even know he had? AU.

33. Chapter 33

AN: This is a bit longer of a chapter since I just didn't feel a good place to split the Yule Ball so I hope you all enjoy that, and as always thanks for all your support!

Jet22345 - Yeah, sorry. I'm not opposed to Harry/Susan, having read some good stories with that pairing, but I can't stand Harry/Hermione. I'll never write one of those. Susan isn't high on my list though just because i favor Ginny, the three chasers, or Fleur for my pairings.

ulttoanova - Yeah, I thought bringing Neville in would be fun and would be an easy way to help develop him more and bring him into the fold a bit more. Luna would be fun, and she definitely can be written in any number of ways, but I'm not sure realistically it'd be good to write in her introduction and then have her immediately helping in the Tournament. I definitely intend to have Luna favored by some odder gods/goddesses and I'll take the ones you mentioned as possibilities and maybe do a bit of research since those do seem like some good options.

Anyways, my longwinded reply ends with thanks!

scrappy8 - Thanks! I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Mando-Vet - Thanks! I'll just have to keep earning that praise.

GreengrassRebel - I'm happy to see you enjoyed the humor in the story. I definitely try to keep some of the interactions and banter enjoyable. You know, you hit me with a nail on the head because I was thinking about doing the wand thing for Neville, but you're also not wrong, Harry's got a good team.

Ron will definitely get some development. Admittedly, it'll be slow going through the rest of Fourth Year. It's just not a good year for him maturity wise, but I definitley want him to develop more and he will.

I've been working on the other teams and hopefully you'll approve . . . I honestly didn't think about Beatrice, but that's brilliant and it fits with her being a seventh year, so thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely be using Beatrice.

Chapter 33

Two weeks ago. Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the dragon.

It seemed to Harry that everybody, fourth year and above, was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, and they, mostly the girls, were obsessed with the coming Yule Ball. It was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; he had never quite noticed that before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night . . .

It didn't help him that his friends and family didn't seem to be super helpful in advising him, since it was mostly up to him. He didn't really fancy anyone at the moment. He'd had a crush on Cho Chang, but he'd listened to Dora, which meant he'd found out a bit more about Cho, rather than just thinking a pretty girl who was good at Quidditch was who he fancied, and quickly realized that while she was smart, pretty, and good at Quidditch, they had very little in common other than Quidditch, and he learned that she tended to monopolize her boyfriends time, and wasn't quite as receptive to her boyfriend having female best friends, which unsurprisingly would have been an issue if he had asked her out.

He could admit that he had a bit of a crush on Katie, and even Ginny was someone he was starting to notice more and more, but he wasn't sure he fancied them. They were his friends after all, some of his best friends, and he was wary to risk that. So, he wasn't sure what to do which was further messed up after he talked to Angelina and Alicia.

"Well, are you interested in dating or do you just want to have fun for the night?" Angelina asked.

"Well, I don't really fancy anyone, so," Harry said with a shrug.

"There aren't any girls you think are attractive? Because I think you're full of shite, Harry Potter," Alicia asked in amusement, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Of course there are plenty of girls at this school I think are attractive," Harry said. "I'd have to be a dense git not to notice that there are plenty of beautiful girls at this school, including all of my good friends."

Angelina and Alicia grinned, shooting him an appreciative nod.

"Well, then again, I'll ask if you are interested in possibly dating or just looking for a date for the night," Angelina said. "You don't have to have a crush or fancy someone to possibly date them. Sure, you're fourteen and it'll be some years before you're thinking about marriage, but just because teens tend to focus only on people they already have crushes on doesn't mean that dating isn't about finding out if you might like someone more than you think. Maybe even giving someone a chance that you weren't all that interested in before, but who is interested in you."

Harry frowned.

"Harry, while you should arguably have something about the person that you're interested in to consider dating, be that looks, interests, whatever," Alicia said, "the fact is that you could go out with a complete nobody that you don't know, aren't particularly attracted to, and find yourself the girl of your dreams by meeting someone new. Consequently, you could pick that person you fancy and find out they're selfish pricks who you have no desire to really get to know further. Last I checked, you had a physical attraction to Cho Chang, but it didn't take you long to decide you didn't really care for her personality. Most people say that the best relationships start with friendships, so meeting someone new, even if it isn't romantic yet is not a bad thing, or perhaps you ask one of your current friends that you already find attractive, since I can name at least two that I know you've checked out a time or two."

Harry nodded a bit ruefully at that.

"The point we're making, Harry, is if you are just looking for a fun night, ask a friend," Angelina said, "but if you're possibly looking for a girl that you might explore dating with, and maybe get a kiss at the end of the night, open up your options. There's plenty of girls that would be interested in going to the ball with you."

"Only because I'm a champion and the boy-who-lived," Harry muttered.

"Yes, maybe," Alicia said, "but at the same time, most of those people don't know you. That's all they've seen of you, the Boy-Who-Lived. That, Quidditch, maybe the Dueling Circuit, and rumors of all your dangerous adventures. They don't know you, and thus you can't judge them too harshly on being interested in you for those reasons Sure, there are girls who would want you just for the status, and you should avoid them . . . well unless you are really just looking for a more physical and short term relationship, but there are some out there that might be interested in that, but could change opinions once they realize what that actually means, and how it affects you."

"Just think about it, alright?" Angelina.

That conversation had been a bit eye opening. It's not like Harry had really thought about dating all that much, but that also meant he hadn't considered that it was a chance to get to know new people and have new experiences. He wasn't really sure he did want to date anyone, the concept still making him feel a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time, he'd heard enough stories about dating, and he did want to experience that type of relationship someday, so why not casually date somebody now? The girls were right. He was only fourteen. Still, going with a friend might be more fun. Less awkward, he suspected.

Katie's, Dora's, Sirius's, and Remus's advice were along the same lines as Alicia and Angelina, mainly being that it was up to him based on what he wanted for the night. Hermione simply recommended he figure out something soon, while Ron talked about how it wouldn't be that hard for Harry to probably get a date.

This was proven true when he had a third-year Hufflepuff girl, whom Harry had certainly never said a word to in his life, asked him to the ball. Honestly, Harry was so taken aback that he said no before he'd even really considered the matter. The girl walked off looking rather hurt, and Harry had to endure Dean's, Seamus's, and Ron's taunts about her up until Angelina, Alicia, and Katie ripped the three boy's a new one for making fun of a girl actually having the courage to ask a boy, a feat none of the three boys had managed at that time. That certainly shut all three up, much to Harry's relief. Soon after, he was asked by a second year, and a rather burly, angry looking fifth year, whom Harry also turned down, just not sure about either.

Despite Harry's issues with the coming ball, Harry had to admit that life had definitely improved since he had got through the first task. He wasn't attracting nearly as much unpleasantness in the corridors anymore, which he suspected had a lot to do with Cedric - he had an idea Cedric might have told the Hufflepuffs to leave Harry alone, in gratitude for Harry's tip-off about the dragons. There seemed to be fewer Support Cedric Diggory! badges around too. Draco Malfoy, of course, was still quoting Rita Skeeter's article to him at every possible opportunity, but he was getting fewer and fewer laughs out of it.

Things were settling down with the holiday season. As a group they were still studying, but they had taken down the intensity, with the second task far away and a short minor rest being well deserved. Hermione of course disagreed with taking it easy, but the rest of his friends felt they could afford to, to an extent.

Still, despite them dedicating less time to studying, Harry had been pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't really spending less time together. Truthfully, with them spending more time relaxing, Harry had expected to see less of the three older chasers and even Ginny.

During the month between the first task and him being entered into the tournament, Harry and Hermione had taken to spending a lot of time with the three older girls and Ginny, and Hermione and Harry would often even detour between classes, when times aligned, so that he and Hermione would run into Ginny, or Katie, or Angelina, or Alicia, or any combination of them. He had stopped doing that for the first couple days after the first task, only for all of the girls to mention in passing how they missed seeing him in the halls every now and then, and it had only been a day later, when he'd been hanging out with just Ron and Hermione again, like he used to, that Angelina had asked, looking a bit offended and a bit sad, if they were going back to how they had been before the tournament. That had made him feel truly sorry, and he'd been forced to acknowledge they enjoyed seeing him as much as he did them, and he'd stopped trying to feel like a burden to the girls.

It had led to some tense moments with Ron, who seemed to have expected things to go back the way they had been before, with him, Harry, and Hermione being the group and really nobody else. He hadn't enjoyed it when he'd tried to exclude Ginny only for Harry to back Ginny instead, and he had been shocked when Harry had gone out of his way to spend time with Katie, Alicia, and Angelina, either beckoning them to join him, Ron, and Hermione in the Common Room, or often leaving to join them, usually with an invite to Ron and Hermione to join, but sometimes without one. He also had not been as receptive to how much more studying they were doing. Still, while Harry enjoyed having Ron back in his life, he had no intentions of going back to the way things had been before, not when it would hurt those few who had supported him, and thankfully Ron was slowly adjusting to the new status quo.

The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though it did seem confirmed that Dumbledore had booked the Weird Sisters for the night, which Harry figured would make Dora jealous. They were her favorite band.

Most of the classes had slowed down, going into the holidays, with the exceptions being Binns, who hadn't let death stop him from droning on about Goblin rebellions, Mad-Eye of course (CONSTANT VIGILANCE!), McGonagall, and Snape.

Still, Harry finally felt like he had made a decision, in that he was going to ask a friend. The concept of dating, while sounding interesting, still made him a bit uncomfortable, so he figured a nice night with a friend would be the better choice. Unfortunately, he really should have listened to Hermione . . . something he would say to himself a lot throughout his life.

"Hey, Gin," Harry said, a bit nervously. "Can I speak to you . . . alone?"

"Of course, Harry," Ginny said brightly, and she followed him over to a corner of the common room. "What's up?"

"Well," Harry took a breath. "Will - er - would you - er - go to the ball with me?"

Her face fell slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry," Ginny said. "I, well, I already told Neville that I would go with him."

"Oh," Harry said, wincing slightly. "That's - er- great. Good for Neville in - er - actually asking someone early."

"I'm sure it won't be hard to find a date, Harry," Ginny said, trying to be soothing. "I know there are a lot of girls out there still hoping you'll ask them."

Harry sighed.

"I'm sure there are," he admitted. "I just . . . I kind of decided that I wasn't really ready for a real date, so I figured I'd ask a friend, in this case you. I knew you and I would have a lot of fun. Plus, if you hadn't been asked, I knew you couldn't go, so I figured we could have fun, and I could sort of thank you for sticking by me through everything."

"Harry, there's no need to thank me," Ginny said firmly. "I stuck by you because you're my friend. I appreciate that you thought of me, more than you know, and I'm sorry I already have a date because we would have had a lot of fun, and I really would have loved to have been your date for the night."

Harry grinned ruefully.

"I'm sure we still will," Harry said. "I'll just have to find another date first."

"That's the spirit!" Ginny said with a smile.

"Alright, see you later, Gin," Harry said, and he got up, but he couldn't help but wonder when Ginny Weasley had moved on from him, and he felt a bit like a prat for thinking she would have been his guaranteed date to the ball. She was quite pretty after all, smart, kind, and had a fun personality. Really, he shouldn't be surprised that someone asked her. He'd certainly noticed her, so why wouldn't other people?

Harry went and sat down next to Ron and Hermione.

"What were you talking to Ginny about?" Hermione asked, looking up from her Potions notes.

"I just asked her to the ball," Harry admitted, and Ron glanced at him.

"Really, mate? You could go with anyone, and you choose Ginny?" Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, but Harry beat her to it.

"First, I was asking a friend, and Ginny is a great friend. Second, Ginny's pretty and all around brilliant, so anyone would be lucky to have her as a date, and third, she turned me down because she already has a date."

"Ginny turned you down!" Ron nearly exclaimed, looking shocked, and Harry scowled at him, since Ron's words had carried through the common room, and Harry was sure it wouldn't be long before the whole school knew.

"Thanks for that, mate," Harry said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Ron said, looking appropriately abashed. "It's just . . . she's had a crush on you forever! I would have figured she'd just drop her date for a chance with you."

"No, she wouldn't," Hermione said sharply. "Ginny's not shallow nor is she that cruel."

"If you say so," Ron said with an eye roll, and Harry felt some annoyance at that, but he figured that was just their thing as siblings. He'd noticed a similar attitude from Ginny in regards to Ron at times, and that didn't discount the Twins in regards to both.

"Bad luck, mate," Fred said, coming over to them with George. "Who knew that my little sister was such a heartbreaker? Then again, she does have Weasley genes, and we're simply irresistible."

"So, what about you, Ron, got a date to the ball yet?" George asked.

"Nope," said Ron.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.

"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.

"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.

"What?" said Ron, taken aback, and even Harry glanced at him in surprise, sure that Angelina would have mentioned it. "You've already asked her?"

"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!"

Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia near the fire, looked over at him.

"What?" she called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.

"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.

"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake. "

"Great, another friend I can't ask either," Harry muttered to himself. "Who are you going with, George?"

"Carly Jeffords," George answered.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "She's one of the best looking seventh years in the school."

"Well, as fun as this is," Fred said, "George and I have things to do," and the two of them walked away.

Ron turned to Harry.

"We should get a move on, you know . . . ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."

Hermione let out a sputter of indignation, and Harry wanted to groan, knowing this wouldn't end well.

"A pair of . . . what, excuse me?"

"Well - you know," said Ron, shrugging. "I'd rather go alone than with - with Eloise Midgen, say."

"Her acne's loads better lately - and she's really nice!"

"Her nose is off-center," said Ron.

"Oh I see," Hermione said, bristling. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"

"Er - yeah, that sounds about right," said Ron.

"I'm going to bed," Hermione snapped, and she swept off toward the girls' staircase without another word.

**HP**

Word quickly spread that Ginny Weasley had turned Harry Potter down to go to the ball, and that she was going with Neville Longbottom. Harry found himself being laughed at by the Slytherins again, much to his annoyance with Ron, though he suspected he was being a bit unfair there since word probably would have gotten out regardless.

Ginny and Neville found themselves higher in popularity because of the gossip though, with quite a few more boys noticing the young, but developing Weasley girl, and even girls commenting on how Neville looked, and how he might be shy, but he was nice and loyal.

Whereas Neville was generally embarrassed by the gossip, but did seem to be sitting a bit taller and looking a bit more confident, Ginny absolutely hated it. She despised the fact that she was getting noticed by people simply because Harry had asked her a week too late because otherwise, the gossip would have been about her going with Harry, and that probably would have been negative gossip. She was furious with Ron for airing out their conversation because she would have preferred, for Harry's sake and her own, that it stayed private.

Still, as Christmas decorations went up, and the days went by, Harry and Ron grew more and more nervous about having dates, though at least Ron wouldn't look all that stupid without a date while for Harry, it was mandatory.

The next two friends he asked hadn't gone well for him either, and it didn't help that this was after Ron and he agreed to have dates by dinner time.

"Sorry, Har," Katie said commiseratingly. "Cormac McLaggen asked me . . . and well I'm giving him a shot. Hopefully I don't regret it."

"No problems Kat," Harry said, suppressing a groan. "Though, at this rate, I might need to find a real date, since I procrastinated so much. I shouldn't be that surprised that everyone's already noticed how brilliant my friends are."

Katie smiled brightly at him.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, but I'm sure things will work out. You're quite the catch, Harry. Honestly, I'm sorry I didn't wait. I'm sure I would have enjoyed the night with you much more than I will."

Another friend down because she already had a date. After Katie he asked Fleur, who he saw mid afternoon.

"I'm zorry, 'arry," Fleur said, truly looking it. "I would have enjoyed going wiz you, since you are my friend, and you do not drool over me, but ze tournament rules state zat champions cannot go togezher. A rule in place to stop cheating by couples."

"Damn," Harry muttered, a bit dejected. "Thanks Fleur. I didn't know that. We can still share a dance at the ball right?"

"Of course!" Fleur said, beaming. "And I expect one. I will see you at dinner, oui?"

"Oui," Harry said, moving on, now having been shot down three times, twice because he was too slow, and once due to the stupid tournament.

Rather disappointed with his day, he ignored dinner and went back up to Gryffindor Tower. Entering the common room, Harry looked around, and to his surprise he saw Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.

"What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them.

Ron looked up at Harry, a sort of blind horror in his face.

"Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!

"What?" said Harry.

"He - er - just asked Fleur to go to the ball with him," said Ginny. She looked as though she was fighting back a smile, but she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.

"You what?' said Harry.

"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people - all around - I've gone mad - everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall - she was standing there talking to Diggory - and it sort of came over me - and I asked her!"

Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though the words were barely distinguishable.

"She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then - I dunno - I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."

"Well, she is part veela," Harry muttered, and then shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, she turned me down just earlier too."

"You asked her too?" Ron asked before he frowned. "But you two actually talk! She seems to like you."

"Well, she does enjoy our friendship," Harry said hesitantly, not wanting to reveal why she turned him down, since he was trying to lift Ron's spirits, "but she still turned me down."

Ginny glanced at him, and Harry gave a very subtle shake of his head to get her to not broach the subject.

"Well, I guess it's nice knowing she turned us both down," Ron said, sounding a bit less crushed, before he frowned again.

"This is mad. We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone."

"What?" Harry asked, distressed at that comment.

"Well, I guess us and Hermione - though she did turn Neville down before he asked Ginny."

"Wait, really?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yeah, can you believe it!" Ron said with a laugh, and Ginny's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Harry wanted to urge his mate to shut up. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff- but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville . . . I mean, who would? Besides Ginny that is."

"At least Neville has a date to the ball," Ginny responded scathingly. "How about you?"

Ron scowled at his sister, as Hermione climbed through the portrait hole.

"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said, coming over to join them.

"We've both been turned down by Fleur today," Harry said. "Katie also turned me down this morning."

Ron glanced at him in shock.

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."

But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.

"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl . . ."

"Oh well spotted," she said acidly.

"Well - you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.

"Oh come on," he said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has . . . "

"I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone. "

"No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

Harry winced at that, seeing Ginny's expression darken further.

"Oh did I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron stared at her. Then he grinned again.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said. "That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you!" Hermione said very angrily. "I'm going with someone else!"

And she stormed off toward the girls' dormitories again.

"She's lying," said Ron flatly, watching her go.

"She's not," said Ginny quietly.

"Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.

"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny, and she got up and walked away.

Ron goggled at Harry.

"What's got into them?" he demanded.

Harry was quite confident of what got into them, but he didn't say anything, staying out of it, and also distracted seeing his last good, possibly dateless friend walking in with Angelina.

"Alicia," Harry said, moving to the two chasers, "can I talk to you?"

Angelina smirked and winked at him before she moved past Harry.

"What's up, Harry?" Alicia asked, moving with him off to the side.

"Do you have a date to the ball?" Harry asked, and Alicia shook her head ruefully.

"Not yet."

"Will you go to the ball with me?" Harry asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

Alicia smiled softly at him.

"Harry, I would love to, but are you sure you want to go with me?"

Harry nodded firmly.

"Yes, I want to go with a friend, and you're one of my best friends. Honestly, I'm just glad that you'd want to go with me and don't already have a date."

"Alright then," Alicia said, grinning brightly. "I hope you know how to dance because I want to spend some time on the dance floor, certainly more than just the opening dance."

"Sirius and Dora taught me," Harry responded ruefully. "I'm decent and I do enjoy it, so we'll definitely dance."

"Brilliant!" Alicia said, and she sighed. "We're never going to hear the end of this from Angie or Kate."

Harry chuckled.

"Probably not," Harry agreed. "I'm going to go check on Ron, but I'll see you at Transfiguration practice in a bit?"

"Of course," Alicia said, and Harry smiled at her before he went back to Ron who was glancing at him.

"Alicia's going with me," Harry said, and Ron whistled appreciatively.

"Good on you, mate."

Harry held in a grimace, since he had started thinking about Angelina and Alicia like Dora, and granted he would happily go to this with Dora if he could, but the point was, he didn't particularly care for Ron to be congratulating him on getting a beautiful date. Thankfully, an answer to Ron's problem entered through the portrait hole, in the form of Parvati, Lavender, Ava, and Sophie Roper.

"Ron," Harry said quickly. "Go ask Parvati!"

"What? Parvati?" Ron said, dumbfounded before he nodded thoughtfully. "I guess it's a chance. She's very good looking."

"Then go!" Harry hissed, and Ron nervously walked over to Parvati, and after some giggles from Parvati, Ron came back grinning proudly with a date to the ball.

**HP**

Harry enjoyed the rest that came with the week leading up to Christmas. Because of his study group, he had already completed most of the vast homework that he and his fellow yearmates had been given for the Christmas holidays, so he didn't even have to worry about that too much afterwards.

He spent his days enjoying the atmosphere in Gryffindor Tower or participating in snowball fights that the Twins often managed to get large scores of people from various Houses involved in.

In that week, he only found two real annoyances, one of those being minor and almost more amusing. That being Fleur's complaints.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," she complained to him, with Ron skulking on the other side of the group, having generally avoided all interactions with her. "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

Complaints like that honestly amused Harry, and he and most of his friends enjoyed teasing the French champion about her beauty, pride, and vainness, though unfortunately, it still seemed to upset Hermione who still seemed to dislike Fleur, and had only seemed to dislike her more in the past week or so.

The next annoyance was Ron. Not because he was being a prat or anything . . . well at least not to Harry, but because he kept trying to figure out who Hermione was going to the ball with, and wouldn't stop asking. Sure, Harry was curious too, but he knew Hermione enough to know that she'd dug her heels in and would not have her mind changed.

Overall though, he had an enjoyable break, even if he wished he could have gone home to see Dora, Sirius, Remus, and likely Mad-Eye.

**HP**

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

"Dobby!" Harry yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. "Don't do that!"

Harry felt amusement come in waves from his familiar, who was wagging her tail at the foot of his bed.

"Some watch dog you are," Harry muttered towards her, and the little menace wagged her tail harder.

"Dobby is sorry, sir!" squeaked Dobby anxiously, his long fingers over his mouth. "Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter 'Merry Christmas' and bring him a present, Sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!"

"It's okay," said Harry, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. "Just - just prod me or something in future, all right, don't bend over me like that . . . "

Harry pulled back the curtains around his four-poster. His yell had awoken Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps in their own hangings, heavy-eyed and tousle-haired.

"Someone attacking you, Harry?" Seamus asked sleepily.

"No, it's just Dobby," Harry muttered. "Go back to sleep. "

"Nah . . . presents!" said Seamus, spotting the large pile at the foot of his bed. Ron, Dean, and Neville decided that now they were awake they might as well get down to some present-opening too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harry's bed, still looking worried that he had upset Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on top of his tea cozy.

"Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?" he squeaked tentatively.

"'Course you can," said Harry. "I've got something for you too."

He and all of his friends had agreed to get Dobby some clothes as a big thank you for showing them the Room of Requirement. Harry reached into his trunk and pulled out a small, wrapped gift, which he handed over to the utterly delighted elf.

Dobby took the gift reverently, and opened it, beaming in delight at the pack of three sets of mismatched, festive socks. They had learned over a few visits to the kitchens (which the chasers and Ginny insisted he do) that Dobby loved mismatched socks.

"Socks are Dobby's favorite, favorite clothes, sir!" he said, telling Harry once again about his love of the clothing that had freed him, ripping off his odd ones and pulling on one of the new pairs. "I has thirteen now, sir." he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, "Harry Potter is the greatest of wizards!"

"Well, I would advise you to make a few trips to the rest of my friends," Harry said. "They all wanted to see you for Christmas as well."

"Before you go though," Ron said grinning over from his own bed, handing over one of his older Weasley jumpers. "Here's a sweater to go with the new socks."

Dobby looked quite overwhelmed.

"Sir is very kind!" he squeaked, his eyes brimming with tears again, bowing deeply to Ron. "Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is one of Harry Potter's greatest friends, but Dobby did not know that he was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless -"

"It's only one of mum's sweaters," said Ron, who had gone slightly pink around the ears, though he looked rather pleased all the same. "Wow, Harry -" He had just opened Harry's present, a Chudley Cannon hat. "Cool!" He jammed it onto his head, where it clashed horribly with his hair.

Dobby now handed Harry a small package, which turned out to be - socks.

"Dobby is making them himself, sir!" the elf said happily. "He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!"

The left sock was bright red and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches.

"They're . . . they're really . . . well, thanks, Dobby," said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby's eyes to leak with happiness again. He had to admit, they were very comfortable socks.

"Dobby must go now, sir, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens!" said Dobby.

"Make sure you wish Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Hermione, and Ginny a Merry Christmas," Harry called over to the little elf who gasped, remembering what Harry had said not a few moments earlier.

"Of course, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby said before disapparating away.

"His gifts from the girls might just kill him," Ron said with a chuckle, "but I'm sure he couldn't go out any happier."

Harry returned to his gifts, still amazed at the amount after four years in the magical world, though he guessed he hadn't had a ton of gifts his first year, but that had been the first time he'd gotten any presents at all, and was still one of his favorite memories, along with his first Christmas after moving in with Dora. Smiling, he dived into opening his gifts.

Hermione gave Harry a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of Dungbombs; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; Remus, a set of books based in the Star Wars universe, which he, Remus, Dora, and Sirius had gotten into during their movie binges over the summer; Hagrid, a vast box of sweets, and Dumbledore gave him a set of nice wool socks, which made Harry laugh since he'd given Dumbledore the same thing every Christmas since second year, and this was now his second year receiving the same sort of gift back, a nice nod towards their conversation his first Christmas at Hogwarts.

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry her usual Weasley sweater, which was green with a picture of a dragon on it, and she also gave him a large quantity of homemade mince pies. Fred and George gifted Harry some of their homemade prank items.

He was a bit surprised to find a gift from Kingsley and Savage, which happened to be two books and several academic papers written about tracking magic, and Lexie and Alexis also gave him a set of dark, spell resistant dueling robes that would be perfect for the Tournament, especially with the padded armor that was built into the chest and the small padding built in as bracers and small pauldrons.

He was also surprised, but happy to see some gifts from some of Dora's other friends. Chiara got him a comprehensive healer's book on methods and techniques to heal injuries caused by magical creatures. Penny gave him another potions book, this one focusing on health and wellness potions; Skye and Erika, a Wigtown Wanderers poster signed by the whole team and a half dozen tickets for the first game after school got out.

Finally, Ginny gave him some hand-knitted mittens; Angelina got him a carrying case for his Firebolt; Katie gave him a belt wand-holster, for if he didn't want to always carry on his wrist or if he ever got a second wand; Alicia gave him, to his delight, a vhs copy of the Princess Bride, which she had shown him the previous summer; Mad-Eye gave Harry a new, more powerful pocket Sneakoscope that wouldn't alert him loudly to lies and deceit, but silently and magically; and lastly Dora gave him a new spell resistant cloak with space-expanding pockets so that he would have more than one to wear.

Overall, a good haul for the year. He just hoped that everyone he'd bought presents for liked them as well.

"Good haul, mate?" Harry asked, and Ron grinned at him, nodding. "Good, then let's go down and see if any of the girls are ready for breakfast."

Ron shrugged, and got off his bed, leaving his gifts for later. They made their way down into the common room and found Hermione and Ginny already waiting for them.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione, Gin," Harry said, smiling wide, and hugging his favorite bookworm, who smiled back, and then one of his newest best friends, who hugged him back eagerly, and both replied, "Merry Christmas, Harry."

It wasn't long before Fred and George joined them, which resulted in both of them dragging Ron back upstairs so he could put on his matching Weasley sweater, and then only a minute or so after their return, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina came down, resulting in another round of hugs and kisses, and well wishes.

Finally, as a group, they went down to breakfast together and then spent most of the morning relaxing in Gryffindor Tower before returning to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch and they went out onto the grounds and had a large snowball fight, with only Hermione abstaining, choosing to watch instead. Once five o'clock hit, the Weasley boys and Harry watched all of the girls head off to get ready for the ball.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at them incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

Roughly an hour later, Fred and George both ended their participation in the snowball fight, so they could be ready for the ball, and deciding he should take his cue from the older boys, Harry decided to follow them, much to Ron's confusion.

"What are you, girls?" Ron asked with a snort, following them. "Is it going to really take you two hours to get ready?"

"Little brother," Fred said with a warning tone. "I'd watch yourself lest we make your night miserable. We actually want our nights to go well. Perhaps you don't have an idea of what a night like tonight can lead to, but I can assure you we do, and if we screw this up, we're not just affecting our nights, but the overall enjoyment of our dates. This is the first, and possibly the only ball we'll experience at Hogwarts, and that's more true for many of the girls who enjoy this sort of thing more than we do. This is not the time to screw around."

"Plus, two hours isn't the full amount of getting ready time," George pointed out. "It's going to take us between ten and twenty minutes just to get back to the dorms, depending on if the staircases are cooperative or not, and you know they won't be. Really we're giving ourselves an hour to shave, shower, reapply some scent charms or put on cologne, and then put on our dress robes, and you'd be wise not to be stingy in the shower. Plus, the ball starts at eight, so once again, you've got the walk down from our tower to the Great Hall, which takes time, and trust me when I say that the girls will not want to be late to this thing. Harry for one can't be late to this thing, but I'm positive he at least wants to make sure Alicia has a good time . . . or he better want that," George finished, giving Harry a pointed look, but Harry stared back firmly, knowing he had every intention of being a good date for Alicia tonight, and George nodded approvingly, especially when Harry gave him his own stare, which sent back the same message to George in regards to Angelina.

"Blimey, it's just a stupid ball," Ron said aghast.

"This type of event is wasted on you," Fred said with a snort and a roll of his eyes, and the conversation basically ended after that, with Ron looking a bit irritated with Fred and George.

Once they got back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry took Fred and George's advice seriously, especially since it matched up with what Dora, Sirius, and Remus recommended and advised. Harry had even found and tested some scent charms, like the Twins had mentioned, on Sirius's and Dora's recommendation. Scent charms weren't as potent as actual cologne, but they were easier to reapply throughout the day. Both had actually recommended he find a scent charm he liked and consider using it full time, but Harry hadn't really felt the need for that, but listening to Fred and George sound serious had made Harry realize that maybe he really should consider picking one, since if Fred and George were reapplying for the night, it implied they wore scent charms full time, though he'd never really noticed.

After Harry had shaved, showered, and applied the scent charm he had chosen, he got into his dress robes, which were black and silver with Hades and Athena's sigils on his chest, over his heart. He glanced around the room seeing Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville all in their robes, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as the boys set off downstairs.

"I still can't work out how you got the best looking girl in the year," Dean muttered to Ron.

"Animal magnetism," said Ron gloomily, pulling stray threads out of his cuffs.

"I can't figure out how Harry managed to snag a gorgeous sixth year," Seamus muttered. "He's probably getting lucky tonight."

Harry grimaced at that, doing his best to ignore his two cruder roommates, not particularly wanting to hear their suggestions about Alicia. However, between their words, and what Fred and George had said, Harry was even more nervous than he'd been before. Alicia meant a lot to him, both before this term and throughout it. He didn't want to screw this up and have her hate him, and he thought she knew they were just going as friends . . . but she was older. Did she expect something more from this? Angelina and Alicia both had mentioned how people just dated to see if things would work or not. Was this possibly a case like that?

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Fred and George were already down there, waiting, as was Parvati, who was waiting at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty indeed, in robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists.

Ron walked over to her awkwardly.

"Right - er - hi," Ron said awkwardly.

"Hi," she said, eying the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she looked him up and down. "Shall we go down?"

"Um, shouldn't we wait for everyone?" Ron asked, looking like he would panic going off with her alone. "Still need Alicia, and er - where's Hermione?"

Parvati shrugged, not looking super happy already.

"Go on, mate," Harry said, eyeing Parvati. "I'll see you down there."

Ron grimaced, but acquiesced and Parvati led him out of the portrait hole. A few minutes later, Angelina came down, looking gorgeous in a purple floor length dress, her shoulders bare. She looked around, and then seeing him, she smiled at him

"Alicia will be down in a moment."

"Thanks, Angie," Harry said, smiling at her a bit nervously. "You look incredible."

"Thanks, Harry," she said, beaming, and patting him on the cheek before she moved over to the twins, and then to Harry's confusion, she left with George, not Fred. He was sure it was George. The twins couldn't fool him like they did others or at least he hadn't thought so.

His thoughts were turned as he glanced back towards the girl dormitories and saw Alicia coming down. She really did look beautiful, with her brown hair let down in curls, and wearing a knee length silver dress. She smiled softly at him and he smiled back, feeling some of his nerves melt away, while some of his other nerves heightened.

"You look beautiful, Leash," Harry said, still a bit nervous, but hell bent on giving her a good night, like she deserved, especially after having been such a good friend to him.

"Why, thank you, Harry," Alicia said, her smile widening. "You're looking quite dapper yourself. Shall we head on out?"

Harry nodded, feeling a bit more of his nerves fade away with how relaxed she seemed. Taking some advice from Sirius, Harry extended his arm, and Alicia smiled approvingly as she put her arm through his and they made their way out of the portrait hole, with Fred sending Harry a wink as they passed.

As they started their walk, Harry wasn't really sure what to talk about, still feeling a bit nervous about the night as a whole.

"Relax, Harry," Alicia said, smiling over at him. "I'm not going to bite or anything. Let's just have a fun night."

"Erm, right," Harry said.

Alicia sighed, and then she dragged him over to a classroom, opened the door, and pulled him inside, before she pushed him against the wall. Harry's eyes widened in shock as she moved forward and pinned him into the wall, leaning in close.

He just stared in shock, and then he looked up from her lips to her eyes, seeing them bright with mischief and humor and he felt himself relax somewhat.

"Did you want me to kiss you?" she asked matter of factly, and Harry blushed, but shook his head slowly.

"Not - er - not really," Harry slightly stammered. "I mean, I think you're incredible Alicia . . ."

"But you don't feel that way about me," Alicia said smiling and Harry nodded sheepishly.

"Good, I don't feel that way about you either," Alicia said brightly, and Harry blinked in confusion, as she backed up slightly. "Harry, I may not be your sister in blood, but like I told you before, to me, you're like the brother I never had. I love you Harry, but I'm not really interested in you that way. I can freely admit that you are cute, and I can see why girls should like you, but I have never really found any guys that interest me. Trust me, if there was a guy that stood a chance, it was you, but I just can't find it in me to feel anything towards you except that of a friend and sibling, which means I really don't want to kiss you. I just wanted to prove a point . . . and I guess confirm something for me because if a guy as sweet as you does nothing for me, then I really don't believe any guy will."

"Wait, are you saying you . . . like girls?" Harry asked.

"Is that a problem?" Alicia asked, a raised eyebrow, and Harry shook his head.

"Of course not, Leash," Harry said, relaxing a bit more, even if he still was confused. "I guess, I'm just wondering why you came with me."

Alicia laughed.

"Harry, I came with you because you're my friend, and because I wasn't likely to be asked by anyone I cared to go with anyway, and there wasn't really anyone that I wanted to ask. It would have been fine," Alicia said with a shrug. "I would have just spent time with you or Kate or Lina or Ginny or the Twins when you weren't with your dates, but it still would have been less fun. This is nice though. I really just want you to stop being so nervous and be the sweet, brilliant, and sometimes annoying guy I enjoy spending time with. Things don't need to get weird."

Harry sighed, and smiled at her sheepishly, nodding his understanding.

"Thanks, Alicia," Harry said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Harry," Alicia said. "It's natural to be nervous. I just want you to relax. You've never been tense around any of us before, at least not since your first year, and I don't want you to be nervous tonight. I want you and I to have fun. I want this to be a night we'll look back on happily. I fully plan to use this as an event to one up Angie and Dora, I'll have you know."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that and Alicia smirked.

"Now, Mr. Potter, escort me to this ball."

"Yes, Ms. Spinnet," Harry said seriously, fighting a grin, and he held out his arm, and she inserted her arm back through his and he guided her back into the corridor. After a moment, he asked. "Is being gay or lesbian a problem in the wizarding world?"

Alicia gave him a thoughtful look. "It can be, and yet it's not," Alicia finally said. "First, I'm a halfblood, like you, so while my parents are magical, I did grow up interacting with some relatives that are muggles that do have that bias, so admittedly I do have a bit of that fear of not being accepted, and obviously among the muggleborns, some of them do have that bias that they brought over from the muggle world. The wizarding world, as you know, has its own biases and issues, however race, gender, and sexuality really aren't any of them. Among the pureblood families, it can be a slight problem, mainly because they believe in continuing the family line. However, polygamy is also far more acceptable in this world, which is usually the pureblood answer for those who favor partners of the same sex. They'll marry someone for pleasure and someone to continue the family name, or they'll use a surrogate or something like that. Obviously, with many of the old stodgy pureblood families, these are often arranged marriages, so it's a bit sad because it means that at least one of the people being married is guaranteed to not really get much out of the marriage except being useful to produce a child. The old snobby purebloods don't care for surrogacy much either, since it takes away a lot of the control over the child."

Harry grimaced and Alicia nodded in agreement.

"Still, there's plenty of gay, lesbian, and polygamous couples outside of the purebloods too. Professor Vector has two husbands, who I believe are also together. Professor Sprout is married to a witch, I know. Professor Chester has a husband and a wife, and I believe her husband and wife are also married to each other. Like I said, it's not uncommon."

"So, does anybody else know?" Harry asked.

"Lina and Katie, of course," Alicia said. "My mum and my sister. Fred and George, Lee. Not many others. I'm not exactly public, but I also haven't really dated any guys so there are rumors about me, which is another reason why I wasn't likely to be asked by anyone I cared for."

"Oh, well thank you for trusting me," Harry said, and Alicia smiled, leaning into him.

"I trust you as much as I trust anyone, Harry," Alicia said softly but firmly.

Conversation was more light and relaxed the rest of the way to the Entrance Hall, which was packed with students, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open.

Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Harry and Alicia made their way over to where Ron and Parvati were, and Harry couldn't help but note that Parvati looked even more annoyed than she had in the Tower. It probably didn't help when he saw Ron duck and hide to avoid being seen by Fleur who walked by accompanied by Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, and Fleur smiled at Harry.

As Harry and Alicia approached, Ron looked at Harry and asked again, "Where is Hermione?"

Alicia gave Ron a pointed look, which he ignored.

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights - meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

Alicia threw Harry a reassuring smile, and she and Harry made their way over to Professor McGonagall, the chattering crowd parting to let them through. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim other hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down.

Fleur and Roger were stationed near the doors, Roger looking stunned with his good fortune and hardly taking his eyes off of Fleur. Fleur smiled at Harry and Alicia, and they both smiled and nodded at her. Cedric and Cho were close to Harry, but wrapped in their own conversation. His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum, and then his jaw dropped, causing Alicia to smirk and chuckle.

It was Hermione.

But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow - or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling - rather nervously, it was true - but it was immediately noticeable that she had reduced the size of her front teeth, making her teeth nice and even and giving her a very pretty smile.

"Hi, Harry!" she said. "Hi, Alicia!"

"Hey, Hermione," Alicia greeted, eyeing the girl with an appreciative look. "Looking absolutely tasty there."

Hermione blushed, and Harry snorted, now knowing that Alicia was speaking quite literally. Harry glanced around seeing that a lot of people in the room were staring at Hermione in unflattering disbelief, including Krum's fan club. Even Pansy and Malfoy seemed unable to throw an insult her way, but Ron however, walked right past Hermione without looking at her.

Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

Harry was concentrating on not tripping over his feet, but Alicia next to him did her best to subtly provide comfort, and her relaxing nature helped him calm his nerves slightly. Harry caught sight of Ron and Parvati near the top table. Ron's eyes were narrowed on Hermione, and Parvati looked sulky.

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely, and Mr. Crouch, wearing formal black robes, which again to Harry, looked odd on the stiff older man, occupied the fifth seat.

Alicia and Harry made sure they picked the seats that meant they would be closest to Dumbledore for the judges and Fleur for their fellow contestants. Harry and Alicia both exchanged confused glances, looking around at the table when Dumbledore picked up his menu, looked carefully, and then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Harry glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining - surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves? - but for once, Hermione didn't seem to be thinking about S. P. E. W. She was deep in talk with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.

It now occurred to Harry that he had never actually heard Krum speak before, but he was certainly talking now, and very enthusiastically at that telling her about Drumstrang.

Harry turned his attention away from Hermione, Krum, and Karkaroff and Dumbledore who were coming into the conversation and looked back at Alicia. Alicia grinned mischievously at him and leaned forward towards him.

"So, Mr. Potter, when you're not arresting dark wizards, slaying basilisks, rescuing fair maidens, winning dueling circuits, and fighting dragons, what do you do for fun?" Alicia asked, eyes twinkling.

Harry laughed. "Well, Ms. Spinnet, I think I've only rescued one fair maiden, but when I'm not doing all those other things, I'm generally relying on the good graces, friendship, and brilliance of my best friends."

Alicia laughed.

"Ginny will appreciate being called a fair maiden," Alicia said. "Hermione should be offended that you don't consider her one."

"I don't really feel like I'm the one who saved Hermione," Harry retorted. "As for Ginny, well, I think she'll appreciate being considered pretty, but I'm not sure she'll enjoy the connotation of being a damsel in distress," Harry said, and Alicia snorted and then nodded in agreement.

"She's certainly not helpless anymore, not that she ever really was," Alicia added. "Not like anyone could be expected to fight that diary."

Harry agreed with her and then they shifted their conversation to more light hearted subjects like Quidditch, classes, friends, etc.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it, and almost immediately, the Weird Sisters trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause.

They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

"Ready, Harry?" Alicia asked, a reassuring look in her eyes, and Harry nodded.

He took a breath, got up, and guided her over to the brightly lit dance floor as the Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune. He focused only on Alicia, placing one hand around her waist, and holding her other hand firmly.

Remembering his lessons, Harry skillfully guided her around the dance floor, twirling her occasionally, and he couldn't help but smile as she laughed in delight, smiling the entire time.

"Damn, Harry," Alicia said. "I really need to thank Tonks. You're a great dancer. I expect your dance card for the night is going to be quite full."

"Thanks, Leash," Harry said with a smile. "You're a great dancer yourself . . . though you should thank Sirius. Dora dances about as well as she walks."

Alicia laughed at that.

They danced through the song, others joining them on the floor as the song continued. He could see Neville and Ginny dancing nearby, poor Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet, Dumbledore was waltzing with madame Maxime, Dean with Sophie Roper, Zachary Buchan with Kellah Scarman, Mad-Eye was moving surprisingly well with Professor McGonagall, and at the end, Harry easily finished the song with a medium dip that had Alicia giggling in joy.

"Not bad, Harry," Mad-Eye growled as he passed walking back to the side. "Seems you're retaining some of what we teach."

"Every now and then, Mad-Eye," Harry responded, and the older man cracked a grin.

The next song started, and Harry swung Alicia around, getting her smiling as they started dancing to the much quicker song. Harry enjoyed seeing the smile and joy on Alicia's face as they moved about the dance floor or when he would spin her, or even the few times she'd spun him, but he still looked about the floor, seeing Fred and Carly Jeffords exuberant dancing about the floor, only matched by George and Angelina, and he frowned seeing a slightly uncomfortable looking Katie dancing with the boy he recognized as Cormac McLaggen from the dueling circuit. Still, he focused back on the second couple.

"I thought it was Fred that asked Angelina to the ball," Harry muttered to Alicia. "Yet, this whole night, it seems she's been with George. Did something happen between them?"

Alicia snorted.

"No, the Twins were just being stupid, and are still being stupid. You need to remember, Harry, that the majority of the people in this school can't really tell the difference between them, and honestly don't care to try. The Twins think they're pulling a fast one on their dates as a joke. Fred asked Angelina to the ball, but really it was George who wanted to go with her. George asked Carly, but it was Fred who wanted to go with her. Granted, I doubt Carly knows which twin asked, nor does she care," Alicia said with a laugh. "If rumors are true, she would have been receptive to both twins asking her to go with them together," she said with a wicked grin that made Harry blush slightly but laugh. "Angelina, however, is aware, like you are, but she's going to turn it around on those two."

"She's not hurt by their actions or anything, right?" Harry asked in concern, a bit irritated with the twins. "I mean, she seemed to be happy about going to the ball with Fred."

"Oh, she was happy to go with Fred," Alicia said, before smirking, "but this arrangement makes her much happier. She's actually interested in George, and she'd thought he liked her, but then she heard he asked Carly to the dance. It made her a bit sad, but it's not like they were dating, so she moved past that easily enough. Fred asking her was just a way for her to have a fun night with a friend, but we managed to overhear a conversation the other day and figured out what they were doing."

"So, she's happier going with George?" Harry asked.

"Oh, much," Alicia confirmed. "The best part is for the first time in a while, she's getting to pull a fast one on the twins."

Harry chuckled at that, and they continued the small remaining bit of the song in silence, ending it with another medium dip, which had Alicia giggling again.

"Alright, I think I'm ready for something to drink and for a small rest between songs," Alicia said.

"Sounds good," Harry said, and the two of them went and grabbed two bottles of butterbeer before moving over to where Ron was sitting, since their other friends were currently on the dance floor. Parvati was nowhere in sight.

"How's it going?" Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer.

Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione and Krum, who were dancing nearby. Harry exchanged a startled look with Alicia, but Alicia's eyes were less filled with confusion, and more with irritation.

Hermione came over and sat down in an empty chair next to them. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing.

"Hi," said Harry and Alicia. Ron didn't say anything.

"It's hot, isn't it?" said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand, and Alicia nodded in agreement. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks. "

Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.

"If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you. "

Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged before she glanced towards Alicia who was glaring at Ron.

"Ron, what -?"

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You - you're -" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open, while Harry's eyes widened, and Alicia scowled.

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly - who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

"What happened - trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he - he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

Hermione said this very quickly, blushing deeply.

"Yeah, well - that's his story," said Ron nastily.

"Ron," Alicia snapped, quietly enough to not draw attention, but still plenty cold enough for him to feel, but he ignored her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with. . . . He's just trying to get closer to Harry - get inside information on him - or get near enough to jinx him -"

Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice quivered.

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one -"

Ron changed tack at the speed of light.

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions -"

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" said Hermione, looking outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that - I want Harry to win the tournament. I've been helping Harry this whole time!"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.

"No it isn't!" shouted Ron. "It's about winning!"

People were starting to stare at them.

"Ron," said Harry quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum. I'm friends with Fleur. We both asked Fleur to the dance."

But Ron ignored Harry too.

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," said Ron.

"Don't call him Vicky!"

Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face.

"Harry, go ask Ginny to dance," Alicia said, her voice frigid as she glared at Ron. "I'm sure she'd love a dance, and as nice as Neville is, that poor boy is killing her toes."

Harry wasn't sure leaving Alicia with Ron was the smartest decision, but he figured that his mate had brought this upon himself, so he made his way over to where Ginny and Neville were coming off of the dance floor.

"Hey, Gin," Harry said with a tense smile. "Want to dance?"

"Oh, I'd love to," Ginny said smiling, glancing over at Neville. "You don't mind, do you, Nev?"

"Of course not," Neville said, grinning, honestly looking relieved. "I need a break anyway."

Harry took her hand, moved her to some free space and then spun her out, getting a surprised laugh from her, before he brought her back close and started a normal dance.

"Well, well, well, Harry," Ginny said, grinning brightly. "I saw you were a good dancer, but I wondered if Alicia was helping you along. Seems you don't need any help."

Harry chuckled at that, his mood lightening slightly.

"I needed a lot of help from Sirius and Dora," he replied, before he glanced over to where Alicia and Ron seemed to be exchanging some fierce words, Ron getting redder and redder, looking more and more embarrassed.

"What's going on over there?" Ginny asked, seeing where his eyes went.

"Ron was just being rather cruel to Hermione for going to the ball with Krum. She ran off, looking rather hurt, and Alicia wanted me away so she could have her say. I suspect she's tearing Ron a new one, though I'm sure Ron's attempting to give back as good as he gets, but I doubt he's succeeding at that. Alicia can be scary."

"He's such a prat," Ginny growled out. "Hermione was so worried about what everyone would think, what you would think, and it doesn't help that few people ever tell her how beautiful she is. Well, they're noticing tonight, and Ron has to go and be a jealous prat about it. Merlin forbid he had the courage to ask her himself in a timely manner, and without asking her like a git. I see Parvati is long gone too."

Harry grimaced, really not wanting to get in between a fight between Ron and Hermione. He agreed that Ron was out of line, but while Hermione had wanted him and Ron to work their issues out when they hadn't been speaking, Harry figured he should return the same favor and let the two of them work it out on their own, without his input unless either asked for it. The difference was, he wouldn't push like Hermione had tried to do to him.

"Well, looks like Alicia's scaring the prat off," Ginny muttered, and Harry saw Ron, walking away, red in the face.

Ron stopped and glanced there way, and Harry could see that Ron wanted Harry to come with him, but he gave him a subtle shake of his head, since he intended to enjoy the ball, and enjoy more dances with Alicia, Ginny, and hopefully Angelina, Katie, and even Fleur too.

Ron turned and stormed off, and Harry winced, but then turned to Ginny, and kept her moving about the floor, striking up conversation to get the mood back to its lighthearted origins. When the song ended, they moved back to where Alicia seemed to be cooling off, and chatting slightly with Neville.

Alicia got up as he approached.

"Ready for another dance?" she asked, her voice tense, and Harry nodded, walking with her back out onto the floor.

Harry spun her around, before pulling her close and starting to dance around the floor.

"I know he's your mate, and I know you probably don't want to get involved, but gods is he a jealous, immature, prat," Alicia finally said with a huff.

Harry grimaced, but then nodded, and Alicia sighed again.

"I mainly just chased him off, but at this point, I'm going to leave it between them unless they make it public like that again," Alicia said, before smiling at him. "Which means, I'm ready to dance with you, Fred, George, and anyone else the rest of the night."

Harry grinned, and they did just that. Harry danced with her, before taking a dance with Angelina, who smirked when he brought up the date swap.

"Oh, he still has no idea," she said with a grin. "I haven't said his name yet, so I think he's starting to get nervous about what happens when he reveals who he is. I just keep mentioning how much fun I'm having and how glad I am that he asked me."

"You're evil," Harry said with a grin, and her grin widened into a smile.

"Well, he should have asked me himself," she said, smirking. "It's his fault for thinking I can't tell the difference between them."

After he danced with Angelina, he danced another with Ginny, before he took a dance with Fleur, and then he went over, seeing Katie sort of glaring at McLaggen, he asked her to dance, and she happily followed him over to the dance floor while McLaggen glared.

"Bloody hell, I needed this," Katie said, as Harry spun her about and then brought her back towards him to continue some more basic steps. "You're a great dancer, Harry, a great guy, and a great friend, and he's a great prat."

"I'm sorry to hear that Katie," Harry said, and she waved away his concern.

"I should have known. He's an arrogant git, but I thought it might be an act, maybe it was just a facade, but no, he is an arrogant git. He's also been rather handsy tonight, no matter how many times I move his hand. Clearly he's just trying to shag me, which certainly isn't going to happen."

Harry blushed slightly, but figured he needed to stop getting so flustered just at the mention of intimacy and sex, and resolved to do better.

"Well, he's a fool if he can't see that he has a wonderful date that he should be lucky to have," Harry said firmly, and Katie grinned at him.

"Not bad on the compliments there, Potter," she said teasingly. "Still, you've missed the mark on that one. To McLaggen, I'm the one who should feel lucky that he's deemed me acceptable."

Harry and Katie talked a bit more, finishing out the song before he watched her walk off to grab a drink, with a plan to tell McLaggen that she was done as his date for the night. Then he danced another with Alicia, another with Angelina, and another with Ginny before he danced with Fleur again, who smiled at him, complimenting his dancing skills again, and chatting lightly before she returned to her date, and he saw them make their way out into the Courtyard. It was getting late, and while he planned to dance with Alicia one more time, he looked around for Katie, figuring he should dance with his other good friend, especially since her night was going rather poorly.

His attention was fully on Katie however, after finding her off in a corner of the Great Hall, when he saw her pushing against McLaggen, who had trapped her arm, stopping her from probably grabbing her wand, while his other arm was wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. She really had nowhere to go, since her back was against the wall, but he could see she was clearly trying to stop him.

Harry rushed forward, and he heard Alicia coming after him with a gasp, and he quickly made it over to McLaggen, his wand drawn, and he hit the older boy with a modified disarming charm that forced him to release Katie, and back up from her. From there, Harry quickly put himself between the two of them, staring at the older boy with barely contained rage.

"She clearly doesn't want you touching her," Harry said coldly.

"She's been a tease all night and needs to know her place," McLaggen sneered, and Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously, and McLaggen took a step back as Harry's magic started to project itself. McLaggen licked his lips. "Now, get the hell out of here, Potter. This doesn't concern you."

"I haven't been a tease all night," Katie spat. "You've been rather horrible, and I've been trying to get you to take a hint that I'm not bloody interested! I'm not playing hard to get you stupid troll."

"You should be lucky to have attracted a pureblood like me," McLaggen responded with a glare. "A muggleborn like you has few other prospects, so it's about time you learn some respect and show me the gratitude I deserve for escorting you tonight."

"McLaggen, if you were smart, you'll shut up and leave right now," Harry growled out, sounding remarkably like a young Mad-Eye, "or I'm going to enjoy showing you what I do to the people who fuck with my friends."

McLaggen pulled out his wand.

"Just because you got lucky at the Circuit and cheated your way into the Tournament doesn't mean I have to fear you," McLaggen said, with a scowl. "I'm sure you cheated through the First Task too."

Katie's wand came up, next to Harry's arm, and McLaggen scowled.

"Harry certainly didn't cheat, and he's more than a match for you," Alicia said coldly, and Harry, Katie, and McLaggen glanced over to see Alicia, Fred, George, Ginny, and even Neville all there, with their wands leveled. "However, even if you managed to evade one of Harry's curses, you certainly won't evade all of ours too."

Harry felt something stir near his leg, but he didn't flinch as he felt his familiar appear next to him, a deep growl coming from her, and McLaggen turned back to Harry and he paled slightly seeing that furious Grim facing him.

"Astra loves Katie a lot," Harry said grimly. "Frankly, if you're smart, you'll leave now before Astra does to you what she was interrupted from doing to the Death Eaters this past summer and rips out your throat."

McLaggen glared at the group, before he backed up slowly, put away his wand and made a hasty retreat.

"Stupid git," Alicia said, before she moved over to where Katie's angry face had melted away, showing a rather tearful girl.

"Thanks, Harry," Katie said, hugging him hard, and he wrapped his arms around her, as Alicia hugged Katie from their side.

"Anytime, Katie," Harry said quietly. "Anytime."

"Let's get you back to the dorms," Alicia said quietly, and Katie sighed, still a little tearful. "We can even swing by the kitchens first and get some ice cream and butterbeer, and you can vent about your night to us."

"Ice cream sounds nice, but can we just sit on the couches by the fire?" she asked hopefully, and Alicia nodded softly.

"Of course, love," Alicia said, and she hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "Whatever you want."

"Thanks, Ali," Katie said softly, and Alicia smiled.

"Well, this has been a wonderful night, George," Angelina said, "but I think this is where it ends."

Harry wanted to take a picture at that moment, the stunned look on George Weasley's face deserved to be captured forever as Angelina leaned forward and kissed him firmly, and he finally responded and kissed her back. She pulled back, and his hand cupped her face.

"I expect a proper question from you tomorrow," Angelina said with a satisfied grin, and George shook his head.

"I don't need to wait till tomorrow. Angie, will you go out with me?"

Angelina beamed.

"That's much better . . . and yes, I will."

Harry grinned over at the new couple, before realizing that with all his friends calling it for the night, his night was over as well . . . though bed did sound nice. It had been a relatively great night up until now, but he was knackered.

Harry made his way out into the Entrance Hall, trailing after Katie, Alicia, Angelina, and George, and he saw Hermione saying good night to Krum. Hermione eyed him, and looked like she was going to wait for him when Harry heard someone calling him.

"Hey! Harry!"

Harry turned to see Cedric running after him, so he gave everyone else a sign to go on without him and turned to his fellow Hogwarts champion. Harry could see Cho waiting for Cedric at the Entrance to the Great Hall.

"What's up, Cedric?" Harry asked tiredly.

Honestly, the Hufflepuffs had been much more neutral towards him, with a few exceptions, but that didn't necessarily endear him to Cedric and them. He'd felt some camaraderie between his fellow champions during the first task, but a dragon will do that to you, and Cedric had been friendly afterwards, but at the same time, him getting his House to stop being cruel wasn't really him returning a favor. It was doing what should have been done from the beginning.

"Listen . . ." Cedric lowered his voice. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?"

"Yeah," said Harry, and held up his hand. "I already figured out how to understand it."

Cedric looked surprised at him, and he grinned ruefully.

"Sorry, mate, my friends are pretty tenacious and rather brilliant," Harry said.

Cedric chuckled appreciatively.

"Well, then I guess I can't even the score just yet, but at some point, I'm going to return the favor," Cedric said with a friendly smile. "Well, gotta go. I want to say good night."

He grinned at Harry again and hurried back down the stairs to Cho. Harry shook his head and then turned to walk back to Gryffindor Tower, and felt Astra appear next to him.

"Hey, girl," Harry greeted, reaching down and rubbing her side, causing her to lean into his touch. "Had a fun night?"

Astra yipped at him, and he grinned as he started walking back to Gryffindor Tower with Astra escorting him. His good mood evaporated though once he climbed into the common room and found Ron and Hermione having a blazing row. Standing ten feet apart, they were bellowing at each other, each scarlet in the face, with Alicia, Angelina, Katie, and George all glaring at Ron, and a dozen other people in the common room watching in shock and embarrassment.

"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger.

"Oh yeah?" Ron yelled back. "What's that?"

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"

Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water as Hermione turned on her heel and stormed up the girls' staircase to bed. Ron turned to look at Harry.

"Well," he sputtered, looking thunderstruck, "well - that just proves - completely missed the point -"

Harry didn't say anything. He liked being back on speaking terms with Ron too much to speak his mind right now - but he somehow thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had.