Harry opened his eyes on Christmas morning to find Dobby leaning over him, far too close.

After Harry recovered from this startling awakening, Dobby gave him a mismatched pair of hand-knitted wool socks as a Christmas gift. Harry took a clean pair of socks from his trunk and gave them to Dobby, feeling guilty for not having thought to get him a real gift.

Dobby appeared happy with them all the same, though he expressed doubt about wearing a matched pair. Ron threw in a pair of his own in a different color to mix things up. Dobby thanked them both and popped away looking delighted.

Harry and Ron opened the rest of their gifts, including their annual jumpers from Ron's mother. This year, Harry's featured four dragons of different colors chasing each other in a circle.

"I can't wear this around school. People will think I'm full of myself."

"Everyone who knows you will know better," Ron told him. "Everyone else can sod off. You do what you want though. I just hope mum doesn't find out you're not wearing it. I hate to even imagine the look of disappointment on that poor woman's face."

"Low blow, Weasley," Harry said, as he put on the garment. "Does this mean she's calmed down about the whole thing?"

Ron studied the design on Harry's jumper as he considered his answer. "Making scary things small and cute is her way of coping with them. When she found out I wasn't keen on spiders, she put a load of 'em with big happy smiles on my jumper that year, to help me get over it." He shuddered at the memory.

"Yeah? How'd that work out?" asked Harry, failing to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Shut up. You didn't see the size of the teeth on those little grinning bastards."

~*~

After opening their presents, they spent the afternoon in a snowball fight with a bunch of other Gryffindors. Hermione and Ginny quit early to go get ready for the Yule Ball. Ginny had proven nearly impossible to hit anyway, thanks to her ability to cause the snowballs to vaporize into steam midair before they could reach her.

Harry and his four roommates went inside to get ready as well. When they finished, they gathered in the common room to wait for their dates to come down from the girls' side. Seamus was attending with Lavender. Ron and Dean had asked Padma and Parvati Patil, and Padma had come over to Gryffindor Tower to get ready with her sister.

Ron's mother had taken advantage of Madam Malkin's offer to make adjustments to older garments at a discount price, and the seamstress had done a remarkable job of toning down the worst excesses of his old robes, giving them a clean, modern look.

Parvati, Padma, and Lavender came down the stairs together and blushed at the compliments from their dates.

Soon after, Hermione and Ginny came down, Hermione apologizing for needing extra time to manage her hair. Everyone assured her the results justified the delay, though Harry had trouble taking his eyes away from Ginny.

Ginny walked up to him. "Hi."

"Hi. Wow. Making a spectacle of myself was totally worth it, to see you looking like this."

She smiled and looked down at her robes. "Thanks. Madam Malkin sure spent enough time making adjustments. I guess it makes sense, if we're going to be on the cover." She looked back up at him. "You know it's not over yet, right? The spectacle?"

"I figure I can focus on you, and ignore everyone focusing on me, if that's okay."

She grinned, and put on a haughty tone. "Is it okay that my escort to the Ball can't take his eyes off me? Of course. I would expect no less."

Harry laughed and offered her his arm, and the group made their way out of the common room.

When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, they found the photographers from Witch Weekly waiting there with Madam Malkin, along with her assistant, who was holding a clipboard. As the couples made their way in, those who had taken advantage of the discount offer stopped to pose for photographs, while the assistant checked their names off her list. When the group of visitors noticed Harry, there was a flurry of increased commotion.

Harry turned to Ginny. "You look really nice."

"Thanks, but you already said."

"I know, but I also said I'd rather look at you than everything going on around us. I think I'll spend some time doing that right now, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind."

"It won't be weird?"

"If you stared at me in silence, it might start to get weird after a while… even with eyes like yours. But if you keep complimenting my new robes, it should be alright. Yes, I believe I'll graciously allow that."

"It's not the robes. It's you. You look stunning."

"Stunning? Oh, my." She twisted a flaming lock of hair around her finger. "I suppose the Stunning Spell is a rather fetching shade of red, now that you mention it."

"One might even say you and that spell are both total knock-outs."

"Be careful how much you sweet-talk me. You never know what it might lead to."

"I'll take the risk. It's the Gryffindor way."

The photographers spent more time taking pictures of Harry and Ginny than they had with the other couples. Malkin fussed over them both to make sure their robes hung just right, with no folds or wrinkles, but they got through it and made their way into the Great Hall.

The four long House tables had been replaced with smaller tables for the occasion. The group found seats at one, but Parvati and Lavender didn't even sit down before dragging their dates away to mingle. Padma looked annoyed at her sister for abandoning her with a group of Gryffindors she didn't know that well, but Hermione struck up a conversation with her about Arithmancy, and they soon found themselves to be kindred academic spirits.

When Parvati and Lavender returned to the table after making a circuit of the room, they were eager to share the information they'd gathered. The first item they found worth noting was how envious the rich pure-bloods were of the obviously fine quality of Ginny's robes, which Ginny responded to with a smirk and a shrug. The second was the buzz over Hermione's dramatic transformation.

"Really?" Neville asked. "I don't see it."

The table fell silent.

"Well," Hermione told him coolly, "I don't know why I bothered spending so much time getting ready then."

"I didn't mean it like that," he hastily backtracked. "Your hair is different of course, and looks great, but it's not like you have a whole new face. It doesn't look like you even put on much makeup. And I always thought you were plenty pretty before, the way you look every day."

Hermione's frown eased, but didn't disappear, so Neville added, "It's like… I don't know if Muggle plays do this, but in wizarding plays, they'll often have a young witch character who nobody pays attention to until she puts on nice robes and puts her hair up. Then suddenly everyone starts comparing her to Helen of Troy or whatever. I could never see the big deal. It's still the same actress."

Hermione considered his explanation, then said, "Yes, something similar happens in Muggle films. Though usually the character lets her hair down rather than putting it up, and takes off her glasses. I never saw the appeal of those scenes either."

She put her hand on his arm. "It's nice to hear I don't have to spend hours every day just to appear presentable."

Neville relaxed. "You definitely don't. I appreciate that you went to the trouble for a special occasion, but I wouldn't want to spend so much time getting ready every day either. And I didn't have to do anything to my hair other than comb it."

Hermione laughed. "Okay. You're off the hook."

Neville gave her a puzzled smile. "Which hook?"

"It's a Muggle expression. In this context, it means I'm not going to storm out of here in tears."

"Oh. That's a relief."

With the potential drama averted, the rest of the table turned their attention to their own conversations.

"Anyway," added Neville, "the actresses who make you believe the change the most are the ones who carry themselves with more confidence when they're dressed up. Same with you tonight. Usually you only seem this confident when you're fighting for a principle you believe in. I bet that's what people are picking up on."

"Oh, Neville," she said, blushing now in a way she hadn't at the other compliments she'd received that night. "You really see me, don't you?"

"I like to think so. Sorry if I put it the wrong way at first. I'm glad you didn't storm out."

"I should hope so."

"I mean I'm glad in general, but there's also something specific I've been waiting to show you."

He drew out a wand and laid it on the table.

"Oh! You got a new one?"

Neville ran his finger along the wand with a proud grin. "Cherry wood with a unicorn hair core. Mr Ollivander said unicorn hair helps make your spells more reliable, which I've always had trouble with. But even from the first moment I picked it up, the way it felt…"

"I remember. I'm so proud of you. Was your Gran very cross about the whole thing?"

"She didn't want to hear it at first, but I presented my arguments just like you went over with me, and it worked! Thanks again."

"Happy to help. Everyone should learn how to present their thoughts in a clear, organized manner. How did your other visit go?"

"About the same as always. Can we not talk about that tonight?"

"Of course. I'm glad you were able to make it back for the Ball."

"Me too."

Just then, the champions and their dates began to file into the room in a procession.

Cedric was with Cho. Fleur's companion was Roger Davies, who seemed dazed by her presence. Viktor was attending with the Gryffindor Chaser Alicia Spinnet, whom he'd met during a pickup Quidditch game.

Last in the procession was Bartemius Crouch, accompanied by a witch around his age. She cast quick, nervous glances around the room, and while each witch held her partner's arm as they entered, Crouch's date clung to his.

Ron said, "He's got a lot of nerve showing up for this."

Hermione replied, "According to tradition, the champions open the first dance. It would offend people more if he didn't attend."

"Who's he with?" Harry wondered.

Lavender and Parvati exchanged a look.

Parvati said, "Sorry, we didn't realize you didn't know, or we would have told you. That's Enid Pettigrew–Peter Pettigrew's mother."

Ginny's wand was out in a flash, but Harry grabbed her arm before she could stand. "Ginny, wait. What are you doing?"

"I have questions I'd like to ask her," Ginny said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione said.

"Maybe you're right," Ginny said. "Safer to skip the questions and jump right to the curses."

"You can't," Harry said, not letting go of her arm.

"Why not? We know Crouch is up to no good. Good chance she's in on it, considering who her son is. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and Death Eaters don't pop up in decent families."

Lavender said, "From what we've heard, they knew each other from back when Crouch's son and her son attended Hogwarts around the same time. After her son also turned out to be a follower of You-Know-Who, he reached out to reconnect and offer understanding or sympathy or whatever."

"When?"

"When what?"

"Did he contact her to offer sympathy right after Pettigrew got caught, or not until after the Goblet picked him?"

Lavender and Parvati looked at each other again, and shrugged.

"No idea," Lavender admitted. "You think they're planning to break their sons out of Azkaban or something? No one has ever managed that." She looked at Harry, and corrected herself. "Well, only one person."

"Crouch's son is already dead anyway," Harry told her.

"Oh."

Ginny told Ron and Hermione, "If we're going to just let them roam around freely, not even on fire or anything, we need to make sure Harry doesn't end up alone with either of them. Not at any point tonight."

"Right," said Ron.

"Obviously," agreed Hermione.

"I'm a little old for one babysitter, let alone the whole lot of you," Harry grumbled.

Ginny said nothing as she watched the champions make their way to the head table, but she settled back in her seat.

Harry let go of her arm long enough for her to put her wand away, then took her hand in his. "If you get in any duels, try not to set your robes on fire. This color suits you better than charcoal would."

That brought her attention back, and she gave him a faint smile.

Ron leaned over to whisper to Harry, who nodded and passed him the Marauder's Map under the table. Ron excused himself as he rose and walked away.

When he returned, he passed the Map back to Harry, and told him, "Crouch and his date both check out. They're who they appear to be."

Harry nodded. "Worth checking though. I should have thought of it."

"You don't have to think of everything. Not even Hermione can manage a feat like that. I've got your back, mate. We all do."

"I know. Thanks."

The meals they'd chosen earlier appeared on their plates, and the conversation turned to less weighty matters as they enjoyed their dinner.

~*~

After dinner, Dumbledore asked everyone to stand, then moved the tables and chairs aside with a wave of his wand. The champions and their partners moved into the space this opened up to start off the first dance.

As the dance floor filled with other couples joining in, Fleur continued to stand out from the crowd. When the lights dimmed, the faint, silvery glow of her hair became visible as she glided around the room. A cluster of struggling bodies seethed around her and followed in her wake, wizards jostling each other as they strove to draw closer to her, while their partners tried to pull them away.

Moody stomped his way over to Harry. "Potter. You heard who Crouch brought?"

"I heard."

"Stay away from both of them."

"Fine by me. I've got nothing to say to them."

"Good. See that you don't think of anything." Moody pulled out a flask, and took a drink. "Stay away from the punch too."

"Why? Did someone spike it?"

"Not that I've seen, but it's an obvious vulnerability." His eyes narrowed as he examined his own flask with suspicion. "A little too obvious, come to think of it."

"Alright, thanks for the warnings."

Moody's attention snapped back to Harry. "Make sure you heed them. I'll be keeping an eye on the lot of you," he said, tapping his temple next to his magical eye. "Nice socks by the way, Potter."

Moody gave one last glare around the table, then went stomping away.

"Nice socks?" Parvati asked. "That's more than a little creepy."

"Does that mean… he can see through our clothes?" Lavender asked, turning pink and drawing her arms across her chest. "How can they allow him around students?"

"Magical perception isn't like that," Ginny said. "It's not actually seeing–more like an intuitive awareness."

"Like when you pick up your wand for the first time?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, now that you mention it." She turned to Harry. "Is there anything unusual about your socks? An odd pattern?"

"They don't match. Dobby gave them to me."

She turned back to Lavender. "There you go. Magic draws your attention to things which matter to you, and because of how Moody sees the world, anything unexpected is cause for suspicion, and worth noticing. You've got nothing to worry about, unless there's something which stands out about your underclothes." Ginny raised an eyebrow at the other witch. "Not going without knickers tonight, are you?"

"Of course not!"

"Even if you weren't, he still wouldn't really see anything. He'd just know something is off. Besides, there are plenty of ways to spy on people which don't require losing an eye."

"Like what?" Lavender demanded.

"Polyjuice comes to mind. Become someone the person you fancy wouldn't think twice about getting undressed in front of, like one of their roommates. Or you could turn yourself into the person directly, then peel down in front of a mirror. You'd technically be looking at yourself in disguise, but…"

"Ew," Lavender said. "That potion is super hard to make though, right? So not just anyone can do it?"

Hermione stiffened, and her friends avoided looking at her.

"Yeah," Ginny answered, "though not impossible if you're smart enough and determined enough, and you can get the ingredients. But that's still just the tip of the iceberg, as far as magic you can use for sneaking around."

"Like being an unregistered Animagus," Ron said. He and Ginny exchanged grim looks, then both glanced over at Pettigrew's mother, who sat next to Crouch at the head table.

Harry put a protective arm around Ginny, and she leaned against him.

Hermione said, "At least Hogwarts screens all pets and post owls now."

"True," Ginny agreed, "though none of that's as bad as what someone can do with the Imperius, or some of the stronger love potions, or cover up with memory charms. Even a basic Silencing Charm can be used for terrible things."

"Yeah, imagine how much Hermione would suffer if she couldn't argue," Ron remarked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Taking away someone's voice is nothing to joke about," Ginny told him. "It means they can't call for help, or cry out in pain, or plead with their attacker to stop hurting them–"

"Alright, enough!" Parvati interrupted. "I don't want to think about all that."

"Me neither," Ginny said, wrapping her arms around herself and leaning more heavily against Harry. "That doesn't make it go away."

"No, but dwelling on it doesn't do any good either." Parvati stood up, and tugged on Dean's arm. "Come on, we're dancing."

"Us too," Lavender said, getting to her feet and looking at Seamus, who rose obligingly.

Padma turned to Ron, but he said, "Give me a minute, alright? I'll come find you for the next song."

Padma turned to Hermione next. "Can I borrow Neville?"

"That's up to him, not me," Hermione answered. Seeing Neville's uncertain expression, she told him, "It's fine. Go ahead. I do expect you to save some dances for me tonight though."

Neville tipped his head in acknowledgment. "Of course."

After the three pairs of dance partners headed off, Ron began, "Ginny…"

"Don't. I don't need to talk about it. More than I already did, I mean. Sorry for that. I can forget for a while about the terrible things magic can do, then something reminds me, and it all comes rushing back."

Harry said, "Pettigrew's mother showing up was a shock for all of us. Besides, people need to know the dangers, so they can learn to protect themselves."

"True, but there's a time and a place, and this was neither."

"I don't think anyone was too upset."

"I suspect Lavender and Parvati have already uncovered some new piece of gossip to distract them," agreed Hermione.

Ron added, "People might think you're a bit weird and dark–with a lowercase 'd'–but so what? They'll probably figure it's just a phase you're going through."

Ginny said, "Wouldn't that be nice? I don't even know why I did it. I guess when bad stuff comes up, naming the thing out loud makes it feel like I have some sort of power over it." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "Almost like magic."

Hermione said, "I think about it too–about how easy magic makes it to do bad things. What's worse is, as much as I criticize the wizarding world for its casual abuses, I'm not any better. Two years ago, when I saw a way to use Polyjuice to get what I wanted, I didn't stop to think about what you're taking from another person when you make a copy of their body to use for your own purposes."

Ron said, "We weren't using it for anything weird. We did it for a good cause."

"The end justifies the means?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," Ginny said. "Intention matters. What you did wasn't the same at all."

"I'm not so sure. Suppose Moody's eye did give him something like ordinary vision, even through clothing? Would that be acceptable, as long as he said he needed it for security purposes?"

Ginny swept her gaze around the room until she spotted Moody, to make sure he wasn't close enough to hear them discussing him. "I wouldn't be happy about it, but I've never gotten the feeling he's a creep. Which doesn't mean he isn't dangerous in other ways. He's still the Defense teacher."

"You still don't trust him?" Ron asked. "After all the time you and Harry have spent with him, you still think he's dangerous?"

Harry snorted. "If Moody thought we trusted him, he'd call us naive fools and try to curse us."

"There's no question he's dangerous," Ginny said. "That's what makes him so useful."

"I wonder if that eye of his can see through my Cloak–in case I ever do have to fight him for real. By the way, I guess Invisibility Cloaks also go on the list of types of magic with creep potential."

"Oh!" Hermione said. "You would never use it for anything like that, though."

"Of course he wouldn't," Ron said. "You're the one always bursting into our room without knocking."

"I wouldn't have to if the two of you weren't always lying around in bed all day whenever I have important news."

"Yeah. More likely trying to get a cheeky little peek."

"As if I wanted to see that."

"Whatever," Ron said, rising from the table. "That's the end of the song. I've got to go make sure Neville isn't trying to Snitchnip my date."

Hermione glared after him as he walked away. She got up as well, but paused to look at Ginny.

"I'm fine," Ginny told her. "Go on. I don't think he was serious about starting drama with Neville and Padma, but you never know."

Hermione nodded and headed off towards the dance floor.

"Legilimency, too," said Ginny.

"What about it?" asked Harry.

"Another one for the list. I've never used it like that on any of you. I never use more pressure than it takes to make you feel it, to push you to improve. You know that, right?"

"I know. I trust you."

She sat up so she could turn to search his face for a moment, then smiled. "Good. Just don't let Moody hear you say that."

Harry returned her smile. "Right. You're sure you're okay?"

"Just bad memories catching me by surprise. Sorry I'm such a lousy date."

"Stop. There's no one I'd rather be here with. Though maybe Parvati was onto something, about dancing rather than dwelling. If nothing else, having me stepping on your feet might take your mind off everything else."

"Is that your way of asking me to dance?"

"Certainly not. I'm trying to do better about not taking you for granted, remember?" He rose and held out his hand. In a formal tone, he asked, "May I have this dance, Miss Weasley?"

She accepted his hand, and matched his tone. "You may, Mr Potter."

Together, they moved to the dance floor.

~*~

After the private conversation between the four friends, they made an effort to better include the others sharing their table for the rest of the evening.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had existed somewhat apart from the other students since their first year, wrapped up in secrets and mysteries it would have been unwise to share. The same had become true for Ginny, once she joined the group. The time the four of them had spent in the 'practice rooms' in recent months–split off from the rest of the school in both time and space–had only increased the feeling of separation. But they tried to put all that aside, at least for one night.

Even so, Harry and Ginny hardly spent a minute apart through the rest of the Ball. They swapped partners with Neville and Hermione for one dance, but it left all four feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.

Back in the Gryffindor common room after the Ball ended, Harry and Ginny lingered where they would have to part ways at the diverging stairways leading up to their rooms.

They gazed into each other's eyes for a long, silent moment, until Harry said, "I feel like this is the part where I'm supposed to say or do something."

Ginny stepped closer, tilting her face up to him. She raised her hand to run her fingers from his chest up to the back of his neck, giving his hair a gentle tug. "Do you want to do something?"

"I do, and I wish things were different, but–"

She stopped him by pressing a finger to his lips. "Please don't say it. We both know why we can't, but I don't want to talk about that now. Can we just let tonight be what it was?"

When she took her finger away, he said, "Okay. But Riddle won't be around forever."

"No. We'll make sure of it. That won't fix what he did to me."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. And I can't even promise there will be an 'after' for me, but–"

Again she stopped his words with a light touch. "None of that talk either. There will be. I can promise. Even if I have to personally execute Riddle and every one of his followers myself."

"I wish I could show you how much you mean to me, right now, tonight."

"You got me beautiful robes, and you're a better dancer than you give yourself credit for. That's enough."

He ran his eyes over her robes. "They're the second-most beautiful sight I've ever seen, which makes them almost worthy of the girl holding the number one spot. It doesn't feel like enough."

"Such a charmer. Just hold me for a while. That's always enough."

"That I can do," he agreed, as he pulled her to him.

They stood there embracing for some time, until she pulled back to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and a whisper in his ear of, "I promise I'll never let him take you away from me."

Before he could answer, she spun away and disappeared up the stairs.

Harry stood alone, looking up the stairs, feeling the heat left behind by her touch, her lips, her breath.

He sighed and turned to head up the other set of stairs towards his own room.