Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon

Title: Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon (14/?)
Author: CPoe
Author email: [email protected]
Category: Romance, Adventure
Keywords: Harry, Emily, Hermione, Draco, Ron
Spoilers: All four books
Rating: R (to be on the safe side)
Summary: It's Harry's sixth year, and he meets a new girl that comes along with a lot of baggage. Romances are budding, confusion is all around, and the threesome's life is going to become a little hectic.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Authors Note: I just want to give everyone a heads up about the time sequencing in this chapter. At the ball, a lot of the scenes overlap, such that the end of one scene doesn't necessarily flow sequentially into the beginning of the next. Sometimes, I backtrack a little. I hope it's clear from the writing what's going on where, but I just wanted to make this note so you know to be aware of it. Ok, enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon

Chapter 14: Muggle Madness
Ginny walked into the common room after Defense Against the Dark Arts class to find it bustling with excitement. It seemed as if the entire house was huddled in a heap around the large bulletin board over by the fireplace, talking frantically. She made her way over to the group and squeezed through them, hearing bits and pieces of the conversations as she passed.

"No Magic! How exciting!"

"Another Yule ball?"

"So, who are you going to ask?"

"I know exactly what I'm going to wear!"

"One week? One week!!! How am I going to find a date in one week!?!"

Ginny finally reached the bulletin board, and tilted her head back to read the large poster that hung from it:

The Hogwarts Prefects Proudly Invite those in Fourth Year and Above to:

Muggle Madness!!

A magic-free winter extravaganza
taking place on the last day of fall term

Come join the rest of your classmates
in a fun filled evening in the Great Hall. There
will be food, drink, music and activities planned,
all of which center around muggle life.

Don't be late! The fun begins at 9pm

No wands, no cloaks*, no magic!
Ginny moved her eyes to the bottom of the poster.

*Wizarding robes, cloaks, and general attire are not permitted. Rules will be enforced at the door, and those not in accordance to the following dress code will not be allowed to participate.

There were then two columns, one for girls, and one for boys, listing the dress code. She was scanning down the list, when she suddenly heard someone addressing her.

"Hey, Ginny." She spun around and found herself face-to-face with Hilary Somerset, one of her roommates. "Isn't it exciting! Our first ball!"

"I went to the last one," Ginny replied curtly. She never really liked Hilary. In fact, she didn't really like most of the other girls in her year. If only I had been born six months earlier...

"Oh, right. You went with Longbottom." Ginny nodded, and scanned the crowd for signs of someone else she knew and would actually want to talk to. Where's Hermione? she wondered. "Are you going to go with that loser again this year?" Hilary asked. Typical, Ginny thought. Of course Hilary and her clan of brainless gossip queens would think Neville was a loser.

"Funny, I didn't see you at the last ball," Ginny replied gleefully. Hilary's eyes darkened. "Besides, I think I'm going to go with my boyfriend."

"Little Ginny's got a boyfriend?" Hilary remarked with forced surprise. "Anyone I know?" To this, Ginny smiled. This should shut her up once and for all.

"Actually, you might remember him," Ginny began, unable to contain her widening grin.

"Well, who is it then?"

"Oliver."

"Oliver?" Hilary asked, pausing for a second as if she were trying to think of someone she would know named Oliver. But then, her face froze. "O-Oliver?" she stammered. "Oliver Wood?"

"I figured you'd remember him."

"You're lying."

"Right, of course I am. What was I thinking," Ginny replied, but then she spotted Hermione come in through the portrait hole with Ron. "Got to run, good luck finding a date!" she called over her shoulder as she quickly wove her way out of the throng of students.

She approached Ron and Hermione, who were chatting about something or other. As soon as Ron saw her, he gave her a puzzled look.

"What's up?" he asked as she angrily approached. "You look tense."

"Ugh," she grunted, clenching and unclenching her fists. "I hate the girls in my year." Hermione, who knew all about how much Ginny hated them all, nodded and gave her a sympathetic look.

"They're all mindless nobodies, Ginny," she said. "You're a hundred times better then all of them combined. Here," she said, turning towards Ron, "give me those books and I'll throw them upstairs and we can go off to dinner." It was then that Ginny noticed that both Ron and Hermione were each grasping a pile of books in their arms. Hermione tilted the pile downwards, and Ron added his pile to hers, causing her to sway a bit under the increased weight.

"You sure you've got it?" Ron asked looking concerned. Hermione straightened up a bit and nodded her head frantically as she hurried off towards the stairs.

"So, what are all the books for?" Ginny asked, taking Ron's attention away from Hermione's retreating form.

"They're books on making locator devises," he replied.

"Oh, right. For the plan."

"Yeah, so, what'd they do to you?

"Er, who?"

"Your roommates. What'd they do to get you so hacked off?"

"You know Hilary, right?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, she actually had the nerve to call Neville a loser! And then, she accused me of lying when I told her that I was probably going to the ball with..." but she stopped there, realizing whom she was talking to.

"So, you're going to ask Wood?" he asked harshly.

"Yes," she answered, raising herself to her full height. "I'm going to ask Oliver." She could see the internal battle raging in his head, though the only outward sign of it was a slight twitch at the side of his mouth.

"Why can't you just go with Neville again...or Harry. Go with Harry!" he said, obviously thinking it was a great idea. "He can't go with Emily so I'm sure he'd go with you. I could ask him for you if you'd--"

"Ron, how long are you going to pretend that I'm still four years old and in need of your protection?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ron, I'm dating Oliver Wood," she said, taking a moment to pause to allow it to sink into him. "And, I would really appreciate it if you would acknowledge this fact instead of ignoring it and trying to fix me up with Harry. Who, by the way, has a girlfriend of his own!" Ron stared at her for a moment.

"So, has Hermione mentioned anything to you about how she wants to be asked to the ball?" he asked, dramatically changing the subject and obviously choosing to ignore everything she had just said.

"Ron, the twins know about me and Oliver and they're fine with it..."

"I just can't figure out if just asking her is enough or if she's expecting more..."

"...I even wrote to Bill and he seemed okay with it..."

"...I really don't even see the point in asking her at all..."

"...The only ones I haven't told are Mum, Dad..."

"...It's not as if she'd say no. Or would she? Nah, she'd say..."

"...Charlie, and Percy."

"...yes no matter what. She just wants to make me suffer. That's it! She wants to make me suffer!"

"RON! Just ask her already!" Ginny blurted, suddenly fed up with trying to talk over him. He wasn't listening anyway. He'd never listen!

"You really think that'll be enough?"

"She just doesn't want to be taken for granted. Ask her tonight after dinner and everything will be okay." Ron took a relieved breath, and then looked up at Ginny.

"I bet Bill's just saying he's okay with it because he's always trying to be the cool older brother." Ginny was momentarily frozen with shock.

"So, you were listening."

"And, the twins - come on - they'd say they were okay with just about anything. You could announce your engagement to a Hippogriff and they'd offer to throw you an engagement party!"

"That's not true, you know. They're much more aware and considerate then you ever give them credit for."

"Fred and George? Aware of anything that goes on outside their little world of fun and games?"

"Ron, you know that's not true. They've just got a unique way of showing that they care."

"Unique, eh?" Ron responded, but was then distracted by something. Ginny looked up and saw that it was Hermione as she began to walk down the stairs.

"You know," Ginny began, lowering her voice so that Hermione wouldn't hear her. "If it weren't for Fred and George and their uniqueness, you and Hermione would still be dancing around each other pretending you both didn't have feelings for one another." Ron didn't respond, and Hermione finally made it down the flight of stairs and approached them.

"Shall we then?" Hermione asked, slipping her hand into Ron's and beginning to walk towards the portrait hole. "I'm starved."

* * * *

The week passed on in a blur of excitement. It seemed as if everyone was talking about the ball. Even Hermione could talk of nothing else. As a prefect, she was on the planning committee. And, as usual for Hermione and her zeal to take on huge projects, she had volunteered to be the head coordinator. Every free moment she had, she spent immersed in books on planning events and catalogues for ordering various party essentials. Every once in a while, she'd actually speak to her friends. Though, these times were usually just to ask them their opinion about an idea she had for the ball. Yes, everyone was excited, but Harry just tried to ignore it all.

He'd decided early on that he wasn't going to go with anyone to the ball, a decision that was met with very little support from his friends. Ron had insisted that he should ask Parvati again, while Hermione scoffed that just because Emily was unavailable doesn't mean that he should have to be miserable. What they didn't understand was that he didn't want to go to the ball at all, and the idea of having to go and spend the evening with a random date was more then he could handle. There was only one girl he wanted to take, and she was already going with someone else.

Of course, she had to go with Draco. Harry knew there was no way that they could have gone together, and that he'd just have to accept that there was nothing he could do about it. He'd just have to sit back and watch his girlfriend dance with his nemesis.

The only break he got from the hustle and bustle of the upcoming event was the time he spent with Emily. Every night that week, they met up in the divination room. Draco and the other prefects were busy with planning the ball, so slipping away from him was easy. They'd sit around and talk about anything and everything, from life in America to life in Britain to favorite foods and worst movies they'd ever seen. Emily brought up photo albums of all her friends from back home, telling elaborate stories behind some of the crazier ones. Harry could tell that she missed being home, a thought that he couldn't relate to. Whenever he told her things about the Dursley's, she would start ranting about what she'd do with them if she ever got her hands on them. Harry couldn't help but smile at her vivid descriptions and colorful vocabulary.

All in all, there was only one topic they never talked about, having come to an unspoken agreement that it was unmentionable. But, on Thursday evening, Emily brought it up, though the conversation didn't go so well.

"So, what are you wearing to the ball tomorrow?" Emily had asked, snuggling herself next to him on the chair they were sharing.

"Black suit," he'd responded, hoping she'd leave it at that. He leaned his head against the back of his chair, closing his eyes and idly twirling his fingers through her hair.

"Hmmm," she purred, "that will look great with your eyes and hair." Harry didn't respond, and after a few seconds, he was beginning to think that she had dropped the issue. But then... "You know, you've never told me who your date is," she mumbled. Harry still didn't respond. "Harry?"

"Let's not talk about it, okay?" Harry replied, feeling his muscles tighten a bit.

"Oh, come on Harry. I know you're pissed about me going with Draco, which is why I haven't brought it up until now, but do you really think it's fair not to tell me?" she asked. Harry could feel her shift such that she was looking up at him. He kept his eyes closed, his head still leaning back.

"I'd really rather not talk about this," he responded. To this, she quickly pulled away from him.

"Why not?" she asked, her voice strained. Harry opened his eyes and casually glanced over at her. "Nobody seems to know. It's like some big school secret, and you won't even tell me!"

"It's not a big secret."

"Then why won't you tell me?" she asked again, moving even farther away from him. "I told you about Draco straight off. I knew you wouldn't like it, but I told you anyway. And now," she trailed off, her face hardening and her frustration radiating from her, "Now you won't even respect me enough to tell me who you're going with."

"It's not that I don't respect -"

"Then what is it? You think I'm going to get mad? Because, let me tell you, I'm pretty pissed as it is, so I don't think you could -"

"I'm not going with anyone," he cut her off. "I don't have a date."

"You what?" she asked weakly, confusion clearly plastered over her features. Harry took a deep breath.

"I don't have a date."

"What do you mean you don't have a date?" she asked, alarmed. "Harry, the ball's tomorrow!"

"I'm not going with anyone."

"Yes, well, if you don't get a date soon you won't be going with anyone."

"I don't want to go with anyone," he replied, leaning his head back against the chair and closing his eyes again. He didn't want to be having this conversation either.

Emily didn't say anything in return for a few seconds. He could hear her breathing, taking regular, controlled, deep breaths. "This isn't fair you know," she whispered, finally breaking the silence. "You..." she swallowed, "You have to go with someone."

"There's no one left I want to go with," he answered.

"Harry, that's ridiculous. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm sure there are a bunch of girls who are holding out on the off chance that you'll ask them. In fact, I bet there are even more girls that will ditch their dates at the possibility of going with..."

"I don't want to go with some random girl," he answered. "The girl I wanted to go with -"

"That's not fair!" she protested. "If this is some way of teaching me a lesson, making me feel horrible about going with Draco, well....well... you didn't have to bother because I already feel horrible."

"It has nothing to do with payback," Harry answered calmly. "I just ...would rather go alone."

"But Harry..."

"Emily, it's hard enough as it is. I'd be a horrible date because all I'd be doing all night is staring at you. I'm just going to go for a little while, and then leave."

"I ...I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything," Harry answered, opening his eyes and leaning his head in her direction. "I'm fine with this, really."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well, alright, you're right, I'm not fine with this. But, I'll deal." He forced a smile that she didn't return.

"There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?" she asked, looking down at her hands that were in her lap.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, OK?" he said, sliding his hand around her back and pulling her towards him. She didn't resist, but just seemed to sink into him. "Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" she mumbled.

"Anything."

* * * *

Draco was sitting in his room when his door suddenly opened. When he looked up, Emily stood in the doorway. She was wearing gray sweatpants and a pink tank top, obviously dressed for bed. He glanced over at his clock, and saw that it was after midnight.

"Do you ever knock?" he asked, turning away from the clock and returning to the work he was previously doing. He heard her bare feet walking into his room, and then the springs of his bed creek as she sat down on it. He took a deep breath, put his quill down on the parchment, and turned around to face her, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "How can I help you?"

"I don't want to go to the stupid ball tomorrow," she said. She was lying on his bed, straight as a board, staring up at the ceiling.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to go."

"Well, that makes two of us," he responded, bringing his arms down and leaning forward in his chair. "You're still going though, right?"

"What if I don't?" she sighed, blowing out a stream of air between her teeth. He could tell that something was bothering her, but knew the likelihood that she'd admit to anything was slim to nil. She'd been acting strangely for the past week, but whenever he asked her anything, she'd ignore him. But now - now there was definitely something wrong.

"Then I'd have to kill you," he answered. This made her turn over onto her side, propping her head up on his pillow. "I could never find a replacement date on such short notice."

"You wouldn't be the only dateless person there," she said, trailing her finger around on his sheets in little figure eight patterns. "Why'd you have to ask me to go with you anyways?"

"Emily, is something wrong?" he hazarded, though he already knew her response.

"No."

"When I talked to you about the ball the other day, you seemed to be looking forward to it. In fact, I seem to recall you trying to convince me of all the fun we were going to have."

"Yeah, whatever," she said, still twirling her fingers.

"Em, why don't you just tell me what's wrong," he said, again venturing into risky territory. She looked directly at him, and he didn't dare look away. But in the end, it was she that turned, getting up off his bed and walking towards the door.

"I'm off to bed," she announced, stretching out her arms behind her. "'Night, Draco."

"I'm worried about you," he suddenly found himself calling after her. He was damned if he was going to let her get up and leave, after coming in here the way she had, without an explanation.

"What?"

"You heard me. You've been different. You disappear every night doing schoolwork for classes I know you don't need to study for because you know the material inside and out. You skip out on meals. Every time I ask you what's up, you tell me nothing and get all defensive. I've noticed, Em." Draco could see that her entire body had stiffened.

"Draco, don't be silly," she replied, turning around and putting on a smile he could instantly tell was false, "I'm fine."

"I'm serious," he said, "I know something's going on." Her smile instantly dropped.

"N-nothing's going on," she stuttered. "I've just...wanted to be alone lately." He knew there was more to that. Unlike him, wanting to be alone was in direct conflict with her entire personality. But, he'd tried numerous times to get information out of her, and he knew it wasn't a worthwhile effort. At least now she knew he was onto her.

"Well, get some sleep and maybe you'll find yourself looking forward to the ball again tomorrow." He couldn't believe he was saying this, but he couldn't think of anything else. Not only was he letting her walk away without explaining, but he was trying to cheer her up about the ball. I'm going soft, he though as he waited for her reaction.

"Thanks, Drake," she said, and then she laughed. "I don't think I've ever called you Drake before."

"I don't think anyone's ever called me Drake before."

"What do you think?"

"I hate it."

"Good, then I'll have to call you that from now on," she then turned around and swung his door open. "See you tomorrow night in the common room, Drake," she called over her shoulder.

Draco rolled his eyes, and then returned to his work, deciding that if people started to call him that because of her, he'd definitely have to kill her.

* * * *

Emily stood in front of the mirror and inspected herself, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She was wearing her favorite dress, which was a just-above-the-knee length, flapper inspired, dress she had purchased just over a year ago in one of the many boutiques back home. It was mainly black, but the outer layer was fitted with blue beads that would accent Draco's outfit perfectly. At the bottom of it, the fabric was fringed such that whenever you turned, it would float out around you. The top of it, she now noticed, was rather low cut, and was perhaps one of the best cleavage enhancing dresses she had ever seen.

She had twisted her hair up into several tiny knots, producing an effective up-do that was far from boring. Her make up was light, though she splurged and decided to highlight her eyes blue to match the dress instead of her usual sparkly white powder. For her lips, she chose neutral pink with a lot of gloss. Everything looked perfect, except...

Realizing she was still wearing her pink, fuzzy slippers, she hurried over to her trunk and selected her favorite black heels. They were charmed to be extra comfortable - but she figured that no one at the ball would care. Slipping them onto her feet, she walked back over to the mirror. Now, it's perfect.

"That is my mirror you're hogging you know." Emily glanced up into the mirror, and saw Pansy reflected in it, standing just behind her with her hands on her hips. She glared at Pansy through the mirror for a moment, and then stepped aside. "About time!"

Emily stood there, and observed Pansy as she twirled in front of her mirror. She was wearing what Emily felt was the ugliest dress she had ever seen. It was a very tight, black halter dress that had horizontal stripes of red down the length of it. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that Pansy was definitely not in the right kind of shape to be wearing something that tight.

"What do you think?" she asked, glaring at Emily at an angle through the mirror. Emily was momentarily lost for words, but then Pansy added, "Is it Muggle enough?"

"Yes," Emily responded, not trusting herself to say much more. Pansy didn't reply, she simply smoothed down the front of her dress, and walked out of the room.

* * * *

"How come it keeps coming out green?" Ron asked, looking down at his partially transfigured dress robes. They looked like a suit, but the color was completely off. "They're supposed to be black."

"Just be glad they aren't too small," Neville answered, coming out from behind his bed. His suit was practically a second skin, with bulges and pulls where the buttons were. "I worked on it all last night, and this is the best I could get them."

Harry, who was sitting on his bed, already dressed in his perfectly colored, perfectly fitted, black suit, seemed to be suppressing a fit of laughter.

"You know Harry, if you're not going to help us, you might as well just go downstairs with the rest of the house," Ron said in irritation, pointing his wand and muttering the incantation returning his dress robes back to their original state. "Or at least go get someone else up here who knows what they're doing."

"Shall I go get Hermione?" Harry asked, getting up from his bed and walking over towards Ron, who could instantly see that Harry was teasing him.

"Funny, funny," Ron said. "So, are you going to help me or not?"

"You're saying the incantation wrong," Harry said, reaching out his hand for the robes. "Here, give them to me." Ron looked at Harry doubtfully, but then handed them over. "You have to separate the words into two separate spells. One to make the suit, the other to change the color."

"Fine, will you just do it then?" Harry looked at him, and rolled his eyes as he brought his wand up to the hanging fabric.

"Vestitus!...Furvus!" Harry said, flicking his wrist with each incantation. Ron watched as his robes turned into a rather nice looking black suit.

"Thanks," he grunted, grabbing his suit out of Harry's hands.

"You know," Harry began, "She's still the same Hermione."

"Bugger off, Harry," Ron responded snidely. He was not in the mood.

"Suit yourself," Harry responded, walking over to his bed and removing his wand from his pocket. He tucked it neatly under his pillow, and then turned around again, walking towards the door. "I'm going downstairs to meet up with everyone else."

"Good." Ron saw Harry give him a quick glance, and then exit the room.

* * * *

Harry descended the stairs to find the common room in a state of disarray. Glad to finally be away from Ron and his nervous rudeness, he instantly made out Hermione and Ginny sitting at a table off to the side from the rest of the group. They were both dressed, and poring over a book with their wands drawn.

"What's that?" Harry asked, coming up to them and leaning over to get a look at the book. They both looked up, and smiled.

"Well, don't you look nice in your suit," Hermione said, looking over at Ginny and, Harry could have sworn, raising her eyebrows twice in quick succession.

"You two don't look so bad, yourselves," he replied, again peering down at the book they were working with. "Don't tell me you're doing school work."

"Oh, no," Ginny replied, "We're just putting the finishing touches on the locator charms we made." She flipped the book shut. "That should be all, right, Hermione?" Hermione nodded.

"We're going to test it out tonight," Hermione explained.

"Oh," Harry responded, kneeling down closer to them. "How does it work?"

"Well, this one," Hermione began, picking up a square block with a large dial in the center of it, "tells us where the other one is." At this, Ginny picked up what looked like a marble and placed it next to the square device. Hermione tapped the larger, square one, and the dial instantly spun around to face the marble and glowed a bright red. " The color is relative to the distance the other one is away. It goes from dim blue, to bright blue, to dim red, to bright red."

"Oh, I see," Harry said. Hermione then looked up at Harry.

"Where's Ron?" she asked.

"Oh, he's still upstairs getting dressed. He had a little problem transfiguring his suit." Hermione nodded and smiled.

"I offered to help. But, he emphatically refused."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron come walking down the stairs.

"Speak of the devil," he said. Hermione, however, wasn't paying him any attention. She was suddenly enthralled by Ron's approaching form. Harry glanced over at Ginny, who rolled her eyes and put the marble in her pocket.

As soon as Ron was a few feet away, Hermione stood and walked over to him.

"Good evening," Ron said rather formally.

"Good evening," she answered back.

"You look very nice," Ron said, continuing with the formality.

"As do you. I heard you were having some...issues with your suit." Ron glared over at Harry, who shrugged his shoulders in response. "But, I see you've sorted everything out quite nicely."

Harry felt Ginny rise out of her chair and stand next to him.

"Is this making you as sick as it's making me?" she whispered. Harry chuckled and nodded his head. "I give them half an hour before they run off together." Harry turned his attention towards her.

"Fifteen minutes," he responded. She laughed and bent down to pick up the other locator.

"Here, Hermione," she said, walking over to where Ron and Hermione stood gazing at each other. Hermione started a bit, but then reached out her hand for the locator. "I'm going to run upstairs to get rid of my wand, you want me to take yours up too?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks," Hermione said, handing over her wand to Ginny, who took it and started to walk away.

"What's that?" Ron asked, eyeing the locator suspiciously.

"It's one of the locators. Ginny and I are testing it out this evening." With this, Harry noticed that Ron looked over to Ginny, back at the locator, and then back over at Ginny.

"You and Ginny are testing it?" he asked, still watching as Ginny walked up the staircase.

"Yup."

"Who's got the indicator?" he asked, swinging his attention back to Hermione, who pointed to herself. "So, Ginny's got the identifier?" Hermione nodded. "So, the one that you've got will, in theory, always know where the one that Ginny has is?" Hermione looked as though she was beginning to get frustrated.

"Yes, Ron. I've explained to you a hundred times how this thing works."

"Right," he said with what Harry noticed was a rather amused smile. "Here, let me carry it for you. You don't have any pockets." Hermione didn't even hesitate to hand it over.
"It's already activated?"

"Yeah."

"So, all evening, it should be working?"

"YES, Ron!" she grunted through her teeth. "Why all the questions?"

"Oh, I was just curious," he said, smiling down at the locator and pocketing it. Just then Ginny returned.

"We should get going, I'm going to meet Oliver in the entrance hall." The three of them looked over at Ginny, who blushed slightly, and then started to make their way out of the common room.

* * * *

Draco stood in the common room with the rest of the Slytherin fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-year boys. Crabbe and Goyle were at his side, oafily talking about how they had actually managed to find dates this year. Draco had to bite back his urge to tell them what he really though about who they were going with. Crabbe had initially asked Emily, god only knows what possessed him to actually think he had a chance with her, but after she rejected him, he'd asked a few other girls, and finally one of the second year Slytherins had agreed to go with him. Goyle, on the other hand, had asked Millicent to go with him right off. Draco, who felt that she was a rather manly excuse of a girl, hadn't commented when Goyle asked what he thought of her.

The general feeling of the group was that of nervousness, but Draco didn't play into it. Bunch of wobbly gits, Draco thought to himself as he casually leaned up against the wall and buffed his fingernails against his shoulder. And then fixed his tie. And then straightened out his jacket. And then ran his fingers through his hair to make sure it was falling perfectly from his head. They're all a horde of pathetic excuses for wizards, allowing themselves to let a girl get them all nervous and goggly.

A few minutes passed before the girls finally started trickling up the stairs from their dormitories below. Draco continued to lean against his wall, watching with bemusement as the guys greeted their dates with nervous stutters. Hell will have frozen over before you see me acting like them.

Draco was beside himself with amusement when Millicent arrived. Goyle froze at the sight of her, and looked as though he was going to bolt out of the common room or lose his lunch. Goyle said something to her, which sounded an awful lot like "you look beautiful this evening." No, that couldn't have been it, Draco thought to himself, even Goyle has enough sense to see that she looks like an oafish man-eater.

Draco was so amused by his in-head commentary about the interactions of all the other couples that he hadn't even noticed when Emily ascended the stairs to the common room. In fact, it wasn't until he realized that all the other guys in the room had suddenly stopped their conversations and were all staring at the stairs, that Draco swung around and saw her.

And simultaneously stopped breathing.

Breath Draco, Breath! he told himself. What's wrong with you! You're going to look like a real prat if you faint from a lack of oxygen! But he couldn't will his lungs to operate. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed. All he could do was stare.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. She was walking towards him now, her dress gliding around her like a sea of dazzling blue stars. She was standing up straight and confident, as if completely oblivious to the rest of the crowd. And then - unexpectedly - everything appeared to flash in front of him at double speed, and she was suddenly standing before him.

"Hey Drake," she said, her face curved up in a smile. Breathe god dammit! Draco yelled to himself. Breath so you can say something! With immense effort, Draco was finally able to suck in some air. But, when he opened his mouth to say something, he froze again. Speak! he commanded himself. Say something, anything, just do it quick before anyone realizes you've gone to pieces. His mouth closed, and he shifted his weight a little before opening it again. But, just as before, he froze. Something! Anything! his mind screamed at him. Just don't stutter! Draco took another deep breath, and finally, found words.

"You're late," he drawled. Great! You just HAD to go and be insulting. Great, great, great! Draco, who had been doing his best to avoid looking directly at her face, raised his eyes to hers, expecting her to be angry at his rude comment. But instead, she was smiling, a bemused look on her face. She thinks I'm an idiot! A big, sodding idiot! "You look...nice," he added, feeling the need to downplay what he really thought since 'amazing' and 'fabulous' were not words that Malfoys used in public.

"Thank you," she said, looking at him with that same bemused grin. She rolled her eyes, and her expression changed. She was looking at him as if she expected him to do something, and when he didn't, she breathed out a sigh of frustration and asked, "Shall we, then?" while at the same time offering her arm to him. Draco quickly glanced around the room and realized that everyone was staring at them. Pull yourself together!

"Let's go," he said, waving his hand at her to follow him as he spun around and started to walk towards the door that lead out of the room. She bristled for a moment, and then followed suit.

As soon as they were out in the hallway, however, she stopped.

"Draco?" she ventured, sounding uneasy. He stopped walking about a meter ahead of her, and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you try to just be yourself tonight," she said, still sounding uneasy. "You know, drop your whole image thing."

"I don't now what you're talking about," he replied, trying to sound as cool and collected as possible. He was then suddenly aware that he was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. What's wrong with me! This is Emily! I'm with her every fucking day! Nothing's different!

"Maybe if you just relax a little," she said, watching him closely, "we'll be able to have some fun tonight." She continued to watch for his reaction so closely that he felt as if she was looking right into his brain, viewing all his insecurities. I hate it when she looks at me like that.

"I'm perfectly relaxed," he lied, and was shocked that his voice actually came out sounding as such. "I'm just not looking forward to this whole ball thing. Waste of time if you ask me."

"Right," she said disbelievingly. "Whatever you say." She walked past him, and down the hallway. Draco stood his ground for a moment, watching her walk away, until finally following her. This is going to be a very long night!

* * * *

Ginny was surprised to find that she wasn't nervous as she walked through the hallways with Hermione, Ron and Harry. Considering that the rest of the school seemed to have gone to pieces, she was glad that she was able to keep her head straight, especially considering who she was going to be meeting up with in just a few moments. I look great, I feel great, and this is going to be a great evening.

She hadn't been able to see Oliver all week because his Quidditch season had begun and he was on call as a reserve for most of the games. He'd owled her twice, once to say that he would be able to make the ball and the other just to say that he was thinking about her. She'd read and reread the second one several times, memorizing every detail of it. She was sure that, if asked, she could recite it forwards, backwards, every third word, in Latin, it didn't matter.

They were approaching the great hall, and Ginny instantly began to scan the crowd for Oliver. It took her all of two seconds to spot him, standing over by the stairs with Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina.

"I'll meet you guys inside," she said to the others as she broke apart from the group and made her way over to Oliver. As she approached, he glanced up and instantly smiled when their eyes met. Ginny had to catch her breath as she realized how incredibly sexy he looked. He was dressed in a very smart looking navy suit with a light blue collared shirt, which was left unbuttoned at the top in lieu of a tie. His hair was still slightly damp, and his cheeks were still faintly flushed from the cold outside. And he's mine, she thought to herself, all mine.

"Hey sweetie," he said, sliding his arm around her back and kissing her forehead. "We were just talking about you."

"You were?" she asked, momentarily taking her eyes off of him to look at her two brothers. "Nothing bad I hope."

"Nah, nothing too bad," Fred replied.

"Just a few stories," George added.

"About baby Ginny."

"And how Mum used to dress you up in big frilly dresses."

"Just to have you tear them off and run around the house stark naked when we had guests." Ginny felt herself blush, and saw that Angelina and Alicia were shaking their heads.

"What we were really talking about," Angelina said, shooting Fred a look, who shrugged and gave her an innocent smile, "was whether or not you're going to play Quidditch next year since the four of us are leaving."

"Dean was saying that he'd much rather be a beater if he had the opportunity, which leaves the keeper position wide open," Alicia added with a smile in Ginny's direction.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Ginny answered. The truth was that she had thought about it, but she had instantly dismissed it since Dean wasn't leaving. But if Dean was thinking about becoming a beater... She looked up at Oliver, who had a proud smile on his face.

"You've got plenty of time to decide," he said, sliding his arm out from behind her back and lacing his fingers through hers. "But enough Quidditch talk, we've a party to attend." As he started to lead her away from the group, Ginny turned back and smiled at Alicia and Angelina, but then narrowed her eyes at her brothers.

"So, how have you been?" Ginny asked as they joined the long queue outside the entrance hall.

"Eh, I've been OK, considering the circumstances."

"The circumstances?"

"You know, having to be on the road all week, having to deal with a team of blithering idiots...having to be away from you." He raised their intertwined fingers and kissed the back of her hand. "The last bit was the hardest though." Ginny felt herself melt. How was it that she could have possibly landed such a great guy? He was older, a professional Quidditch player, devastatingly handsome. And he chose me! Little, shy, freckly faced me! She looked up into his eyes. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

* * * * *

"What's the hold up?" Ron asked, leaning to the side, trying to get a look at why there was such a long line to get into the ball. They'd been standing on the line, moving only about an inch a minute, for what felt like ages.

"You have to check in at the door," Hermione answered, reaching up and pulling a piece of lint off the shoulder of his suit jacket. "I can't wait to see what the hall looks like. I coordinated everything, but haven't been down to see what it looks like all finished."

"Well, in that case, can't you use your coordinator status to do something about the wait. I don't think I can stand here for much longer." Hermione looked up at him, and he could instantly see that she was annoyed at his impatience. "It was just a suggestion," he added with a shrug.

"I'll see what I can do," she answered, tutting as she turned around and walked away from them towards the doors to the great hall. I don't even know why I try, she always gets mad at me anyways, Ron thought, shoving his hands into his pocket. His right hand collided with something, and Ron instantly felt his mood brighten as he wrapped his fingers around the locator and brought it out to view.

"You're up to something, I can tell," Harry said, moving closer to Ron. "Whenever you look at that thing, your face lights up as if you've found a small pot of gold." Ron looked up at Harry, not even attempting to conceal his smile.

"Ginny's got the identifier," he said proudly, holding the locator flat on the palm of his hand, "and according to this," he added, swinging around and facing in the direction that the locator was indicating, "she's right there," he said, instantly spotting her red hair in line behind them. He smiled and waved at her, and she quickly turned around, ignoring him.

"You know, you have some major issues," Harry said, reaching forward to grab a hold of the locator. But, Ron saw him coming and quickly grasped it, pulling it out of Harry's reach. "Ron, give it to me. You can't go spying on your sister all night long."

"No, it's perfect. This way I don't have to spy on her all evening. I can just glance down at the locator, and know where she is."

"That's still spying!"

"Nah," Ron replied, shaking his head, "it's...er...watching at a distance."

"Which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the definition of spying."

"Look, she's my sister Harry. Wood is, what, ten years older then - "

"He's only five years older Ron -"

"Doesn't matter, he's a boy. I know how boys think about girls."

"You know how boys think, eh?" Harry asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, who's there to protect Hermione from you!"

"Not funny, Harry," Ron replied.

"Oh come on," Harry said, uncrossing his arms and giving Ron a little shove, "I was dead on the other night when you two were playing 'guess-what-I'm-thinking' in the common room."

"That was not what I was thinking!" Ron protested, though he realized his voice didn't sound very convincing. Harry held a straight face for a moment, and then started laughing.

"You might want to sound a little more believable when you lie to me, Ron," Harry said, still chuckling. "That was very pathetic." Realizing that trying to deny it any longer was futile, Ron glanced around to make sure that no one was listening, and then leaned in closer to Harry, dropping his voice considerably.

"It's just so weird talking about Hermione like that with you," he said, still glancing around to make sure no one was overhearing him, "She's one of your best friends."

"And you're the other," Harry said. "Of all the people I'd want her to be dating, you'd be at the top of the list." Ron couldn't help but smile. "Mind you, if you get her in trouble, I'm still going to have to bash your head in." Ron stopped smiling. "Though, I doubt it would ever come down to that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked defensively, taking Harry's comment as an insult to his manhood. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Just that Hermione doesn't seem like the type to...erm...you know...shag you senseless," Harry said, with just a trace of a grin at the corner of his mouth. "Read you senseless, perhaps, but -"

"Hey," Ron interrupted, "Not all of us get girls like you." Harry's eyes opened wide with shock, and Ron instantly realized how that must have sounded. "No, Harry, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"Just that...well...er..." Ron wracked his brain for something he could say, but decided that the truth was probably the best way to go about it. "Harry, she's a walking sex goddess, don't tell me you guys haven't -"

"We haven't."

"You haven't?" Ron asked, surprise evident in his voice. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," Harry growled.

"Well, what do you guys do when you meet up every night?"

"What do you and Hermione do when you meet up?" Harry asked. Both boys stared at each other. So, Harry's not sleeping with Emily, Ron thought, feeling a wave of relief spread over him. While he wasn't competing against Harry, the thought that he and Emily were sleeping together and that Harry hadn't told him about it had begun to bother him a bit.

"Right," Ron said, finally breaking the silence between them. "Guess we're both in the same boat then."

"Not if Hermione catches you using that to locate Ginny," Harry warned, nodding his head in the direction of the locator. "She'd be furious if she found out why you offered to hold that for her. So, unless you have aspirations of joining the headless hunt in the near future, I'd suggest keeping that safe in your pocket for the rest of the evening."

Ron pocketed the locator. "She'll never know."

* * * *

Hermione pushed up through the students, making her way towards the check in table. She could see that Cho and Hannah were in charge of the table, and that Ernie was checking everyone for wands.

"Oy! Hannah! Cho!" Hermione called, pushing between a Slytherin couple that elbowed her sharply in return.

"Hermione!" Cho called, with a grin on her face. "I was beginning to wonder where you were."

"Oh, we're stuck way at the back of the line," Hermione said, walking around the table so she was now standing behind it. She heard some muffled complaints from those in the crowd, and overheard Ernie explaining to the elbow-happy Slytherin couple that she was a prefect.

"Hermione, you organized this whole thing. You don't have to stand in line," Cho said, before turning back to her list and yelling "next."

"Yeah, I know," Hermione answered, glancing over Cho and Hannah's shoulders at the parchments they were writing on. "How many have come so far?"

"I've got one-thirty-six," Hannah answered, drawing two lines as she waved the couple that stood before her on to be checked by Ernie. "How 'bout you Cho?" Cho was leaning forward, and examining the clothes worn by the couple that stood before her.

"You can go," she said, waving along the couple to Ernie as Hannah had done, and then turning to look over at Hannah, "I've got one-fifty-eight."

"Two-ninety-four," Hermione responded, quickly doing the math in her head. "Not bad a turn out so far. And, the line outside is practically out the entrance hall door. Did Millicent take care of all the last minute food arrangements?"

"Yup," Cho responded, smiling brightly at the next couple that stepped forward.

"And, Justin was okay setting up all the music?"

"He and Lee have been spinning for the past hour," Hannah answered.

"Have you guys had trouble with the dress code?"

"Not really," Hannah responded, "A couple of Slytherin tried to come in with dress robes, but they didn't put up too much of a fight when we turned them away."

"Yeah, and we had to let this one guy, oh Hannah, what was his name?
Cho asked, turning towards Hannah.

"Jeremy."

"Oh, yeah, Jeremy Danby of Hufflepuff. He showed up with a bright turquoise suit, but we had to let him in anyway."

"So, most people aren't complaining?"

"Nope," they both answered in unison.

"And everything's going alright?"

"Hermione, will you just relax?" Cho said, swinging around to face her. "You planned everything perfectly. Now just sit back, and enjoy yourself. Speaking of which, where's Ron?" she asked, looking around.

"He's back in line with Harry," Hermione answered.

"Well, go get them then!" Cho said, swinging around and waving her hand at Hermione. "Be gone with you." Hermione cracked a smile.

"Thanks, Cho," she said, walking back around the table and starting to push her way back through the crowd again.

As she approached Ron and Harry, she saw that they were both speaking conspiratorially to one another. Ron had his back to her, and Harry was leaning in, and she could tell they were whispering. Hmm, I wonder what they're talking about? She sneaked up behind them, and watched as Ron put something in his pocket, and then mumble something to Harry that sounded like, "She'll never know."

"What are you two up to?" she asked, throwing her arms around Ron's neck. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," he said, "How long have you been standing there?"

"I don't know, depends on what I wasn't supposed to hear you guys saying," she responded. Ron looked at her blankly, as did Harry. While she was curious about what they were talking about, she decided that trying to drag it out of them at the moment would be a waste of time. There were two of them, and one of her, and she just didn't have the energy. "Fine, come on, I've hooked us up with VIP connections." Both boys seemed to relax significantly with her change in subject.

"I knew having a prefect for a girlfriend would have its perks," Ron said, sliding his arm around her waist. Hermione rolled her eyes, and led the boys up to the front of the line.

But as they approached, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Harry!" she said, swinging around and stepping in front of him. He looked down at her expectantly. Think Hermione! Think! You have to distract him. "You've got dirt on your glasses!" she blurted, reaching up for them. But, he was too quick for her, and he squirmed out of her reach.

"Hermione, my glasses are fine," he said, reaching his hands up and holding them securely to his face.

"No, look. There's a big smudge mark across the middle of them, just give them to me," she said, reaching up her hand again, "and I'll fix it for you." But Harry stepped away from her again.

"What smudge mark?" he asked, his eyes focusing in as if he was trying to look at the lenses. "I don't see..." but as he brought his eyes back into focus, Hermione could see that he was looking at a spot over her shoulder and behind her. Damn. "Oh, I get it," he mumbled. Hermione looked over at Ron, who had turned around and was looking over her shoulder as well.

"It's all an act, Harry," Ron said, stepping forward and patting Harry on the back. "Just, keep reminding yourself that it's just an act." Hermione turned her head, and saw that the group of Slytherins that were surrounding Draco and Emily had broken apart, and that only Draco and Emily remained at the check-in table, Emily talking excitedly with Cho as Draco waited around looking extremely uncomfortable. As Hermione watched, she couldn't help but think that the two of them appeared amazingly suited for each other in the looks department. As much as she hated to admit that Draco was cute, he was. And Emily, well, she was cute too. It's almost as if they coordinated their outfits to match, Hermione thought, tilting her head a little.

"She looks amazing, doesn't she," Harry mumbled under his breath such that only the two of them could hear him. Emily's head suddenly swung around, and when she saw the three of them standing there, she froze. But only for a moment, because Draco had turned to look where she was looking. In an attempt to cover, Emily quickly glued herself to his arm, flashing a bright smile and begging off her conversation with Cho, dragging Draco into the hall, and rendering him none the wiser. But as she began to disappear into the crowd, Hermione distinctly heard her voice echo through her mind.

I really like your dress, she said. Hermione looked down at her pale blue, strapless wrap.

Thanks, she answered back.

Keep an eye on Harry for me, will ya?

You do realize that you're killing him by being here with Draco, right?

Yeah, I know. Even though she hadn't truly spoken the words, Hermione could still hear the sadness in her thoughts.

"Hermione, come on." Hermione looked around, and realized that Ron had her hand and was pulling her towards the check in desk. "We need your connections."

I've got to go, Hermione said, allowing Ron to drag her over to the check in table. Cho looked up, and instantly flagged them in.

Tell Harry I'll see him tomorrow after breakfast and all the students have left...

Can't you tell him yourself? Hermione asked, flashing a wide smile at Ernie who stepped aside as she walked past him with the other two boys following behind her. She spotted Emily over near the punch bowl.

I don't think I can handle hearing his thoughts at the moment, she answered.

Oh, right. I'll tell him then.

Thanks.

Oh, and Emily.

Yeah?

I really like your dress too. Emily didn't respond telepathically, instead, she turned around, smiled at Hermione, and mouthed the words "thank you" to her.

* * * *
Ginny and Oliver waited patiently in line, conversing lightly about what they'd been up to for the past week. When it was their turn, they both stepped forward and stood in front of Hannah.

"Hey, Ginny, how have you...." But Hannah stopped mid-sentence, having spotted Oliver. "Oliver! How nice to see you again," she said, flushing slightly. Ginny felt her protective grip tighten around Oliver's arm. Oliver smiled and nodded his head in return. "Right," Hannah said, hurriedly looking down at her list again and flipping though her parchments. She finally flipped to one that, from what Ginny could see, was labeled Gryffindor. "You both seem to be in dress code," she said, glancing at them both quickly but keeping her eyes away from Oliver. "Do either of you need to check your wands?"

"No," Oliver answered immediately.

"Right, OK then. Go on over to Ernie, and he'll let you both into the hall."

"Thank you," Ginny responded, keeping her death grip on Oliver as they walked away from Hannah and over to Ernie. Ginny felt herself stiffen as she approached him. What if he can tell that I have the locator on me? She wondered.

"No wands," Oliver said as soon as they were close enough to Ernie.

"I just have to check, can you stand apart for a second?" Neither of them moved. "Just a second, I swear."

"Oh, come on Ernie," Oliver said, "This is a waste of time."

"Yeah, Ernie," Ginny piped in, though she was suddenly suspicious for why Oliver wanted to avoid getting checked. Maybe he has something magical on him as well.

"It will only take--"

"Ernie!" yelled someone from behind both Ginny and Oliver. Ernie turned his head, and as he did so, both Ginny and Oliver hurried off and into the entrance hall. It had been an unspoken decision by both of them, and when Ginny looked over her shoulder, she saw that Ernie was looking around him, wondering where they had gone off to.

"Why didn't you want to be checked by Ernie," she whispered to him as she took in the busyness of the ball.

"What?" he mumbled as he looked around. He had an odd expression on his face. "I'll be right back, okay? Why don't you go find where everyone is sitting, and I'll meet you there."

"Where are you going?" she blurted, surprised by his behavior.

"To the loo," he answered, leaning into her and kissing her cheek, "I'll be right back." He then walked off and disappeared into the crowd. Ginny stood there for a few moments, but then spotted a group of Gryffindors that included Ron, Hermione and Harry, and walked over to them, passing by an excited group of Hufflepuffs that were ogling at a large square box with moving pictures flashing across it. She stopped to glance at it, reading the large sign above it that said, "Television." So that's what a television is, she thought. Doesn't look so special, she added as she watched two children run around what looked to be an industrial kitchen. But then, something that looked a lot like a dragon leapt out at them and started to pursue them. I didn't think Muggles knew about dragons, she thought as she watched the scene play out. How did they manage to get a live one to chase around those kids? She then shook her head, turning away from the screen, and made her way over to her friends.

* * * *

Hermione could tell that Ron was amazed at the sight of the Great Hall. He sat in his seat next to her, staring blankly at everything that surrounded him. He looked as if he was in Kings Cross station again, where everything was foreign to him. She had explained most of it to him beforehand, but to actually see it in person looked to be somewhat of a shock.

"So what do you think?" Hermione asked, leaning into him.

"You did all of this?" he asked, turning away from the hall and staring at her. She nodded. "How did you get eclistiky into the castle?"

"You mean electricity?" she asked, just barely able to control the urge to giggle.

"Yeah, eclistiky."

"E-lec-tricity," she said, pronouncing every syllable very clearly.

"Fine. Electristiky."

"No, elec-...oh never mind. Dumbledore helped me," she said with a smile. "We had to remove a bunch of the charms in here so that it wouldn't interfere. Look up," she said, pointing at the ceiling. He did, and his mouth dropped.

"What happened to the sky?" he asked.

"Way too much magic," she responded. "But don't worry, it will be back up again by Monday."

"I can't believe you organized all of this," he said, leaning forward and looking at one of several bowls that were scattered down the table. Hermione had ordered several different kinds of Muggle junk foods, and this particular bowl was filled with M&M's. "What are these?" he asked, sticking his hand into the bowl and grabbing a handful.

"M&M's," she replied, taking a handful herself, "I love these, though my parents never allowed me to have them because they're loaded with sugar." Ron popped a few in his mouth.

"Not bad for Muggle candies," he said while chomping down the rest of them. "What are those down there?" he asked, pointing to the next bowl down.

"Doritos," she answered, "They're spicy chips. I'm not too crazy about them, though you'd probably like them." He gave her a strange look, but then reached into the bowl and selected a chip. "What do you think?" she asked as he popped it into his mouth.

"I think the Hogwarts Express should invest in this stuff," he said, taking a napkin from one of the dispensers and piling it high with Doritos. "Hey, George!" he yelled, leaning forward and looking down the table. George swung around, stopping his conversation with Kate Bell. "You gotta try the red chips!" Ron called. George turned back around, found a bowl near him with Doritos in it, and then took a handful.

Hermione was beside herself as she watched the non-Muggle born students try all the different foods that were laid out before them. It took them about twenty minutes to taste, critique, and rate each and every candy, chip and dip.

After that, they proceeded to eat dinner. Ron had eaten so many Doritos that he couldn't even think about dinner, but Hermione filled her plate with all the different options at the buffet table. As they ate, the conversation was lively and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Even when Hermione looked around at the other tables, the ball looked as if it was a huge success, which lifted a huge weight off of Hermione's shoulders.

"Let's dance," Ron whispered as she placed her fork down after having finished her last piece of food.

"I just finished eating!" Hermione protested. But the look on Ron's disappointed face made her melt. "Well, OK, but let's take pictures first. It will give me some time to digest."

"Pictures?" Ron asked.

"Colin's got a booth over there set up to take pictures," Hermione answered, pushing her chair back and grabbing hold of his hand. But as she got up, he didn't follow suit. "What's wrong?"

"I hate taking pictures."

"Why?"

"Because I'm always blinking. Every single one of our family portraits, there I am, blinking over and over and over..."

"But Ron..." she tried to interrupt, but he just kept ranting.

"..open shut, open shut, open shut. My mom has even tried charming it so that I'll stop, but it doesn't work," he said, shaking his head.

"But Ron, these are Muggle pictures. They don't move, remember?" Ron looked up at her, and seemed to be weighing his options.

"Okay," he said, getting up and out of his seat, "but then we dance." Hermione smiled.

"Deal."

* * * *
Harry managed to busy himself through idle conversations with various Gryffindors throughout dinner. But, once dinner was over, most of the couples started to go off to dance. Fred and Angelina were the first ones to go, claiming they were eager to take advantage of the uncrowded dance floor. Next were Oliver and Ginny, who had pretty much kept to themselves for most of dinner as it was. They were closely followed by Ron and Hermione, who were followed by Seamus and Lavender, who were followed by Dean and Padma. Soon enough, it was just Harry, with George and Katie sitting down the table joking about which teachers would be likely to have secret affairs with what students.

While eavesdropping on George and Katie's conversation was interesting, to say the least, Harry was glad when he saw Ron and Hermione stop dancing and start walking over to him. Finally, someone to talk to.

As they approached, Hermione leaned over and whispered something to Ron before breaking apart from him and walking off towards the bathrooms.

"You look bored," Ron observed as he pulled out the seat next to Harry and sat down in it, his back to the table so that he could look out at the dance floor. As soon as he was settled, he reached behind him and grabbed a handful of Doritos.

"You're going to turn red if you don't stop eating those things," Harry said, watching Ron pop several chips into his mouth.

"Really?" Ron asked as he stopped chewing and glanced over at Harry, who shook his head and laughed.

"No," Harry replied.

"Well," Ron said, resuming his chewing, "wouldn't matter anyways. I'm already red, as it is." Just then, Ron's head snapped around and he looked straight over at his brother and Katie. "What are they talking about?" he asked, "I could have sworn I just heard Katie say that there are lots of girls that find Snape sexy!"

"They're pairing up teachers with students." This made Ron shudder. "You missed them talking about how Alicia used to offer to help Lockhart grade assignments and such," Harry responded. "And Katie once walked in on Prof. Syed giving a rather private divination reading to a Ravenclaw boy."

"I just got a horrible mental image of Snape tutoring Parkinson in the dungeons," he shuddered again. "Wasn't much tutoring going on though, if you know what I -"

"Ready to go?" Both Harry and Ron spun around.

"Stop doing that!" Ron said as he took in the sight of Hermione. "You can't keep sneaking up like that." To this, Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well, are you ready?" Ron nodded.

"Where are you guys going?" Harry asked, looking between his two best friends. Just when he thought he was going to be saved from his boredom, it turns out they're going off somewhere.

"For a walk outside," Hermione answered, though Harry saw that she blushed ever so slightly. "Unless you want us to stay and keep you--"

"No, go on," Harry answered, not wanting to ruin his friends night together simply because he was having a miserable time. "I'll be fine." Hermione looked as though she was going to protest, but then Ron grabbed her hand.

"We'll be back later then," Ron said, sweeping Hermione away. Hermione looked over her shoulder and gave Harry a concerned smile, which he attempted to return, though it came out more as a frown than anything else.

After a few moments of just sitting at the table and munching on candy, Harry stood up and walked over to the punch bowl, but then paused to eye it suspiciously. He'd overheard the twins discussing an elaborate scheme to smuggle alcohol into the ball and spike the drinks, and he was a little hesitant to try some. But then he realized he was having a pretty lousy time at the ball as it was, and perhaps a little alcohol wouldn't be such a bad thing. Selecting one of the glasses that stood neatly stacked next to the punch bowl, he ladled out some for himself. He brought the glass his lips and took a sip. No alcohol.

He quickly downed the rest of his drink, and was about to ladle himself another when he felt someone brush up next to him. He looked up, and saw it was Hermione.

"Hey there, sexy," she said, leaning back against the table and grinning brightly. That's odd, he thought to himself.

"Hey," Harry answered, looking at her apprehensively. "I thought you and Ron were heading off together."

"Oh, that," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "I decided to ditch him and come see what you were up to." Harry opened his eyes wide in shock.

"W-what?" he stammered. "You what?"

"Harry, it's no secret: I've got intense feelings for you. Ron and I are just...well it's getting boring. I figured I'd spice my life up a little."

"Er..." he said, starting to back away from her. "Hermione, you're a great friend and all, but..." he lowered his voice a little, "I'm with Emily. You do realize that, right?"

"Emily, smemily," she said, again waving her hand in dismissal. "Why limit yourself to one woman when you can have two?" At this, Harry dropped his jaw. He didn't even know how to respond. He looked at his drink again, and brought it to his nose. Nope, definitely no alcohol, he thought to himself. Hermione flashed a grin then, and he could have sworn he heard her chuckle. "Harry, you're not going to get this kind of opportunity often, I suggest you grab it while you still have the chance. Look," she said, motioning towards the dance floor and the rest of the students in the great hall, "Emily's not even here. She'll never know. We could just -"

"Hermione," he said, feeling the need to stop her now before he heard her say anything more. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you know how I feel about Emily and..."

"How do you feel about Emily?" she cut him off. He looked at her funny. Hermione, you know bloody well how I feel about Emily! He thought to himself. She grinned again.

"Why do you keep grinning like that?" he asked, his patience slowly wearing thin.

"You never answered the question, Harry," she said, looking at him expectantly.

"She's the best thing that ever happened to me, okay? And if you're trying to ruin that then--" but he never got a chance to finish, because she had suddenly leapt forward and kissed him.

"Hermione!" he gasped, quickly pushing her away. "What the hell was --"

"You passed," she said, grinning again.

"I...er...what?" he said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and looking around, making sure that nobody, especially Emily, had seen what had just happened. What the hell has gotten into Hermione!

"Harry," she said, but then lowered her voice. "I'm not Hermione." He looked at her dumbfounded.

"What do you mean you're not Hermione?" he asked.

Surprise! He heard Emily's voice echo through his head. He started to move his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. His mouth just kept opening and closing.

"Don't look like a fish out of water, Harry," she said, grinning yet again. "I was just messing with you."

"Y-you...y-you're....Em-mily?" he managed to get out, aware that he was stuttering horribly.

"I bumped into Hermione on her way out with Ron, and you've been looking so horribly lonely all evening," she began, stepping closer to him and trailing her finger on his shoulder. "I feel horrible about last night, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to you. And then, well, my little test was just a spontaneous thing I decided to do once I got over here. You passed magnificently, you know. I was turning up all the charm. Then again," she paused, looking down at herself, "I'm not used to being Hermione, so perhaps it wasn't exactly the-"

"You're the strangest person I've ever met," Harry cut her off. "You completely had me going." She grinned again.

"Yeah, I know. I was reading your thoughts." He gave her a look of mock consternation.

"I thought we discussed the whole mind-reading-without-permission thing," he said, looking down at her. Damn it's weird to be talking to Hermione as if she were Emily. But then he corrected himself, or rather, talking to Emily who looks like Hermione. She laughed at him. "You're doing it again, aren't you?"

"It's just so much fun to hear how confused you are!" she said, still laughing. "Anyway, I'm gonna have to get back to Draco soon. I told him I was just going to the bathroom." She looked around and nodded her head towards the dance floor. "Wanna dance?"

"Won't it be -"

"Oh, come on Harry. You and Hermione are friends. No one's going to think it's weird." Harry stared at Emily-as-Hermione for a moment. I guess one dance wouldn't hurt.

"I'd love to dance," he responded, holding out his arm to her. She quickly laced her arm through his, and they both made their way out onto the dance floor. The song had changed to one that was slow, and Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around her-as-Hermione's waist. She instantly responded, bringing her arms up around his neck.

"How's it been having to hang out with Draco all evening," he asked. She shrugged.

"Eh," she answered, beginning to twirl her fingers through his hair, effectively sending shivers down his back. "He's okay."

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," he replied. "You two have been the center of attention all evening."

"Well, look at him," she said, nodding her head in the direction of Malfoy. Harry looked over, and saw that he was surrounded by a group of Slytherins. "Dressed up like he is, he looks like some sort of model or something. He was bound to turn a couple of heads."

"Most of the head turning wasn't in his direction," Harry answered, turning his attention back towards Emily. "Your dress was quite...er....revealing."

"So you noticed?" she said, with a wicked raise of her eyebrow.

"I don't think I'm the only one who noticed."

"Oh, Harry. Don't be so jealous," she said, raising herself on her toes and brushing her nose against his. He loved it when she did that, though it was a little disconcerting when she looked so much like Hermione. "I've only got eyes for you."

"That's not the way it looked earlier."

"Well, that's the point isn't it?" she asked, looking up and directly into his eyes. He was looking down at the face of Hermione, and yet, she was distinctly Emily. "I can't let him know I've really been thinking about you all evening." She smiled at him, and Harry was instantly lost in her gaze. They were very close now, and he leaned his head forward such that their foreheads were leaning against each other.

It wasn't until the song changed that Harry finally snapped out of his trance. The change in pace was just enough of a distraction to cause him to glance at the couple to his left, which consisted of two fifth-year Ravenclaws. But, as soon as his eyes met theirs, they both looked away hurriedly. He looked around now, and saw that others were watching too. Fred, who was dancing with Angelina over near the punch bowl, made no attempt to mask his disapproval.

"Er, maybe we shouldn't dance so close," he suggested, sliding back away from her. She groaned a little in response.

I wish we could just get out of here, she said in his mind. Get away from everyone else so we could just be ourselves.

I've got nothing better to do, he replied, taking her hand in his and sliding his right hand around her waist, being sure to keep a fair distance between them as they continued to dance.

You know I can't, she replied. In fact, I should be getting back to Draco. Harry felt her begin to move away from him, but he resisted.

"It was nice dancing with you Harry," she said rather loudly. "I should be getting back to Ron now, though." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the Ravenclaw couple was watching them again.

"Right," he said, releasing her hand and allowing her to step away from him.

"I'll see you back up in the Gryffindor common room later," she then added. There was a moment of the two of them just standing there, and then she winked at him, and made her way over to the girls bathroom. Moments later, she emerged as herself again, and walked straight over to Draco, not even glancing in his direction. Harry watched as she slid her hands over his shoulders, and made some sort of comment, causing the rest of the Slytherins to laugh. She was instantly welcomed into the conversation, and before long, was the center of it.

Realizing that he was standing in the middle of the dance floor, Harry shook himself, and then meandered back over to the table where some of the other Gryffindors were conversing. He sat down at the end of it, only vaguely aware of the conversation the others were having, and acutely aware of the action going on at the Slytherin table. Why'd she have to be sorted into Slytherin! He thought, leaning back in his chair and idly trailing his fingers along the table. Why, Why, Why?

* * * *

While Draco would never openly admit it to himself, he was having a great time. Everyone had relaxed considerably since earlier in the evening, and the general feeling of the group he was talking to was light and carefree. While he hadn't consciously decided to take Emily's advice to just be himself for the evening, he found himself being much less cynical about things then he usually was and just allowing himself to sit back and breathe. I could definitely get used to this, he thought, tilting his head and glancing over at Emily who was paying close attention to a story that Malcolm Baddock was telling about his sister. The story didn't really interest him, but Emily looked completely absorbed in it. She laughed and groaned and nodded her head at all the appropriate times.

She was laughing now, her face curved up in a smile that lit her entire face. She threw her head back, laughing even harder, and brought her hand up to her mouth to try to muffle it a little. Everyone else was laughing, also, so Draco forced a few chuckles, but soon found himself overtaken. He wasn't laughing at whatever everyone else thought was funny, he was just laughing to be laughing along with Emily. She looked over at him, still laughing, and brought her hand down from her face and onto his knee, leaning into him and resting her forehead on his shoulder. Her body was heaving, and he could tell that she was trying to calm herself down with little success. This made him laugh even more, and without even thinking he brought his arm up and started patting her on the back.

"Oh, my," she said, finally calming herself down enough to say something, "That was too funny!" She then lifted her head up from his shoulder, and their eyes met momentarily. But just momentarily because, before he knew it, she had swung around and was looking over to wear all the audio equipment was set up. "I can't believe they're playing this song," she said, turning back around to the group. "This used to be my favorite! It was really popular a few years ago. Do any of you know the dance for it?" Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions on her face. "None of you know it?" Everyone shook their heads. She then looked back at Draco, "See what I mean. You wizards live in the Dark Ages. I can't believe none of you know the Macarena!"

Draco glanced out onto the dance floor, and saw several of what he recognized as Muggle-born couples doing a strange looking dance, all in sync with each other.

"Will you show me?" Draco suddenly heard Crabbe ask. Draco spun around, and saw he was serious.

"Uh, okay," Emily said with a shrug and a quick glance at Draco. "Anyone else want to learn too?" While her question was directed at everyone, she was staring straight at him. He shook his head, not wanting to look like a fool in front of everyone trying to learn the dance. Everyone else at the table said they did, and began to get up from the seats. "Are you sure?" she asked him, just as she was about to leave the table with everyone else. Draco nodded. "Fine, I'll be back in a few."

Draco sat alone for the first time in the entire evening. It's hard to be entertaining, he thought, slouching down and reaching forward to grab a hold of his punch glass. He was about to bring it to his lips, when he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder.

"Back so soon?" Draco asked as he curved his lips up in a grin and turned around. He was expecting to see Emily, but was most disappointed when he realized it wasn't her. "What do you want?" he asked, turning back around in his seat and finally taking a sip of his punch. She took her hand off his shoulder and pulled out the seat next to him.

"May I?" she asked.

"If you must," Draco answered, waving his hand at her. He heard her audibly sigh as she sat down next to him. "What do you want?"

"Just to tell you that everything's going as planned," she said in a hushed voice.

"Planned for what?" Draco asked casually, throwing his head back and downing the rest of his drink. He was definitely not in the mood for Pansy's little games.

"For it!" she hissed.

"Pansy," Draco said turning towards her, "I haven't the faintest idea what it is. So, if this is some prank you and the other Slytherin girls are playing then--"

"Uhg!" she tutted, looking around her nervously and leaning into him. "IT!" she hissed again.

Draco looked blankly at Pansy. "Do you care to elaborate?"

"You're father didn't tell you?" she asked, straightening up a little and starting to look confused. My father? Draco wondered, What does my father have to do with anything concerning Pansy? He very quickly started to feel his previous, carefree attitude drain from him.

"What are you talking about?"

"The abduction," she said through clenched teeth, looking around her nervously again.

"What?" he gasped, opening his eyes wide in shock. "Tonight? They're doing it tonight?" She nodded, and suddenly Draco had a much more urgent question to ask. "Why do you know about it?"

"Because I'm the other one watching her," she replied, her confusion becoming more and more evident on her face, "You really didn't know?"

"I thought I was the only one dealing with Emily."

"I'm just there to keep an eye on her when you can't and--"

"I'm always watching her."

"Yeah, I've noticed," she said with a tone of malice. "But I live with her and can watch her when you can't. Like when she's supposed to be in the room at night."

"Does she know?" he asked.

"Know what?"

"About it?"

"Oh. I don't know. The last letter she got was sealed and so I couldn't read it."

"Letter?"

"Really Draco, for someone who's supposed to be watching--"

"What letter?"

"He writes her periodically. My father works in Hogsmeade so he hand delivers the letters to me to give to her. Owls can't always be trusted."

"Oh," he said, wracking his brain for reasons for why Emily wouldn't have told him about the letters. Maybe she does know about the abduction, he though, glancing over his shoulder at Emily, who was dancing awkwardly with Crabbe and the other Slytherins. "So, who's going to do it? Avery?"

"No, they have someone else taking care of it."

"Who?"

"Wood."

"Oliver Wood?" Draco asked, sharply turning his attention back towards Pansy. "Wood's a Death Eater?"

"Not officially," she responded, looking around and leaning into him again, "Yet."

"Yet?"

"Well, if all goes well tonight, I suspect he'll be initiated within the week. The Dark Lord hasn't been accepting new inductees; he wants to wait until he's back to his full power."

"He initiated Emily."

"She was a special case."

"I see," Draco responded, raking his hand through his hair. It was a lot to take in, and the fact that Pansy seemed to know more then he did irked him. Why wasn't I aware of any of this? Wood! Wood wants to be a death eater? And Pansy's Emily's other watcher? And Voldemort's been writing letters to Emily? "So, what else do you know?" he asked, hating the fact that he had to ask Pansy for anything.

"Just that it's going down tonight, Wood's orchestrating it, and we're not supposed to interfere or help. Neither is Emily, which is why I'm telling you all this. My father specifically said that the Dark Lord doesn't want her involved in any way."

"I'll make sure she knows that."

"Good," she said with a relieved breath, relaxing into her chair. "We should work together you know," she suddenly added.

"What?" he asked offhandedly, not really paying attention to her but instead thinking about everything else she has just told him.

"I'm sure that having the both of us as spies right under Dumbledore's nose would be enough to get us initiated."

"You want to be initiated?"

"Of course I do!" she answered as if the question were incredulous. "Don't you?"

"Do I have a choice?" Draco mumbled under his breath.

"What?" she asked, leaning in closer to him, "I didn't hear you."

"Of course," he answered, "Of course I do."

"That's what I thought, though I could have sworn you'd said -"

"I said 'of course'."

"Right." She then looked back at the dance floor. "You want to dance? It will be like old times." She was looking at him expectantly. It made him nauseous.

"I think I'll just sit here," he responded, turning back to his glass, which was empty. He was hoping she'd get the hint and just leave him alone. But she didn't. She just kept sitting there, staring at him. After a few moments, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his glass. "I'm refilling my drink," he announced gruffly.

"Oh, I'll come with you," she said, sliding her chair back and beginning to stand.

"No," he replied, putting his hands up to stop her, "I think I can handle it myself." She looked extremely hurt. Good, he thought, Maybe she'll hate me now. He then turned on his heel, and stalked off.

* * * *

...Why, why, why, why? He'd spent the past fifteen minutes staring at her. A few minutes before, she'd gotten up from her seat and was now attempting to show the rest of her 'friends' some dance or other. She was mostly dancing with Crabbe, who had stepped on her feet numerous times. She doesn't belong with you lot! Harry screamed in his head at them, She belongs with me! In Gryffindor!

"Stop torturing yourself Harry," he suddenly heard a voice say from behind him. He looked around, and saw that Oliver Wood had just sat down at the seat across the table from him.

"What?"

"I can see the way you're looking at her. Don't waste your time." Harry bristled. He hadn't realized he was being so obvious. "Ginny told me about what happened, the best thing you can do is just forget about her and move on."

"Oh," Harry said, realizing Ginny probably hadn't told him that they had gotten back together and that that was his girlfriend out there dancing with those slime bags. He turned his head away from Oliver, again glancing over in Emily's direction.

"See, there you go again," Wood exclaimed, snapping his fingers twice to get Harry's attention back. "You know what you need?" Harry shook his head. "A distraction."

"What kind of distraction?" Harry asked. Wood smiled.

"I want to show you and Ginny something," he answered. "It's to do with Quidditch, but we have to hurry so you guys will be back before the ball ends."

"Look, Wood," Harry said, not wanting to feel uncomfortable hanging out with Ginny and Wood, "Thanks for offering, but I'd hate to be a third wheel -"

"Ginny suggested it. And, I owe you one for winning me that house cup! I'll never forget that game. You can't refuse."

"Er..."

"You can't refuse. I would take it as a personal insult."

Just then, Ginny came walking back to the table, and went to stand next to where Oliver was sitting.

"I'm so excited," she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. She then looked over at Harry, "You coming?" Harry glanced back to where Emily had been dancing with Crabbe, and saw that Draco had gotten up from his seat and was now approaching her. He knew that Emily was just playing along, but he couldn't stand to watch it any longer.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Harry answered. Both Oliver and Ginny smiled, and the three of them got up, went past the check-in table, and started to make their way out onto the grounds.

* * * *

Emily was glad when she heard the song change, and was even gladder when she saw Draco approaching her. After having gotten out on the dance floor with her housemates and showed them the dance, most of them had caught on rather quickly - except Crabbe. Crabbe was by far the worst dancer she had ever laid eyes on, and even after several repetitions of the easy movements, he was still hopelessly lost.

"May I cut in?" Draco asked as he approached them. Emily didn't even wait for Crabbe to answer; she grabbed Draco's outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her away from the still floundering Crabbe.

"I didn't think it was possible for someone to dance that badly," Emily whispered to Draco as they both began to dance to the slow song that was playing at the moment. Emily noticed that, for the first time that evening, Draco's mind wasn't all tied up and jumbled into a giant nervous knot. She'd been periodically monitoring his thoughts all evening and had gotten quite the impression that Draco was harboring more then friendly feelings towards her. Great, she'd thought as soon as she realized this, this adds something else for me to feel guilty about!

"We need to talk," Draco said, leaning in so his mouth was just next to her ear.

"What about?" she answered back, flashing a quick smile over Draco's shoulder at Cho and Justin who were dancing next to them.

"Why didn't you tell me about the letters?" he asked. Emily pulled away from him instantly so she could see his face.

"How did you know about those?" She asked, a wave of panic spreading over her. She'd been so careful, making sure he was never around to see her reading them. If he knew about the letters, what if he knew about...

"Why didn't you tell me?" he hissed in return, tightening his grip on her hand and waist.

"Because he didn't want me to tell anyone," she answered. "How did you find out?" He didn't respond. "Draco, how did you -"

"Pansy told me."

"Oh, right," Emily began, mentally hitting herself over the head, "Of course she'd know."

"I had no idea she was so involved," Draco muttered, swinging Emily around in a little spin before bringing her back into him again.

"Well," Emily responded as soon as she had returned to dancing next to him, "All she does is deliver the letters to me once a week. I wouldn't call that 'involved' really."

"She also watches you."

"She w-watches me?" Emily stammered. Draco nodded. "When did she tell you all of this?"

"Just now. She also wanted me to tell you that everything's going as planned and that we are to lay low and not get involved." Emily stared at him, completely lost as to what he was talking about. She opened her mouth to ask, but then realized it would just be easier to read his thoughts. She concentrated hard, and was easily able to tap in: Let's see if she knows what's going on and if I was the only person left out of the loop about Harry being abducted by Wood tonight...

"Tonight? They're doing it tonight?" she gasped, pulling out of his thoughts, her mind racing. "W-wood? G-Ginny's Wood is going to do it?" She then looked around the great hall, frantically trying to locate Harry. She couldn't find him, nor Wood or Ginny. "Oh my God, where is he?" she gasped, pulling away from Draco and continuing her search of the room. He wasn't at any of the tables, or by the punch bowl or anywhere. She swung back around to face Draco, who looked more shocked then she had ever seen him. She stepped forward, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Where is he?" she screamed, "Where did they take him?"

"I d-don't know," Draco stammered, looking horrified. His eyes were wide, and he kept opening and closing his mouth, as if unable to form all the questions that were forming in his head. She let go of him, looking down at the floor, her mind racing around what was happening. She had to find help. She had to tell someone. "Emily, why are you--"

"Shut up!" she screamed, still trying to focus her thoughts on what to do. "This isn't supposed to be happening yet, this isn't supposed to be happening." She was starting to have trouble breathing, and she had to bend over, leaning her hands onto her knees. Breathe she said to herself, deep breaths, Breath!

"Emily, I don't understand -"

"I have to find him," she said, finally straightening back up again. She looked directly at his face, before adding, "And you're going to help me." With that last comment, she reached forward, grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the room.

* * * *

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, pushing him away from her. "We have to stop, someone will see us!"

"Let them see," he said, reaching his hand back around her waist and pulling her back into his arms. "I don't care."

"Well, I," Ron leaned down and began to kiss her neck, "do", and then her exposed shoulder and collar bone, "care!" However, despite her declarations, she now found herself allowing him to continue. "Ron, stop!" she gasped, though moments later her breath caught and she stumbled backwards under the force of the kiss he planted on her lips. It was fierce and full of passion and desire. She gripped him, at first just to prevent herself from falling over, but then just to grasp him. She felt as if she couldn't possibly get close enough to him.

They were slowly stumbling backwards, their lips locked and their hands roving everywhere. She had no idea where they were stumbling off to, all she knew was that the thought of making him stop had instantly flown out of her mind as soon as their lips had collided, only to be replaced by an animalistic desire to rip all his clothes off. She pulled away slightly, just for a moment to gasp for air. She could feel his chest heaving as well, and then, only seconds later, he was kissing her again. She threw her arms up around his neck, and again she started to stumble backwards under the pressure of his body against hers, until...

"Ouch!" she cried as she felt her head slam up against the side of the castle. Ron quickly pulled away from her, his arms sliding up to her shoulders to steady her as she swayed a bit.

"Are you alright?" he gasped, still breathing very heavily as he looked at her with deep concern. She brought her hand up to the back of her head.

"Yeah," she groaned, massaging the spot her head had rammed the wall. "I think I'll live."

"Man, I'm so sorry," he added, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead, "I was just so distracted I didn't see the wall there and -"

"Really, I'm fine," she cut in, looking up at him, "It knocked some sense into me!"

"Sense?" he asked, pushing her to arms-length so he could see her.

"Ron, we're on the terrace just outside a room full of students! If we had continued..."

"What would have happened?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't have been able to control myself for much longer."

"Control yourself?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at her. "You consider that controlling yourself?"

"Honestly Ron! It's not funny. We were practically -"

"Shagging?"

"Well...well...yes, shagging!" Hermione grunted.

"Which would have been a bad thing, right?"

"Bad thing? What...Ron! There are over three hundred people just around that corner!" she said, pointing her arm and indicating the doorway that lead back into the great hall. "Of course it would have been a bad thing!"

"But if there weren't all those people in the other room, would it still be a bad thing?"

"What? What do you mean, weren't all those other people?"

"If we were alone," he said, sliding his hands down her arms and taking her hands in his. "Would you want to if we were alone?" Hermione looked up at his face, expecting to see some sort of devious or sinister smirk on it - but there wasn't one. He was staring down into her eyes, his expression serious and his question genuine. Is he really asking me this? she wondered, keeping his gaze. Did he really just ask if I wanted to sleep with him?

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but was suddenly distracted by a couple that came running onto the terrace from the great hall.

"Hermione! Ron!" Emily yelled, looking frantically around her. Hermione and Ron jumped away from each other just as Emily swung around and saw them standing in the corner. Draco was with her, and she now began to drag him over to the two of them. She was breathing irregularly, almost gasping for air. She managed to make her way over to them, but immediately had to bend over to catch her breath.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, completely confused. She had never seen Emily look so distressed. Hermione glanced over at Draco, who was staring at Emily, confusion evident on his face as well. What are you doing?!? Hermione screamed in her head, trying to project her thoughts onto Emily. Draco can't see you talking to us! You're going to blow everything!

"He's..." Emily began, but then stopped, having to gasp for air again, "He's gone!"

"Gone? Who's gone?" Ron asked, looking at Draco uneasily. But suddenly, it was like a light bulb had flickered on in her head, and Hermione instantly knew.

"Harry," she whispered. "They've taken Harry."

* * * * End Note: Review, Review, Review. OK, that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me forever to write. Bet you didn't see Oliver turning out the way he did! Next Chapter: Operation Rescue Harry!