Madame Josephine's Love Calculator

The day that the students had been anticipating for weeks had finally arrived at Hogwarts, unleashing a panic state upon the pupils.

Girls were frantically searching for any last minute products that they could apply on themselves as the nerve-wrecked boys were practicing extra dance moves to prepare their spirit and body for the fun filled evening planned ahead.

Ginny slowly slipped her green dress, trimmed with golden lacing and put her curly, copper hair up in an elegant knot with strands of hair poking out of it. She applied some scarlet lipstick and she was finally ready.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, about five girls nearly trampled over her each trying to get in first. Finally a blonde girl one, sticking her tongue out childishly at the four other girls who were in a heap at the foot of the door.

Ginny rolled her eyes and returned to her dormitory room where she found Heather brushing her sleek black hair and Monica adjusting her pink dress that had managed to be delivered yesterday. The two remaining girls in their dormitory, Maria and Laney had already gone to meet their escorts.

"I can't believe that you're going to the Ball with my brother Monica!" said Heather suddenly, irritated about what she had just said and the fact that her hair would not go up the way she wanted it to be.

"Monica you're going with Dean to the Ball?" Ginny blurted out with round eyes.

"Look it's not my fault that your brother asked to escort me to the Ball and we're not actually going together," replied Monica pretending that she hadn't heard Ginny.

"Whatever I'm still sticking to what I think," replied Heather as she clipped up her hair in satisfaction.

Monica shrugged as she grabbed her mask from the top of her bureau and headed out the door. Heather began applying some make-up and Ginny picked her own mask, which was decorated with green and gold to match her dress.

"It's almost seven," announced Ginny as she looked at the enormous clock on their wall. "I'm going go down now."

"Okay well I'll be going down later," replied Heather as Ginny left the room.

She slowly walked down the stone staircase to find Harry sitting alone in one of the common room chairs in dark blue robes. His mask was on his lap and he was blankly staring at the blazing fire in front of him.

"Harry?" Ginny said as she stood beside the boy. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd relax a bit before heading down to the Ball," he replied quietly still staring into the fire.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" she then asked.

He then looked up into Ginny's eyes and answered, "They left separately not long ago." His gazing returned to the fire as he continued, "They still haven't made up. What a terrific night it's going to be with those two moping around."

"Well everyone will be wearing masks so I doubt you'll recognize or see them," Ginny said with encouragement. "Look I was just heading down to the Ball myself. Would you like to accompany me to the entrance of the Ball?"

"Sure," he mumbled as he stood up stiffly and headed out the porthole, Ginny following him.

***

"Where is she?" thought Draco impatiently as he waited alone at the Old Knight's Statue. "I hope that Weasley didn't stand me up because no one in the right mind stands up a Malfoy..."

Suddenly, Draco spotted her, though it was hard to recognize her since she was wearing a mask but there was the Weasley red hair and she was wearing a green and gold dress like she had said. Beside her was a male figure with dark robes and a blue mask along with messy, jet-black hair.

"She walked here with Potter," thought Draco now angry. "If she comes here with that stupid git, I swear that I am going to stand her up!"

Fortunately she bid Harry good-bye and headed for the statue.

***

Harry entered the Great Hall, though it did not resemble the Great Hall at all. Vivid colors shone from every direction and confetti was raining from a purple and pink sky. The four large tables were nowhere in sight and they had been replaced by smaller one. The small tables were parked on each side of the walls and the teachers' table had been pushed back and covered with a pure white cloth.

Mountains of turkey, smashed potatoes, gravy, and ham lay on silver platters accompanied by large jugs of pumpkin juice.

The enormous empty space left was transformed into a dancing floor and already a few couples were dancing.

Classical music hummed gently in the atmosphere though Harry saw no orchestra in sight. The delicious smells of the savoring food filled Harry's nostrils.

Most of the students had already arrived and only a few empty seats were scattered about. Harry didn't recognize anyone as he strode along the tables searching for an empty space. The girls sat elegantly in their vivid dresses, some a little too revealing, and the boys sat scruffily in robes that looked like their mother had bought for them.

Everywhere Harry looked, there was a mask in his face. Horse masks, peacock masks, fairy masks!

"By the end of the night, I'll have seen a mask of every creature in the world both magical and non-magical!" Harry thought in amusement.

There was a tiny space left between two people. Harry sat down and took a closer look at his surroundings. Both a girl and a boy were seated on either side of him. They had their backs turned to him and their arms crossed. The boy turned his head and glared at the back of the girl's brown hair. The girl spun around and stuck out her tongue.

"You two are obliviously Ron and Hermione," Harry said loudly.

Ron looked at Harry for the first time and realized that there was actually someone sitting beside him.

"Who are you and how did you know who we were?" demanded Ron in confusion.

Harry stared at him in shock. How could he not know that this was his best friend? Harry decided to play along.

"Ah! It's a secret!" answered Harry who disguised his voice this time.

"Who cares who he is," snapped Hermione at Ron. "The point is that you're making it very obvious that we are Hermione and Ron when the whole idea of this Ball is to hide your identity!"

Even Hermione didn't recognize Harry? Did he have a faucet sticking out his forehead? Was his hair green? This was getting all too weird for Harry...

"Me revealing your identity? You're revealing mine by sitting next to me and sticking your tongue out!" retorted Ron.

"I was sitting here first!" shot back Hermione.

"No I was!"

"I was!"

"No I was!"

"I was!"

Harry had just figured it out. They were not paying attention to him! They had barely glanced at him and were not paying attention to the distinctive features that would reveal him. All they carried about was themselves and their fight. An idea suddenly bolted into Harry's mind. He quickly got up and left his friends quarreling so that he could prepare his plan...

***

"Are you err- hot dragon twenty-four?" asked Ginny uncertainly at the boy dressed in black robes and a matching mask which only shielded the part of his eyes.

"Yeah," answered Draco remembering to lower his voice.

There was an uncomfortable pause between the two. Ginny shifted from one foot to the other and Draco simply stared at her.

"Look I was thinking, we should give each other nicknames until midnight because I am not going to say hey you all night," spoke up Ginny.

"Fine I'll call you Ginger since your nickname is that after all and I'll call myself... Hot Stuff!" Draco answered seriously.

"Hot Stuff? Are you crazy?" cried Ginny even though she couldn't help but smile. "I'm calling you Dragon."

"Dragon? So now I'm a beast?" announced Draco with sarcasm.

"You're not a beast! It's just your nickname on the internet!" Ginny pointed out.

"It's hot dragon," corrected Draco.

"Well I'm calling you Dragon whether you like it or not," Ginny said firmly.

"Fine," said Draco. "Let's go inside..."

After he finished speaking, he extended his arm towards her. Ginny was caught by surprise.

She looked at him clearly for the first time. His blonde hair fell on the sides of his mask and there was this one streak right in the middle of his forehead the hung alone. His eyes were like gray mirrors but if you looked deeper into his eyes, tiny specks of blue were hidden inside them. His black robes fitted him well and her eyes fell down on the extending arm.

She hooked her own slender arm, which was wrapped in the comfortable green material of her dress into his extended arm and smiled. He smiled back, a true smile, not a grin or smirk but one of those rare Draco smiles that you only get every three years.

Hooked together, they entered the Great Hall. Some people smiled at them. They looked like the perfect couple behind their masks and fancy robes. Draco was sure that if you took the costumes and masks away, people would not have smiled at them.

"A Gryffindor and a Slytherin?" Draco thought. "Or worse, a Weasley and a Malfoy?"

Draco was absolutely positive that he knew each and every reaction of the four Houses. The Slytherins would stare and snort in disgust on how the Draco Malfoy was with a Weasley. The Gryffindors would gawk in horror on how a Gryffindor could actually touch a Slytherin. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs would just shoot them a quizzical look as if saying, what's next? Pigs can fly?

Draco didn't even want to think about what his father would say but somehow it crept into his mind. Shame on the Malfoy Family forever... Shame for the Dark Lord... Shame for Lucius... It would go on and on and it would finally end up brutally with a black eye and cut lip appearing on Draco's face. His father would continue insulting him on how his son had turned into such a disgrace and his mother would burst into a frantic fit of sobs. That's what always happened for every conflict that occurred in the Malfoy Manor...

Draco shut the cruel images out of his head and tried to concentrate on what was occurring around him. He found himself sitting down next to Ginny and staring at Dumbledore who had just stood up.

"Students!" he called out, his blue eyes twinkling upon the disguised pupils. "Welcome to the first Masquerade Ball here at Hogwarts!"

The students cheered and clapped for no apparent reason.

"The annual Masquerade Ball Dance will begin in an hour, meanwhile enjoy the feast and you may dance if you want with a person of your choice!" said Dumbledore and the students cheered again.

The pupils began moving about, many striding towards the platters of food. A few couples were already dancing slowly to the tranquil music that was humming in the atmosphere.

"You want to err- dance Dragon?" Ginny said suddenly though in a very quiet matter she said it

Draco who had not been paying attention, blinked and said, "I'm sorry what was that you said?"

"Do you want to dance with me?" she said clearly and louder.

The words Ginny Weasley kept drumming in his head like an unstoppable stampede of raging animals.

"Yes," he said.

Draco stood up and took both of Ginny's hands, lifting her off her seat. He led her to the middle of the dance floor and placed both his hands on her sides pulling her in closer to him. Her arms locked around his neck and their bodies swayed gently to the soft melody that left a dreamy expression on the students. Draco caressed her copper hair, which felt like silk to his face.

Draco had never felt this way about anyone. Why did he feel like this towards someone especially a Weasley?

"Could it be love?" he thought suddenly.

***

Harry's plan was all set. He had gathered up everything he needed to make it work. He spotted his first victim filling a glass of punch at the food table.

He slowly walked towards the table and when he got there, he leaned himself on the table, staring at the victim.

The victim turned, his blue eyes looking into his green eyes.

"What do you want again?" snapped Ron with great impatience. "And who are you?"

"Do you really want to know who I am?" asked Harry a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"Yes it might clear up a few questions in my head," answered Ron in exasperation.

"Fine then I'll see you in the empty classroom right outside the entrance in five minutes," answered Harry.

"Do you really think that I'm going to walk all the way down there just to see what's hidden behind that bloody mask?" snapped Ron.

Harry raised his eyebrows, which were not visible due to the mask shielding the top of his face. Though only thing that Ron saw was the smirk that had crept up about his lips.

"Fine I'll met you there in five bloody minutes," muttered Ron and he disappeared through the crowds.

Harry grinned and moved on to victim number two.

She was sitting alone chewing slowly on some dry turkey. Her eyes stared blankly in front of her.

He made his move and seated himself in front of her. She shot him a disgusted look.

"Excuse me but you're blocking my view," said Hermione, a flick of annoyance was clearly visible in her voice.

"You're dating Ron Weasley right?" asked Harry on purpose.

"Dating Ron Weasley?" cried Hermione. "More like killing Ron Weasley? Honestly I absolutely despise him! Why do you ask?"

"Oh well I just saw Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape rushing him out of here," said Harry trying to sound as real as possible. "He was clutching his stomach."

"Clutching his stomach? What happened? Is he all right? Where is he?" squeaked Hermione nervously.

"They were took him to the classroom just outside the Hall and since I thought you were his girlfriend, I thought that you'd like to know but I guess not," answered Harry.

"You're right I don't care," replied Hermione though she did not sound very convincing.

Harry shrugged and pulled himself into a thick crowd so that Hermione could not see him though he still had a perfect view of her.

She looked around and then quickly stood up and practically ran out the Great Hall.

Harry grinned in an evil like manner and whispered to himself, "So it begins."

***

Hermione flew into the empty classroom to discover a perfectly healthy Ron sitting on one of the desks, an impatient look painted on his face.

"YOU?" they both cried out at the same time.

"You're the secret boy Hermione?" exclaimed Ron stupidly.

"What are you talking about?" she screeched. "You're supposed to be ill!"

"WHAT?" yelled Ron. "I'm not ill!"

The door suddenly shut and locked before Hermione or Ron had time to reach it.

"Bloody hell!" cried Hermione banging on the door. "We've been ambushed!"

Ron stared at her in complete shock.

"The Hermione Granger swore?" said Ron, his blue eyes big and round.

"Oh shut up Ron," she said pushing him as she walked by. "And I left my wand up in my dormitory!"

"So did I," he replied quietly.

She sat down flushed and angry.

"We're going to miss the dance!" she said and groaned.

"Yeah and I'm stuck in here with you!" he continued as he sat down beside her.

"Stuck with me? What's wrong with me?" cried Hermione.

"Let's see, conceited, bad-tempered and thinks she knows every little thing on this planet," he answered and Hermione scowled.

"I am neither one of those things you incompetent moron!" she retorted.

"Hey I didn't start this fight!" he said raising his voice a little.

"Neither did I!" she yelled.

"Then if neither of us started this fight, then what in Merlin's name are we fighting about?" he asked.

"I have no idea!" she said now laughing.

He smiled. It was good to hear Hermione laughing.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," he said and the expression on his face made Hermione laugh even more.

"I'm sorry too," she replied.

"Can we have a make up kiss?" he asked, grinning wildly.

She laughed again and pressed her lips against his. He accepted the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her hips and her hands slid down his robes and she felt an object poking out of his pocket.

She opened her eyes to see that she was holding onto his wand! She jerked away from him and yelled, "RON WEASLEY!"

"I must have forgotten that I had put there," he replied blushing madly.

She rolled her eyes and pointed his wand at the door.

"Alohomora!" she said.

The door opened and she was about to step out when she turned around to face Ron.

"You coming?" she asked.

"I thought we were enemies," he said.

"Hey I don't kiss my enemies now come on!" she replied.

He smiled and stood up, chasing her out of the empty classroom.

***

Hermione and Ron returned to the Great Hall to see that the annual dancing had not started yet.

"Hermione! Ron!"

The mysterious boy walked towards them, a grin smeared on his face.

"You!" Ron said pointing at the boy. "Reveal yourself."

Harry smirked and pulled his mask off his eyes. Hermione gasped and Ron's face held a shock expression once again.

"You, you, you," stammered Ron. "This was your idea?"

"Alas I am the matchmaker," he said boldly.

Hermione laughed and Ron turned scarlet.

There was a sudden yell as Terry Boot; a seventh year Ravenclaw ran across the dance floor wearing simply a pair of boxers that were decorated with pink hearts.

"I'm the King of Hearts!" he yelled as nearly all the teachers chased him.

He ran out of the Great Hall, the teachers on his pursuit. There was a loud bang and then total silence.

"They stupefied him," Hermione announced.

"I never thought I'd see the day when a Ravenclaw would actually be drunk," said Ron.

***

After much squabbling and pushing, the students managed to follow the instructions of Professor Dumbledore.

The ancient music of medieval times pooled into the atmosphere and the students began moving to its tranquil tone.

Ginny found herself in the arms of a very tall boy with red robes. He was all hands and he touched her in very inappropriate places. She squirmed away from him quickly and a bright blue robed boy took her hands.

He was quite clumsy and kept stepping over her feet. He muttered something and burnt beet red. Ginny laughed and patted his arm. He managed to cool down to a light pink.

She switched partners over and over again dancing with so many boys that she could barely remember them all. She had dance with Harry once though and they had laughed when they had connected together.

After having quite an enjoyable time, Ginny decided to take a little break. She walked towards the punch table and filled herself a glace. The cool punch felt good to her dry throat.

The night continued and Ginny anticipated the moment in which she would finally discover once and for all whom Dragon was.

At 11:55pm and Professor Dumbledore waved his hand in the air and the music came to an abrupt stop.

"The time has finally come for you all to discover who each of you are!" he said cheerfully.

Ginny quickly pushed herself away from the thick crowd and towards the Old Knight's Statue.

Dragon was already there waiting. He twisted his mouth when he saw her in what looked like a smile.

"Err- hello," said Ginny with tiny patches of pink appearing on her cheeks.

"There's a minute left," he answered. "Come on let's go in the Great Hall."

He took her hand and pulled her into the Great Hall.

A large clock had appeared in the air and all the students were counting how many seconds were left until midnight.

There was now Twenty seconds left.

"Close your eyes," whispered Draco.

Ginny obeyed and she felt his slender hands on her face as he pulled off her mask.

Ten seconds left.

Draco pulled off his own black mask and put his hands back on Ginny's face. He leaned in towards her.

Five... four...

He leaned in even closer so that only a few millimeters were separating their lips.

Three... two...

He closed his eyes.

One...

He pressed his lips against Ginny's and-

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"