The Silent Siege

Chapter 11

Dresses and Just Desserts

Harry stood on the spot for some time, watching Ginny go. Why was it every time he was with her he seemed to get anxious about five different things at once? He swallowed as if doing so would force all those things down and started to walk down the field toward the exit himself.

He hadn't made it very far when he could make out another person entering the pitch from the exit. He could see Ginny ahead of him still half-walking, half-trotting out of the main door to the stadium. He watched as she passed on the oncoming figure; they seemed to share only the briefest of acknowledgments; Harry assumed it must not be someone she knew well.

But as the figure grew closer, Harry could see that he had been wrong. He could tell by the way she walked even before she could make out her unruly mop of brown hair that it was Hermione. She started running faster toward him when she had noticed that he'd seen her. But whatever could she want?

"Harry," she said panting as she arrived at his side. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Please tell me you don't have anything to do right now."

"W - well, no, I suppose not," said Harry a little cautiously.

There was an anxious and pleading look in Hermione's eyes that Harry had not often seen. The bossy confidence with which Hermione usually carried herself seemed absent from her body language. She shifted about from foot to foot, seeming as unsure how to stand as what to say.

"I need to buy a dress for the ball," Hermione explained. "I never got one because I didn't think I would be going and now the dance is tonight."

"You want to borrow the invisibility cloak?"

"No, Harry. I want to borrow you."

"Me?"

"I want to get a dress that Ron will really like. I - I - " Hermione hesitated for a moment. "You're his best friend. You'll know what he wants better than anyone else."

"But - but," Harry stammered. "I don't know anything about dresses. It's not the sort of thing Ron and I usually discuss. C - can't you go with your roommates? This is more the sort of thing that girls are good at, surely?"

Hermione put her hands to her hips and seemed to regain some of her usual attitude. "Please, Harry. I'd sooner go shopping with an army of mountain trolls. At least they wouldn't stand there and giggle all the time and try to read the future in my hem lines."

"Well - well Ginny, then. I'm sure she'd go with you."

Hermione shook her head. "It's her brother, remember? It's just, well, it's a little weird."

Harry opened his mouth to protest again but Hermione said:

"Please, it's really important."

Harry sighed and nodded.

***

Not long afterwards, Harry and Hermione were walking down to Hogsmeade very awkwardly and slowly, the invisibility cloak huddled over their heads.

"Remember, Harry," Hermione was saying as if going to Hogsmeade had been his idea. "We still want to stay where there are large crowds, just in case."

"I don't think Voldemort will plan anything today. He doesn't even know we're going out."

Hermione gasped suddenly and stopped walking, nearly causing Harry to trip over the front of the cloak.

"What?"

"But he might know, mightn't he? Isn't there a chance he can read your mind? Isn't that why Dumbledore wanted you to have Occlumency lessons?"

Harry frowned.

"I - I don't know, I suppose," he said. "But Dumbledore obviously doesn't think he can or he would have told me I still had to take them, wouldn't he? And besides, he already allowed me out to Hogsmeade once."

"Yes, but that was when he knew you would be there!"

Harry hesitated for a moment but then said very quickly:

"Don't see why it should make any difference, anyway. After all, Voldemort could get inside my head while I was still in the school last year. And even if he does know I'm going into Hogsmeade, he can't exactly get an army of Death Eaters ready in a few minutes to ambush me in broad daylight, can he?"

Harry started to walk forward again forcing Hermione to follow him so that she could still remain under the cover of the cloak.

"I don't know, Harry," she protested as Harry started to walk even faster. "There's a lot of things he can do. And, well, suppose Dumbledore is wrong this time."

Harry turned to look at her, a slightly jaded smile on his face.

"You think I think Dumbledore is always right, don't you?"

"Well," said Hermione anxiously. "You did say - "

"I know what I said," Harry interrupted, looking away from her. "But that's not what's making me keep walking to Hogsmeade with you."

Harry didn't elaborate any further.

They walked for a few minutes longer in silence. Harry could tell from long experience that Hermione was still not satisfied with his answers to her fears about Voldemort but his mind had already moved onto other worries. At first, like anything that took his mind of the Dark Lord, he was grateful for the distraction but the wasn't long before his thoughts were racing ahead of themselves to very uncomfortable conclusions, so much so that he knew he was going to have speak his fears out loud.

"Hermione."

"Yes?"

"Well - " Harry hesitated. He was not at all sure how to put this. Then Hermione said:

"Harry, we're friends. If you want to ask me about Ron, you can."

That made it easier. Harry said:

"Well, it's just, I couldn't help wondering. I mean, last night, he said you were 'the girl he liked.' And I really haven't talked to him since then, well, except for in the toilet and then I was just trying to get him to come out. And I know you want to go to the dance with him, but, I was just wondering - "

"Whether I like him, too?" Hermione finished.

Harry nodded.

"Oh, Harry. Of course I like him. Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really, Hermione." Harry suddenly felt a little annoyed. "You've been at each other's throats for years. I feel like I'm a referee sometimes."

"Harry, I'm really sorry," said Hermione and sounded it, too. "It's just - oh, don't you see? The closer we get, the more nervous I am. And then, well, it's just easier to get into a row. Then I can convince myself I hate him and I feel much more comfortable."

This did not make any sense at all to Harry. He wondered whether Ron would find it equally as confusing or, whether, on this point, he and Hermione would strangely agree. Harry wanted to ask how long this had been going on when Hermione said, as if reading his mind:

"If only he hadn't tried to cast that stupid spell."

"Sorry?" Harry was starting to wonder what else it was he didn't know.

"The spell on his rat," repeated Hermione, as if it would make everything obvious. "In the train? Our first year? He was so stupid... and so cute," Hermione finished, going red.

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to this. It sounded like Hermione was telling him she had fostered a crush on Ron the day they first met. But could it really be? All these years they had run around together? All the rows? Were they all just the expressions of some kind of latent affection between the two? And what was he, then? Without knowing it, Hermione had touched on precisely the nub of what had been vexing him. Harry suddenly felt horribly queasy.

Hermione ploughed on. "I didn't really want to admit it, of course, to myself I mean. We - we were all friends."

So friendship counted for something. Harry felt a little better.

"And then, of course, I didn't always like him. Sometimes, I hated him. And sometimes I just wanted to be his friend. But then this year, the first night, the night we thought, well - "

"The night you thought I was dead," finished Harry.

"Yes, that night. I nearly said something really stupid to him. I just got carried away. And then I spent the rest of the term trying to cover it up. And then, of course, I really started to stay stupid things, things I didn't mean. Oh, Harry, I've been so horrible to him all term. I feel awful. I have to make it up him. I have to buy a really good dress."

It was Hermione's turn to move ahead faster having forgotten, no doubt temporarily, about her concerns for their safety. Now Harry had to struggle to keep up with her pace and make sure the invisibility cloak did not slip off his back. He had no time to untangle - or question - her logic.

After what had seemed like a never-ending march to Hogsmeade inside the cloak, Harry and Hermione finally found their way into Trans-figuration. They emerged out of the cloak right next to the dress section, causing a few murmurs. An elderly witch, who had been browsing through a display of hats on offer narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she saw their Hogwarts robes. Hermione glared back at her and she returned to the hats.

"Now," said Hermione, smiling. "I think I'll try this one." She pointed to a dress, "and this one." She pointed to another one. "And maybe this one." She picked up a fourth dress. "What do you think?" she asked, holding up a long peach-colored silk dress with a large pink stripe running down the center.

Harry shrugged. "It looks - fine."

Hermione looked back at the dress doubtfully and then went to look at several more.

Harry found himself yawning. His legs started to feel like led and his back began to ache. Standing in the clothing store suddenly seemed much more demanding than a long game of Quidditch. There seemed to be an endless supply of dresses and Hermione did not tire of looking at them. Finally, when Harry felt he could stand it no longer, Hermione announced that she was ready, and disappeared into the invisibility room in the center of the shop to try them on.

After what seemed to Harry like an interminable wait, Hermione emerged wearing a long turquoise dress with a white lace collar. She twirled around and smiled at Harry expectantly.

"Well?"

"It looks - nice."

Hermione frowned with deep disapproval. "Nice? What will Ron think?"

"Well, Hermione, I - I suppose he'll think it's nice, too."

Hermione groaned and disappeared back into the invisibility room. Harry could hear the mirror inside say "Oh, that suits you perfectly, dear." Hermione emerged a few minutes later wearing a long frilly lime green dress with bright purple stars, green and yellow striped socks, and a matching green and purple striped hat.

"What do you think?" she asked Harry. "It's very fashionable but...."

Harry shrugged.

"Yes, I thought so, too." Hermione frowned. "I'm afraid I'm still too influenced by Muggle tastes."

Hermione disappeared again and then emerged in a plain royal blue cotton dress. She looked quizzically at Harry.

"That's very nice, Hermione," said Harry, eager to leave the shop. "It really suits you," he added, echoing the words of the mirror.

His smile faded slightly as he was met with a questioning stare.

"Does Ron like blue?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I, er, I suppose."

Hermione held up her finger. "Or there's this one."

Harry groaned inwardly as Hermione disappeared once again before emerging again in a red cotton dress.

Hermione smiled. "Well?"

"Also very nice." Harry smiled weakly.

Hermione's smile faded. "Well, which is better, the blue one or the red one?"

"Well." Harry thought for a moment. "The collar of the red one is a little higher, I suppose, and then - "

"Harry." Hermione folded her arms. "It's the same dress. It's just a different color. Now, what does Ron like better - red or blue?"

"Honestly, Hermione, I don't think Ron will mind what color the dress is at all."

Hermione groaned.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I told you I wasn't very good at this."

Hermione sighed. "OK. Just one more."

Harry cursed his fate as Hermione disappeared into the invisibility room again and emerged in another royal blue dress. But even Harry did not fail to notice that this dress was very different from the first. It was made of some kind of silk-like fabric that glistened so brightly Harry was sure it was enchanted. More noticeably, this dress left Hermione's shoulders bare, hugged her body tightly, and ended just above her knees.

"Well?" said Hermione after a moment's pause.

Harry suddenly realized he had been staring at her.

"I - I - I, er, I definitely think Ron will like this one."

"Really?" Hermione seemed less sure. "It's all right, I suppose, but it's really a summer dress. I can't very well wear a summer dress in the autumn."

Harry shook his head with genuine certainty. "I definitely don't think Ron will care about that."

Hermione hesitated for a moment and then looked searchingly at Harry. "So Ron does prefer blue?"

Harry felt the top of his ears go pink. "Well, not really, Hermione, you see - "

Exactly what it was Harry had seen, he was never able to say for Hermione let out a sudden gasp, grabbed the invisibility cloak and wrapped herself and Harry inside it.

"What?" asked Harry.

"Look!" Hermione pointed out of the shop window.

Harry's eyes widened as he followed Hermione's gaze and saw Draco Malfoy wandering up the high street outside. He paused for a moment and looked through the windows of Trans-figuration with mild curiosity. He then looked furtively about the street for a moment before disappearing to the other side.

"What's he doing here?" Harry wanted to know.

"I don't know," replied Hermione. "We'd better not let him see us."

Harry watched as Malfoy stood right across from Trans-figuration. He glanced several times at his watch and tapped his foot impatiently on the cobblestone street.

"He's up to something," said Harry. "And I don't think it's buying dress robes for the ball."

Malfoy glanced at his watch again. A few more moments passed then he strode up the street back in the direction of Hogwarts.

"I think we should go after him," said Harry.

"Oh, but Harry, I'm still wearing this dress."

"Well, no one will notice, will they? I mean, we're under the invisibility cloak. You can come back and pay for it later."

Harry did not wait for a response. He moved forward, forcing Hermione to follow him. They moved awkwardly out of the shop, narrowing dodging a heavy-set witch who was barreling through the door, oblivious to their presence. They reached the street and Harry looked up and down. Then he spotted Malfoy, now quite some way ahead of them, heading back up the road toward the school.

"Oh, Harry. He's just going back," Hermione protested.

"I don't think so." Harry pushed forward. He and Hermione trotted up the main street, but they were slowed by trying to dodge all of the people and horse-less carriages who didn't see them there and trying to remain hidden underneath the cloak. At least Hermione's relatively short dress made her more mobile but Harry couldn't stop feeling that he was standing much closer to her now than he had on the way down.

They soon reached the end of town. Malfoy was still some way in front of them but he was much easier to spot now that there were fewer people around. At first, it seemed that Hermione had been right but then Malfoy looked around nervously again. Harry let out a small cry of vindication as he took a sharp left and trudged up the hill toward the Shrieking Shack.

Harry pulled a reluctant Hermione up the side of the hill in order to cut across ground and narrow the gap between them and Malfoy. Malfoy himself now moved ahead with much larger and more determined strides. It was soon clear that he was heading directly for the shack.

"Harry!"

Harry felt Hermione tug on his sleeve.

"No, Harry. We can't go in there! It's dangerous."

"We have to find out what he's doing."

Hermione could tell that Harry was not going to be satisfied until he had followed Malfoy into the shack but she also had no illusions about whom Malfoy was now working for. Part of her was pleased that Harry had forgotten for the moment that he'd planned to leave everything in Dumbledore's hands but another part of her wanted to remind him so that he would turn around and stop. She finally settled on a warning.

"Harry, this could be a trap!"

"No, Hermione. He doesn't even know we're here."

"Maybe he does. This isn't just Malfoy we're talking about now. Or have you forgotten about your little Quidditch practice in the forest?"

"Of course not, Hermione. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothering."

Hermione groaned as Harry tugged them both relentlessly toward the shack. With one last look around, Malfoy disappeared inside.

Moments later, Harry and Hermione reached the door. Malfoy had closed it behind him. Harry tried the door. It was locked. He took out his wand.

"Alohomora."

With a very slight click, the door glided open. Harry gingerly pushed it further, wincing as a slight creak pierced the air. He waited for a moment to see if there was any reaction from Malfoy but the air seemed thick with silence. He and Hermione crept forward slowly down the empty hallway of the shack. Harry felt his pulse race as he remembered when he last been in the shack, when he and Hermione had followed Ron as he had been dragged under the Whomping Willow on the school grounds down an underground passageway that had eventually led to Sirius' hiding place, at a time when Harry had still believed that his godfather had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. He remembered the creeping fear that had overcome him when Sirius had closed the door to the upstairs room behind him and stared at them with that dark, haunting look in his eyes. He wondered what waited for them now.

But there was no sound from the upstairs room this time. Hermione and Harry reached the end of the hallway and stood outside the room near the bottom of the stairs. Harry could see that the door was half open. He licked his dry lips nervously as he looked around. He looked at Hermione. He could see that she knew as he did that they could not take a chance on opening the door. Slowly, so as not to alert anyone who might be inside the room, they maneuvered themselves into a crouching position behind the door.

Through the small opening, they could see Malfoy standing alone in the room. He stood there for several minutes, continuing to glance at his watch. Then he began to pace around the room. Harry wasn't sure he had ever seen the normally composed Slytherin look so anxious. Every now and then Malfoy would venture closer to the door and he and Hermione would start to shuffle back. Harry felt sweat start to trickle down the front of his face. He knew that he and Hermione were tremendously vulnerable, sitting there. If Malfoy made a sudden movement to leave, he doubted that they could get out in time to avoid being noticed but it would be impossible to get out now. Looking at Hermione, he could see that she was no longer making any move to exit but continued to watch mesmerized as Malfoy paced up and down the room. With a sudden rush of fear, Harry wondered what they would do if someone else came in through the shack to meet Malfoy. He tore his glance away to look at the door from which they had just entered, ready to move back further into the corridor should it open.

Suddenly, Hermione let out a small gasp and tugged Harry's elbow.

Harry looked back into the shack to see that Draco Malfoy was no longer alone. Another wizard had apparated into the room.

The new wizard sniffed the moldy air disagreeably. "Not the best of spots but it will do."

It was Lucius Malfoy.

***

Severus Snape stood behind a tall oak tree near the northern edge of the Forbidden Forest. The scene in front of him would have terrified most wizards but Snape seemed to be watching it with a curious half-smile on his face.

Five very nasty looking goblins now stood around a much smaller, older-looking goblin with half-moon spectacles. The older goblin carried a small bag of gold which he looked at mournfully. One of the larger looking goblins, obviously the leader, thought Snape, moved in front of the others. He held out his hands and smiled a wicked smile. The four other goblins started to shove the smaller goblin roughly. With one last sad look at the bag of gold, the older goblin gave it over to the leader who snatched it greedily.

There was a sudden, unearthly howling sound from somewhere deep in the forest. The goblins looked up in fright. Then the leader and his four henchmen darted away from the small clearing in which they had been standing. The older goblin, now short his bag of gold, looked around nervously in all directions, before finally running as fast as his crooked legs could carry him toward a dark gap between two trees. Snape listened as the goblin disappeared further into the forest and then made his way purposefully out into the clearing.

He did not appear to show any surprise when, a few moments later, the trees parted and a familiar figure moved into the clearing to join him.

"Good morning, Severus," said Dumbledore.

Snape simply nodded in reply.

"You have the ingredients?"

Snape nodded again. He took out a small bag from his robes which looked to be filled with a supply of herbs. Dumbledore nodded and reached into his own pocket, producing a similar bag containing a grey powdery substance not unlike ash. The two wizards took a large step away from each other at almost precisely the same time. Dumbledore flicked his wand and a large cauldron full of water appeared in between them.

Without hesitation, Snape emptied the contents of his bag into the cauldron. Dumbledore followed almost immediately. There was silence between them for a moment, then Dumbledore said:

"I believe we can get started."

***

Lucius began to pace the room in the same way his son had only moments before. His jaw hardened, also in very much the same way, as he looked down at Draco.

The younger Malfoy was the first to speak. "You have further instructions for me, father?"

"I am only here to confirm that you have received the instructions we have sent to this point and that you appreciate the importance of the role you will play in our plan for tonight."

"I have, of course."

Lucius looked down his nose at his son like he was a rotting piece of cheese. "You say 'of course' but I doubt you realize how much more privileged your position would be if you had taken care to follow instructions in the past."

Draco stared back at his father defiantly.

"Shooting the dark mark into the sky. Twirling Potter around on his broomstick. You could have hardly drawn any more attention to yourself if you'd tried. Potter knows all about you. And Dumbledore. No one is fooled."

Draco moved himself closer to Lucius and looked him directly in the eye. "Do you have a point to make, father?"

Lucius held his ground. "Only that if you are to be of any use to us at all tonight, you'd better be extremely cautious. I doubt the Dark Lord will have any further use for you if you are not."

Draco was still not prepared to be intimidated. Perhaps once, when he was younger, but not anymore. "And what of your own position? You think you are the only one who tells me things?" Draco's mouth curled up in a shrewd smile. "I heard that the Dark Lord was a little displeased with you. In fact," he drawled on. "It seems to me like you've come down quite a bit in the world since he returned."

Lucius' mouth twisted into a savage-looking sneer. Blood rushed to his face as he moved forward and slapped Draco hard across the face.

"Damn your insolence!"

Draco stared back coldly at Lucius as he nursed his cheek, feeling more the pain of wounded pride than the sting of his father's blow.

"You are far too young to appreciate what things were like before the Dark Lord's rise to power," Lucius continued savagely, walking about the room. "If it weren't for him, our family would never have commanded the respect and fear it did even in the darkest days of his demise. And the Muggle-loving policies of fools like Dumbledore would have rid the world of the last remains of any pure blooded wizards by now."

"But he isn't a pure blood wizard, is he?" Draco stared coldly at his father.

For a moment, Harry thought that Lucius would strike his son again. But the elder Malfoy just stared at Draco and Harry saw all the color fade away from his face.

"If you go around saying things like that," Lucius hissed, "then you are very, very foolish indeed."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'm saying it to you."

Neither Malfoy spoke a moment. They simply continued to stare at one another. Then Lucius said:

"Your contact - she is still in place?"

Draco smiled and nodded.

"And our other contact has been in touch with you?"

Draco nodded as his eyes widened. Unfortunately for Harry and Hermione, he said nothing more, but in his mind he remembered how Snape had grabbed hold of his hand the night he had been serving "detention" and taken him away from the potions room, and what he had shown him.

"Pray tell me that you have not told the one about the other."

Draco shook his head.

And for the first time, Lucius smiled.

"That may be the least foolhardy thing you have done all year. Mind you continue to keep that information to yourself. Divulge it to anyone and you become expendable." Lucius sneered again. "If you want to gain an edge, you do not do so by babbling inflammatory remarks. A true Slytherin never strikes until he holds every advantage and his opponent can only surrender."

And the two Malfoys smiled at each other in a way that only two Slytherins could.

"Since you have no further questions," finished Lucius, "I have a great many things to complete for the Dark Lord myself." His smiled ironically, readjusted his cloak, and disapparated.

Draco did not wait a single moment before making his way toward the exit. Harry and Hermione quickly shuffled away from the door. Fortunately for them, the noise they made was masked by the loud sound of Draco's angry footsteps on the creaking wood floor. He walked right past them and out of the front entrance to the shack.

Harry and Hermione waited for a moment before making their way cautiously toward the shack's entrance. They quietly opened the door and peeked out to see Malfoy disappearing down the hill. They watched him reach the road and make a sharp turn back toward the school. They waited until he was completely out of sight before opening the door more fully and stepping outside themselves.

Neither said anything until they reached the bottom of the hill and Harry made a sharp right turn back to Trans-figuration.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione finally said, before they would pass in earshot of Lord Ravenhurst. "This is awful. They're planning something tonight. We've got to get you out of here! We've got to have the ball cancelled. It must - "

Harry stopped walking and turned around to face Hermione.

"No."

"What?"

"No, we're not going to have anything cancelled. You are going to the ball with Ron."

"Oh, but Harry, be reasonable! Think about what we've just learned. Voldemort's planning something for tonight. It must be an attack! And - and the way Lucius and Malfoy went on it sounded like Hogwarts is crawling with his spies!"

"So what?" Harry replied, his lips set in a stubborn thin line. "I've known that since the beginning of the year. Dumbledore told me in his office. He also said that Voldemort always used fear to divide people, that he played on the fact that no one ever knew who they could trust. And how are we supposed to protect against this plan anyway? We don't even know what it is! I have to stick with what Dumbledore told me. I have to stay in the castle and beyond that, I have to live my life and my friends theirs. Wasn't it you who told me that, Hermione?"

"But - but this is different! At least tell Snape," Hermione added quickly, before Harry could respond.

"No."

"Harry!"

"I don't trust him."

Especially not after what he did to Sirius, Harry thought, and the unspoken conclusion to his thoughts seemed to hang in the air between the two friends.

"Oh, Harry," said Hermione fervently. "I know he's been rotten to you, to all of us, but - but remember what Dumbledore said! We're all on the same side now!"

"No. I'm sorry. I don't trust him. And I never will. Do you really trust him, Hermione? After all he's done?"

Hermione didn't reply. She just bit her lip.

"We've got to tell someone, Harry. After all, Lucius Malfoy is an escaped convict. He should be back in prison!"

"Dumbledore knows he escaped, anyway, and so does the Ministry! And he just disapparated. How are we supposed to know where he's got to now?"

Hermione anxiously tried to think of some way to make Harry see reason.

"Tell Dumbledore," she finally said. "Just tell him. Would that be so difficult?"

Harry hesitated.

"Harry," Hermione started again. "You told us you were going to - "

Harry sighed loudly.

"I'll send an owl to Dumbledore, all right? Then if he thinks we need to cancel the ball and send every student and teacher out to guard the castle, I won't say otherwise."

Hermione nodded slowly. She still wasn't completely happy with the situation but since Harry had agreed to her last compromise, she felt she had to keep walking with him back into Trans-figuration. Harry found himself breathing a small sigh of relief when she changed back into her familiar robes. With great reluctance, Hermione purchased the dress and the two Gryffindors went back under the invisibility cloak and returned to school.

Lunch had already started when they arrived. Ron was a little edgy when he hadn't been able to find them. Harry exchanged brief greetings with his friend and left quickly for the owlery, leaving Hermione to explain. Ron still seemed a little uncomfortable about being left alone with Hermione for lunch but his thoughts of their relationship were quickly put to the side as the entire conversation focused on Hermione's account of what she and Harry had heard that morning.

Finally, Harry returned to join them, ate quickly and then the three of them made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

***

Dumbledore and Snape sat around a now full cauldron. They watched as the cocktail inside simmered and wisps of smoke curled off the top like the morning mist from a lake. Every few minutes, Dumbledore gently stirred the mixture with a long wooden pole.

This monotony was unexpectedly broken when Hedwig landed gracefully on the edge of the cauldron with an envelope in her beak. Snape shooed her away from the side. She landed on the ground and gave the acting headmaster a reproachful hoot before she hopped over to Dumbledore, bowed politely, and dropped the letter in his lap.

Snape showed little reaction as Dumbledore opened the envelope and read it to himself, raising an occasional eyebrow and sighing as he finished it. He began to take some owl treats out of his pocket and feed them to Hedwig. He then sighed wearily and handed the letter to Snape.

Snape read the letter carefully to himself several times and then let out an almost imperceptible snort.

"I told you it would be impossible to keep anything from Potter and his friends. It will be nothing short of a miracle if they do not now try to start their own investigation. Interesting that he didn't tell me. I suppose he still doesn't trust me."

Dumbledore did not respond. Instead, he reached methodically into the folds of his cloak and drew out his wand. He flicked it quickly and a blank parchment apparated and then unrolled in front of him. Snape took hold of the long pole and peered into the mixture once more, gently stirring it and appearing to pay little attention to Dumbledore as he used his wand to write in the air words that immediately etched themselves onto the parchment. He finished by signing his name with a flourish, drew a final loop with his wand in the air that caused the parchment to roll itself shut, a Hogwarts seal crested on top. He gave Hedwig a grandfatherly smile before gently tickling her chin and attaching the parchment to her leg. He made a waving motion with her hand and she flew quickly away.

Several more minutes passed before Snape finally said:

"What did you tell him, may I ask?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Naturally, that we are aware of what is happening, that we have everything under control, and he that should do nothing."

"Do you think he will really listen to you?" Snape asked idly.

Dumbledore sighed slightly more loudly this time and his eyes looked strangely sad.

"Yes, Severus. I believe he will."

If Snape thought Dumbledore's reaction was strange, he did not show it. Another short time passed before he got slowly to his feet and adjusted his robes.

"I trust everything is in order then," he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "A headmaster has many engagements," he said a little wistfully. "Good luck, Severus."

Snape nodded.

"Headmaster," he said and disapparated.

***

Nothing much was accomplished in either Defense Against the Dark Arts or Potions that afternoon. Professor Nevins fretted a great deal about the decision to hold the ball in mid-week, even if it was the fifth of November. Professor Dibble, after arriving so late for class the Gryffindors wondered whether they should simply give up on her, tried to join into the spirit of the occasion by teaching the class a potion that would burst into a bright purple flame after a spell was cast. This time, the spell worked very well when Professor Dibble demonstrated it, earning appreciative exclamations from the students, but then she accidentally substituted the wrong ingredient for the students' own concoctions and their potions evaporated instead.

Dinner was held earlier that evening so that the Great Hall could be converted into a concert hall and dance floor for the ball. Having already exhausted the topic of Harry and Hermione's encounter with the Malfoys earlier in the day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in an awkward silence during much of the meal. Harry noticed that Ron was just picking at his food.

As they were finishing, Ron looked around nervously. Teams of house elves were already dismantling vacant tables. Another group of house elves was using magic to maneuver several large risers into position.

"What are those for?" Ron wondered. "I thought this was going to be a dance." He looked back hopefully at Harry and Hermione.

"It is a dance," replied Hermione. "For fourth years and up. The first through third years will be sitting in the risers. Professor Binns thought it would be educational."

Ron suddenly looked horrified. "You mean a bunch of little kids are going to watch us dance?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The whole show will be in darkness except for small aisle lanterns where the audience will sit. No one will be able to see the dance floor. The orchestra will glow in the dark, of course."

"You seem very well informed," noted Harry.

"Well, I had to be, didn't I?" Hermione suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. "Of course, that's all different now," she added quietly and slowly moved her chair back. "If you'll both excuse me, I have to go and change." She studiously avoided making eye contact with Ron as she left the table and walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

Ron looked at his watch, then gulped. Hermione had left just as early as she had during the Yule Ball two years before. But this time her date was not the famous Viktor Krum. It was him.

"H - Harry," he said, suddenly looking green again. "Maybe Hermione's right. I - I don't think it's safe for us to have the ball. M - maybe both of us should just go and hide with you somewhere... for a very long time."

"No, Ron," said Harry steadily. "You are going to the ball with Hermione and you are going to enjoy it. Just promise me one thing," he added.

Ron nodded.

Harry leaned in closer to his friend. "I spent all morning with her picking out that bloody dress. Please don't forget to say how nice she looks as soon as you see her in it. I for one do not want to have to live with the consequences for the rest of the year if you don't."

Ron gulped again.

Both Harry and Ron got up from their chairs. Ron watched nervously as a team of house elves moved in quickly to disassemble their table.

So absorbed were they in what was to come that neither noticed a steady stream of small spiders entering the castle from a nearby window.

***

Deep in the Forbidden Forest, the ground was full of the sounds of eight-legged arachnids running away in fear from the dark cloaked figure that now sat near the center of their domain.

Lord Voldemort was bending over a cauldron, slowly stirring a mixture that seemed very similar to the one Dumbledore and Snape had nurtured in another part of the woods. He took very little notice of the spiders' frantic exodus. He was by now used to the effect that he had on animals. It was fortunate that humans were rarely as intelligent.

He did not look up as he heard the soft measured footsteps of his most faithful servant approach.

"You have news?" he finally asked.

"Everything seems in place at the school."

"The girl?"

Snape paused for a moment. "I admit that at the moment she eludes me. But she can't have left the school."

Voldemort let out an almost inaudible sound that was very similar to a cat's purring. "Ensure that she has not."

"Very well."

"Dumbledore?"

"His counter-potion will not be effective. Unbeknownst to him, it is missing a very important ingredient."

"He still trusts you? He still believes you're spying for him?"

Snape smiled chillingly. "Does he have a choice?"

Voldemort looked up at Snape and his face widened into a hideous grin. He chuckled softly. Then his chuckle grew louder and soon the forest was filled with the hideous sound of Voldemort's high-pitched laughter reaching its cruel crescendo. It was, Snape reflected, very much like the sound of a snake swallowing its victim whole.

***

Harry finished adjusting Ron's tie.

"What if I slip and fall on the dance floor? What if I spill Butterbeer all down the front of her dress?"

Harry sighed. These were just two of the most recent nightmare scenarios Ron had offered ever since Hermione had left to change for the ball.

"No, Ron," he replied for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Nothing like that will happen. Everything will be just fine." He motioned toward the door that led from their dormitory to the common room.

Ron swallowed nervously and walked toward the exit like an errant sailor striding the plank to his murky doom.

He turned back about halfway. "I don't think my tie is really straight after all. I think we'd better - "

Harry responded by shoving Ron back out in the direction of the door.

Following several more attempts by Ron to remain inside their room, he and Harry finally reached the common room only to hear from Lavender that Hermione was still getting herself ready.

Ron tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. Harry, however, found his attention drawn away when Neville, wearing a surprisingly well-pressed white shirt, black robes, and a bow tie not unlike Ron's drifted past them. Harry was very surprised at how good Neville looked. He was much less round than he used to be. Of course, he still looked as if he was about to faint from fright and Harry strongly suspected that his recent weight loss was due to an inability to eat in the days immediately preceding the ball.

Harry was about to offer an encouraging greeting when there was a loud knock on the main door to the common room accompanied by what sounded like the alarmed screams of the Fat Lady.

Shooting a terrified glance at Harry and Ron, whose attention had finally been diverted away from the foot of the steps to the girls' dormitories, Neville walked slowly toward the portrait hole. It slid open causing the Fat Lady to scream even more loudly.

Neville, to his credit, did not scream but jumped backward, nearly losing his balance as a fully-grown lion entered the room wearing a long black evening dress, a necklace of Butterbeer caps, and Luna Lovegood's large pointed hat which now seemed to be giggling to itself. The lion gave a mighty roar which resonated throughout the whole common room. The Fat Lady could be heard screaming something about letting wild animals into Gryffindor Tower and Neville fell flat on his back.

To which the lion, to no one's real surprise, turned into Luna.

"Oh, dear, are you all right?" she asked, pulling a wincing Neville up from the floor.

"F - fine," he declared, smiling a little weakly.

"It's not a real transfiguration," she declared, turning around to notice Harry and Ron standing nearby. "Just a spell to make you think you're seeing one. Did I hurt you, dear?" she asked, taking Neville's hand gently in hers. "I just wanted to show my support for your house, dear, since I was coming into your common room, only your door portrait didn't quite seem to understand. I also wanted to show how hungry I was for you tonight, dear." She smiled engagingly.

"I - I - it's all right," said Neville, immediately groaning in pain and clutching his lower back.

Harry noticed that Luna's dress was rather plain and modest by her standards. In fact the whole outfit would have seemed almost normal were it not for a thick pair of goggles which covered her eyes.

"Er, Luna," he said, "Wh - what exactly are those glasses for?"

"They're some kind of Muggle toy: night vision goggles. Father and I found a pair near the Crumple-Horned Snorkack's cave over the summer. We think they must have stolen them. Father told me that ghosts don't glow so brightly for the first few hundred years so I thought I could use them to see the orchestra better."

"Th - they're very pretty, Luna," said Neville.

"Thank you, dear." Luna smiled at him reassuringly again. "And you look very nice, too, even though you still have that dinner napkin tied around your neck. Come on."

Luna grabbed Neville by the arm and dragged him out of the portrait hole, accompanied by the cursing of the Fat Lady. Neville shot a terrified glance back at his two roommates to which Harry and Ron gave an encouraging thumbs up. Harry noticed as they walked out that Luna's shoes were making a very loud clacking noise but he restrained himself from commenting on it.

So engrossed were Ron and Harry in following Neville and Luna leave that they had to be brought back to attention by the sound of a throat being cleared. They turned around to see Hermione standing at the top of the steps outside the girls' dormitories. Her hair was twirled back into a bun like the one she had worn to the Yule Ball two years before. A few errant curls cascaded down her bare shoulders, ending just above the dress she had bought with Harry that morning. A pair of matching blue tights covered her ankles.

Ron's mouth widened into a broad grin as soon as he saw her. "Harry." He turned to his friend. "Nice choice."

But Harry did not return his smile. Instead, he pointed an anxious thumb in Hermione's direction.

"Oh, right." Ron quickly looked back up at Hermione. "You look beautiful, Hermione."

"Thanks." Hermione replied with unusual shyness. She reached the bottom of the stairs and rested her hand briefly on Ron's shoulder. "You look very nice, too, Ron."

Hermione's smile faded as she looked out in the direction of the portrait hole.

"I take it that was Luna. I recognized the roar. What was she wearing this time?"

"She's dressed quite plainly, actually," replied Harry. "At least by her standards."

"Yeah," Ron put in, still ogling Hermione. "In fact, she's not wearing as little as - "

Harry elbowed him hard in the ribs but Hermione did not seem to notice. She started smiling again and walked down the stairs to Ron. Their eyes seemed to lock for just a brief moment but then Hermione turned to Harry and frowned.

"Oh, Harry, are you sure you won't go, even just to sit and watch?"

"No," insisted Harry, his lips tightening.

"Oh, but Harry, it's so dangerous. You're all alone up here. Voldemort could just come in and - "

"No, Hermione. Read this." He reached into his pocket and took out Dumbledore's reply which Hedwig had delivered to him that afternoon.

Hermione read the letter, her brow furrowed in concentration. Ron looked over her shoulder.

Hermione still looked anxious. "I don't know, Harry."

"Look, just come with us, mate," suggested Ron. "It can't be all that bad."

"I'd get in the way. You both know that."

"No, Harry, really you wouldn't," protested Hermione.

Harry looked from Ron to Hermione like they part of a vast conspiracy against him. His breathing suddenly became heavier and Hermione distinctly started to notice several veins bulge on his neck.

Both Ron and Hermione took a step backwards.

But Harry did not shout at them this time. He merely said, with a quiet conviction that surprised even him.

"You don't know what it's like. He's taken so much from me. My parents. My friend. My godfather. And now he's not going to take away my best friends' first date. It all stops here."

There was a long silence as the trio of friends stared at each other. Finally, Harry said:

"And now you, Ron, take Hermione's hand. And both of you go to the ball."

Ron reluctantly did as he was told and was surprised at the eagerness with which Hermione reciprocated. They turned around and went out of the portrait hole together. They did not look back.

Harry suddenly found himself panting for breath as he watched them go. He then watched as Lavender's Hufflepuff date arrived and they, too, left. Finally, Harry was alone. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat down exhausted on one of the common room chairs. He thought about doing some school work. He hadn't really finished a parchment that was due for Transfiguration the next day. But he was afraid he would start to feel sorry for himself. He decided a little broomstick maintenance was in order. Not that his new Firebolt really needed the work but he knew that it would calm him down.

He returned to his dormitory and retrieved his Broomstick Servicing Kit and his Firebolt. He came back down to the common room, planning to sprawl his equipment over one of the large tables, but he was surprised to find that the room was no longer empty. At the table where he and Ron normally played wizard chess sat a short witch. The witch was bent down over a book so that Harry could only see her hair. But those curled crimson locks were unmistakable.

It was Ginny.