DECEMBER WAS upon Hogwarts now. The castle had more of a draft than usual. Thankfully, there were thick walls and fireplaces.

Laura felt pity for Beauxbaton with their cold-looking carriage and Durmstrang with their ship. Yet, there was a strong waft of single-malt whisky in the air, the apparent preferred drink of the Beauxbaton horses.

The smell was strong enough that Laura felt light-headed. Every time she went to Care of Magical Creatures. However, she would quickly forget about it, as they were still taking care of the Skrewts.

The number of Skrewts fell to ten; it seemed like their desire to kill each other hadn't been exercised out of them. Laura was repulsed by them as they were now about six feet long.

"We'll jus' lead 'em in here," Hagrid said. It was an attempt to place the Skrewts in boxes to see if they hibernate. "An' put the lids on. We'll see what happens."

Skrewts did not hibernate and didn't like being boxed. Soon, Hagrid tried to calm everyone down as the Skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch they were standing in.

Most of the class- including Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle- had run into Hagrid's cabin. Laura, Katie, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were some of the few still outside. They managed to restrain and tie up nine of the Skrewts, but not without getting a few cuts and burns.

There was only once more when Draco hesitantly walked out of the cabin, quickly walking to be next to Laura.

"Don' frighten him, now!" Hagrid shouted as Laura shot a jet of fiery sparks at the Skrewt. "Jus' try an slip the rope 'round his sting, so he won hurt any o' the others!"

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that!" Ron shouted angrily in response.

"I see you decided to join me," Laura shouted. Draco shrugged in response.

"Too many people in that blasted cabin," he shouted as he shot sparks at the Skrewt.

"Well, well, well... this does look fun."

Laura glanced over her shoulder to see Rita Skeeter. She was leaning on Hagrid's fence, looking at the mayhem. Her eyes peered as Hagrid launched himself onto the Skrewt.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked Skeeter as he slipped a loop of rope around the Skrewts' sting, tightening it.

"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," Skeeter replied, beaming at Hagrid.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore," Hagrid said, frowning as he got up.

Laura twirled her wand as she tried to hold her laugh in. Draco put a hand on her forearm as a warning. Laura glanced over to see Hermione looking nervous about the situation.

"What are these fascinating creatures called?" Skeeter asked, her smile growing.

"They're very interesting, aren't they?" Hermione said, quickly butting in. "Aren't they, Harry, Laura?"

"What? Oh yeah... ouch... interesting," Harry quickly said.

"They're some of the most interesting creatures I've ever seen," Laura added shortly after.

"Ah, you're here. Laura, Harry!" Skeeter exclaimed, looking at both of them. "Oh, what a treat, both of the Potter cousins!"

Laura narrowed her eyes. She had a tight grip on her wand now.

"You know it's not a good idea," Draco said softly.

"So, you like Care of Magical Creatures? Both of you?" Skeeter asked.

"Yes," Harry and Laura said simultaneously. Hagrid beamed at them.

"Lovely," Skeeter smiled.

🪐➶.✧༄

At dinner, Laura sat doing her homework while eating. She was thankful Nick left her with a pen. It made her work so much easier.

"So, what is that?" Blaise asked as Laura wrote away.

"It's a pen," Laura said, glancing up. "It's like a quill but ten times better. I don't require an ink pot."

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't look too fancy."

Laura handed him the pen, nodding for him to write. Blaise started writing, slowing down when he thought it was about to run out of ink.

"You're kidding me," Pansy said, watching as he kept writing.

"Nope," Laura said with a smile. "I'm being so serious."

The three Slytherins played around with the pen, trying to figure out when it would run out of ink. Laura watched as if they were children, a smile on her lips.

"You seem like you're having too much fun," Draco said, looking at Laura. "I hope you know we have these in the Wizarding World... they're just less common."

"I know, don't worry," Laura said, playfully nudging Draco in the shoulder, "Hogwarts puts a quill in the supply list, but I just can't deal with writing with a quill all the time."

"Maybe I'll have to bribe your cousin to bring me a pen next time," Draco said with a smile.

"Oh, he'd take you up on that offer," Laura laughed as Pansy handed her the pen back. "By the way, Blondie..."

"Yeah?" Draco asked.

"Do you wanna go to the kitchens with me after dinner?" Laura asked, then glancing over at Blaise and Pansy. "I think they want some alone time, and I have a friend I need to visit in the kitchens."

"Them?" Draco asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Laura blinked at him, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm not going to explain it right here, right now," Laura said. "So, do you want to come with me to the kitchens?"

"Sure," Draco sighed, but Laura saw a smile on his lips.

When they finished, Laura and Draco left Pansy and Blaise to talk. The two of them walked to the kitchen. When they made it to the portrait, Laura ticked the pear, causing a doorknob to appear.

Laura twisted the knob, walking in. As they walked in, Dobby, the house elf, approached them.

"Hello, Dobby," Laura smiled, greeting the house elf.

"Hello, Laura Potter," he said, his wide tennis-ball-shaped eyes shifting to Draco. When he realized who it was, he slowly backed away from the two of them.

"Dobby," Laura said calmly. She crouched, seeing Draco's guilty expression, "You can trust him. He's not going to hurt you... Right?"

"Yes, I am so sorry about how I treated you before, Dobby," Draco apologized quickly, giving a weak smile.

"It's okay, Master Draco, Dobby forgives you," Dobby nodded, then turned to Laura. "Does Laura Potter need anything?"

"Can we please get two hot chocolates, Dobby?" Laura asked politely.

"Anything for Laura Potter," he squeaked.

Laura and Draco walked over to the couch. As they sat down, Dobby brought them their hot chocolate.

"Thank you so much, Dobby," Laura smiled, taking the cup from Dobby.

Draco muttered something like a thank you to Dobby, who left. Laura wanted to question Draco on what he did, which caused Dobby to be scared of him. She could tell Draco was going to want to avoid the question.

Luck was on Draco's side as Laura heard some people talking outside the portrait. She tilted her head in confusion, trying to figure out if she was hearing something.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Draco.

He nodded in response, sipping on his drink as the portrait opened. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ducked into the kitchen, not noticing Draco or Laura there immediately. Harry and Dobby had a small reunion, bringing a smile to Laura's face.

Laura had met Dobby while he worked at Ilvermorny for a year. She didn't know much of his past other than his talking about Harry. She spent many hours with him back at Ilvermorny.

"Oh, Laura," Hermione said when she realized Laura and Draco were also in the kitchens.

"What's Malfoy doing here?" Ron asked loudly, causing Draco to set his drink down, sitting up straight.

"What? Am I not allowed to come to the kitchens, Weasley?" Draco spat. Laura put a hand on his arm, shooting him a look.

"I asked him to come here with me," Laura said, keeping her cool as it was apparent Ron and Draco couldn't. "We're just here to unwind after a hectic day, that's all."

"Sorry about him, Laura... Malfoy," Hermione said, hesitantly apologizing to Draco.

"It's fine," Laura said with a small smile. "We should be on our way anyway. Snape said he had a big surprise for us tomorrow. Good night!"

Laura stood up, waving the Gryffindors goodbye as she left the kitchen, Draco following her.

"Wait, Laura!" Harry said, running over to her. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Laura glanced over at Draco, then back at Harry, nodding.

"You can go first, Blondie," she said with a small smile, "I'll catch up."

Draco glanced at the three Gryffindors, hesitating slightly before turning around to leave.

"What's going on with you and Malfoy?" Harry asked once Draco was gone. "One second, you were arguing with him, and now you're always with the bloke."

"I dunno, I just enjoy spending time with him," Laura shrugged. "He's only a pain sometimes... the rest of the time, he's fine for the most part."

"Are you and Malfoy dating?" Ron interrogated.

"No," Laura said, shaking her head. "We are not dating- please don't spread that rumor around."

"Well, we best be off," Hermione said, giving Laura an apologizing look, "we have things we need to get done as well. Harry. Ron."

Laura waved them goodbye, walking out of the portrait. She looked up to see Draco standing on the opposite side of the hallway.

"I knew it," Laura said with a soft laugh. "You always wait when I tell you to go."

"I don't trust Potter," Draco shrugged as they walked. "I know he's your cousin, but I still don't trust him. You know our history isn't the best."

"Oh, I know," Laura sighed. "I just wish you could be less hostile towards each other."

"You definitely won't be getting that wish fulfilled," Draco replied bluntly, causing Laura to frown. She knew it would be a lot to ask for, but she might as well have tried.

"Well, we can figure out how to get it done later. But now, let's get to the common room before Filch finds us."

🪐➶.✧༄

"PICKERING! MALFOY! Pay attention!"

Snape's irritated voice whipped throughout the Great Hall. They had just finished Potions when Snape excused the Gryffindors, calling all the Slytherin students to the Great Hall. None of them knew why they were there. Snape said it was crucial to be there, so they were there.

Laura and Draco had gotten yelled at for playing tic tac toe after Laura found out Draco didn't know what it was. Their round of tic tac toe had been getting intense when Snape called them out.

"I have an announcement..." Snape's voice drawled, looking at all the Slytherins. "The Yule ball is approaching... It is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament... Also, it is an opportunity to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball is only open to fourth years- although you may invite a younger student if you wish-"

Some Slytherin girls giggled, looking at the Slytherin boys.

Laura all of a sudden felt multiple people's eyes on her. She turned to Draco with a small smile, trying to distract herself. However, Draco looked away from her. His pale face looked pinker than usual.

"Dress robes will be worn," Snape continued plainly, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall... Now then-" Snape glanced around the room. "Yule Ball is an opportunity for you to have fun and build relations with students from the other schools.

"But, that does not mean," Snape continued sharply, "that we will be relaxing the standards and behaviors we expect from Hogwarts students. We will have problems if a Slytherin student embarrasses the school in any way."

"Don't screw up," Laura muttered to Draco.

"I think that applies more to you, Miss Champion," Draco shot back, keeping his eyes forward.

"Now, I need you to pair up with someone," Snape said, peering around the room. "We will practice the dances to avoid embarrassing Slytherin or the school."

Everyone stood up, Snape waved his wand, and all the tables vanished.

Laura quickly turned to Draco, seeing as some guys seemed to want to approach her.

"Will you be my dance partner?" Laura asked, glancing around, hoping people were seeing this.

"Of course I will, Pickering," Draco smirked.

"Thank Merlin," Laura sighed, a sheepish smile on her face. "Uh... also... I'm awful at dancing. I'm apologizing in advance for your feet."

"Oh, I doubt you'll be that bad," Draco chuckled.

"You would think," Laura said, trailing off. "But you're stuck with me now, so no complaining later-"

"Silence!" Snape shouted. "Now, let's get started with a basic waltz... I expect you all to know how to do that. Please get into the starting position."

All of the Slytherins shuffled around. Draco awkwardly put his arm under Laura's, taking her right hand.

Laura looked up at him. Their proximity made her realize just how much taller he was than her.

"I see you have to look up at me now, Pickering," Draco teased with a wink.

"You're laughing now," Laura said, "but you won't be in about a minute- I swear it's not on purpose."

Snape waved his wand, and the music started. Laura and Draco's waltz went smoothly, with no mishaps happening until about a minute later when Laura stepped on Draco's foot, getting mixed up. Both of them cringed, but they did for different reasons.

"I'm so sorry," Laura said quickly.

"That was definitely on purpose," Draco shot back as Laura stepped on his foot again. "Really, Pickering?"

"You're making me lose focus!" Laura said in a hushed whisper. "I've always had to go to fancy dinners- ugh- but I just don't get waltzing."

"You're definitely going to need practice, Pip," Draco sighed, shaking his head. "Thankfully for you, I've danced with many girls, I know what I'm doing."

"Aww, thanks, Blondie," Laura said as they continued dancing. "I can assure you that your experience won't help me."

"You can always practice with me, Laura," Jordan interjected, winking at Laura as he and his dance partner whirled away.

"Or me," Blaise smirked. Pansy giggled as they danced next to Laura and Draco.

"I think I'll manage to get it down myself before the dance," Laura sighed.

Snape had them dance for another ten minutes, only stopping when he felt they were barely decent enough.

"Well, many of you weren't that bad," Snape said as people stepped away from their dance partners, "I will require that you practice so you will be prepared for the Yule Ball. You all may go now."

Laura yawned, stretching a bit as she glanced around.

"Pickering- a word," Snape said, stopping Laura.

"You go ahead, Draco," Laura said, nodding towards the door. "I'll meet you back in the common room."

Draco nodded, leaving Snape and Laura.

"Laura, the champions and their partners-"

"Sorry? Partners?" Laura asked, tilting her head. This was new news.

"Your partner for the Yule Ball, Laura," he said, looking at her incredulously. "Your dance partner."

"What if I don't want to?" Laura asked, frowning.

"You have to, Laura. Traditionally, they open up the ball," Snape said bluntly. "No options for you."

"Fine, I'll find someone," Laura shrugged. "I'm guessing you're also going to tell my parents.

"I think it would be in your interest that they already know, and they owled you a package," he said, handing her a box. "Now go on, don't keep Draco waiting too long. He's done a lot of waiting for you, Laura."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura asked, furrowing her eyebrows, hefting the box.

"He always seems to be around the corner," Snape said. "Don't make him wait too long."