I'm runnin' free but I don't want to be
I couldn't take another day like yesterday
I'm dead on my feet from walkin' the street
I need somebody to help me find my way
I've gotta get out of this town
Before I do, I'll take a last look around, though
Doesn't somebody want to be wanted like me?
Where are you?
Doesn't somebody want to wanted like me, just like me?

"Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted"
The Partridge Family

November 23, 1994

DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE

    Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.
    Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.
    An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening."
    "I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter yesterday, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.
    "I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject.
    As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not --- as he has always pretended --- a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
    Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror.
    While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.
    In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power --- thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend --- but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.

HARRY:

With the first task in the past, Ron and Hermione by my side again in the present, Dobby safe and happy in the Hogwarts kitchens, and the second task months in the future, life was nearly normal again. It was as if nothing had ever been amiss.

Until the next morning.

Lucy and Hermione had gone in 50-50 on a subscription to The Daily Prophet. As much as we all hated Rita Skeeter, they figured it was good to stay on top of whatever she was spreading. Hermione usually read it first, front to back, then gave it to Lucy. That morning, however, she stared at the front page for ten seconds before passing it to Lucy.

Lucy looked confused at first, but the more she read, the more her hands shook. By the time she lowered the newspaper from her face, she was paler than perhaps she'd ever been.

"This is bad," she choked out.

"What is?" I asked.

She didn't seem to hear me as she passed the newspaper back to Hermione. "I need to go talk to him."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, don't, I- he- she somehow- I need to do this alone."

Not offering another word of explanation, Lucy snatched up her bag and stalked out of the Great Hall. Ron and I both looked to Hermione for explanation.

"Let me read the rest of this first," she muttered, holding up a finger. About two minutes later, she shoved the newspaper into my hands, a groan of frustration escaping between her teeth. "Just read it."

Ron read the article over my shoulder. By the time we were done, I was as angry as Lucy. I jumped up from the table, marched over to Malfoy, and slammed the article down next to him.

"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'? What's this rubbish about Crabbe getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"

Malfoy looked startled for half a second before laughing. "Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career. Half-giant... and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young. None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all, they'll be worried he'll eat their kids."

"When did you talk to her? How did she find out?"

"Oh, I don't know how or when she found out, but she seemed rather keen on finding me last night. She said since I had been most helpful with her article about you she hoped I wouldn't mind giving a statement for this one as well." He sighed, smiling. "Reckon he'll be too ashamed to show his big, ugly face. Come to think of it, Rita mentioned something about Lucy as well." He glanced over toward the Gryffindor table and pouted. "Aw, is Lucy too scared to show her ugly face, too?"

"Of course not," I snapped. "Lucy knows better than to listen to what people like you think of her. I know what you did to her last year, Malfoy, and if you ever think about bullying her like that again, if you ever think about bullying her the way you've bullied Hagrid all these years, you had better watch your back."

I snatched up the newspaper and returned to the table, seething.

"Well, this day is off to a great start," Ron commented sarcastically.

Hermione glanced at me, looking somewhere between disturbed and concerned. "What'd Malfoy have to say? You look murderous."

"Just Malfoy being Malfoy," I spat, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of having his words repeated.

The rest of the meal passed in tense silence, except for when the twins came over to ask where Lucy was.

"Went down to Hagrid's," Hermione replied. They nodded and settled across from us. Their attempts at conversation were met with minimal response, so they ended up shouting down the table at Angelina and Alicia.

"Reckon Lucy will just meet us in Herbology?" Ron asked as we got up and grabbed our bags.

Hermione and I nodded, but when we arrived, Lucy was nowhere to be seen. We kept glancing toward the door during the lesson, expecting her to come bursting in, but she never did.

Care of Magical Creatures was next, and the three of us were the first ones there by a mile. Lucy slipped out the door of Hagrid's hut and closed it quietly behind her.

"He's not listening to me," she whispered. "I've been at it for hours now. He can't believe Rita Skeeter- I can't believe Rita Skeeter- will you three please try to talk to him?"

"Of course, Lu," I said, and Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement.

"Thanks," she said, tugging her hat down lower over her ears. "I'll get the skrewts out for everyone, so the lesson is ready as soon as he is. Good luck."

With that, she turned on her heel and darted off into the snow. Hermione began pounding on the door, wasting no time.

"Hagrid! Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being-"

The door creaked open, so we all stepped inside. Hagrid looked terrible. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and a half-empty tankard of what smelled like firewhisky explained the rest of his bedraggled appearance.

I realized with a jolt we weren't alone with him. Lucy had forgotten to mention that Dumbledore was in there, too, though that did explain why she had missed Herbology.

Hermione had turned rather shy all of a sudden. "We --- er --- we wanted to see Hagrid."

"Yes, I surmised as much. Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"

Hagrid grunted noncommittally as the door closed behind us.

"Hermione, Harry, and Ron still seem to want to know you, in addition to Lucy, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."

I stared incredulously at Hagrid. "Of course we still want to know you! You don't think anything that Skeeter cow- er, sorry, Professor."

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry. Though I do think your friend Lucy will be most upset to hear she missed that line. Cow was not one of the animals she considered."

I had to stop and stifle a laugh at the thought of Lucy calling anyone a cow, or worse. I quickly composed myself and continued, making a mental note to ask Lucy about it later. "Er, right. I just meant... Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that woman wrote about you?"

Hagrid made no reply, but a tear trickled down his cheek.

"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid. I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it," Dumbledore said.

"Not all of 'em. Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."

"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time. Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"Yeh... yeh're not half-giant!"

"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives! Look at the Dursleys!" I burst out.

"An excellent point. My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery..."

At that moment, Lucy poked her head in the door. "Hagrid, I got the skrewts all ready for you."

"Come and teach, Hagrid, please," Hermione said.

Hagrid didn't reply, but began crying harder. Lucy came a little further in the door and stood shyly behind Hermione. "You might want to come sooner than later, Hagrid. Smokestrike is trying to eat Murksting again."

"I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, walking to the door. "I do believe I hear the rest of your class coming, so I recommend you get out there and separate dear old Smokestrike and Murksting. See you at lunch in the Great Hall!"

As soon as he left, Hagrid wiped his face with his sleeve. "Lucy, d'yeh mind startin' class? I want ter show these three the picture I showed yeh Saturday."

Lucy smiled. "Happy to. See you in a moment."

She ducked back out of the hut while Hagrid rose to his feet and rifled through a dresser looking for the picture. It was an odd picture really, but a sweet one --- his dad was perched on his shoulder. Based on the looks of it, Hagrid was probably seven feet tall, but he had no beard.

"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts. Dad was dead chuffed... thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, because me mum... well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really, but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year... Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job, trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances. Tha's what sets him apar' from other heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'... well... all tha' respectable. But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh... there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed,' my ol' dad used ter say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with.' An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones... I'll give her big bones."

The three of us exchanged a confused look. Since Lucy had stayed with Hagrid when we all went to visit Dobby in the kitchens, maybe she was the one Hagrid was talking to when Rita Skeeter somehow overheard his secret... it would explain Draco's odd comment, too... no, Lucy was tiny, she didn't have "big bones," that reminded me of Madame Maxime...

Before I could think on this further, Hagrid smiled at me. "Yeh know wha', Harry? When I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum an' Dad gone, an' you was feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember? Not sure yeh were really up to it, an' now look at yeh, Harry! School champion!" He sighed, smiling even wider. "Yeh know what I'd love, Harry? I'd love yeh ter win, I really would. It'd show 'em all yeh don' have ter be pureblood ter do it. Yeh don' have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ', lettin' anyone in as long as they can do magic."

I smiled back. "I'll do my best. Now come on, Hagrid, you've got a class to teach."

Oh, the look on Draco Malfoy's face when he saw Hagrid walk out of his hut smiling was priceless. Lucy's reaction was the complete opposite --- she looked as if she'd melt with relief.

"So what exactly happened this morning?" I asked as we started working.

"We... we were just talking last night," Lucy replied quietly. "He told me about telling Madame Maxime he was half-giant, which that absolute anteater of a woman must have somehow overheard-"

Ron snorted. "Anteater?"

Lucy snorted back. "Yeah, always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

"Harry called her a cow in front of Dumbledore," Hermione commented.

As Dumbledore expected, Lucy was disappointed to hear she had missed it. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "I can't believe I missed it! Did you really?"

"Not my finest moment," I mumbled, "but yes, I did."

"That's the best thing I've heard all day," Lucy chuckled. "I'm glad Hagrid's feeling better. Good job, by the way. How'd you manage?"

"It was Dumbledore, really," I whispered back. "And me mentioning the Dursleys helped a bit, I think."

"Just goes to show that your personality matters more than your species," Hermione said, softly but pointedly.

Lucy nodded, not replying out loud.

Though it was clear that she was relieved Hagrid didn't take what Rita Skeeter said to heart and kept teaching, Lucy grew a bit quieter after that day. A bit more reserved. Part of me wondered if it was just because Ron and Hermione were around again, and she didn't need to try to fill both of their roles. But part of me just instinctively knew that something about that Rita Skeeter article struck a chord with her. I knew how much she loved Hagrid, and creatures. After losing Professor Lupin, it made sense that the fear of losing Hagrid for nearly the same reason would be unsettling.

But for the time being, the crisis was averted. Or at least... that crisis was.

The thought of the Yule Ball was just fine at first.

It all started one Thursday afternoon, toward the end of Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall ended the lesson a few minutes early to address the class.

"The Yule Ball is approaching, a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests," she said. "Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish. Dress robes will be worn, and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall."

The classroom erupted with whispers and giggles, and Professor McGonagall silenced every sound with a single stern look before continuing.

"The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to --- er --- let our hair down."

Another brief wave of giggles flooded the room, and I understood why. The thought of Professor McGonagall with her hair down was almost as funny as the thought of Professor Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothing --- nothing would ever be funnier than that.

"But that does NOT mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell sounded, but something held me back. Professor McGonagall's voice above the rest. "Potter, a word, if you please."

"I'll save you a seat, mate," Ron said, clapping me on the shoulder before heading out of the room.

I headed up to Professor McGonagall's desk, unsure of what to expect.

"Potter, the champions and their partners-"

"Partners?" I repeated incredulously.

She looked at me like I was crazy before clarifying, "Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter, your dance partners."

"Dance p- dance partners? I don't dance."

"Oh yes, you do, that's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."

I blinked, a vivid image coming to mind of me in a tuxedo and a top hat swooping into the Great Hall with a faceless girl wearing one of Aunt Petunia's frilliest dresses clinging to my arm.

"I'm not dancing, I don't dance," I stammered, feeling my cheeks beginning to burn at just the thought of it all.

"It is traditional. You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."

And just like that, the Yule Ball was my own personal hell.

"What did McGonagall want?" Ron asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"I need a partner for the Yule Ball," I grumbled in response.

"Got any idea who you're going to try?"

Cho Chang, I answered in my head immediately, forcing myself to not let my eyes wander to the Ravenclaw table. Something about the Quidditch match we had played last year... she was pretty, and popular, and smart, not to mention a hell of a good Quidditch player.

I offered a shrug as a response.

"Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion. You've just beaten a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you."

"You can't go with just anyone, Harry," Fred said from across the table. "You're a champion! Will every girl in the school want to go with you? Yes. Will you need to break a few hearts along the way? Of course! But you need to do it, because the weight of the school rests on your shoulders. Well, half of it, anyway --- Diggory gets the other half."

"Cedric, he means," George clarified, for Lucy had gone very pink.

She cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah. Right."

"But Fred's right, Harry," George said, turning back to me. "I reckon you'll be asked as soon as tomorrow. Just keep your wits about you, say no, then ask the right girl once you've had time to think about it."

I nodded at the time, but it was far easier said than done.

I had never before realized the way girls moved in packs. Ron suggested lassoing one, but I didn't think that would be very effective. As the days passed, more and more girls asked me --- a fifth-year Ravenclaw that looked like she'd punch me if I said no, a third-year Hufflepuff who I got the feeling had just been turned down by Cedric, even a starry-eyed second year Slytherin who begged Archie to go with her for emotional support when she went to ask me.

I knew that no girl in the whole school would have wanted to go with me if I weren't a champion. But still, if Cho asked me... I doubted that would bother me very much.

The days blurred together in a haze of giggles and rumors and whispers of the Yule Ball. Before I knew it, the night before the last day of term was upon us.

Ron sighed. "Evil, Snape is. Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."

Hermione glanced over at this Exploding Snap card tower. "You're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?"

"It's almost Christmas, Mione," I said, setting aside Flying with the Cannons.

Hermione sent a disapproving look my way. "I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"

"Like what?"

"That egg!"

"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth. That's more than two months away."

"But it might take weeks to work it out! You're going to look a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"

"Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," Ron said. He added another card to his tower, and every last bit of it blew up in his face, making the common room collectively jump then giggle.

"Nice look, Ron!"

"Go well with your dress robes, that will."

We all glanced up as Fred and George made their way over to us.

"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.

"No, he's off delivering a letter. Why?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Because George wants to invite him to the ball."

"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," George said.

Ron cocked his head to the side. "Who d'you two keep writing to, eh? And why do you need to send the letter so urgently?"

Fred whipped out his wand and waved it in the direction of Ron's face. "Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too."

Hermione laughed as Ron's hands flew to cover his nose. Fred grinned, clearly proud of the reaction, and tucked his wand away.

"So, you lot got dates for the ball yet?"

Ron shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone."

"Who're you going with, then?"

"Angelina."

"What? You've already asked her?"

"Good point." Fred scanned the common room for her, then called, "Oi! Angelina!"

"What?" she called back. Alicia turned to look, too, grinning.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

"Alright, then," Angelina said with a smile grin, and she and Alicia dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Fred dusted his hands off dramatically and smiled at Ron and me. "There you go. Piece of cake. Well, now that I've shown these buffoons how to ask a girl to the Yule Ball, we'd better use a school owl, George, come on."

Once they had disappeared through the portrait hole, Ron sighed. "We should get a move on, you know, and ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."

Hermione's book snapped shut. "A pair of... what, excuse me?"

"Well, you know, I'd rather go alone than with Eloise Midgen, say," Ron explained with a shrug.

"Her acne's loads better lately, and she's really nice!"

"Her nose is off-center."

Hermione's eyes glinted dangerously as she straightened up. "Oh I see. So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"

"Er, yeah, that sounds about right," Ron replied.

"I'm going to bed."

Hermione jumped up and practically ran to the girls' dormitories. Lucy sighed softly. I had forgotten she was even there, since she hadn't said a word the whole night.

"I'd better follow her," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "Good night, you two."

"Night," we called after her as she hurried across the room in the same direction as Hermione.

Ron elected to pretend that nothing had happened. "Harry, we've just got to grit our teeth and do it. When we get back to the common room tomorrow night, we'll both have partners, agreed?"

"Er... okay," I said, my stomach squirming at the very thought of it.

That night, my dreams were wild and confusing, and I kept waking up after every single one.

In my first dream, I asked Cho to the ball down on one knee, and she squealed a "Yes!" as she jumped into my waiting arms, and I carried her bridal-style into the Great Hall, but then a loud howl filled the room, and the dream disappeared in a flash of white.

In my second dream, I asked Cho to the ball from below where she stood on a balcony like Romeo calling to Juliet, but no matter how loud I shouted, she couldn't hear me.

In my third dream, I managed to catch Cho alone and ask her to the ball in a deserted classroom, but when she rejected me, the room flooded with people all laughing hysterically at the two of us.

My fourth dream was the most realistic. I found Cho on her own on the castle grounds and approached her shyly. I tripped over my words as I asked her to the ball, and she smiled politely as she turned me down. We went our separate ways, but there was something nagging at the back of my mind, someone I could ask instead, someone I knew would say yes. But before I could find this girl, who I knew would be waiting for me on the other side of the door at the end of the hallway, someone was shaking me awake.

"It's almost time to go," Ron said, throwing my robes at my face.

"Dreaming about your handsome prince, Sleeping Beauty?" Dean called jokingly.

"I wish!" I chuckled.

"You just need to do it, Harry," Seamus said as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I did yesterday, and she said yes right away."

Before I could ask who he asked, Dean held up a finger. "Shut up!" he hissed.

The room fell silent, and the four of us became aware of a soft melody coming from the bathroom. Seamus grinned and crept toward the door, pushing it half an inch open. He pressed a knuckle to his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter and waved us over.

Neville was dancing around the room in his pajamas, eyes closed and mouth firm with concentration as he spun in time to the tune he was humming. We watched, transfixed, for about ten seconds before Seamus closed the door and we all exchanged humored glances.

"If Yule Ball mania can get even Neville, we're all doomed," Ron chortled quietly.

"I'll say," I agreed, butterflies filling my stomach again at the thought of asking Cho to the ball at some point that day.

There were too many people around to even think about asking her during breakfast or lunch. And when I saw her in between classes, she was surrounded by at least five other girls, maybe more. I failed my potions exam because I forgot a bezoar, but that seemed inconsequential compared to the task I had in front of me.

As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed my bag, told Ron I'd see him at dinner, and rushed to find her. She was leaving the DADA classroom.

I took a deep breath and called, "Er, Cho? Could I have a word with you?"

Everyone around her giggled, which filled me with an absurd amount of anger. But she merely smiled and nodded, following me until we were alone.

When I faced her, I felt my insides turn to Jell-O. I tried to ask, really I did, but the words got stuck in my throat. She waited patiently, though, looking somewhere between confused and concerned. I swallowed my nerves, and in a flash of glory, asked her.

"Wangoballwime?"

She blinked. "Sorry?"

I swallowed and tried again. "D'you --- d'you want to go to the ball with me?"

I felt my cheeks beginning to grow red. My embarrassment over being embarrassed just made my cheeks turn even redder. This is how Lucy must feel, I thought bitterly to myself. At least it's cute when she does it, I probably look like a tomato...

Cho blushed too, and looked genuinely apologetic. "Oh! Oh Harry, I'm really sorry, but I've already said I'll go with someone else."

It felt like the floor dropped out beneath me. What now? "Oh. Oh, okay, no problem."

"I'm really sorry."

"That's okay."

"Well-"

"Yeah."

"Well, bye."

She started to walk away, but before I really knew what I was doing, I called after her. "Who're you going with?"

"Oh, Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

I nodded numbly. "Oh. Right."

She disappeared, and I dragged myself up to the common room, expecting it to be empty. To my pleasant surprise, Lucy was curled up in the corner of the room with a book propped open on her knees. I walked over to her without second thought and sank into the armchair opposite her.

"Oh, hi, Harry," she said as she glanced up, blue eyes meeting mine.

"Hey," I replied.

She studied me, clearly having heard the dullness of my voice. "Everything alright, Harry?"

"I have a question," I said. I looked down at my hands --- they were still shaking from the disastrous encounter with Cho. "I'm embarrassed to ask it, because you might laugh at me, but I don't know who else to ask."

Lucy shut her book quickly and sat up. To my surprise, she started blushing. "You don't have to be nervous, I won't laugh, I promise."

I chuckled a bit. "Why are you blushing? You don't even know what I'm going to ask."

"I'm not blushing!" she insisted, blushing all the more. "It's just warm in here. What did you want to ask me?"

Before I could ask, the portrait hole swung open, and a very-pale Ron was led into the room by Ginny. I jumped to my feet and made my way over.

"What's up, Ron?"

When he looked up at me, he looked somewhat delirious. "Why did I do it? I don't know what made me do it!"

"What? Do what?" I looked to Ginny for an explanation.

She fought to keep a straight face. "He, er... just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You what?"

He started laughing maniacally too, as the story tumbled from his mouth. "I don't know what made me do it! What was I playing at? There were people all around! I've gone mad! Everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall, she was standing there talking to Diggory, and it sort of came over me, and I asked her!" He pressed his hands over his face, shaking with humiliated, hysterical laughter. "She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then I dunno, I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."

"She's part veela. You were right, her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it, but she was wasting her time. He's going with Cho Chang."

Ron stopped laughing and lowered his hands from his face. "What? How did you find that out?"

I sighed. "I asked her to go with me just now, and she told me."

"This is mad. We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone. Well, except Neville. Hey, guess who he asked? Hermione!"

I snapped out of my self-pitying stupor. "What?"

Ron laughed again. "Yeah, I know! He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff, but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville. I mean, who would?"

"Don't laugh!" Ginny said loudly as Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole and came over to where I was with Ron and Ginny.

"Why weren't you all at dinner?" she asked, looking back and forth between Ron and me.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Because --- oh shut up laughing, you two --- because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!"

Ron and I instantly stopped laughing.

"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," Ron mumbled.

It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "All the good-looking ones taken, Ron? Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."

"Hermione," Ron said, blinking hard as if he'd just seen a light from heaven. "Neville's right, you are a girl."

Hermione was suddenly serious again. "Oh, well-spotted."

"Well, you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't."

"Oh come on, we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has."

"I can't come with you, because I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not! You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

I knew in that moment Ron had made a grave mistake.

Hermione straightened up, and her words were venomous. (Poisonous? No, venomous was right...) "Oh did I? Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron blinked, then smiled. "Okay, okay, we know you're a girl. That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you! I'm going with someone else!"

She spun on her heel and marched off toward the girls' dormitories for the second night in a row. I hadn't realized how full the common room had become, but nearly everyone was back from dinner at that point.

"She's lying," Ron guessed.

Ginny shook her head. "She's not."

"Who is it, then?"

"I'm not telling you, it's her business."

"Right. This is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I'll just-"

"I can't. I'm going with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought, well, I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She sighed. "You two are hopeless. The perfect solution is right in front of you, in this very room, and you two... well, good luck."

With that, she turned and headed off to her dormitory too.

"What's got into them?" Ron groaned.

"I don't know, but what Ginny said..." I glanced around the room, and my eyes landed on Parvati and Lavender. "Oh! That must be who she meant! Be right back."

I walked up to the pair of them and put on my best smile. "Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?"

She immediately giggled, then nodded. "Yes, alright then."

I sighed in relief. "Great, thanks. Lavender, will you go with Ron?"

"She's going with Seamus," Parvati informed me, and Lavender joined in on the giggles. Good Godric, giggling was annoying sometimes.

I sighed again. "Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Ron?"

"What about Hermione?" she asked, cocking her head as if that were obvious.

"She's going with someone else."

Her eyes widened. "Ooooh, who?"

"No idea... so what about Ron?"

"Well... I suppose my sister might. Padma, you know, in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like."

"Yeah, that would be great. Let me know, will you?"

Parvati nodded, and she and Lavender headed up to their dormitory. I collapsed onto the couch next to Ron.

"I'm going with Parvati, and she said she'd ask her twin sister if she'd go with you."

"Her nose is dead center, right?" Ron asked.

I laughed humorlessly. "I'm sure it is."

We stared into the fire for a moment before a paper airplane flew directly in front of our noses and right past us. We both turned to see where it was headed, and the pointed end struck Lucy's forehead, which was the only part of her that was visible above her book. She snatched it out of the air and unfolded it, eyes scanning the note apparently written on it.

"Shut up!" she called across the room, crumpling the paper into a tiny ball and sending it flying directly at Fred's face.

Fred laughed. "Shut up? Cub, I didn't say anything!"

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "Irrelevant. But fine! You were right! Happy?"

George reached for the piece of parchment, uncrumpled it, and scribbled a note on it before folding it back into an airplane and sending it back to Lucy. She unfolded it, blushed bright red, and looked my direction for half a second before reaching into her bookbag for a quill. She scribbled something of her own and sent it back to George. He smiled, scribbled something else, and sent the paper airplane back her way. She scanned it and fired an incredulous look at George, who nodded and started laughing. Lucy glanced toward us again, and Ron and I quickly looked away at the fire.

"What do you reckon that was about?" Ron asked under his breath.

"I don't know," I replied.

Before Ron could say anything else, Lucy came over and sat cross-legged between us and the fire. "Do you still have a question for me, Harry?" she asked. "I realized you didn't exactly get the chance to ask, with, er, Ron coming in. Sorry about the Fleur thing, by the way," she added to Ron with a straight face --- how she wasn't laughing, I had no idea.

"It's my own fault," Ron muttered. "I don't know what made me do it."

"Her Veela charm," Lucy replied. "I was with Cedric the other day when she tried asking him to the ball the first time. Persistent, that girl. There were three different boys and two different girls who asked her to the ball in the same five-minute period she was trying to talk to Cedric. It's not your fault."

Ron sighed. "Well, I feel a little less stupid now. But only a little."

"Well, that's good," Lucy said with a smile. "Anyway, Harry, did you still have a question?"

I nodded. "I was just wondering when Cedric asked Cho to the ball, since I was apparently too late."

Lucy didn't laugh at me either, for which I was thankful --- I'd had enough people laugh at me for one day --- but I could tell it required quite a bit of effort. An amused smile toyed with the corners of her mouth. "Oh, Harry, they've been dating since August after having mutual feelings for about a year. You would have had to ask her a looong time in advance."

"Oh." I felt myself blushing yet again. "Well, now I just feel dumb."

"Don't feel dumb, it's fine. She was probably glad you didn't know, honestly. They've been trying to keep it on the down low ever since, well, Rita Skeeter. He didn't want to make Cho a target, if Rita ever gets bored of you." Lucy sighed. "I bet he doesn't regret that decision in the slightest, after what happened to Hagrid."

I nodded. "That makes sense. But I still feel stupid. I guess I never questioned why she played Quidditch with us on Cedric's birthday."

Lucy laughed a bit. "Yeah, Harry, that was a bit of an oversight on your part." She lowered her voice and laughed a bit more. "But at least you didn't, er, do what Ron did. Merlin, that poor boy will never live that down."

I couldn't help but laugh, too. "Yeah, thanks, I feel better now."

She winked. "That's what I'm here for. Oh, incoming."

"Incoming?" I repeated. "What do you mean by-"

I was interrupted by George shoving me to one side and Ron to the other so he could sit in between us.

"Whoops, didn't see you two there!" he exclaimed.

Lucy laughed. "I tried to warn them! I tried!"

"'Incoming' was incredibly vague," Ron complained with a chuckle, making Lucy blush.

George swatted Ron's arm. "Shut up, I have very important business to attend to."

"Important business?"

George didn't answer, instead leaning forward until his face was only inches from Lucy's. She seemed to know what was going on, and started smiling.

"No, don't smile!" he said. "You're making this very difficult!"

Lucy tried to stop smiling, but she inevitably started cracking up. "George, I told you, I can just show you what color the dress is-"

"No! I don't want to see it until the ball! You said it matched your eyes, so I need to see what color your eyes are so I can match my tie."

Lucy rose to her feet, still chuckling. "I'll just go get the magazine from my dorm. I won't show you the dress!" she added quickly, sensing a protest. "I'll just cut part of the picture out so you can see the color. I'll be right back."

She disappeared with a swish of her robes, leaving us alone with George, who leaned back on the couch and grinned. "The Yule Ball is going to be great."

I wanted to agree, but I suddenly couldn't speak. Ginny was right --- the perfect solution, right in front of me.

Lucy was a girl. And I was an idiot.