Within moments of sitting down at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast, I realised that something was very wrong. Whilst the younger years seemed oblivious to the teenage angst that permeated the air, the older students were very aware of it. Merlin, I'd never seen so many green faces.

Helping myself to a stack of pancakes, I cast a curious glance around the table and frowned a little when I saw that the boys and girls were sitting in a manner that was more segregated than ever before. The groups of girls that were talking between themselves would sneak slight glances to the cluster of boys dotted around the table. And the boys, well – I don't think I'd ever seen them look so nauseous before.

"What's going on?" I asked, sharing a look with Lavender who rolled her eyes a little at the odd behaviour.

"Ever since that blasted ball was announced, everyone fourth year and above have gone insane," she explained as I stirred some sugar into my mug of tea. My spoon stilled, her words taking me by surprise. There was going to be a ball? Lavender, not knowing how clueless I was, carried on smoothly, "Apparently turning up without a date is going to be considered to be social suicide. Have you ever heard of something so idiotic?"

"There's going to be a ball?" I asked rather than answering her question.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she set her fork down. "I swear, sometimes you just drift off into your own thoughts and you don't hear a thing. The ball – the yule ball – was announced yesterday in the common room, remember? We're supposed to have a house wide meeting with McGonagall to learn to dance?"

"Not really," I admitted weakly with a slight smile, "I must have been busy doing something."

"Sleeping, no doubt," she said knowingly and I wasn't going to deny the truth so instead I stuffed my face with some pancake.

"So there's going to be a yule ball then? And that's why so many of the boys look like they're going to be sick?"

"They've got the nerve-wracking task of asking someone to be their date," Parvati piped up from Lavender's side. "All we have to do is wait to be asked."

"And the girls can't ask because?" I raised an eyebrow, bringing my mug to my lips.

"Because that would be social suicide," Lavender explained dryly, "not only that but it would break the boy's already fragile egos."

"It's not compulsory though, is it?" Parvati's eyebrows rose at my question.

"You don't want to go?" she asked gently.

"It'll just be embarrassing if I don't find a date," I explained, wiping my mouth with a napkin once I'd finished my breakfast.

"Why worry about something that won't happen?" Lavender dismissed as I drained the last of my tea. "Speaking of dates," she pondered musingly, "I wonder who'll end up going with who."

"I think we all have someone we'd like to go with," Parvati muttered and I couldn't have agreed more, letting my eyes drift further down the Gryffindor table. Although the chances of it happening were slim to none, I'd have liked to have been asked by a certain bespectacled Gryffindor. But chances were that he was going to ask someone else. I looked away from the table before he'd ever realise that I had been looking at him in the first place.

"From the looks of it, Diggory and Chang will end up going together," Parvati said, leaning towards us slightly and lowering her voice as she gestured with her head to the pair who were making their way out of the great hall.

"Diggory could do so much better," Lavender said with a wistful sigh.

"Don't let your jealousy turn into spite Lavender," I advised as the three of us rose to our feet to head towards our first lesson.

"Well, it's just not fair is it," she complained as we headed out of the great hall, "not only is she gorgeous but she's smart and on the quidditch team. She'll end up dating Cedric Diggory – the Hogwarts triwizard champion soon. There has to be a flaw somewhere."

"He's not the only Hogwarts triwizard champion, Lav," I reminded her as we entered the potions classroom.

"Of course," she teased, nudging me in the side, "we can't forget about your knight in shining armour, now can we?"

"Would you stop that?" I complained as I went to head off to my seat besides Ernie. "He carried my books for me. Once."

Her response was a teasing smile and I rolled my eyes, a begrudgingly amused smile on my lips. She was unstoppable. Ernie looked up at me with a smile when I approached our table. I returned it too, until my eyes settled onto the badge pinned to his robes.

"What the hell Ernie?" I exclaimed, slapping the back of his head.

"What did I do now?" he complained, rubbing the sore area, "Helga, ever since you were bloody five you always hit me on the head. I'm telling you, you're the reason I wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Well clearly, you're not smart enough for Ravenclaw," I threw back as I settled into my seat, "if you were then you wouldn't be wearing that juvenile 'Potter Stinks' badge."

"Merlin," he mocked with a slight shake of his head, "I should have learned by now to keep any contempt for your precious Potter away from you."

"Stop it," I admonished, seeing the Golden Trio walk into the room. Clearing my throat, I looked back to the boy beside me, "Now, are you going to take that ridiculous badge off or do I have to write to your mother and tell her you're being a bully?" He gave me an incredulous look and I raised an eyebrow, "Well? Don't think for one second that I won't do it."

Letting out an annoyed sigh, he removed the badge from his robes and set it on the table. With a sweet smile, I pressed the tip of my wand to the badge and with a murmured incendio I watched it set a flame. Once the badge was replaced by ash, I magicked it all away and ignored the frown Ernie threw my way. Instead, I focused on the smile I received from Harry who I hadn't realised had been watching the entire exchange.

Flushing in embarrassment, I turned my head away from him just as the lesson began.

It seemed like finding a date to the Yule ball was to quickly become the subject of many people's obsession as it was the only thing many people spoke of. As the days went on, the obvious signs of nerves displayed by the boys increased surprisingly and the anxiety within the girls only grew in response. It was only natural really to wonder why you hadn't been asked to the ball yet.

As we; Lavender, Parvati and I walked to the common room, I listened to the pair of them as they scheduled plans to buy our dress robes for the ball. How exactly we were supposed to get these dress robes into Hogwarts, I had no idea but after a quick letter to mum, she had assured me that she would handle it.

"What colour dress robes do you think I should buy?" Lavender asked as we turned the corner. "I was thinking of getting some in purple? I find that the colour goes well with my hair?"

"I'm not sure Lav," I piped up, eyes settling onto the group of seventh year Slytherins who were walking in the opposite direction and coming towards us. "The Yule ball is a Christmas ball and chances are most girls will wear shades of blue, white and cream, to match the theme."

"Then isn't it better to stand out?" she pondered, sharing a look with Parvati who contemplated her words.

"But you don't want to clash with the theme," Parvati advised, "no matter how beautiful your dress robes might be, if you clash with the theme then that hardly matters."

Lavender hummed thoughtfully as we drew closer to the group of older boys.

"Smith," an annoyingly familiar voice called out, making me halt in my step. Lavender and Parvati stopped on either side of me, watching as Terrence Higgs stepped out of the group of Slytherins and waved the rest of them on their way.

"What do you want Higgs?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, watching with mild irritation as both Parvati and Lavender shared a grin and hurried away from me. With a sigh, I looked back to the older man, "Well?"

"Now why are you making it sound like all I do is annoy you?" he wondered with a mischievous grin, tucking his hands into his robe pockets.

"Because you've been doing it since we were in nappies?" I pointed out with crossed arms.

"It's only because I care about you," he insisted with faux sincerity and I rolled my eyes, a smile tugging at my lips even as I tried to suppress it.

"Of course you do." Dismissing the words with a wave of my hand, I waited for him to continue.

"Don't worry about not having a date to the ball." Stepping closer to me, he leaned down slightly to bring his head level with mine and gave me a playful wink, "I'll save you the humiliation and take you."

I gave him a look, briefly contemplating his sanity. "Tell me you're not in love with me, Higgs."

"Of course I'm not," he answered truthfully, "But we both need a date and this is a mutually beneficial solution."

"Look Higgs, as much as I hate to admit it, you're really quite handsome." I ignored the way he began to grin at my words, "That being said, I'm sure you'll be able to find some other girl to take to the Yule ball so you don't need to worry about taking me and about me not having a date."

He straightened up, rising to his full height. Smile morphing into smirk, his eyes settled onto something behind me before meeting my eyes again.

"Did someone ask you first Smith?" Tilting his head curiously, he peered down at me with a contemplative look, "Or are you still stuck on wonder boy Potter? That crush has lasted an awfully long time."

I opened my mouth to retort that his crush on Alicia Spinnet had lasted just as long but before I could say anything, I heard something clatter to the ground. The sound came from behind me and so it was only natural for me to turn to see what the sound was and where it had come from. Only, I wished that I hadn't because the moment I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes clashed with emerald green eyes that had gone wide with shock.

Mortification tinted my cheeks red and I watched Harry lean down quickly to pick up the egg from the first task. As he straightened out again, I turned my eyes back to the older boy and let out a breath.

"You knew he was there," I accused with a hushed whisper.

He nodded unapologetically, "Of course I did. Don't you think it's time to put an end to this crush business."

I didn't respond verbally. Groaning aloud, I reached out to yank Terrence by the tie and pulled him down to my eyelevel. He had the nerve to laugh a little upon realising how red I had turned and I released his tie abruptly. Returning to his original posture, he went to say something only to hiss in pain as I promptly kicked him in the shins.

"Salazar," he swore, leaning down to rub his shins.

I hurried away from him and decided to ignore the Triwizard champion who said nothing since the sudden declaration. Godric, I was going to run into the common room and collapse in to my bed. Maybe I could obliviate him? Or perhaps he hadn't even heard anything and I was overreacting?

Merlin, I needed some chocolate.

Although it wasn't ideal to have to pick my dress robes through communicating by owl, it beat the hassle of having to organise time off school to pick out a dress. At least mum was sending me pictures of different dress robes and asking me to pick, rather than making the decision by herself. I had that to be grateful for. And as I attached a letter to my owl with my final decision, I watched it take off into the early morning air.

I had come down to the owlery this early on purpose. Every girl in the school had been left to pick their dress robes by owl because of the limited shops in Hogsmeade and so the owlery was less crowded this early in the morning. Although, I thought with a frown, as I made my way down the stairs, it didn't help that the Durmstrang 'heartthrobs' had a habit of training early in the morning and their fan girls would be trailing after them.

Spying a group of said fan girls as they chased after Krum and one of his friends, I decided to take the long way round to the castle. Getting on the wrong side of those girls was going to be nothing more than a hassle. The two older boys were running side by side and I assumed that Krum's friend was helping him train.

But Godric, were they not freezing? They were not dressed for a chilly November morning. Dismissing the stray thought, I walked towards the trees to disappear between them on my way back to the castle. If I hurried then I could get an early breakfast before heading back to the common room to meet the other girls.

My plans were cut short as Krum's friend suddenly jogged towards me, coming to a stop in front of me. I halted, taken by surprise and looked over the older man cautiously. Looking over my shoulder, I cast a brief glance towards Krum who continued to run along the edge of the lake without so much as a single glance at his friend.

The unfamiliar boy cleared his throat, making me look back to him. Tightening my scarf around my neck, I buried my hands into my pockets to try and stave off some of the cold. Why was he making me stay out in the cold for longer than I had to, I thought eyeing him with slight suspicion.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, watching the Durmstrang student straighten up under my eyes.

He reached out to take my arm and making me take my hand from my pocket. Watching him closely, my eyes rose in surprise when he took my hand and raised it to his lips. Pressing a kiss to the back of my hand, he slowly let it go and I hurried to return it to my side.

Godric, what was going on?

"I apologise if I'm holding you up," he began slowly with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright," I said just as slowly, silently urging him on, "Did you need something?"

"It's about the ball," he continued steadily and I struggled to not startle. Surely, he wasn't going to do what I thought? I had no clue what his name was! So how could I go to the ball with him? Unless, I was over thinking things?

"The yule ball?"

"That's the one," he confirmed with a slight nod.

I tried to intercede, "About that ball –"

"I've found myself admiring you from a far," he said as though it was meant to be sweet.

And maybe it was? Yet all it was doing was sending warning signals through my mind. Godric, this was probably what loads of girls dreamt of; a tall, handsome foreign boy approaching her and telling her that they've been crushing on her. But all I could think of was how creepy it sounded. Was there something wrong with me? Or was Parvati right; had my crush on Harry turned me off from all other men in general?

"You have?" I asked uncertainly, realising that the still unnamed boy was waiting for me to say something in response to him.

"I have," he confirmed with a grin, seeming happy that I was responding to him.

"And what about it?" I asked awkwardly, hoping that he'd stop himself from continuing.

"I was wondering if you'd go to the ball with me?"

I resisted the urge to ask whether he even knew my name because I certainly didn't know his. Instead, I cleared my throat and glanced down at my feet. Biting my bottom lip uncertainly, I looked back up to him and saw him waiting for my answer.

"About that," I started softly, "you seem like a nice guy and all, but the thing is, I've already been asked by someone else and I promised him I'd think about it?"

Godric, had I never been as glad to remember Terrence's offer to take me to the ball. Of course, I had turned him down but no one else needed to know that. It was a little white lie, that was all.

"Then you can think about mine too," he said simply.

"Sure," I muttered with a little awkward smile before hurrying off into the woods.

It was obvious that nothing was working out for me as the moment I stepped a little further into the woods, I came face to face with an eavesdropping Harry Potter.

"Were you listening to my conversation?" I accused, feeling my entire face heat up. Off all the embarrassing things –

"You're really popular," he teased as I walked around him, intending to head back to the castle. Dropping into step beside me, he walked with me and threw me a look, waiting for my answer.

"What are you doing out of the castle so early anyway?" I asked, dodging his question.

"What about you?" he threw back.

"I was owling mum," I explained.

"Well I was owling my godfather."

"Right."

We walked in silence which Harry broke by saying, "So, you've been asked to the ball twice now? Or has there been a third that I didn't get to witness?"

"I have no idea what's wrong with you boys," I lamented, without thinking, "the guys that ask me to go with them are ones that I don't want to go with and the person I want to go with hasn't asked me."

Godric, me and my bloody mouth. I stilled, realising what I'd said and hurried to backtrack. Harry, unknowing of my inner turmoil, looked curiously at me.

"Well, who do you want to ask you?"

My steps faltered. Hadn't he overheard Terrence? Unless, he had and was teasing me. Godric, why was he teasing me over something like that? It wasn't like I could control my heart, now was it? If I could, then there would be less of an issue.

"Look Harry, I need to get back to the castle," I hurried out, already walking swiftly away from him.

"Smith?"

I ignored him as he called after me and began to run to the common room. Breakfast could wait a little longer; I needed to talk to Lavender.

Godric, the yule ball was coming ever closer and I still had no date. Well, the Durmstrang was still waiting for an answer and Terrence had reminded me that he was willing to go with me. We both knew that it was because of George asking Alicia to accompany him in the middle of the great hall. Poor Terrence was probably heartbroken but was doing the Slytherin thing and doing his very best not to show it.

"Oi," Seamus, graceful as ever, settled down beside me on the sofa, nudging me and pulling me out of my daze. "What's got you so lost in your thoughts?"

"Nothing," I denied, shifting away from him as Dean settled down on his other side and met my eyes over the top of Seamus' head. He rolled his eyes as Seamus gave me an unconvinced look.

"She's worrying about the Yule ball," Lavender spilled as she and Parvati sat on the sofa across from us.

"But then again, so is everyone," Parvati rolled her eyes, slumping against her seat. "How the hell do I still not have a date?"

"To be honest Parv," I piped up, shrugging out of Seamus's arm when he looped it over my shoulder, "very few people have dates. It seems like not many people have been asked to the ball."

"Is that what the problem is?" Seamus turned to me, teasing me lightly. "You don't have a date. That's what's making you worry so much that you've begun to look like a Ravenclaw that's forgotten about an essay?"

"That's not it at all," Lavender answered for me, turning Seamus' attention to her.

"It's not." Raising both eyebrows he looked back to me. "Someone's asked you then?"

"She's been asked twice," Lavender informed with a slightly jealous sigh, "but she hadn't said yes to either of them. They're still waiting for an answer. Godric, Smith if I was in your place then I'd have said yes to Higgs in a heartbeat."

Actually, it was three times, I thought with a sigh. That was, if you counted the strangled attempt that Ron made before being dragged away by both of his brothers who apologised for their incompetent brother.

"Why haven't you said yes to them then?" Dean asked, taking interest in the conversation for the first time.

"Because I don't want to go with either of them," I answered simply. "Isn't that reason enough?"

"Well I'll go with you if you want?" Seamus offered, with a grin. He didn't see the way Lavender deflated at his offer but he did see the way I rolled my eyes in response. "Come on Smith, you don't want to seem like a loser, do you?"

"Look Finnegan, if I didn't want to go with Higgs, why would I want to go with you?"

He faked offence, taking in a deep breath and clutching at his heart. "You've struck me deep, Smith. I don't think I'll ever be able to recover from that blow."

"Oh, shut up." Swatting his arm, I gestured to Lavender, "If you don't want to go alone, then why don't you ask Lav? She's not going with anyone?"

He thought over my words, looking back to Lavender with a contemplative glance. "Why not? How about it?"

Flushing prettily, she nodded and cleared her throat slightly, "Why not."

Parvati and I shared a look, surprised that she was able to play it cool. Her eyes drifted slightly, focusing on something behind me and I wondered what it was as I felt someone sit beside me, on the arm of the sofa.

"Now I couldn't help but overhear this conversation," Fred began as he draped an arm over my shoulders, "But I think I could be of some help."

"Of course you could," I muttered dryly, rolling my eyes as I peered up at him, "Why don't you focus on getting Angelina to go to the ball with you instead of interfering in my business?"

"Now I can't do that," he insisted, a mischievous turn to his lips, "I feel like I should be responsible for making up for the horrendous show my brother put on while trying to ask you to go with him."

"Oh, please Fred, we all know that Ron's been trying to ask any and every girl around him."

"So you don't want my help then?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow, "Are you sure, Smith? Because I can talk some sense into Harry if you want? Get him to ask you to the ball?"

"Oh Godric," I groaned, pushing him away from me. He rose to his feet with a slight chuckle, "Don't you start. Everyone's been going on about him."

"I wonder why," he teased as the portrait opened. Looking to the entrance of the common room, he began to walk away from us as he called out loudly, "Oi, Harry, there's something I need to tell you."

I was on my feet in an instant. "Fred Weasley, don't you dare!"

It seemed like my misfortune would never end.

I had the bad luck of being paired with Harry for potions and all I could think was that I'd have rather died. The opportunity to be able to work in close company with him wasn't worth the knowing looks I was getting from most of the Gryffindors in the class. Godric, why couldn't I have been paired with Neville? I'd have taken an exploding potion over this humiliation any day.

"So," he started quietly as I handed him the washed baneberry leaves to begin cutting as I crushed the berries. "Have any other boys asked you to the ball then?"

"How long are you going to tease me about this?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

"For as long as I can," he answered back, shamelessly.

"How is your search for a date going then?" Raising an eyebrow, I met his eyes briefly before depositing the berries in the steaming cauldron. Reaching over the stir the cauldron's contents four times, I waited for his answer.

"It's a dead end," he admitted truthfully, "it's really difficult. More difficult than I thought it'd be."

"Well, have you asked anyone?" I tilted my head curiously, ignoring the sting of jealousy that erupted within me at the thought, "I haven't heard anything about you asking someone."

"Because I haven't."

"Godric Harry," I teased, ribbing him playfully. "How are you going to end up with a date if you don't ever ask someone?"

"Maybe it'll all work itself out," he said hopefully with a smile and I shook my head in disbelief.

He added the leaves to the cauldron before taking a bunch of peppermint leaves to shred into identical pieces. Glancing away from him contemplatively, I stirred the potion steadily as I lost myself in my thoughts.

"Maybe I should take Terrence up on his offer?" I muttered under my breath as I looked to Harry for advice, "I did buy a beautiful set of dress robes and it'd be a shame to miss out. And well, I could do a lot worse than Terrence, right?"

Harry, startled by the question, wasn't paying attention and slice into his finger. He hissed, looking down at his finger and the bead of blood pouring out from the cut. I gasped quietly, reaching out to take his hand and looking over the cut. Thankfully it wasn't deep and wouldn't need tending to in the Hospital wing. Cleaning the cut with a quick aguamenti, I magicked a plaster across it and dropped his hand.

"Honestly Harry," I admonished, "you should pay more attention to what you're doing."

Clearing his throat, Harry pulled his hand back to his side and I returned back to our forgotten potion. As I added the final ingredient to the potion, I heard him speak quietly.

"I thought you didn't want to go with Higgs?"

Shrugging a single shoulder, I continued to stir the potion and watched it for a change in colour. "I've never thought of Terrence in that way – he's an annoying older brother figure – but I know if I go with him then I'll have fun. And that's something, right?"

Harry returned to his space beside me, peering down at the potion as well. He was silent for a while and I wondered whether he was pondering my words.

When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I thought you wanted to go with me."

I froze, no longer stirring the potion. My heart began to hammer in my chest as I thought over how to respond. His words had been so quiet that I could have overlooked them, pretended not to hear them if that was what I wanted. But, I didn't. I needed to face this head on.

Turning my head slowly, I looked up at Harry and realised that he had gone red. He couldn't bring himself to look at me and instead continued to stare down at the potion as it bubbled away. Searching his features, I couldn't help but think about why he'd brought it up.

I struggled to not sound nervous as I whispered, "What?"

"I thought you wanted to go with me," he repeated, louder this time and looking at me.

I was the one to look away this time, returning my focus back to the potion. Letting out a breath I tried to prepare myself for the sting of rejection. "You overheard what Terrence said, then?"

"I did." He let out a breath, setting his hands on the table top where I saw them shake slightly with his nerves. "So, will you go with me to the yule ball?"

His words took me by surprise again but I nodded, "Alright."

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Good."

"Good." I repeated, neither of us quite able to stop smiling as we looked back into the bubbling cauldron.

And when I repeated the story to the Gryffindor girls, I resolutely left out the fact that the first thing I did after the lesson ended was rush to the common room, jump onto my bed and smother a squeal into my pillow.

Some things were better kept a secret.

I could allow myself to admit that whenever I imagined the yule ball in my head, I imagined Harry as my date. And well, by nothing short of a miracle, he was actually my date. The scene I'd pictured in my head was one where we spent most of the night dancing and talking but after taking part in the first dance and realising that Harry had two left feet, I was more than pleased to sit out and talk to him. Now if only there had been a way to change where we were sitting.

We had the misfortune of being assigned to sit beside three Weasley brothers and their dates. And whilst I had no problem with sitting beside Ron – although it was a little awkward because he'd asked me to go with him – I had an issue sitting on the same table as the Weasley twins. Twins who were spending most of the night making suggestive faces at Harry and I. Godric, it was a good thing that Harry was so oblivious because I had no idea how I was going to explain the death glares I kept throwing at them.

Fred, sitting on my other side, leaned in closer to me and asked quietly, "Do you want me to give Harry a few tips that'll make you a very happy woman?"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "No. I don't trust you."

"That's probably a smart thing," he agreed mischievously, "but who knows Smith, you might end up stealing Potter's lip-virginity at the end of the night and we don't want him to flounder, now do we?"

"Shut up," I hissed under my breath, my leg shooting out to kick him under the table.

He winced, reaching down to rub at his shin. "Merlin woman, use your words."

"I have to resort to those sorts of tactics because you don't listen the first time," I informed him primly, taking a sip from my glass.

We both knew it was true so he made no further attempts to deny it. I jumped a little, feeling someone take my hand under the table. Turning back to my date, I sent him an apologetic smile when I realised that I'd been focusing on Fred for a while.

"I'm guessing I don't want to know what you were talking about?" he questioned curiously, linking his fingers through mine. The action, taking me surprise, had me looking down at out joined hands

"You really don't," I agreed quietly, looking back to him.

Harry looked away from me briefly, eyes moving to the stage where the Weird Sisters were setting up. A delighted scream pierced the air and then all of a sudden, the students were rising to their feet and approaching the stage. I laughed a little, seeing the way Hermione was being led by Krum to the middle of the crowd. Smiling as I watched her begin to dance, I had to admit that it was a good thing to see her let loose for once.

When I looked back to Harry, I found him watching me with a slight frown. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he said with a shake of his head, letting go of my hand. I watched as he rose to his feet and held out a hand for me to take. "Let's dance."

"But you don't like to dance," I protested, putting my hand in his and letting him pull me to my feet.

"Maybe, but you do." He began to lead me towards the crowd and trying to hide the slightly anxious look he got as we grew closer to the crowd.

"You really don't need to do this Harry," I protested, stopping in my step and making him halt beside me. "I'm having fun just talking to you."

"Look," he said quietly, lowering his voice a little, "I'm going to tell you something now and I don't want you to make a fuss over it. Alright?"

I couldn't keep the concern out of my voice. "What is it?"

"I'm not used to feeling jealous," he admitted, "but seeing you talk to Fred made me feel jealous so it'd make me feel better if we put some more distance between you and him."

"You're jealous of Fred?" He shuffled on his feet, a little uncomfortable by how incredulous I sounded but nodded anyway. Laughing a little, I reached out to hold his hand, "You really don't need to be feeling jealous. Of Fred of all people."

"I can't help it," he muttered under his breath. "So? Can we go and dance?"

"If it'd make you feel better?"

"It would." He confirmed with a nod and continued to lead me the rest of the way to the dancing crowd.

"If you're sure," I muttered almost silently as I watched him for a moment.

He looked really out of place but if he was willing to put himself out of his comfort zone for me, then who was I to say anything? Realising that I had yet to move, he reached out to take my arm and spun me around beneath his. I giggled a little, the sound alleviating some of his nerves. From over his shoulder, my eyes drifted to a pouting Ron who was glaring daggers at Hermione as she and Krum walked away from the crowd.

"What's wrong with Ron?" I asked over the music, moving closer to him so he'd be able to hear me.

"He's jealous."

I frowned, watching as he and Hermione were clearly getting involved in an argument. "Well, maybe he shouldn't have considered her as a last resort then?"

"As much as I'd like to try and understand why Ron acts the way he does, I'm a bit offended that I can't seem to keep your attention," he informed me, voice beside my ear. He sounded amused so I wasn't worried and besides, if he knew how much of my attention he held then he wouldn't say something so stupid.

"Maybe you should step up your game, Mr Potter," I teased.

"Fine then." He cleared his throat a little, "Give me another chance to do that."

My eyes flickered to his, curiously searching his features. "What?"

"Let's go on a date."