Before we move on to one of my favorite chapters, I would just like to give a shout out to SouperDfly, My first reviewer! Thank you so much for the feedback! I really apperciate it! Like I said before, this is one of my favorite chapters to write, it was also the most fun to write. I hope you all enjoy reading as much I did writing!

*I don't own Harry Potter

Nolan gazed into the mirror, contemplating whether or not one person could look anymore ridiculous than he did. He, like the other boys, were all wearing dress robes for the annual Yule Ball. He struggled with his tie for what seemed like hours, but eventually sighed in defeat. Neville walked in, wearing a navy blue button-down shirt under his dress robes and a white tie.

"Neville? What's with the white tie? Kind of odd isn't it?" Neville rolled his eyes.

"Nolan, when did you become the fashion police? Besides, Brie told me Charlie's dress was going to be white…" Nolan nodded before crossing his arms childishly.

"It's not fair! You at least know what color Charlie's dress is! My date will tell me NOTHING!" Neville laughed at Nolan's mini rant and pat his back in comfort. Harry walked in, smoothing out his robes before looking up at his friends.

"Hey… ready for tonight?" The boys nodded simultaneously. Nolan smiled at Harry.

"You seem nervous…" Harry looked down to avoid answering. He was more nervous about his reaction when he saw Charlie rather than his date with Cho. Harry's train of thought was immeaditely interrupted by Ron entering the room, muttering to himself angrily.

"Guys, are they too poofy?" Ron asked while he smoothed out his outdated dress robes, hand-me-downs passed down the Weasley family. Nolan shook his head before answering,

"They're… the right kind of poofy! Totally in these days." Neville and Harry burst out laughing at his comment while Ron glared angrily at his so-called… friends.

"Yeah yeah… laugh all you want guys… while you all get to dance with your dates in normal dress robes, I get to dance with my date in curtains." Harry took a moment to catch his breath before smiling with comfort.

"Ron, I don't think Hermione will care whether or not your dress robes are outdated or not…" Ron nodded and shrugged.

"I guess you're right Harry… well, let's get going. Wouldn't want to keep our dates waiting."

Brie adjusted her long gloves anxiously while waiting for Charlie to emerge out of the bathroom. She sighed in irritation, for they were running late already.

"CHARLIE! Come out of the bathroom will you? We are already running late!" She heard Hermione and Charlie arguing in the bathroom about make up.

"I look ridiculous! Take it off!"

"Charlie you look fine! Just let me finish your eyes!"

"NO! I change my mind! I don't want to go anymore!"

"Charlotte Rose Bennett! I swear… if you don't let me finish up, I will make sure that you will never see fried chicken for the rest of your life!"

"Fine! But no lipstick or gl- HEY!"

"Shut up Charlie!"

The girls eventually climbed down, Hermione dragging Charlie alongside in order to stop her from escaping. Brie smiled and met them halfway. Brie smiled excitedly at both of the girls.

"You two are going to knock your dates off their feet." Brie winked at Charlie, knowing which of the boys she will impress the most. Hermione smiled shyly.

"Thanks Brie… You look amazing also! Nolan will be practically drooling." Brie blushed, but thanked her. Charlie sighed, trying to calm her nerves.

"Well… wouldn't want to keep the boys waiting…" She, along with the others, walked out of the common room towards their dates for the evening.

The boys waited near the bottom of the steps where boys were already muttering their admiration for their dates, which made many of girls blush. Nolan continued to struggle with his tie while waiting for Brie, making all the boys roll their eyes. He eventually gave up, for he knew that it was already a lost cause. Neville fiddled with his bow, trying to occupy himself, wondering if Luna would be attending the Ball. Harry gulped nervously, hoping he could have an opportunity to dance with Charlie.

"Guys?" Ron called without taking his eyes off the staircase,

"They're here…" Each boy turned towards the staircase, silenced by the presence of their dates for the evening.

Ron stared at Hermione wide-eyed. Her pink dress hugged her figure perfectly. In his eyes, she was the only girl in the only room. The light make-up made Hermione's entire face glow. Her hair, which was pulled back, completed the look. Ron gazed at her in complete awe, wondering how he managed to get so lucky.

Nolan smiled at Brie, maintaining eye contact with her while admiring her at the same time. Brie's gown was an emerald green lined with black lace. The color suited her well, bringing out her lovely, sparkling eyes. She had let her hair down, unlike her usual ponytail, and curled the ends. Nolan met her at the edge of the stairs, taking her gloved hand, kissed it and winked at her.

"Words can't describe how… lovely you look tonight." Nolan muttered softly. Brie smiled, stepping closer to him and fixed his tie.

"You look dashing, if I must say…" Brie replied, smoothing out Nolan's tie.

Neville grinned at Charlie. Hermione and Brie probably helped her with the make-up and the hair. Knowing Charlie, she probably caused a riot during the whole process, but it was probably worth it, judging by Harry's expression. He cared for Charlie, but his feelings were not romantic in any way. He asked Charlie to the Ball in order to bring Harry and Charlie together once and for all, which seemed to be working magically.

Harry blinked several times in order to reassure himself that he was not dreaming. Charlotte was stunning in her white one-shouldered ball gown. Her eye shadow made her bright eyes shine, but did not over-power the look. Her hair was secured in a bun with a few loose, curled strands that framed her face. Charlie stood in front of Harry, smiling slightly and looking at her feet.

"Pretty ridiculous huh?" Harry just stared at her, fighting the urge to stroke her cheek.

"Charlotte… you… you look-" Harry's sentence was cut off when Cho sneaked a kiss on his cheek from behind him. He turned and smiled tightly at his date, who wore a strapless black and silver gown. Her make-up was soft and natural, but he did not feel the same warm feeling he did when seeing Charlie. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Cho… you look wonderful!" Cho giggled and kissed him for the compliment.

"Oh Harry! You are such a sweetheart! You do look quite handsome this evening…" Cho slightly tugged his tie, smiling brightly. He nodded and smiled slightly before looking up, seeing Charlie laughing and blushing with her date, causing him to briefly daydream about switching places with Neville. Harry was pulled out of his train of thought when Cho took his hand and they entered the Great Hall along with the other students.

Dumbledore walked up to the front of the room, which caused all the students to quiet down in the Hall. He smiled kindly before proceeding.

"Welcome students to Hogwarts' annual Yule Ball." Everyone applauded and cheered with excitement. Dumbledore proceeded once the noise died down.

"Now, for the Ball this year, we have set up a special enchantment. This enchantment will be in effect when selected songs are played. You will all be required to dance with one person from each house besides your date," There were audible groans in disgust from most of the Slytherins, but Dumbledore continued without interruption.

"This enchantment is in place to promote house tolerance among all of you, especially during such terrible, dark times… well then… do enjoy the evening." Dumbledore strode down from his podium waiting for the music to begin.

Once Professor Flitwick cued the music, the students all joined in the middle of the floor and waltzed together. Cho danced with Harry, slightly annoyed by his lack of dancing skills and the fact that he continued to stumble over her feet. Instead of complaining, Cho just smiled and giggled, causing girls to glare in jealousy.

Ron and Hermione were both blushing, but they enjoyed each other's company. They both waltzed to the best of their ability, which was not any ability. Ron's ridiculous dress robes did not help his waltzing since they were extremely heavy. Hermione just giggled at Ron's determined expression and kissed his cheek in admiration and comfort.

Nolan, well experienced in the art of dance, waltzed most gracefully out of most couples on the dance floor. Brie struggled at times to keep up with him, but managed to keep her balance. The couple danced together as if the room was completely empty. Brie laughed whenever Nolan spinned her and he just smiled brightly at her.

Neville and Charlie decided to stick with a simple box step in order to avoid injury. Both had paid more attention to their feet rather than each other, hoping that they would not trip or step on the other's foot. Neville glanced at Charlie periodically, noting how pretty Charlie looked. Despite her boyish tendencies, she was truly a girl at heart and she blossomed over the years.

The night continued on with magic in the air, despite Neville's traumatic experience of dancing with Cho for his dance with a Ravenclaw. Harry sat at one of the tables, sipping his Butterbeer quietly while waiting for Cho to come back from the washroom. Hermione slipped next to him, sipping her drink gingerly.

"Enjoying yourself Harry?" He smiled at her and nodded.

"I guess so… I mean I'm not much of a… dancer anyway." Hermione nodded and smiled.

"A majority of the people here are a lot worse than you are Harry, don't worry." Harry chuckled at her comment when Ron arrived and sat next to Hermione.

"Mate! I just saw Neville while passing by, and he was snogging a girl!" Harry's breath stopped in shock. No…

"Ron, did you see who it was?" Ron shook his head, causing Harry to internally panic.

"No, I didn't get to see the girl…" Harry blinked several times.

"Ron," Harry asked in a shaky voice, "Do… do you think he was… with Charlie?" Ron laughed and shook his head. "No, no, no! Charlie was the one who pointed Neville out… she seemed to know who the girl was but wouldn't tell me." Harry began to breathe again with the new information. He spotted a very happy Neville, who was smiling goofily while walking to Charlie. Harry sighed and rose up from his seat, emotionally drained from the past five minutes.

For Charlotte, the evening was filled with dancing with Neville and yearning to be dancing with Harry. She saw him stumble while dancing with Cho, which made her giggle at his efforts and at Cho's expression. Charlie sighed and stood by the tables, waiting for the next dance with a member of Slytherin.

"Charlotte…" She looked up completely dumb-founded at Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin she would be forced to dance with.

"Draco…" If Draco was not pleased with the turn of events, he did not express his displeasure. He simply took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Draco suddenly bowed respectfully but kept his expression unreadable. Charlie awkwardly curtsied and maintained a confused expression when they began to dance. To her shock, Malfoy was a decent dancer. He seemed to… change somehow as they danced together. The cold, arrogant Malfoy that Charlie knew seemed to be replaced by a kinder, more compassionate Draco. She could have sworn that he muttered a few lines of the song, but decided that she was hearing things. He even managed to lift her from the floor, causing her to yelp in surprise. They continued to dance without acknowledging one another or even looking at each other. Once the song came to a close, Draco slowly stopped dancing and stared at Charlie with the same unreadable expression before pulling away and walking the other direction, leaving Charlie in shock, and red.

While Charlie's terrible luck forced her to dance with Draco Malfoy, Harry was able to dance and talk with Brielle, which he silently thanked Merlin that he was not stuck with Pansy Parkinson.

"Harry? Can I ask you something? It's about Charlie." Harry nodded cautiously. Brie looked down at their feet before looking up at Harry.

"Do you love my sister Harry? And I don't mean as a friend…" Harry swallowed and bit his tongue, debating whether or not to answer her, but Brie continued with her speech anyway.

"Harry listen… whether or not you love my sister, you need to tell her the truth. I hate seeing her with a broken heart. She cares about you Harry Potter… she cares for you more than you know. And if you really do care for Charlotte, then save her the heart ache." Brie pulled away from Harry once the song ended and walked towards Nolan. Harry stood in place for a moment before he looked at Charlie, whose face was red.

Brie and Nolan danced together slowly, ignoring the rest of the world. Brie snaked her arms around Nolan's neck, pulling them closer. Nolan maintained to keep his breathing in check, hoping that she would not notice his sudden nervousness. Brie smiled up at Nolan, staring into his eyes. The two leaned closer to each other's faces and kissed quietly when the song had ended. They pulled back after what seemed like forever, smiling up at each other. Nolan squeezed her hand,

"Brielle Bennett, will you be my girlfriend?" Brie's smile widened,

"Only if I get to kiss you," she replied while pulling his tie down so they could kiss. Nolan pulled back slightly and nodded in approval, making Brie laugh before they continued to kiss once more.

After Brie's speech, Harry gathered the courage to approach Charlie, who was talking with Hermione.

"Charlie… would you… like to dance with me?" Charlie looked up at him for a moment before smiling and nodding in agreement. The two walked together to the dance floor, Harry taking Charlie's hand in his and leading her in a waltz.

Unlike the dance with Draco, Charlie felt comfortable with Harry, despite his lack of dancing skills. She gazed at Harry while they danced. He gazed back at her through his glasses. Although Cho was probably watching them dance together, Harry realized that he did not care at all. The two lost the track of time and danced even after the song had ended.

Harry did not dare to blink, as if he were trying to keep the spell between them from ever breaking. Charlie yearned to just kiss him in front of everyone, but she knew the consequences of that… yet she did not care. Charlie backed away from his arms and walked outside, silent tears streaming down her face.

Harry followed her out of the Hall, avoiding Cho when she tried to stop him. He stood outside, scanning the area for Charlie, but only saw couples snogging. He continued to search when he finally saw her standing alone in the garden, wiping her tears.

"Char…" Charlie froze, wiping her eyes and fixing her make up as much as possible. She did not respond to him and continued to stare at the darkness.

"Charlie what's wrong? Did… did something happen?" Charlie laughed bitterly and turned to face him.

"Nothing… nothing at all. It's not like my feelings were practically mocked just now… no! Everything is just dandy!" Her rant made Harry angry.

"Charlotte, I was not mocking your feelings at all!" Charlie glared at him, letting anger take over.

"Oh is that so Potter? How about that dance just now? You act like it actually meant something to you, but in the end? You are going to continue to snog Cho Chang!"

"Don't you dare tell me that our dance just now meant absolutely nothing to me! It meant the world to me!"

"Why are you doing this to me? You're acting like you actually like me. Yet, you are still completely bonkers about Cho."

"Because for some goddamned reason, I am in love with you, Charlie." Charlie stopped arguing immediately. Harry recollected himself while staring at her. He breathed before continuing.

"Charlotte Bennett, I love you. I love everything about you. You have been there for me over the years, through thick and thin." Harry took a step closer to her. "Seeing you tonight… especially tonight, made me realize how stunning you are." He stroke her cheek, making Charlie turn completely red.

"I… I should have realized a very long time ago that you were the one that I am crazy for, not Cho." Charlie stood there, completely shocked, confused, happy, loved, and angry at the same time. She managed to look into his soft, loving, green eyes before pushing him in frustration. Harry stumbled back in surprise and irritation.

"Dammit! Why didn't you tell me this before? Why? I have loved you for years. Years. Do you realize how long I have been waiting to hear those words come out of your mou-'' Charlotte's rant was cut off when Harry silenced her with a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They kissed for a while before they pulled back for air. Charlie broke eye contact from Harry to look up.

"Harry, you're making it snow…" Harry also glanced up and smiled. He sighed and looked down at Charlie.

"So I am... oh well." Charlie smiled brightly before she leaned in and they kissed once more.

Draco clenched his jaw in anger while watching Potter snog Charlotte out in the garden. He was enjoying the fresh air when he suddenly saw the two embracing. His hate for Harry Potter grew at that moment. He did not deserve Charlotte's affection at all.

Draco tried to ignore his longing to embrace his true feelings for Charlotte Bennett, remembering the consequences and the threats from his father. He also remembered his promise to himself that he would protect her from all dark forces and their dance earlier that evening, the way she looked when he first saw her walk into the Great Hall. I don't deserve her either… He turned away from the garden, letting the cold engulf him.