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The sixth year Gryffindor dorm was bustling with activity, as the girls were preparing themselves for the Yule Ball, one of the most important events of the Triwizard Tournament that was being celebrated at Hogwarts. One of them, the tall and dark skinned Angelina Johnson was helping a younger student, the third year Ginny Weasley, who went to them because none of her roommates got dates, so they were away. The other reasons was because her brothers quidditch teammates and dates were there, Ginny wanted to look at them as older sisters.
Ginny was looking at her mirror, her red curls, courtesy of Alicia's skill with hairstyling charms, looked well combined with her green dress.
"Looking good Gin-Gin?" Alicia asked.
"Don't call me Gin-Gin." Ginny replied while looking at herself at the mirror.
"Excited you are going with the boy-who-lived?"
Ginny sighed. "Excited to enjoy the ball even though I'm going with the boy-who-lived."
"You don't like him at all, right?"
"He let the 'Hero' part go to his head."
"I understand. I'm surprised he didn't try to ask me for the ball, considering I'm the Hogwarts champion and all," Angelina said.
"Maybe this is because you don't have 'pedigree'," Ginny said. "He was raised by the minister, and he is too concerned about that. I know because the minister is my dad's cousin and sometimes he visits my house to harass him."
"Ha! So much for being a hero. If not him, why are you going to the ball?"
"I heard the Weird Sisters were coming and couldn't waste such an opportunity," Ginny replied, but contrary to what she said there was another reason she wanted to go to the yule ball.
The girls kept talking until they went down the stairs to where her date was waiting for her. Just in front of her, going down the stairs, was Ginny's real reason to go to the Yule Ball, Ivy Potter. For Ginny, she was an enigma, a very beautiful enigma, she was entranced by Ivy's black curls with blue highlights flowing on her beautiful sapphire dress. When they reached the common room, Ivy went to a tall black haired boy, Ginny knew he was a second year and knew he and Ivy were close. Ginny remembered seeing him jogging with Ivy at the quidditch pitch, while she was flying with Demelza. She remembered Demelza saying "Ginny! Ivy is looking at you", while she replied "Why would she look at me!"
Ginny then set her sight on her date, the boy-who-lived Neville Longbottom, who was also more focused on Ivy Potter than her.
"So, you see… Ivy Potter has been ensnared by the dark wizard!"
Ginny nodded, while rolling her eyes internally. "Why do you think that?"
"Don't you understand? Simon Black has her under his spells!"
"Whatever… do your heroic stuff and save her!" Ginny droned.
Neville punched his chest three times with his fist. "Don't worry, I have a plan."
Now Ginny was worried, worried that Longbottom would cause a scene at the ball. She held his hand and they both went to the Great Hall, where they met a couple of Longbottom's friends, Susan Bones and Draco Malfoy who were going to the ball together.
"Longbottom! Nice to see you! My aunt has been so annoying," Susan said.
"Why?"
"You know my aunt doesn't believe that Draco's father was under the imperius."
Ginny had to bite her tongue before saying something, her dad never believed in that 'Imperius defence' and how she saw Draco Malfoy behaving sometimes, she didn't have any reason to believe that Malfoy's parents were the upstanding citizens they claimed to be.
"Weaslette! Are you finally seeing the light about which families are the good sort? Are you finally joining the good side and ditching your destitute muggle loving family! I know your brother Percy is starting to see the light too!" Draco said smugly.
Ginny clenched her fist, and bit the inside of her lip, trying to contain herself of hexing Malfoy right there. But just before she stepped towards him, an interruption came.
The first dances had started, with the champions leading, the Hogwarts champion Angelina Johnson with Ginny's brother Fred, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang with the Slytherin ice queen Daphne Greengrass, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons with Roger Davies. The rest of the students also put themselves in position, Ginny herself with Longbottom, Bones with Malfoy, Ginny's brother George with Alicia Spinnet. A sight that caught Ginny's attention was her other brother, Ron, who was going with Ginny's old childhood friend Luna!
After a couple of dances, Ginny noticed that Ivy Potter and Simon Black went for some drinks, and she wasn't the only one to notice.
"Look! Time to do an intervention!" Longbottom said while he pulled Ginny towards Ivy and Simon. Bones and Malfoy followed them.
"Finally, and Potter should be brought into our group, with the good sort. I don't understand why she hangs out with those two gossip girls, at all!" Bones said.
Longbottom stepped in front of Simon and yelled. "Black! I caught you!"
Simon raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Yes! I'm talking to you, dark wizard!"
Simon turned towards Ivy. "What is this guy talking about?"
"He's jealous I'm going with you," Ivy replied to Simon.
"Don't ignore me! Why are you here?" Longbottom yelled
"My dear godsister invited me, I didn't know that was forbidden."
"But it should have been, your father is a dark wizard, and you inherited his dark ways."
"So, this is about?" Ivy asked. "Just because Simon's father questioned the minister's unwillingness to investigate the death eaters after you 'defeated' Voldemort?"
Longbottom, Malfoy, and Bones gasped.
"Seriously? Even you Longbottom? Why do people worship you as the boy-who-lived if you let him win on this?" Ivy turned towards Simon, Ginny thought she was seeing things because she thought Ivy winked at her for a split second. "Simon, let's go."
As Ivy and Simon turned their backs to Longbottom's group, Susan Bones took her wand and sent a bludgeoning to Simon's leg. While Simon was writhing in pain on the floor, Bones said, "Potter, you have to thank me, I saved you from the dark wizard!"
"Now the thing we have to do is saving you from your horrible sense of style, that ugly muggle dress, and how you ruined your hair. Maybe then you'll become a proper lady," Malfoy added.
Longbottom stepped forward and extended his hand. "You'd better accept our offer."
Ivy stepped forward, just in front of Longbottom. Longbottom smiled, but that smile faded immediately when in a blink of an eye, Ivy sent a jinx to Bones. Before Longbottom could react, Ginny sent a bat-bogey hex to Longbottom. The girls then turned towards where Malfoy was, but they only saw a ferret. Ginny looked at Ivy who was talking with Professor Flint. Ivy then levitated Simon and started walking. Ginny rushed towards Ivy.
"Sorry, Ivy Potter, with how my date behaved!" Ginny said.
Ivy looked at her with those bright emerald eyes, and laughed. "Don't worry! Longbottom is too obsessed with me and was always going to cause something like this."
"Sorry if I'm being nosy, what did Professor Flint tell you?"
"He was the one who transfigured Malfoy into a ferret. Some grudge he has with Lucius Malfoy."
"Why?"
"He doesn't believe in that 'Imperius defence', I don't either. If there are people that were genuinely under the Imperius, they probably were the ones Minister Crouch instantly gave lifetime in Azkaban."
"That, I understand but why transfigure Draco?"
"Well, Professor Flint is the minister's son and can get away with it."
"What? But they don't have the same surname!"
"Well, he uses his mother's surname, to distance himself from him."
"My dad is the minister's cousin and I didn't know the minister had a son. They must hate each other a lot."
Ivy nodded.
The two girls continued walking with a levitated Simon until they reached the hospital wing. There a young woman who was filling in as Poppy Pomfrey's holiday replacement rushed to prepare a bed for Simon.
"I'll take care of young Mr. Black, leave," said the mediwitch while shooing the two girls away.
Outside the hospital wing, Ivy said, "Gin, do you want to go to the quidditch pitch?"
Gin, Gin, Gin, the word 'Gin' reverberated in Ginny's head. Ginny normally hated being called Gin, but for some reason it sounded right when Ivy said it.
"Gin? Are you okay?" Ivy asked.
Ginny snapped of her thoughts and could only see Ivy's eyes, piercing her soul. "Yes, I'm good."
"Do you accept?"
Ginny smiled. "Of course!"
Ivy then opened a small purse she was carrying and took a cloak out of it, pulled Ginny towards herself and covered both of them on it.
"This is an invisibility cloak, it was in my family for generations," Ivy said.
"I also have a little something to ensure we won't get caught, I stole it from my brothers." Ginny took from the sleeve of her dress robes a small piece of parchment.
Ivy's eyes widened. "I-is that…"
"What do you think it is?"
Ivy pointed it to the parchment with her wand. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
"How do you know that passphrase? Did you borrow it?"
"Is the first time I've seen it, but I've heard many stories about it, my dad and Simon's dad made it when they were at school."
"So, it's yours? I can give it back."
"Look, it's not necessary. I was already working with Simon and Violet to make some replicas. I may have stolen my dad's old school notes."
"Violet is your sister, right? The one who looks a lot like you but with hazel eyes?"
"Exactly."
"Longbottom was ranting about her a week ago."
"Hahahaha, of course, that's when Violet rejected him because she perceived it as him using her to get close to me."
"Is that related with the reason he thinks Simon is a dark wizard?"
"Yeah, probably. My parents and Longbottom's parents were in the same… club and expected us to become close friends. One time dad mentioned this to Longbottom in a public function and he became obsessed with me. I hate what Crouch did to Longbottom, he turned him into himself!"
"Is he jealous about your relationship with Simon? How long have you together?"
"Hahaha. I don't like him like that. I invited him to the ball because he is the one of the few boys I trust, and also to teach him how to treat a girl right, he has a crush on a girl his year. He has been the closest thing I've had to a brother before Monty was born last year."
"You probably know my brothers."
"Percy, Fred, George, and Ron, right?"
"Also I have two older ones, Bill and Charlie."
"Oh, Charlie! Now I remember Oliver mentioning him being the Gryffindor seeker before I came here. I know Fred and George like quidditch, and I know you do too, considering I've seen you fly. Do your other brothers fly?"
"I know Ron wants to become keeper now that Oliver Wood is gone."
"What about you, which position do you play?"
"Chaser, but my brothers don't know I fly… They think girls shouldn't."
"That's absurd, especially when your brothers have four girl teammates."
"Exactly, I don't know what they think. I want to join the Holyhead Harpies and show them I'm better than them."
"My mum has sold some hair dyes for some of them. I may show some signed pictures in the summer."
"Is your mum the one who makes the initiation dyes?"
"Of course! She supplies to the entire league!"
"The only thing that keeps me from wanting to join is what happens to my hair."
"Hair grows."
"Right! What about you? You are good enough to go pro if you want!"
"Look, I know. But I think I want to continue the family business and work in the beauty industry. In other circumstances I would have become an Auror, but I think I'd be ending cursing Crouch and his Crouchists."
Both girls laughed.
The girls continued talking while they made their way to the quidditch pitch. The conversation then went to how they both hated Ludo Bagman and the Wimbourne Wasps, how ugly that uniform was. Then Ginny admitted that while the green of the Holyhead Harpies is beautiful, the yellow was ugly. When they reached the dresser at the quidditch pitch, they were talking about the results of the last playing date of the first half of the season in the British league, before the Holiday break. Both girls took some school brooms and stood in the middle of the pitch.
"Let's see your moves, Weasley!"
"You'll bite the dust, Potter!"
The two girls spent the next couple of hours dancing in the air, sometimes with short and sharp turns, other times with long and elegant movements. Both girls knew the art of the broom well, not just quidditch moves, but also more unorthodox movements Ivy had seen in theater functions. Then they returned to Gryffindor tower.
They stopped in front of the door for the third year girls dorm. "Gin, this has been a great night. Even if it started a little…tense because of insufferable prats," Ivy said.
"Dealing with insufferable prats is my specialty, Potter. But before I go to bed, I'm going to give you a present," Ginny jumped and pecked Ivy's lips. Ivy wasn't satisfied with that and grabbed Ginny for a long proper kiss.
"I wanted to do this for a long time. See you tomorrow," Ivy went up the stairs to the fourth year girls dorm.
Demelza was right, I'll tell her when she returns, Ginny thought as she entered her dorm and collapsed on her bed, falling asleep almost instantly, the Yule Ball was a success.