The morning after everyone who had went home for the holidays came back, there was a large notice on the Gryffindor notice board.

It said, 'There is to be a school ball on the sixteenth of January. Dress robes are to be worn, all years can attend, and it is not compulsory to attend, though we recommend that you do. Every two years, this ball will take place on the same date.'

Everyone was chattering excitedly amongst themselves. Lavender and Parvati danced up to me.

"Who do you think's going to ask you?" Lavender squealed.

"I know." Parvati said slyly. "Ronald, or Terry Boot. Or that Slytherin, Malfoy."

I stared at her, wide-eyed. Okay, Ron I could understand. But Terry? Draco? They didn't like me ... we were only friends ... right?

"N-no, Parv, I don't think so." I stuttered, but Parvati and Lavender gave me sly smirks and sauntered off through the portrait hole.

Harry came up to me.

"I'm not going." He announced. "I can't dance."

"Oh, you so are! I'll teach you. It's easy, really." Hermione said, who had sneaked up behind us.

Hermione began to show him what to do, while I climbed through the portrait hole and wandered down to the Great Hall absently.

It seemed like all the houses had got the notice, because there was a sort of lively buzzing going on, with people from the different houses flitting back and forth, occasionally a burst of giggles would break out, and less occasionally, a group of students would break out in cheers and clap, while a girl and a boy stood in the middle, blushing, as if one of them had just asked the other to the ball.

I nervously made my way to the Gryffindor table, because quite a few people were eyeing me up. About a quarter of the Gryffindor boys, all the first year boys from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, and a couple more from the second, third, and even forth years from the other houses were doing it. But only one from Slytherin was looking at me as if he wanted to ask me to the ball. My Dragon.

He got up, and started to causally walk (but I could see that he was nervous; he kept rubbing his nose and running his hands through his hair, and his normally pale face had gone a little pink) from the Slytherin table to the Gryffindor table.

But Terry beat him to it. He stood up from the Ravenclaw table and stood beside me.

"Daisy Lily Potter." He said. "Will you go to the ball with me?" 

I immediately went pink. This was happening ... this was happening ... he was asking me to the ball! "Uh, sure." 

Then I glared at my group, daring them, just daring them, to cheer and make a scene.

Suzanne and Shannon didn't dare, but sat grinning at me. Amy, Fred, and George cat-called and clapped, though, and I got out my wand.

"Now, now." Fred said, eyeing it apprehensively. "Just a bit of fun."

"Oh really?" I raised my wand.

"No, no!" George yelled. "I'm sorry!"

"Forgive me!" Amy shrieked.

I grinned evilly, and they cowered. 

"Jk." I said, and pocketed it. 

They all sighed in relief.

I looked over at Draco. He was staring at us in dismay. Then he muttered something to himself, shot a weak smile at me, and walked out the double doors. Huh.

Terry grinned at me. "Tell me the colour of your dress robes when you get them, okay?"

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'.

He studied my face for a second, before a familiar smile appeared on his face, and he strode out the double doors as well.

That smile was the same smile that Lavender and Parvati had on in the common room. A sly, triumphant smirk. Weird ...

"So." George nudged me playfully. "You and Terry, huh?" 

"As friends, obvs." I rolled my eyes, but something in me was screaming at me that it was otherwise. And something else was nagging at my mind. An uneasy feeling ... about that smirk Terry had on when he left the Great Hall. Why did he leave so soon? But wait ... it was right after Draco left.

"Oh, I don't think so." Fred smirked. 

"Seconded." Amy smirked too.

"Thirded." Shannon grinned.

"Fourthed." Suzanne spluttered, and everyone laughed. 

But I still felt really uneasy.

"Guys, I have to go." I said, darting upwards from the table.

"-Snog Terry?" Fred sniggered.

I shot him the Death Glare. 

"You've done it now, Fred." George sniggered.

"Alarte Ascendare!" I shrieked, and Fred shot right up into the air. "Engorgio!" I then yelled, pointing my wand at a certain part of his anatomy, which immediately began to swell in size.

Fred thumped to the ground as giggles rang out across the Great Hall. I strode out the double doors.

I searched the corridors, taking shortcuts, and eventually I found Draco, heading towards the Entrance Hall (which was strange, because he'd just come from the Entrance Hall, and the dungeons lead off from it - what was he doing up here?). He looked incredibly shaken.

"Are you okay, Dragon?" I asked anxiously.

"Y-yeah." He stammered, running a hand through his hair.

"What di- did Terry say to you?" I asked, on a hunch.

"Nothing." Draco said. "Nothing at all, Daze." 

I stared at him. He stared back, but he was giving me a face-scan. He leaned in slightly, then drew back, shook his head, and said, "I only want you to be happy, Daisy."

Then he turned and hurried away.

I stared at the spot where he had been a moment ago.

"That was weird ..." I muttered to myself.

I practically sprinted up to the Ravenclaw door.

Terry was there, thinking over a riddle. 

"Terry." I said. "What did you say to Draco?"

He turned to me, the picture of calm. "Nothing, Daze, why?" He asked nonchalantly. 

I sighed. "Well, bye." 

Terry grinned at me. "Bye."

I turned and walked away, while behind me, Terry said, "Four?" And the eagle door knocker said, "Right you are."

Back in the common room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came through the portrait hole.

"Uh, Daisy?" Ron asked, playing with the bottom of his school jumper. "Will you go to the ball with me?" 

"Sorry, Ron." I said. "Terry already asked me."

Harry yelped, "What?!" while Hermione grinned. Ron's face fell, and he muttered something I couldn't hear, but Harry evidentially did.

"If you say one more thing like that about my sister ..." Harry growled. "I will kill you!"

"What did he say?" I asked curiously, smirking slightly.

"He said - he said -" Harry said, spluttering with anger. "He said, 'Damn, I was hoping that I could snog her after the ball!'"

"Sorry, Ron, but that's not happening." I said. "I friendzoned you, remember?"

"Harry, mate, I-" Ron pleaded, but Harry wasn't talking to him.

~~~

It was Quidditch practise. It was really wet and muddy, but Lewis had worked up the courage to ask Kurt to the ball earlier on, and he said yes, so I was really happy.

The Weasley twins and I were dive-bombing each other, and pretending to fall off our brooms, when Oliver yelled, "Will you stop messing around! That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George actually fell off his broom at these words.

The words kept swirling round and round in my mind ... Snape's refereeing ... Snape's refereeing ...

Then the ground rushed up to meet me as several voices yelled all at once.

The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital wing. AGAIN.

"You know, you're going to beat your father's record of being in here at the rate you're going." Madam Pomfrey said as I woke up and blearily looked around. "Alright, off you go."

And the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who had been gathered around my bed, accompanied me up to Gryffindor Tower.

"It's all right, I'll make sure Snape doesn't touch you." Harry said with a fierce look on his face. 

At these words, I saw myself go pale in the reflection in one of the windows, and my knees buckled.

"Oh, Harry." Fred said reproachfully as George swept me up into his arms bridal style.

Then Neville came hopping around the corner. His legs were stuck together by the Leg-Locker Curse.

I raised my wand and performed the counter-curse while horizontal. It worked quite well, considering I was draped limply across someone's arms, and Neville's legs sprang apart.

"Thanks." He gasped. "What happened to you?"

"Never mind that, what happened to YOU?" I asked.

"Malfoy." Neville said shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practise that on."

"What?" I said sharply. "Malfoy?"

He nodded.

"Which one?" 

"Draco."

"You've got to stand up to him." I said through gritted teeth. "He really is used to walking all over people," I drew in a deep breath, "but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that." Neville choked.

"That's it." I said. "George, put me down."

"But you're-" He protested.

"Now, Gred, please." 

He set me gently on my feet.

"Thanks." I said, and took off to the library.

"Malfoy!" I shrieked, seeing him leaving the library with that friend of his, Blaise Zabini.

They both stopped in their tracks.

"You cursed Neville! AND you told him that he's not brave enough to be in Gryffindor! How could you?!" I howled at him.

"Daisy - I- I'm sorry-" Draco stuttered.

"You filthy half-blood! Everte Statum!" Zabini yelled, and I was thrown back by the spell, into the wall. 

"Blaise, no-" Draco said, shocked.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Zabini smirked, and I went rigid. I couldn't move.

"Zabini!" Draco yelled, and he shoved Zabini to the floor. "She's my friend! Stop!"

"She's a Gryffindor! A filthy Gryffindor!" Zabini exclaimed. "Why are you even standing up for her?"

Draco punched him in the face. "Don't call her filthy!" He growled.

"I thought you were better than this, Draco." Zabini panted mockingly.

"Shut up." Draco sneered, and performed the counter-curse on me. I sprang up.

"Zabini, maybe you should consider the strength of your opponents before you attack them." I sneered.

"You've done it now, Blaise." Draco laughed coldly.

"Yep. Just watch your back, I've got somewhere to be." I sauntered off down the corridor. "And Draco? Don't ever hurt and insult my fellow Gryffindors again."

"You're going to need a bodyguard, Blaise." I heard Draco say to him as I turned the corner. 

Oh, yes he was.

When I returned to the common room, my friend group milled around me.

"Daisy, you're hurt!" Harry gasped.

"You're bleeding!" Ron said.

The back of my head was bleeding from where it had hit the wall.

"Don't talk to her, Weasley." Harry said coldly. I sniggered.

"But you are!" Hermione said.

"Which person did you duel?" Fred asked.

"Which Slytherin did you duel?" George asked.

"This is all my fault!" Neville wailed. "If I hadn't told her who cursed me ..."

"You think it was Malfoy?" Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George all chorused. "But he loves her!"

"No, he doesn't." I said. "We're just friends."

"Right." Harry said, looking disgruntled. "Uh huh. Totally."

"But who?" Fred asked.

"It wasn't Malfoy, was it?" George said shrewdly.

"Nope." I said. "Blaise Zabini."

I told them all about what happened, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione dragged me off to tell me that they'd found Nicolas Flamel.

He was the six-hundred-and-sixty-five-year-old maker of the Philosopher's Stone. 

"Wow." I said. "Old Nicky is very old."

---

The next Saturday, we battled Hufflepuff in Qudditch. While Snape was refereeing, Dumbledore was there too, and Snape couldn't do anything to me. And ... we won! Gryffindor were still all chattering that night (as it was the night of the ball) about how I caught the Snitch - apparently it was the fastest capture they had all ever seen, as it only took five minutes for me to find it.

Lavender, Parvati, Hermione, and I all gathered upstairs in our dormitory. Harry had awkwardly asked Hermione to the ball, Ron asked Parvati, Fred asked Amy, George asked Shannon, and Neville asked Suzanne. Lavender was going with Seamus.

Half an hour later, and we were all sweeping down the marble staircase to the Entrance Hall.

I was wearing a dark purple ball gown dress with a matching cloak and flats. I wasn't wearing any makeup, as I never wear it anyway, (#loveyourselfandacceptyourflawseventhoughidonthaveanylol) and, by a miracle that Hermione had lent me, a potion to make your hair go flat, my hair was straight and flowing down my back.

I met Terry in the Entrance Hall.

"You look stunning." He gasped, looking me over with his eyes practically popping.

I sniggered, as Ron was looking over at Terry and me jealously. I saw Draco in black dress robes, leaning against the wall, with no date. Then he looked straight at me. Our eyes connected, and his widened.

I winked flirtatiously at him, then Terry lead me into the Great Hall, where the four long house tables had been taken away, and a dance floor had been put in their place, with heaps of little tables on the edges.

"You look gorgeous, sis." Harry greeted me.

"Same to you, bro." I replied.

Terry and I danced to a slow song. The popular wizarding band, the Weird Sisters, were playing in the corner.

As we danced, we looked into each other's eyes ...

Before I knew it, the song was over, another one was starting, and someone was tapping my shoulder.

"Can I have this dance?" A Gryffindor asked me. 

"Uh, sure." I said.

Hours later, and I was sitting giggling with Fred, George, and Terry.

I had danced with nearly every boy in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Terry, the twins, and I were drinking the punch, which I suspected was spiked.

"Look at him! He looks like - like - " I faltered, as I tried to think of what the guy I was pointing at looked like. "A Hippogriff!" 

At this, us four fell about laughing.

"Oh, Daisy, you're so FUNNY!" Terry cried.

"I think he looks more like a kelpie!" Fred declared.

"But - but -" I spluttered. "Kelpie's can take any shape!" 

We all fell about laughing again.

"Imma piss myself!" George announced, and we all started to cry with laughter.

"I hope not." I heard Hermione say. Then she performed the Anti-Drunk Charm on us, and I felt the affects of the alcohol fall away.

"Daisy, may I have this dance?" A drawling voice reached my ears. Draco?

"Yeah."

I stood up, and Draco lead me to the dance floor. He put his hands on my waist, and I put mine on his shoulders.

"I kinda have to strain to put my hands on your shoulders, and you're having to bend to put yours on my waist, so this is kinda awkward." I announced.

"Midget." Draco sniggered.

"Shut up Dragon, it's not my fault you're so tall."

We bantered on like this for the rest of the dance, not taking our eyes off each other. It was just so easy talking to Draco, it was just like talking to Harry, my brother, only less protective. Well, for all I knew, he could be protective, couldn't he, but this was a dance, what was there to protect somebody from? 

I knew the answer soon after the dance ended.