In the days following the first task, the Daily Prophet wrote about the tournament every day. The first article was somewhat honest about how Harry had beaten his dragon and how amazing that was. There was hardly a word about the others, and in the last paragraph she mentioned the points awarded to the other champions.

The next day, the writer Rita said, Harry had been interviewed at length about his hopes and fears. And especially about his parents and how, according to Skeeter, he was still crying about their loss. And how he had teared up at the mention of his parents in the interview.

It seemed to upset Harry very much. He was being teased now, he had to put up with things like tissues in his locker or people saying things they had read in the paper, Avalon felt sorry for him.

The next day the 4th years and above were told about the upcoming school dance, the Yule Ball. Only 4th to 7th years were allowed to attend. But students from the lower years were allowed in as dates.

So for the next few weeks the girls waited anxiously to be asked to the ball. One evening, most of the students were doing their homework in the Great Hall. Avalon saw Fred handing a note to his younger brother. And in a whisper he heard him ask who he was taking. He caught the attention of Angelina Spinnet. A pretty dark-skinned girl whom Avalon recognised as a Gryffindor beater.

He clearly asked her out. And of course she said yes, blushing. Avalon suddenly felt like she wanted to hurt Angelina. She couldn't quite explain it. But she felt that if anyone should go to the dance with Fred, it should be her. Was it jealousy she felt? She shook her head. Before she knew it, she felt a piece of paper hit her head. She unfolded it.

Hey little Miss Potter.

Since I'm dateless and you can't go without one. Do you want to go to the dance with me as a friend?

George.

She looked at George and nodded.

That night, Ginny told her that Neville had asked her out. Oona told them that one of the Bulgarians had asked her out. She would have liked to go with Lee, but he seemed to have a girl he was taking.

The weeks passed quickly and before she knew it, the first visit to Hogsmead was planned, Avalon was excited, she could finally leave the castle. For a little while. And it meant she could choose her dress for next week's ball.

She took Ginny, Oona, Sharon, Emma and even Lucy to a shop called Cladrags. Ginny chose a blush dress with a green collar and green lace over the skirt, held up by a red belt tied in a bow at the back.

Oona chose a yellow dress with an embroidered bodice and a flowing skirt, the bodice held up by short sleeves.

Sharon, who also seemed to have a date, looked a little sad. After some nagging, she told them she didn't have the money to buy the dress she wanted. The girls looked at each other and it was agreed that they would all chip in so she could wear what she wanted.

Cheerfully, Sharon picked out a white dress with a full, long skirt with petticoats and long, flowing, semi-transparent sleeves that fell down near the floor an ended pointed. The sleeves were adorned with a 3 cm long ribbon that looked like a machete. The bodice had a beautiful pattern on it.

Lucy's dress was black came to her calf's and had a embellishment at her hips where her skirt and the fabric of the dress were all pulled together giving it a layered look and a small split.

Emma chose a white dress with a very simple bodice held up by spagethi straps. What made this dress look amazing was the uneven skirt. The bottom was in points.the ends of it were decorated with a white ribbon.

Avalon chose a gorgeous dark blue dress with blue sleeves and a long flowing skirt that if you picked it up and pulled it up to your head it would still fall on your feet, that's how wide the skirt was. The skirt bodice and the add on sleeves were trimmed with gorgeous Gold embroidery. She would have to wear a hoop underneath. But she loved it so much that she was sure she would get used to it.

Suddenly Luna appeared. The shop. "Oh, you're picking out dresses for the ball." She said matter of factly. "No one asked me, I guess I'm not cool enough." She said.

"Don't say that Luna." Ginny said. "No, you're a lot cooler than people think. Maybe we can get someone to take you." Avalon added. "It's fine really." She said. "No its not, come on we are going to find you a 'date' and were going to pick out a dress, come on." Ginny said. After another hour they had picked out a dress for Luna.

Giggling and shouting, they finally chose a red dress for Luna, it had puffed sleeves and a long, flowing skirt. "Whoever gets to take you as their date is very lucky." Ginny said smiling. "Thank you girls I think I will take you all out for some pudding." Luna said. "What an honour." Avalon said smiling at her best friend.

Back at school, the girls were excitedly trying very hard to get a 4th year boy to go out with Luna. But they had no luck until they reached the gates. They overheard a 5th year Huffelpuff boy asking Fleur Delcour out. They recognised him as Jimmy Nougat, not that they knew him well. But he was a good friend of Cedric's. So he must be all right. "No, I don't take brutish English boys to the ball." Fleur said and walked away.

The girls walked over to Jimmy, who looked a mixture of angry, disappointed and sad. "Are you okay Jimmy?" Avalon asked. "No. I was challenged by my mates to take out a natural blonde." He said, "I asked everyone in my year and they all have a date." He added. "You're just lucky. We have this amazing friend. She has no one yet. And she is a blonde." Avalon answered him. "Who?" He asked looking around. "My best friend. Luna." Avalon added.

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"I don't know, she's not really my type." He said. "Look who is available at this late stage. And you don't have to be her boyfriend. Just show her a good time and be a friend." Avalon said. "Look, now everyone thinks she is weird. But she is a great friend with a heart of gold. And she will not reject you, otherwise she cannot come." She added.

"Well, if you put it that way. I suppose I can take her as friend." He said. "You won't regret it." She replied.

Jimmy and Avalon made their way over to the group of girls. "Um, hello." He said awkwardly. The girls managed to stifle their giggles. "You're Luna right?" He said. Luna nodded. "I was wondering if you would, um. Like to be my date to the ball on Friday. Just as friends." He said awkwardly. "Oh I would like that very much, I was dreading having to go as someone's date and pretending to like him." She said with the brutal honesty they had come to expect from her. "But I would love to go as friends and just have fun. " she added, her pale eyes brightening. "Cool." Jimmy said. "See you Friday then." He added, walking away.

"See, I told you we would find you someone." Avalon said. "Sometimes I think you're a seer Ava." Luna said as they made their way inside.

Before they knew it, it was Friday night and the Yule Ball was upon them. The 3D years and below who had not managed to get a date to the ball were to have a special feast in the common rooms. And they were allowed to go to the three broomsticks for their Christmas Eve party. Harry had explained that Dumbledore had hated the idea of the younger students not having a great night out, so he'd arranged the party at hogsmead.

After classes, which ended an hour early, everyone had to get ready for their respective parties. Avalon liked the shortened day, it meant no history of magic until term resumed after the Christmas holidays. So after her last Potions lesson of the year, she and her friends, with the exception of Ginny, went to their dormitories to get ready. Giggling, the girls did their hair and make-up. Oona was the one who did everyone's hair.

She managed to braid Avalon's hair beautifully. It was two stacked braids that came together at the back. This gave her a bit of an elfish look. Between the braids, Oona placed what she called a hair necklace. It was a long, beaded chain that made her hair look even more magical. It was held together at the front by a silver headdress with what looked like a drop of water on it. that was made of a blue stone on Avalon's forehead.

"Now you look like a real royal." Oona said, winking at her.

Just before dinner they were all finally ready. They all went downstairs to wait for their dates. As Avalon walked down the stairs she saw George waiting for her. He was soon joined by Fred and a bored looking Angelina.

"What did she have to be bored about?" She thought. "She had Fred with her." Her mind added for her. "My goodness. You look gorgeous my dear friend." George said holding out his hand. "Now look, Angie my friend and I are going to have a great time." He added. Angelina looked at her strangely, as if she was jealous? Avalon didn't understand that she had Fred as her date. A real date. And she seemed to be jealous of the friendship between her and George?

A few seconds later, Jimmy sighed in surprise, stopping her train of thought. "Don't you just look stunning." He said, taking Luna's hand. Luna did indeed look very pretty. Her red dress was accented by a gorgeous red choker around her neck, matching ruby earrings, and in her hair Oona had pinned dozens of small red stone roses. "And here everyone thought I was going to be disappointed." He said, sounding genuinely surprised.

Not long after, Ginny walked past them, led by Neville. Who seemed to notice Luna. "My goodness." He said nervously, "Everyone looks so pretty." He stammered, suddenly flashing scarlet. "Nice try, Longbottom." George said. "What my shy friend meant to say is that we are all incredibly lucky to have such beauty by our side today, even my own little sister." George said, winking at Ginny.

"Shut up." She said. "Now Neville. I know we were being friendly. But if anything would upset my little sister tonight." George started to say. But quickly stopped when he saw Neville turn from pale to green. "Hey, I'm just kidding." He quickly added as he patted him on the shoulder.

A few seconds later the door to the Great Hall opened and the 4 champions and their dates walked past them. She was surprised to see Hermione Granger with Victor Krum. But she was even more surprised to see one of the Patil twins with Harry Potter. It wasn't a surprise to her that Cho Chang, a girl she didn't particularly like was dating Cedric Digory. She had suspected they had been going out for weeks. Fleur was with a Hogwarts boy she did not recognise. After that, the entire student body was allowed inside.

The Great Hall looked completely different, there were dozens of small tables around the room and on them were small menus. Everyone chose a table to sit at. The 4 Champions shared the table next to Dumbledore.

Fred and George led Aneglina and Avalon to a table at the left end. They looked around the room. "Oh dear no," Fred suddenly explained. "What is it?" his brother asked. "Percy." Was all Fred replied, pointing to one of the tables. "Great, what is that Prat doing here, I thought we were finally rid of him." George replied. Suddenly they heard Dumbledore talking. He had a menu in his hands, smiled and said "Pork Chops". And they suddenly appeared in front of him.

Everyone in the school seemed to have got the message and ordered their food from the menu.

Avalon ordered a Gorgeos chicken dinner with rice and nuts. After dinner the dance began, Dubledore waved his wand and the tables all moved aside.

He walked to the centre of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you. Our champions."

The four champions walked to the centre of the room. The music started and they began to dance. After what seemed like an awkward few minutes, the teachers joined in.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" George asked, holding out his hand. A blushing Avalon took it and before she knew it she was being led around the room. George didn't look it, but he was very light on his feet when it came to dancing.

After the slow song, Dumbledore announced the famous wizarding band, The Weird Sisters.

Avalon had never heard of them, but the whole school seemed to be excited. Some strangely dressed men came up. "Good to be back at Hogwarts," the singer said. "Now let's rock this place."

It turned out to be a great night, filled with laughter, dancing and more laughter. At the height of the evening, Avalon looked to the back rows. There she saw Ron Weasley and Harry Potter sitting with the Patil twins. The girls seemed extremely bored.

She didn't have much time to dwell on that. She ended up dancing with Angelina, Fred George and Lee Jordan. She had to admit that Angelina was a lovely girl.

Suddenly they heard screams. Avalon went over to the noise and found Ron, Harry and Hermione arguing. "RON, YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING." She heard Hermione scream. She didn't hear the rest of what was said. When she reached the hall she saw Hermoine sitting on the stairs crying.

"Hey." she said as she walked over. "It's not that bad." Avalon said as she put an arm around Hermoine. "He. Said. Victor. Is. an. enemy." she said between sobs. "Who?" Avalon asked. "Ron." Hermoine replied. "He is jealous." She said. "Off. What?" Hermoine asked, sobbing again.

"Oh many things Granger. You. Because your smart," Fred said as he came into the hall. "Oh and you, because Krum seems to like you." George added as he appeared behind his twin. "And Krum." Fred added. "Why would he be jealous of him?" Hermione asked.

"Because you like Krum." The twins finished together. Hermione smiled a little.

"Come on Hermoine, come and dance with us." George asked. She smiled and stood up. For the next hour or so they all danced together and had a great time.

Suddenly the music stopped and Dumbledore's voice came in. "Right, students. It's midnight, I'm afraid it's time to call it a night." Dumbledore spoke.

With slight resistance, the few students still at the ball left. All that remained was to wait for the new year and the next task.