Since the excitement of the First Task, Brooklyn could definitely see things improving: one was that Ron was best friends with them again. Two, not many people were wearing badges anymore. Three, a lot of people didn't seem to mind Harry turning into a gargoyle, who Dumbledore managed to register him with the Ministry of Magic a week after.

And finally, Christmas was on its way, one of the few things Brooklyn always looked forward too here at Hogwarts, the most festive time at this school. He always enjoyed the big Christmas trees covered in candles that Hagrid brought in.

He was so happy to care about the so-called love article about the supposed romance triangle between Harry, Hermione, and Krum. In fact, when they read it that morning at breakfast, he laughed at how ridiculous it was.

Other news that arrived was an unexpected event for the gargoyle: a Yule Ball to happen on Christmas Eve, and that everybody had to have a date that night. This made him feel nervous, and perhaps a little sad, too, because he never had anybody to take to a party before, and he figured nobody would want to ask him.

He stayed silent in the Great Hall one morning at breakfast, when they were all talking about dates for the ball.

Ron had opened an early Christmas present from his mom, which revealed the most appalling dress robes, looking more like a girl's dress. Just seeing this made Brooklyn laugh slightly, but still feel upset about not possibly finding anybody to go with, perhaps avoiding this thing altogether.

McGonagall held a meeting about the Yule Ball, where Brooklyn sat with Harry and Ron: boys on one end of the room and girls on the other. Several were whispering and pointing at either Harry or Brooklyn, when McGonagall mentioned the ball being a dance, this made Brooklyn blush even more. Oh great.

"To dance, is to let the body breathe. Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forward in flight," McGonagall said, while Brooklyn did his best to try avoiding any flirting girl's gaze. There was no point in trying, nobody would want to dance with anyone like him, anyway.

"Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr. Weasley," she called to Ron, who looked surprised. "Will you join me please?"

Ron grimaced, but did as he was told, walking up to her, who was smiling.

"Place your right hand on my waist," she instructed. Ron then paled, but Brooklyn snickered softly. This was possibly the most embarrassing thing for Ron right now!

They began to dance, and she called up the others to do the same. At first, a few of the boys didn't want to until Neville was brave and began dancing with Ginny. The other boys then followed suit, taking almost every girl in the room. Brooklyn didn't feel like staying there, not wanting to be teased about being unable to find a girl, so he snuck out quietly.

The next couple of days before Christmas Eve were mostly boys asking girls to the dance, and Brooklyn trying to avoid asking anyone, and especially boys asking him if he had a date. He was cornered by the twins later, though.

"Hey, Brook! Have you asked anybody yet?" Fred asked curiously. Knowing now that he was trapped, he shook his head.

"No, why bother? It's just a stupid dance, and let's face it, nobody wants to go with anybody like me," he mumbled dryly, wrapping his wings around his shoulders. There were times where he still felt bitter about Angela choosing Broadway instead of him even after all these years.

"Okay, you really must be desperate if you've been avoiding girls lately," George commented, looking rather sorry for him. Brooklyn glared. He didn't want anybody's sympathy!

But then, Fred looked knowledgeable. "Ya know, there could be one girl for you. She's been turned down by five boys, and she's on our Quidditch team! I mean, who wouldn't want to go with her?"

Brooklyn, for some reason, found himself interested in this news. "Uh, who is this girl?" he asked. Fred smiled.

"Katie Bell, of course! I already asked Angelina to go with me, but why not give Katie a chance? You might like her!" he said, winking.

Brooklyn gulped. Now this was a new level of bravery for him! Asking a girl he barely talked to to the biggest dance of the year? He had no idea how he was gonna pull this off! He had a vague memory of her in the hospital wing last year, helping him calm down after his anxiety attack. Come to think of it, he never thanked her for that.

He eventually found Katie near the library, watching her carrying books out, until she tripped, dropping them all.

This is your chance! Don't chicken out now! Just 20 seconds of courage! That's all I need! Brooklyn thought, narrowing his eyes, stepping out, surprising her.

"Oh! Hi, Brooklyn!" she greeted, as he gave a nervous grin. Why was this always so hard? What if she rejected him, too? Pushing the thought away, he remembered McGonagall's saying: Put your best foot forward.

"Hey, uh, can I help you with your books?" he asked. She nodded, and Brooklyn could swear he saw a tinge of color in Katie's cheeks.

As they picked them up, Brooklyn suddenly asked the most awkward question. "You going with anybody tomorrow night?" So stupid! He thought, hitting his forehead with the book in his hands. Katie didn't notice thankfully, as she looked slightly sad.

"I don't really know now. I stopped asking boys three days ago, as nobody wanted to go with me," she said softly. Her gentle voice made his heart flutter, and her eyes were beautiful, a soft brown. Brooklyn saw now that Katie was even lovelier than Fleur. He wished now that they talked more.

Oh, boy, am I really going for her? He thought nervously, as he spoke again. "But who wouldn't? You're nice, and a really good Quidditch player, too, and well, I wanted to thank you for calming me down during my... anxiety." And Brooklyn could swear he saw her cheeks coloring slightly.

"Well, I couldn't stand seeing you like that. I was worried for you," she replied.

Brooklyn knew his courage wouldn't last long. He had to ask her before he lost his chance of happiness again! "So... I wanted to thank you even more, not just from saying it. D-do you want t-to go to the ball with me?" he mumbled in a stuttering voice. He grimaced at how bad that sounded, but to his surprise, Katie smiled, her eyes shining.

"Oh, Brooklyn! That would be amazing! I would love to!" she cried out. He was in a small daze for a bit. This was the first time a girl actually agreed to go on a date with him! Shaking himself, he grinned.

"Great! So, I'll see you at 6:00 tomorrow, then? Great Hall?" he asked, and Katie nodded.

"Yes! I'm going to let my friends know so they can help me get ready! Merry Christmas!" she replied. Then, out of nowhere, she gave Brooklyn a hug before going on her way. Brooklyn was speechless for a while, until he eventually snapped himself out of it and went back to the common room to cool off, for his face felt really warm.

That evening, he just sat there, unable to comprehend it all. He just asked a girl to a dance! But then he saw Harry lying on the couch, looking rather disappointed.

"Hey, what's up?" Brooklyn asked curiously, and Harry didn't really look at him.

"Nothing much, tried asking Cho to the ball, but she's going with Cedric instead," he mumbled. Brooklyn winced in sympathy. He knew how that felt, being rejected by someone you thought you loved. But this was a first time for Harry.

"I-I'm sure you can find somebody else," he then said, trying to cheer him up until the door opened, and Hermione and Ginny were leading in a disgruntled looking Ron, who looked almost petrified and in a comatose state. Brooklyn stared. What happened?

"What happened to you?" Harry asked. Ron couldn't talk for a while, so Ginny answered.

"He just asked Fleur Delacour out to the ball."

"What?" cried out Brooklyn in shock. He just couldn't believe Ron actually had the guts to ask someone like her when she jerked her nose pretty much at everybody like they were a slug, especially at him. Brooklyn was glad he saw what she truly was before he had asked her like Ron!

"She was walking by, you know how I like it when they walk," Ron mumbled, who looked ready to cry. Brooklyn now felt embarrassed when he saw Fleur that way, too. "She was talking to Cedric. And I sort of lost it, and I asked her!" he sobbed.

Ginny rubbed his back with comfort. "Well, he screamed at her, it was pretty frightening."

"What did you do then?" Harry asked.

"What else? I ran for it! I'm not cut out for this, guys! It was embarrassing! She was probably asking Cedric."

Brooklyn then smirked. "Well, she's out of luck, Ron. Cedric's going with Cho. Harry tried asking Cho earlier, but it didn't really go so well." Harry gave Brooklyn an astonished look that he said that out loud, who grinned apologetically back.

"Oh yeah? Well, what about you, Brook? Have you found anybody who was desperate enough to go with you?"

Brooklyn felt himself going redder than usual again. "Actually, yeah, I did find somebody. It's Katie Bell. She had been turned down a few times, and I just couldn't leave her in the dark. I asked her, and she said yes."

Harry and Ron both glanced at each other in surprise, and maybe jealousy that a gargoyle had managed to find a good-looking girl like Katie before any of them found one!

"I guess we should be happy for you, Brook. You probably deserve it after all you've been through. Just treat her well tonight, won't you?" Ron mumbled, but he had a small smile on his face, glad that Brooklyn found a girl who liked him.

Brooklyn smiled, the biggest one so far. "You bet," he replied. He looked at Hermione. "What about you? Who are you going with, Hermione?"

Hermione looked over to Ron, blushing. "It's a surprise. He asked me a couple days ago. You'll just have to wait and see."

Ron frowned. "You're probably lying and have nobody to go with! Why not go with Harry?"

Hermione glared back. "I'm not lying, Ronald! And you'll just have to figure him out for yourself! I'm going to bed!" She stormed to the common room, right as twin girls walked past: Parvarti and Padma Patil. Harry ended up asking them to go with him and Ron, and they both agreed.

Brooklyn had a strange feeling that he was going to have a much better night than his little brother, making him wince in sympathy. If only Cho didn't go with Cedric, but small things like this happen, he supposed. And he guessed he should be happy for Cedric. It was only fair.

....

Christmas Eve came like the wind, and Brooklyn's nerves rose to even greater heights. Mrs. Weasley had sent him an early Christmas present, dress robes that were a nice simple midnight blue, just his size with gold trimming. Harry's were a black color while Ron was stuck with those ridiculous ruffled robes he received earlier.

The trio ventured to the Great Hall, promptly at 6:00, and Brooklyn could feel his heart thumping a thousand miles again. Harry noticed and took his hand.

"Just be yourself, Brooklyn, and you'll do fine," he assured. Brooklyn nodded, but couldn't speak until they got to the Hall, where a lot of the boys met up with their dates. The gargoyle looked around, trying to find Katie, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe she changed her mind, he thought miserably, until Harry nudged him and pointed. His jaw dropped.

Katie stood there, her hair done up in a ponytail, wearing a silver gold dress, and smiling at him. Ron was staring too, despite Padma being right there next to him. He walked up to Katie, nervously smiling.

"You look nice," he complimented, and she blushed.

"So do you," she whispered. He offered her his arm, and she took it. As they were about to walk in, Katie noticed somebody coming down the stairs, as she and Pavarti both said the same sentence. "She looks beautiful!"

Confused, Brooklyn looked around, and stared in amazement. Hermione had completely changed, her bushy hair combed smooth, wearing a satin pink dress, and earrings with pink crystals. Her teeth appeared to be shorter than usual, too. She smiled at them all.

And to even greater shock, the boy who approached Hermione was none other than Krum himself, offering Hermione his arm, and leading her in.

Brooklyn looked over to Katie. "Milady, shall we?" He asked playfully, and she giggled.

"Lead on, Sir Brooklyn!" The two of them proceeded inside, not wanting to miss the Champion's entrance.

He was amazed at the transformation of the Great Hall just for this one night: the walls were completely silver with beautiful ice sculptures, shining brightly, fancy tables and chairs for the guests to sit at, a whole orchestra band playing opening music, and snow falling from the enchanted ceiling.

He and Katie both sat next to Ron and Padma. One couple Brooklyn spotted was Ginny and Neville. Brooklyn smiled seeing Neville getting to go with someone like Ginny. He thought that Neville deserved it.

"Is that Hermione Granger? With Viktor Krum?" Padma suddenly asked, and Brooklyn saw them walking together as part of the Champion's entrance.

Ron shook his head, glaring. "No, absolutely not!" Brooklyn snickered at the jealous look on his face. Missed your chance to ask her, pal!

As the dancing began, Brooklyn and Katie stepped up after the Champion's first dance. Brooklyn was nervous again. "Katie, I have to be honest, I never really danced like this before," he muttered, now worried he'll mess up. But she smiled encouragingly.

"It's not that hard. My dad taught me how to waltz. I'll teach you. Just watch and follow what I'm doing until you're comfortable."

Brooklyn nodded, as they took their position. He gulped when he put his hand around her waist, and she blushed when he did. He could feel everybody watching, as Katie began showing him the waltz moves.

At first, he felt rather clumsy, apologizing once or twice from stepping on Katie's feet, but she didn't care as they kept dancing. Eventually, he felt himself being lost in the music and her eyes, feeling his steps becoming more natural, until Brooklyn ended up being the one leading the dance. He got bold and at one point, lifted up Katie and spun around.

Katie smiled proudly. "You're doing great!" she complimented. Brooklyn grinned as he then found himself looking around, seeing Cedric with Cho, Harry dancing awkwardly with Pavarti, and Krum with Hermione.

He even spotted Dumbledore coming out to dance with McGonagall, and he grinned, seeing the two of them together like that.

Eventually, the rest of the school joined in, and Brooklyn then realized how much fun he was having, dancing with Katie, occasionally taking small sitting breaks and just talking every now and then, especially when the ballroom got too crowded for dancing.

One particular band calling themselves the Weird Sisters had begun to play hard rock music, and this felt quite random in Brooklyn's eyes. How did they go from a simple waltz ball to a rock concert in just a few minutes? He hoped the real Weird Sisters didn't catch this band stealing their title.

Strangely enough, though, their playing actually wasn't too bad. Heck, it started to bring out the rock side of Brooklyn, who eventually got brave and volunteered to be on stage, much to Katie's surprise, but she smiled when he borrowed an extra guitar from one of the band members, and played two songs: Earth Angel, and Johnny B. Goode from one of his favorites, Back To the Future that he once watched with his brothers.

Everybody enjoyed Brooklyn playing, especially when it came to Johnny B. Goode, where he asked the other players to try to keep up with him on the rift as he started singing the song. A few muggleborns who knew it cheered when it began. Harry had no idea that his gargoyle brother was into music like that, but he enjoyed it.

On the last note, Brooklyn pulled Katie onto the stage, and twirled her, causing the crowd to applaud wildly. Brooklyn and Katie smiled at one another after that.

When they got down, a few people had come up to the couple, complimenting about how they look good together and on Brooklyn's playing, sometimes making the duo blush simultaneously.

Ron was immensely jealous, seeing Brooklyn with a girl like that, getting all the attention while he hardly paid Padma any at all, until she had enough, joining up with a Durmstrang boy instead who offered her his hand.

Brooklyn felt like this was his best night ever. Butterbeer suddenly tasted even better with Katie during times after he sang where they just sat around and talked.

Later in the evening when it got quite noisy, Brooklyn decided to take Katie to one of his favorite spots, in one of the towers where he liked to glide and stretch his wings.

"Why are we here, Brooklyn?" she asked curiously. He smiled. "Well, I have a surprise for you. You just need to hop on," he offered, jumping onto the railing on all fours and kneeling down for Katie to climb onto his back.

She was startled. "What?"

"Do you trust me?" He asked, holding out his hand, looking at her with a gentle gaze. Katie hesitated for a moment but saw in his eyes the pure honesty that he would never drop her.

"Yes," she whispered, taking his hand, and he pulled her gently onto him, crouching in position on the sill. He jumped, the wind carrying his wings out into the cool night air.

Katie was terrified at first, gripping Brooklyn's shoulders tightly, shutting her eyes. Brooklyn smiled gently, encouraging her to open them. She did, and stared, eyes round at the view of the entire Hogwarts grounds, as he soared around it, grateful for the strong wind tonight.

It turned out to be a most beautiful evening for just the two of them on that special Christmas Eve. Brooklyn even flew near the edge of the Black Lake, where Katie got bold and trailed her hand along the water, her eyes shining with joy.

For Katie, this was different from flying a broom at Quidditch matches. Somebody else did the flying for her, and she didn't have to worry about Bludgers or rival players coming her way! She loved it! And now, she began to feel like her heart was going out to Brooklyn. Maybe even falling in love with him! But could that really happen? Could a human and gargoyle be together?

The two of them returned to the castle, landing near the entrance, Katie sliding off Brooklyn's back, her face shining a bright pink, mostly from the cold wind and from something else that had nothing to do with the weather.

They stared at one another for a while, just enjoying this small moment.

"It was incredible, Brooklyn. I never knew you glided so well," she murmured softly, looking shyly at him.

"Yeah, I had a good time too," he said gently, taking her hand. He didn't feel nervous anymore. There was just something special about Katie that implanted itself into his heart. He knew he really liked her now, and he was sure she liked him in return, if she enjoyed flying with him.

They both went inside to enjoy the last few moments of the ball together, until it began to come to a close.

"This night was wonderful. Thank you so much," Katie said, holding his arm in the escort fashion as they left together.

Brooklyn blushed, smiling. "No problem," he replied. He then offered that she could always talk to him if she ever felt lonely. Katie said she'd love to.

They parted ways, wishing good night to one another. Brooklyn even kissed her hand in farewell, making her blush furiously again, giggling silently. As Brooklyn went to find his brother, his heart soaring at his successful evening with the girl he now liked, his ears were met with sudden arguing.

Uh oh, he thought, recognizing Ron and Hermione.

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before somebody else does, and not as a last resort!"

Ron looked nervous as he tried to explain. "Well, uh, that's just completely off the point! Harry, Brooklyn," he suddenly said, and Brooklyn noticed Harry coming, his face looking somewhat disappointed, and he guessed his date with Pavarti didn't do so well.

Hermione glared at them sharply. "Where have you two been? Never mind! Off to bed, the three of you!"

Brooklyn didn't even want to ask, leaving with his brother and Ron, feeling sympathy for Hermione as she sat on the stairs, crying. Sometimes it was best just to be alone for a while and cool off.

Back in the common room, the three boys just sat there for a while, not talking, until Ron spoke.

"So... how did it go with Katie?" Ron asked in an awkward, but curious tone. Brooklyn felt himself smiling, his heart soaring. He decided the Yule Ball to be the best night ever, with his new friend, Katie Bell, whom he might now have possible feelings for. He wished he could be happy like this forever!

"It was wonderful," he stated finally, not feeling awkward at all in the slightest, sighing happily as he glanced out the window, now coming to terms at how beautiful the night was. Harry grinned at his brother; glad the gargoyle had his first happy moment for himself for once.