(Kassandra P.O.V)

Snow now swirled against the icy window once more; a clear indication that Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already single handedly delivered the usual 12 Christmas Trees for the Great Hall; garlands of holly and tinsel were twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of the suits of armor and great bunches of mistletoe were hung at intervals along the corridors. Large groups of girls took to converge underneath the mistletoe every time that Harry passed. 

The good news was thanks to being well versed with the Castle's hidden passages, Harry was able to navigate mistletoe-free routes between classes. Though I do have to admit that when groups of friends that passed under the mistletoes, this happened: They all looked at each other and shook hands and said things like: "I like you as a friend. You're a good person." 

Neville and I, on the other hand, both kissed under the mistletoes at multiple points. Half the time, I wondered if he was just letting us pass through the mistletoes on purpose. 

In the meantime... Harry told me earlier today, that when he went to go check on Hermione, she stormed off in tears. 

Nevertheless, Ron was happy and laughing again, which I honestly preferred over the moody and aggressive Ron we dealt with for the past few weeks. Even Ryan seemed to have found his smile again. That not even the Slug Club could destroy. 

He and Parvati were holding hands and Parvati found herself laughing. 

"So Emily's hair gets all spiked up and it stayed like that for 2 weeks!" Ryan told Parvati. 

And Parvati laughed. "Oh, that must've been torture for her." 

"It was. Emily didn't find it funny. I did though. And it kind of served her right after she left me on the streets of Cambridge when I was 6. I lost grip of Emily's hand, and I ended up sitting on a bench by myself, and stayed there for about 6 hours until Emily finally came to get me." Ryan said.  

"6 hours?" Parvati asked shocked. 

"Yeah... she kind of went shopping and completely forgot that I existed." Ryan answered. "And boy were Mom and Dad MAD at her." 

"Oh, hey, Kassie. Neville." Ryan greeted to me.

"Hello, Ryan. Parvati." Neville greeted. 

"Chare." I greeted. 

"Say... where did you and Parvati go off to last night, Ryan?" Neville asked. 

I noticed that Ryan's hair was a little messed up. And Parvati giggled a little as she smirked right at Ryan. 

"Celebrating." Ryan answered while grinning. 

"Anybody got some toast? I'm hungry." Parvati asked. 

"Uh... yeah... here." Neville gave a piece of toast to Parvati.

"Thanks." Parvati sat down and so did Ryan. 

Neville held my hand. And as I looked at Ryan and Parvati eyeing each other. And I knew what type of celebrating they did.

"You two made love, didn't you?" I asked quietly to them. 

"Yes." Ryan didn't even bother denying it. 

And Parvati just laughed altogether. "Well... I'll say that Ryan is as much of a lover as he is a fighter." And she kissed Ryan again.

"And besides. It was better than getting caught in the crossfire between Ron and Hermione. I think I need to take a break from that drama for a while." Ryan added.

"You and me both, Ryan." I said. 

It was stuff like that that went on for the next couple of weeks. At least Ryan and Parvati were much more tolerable than Ron and Lavender. Or in this case, just Lavender. 

First, we had to put up with the constant presence of Lavender, who seemed to regard any moment she wasn't kissing Ron as a waste of time; and second, I found myself once again the best friend of two people who seemed unlikely to ever speak to each other again. 

And Anubis... he did not like the relationship with Ron and Lavender at all. "The more time I spend in this relationship with that woman, the more I miss being imprisoned in my scales." He said at one point. 

And of course, Ron took the defensive route.

"She can't complain." Ron told us. "She snogged Krum. So she's found out someone wants to snog me too. Well, it's a free country. I haven't done anything wrong." 

"Oh, believe me, Ron! You have done plenty wrong! Staring with dating that bimbo, Lavender Brown!" Anubis countered.

Neither Harry, nor I answered. Harry pretended to be absorbed in his book, while I just stood there awkwardly. Ryan in the meantime, started spending a lot more time with Parvati, and also Sophie. Which tells you all you need to know about the situation we're in, and how he feels about it. He said he was taking a break. So... that was that. And that meant a lot of my time was spent with my mouth shut tight. 

"I never promised Hermione anything." Ron mumbled. "I mean, alright, I was going to go , proto Slughorn's Christmas Party with her, but she never said... just as friends... I'm a free agent..." 

"Free agent?!" Anubis shouted in outrage. "Don't make me literally bang your head onto this table repeatedly over and over until you lose consciousness!" 

Speaking of Hermione, her schedule was so full that I could only talk to her in the evenings, when Ron was so tightly wrapped around Lavender that he did not notice what the rest of us did. Hermione refused to sit in the Common Room while Ron was there, so we spent a lot of time in the library, which meant our conversations were held in whispers.

I was really hoping that Hermione and I could talk about anything else. But all she seemed to talk about was Ron. For a girl who was avoiding Ron, she sure talked about him a lot. 

"He's at perfect liberty to kiss whomever he likes." Hermione said, while Madam Pince, the old hag in charge of the library, prowled the shelves behind us. "I really couldn't care less." 

I knew that wasn't true. She did care, otherwise she wouldn't be saying it. 

Hermione raised her quill and dotted an I so ferociously that she punctured a hole in her parchment. Neither Harry and I said nothing. Harry still had his tattered copy. While I used my own forged copy of my notes. And let me just say how very handy that was. It boosted up my Potions Grade big time. Slughorn was ecstatic to see my remarkable improvement. And now I was on par with Harry and Ryan. I said nothing to Harry nor Hermione about it. 

I mean... I was going to. But after all of this stuff. It didn't seem like a good idea if we were all fighting with each other. Hades, we were coming to a point of no return at this rate, and I hated every minute of it. 

"And incidentally." Hermione said, after a few moments. "You need to be careful, Harry." 

"For the last time." Harry replied, speaking in a slightly hoarse whisper. "I am not giving back this book, I've learned more from the Half Blood Prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in-" 

"I'm not talking about your stupid so called Prince." Hermione interrupted giving Harry's book a nasty look as though it was rude to her. And yet another reason why I never told Hermione I copied the Notebook. "I'm talking about earlier. I went into the Girl's Bathroom just before I came in here and-" 

"Ooh. Was there another Troll?" I asked referring to our first adventure on Halloween in our first year. 

Harry put in a chuckle.

And Hermione giggled a little. A little spark of hope. But then her face got serious. "No, but there were about a dozen girls in there, including Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party, and they all seem to have brought Fred and George's love potions, which I'm afraid to say probably work-" 

Wait what? "Why didn't you confiscate them?" I asked, surprised that Hermione's mania for upholding rules could have abandoned her in that very moment. 

"They didn't have the potions with them in the bathroom." Hermione answered scornfully. "They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt whether even the Half Blood Prince-" She gave the book another nasty look- "could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, "I'd just invite someone to go with you, that'll all stop all the others thinking they've still got a chance. It's tomorrow night, and they're desperate." 

"There isn't anyone I want to invite." Harry mumbled, clearly he was trying not to think about Ginny. But she was dating Dean and there wasn't anything that Harry could do without making it awkward for everyone.

"Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business." Hermione advised. And then she hitched up the long roll of parchment on which she was using to write her Arithmancy essay and continued to scratch her quill. 

"Hey... Kassie? You and Neville still going together?" Harry asked.

"Sure are." I answered. "Got my dress and everything. From Lizzie." 

"That checks out." Harry replied. 

I had been to Lizzie's a few days ago. She had designed my dress for me and I talked with her about what was going on with my friends. Jacob sent his apologies. Some Death Eaters doubled their attacks. From what I was also told, the campaign in India was still progressing. Now the Coalition was marching into India and had taken several key cities. And the tip of Southern India was mounting a brave defense as they were cut off by both land and sea.

"What am I going to do?" I asked. "We're all at each other's throats, Lizzie." 

"Oh, don't worry, Kassie. I'm sure your friends will come around and realize how big fat jerks they are." Lizzie assured as she continued to work on sewing the fabric.

"I don't know, Lizzie. Hermione and Ron hate each other right now. But the problem is... Hermione likes Ron. And Ron likes Hermione. Why can't they just... admit they like each other, like the way that Ethan and Penny did? Or you and Jacob?" I asked.

"Sometimes relationships are just different." Lizzie answered. And she chuckled. "Oh, kids these day. You and your lovesick fantasies. We all get that way at some point. Just wait till you get to the point where you and your loved one decide to get intimate with each other and make love."

"Well... that's what happened to Ryan and Parvati." I said.

Lizzie chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time. Ethan and Penny did it in their 7th year." 

I looked at her. "Did you and Jacob ever-" I started to ask. 

"Yes." Lizzie answered. Okay... guess that answered that question.

Lizzie looked at me and could see I was still melancholy. "Kassie, seriously. Friends can act like jerks at times. It's all in the name of love. Love can be a pretty big double edged sword." 

"I know. It can be both good and bad depending on who you ask." I said. 

"But do you know why love is like a Double Edged Sword? And yes, I stand by that simile." Lizzie asked. 

I shrugged.

"Because like all things, it has to be wielded properly. You have to be able to wield the sword properly, because if you don't, it can hurt you. And I have a good hunch that Ron and Hermione are playing with them." Lizzie said. "It's not your fault, Kassie."  

"But I'm just worried about it all." I admitted. "I mean, what if Ron and Hermione do start dating and they break up and that ends their friendship? Will it ever be the same?" 

"Well... that's love for you. And it's a risk." Lizzie told me. "It's the risk that Jacob and I took with each other. It's the risk Ethan took with Penny. It's the risk you're taking right now with Neville. But sometimes... it's a risk worth taking. And it can reap high rewards for you." 

"But how do I know if it's a risk worth taking?" I asked concerned.

Lizzie looked at me. "You don't, Kassie. It's a leap of faith." She answered. "But you gotta be willing to do it." 

"I just want us all to be friends again, Lizzie." I said.

"You will be." Lizzie assured.

"Are you sure? Because Duncan said-" I started to say.

"I don't care what Duncan said." Lizzie cut me off. "If you all truly are friends, you'll all realize how stupid you all have been acting, and you'll be friends again." 

I had thought about our conversation for days now. I just want us all to be together again. But seeing as how Ron was with Lavender now, and Hermione was mad, it was going to take a miracle for the Gryffindor 5 to make a comeback. 

"Hang on a moment." Harry said slowly. "I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" 

"And since when has anybody paid attention to what Filch says?" I asked. "Survey says: Never." 

Hermione nodded her head while also concentrating on her essay. 

"But I thought all owls were being searched. So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into school?" Harry asked. 

"Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions." Hermione answered. "It's part of their Owl Order Service." 

"They're geniuses they are." Harry commented. 

"That or Filch is just really stupid." I countered. 

"Well, there's that." Harry admitted. 

"How do you even know a lot about it anyway, Mione?" I asked. 

Hermione gave me the kind of nasty look she'd just given Harry about his copy of Advanced Potion Making.

"It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer." She answered coldly. "I don't go around putting potions in people's drinks... or pretending to, either, which is just as bad..." 

"Hermione, what does it matter? Harry never put it in." I asked.

"Yeah, well, never mind that." Harry interrupted quickly. "The point is, Filch is being fooled, isn't he? And quite honestly, you'd think he'd have learned his lesson after all this time. But he hasn't. These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school?" 

"Oh, Harry... not that again..." Hermione started to say.

"Come on, why not?" Harry demanded. 

He did have a good point. 

"Look." Hermione sighed. "Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses, and concealment charms, don't they? They're used to find Dark Magic and Dark objects. They'd have picked up a powerful curse, like the one on that necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register- and anyway, love potions aren't Dark or dangerous-" 

"Easy for you to say." Harry muttered. 

"Yeah." I agreed. It was through a Love Potion that Voldemort was created.

"-so it would be down to Filch to realize it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from-" Hermione started to say.

I was about to tell Hermione that Filch was a squib. Not a Wizard, but she suddenly stopped dead; Harry and I heard it too. Somebody had moved close behind us among the dark bookshelves. It felt like the movie, Jaws. We waited, and a moment later the vulturelike countenance of Pince appeared around the corner, her sunken cheeks, her skin like parchment, and her long hooked nose illuminated unflatteringly by the lamp she was carrying. You could consider her as the Fourth Fate if that was the case. 

"The library is now closed." Pince told us. "Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct- what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?" She screeched at Harry. 

"Madam Pince, it's Harry's, not the library!" I quickly while Harry snatched his copy of his book off the table as she lunged at it with a claw like hand. 

"Despoiled!" Pince hissed. "Desecrated! Befouled!" 

"It's just a book that's been written on!" Harry tried to justify, tugging it out of her grip. 

Not according to Madam Pince. She looked like she might have a seizure; I grabbed him by the arm and got him out of there after Hermione. 

"Boy, that was close." I thought. It was also a good thing that Pince didn't see my book. 

"She'll ban you from the library if you're not careful." Hermione warned. "Why did you have to bring that stupid book?" 

"It's not my fault she's barking mad, Hermione." Harry countered. "Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something going on between them..." 

"Oh, haha..." Both Hermione and I laughed. Although come to think of it... didn't... Ethan say something about one dance he went to when he attended at Hogwarts. Something about a storybook tale theme involving Pince and Filch?

"Well, for what it's worth, Harry. Pince gave Penny detention just for sneezing in the Library once." I added.

"Ouch." Harry commented.

Suddenly it felt like we could speak normally again, we made our way along the deserted, lamp lit corridors back to the Common Room; with us arguing about whether or not Pince and Filch were secretly seeing each other. 

"Baubles." Hermione said to the Fat Lady. That being the new and festive password. 

"Same to you." The Fat Lady replied with a roguish grin, and she swung forward to admit us. 

"Hi, Harry!" We were immediately greeted by Romilda Vane, the moment he climbed through the portrait hole. "Fancy a Gillywater?" 

"Don't." I breathed. 

"No thanks." Harry shot down quickly. "I don't like it much." 

"Well, take these anyway." Romilda insisted, thrusting a box into his hands. "Chocolate Cauldrons, they've got fire whiskey in them. My Gran sent them to me, but I don't like them." 

"Oh- right- thanks a lot." Harry said, clearly not able to think of something else to say. "Er- I'm just going over here with..." 

He hurried off to Hermione, his voice trailing off feebly. 

"Told you." Hermione replied succinctly. "Sooner you ask someone, sooner they'll all leave you alone and you can-" 

But Hermione's face suddenly turned blank; she had just spotted Ron and Lavender, who were entwined in the same armchair. 

"Kill. Me. Now." Anubis mouthed at us, before Ron took over again. 

"Well, goodnight, Harry. I'll see you upstairs, Kassie." Hermione said.

"What? But it's only 7 O'clock." I countered. But Hermione left for our dormitory without another word. 

Hermione once again didn't want to talk about that sort of thing as I followed her up to her dorm. She just sat there. 

"Um, Mione... I've got something to tell you-" I started. 

"I know." Hermione said to me. "You copied that Half Blood Prince Book that Harry got."

I looked stunned. "Um... how did you-?"

"Your remarkable turn around in Potions. That didn't just happen overnight without an advantage in your pocket, Kassie." Hermione explained.

That made sense. "Yeah. I suppose that would explain it."  

Hermione gave me a cold stare. 

"Listen, Hermione. I-It was after Katie Bell got cursed. I thought that the curse that was used was similar to a spell in the Half Blood Prince's book, and maybe there would be a counter curse that could help Katie. I don't know. I just wanted to help my friend and... maybe there was a chance I could... but I didn't want Harry to think that his book had got stolen, so I copied the notes, put it in. But I couldn't find anything to help Katie. I grasped at straws." I explained myself.

Hermione's tension eased up a little. "Well, why didn't you tell me?" She asked. 

I sighed. "Because you kept talking about how the book was dangerous to Harry. And you kept going on to him about it and kept ranting to his face. I was worried you would do the same to me. Just go on an accuse me of doing the same thing." 

Hermione just sat there. Just us in the same room together. 

"Kassie... it's not... look I wish..." But Hermione could not find the right words to say. "You never really kept secrets from me before." Was all she could say. 

"I know. And I hate it." I replied. I then looked at Hermione. "I miss you, Mione. I miss us. And not just you and I as sisters. Not counting Bea and Penny. You are the closest thing I've got to one. But you're so busy these days, we don't even have any time for each other. And whenever we do speak, it's all about Ron this and Ron that. And it's not just that I miss. I miss us 5. You, Harry, Ron, Ryan, me. I miss when it was us 5 against everyone else. We didn't care who looked at us, because all we needed was each other. We would die for each other. I just want to go back to that. Is that too much to ask?" I started to sob. 

Hermione then suddenly sat down on my bed silently

"Kassie I..." She couldn't finish that sentence.

Where did it all go wrong? How did we go from trying to save Sirius Black and fighting off Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic to this? 

"Are you going to tell me to get rid of this book?" I asked.

"...No." Hermione answered after silence. "I can't stop you from looking at that book, Kassie. Just... just be careful with it." 

"I'm only using it for Potions. Nothing more." I assured. 

Eventually both of us finally went to bed. Though, I didn't really fall asleep.

Lavender walked into the room sooner than later. And she smirked at Hermione. "You stay away from my Ron-Ron. He's mine. You had your chance." She told the sleeping Hermione.

And I'll say this now, it took me a lot of energy not to bitch slap Lavender at that moment.  

I think I would have to do some serious praying to the Gods, especially Aphrodite to help get this mess sorted. Maybe some time during the holidays would give them enough time to cool off. At least there were two more days before the holidays.

However, my hopes were not high, and they sank lower still after the final day of Transfiguration Class. From what Ryan told me. It came off of the immensely difficult topic of human Transfiguration; working in front of mirrors, they were supposed to be changing the color of our own eyebrows. "Hermione laughed unkindly at Ron's disaster first attempt, during which he somehow managed to give himself a spectacular handlebar moustache; Ron retaliated by doing the most Ron thing you can think of." Ryan told me.

"A cruel impression of Hermione jumping up and down in her seat every time McGonagall asked a question?" I asked knowing that was the most Ron thing I could think of.. 

"Which Lavender found deeply amusing. And which also reduced Hermione to the verge of tears again." Ryan answered. "Why did Hermione had to laugh at Ron's first disaster attempt?" Then I noticed he had some of Hermione's books in his hands. He had scooped up her remaining possessions and followed her, with Harry on his tail. 

"Come on. She can't have gone that far." I said to Harry. 

"Ugh. Somehow I think Ron is reverting back to his First Year Self." Harry said. "I also think Hermione is trying to play the victim when she instigated the conflict in the first place." 

Finally we managed to track down Hermione as she emerged from a bathroom on the floor below. She was accompanied by Luna Lovegood, who was patting her vaguely on the back. 

"Oh, hello, Harry. Hello, Kassie." Luna greeted. "Did you know one of your eyebrows is bright yellow?" 

I crane my neck to see Harry's eyebrow bright yellow. 

"Hi, Luna." Harry greeted. "Hermione, you left your stuff..." 

"Here you go." Ryan held out the books for Mione. 

"Oh, yes." Hermione said in a choked voice. She took her things and turned away quickly. "Thank you. Well, I'd better get going..." 

And she hurried off, without giving either Harry and I any time to offer words of comfort. 

"Was it that bad?" I asked Luna. 

Luna nodded. "I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about that Ron Weasley..." 

"They had another row." I said. 

"He says very funny things sometimes, doesn't he?" Luna asked as we set off down the corridor together. "But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year." 

"You're not kidding." I commented. 

I kind of respected Luna for telling the truth like it was.

"Ever since he started dating that Lavender bitch, he's been a totally different person." Ryan said.  

And I quickly thought of something. Harry and Luna talking. "So have you had a good term, Luna?" I asked. "I feel like I don't see you that often."  

"Oh, it's been alright." Luna answered. "A bit lonely without the D.A. Ginny's been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration Class calling me 'Looney' the other day. Though that would be a compliment if they said that to Ryan-" 

"How would you like to come to Slughorn's party with me tonight?" Harry suddenly asked out of nowhere.

I was completely blindsided by that move. And I think Luna felt the same way. Hey, I'm not judging him or anything like that. 

"Slughorn's party? With you?" Luna asked. 

I laughed. "I'll leave you to it." And I left both Harry and Luna, not wanting to be the third wheel in it. 

"Right behind ya." And Ryan was behind me. "You're not wrong about the Looney comment either. I'd consider it an honor." 

As it turned out, right as I left, that's when Peeves revealed himself to Harry and Luna. And within the hour, the news of Harry finally asking Luna to Slughorn's party buzzed around throughout the school. All I knew was that Romilda Vane, was going to be pissed. But who cares about that?

"You've could've taken anyone!" Ron commented in disbelief over dinner. "Anyone! And you choose Loony Lovegood!" 

Ron got his head smacked onto the table. "What was that, Ron?!" Anubis asked. 

"Luna! I mean to say, Luna Lovegood!" Ron corrected. 

"That's better." Anubis said. But I could tell through his voice that he was irritated at Ron. More than he ever was before. 

"Thank you, Anubis." Ginny grinned, as she paused behind us on her way to join her friends. "I'm really glad you're taking her, Harry, she's so excited."

And she moved on down the table to sit with Dean. 

I on the other hand moved in between Harry and Hermione, while Harry sat next to Ron, keeping them as far away as possible while still remaining a group. Hermione stared furtively at him. 

"You know, Ron. You could say sorry." Harry suggested to Ron. 

Ron muttered in response. I couldn't tell you what it was.

"Idiot!" Anubis yelled at Ron, smacking his head on the table again. 

And then something exploded in front of Ron. "What the-? Who did that?"

"Oh, sorry, Ron!" Sophie yelled from over the table. "I just learned how to use the spell Bombarda! Watch! Bombarda!" She fired at some of the Slytherins. The all screamed out loud. "Bombarda!" She fired again at Ron. 

"Sophie! Be careful with that thing!" I heard Ryan yell as he entered the Hall. 

"But I like the Bombarda Spell!" Sophie protested. 

And she was going to fire more until, Ryan put a stop to it.

"Hey!" Sophie screamed.

"You may have this wand back after you learn to handle the Bombarda spell properly." Ryan told her.

"Fine." Sophie pouted. 

Ron in the meantime had been jumped into the air and was hanging down from one of the candles on the ceiling. "Get me down from here!" He yelled. 

"Hm. That's strange. That stuff usually happens to Neville." Ryan commented. 

"Oh, speaking of Neville. You've got a dress for tonight, Kassie?" Harry asked.

"Sure do." I answered. 

"Ah!" I then saw Lavender scream as she watched Ron dangling from the candles. 

"Hey, Parvati!" Ryan beamed.

Parvati returned the smile to Ryan. And then she looked up at Ron, dangling from the ceiling. "How did that happen?" She asked.

"Sophie learned the Bombarda Spell." Ryan answered. 

"It's fun." Sophie said.

"Get him down! Get him down!" Lavender screamed out in frantic tones like the end of the world wa happening.

"Titan. Please get him down." Ryan ordered. Which resulted in Titan jumping up from the table, yanked Ron down off the candles and then touched back down which resulted in the Table smashing in two under Titan's weight.

"Oops." Titan commented.  

"Oh, Ron Ron! Are you okay?" Lavender asked as she pushed Harry down and ran up to Ron to 'comfort' him. 

"Oh, Malaka." I muttered at Lavender's overdramatic fashion. 

"Sophie is a ball of chaos." Ron said. 

"Yes, but she's my ball of chaos." Ryan replied. "And yours too by extension, Ron." 

Parvati giggled. 

"Well, keep your ball of chaos for a sister under control and away from my Ron-Ron." Lavender scolded Ryan as Lavender held Ron close to her heart.

"Why is this torment never ending?" Anubis complained. "I'm talking about Lavender, not Sophia." 

"You try raising a little sister on your own after your Father died, Your Mother is a Death Eater, and your older sister is in Azkaban serving for embezzlement!" Ryan countered and also holding a ball in one of his hands that he was squishing. 

"Sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to shoot at you." Sophie apologized.

"Oh, now you're sorry. Nobody hurts my Ron-Ron and gets away with it." Lavender hissed going up to Sophie and thumped her in the head.

"Ow!" Sophie shouted.

"Hey, get away from Sophie! Don't touch her!" Ryan demanded at Lavender while pulling Sophie behind his back.

And Titan. He saw that and started marching towards Lavender. "Stop that!" He demanded.

"Woah. Woah. Titan. Calm down!" Ryan quickly ran up to Titan in an effort to stop him.

"Titan! She's just a bitch. Okay?" Sophie quickly ran up to stop Titan.

But that was enough to scare Lavender away. "Ah!" She screamed to get away from Titan.

"Right. Well, that was interesting. Hi, Parvati!" Hermione said suddenly changing the subject. "Are you going to Slughorn's Party tonight?"

"I got invited as a guest by Ryan here. It sounds like it's going to be really good... You're all going too, aren't you?" Parvati said.

"Yep." I answered. 

"Yes, I'm meeting Cormac at eight, and we're-" Hermione started to say.

There was a noise like a plunger being withdrawn from a blocked sink and Ron surfaced. Hermione acted as though she did not see nor hear anything.

Ryan's eyes widened. "What did she say?" He asked.

"-we're going up to the party together." Hermione went on boasting.

Suddenly that Ball that Ryan was holding onto popped out like a balloon. 

"Cormac?" Parvati asked. "Cormac McLaggen, you mean?" 

"That's right." Hermione answered sweetly. "The one who almost became Gryffindor Keeper." 

"Uh.... Ryan?" Sophie asked as Ryan made a face trying to keep his rage in check. 

"Are you going out with him, then?" Parvati asked wide eyed.

"She wouldn't." Sophie muttered.

"Please say no, please say no." I begged. Surely Hermione was not going to sink to this level. Just to get Ron jealous, right?

"Oh-yes- didn't you know?" Hermione asked with the most un Hermione-ish giggle I've ever heard. 

"She would." I told Sophie. 

"No!" Parvati answered, looking positively agog at this piece of gossip. "Wow, you like your Quidditch players, don't you? First Krum, then McLaggen... but don't get any ideas about going after Ryan. He's mine." 

Ryan just stood there making an unhuman like screech at that news. And his face turning red with his eyes turning into volcanos. 

"I like really good Quidditch Players." Hermione corrected her, still smiling. "Not that I'm calling Ryan a bad Quidditch player. He's a very good one. And I respect and understand that you and Ryan are dating, Parvati. Well, see you. Kassie and I better go and get ready for the party..." 

I was snapped out my funk. "Um...right... of course." I replied.

Meanwhile. Ryan was busy making some kind of other noises that I'm pretty sure wasn't even a language. And it was also in that moment that Horus took over because of how mad Ryan was. 

"He'll calm down." Horus assured. "I think..." 

I then followed Hermione out of the Hall. "Are you out of your mind?!" I asked in disbelief. 

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked in her fake innocent voice. 

"You know damn well what I mean. McLaggen? Seriously?!" I asked. 

"He was the one who annoyed Ron the most." Hermione answered giggling. 

Oh Gods. "This has BAD Idea written all over it, Hermione!" I warned her. "I mean... did you see how Ryan reacted?" 

"Actually, he took a lot better than I thought he would." Hermione admitted. 

"Oh for the sake of the GODS!" I started to say. This was just getting ridiculous. "I'll see you tonight with..." And I struggled to get the words out of my mouth. "...McLaggen." 

I found Neville waiting for me outside the Common Room around Night. And I was dressed in a long red cocktail style dress. My hair strait and long behind my back. And my eyeliner and lipstick on me. As well as Perfume that I put on my body. I hoped that Neville found it good.

He did. Neville looked flustered the moment he saw me. Suddenly he felt so awestruck, he might as well have been hit with a spell from Aphrodite. "Chare, Neville." I said while walking towards him

"Kassie. You look... you look beautiful." Neville told me while stuttering. "Though, you've always looked beautiful, Princess." 

"Really?" I asked. 

"Of course you have and don't deny it. No high heels?" Neville asked.

"No." I answered. "Hermione suggested I do it. But it is incredibly painful." 

"I'd rather you were comfortable then in pain." Neville replied. 

"So do I." I agreed. I then noticed the sort of suit style of robes that Neville had on. I thought it made him look handsome. 

"Well... let's at least get this over with." I grumbled thinking about the reason we were even doing this in the first place. 

"Not a fan of  Christmas Parties?" Neville asked. 

"No. I love Christmas Parties." I answered. "I just don't like when it's with a bunch of big shots like the Slug Club. It's everything my brothers despise." 

"That's understandable. Gran always said how down to Earth your family is." Neville replied.

I held out my arm. "Care to escort a lady to a party?" I asked.

"Certainly." Neville answered. 

We walked arm in arm up the stairs to Slughorn's office. It felt good to be with Neville. "So... Ron and Lavender?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know what Ron's thinking. Lavender is probably the most annoying witch in the face of Hogwarts. And what's more is that she's stealing Ron away from Hermione." I said. "And what's worse is the way that Hermione is reacting. Choosing to go to the party with McLaggen of all people." 

Neville looked stunned. "Ron and Hermione?" He asked. 

"You're surprised?" I asked.

"No. It's pretty obvious." Neville answered chuckling. 

I giggled. "You know... I hardly see you smile these days." Neville noted.

I looked at him. "Do I not smile anymore?" I asked.

"You hardly do, Kassie." Neville answered. "Don't think I haven't noticed. Especially after that Quidditch game." 

I sighed. It was so much easier to talk with Neville about these things. "I'm sorry, Nev. I've just been caught in the crossfire of their feud. And I don't want there to even be a feud." I admitted. 

"I don't like feuds either, Kassie." Neville replied. "It's even worse among friends. Is there anything I can do to help?" 

"Not unless you can come up with a plant that can stop friends from feuding." I answered. 

"I don't think such a plant exists. But maybe we just haven't discovered it yet." Neville said cracking a joke. 

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's going to take a miracle for all of us to get back together." I said.

"Well... it is Christmas." Neville replied.

And it was true. Christmas was a time for miracles. And it was one of my favorite times of year. To be with my family and homes smelling of sweets, fires, festive times, and also being with my family. 

"Say... Kassie. Why don't we forget about all this drama for one night, no?" Neville suggested. "I'm here with the most beautiful witch in all of Hogwarts as my date. And we're going to some Christmas Party and enjoy ourselves, not wanting to think about all that drama." 

It sounded like a good idea to me. "You sure you can handle it?" I asked. 

Neville chuckled with a slew of confidence. I loved the confident Neville. It wasn't egotistical nor was it too show offish. It was just his way of saying: 'Here I am, this is me.' And standing in that suit he was in... he looked very... desirable tonight. And he gave me a kiss on the lips before we went to the doors. 

"If I stood face to face against Bellatrix Lestrange. I can handle this." Neville stated. 

I looked down at my dress. And I hoped I didn't stand out in the wrong way. But I knew Lizzie. She would never humiliate me. "By the way... why do they call it a Cocktail dress?" I asked.

"I have no idea." Neville answered. 

Whether it was built this way, or because Slughorn used magical trickery to make it so. Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study. The ceiling and walls were draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, so that it looked as though we were inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light casted by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the ceiling, in which real fairies were fluttering, each a brilliant speck of light. Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of House Elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing, so much so that they looked like little roving tables. 

"Kassie, m'girl!" Slughorn boomed as soon as Neville and I entered. "Come in, come in, so many I'd like you to meet. And Neville... how good to see you again, My Boy." 

"Yeah." Neville replied remembering his manners. "Good to see you too, Professor." 

"I took Neville as a Date. I hope that's okay." I said to Slughorn. And even if it wasn't. I still would've taken Neville.

"Of course. Of course." Slughorn answered. "Ah, look who's also here." 

I turned to see Harry and Luna standing behind us. Harry wore his usual style of robes. And Luna wore a set of spangled silver robes. She looked rather nice in all honesty.

"Harry!" I said. I was happy to see him. Guess he decided to come after all.

"Hey, Kassie. Hey, Neville." Harry greeted.

"Hey, Harry. Hey, Luna." Neville greeted.

"Oh, hello, Neville. Kassie." Luna replied in a polite dreamy tone. 

"Chare, Luna." I greeted.

"You look lovely." Luna said to me. "Neville's as lucky as a Bowtruckle."

"Thank you." I replied. "Um... Bowtruckle?" 

"They're quite lucky creatures to have around. If you rub one close to your head, they'll sprinkle their good fortune on you for at least 5 weeks." Luna clarified. 

"Huh. Never knew that. Good to know." I replied.

"Thanks for coming." I thanked Harry.

"Yeah, well... Slughorn probably wouldn't let me refuse." Harry replied. 

Slughorn wore a tasseled velvet hat to match his smoking jacket. He more or less gripped Harry's arm so tightly he might as well hoped to Disapparate with him, I followed suit, with Neville holding on to my hand. While Harry seized Luna's wrist dragging her along with us. 

"Harry, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mind, author of Blood Brothers: My life amongst the Vampires- and, of course, he fired Sanguini." 

Worple, was a small, stout, bespectacled man, grabbed Harry's hand in turn and shook it enthusiastically; the vampire Sanguini, who was tall and emaciated with dark shadows under his eyes, merely nodded. He looked rather bored. A gaggle of girls stood close to him. Looking curious and excited.

"Ugh. Vampires." Neville grumbled. 

I didn't like Vampires either. Not after that whole Viktor vs. Chiara incident that Ethan told me about. 

"And who is that girl?" Worple asked. 

"Kassandra Bauer." I answered. 

"As in Ethan Bauer's sister?" Worple asked.

"Um yes..." I answered. 

"And how is Ethan Bauer these days?" Worple asked.

"He's doing fine." I answered. 

Worple didn't seem satisfied. "Is that it? That's all we get?" I think he was more interested in my brother than me. "A pity he didn't choose to come today. And all we get is... his little sister." 

He didn't stay long either, as he turned to Harry. "Harry Potter! I was saying to Professor Slughorn only the other day, 'Where is the biography of Harry for which we have all been waiting?'

"Were you?" Harry asked, clearly trying hard to be polite.

"Just as modest as Horace described!" Worple shouted. "But seriously-" 

He manner changed; it suddenly became business like. "I would be delighted to write it myself- people are craving to know more about, dear boy, craving! If you would prepare to grant me a few interviews- say, in four or five hour sessions, why we could have the book finished within months. And all with very little effort on your part, I assure you- ask Sanguini here if it isn't quite- Sanguini, stay here!" Worple, added suddenly stern. Then he looked at me. "Apologies, young lady. We're interested in him. Since we can't speak to Ethan Bauer." 

"Well, I've done some pretty cool things here too." I pointed out.

"I'm sure. But let's be real... they won't compare to what your legendary brother has done." Worple replied.  

That stung. My legendary brother? What did that make me?

"Come on, let's get of here." Neville whispered to me.

"Good call." I replied. 

We both turned away and over to the food. And I overheard more conversations similar. People goggling over Harry. Wishing that Ethan was around. They were staying stuff like: "Is Ethan Bauer here?" 

"No. But his sister is." One pointed to me. "But... who cares about that girl?"

"Well, everyone needs a shadow." I heard another laughing. 

"Kassandra Bauer? Who's that? Is she Ethan's little sister or something?" Another rich type of person asked.

And a rich socialite had walked over. "Well, I heard that Kassandra is adopted. So at least she won't stain the family name with her embarrassing failures." 

"I thought we were going to speak with Ethan Bauer at this party. Not some... Greek Pretender." Another said.

Greek Pretender? Is that who I was?

And then I accidentally bumped into a witch spilling her drink. "Oh, sorry." I said. "I wasn't watching where I was-"

But the Witch gave me a scowl. "I would think that a Bauer would be more dignified." She scolded me. "Get out of my way, Bessie." 

"It's Kassie." I corrected.

"Whatever." The Witch pushed me aside.

"I feel bad for Slughorn. He could've been teaching Ethan Bauer. But instead... he's got... the other one. Kassandra." I heard another say.

"Don't listen to them, Kassie. They're just a bunch of big jerks." Neville tried to take my arm to comfort me.

"Well, their words are hurtful." I said my eyes getting tears.

"When aren't they?" Neville asked as he grabbed a drink. And also offered me a cup of wine. 

"They serve wine here?" I asked surprised.

"It's one of those big functions." A voice from behind me said. "What do you expect?"

I turned to see Ryan in Egyptian Style Robes and with a glass of his own. "Hey, Kassie." He said as he stood next to Parvati who was wearing an Indian Style Dress.

"Chare, Ryan. Parvati." I greeted. 

"Drinking has never really been a problem from me. See because I've got Horus inside of me. It caused some side effects. Made me resistant to liquor effects." 

I looked confused. 

"I can't get drunk." Ryan clarified.

Parvati giggled a little. 

"You guys having a good time?" Neville asked. 

"Trying to at the very least." Ryan answered. And he looked rather annoyed at all the co mingling with everyone around him. "Parvati's at least made it tolerable." 

"You've never really liked the big flashy lights, have you?" Parvati asked. 

"It's not just that, Parv." Ryan said. He looked around. "The truth is. A bunch of these people here. They are the exact type of people who Emily associated with in her inner circles." 

"So... that's why you've never liked the big ego people." I figured. 

"Sure have." Ryan replied. 

"Yeah, this place would really be a place that Emily would enjoy." Sophie agreed as she walked up next to Ryan. Her hair braided to her back and she was wearing a golden dress. It made her look very cute. Though, I was surprised to see her here.

"Sophie wanted to be at a Christmas Party." Ryan explained. 

But soon, we saw a sight that was very familiar face to us. Long Brown hair. And it was coming towards us.

"Mione?" I asked. 

We then saw Harry and Luna walk our way. 

"Harry! Kassie! Ryan! Horus! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna! Hi, Neville! Hi, Parvati! Hi, Sophie!" 

"What in the name of Hades happened to you?" I asked, as both Parvati and I tried to fix her disheveled hair. 

"Oh, look who it is." Ryan said in a bit of a mocking tone. "Miss. I'm going to date big glaring super jealous all bark no bite, Jackass."

I had another glass of wine. I was going to need a lot of them for tonight.

"Oh, I've just escaped- I mean, I've just left Cormac." She said. "Under the Mistletoe." She added in explanation.

"Serves you right for coming with him." Harry commented severely. 

"Of all the people you could've chosen, Hermione." I added. 

"But I thought you two were dating." Parvati noted with a smirk on her face. 

"I wasn't really. I just said that because I thought he'd annoy Ron the most." Hermione admitted dispassionately. 

"Called it." I said. 

"And also annoy me the most too." Ryan added.

"And me." Sophie added.  

"I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought on the whole-" Hermione started to say.

Did my ears deceive me? "You considered Smith?" Harry asked.

"That's worse. Zacharias thinks I'm a traitor for hanging out with Claire." Sophie commented.

"What were you thinking, Hermione?" I asked.

"Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look like a gentleman." Hermione answered.

"Well, from what I gathered from Hagrid, Grawp is making significant progress on gentlemen behavior." Ryan commented. 

To prove his point, he showed off a picture of Grawp in a suit in a giant table. 

"Okay, why do all these things actually happen when Ryan is around?" Hermione asked. "Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall..." 

"And so irritating." Ryan added. 

"Just relax, Ryan." Parvati calmed him down. 

"Wait. Where's Titan?" I asked.

"Oh... he's back in the Common Room. He wasn't interested in going to a snobbish party." Sophie answered. 

The eight of us made our way over to the other side of the room, scooping up goblets of wine on the way, realizing way too late that Trelawney was standing there alone.

"Hello." Luna said politely.

"Good evening, my dear." Trelawney said, focusing on Luna with some difficulty. I could smell cooking sherry on her breath. 

"Professor Trelawney!" Parvati said with a grand smile. 

"Miss. Patil, my dear. I haven't seen you or Miss Lovegood in my classes lately..." 

"No, I've got Firenze this year." Luna answered.

"Same with me." Parvati said. "But that hasn't stopped me from missing your classes. And I'm sure that Ryan misses your classes too." 

"Um... not really." Ryan replied. "I'm sorry. But I've got to come clean about this." 

"Oh, of course." Trelawney said with an angry, drunken titter. "Or Dobbin, as I prefer to think of him. You would have thought, would you not, that I am now returned to the school, Professor Dumbledore might have got rid of the horse? But now... we share classes... It's an insult, frankly, an insult. Do you know..." 

Meanwhile, I could see Sophie trying to eat a big cut of steak and ripping her teeth into the meat.

"I'll get it for you, Soph." Ryan pulled out a knife trying to cut up Sophie's steak.

Trelawney seemed way too tipsy to recognize Harry and I. Thank the Gods. Under the cover of her furious criticism of Firenze, Harry drew closer to Hermione, Ryan, Neville, and I and said: "Let's get something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered at Keeper Tryouts?" 

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Do you really think I'd stoop that low?" 

Harry looked at her shrewdly. "Hermione, if you can ask out McLaggen-" 

Oh, Gods. Not again. 

"There's a difference." Hermione retorted with dignity. "I've got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might, or might not, have happened at Keeper Tryouts."

"You mean... what did happen at Keeper Tryouts." Ryan corrected as he continued to cut. "We were all there, we all saw it happen. And there is no difference in stooping low in cheating in Tryouts and also dating McLaggen." 

"Not to mention Ron falling apart again, and us losing the next match-" Harry added. 

"Quidditch!" Hermione snapped suddenly, very angry. "Is that all you boys care about? Cormac hasn't asked me one single question about myself, no, I've just been treated to 'A Hundred Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen' nonstop ever since-" 

"Hey, back off, Hermione!" Ryan snapped cutting the steak faster. "I do not just care about Quidditch! Parvati, do I just care about Quidditch?" He asked.

"No." Parvati answered. 

"She's right. It's not just about Quidditch. I'm Quidditch Captain... of course I've got to be thinking about this type of stuff." Ryan added. "But it doesn't run my whole life! Sophie, does it run my whole life?!"

"Is the answer supposed to be no? Because I don't want to say the wrong thing." Sophie asked in all innocence. 

"Yes!" Ryan answered.

"It's yes?" Sophie asked.

"NO!" Ryan shouted. 

"But you just said-" Sophie started.

"Can we please not fight?" I begged. Even knowing that this was a Christmas Party, it sure didn't feel like Christmas if we were all fighting like this and everyone around me was making comparisons to my brother.

"I'm not fighting!" Ryan shot back as his hand was now cutting like he was trying to light a fire. And it was a miracle the plate hadn't caught on fire. "I'm just shooting facts at Hermione in which she knows nothing about, even though she likes to think that she's Little Miss. Perfect-!" 

"RYAN!" Parvati suddenly shouted.

There was a large cracking sound. He looked down to see he cut Sophie's plate in two. Ryan threw his wine glass to the ground. "Great. First those Lawn Gnomes go up my butt. Now I broke the plate-" Ryan grumbled. 

"Lawn Gnomes? What Lawn Gnomes?" Neville asked. 

Ryan just glared angrily. His eyes glowing in anger. 

"Calm down, Ryan. Just breathe." Parvati advised.

"Yeah. I don't like it when you get angry, Ryan." Sophie added.

And Ryan just walked away. "I'm getting a new plate." He grumbled. 

Parvati just glared at Hermione. "You know... in his own way. He really is trying." And then she walked away with Sophie following them. 

I took another sip of wine. This was turning into a even bigger disaster. 

"Say, isn't that McLaggen coming right now?" Luna asked pointing behind us.

"Oh no!" Hermione moved so fast that it was as if she was Hermes. One moment she was there, and the next she had squeezed between two guffawing witches and vanished. 

"You okay, Kassie?" Neville asked me holding my hand. 

"No." I answered. 

"Seen Hermione?" McLaggen asked, forcing his way through the throng a moment later. 

"No, sorry." I answered, and I turned quickly back to Neville. 

But McLaggen wasn't done, apparently. Because he looked at me. "Well forget Hermione. Hello, sweet cakes." He said.

Sweet Cakes? Was he hitting on me? 

"Excuse me?" Neville asked coming to my defense.

"Longbottom?" McLaggen asked stunned. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't in the Slug Club anymore." 

"He's my boyfriend. And I we're allowed to bring guests." I answered, staring at McLaggen. 

McLaggen started laughing. "Oh, like that would ever happen!" He laughed. "That's a good one right there! Your boyfriend! Come on, Kassandra!" He gripped my arm. "You must be Confunded or something if you're dating a loser like Longbottom. Now why don't you spend your night with a real man?" 

"He's not a loser." I told McLaggen. 

"You're hot." McLaggen told me as I glared at him.

"Which is what's going to happen to you after I chuck your head into a fire if you don't get off me." I warned. But there was no need for that.

"Back off! Get your hands off my Girl!" Neville shot, pointing his wand and shoving McLaggen away and making him fall over a table. 

That earned some stares from other party goers. 

"Well? Since when did you become the physical type, Longbottom?" McLaggen asked getting up. 

"Are you deaf, McLaggen? I told you to back off!" Neville warned. 

"Come on, Nev. He's just being stupid. Let it go." I advised Neville. Although secretly, a part of me wanted Neville to smack that son of a bitch right up his ass. 

"I seem to recall you sleeping outside the Gryffindor Portrait at night. Can't even remember the password." McLaggen commented. 

"You're not going to remember any password, if you don't shut up." Neville threatened as he started to reach for his wand. 

"You'd better listen, McLaggen." Ryan suggested as he walked up to McLaggen now. "Neville isn't the same kid you can push around anymore." 

"Oh, Captain." McLaggen said in a mocking tone to Ryan. "It's you." 

"Listen, I don't appreciate my friends being talked to like that." Ryan suggested.

"Your sister, Emily would be caught dead if she was seen with losers like Longbottom, or any other for that matter. Then again. She's making new friends in Azkaban." McLaggen commented.

"Emily and I have different interests in what makes a friend, and as you may have noticed. I'm not Emily." Ryan shot back. 

"Indeed." McLaggen admitted. "But what do you expect from someone in the slow lane like you? And you sit as Captain of Gryffindor." 

"McLaggen." Parvati hissed. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryan asked now taking a step forward towards McLaggen, knowing what he was implying.

"At least Ron can make the team, unlike you." I told McLaggen.

"Well, with Ryan's type doing the judging." McLaggen countered.

"MY TYPE!?" Ryan asked now ready to take out his wand. Or go full Horus mode. Whichever came first.

"Ah, Sybil, we all think our subject's most important!" Came a loud voice, and Slughorn had appeared at Trelawney's one side, while Harry and Luna were on the other. It was as if he didn't even notice the glaring fight that Ryan and McLaggen were about to get into. 

Slughorn's face was very red, his velvet hat a little askew, a glass of mead in one hand and an enormous mince pie in the other. "But I don't think I've ever known such naturals at Potions!" His face seemed to regard Harry, Ryan, and I. "Instinctive, you know- just like his mother! I've only ever taught with a few with this kind of ability, and Miss. Bauer! Oh, well... she's just made some remarkable improvements in the class, and Mr. Tyler was always a natural. And I can tell you that, Sybil- why even Severus-" 

And to my horror, Slughorn threw an arm and scooped Snape towards us, seemingly out of thin air. 

"Oh, God. Now he's here?" Neville groaned.

I took another chug of wine. And by this point. My head started to feel fuzzy. I think I drank too much. But I didn't care if I got drunk or not.

"Stop sulking and come and join us, Severus!" Slughorn insisted happily while also having the hiccups. "I was just talking about Harry's exceptional potion-making! Along with Kassie's and Ryan's! Some credit must go to you, of course, you taught them for five years!"  

Trapped, with Slughorn's arm around his shoulders, Snape looked down his hooked nose at Harry and myself, his black eyes narrowed. Ryan was the real natural. Not Harry and I. And the only reason why we were so good at that stuff was only because of the textbooks.

"Funny. Tyler, I believe. But I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter or Bauer anything at all." Snape commented.

"Well, then, it's natural ability." Slughorn shouted. "You should have seen what Harry gave me first lesson, Draught of Living Death- tied with Ryan over there. Isn't that right, Ryan? What on earth are you and McLaggen doing?" 

Ryan and McLaggen were still locked in a staring contest. Until Ryan broke off. "It's nothing." He hissed. 

"Well..." Slughorn chuckled. "Boys will be Boys and all that I suppose. But as I was saying, never had a student, nevermind 2 produced finer on a first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus-" 

"Really?" Snape asked quietly, his eyes not boring into Harry. The last thing we needed was Snape investigating the source of Harry's newfound brilliance at Potions.

"What can I say? Maybe we're free from-" I started to say. 

"Oh! Hot! Hot!" Sophie started to grab some bowl of what looked like a very hot dish and it reached out and struck the back of McLaggen's robes. 

"OW!" McLaggen jumped up and then shot daggers at Sophie who just looked like a Deer in Headlights.

"I didn't know it was that hot." Sophie squeaked.

I'm pretty sure that McLaggen would've liked nothing more than to strangle Sophie by the neck. But the Professors were there and so were Ryan and Parvati. So instead, McLaggen threw the wine in his glass straight at Sophie's dress, giving it a big red stain.

"Well that's real mature. No wonder Hermione said yes to you." Sophie commented.

But Ryan had grabbed Sophie and placed her in front of him as McLaggen took another step. "No need to act like a big baby, Cormac. We were just leaving." Ryan sneered. "Come on, Soph." And then he turned back to the rest of the people at the party. "Thank you for this experience in which I learned everyone here is an incredibly big piece of Dragon Dung! Except Kassie, Luna, Harry, Neville, and of course, Parvati. You guys are fine." And Parvati was right behind the Tyler siblings and trying to clean off Sophie's dress.

 Meanwhile, the rest of the party resumed and everyone just looked like nothing had happened. Though, I did hear a group of people just shaking their heads and saying stuff about Sophie being an unkempt piece of garbage. "That girl is a storm. What a disgrace." 

"Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Harry?" Slughorn asked as if nothing wrong had happened. 

I then looked at Neville. He looked just as defeated and awkward as I was. "Can we go now?" I asked.

"I would." Neville answered.

And while Slughorn was distracted, Neville and I quickly got out of the room.

That was the worst Christmas Party I had ever been to. The whole party had been a whole mess full of elitists who were more interested that I was the Little Sister of Ethan Bauer. They didn't care about Kassandra Bauer. No one does. My friends got into another fight. Ryan and McLaggen ended up in another spat. Hermione was mad. Harry was being prodded like a cow. And Sophie stained her dress. I didn't end up happy. I was more miserable than ever before. 

But at least I had Neville by my side. "That Christmas Party was a bad idea from the start." I commented. 

Neville shrugged. "I don't get those guys, Kassie. I honestly don't." He said. "It was supposed to be a Christmas Party. Isn't Christmas the time of Peace on Earth, and Good will towards Men? But it seemed like everyone acted like a Grinch." 

"It probably had to do with the wine or the uncomfortableness of it all." I replied. "What was... what was Hermione thinking bringing McLaggen?!" 

"She just wants Ron to be jealous. If you ask me, I'd say she got what she deserved with what happened with McLaggen." Neville replied. 

"Ugh. McLaggen. He's a real big jerk. Is everyone in my life just going to act like a jerk?" I grumbled. While holding a bottle in my hands and drinking straight out of it. But I started to feel wobbly.

"Easy on the Wine, Kassie." Neville advised. "You don't want to get detention for underaged drinking before Christmas." 

I looked at the wine bottle. He probably had a point. But there have been far worse crimes to commit. And back in Greece, people as young as 14 drank. But Neville did have a point. I still had enough soberness in me though. "You know... I'm kind of surprised that Hermione didn't take any liquor." I said. 

"Eh, judging by the way she was looking. She might've." Neville admitted. 

I then looked at Neville. "Nev. Thanks for protecting me against McLaggen when he grabbed me." I thanked. 

"Did you really think I was going to let McLaggen lay a finger on you and get away with it, Kassie?" Neville asked. 

"If this was the old days, he would be executed for laying his fingers on a Princess." I noted.

"Well, you are the Princess of Ithaca." Neville noted. 

"I don't think I have authority here in Hogwarts." I replied.

"Stupid borders." Neville grunted with a bit of a laugh in there. 

I won't sugarcoat it. Neville was the one good thing about tonight. I went to a party with big ego people, I had to listen to more drama, and I also saw a tussle between McLaggen and Ryan. And I think after tonight, he is done with the Slug Club for good. 

"I'm... I'm sorry I dragged you to that stupid party, Nev." I apologized while still holding my wine bottle and walking in my red dress. 

"It's not your fault the party was stupid, Kassie." Neville assured. 

"Yeah, I know. But I still made you come." I said.

"You didn't. I volunteered to go." Neville replied. 

"And also that it was pretty miserable." I added. 

Neville held my hands and looked in my eyes. "Ah. At least we're together." He said. 

Those handsome eyes of his were just too hard to ignore. Neville was my perfect knight in shining armor in every way. His personality, his handsome face, his confidence levels, he and I both had a lot in common. We were both alone and scared when we started off in our first years. Now here we were in our 6th years and making names for ourselves. Neville leaned in me close for a kiss.

And I kissed him back. "Merlin's Beard. You are beautiful, Kassandra Lydia Bauer." Neville whispered in my ear. 

I giggled. "And you are so handsome Nev." 

"You and I have only dated for one year, and yet... it seemed like you stole my heart long before that." Neville commented kissing me again.

"I steal a lot of things, Neville. I'm a thief." I reminded. 

"I thought you didn't like being a thief." Neville countered. 

"It's a bit of a force of habit." I teased. I then saw the snow falling on the outside windows. "We should... probably get back upstairs to our Common Room." I suggested.  

Neville looked at me. "No. I don't think we can let this night end on a sour note. Kassie. I want you to be happy." He said. 

Whether it was the Liquor talking, or me just never being the type to let days end on sour notes, I agreed with Neville. We couldn't let this whole night be defined by a stupid party. "You're right, Neville. And..." I smiled at him. "I got you a little something for Christmas." 

"You did?" Neville asked happy. "Because... I got you something as well." 

"You did?" I asked happy. 

Neville nodded. "Well... lead the way." I told Neville. And Neville took my by the hand, and I followed him, giggling too, as he took me away. 

Where Neville took me, was back to my old hideout. "The Old Hideout?" I asked intrigued.

"It was the best place I could find without Ron getting his hands on it and giving it to Lavender by mistake." Neville answered.

Knowing, Ron. He probably would. "You do realize that the Hideout is the most cliché place you could think of." I said to Neville. 

"Eh... well. I'm not exactly an out of the box thinker." Neville replied. 

"And besides..." I said. As I reached over from behind one of the book shelves. "I hid your present here, already." 

"Good thing I didn't see that when I hid your present." Neville commented chuckling.

"Open it." I insisted.

Neville opened it. And his eyes went wide. "No way!" 

For Christmas, I had gotten Neville a book on plants of the Palace of Troy. I found it on the shelves of the bookstore in Diagon Alley. And also some planting tools to make it happen. I knew how much Neville loved Herbology. "There haven't been plants like that since the Sack of Troy. One part of the Iliad that made me sad was thinking about how much culture and beauty was lost in the Sack. And I thought... if there was a way I could bring it back... and given with what was going on with my friends..." I started to say.

Neville got the idea. He then placed his presents on the table. "You are the sweetest girl I have ever met. And... you talk too much." He brought me closer to him. His hands reaching the back of my dress. 

"You can talk too much too." I replied.

"Careful, Kassie." Neville smirked. "I haven't exactly forgotten that time you guys petrified me at the end of our first year." 

I giggled. "It had to be done, Nev. But I am sorry for that." I replied. 

"It still hurt when I fell to the floor." Neville added. 

I smiled guilty. "I said I was sorry."

And I kissed him again to make up for it.  "Nev? Did you really mean what you said, when you wanted me to be happy?" I asked.

"Of course." Neville answered. 

Neville and I both looked at each other. I loved him and those handsome eyes. And now... now I wanted more. I wanted Nev. I wanted him. I loved him. I desired him. I took another drink of wine. But was I... should I? 

Neville then gripped my hands as I placed the bottle on the table. "You are the love of my life, Kassandra. And I want you to be happy. I never really knew sweet love after my parents were tortured. All I knew was Tough Love from my Gran. And now that I've met you... I now know what sweet love feels like again." He explained. "I love you." 

"And I've lived for so long as a slave in chains. And then I was rescued by my brothers. I was so scared. And I wasn't sure if I would ever know what love felt like either." I confessed. "And I love you too." 

Neville and I leaned closer to each other. I felt his breath on my body. And I could feel his heart pounding. Or that might've been my heart pounding. One or the other. 

"Oh, Kassie. I remember now. Your present." Neville said. He held out his wand. "Accio." He brought a present out to him. Which bumped into a shelf. "Oops." 

I giggled. Classic Neville. 

I opened the present. And my eyes opened wide at it. It was... it was... it was absolutely beautiful.

"Oh, Neville." I said with baited breath as I looked at the necklace that was made with Greek Shells native to my home. 

"With your permission." Neville requested. And I turned around as Neville put the necklace around my neck. "I wanted to give you something very lovely. And I thought... why not Seashells? My Gran once told me how my Dad used to collect Seashells for Mum all the time." He explained. "It's one of the things that caused Mum to fall in love with him." 

Oh, that's it! That was such a sweet thought, and I didn't know how to describe it in words.

Without realizing it, I began fiddling with his shirt as I kissed his lips over and over. "Perhaps this was the Gods plan for us. For us to go to a really miserable party, all so we could end up in a room alone with wine and in love with each other." I said. 

"I'm surprised you didn't see how bad the party was going to get in your Delphi visions." Neville teased. 

"Eh, it only activates on certain times. I can't exactly control it." I confessed. 

Nev drew me in. He discarded the jacket on his body and threw it to the ground. He then kissed me even more. And even lifted off one of my dress straps.

In that moment. It was as if all the darkness in the world was suddenly lifted from me. I didn't think about damn drama between my friends. I didn't think about the war. I didn't think about Voldemort, or Fletcher Snyde, or even that Dragon Priest. The only thing I truly felt was just being with Neville. Neville and I alone at last. 

Right as soon as we pressed our foreheads to each other, Neville's hands reached the back of my dress. But before he reached the zipper, he looked at me. "Kassie... we don't have to if you don't-" 

"Do it." I insisted. I wanted to do it. 

"Okay... But I'll be gentle. I swear to it." Neville replied. 

I giggled. And then at the same time. I held my wand in my hand taking away the lights in the room. "Nox." I said as I began to make love to the love of my life.