In the next few weeks, not much exciting happens. We all follow classes and Fleur prepares herself for the second task. Flora had seemed to know what the egg was about and has Fleur try out all sorts of things in order to find out what the wailing is supposed to mean.

Madame Maxime calls us to gather in the main room of the carriage one evening after dinner for an exciting announcement.

"The Yule Ball is approaching. As all of you know, this is a very important part of the tournament," the woman begins. We all do know that. Madame Maxime had told us about it before we left France and everyone starts whispering to each other in excited tones.

"Attention, please," Madame Maxime claps her hands. Everyone stops talking and the woman continues: "I expect every single one of you to be there. Dressed properly as we do at home for the Winter Dance. Oh, and please bring a date."

At the word date, everyone starts talking again. It's an easy choice to go with a Beauxbatons student but a Hogwarts student or even a Durmstrang student can be more exciting. Plus, Madame Maxime has been hammering on making contacts with the students of the other schools to promote international friendships.

"If you would let me finish," Madame Maxime says as she claps her hands once again, "It will begin at eight o'clock in the Great Hall. It ends at midnight. This is a good time to get to know the other students and to have a little fun. I expect from all of you that you behave properly and don't embarrass our school."

She stays silent and so do we. When the woman gestures for us to start talking again, everyone begins chatting excitedly about how they want to take to the dance.

"This is going to be so amazing! I wonder if it is anything like our Winter Dance," Flora wonders. We have claimed a seat on one of the sofas near the entrance to the rooms. At Beauxbatons, there are a few annual dances, but the Winter Dance is the most exciting. We celebrate the winter solstice and usually, we get to go home for the break right after.

Henry and Aline are seated on the other sofa. Henry entwines their fingers and asks: "Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Aline doesn't get a chance to answer. Flora has grabbed one of the pillows off our sofa and throws it towards Henry. It hits him full in the face and when the boy looks at Flora with a bewildered look, she hisses: "That is not how you ask a girl to the Yule Ball if you want her to say yes!"

Both me and Aline laugh at Flora's behaviour, but Henry only looks confused.

"Flora, Aline has been my girlfriend for years. Of course, she is going to say yes."

Flora throws another pillow. "That's exactly where it goes wrong in your brain. I don't care if she is your girlfriend or if you are basically married, you ask her properly and not like this. She deserves flowers at the very least."

Henry sighs but realises he won't win this argument.

A few days later, it becomes clear that Henry listened to Flora's directions. He is absent during lunch which is odd but even Aline doesn't know where he is. A few moments later, Henry enters the Great Hall with a big bouquet of Aline's favourite flowers: different shades of pink and white roses. Aline's cheeks begin to redden as all students around us stop talking and turn to look at Henry who is heading in our direction.

The boy gets on one knee, holds out the flowers for Aline to take, and clears his throat. His voice is loud as he almost shouts: "My beloved Aline, will you accept this bouquet and go to the Yule Ball with me?"

With bright-red cheeks, Aline nods and takes the flowers from Henry. She carefully places them on the bench next to her and hugs Henry. We cheer for them and some of the students sitting nearby join us. Henry sits down next to Aline, carefully placing the flowers aside.

"That is exactly how you ask a girl to the Yule Ball," Flora remarks.

The rumour of Henry pulling out the big guns to ask his girlfriend to the Yule Ball like this makes its way around the school quickly. Every boy curses the Beauxbatons student for setting the bar high in terms of what a girl will expect from them if they ask someone to the Yule Ball. Girls swoon when they see Aline and Henry walking through the school which makes the rest of us snicker.

"Elena, you don't understand," Xavier has his hands buried in his blond hair. We are sitting at the table during lunch two days later. "What if the girl expects to be asked the same way Henry asked Aline?"

"Xav, not every girl expects something like that. Relax a little, will you?"

From over Xavier's shoulders, I see Fred looking in my direction once again. To avoid his eyes, I sip my drink but I can't help but feel my cheeks heat up. I turn back to Xavier who looks like he is about to pass out from the stress.

Flora and I get asked a few times, but we say no to all of them. Flora has her mind set on a Durmstrang boy. When I asked with one, she had shrugged and told me she would be happy with every single one - 'Because they are all so handsome'. I cherish the hope Fred gathers that courage Gryffindor is apparently known for and will ask me. I have grown to like him. We share a few classes and he manages to make me laugh every time.

On a Tuesday afternoon, I am sitting in one of the courtyards, enjoying the Muggle fiction book I borrowed from Xavier. Flora comes rushing into the courtyard and sits down next to me with a sour face.

"A Slytherin boy just asked me to the ball. He was really short and could lose some pounds."

I laugh at her facial expression and Flora whines: "Why do only the non-attractive boys ask us to the ball? What is going on with all the boys that look good?"

Flora has zero patience for this kind of thing. I had suggested that she asked out a boy instead of the other way around, but she had looked at me like I was crazy. She leaves the courtyard again and I want to turn back to my book when I spot Viktor walking past. I close my book and run towards the Bulgarian boy.

"Viktor! Hey!"

The boy turns around when he hears me and smiles. We walk together for a while before I nudge him and ask: "Have you already asked her?"

"Asked vho?" Viktor tries with raised eyebrows, pretending he doesn't know who I am talking about. I don't buy his act for a second.

"Hermione Granger. I know you have been watching her in the library for a while now."

Viktor stops walking and looks around to see if anyone is overhearing our conversation. When he is sure we don't have an audience, he shakes his head, "No. I don't think she likes me that vay. If you vould excuse me, I have to go."

I watch him sprint out of the corridor. He might be one of the most famous Seekers of his age, he is still afraid of asking a girl to a dance. That evening, like many evenings, I spend in the library working on the mountain of homework we received from our teachers. As I head to the library, I bump into Angelina who is heading in the same direction. We sit down near one of the windows and each pull out the essays we need to be working on.

An hour has passed in which we work in silence until Angelina places down her quill and asks: "Elena, do you already have a date for the Yule Ball?"

Looking up from my Alchemy essay, I see Angelina staring at me. I shake my head and return the question.

"Yes, I do."

"Who is the lucky man?"

Angelina laughs, "George Weasley."

I place my quill down, realising we are probably done for the evening and turn to Angelina.

"How did he ask you?"

The girl laughs again and explains: "I was in our common room, talking to Alicia about Snape's latest class when George yelled across the common room if I wanted to go to the Yule Ball with him. It was a little weird, but I'll take it over going alone."

I hum. "My friends and I have been asked a few times now."

At those words, Angelina's face falls and I quickly explain: "Most of them were younger than us. I do not want to feel like the only reason someone asks me to the dance is that they can't attend otherwise."

The girl nods in understanding and we slowly pack up our things to return to our rooms.

The next day, we are sitting in one of the courtyards. Rosalia, Flora, Aline, and I have occupied the stone benches under the tree and are chatting about what to wear to the Yule Ball. Fleur was sitting with us too, but she is now standing on the other side of the courtyard, talking (flirting) with Cedric Diggory. She hasn't figured out the egg yet and I suspect her to be trying to get information out of the other champion. From the look on his face, Fleur's Veela genetics seems to be working.

Suddenly, Ron Weasley, Fred and George's youngest brother, enters the courtyard. He makes a beeline for Fleur and almost trips over his feet. Rosalia is the first to notice and we all carefully watch his next moves.

"Fleur, do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?" the boy blurts out when he stops in front of Fleur and Cedric. Fleur looks at him with an expression that is a mix of disgust and pity but before she can respond, Ron seems to realise what he has done and sprints away.

We begin to laugh as Fleur stalks her attempts of getting information out of Cedric and heads back over to where we are sitting. She sighs and rolls her eyes as we continue laughing.

Two days after the Ron-incident – Fleur has learned her lesson and has stopped using her Veela genetics in big crowds – we are seated in the courtyard once again. I am getting a big cold and debating whether to cast a warming charm or to head back to the carriage. Flora and Rosalia are gossiping about some of the dates our classmates are taking to the Yule Ball, but I haven't been paying attention. My eyes keep wandering over to the fountain where Fred, George, and Lee are hanging around. At first, I thought they might be preparing a prank, but it seems like George and Lee are giving Fred a speech. It looks like they are preparing him for something big and they keep looking in our direction every few seconds as if to check if we are still here.

My attention is drawn away from the three Gryffindor boys to the three Durmstrang boys entering the courtyard. They aren't wearing their usual uniform but something neater. With a start, I recognize Viktor and raise an eyebrow when he walks over.

The three boys stop in front of us, making Flora and Rosalia look up from their conversation. In unison, the three boys conjure a sparkling red rose and kneel on one knee in front of us. With wide eyes, I look at Viktor who kneels in front of me. I have a bad feeling about this.

Flora and Rosalia, on the other hand, begin to giggle as they watch the boys in front of them.

"Viktor," I hiss, "What do you think you are doing?"

The boy doesn't answer and the three boys all hold out their roses and ask: "Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

A flare of annoyance shoots through me. The two other girls on the bench begin giggling and accept the roses.

I don't. Flamel's age, of course, I don't.

I stand up and grab the collar of Viktor's robe, forcing him back on his feet. With my fingers buried in the think fabric, I drag Viktor out of the courtyard, away from any onlookers. I quickly find a quiet spot and turn on my heel, letting him go.

"What was that?"

Viktor shrugs, "I need a date for the Yule Ball."

"That date isn't supposed to be me, Viktor, you know that."

The boy avoids my gaze. I step closer and pluck an invisible speck of something from the front of Viktor's robe, before smoothing over the tough fabric. I pat his chest, "Now, you go to the library and you are going to ask the person you actually want to go to the Yule Ball with."

A thought occurs in my mind and I look up at Viktor, "Or did someone already ask Hermione?"

When the boy shakes his head, I breathe out relieved, and grab Viktor's shoulder to turn him around. With a push between his shoulder blades, I send him off his way.

As Viktor heads out of the corridor, I yell after him: "If you haven't asked her when I ask her about it this evening, I will make sure you will never sit comfortably on a broom again."

With that cleared up, I head back to the courtyard where Flora and Rosalia are still seated. The two other Durmstrang boys have disappeared and I sit back down next to Flora. The girl turns to me and asks: "What was going on with you and Viktor?"

Rosalia isn't paying attention to us, still focussed on the rose, and I lean closer to Flora. "Viktor has been fancying Hermione for a while now. They have been spending time together in the library. Viktor just doesn't dare to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball and decided to ask me instead. I gave him a little push in the right direction. And threatened him in the process."

Flora frowns, "But you still don't have a date to the Yule Ball."

I shrug and stand up, officially deciding it is too cold to be sitting here any longer. As I exit the courtyard, I notice that Fred, George, and Lee have left in the time it took me to yell at Viktor. A disappointing feeling forms in my stomach but I push it away and head back to the carriage, not in the mood to think about the Yule Ball anymore.