Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were waiting when Harry stumbled from the Floo into Dumbledore's office. Like Harry, the boys wore tuxedo dress robes. Harry had never seen the new set that the twins had bought for Ron, but he was pleased to note that his best friend was dressed as nicely as anyone tonight.

The girls were stunning. Harry had always thought they were pretty and he had seen them both in formal gowns before at the last Yule Ball two years ago. But they were even more breath-taking tonight, or perhaps he had just grown up enough to appreciate it more.

Hermione wore a violet gown, of some soft silky material, with narrow straps, a gathered silk band across her slender waist with a diamond clasp, and a skirt that fell to her ankles, revealing silver high-heeled sandals. Her hair was piled on top of her head in loose curls with diamond and amethyst pins. She did not wear a necklace, but glittery diamond earrings and a matching diamond and amethyst bracelet.

Ginny's strapless gown was a pale opalescent silvery green. Her auburn hair hung in ringlets to her waist and framed her delicate face. Her only jewelry was a single strand of pearls around her neck.

"Hey, cousin Barny," Ron grinned at Harry's nom de plume as he grabbed his friend's arm to steady him. "Good to see you again."

Harry grinned back at him, then straightened and looked around at the group. "What do you guys think? Is the polyjuice convincing enough?"

It was. He knew it was; the red-gold hair and blue eyes changed his appearance dramatically, but for some reason he needed to hear his friends' reassurances too.

"No one will know it's you," Hermione obliged him.

"You could definitely pass for a Weasley," Ginny agreed.

"Thanks. That's the idea." Harry smiled at them; then glanced around. "Hey, where's Luna?"

But before anyone could answer, the Floo sputtered again and they had to hurry out of Severus' and Draco's way. There was an awkward moment as the Gryffindors glared at Draco and he stared back defiantly with his chin lifted. Harry wondered to himself if having them all stay together this evening was really a good idea after all. As easy-going and lenient as Dumbledore was, Harry didn't think he would be pleased if a hex war broke out in the midst of the Ball, not to mention his father's reaction.

But Severus temporarily defused the situation by nodding calmly to the group. "Good evening."

He drew their attention away from Draco at least for a moment as they returned his greeting, and then Severus motioned them towards the door.

"It is almost time for the Ball to begin. Shall we head on to the Hall?"

"Oh yes, we have to lead the way in." Hermione took Ron's arm and started for the circular stairs leading out of the office. "As there are no Triwizard champions this time, Dumbledore decided the prefects should begin the Ball. McGonagall will have a fit if we're late."

Ron gave Draco one more scowl over his shoulder, but he didn't say anything as he let Hermione pull him away.

There was a hostile silence for a few seconds before Neville and Ginny turned to follow them. Harry sighed as he, Draco, and Severus trailed along behind.

But once they were out in the castle, Harry's spirits lifted. He had missed Hogwarts and the school was more beautiful than ever with evergreen wreaths on the windows, glowing trees standing in the corners, and garlands draping the arched doorways.

The prefects were already forming a line in the entrance when they arrived, and McGonagall looked a bit flustered as she shooed everyone into place. As Ron and Hermione hurried in, she arched her eyebrows at them and said dryly, "I'm so glad you could make it, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley. Now will you please take your places?"

"Sorry, Professor," Hermione mumbled.

Ron added, "Sorry, but we had to meet my cousin Barny up in Dumbledore's office."

"Well, I had to administer exams, file a report for the Headmaster, and tend to an Animagus student who got himself stuck with kangaroo legs, yet I managed to arrive on time," McGonagall retorted.

But her face softened as she turned to Harry and said, "I'm very pleased that you could join us tonight, Mr. Weasley. I hope we'll see you around Hogwarts more often."

Did she know? Harry struggled for a reply and finally just mumbled, "Thank you, ma'am."

She had already turned to his father. "Severus, it's nice to see you again as well. Albus has asked all the Heads of House to walk in before the prefects."

"I believe Sinistra is the acting Head of Slytherin now," Severus began.

McGonagall smiled at him. "She is, but I find that I am in need of an escort."

Harry half expected his father to respond with some witty remark, but Severus simply bowed and then offered his arm. "I would be honoured, Minerva."

She slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow and they swept off to take a place in the line, both of them very elegant with Severus in his ebony suit and robes and McGonagall in a dark red velvet gown.

"Hey, we better go on. We want to see them come in," Ginny exclaimed. She, Neville, Harry, and Draco hurried inside the Great Hall and joined the throngs of students lining an aisle down the center of the vast room.

Harry caught his breath as he looked about. The Great Hall was magnificent, transformed into a winter wonderland for the evening. White candles hovered high in the air, while magical snowflakes floated down from the ceiling, disappearing before they could touch anyone's head. Ice sculptures of the House mascots stood in each of the four corners, and as in the rest of the castle, huge wreathes hung on the walls, decorated with blue and silver ribbons. The House tables were gone, but several smaller ones covered in white lacy cloths stood along the walls, filled with platters of refreshments and bowls of punch. A massive fir tree, impossibly tall and covered with twinkling lights, stood on the raised dais at the far end of the Hall. The staff table had also vanished and the band had set up musical instruments there.

Dumbledore was chatting with the singers at the edge of the dais, and Harry almost laughed at the incongruous image of the headmaster, regal in white robes trimmed in fur, alongside the grungy-looking band members who wore black T-shirts and ripped blue jeans. But they all seemed perfectly at ease and happy.

As he was still taking it all in, Dumbledore cast a quick Sonorous spell on his voice, stepped to the middle of the dais, and held out his arms.

"Welcome, everyone, to our second annual Yule Ball. We would like to thank the Howling Banshees for providing music and entertainment this evening. Now please join me in honouring our professors and prefects."

The Banshees struck a chord and launched into a classical march, which seemed rather out of place with their appearance, and the Heads of House and prefects entered.

Harry smiled proudly as Severus strode in, ramrod-straight with swirling robes. Though he was not smiling as McGonagall was, Harry thought he saw a proud gleam in Severus' eyes as they passed.

Harry's smile changed to an outright grin as he heard several students behind him murmuring, "Look, it's Snape!", "Snape's back," and one boy muttered to another, "You and Maisy better forget about sneaking out to the garden, unless you want to spend the rest of the year pickling frog guts."

Then the prefects were walking by, first the Head Boy and Girl and the seventh years, and then Harry's classmates...Hannah and Ernie from Hufflepuff, Anthony and Padma from Ravenclaw, Ron and Hermione of course, and then Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin.

Harry glanced over at Draco, realizing that he would have been a sixth-year prefect if not for the trouble between the two of them. Of course Draco had deserved to lose that status, but tonight was supposed to be a happy occasion. Harry didn't want anything to mar it.

But Draco returned his glance and smiled a little. "It's all right," he murmured, so low that only Harry could hear him. "Blaise is a good prefect, better than I was, if you want to know the truth. And thanks to you, I already have a lot more than I deserve."

The fifth-year prefects were last; Harry knew their names and faces but the only two that he could claim to know slightly better than that were the Gryffindors, Colin Creevy and Rosemary Keaton. As the line ended, the march changed into a waltz ("The first song is traditionally a waltz," Draco explained to Harry) and the Headmaster swept Professor Vector onto the dance floor. The Heads of House, the prefects, and a few more of the braver students followed.

Harry enjoyed watching his father spin around with McGonagall until the waltz ended and the band abruptly switched to a raucous, grating tune. Most of the adults headed to the sidelines to watch as the teenagers jumped and gyrated about.

No one had talked much so far; they had all been caught up in watching the beginning of the Yule Ball, but now Dean, Seamus, and Daphne Greengrass, of all people, appeared. Even more surprising was that Seamus and Daphne were holding hands.

"Hey, Gin, I didn't know you guys had any cousins," Seamus remarked.

"Yes, well, we don't see Barny's side of the family much," Ginny replied easily.

Harry thought that Dean and Seamus eyed him appraisingly for a moment, but then they introduced themselves and shook hands in a perfectly ordinary way, so he decided that he must only be imagining things.

"How come this jerk's with you?" Dean demanded, glaring at Draco.

Daphne, a fellow Slytherin, looked torn, but Seamus squeezed her hand and said, "Daff, you know what he did to Harry. You agreed that it was rotten."

"It was," Draco admitted. "I was horrible to Harry."

"Yeah, and we ought to..." Seamus began, reaching for his wand.

Neville stepped between them. "He's with us, Seamus. Leave him alone."

Ginny hesitated, but glanced at Harry and said reluctantly. "Neville's right. Leave him alone."

"I can't believe you're saying that!" Dean exclaimed. "You're supposed to be Harry's best mates."

"We are Harry's best mates," Ron broke in as he and Hermione came back to join them. They looked back and forth between a clearly furious Dean and Seamus, an uncomfortable Daphne, and Neville and Ginny, who looked as if they would have preferred to hex Draco even as they defended him. Draco stood silently, white-faced but with his chin lifted and his eyes blazing.

Harry was wondering what he could possibly do to smooth things over when Ron continued, though he looked as if it actually pained him to do so.

"Look, he's a total git, but he and Harry are getting on better these days."

Dean and Seamus both snorted in disbelief. Ron gave Draco, and Harry beside him, a sour look.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either, but it's true. And Harry wouldn't want you to start something. Trust me, he wouldn't. So just don't, okay?"

There was a tense silence and then Dean seemed to give Harry another surreptitious glance. Then he sighed and took Seamus by the arm.

"Come on. Let's go."

The three of them walked off.

"Thank you," Draco said quietly.

Hermione gave him a cold stare. "We're only doing this for Harry's sake."

"I know, but still, thank you," Draco replied.

The others still seemed angry and it was partly to distract them all, but also because he had been wondering that Harry spoke up, "Hey, where's Luna? Why isn't she here?"

"Well, she said she wasn't ready earlier and that she'd meet us down here, but she should be here by now," Ginny answered.

They scanned the crowd searching for their friend, and turned back to one another in concern.

"Let's go look for her," Neville said and they left the Hall.

"You don't have to come," Ginny snapped at Draco.

He shook his head and kept walking. "I promised Harry I'd stay with you lot this evening."

Ginny scowled but Harry gave her a pleading look and she sighed and turned away without protesting further. In silence they climbed the staircases and walked through the corridors towards Ravenclaw Tower...until they came around a corner and discovered Luna, leaning against the wall, quietly weeping.

It was so unlike Luna that for a moment they were all frozen in shock before they rushed to her, gathering close in a protective knot. Ginny slipped an arm about her.

"Luna, what's wrong?"

"What happened?"

"What is it?"

They all spoke at once.

Luna dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and held out a broken sapphire necklace that matched her midnight-blue dress.

"I was on my way downstairs when a couple of boys came by and started teasing me. One of them grabbed my necklace. Normally it doesn't bother me, but this was my mum's. Dad gave it to her when they married and he sent it just for me to wear tonight and now it's broken. I couldn't help being a bit upset."

"Perhaps we could mend it," Hermione suggested.

But Luna shook her head. "I don't think so. It had all sorts of charms cast over it."

Ron and Neville wanted to know who the boys were, using some choice expletives to describe them.

Luna just sighed. "No, I don't want to cause a scene and ruin the Yule Ball."

"It wouldn't ruin anything and you can't just let them get away..." Ginny said indignantly.

"Was it Sheldon Bole and Claude Bletchley?" Draco asked.

Luna nodded.

"How do you know?" Ron looked as if he suspected Draco of putting them up to it.

"They've always been bullies," Draco responded.

"You should know," Ron muttered.

Draco's eyes flashed, but he ignored Ron and held out a hand to Luna. "May I see it?"

Luna handed him the necklace. Draco examined it a moment and handed it back to her. "I think I know someone...a professional spellweaver...who can fix it. I'll give you her name."

Luna carefully shrunk the necklace and slipped it into her handbag. She studied Draco thoughtfully for a long moment and then smiled at him.

"Thank you, Draco Malfoy."

Draco seemed flustered and uncertain, as if he didn't know how to respond to someone being nice to him, but then he regained his composure and nodded. "You're welcome."

There was an awkward silence and then Neville cleared his throat. "Well, should we go back to the Ball?"

So they went back to the Great Hall, in silence except for Ginny urging Luna to tell Dumbledore or her Head of House about Bole and Bletchley. So far the Yule Ball had not gotten off to an auspicious start and Harry was really wondering if he should have just stayed home, but when they returned things seemed to settle down.

The loud thrum of the Banshee's music made conversation difficult and therefore, helped to prevent arguments between Draco and the others. Most of the songs were fast and upbeat and they all danced together in a large group.

Harry had wondered if he would dance much at all without a date. He was thinking of what Severus had told him, how he could still date and even marry someday, but he just hadn't been able to work up the nerve to ask anyone. But with all of them in a group, it didn't seem to matter so much. He even danced to a few of the slower, more romantic songs, first with Ginny, then with Hermione, and finally with Luna. The others rotated partners too, though Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione usually ended up together.

At the first slow dance Draco hesitated, then took a deep breath and stepped over to Luna.

"Luna Lovegood, would you dance with me?"

Luna smiled at him. "Yes, I would love to."

Harry grinned and gave him a thumbs-up sign while the others goggled at them. But then Ron and Hermione turned to one another and then Ginny came over to Harry.

"Will you dance with me, cousin Barny?" She grinned.

"Um, sure, but I'm not very good," Harry began.

"Well, it's not hard. You just put your hand on my waist like this," Ginny moved his hand to the appropriate spot. "And then we sway back and forth."

And so they did.

The next couple hours passed uneventfully. If Harry's friends, with the exception of Luna, were not warming up to Draco, at least they were not arguing. Harry decided that that might be the best he could hope for at the moment. They danced and had punch and refreshments when the band took breaks. At one point Draco slipped away and Harry saw him go over to speak to Severus. He was going to ask Draco about it, but before he could, most of Gryffindor House and the DA came over to meet ‘Barny Weasley'. Harry thought a few of them gave him funny looks, but no one questioned his story.

A few times Severus strolled by and caught his eye. Harry grinned and nodded to him. It was turning out to be a fun evening after all. Indeed the most difficult part now was remembering to take his polyjuice potion on time, that and not grimacing at the foul taste.

Everything seemed to be going well, until mid-way through the Ball. The band was on a break and Harry and his friends had headed over to a side table to get something to drink. It was time for Harry to take his polyjuice and he slipped the flask from an inside pocket of his robe, but before he could drink, someone from behind him snatched it.

"What's this?" It was Sheldon Bole and Claude Bletchley, two burly seventh-years from Slytherin who made Marcus Flint look like a pipsqueak.

"Give that back!" Harry demanded, feeling a sheen of sweat break out across his forehead. It was time for the next dose and if he didn't take it soon...

Bole sniffed the flask. "Smells like polyjuice to me."

"Accio...!" Ron began.

But it was too late. As they all watched in horror, Bletchley tipped the flask, pouring out the remainder of the potion. It was only an empty bottle that flew to Ron's hand.

The next few moments were a blur to Harry. He heard his friends' angry voices and Bole's rough laughter, but the things he was most aware of were the puddle of polyjuice on the floor, the tight, panicky feeling in his chest, and then the gasps and mutterings of the crowd around him as the polyjuice faded.

"Harry Potter!"

"Look, it's Potter."

"Harry's here?"

Claude Bletchley guffawed and shoved Harry roughly. "I thought it was you. Go fetch our drinks for us, slave."

A split second later Bletchley was lying on the floor, blood spurting from his nose, and Draco was leaning over him, one knee planted on his chest and a wand jammed under his chin.

"If you ever, ever call Harry that again or do anything to upset him, anything at all, I will curse you until you beg for death," he hissed, his voice low and dangerous and his grey eyes were like chips of ice.

Bole started to raise his wand towards Draco, but instantly Ron and Hermione had their own wands pointed at his chest while Ginny cast her famous bat-bogey hex at him. Neville moved to back up Draco, not that he seemed to need it, while Luna moved over and took Harry's hand.

"It's all right, Harry," she said.

But Harry couldn't answer her. He was too numb with horror.

"What is going on here?" Dumbledore and Severus appeared. Severus immediately moved to his son's side and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder while everyone tried to explain what had happened.

"My nose! He broke my nose!" Bletchley howled, pointing at Draco.

Draco moved away and gazed at the professors innocently. "He must have slipped on the polyjuice and hit his nose when he fell."

"Yes, clearly that is what happened," Dumbledore agreed.

"He threatened me," Bletchley insisted.

"Oh? Are there any witnesses willing to testify to that?" Dumbledore scanned the crowd, but everyone remained silent and still.

"On the other hand, I believe this is the second incident of bullying tonight for you and Mr. Bole." Dumbledore's voice hardened. "I think we need to have a talk in my office."

"My nose," Bletchley whined.

"Episkey." With supreme disdain, Dumbledore flicked his fingers in the boy's direction and his nose mended with a snap. Another flick and the blood vanished.

Meanwhile Harry had moved closer to his father and said in a low shaky voice. "Dad, I want to go home."

Severus gently squeezed his shoulder and said softly, "Harry, look."

Harry didn't want to, but finally, reluctantly turned and looked about at the crowd around them. His friends and House mates from Gryffindor and the DA had pushed close.

"Stay, Harry."

"Yeah, please stay."

Dean spoke up. "We all knew it was you, anyway."

"You did?" Harry asked.

Seamus rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that hard to figure out, really."

Ron and Hermione stepped close.

"Stay, Harry."

"See, mate, it'll be all right."

Harry looked up at Severus and then around at his friends. Finally he took a deep breath and nodded. "All right, I'll stay."

Everyone cheered and crowded around him then, hugging him and thumping him on the back. Harry felt a wide grin spread across his face.

Severus patted his shoulder approvingly and then turned to face Dumbledore and the two miscreants. "Albus, when you have finished with these two, I would like to have a word with them as well."

Proving that he had more brawn than brain, Bole protested aloud. "But he doesn't even work here anymore."

"Professor Snape is merely on a leave of absence," Dumbledore replied coolly. "He is still employed by Hogwarts."

Harry looked around at the friendly faces surrounding him...his closest friends of course, then Dean, Seamus, the Patil twins, Lavender, Hannah, Ernie, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, and a whole host of others.

Warm happy courage flooded through him and he turned to face Bletchley and Bole with his chin lifted.

"My father works here and he'll be back full-time after the holidays."

More cheers, hugs, and hands pounding him on the back.

Then Severus drew him aside and asked quietly, "Harry, are you sure? You're ready to return to Hogwarts?"

"Um, I think so."

"You don't have to decide now. We'll talk about it at home. We'll do whatever you want," Severus promised.

Harry smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad."

Then Dumbledore and Severus left with Bole and Bletchley. For a little while, everyone crowded around Harry, eager to show their support and to tell him they were happy he was back.

But finally the others drifted off and Harry was alone with his closest friends again.

Ron stepped close to Draco and the two of them stared at each other for a moment.

Then Ron held out his hand. "You were all right there, Malfoy."

Draco clasped it. "Thanks, Weasley."

The others murmured approvingly and even smiled at Draco. Then the band struck up a new song.

Neville took Luna's hand and swept her off towards the dance floor. "Come on, let's dance."

They hurried off to spend the next few hours dancing and laughing together.