“C’mon, Draco, tell me!” Harry pleaded. Draco still hadn’t said who his date was, and while Harry was pretty convinced it was his best friend Hermione, his brother wouldn’t confirm.

“No,” Draco declined, smirking at the look of consternation on his brother’s face. “You’ll just have to wait twenty more minutes. Patience, little brother... You missed a spot...” he pointed out as Harry tried the depilation charm their father had taught them.

“Blimey...” Harry muttered as he leaned closer into the mirror passing his wand over his chin and upper lip a third time. “Maybe I’m not putting enough power into it.” He scrunched up his face every which way, looking for stray beard growth.

“Nah, it’s fine. I was just messing with you – ouch!” Draco laughed as his brother whacked him on the back of his head.

“Boys, you better be getting dressed – it’s a quarter of seven!” Severus called down the hallway. Harry and Draco took one last look in the mirror, smoothing down hair and checking to make sure everything looked good before heading back out to the bedroom to don their dress robes. Draco’s were black silk shot with iridescent green, and Harry’s were the same cut – but his had red silk running through it. He had chosen this evening to wear his long hair clubbed back with a red silk ribbon holding it in place.

Severus stood hidden in the shadows of the door for a moment, reminiscing on how much these two young men had grown in the last few years. Harry had been a frightened, beaten child but with a hidden strength that was apparent in his ability to jump in where angels feared to tread and survive. Draco had been the typical Death Eater progeny; expected to take on the family business and demeanour.  But Draco had a gentle, quiet soul that he covered up with bravado, and Severus was glad that under his care it was coming more to the fore.

He had been gratified that both of them had spent the holidays in his rooms. With all of the students staying behind this year to attend the ball, he had almost assumed they would want to stay in their dorms with their friends, but both had shown up on the first day of break, trunks in tow, and quietly moved into their shared room. They had then insisted he take them to the manor to harvest a tree from their property to put up in his sitting room.

The decorations had gone up quickly and, just as quickly, presents had begun gathering under the laden boughs.

This morning they had risen late – enjoying a lie in – and the family had leisurely opened presents while munching lazily on their breakfast; dressed in pyjamas, dressing gowns and soft leather slippers that warded off the cold dungeon floor. A merry fire had crackled in the fireplace and Runeskin had joined them, bringing their breakfast and gifts from the staff at the manor.

Now both boys were standing in their room, dressed like young gentlemen of breeding, ready to take their first dates to a ball. Such a change; it seemed only yesterday he had been teaching Harry how to use silverware correctly. He let a small smile grace his face while he smoothed out his own formal wear before he came in to inspect. He flicked some dust off of Harry’s shoulder, squeezing it in affection before moving on to Draco, tucking back an errant strand of hair and smiling on the young man who shyly returned the look. He stepped back and took in the complete package of the two from polished boots to tied cravats, to the emeralds sparkling from their earlobes. Definitely sons to be proud of.

“Do you have your wands? Gifts for your dates? Then let us be off. You two can enjoy yourselves; I, on the other hand, must be a chaperone.” He said the word as if it was anathema then turned quickly and let his robes billow behind him in typical Snape fashion. Granted, these were a high sheen silk, better than his average daily black wear and the buttons were silver serpents rather than black onyx – but the billow was the same, somehow even more intimidating, and the teens followed after their parent, hard soled shoes tapping quickly after.

They joined a gathering crowd of students, dressed in their absolute finest. A gaggle of Beauxbatons’ girls were gathered in one corner, tittering among themselves as they watched the Hogwarts girls descend or ascend the various staircases to join their dates.

Harry saw Ron hurrying down the stairs, his velvet robes looking much better than before, and he had managed to find a formal shirt in the second-hand store in Hogsmeade to wear under it. With his red hair glowing on top, he managed to look quite decent. He was nervously turning a small wrapped box over in his hand as he joined the brothers.

“Have they come up yet?” he whispered to Harry, running a finger under his collar in a vain attempt to loosen it. His friend just shook his head as he kept an eye on the Dungeon entrance. He had offered to escort Pansy from the Slytherin Common Room door, but she had insisted on meeting him in the Entrance Hall. Ron was a nervous wreck, breathing into his hand to check his breath and shining the tops of his shoes on his trousers.

“Are you sure this looks alright, Harry?” he asked, glancing around at the other male students resplendent in their dress robes. Harry turned to look him over and nodded his head.

“You’re fine Ron. Daphne won’t be embarrassed at all to be seen with you, as long as you act the gentleman. Now stop fidgeting – you’re making me nervous!”

“And annoying me!” Draco hissed at the redhead. Silicia added her two pence in as well, and Ron paled as he eyed the cobra peaking out from under Harry’s cuff, but did manage to settle down, although he couldn’t stop his nervous habit of darting his eyes around the room watching everyone and hoping to catch a sight of his date before she spotted him.

“Hey, what’s Bill doing here?” Ron said, his attention caught by his dashing brother entering the Main Doors, a beautiful Witch on his arms. Harry and Draco craned their heads over the crowd and Harry laughed.

“He’s escorting Fleur,” he announced to the stunned brother.

“He’s what? You’re kidding! She must have used her Veela wiles on him!” Ron complained.

“Just because she didn’t accept your blurted, ham-handed offer, Weasley...” Draco sniggered, earning a glare from Ron. Half the school had been witness to Ron’s fumble-mouthed attempt at asking Fleur to the dance before Hermione had come up with her brilliant plan for her two best friends.

“No, they’ve been interested in each other for a few weeks now,” Harry pointed out. “They look good together.” He nodded to the couple that had Bill leaning down towards Fleur who was looking at him with adoring eyes.

“Mum will have kittens,” Ron warned. His eyes nearly popped out of his head though as he noticed a girl making an entrance at the top of the stairs. “Blimey, is that...?” Harry and Draco turned quickly around to see who had caught Ron’s eye.

“Hermione!” Draco said, smiling and moving to wait at the bottom of the stairs, offering her his arm as she gracefully descended – a cloud of periwinkle tulle and silk flowing behind her. Somehow she had tamed her usual fluffy mane of hair to hang in elegant ringlets about her face, a pair of diamond earrings glittering in her ears. A touch of pink colour to her lips, and matching periwinkle shadow to her eyelids transformed the mousy Gryffindor into a lioness that made Draco want to stand up and roar.

Harry and Ron just stood there stupidly, mouths open as they watched the couple smirk at their friends and move to stand in line to enter the Great Hall. While they waited to be announced, Draco handed Hermione a small jewellery box that contained a diamond solitaire necklace and a silver clasp for her hair.

“I checked with your room mates as to what earrings you were wearing,” he clarified as she noted how well they matched. “The necklace is one that mother had given me many years ago for this purpose. I thought you might like to have it... The barrette I found at this shop in Hogsmeade and I thought you might like it.” He blushed a bit under her perfuse thanks and small peck on his cheek in reward after he fastened the necklace around her slender neck and placed the small hair jewel where she said she wanted it. The next thing they knew, they were announced at the doors and entered the Great Hall that was decorated like a winter wonderland, the fresh scent of snow covered pine from Hagrid’s twelve yule trees permeating the air.

“Hello, Harry,” came a soft voice behind him and he turned to behold Pansy in a pink and white satin dress that most definitely highlighted her best attributes, Daphne following behind her. Pansy’s brown hair had been sleeked up to a Grecian pile of curls, garnets twinkling from under the tresses. Harry smiled and offered her his arm as they moved to join Fleur and Bill, the Champions and their dates were to enter all together in order of their current ranking.

Ron looked shyly at Daphne then shoved the box he’d been mangling in his hands at her. “Umm, I got you this,” he offered lamely.

She smiled at his attempt and deftly removed the shredded ribbon, lifting the lid to reveal a small snowflake ornament.

“I saw your sculpture outside and I thought you would like this to remind you of it. You did a really great job...” he said, wiping his sweaty hands on his robes in a vain attempt to dry them off.

“Thank you, Ronald, this is sweet.” She leaned in to give him small kiss on his cheek and was granted a goofy look and a blush to rival his hair colour for her efforts.

Ron looked around, noticing the line was starting to move inside. “Shall we?” he asked, trying his best to sound gallant and offered his arm to his date.

“I’d love to,” she said and picking up a corner of her skirt, walked with him to where McGonagall was ticking off couples on her clipboard before announcing them to the room in general.

Harry nodded politely to Fleur who scowled a bit at him before turning her back on him, turning her attention to Bill who was giving her a history lesson on the stained glass windows in the hall.

“What’d you do to her, Harry?” Pansy asked quietly.

“Spoke Parseltongue to the Dragon and gained a tied for first place,” he said sourly.

“Ah. Yes, Theo has been ragging on that for the last month. I heard he ragged on you Thursday afternoon.”

Harry looked over at her, taking in her teasing mood. “You could say that. Didn’t succeed; and got caught for his efforts.” He smirked at the memory. He fished a small box out of his pocket that he held out to her. “Here, something to remember the night with.”

Pansy accepted the little gift and smiled at him in thanks before untying the ribbon and tucking it into her clutch. She opened the lid and gasped as she saw the silver links winking at her from their nest of white silk.

“Allow me,” Harry offered lifting the chain and fastening it around her wrist. She peered closely at the little charms.

“I love it, thank you! I’ll have to add charms for each of the tasks you complete,” she teased, fingering the little dragon. “But it really needs a lightning bolt, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely! Here...” He took a stray piece of string from the lining of his dress robes and, pointing his wand at it, turned it into a golden lightning bolt charm, complete with a little clasp that he promptly hooked onto the bracelet.

“And I’ll get you one after each task is completed,” he promised.

“I accept. Oh, is that Cho?” she exclaimed, peering around him. Harry turned and followed her line of sight to where Cho Chang had entered on Cedric’s arm. While Chang had captured his imagination at the start of the year, he had to admit that tonight Pansy was the better looking date. Not that Cho looked bad at all, but he felt that Pansy carried the look with more grace. They walked over to join the other two Champions and their dates and await Krum. The six made polite conversation, with Fleur steadfastly ignoring Harry until a boom sounded as the Grand Doors were opened with a resounding crash and Viktor stood in the centre of them, a petite Hannah Abbott on his arm. She almost looked frightened standing next to his imposing figure and, after waiting a long moment, he practically dragged her over to where the other Champions had gathered.

He didn’t release her at all as they waited for the Professor to line them up for the grand entrance, and she sent a pleading look at the other girls. Harry noticed her smudged lipstick, and could smell the distinctive odour of Alcohol wafting from Viktor - but what could he do? They had to make the walk into the hall and dance the first waltz. He leaned in to whisper to Pansy.

“We all have to do the dance, but do you think you can get her away from him after that? I don’t like the look on his face and her dress is rumpled in the back a bit,” he warned.

“You think he’s tried something already?” Pansy asked, steel in her voice.

“If he has, he didn’t get far – but he’ll try again. We need to get her away to a safe place. Think you can handle it?”

“Absolutely. The Abbotts are old friends of my mother’s family. Leave it to me – but what about Viktor?”

“I’ll warn dad. He was forced to allow Viktor to attend the ball despite participating in Nott’s little dust-up on Thursday. Notice they aren’t here? Everyone, except Viktor, was banned from attending. He would have been as well, In fact Dad lobbied for it – but the Minister intervened and said as a competing champion he had to attend. I’m sure Dad’ll be glad for an excuse to toss him out and Krum is drunk; a perfect reason – no Alcohol allowed, remember?”

Pansy got a distinct predatory gleam in her eye. “Oh, he hates a drunk! He takes the boys aside every year and has ‘THE TALK’ with them – all about how to treat a girl, how to handle their liquor, safe sexual practices and so on. He makes Madam Pomfrey have the same discussion with the girls. It’s mandatory in our house from fourth to seventh-year.” She gave a nod to Hannah to let her know that rescue was imminent and the grateful look was unmistakable. “But drunkenness he seriously frowns upon.”

Harry grinned. “It’s because of his own father,” he intimated. “Glad to know Draco and I weren’t the only ones to get that talk. I thought we got the special treatment due to being family! Do the other Heads have the same talk with their houses?”

They moved into line, Harry and Pansy behind Cho and Cedric as Pansy answered his question. “I have no idea; but the Professor always treats us as his own.”

That sounded like Snape to Harry, always concerned with the children of his house – taking his Head responsibilities to heart.

“Well, here we go!” Harry muttered as McGonagall moved along the line, straightening things here and there – paying especial attention to Hannah and shooting Krum a suspicious scowl before nodding to Filch to open the doors to the Great Hall.

Dumbledore stood at the top of the room, beatific and avuncular smile lighting his face and making his eyes twinkle, holding out his arms and welcoming the four main couples to the dance. The teachers and Tournament officials were ranged behind him, everyone in the room applauding as they took the centre of the room and began to dance to the opening waltz. After the first few strains, other couples were free to join in and the room was soon awhirl with black silk jackets and colourful satin dresses.

Harry held his own quite respectably and he noticed that Ron was managing to keep away from Daphne’s feet for the most part, counting under his breath and sneaking a peek down at his buffed boots to make sure.

Draco looked as if he was in his element, gliding an ecstatic Hermione around as if they danced on clouds. They were so good they kept adding extra twirls and turns and held a quiet conversation the entire time.

Harry was a bit jealous of Draco’s abilities. He was no slouch, having been under his father’s tutelage for quite awhile – he certainly did not need to count and look down like Ron - but he wasn’t as proficient as his brother, either.

He and his partner kept an eye on Hannah who was pretty much being yanked around the floor by her date. When they danced in range of Hermione, Pansy quickly let her know what their plan was and was rewarded with a flash of rage from the brunette’s eyes. The couples stayed together after that and made sure they were within striking distance of Krum and his date.

When the music ended, Hermione and Pansy descended on Hannah like colourful twittering birds stating they needed her help in the ladies room – a time honoured excuse that no man was going to intrude upon, no matter how much of a cad he was, while Harry made a beeline for his father, whom he had spotted near the refreshment table. Bill waylaid him though before he could reach him.

“Harry, I wanted to congratulate you on your handling of the Dragon task!” said the beaming Weasley. “And I want to apologise for Fleur. She’s taking your abilities a bit hard. But I explained to her it was just like her using some of her innate Veela abilities – you can’t help what you’re born with, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Harry agreed, trying to keep an eye on his dad. “Umm, Bill – I’d really love to stay and chat, and thanks for explaining things to Fleur – but I need to tell my father something. If you’d excuse me?”

“Oh, sure, Harry! I’ll talk to you later!” said Bill, affably, clapping a hand to Harry’s shoulder before stepping out of the way and taking off in search of his date again, two punch cups in hand, while Harry hurried over to his father.

“Dad, I need to tell you something... I think Viktor is drunk, and he may have done something inappropriate with Hannah. I could smell Alcohol on his breath and she really looked frightened. The girls have taken her off to the ladies room, but I thought you should handle Viktor,” he blurted out in a rush.

“Do you know for a fact he did something to Miss Abbott?” Severus asked, frowning at the news.

“No; although she was really relieved when Pansy and Hermione took her away. But I can confirm the Alcohol, I can smell it all over him.  And watch him, he’s walking around as if he’s drunk.”

“How can you tell?” Snape asked dryly. “His walk is always off.” He was not impressed with the Durmstrang champion, especially after having had him in Detention all day the day before. The boy had complained the entire time he was disembowelling frogs and extracting bubotuber puss. Severus had eventually had to place a silencing spell on the boy just to get some peace and quiet in the room.

“More so than usual, Dad,” Harry exclaimed. “And he’s stumbling around as well.  He never does that.”

“True. Oh, alright – I’ll go investigate.” Harry watched as his father moved across the floor like a menacing shadow. Silent and deadly. The man glided up to Krum, who was speaking to his Headmaster, causing the seeker to jump a mile in the air when Severus placed a hand on the Bulgarian’s shoulder and leaning in to take a sniff before fanning a hand to clear the air.

“Mr Krum, is that Liquor I detect? Flouting this institution’s rules again? And so soon after your last infraction; tsk, tsk,” he said, wrinkling his nose at the obvious tell-tale odour. “Igor, I thought Dumbledore gave you a full list of our rules and regulations that your students must abide by while here. One of them is ‘No Alcohol’. Especially at a school function where there are students younger than seventeen attending.” His imposing figure loomed over the two shorter Wizards and nearby Hogwarts students, recognising the danger signal, found other more interesting things to do far away from his vicinity.

“Now see here, Snape, Viktor is of age. If he wants a drink he can have one,” Igor blustered.

“Yes, on your ship – which is diplomatic ground - but not in this school. Accio hip-flask!” he incanted and a large silver flask flew from the inside of the Champion’s robes and smacked into Snape’s outstretched hand. He made a show of twisting off the cut crystal cap and sniffing the contents. “Ah, Ogden’s finest. Good choice, Viktor, but still contraband. As any student here can tell you, if you are found with a contraband item you are eligible for detention with Mr Filch, our Squib caretaker,” he said, looking pointedly at Karkarof. “Therefore, on top of your remaining detentions with me, I am now adding on a weeks worth of detentions with Mr Filch. Now, remove yourself from my presence and this dance.”

“Now really, Severus, don’t you think that is a little harsh,” Dumbledore said as he approached the little group.

“Not at all, Albus. This is his second offence in as many days, both of which were egregious flouting of the rules. If he wishes to continue on in this competition to the best of his abilities – and fairly – he needs to learn to follow the rules. ‘When in Rome’, Albus. You put me in charge of maintaining the rules during this event; please allow me to do so.” He ended his speech with a near growl, peering down his nose at his superior.

“Ah, yes.” Dumbledore seemed momentarily taken aback by Snape’s proclamation then regained his equilibrium looking apologetically at his colleague from Durmstrang. “I’m sorry, Igor, Severus is absolutely correct on all counts. I’m sorry to say but his ruling stands; Viktor will have more detentions added and I’m afraid he needs to return to the ship and take a sober-up potion.” He shrugged then gaily walked on past the group, nodded genially at the students as he passed by them.

“This isn’t over, Severus!” Karkarof warned before grabbing his student by the bicep and dragging him away.

“Now I know why Krum treated Hannah the way he did – he thinks that’s how you treat a person!” Harry remarked from Severus’ side.

“Perhaps. Now, off you go; I see your date approaching,” he observed and Harry turned to smile at the trio of beautiful girls who were headed in his direction.

Draco joined the group as they took over a table, furnishing glasses of punch for everyone. Ron and Daphne soon joined the group. Hannah looked better now that the girls had helped her repair her make-up and dress and she seemed much more relaxed as she had seen Krum being escorted back to the ship. Severus came over to enquire after her health.

“I’m fine, professor – he really wasn’t able to do much, just manhandled me a bit heavily and tried to take too many liberties with his kisses. But he was too drunk to do much else and the girls rescued me before it got any worse.”

Severus discretely handed her a small one ounce jar of his special recipe bruise cream. “For your arms,” he said for her ears only. “Put some on the next time you go to the powder room and you should have no need of glamours by nights end.”

She smiled up at her professor and secreted the jar into her clutch. “Thank you, Professor. And,” she smiled over at the handsome Gryffindor, “thanks, Harry, for noticing!”

“Don’t mention it, Hannah.  No one deserves to be treated that way. I could tell how uncomfortable you were with him. Now you can enjoy the rest of the night and, with Pansy’s permission, allow me to dance this next dance with you?” He glanced over at his date who gave him a soft smile in agreement, so he stood and offered his hand to Hannah.

“Thank you, Pansy,” Hannah said as she rose. “I’ll return him good as new!” She smiled as Harry led her off to the dance floor.

“Well done, Miss Parkinson,” Severus murmured.

“It’s just one dance – but I think I’ll go find her a proper date for the rest of the evening. I’m not going to share mine any longer than I have to! If you’ll excuse me, Professor?”

“Of course. I do believe there are some eligible gentlemen who came stag standing over by the punch table,” he suggested. She followed his line of sight and her eyes landed on several bright prospects.

“Thank you!” She headed straight over to the area and soon had a bevy of male students surrounding her. Severus chuckled to himself then went off to check on the gardens, knowing there were probably more infractions occurring out there.

Of course he was absolute correct; the gardens leant themselves to dark romantic corners where teenagers with raging hormones could hope to find some privacy for some heavy petting. As he blasted apart rosebushes and snuck up on unsuspecting couples, deducting points and assigning detentions, he almost felt happy. It had been awhile since he had been able to just stalk around the school like the Dungeon Bat reputation he had gained over the years. It was almost liberating!

But as he caught a fifth-year Hufflepuff with a seventh-year Ravenclaw, he realised he was very lucky that his own sons hadn’t gotten to this point yet in their maturing. He knew it was coming, and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all; he remembered his own angst filled years with Lily.

Caught up in memories, he was rudely brought to earth when the sounds of a girl gasping in shock forced him to move faster – visions of Krum returning to the dance and cornering Miss Abbott playing in his head. He was taken by surprise then when he came around a corner and caught one of his own House members getting a little too physical with one of the French students who was protesting loudly, then up and slapped his student hard across the face.

He calmly grabbed the boy by the collar of his robes and bodily lifted him away from the girl who was attempting to maintain her dignity, clutching her wrap around her shoulders trying to cover up where her date had shifted things around.

“You may return to the dance,” he directed to the girl. “Do you need to see the Matron?” She shook her no before she hastily got out of his way, dashing across the flagstones towards the castle entrance, never looking back, although he could hear her muttering imprecations in French the entire way. He forcibly turned the boy around to face him. “You, Mr Brandeis, will return to your dorm and prepare for a lengthy detention tomorrow – bright and early. I expect you in my classroom at eight. And that is twenty points from Slytherin!  Now march!”

Alex Brandeis knew not to complain and shuffled off towards the Dungeons casting one last longing look at the Great Hall.

“I mean it, Mr Brandeis – or do I need to make that fifty points? Excellent, glad to see your brain hasn’t totally dribbled down into your shorts,” he murmured to no one in particular, but wasn’t surprised when he heard MadEye chuckling behind him, melting out of the shadows, his kilt swirling around his knees.

“Come off it, Severus, I remember you were just as amorous at that age,” the Auror said watching the unfortunate Mr Brandeis quickly return to his dorm, his magic eye following the boy through the twists and turns of the Dungeon corridors.

“I was secretly engaged, I had a valid excuse,” Severus replied haughtily, but he softened his answer with a small uplift of his mouth after a moment.

“Uh, huh – and I would just love to have seen you give that excuse to a teacher in your seventh-year,” Alastor quipped back.

“Never had to, it was a secret – you dirty old man. You and your eye were the only ones that caught us, I’ll have you know.”

“Just you keep believin’ that, laddie. Don’t let me be the one to burst your bubble.” He grinned as they walked towards the Great Hall to check on the party. By the sound of the music, the orchestra had been replaced by the Wyrd Sisters, a popular band, and they could see the shadows of gyrating teenagers against the stained glass of the window panels flanking the Great Doors.

“And what do you mean by that? You, Potter, and Remus were the only ones that knew of our marriage,” Severus pointed out.

“Ah, you forgot a little Tabby cat that used to show up in your dark little hallways, didn’t you,” he laughingly pointed out.

The look on Severus’ face was priceless as he realised what Moody was inferring. “Why that little minx...” he declared. “Where is she...” He craned his neck around from his position at the door looking for the older witch in her distinctive green plaid robes and tall pointed hat. He spotted her along one of the back walls and ghosted over to her position, quietly standing next to her for a few minutes.

“So, Minerva, I hear you used to spy on Lily and I...” he whispered dangerously low in her ear.

She whipped her head around, a smirk on her face. “Just doing my duty, my boy. Had to make sure no one else caught you two. Drove off the first Mrs Norris many a-time. And since it never got very far, I didn’t do anything about it. If I’d known you two were already...”

“Engaged, Minerva. We didn’t marry until the day after leaving.” He smiled at the memory.

“One of these days I’ll get that whole story from you,” she warned. “You owe me!”

“But not today. How have the children behaved in here? I can tell you that too many escaped to the gardens to profess love amongst the enchanted roses.”

“Oh, Severus,” she sighed resignedly. “How many detentions and how many points were lost?”

“I’ll have a full classroom tomorrow,” he said cheerfully. “Should get lots of prep work done before classes start back up. And trust me; the points were pretty evenly distributed. Any problems with my lot?”

“None. Not after that kerfuffle with Krum at the beginning... he was really drunk?” She snorted to herself when he confirmed it. “Well, Hannah has been having a good evening after all. Miss Parkinson found her a very nice unattached boy to spend the evening with. Your two have been behaving themselves admirably, but the youngest Weasley boy unfortunately upturned a punch glass on his date after trouncing too many times on her toes. She left in a huff about an hour ago, nursing sore feet and he has been moping away watching the others. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t already returned to the dorm, I haven’t seen him in the last ten minutes.” She continued on, giving all the gossip of the evening to her colleague who was watching the room with an eagle eye while listening to the running commentary, picking out the participants as she discussed them.

“Well it sounds like you have everything well in hand, I’m going to make one last round of the gardens and hustle everyone back this way – don’t want anyone caught outside when I lock the doors.” He grinned maliciously. Actually he would love for that to happen if only to add to his detention attendees. “Are you wrapping this up in a half hour? Yes? Then I’ll be on my way – I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Not if I can help it, I intend to sleep in and then enjoy a relaxing breakfast by my fireside curled up with a book,” she declared. “And so help me, Severus, if you do anything to ruin that...” she warned, shaking a finger in his direction.

“I shall try my utmost to contain all the complaining children to my classroom,” he agreed, bowing slightly in her direction and backing away to begin his last sweep of the grounds.

She smiled indulgently after him, then gave the signal to the band leader that this was their last set. She had to stay until the last teenager was safely on their way back to their dorm and then the House-elves could take over returning the winter wonderland setting of the party to the dull, everyday visage of the wooden-beamed Great Hall complete with long wooden tables and benches. The Cinderella’s would have to return to their regular lives, packing away their fancy dresses, fine robes and stiletto heels.