florence pov

I didn't go to any classes the next day. I just sat in the Astronomy tower, looking out over the school grounds.

Lucius and my father got what they wanted. I wasn't near any of my 'blood traitor friends', I was just going around with pure bloods.

As great as Celeste, Draco, and Cedric are, I need my three best friends back.

I feel awful about what happened yesterday. But I stick by what I did. I'll protect my friends over anything else. Even if they don't agree.

Usually a letter like from Lucius is just something I can ignore, but not when he mentions my father. I refuse to believe the things he says about my father coming back, but any slight chance is not a risk I'm willing to take.

My mind wandered to Cedric.

I'm excited to go the ball with him. And I definitely think he's good looking. I've noticed a lot of other girls think the same too. But for some reason, he chose me.

I just wonder how things will end up.

I sighed and lay down, gazing up at the grey sky above me.

I haven't spoken to anyone since Harry and I spoke last night. I left a letter on Hermione's bed this morning explaining everything and telling her to tell Ron for me. I didn't want to be there to see her reaction. Knowing her, she'd give me every possible way we could fix it, until I'd have to hex her mouth shut.

I also did the same with Draco and Celeste, explaining everything that had happened. But the difference was, I could still see them.

I sat up when I heard the door creak open behind me. It was Draco. I knew it was only a matter of time before he'd figure out where I was.

He walked over and sat beside me.

"You don't have to skip class for me." I said, not looking away from the sky.

"You're more interesting than Divination any day. You okay?"

"I will be, I think."

Hogwarts is my home, but it won't be the same without the people who make it my home.

"Look, I know I'm not the best person to take advice from, but listen, okay?"

I turned to him and nodded slowly.

"You think that what you're doing for those three is the best thing for them, but it's not. It's not the best for you either, and that's all I want. You four need each other Flo."

"Draco Malfoy being kind and sincere. What did I ever do to receive such special treatment?" I asked jokingly.

He laughed lightly. "I'm serious."

I thought for a moment. "It's the best for them barbie boy."

"No it's not. You should have seen them at breakfast this morning. Granger barely spoke, and I didn't see her pick up a book once. Weaslebee barely ate, and there were sausages right in front of him. And Potter looked like he hadn't slept in a year. They looked as though someone had died."

"Well it's better than the alternative if I was there."

"No, I don't think so."

I turned to look at him. "You know what my father can do Draco! How could you say that."

"You don't actually know if your father is back, or if he would even do anything."

"But what if he is back? What if he does hurt them? You know he would."

"What if. He didn't find out that you were all friends until Rita Skeeter's article. She'll be gone after the tournament, so just steer clear of her and you'll be fine."

He was half right I guess. I didn't really think about it in that way. This gave me a tiny light of hope, but I stayed quiet and looked down. I still don't feel good about any of this.

"I just need some time to think." I said after a few moments.

"I understand. I'll give you space, darling."

"Thank you."

"What was that? A thank you? A real one?" He asked in a fake shocked voice.

I laughed for the first time since last night, and lightly shoved him. "And it'll be your last."

"So what's the deal with you and Diggory? I thought you had a thing with Potter?"

"Harry? No, no. We're just friends."

Draco turned to me. "You're joking, right?"

"What?"

"I might be a git, but I'm not stupid. 'Just friends' don't steal secret glances at each other, 'just friends' don't get visibly jealous when the other one talks to someone else, 'just friends' don't look at each other the way you and Potter do. 'Just friends?' Yeah right."

I was speechless. We are just friends.

We are.

We are.

We are.

Right?

----

harry pov

There's an old saying that goes, 'you don't know what you have until it's gone'. This is a prime example.

To be completely honest, all of today so far has been miserable.

I tried to get Ron and Hermione to help me convince Florence that she was being totally irrational, but Ron's in a huff about it, and Hermione cries every time we go into too much detail.

This whole thing is complete bullshit. I'm not going to force her to go against Lucius or her father, but I really wished she would.

I'm supposed to be studying with Hermione and Ron, but I can't get my mind off of this whole mess.

"Should I just ask Celeste to the yule ball normally or should I do something spe-" He was cut off by Snape who whacked him in the head with a newspaper.

Ron glanced up to check that the area was Snape free before continuing. "Oi, who are you gonna ask?" He whispered to me.

I glanced over at where Florence would usually be sitting. "Uh, I'm not sure." I answered quickly, trying to get him to drop the subject.

"Don't worry, mate. You'll find someone."

A few moment later, Fred threw a piece of paper over to him. Ron sent him a glare before opening up the crumpled note.

It read:

Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone!

"Who are you going with then?" Ron whispered from across the table.

Fred smirked and crumbled up another piece of paper. He threw it at Angelina Johnson and she looked up with an annoyed expression across her face.

Fred mouthed "Will you go to the ball with me?", pointing to himself and doing strange dancing actions.

"The ball? Yeah, all right." Angelina whispered before turning back to her friend with a smile.

Fred turned back to Ron and winked.

Ron rolled his eyes then turned to Hermione. "Oi, Mione. You're a girl."

"Very well spotted." She responded sarcastically, not looking up from her work.

"Maybe you can go to the ball with me if Celeste says no, or Harry if he doesn't find another date."

Snape walked by again and hit Ron even harder on the head to stop us from chatting.

It didn't work.

"Come on." Ron continued. "It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone, for a girl, it's just sad."

Hermione looked offended by this as she faced him. "I won't be going alone because, believe it or not, someone's already asked me!" She whispered angrily while gathering her things. "And I said yes!" She finished, before storming out of the great hall.

Ron almost looked upset by her words. "Bloody hell." He muttered. "She's lying, right?"

"If you say so."

"Look Harry, we've just got to grit our teeth and do it. Tonight when we get back to the common room, we'll both have dates. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

With an extra hard smack, Snape hit us once again. Ron and I shared one last annoyed glance before returning back to our work.

----

I didn't really know who to ask to the ball. The only girl that's been taking up my mind is Florence. But I promised Ron, so I guess I'll just have to try.

I dragged my feet up the icy stairs towards the owlery. I wanted to see if Sirius had owled me. It's been a while since we last spoke and I wanted to make sure he was okay.

I turned the corner and walked straight into a fifth year Ravenclaw girl. Cho Chang. I used to have a bit of a crush on her in first year.

"Oh sorry Harry." She apologised politely.

"No, I'm sorry. Should've been watching where I was going." I laughed lightly to fill the silence.

"Watch yourself on the stairs, by the way. It's a bit icy at the top." She said, before passing me to head down the steps.

"Thanks." I said with a smile.

Then, it hit me. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Um Cho?"

"Yes?" She turned back around to face me.

"Well, I was wondering if you had a date to the Yule Ball yet?" I asked nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Oh um, no. Not yet." Her cheeks lit up red and she looked away.

"Do you maybe want to go with me?" I asked nervously.

Her eyes widened. "Oh. Yes. I'd love too."

Didn't expect that.

"Okay brilliant! So, I guess I'll see you there?"

"See you there." She smiled and waved before heading back down the steps.

I let out a long sigh of relief. I'm so glad I finally have a date. The hardest part of the day is over.

----

I waited in the owlery for half an hour from something from Sirius, but nothing. I got impatient and made my way back to the common room. When I walked through the portrait hole I heard Ginny's voice.

"It's okay, Ron. It's all right. It doesn't matter."

"What's happened to you?" I asked Ron as I went to sit on the couch.

"He just asked Celeste to the Yule Ball." Ginny sighed.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"There she was walking along. You know how I like it when she walks." Ron said, in a shaky voice. "I couldn't help it. It just sort of.........slipped out."

"Actually, he sort of screamed at her. It was a bit frightening honestly." Ginny said.

"What did she say?" I asked eagerly.

"No of course." Hermione scoffed until Ron looked her in the eyes. "She said........yes?"

"Yes, surprisingly." Ron replied.

I watched as Hermione's expression dropped.

"Oh- well that's great." She said quietly. "Good for you."

"Did she really?" I asked in shock.

I knew Celeste liked Ron. I just didn't think she would still like him if he screamed at her.

He nodded, with a smile slowly forming on his face.

"He's still in shock. As you probably know, my brother has no game." Ginny said.

Ron sent her an evil glare but didn't say anything because he secretly knew it was true.

"Did you find someone?" He asked me.

"Yeah, Cho Chang."

His face lit up. "From first year?"

I nodded.

"Well, there you go Harry! We did it! We won!"

I laughed at Ron's excitement for us.

And even though I won, I still felt like I lost.