Jade looked in the mirror one last time before she headed downstairs
to the Yule Ball. Alana and West were going to a Christmas party for the
younger students in the Hufflepuff common room, but they had been
helping her get ready. Alana had been in charge of her hair, and West
had given her advice.

Now, she adjusted the hem of her dress
and gave her friends a hug. "Thank you for helping me out! Have fun at
the Christmas party, and don't eat too much chocolate. Oh, and look out
for floating mistletoe, I heard someone figured out how to do that."

Alana
and West shared a sneaky glance. "We will," Alana said slowly, the
beginnings of a grin forming on her face. "Have fun dancing!"

********************

Inside
of the unrecognizable Great Hall, Jade twirled around in a wide circle.
She felt so elated, sparkling under the fairy lights that twinkled
everywhere. Someone coughed behind her, and she turned, her skirts
flying.

"Hi Draco," she said, laughing.

"You look beautiful," he said, giving her a friendly hug.

"Thank
you." Jade blushed, but knew it was true. Alana and West had slaved
over her hair and appearance for almost an hour. "Do you want to dance?"

The
band (a European one called The Weird Sisters) struck up a fast tune,
and Draco took her arm. He spun her around, and Jade hopped back and
forth, giggling. She loved to dance, loved everything that had to do with music, because it made her feel alive.

After
half an hour of dancing and laughing, Jade made her way over to a table
full of refreshments. She was halfway through a chocolate bonbon and
pouring herself a glass of punch when someone tugged the hem of her
skirt.

"Pssssst! Jade, under here!"

Jade yelped
and dropped her bonbon, sending crumbs flying down the front of her
dress. Peeking out from under a tablecloth were Alana and West, beaming
cheerfully at her. There was a plate of cookies and candies on the floor
beside them.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, dropping to her knees.

"Did you really think we'd let you go to a ball by yourself?" West laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Besides, Alana refused to miss all of the cake and dancing. Come sit with us."

Jade obliged, tucking her gown around her feet and sinking into a comfortable position. "How did you get here?"

Alana waved her gorgeous wand. "I read a book about Disillusionment charms. We cast them, but they didn't last very long, so we had to crawl under here. Want a cupcake?" She held out a small chocolate cupcake frosted with sparkly blue frosting and candy pearls.

Jade laughed and took the proffered treat. "Thanks. So, what do you guys want to do now?"

As she reached for a macaron off the table above them, Alana spoke. "If you help us recast the charm, we can all dance."

Brushing sparkling crumbs from her dress, Jade flicked her wand to recast the Disillusionment Charm.

If one were to look into the Great Hall that evening, one would have seen what looked like the Eaglesclaw Champion, in a gorgeous ballgown, dancing apparently by herself and laughing at something that no one else could hear.