The Potions Mistress and the Goblet of Fire.

The Unexpected Task.

After the ball had been announced, things went crazy. Aidy had never been noticed by so many people of the opposite gender, nor had she wanted to. In the first week after the announcement, She had been asked by no less than fourteen boys from various schools, none of them being Draco. Aidy was slightly hurt that he hadn't even brought up the subject of the Yule Ball.

Perhaps, she thought, when the boys stop asking, he might come around.

Meanwhile, Draco too was having difficulty asking Aidy due to all of the male attention she was receiving. He was also frightened; what if she said no? What would life in the studio be like for them? Perhaps it was better just to go alone.

Every time he told himself that however, he would see her, or just her hair, hanging in its golden braid down to mid thigh, and he would change his mind. How could he even imagine going without her?

The halls of Hogwarts were alive with excitement; it seemed like every ten seconds a girl was asked. Several girls had asked Harry including one that could have squashed him like a bug, and thank goodness had said no. Days went by, then a week, then two, and every day the anticipation wafting from both Draco and Aidy increased. The romantic tension between them was at an all time high, and they both just wanted to hold each other again. The First Task barely ever left their minds.

The teachers kept them busy even with all of their plans; McGonagall taught up until the bell rang and Snape's classes were only lenient when it was Aidy teaching instead of Severus. Even the ghost teacher, Professor Binns, kept rattling on about goblin rebellions as if nothing was going on. Some teachers realized that there wasn't a point to teaching, and simply let everyone play games or use class as a study hall. Flitwik had simply given up a week previously, assigned an easy essay, and turned them loose. Now, instead of class Aidy and Harry played Fireball Catch instead of practicing charms. She flicked the ball at him, and he caught it just in time for Ron to sit down.

"This is madness. At this rate, we'll be the only people without dates." Ron said hotly as Aidy caught the ball of pink flames and flicked it back at Harry as it turned from pink to yellow. "Well, us and Neville."

"Yeah, well, then again, he can take himself. Bloke's a good dancer." Harry said, chuckling as he flicked the ball back to Aidy.

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already go someone."

"Oh, now I'm really depressed." Ron groaned. He looked over at Hermione, who was scribbling in the final few words of her essay. "Hermione, you're a girl." Ron said. "And so is Adriana."

"Oh, well spotted. Did you have to read about that? Do you read at all?" Aidy replied testily. Ron ignored her.

"Well, it's okay for a bloke to go by himself, but for a girl, it's just sad." Aidy pressed her lips together, but it was Hermione that reacted.

"It might interest you know know that someone has already asked me." She stood up and turned in her essay to flitwick. She swooped back down to pick up her books.

"And I said yes." she hissed. A little miffed, Ron looked over at Aidy, who was running the Fireball over her fingertips.

"Hey, Aidy-"

"No, Ronald." She replied, and extinguished the ball between her fingertips to hurry behind out of the room Hermione, who had promised to show her dress to the Potions Mistress.

"Bloody hell. What do you think's gotten into them?" Harry snickered.

"I don't know. but whatever it is, Hermione might not speak to you for a few days."

~*~*~

The day that term ended, Aidy was mailing Hermione's measurements to Gemma. Aidy had had to actually resort to keeping the girl hostage in order to get the measurements, and she had very narrowly escaped Hermione's rath. But what was Aidy to do? The dress that Hermione had actually bought was a hideous shade of yellow green. She wasn't just going to let her best friend wear something that hideous to the ball. She was just finishing tying the letter up when-