A/N: Not really a big deal, but I just wanted to point out that the Yule Ball takes place on the 24th in the films (which I'll be following), but on the 25th in the books :)

It was the 24th of December, 1994. Christmas Eve had finally arrived, and while this day was usually for celebrating and spending time with family and friends for many, that day, it meant that the Yule Ball would take place in Hogwarts.

"What time do you suppose we should get ready?" Hermione asked anxiously from her place in the common room by the window.

"Why do girls take so long to get ready?" Ron asked Harry who merely shrugged, looking even more confused.

Analeigh looked over at the staircase where numerous girls had begun going up to get ready. She then looked at the large clock which read 3:00 in the afternoon and couldn't help but frown. The ball began at 7 in the evening.

"Um, how long do muggles usually take to get ready for events like this?" Analeigh asked, not wanting to sound ignorant. "I mean, with magic and all, it's different..."

Hermione didn't seem to take any offense. "My mum usually takes hours —"

"Hours?" Ron gasped.

"— and that's without all the magic. But we do have potions and spells here to use, so I have no idea why all the other girls are starting now."

It was unusual for Analeigh and Hermione to be worrying so much over this. In Analeigh's case, it was because her mother was the one who usually helped her get dressed and look presentable for events like the Yule Ball, so she did all the magic for her with a wave of her wand. As for Hermione, it was quite obvious that she was a girl who didn't dwell on physical appearances and focused more on one's personality — she always believed that there was so much more to a person than their looks. However, on a night as special as this, both Analeigh and Hermione knew that this was their opportunity to dress up and feel pretty.

"You know what? Maybe we should get dressed soon, too," Hermione said with a tone of finality, evident that she had made up her mind.

"You're right. It's the Yule Ball, after all. What other chance do we have to get dressed up like this?" Analeigh agreed, standing up from her chair.

"Are you serious?" said Ron, looking up at the two girls in disbelief. "I didn't think you girls were the type to take that long just to cake your face."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We're not going to cake our faces, Ronald."

"Since you clearly don't know, make-up is for enhancing a woman's beauty," Analeigh added.

"How?"

"You'll see."

★ ★ ★

By 6:15 in the evening, Analeigh and Hermione had finally finished getting ready. It was a good idea to start preparing at 3:00 pm because they spent majority of the time in their dorm just talking and laughing, even with their other dorm mates.

Analeigh was now sitting at the edge of her bed, slipping on her silver heels. Once they were on, she stood up and made her way in front of the full length mirror, looking at her reflection as she smoothed out the gorgeous blue dress that her mother sent her a while back. She was in awe; the colors ranged from the shades of the baby blue sky to the deep waters of the ocean, the scattered beads shone brightly with every tiny movement, and it fit her like a glove — just one of the many perks of magic and a mother who knew just exactly what her daughter liked and would look good in.

She patted down her dirty blonde hair, which was in an elegant low bun, just to make sure it didn't get messy from when it was first fixed. She saw the bathroom door swing open from the mirror where Hermione stepped out in her lilac gown. Analeigh's eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder to take a better look at her friend.

"You look amazing," Analeigh said without hesitation. She admired how sleek Hermione's hair was thanks to the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion she bought on their last trip to Hogsmeade, the natural make-up she had on which Analeigh put on using a charm taught by her mother, and how stunning Hermione was overall. She knew her friend was pretty, but seeing her like this, it was no doubt that she was beautiful.

"Thank you, Leigh," she smiled, abashed. "Speak for yourself. You look like a Disney princess."

"Disney?" Analeigh said confusedly, though she vaguely remembered Hermione mentioning it at one point. "Is that the name of those popular muggle stories?"

The bright witch nodded. "Yes. But I think I'm going to have to let you watch the movies — those are what Disney is really about. My personal favorite is Beauty and the Beast. Belle loves books and she's not afraid to —" She stopped when she saw Analeigh's puzzled face, who was trying to make sense of what Hermione was saying.

With a small smile, Hermione sighed. "Never mind. I'll explain another time."

The two girls eventually headed down to the Gryffindor common room where many of their housemates were gathered. Some were alone, either meeting up with their date down in the Great Hall or intentionally not going with a date, and others were already with their partners. It was abuzz with excitement, and once Analeigh made it down, she headed towards Neville and Ginny, the first two people she spotted together.

"Leigh!" Ginny exclaimed. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Ginny," Analeigh said. "You too, of course. And you look great, Neville."

Neville, whose date turned out to be Ginny, beamed at her compliment. "Thanks, Leigh."

"Whoa, look at Hermione. She's... gorgeous," Ginny suddenly said, looking over Leigh's shoulder. It wasn't only Ginny who had the same surprised and awed reaction; the moment Hermione stepped into the light of the common room, almost all eyes were on her, and the chatter seemed to quiet down as everyone stared at her.

"Merlin's beard, Hermione, you could practically steal some of the boys right here, right now," Analeigh chuckled.

"What do you mean?" she blushed.

"Everyone's staring at you," Ginny told her. "Look around you."

Hermione did as she said, and when she noticed how many people were watching her, she nervously rubbed her arm.

"Okay, all this attention is a bit nerve-wracking," she admitted. "Shall we go down now? We don't want to be late."

Analeigh, Ginny, and Neville all agreed, neither of them wanting to miss any moment of the Yule Ball. They walked out of the portrait, the couple first, followed by Hermione, and then Analeigh. Because Analeigh exited last, she was in for a surprise when instead of just seeing her Gryffindor friends standing outside, her own date was by the entrance to the Gryffindor tower, waiting for her.

"Er, we'll go ahead, if you don't mind," said Ginny, eyes flitting back and forth from Analeigh to Cedric. "Hermione, you're free to join us."

Hermione looked extremely relieved at her offer, nodding her head profusely. "Thank you. Nice seeing you here, Cedric. We'll see you guys later."

"You too, Granger. I'll see you all in the ball, yeah?"

When the three Gryffindors left, Analeigh took in Cedric's appearance. His usual tousled hairstyle was pushed back just a bit, but it looked as effortless as always. His dress robes fit him perfectly and seemed to have come from a designer brand. And, of course, he wore his usual grin as he greeted Analeigh.

"You're looking even more beautiful than ever, Analeigh."

She blushed profusely but tried to cover it up with a casual smile. "Thank you, Cedric. You don't look so bad yourself."

"Oh, this?" He motioned to his outfit. "I just threw it on for the night."

Analeigh rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm sure you did. But what are you doing here? I thought we agreed we'd meet up in front of the Great Hall."

"Surprise," he grinned. "What kind of man doesn't escort his own date to the ball?"

"Actually, majority of them," she replied just as a group of boys passed by them, rowdily playing with one another as if they were children.

"Well, good for me, then, because this makes my gesture much more special."

He offered his arm to Analeigh. She gladly took it, and with linked arms, they made their way down to the Great Hall.

"Are you excited?"

"Of course, I am. It's just, wearing a dress and heels are a bit uncomfortable. At this time of the year, I'd much rather be wearing an oversized sweater drinking hot cocoa in front of the fireplace."

Cedric chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I admit, it does sound like a really good idea right now. I'll make sure you'll still enjoy tonight, though."

Down in the corridor that lead to the Great Hall, all the champions and their dates were waiting with one another while the other students were ushered into the hall by the teachers. Analeigh could only see a glimpse of the venue, and she could already tell how magnificent it would be.

"Diggory, Heart." McGonagall approached them, looking slightly frazzled. "There you two are. Come, come, you are to enter first."

Analeigh and Cedric obeyed, following McGonagall to stand right in front of the doors, which were now closed, to the Great Hall. Fleur was next, followed by Viktor, then Briggite, Andrei, and finally Harry, all with their respective dates.

"Why do we have to be first?" Cedric said, his voice slightly higher than usual.

Analeigh glanced up at him, noticing his anxiousness for the first time. "Scared to dance?"

"No," he replied too quickly.

"Okay, okay," she said, the tone of her voice giving away the fact that she didn't believe him. "Just checking if you're prepared. I mean, we're going to be the first ones on that dance floor and I wouldn't want you to choke and trip or mess up..."

Cedric have her a look that said he was not amused. "Thanks, Analeigh. Good to know."

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. You're good at basically everything, so I didn't expect you to be nervous about ballroom dancing."

"Well, now you know."

"Champions, places!" McGonagall announced. With Cedric's arm still linked with Analeigh's, he subconsciously grabbed her hand. Analeigh didn't expect it at all, her face turning red at the contact.

"Sorry," Cedric cleared his throat, realizing what he'd done. He gently let go of her hand, linking their arms like they were previously. He put on his usual confident face, but on the inside, his heart was racing — whether it as because they were going to enter the ball first or because he held Analeigh's hand, he wasn't too sure.

Analeigh heard the music begin. McGonagall informed them to wait for the doors to open, and only then would they enter. She had to admit that she was becoming quite nervous, too. She desperately wanted the night to go well. Before she could dwell further on these thoughts, the grand doors swung open before them, revealing the Great Hall that had been transformed into something even more magnificent than it usually was.

The two Hogwarts champions walked in as instructed, both trying their best not to trip and to look as presentable as possible. They stopped at the edge of the dance floor, near their McGonagall and Dumbledore himself, who even gave the two encouraging smiles.

As the champions settled in, the music faded out. Cedric unlinked his arm from Analeigh's and placed one hand on her waist. Analeigh followed suit and rested one hand on his shoulder then took his free hand in hers. A faint smile spread across Cedric's face when she did this.

The music started to play again, and they began to dance. It was a little awkward, to say the least. Analeigh was decent in dancing, Cedric wasn't, and the fact that they learned this just recently for the sake of the ball was most probably evident in the way they moved stiffly. In addition to that, all eyes were on them since only they had to dance first. Thankfully, after about a minute or so, Dumbledore joined the dance floor with McGonagall. The other headmasters, judges, and teachers took this as their cue, walking to the center of the room to join. Analeigh kept an eye out for the students to muster up the courage to be the first non-adult to dance. She was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be Neville and Ginny, one of the youngest pairs in the room. Eventually, the dance floor was full of teachers and students alike, the vibe much less tense than earlier.

"I'm glad that's over," Cedric said in a low voice.

"I was actually kind of hoping you'd make a mistake," Analeigh teased.

"Ouch, Analeigh. Do you purposely want to embarrass me in front of the whole school?"

"Maybe," she grinned. "It's not everyday we see you mess up, and a champion's embarrassing moment in the Yule Ball is truly one for the books."

★ ★ ★

"Move your body like a hairy troll

Learning to rock and roll

Move around like a crazy elf

Dancing by himself!"

The Weird Sisters were, in fact, a weird band. They were composed of just wizards, not witches, all who had odd personalities but luckily, composed and sang really catchy and upbeat songs.

Analeigh and Cedric danced together with the other students from all three schools. They were enjoying this much more than the ballroom dance they were required to do as champions at the start of the ball. Analeigh was seeing a whole new side of not just Cedric, but her friends and other classmates as well. The sixth year prefect was dancing like crazy, which was honestly most of the reason why Analeigh was laughing so much on the dance floor. Hermione, who could be quite uptight at times, was letting loose, and so was Viktor Krum, who was always seen as a very stoic and formal person.

"Do you want take a break?" Cedric shouted over all the noise.

Analeigh nodded in relief. "Yes, please. My feet are killing me."

Cedric grabbed her hand and lead her out of the dance floor, weaving through the crowd and making sure not to get punched in the face due to the upbeat song that the Weird Sisters were performing at that moment.

"Take a seat, I'll get us some drinks, yeah?" Cedric said as they stopped in front of their table.

"Hey, Ced!"

A boy with jet black hair whose name Analeigh didn't know, and a redhead in a warm yellow dress, whom she remembered went by the last name Faye, made their way towards the two champions.

"Oh, hey Al, Faye."

"Getting drinks?"

"Yeah, care to join us?"

"We'd love to." Then, the boy faced Analeigh with a warm smile. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Alden Brown, Cedric's best friend."

"Analeigh Heart."

"Friend? More like my bully," Cedric corrected.

"Me? A bully? Never," Alden said, feigning shock, causing Analeigh to chuckle. "See? She thinks I'm funny."

"I never said that," Analeigh cut in. "Perhaps I was laughing at your horrible acting."

Cedric laughed and said, "That's just one of the many reasons I asked you to this ball. Come on, Al, let's go get those drinks."

"Now that they're gone," the redhead spoke up once the two boys were out of earshot. "I'm Bethany Faye. Nice to meet you."

"I know," she replied with a friendly smile. "I'm Analeigh. I've seen you in the common room a lot."

"That's good to hear. I honestly thought you wouldn't know me since you just came here last year," Bethany admitted, sitting down on the nearest chair. Analeigh followed suit, plopping down next to her.

"Well, you're partially correct — I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I'd get your name right, so I'm glad you introduced yourself," she said sheepishly. Bethany laughed, pushing back her fiery red hair.

"Don't worry, I get it. You're in your fourth year, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's really impressive that you're a champion with you being that young. I'm glad you're from Gryffindor."

"Thanks. Are you in Cedric and Alden's year?"

"Nope, I'm already a seventh year. I only went with Alden because we both didn't have dates," she said with a roll of her eyes. "We're family friends."

As if on cue, they both looked over at their dates who were casually chatting with some other school mates by the drinks table.

"On the other hand, my best friends managed to score some amazing dates."

"Really?" Analeigh questioned. Her friends weren't so fortunate; Harry and Ron asked Padma and Parvati Patil last minute (great girls, but the fact that they managed to procrastinate asking someone to the ball was unbelievable), and Dean and Seamus asked out some girls from Beauxbatons but were together most of the time, anyway. Only Neville and Hermione were lucky among her closest friends.

"Yeah," Bethany sighed. "You see that blonde girl over there? The one in the emerald dress?"

Analeigh searched the thinning crowd for a girl that fit Bethany's description. It was hard to miss her; her voluminous hair was curled effortlessly and her body-hugging emerald dress accentuated her great figure. Her arms were around a tall and muscular boy with jet black hair.

"She's really pretty. And her date is attractive," Analeigh admitted.

"That's Alista. The boy's from Durmstrang, and believe it or not, she was the one who asked him. Now, look... there." Analeigh followed Bethany's gaze. "Do you see the girl in the goldish, whitish kind of dress? That's Jessica."

This girl had dark hair styled in a low bun, was clad in a more free flowing gown, and she was dancing with George Weasley. They weren't as intimate-looking as Alista and her date.

"Jessica wanted to take her boyfriend, of course, but he already graduated last year. Luckily, she and George decided to go as friends," Bethany explained before sighing. "I wish I had the guts to ask that one boy from Beauxbatons to be my date..."

"Well, why didn't you?" Analeigh asked. Then again, if she was in her position, she probably wouldn't be brave enough to ask out the boy she had a crush on, either.

"He's just too perfect. Oh, well, I guess Alden is fine."

"You bet I'm fine."

Cedric and Alden were now walking towards them, having heard the latter part of their conversation.

"'Fine' as in okay," Bethany clarified, taking the drink from Alden. "Not 'fine' as in hot."

Cedric chuckled at Alden's annoyed expression and sympathetically patted his shoulder.

"Deal with it, Al," he said. "Someone had to say it at one point or another."

★ ★ ★

It was past midnight by the time Analeigh and Cedric had finished their last dance. In her opinion, it was the best one yet; it wasn't forced like at the start of the ball and it wasn't too fast like when the Weird Sisters performed their more upbeat songs. With the ball coming to an end, the band played a slower and more intimate song, allowing the couples to dance one more time. Analeigh even got to dance with Seamus and Dean. Some of her old schoolmates stole a dance from her as well, two boys named Philippe and Wyatt, and a girl named Camille, all of whom she introduced to Cedric. She was surprised that they made the effort to interact with her after not seeing her for quite some time, but it was a pleasant interaction.

The pair finally decided to leave the ball when the Great Hall looked practically empty. Cedric offered to walk her back to the Gryffindor Tower, and Analeigh happily agreed.

The walk back was comfortable. It was silent because they were both quite exhausted, but they still spoke to one another. On the way back, Cedric and Analeigh passed by the courtyards and walked down numerous hallways, taking note of and making fun of people who had snuck out to hide somewhere in the castle for some privacy.

"It doesn't get any more obvious than that," Cedric said, stifling a laugh.

Analeigh nodded, a hand covering her mouth as they crossed the courtyard so that she wouldn't be heard snickering. One of the carriages in the courtyard was occupied by a couple; whether it was a girl or boy, both girls, both guys, or... more, she wasn't even sure anymore. All she and Cedric could tell was that it was conspicuously shaking and rocking in place.

"If they wanted to do that, they could've chosen somewhere less public," Analeigh commented with a disgusted look in her face.

"Snape's patrolling the grounds at this time, I heard."

Analeigh's eyes widened. "Can you imagine him catching them and having to stop them?"

Cedric burst out laughing, tugging Analeigh's hand and pulling her along so they could get away from the sounds and sight of that occupied carriage. They quickly walked away from there, only slowing down when they turned the corner that led up to the first set of stairs on the way to the Gryffindor Tower. Thankfully, they changed the subject, speaking of more lighter and random topics that caused a lot of teasing and laughter.

When they had reached the corridor where they could see the portrait of the Fat Lady at the end, Analeigh was ready to sleep but was admittedly also quite disappointed that the night had come to an end already. It was a bittersweet feeling.

"I hoped you enjoyed tonight as much as I did, Analeigh," Cedric said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"I'm not sure... Maybe I should have taken Philippe from Beauxbatons. I mean, he was a good friend of mine back there," Analeigh teased.

Cedric huffed. "You last saw him in second year. We've been stuck together the past few months, especially with the tournament."

Analeigh chuckled at his face. "I'm kidding, come on. Didn't you see how close he was getting with Wyatt?"

Cedric's eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

They stopped walking halfway down the corridor to the portrait.

"Is this place private enough?" Cedric asked.

Analeigh narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Cedric shrugged and leaned down, placing a kiss on her cheek, dangerously close to her lips. Caught off guard, a warm blush spread across her face, and she was unable to hide it.

"It was an amazing night," Cedric said, straightening up. "Good night, Analeigh."

"Oh. Good night, Cedric."

He gave one last lingering look before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving Analeigh with a fluttering stomach and a rapidly beating heart.

A/N: If some of you are reading my Oliver Wood fanfic (Finder's Keeper), you might've noticed I included some of the characters there in here :> I decided to slip in a cameo bc why not HAHA the books aren't a part of the same universe, though!