A/N - Apologies if this chapter is choppy I wrote this from like midnight to 3am lol :'D

"Hey, Jade. Heard that you have to open the Yule Ball. Know who you plan to ask yet?" Jade heard Adonis's voice from across the Common Room table. Jade had just finished her Transfiguration homework, and she went to the Common Room to take a rest to find Adonis already lounging in one of the chairs.

Jade moaned back. To her slight surprise, it was without hesitation. "Cait."

Adonis gave a soft laugh to himself. "Don't know why I asked." He then slouched deeper in his chair. "Wait, you said that so surely. Forgive me for being so blunt, but are you two... I don't know, dating?"

Jade flexed her right hand, tired from using it to write out all her homework. "No." She brought her hand to her chest, as though it ached a little to say it out loud.

"Mhm... then, do you think she will say yes?" Adonis asked. "I know you don't care about what people think, but... Gibbons seems like the nervous type. If she went with you, she'll be dancing with you in front of people like... Malfoy; the whole bloody school."

Jade wanted to slap herself when she realized what Adonis was trying to say. She knew she wanted to ask Cait, but she didn't really fully analyze what would happen if Cait miraculously agreed to go with her. Jade felt so stupid. She still wasn't completely sure if Cait liked Jade the same way she liked Cait.

Even if she did, could Jade really ask her to publicly show it, in front of not just the whole school, but also all of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons? Jade couldn't care less if people found out she liked girls, but she knew some people preferred to keep certain things not so public.

It wasn't even just that, but Inter-House relationships were also rare, especially when it involved Slytherin. Some people had seen her with Cait, Preethi, and Laverna, in the library, but taking someone to a ball as a date was different. What would all the other Slytherins and Hufflepuffs think of Cait coming to the ball with her? Even though she was one of the Triwizard Champions now, she wouldn't put it past people if they gave Cait a tough time.

She sighed. If Cait somehow did return Jade's feelings, but felt uncomfortable with the idea of going to the ball with her, Jade would understand. It was definitely a lot to ask when Jade thought about it more. She would just have to lay it all out when she asked.

"I don't expect her to say yes, but I plan to at least ask her." Jade merely replied. She then turned her head from the couch to look at Adonis. "Do you plan to ask Laverna?"

Adonis cracked another smile. "I'm seeing her tomorrow night again, so yeah." He then shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if she agrees to go with Weasley, though. They're in the same House, so he might have asked her already."

"Fred?" Jade guessed.

"George." Adonis corrected her. His smile turned into a smirk. "Fred will probably ask Johnson."

"Let's do this, then. If both Cait and Laverna say no, do you want to go together?" Jade suggested.

"Sure, we can be friendzoned buddies together." Adonis pumped a tired fist in the air.

"Cool. Good luck tomorrow." She hoisted herself up. "I just remembered I have to wake up early tomorrow morning."

"What are you up to?" Adonis called.

"I'm meeting my cousin. She's lending me one of her dress robes." Jade replied. She gave a brief wave before heading towards her room. "Night."

--

Jade patiently waited by Ravenclaw Tower the next morning, yawning once in a while. She wanted to eat breakfast, but she and Cho had forgotten to confirm an actual time.

When four Ravenclaw girls came out, she stopped them and asked if they could let Cho know that she was here. They seemed a little confused, but didn't seem to question it as one went back inside to get Cho.

The girl shortly came out and told Jade that Cho would be out to meet her soon before leaving with her friends. Jade thanked the girl and watched as they disappeared around the corner.

A few minutes later, Cho came out with two plastic bags. One of them was a long covering and had a hanger attached on top through a hole, and another was a smaller one that was tied with a knot.

"Good morning!" Cho greeted with a smile. She extended the one with the hanger. "So I looked through everything I brought, and I think this suits you the most."

"Thanks." Jade nodded as she took the hanger. She then gestured with her free hand. "What's in the little bag?"

"Oh!" Cho held up the smaller plastic bag. "I figured you might want a pair of shoes and some accessories too, so I just packed some up just in case."

Jade blinked in surprise as she took the smaller bag too. "Wow, I nearly forgot I needed shoes too. All I could think of was the dress robes. Thanks, Cho." Jade exhaled a breath of relief. She felt a little lucky that Cho was very on top of these things. That would be a little embarrassing if on the day of Yule Ball she had put on a dress to realize that she didn't have any formal shoes. Her roommates would have never let that go.

Cho brushed her hands off on her robes. "Well, I'm going to head out, but I'll see you at Yule Ball." She gave a wink.

"Sure," Jade said. She couldn't really wave with her hands full, so she just ended up nodding instead.

Cho shortly left, and Jade took a moment to see what kind of dress Cho had lent her. She peeked into the hole and raised her eyebrows, slightly intrigued.

It was a long-sleeved traditional looking Chinese dress.  It wasn't a traditional qipao, like a few of her formal Chinese dresses at home, but the concept was definitely similar.  Her mother would probably call the dress Cho lent her a cheongsam.  That wasn't what surprised Jade, though. The dress was jade green, with some jeweled jades adorning it with curvy patterns.  She had to admit that she didn't particularly like certain shiny dresses, but this was an exception.

Although they weren't super close compared to other families, Cho really knew her taste.

"Jade? What are you doing here?" She suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned around to see Preethi. For the early morning, Preethi looked very tidied up. Her black hair was tied into a neat braid, framing one side of her face.

"Oh, hi Preethi." Jade straightened out the plastic covering. "I stopped by to borrow a dress from my cousin for the Yule Ball."

Preethi's brown eyes lit up. "May I see?" Jade held out the plastic bag, and Preethi took a small peek through the hole. She gave a firm nod. "That will look beautiful on you."

"Thank you. Are you going?" Jade asked.

Preethi pursed her lips, giving a slight wince. "I'm not sure yet. Most likely not."

Jade frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, according to my calculations, there is a sixty percent chance that I will not have a good time." Preethi replied.

"Based on?"

"Have you seen those Muggle movies where there is a school dance, and everyone is dancing with their dates, and then there is that one person just standing to the side watching everyone else dance? That person would be me." She gave a small smile. "I think a part of me would feel more productive having a night to myself than watching couples dance for hours."

Jade resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but she did say, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Preethi. Anyone would be lucky to go to a dance with you."

Preethi chuckled softly, leaning against the stair railing. "Thanks, Jade. It's alright, though. My Housemates prefer to socialize with more... outgoing people. I've never really been the best with socializing."

Jade tilted her head. She could kind of see why Preethi would say that about herself. Preethi was a genius, to the point where it sometimes made any other intelligent Ravenclaw look a little inferior. Laverna was a genius too, but Laverna was definitely more extroverted while Preethi was more introverted. However, now that she and Preethi were closer this year, it seemed a shame that some others kind of took Preethi for granted.

She had definitely been surprised when Preethi had approached her the night she had submitted her name into the goblet. But now that Jade looked back, Preethi had always seemed to be the most comfortable around her and Laverna during Prefect meetings. She could understand why Laverna, but as for herself... maybe it went back to the feeling that Jade had some time ago that if she had been sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin, Preethi probably would have been her closest friend instead of Adonis.

Jade snapped back to reality when Preethi suddenly asked her. "Who are you going with? I hear that all the champions have to take a date."

"As of right now, no one, but I plan to ask Cait after Potions tomorrow." Jade explained.

Preethi clasped her hands together, a dreamy look coming over her face. "That's wonderful. Based off of what I've seen, it is very likely Cait will agree to accompany you." She smiled encouragingly.

"I hope so." Jade gave a nervous laugh. She then put a hand on her waist, rustling the smaller plastic bag. "Well, since I have to go, I don't see why you should miss out." She smirked, raising her eyebrows a few times as a hint.

"Jade -" Preethi started.

"I won't force you to come. But if you do, I promise I will come hang out with you for some time after I open the ball. If Cait and Laverna are going, which they most likely are, knowing them, I'm sure they would like to join us too." Jade suggested.

Preethi casted her eyes downward in thought for a few moments before meeting Jade's gaze again, a small smile on her face. "You've convinced me. I'll be there to see you open the ball. Maybe it's good for me to let loose a little, and then I can always leave early if I change my mind."

Jade lifted her arms up in triumph. "Sounds like a plan! It's Adonis's birthday too. I don't know what his plans are yet, but I will probably celebrate with him some time during the ball."

Preethi gave a nod of understanding. "Don't worry about it. He is welcome to join us if he wishes, but I don't intend to get in the way of his birthday celebration if he has other plans." She then walked towards the eagle knocker. "Well, I'm going to head back inside, but best of wishes with Cait."

Jade gave a last firm nod before saying farewell. She carefully made her way down the staircase, intending to head back to her dormitory to drop off the Yule Ball stuff before heading to breakfast. On her way down, she heard the eagle knocker begin to ask its riddle, and as Jade had guessed, Preethi had answered correctly before the eagle knocker had finished the question.