Chapter 17

It was already December. Christmas was a couple of weeks away and all the students were excited.

"Sage!" called out a familiar accented voice. A smile spread across Sage's face before she turned around. William was strolling towards her, a big grin on his face. Sage's heart fluttered. The more she saw William, the more she fell for him. He made her feel special, and the past month had been a happy one for her. They were very close as friends, but Sage was starting to want more than friendship.

"Hey, William!" she called out. They were in a corridor that a few other students were hanging out in. William drew her to the side. Other girls looked on in jealousy, but William and Sage paid them no attention. He smiled down at her.

"So Sage," he started, "excited for Christmas?"

"Yes, of course!" she exclaimed. "Especially for the Yule Ball!" William grinned and bent down a little closer to Sage.

"Me too," he said, his eyes gleaming. Then he conjured up a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and held them out to her.

"Go with me?" he asked with a confidence that suggested he knew she would say yes. Sage gawked at the bouquet. Taking them, she looked up into William's green eyes. Just then, George walked into the corridor, on his way to go meet Fred. He stopped when he saw Sage with the bouquet in her hands. He hid behind a pillar; neither Sage nor William had seen him. He peeked his head out, watching and listening.

"YES!" Sage practically shouted. "I've been waiting for you to ask me this whole time! Took you long enough!" Se was grinning from ear to ear. George's heart stopped. Had she just been asked to the Yule Ball by that pathetic Durmstrang fool? George's heart sank. Why hadn't he thought to ask her sooner?

"Fantastic!" exclaimed William He hugged Sage, then picked her up and spun her around. Sage laughed happily. He put her down and Sage could barely contain her excitement. An extremely attractive Durmstrang boy had just asked her to the Yule Ball! Life could not get any better. But she was wrong. With the whole corridor watching, George included, William bent down and kissed Sage. The girls gasped. George gawked. Sage kissed him back with a passion that had built up over the past month. Neither of them cared that they were being watched by other students. They only cared about each other.

After pulling away from William, Sage smiled. The most perfect and good-looking boy she knew had just kissed her. William grinned; his face was a little pink. Sage took his hand and started walking. She wanted to spend more time with him, but not in a corridor full of gaping students.

Sage thought she saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye, but pushed the thought out of her mind before it had a chance to fully develop.

"So I take it you have feelings for me?" William asked her, a goofy grin on his face. "Because I definitely have feelings for you."
"Of course I do!" Sage exclaimed, laughing. They stopped walking when they reached the steps that led outside. No one was around. William turned to Sage.

"How much do you like me?" he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"A lot," Sage said, slightly blushing.

"Same here," William said, tilting Sage's chin upwards. "So, I've got another question for you."

Sage arched an eyebrow. William smiled.

"Is there any chance you'd like to be my girlfriend?"

Sage's breath caught in her throat. Was this really happening?

"I think you already know the answer to that," she said coyly. William laughed and snaked his arms around her waist. He gave her a short kiss and then offered her his arm. She took it, and they walked outside into the snowy December afternoon.

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Stacy was in the library studying for the last few weeks of term. She was stressing over her Potions work. Professor Snape didn't seem to care that Christmas was around the corner. he piled work on his students, causing much misery.

"Hi," someone said, plopping down onto the seat in front of her. Looking up, she saw that it was Dean Thomas.

"Hey Dean," Stacy said, wondering what he was doing in the library. Hardly anyone was studying; they were all way too worked up about the Yule Ball.

"Uh, well, I saw you studying here alone and decided to come talk," said Dean.

"...Alright," Stacy said. Dean sighed.

"Okay, I really came here to talk about the Yule Ball. I heard you still didn't have a date, so..." Dean trailed off, scratching his head sheepishly.

"You're wondering if I'd go with you," Stacy finished his sentence. Dean nodded. Stacy considered it. Dean was nice and since she couldn't go with Draco, she might as well go with a good friend.

"Sure," she said with a smile. Dean sighed in relief.

"Thanks! It'll be fun going with you," he said, grinning. Dean stood up and bent over the table to give Stacy a hug. He straightened up and said good-bye to her, walking out of the library to tell Seamus the good news. Stacy smiled, excited to have finally gotten a date. She wondered who Draco was going to bring, and hoped it was someone decent. As long as it isn't Pansy, she thought.