Preparations Complete

"You're not suggesting killing Fawkes?" said Oleandra, appalled. It had saved their lives two years ago, and she couldn't stomach repaying its kindness by killing it for its ashes.

"Of course not!" Daphne said with a scowl. "I asked Harry, since he often visits the headmaster's office, and he told me he had actually seen Dumbledore's Phoenix burst into flames one time and be reborn as a chick. At that time, it left a big pile of ashes, so I'm thinking there might be some left."

"And you're planning to do this during the Ball?" said Oleandra doubtfully. "Aren't people going to ask questions if you aren't there?"

"You're thinking too much," said Daphne dismissively. "You're the champion. All eyes will be on you, not me. Besides, I have a plan for that too. Now come, we have places to be."

"But what about Tracey?" argued Oleandra. "I can't just disappear like this; I asked her to help me with my hair, and I've got to meet with Ron in five hours."

A quick visit to the bathroom later, and Tracey was up to date with all the goings-on, minus the heist that Daphne was planning. Tracey had great respect for Dumbledore's strength, so the twins didn't want to worry her for no reason. Or implicate her in their crimes!

As Oleandra wondered where Daphne was taking her, a thought suddenly struck. Had Daphne actually asked Astoria for her opinion regarding this whole affair? When prompted about this, Daphne simply smiled, saying nothing. The twins continued their voyage, which took them to the courtyard in front of the Entrance Hall. There, a small girl wearing Gryffindor robes awaited them.

"Who better to take my place at the Ball than our little sister?" said Daphne with a rare smile on her lips. "Of course I asked her, you dummy."

"Up to no good again, I suppose?" giggled Astoria. "You Slytherins, I swear…"

"Now, here's the plan…" said Daphne, and she began explaining what she had been up to during the week leading up to the Ball:

She had drawn an Age Line around the entirety of the Great Hall, where the Yule Ball would take place. (This part had taken up most of her free time.) Now, it was important to note that this was a reversed Age Line; it wouldn't keep people out, but in. Anyone above the age of seventeen would be trapped once they stepped inside the Great Hall!

"Insanity," said Oleandra, shaking her head.

"It didn't take as much effort as you'd think," said Daphne. "I ordered some creeping plants to grow in the shapes of the necessary runes before the snow fell around Tuesday. Self-hiding evidence!"

There was now a thick blanket of snow covering the castle and the surrounding grounds, though it wasn't cold enough yet for the lake to freeze over.

"That's not what I meant," said Oleandra weakly. "But do go on."

"This is where you come in," said Daphne. "I need you to fly up the faculty tower and plant this Devil's Snare seedling under the headmaster's office's balcony. Once the sun falls, it'll burst open and create a new plant."

Devil's Snares hated heat and light, and their prehensile tentacle-like roots could easily pull Daphne up the seven hundred feet or so from the ground to her destination. The perfect plant to grow in the winter!

Even so, there were plenty of people out on the grounds, enjoying the snow, having snowball fights and building snowmen. Hogwarts robes were black; not exactly good camouflage against all the white snow. Unfortunately, Oleandra couldn't fly straight to the tower from the courtyard: too many witnesses. She instead had to trek around the Great Hall through the deep snow, which got into her shoes. Ugh, and now her socks were wet.

Now, unless someone happened to look through a window right at this moment, nobody would be able to see her flying up alongside the Faculty Tower, which loomed over the Black Lake. Nobody was having snowball fights over here; there was nothing but dark waters behind her. Oleandra quickly planted the seedling under Dumbledore's balcony, before returning to the ground. There: a job well done.

Oleandra was glad to return to the relative warmth of the castle. It was about half past three; the sun would set in about another half hour. It was already getting rather dark, and her feet were ice cold. She shivered when she thought about the second task, which would take place in February in the Black Lake.

"I'll keep out of sight until it's time," said Daphne. "Keep in touch at all times when it begins," she added, pointing to her left ear.

That was where Oleandra had the runes for the Faraway Communication Spell drawn on her person, but there was just one, tiny problem. The runes would only appear if she chanted Banana Hanger, the password for the invisible ink to activate (or was it deactivate?) But if she did that, then her entire body would be covered in runes, which really wouldn't be appropriate for the Yule Ball…

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" said Daphne in annoyance when Oleandra pointed this out. "Just draw new runes in visible ink behind your earlobe or somewhere inconspicuous. Now, if there are no more stupid questions, don't you have the Ball to prepare for?"

Oleandra was all out of stupid questions, so back to the dormitory she went: there were only four hours left before the Yule Ball started! Once Oleandra was done washing up in the bathroom and drying her hair, she found that Tracey was still there, waiting patiently for her, wide-toothed comb in hand. And soon, the air was filled with small cries of pain as Tracey untangled the knots in Oleandra's hair.

"How would you like me to do your hair?" Tracey asked her once she was done. "I'm warning you now, I'm really not an expert at this, so keep your demands simple."

"Something sporty, I suppose?" Oleandra said uncertainly. "I forgot my dress robes at home, and the only other clothes I've got are my Basilisk-skin robes."

"Right," said Tracey, chewing her lip. "Ponytail it is— What are you looking at me like that for, I did tell you not to expect anything fancy!"

In the end, Oleandra ended up with a sort of ponytail shaped haphazardly like a pineapple's leaves à la Rokudo Mukuro, and she was still lucky not to have ended up with something worse than what she had started with.