But the knot of worry and anxiety wasn’t as unbearable anymore. Their evening filled with silly dancing had lightened the mood somewhat and even the burden of the locket had lessened. They were both able to laugh and instead of seeking solitude, they often spent the evenings musing over the adventures during their first years at Hogwarts. The lighthearted ones. Like successfully smuggling a dragon into and then out of Hogwarts or secretly brewing polyjuice potion. Harry teased her about her hopeless crush on Gilderoy Lockheart and Hermione hid behind her hands as she remembered that she had gotten a blasted Outstanding in that ridiculous test of his. She teased Harry in return for his panicked expression as he had been forced to open the dance at the Yule Ball, which made him turn red from the tips of his ears to the collar of his pullover.