AN: this was betead by Philosophize check his stories they are awesome.
Again sorry for long wait. As I said last time, life was hard in the last few months taking its toll not only on my psyche but also on my writing. But hopefully another chapter will be here soon, as I am currently finishing chapter 12. Hopefully you will find this chapter funny, as it was pain to write. This chapter is dedicated to Daniela who attended ball with me few years back and...well served as an inspiration for one of Sam's past experiences, hopefully she will forgive me one day. Also dedicated to all of my dance partners who had the misfortune to dance with me.
Disclaimer: Not mine I am just playing in others people sandboxes.
Chapter Ten
Sam went on her mental meep moment and stumbled out of the Transfiguration classroom more than less on autopilot. There was a very good reason for her panic.
Sam was a woman of many talents, but dancing was not one of them. Sam vividly remembered her first dancing lessons in high school. The dance instructor was a gentle, small man who looked like penguin because he probably even slept in his tuxedo. He called her anti-talent for her total lack of any ability to dance. She later tried to attend a dancing lesson for beginners while at University and she was practically thrown out after the dance instructors proclaimed her to be a walking disaster with two left feet.
The last ball she attended, her date ended up with a pair of sore feet, a pair of Jimmy Choos crumpled beyond saving, and only shred of her dignity left once Sam stepped on back of her dress, tearing a large strip from most of its back and giving all the guests a nice view of her date's thong underwear.
Suffice to say, that relationship ended with that date.
Sam was so deep in her private world that she didn't notice the five Slytherins who had stepped in her way in an empty corridor. With Draco Malfoy in the lead, they included Bole, Derrick, Crabbe, and Goyle, with the latter two armed with beaters bats.
"Hey Scarhead…" started Draco
She was so focused on her worries about dancing that she simply walked on, not even noticing them, when Crabble took a swing at her. She then reacted automatically and would later swear that she had a no recollection of what had happened.
First she ducked, letting Crabbe spin and hit Bole. She grabbed Derrick's arm, did a spin, and threw him over her shoulder right into a surprised Draco. She then kicked Goyle into the stones, her left elbow found Crabbe's face, and she completed her spin when her other elbow found Bole's face. Derrick caught her from behind, so she pushed backwards hard enough to ram him into the wall and her elbow found his solar plexus. She didn't stop with that because Crabbe got a fist to his face and Draco, who in the meantime had gotten up, caught a spin kick to his face. Sam finished the spin by sweeping the legs from under Goyle who crashed to the ground and Sam finished with a hard jab to Bole's guts. She spun and grabbed the woozy Derrick and again flipped him over her shoulder right into Goyle, then grabbed Draco, who had somehow managed to get into upright position, head butting him hard for a good measure.
This all happened in a span of twenty seconds tops.
Sam blinked and looked at the five downed Slytherins who were moaning in pain and she was quite sure that there were quite a few broken bones. She could see a piece of snapped wood sticking out from under Draco.
She looked around blinking and thought, "Shit! I just trashed five people and I have no recollection of it doing it. Can this be called sleepwalking? Better not stick around here." Sam quickly cast five obliviates, internally praying she got the spell right and would be able to erase the fools' memories. She trained by using the spell on dummies, but never on a live target. Well, truth to be told, if she erased more than she intended, she wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
She again looked around and, not seeing anyone else, she quickly walked away.
She walked to the Great Hall after a stop at the bathroom to wash her slightly bloodied and bruised knuckles and plopped next to Hermione, who looked at her inquisitively and asked, "What did McGonagall want?"
"Told me I have to have date on the Yule ball for the opening dance."
"Okay, so you have to find the date," said Hermione slowly in thought.
"The date is not the problem," Sam said. "The problem is that they want me to dance."
"Okay, so I presume I will have to teach you," said Hermione nonchalantly.
Sam briefly considered if she should warm her friend about her inability to dance in grisly details, but decided against it, simply mumbling, "Your funeral," as she started to load her plate with piece of fried fish.
"Hope you know good cushioning charms, and don't dwell on your shoes," she added in off-handed manner.
Hermione blinked and said, "That bad?"
"Even worse, I reckon," Sam responded after thinking for a second. "During the summer I went out for a bit of clubbing, and the nicest description of my dancing skills was, and I quote: Did you see that girl that dances like an electrocuted sack of potatoes? Or Did you see that girl who is like marionette caught in the wind?"
Well truth to be told this happened in her old life some twenty years ago when Sam last went into dance club, and that was indeed the mildest comments, although she was tad bit drunk back then. But the point of the story seemed to be still valid.
She watched as a student ran towards madam Pomfrey and then disappeared with Snape in tow.
"Well, hope this works or I have no idea how I am going to talk my way out of this." she internally thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted, by a young man from Durmstrang coming to her, looking very nervous.
"Yes?" Sam looked at him.
He fidgeted and spoke in very bad English. "Miss, Pouter, vould you make me ummm…" He trailed off trying to find the words when Sam spoke.
Sam looked at him and promptly asked in Russian if he spoke Russian. He seemed surprised and relieved at the same time.
"Oh..ty gavaris pa rusky?" he asked trying to reassure himself.
"Da," she answered.
He then proceeded to ask her very theatrically to accompany him to the ball.
Sam disappointed him by saying No.
He nodded and turned on his heel and walked away.
Hermione turned to Sam and dryly said, "Ri I can say I see why you don't think you will have trouble with getting a date for ball. But you surprise me, I didn't know you speak Russian."
"Yeah, you never asked."
"Okay, true, how many languages do you speak?"
"English obviously, a little German, passable French, and my Russian is also passable I think."
"Impressive," Hermione said.
Sam nodded and finished her meal in relative silence. What Sam didn't say was that she spoke her parents' native Czech fluently and as a someone who grew up in Chicago she understood Polish. She also cursed in ten other languages, including Korean and Hebrew.
The rest of the day went by and Sam was surprised that no one came screeching on her. As it turned out by dinner the story was that some group of students had beaten up half of the slytherin Quidditch team, as both Derrick Bole and Draco were on it and Goyle and Crabbe were future beaters.
Some people loudly wondered which of Draco's wands had been broken exactly, and who was the likely perpetrator of the act. Sam was lucky that her memory charm was not noticed and the memory loss was attributed to overall blunt trauma.
The theories varied from crazy, like a troll had once again found way to Hogwarts, to more probable, that some of the quidditch players from Durmstrang took offence that Draco called himself seeker and seemed to voice their displeasure, and some claimed that of the Hogwarts teams did the deed to even the score for the many fouls the Slytherin team had committed in recent years.
The evening was finished to amusement of the rest of Sam's friends and to Hermione's chagrin with a dance lesson.
Hermione was soon regretting her offer as Sam was kneeling before her, massaging her sore feet with an apologetic look on her face.
"You weren't kidding about not having an ounce of talent for dancing," said Hermione in a pain filled voice.
Sam nodded. "In my defence I did warn you."
Hermione sighed. "You did, fair enough."
Angelina came little later and asked, "Hermione, did you use cushioning charms?"
"Yeah, fat load of good it did to me," Hermione grumbled.
"Did I say I'm sorry?" Asked Sam.
"Yeah, multiple times."
"Sorry."
Hermione wave her hand. "S'okay. I brought this on myself."
"Then we…" One twin started.
"can see only one alternative…" the second followed
"for our dashing black-haired…"
"heroine to be made into…"
a decent dancer," they finished together.
"And what pray tell would that be?" asked Sam. She never bothered to address the twins by their name without use of the map, so she just referred to them as to Twin A or Twin 1.
To the great consternation of the twins, there was only one person in the group who could say immediately who was who, and that was Luna.
"Charmed dancing boots," said twins together.
"That could work," agreed Angelina while Alicia nodded.
"Something like that exists?" asked Sam.
"Yes," supplied Katie, "my mum had ones for dad, and he is nearly bad as you."
"How do they work?" asked Hermione curiously.
"It is special enchanted, rune-covered inner sole you place in your shoes. Then on the dancing floor it is triggered by the music and leads your steps."
Sam nodded, it was her only hope.
"By the way, have you heard about Ron?" asked Ginny.
"No, and I'm not sure I care," replied Sam.
"Oh, you should he is planning on asking out the French veela champion," replied Ginny smugly.
Sam blinked. "Oh crud, I have to see this, I can never say no to a good firework show."
"You do realize that he will probably ask you then."
"He definitely can try and he can try to live on the moon, too," Sam replied flatly.
"Just one little request: maim him all you like, just don't kill him, he is still our brother," Ginny said as she gestured to twins and herself. "And mum would yell at us because he got killed. I don't like being yelled at. Those clowns," she waved her hand towards the twins, "are used to it, but I am not"
"Oi, we are not clowns, we are misunderstood geniuses," protested the twins in unison, but they were waved off by Ginny.
"Okay, no promises, but I will try."
The next two days went by quietly. Sam in mean time was thinking about the dress she should have. She was thinking about mail ordering a tuxedo with tails in female cut fitted to her. She was not sure if she wanted bowtie or tie, but she had a few catalogues in her dorm.
During the lunch, Ron indeed tried to ambush Fleur just outside the Great Hall.
His attempt looked like he jumped from behind pillar screaming, "YOU, BALL, ME," and fled.
Poor Fleur was so stupefied by the appearance that she didn't react at first and simply stared into the empty space, which was mere seconds before occupied by Ron, before she managed to phrase her thoughts.
"Waz was zat?"
Sam, who saw the whole altercation, felt the need to clarify, and to surprise of the French contingent did so in fluent French. "Just a local simpleton, don't mind him."
They looked at her and she nodded to them as she left for the Great Hall.
The next day Ron was boasting that he had asked the Veela chic out, but she had yet to answer him.
Sam was just eating her breakfast, when the red haired mo-Ron, came to her.
"Hey Hars, you heard I asked a Veela out, I reckon she will say yes, but I sups that I ought to give ya chance to go with me," he said.
Sam didn't even bothered to look up. "Not even if you were last man on earth."
"Oh come on Hars, otherwise you make a fool of yerself by going alone."
"Alone?" Sam scoffed. She already had about ten proposals; granted all were males, but one cute girl from the French contingent had been was taking long looks at Sam.
He opened his mouth again, "Fine. In the spirit of an international cooperation..." Sam thought to herself, as she stood up and walked around him so she could approach the redheaded French girl. After giving her a formal bow, Sam asked her if she would do her the great privilege allowing her to escort her to the ball.
Michelle Lebeau was surprised when the famous Girl Who Lived asked her out - and in French, too! She was not one of the prettiest girls and she was definitely not extremely popular due to her stuttering or the fact that she liked girls too.
So it came as flash of lightning from the clear sky when the younger girl came over, radiating confidence, and asked her out in the open. Nevertheless puckering her courage, she nodded her acceptance, blushing like a tomato.
The champion smiled widely at her. "Great," she continued in French. "As you know, I am Harriet Potter, nothing more nothing less. Friends call me Ri." She smiled and offered her hand.
"Michelle Lebeau," Michelle introduced herself softly.
"Beautiful name, for a fair maiden," Sam said, before she added, "It is nice to meet you, Michelle, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have a class which starts in ten minutes I will send you note by my owl and we can meet later." Sam then gave her quick kiss on her hand and sauntered away, leaving a blushing Michelle and a great number of people with jaws hanging open.
She returned to her seat and dug into her meal with a gusto.
Ron, who was still standing on his place, nearly screamed. "Wot was that supposed to mean."
"I asked a girl out and now I have date. Be gone, Ronald, or I will make you gone."
He folded his arms under his chest and his face was as red as his hair. It seemed like everybody was waiting on his explosion and to see how Sam will react.
"Oh for crying out loud, why do I even bother," muttered Sam just before she stuck two fingers in her mouth and gave a sharp whistle. Jerry-Lee appeared mere seconds later.
Sam simply snapped her fingers and pointed at Ron. Jerry-Lee bristled and gave a menacing growl as he advanced on Ron again.
Ronald may have learned something from previous experiences because he quickly broke into run like a bat out of hell. They did few laps around Gryffindor table before they ran out of the Great Hall. Jerry was dutifully chasing Ron until the pursuit ended when Ron somehow managed to climb up on a statue on the first floor. Jerry-Lee sat at the base with an expression that said he was willing to wait. Unfortunately for Ronald, the statue which he took for a refuge because it was too high for Jerry to reach him was in a seldom used corridor. Ron was freezing up there, due to the lack of pants he now sported thanks to that blasted ghost dog that was guarding him. Ron wasn't particularly bothered by the fact he was missing afternoon classes, but he was hungry and cried for help multiple times - he'd only gotten two lunch helpings which weren't nearly enough, and it was time for a snack, which he would normally have made form his sixth helping. Jerry, though, was sitting patiently at the base of the statute, watching him like a eagle and radiating malicious smugness.
Ron felt like crying, thinking about how dinner would end in five minutes. Jerry was under his statue, growling menacingly every time he tried to move and snapping his jaws every time he tried to jump up and reach him. Worst of all, the twins had refused to tell him where the kitchens were and no elf wanted to tell him to the point that they avoided him.
The moment dinner ended, Jerry left self-satisfied with a job well done.
Later the day, Sam met with Michelle and they talked. Michelle was bit disappointed when Sam said she was not planning on dating her right now, but she understood the reason why. Sam had a feeling that Michelle was very shy, but a nice girl and it would take some time to break her out of her shell.
Sam therefore decided to coach the older girl on how to be more assertive and how to feel more self-confidence. As they talked, Sam learned the crux of this rested in Michelle's older brother.
As it turned out, Michelle felt a bit overshadowed by her older brother who was making his way as a potion maker, to the joy of her parents who were international wizarding lawyers. While not as good as her brother, Michelle had considerable skills in potion making herself. So in the end Sam talked Michelle into tutoring the group in potion making, explaining the basics rules, why certain things reacted in particular ways, why counter clockwise stirring had different effects from clockwise, and other things that Snape never bothered to explain, but were vital for understanding for making good potions.
Michelle was also warned about Sam's dancing "skills."
The whole group was awarded with amusing scene that evening. When Jerry-Lee arrived, everyone could see Ronald's pants in his jaws. Since he was not present at any of the day's classes, they correctly surmised that Jerry had chased him somewhere remote and then kept him there until after dinner. Sam took one look at Jerry, called him a "good boy", and then she called Dobby to bring her a fresh toothbrush, a glass of water and toothpaste. Once she got everything, she ordered Jerry to sit, and to amusement of all started to brush his teeth while muttering things under her breath.
"Gods only know where these things were, what possessed you to think it is good idea to grab and carry them with your teeth? Hold still you idiot, totally your fault and be glad we don't have to go to the vet to get you tetanus and rabies shots, you sure should get them from it. I said hold still and open wide!"
Hermione couldn't help herself and asked, "You do realize he is ghostly and so shouldn't be able to catch anything, right?"
Sam answered without stopping or paying any attention to the dog's whining. "Don't you dare turn intangible! You were saying... Oh yeah? So? I have no idea when that mo-Ron bathed last time or when he had his clothes washed. This lug sleeps around my legs I won't take any unnecessary risks."
"I think I heard Dean was shocked that Ron showered yesterday," piped up Ginny helpfully.
"My point exactly. See, all done," Sam said contently as she finished brushing Jerry's teeth. It had only taken five minutes, but it was one of the more unpleasant tasks she'd had to perform for quite some time.
Jerry started to sputter and spit as he tried to get the taste of toothpaste out of his mouth and then glared at Hedwig who was sitting on the windowsill, making sounds that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Next evening brought another surprise.
Sam had planned on spending a quiet evening with a book on how to stay under water, when to Sam's surprise Hermione came rushing to Sam's bed in their dorm bouncing in excitement. She explained that The Victor Krum asked her to the ball, but that they intended to keep it a secret to surprise everyone. Nevertheless, she had to tell her best friend.
There was one thing that was bothering Sam quite a bit. At first, Sam was a bit bothered by the negative reactions to her asking another girl to the ball. A number of students regarded it as nothing more than an extreme way to refuse Ron's advances, and most expected that she would ask someone else later. That was the majority opinion, but quite few students acted disgusted with her choice - most of whom were purebloods. Some of the girls even acted as if she had a plague or something similar.
But Sam was made of stern stuff and didn't let the opinions of others get her down. What's more, Sam was never one to leave things without retaliation. The final straw that started her campaign of revenge occurred the next day at dinner when Draco came sauntering to the Gryffindor table, clearly preparing to cause a scene. Sam eyed him with mild interest, surprised that the Slytherin fool had been able to hold in his bluster for more than 48 hours after she asked Michelle out. He must have been practically bursting.
"Oi, scarhead, finally showing your colours and no class. I always knew you were dirty blooded, but you're not even a really girl - you're just a half-blooded dirty dyke," he said with a laugh, and his cohorts dutifully laughed after him.
Sam looked at him one of her eyebrows rising as an idea formed in her head and she said in her best airhead, bimbo persona's voice that she could muster.
"Moi, Drakey? But I thought you would be happy with me coming out. I thought that, if I came out of the closet so openly, then you could do so as well without the peer pressure. Now you're acting like you're jealous that I asked out a girl who is way prettier than Pansy and she agreed." Michelle blushed at the praise.
"What?" Draco exclaimed, unsure how to react. And Sam plowed on with an evil grin inside of her mind while maintaining the most innocently confused face on the outside.
"I mean, you want to tell me you're not gay?"
"What!?" Draco now shrieked. "What are babbling about I AM NOT GAY!"
"Really?" continued Sam innocently. "I mean, you obviously spend more time doing your hair than most girls and I can plainly see that you are wearing more makeup than me. You even have two strapping lads always following you, like they are your special buttdies." She blinked at him confusedly. Crabbe and Goyle tried to subtly shuffle away from behind Draco. Unfortunately subtlety wasn't in their vocabulary and their movement was painfully obvious. Murmurs started to be heard across the great hall.
"I AM NOT A POOFTER!" screamed Draco on top of his lungs. Sam just clucked her tongue disapprovingly and shook her head.
"Oh, Drakey, I am sorry for you. It seems that you are not ready to leave the closet. That's alright, you'll be ready one day, of that I am sure. Eventually you will find a courage to come out. It just proves why you are not Gryffindor material, I suppose."
Draco did an impressive impersonation of a red-faced fish as he looked around helplessly, but no one came to his rescue. Instead, everybody seemed to just stare and started to whisper. The murmurs grew in volume and his protests just fueled it all. With a last, desperate "I AM NOT GAY!" he fled the great hall, not that it helped his reputation of being straight.
Sam looked at the two shaved gorillas, who seemed rather indecisive, before she shooed at them. "Go, you two. Your lover needs you. Go calm him down." They fled, too, albeit in an even more undignified manner than Draco had. The murmurs and rumours flooded the school about Draco being outed by his arch nemesis. It seemed that boys started to avoid the Slytherin trio and quite few refused to stand with their back turned to them.
Hogwarts rumour mill seemed to forget that Sam asked girl out as it was now completely engrossed in the new topic of the question about Draco's sexuality.
Sam had a beef with a quite a lot of people for their behaviour towards her, and as they said, revenge is a dish best served cold. Hogwarts seemed to be a victim of a new prankster whose pranks the teachers were unable to pin on the Weasley twins because it was completely outside their usual style.
One time the furniture in the Badgers' common room was rearranged - the places remained the same but everything was stuck on the ceiling upside down. It was a pure coincidence that most of the Badgers had called Sam names and were wearing those pins.
A few days later after that, all furniture in the Raven's nest was found to have been turned five degrees clockwise and shifted two inches to the left. This caused rampant paranoia in the Raven's nest as things seemed to be same but at the same time they weren't.
Then there were a bunch of delayed sticking charms on the floor in front of the Snakes' common room where someone had released harmless snakes that looked like poisonous species.
Ron regularly woke up with a hand in water bowl or low desk over his bed.
This was how life continued and they nearly didn't notice how October turned into November then into December. One early December morning Sam was reading her morning Times when a story caught her attention. The headline screamed:
The Terrifying Case of the Dursley Family
Under it was picture of all three Dursleys, handcuffed and being led into a courtroom. Dudley's face was blurred due to his age.
"One of the most terrifying case I've ever had," says DCI Jackson Japp, lead investigator of this case. The case of the Dursleys goes today to the courts for sentencing and police are releasing their first statements about it. Members of Dursley family were on the first look an average, happy family living in nice suburban neighbourhood in Surrey, but under the facade of normalcy lurked a dark secret. Today they will learn their respective sentences for the crimes they were earlier found guilty of. Their sentencing was being postponed as both prosecution and defence were waiting for results of a psychiatric examination of the Dursleys family. But it is believed that the adult Dursleys will spend next decades in prison at minimum.
DCI Jackson Japp stated that this case began when a plain package was delivered to Scotland Yard. In the package was an account book belonging to one Vernon Dursley where he had meticulously recorded every penny spent as well as all of his checks and bills. Do not be fooled by the innocence of this as it also included had a extensive records of the fraud he committed against the Grunnings Company where he was slowly siphoning off large amounts money, In addition, Mr Dursley was paying off several individuals, most prominently several of his old schoolmates from Smeltings Academy and Superintendent Philip Smith of the local constabulary, who is facing his own trial. Several bank officials were also involved, and they worked to cover up the fraud. Further investigation revealed the nature of the reason behind the bribes: Superintendent Smith was covering up for his old schoolmates from being discovered as a culprit in a hit and run two years ago where young girl was killed, as well as numerous cases of Petunia Dursley shoplifting in local shops. These investigations led police officers to the doorstep of the Dursley family only to discover other even more terrifying part of this case: the fate of young Harriet Potter.
Under it Sam stared at her own "current" sketched face.
The maternal niece of Petunia Dursley, Harriet Potter's parents died in tragic event thirteen years ago and she was entrusted to her aunt's care. The records show of no medical treatment ever given to the child except for one visit to optometrists. From school records it would seem as if the girl were instigator of many conflicts, but further investigation revealed that the Headmaster of the Primary school of the little Whinging was another old schoolmate of Vernon Dursley.
After interrogation of several ex- teachers, all of whom were fired in disgrace from the school because they tried to go against Headmaster's wishes, and several of Harriet's former schoolmates, it became clear that the girl wasn't criminally inclined hooligan, as she was portrayed, but rather a victim of systematic abuse from her relatives. This was demonstrated quite vividly by the bloodstains discovered in a cupboard under stairs in the house where the family resided. It is unclear what was happening with the girl after she left the primary school - she allegedly attended Saint Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Children, but this institution doesn't even exist. Young Harriet was only seen a few times during last three summers when she was supposed to be away on holidays.
This summer it became clear that the young girl somehow gained upper hand over her tormentors. According to investigators, evidence they gathered points to young Harriet having acquired a gun. They cite a bullet hole in the kitchen wall and traces of a gunpowder in her room and say that it was probably a weapon manufactured during World War II. It is unclear what happened to Harriet because there were no traces of young Harriet or said weapon in the house. The investigators are afraid that her relatives killed her for her attempt of standing up to them. The investigators are speculating that young Harriet found an old weapon and with it tried to win her freedom, but as it happens with old weapons it jammed and young Harriet was then killed by relatives.
According to one source who witnessed the interrogation of the Dursleys, they all stated that young Harriet was a freak like her parents and they had every right to beat the freakishness out of her. When investigators asked where Harriet is now, they got a disturbing answer from the family. They said that she went into the fire. Investigators are afraid that after having killed young Harriet, the Dursleys burned her body. There were no sign of human remains among the ashes in the house of horrors, but police think it unlikely that Harriet Potter is still alive. There were no photos of the young Harriet, so police had to have a sketch created, if you have seen this girl recently please contact following number….
Sam was stunned. Not in her wildest dreams had she ever expected that her little tip to the Yard would reap this result. The Dursley family was no more! The article went on that the son of the Dursleys was found in possession of smaller quantities of steroids and later he was connected to juvenile gang that was responsible of numerous cases of vandalism as well as the mugging of a 90-year-old man who didn't survive the encounter. He was sent to the specialised centre for disturbed children where he was being kept in protective custody.
Sam decided to keep a mum about this news because Dumbledore seemed oblivious to it and she didn't want him to overhear. She had a status of an adult in wizarding world and in the muggle world, thanks to Boris, she had a good set of papers that proclaimed her that she was emancipated 16-year-old Samantha Mecner.
"The ball is coming close." Sam thought later as she walked down the corridor for lunch. Luckily for her, she had already tested the charmed dancing soles and with them she was semi decent dancer who wouldn't completely embarrass herself.
Hogwarts had somehow absorbed that she asked a girl out and as a consequence, quite few girls started looking at her apprehensively, as if they expected that she would jump on them. Boys were looking at her, too, and she could see how they were imagining her with another girl, bloody perverts. Some teachers were looking disapprovingly at her, almost as if she'd broken a rule and they wished they could punish her.
She only cared about the opinions of few people, though, and all of them took it in stride and were supportive. Well, the twins had to be slapped by their respective girlfriends to stop imagining them with another girl, and others like Ginny and Susan were bit weirded by the concept, but they took it fine in the end.
When Sam saw Neville Longbottom, she realized that the boy hadn't spoken with her ever since that lesson on the unforgivables. Instead, he was trying to stick with the guys from his dorm and avoiding her, but on the other hand he wasn't wearing the badge or belittling her otherwise. Now there was the fact he asked Luna to the ball yesterday. "In a penny for a pound." Sam thought.
"Neville a word, please." The voice of Harriet Potter surprised Neville as he was just about to go for the great hall for the lunch when a strong hand caught his shoulder and dragged him to a corner. He didn't like the look Harriet gave him at all, she was mighty dangerous when she wanted even without using single piece of magic. She was always nice and easy-going to most of the people, but when pissed or placed somewhere dangerous... he shuddered what almost happened to Draco on that duel or how that poor Horntail ended. And now she was looking at him coldly and calculatingly.
He began to sweat… a lot.
"Neville, do you know why we are here?" she slowly drawled.
"N-N-no." he stuttered.
"A little birdie told me," she said in a tone of that faux cheerfulness that really scared him, "that you asked Luna to be your date to the Yule ball." She let that hang for him to confirm or deny.
Despite seeing his life before his eyes, Neville answered, "Y-Y-yes that is t-true."
"Hmm interesting so he has at least some spine, good," Sam thought and continued.
"Now, Luna is like a little sister I never had, so hear this. If she returns from that ball harmed in any way, shape, or form…" she husked into Neville's ear, "Then I will find you, wherever you hide I will find you and then… then your death won't be quick or painless. On the contrary, it will involve a lot of blunt tools... and let's face it; an open casket funeral really won't be likely for you. That's assuming, of course, that your remains are by some strange coincidence, actually found. I hope we have an understanding, now do we?"
"I understand," he forced out without a stutter, and Sam was actually impressed.
"Now do you? Hmm we will see… Good." Neville noticed that suddenly the cold bitch from ninth circle of hell disappeared and was replaced by the cheerful easy-going Harriet he knew.
"Cool, then enjoy the ball Nev," she said with a smile. As she started to leave, she turned to him and added, "Oh and for god's sakes call me Ri will ya?" With that Sam turned on her heel and walked away.
Hermione joined her and asked, "What was that all about? Neville seemed bit pale."
Sam just shrugged. "Just found that he asked Luna to the ball"
"So you just threatened him with a horrible and slow death?"
"Ehh… More or less, I wanted to make sure that he knows what will happen, if Luna is harmed in any way, shape, or form, and vague disclaimers are no one's friend, you know."
"Did you threaten Victor too?"
"No…"
"You are horrible liar, you know that?"
No really Mia I didn't…" Sam weakly protested.
"Ri…" said Hermione with a mild glare. "Then pray to tell me why he suddenly developed habit of looking over his shoulder as if awaiting a hellhound jumping out of nowhere and dragging him into hell whenever he speaks with me."
"Dunno. I have nothing to do with that."
"RI!"
"Fine might have a little talk with him, and there might have been some mentions of a blunt hatchet and a shallow grave. Happy?"
"Yes," Hermione huffed as she shook her head.
"Do you have clothes for the ball yet?"
"Yep, they arrived yesterday."
"Great. I take it you will wear your horntail boots."
"Of course."
They chatted idly as they sat at the table and started loading their plates. Ron was still a nuisance as it turned no one wanted to go with him.
Last week, he tried to ambush Fleur again with yelled "QUESTION, YOU, BALL, ME, GO, ANSWER".
This time he stuck around long enough for her to answer, which was a fireball hurled at his face.
When he again tried to ask Sam, Hedwig, who had just flew for her morning bacon, showed that she had an uncanny aim with her droppings as she got it Ron right in his mouth. So now he was pestering Hermione who, apart from Sam, had told no one of her date.
Just as they were finished with their lunch and were leaving the great hall, a nervous looking Susan Bones made her way towards them.
As it turned out Susan had a tip for her because she heard Cedric talking about taking an egg to the prefects' bathroom. While not exactly useful as Sam had solved the egg already, she did leave with an interesting piece of information that there was a plant that allowed people to breathe underwater.
And before they could notice it was Christmas time and the ball was here.