Chapter 11

The last week of term was dragging for Wick. One week after his dad had announced the Eggnog Extravaganza, Harry pulled Wick aside and offered him advice about asking girls out. He promptly told his father that he already had a date and to please never talk about romance to him ever again.

Not only was Wick incredibly embarrassed by his dad's actions, he was also hurt. Did his dad really think he wasn't good enough on his own to get a date?

Things only got worse as the week dragged on. The days leading up to the dance were filled with girls of all ages asking Wick if his dad would be interested in going to the extravaganza with them. Wick wouldn't have been surprised if the whole female population of Hogwarts had asked him at one point if his dad would be interested.

To make matters worse, Wick had to put up with hearing girls talk about Harry in a way he never wished to hear him spoken about. Girls giggled throughout Defense class, which was now everyone's favorite class—that is, everyone except Wick. Wick felt like he was on the verge of insanity.

On this particular day, no less than ten girls had already asked him about his dad's interest in going to the extravaganza. And it was only ten o'clock. Wick walked fast through the hallways in hopes of avoiding any annoying girls, but as he stepped out of his Arithmancy class, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He had had enough. "Look. I'm sorry, but my dad is married. He has a wife, and, gasp, a child! He will not be going to the extravaganza with anyone here. Especially not a student. That would just be sick."

Wick wheeled around to see which girl it was this time, and then leaped back in shock.

"Er… I don't really want to go to the extravaganza with your dad. I actually thought I was going with you. Sorry if that… disappoints you."

"Selenity," Wick said, turning a bright shade of red. But Selenity was giving him a jocular smile. "I'm so sorry about that. I've just been hassled all week with 'Harry Potter this' and 'Harry Potter that.' I'm sick of it. It's like no one realizes he's old enough to be their dad. Ew."

"Don't worry about it; you don't have to explain yourself to me. It must be hard having your dad teaching here. I know I would feel overshadowed if my parents came to teach here. I get enough of it with having Uncle Ax here, and he's best known in America.

"He tells me every day how amazing my parents are." Selenity then tried to do an impression of her uncle's voice, which was something hard to manage considering Ax talked in thought speech. "'Selenity, one day you'll understand what it's like to be an adult. Your parents had to learn that before they were your age. You should look up to them.' Blah, blah, blah. It gets hard to take. And hard to live up to. I mean, they saved the world! That must be how you feel."

Wick looked at Selenity with amazement. She actually knew how he felt! "Thanks, Selenity. You always seem to know exactly what to say."

Before Wick realized what was happening, Selenity quickly stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a much needed hug.

The day of the Eggnog Extravaganza, Wick was a nervous wreck. He woke up at four o'clock, in the morning, after having a dream that Selenity told him she was joking and would rather date a dragon than go to the dance with him. Wick knew it was only a dream, but he still couldn't fall back asleep.

He quietly got out of bed and put on a pair of ratty old muggle sweatpants his Uncle Ron gave to him as a Christmas gift last year. (Ron took up Arthur's position in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, and was now almost as obsessed with muggle trinkets as Arthur had been.) It was far too early, Wick decided, to be worrying about the dance, so he tip toed out of his room and exited Gryffindor tower to walk around the school and clear his head.

Wick walked around aimlessly, and when he reached the library he turned left sharply and ran into something very solid.

"Expelliarmus!"

Wick's wand shot out of his hand as he collided with the cold stone floor. The voice behind the spell had been all too familiar. Wick sat on the floor for a couple seconds to regain his sense of balance, and then stood up quickly.

"Give me my wand back, Riddle." Wick uttered the name "Riddle" as if it were a swear word.

"Or what? You'll run to your girlfriend and complain that mean old Riddle stole your wand and you are very, very mad at him?" Noah mocked. "Can't even fight your own battles now, can you? You don't want to do anything that might get Selenity angry with you, huh?"

"Just give it here," Wick said, holding back his temptation to kick Noah in the face. Noah made no move to give Wick his wand, so Wick yanked it out of his hand.

"You're not worth anything, Riddle. No one really cares about you, not even Selenity. She pretends because she feels sorry for you. You do realize that, don't you?" Noah just glared back. Wick continued speaking. "I want you to stay away from her tonight. She doesn't need you ruining her evening."

"I couldn't care less what you and your sacred Selenity do tonight. I have no interest in you. I can't stand your father, but you're not even worth bothering with."

Noah had hit Wick where he was weakest. Wick stood there seething while Noah gave him a wicked smile and walked away. Wick finally regained his ability to talk and shouted after him, "Like you're so great yourself. I bet you're exactly like your father, just not as talented. That's how it will always be!"

Noah hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but then he just kept on walking. Wick watched him with narrowed eyes until he was out of sight.

Wick stood outside the library for a few minutes, trying to calm down. Wick told himself that Noah didn't know what he was talking about. For a second he even believed that he was just special as his dad. Finally, Wick's curiosity set in, and instead of thinking about which curse he most wanted to use on Noah, he began to wonder what Noah was doing wandering the school so early in the morning. Obviously he was up to no good.

Before Wick had time to ponder this for too long, one of the Christmas trees Professor Flitwick has enchanted to walk and talk came waltzing up to him.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing out of bed so early?"

"Walking. Thinking."

"Oh. Well I need to do some of that too. Mind if I join you?"

This must have been the most dense tree Wick had ever talked to. Couldn't it tell that he wanted to be alone? Apparently not. Wick heaved a sigh, but before he was able to answer the tree hopped up to him and began talking again.

"Great! It's wonderful to have someone to walk and think with. Most of the other trees don't like it when I try to walk and think with them. They told me I was annoying. Do you think I'm annoying? I don't think I'm annoying. I just like to talk. I don't see why they have a problem with that. Honestly, it's like they think trees weren't meant to talk! Now, that's just ludicrous!"

"Yes. Ludicrous," Wick answered somewhat distractedly. He was trying to think of ways to politely shake off the talking tree. "Er… Mr. Tree—"

"Tizzle."

"Alright, Tizzle. I really am expected up in the common room." Wick looked down at his watch. It read 5:11 am. "I've very, very late for an… an early morning study group. My friends will be terribly angry if I'm a second later. I've really got to go. It's really been… an experience talking to you."

Before Tizzle had a chance to go on into a rant about some other obscure topic, Wick ran away up to Gryffindor Tower. When Wick entered the common room, he was surprised to see that Mark was sitting in front of the fire, reading one of his silly 'how to' books.

Mark looked up at Wick and asked, "What have you been doing so early in the morning?"

"Walking and thinking. And running into Riddle," Wick said "Riddle" with all of the disgust he could muster. "Oh yeah, and chatting up an enchanted Christmas tree. What're you doing up?"

"Reading and worrying mostly. Actually, more worry and less reading."

Wick sighed. Obviously Mark was hinting that Wick should ask why he was worrying. There goes my well deserved complaining time, Wick thought as he sat down on the chair across from where Mark was sitting.

"What were you worrying about at five am, dear cousin?" Wick asked, trying to keep the conversation light. However, Mark looked serious.

"Why did Hannah agree to go to the extravaganza with me? I'm nothing special. Is it some sort of dare? Or maybe it's a prank. I bet that's what it is. I'm going to get all dressed up and take her down and she'll just start laughing in my face. Ugh. I can't go through with this."

Wick sighed again, louder this time. "Honestly Mark, are you completely daft? Hannah's fancied you since second year! I might be reaching here, but maybe that's why she wants to go to the ball with you. Ever thought of that?"

Mark looked dumbfounded. "Since second year? That can't be right."

"You are such and idiot. Anyway, now that we've got your girl problem under control, you can put your book away. I don't think you need to be reading How to Make the Girl of Your Dreams Feel the Same Way About You. Plus, I've got more pressing matters, as in, I need to have a good complain."

However, just as Wick was getting ready to let off some steam, there was a creaking noise coming from the stairs. Both Wick and Mark looked up to see Selenity yawning and walking towards them.

"Is there some kind of early morning Christmas Eve party going on down here that I didn't know about?"

Later that day, Mark, Wick, and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindor boys decided to take their minds off the ball by having a snowball fight. They trudged back into the castle two hours before the ball—long after the girls had begun their primping.

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Selenity stood in front of her floor length mirror, admiring the way she looked in her icy blue dress. Her eyes were as bright as ever, and her hair was put into an elegant up do. All of the other girls in her dorm had ignored her while she got ready, sharing a much smaller mirror on the other side of the room. Every so often they would burst into giggles while discussing what each girl would do with their date.

Selenity didn't pretend that she didn't feel a little bit left out; but then again, girl never really liked Selenity. It didn't matter so much tonight though, because she was going to the dance with Wick. Admittedly, she had never really showed any interest in Wick, romantically, until the day he asked her to the dance. She was still worried that he only liked her for her looks. Now that fear was gone, and she wasn't afraid to show that she did fancy him as well.

Selenity gave herself one last look in the mirror and then turned and headed towards the door. All of the girls looked at her as she left, giving her jealous glares. There was no doubt that she would be the most beautiful at the extravaganza.

Selenity stepped down the stairs carefully, because she didn't want to trip in her matching blue high heals. As soon as she stepped into the common room, it went silent. All eyes were on her, including those of Wick, who was standing by the fireplace next to a very nervous looking Mark. Thankfully Wick was wearing black dress robes, which looked perfect with her dress.

They made eye contact across the room. She smiled and then began to make her way over to him. When she finally reached him she heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Wow. Just, wow." Wick was speechless.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Selenity replied, taking Wick's offered arm. They walked down to the Great Hall together, leaving Mark waiting for his date.

Everyone in the common room that night would forever remember Selenity, looking so beautiful. Some people swore they saw an angel that night.

Selenity and Wick were greeted with the stunning sight of a very much transformed Great Hall. The house tables had been moved into one long row in the back of the hall, and around all of the other walls, the enchanted Christmas trees were chatting away. Wick made a mental note to avoid talking to any of them, in case it turned out to be Tizzle.

In the center of the hall, floating in the air was a huge half of an egg, pouring what must have been eggnog into the cups below, on a large, wooden table. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, and huge flakes fell from the ceiling. It was a magical sight.

Selenity and Wick sat down at the dinner table and were soon joined by Mark and Hannah. Hannah's shiny black hair reached down to her lower back, and her dark skin looked flawless—a gift of her African and Latin American ancestors. Mark still looked awed that he was actually here with her.

The dinner was absolutely marvelous. Selenity ordered a light pasta with shrimp, and Wick ordered steak with potatoes. After dinner ended, the music began to wind up. Wick offered Selenity his hand, and they walked out onto the dance floor.

For the first thirty minutes, only fast songs were played. Finally, a slow one came, and Selenity stepped closer to Wick and leaned her chin on his shoulder. She could feel his heart beat quicken as they continued to dance.

After a few minutes of this, Mark came running up to Wick with a desperate look on his face.

"Wick, I need your help. I am no good at this dancing thing. Hannah just went to the ladies room. I really don't think she's been enjoying herself. What do I do?"

Wick gave Selenity an apologetic face. "Do you mind if I—"

"Don't worry about it. I'm parched, anyways. I'll just go over there and get some eggnog. Come over when you're done."

Selenity then gracefully walked over to the table under the huge egg and picked up a glass of eggnog. She watched Wick and Mark at first. It was very amusing watching Wick try to give Mark pointers on how to dance. A dark flash caught her eye, however, and she turned her head. She was staring right at Noah Riddle, who donned elegant black dress robes with a silver collar. That had been what caused the flash.

He was dancing with a pale black-haired girl who Selenity didn't know. She immediately disliked the girl, although she couldn't even explain to herself why. She watched Noah glide on the dance floor for another minute. He looked very graceful. It was a beautiful sight. She was forced to refocus her attention when she noticed Wick walking toward her.

"Why hello, Mr. Professional Dancer. You can dance. You can teach your cousin romance. What can't you do?"

Wick laughed, and then took her hand. "Dance with me?"

They headed back onto the floor and danced without interruption for the rest of the night.

Finally, Headmistress McGonagall announced that the dance was over and that all students should return to the appropriate common rooms. Selenity felt a pang of regret. She'd been having such a wonderful time.

Everyone began to file out of the Great Hall; Wick and Selenity were among the last people to leave. Slowly, they headed back up to Gryffindor Tower. Neither of them was in much of a hurry.

When they finally got back to the common room, it was almost completely empty. They stopped in front of the staircases, and Selenity turned to face Wick.

"Thank you for such a wonderful evening. Really, I don't think I've ever had a better time in my life." Before she realized what she was doing, Selenity stood on her tip toes and kissed Wick on the cheek. She then turned and walked to the girls staircases. She looked back and gave Wick one last smile before disappearing behind the door.

Wick watched the spot Selenity had been in for five minutes before he turned and headed up to his dorm.

A/N: To see a picture I drew of the Eggnog Extravaganza go here:

http/ community. webshots. com/ user/ TobiasPotter

There aren't supposed to be any spaces in there, I just couldn't figure out any other way to post the site :)

Please Read and Review!

And thanks to HPFan6890 for helping me come up with what Selenity and Wick should eat for dinner!