Chapter Fourteen
The Yule Ball
A few days had passed since the First Task. Things had settled down and Tsuna was enjoying the peace and relaxation - not.
Tsuna felt like he was in hell. The reason was quite simple: Reborn thought he had gone soft, since his chimera had actually broken through his Zero Point Breakthrough First Edition Custom.
Reborn knew very well that it only happened because of the Fel Fire, but he couldn't decline an excuse to train Tsuna to the limit. He wanted the technique perfected to the point that it could absorb all the energy that hits the ice and use it to strengthen the structure. In other words, he wanted the ice to get more resistant as the enemy struggled.
So, the first thing that had to be done was to increase Tsuna's flame capacity. And the only way to do that (in Reborn's vision) was to have Xanxus shoot the Boss-to-be until he got tired. The other shooter was Gokudera, but Tsuna prefered to stick to Xanxus - Storm flames were too destructive for his taste.
Before he knew it, it was the middle of December and a certain announcement made him fall on his face. Good thing he had just taken flight.
"What Ball?!" he asked as he managed to get up.
"The Yule Ball. It's a tradition of the tournament." Dumbledore said with a slight grin.
"So if we want to come we'll need a date?" Yamamoto asked.
"Not necessarily. However..." the Headmaster turned to Tsuna "the champions and their partners will be the first ones to dance."
"D-Dance? Me? You're joking, right?" Tsuna stared at him.
"That's exactly what I told McGonagall before getting snapped at" Harry said as he entered the dome.
"But I don't know how to dance." Tsuna mumbled embarrassed.
"Join the club, I tried that too" Harry rolled his eyes.
"No good huh?" Tsuna said.
"I asked the House Heads to give lessons" Dumbledore said and the two boys sighed. "Well, I need to get back to the office" he added and left, followed by Harry.
"Well, I think we increased your flame capacity enough." Reborn ended the silence.
"Realy?" Tsuna asked with hope.
"Yep, but starting now you'll be taking dancing lessons." he grinned.
"From you? No offence but..." Tsuna started, staring down at the hitman.
"I'll be the one teaching you, Tsuna" a voice was heard as the door opened.
"Bianchi!" Tsuna said surprised.
"We're here too, Tsuna-san!" Haru said happily as she, Kyoko and Hana entered after Bianchi.
"What are you all doing here?" Gokudera asked as Haru approached him.
"Making sure you guys don't go out with someone else, mister Macho" Haru said, clinging to his arm.
"Same here, darling" Hana said to a blushing Ryohei.
But the blush disappeared when Kyoko kissed Yamamoto on the cheek. The two boys stared at each other for a few seconds, then Ryohei nodded and the tension disappeared.
"Well..." Tsuna approached Chrome "Will you go to the Ball with me?"
As a reply, Chrome gave him a long kiss on the lips.
"I'll take that as a yes." Tsuna smiled and noticed the eyes of the new arrivals on them. "What?"
"Somehow, I knew this was going to happen" Haru said with a slight smile.
"What gave it away, the month they lived together?" Reborn grinned.
"No, it was that second pizza" Haru said, looking straight at Reborn.
"Moving on" the hitman said as Leon took the initiative to turn into a gun.
"Um, Tsuna? I don't know how to dance either." Chrome said embarrassed.
"Don't worry Chrome; I'll be glad to teach you." Mukuro said as he appeared at her side.
"Now then, let's begin slowly by teaching these two the art of tango" Bianchi grinned as she approached Tsuna.
"Fufufuufu" Mukuro laughed as the two beginners sweat dropped.
As the days passed, Tsuna and Chrome got used to dancing. But while Bianchi was amazed that Tsuna didn't step on her feet even once - it's good to have Hyper Intuition - Mukuro was thankful that he could make his body partially immaterial - it took a week for Chrome to get her act together.
"If you took off that eye patch, you would learn quicker" he said the day that marked the beginning of the winter holidays.
"I'll take it off soon" she promised.
During breakfast the next day, the Vongola saw Ron almost hiding under the table from Fleur.
"What's wrong with you?" Gokudera asked, leaning towards him.
Ron murmured something in response. Gokudera blinked a few times.
"Say that again?" he asked.
"He asked Fleur out" Hermione smirked.
"Cut me some slack, will ya? I didn't know she was part Veela." Ron defended.
"My little brother could have told you that, and he's a first year muggle-born" Collin Creevey said as he passed by.
At this point, Ron hit the table with his forehead.
"Humiliated by a first year. Well, at least it can't get worse then this" Ron muttered.
"I don't know, Filch's cat seemed pretty bright to me" Gokudera grinned and Ron groaned, causing the others to burst into laugher.
"So, leaving Ron's intellectual capacity - or rather the lack of it - aside, who are you guys going to the Ball with?" Reborn asked Harry and Hermione.
"Well, I didn't invite anyone yet" Harry said a little down.
"You have until supper" Reborn said.
"Wha? But Christmas is three days away!" Harry panicked.
"You will have a dance partner before supper or you will die trying." Reborn said pointing a gun at him.
"Roger" Harry muttered.
"How about you, Hermione?" Chrome asked.
"Well, it's a secret. You'll see at the Ball" she said with a blush and left quickly, followed by Harry and Ron.
"Mukuro, keep an eye on her during the Ball" Reborn said with a concerned voice.
"Why?" the illusionist asked intrigued.
"Fangirls are evil" Reborn said solemnly.
"Amin" Tsuna, Xanxus, Squalo, Gokudera, Ryohei and Yamamoto said in one voice.
"Huh?" Kyoko, Haru and Hana asked confused and looked at Chrome for answers.
Chrome giggled and pointed towards the other side of the Great Hall. There, Hibari was running with a harassed look on his face. Behind him there were a dozen female Quidditch players. The three newcomers sweatdropped and dismissed the madness shaking their heads. They were better off not asking.
"Speaking of fangirls and dance partners..." Tsuna turned to the Varia members "who are you going to the Ball with?"
"Noone. If either of us will want to dance, we'll invite someone then" Squalo said casually.
"As for me, I never liked dancing" Mammon added.
Just then, McGonagall arrived next to Tsuna.
"Mister Sawada, Mister Mukuro, your Headmaster has requested your presence in Dumbledore's office. He mentioned something about decorations." the professor said.
"We'll be there soon." Tsuna said as he and Mukuro got up and left.
As they reached the Headmaster's office, they could hear arguing from inside.
"Aren't you giving the Vongola a little too much freedom?" Karkaroff said annoyed.
"Why would you say that?" Dumbledore said in his normal voice, though Tsuna felt the hidden irony.
"First you let them raise an entire building on the grounds using some unknown magic and now you want them to use the same magic to decorate the Great Hall for the Yule Ball!" Karkaroff almost yelled in annoyance.
"Then why don't you take care of the decorations yourself, Professor Karkaroff?" Tsuna asked as he entered the room.
Inside there were all the judges and other champions. Also, there was a man standing next to Dumbledore that Tsuna identified as Cornelius Fudge.
"Me?" Karkaroff asked shocked.
"Why yes. If you complain about someone's work, one would think that you can do better. And since you're very familiar with ice, considering where your school is, I would personally recommend you for the job." Mukuro said with an evil grin.
"Well, I... I could do it, but I'm still a guest here so I'll leave the decision to Dumbledore. I just didn't... eh... want you to overwork yourself." Karkaroff stammered.
"Of course" Tsuna said sarcastically, making most of the occupants of the room to cough in order to hide their amusement.
"At any rate, is there any particular design you want the ice to have?" Tsuna asked Dumbledore.
"Yes, there are certain shapes that I want in particular." Dumbledore replied, handing him a folder.
"Hm, this is quite impressive." Tsuna mused. "It would take us about six to finish"
"Ha, six hours! Why don't you take a whole week while you're at it?" Karkaroff laughed.
"Take a look you before you complain" Tsuna snapped at him and gave him the folder.
Karkaroff looked at the plans and paled.
"I... see" he mumbled.
"I'll do this tonight after dinner is over." Tsuna said.
"Dumbly-dorrr, these flowerrrs arrre differrrent than the ones in the Dome." Madame Maxime observed as she looked over the plans.
"Yes. Mukuro used lotus in the Dome for practical reasons. However, it would be out of place at a Christmas party." Dumbledore smiled.
"Not to mention what it symbolizes" Tsuna muttered.
"And what would that be?" Fudge asked curious.
"The Lotus is the flower of Hell" Mukuro grinned.
"I never heard that before" Krum said surprised.
"That's because you've never seen Hell" Mukuro said casually bringing a short silence to the room.
"Anyway, I'm counting on you for the decorations" Dumbledore said.
"Won't the ice melt before the party?" Bagman asked concerned.
"With the upgrades I've been doing after the First Task, it should be immune even to Fiend-Fire." Tsuna said confidently.
"Oh, regarding the Second Task, I wanted to ask if you've made any progress" Fudge said looking around at the champions who shook their heads. "Well, after discussing with the jury we've decided to give you a hint about those medallions: When you activate them, it would be wise to have some empty parchment nearby. Now, I still have something to discuss with the jury so you are excused."
"So, that medallion is some sort of magic quill" Cedric said as they all walked down the stairs.
"I think you mean pen." Fleur said in a seductive voice.
"Ah, yeah." Cedric said a little embarrassed.
"Give it up Fleur, he already has a date" Tsuna said amused.
"Oh, it's alrrright, so do I" Fleur smiled cheerfully. "I was just having a little fun"
"So, who are you coming with?" Tsuna asked.
"Rrrogerrr Davies since you guys arrre taken" Fleur said a little disappointed.
"I'm with Chrome, how about you guys?" Tsuna asked.
"Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw's Seeker" Cedric smiled.
"I'll keep it a secret until the party" Krum said vaguely.
"Well, considering she's three years younger, I can kinda understand why." Mukuro grinned.
"How did you...?" Krum stared at him.
"Reborn. Anyway, make sure you don't forget Rule No. 1" Tsuna said.
"Good point, I'll keep an eye on her" Krum trembled slightly.
"Rule No. 1?" Cedric asked confused.
"Fangirls are evil" Tsuna said simply and the others grinned.
"How about you Harry?" Cedric asked.
"Not yet" he sighed.
"And because of that he has a grand total of ten hours left to live" Mukuro grinned.
"Reborn." Harry said and the others understood immediately.
The hitman was already well known in the entire school.
"But the worse part is that he'll use the Dying Will Bullet" Tsuna continued.
"What does that do?" Harry asked fearfully.
"Rip all your clothes except your underwear and in this case it will make you invite the first girl you come across." Tsuna said. "And yes, he did that to me to, first time we met. Kyoko still blushes when someone mentions that" he added dryly and Mukuro smirked.
"Oh man, why me?" Harry muttered.
"Fufufufufu, I'll give you some advice. Hope you don't mind asking out someone from a different house" Mukuro snickered.
"This is one of the few things you can trust him on. Go for it" Tsuna approved.
Harry nodded and followed Mukuro.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cedric asked with doubt.
"No. But considering the alternative, it's still better." Tsuna admitted. "And for some reason Mukuro is a good judge of character when it comes to girls" he added before they split up.
Next time he saw Harry, he found out that his partner was Luna 'Looney' Lovegood. Well, she was definitely... unique.
On the evening of the Ball, everyone was gathered outside the Great Hall. As Harry looked around while he waited for Luna, he saw most of the people he knew with their partners. Ron was right beside him with Lavender Brown. He was wearing a maroon dress robe while Lavender had a red dress. Near the door were Fleur and Cedric with their partners, Roger and Cho. Both girls were wearing silver dresses, but Fleur's was made of satin.
Harry felt a little jealous as he watched Cho. He initially wanted to invite her, but gave up after that discussion with the other champions. The jealousy, however, disappeared the moment he saw Luna approaching him. She was wearing a silver dress as well that matched her eyes and some silver-blue gloves, all made of silk. As she seemed to float towards him, Harry blushed slightly, but because of his green robe it was more obvious then usually.
"Hi, sorry I'm late" Luna said with a blush of her own.
"No problem" he said, not being able to believe that the weird occult-loving third year he met when he was with Mukuro in the Library over a month ago could be so cute.
Soon after that, Krum arrived with a pretty girl in a blue dress that turned out to be Hermione, much to Ron's irritation.
"I wonder where the Vongola are" Harry wondered out loud.
Before anyone could answer, awed sounds came from the direction of the stairs.
The Vongola had arrived, and boy did they make an entrance.
In the lead were Tsuna and Chrome. Tsuna was wearing a black tuxedo with an orange shirt and black tie. Chrome was wearing a vaporous indigo dress that left her back open and a pair of matching gloves. What attracted everyone's attention were their accessories. Tsuna was wearing a black cape made of a mysterious material that seemed to absorb light. Chrome had finally discarded her eye patch, revealing normal looking eye under the mysterious glasses that were floating in front of her eyes. An eerie glow was slightly visible on them, giving her somehow a rather seductive appearance that might have rivaled Fleur's. They were wearing their Vongola Boxes in Cambrio Forma.
Following suite were the other guardians with their dates. The boys were wearing tuxedos like Tsuna, with shirts that matched their elements in color. The girls were also wearing silk dresses, though the design and color deferred from Chrome. Haru's was bright red, Kyoko's was golden and Hana's was blue.
Behind the four couples were Xanxus, Squalo, Hibari, Mukuro and Mammon. And behind them was one final couple: Bianchi in a dark-red dress was next to a man in a black tux with a dark-yellow shirt and sporting a fedora.
It was Reborn and he was making more victims among the girls with his smile then he could with a machinegun. He had retaken his former appearance for the occasion, using a drug recently developed by Verde.
Together, the Vongola were giving a vibe that Harry understood for the first time: they were Mafia and nobody messed with them.
When the doors finally opened, everyone except the champions and their partners entered the Great Hall. After the students sat down, the five pairs entered as well and were welcomed with applause. They went past the many round tables that had replaced the House and Staff tables and took a bow towards the jury, at who's table they had seats reserved. However, instead of Crouch stood a red haired young man that Harry identified as Percy Weasley. He immediately motioned Harry to sit next to him and Tsuna decided to sit next to Harry.
"I got promoted." Percy said like he had become the supreme ruler of the universe. "I'm now mister Crouch' personal assistant and here to represent him"
"Good to see you too" Harry said ironically and Percy blushed a little in embarrassment. "This is my partner Luna Lovegood" Luna gave a small bow "and these are Sawada Tsunayoshi, the Vongola champion, and his partner Chrome Dokuro" Tsuna shook Percy's hand and Chrome nodded.
"So, how come mister Crouch didn't come himself?" Harry asked.
"He's not feeling very well, and with everything that has happened since the Quidditch World Cup, who can blame him? No, the man deserves a quiet holiday. Good thing he had someone trustworthy to take his place" Percy said, making Harry and Tsuna roll their eyes, causing Chrome and Luna to giggle.
After that, they ate and soon it was time to dance.
The champions and their partners gathered in the middle of the Great Hall as a band took the stage and the dance began. Much to Harry's embarrassment, the first song was a slow one that required the partners to stay very close to each other. Luna on the other hand gave him a calming look and he got over it. Before the song was at the middle, several other pairs came to dance: Dumbledore with McGonagall, Neville and Ginny, Yamamoto with Kyoko, Ryohei and Hana, and Haru dragged Gokudera.
After a few more dances, Harry, the Vongola and Krum decided to take a break and sat at a table as far away from Percy as possible and were soon joined by the other Vongola and Ron.
"Tsuna, I really owe you for giving Verde the data on this drug" Reborn said with a grin.
"Yeah, good work Tsuna." Bianchi added.
"No problem. But I'm kind of surprised that you didn't use it as well, Mammon" Tsuna said.
"I'll wait for the permanent one." Mammon replied.
"Well, with a little luck, you might not wait long. I intend to do 'that' again a week from now" Tsuna said.
"Never thought you'll do it willingly." Hibari said a little surprised.
"Well, considering how 'restricted' he was the first time, who can blame him?" Reborn sighed.
"Tsunayoshi-kun, I believe it's almost time." Dumbledore said as he approached them.
"Time for what?" Harry asked.
"You didn't think that it took us six hours to do just this, did you?" Mukuro asked ironically as he waved towards the few ice decorations around them.
"The real decorations are right here" Tsuna said as he revealed three white Storage Boxes. He gave one to Mukuro and one to Chrome. They then opened them at the same time.
A torrent of crystal flowers escaped Mukuro's Box and covered every table and the walls.
From Chrome's Box came out dozens of enchanted ice swans and phoenix that flew across the Hall.
As for Tsuna's, a white beam of light erupted from it and went straight for the enchanted ceiling. A few seconds after that, it began to snow. But somehow, it disappeared before it touched any surface.
"Awesome" Ron said and the others just nodded in agreement.
The rest of the Ball went perfectly for the group, although Ron had an argument with Hermione regarding Krum.
A.N.: Hope you liked this chapter. Please review.