Noelle rested her chin in her hand and stared out the window at the twirling snowflakes. Her Charms homework lay untouched in front of her, with an equally untouched pile of Potions homework underneath it. After about five minutes of pretending to concentrate on her work, she had given up, far more interesting in the softly falling snow.
Christmas break had come at a most opportune time, at least for her. Never entirely sure of what transpired while she sat in Dumbledore's office, she was glad to be rid of the creepy Auror who made her feel as if she was an encyclopedia. Her head hurt most nights after their little fishing expeditions, but she could never recall exactly what memories or thoughts they had seen. She had never been more grateful to arrive at the house in Cannes. She had been looking forward to coming home ever since she had received the owl from her father.
Suddenly, the break seemed too long. She missed Sirius desperately, even though he was distant and moody lately. She wished she had indeed gone to James'. Now, here on Christmas Eve, she deeply regretted her decision. A knock at her door startled her.
"Oui?" she called.
"Noelle! You're not ready yet?" her father asked.
Whipping her head around to check the time, Noelle saw it was nearly six o'clock.
"Last time I looked at the clock it was quarter to four!"
Her father laughed.
"I should have known better. Homework?" he asked, nodding at her desk.
Noelle nodded.
"Not like I actually got anything done," she said sheepishly.
"Well, you have just under an hour to get ready."
"I can do it. I'll be right down."
Her father smiled again and she could see a hint of sadness there. He gazed at his daughter and nodded quickly.
"See you downstairs," he said, his voice cracking slightly.
Noelle raced for the bathroom and took the quickest shower of her life. Wrapping a thick navy robe around herself, she twisted her wet hair up into a towel. Once she was dry, she stood before her vast closets. No black, she thought, or navy. Reaching into the far depths of her closet, she unearthed a beautiful deep crimson velvet gown. It was strapless, and the bodice had a wide band of sparkling rhinestones. Rhinestones were also spattered across the full skirt. On the hanger behind the gown hung a matching crimson cloak. For the life of her, she couldn't ever remember owning these robes. Since they were far too beautiful to keep hidden in a closet, she decided to wear them that night.
She sat at her vanity table and began applying her makeup. Once that was done, she concentrated on her hair. She aimed her wand at her head and her hair was instantly dry. She pulled the long strands up and pinned them back. Slowly she twisted locks of her hair around her wand and fastened them to the back of her head. Eventually she had a cloud of blonde curls blooming from her head. Some had fallen loose and tumbled romantically around her face. Even she had to agree, with her dark, sultry eye makeup, the overall effect was stunning. She pulled on the gown and gazed at herself in the mirror.
Her resemblance to her dead mother was never more apparent. Her hair was nearly the exact same shade, and her eyes, although much darker, more like her father's, were the same shape. Slowly she exhaled, not even realizing that she had been holding her breath. Reaching for her jewel case, she began to drape herself with rubies. She stuck long ruby and pearl tipped pins into her hair, and clipped matching barrettes on the sides as well. She slid her feet into a pair of crimson velvet slippers and draped the cloak over her shoulders. After a spray of perfume, she was ready.
She slowly descended the stairs. Her father gazed up at her. Shaking his head slightly, as if to dislodge old memories, he came to her side.
"I was wondering if you had found the dress. It was your mother's. She never got a chance to wear it. You look stunning," he said as he leaned down to kiss her cheek.
She put her hand in the crook of his elbow and they walked to the doorway together. With a swish of his cloak, Noelle and her father Apparated to the home of one of his colleagues for their annual Christmas ball.
In the grand foyer of the de Villier mansion, Noelle removed her cloak and handed to a butler. Smoothing out the heavy velvet of her gown, she turned to locate her father. He was standing at a long low table, studying the place cards. She went to his side and quickly found her card. Noelle Lemieux, Table 12. Above her card, her father's read Franois Lemieux, Table 7.
"We're not sitting together?" she questioned.
"Apparently not. Are you alright with that?"
"Of course, as long as you are."
Noelle kissed her father on the cheek and headed for table 12. She glanced at table 7 and saw her father's place card between two very beautiful older women. Her heart froze, instantly realizing what the hostess had done. She knew her father wasn't ready to date yet, and she sure wasn't ready for him to start anytime soon, but he was a grown man. Swallowing thickly, she passed table 7 and walked to table 12. Her insides heaved when she saw who was sitting there.
"Joyeux Noël, cherie."
"What are you doing here, Olivier?" she asked bluntly.
"We come every year Noelle. Or had you forgotten?"
Actually, she had forgotten. She hadn't attended the de Villier's Christmas Ball in two years, but the last time she had, it had been on Olivier's arm. Still, she stood, not taking a step toward the table.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Noelle!"
Her eyes widened.
"Watch your language!" she hissed. Although the de Villiers were magical, many of their guests were not.
"If we cannot act like adults for one night, then you and I are even worse off than I thought," he said grimly.
Inside, Noelle softened.
"You're right. We can act like adults.
Smiling, Olivier pulled out a chair and she gracefully sat. He handed her a glass of champagne and she took a small sip.
"Is Antoine here tonight?" she asked.
"Oui, with his new girlfriend."
"New girlfriend? What happened to Caroline?"
"She left him. He won't tell me why. His new girlfriend is named Lissette Fournard. She attends Beauxbatons. I believe she's a sixth year."
"I think I remember her. Dark hair, green eyes, right?"
"Oui, she's quite pretty, great personality. They really work well together."
"Good for Antoine," she took another small sip of champagne. "And you? Are you dating anyone?"
He turned velvety brown eyes on her and her heart skipped a beat.
"Non, there is no one for me right now."
The raw pain she could see deep in his eyes nearly tore her apart. Quickly she looked away and her touched her lightly on the knee.
"How about you? How is Lily?"
"Lily is wonderful. She and James are moving in together after graduation. He's giving her a ring tomorrow," she said, slightly sad that she wouldn't be there to see Lily's reaction.
"Wow. They got very serious, very quickly, non?"
Noelle shrugged.
"No quicker than any of us do. Or did," she corrected herself.
Olivier gave her a sidelong glance.
"Can you believe if things were different, we would be married right now?" he asked cautiously, waiting for her to snap. Instead, she surprised him.
"Non," she said, shaking her head ruefully. "It all seemed much simpler when I was fourteen."
"To think, our families had our whole lives planned out," he said as he gazed out the window.
"Olivier, it's not our fault! It's no one's fault really," she said, her voice trailing off.
Olivier slammed his fists into his thighs.
"I find huge fault in your father's decision that just because you were sick, I shouldn't love you," he spit out.
Noelle stared at him, feeling the intensity of his anger radiating from his body.
"He was trying to protect us both! Do you really think you could have watched me die?"
"I would have liked to been given a chance to love you like I wanted to. And you're not dying now! Who's to say that a cure wouldn't have been found by now? Regardless Noelle, I loved you! I would have gladly died for you. And he took that away! He sent you into another man's arms and he let you believe that I didn't love you anymore! For that? No Noelle. I can never forgive him for that."
Noelle grasped his hand without thinking. Warmth spread through her body, and she was filled with curiosity that she didn't have a vision or feel anything other than the reassuring touch of his skin.
"We were lied to Olivier! And you're right, it wasn't fair," she paused and pushed a stray curl away from her face. Changing the subject quickly, she looked into his brown eyes.
"Do you believe in love, Olivier? I mean real love, the kind that lasts forever? One man for one woman?"
"Oui, of course."
"So do I. At least, I used to. But now I know that I can love more than one person. I love Sirius, but I still love you. I will always love you. At fourteen, my life was far easier than it is now. Now, besides school and the real world, I'm dealing with real dangers, with evil, and it scares me out of my mind!"
Olivier tightened his grasp on her fingers.
"Where do you see evil Noelle? What is so dangerous at Hogwarts?"
Not entirely sure if she should tell him, she paused.
"There is a man, a wizard, who is basically set on world domination. He's truly evil, and he kills for sport. He killed Severus' parents already, and many others as well. The headmaster of my school has created an alliance of sorts, and I am a member," she confessed.
"Why you?" he asked, his voice growing low with concern.
"Maman, she was a Seer. When she died, I became one," she said to her hands.
"A Seer? You?" Olivier shook his head. "Well, you always did have more intuition than most girls, so I'm not really that surprised. What do they have you doing?"
"Well, basically my contribution is to sit there while an Auror 'picks my brain'. I basically become unconscious and they rummage around in my head to see if any of my visions are pertinent to the fight against Tom," she said.
Olivier was horrorstruck.
"And Sirius allows this? Noelle, they could be doing some severe damage to you! That's borderline Dark Magic! How could he let them do that to you, and with your health!"
Noelle gave a small smile.
"You sound like Lily. She's furious about it, but Sirius seems to think that if it will help the order, than it's alright," she said.
"It's not alright. Not at all. Those are your thoughts Noelle. Your dreams and your hopes, and they're rifling through them haphazardly. It's dangerous and it's not right," he fumed.
Something in his fury rang true in Noelle's heart. Why didn't Sirius care more about her well-being than that of the order? Why wasn't he outraged by her condition when she returned from one of these sessions?
"Promise me you won't let them do it again, Noelle. Who knows what they're taking out and dissecting?" he pleaded.
Deep in those chocolate brown eyes, she could see how much he still loved her and wanted to take care of her.
"I won't," she said softly.
He let out a sigh of relief.
"Bon. I don't want to be worried about you anymore than I already am," he said, the tension in his shoulders releasing.
"You worry about me?" she asked timidly.
"Every second of every day," he said with a smile. Then his face changed and he looked more serious than she had ever seen him look.
"Thank you Olivier," she said smiling at him.
Suddenly the noises of the party overwhelmed them both.
"I forgot we were here for a moment," Olivier confessed.
Noelle laughed.
"As did I. Now come on. Let's have a good Christmas, shall we?"
"Absolutely."
Across the room,Franois Lemieux watched his daughter flirting with the eldest Roussard boy. He had never had anything against Olivier, but when Noelle had gotten sick, he had thought it best that she have no romantic distractions. He liked Olivier far better than he did the Black boy, and right then and there decided to do everything he could to bring his daughter and Olivier back together.