Scott stood in the entrance hall, waiting for Luna to arrive. They had agreed earlier that day that she would meet him since she knew she was likely going to take longer to get ready and didn't want Scott to have to wait in the Common Room where everyone else would be. After waiting about ten minutes, Scott turned around when he heard Luna call his name.
Luna was wearing a navy blue dress, which almost rivaled the midnight blue dress robes Scott had on. She had curled her hair, which flowed magically about her as she walked. Scott was surprised to see she wasn't wearing any of the earrings she made by hand; she was almost never seen not wearing them.
Scott and Luna walked toward one another. When they reached each other, Scott smiled at her and she held out her right hand, which Scott promptly kissed.
"You look beautiful," he said kindly.
Luna grinned. "Thank you," she replied. "You're not so bad yourself."
Scott chuckled as he and Luna locked arms and walked toward the entrance to the Great Hall, where Shirley, dressed in a dark green dress, stood with her camera.
"Oh, there you are, darling!" she exclaimed when Scott and Luna reached her. "My goodness, you both look absolutely wonderful!"
"Mum, this is Luna Lovegood," Scott said. Luna stepped forward and shook hands with Shirley.
"How lovely to meet you, Luna," said Shirley, smiling. "I've heard wonderful things about you from Scott. And your father and I are good friends, since he's had me publish a few of my columns in his magazine. It's lovely to finally meet you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Peck," said Luna, who started to blush profusely.
Suddenly, someone coming down the stairs distracted Shirley's attention.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "Is that Hermione?"
Scott and Luna turned around. It was, indeed, Hermione, but she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow — or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling rather nervously.
"Hi, Scott!" she said, beaming. "Hi, Luna! Hi, Mrs. Peck!"
"Wow!" Scott exclaimed. "You look stunning, Hermione."
"Yes you do," said Luna vaguely before getting distracted by someone else who she stared at.
"You really do, dear," said Shirley. "You'll have to share your hair potion secrets with me. I can never get them right. We'll talk after the dance, all right, dear?"
Hermione giggled. "Sure thing," she said before Viktor Krum appeared beside her and she turned to him. Krum bowed politely and kissed her on the hand.
"You look vunderful," he said in his gruff voice.
"So do you," Hermione replied, still beaming brightly. She then gestured at Scott, Luna and Shirley. "Viktor, I wanted you to meet my good friend Scott Peck, his date Luna Lovegood and his mother, Shirley."
Krum shook hands with all of them.
"It is vunderful to meet all of you," he said, grinning at them. "Hermy-own has told me a lot about you, Scott. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
"Likewise," said Scott, smiling. "It's great to finally meet you, Viktor. Would you mind if Luna and I sat by you two in there?"
Krum shook his head. "Not at all."
"All right, you lot, I want to get a few photos of my boy and his date," Shirley interrupted, lifting up her camera eagerly.
"Mum, aren't you supposed to be focusing on the champions and their dates?" Scott asked, gesturing at Hermione and Krum.
"Yes, yes, but they're providing photos of all of them to us all. I'll get photos of them dancing, but I want to get photos with you and Luna."
"Oh, all right," Scott said, sighing. He turned to Hermione and Krum. "See you two inside. Save us seats, won't you?"
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, locking arms with Viktor and walking into the Great Hall to wait for their entrance cue.
Once Shirley once taking photos, Scott and Luna locked arms and walked into the Great Hall. The champions had already walked through the hall and were sitting down at a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the Triwizard Tournament judges were sitting.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
When Scott and Luna reached the table, they walked over to where Hermione and Krum were sitting. They sat down next to them and looked around the hall as everyone else settled in their seats.
There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Scott picked his up uncertainly and looked around — there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"
And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates, too. Scott looked up and down his menu, searching for the perfect meal. Finally, he saw that he could have steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and fresh dinner rolls. He put down his menu and spoke to his plate.
"Steak!" he exclaimed.
Once his dinner appeared, Scott started eating and turned to talk with Hermione and Krum.
"Vell, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking," he was telling Hermione. "Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these — though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer, ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains —"
"Now, now, Viktor!" said Professor Karkaroff, who Scott hadn't noticed was sitting on the opposite side of Hermione and Krum, "don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Igor, all this secrecy... one would almost think you didn't want visitors."
"Well, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets and right to protect them?"
"Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon — or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
Scott snorted into the pumpkin juice he was drinking. Luna glanced over at him, frowning, but Scott could have sworn Dumbledore winked at him, grinning.
Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly; he kept calling her "Hermy-own."
"Her-my-oh-nee," she said slowly and clearly.
"Herm-own-ninny."
"Close enough," she said, catching Scott's eyes and grinning.
When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello and some bagpipes were set upon it.
The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hair and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn.
Scott turned to Hermione and Krum as they started to walk down from the high table.
"Good luck!" he said to them. "See you on the floor in a bit!"
Once the first song was half over, students began to join the champions in the dance. Scott and Luna joined them, grabbing one another and beginning to waltz. Scott was relieved that they were able to stay in perfect harmony with one another. After several songs, he and Luna were both out of breath and decided to sit down. They approached a table, where Harry and Ron were sitting with one of the Patil twins.
"Hi guys," Scott said. "How was your dance, Harry?"
"All right, I suppose," Harry replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "How was yours? You seem a bit warm."
"Yeah," Scott said, wiping away the sweat that was starting to form on his forehead. "Decided to sit a few songs out."
At that, Hermione and Krum suddenly appeared next to them. Krum gave Hermione another kiss on the hand before walking away. Hermione spun around, breathing heavily. She spotted the others and grinned, walking toward them and sitting down next to Harry.
"Hot, isn't it?" she said. "Viktor's gone to go and get drinks. Would you care to join us?"
Harry and Scott made to respond positively before Ron cut in.
"No, we don't care to join you and Viktor," he said grumpily.
"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione asked, her smile fading quickly.
"He's a Durmstrang," Ron said in an annoyed tone that suggested Hermione should know exactly what crime she had committed. "You're fraternizing with the enemy."
"The enemy!?" Hermione exclaimed. "Who was it wanting his autograph? Besides, the whole point of the Tournament is international magical cooperation, to make friends."
"I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind," said Ron.
Harry stared back at Ron with a "what the bloody hell?" look. Hermione stood up angrily and started to walk away before she turned around as if to say something, but thought better of it and walked away to join Viktor.
"God, Ron, could you lay off once in a while?" Scott said angrily, standing up with Luna and walking toward Hermione and Krum. "Sorry about that," he said when they reached him.
"He's just jealous, it's fine," said Hermione shortly.
Scott nodded, taking the hint that the subject was done being talked about. He grabbed some punch and drank it. Just then, another fast-paced song started and Hermione and Krum disappeared into the crowd.
"Listen, Luna, I'm still quite a bit warm from dancing," he said. "Do you mind if I sit this one out and get some air?"
Luna shook her head. "Not at all, Scott. I'll go and dance by myself for a bit. I like doing that, too."
Scott grinned as Luna walked off and started to dance by herself, getting some looks from nearby students. Scott left the Great Hall and found himself back in the entrance hall, where a few students were mingling. The front doors were open and Scott could feel the much cooler air blowing on him. He walked outside into the cold, which felt wonderful against the heat he felt from dancing so much. He walked around the entrance courtyard for a few moments before he heard a familiar voice.
"... don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."
"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroff's voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming serious concerned, I can't deny it —"
"Then flee," said Snape curtly. "Flee — I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."
Snape had his wand out and was blasting rose bushes apart, his expression most ill natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes and dark shapes emerged from them.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. "And the same for Hufflepuff, Stebbins!" as a boy went rushing after her. "And what are you two doing?"
"We're walking," said Ron's voice shortly. "Not against the law, is it?"
"Keep walking, then!" Snape snarled.
He and Karkaroff then rounded the corner where Scott was. Scott pretended he hadn't heard them, but caught Snape's eye. Snape gestured to his left arm with a knowing look at Scott, who nodded back curtly. Snape and Karkaroff then disappeared around another corner.
As the Yule Ball winded down, Scott stood in line to grab some pumpkin juice before leaving. Luna had left only moments before, saying she was ready to go to bed and that Scott should stay behind and have his juice before he left. Once Scott had his juice and had drank it, feeling much cooler now, he started walking to the exit. Just before the edge of the Great Hall, he ran into Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be arguing.
"He's using you!" Ron said.
"How dare you!" Hermione exclaimed as they left the Great Hall, with Scott following them closely. "Besides, I can take care of myself."
"Doubt it. He's way too old."
"What? What? That's what you think?"
"Yeah that's what I think."
"You know the solution then."
"Go on."
Hermione stepped in front of Ron to prevent him from walking any further. Scott stopped walking, trying to avoid being seen.
"Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does and not as a last resort!"
Ron seemed taken aback by her words. When he spoke again, he stumbled over his words as he walked toward the stairs.
"Well, that's just completely off the point. Harry..."
For Harry had just walked out of the Great Hall on his own, lost in his thoughts.
Hermione rounded on him.
"Where've you been?" she demanded. Harry made to answer, but Hermione angrily cut him off. "Never mind! Off to bed, both of you!"
Harry walked toward Ron and the two started to walk up the stairs as Hermione started to cry.
"They get scary when they get older," Ron said to Harry loud enough that Hermione could hear him.
"Ron, you spoiled everything!" Hermione shrieked as she broke down in tears. Harry and Ron disappeared up the stairs. Hermione sat down on the edge of the stairs, taking off one of her high heels and rubbing her aching foot.
Scott nervously approached her and sat down next to her. When Hermione didn't tell him off, he put an arm around her. Hermione then looked up and realized who was sitting with her. She then pulled Scott into a hug, sobbing into his shoulder. Scott wrapped his arms around Hermione.
"It's all right, Hermione," he said soothingly. "It's all right."