Chapter 25
The Yule Ball - Part 2
KIARA
... I wanted very much to ask Mrs Dawson whether Mrs Clutch had stopped calling Perdy "Fans" yet, but I resisted the temptation. As I glanced at Chris, I reckoned he must have had the same thought as I, for he was grinning rather mischievously. We giggled quietly behind our hands like naughty school children; Mr Dawson glanced at us and a slight smirk crossed his face.
Anyhoo, there was no food on the glittering silver plates, but small menus lying in front of each of them. I picked mine up uncertainly, and looked around - there were no waiters. Crighton, however, looked down at her menu, and then said very clearly to her plate, "Pork chops!"
And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of us at that table placed our orders with our plates, too. I looked across at Kestrel, for I thought she would have been talking about H.A.M.E. for Sian's sake. But she wasn't. She was deep in conversation with Kovu Outsider, and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.
It occurred to me then that I had never actually heard Outsider talk before the ball, but he was certainly talking to Kestrel during that dinner, and very enthusiastically at that. And what was more, that was the first time he wasn't scowling and growling.
"Well, we have a castle also, and as big as this, but not as comfortable, I think," he was telling Kestrel. "We have six floors, and the fires are lit only at night, or if we get any snow; for seeing as we are in Africa, and the sun shines most of the time, making the place very warm, so we don't see the need for fires during the day. The castle is a stunning edifice carved out of the mountainside and shrouded in mist, so that it sometimes appears simply to float in mid-air. The grounds are larger than these, and because of the amount of sunlight we get, we enjoy them immensely. We also have creatures like cheetahs and hyenas coming pretty close to us, but I think there must be something in the mist that keeps them at bay. We get to fly as much as we can, pretty much every day, over the lakes and the trees and the rivers - "
"Now, now, Kovu!" said Kula, with a laugh that didn't reach her cold eyes. "Don't go giving away all of our secrets, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"
Crighton smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Ifu, all this secrecy ... one would almost think you didn't want visitors."
"Well, Crighton," said Kula, displaying her yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the walls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone honour our school's secrets, and rights to protect them?"
"Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Dragon Mort's secrets, Ifu," said Crighton amicably. "Why, 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 had never seen before, which was a magnificent bathroom: many cubicles, many sinks and a rather large bath were in that room. When I went back to investigate the room more closely a few hours later, I discovered that it 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."
I snorted into my plate of goulash, as Mr Dawson turned his laugh into a cough, although I could see his smile as he wiped his mouth. Chris, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly disgusted by the idea of his mother's full bladder, which only made me laugh harder.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand Desjardin was criticising the Dragon Mort decorations to Rita Davis.
"Zis is nothing," he said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. "At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we 'ave ice sculptures all around ze Dining Chamber at Chreetsmas. Zey do not melt, of course ... zey are like 'uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place. And ze food is seemply superb. And we 'ave a chorus of wood-nymphs, 'oo serenade us as we eat. We 'ave none of zis ugly armour in ze 'alls, and eef a poltergeist ever entered into Beauxbatons, she would be expelled like zat." He slapped his hand onto the table impatiently.
Rita Davis was watching his talk with a very dazed look on her face, and she kept missing her mouth with her fork. I was under the impression that Davis was too busy staring at Ferdinand to take in a word of what he was saying.
"Absolutely right," she said, slapping her own hand down on the table in imitation of Ferdinand. "Like that. Yeah."
I looked around the Hall. Mina was sitting at one of the other staff tables; she was wearing tawny brown dress robes, and gazing at the top table. I saw her giving a small wave and, looking around, I saw Monsieur Legrand return it, his opals glittering in the candlelight.
When all the food had been consumed, Crighton stood up and asked all the students to do the same. Then, at a wave of her wand, the tables zoomed back along the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then she conjured a raised platform into existence along the right-hand wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello and keyboard were set upon it.
The Jinxsters walked gracefully onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all very fashion-model typed, and were dressed in dark, gothic colours: black, red and purple (I think I also caught a glimpse of blue and green in there, too). The lead singer, who was dressed in purple and had a ruby red bat necklace around her neck, waved and smiled at the crowd; I saw that she had fake plastic Muggle fangs in her mouth, as did the rest of the band. They picked up their instruments, and seeing as I had been so consumed in watching the Jinxsters that I had almost forgotten what was coming, for suddenly, the lanterns on the other had gone out, and that the other Champions and their partners were standing up.
"Kiara, come on!" Chris hissed beside me. "We're supposed to dance!"
That recalled me to my senses. I was so distracted that I almost tripped over my dress, but I quickly caught myself by grabbing Chris' hand as I stood up. The Jinxsters took up a slow, mournful tune; I walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, and that time I kept my head held high, smiling enough and staring straight ahead of me. The next thing I knew, Chris had put his hand on my waist, and was holding my other hand tightly.
Before we go on, I bet you are wondering how Chris' dancing lessons have been coming along, haven't you, dear readers? Well, I am glad to say that he has been getting better. We had been practicing whenever we got the chance, in whatever free classroom we could get into. We had the odd run-in with Weeves, and we had to find somewhere else to practice, but we were mainly found by Sian and Chrissie, and whenever they did find us, I always blushed and looked away, and Chris always looked angry with his sisters, as though they had interrupted something private. Funny thing, though, whenever Sian and Chrissie found Chris and I together, they would have a shared, annoying smile plastered on their faces, which I would not understand until my sixth year. But apart from those problems, Chris and I found ourselves enjoying those dancing sessions. He didn't step on my toes as much and he was keeping his eyes on me and kept my rhythm. I had transformed him from a spider into an eligible dancer!
Anyhoo, it wasn't as bad as I imagined, dancing in Chris' arms that night; I didn't trip up, and Chris' arms and legs weren't jerking all over the place. I kept my eyes locked on his, as Chris spun me around the floor. He never took his eyes off me, not for a second, and his smile was so warm, and his eyes so bright, and he made me feel so safe and comfortable in his arms that I didn't bother looking at anyone else. Anyhoo, after a while, many of the other students had come on to the dancefloor, so that we Champions were no longer the centre of attention. Nikita and her partner - I wasn't paying that much attention to see who it was, dancing nearby, but I could just see out of the corner of my eye that the dance was awkward, for Nikita kept treading on the boy's feet - and Crighton was waltzing with Mr Dawson. She looked happy to be dancing in her husband's arms, and Mr Dawson, who I had never pictured as a "dancing man", was moving rather nicely. Crazy-Head Grumpy was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Comet, who was nervously avoiding her wooden leg.
"Nice socks, Pride-Lander," Grumpy growled as she passed, one of her magical eyes staring through my dress which, I'm not going to lie, did make me feel rather uncomfortable.
"Oh - yeah, Dokey the house-elf knitted them for me," I said, grinning nervously.
"She's pretty creepy, isn't she?" Chris said absent-mindedly. I stared at him incredulously, and he said, "Oh, come on, Kiara, you know who she is and what she's done as well as I do. Besides, those eyes of hers should not be allowed here. I mean, doesn't privacy mean anything to anyone anymore?" I couldn't argue with him after he said that, so I said nothing.
I heard the final, quivering note of the cello, and The Jinxsters stopped playing, as applause filled the Hall once more. Chris and I danced through another song, which was a much faster, funkier one, before we decided to sit down and get some drinks.
"You know, I am dancing the last dance of the night with you, whether you like it or not," Chris said loudly over the music, as he led me back across the floor, a demanding look in his eyes.
"I'll have to take you up on that then, won't I?" I replied teasingly. We both laughed. We laughed even harder at Tanya and Andrew, who were dancing so exuberantly that people around them were backing away for fear of injury, and over to the table where Chrissie, Ben, Dave and Merida were talking lightly, evidently breathing hard from dancing.
"How's it going?" I asked them, sitting down and opening the Butterbeer Chris passed me.
"Pretty good," said Merida, "but I think Sian's having an even better time out there." She nodded her head in the direction of the dancefloor. I turned my head and saw Sian and Kopa, who were clearly having a good time, judging by the smiles that were on their faces and the way they were looking into each other's eyes.
When the next song had finished, Sian came over and sat down next to Chris. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing and was grinning widely.
"Hi," Chrissie, Merida and I said to her simultaneously. The others just smiled at her presence.
"It's hot, isn't it?" Sian said, fanning herself with her hand. "Kopa's just gone to get some drinks."
"Sian," I said, "I have to ask; how did Kovu end up asking Kestrel to the ball?"
"Oh. Well, Kopa had just asked me, and he told me that his brother - meaning Kovu - was having trouble finding a date. I then told him that Kestrel didn't know who to go with either, so I asked Kopa if he would talk to Kovu about the possibility of him taking Kestrel. Kopa did that, and the next day he told me that Kovu would like to go with her, if I would introduce them. I readily agreed, and later that day, I did just that, and they hit it off. A few days later, Kest told me that she was going to the ball with Kovu."
"Sian, are you sure that Kopa is really into you?" said Chris suddenly.
Sian looked at him, stunned. "What's that supposed to mean, Chris?"
"If you don't know," he said scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."
Sian continued to stare at him, then across the line, before her eyes came to rest on me. I shrugged, and judging from Chrissie's, Ben's, Dave's and Merida's expressions, they had no idea what he was talking about, either.
Sian then said, "Chris, what - ?"
"Sian, Kopa's from Uagadou!" Chris said sharply. "His brother, Kovu, is competing against Kiara! Against Dragon Mort! You heard what Kiara's parents said about them - "
"Wait, what's this about Kiara's parents?" Merida asked. Chris ignored her.
"You - you're - " Chris was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Sian's crime, "fraternising with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"
Sian's mouth fell open.
"don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly - who, along with Chrissie, was so excited when they saw Kovu arrive? Who, along with Chrissie, wanted his autograph? And which of our sisters has a model of Kovu up in their dormitory?"
Chrissie looked confused at that last statement. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Sian ignored this, as did Chris, who then said, "I s'pose Kopa asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"
"No, it was in the grounds, actually," said Sian, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"
"What happened - trying to get him to join hame, were you?" said Chris snidely.
"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, Kopa and I have been spending a lot of time together over these past couple of months, and we both enjoy spending time with each other. He respects me, treats me like no one else has and - and he makes me feel like I'm someone special ... like I'm someone worth saving ..."
Sian said this quickly, and the blush on her cheeks was quickly turning from pink to red.
"Yeah, well, that's a good story," said Chris nastily.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Obvious, isn't it? He's one of Kula's students, isn't he? He's Outsider's brother, and he knows who you hang around with ... he's trying to get information about Kiara out of you to pass on to Outsider - or get near enough to jump her - "
Sian looked as though Chris had just slapped her. When she next spoke, her voice quivered. "For your information, Rickers, he has asked me about Kiara, and I have told him all that he wanted to know, but - " she said loudly over Chris' exclamation of "Ha!", " - he has told me that he will keep everything I have said about Kiara in strictest confidence - and I never mentioned anything personal about you, Kiara, just so you know," she added, speaking in a much gentler tone to me.
I was a little taken aback by this. "Thanks," was all I could think of to say.
Sian smiled gently at me, but her furious look returned, as Chris said, "Then Kopa's hoping that you'll help his brother find out what his egg means! I suppose the three of you have been putting your heads together during these cosy little library sessions - "
"I'd never help Kovu work out that egg!" said Sian, looking outraged, her eyes burning. "Never. How could you say something like that - I want Kiara to win the Tournament. Kiara knows that, don't you, Kiara?"
"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Chris.
"This whole Tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Sian shrilly.
People were starting to stare at us.
"Chris," I said quickly, "I haven't got a problem with Sian coming with Kopa, have you, Chrissie?"
"No, I don't," said Chrissie. "I mean, he's a little bit old for you Sian, but apart from that, I'm happy for you!" she added quickly, under her sister's withering gaze.
But Chris ignored us.
"Why don't you go and find Kopa," said Chris, "he'll be wondering where you - "
"Hey!" a voice behind us said. Chris, Sian, Chrissie, Ben, Dave, Merida and I looked round. Kopa was standing behind Sian, holding two drinks. His eyes were hard and cold like two glowing amber jewels, and he was glaring hard at Chris. "I've been hearing some of the stuff you've been saying to Sian, and it's not on! She's never asked me anything about the egg, and yes, I have asked her for information about Kiara, but I've not told Kovu, and I certainly haven't pressed Sian for anything she isn't comfortable telling me, all right! To be honest, your sister is one of the best people I've ever met. She has a brilliant mind, is kind, sweet, funny, has an amazing outlook on life, and makes me see the world differently through her eyes." He said all this to Sian, and Sian was beaming and blushing at his words, along with letting out a nervous giggle. Kopa's eyes sparkled gently at her, before they hardened slightly as he turned to Chrissie. "And there are those that say that age is just a number!" Chrissie just stared at him, dumbstruck. Kopa then turned back to Sian, handed her a drink and said, "Do you want to go somewhere else?"
"I'd love to," Sian replied indignantly, and without saying another word to us, she took Kopa's hand and disappeared through the crowded dancefloor.
I stared after them, thinking of how happy Sian looked with him, and I was happy for her. I was brought back to the present by Chrissie, who said, "Nice going, Chris! Why did you have to go and say things like that to Sian? We all know what she's like. Besides, if she had a bad feeling about Kopa, don't you think she would have stayed away from him from the start?"
Chris looked steadily at Chrissie and said, "I was just trying to be a good brother and look out for her, that's all - "
"We know that, Chris," said Merida, "but we all know how well Sian can take care of herself. She doesn't need you or anyone else to protect her. You know as well as the rest of us do that if you do anything to mess this up for her, Sian will never forgive you, don't her? Just let her experience this, OK? This is a big thing for her, and if you do anything to upset her, you'll be hurting her more than you know."
"They're right, Chris," I said quietly. Chris turned to me, a hard look in his eyes. "Leave her."
Chris looked around, trying to see who agreed with him. None of us did, so he took a deep sigh and put his head in his hands. He was like that for some time, until a voice said, "Made friends with Kovu Outsider's brother, have you, Chris?" which mad ehim raise his head.
Mr Dawson had come over, grinning broadly, and flopped down into Sian's recently vacated seat, pulling out a handkerchief and mopping his brow, which was sweating profusely. "I'm glad to see you're getting along so well. That's what your mother and I like to see. That's the whole point of the Tournament, you know - not the winning - the international magical co-operation!"
"Where's Professor Crighton, Mr Dawson?" I asked him, wondering why his wife wasn't sat next to him.
"Out there, dancing with Professor Comet, Kiara," he said, nodding at the dancefloor. "Just because I'm her husband does not mean that I control all her movements, you know?" he joked, I smiled back, and then looked at the dancefloor.
The top table was empty by this point; Professor Crighton was, indeed, dancing with Professor Comet; Lynn Baxter, with Spud; Monsieur Legrand and Mina were cutting a whole path around the dancefloor as they waltzed through the students, and Kula was nowhere to be seen. When the next song ended, everybody applauded, and I saw Spud kiss Lynn Baxter's hand. She chuckled and beamed at the gesture, before she made her way back through the crowd, at which point Tanya and Geri accosted her.
"What are those two up to now?" Mr Dawson wondered out loud, watching Tanya and Geri closely.
Lynn Baxter shook off Tanya and Geri fairly quickly, however, and, spotting me, waved and came over to our table.
"My nieces haven't been gambling again, have they, Lynn?" Mr Dawson asked quickly, looking rather nervous.
"What? Oh, not at all, not at all!" said Baxter, which made Mr Dawson heave a huge sigh of relief. "No, they were just telling me a bit more about those fake quills of theirs. Wondering if I could advertise them on the marketing. I've promised to keep in touch with a couple of contacts of mine at Whacko's Joke Shop ..."
Mr Dawson's nervous look returned in full at this news. Apparently Tanya and Geri's plans had grown more ambitious from what we heard, if they were hoping to sell to the public.
Baxter opened her mouth to ask me something, but Mr Dawson diverted her. "How do you think the Tournament's going, Lynn? Everyone in our department's quite satisfied from what I've heard - the hitch with the Goblet of fire, yet again - " he glanced at me - "was a little unfortunate, of course, but it seems to have gone very smoothly since, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes," said Baxter cheerfully, "it's all been enormous fun. Have you heard from Perdy how Bea's doing, Matt? It's a shame she couldn't come."
"Mmm," Mr Dawson mumbled, "but Perdy reckons Bea'll be up and about again in no time. She's enjoying her job immensely, you know. Enjoying the responsibility of bossing people around. She's more than happy to take on the work load. She won't stop going on about everything she's had to do ..."
"Let's go for a walk," Chrissie muttered to Chris and I, "get away from the Perdy talk ..."
"Chrissie?" Ben asked suddenly. She turned to face him. Ben's face flushed a little as he said, "Will you have the last dance of the night with me?"
Chrissie beamed. "Of course I will." Ben beamed back at her. Then, pretending that we wanted more drinks, Chris, Chrissie and I left the table, edged around the dancefloor and slipped out into the Entrance Hall. The front doors stood open, and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as we went down the front steps, where we found ourselves surrounded by bushes, winding ornamental paths, and large stone statues. I could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there people were sitting on carved benches. Chris, Chrissie and I set off along one of the winding paths through the rose bushes, but we had only gone a short way when we heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.
" ... don't see what there is to fuss about, Ifu."
"Tiana, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Kula'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 seriously concerned, I can't deny it - "
"Then flee," said Triphorm's voice curtly. "Flee. I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Dragon Mort."
Triphorm and Kula came around the corner. Triphorm had her wand out, and was blasting rose bushes apart, her expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them.
"Ten points from Badger-Stripes, Fawbert!" Triphorm snarled, as a boy ran past her. "And ten points from Raven-Wings, too, Stubbs!" as a girl went rushing after him. "and what are you three doing?" she added, catching sight of Chris, Chrissie and I on the path ahead. Kula, I saw, looked slightly discomposed to see us standing there. Her hand went nervously to her hair, and she began winding a curl around her finger again.
"We were walking," Chris told Triphorm shortly. "Is that such a crime?"
"Keep walking, then!" Triphorm snarled, and she brushed past us, her long red cloak billowing out behind her. Kula hurried after her. Chris, Chrissie and I continued down the path.
"What's got Kula all worried?" Chrissie muttered.
"And since when have she and Triphorm been on first-name terms?" I said slowly.
We had reached a large stone reindeer, over which we could see the sparkling jets of a tall fountain. The shadowy outlines of two enormous people were visible on a stone bench, watching the water in the moonlight. And then I heard Mina speak.
"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew," she was saying in an odd, husky voice.
Chris, Chrissie and I froze. That didn't sound like the sort of scene we ought to have walked in on, somehow ... I looked around, back up the path and saw Ferdinand Desjardin and Rita Davis standing half-concealed in a rose bush nearby. I tapped Chris and Chrissie on the shoulder and jerked my head towards them, meaning that we could easily sneak off that way without being noticed (Ferdinand and Davis looked very busy to me); Chris nodded, but Chrissie, her eyes widening with horror at the sight of Ferdinand, shook her head vigorously, and pulled Chris and I deeper into the shadows behind the reindeer.
"What did you know, Meenah?" said Monsieur Legrand, a distinct purr in his low voice.
This was one conversation I definitely did not want to listen to; I knew Mina would've hated to have been overheard in a situation like this one (I certainly would have done) - if it had been possible, I would have put my fingers in my ears and hummed loudly, but that wasn't really an option. To try and distract myself, I tried to interest myself in a beetle crawling along the stone reindeer's back, but the beetle wasn't interesting enough to block out Mina's next words.
"I jus' knew ... knew you were like me ... was it yer mother or yer father?"
"I - I don't know what you mean, Meenah ..."
"It was my father," said Mina quietly. "He was one o' the last ones in Britain. 'Course, I can' remember him too well ... he left, see. When I was abou' three. He wasn' really the paternal sort. Well ... it's not in their blood, is it? Dunno what happened to him ... might be dead fer all I know ..."
Monsieur Legrand didn't say anything. And I, in spite of myself, took my eyes off the beetle, and looked over the top of the reindeer's antlers, listening ... I had never heard Mina talk about her childhood before then.
"Me mum was broken-hearted when he wen'. Tiny little woman, my mum was. By the time I was six, I could lift her up an' put her on top o' the dresser if she annoyed me. Used to make her laugh ..." Mina's soft voice broke. Monsieur Legrand was listening, motionless, apparently staring at the silvery fountain. "Mum raised me ... but she died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Crighton was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, she was ..."
Mina pulled out a large, spotted silk handkerchief and blew her nose heavily. "So ... anyway ... enough abou' me. What about you? Which side you got it on?"
But Monsieur Legrand had suddenly got to his feet.
"Zis 'as been a lovely evening, Meenah, and I do not wish to ruin it. Besides, it is chilly," he said - but whatever the weather was doing, it was nowhere as cold as his voice. "I will go in now."
"Eh?" said Mina blankly. "No, don' go! I've - I've never met another before!"
"Anuzzer what, precisely?" said Monsieur Legrand, his tone icy.
I wanted to tell Mina that it was best not to answer; I stood there in the shadows, gritting my teeth, hoping against hope she wouldn't - but it was no good.
"Another half-giant, o' course!" said Mina.
"'Ow dare you!" yelled Monsieur Legrand. His voice exploded through the peaceful night air like a fog horn; behind me, I heard Ferdinand and Rita fall out of their rose bush. "I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? Moi? I 'ave - I 'ave big bones!"
He stormed away; great multi-coloured swarms of fairies rose into the air as he passed, angrily pushing aside bushes. Mina was still sitting on the bench, staring after him. It was much too dark to make out her expression. Then, after about a minute, she stood up and strode away, not back to the castle, but off out into the dark grounds in the direction of her cabin.
"C'mon," I said very quietly, to Chris and Chrissie. "Let's go ..."
But Chris and Chrissie didn't move.
"What's up?" I said, looking at them.
Chris and Chrissie looked around at me, their expressions very serious indeed.
"Did you know?" Chrissie whispered. "About Mina being half-giant?"
"No," I said, shrugging. "So what?"
I knew immediately from the looks Chris and Chrissie gave me, that I was once again revealing my ignorance of the wizarding world. Seeing as I had not been told that much about the wizarding world growing up, there were many things that wizards took for granted that were revelations to me, but those surprises had become fewer as I moved up the school. At that moment, however, I could tell that most wizards wouldn't have said "So what?" upon finding out that one of their friends had a giant for a father.
"We'll explain inside," said Chris quietly. "C'mon ..."
Ferdinand and Rita Davis had disappeared, probably into a more private clump of bushes, I suspected. Chris, Chrissie and I returned to the Great Hall. Ben, Dave and Merida were still sat together, and Sian was once more dancing with Kopa, and Kestrel was dancing with Outsider. Chris, Chrissie and I sat down together at a table far removed from the dancefloor. As we did so, I noticed something rather odd.
Crighton was sitting alone at one of the tables, and she was looking at the dancefloor, looking rather sad. I didn't take too much notice of her, though, for I had more pressing matters on my mind ...
SUSAN CRIGHTON
She was sat at a table alone, staring miserably at the dancefloor at a couple, but it was the girl she was most interested in; she looked rather familiar to Susan. A few seconds later, and it hit her: that girl was her Sian! She looked so grown-up and beautiful to Crighton, she couldn't believe this was her eldest daughter that she was seeing before her. As she looked even longer at her, Crighton started to notice the boy who she was with, and the way Sian was looking at him. Despite how she felt, Crighton smiled at her daughter's happiness, for Sian deserved it. As Susan looked at the boy even longer, she saw his eyes as he turned. Those eyes were familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen them. Then, the third time he turned, Crighton realised where she had seen those eyes before, and she smiled at Sian and Kopa, glad that they had found each other at last. Susan then chuckled, remembering what Sian had said about no one ever coming to love her. Then she stopped thinking about it, because it hurt her. Her smile faded, and the warmth and light faded from her eyes, as a small sigh escaped her.
Susan was lonely. She missed Sian terribly. Whenever people came to her office, they told her that she wasn't herself, but Susan merely brushed it off as bad sleep. But the truth was that she missed Sian. She missed her daughter's sense of humour and listening to her strong beliefs, not just her voice. But more than anything, she missed Sian's presence. When Sian had told her that she would be ignoring her until the Tournament was over, Susan thought that her daughter was joking. But no. Sian had been as good as her word. She was a strong person, Susan realised. Stronger than herself. Susan had never felt this lonely, not even during her teen years - but she would not go back to those memories, at least not now. They were far behind her, and she forced herself to stay in the present - and succeeded. But she could not, however, stop a tear from escaping the corner of her eye.
"Susan?" a deep, gentle voice asked, bringing her out of her miserable thoughts. She looked up into the eyes of her husband, who was looking at her with deep concern.
"Matthew," she said, casting him a watery smile, as she wiped her tears away. Matt sat down next to Susan, and put an arm around her. She leaned into him, using his warmth for comfort.
"Susan?" he asked her again, and she leaned back, looking at him. "What's wrong? I don't think I've ever seen you cry before. Tell me what's bothering you."
"Oh, it's just Sian," Susan sniffled. "I take it she wrote to you about our falling out?"
Matthew nodded. "I was shocked when I found out," he said, "but we both know that Sian's always made her own decisions. And we know how good she is; but don't fret, Sue, for you haven't lost our daughter yet, never fear." Susan smiled at him, the warmth returning to her eyes as she kissed him. When they broke apart, Matt glanced around and said, "Speaking of our firstborn ... where is she, anyway?"
Susan nodded to the girl a few yards away, and Matthew did a double-take of the head, for Sian glowed that night in his eyes. Susan saw that his face showed a mixture of shock and amazement as he turned back to face her. Susan giggled at the look on his face.
"Is that really our Siany?" he asked, disbelief evident in every word he spoke.
Susan laughed at his expression. "I know how you feel, Matthew," she said, amusement in her voice, "but yes, that is really Sian."
Matthew let out a low whistle. "I never thought I'd see her like this, you know? Dressed up, all fancy-like ... looking like a Queen of the Stars. She looks so grow-up ..."
"She does, doesn't she?" Susan asked gently. Then it struck the couple, as a sense of horror washed over them as they looked at Sian - and really looked at her. Up until this point, neither Susan nor Matthew had ever given much thought to how much their children were growing, and seeing Sian made them realise not only how fast she and the rest of their breed were growing, but also just how much longer each of their precious jewels would be under their roof, and it filled both of them with a sense of dread that all parents would at one point realise.
Susan and Matthew were both breathing heavily, as the dread washed over them. Matthew was the first to speak. "Our children ... really are growing up ... aren't they?"
Susan looked at him and clutched his hand gently. "Yes, they really are."
He pulled her to him, taking a deep breath as he did so. "I don't think I'm ready to think of them leaving yet, Susan. I'm really not."
Susan, trying to cheer her husband up, said gently, "Well, at least we have a few years yet before that happens, so you still have the chance to play God over their lives for some time yet, my darling."
Matthew laughed heartily at this and pulled his wife closer to him. "Oh, you bet I will," he said, and both husband and wife shared a laugh. Then, after the laughter died, his voice grew more serious, and he said, "What do we do in the meantime, Sue?"
Susan looked up at him, touched his cheek gently and made him look at her. When she saw his gaze, she was taken aback by what she saw, for her husband looked like a lost, scared child. She looked at him steadily, stroked his cheek and said, "We be there for them, and we spend as much time with them as we can - not just with Sian - before they leave our doorstep. But never forget, Matthew," she added quickly, as a pained look crossed his features, "no matter where they go, no matter what they do, we will always be their parents, and they will always be our babies."
Matthew's pained look softened, and he smiled gently and gratefully at his wife. "Thank you, my dear." He then kissed her on top of the head and looked around. After a few moments, Susan felt her husband stiffen. She looked up at him, bewildered as to what could have brought this on, and saw her husband glaring angrily at a spot behind her. Turning around, she saw him glaring at Sian and Kopa, and that's when she cottoned on as to why he was angry. She heaved a great sigh, for she had expected this to happen.
"Susan," Matthew growled, "who is that boy that Sian is dancing with?"
"Matthew," Susan said imploringly, "please calm down."
"Calm down!" her husband practically yelled, making a few people look their way. "How can I - ?"
"Matthew!" Susan yelled over his voice. Matthew immediately fell silent, as Susan regained her composure, and said, "Matt, do you remember the boy from years ago ... who disappeared ..." Matthew looked confused, so Susan proceeded: "The one who we ... you know ..." she said pointedly, nudging her head at Sian and Kopa. Matthew still looked confused, until a few minutes later, he gasped, his face portraying shock as he looked at his wife, who beamed at him.
"That boy ... who's dancing with our Siany ... are you telling me he's ... ?"Susan nodded, delighted at how well things had turned out.
"Well, I never," Matthew chuckled, smiling in delight at his eldest daughter and Kopa. Susan was glad to see that the anger had gone from his face. But concern grew within her again as Matt turned to her and said, with a concerned look on his face, "Are you sure it's him, though, Susan?"
"Positive," she said, and she spoke so confidently when she answered, that Matthew didn't question her about it again. But he did look at her with a devilish grin, as he said, "Now, then. Seeing as it's still Christmas, and you need cheering up, can I have yo for these next few dances?" Susan smiled, nodded and put her hands in his. He grinned even more broadly, as he led her back onto the dancefloor, and husband and wife danced like they had never danced before.
KIARA
"So?" I prompted Chris and Chrissie. "What's the problem with giants?"
"Well, they're ... they're ..." Chrissie struggled for words, "not very nice," she finished lamely.
"Who cares?" I said. "There's nothing wrong with Mina!"
"We know there isn't, Kiara, but ... blimey, no wonder she keeps it quiet," Chris said, shaking his head. "I always thought she'd got in the way of a bad Engorgement Charm when she was a kid or something. Didn't like to mention it ..."
"But what does it matter if her father was a giant?" I said.
"Well ... no one who knows her will care, 'cause they'll know she's not dangerous," said Chrissie slowly. "But ... Kiara, they're just vicious, giants. It's like Mina said, it's in their natures, they're like trolls ... they just like killing, everyone knows that. There aren't any left in Britain now, though."
"What happened to them?"
"Well, they were dying out anyway, and then loads got themselves killed by Aurors. They're supposed to be giants abroad, though ... they hide out in the mountains mostly ..."
"I don't know who Legrand thinks he's kidding," I said, watching Monsieur Legrand sitting at the top table, looking very sombre. "If Mina's half-giant, he definitely is. Big bones ... the only thing that's got bigger bones than him is a dinosaur."
Chris, Chrissie and I spent most of the remainder of the ball discussing giants in our corner, none of us having any intention to dance until the end. I tried not to watch Khan and Georgia; I felt my heart stop beating and my stomach lurch every time I did so.
When the last song of the night was announced, Chris, Chrissie, Ben, Dave, Merida and I took to the floor once more. I smiled in Chris' arms once more, looking into his eyes all throughout the dance; and when The Jinxsters finished playing at midnight, everyone in the Hall gave them a last, loud round of applause, and then we started to wend our way to the Entrance Hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, but I was perfectly happy to be going to bed; as far as I was concerned, the evening hadn't been that much fun.
Out in the Entrance Hall, Chris, Chrissie and I saw Sian saying goodnight to Kopa before he went back to the Uagadou submarine. When she saw Chris, she gave him a very cold look, and swept back up the marble staircase without speaking. Chris, Chrissie and I followed her, but halfway up the marble staircase, I heard someone calling me.
"Hey - Kiara!"
It was Georgia Diggs. I could see Khan waiting for her in the Entrance Hall below.
"Yeah?" I said coldly, as Georgia ran up the stairs before me.
Georgia looked as though she didn't want to say whatever it was in front of Chris and Chrissie, who shrugged, Chris looking bad-tempered, and Chrissie just looked blankly ahead of her, as they continued up the stairs.
"Listen ..." Georgia lowered her voice as Chris and Chrissie disappeared. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does your wail when you open it?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Well ... take a bath, OK?"
"What?"
"Take a bath, and - er - take the egg with you, and - er - just mull things over in the hot water. Oh, and the hidden thing within the egg will be revealed to you once you've heard the clue properly, which you'll need for the next task. The bath'll help you think ... trust me."
I stared at her.
"Tell you what," Georgia said, "use the Prefects' bathroom. Fourth door to the left of the statue of Brianna the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's Pine-fresh. Gotta go ... want to say goodnight ..."
She grinned at me again and hurried back down the stairs to Khan.
I walked back to Lion-Heart Tower alone, thinking that the advice that Georgia had given me was very strange. I wondered why a bath would help me work out what the egg meant. I also wondered if Georgia was just pulling my leg and make me look like a fool, so that Khan would like Georgia even more by comparison.
The Fat Lord and his friend Victor were snoozing in his picture over the portrait hole. I had to yell "Fairy Lights!" before I woke them up, and when I did, they were both extremely irritated. I climbed into the common room, and found Sian yelling at Chris with the final word of the night, as Chrissie stood a little away from them, trying to make herself as small as possible, and looking like she really did not want to be there.
"You listen here, Rickers, and you listen to me good!" she yelled at him. "This is my life that we are arguing about, and it's mine to control! You are not our father, Rickers, so therefore who I decide to go out with is entirely my business, so just stay out of it!" Sian then ran up the stairs to the dormitories, slamming the door to the girls' dormitories behind her.
Chris and Chrissie then looked round at me, both of them too stunned to say anything, and Chrissie trembling from head to foot. I'm pretty sure there was nothing Chris could have said that would have been a good argument for what Sian had just said, for she was right. It was her life, Chris was not her father, and Sian had every right to do as she wished with her life, including choosing who she dated.