CHAPTER 37 - Shock and Awwww

"Sarah! Sarah, we have a problem. Well, maybe not. Actually yeah, I guess it is."

"Jen, I need coherency this late in the day," Sarah grumbled as she collapsed into her seat at dinner. It was a Gryffindor night, so they were at the far end of her house table. It was too early for dinner but Jenelle had grabbed Sarah and dragged her in to talk.

"Right, sorry. So, have you ever heard of the Harvest Ball?" Jenelle had a look in her eye that Sarah didn't like.

"A ball? Like, 'Once Upon a December' sort of thing?"

"I can only assume. I've never been to a ball before. At first I thought it was like our dances back at Ilvermorny, but it looks like it's a 'get all dolled up and do the two-step' kind of event." Jenelle gulped.

"So, what? You don't want to go? When is it?" Sarah asked, rolling the cricks out of her neck in slow, methodical movements.

"Saturday."

Hold up, what?

"Like, next week Saturday?"

"No like, in two days Saturday."

"Merlin's balls Jenelle! That's so soon!"

"Heh, you sound like Black when you say that."

"Shut up. I'm SO GLAD that our FRIENDS gave us a heads up…"

Jenelle shook her head, looking like she was struggling to focus. Sarah worried that she was trying to take on too much, too soon after her attack.

"Well, here's the deal. According to Cissy-"

"I can't believe you call her that."

"What?! She's my housemate. I can't help it."

"Sorry, anyways?"

"ANYWAYS, this dance, ball, is a pretty big deal according to her. It's when the Slytherins get to show off how much money they have or how influential they can be. Seems to be a hotspot for networking and the like. She even said something about finding me a suitor."

"Ew, gag."

"Right?"

Sarah was still trying to process what this meant for two days preparation. What in Isolt's name were they going to wear?! Then it hit her that it wasn't really Jenelle's problem. If this was a house-loyalty sort of event, Jenelle was covered as far as friends with connections.

"I guess I better hit up Professor McGonagall," Sarah sighed. "And I guess we need dates right?"

"That seems to be preferable. Though, I guess you don't have to worry about that," Jenelle winked at her.

Sarah wanted to seriously gag at that.

"Well what about you? It would be sort of weird for you to go with Remus this time around if this is a Slytherin-centric event."

"I'm sure Cissy- er, Narcissa is figuring something out as far as my impending date goes. I mean, she's already sent word for a dress that she's certain her mother will be able to get here by Saturday night."

A few dizzying images of potential ensembles were swirling in Sarah's mind. This was going to require some serious girl power to bring together. She'd need Lily's help too.

"Alright, so we're both going then?" she asked finally.

"Yeah! I'm sort of excited, I've never had a chance to get really dolled up before. And you know me, I love to dance."

"Oh boy, do I know. I've had to watch you slow dancing by yourself in the dorms back home while imagining some secret rendezvous with that bimbo Clara Horowitz…"

"Hey, she was legitimately into me! Also, just because I didn't go to finishing school doesn't mean I can't groove."

"Ew, Jen, you're picking up too much seventies vernacular."

The blonde just smiled giddily at her and Sarah was inclined to join her. This actually sounded like a pretty fun event. She'd have to be careful around Malfoy though, he was sure to be in rare form. Like a peacock showing his plumage to attract a mate.

This better not turn into another shit show….

The next morning Jenelle was on her way to Herbology with Remus at her side. They were meeting outside the castle grounds for class that day, somewhere on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Jenelle was still feeling a little woozy at times but overall her condition had improved greatly. She was happy to be outside in the cool air of autumn with the leaves crunching underfoot and the sun high and warm in the cloudless sky.

Remus was sure to always be nearby when they made their way down a precarious stone staircase or steep slope. He would reach his hand out behind her back, not touching but Jenelle always knew when it was there. They exchanged smiles and blushing cheeks, all the familiarity of young love blossoming between them.

"You really didn't know about the Ball, huh?" Remus asked cheerfully, a gleam of amusement in his eye.

She grinned slyly at him. "No, I was a little preoccupied, as you'll recall."

"Heh, right. Somehow you and Waterbrooke have managed to get both of you laid up in the infirmary over the course of a month. An impressive feat. Are the two of you as acquainted with the infirmary back at Ilvermorny as you are here at Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts?" the young blonde teased.

Jenelle tried to recall the nurse's office back home. It was a quiet little corner of the castle, surrounded by towering pine trees that always left sticky little drips of sap streaking down the paned windows onto the window sills. The beds were made of light maple, dented and scratched with years of use. It was a warmer and more inviting image than the metal framed cots of the Hogwarts infirmary.

In truth, Jenelle had spent a lot of time there, and by default that meant Sarah had too, as her most loyal bedside companion.

"Well, now that you mention it," Jenelle laughed unsteadily, "I guess I do spend a fair bit of time there. But we call it the nurse's office, or nurse's ward. An infirmary is entirely British."

"Is it?" Remus asked amused.

Jenelle tried to put on her most convincing accent, "'Ello mates! Could I interest you in some buddabeahs? Cheers!"

Remus buckled over in laughter. "That was singularly the worst impression I've ever heard. What in Merlin's name is a 'buddabeah'?"

"A butterbeer!" Jenelle laughed along.

"Goodness, you make us sound like neanderthals."

"Nah, you're all too stuck up to be cavemen," she teased.

The continued to talk and make jokes in quiet whispers all through class. Jenelle had almost forgotten that they shared the class with anyone at all until Severus came up to her an hour later as she packed up her parchments and vials of plant samples.

"Montagnard, could I have a moment?" the pointy-nosed boy asked mildly.

"Oh, hey Sev. What's up?" Jenelle looked over and saw Remus laughing at something with some nearby Gryffindors she didn't recognize.

"This is going to seem...capricious, but I'd like to think we are relatively close acquaintances, correct?" The boy had a steely look in his eyes when Jenelle turned to look up at him. Seeing that this was not a simple request to borrow some quill ink she stood, wiping the dirt from her hands on the outside of her robe.

"You're making me nervous, Sev. What's up? Is everything alright?"

"Nothing is wrong, I'm just under some considerable pressure from Narcissa you see." He swayed anxiously on his feet.

"Ah, I bet I can guess what this is about then," Jenelle sighed gently with a grin.

"Can you?" Severus looked surprised.

"Yes, I was already warned that I would need a Slytherin companion if I was going to attend the Harvest Ball. I figured it would be you that asked me, and I pretty much knew that Cissy would have a hand in it."

The slightest smirk creased the boy's lips. "That's not a hard conjecture to come to I suppose. But you're right, Narcissa did corner me late last night in the common room and all but threatened me to ask you."

Jenelle smiled and slipped her wand into the pocket of her robes. "And you don't need to fret about it any longer. My answer is yes, of course."

Severus' shoulders visibly dropped in relief.

"Thank Merlin for that. I'm not sure what I would have said to Narcissa if you had declined."

"I'm sure it would have been me receiving the punitive judgment of that outcome," Jenelle joked. The two of them chuckled and Jenelle saw a familiar figure come around behind her.

"What's going on over here?" Remus asked warily, pointedly placing himself shoulder to shoulder with Jenelle.

"Nothing that's any of your business, Lupin," Severus said darkly, making a sudden (but not unexpected) shift in demeanor.

"What Severus means is that we're just working out some logistics," Jenelle glared a warning at her housemate who shifted uncomfortably.

"Logistics about what?" Remus asked, not nearly as blatant in his disregard of Slytherin house as his fellow Marauders, but still on edge.

Jenelle paused for a second, her mouth hanging open.

How can I go about this in the most gentle way...

"I will be escorting Montagnard to the Harvest Ball tomorrow night," Severus said bluntly.

Cue internal eye roll. So much for delicacy, Sev.

"Like hell you will Snape," Remus growled, losing his cool.

"Remus, relax. It's not like that. Severus is actually doing me a favor." Remus looked stricken at Jenelle's comment. "Wha-What I mean is, this is saving me from some embarrassment at the ball."

"Am I an embarrassment to you?" Remus said hurt.

"What? No! No, not at all. That's not what I meant," Jenelle raised her hands and tried to explain herself but seemed to be doing a pretty poor job of it. Remus took a step back and grimaced in the midst of his confusion.

"Listen, Lupin. Montagnard is only being kind. For Salazar's sake, I do believe you've finally come to match your compatriots in intellectual lacking. Or are you telling me that you've conveniently forgotten the Harvest Ball is an event with traditions that must be upheld?" Severus asked cooly.

"I'd like to think my memory is just fine, Snape. I know how the Harvest Ball is used for you Slytherins, but I don't think I care for the idea of Jenelle being paraded around for your housemates' inspection," Remus answered with eyes boring into Snape.

"I would never treat a fellow Slytherin that way," Severus said defensively. Jenelle hadn't thought so, but was still relieved to hear it.

Severus continued, "I suppose even you'll be able to understand that we will be going as acquaintances, and acquaintances only. But we will be going together. I would hope you'd want to refrain from putting Montagnard in the position of having to choose between you and her house."

Remus looked to be considering the story being spun at him and after a few bone-chilling seconds to Jenelle, he relaxed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I understand. It's a matter of convenience, right?" He directed his question to Jenelle. She nodded furiously, ready for this little rift to be done with. Severus gave one solid nod and that seemed to be the end of it for Remus.

"Right. So Snape, you won't have a problem with me stealing Jenelle away as soon as I find her. I'll be taking her off your hands."

"Be my guest," said Severus. "No offense meant of course, Montagnard. I'm not much of a dancer."

"That's fine, Sev. Thank you." Jenelle smiled wide and waved goodbye as her housemate turned on his heels and joined the rest of the class on their hike back up the hillside to the castle. Jenelle turned to Remus and struggled to look him in the eyes.

"So…" she started.

"So, I'm still telling everyone you're my date," Remus said flippantly, then a reassuring grin bloomed on his face and Jenelle was at ease again.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to go with you too, truly," she confessed.

"No goodnight pleasantries with that slimeball though," Remus huffed, pulling up the strap of his bag over his head.

"Remus…"

"Sorry, not a slimeball. A...grease orb?"

Jenelle laughed despite herself and leaned forward to press a kiss to the boy's cheek.

Remus blushed slightly and looked up the hill at the last of the students disappearing over the stoney ledge. Then he bent down and wrapped his arms around Jenelle, lifting her in the air and spinning her around as she shrieked in surprise. When he finally loosened his grip she slid slowly down his front and rested her arms on his shoulders.

Then she took part in her new favorite, British pastime; snogging.

Sarah had spent the last two days panicked out of her mind.

TWO days. Two days she'd had to prepare for a huge event like a freakin' Harvest Ball.

Seriously! Why hadn't anyone said anything!?

Thank Isolt, William and all the rest of the Ilvermorny founders for the amazing tag-team that was her housemate Lily and her Head of House McGonagall. Thanks to them, and a couple of reference images she's been able to sketch somewhat competently, the three of them had been able to create something completely unique and beautiful.

McGonagall had looked quite impressed with the final result, declaring that she'd never seen its like before. Lily had been swooning, exclaiming over and over about how Sarah needed to help her create some day-dresses and outfits based on the design they had finally decided on.

Sarah agreed wholeheartedly; with the amount of time and effort the two had put in to make sure she didn't look like a fashion reject tonight, she was planning on returning the favor threefold somehow.

A Lannister always repays their debts, and so does Sarah Yellowbanks.

She'd been extremely wary at first, not sure if what she had wanted was exactly considered kosher for such an event. The idea had come to her on a whim as the three witches had failed time and again to creating something 'modern' (for the seventies) and chic, for her to compete against the wealthy Slytherins.

Every design failed to hit its mark though: too long, too bright, too poofy, too revealing (too many damn bows!). By the time they had created their tenth failure Sarah was certain that she'd be better off going in a burlap sack than whatever else they could attempt to conjure. But then she'd had an idea, a crazy idea.

She'd pitched it to the two other women, and although they were a little confused, they did their best to follow her descriptions and instructions.

The result was nothing short of fantastic.

When she had looked upon the final result, yards of transfigured silk and embroidery flowing under her fingertips, Sarah had felt a wave of gratitude sweep through her.

"Thank you," she had whispered, teary-eyed. McGonagall had looked a bit uncomfortable, but had laid a hand on her shoulder in a show of support.

"Think nothing of it my dear," she said briskly, giving a small smile. "Every girl deserves a chance to feel like a princess, though I daresay that you may just pull off looking like a queen tomorrow."

She had flushed but nodded, aware that refuting her Professor's words would just be rude.

It was now only minutes before the start of the ball, and Sarah and Lily were running around their dorm with the rest of the upper-class students. They were applying makeup, fixing hair, and a million other little things that girls did in order to end their struggles with a look that made it all worth it.

Throughout the evening various girls made comments about her dress. Some were gushing and enthusiastic, expressing how they wished they too could pull off such a look. Sarah responded that as long as they were doing so out of respect for the culture, they had at least her permission to go ahead and try.

But mocking made up about half of the other comments she had received, although Lily had immediately glared down those girls as soon as they finished their backhanded observations.

"Ignore them, sweetheart," Lily hissed in her ear as she sent off another pair of spiteful girls. "They're just jealous. Those two in particular used to date Black a while back, and are still carrying a torch for him."

Ah yes, Sirius. She had been adamant that they keep their relationship low key, although not exactly a secret. He had been a bit hurt when he had heard that, until she had explained her reasoning.

He had eventually caved to her request, but it didn't stop the rumor mills from going full speed. While they never went so far as to kiss or hold hands in public, Sirius was now much less hesitant to swing an arm around her shoulders or rest his chin on her head, which she had agreed to allow after some negotiations.

What this all led to was a seething mess of unclear communication and a horde of jealous ex's, all demanding to know what exactly her relationship was with the school heart-throb.

A few well-placed jinxes diverted most of the storm, but every so often another nosy Nancy would pop up, such as this evening.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Sarah asked for the thousandth time, worrying her lip in agitation.

Lily sighed. "For the last time, you're going to knock everyone dead!" she insisted. "Finish up your make-up now and I'll help you get dressed." Lily had already finished half an hour ago in preparation to give Sarah a hand; a gesture that the tiny Asian highly appreciated.

A few minutes later she was fully decked out and she turned hesitantly to the full-length communal mirror. She couldn't hold back a small inhale; it really was beautiful.

Lily slid up behind her, smiling from over her shoulder. "Told you," she stated simply.

"I'll never doubt you again. Have I told you that I love you lately? Because I do. I may just have to express my love in the form of food."

"Aww, you'll make me a home cooked meal even before your own man? Careful Sarah, he might just implode with envy."

"He has everything to worry about. He's got nothing on you."

Lily giggled before reaching for Sarah's hand, hidden under voluminous sleeves.

"Let's go knock 'em dead Waterbrooke."

"After you, Evans."