Author's Notes: The Harry Potter books are published by Bloomsbury. My story's published by . Alas, not quite the same.
- One million views! yay!
- One year old! double yay! and what a coincidence!
- I was actually hoping for this chapter to be done by the one-year-anniversary and before exams. one week late. ah well.
Chapter 55: The Calm
The New Year's Ball wasn't going to catch them unprepared. After the last day of classes, Harry and Hermione practiced their dancing in the only place in the castle where they could still find any privacy; at least, until everyone left for the winter holidays.
"You know, the giant, carved-up snake really kills the mood," Harry said.
"Ignore it," Hermione said. "And you're not holding me correctly!"
Harry lifted her hand a little higher and pulled her in aggressively with his other, squeezing their bodies together. "Better?" he whispered into her ear.
Ah! Can't move! He shouldn't be leaning forward so much! I should be leaning back more! His hand should be higher on my back! Oh, this feels so nice, though… Hermione thought. "I'm not complaining."
Harry laughed. "You know you can tell me what I need to fix, right? You can always find something wrong with my technique."
"Ahem. Something to improve," she corrected. "I'm really happy about your, uh, performance. In the tournament, I mean. And out of the tournament as well. I-uh, that is, SNAPE Society. Oh bugger, that came out all wrong."
"Hermione! Language!" Harry mimicked Hermione's usual tone on him, bursting into laughter immediately afterwards. "So, what should I fix first?"
Hermione realized that the whole time they still hadn't moved. "You know… maybe we're taking this too seriously. Forget about putting on a good show for the audience- I just want to enjoy the night. Let everyone else dance around us if they want to."
"Sounds perfect." The two of them hadn't been able to find much time together. They certainly spent a lot of time in each other's presence - classes, training, extra lessons, SNAPE Society- but never any time to relax with each other. And when they did have time, both were too tired to really do anything but sleep. The fact that they even had a few hours this evening was practically a miracle.
"In fact… why are we even wasting our time here with this corpse? Let's go outside," Hermione suggested. "Take me for a ride, Harry," she said, picking up Harry's Duster Mk II.
With Hermione's arms wrapped around him, Harry rocketed through the dark tunnels of the Chamber of Secrets and out one of the secret exits in the Forbidden Forest. He felt the cold December air for only a second when he was enveloped in an insulating warmth. "Thanks, Stilts," Harry said.
The sky was cloudless, giving them a full view of the starry night sky. Below, the rustle of the wind through the trees induced a sense of solitude that neither of them had been able to enjoy since the summer. Travelling even further away from the castle, Harry continued over the forest until he could hear the sound of waves crashing upon rock. Looking back, Harry realized he couldn't even see Hogwarts any more. "Want to have a little fun?" he shouted as the sea got louder.
"Show me what you can do," Hermione replied. "You're a natural dancer when you're in the air."
Harry felt Hermione's grip tighten as he dove towards the sea, and used that to gauge how well he was doing. He cruised along the undulating surface, holding as close as possible without letting the spray catch him. As Hermione's grip loosened, he spied a larger wave and decided to "surf" it, following a rising wave close enough to skim the water with his hands. Hearing a joyful giggle behind him, he asked, "This doesn't scare you anymore?"
"You're going to have to do better than that," Hermione replied. "Show me something you did in the Trial." Harry obligingly raced towards the cliffs this time, racing towards the rocks and waiting to pull up as late as possible. Like before, he scraped the rocks with his feet before rocketing vertically upwards. "Thanks, Harry, that's more like…"
Harry wasn't done. Letting himself free-fall for a few seconds, he spun around and started rocketing towards the water again. Hermione kept laughing until the last second, when she realized that there simply wasn't enough time for Harry to pull out of the dive, and screamed. An uncomfortable tug of the navel and a characteristic crack later, and they were high in the air again, just outside the Hogwarts wards.
"Gotcha," Harry said. "I've been working on that one. Wanted to use that in the tournament, but it probably would have gotten myself in trouble."
"A little trouble? From mid-air apparition? Are you insane, Harry? How do you focus on a mid-air destination? What if you splinched the broom?" Hermione's voice was mixed, as she couldn't quite figure out whether she was being inquisitive or concerned. She was, however, back to the worrisome Hermione that Harry hadn't seen in a while.
"I would have just turned into my animagus form. So could you. I wasn't too worried about it," Harry said. They flew silently, Hermione still recovering from her fright. Harry continued. "Don't think I can do it with anyone else because of that. We could… um… practice it together over the holidays, at Sirius's new place!"
"I'm sorry, Harry… you know my parents wanted me back home to celebrate Christmas. Convincing them that I had to be back for New Year's Eve was difficult enough," Hermione replied. "I know my father's still holding a bit of a grudge… even though I sent them a few copies of the Daily Prophet about how you're the champion representing Magical Britain this year. And, to be honest… I haven't spent a Christmas with them for… years now."
"You're right," Harry relented. She needed time with her family, alone… and his only family now was Sirius. He could probably make good use of it himself. "We can have a fabulous night together when we come back here for the ball."
The house appeared to be small, subdued, and completely unfit for the last surviving member of an ancient line of pureblooded wizards who could trace his lineage back as far as the days of Merlin. The thatched roof made it appear to be no better than a farmer's hut. The muddy, unpaved path leading to the front door was not very inviting to anyone wearing dress robes. Despite its prime location near the legendary Camelot, it sat at the base of a hill and gave panoramic views of only mud, grass, or at this time of year, endless white snow. It bordered a meadow where hares were known to breed incessantly, drawing other wild predators onto the property. Sirius thought it was perfect.
Remus came bearing a rather meagre gift for the housewarming party, but Sirius obviously didn't care about it as much as seeing his friend waiting at the front door. He left Harry behind, changing into his grim canine form mid-leap and bounding towards his old friend.
"Whoa! Down, Paddy!" Remus laughed. "You're going to break your gift!" He dropped the package as gently as a person piggybacking a ten-stone dog could. "Save it for the full moon!"
"Yeah, Sirius. It's going to be a pretty sad party if you maul half the guests before it starts," Harry said.
"You two aren't the only ones I've invited," Sirius said, transforming back. "Come on inside… I'd like you to meet my family. I mean, the only real family I have left." Sirius, Remus, and Harry entered the living room, which was very sparsely populated with imposing armchairs and a chesterfield that looked out of place in the cozy and inviting home.
"I kept some of the furniture from Grimmauld Place," Sirius explained. "At least, until I find enough time to go shopping for my own," he said. They sat down in front of the massive, blazing fireplace. "Hang on for a second," he said, tossing some floo powder inside. After sticking his head in for a few seconds, he stepped back. "Allow me to introduce to you…"
Three people stepped out of the fireplace, dusting themselves off. The first was a woman who looked as old as Sirius- but then again, Sirius looked ten years older than he actually was, due to his time in Azkaban. She immediately wrapped him in an energetic hug. Following her was a portly man, presumably her husband, who just smiled and waved meekly at Remus and Harry. Finally, there was the shockingly-out-of-place daughter, who was dressed in a more form-fitting muggle jacket, chewing bubble gum that matched her hair.
"Tonks!" Harry shouted suddenly, recognizing her from a deeply-buried memory. The entire family's eyes turned to focus on Harry, and then his scar.
Still trapped in the arms of the older woman, Sirius gestured as best he could. "Oof! Well, like I was going to say before my cousin here squeezed the life out of me, this is the Tonks family. The only good cousin I have left, Andromeda Tonks, her husband, Ted Tonks, and their daughter, Nym-"
"Don't you say it! I'm-" she said, raising her finger at Sirius as her hair darkened to match her cheeks.
"Just Tonks," Harry finished for her, chuckling. "But won't that be confusing with all three of you here?"
"That's right, Nymphadora. Just go by your given name today," Andromeda said.
Tonks was too perplexed to respond, staring at Harry instead of responding to her mother. "How did you know? Sirius would never give up the chance to call me Nymmie if he could get away with it."
"That's Harry Potter you're talking to, Nymmie," Sirius laughed. "Let me tell you, I've tried that pickup line on my fair share of girls, and it's not going to work any better on the boys." Tonks blushed even more furiously, and now her face was starting to morph into a bony, aggressive snarl.
"Hey now, Sirius, don't be so hard on the girl. We're here to celebrate, aren't we? I'm Remus Lupin." He extended a hand to Tonks.
"See, Sirius? Why can't you learn to be more of a gentleman like your friend here? It's unbefitting of someone of such noble blood." There was a short, awkward silence before everybody burst out laughing. Everyone relaxed from there, and Sirius began leading them around the house. Despite looking like a simple cabin from the outside, it housed four bedrooms upstairs, one of which Harry was thrilled to see had already been marked of as his own. On the main floor, there was a complete kitchen that would satisfy any chef, currently being occupied by one extremely happy elf.
"Moppitt here couldn't wait to start making dinner for everyone as soon as I said I wanted to invite you over. She's been in here all day," Sirius said. "Say hi to everyone, Moppitt!"
"Hellos guests!" the elf squeaked and went straight back to work.
"What happened to Kreacher?" Andromeda asked. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. Moppitt has much better manners."
"Got rid of him as soon as I could. He almost tried to kill me when I got some of the cursebreakers to take out my mother's portrait, though. Probably should have ordered him to take it down himself. His brain would have melted trying to process that," Sirius explained. Leaning over to Harry, he whispered, "Speaking of cursebreakers, I need to talk to you after the party."
The rest of the evening was pleasant, and it reminded Harry of the Christmas he had spent with the Grangers. Andromeda and Sirius reminisced about their old families, sharing stories of their childhood, while Ted told the story of how he and Andromeda met. Tonks and Harry were more interested in Hogwarts stories from Remus. Moppitt cooked a delicious meal for them, consisting of roast hares and local vegetables.
"Did you catch these yourself, Sirius?" Ted asked. "There's nothing quite like fresh meat."
"Hunt? No, I bought these at the local market. You mean you catch wild animals yourself?" His carnivorous instincts were piqued, as were Harry's.
"Oh no, here it comes," Andromeda muttered. Ted began to regale upon them the joys of marching through the woods, rifle in hand, waiting for hours to find the perfect target. He explained at length how his muggle father had taken him hunting every summer through his teens. Without an adult wizard, he had learned to hunt without any aid of magic. When he came of age, though, he certainly didn't mind making a few things easier on himself, but had quickly realized that the joy was in the hunting, not the catch. Sirius, who had spent much of his time as an escapee chasing rats for food, was thrilled at the idea. Harry's summer of catching his own meals had already taught him to appreciate a good hunt. Before they knew it, he'd roped all the boys into a hunting trip in the spring.
When the Tonks family left, Sirius brought Harry and Remus down to the cellar. It was stuffed with chests, boxes, and trunks. "This is most of what I could salvage from the Grimmauld Place," he explained. "At least, all of objects that aren't cursed. I had Kreacher sort and get rid of all the cursed items, and Moppitt to check his work afterwards. All of it's safe to handle. So take your pick, you two. It's your Christmas presents. Moony, may I suggest my father's overcoat?"
Harry began rummaging through the nearest boxes while Sirius and Remus were busied themselves with an old wardrobe. He wasn't looking for anything flashy, and certainly not anything valuable, but nevertheless came across a box of jewels. The Blacks certainly enjoyed flaunting their wealth, as there were massive gems set in every accessory Harry had seen- earrings, necklaces, tiaras, rings, bracelets- and some that Harry couldn't even figure where they were supposed to be worn.
Sirius caught him staring at them. "You might look good with one earring, Harry, but if you start wearing a tiara I might have to disown you."
"What? No, I didn't really want any of these, actually. Wait, I do. But just the gems. I don't suppose there's a way to take the gems out? There's a project I'm working on, you see… have you ever heard of a caster-glove?"
"Interesting devices. They store a tiny bit of magic and release it later. Those things were outlawed ages ago, Harry," Remus answered when Sirius just looked confused. "At least, for squibs, muggles, and non-humans. They're not very useful for wizards, since they run out of juice before you'd normally run out of breath."
"How did you know that?" Sirius asked.
"I qualify as a non-human. Incidentally, a caster-glove would allow me to cast magic even when I'm in werewolf form. Hence the ban," he sighed.
"I was thinking of building my own… but I'd end up ruining the jewellery," Harry pointed out.
"Go ahead. I'm never going to wear that stuff, and the real Black treasures are stored in Gringotts. Those are just cheap and flashy stones. Real gems, of course, but nothing important," Sirius answered nonchalantly. "They just remind me of my old family anyway. Smash 'em for all I care."
The following morning, while they were having breakfast, Sirius asked, "Which do you want first, good news or bad news?"
"Is this about the cursebreakers? Just give me both at once," Harry said, worried what could have gone wrong.
"They found a locket where you said it would be. And then they lost it," he said.
"Lost it? Define 'lost.'"
"Sitting at the bottom of an underground lake with at least a thousand inferi; that kind of lost."
Harry slumped in his chair. "At least it's not going anywhere," he sighed.
"Then I might have to tell you the ugly news now," Sirius said. "That locket might have been a fake. A decoy. They said it had almost no curses on it at all. They only confirmed it had no curses, but that's when the inferi attacked. The ring was different; it had layers and layers of protections and a few nasty curses on it."
So did the tiara, Harry thought. That was enough to convince him the real horcrux was elsewhere. He didn't fancy trying to pick Voldemort's brains face-to-face again, but if it came down to it, he might have to. "Well, I guess that's enough for now. I'll figure something out later."
"Maybe we should let Remus in on this?" Sirius asked. "He's pretty brilliant, you know. Came up with all our pranks at Hogwarts, helped me pass all my classes… and you said he was a decent professor to boot."
"I think we can trust Remus," Harry agreed.
"Good, because I already told him."
"WHAT?"
"Hey, it just slipped out!" Sirius said, shrinking into his chair. "He was helping me tally up my finances, alright? A few thousand galleons doesn't slip by a guy like him. Besides, I trust him with my life. We're all Marauders." Harry begrudgingly nodded. "What's more, he came up with a business proposal."
"Oh?"
"Well… as usual, he's having a hard time finding work, and I'm having a hard time finding work that I like. You, meanwhile, have a broom that nobody's ever seen before. I say we should start our own broom company."
"That's a great idea!" Harry ran upstairs to his room and popped open his trunk. "This is the second version. A little more durable than the first," he said, presenting it to Sirius. "Do you want to give it a try?"
"Do I ever!" Sirius giddily took the broom outside, launching himself into the air as if it were his first time riding a broom. Much like a first-timer, he fell off almost immediately. The snow cushioned his fall, and the Duster landed several paces away. "Is it just me, or is that broom really hard to control?"
"It takes some getting used to, for sure," Harry said. "I don't think you could sell it to anybody… start with the professionals."
"Do you have a different version? Something a little more toned down?" Sirius asked. "I doubt I could convince anyone to buy this if I can't even demonstrate it."
"This is the toned-down version. The other one could barely last one race without falling apart," Harry laughed. "Although, I guess it would be pretty easy to leave out a few bundles here and there… maybe use a softer wood… I'll try to make one that an old man like you can handle."
"Old man? I'll show you old man!" Sirius ran over to the broom and took off again. This time, he managed to last a full thirty seconds before he nearly crashed into his new house. Harry spent the rest of the morning trying to coach Sirius on how to fly his particular broom. It took several hours, but Sirius's old Quidditch training slowly came back to him, and he was able to get it under control by lunchtime. "Hah! What did I tell you? Black Feather Brooms is in business!"
The remainder of the Christmas holidays was quiet, but busy. He kept in touch with Hermione and Ron with the help of Hedwig. Hermione was having a grand time explaining to her parents why she absolutely had to return to school with a beautiful dress instead of celebrating the new year with her family. Ron, meanwhile, was having less-than-merry Christmas, as it had turned into an extended family reunion- without Bill. When Harry mentioned Ted Tonks and hunting, however, Ron relayed it to his father, and both expressed their interest in joining.
Since Harry and Ron wouldn't be able to go out at all until June, Ted decided to have a short hunting trip a few days after Christmas, just before they had to return to Hogwarts for the ball. Early in the morning on the twenty-seventh of December, six men gathered together in Sirius's front yard. Arthur came "prepared-" he had several enchanted bear traps that had come across his office earlier, as well as a bow and some enchanted arrows.
"You won't be needing those," Ted told him, chuckling inwardly. "And I'll be doing most of the shooting today. Handling a firearm is dangerous for the inexperienced. Now, does everyone know where the Forest of Dean is?" Sirius, Remus, and Arthur nodded. "Good. We can bring Harry and Ron here via side-along."
There wasn't any snow where they arrived, although the ground was covered in frost. The frozen leaves crackled underfoot as they surveyed their surroundings. Ted dropped a long case on the ground. He opened it to reveal a shotgun, binoculars, maps, whistles, and various other equipment. "Is that what a gun is? I thought they were supposed to be like muggle wands. A little smaller," Arthur reaching down to inspect it.
Ted swatted his hand away immediately. "First thing you should know about guns is that you're very liable to hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing. So, unfortunately, I'll be the only one handling it today, unless we can find several more weekends for you to learn about safety. And get licensed."
"So what do we get to do?" Sirius asked, feeling cheated.
Ted handed him a pair of binoculars. "I'll have jobs for everyone. Now, let's lay down some ground rules." He spent the next half-hour giving a short lecture on safety and strategy, making sure everyone had a permanent revelio charm on themselves. They also planned their route and knew the signal if anyone became separated. At the end, everyone was assigned a role.
Sirius, Harry, and Remus were the both spotters and beaters- they would slowly drive the birds to designated areas. Sirius would transform into a dog when they got close enough to chase them out. Ron would be in charge of directions, although it was a pretty easy job with an enchanted map. Arthur decided to carry equipment, since he was more interested in the muggle devices inside than the hunt itself.
Their first few attempts were less than successful. Every time, a small issue would arise that caused Ted to miss his mark. First it was terrain, then it was timing, then it was placement. He didn't have a chance to pull the trigger once before the birds got away. Ted apologized, "I usually hunt with a few of my muggle friends- I'll be honest, I'm rarely ever the one to devise the strategy ever since my father realized I had better aim than he did."
Staring at the map in his hands, Ron came up with a suggestion. "There's a small clearing over this way, and the last I saw the pheasants were moving this way," he said, tracing a path on the map. "If Sirius could keep calm, maybe can move over here, Professor Lupin can take a position above this ridge…" He started pointing everyone to specific positions on the map.
"I can't take a shot if anyone else is in front of me, though," Ted warned.
"Well, let's do it this way, then." Ron formulated an alternative position that would have the pheasants flying up through the clearing. Ron and Arthur stayed with Ted, helping to keep extra eyes out for the revelio charm in case something went wrong. Harry, Remus, and Sirius slowly swept their prey- as soon as they started to run, Sirius pounced forward, barking loudly. The birds took flight just in front of Ted, as planned.
BOOM. Arthur and Ron fell over. Sirius managed to change back into a human, whip his wand out, and then proceed to fall over as well.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron exclaimed.
"Language, Ron!" Arthur shouted. "Bugger me, Ted, what was that?"
"I warned you it would be a little loud. Don't you have your earmuffs on?"
"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be that loud! It sounded like an explosion! Are you sure that thing's working properly?"
"Actually, a gun pretty much works by making an explosion," Remus said dryly. He picked up the prize and handed it to Arthur. "Dear Merlin, that looks delicious. Let's bag ourselves a few more."
The hunt continued in the same manner, seeing how successful that strategy had been. After catching three of them, congratulations were handed all around to everyone and their hard work.
Harry and Ron, not quite ready to settle down for the day, went for a flight above the house, tossing a conjured ball back and forth as a quaffle. Harry was rather impressed with Ron today; had it been last year he wouldn't have expected his friend to take the initiative. "You did well today, Ron," he tried encouraging him.
"Thanks," Ron replied. "But it wasn't that much, I mean; they're just a bunch of dumb birds."
"What, you want something a little more challenging?" Harry asked, hurling the quaffle hard.
"Well, yeah, I guess that might be fun," Ron said, extending an arm to block it. "What have you got in mind?"
The response surprised Harry, who honestly expected Ron to turn down extra work as he used to. Then again, he had to admit Ron had attended every SNAPE Society meeting he could. "Really? I should have asked you earlier then. I want you to help me with the tournament," he said.
"What can I possibly help you with? You're the one who's already teaching everyone how to brew potions and how to duel. You jumped straight to sixth year, mate. I've got so much to do to catch up." Harry could tell that Ron was feeling patronized. The quaffle passes became a little more aggressive.
"Consider it a practice run, Ron. I've got a… bigger project after all this is over that I'll definitely need your help with," he said. "But let's start with something easier. The Trial of Water is all sorted out, and I've already got a plan for the wandless duel. I need your help with the last few events- more specifically, the ideal routes and timing to get past some of these challenges. You know how busy Hermione and I are already teaching extra potions to everyone." Harry still wasn't sure why the events had changed, but at least they were announced to everybody. Now he didn't have to make excuses as to why he was so much better-prepared than the other champions, and have people working on the problem openly.
"Yeah, I could do that," Ron said, throwing the quaffle back at Harry. "But what's this 'big project' you've got going on?"
Harry sighed. He felt the awkwardness of bringing up a touchy subject with Ron when his friend was already feeling agitated. "Voldemort. Multiple cursebreakers and a small security detail. A very dangerous Azkaban escapee. A heavily fortified position..."
"You're talking about how Bill died," Ron said flatly.
"Yeah. I think I might have to do something like that again," Harry hinted. "In fact… would you like to see the notes I have on that day?" He gently lobbed the ball to Ron.
Ron held on this time, staring at it silently. He then vanished it and said, "Alright, mate. Let's see what you've got."
Back in Harry's room, Ron pored over pages upon pages of parchment. Harry answered his questions to the best of his ability. Completely engrossed, he didn't even hear the call for dinner, but rushed down when Harry pulled him away. Throughout dinner, Ron was silent, making Harry worry that Ron might once again blame him for the loss of his brother. After dinner, he went straight back to the room, this time scratching little pictures and diagrams on blank sheets of parchment, speaking to Harry only to ask more questions or for more parchment. It wasn't until it was time for Ron to return home, feeling more warn out from an afternoon of reading than a morning of hunting, when Harry decided to ask.
"Ron… are you still angry at me for what happened?"
"No… no, that's not it. I… I kind of hoped, you know? I want to blame somebody, maybe I could say you screwed up and I could vent. But every time I thought I had something, I'd need something else… like when I'm playing chess, and I would sometimes think 'maybe if I had three knights, this would be easy.' That's bunk, because I would have to pretend you had a seer on your team, or that Bill wasn't a Gryffindor, or that it would be just fine if Lee's brother had died instead of mine… or that I could see the whole field like I can in chess. I guess… I think I'm mad because I can't blame you, Harry. I can't blame anyone but You-Know-Who, and that doesn't make me feel any better. It's all bollocks, anyway. Thinking about this won't do any good unless I could go back in time to fix it."
Harry just waved silently with his best poker face on as Ron stepped through the fireplace.
Returning to Hogwarts on New Year's Eve with just enough time to get dressed and meet with Hermione. She came down from her dorm this time with a simple, little black muggle cocktail dress. She changed her hair again; this time she chose to curl her hair so that it looked like an organized mess as opposed to the usual chaotic one. She also had minimal jewellery on, opting only for a simple gold chain around her neck and ruby studs for her ears.
"You're making me feel overdressed this time," Harry commented as she descended the stairs.
"Come on, didn't we agree that tonight we'd just have some fun?" she asked, linking elbows with her date. "I didn't want my parents to spend all that much on a dress for me- as much as I liked the last one, I can't see myself wearing it more than twice in my life."
"True. Although I wonder what the wizards will have to say once they see a girl with a dress cut above the ankles," Harry laughed. "Maybe I should have just worn a muggle tuxedo instead of dress robes."
"We could still change that," Hermione said, pulling her wand out from under the side slit of her dress.
Harry gawked for a moment. Shaking himself out of his trance, he laughed it off. "Always prepared, aren't you? No, these robes are hand-me-downs from Sirius. Black family robes, apparently," he explained. "Still, I can't blame you. Can't let another vision ruin the party tonight."
"Why does it have to be tonight?" she sighed.
"Well, today's his birthday. I suppose some rituals work better that way," Harry answered. "Look, let's just have a dance, a dinner, and then we can nip off and enjoy the rest of the evening until Riddle decides to crash the party, eh?"
The Great Hall they arrived at was far less joyful than the last time around. The crowd was downright chilly to one another- the dinner tables were sharply divided into Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, each one eyeing the others distrustfully. Fleur was dating someone from her own school; as was Ivan. For an international relations stunt, this entire tournament was a disaster. The gloomy atmosphere certainly made them want to leave the ball early. Fleur and Ivan took to the floor as if it they were still competing; Harry's indifference and casual dancing made them seethe. It was quite obvious neither of them were truly interested in their dates- Harry and Hermione were the only ones having a good time.
Late into the evening, as Ludo Bagman was unsuccessfully trying to drum up excitement for the midnight countdown, Harry and Hermione slipped away from the crowds and made their way down to the Chamber of Secrets. "I suppose it's a good thing we practiced dancing down here after all," Hermione laughed.
They held each other closely for a slow waltz until the hour approached. The pain in his forehead gave only a second of warning, letting him kneel down. "Come on, Voldie. Let's see what you have to show me this time…"
Author's Chapter End Notes:
- I don't particularly hate Ron- at least, the Ron that JKR intended. I do dislike the one that ended up on the pages of canon, though. He's going to need some fixing up to actually turn into the reliable, honorable, actually-non-prejudiced wizard he was supposed to be.
- I've never actually been hunting before, but I'd like to try it. It actually surprised me that pheasant hunting season is in the dead of winter.
