Yule Ball
"Tilly!" it was my turn to squeal. My friend, who was usually shy about her figure and hidden by her school robes, was, in fact, a knock out. She had chosen a midnight blue velvet gown out of the trunk of formal wear that Amelia's mother had sent up for her when she agreed to go to the ball with Theo. The gown tied on each shoulder, and hugged Tilly's curves perfectly. Well, it did after a few alteration spells from Amelia. Her black hair was wavy and hung down her back, and the blue dress made her eyes sparkle.
"Ron is going to shite himself when he sees you, Tills!" Ginny said as she took in her friend's appearance. I had to agree. Ron was awkward around girls on a good day. He was sure to be a mess with one as beautiful as Tilly on his arm.
"She does look perfect, doesn't she?" Amelia asked, as she ran her wand through a final wavy strand of Tilly's hair.
"So do you, Ames!" Tilly added quickly, the blush on her cheeks clearly giving away that she was ready to be out of the spotlight.
"Thanks, babe," Amelia said, before looking in the mirror at her reflection. She had swept her blonde locks up into an elegant up do, to show off the plunging back of her scarlet satin gown. It was a mature look that the other girls wouldn't have been able to pull off, but she did it easily. "Damn, I do look bloody good." Amelia said to herself, causing the rest of us to chuckle.
"Don't go getting a big head now," Ginny said, as she stepped into the pale blue gown she had chosen from Amelia's stash. She had pulled her red hair into a sleek ponytail, to show off the top of her dress that slipped off of her shoulders.
"It won't matter anyway," Amelia replied as she started digging through her jewelry box that sat on her vanity. "I am about ninety-nine point nine percent sure that young Theodore would rather be going to this dance with someone else."
"Oh no!" Who?" Tilly asked, concerned for her friend's feelings.
"Blaise Zabini." Amelia drawled, before tossing something that sparkled through the air to Ginny, who deftly caught it.
"Really?" I asked, watching Ginny untangle the gem-encrusted necklace that Amelia had just casually thrown. It was probably priceless.
"Really." Amelia answered. "Now are you going to put your gown on, Eliza, or do you plan on meeting Maxwell in your underwear?" she said, before pointedly looking at me.
I rolled my eyes at her, but grabbed my gown off of my bed regardless.
"Are you nervous, Eliza?" Tilly asked, now looking at herself in the mirror a little dreamily.
Truth be told, I was a little nervous. This was my first ball to attend. Not to mention it was also technically my first date. The cherry on top was that it was with a crazy-handsome French boy who I did have quite a large crush on.
"Not really," I lied, before dissolving into giggles.
Ginny stepped up behind me to zip my dress for me, "I'd say she's nervous, girls," she said as she gave me a comforting pat on my shoulder.
Amelia whistled when she turned and saw me finally in my gown. Well, her gown really.
"You shouldn't be nervous, Eliza." Tilly said. "You look perfect."
"You really do," Ginny said with a smile, before turning back to her mirror to touch up her makeup.
I made my way to the full-length mirror, and took in the image of myself. My dark hair was half up, but the bottom half fell down my back in loose waves, and my green eyes almost looked spooky from the dark eyeliner Amelia had swept across the lids. And the dress itself was perfect. I had chosen one of the more simple styles from the bunch. A black strapless silk column gown, but with a big drapey bow on the back.
"Hmm," I said, turning to take in the view of the back. "Not bad, I guess."
Amelia chortled as she slid up next to me to look at herself, before holding out her hand to me. In her alabaster palm sat a pair of the most beautiful earrings I had ever seen. The largest emerald I had ever seen, surrounded by tiny diamonds, dripping from a smaller emerald and diamond combination.
"No," I said automatically. They looked like family heirlooms, and probably cost more than the house my parents lived in. Amelia was generous to a fault with us, but this was too much.
"Oh shut it," she said, waving away my words with a casual gesture of her free hand. When I still didn't move to grab them, she stood behind me and started putting them in my ears without me asking.
"Amelia, I can't. They are priceless, aren't they?"
"Who cares." she said, having already put one in my ear and starting on the second. Even though they were huge, they were weightless. No doubt charmed by some sort of magic. "My family is lucky to have people as good as you, Ginny, and Tilly wearing their heirlooms." she said, getting the last earring in place.
My breath caught as I took in how they sparkled and hung from my ears, and then watched as the deep emerald green of the jewels lightened to match the exact bright green of my eyes.
I met Amelia's own brown eyes in the reflection of the mirror. "That means they like you." she nodded, also noting the slight change in the color of the gems. I couldn't help but smile at my friend who had chosen a new family when her's was found severely lacking.
"Oi! Ginny! Get a move on, we'll be late!" we all whipped around at the sound of Ron Weasley yelling up the stairs.
"We're coming!" Ginny yelled back down, loud enough for the rest of us to cover our ears.
Tilly looked quite nervous all of a sudden. "Don't worry, Tills." I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as we headed for the door. "He's actually very sweet."
Ginny snorted from in front of us on the stairs.
….
Maxwell had offered to escort me from Gryffindor Tower, but I insisted he didn't need to. So we were going to meet just outside the Great Hall. My nerves were causing my stomach to flip as I made my way there. Amelia, who was also meeting Theo at the ball, walked with me slightly behind our two coupled-off friends.
Harry looked dapper in his dark dress robes, even though his hair was still as wild as ever. He had complimented each of us as we came down the stairs, and was blushing sweetly each time he looked at Ginny. This was one of the better ideas I'd had.
Ron had grimaced when he saw Ginny, smiled when he saw Amelia and me, but then his eyes went wide and his mouth opened when he saw Tilly.
"Blimey, Tilly. You look bloody great!" he blurted out. Causing Tilly to blush deeply. Amelia and I had to stifle our laughter as we walked, watching Ron trying to talk casually to Tilly, and failing pretty badly.
"Glad I don't get hurt feelings easily," Amelia whispered to me. "I want someone to react to me like that."
I laughed. "Maybe Theo will surprise you?"
"Doubtful," she sighed. "He's never so much as made a pass at me in all the years he's known me. Got to swing the other way, Eliza. Have you seen the way he follows Blaise around like a love-sick puppy?"
"Not really," I admitted. I didn't like to look at the Slytherins if I could help it.
Amelia was about to elaborate, but we had made it to the corridor in front of the Great Hall. Within seconds of our feet hitting the stone floor, Theo Nott was upon us.
He was smiling crookedly at Amelia, who was already looking annoyed with him. I wonder if she noticed the way his eyes roved down and back up her body appreciatively. I doubt it. But I also doubted that he was in love with Blaise Zabini as she insisted.
"Amelia," he said, inclining his head and taking her hand, before placing a chaste kiss on it. "You look lovely."
"Merlin, Theodore," Amelia said back icily, ripping her hand out of his grasp. "You're mummy isn't around to scold you, you don't have to act like such a pure-blood princess."
My eyes flew to Theo to see his reaction to this taunt. But he surprised me by tipping his head back and laughing loudly. "You're right, as usual Amelia." he said, the crooked smile still on his face.
He actually was quite handsome, I decided. His dark hair was swept back, and his blue eyes were lined with thick lashes that made him almost pretty. But his smile was the nicest part of his face, and I don't think I had ever seen it before.
"Well, shall we?" he asked, when Amelia didn't say anything and extended the crook of his arm to her.
"Ugh," Amelia actually said out loud, slipping her hand onto his arm. "If we must." I couldn't help but think her cruel words didn't match the look on her face. It actually looked like she was trying not to smile. Trying very hard, in fact.
"See you in there, Eliza?" She asked, starting to walk towards the doors of the Great Hall.
I nodded, and looked around for Maxwell. There were a few people still in the corridors, but most everyone else had already made their way into the hall. I was just starting to get worried about how late he was running when I heard a scoff from somewhere behind me.
"Did he come to his senses and stand you up, Dursely?" an unwelcome but familiar voice drawled.
Not now, I thought to myself, before whipping around to face Malfoy. I narrowed my eyes at him standing there all alone in his black dress robes, with his fair hair looking as neat as ever.
"Go away, Malfoy." I hissed at him.
I was expecting him to be wearing his usual smirk and say something rude back, but he had an odd look on his face. His grey eyes were a little bit wide and his mouth was parted slightly. But the oddest thing of all was that he wasn't hurling some insult at me. He was actually silent, for once.
"What?" I asked, trying to inject as much venom into my voice as possible, genuinely confused by his strange reaction.
He was still looking at me like I had three heads, when Pansy Parkinson sidled up to him, pressing herself into his side.
"Come along, Draco," she whined, wrapping her arm around his and starting to pull him towards the ball. "Let's go inside and get away from all of this trash," she directed at me, her black eyes sweeping down me with a sneer as she swept past me, Draco in tow.
"Arabella Burke would curse you into the ground if she saw you wearing her great family's jewels. Amelia should really know better." Pansy tsked while shaking her head, before slipping through the doors to the Great Hall. She was quickly followed by Draco who didn't look back at me.
My head was still spinning from that strange interaction when I felt a soft hand on my back, and Maxwell was suddenly in front of me. "I am so, so, sorry I'm late, Eliza." he said, while leaning into me to kiss each of my cheeks in that French way of his. "I got a fire call from my grandmere, and she has a tendency to go on and on," he nervously rambled.
"Mon Merlin!" he said, finally stepping away from me and sweeping his eyes up and down me. "You look beautiful. Truly."
I felt a blush heat my cheeks, and couldn't help but roll my eyes at his compliment. "You look nice too, Maxwell." I offered back. And he really did. His black dress robes made his golden skin look flawless, and made his dark eyes look mysterious and mischievous at the same time. His silky hair was falling perfectly across his forehead, and my hands itched to feel it between my fingers.
I shook my head at the errant thought, and laced my arm through his. "Ready?" I asked.
"Of course," He roguishly smiled down at me. "Want to know the one good thing about being the last to arrive, Eliza?" He asked me.
"What?"
"You get to make a grand entrance. Even though with you on my arm, any entrance would be grand, I think." He said, smoothly, still smiling down at me.
I rolled my eyes at him again, but couldn't help the grin that overtook my face as we finally made our way into the ball.
….
Our entrance was in fact grand. But only because we ended up walking in the moment before the music began for the Champions' waltz. I felt my grin falter as everyone's heads turned to see who the late comers were. Ginny winked at me from her frozen position between Harry's arms, and Harry narrowed his eyes at Maxwell, clearly still wary of the French boy. Hermione, who looked stunning in a periwinkle gown, offered me a cheeky grin before looking back at her date, the infamous Viktor Krum.
Thankfully the orchestra began their tune and everyone's heads snapped back to the champions as they began their dance.
Maxwell chuckled besides me, still holding on to my arm, "Told you, Eliza."
I smiled at him and realized, based on his dimpled grin, that he had no issues with being the center of attention. I shook my head at him and started searching the room for my friends who weren't the dates of a champion. My eyes were sweeping the room, looking for Amelia's blonde head or Tilly's dark one, or Ron's red one, when my eyes snagged on a slash of platinum through the limbs of the twirling dancers in the center of the room.
Malfoy was glaring at me with his eyes narrowed and a deep frown set onto his sharp face. I almost gasped at the intensity of his gaze. So clearly full of anger.
While everyone around us was busy watching the dancing, my eyes locked onto those grey ones across the room and I couldn't look away. His hatred for me in that moment was a palpable thing. I was certain that if I reached my hand out that I would feel it strung up in the air between our eyes, like a rope pulled taut.
What could he be so angry about? I asked myself. The jewels of a pure-blood family dripping from my ears, perhaps? Oh, I thought, watching his gaze lower to where Maxwell had his hand on my arm which was still looped through his, of course. He was disgusted by a pure-blood wizard like Maxwell being so close to me. Someone who he considered to be a filthy mudblood. My belly filled with an anger so acute that I was about to stomp over to him and smack that look off of his stupid face.
Luckily, Maxwell, who was ignorant of the silent war that Malfoy and I were waging, started directing me to the other side of the hall and I finally looked away from the Slytherin prince and didn't think about him for the rest of the night.
"There are your friends." he said, pointing to where Amelia and Tilly were standing by the punch bowl, both ignoring Theo and Ron, who were behind them engaged in their own disagreement, though it didn't look like it was silent at all.
"Uh oh," I said under my breath as we got closer to the group.
There were about one hundred things I could think of that would cause Ron's ears to turn as red as they were right now, blood purity snobbery and insulting his family among them. But apparently Ron Weasley and Theodore Nott had bigger things to argue about this evening.
"The Cannons will take the league this year, Nott, have you seen their new seeker?!" I heard Ron bellow as soon as we were within hearing range.
I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my mouth.
"Weasley, are you mental? It is going to take a lot more than a new seeker to save that bloody lot from being bottom of the heap again this year. Puddlemere, however…" Theo replied, his own cheeks slightly pink from the argument.
"Don't you finish that sentence, Nott." Ron all but growled.
The rest of their argument was drowned out by Tilly's squeal once she caught sight of Maxwell and me making our way to her through the crowds.
She ran up to me and threw her arms around me, even though we had been together less than ten minutes ago. "There you are!" she said, before giving Maxwell a timid wave.
"Bonsoir, Matilda. You look lovely tonight," Maxwell said.
The look Tilly gave him, eyes wide and cheeks red, had me giggling into my hand.
"Thank you, Maxwell." She stuttered back to him. Before turning back to me and letting out a nervous giggle.
Amelia was right behind her. "Quite an entrance, you two," she said, giving me a wink.
Maxwell responded and explained about the fire call with his grandmere that had gone on for too long.
"Telling her all about this one then, were you?" Amelia said, eyes sparkling as she nudged me with her elbow.
"Amelia!" I whispered at her, so embarrassed I was ready to find the nearest table to crawl under.
But Maxwell was unaffected. "Of course," he replied without a hint of sarcasm in his smooth voice. "She actually demanded that we find someone to take a picture of us so she can see us all dressed up," he said, looking at me and smiling.
I was still processing the fact that his grandmother, the Minister of Magic for all of France, knew who I bloody was when Ron and Theo joined our little group. They actually looked like they didn't want to hex each other, so they must have actually bonded over quidditch in typical teenage boy fashion.
"Ron, you've met Maxwell, haven't you?" I asked, trying to break some of the ice the ginger was putting out there. Ron appeared to try to make himself a little taller, even though he was already taller than Maxwell, and extended his hand.
"Don't think so, Ron Weasley," was all he said. Clearly falling into the bad habit of acting like one of my older brothers. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Maxwell Laurent. Nice to meet you, officially. Though Eliza talks about you and your family so much I feel like I already know you quite well." Maxwell replied warmly.
"Thought those sessions were for tutoring?" Ron said, throwing a glance my way.
"Merlin, Weasley, lighten up." Theo said, effectively breaking the tension for which I was thankful. "Theodore Nott," he continued, extending his own hand to Maxwell.
He shook it and introduced himself again. "I heard you say you were a Puddlemere fan?" he asked Theo.
Ron groaned and the three boys were immediately back in the throes of a passionate discussion about quidditch. Any awkwardness or "big brother" posturing forgotten.
"Quidditch is so dull," Amelia laughed, as she looped one arm through mine and one through Tilly's and turned us so we were facing the dancers, who appeared to be finishing up. "But it was smart for Maxwell to bring it up. Nothing helps international relations like whinging about your favorite team."
"Agreed." I nodded.
….
Once The Weird Sisters took the stage, Amelia and Theo elbowed their way to the front row, with the rest of us right behind them, and we spent the rest of the night dancing and singing along with Myron Wagtail.
Harry and Ginny joined us as soon as they could and I was thankful that a crowded and loud dance floor wasn't a suitable place for Harry to needle Maxwell with questions or threats. Even the twins seemed to be accepting of him as they jived over to where we were all dancing.
"Little Eliza!" Fred yelled over the music, taking my hand and twirling me around. "You clean up nice! You usually look like a right mess." he said, laughing. And handing me over to George, who grabbed me and dipped me dramatically.
"Too right, Freddie!" He yelled over to his brother, who was causing Tilly to dissolve into a giggles as he grabbed her hands and attempted to tango with her. "Is the frenchie treating you alright?" He said lowly, where only I could hear him.
I nodded and smiled up at him, "He's been a perfect gentleman," I said, trying not to look over to where Maxwell was bobbing to the music next to me.
"Good." he said firmly. "After all, hexes and Firewhisky don't mix well." he said, with a crooked grin before slipping his hands into his robe and producing a silver flask. He shook it in my direction and waggled his eyebrows.
Why not? I thought, before grabbing it and taking a small sip. I coughed as the spicy liquor burned a line down my throat and into my belly.
I made to hand it back to George, but he nodded his head over to Maxwell and signaled for me to pass it around.
Minutes later our whole group had taken a nip, even Tilly, and our dancing was reflecting the looseness and courage that the spirit was known for encouraging in its drinkers. I found myself dancing a little closer to Maxwell and finding more excuses to grab his hand than I had before the sip. He didn't seem to mind one bit. In fact, his pink cheeks only seemed to dimple a little deeper than usual.
I looked around our group and almost laughed at the change that a little sip of Ogden's had caused. Amelia and Theo were pressed to each other, dancing in a way that I am sure that both of their proper pureblood mothers would have fainted at the sight of.
Harry had Ginny's hands in his and didn't appear to want to let go for all the snitches in the world.
Even Ron had a hold of Tilly and was spinning her around, to Tilly's very evident delight. I was so sure that when Ron saw Hermione with Krum he was going to throw a fit, but he seemed to be handling it quite well.
And Hermione and Krum were paired off somewhere in the middle of the dancefloor, so out of sight, out of mind, I thought.
The twins were still dancing around us, clearly pleased with the effect their contraband was having on everyone. Their dates were close behind them laughing at their antics.
After a few more songs, my cheeks were flushed. Maxwell smiled at me, and I realized his cheeks were much redder than a few minutes before and his hairline was starting to look wet from sweat. All of a sudden I felt overheated, and the warmth from the bodies and firewhisky was pressing into me and making it hard to get a deep breath.
A soft hand on my wrist.
"Want to get some air?" Maxwell asked me, noticing my expression.
"Yes!" I shouted back to him over the din of the music. I grabbed his hand and started to lead the way to the doors of the Great Hall.
The second we stepped out of the doors of the castle and into the falling snow, I felt like I could breathe again. It was freezing out here, but it was a welcome change from the heat of the dance floor. Maxwell led us over to a stone bench and, using his wand, cleared it of snow.
We sat down wordlessly, listening to the song inside switch to a slow one. I smiled imagining my friends all pressed close to their dates and swaying to the music.
"Glad we came out when we did," Maxwell chuckled, while quickly taking his robes off and placing it gently on my shoulders without me asking. "Ogden's always makes me too hot."
"That was my first time to try it," I admitted, watching the snow falling around us and trying not to feel nervous about our sudden solitude. "I'm surprised the twins didn't spike the whole punch bowl, to be honest." I added.
He chuckled. A strong gust of wind blew through the air, and he tried to hide the shiver that ran through his body as his damp hair was lifted from his head.
"You're cold," I said, leaving no room for question and tried to shrug his robe off to give it back to him.
"Non, non," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders to keep the robe where it was. "I'm fine." he added, through another shiver.
"Here," I said, managing to shrug the shoulder closest to him to put some space between us and lift the robe so that he was also under it, before scooting back to him so our sides were pressed to each other. "We can share." I said, a little too lowly than I meant to.
There wasn't as much material covering me, but I was warmer than before being this close to him. His right hand was sitting on his thigh, and my left hand was only an inch or two away on my own leg. I kept my eyes on the warm light spilling from the castle and the snow falling, but I could feel him looking down at my hand. After what felt like ages, I felt him slowly reach his hand over and lace his fingers through mine, leaving them to rest between our bodies. His strong hands were so warm and soft, I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped my lips when we touched.
He was looking at my face now, I could feel it. I was still looking forward, suddenly too nervous to move from fear of ruining something.
"Eliza," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear him over the music from the ball.
I took a deep breath that I hoped he didn't notice, and slowly turned my face towards his.
His dark hair and lashes were peppered with the thick white snowflakes, his cheeks were still pink, and he looked serious for once, his lips not pulled wide in a smile, but slightly parted and looking so pillowy and red from the cold, or the heat, or the firewhisky.
Realising I was staring at his mouth, I forced my eyes up to his. But he was looking down at my own lips. I would have smiled at that if I hadn't been so nervous.
His thumb started to move slowly over the back of my hand, like he couldn't keep still and he looked back up, into my eyes.
The Weird Sisters were singing about magic and not being afraid as Maxwell's face started slowly coming toward my own. I held my breath and watched in wonder as his dark eyes swept shut when he was a breath away from me.
I closed my own and waited for the feel of his lips on mine.
Suddenly there was a splat and I felt something freezing splash onto my face. My eyes flew open to find that Maxwell's head was covered in snow from one of the largest snowballs I had ever seen. I heard laughter from the doors of the castle, and whipped my head around to see Fred and George there, using their wands to work on another giant snowball.
"Fred! George!" I yelled, flying off of the bench towards the two ginger idiots, only stopping to gather as much snow into my hands as possible.
When they noticed me coming for them they barked a laugh before running back into the Great Hall, shouting something about Little Eliza and the frenchie snogging in the courtyard.
….
After we swept the snow off of him and dried his hair with his wand so he wouldn't get sick, Maxwell and I went back inside and stuck with the group for the rest of the night. Both a little bit embarrassed by what had happened.
At the end of the night he insisted on escorting me back to Gryffindor Tower, we happened upon several couples snogging in the corridors along the way, causing both of us to blush each time.
At the Fat Lady, he took my hand, raising it to his lips and pressed his soft lip to my knuckles. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Eliza. I will never forget it." he said, smiling down at me, my hand still in his.
Feeling a rush of courage from Merlin knows where, I threw my arms around him and brought him in for a tight hug. "Thank you, Maxwell. It was just, just the best night of my life." I said, honestly.
We were still locked in our innocent hug, when I heard Ginny, Harry, Tilly, and Ron coming down the corridor.
Harry coughed when he saw us hanging on to each other, and I finally stepped away. Maxwell smiled down at me again, before waving to my friends and saying good night.
"Cheers, mate!" Ron called after him, "I'll bring that copy of the Quidditch Times to breakfast tomorrow!"
He blushed when Harry shot him a strange look, as we started to clamber through the portrait hole. "What?" He asked, defensively. "He's a good bloke, Harry."
"Yeah," Harry grunted, once he was through the portrait, "A good bloke who wants to snog my cousin."
"Harry!" I said, smacking him on the arm. But he just laughed, before saying goodnight to Ginny and thanking her for a lovely evening. Ginny was as red as her hair as she gave him a friendly hug, said "No problem," and raced up the stairs to our room.
Harry looked confused, but recovered as he turned to Ron. "Ready for bed, mate?"
Ron was looking down at the floor rather sheepishly and the tops of his ears were scarlet, "Think I may sit by the fire for a bit, actually. Not really tired." he said to the floor.
Weird, I thought.
"Come on, Tills. I'm knackered." I said, heading for my own stairs.
I stopped and turned when I heard a cough from her direction. She was also looking down at the floor, as far away from Ron as she could stand. "I'm not really tired yet, either. But I'll be up in a bit." she said, not meeting my eyes.
I looked at Harry in bewilderment, he was looking back at me with the same look in his green eyes. But then it clicked.
Oh. Oh.
"Right!" I said, suddenly feeling like I was too loud. "See you in a bit, then. Or the morning. Whatever!" before I raced up the stairs to tell Ginny that her brother was most likely about to snog one of her best friends.
….
The next morning, my friends and I stayed in bed until we were about to miss breakfast. We were all exhausted from the night before, especially Tilly and Amelia who had both crept in in the wee hours of the morning. Both flushed with swollen lips.
Apparently, Amelia had been very wrong. Theo Nott was most certainly not in love with Blaise Zabini. And had proved it to Amelia for a couple of hours hidden in an alcove on the fifth floor covered by a tapestry. She swore that they only talked, but her swollen lips told a different tale.
Tilly wouldn't tell us a thing about sitting by the fire with Ron. Which Ginny didn't want to hear about anyway. But Amelia told me later in the day that she had found them on the sofa in the common room when she finally came home, and that they certainly hadn't been only talking all night.
...
A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy this little holiday cheer chapter. Things will pick up from here on out! Thanks for reading!