*(A/N)* Aww, I just realized I've screwed myself over of my excitement of writing Christmas at Hogwarts. Oh well, guess I'll just have to come up with something even better!! OK, let's see, where did we leave off....
Alright, this is a repost!! It has the ending, the A/N (which are ALWAYS interesting!! *hehaho*) and a few added details here and there. Thanks for reading!! Enjoy!
Chole Patil at Hogwarts: Chapter 17
The residents of Hogwarts were in a frenzy.
It was the night of the Ball, the event everyone had been talking about over the last 3 weeks. Even those who had planned everything out so far ahead, namely, the girls of Dorm 4 of Slytherin, were still panicking. Chloe could feel excitement building up inside her, regardless of the fact that her date was Neville.
"He's not going to be that bad!" She muttered to herself. Chloe was trying to keep her spirits up, lord knew that she'd need them tonight.
"Chloe, come here, I think I've got a dress for you!" Jessika called from across the room. Chloe wandered over, wondering what it looked like.
She gasped when she saw it. The dress was exquisite. Chloe had dressrobes of her own, but the others had already 'claimed' them. The only way she was letting Roz use her lavender robes was if she found something that was equally great, and here it was.
The dress was a deep burgundy, shimmering gold at different angles. The stitching was also a glimmering gold, nothing to be scoffed at. It was beautiful through and through. Chloe held it up admiringly, wondering how it would look. Jessika was looking her over.
"It'll fit, Chloe. You and I are pretty much the same size. Besides, you can always make alterations. Go! Try it on!" She finished, shooing her away.
Chloe did as she was told. The dress fit nicely, except for the fact that it was about an inch and a half too short. After a few well chosen spells, however, all was well. Roz was especially happy, as now the lavender robes were all hers. Well, at least for the night.
Once all the others were ready, Autumn in a pale yellow, Ashley (although Chloe wasn't too happy with her at the moment) in royal blue, Sara was wearing fushcia, Roz in Chloe's lavender and Jessika had robes of a deep purple, glimmering with a subtle green. They all looked really good, and were waiting to have their hair done. Sara, being the most picky, took the longest. She made Chloe redo it 3 times before she was satisfied. Chloe did Ashley's hurriedly, and was rather dissapointed when it turned out to be perfect the first time. The rest were fairly simple to do, and then came Chloe's turn.
She would be doing her own hair, but she'd never picked an example out. Soon, her panic had doubled as they all pored over magazine after magazine, folding pages and holding up suggestions. After much conferencing, one was picked. They all thought it would look the best.
Chloe twirled her wand around, muttering spell after spell in attempt to get her hair to place itself where she wanted. At last her 'masterpiece' was complete. Her semi-curled, layered hair cascaded over a small, beaded burgundy headband. The black of her hair, which reached her collarbone, contrasted nicely with the dress. Chloe thanked God for magic, she'd never have been able to accomplish anything that night without it. (Her hair wasn't normally curly, nor was it layered.)
Chloe turned around, facing her friends.
"Well?" She asked, gesturing towards her head.
"Looks Great!" They all exclaimed, aside from Ashley, who told her it was 'fine'.
Chloe rolled her eyes, and fetched some white satin shoes, which she promptly turned burgundy also. After strapping them on, she walked slowly towards the tiny jewlery box on her night table, in which she kept her 'special occasion' rings and necklaces. She pulled out a dainty, gold chain, a gift from her best friend at Beauxbatons. She put it on with a small smile, finally able to think of her other friends without feeling sad. After slipping on a gold ring, given to her from her parents when she was first admitted to Beauxbatons, she turned, grinning.
"Ready!" She announced brightly. The others turned from their mirrors and smiled in agreement.
"Just in time!" Jessika said, glancing at a small watch on her wrist. The Ball included a late dinner. Chloe could feel her stomach rumbling as she thought of the food yet to come.
While descending the stairs, Chloe and the others could hear loud chatter coming from the common room. Upon opening the door, they found almost the whole house gathered together, complimenting eachother with sly smiles (probably thinking of how much better they look) Chloe thought, and searching for dates. The other girls wandered off, leaving Chloe standing idly.
At last Roz and Draco made their way over. Roz was hanging onto Draco's arm, listening with interest to every word he said, while Draco smirked, obviously pleased with the undevoted attention. Behind them, Chloe caught a glimpse of Pansy Parkinson, who was shooting daggers in Roz's direction. Chloe couldn't help but smirk when she wondered if they'd be finding Roz crumpled up in a dark corner of some corridor this evening. Pansy looked ready to kill...
Letting her gaze wander over the room even further, Chloe saw Ashley and Jack together, Ashley grinning at her luck, and holding Jack close and possessively. Chloe glared in her direction, then averted her attention elsewhere. Crabbe and Goyle were looking around, probably for Draco, Chloe thought with a grin. They seemed totally oblivious to Sara and Autumn, who were tapping their shoulders, trying to get their attention.
Chloe wondered if Jessika had ever found a date. She hadn't seemed too worried over it in the Dorm earlier, and Chloe had forgotten to ask. Standing on her tiptoes so that she could see over a larger area, Chloe noticed a blond head standing in a corner. She decided, for lack of anything better to do, to investigate.
Standing, with her arm around a burly seventh year, was Jessika Matthews. Chloe shook her head wonderingly, amazed at how Jessika always seemed to come out on top. In the dorm tonight, the other girls would probably hear of nothing else but her date that was in seventh year.
Noticing that the Common Room was beginning to empty, Chloe decided to head out towards the Great Hall, where she supposed she'd meet Neville.
The Great Hall was even more chaotic then the common room had been. Chloe shook her head in amazement, there seemed to be even more students then normal. She supposed that it was because of all the different colours of robes. Wandering around aimlessly, she spotted Parvati trailing Frederick Burney alongside her. Where they were going, Chloe had no idea. Further on, Chloe saw Padma and Harry, and decided to go and ask if either of them had seen Neville.
Padma grinned at Chloe maliciously. "Looking for someone?"
Chloe gave her a reprising look, and ignored her, speaking to Harry instead.
"Have you seen Neville anywhere?" She asked meekly. Harry nodded, and pointed in between several groups of people. After they'd departed, Chloe could see a worried looking Neville, his eyes darting in every direction. Chloe looked back at Harry and smiled weakly.
"Thanks." She muttered, then left them, heading towards her date.
Neville grinned with relief upon seeing her.
"H-hey!" He stammered.
Chloe gave him a reassuring smile. "Hello." Then she grabbed his arm. "Come on. Let's go inside and find somewhere to sit."
The two of them entered the Great Hall, searching for someone they knew that already had a table. Neville pointed out a table full of Gryffindors, and they agreed that it would be the best place. Chloe noticed he seemed a lot calmer.
"Hello!" She greeted everyone at the table. They moved over, making room for her and Neville. Sitting there were Hermione and a dark haired boy, introduced as Dean, a sandy-haired boy sitting with her sister's best friend Lavender, Ron and a round faced girl she recognized from Hufflepuff, and Harry and Padma. Several others joined them, including Ginny and who was introduced as Colin Creevey. Ginny smiled at her warily, as if having Colin for a date was taking up all of her energy.
Chloe picked up the menu sitting on her plate gingerly, listening to a story the sandy-haired boy, Seamus, was telling. There were several choices of food, and each sounded scrumptious.
Suddenly, there was a clanging of glass, and Chloe gasped as ice-cold water hit her lap. She attempted to jump up, only to find that she couldn't, as she was sitting on a bench weighed down by other people, and hit her knees on the table. She winced in pain, and let out a deep breath, looking towards Neville accusingly. He was turning beat red, and Chloe could feel her face flushing too. Neville scooped up some napkins, and was about to wipe up Chloe's lap, when he pulled his hand back, and gave them to her instead. Chloe smiled at him bitterly.
"Thanks." She said, taking out her wand. With a flick she was dry again. The intricate, deep green table cloth had already been cleaned up by Hermione. Everyone was hiding sniggers behind their hands, and, despite herself, Chloe could feel herself begin to smile too. Neville looked so funny! He was glancing at her apologetically, and looking around the table, bewildered, as if he couldn't see how they could find humour in the situation.
"Don't worry about it, Neville." She muttered to him. He grinned at her gratefully, just as Professor Dumbledore began to speak.
"Welcome everyone! Before we begin the Feast, followed by the Ball, may I introduce our Guest of Honour tonight, Minister for Magic, Mr. Cornelius Fudge."
A polite applause followed this announcement, while Fudge stood up.
"Thank-you! Before we begin, I'd just like to say a few words...."
Chloe tuned him out. Speeches were never really her thing. She noticed others that didn't seem to be paying much attention either. Seamus and Lavender were whispering softly to eachother, Padma was twirling her hair, Dean was staring at something on the table with glazed eyes, while Neville was gazing at the ceiling and twidling his thumbs at the same time.
After a few minutes, the speech finally ended, and people began picking up their menus.
"Umm, let's see, how about...pasta!" Seamus announced with a grin. Lavender hit him in the ribs.
"That's not even on there!" She hissed.
Seamus rubbed his side, cringing. "You've gotta stop doing that!" He grumbled, but quickly recovered with a goofy grin.
Chloe rolled her eyes and looked at her own menu.
"Porkchops!" Neville announced. Instantly the food was on his plate. Chloe looked at it, impressed.
"Chicken." She said firmly, cutting it up the moment it was on her plate.
Soon everyone was eating contentedly, talking about the last Ball, teasing eachother and commenting on everything from Quidditch to the decorations. The Great Hall looked beautiful,with twinkling lights and magical candles. Golden glitter fell from nowhere, while boughs of holly were strung over the ceiling. The sky outside was clear and filled with twinkling stars, which blended in nicely with the lights in the Hall itself.
"Yeah, it's too bad they have to go ruining the decor with the ugly old Slytherin flag!" Seamus announced loudly, covering his mouth the moment the words were out. Chloe looked at him uncomfortably. Lavender hit Seamus in the ribs again, while the others looked down at their plates with embarrassment, glancing up at her apologetically.
"Um, sorry." Seamus muttered.
Chloe took a deep breath. "Well, you know, their probably saying the same thing about your flag too. I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's alright, I know that our houses don't get along..."
The table remained silent for a few seconds, then the light conversation began once more, and within a few minutes, the tension had been removed.
Once all the plates had been cleared of food, and desserts had been eaten, the band hired trooped out and began to play. Chloe didn't recognize them, but the music was good. Couples began to dance, and soon the whole floor was filled with moving bodies.
Chloe was among them, dancing away with Ginny. She soon lost track of Neville, and didn't see him until the first slow song was played. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, and there he was.
"Umm, wannadance?" He said quickly and quietly, turning red once more.
"What's that?" Chloe asked, with a grin. She'd heard him, but just enjoyed toying with him.
"I said do you want to dance?" He asked loudly, receiving startled looks from people around him. He turned red again, as Chloe sniggered.
"Of course!" She replied, feeling sort of bad for making him embarrass himself.
He smiled with relief, as she trailed him onto the dance floor, sort of off to the side where she spotted Ginny. Her and Colin were dancing together. She turned to Neville, put her arms around his neck, and winced as he stepped on her foot.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
Chloe forced a grin, and began to look around at all the other couples.
Lavender and Seamus were dancing together, of course. They were smiling at eachother, flirting incessently as usual. Padma and Harry were also dancing together, and seemed to be doing the same thing as her. She caught Harry's eye for a brief moment. They smiled at eachother, but he looked away right afterwards. Chloe, however, watched him for a bit afterwards, until she averted her attention elsewhere. She spotted Parvati, who had her head on Frederick's shoulder, her eyes closed. Chloe rolled her eyes at her sister. Ron looked very pink as he danced with Hannah (the Hufflepuff girl who's name had been revealed earlier) He was so cute when he blushed! Chloe couldn't help but think of how nice he was being to her at dinner. Well, that wasn't entirely correct, he hadn't even talked to her. At least he didn't comment on how she should be with the other Slytherins.
She winced once more as Neville stepped on her foot again. Chloe wondered what the record was for stepping on people's feet while dancing. Neville had most likely broken it.
Then she spotted Jack and Ashley. Chloe was pleased to see Jack talking to another Slytherin, not even bothering to pay attention to his date. Chloe stared triumphantly at Ashley's scowling face, and couldn't help but think of how things would have differed if Chloe herself had gone with Jack.
Draco and Roz were nowhere to be seen. This slightly dissapointed her. She wanted to see how they were coming along. Chloe also noticed that Pansy Parkinson wasn't anywhere to be seen either, but then again, she could only see a limited amount of space. Throngs of people were dancing around her, including Dumbledore and McGonagall and Hagrid and Professor Sprout (which was a sight to be seen!) Professor Pixtar and Professor Flitwick were talking animatedly at the High Table. Snape was his usual prowling self, but nobody expected anything more or less.
Finally the song ended. Chloe and Neville broke apart, and headed back over to the table.
"Um, I'm really thirsty.." Chloe said, brushing some glitter off her cheek.
"There's drinks right over there." Neville pointed out.
Chloe sighed with exasperation. Neville was not getting the point.
"Aren't you thirsty too?" She hinted, putting emphasis on her words.
He grinned at her. "Yeah, actually, I am. Thanks for offering to get me something."
She stared at him with disbelief. "Yeah, sure, be right back." She muttered darkly.
She took her sweet time getting to the refreshment table. She grinned as a couple danced vividly together. THUD! While she wasn't looking where she was going, she'd managed to crash into somebody.
"Oh, sorry!" She said, turning towards her crash-mate.
"It's alright, my fault." Said....Frederick Burney?
"Oh no, it was me, I wasn't looking at where I was going, I was sort of looking at the people dancing." She babbled, only half-aware of what she was saying. Her eyes wouldn't let go of his. He really was good looking!
"Ok then. Aren't you Parvati's little sister?" He asked, looking curiously at her.
"Uhh, yeah." Chloe answered quickly.
"In Slytherin, with my sister..." He said, trailing off.
"Yep!" She answered brightly. Just then Parvati interrupted.
"Hey Frederick!" She said brightly. "Oh, Chloe! Hey, having a good time?" she finished, her eyes hinting that she wanted Chloe to leave.
"Oh, yeah, great time." Chloe said sweetly, walking away.
She sighed deeply as she reached the Refreshment table. She grabbed two Butterbeers, hardly noticing that they were immediately replaced magically, and turned around, coming face to face with a certain someone. She grinned when she realized it was the person who'd been capturing her attention all night. She suddenly realized just how often she'd been looking around for him.
He smiled back, brushing a piece of hair off her cheek. Then he beckoned for her to follow him, which she did. He led her to a dark corner of the Great Hall, dimly, romantically, lit by a few twinkling lights. He pulled her into his arms closely. Chloe then realized that the song had changed, another slow one was playing. A vague thought of Neville crossed her mind, and left abruptly when she looked into his eyes. They began to dance together wordlessly in their own little private corner.
Suddenly, during an instrumental interlude, the singer of the Band made a soft announcement. "This song's been dedicated by a young man to his favorite girl. This one's for you, Chloe and...."
*(A/N)* Oops? Have I ended with a cliff hanger?? Hehehe, sorry about that. Please, review and tell me who you think, and who you'd like the 'mystery man' to be!!
Sorry, I had to repost. The ending wasn't here, and if you've read the first one that went out, you'll notice a few different details in this edition. I don't know what happened, when I edited I added them in, when I uploaded they were gone. *sighs* Oh well, please, be a dear and review!!