Disclaimer: Soon enough, I'll finish this fic and I wouldn't have to bother with this…
Chapter 13: Pairing Off
An hour passed before the play ended. Sirius got up from his seat, rising with the rest to give the characters a standing ovation as the role-players bowed (and curtsied). The crowd finally trickled out of the Hall again to wait for the dance preparations. The cast was allowed to stay inside; they still had to change into their dress robes.
"That was brilliant!" James was saying animatedly to Remus. "Wicked ending, I'll say. Who knew that the princess and the witch were actually twin sisters?"
"Everybody knows that Celeste and Chase are twins, James," Remus said sarcastically.
James scowled. "I meant in the play," he countered. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you," he added as an afterthought.
"But they had to do that," Remus reasoned as if he hadn't heard the side comment. "Remember what Chase said a month before? That there would be some kind of character conflict or something?"
"Oh, that. Well, it was still great," James sniffed as they stood in their own corner in the hall to wait for the doors to open. Snape and his partner, Ismelda Bulstrode, strolled over, stopping somewhere near them.
"I do feel sorry for those who haven't found partners," Snape said loudly. "It must be disappointing to come alone to the ball. Loners could look like such idiots when they dance alone." Ismelda cackled.
Sirius stepped forward. "I feel sorry for those who practically beg for a date. I'd rather go alone than grovel at a girl's feet. I'd feel even more sorry for people who are willing to go with somebody extremely ugly just so they could be seen with a girl." James and Remus laughed. Snape and Ismelda, however, stared daggers at Sirius while he smiled innocently back.
Snape stalked menacingly up to Sirius. "What did you say, you big-headed scum?!" he yelled angrily.
"Hello to you too, grease head," Sirius said with a smirk. "Why? Did I say something offensive?"
"Shut up!" Snape hissed.
"And that's the best insult he can think of in his pea-sized brain, Sirius," James quipped behind his best friend.
"D'you think anyone will bother to come with you, Potter? Well, here's the proof! You're just a loser who can't find a date or must have been turned down by a dozen girls! And your face is thick enough to say that I'm pathetic?" Snape lashed venomously.
"As a matter of fact, I do think you're pathetic and repulsive," James said. A crowd had already surrounded them; a crowd of girls, in fact.
"Leave James and Sirius alone, you oil-haired freak!" a Ravenclaw second year screeched at Snape.
"Yeah!" a first year chimed in. "Who do you think you are?"
A bunch of other girls started protesting and shaking their fists at Snape, saying insulting names that suited him perfectly. Sirius doubled over, laughing as Snape turned paler and paler. A scuffle ensued as the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw side argued with the Slytherin girls. Wands were taken out of robes, hexes were hurled at one another, and enormous sparks were getting bigger and bigger in most of their wands when--
"Okay, you noisy bunch, you can come in now!" Chase's voice shouted. She was still wearing her witch's outfit. No one had noticed that she had even opened the door. She stared around at them all. Some wands' sparks had flickered and died. Others separated from the sparks, and went straight for Chase.
"Hey! Stop that!" Chase exclaimed, hurriedly taking her wand out and creating a magic-deflecting barrier just in time. The sparks rebounded and hit several Slytherins who howled in pain as different curses hit them.
"What's all this racket?" Cas Black tutted behind Chase. Like Chase, she gaped around at them all before reacting. "SIRIUS!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"I'm right next to you, idiot," Sirius grumbled, holding a hand over his left ear. "Are you purposely trying to make me permanently deaf or are you just plain blind?"
Cas folded her arms across her chest. "What have you done now?" she said furiously.
"Me?" Sirius said. "Why are you always like that? It's always Sirius this, Sirius that, even if you don't even entirely know what happened! You can't blame anybody in just a blink of an eye, you know! I have the right to be innocent until proven guilt--"
"He's innocent, Cas," Chase interrupted as she spoke to Sirius's sister.
"How'd you know that?" Remus asked in disbelief.
Chase smirked. "He hasn't strung that many words together in a complaint when he's the one who did it." She strode back into the Great Hall.
Cas sighed. "All right then, little brother, I'm letting you off the hook. But only because Chase sided with you, and it's rare that she says anything at all in your defense. You--" she pointed at the disfigured Slytherins-- "go up to the hospital wing. You can't go to the ball in that condition."
The Slytherins gave her death looks but grudgingly stood up.
"Don't worry," Sirius called after them in a mock sympathetic voice. "I'm sure you won't miss out on anything. I mean, nobody in his right mind would want to dance or hang around anybody as ugly as you are now, right?"
Three-fourths of the crowd jeered and snickered at the defeated Slytherins.
Cas rolled her eyes. "Sirius, that is enough. You lot just come back in here before the teachers find out about what you did."
"You mean, you're not going to report us?" a puzzled fifth year Hufflepuff said.
Cas smiled. "As long as it doesn't have anything to do with these three, I'm sure it couldn't have been major."
*****
Everybody's breath caught as the students entered the Hall. The teachers had outdone themselves with this year's decorations. Enchanted snow was falling from the ceiling; magnified to the size wherein they could just see the different patterns. The snow magically disappeared as they hit the ground (or the food and the people, for that matter.). Tables for six wound all around the Hall, and a long one for the staff, the head boy and girl, and the prefects was placed where the High Table should have been on normal occasions. Thousands of little fairies wearing glittery elf outfits flew all around the room, carrying small gifts wrapped in elegant gold paper. The usual six Christmas trees had multiplied by two; a dozen pine trees stood around the Hall, each with its own unique style of trimmings. The silver stars on each one glowed like real balls of whitish-gray fire, sending out sparks to the ceiling which exploded into magical fireworks down below. The tables were not lit by candles but by luminous diamond-like crystals that slowly rotated in the middle of the tables. The floor was bewitched to look like the star-studded night sky; the ceiling above was completely covered with snow. Wreaths made out of tingelid leaves, all turning different colors every few seconds, were placed all around the walls.
Dumbledore laughed heartily from the middle seat in the High Table. "I see you are also thunderstruck with our decorations. I was too, myself, when Professor Lyndell kindly provided us with several thousand live fairies. But, you have all night to stare around! Come, let us tuck into the delicious feast that has been prepared for us! Sit down, sit down!"
The students slowly obeyed. Sirius, James and Remus sat down on one of the middle tables. The food was starting to magically appear onto their plates when Lily arrived, looking resplendent in a dark red gown. Fiery ruby earrings dangled from her earlobes.
"You look nice tonight, Lil," Sirius commented offhandedly before glancing back down at his plate. "Hey, I said I wanted stuffed turkey, not roasted chicken! I don't care if it's not Thanksgiving, you're supposed to give me what I want to eat!" He was talking to the plate, and a second later, the roast chicken on his plate dissolved and two turkey drumsticks reappeared. "That's better," he said. "And put buttered corn kernels with it, I need a side dish. Where's the cranberry sauce? It's not complete!"
His three friends gaped at him. "Well, we deserve proper food service, don't we?" he said indignantly to them.
"I don't think that's what Dumbledore meant when he said that food was prepared for us," Remus said sarcastically. "Sit down, Lily. Where are Chase and Celeste?"
Lily laughed lightly. "Oh, Celeste's still fussing over makeup. I don't know what she's so worried about, I did mine in ten minutes. Chase's just getting dressed, she was in charge of scolding you in the hall when you weren't behaving well."
"Oh, there's Celeste," Sirius said suddenly. He could spot Celeste a mile away.
"Hey guys!" Celeste looked even more beautiful with her makeup, even though she took so much time for a makeover she sure knew her style. She didn't overload like most girls who looked like Morticia after they were done. She was wearing a backless sea green gown that was fitted at the top, showing off her curves, and her skirt was tight around the waist and hips and flared out around the knees. She left her hair as is; it looked shinier and softer than usual, and there was a delicate pale pink ring on her finger.
Celeste sat down, tucking her skirt under her. "What's for dinner?"
"Judging from Sirius the pig here, every food known to man," James answered dryly.
"I'm not a pig," Sirius protested through a mouthful of food.
James snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Where's Chase? I thought she'd be with you," Lily told her.
Celeste waved it aside. "She got into a bit of a fight with Drucilla Zabini. Well, it wasn't exactly a fight, since Drucilla just stole my makeup bag from our dressing room. Chase--er--offended her somewhat by saying that she could pass as a clown with so much makeup already. Drucilla lost it; you know how she is, stupid Slytherin tattletale and all that. She said something about telling on Ridgewood 'cause he favors her more than any girl in our Potions class. Drucilla was telling her that she was going to devise some evil punishment to torture Chase."
"What? Just for giving one sarcastic remark? Isn't that a little petty?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, it was. I already told you, the Slytherin girls are a bunch of losers who can't find any power so they always hide behind someone stronger than them, even if they have to worship the land that a boy walks on. Disgusting." Celeste helped herself to some steak.
"What did Chase do?" Remus asked.
Celeste shrugged. "Dunno. I didn't stick around."
"You couldn't defend your own sister?" James asked incredulously.
"Of course I would've! But you know Chase, she is rather independent. She'll find her way out of it, like she always does."
"If you say so."
They were all halfway through one dish when Chase power-walked toward them. She looked like she was in a hurry. Nobody noticed her since they were all bending over the delicious courses.
"You five look like a bunch of vagabonds who haven't eaten in a week," she said sarcastically as she slid into her chair, which was at Sirius's right.
The others looked up, startled. Nobody said anything for a moment. Finally Lily said the words that everybody else couldn't find to say.
"Wow, Chase, you look stunning!!!" Lily exclaimed, openmouthed.
Chase smirked. "Hardly," she returned, picking up her knife and fork and scooping mashed potatoes from a bowl in an elegant manner.
"Seriously, you look great," Remus said. "Why don't you glance behind you, every boy in the nearby vicinity is goggling."
Celeste turned in her chair. "He's right," she confirmed. "Where did you get that dress?"
Chase wore a pale blue slightly fitted gown. Her left shoulder was exposed; a slim silver hoop went all the way around her arm, level with the neckline. Attached to the hoop was a translucent blue material that had a slit from cuff to hoop that faced toward her body, long enough to cover the length of her whole arm. Two elegant silver bracelets were on her left wrist. She had a full long-sleeve on her right arm, which was fitted from the shoulder to the elbow and flared down the rest. She had three earlobe holes. Her left ear had two; identical small gem earrings, one sapphire, one amethyst, were in these. A single silver skull dangled from her right ear. Around her neck was the crescent pendant she had worn in the play. She had gathered her hair into three ponytails and twisted them somehow to create a different, spiky effect that pulled her hair slightly on top of her head. The other two were at the sides. Three beaded scrunchies held up her hair. (I seem to be making longer descriptions of Chase more than anyone else, aren't I? ^_- )
"It's like you're changed or something," James added. Chase still wore the pale blue eye shadow that she had on earlier, but she had removed the snow-white foundation and replaced it with a natural beige color. He noticed, as she leaned forward to get a helping of Italian carbonara, that her hair had sky blue highlights.
"I guess so," Chase said in a bored tone. "It's the first time we're supposed to wear formal attires, so it must be real shocking," she added sardonically.
"No, seriously. Every single boy behind you is practically drooling. I don't think they're even eating anymore," Remus pointed out.
Chase shrugged her bare shoulder. "Let them stare. It's their life."
The others exchanged glances. It was hard to believe; Chase Tarlise in a complete transformation. They ate their food in silence, starting to talk only when Dumbledore announced that dinner was over and that everyone should get ready to dance. He cleared all the tables with a wave of his wand and in seconds, the magical stereo was blaring at a reasonably loud decibel. Pairs of students and teachers started to make their way to the dance floor.
"Well? Aren't any of you going to dance?" Chase asked them.
The marauders looked sheepish. "Er--we don't have partners," Remus explained.
Chase raised her eyebrows. "You don't? Lily, don't you have one?"
Lily shook her head, blushing slightly.
"Oh." Chase was silent for a moment. "Why don't you dance with James?" she suggested, her eyes twinkling.
"W-what?" James stammered at the same time Lily said "No way!"
"C'mon," Chase said, standing up and dragging Lily toward James. "Don't mean to be an over-concerned nuisance, but I'm still a little dizzy from the spell effects I had to perform onstage." She grabbed James's wrist and put Lily's hand in his. "Now go!"
James and Lily turned beet red as Chase shoved them into the throng. Sirius whistled after them. "Have a nice dance," he called, winking at Lily as she glanced back at him. Her face, if that was possible, became even redder.
Chase sat back down and smirked. "That was too easy," she said before drinking the remains of her sparkling cider.
"Since when were you the matchmaker?" Sirius challenged.
"Since when were you Mr. Bachelor?" Chase retorted. The four of them stood up as Dumbledore waved his wand at the tables in their area.
"That's because there's only one girl I want to come with!"
"If you're so smart, then how come you didn't ask her?"
"What about you? Don't you think you should've asked who you wanted to go with?"
Chase laughed. "If I had anyone in mind, then I wouldn't be standing here bantering with you," she said. "Oh yeah… I think your dream date disappeared to find someone to dance with."
Sirius's mouth dropped open as he glanced around. "She's gone…" he groaned.
"Tough luck," Chase said in pretend sympathy, suppressing a smile.
"It's your fault," Sirius said suddenly.
"Mine? What, you expect me to pair you up with my sister? Am I the official matchmaker now?" Chase asked in her usual cynic tone.
"I thought we already discussed that," Sirius said dryly. "And that's the reason we lost her in the first place!"
Chase rolled her eyes and was about to answer when Remus cantered toward them, pale as a sheet.
"What's up with you?" Sirius asked.
"You look like you've just seen a gho-- I mean, a full moon," Chase added. She suddenly remembered that the Hogwarts ghosts were anything but scary. Well, except for the Bloody Baron, that is.
"It's your sister," he panted, holding his hands to his knees as he caught his breath.
"Why? Did something happen to her?" Sirius jumped, looking concerned.
"Ahhhh," Chase said, a grin lifting the corners of her light pink-lipsticked mouth.
"Ahhhh, what?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes.
"Why me?" Remus moaned at Chase.
"What? Is there anything wrong with my twin?" Chase asked in mock surprise.
"What are you two talking about?" Sirius demanded loudly.
"Celeste likes Remus," Chase told him matter-of-factly.
"WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed. "But--but I thought she liked James!"
Chase rolled her eyes again. "She was pretending to like James, you moron. We set it up so that Lily an James would get together."
"So that's why she wasn't acting like herself lately," Remus reasoned. Then his voice became panicked again. "She's looking for me! You've gotta--"
"Like I asked, what's wrong with her?" Chase interjected smoothly. "Do you find her that repulsive?"
Remus took a deep breath. "No," he admitted.
"Then what's your problem?" asked Chase.
"Well, for one, I'm not looking into a relationship right now," he said nervously.
"Unacceptable. You're almost fifteen," Chase announced, crossing her arms over her chest, her bracelets tinkling.
"But, but I just…can't." Remus looked desperately at Sirius, trying to convey that he couldn't possibly explain to Chase that he was a werewolf. Lily knew, of course, but she wouldn't tell a soul, she swore. But Sirius was just staring off into space; the fact that Celeste fancied Remus instead of him must have shocked him, especially because he was more popular than Remus to begin with.
"If you don't have a reasonable excuse to explain why you hate my sister--"
"I don't hate her," Remus interrupted. "I just can't explain."
Chase shrugged. "Well, good luck to you. In dodging her all night, I mean."
Remus started to slink away from them when he heard her singing softly:
You can try to resist
Try to hide from her kiss
But you know, but you know that you
Can't fight the moonlight
Deep in the dark
You'll surrender your heart
Don't you know, don't you know that you
Can't fight the moonlight--
"What are you saying?" Remus interrupted. Even Sirius had snapped at attention at the sound of Chase's voice. Remus's palms sweated as he waited for her answer.
"Oh, just singing about your predicament," she explained, a strange, amused glint in her eye.
"Oh…" Remus breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know, then. He started to walk away again before--
"And Remus?" Chase called. Remus turned around.
"Don't worry. Celeste knows all about it too, and she accepts you for who you are."
What? Ice rushed through Remus's veins. She knows. She found out all about it. He just stared back at her, frozen with fear.
Chase smiled encouragingly. "You'll always have a friend here, Rem," she said in a tone he had never heard her use before. Was it pity? No… but whatever it was, it made Remus feel strangely relieved.
"Th-thanks," he said shakily. He still couldn't believe she found out.
Chase smirked. "Well then, have fun," she said, returning to cynic mode. She resumed her conversation with Sirius.
Remus turned away, some color returning to his cheeks. Did Lily tell her? Or did she and Celeste find out themselves? Of course they must have. Next to Lily, James, and Sirius, they were the smartest in the school. But why didn't they tell him that they knew?
*****
"You knew?" Sirius asked, shocked. "Since when?"
"Since we were in second year, around the time you guys found out," Chase answered. "Why do you sound so surprised? I'm not stupid, you know." She stared out into the dance floor. "There're Lily and James."
Sirius followed her eyes and saw the two of them too. They looked pretty normal, and their faces had turned to their natural shade. The two of them had a kind of lovestruck look on their faces though.
"God, look at them," Chase grumbled. "They must be totally unaware of the people around them. Like they're off in their own little planet called--"
A new song started. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Snape appeared, with his usual hulking cronies behind him. Wilkes and Macnair had joined in his troop.
"Oh, look, Chase. The annual batch of losers who lost even the ugliest girls to more decent guys. Or maybe they didn't have anybody to go with," Sirius snarled as they approached.
Snape gave him a murderous look. "Keep your mouth shut if you want it to stay where it is, Black," he hissed.
"Oh, I'm so scared," Sirius said, his eyes widening in mock fear.
"I'm not here for mindless small talk," Snape shot at him, his voice full of pure hatred.
"Then what're you here for, then?" Sirius said scornfully.
Snape ignored him and looked at Chase. "Will you dance with me?"
If there was one thing Sirius was more stunned to see than Chase's new look, it was this. She looked very taken aback. Shock was very rare in the Tarlise list of emotions.
"What're you playing at, grease head?" Sirius growled at him. No way he was going to let Snape get his slimy Slytherin hands on one of his friends.
"I wasn't talking to you, Black," Snape shot back. Then he turned back to Chase. "Well?" His voice had become unusually earnest.
"Tell him no, Chase. You wouldn't want to dance with the ugliest wizard on the face of the earth, would you?" Sirius glared at Snape's gang, and they glowered menacingly back, cracking their knuckles.
"It's okay, Sirius. I can handle this," Chase spoke up behind him. She seemed to have recovered quickly. He noticed that a small group of spectators had stopped their activities to watch.
"You will dance with me then?" Snape repeated.
"No, I'd rather eat the dirt under my shoes," Chase said flatly. Snape's face fell, but he wasn't discouraged. A few watchers whistled and clapped.
"Why?" was Snape's reply.
"'Cause you're Slytherin scum, that's why," Sirius broke in.
Wilkes put up a hard-looking fist. "One more word, Black…" he said threateningly.
"Nobody wants you here," Sirius shot angrily. "Why don't you band of riffraff gorillas find someone else to pick on?"
"Stay out of this, Black!" Snape yelled at him.
"You guys are making a scene," Chase pointed out.
They all looked at her.
Chase smirked. "Okay, then, Snape. You want a dance, you'll get one."
Sirius (along with all the onlookers) gasped. "But Chase, you can't--"
"Yes!" Snape threw am annoyingly triumphant look at Sirius. "Shall we have the next dance?"
"Nope," Chase shook her head. "Just call me…when hell freezes over," she finished coldly. She stalked away, with Sirius walking backwards behind her, lowering an eyelid and sticking his tongue out at Snape. (immature I know, but what else can you think of?)
Sirius swung around and caught up to Chase. As they passed, people clapped. "You had me there," Sirius told her, out of breath. "I thought you were really going to dance with him."
"Forget it," Chase said. "He called Lily a Mudblood once when I was right next to her. What did he expect? That I would turn away from my best friend just to dance with a low-class bastard like him?"
"That's the spirit," Sirius stated. He trotted to her left, and it was the first time he'd noticed that she had a tattoo on her upper arm, just below her exposed shoulder. It was a picture of a silver crescent moon overlapping a spiral-shaped, eight-rayed sun that was on its lower right. Three pale blue stars lined the arc of the moon. Somehow Chase had bewitched them to shimmer like jewels.
"Like my tattoo?" Chase said suddenly when she caught him staring. "My dad took me to a tattoo and body-piercing shop last summer. You've seen him, haven't you? Both his arms are covered with motifs of snakes and dragons and who knows what else. It was, you know, the reason why mum broke up with him." She had a downcast look in her eyes.
"You mean, she broke up with your dad because he had tattoos on his arms?" Sirius asked confusedly.
"No, it was his interests. He's got three eyebrow pierces and his ears have more ear holes than even I have, but he's good at heart. I guess my mum just didn't like that type after all." Chase blinked, and Sirius had the unusual instinct to comfort her.
"Er--is that why you and Celeste have different last names?" he said awkwardly.
"Yeah. My mum remarried shortly after their divorce. Mr. Schoharie's a nice guy and all, but it hurts--to see my mum with someone else other than my dad," Chase said softly.
"It must be," Sirius mumbled. He never had to deal with people in this state before. He never had to deal with Chase in this state before.
"But--even if she did remarry, Celeste should have your dad's last name, right?" he pressed. "I mean, he was her biological father. She should keep your surname."
Chase shook her head. "Not necessarily," she responded. "My mum and dad sued for custody of us when we were three years old. We were shocked when the judge gave his verdict--that each of them should pick either one of us. I didn't want to be separated from Celeste, but that's what they did…"
"Your dad had to choose between Celes and you?"
"That's right. After mum and Celes went away, my dad became distant to them. Mum did everything she could to see me as often as she could, though. Every summer she came to our house to take me with her. Then, at the summer before our first year at Hogwarts, dad put his foot down and told her that I was to stay with him. He said something about Celeste seeing me at school anyway. But he didn't get it; my mum wanted to see me. Celeste did too, she was always crying like mad when I went back to dad's house…" Chase stared distantly at the dance floor. "It's stupid, really, but I wished they could just get back together. I know there's no hope in it, but that's what I've always wanted ever since I was four."
"Do you want to dance?" Sirius said.
Chase blinked. "What?"
"Er--to get your mind off things…" he muttered almost indistinctly. "Better than standing here when everybody else is dancing, you know."
"Sure," Chase agreed. The two of them made their way to the dance floor just as a slow ballad started.
They could see Professor Altrow dancing with Professor Quinn, the Astronomy teacher. Dumbledore was chuckling merrily at a joke that Professor Lyndell told them as they danced. A bolt of silver and red caught Sirius's eye; Lily and James once again disappeared into the throng of dancers before he could get a good look of them.
"There're Celeste and Remus," Chase pointed before clasping her hand in Sirius's. She smiled, staring intently at them. "They do look good together, don't they?"
Sirius looked over his shoulder, where Celes and Rem were dancing not too far off. Celeste waved at them and laughed as Remus twirled her around.
"Aw, ain't that sweet," Chase said wryly, starting to overcome her sad mood.
"Uh-huh," Sirius mumbled.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you still like her," Chase laughed. "Don't worry about it, Sirius, there're always other girls out there," she said, gesturing at the crowd. "One of them's bound to be 'the one,' as Celes calls it."
"I guess you're right," Sirius said reluctantly.
"At least she's happy now," Chase remarked slowly. "I wouldn't worry about her crying when I have to go back home. She really is sensitive…"
"Does she always cry on her way home from Hogwarts?" asked Sirius.
"We-ell, yeah, I suppose," Chase answered. "It's sad… She loves my dad too, but dad--he isn't really good at long-distance relationships. Celeste wouldn't have a chance to be closer to him unless she moves with us." She lifted her chin slightly to look Sirius in the eye. "D'you think dad will still forgive her? It's not like she did anything wrong…it's mum he's mad at."
Sirius nodded. She looked so vulnerable at that moment--it caught Sirius off his guard. He had always admired Chase for being confident, for keeping her grades up while still playing Quidditch (even though he did too) and for always looking so put together. He imagined her having the perfect life since she was always right when she announced her suspicions with something. Best of all, she knew things and didn't talk about it if you didn't want to. She respected other people's lives and was caring without being irritatingly over-concerned. And here she was, seeming so fragile and delicate. So Sirius did the only logical thing he could think of at the moment.
He kissed her.
*****
AN - I'm starting to rethink the genre here… At first I didn't know which category this story fell on so I chose General/Humor. Now I twisted it into some sort of romance story. I'm not very good at this, I think I'll just leave it as is. Oh, and before I forget…REVIEW!!! Thanx,
Dimantrien