Chapter 4.2
Jingle Bells: Part 2
Hey guys! I just have a quick note about this chapter. At one point in the story, it is structured like a songfic. The words of the song are in between things that look like this: ~~~~
Just wanted you to know! Enjoy!
-The Author
Finally, the day before the Yule Ball was upon them. The 4th through 7th years had all been given the same assignment. To go with your partner to the Yule Ball. Hilariously enough, Fred requested of Angelina that she save him a dance . . . and he was teased for days afterward about it by Tsunami, George and Lee. Actually, they were still going at it.
"Are you sure you know how to dance right, Fred?" Lee asked.
"Because if you don't, you'll step on poor Angelina's toes!" Tsunami giggled.
"Oh, and we'll have to be sure you look just right." George continued in a very serious voice. "No yellow and purple polka dots this year!" Tsunami and Lee snorted.
"Do you guys ever give up?" Fred sighed. George, Lee and Tsunami looked at each other, looked back at Fred.
"No." they said. Fred rolled his eyes.
"I give up," he said.
"Aww." Tsunami wined. "That's no fun!"
"I hate to brake it to you Tsunami, but that's the general point." Fred told her. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted.
"Yes, thank you Fred." she said. Tsunami looked at her watch. "Well, I'd better go get ready." she said. The boys looked at her with slightly puzzled expressions.
"Tsunami . . .we still have three hours." George told her.
"Ya, I know." Tsunami told him. "I'm already behind schedule by an hour." Ignoring their shocked stares, Tsunami turned and strode towards her portrait. "See you guys in a bit!" she called, before disappearing into the portrait. They stared after her.
"Nuts." Lee said, shaking his head so hard, his dreadlocks fell into his eyes.
"Absolutely bonkers." Fred agreed.
"So . . ." George said. "You wanna go have a snowball fight?"
--- ~* ~*
"Tsunami! You almost ready to go?" Mondo called, stepping out of his bedroom.
"Almost!" Tsunami's muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door. Mondo sighed.
"You've been in there for two and a half hours!" he said.
"So?" came Tsunami's indignant reply.
"Never mind." Mondo sighed. Suddenly, the door opened, and Tsunami stepped out.
"There?" she asked. "Satisfied?" Mondo could only stare. Tsunami beautiful, dark red hair was pulled up onto the back of her head, even the stubborn little strand that usually strayed into her face was back, and it was all secured with a very large clip. Dangling from her ears were two beautiful blue earrings. She had very little makeup on . . .a little lipstick and light blue eyeshadow that accentuated her forest green yes. Her robes . . .her dress robes were stunning. They were a beautiful baby blue at the top, which faded into a royal blue at the bottom. The robes fit her more like a dress than robes, and on her feet were two blue open-toed shoes with three-inch heels, which made her up to his shoulder now instead of his chest. Mondo's gaze traveled all the way from the tips of her toes and back up to her face again, which looked slightly puzzled as it began to talk to him.
"Mondo?" Tsunami said, bringing him back to his senses.
"U-uh . . .ya?" he asked. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted.
"As I was saying, I'm going over to Fred's because he needs to learn how to dance, and he's got a dance saved with Angelina . . .and if he can't dance . . ." Tsunami explained, and Mondo nodded.
"I understand. Be sure to be back soon." Mondo told her. Tsunami smiled, seeming relieved.
"Alright. I'll be back as soon as possible." Tsunami said, taking a light blue handbag and closing the door behind her. Mondo sank down onto the couch.
Running a hand through his hair, Mondo asked himself: "Holy shit . . .was that Tsunami?"
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami swung the door to Fred's room open. "Fred? You in here?" she called. Rachel, Fred's partner, appeared on the other side of their bathroom door.
"He's in his room moping. Something about screwing up when dancing with Angelina." Rachel rolled her eyes at Fred's bedroom, then disappeared into the bathroom. Tsunami sighed, and headed towards Fred's room, knocking on the door.
"No . . .leave me be . . .let me die in peace." Fred's muffled voice came from behind the door.
"Fred! You're not going to die!" Tsunami insisted. "Let me in!"
"No." Fred moaned. "I'll look like a fool . . .you should've seen it last year, Tsunami . . . I was literally going all over the place." Tsunami rolled her eyes.
"Fred, you're going to look like even more of a fool if you don't come at all and you don't give her the dance you requested. Not only that, Angelina will hate you for it." Those, apparently, were the magic words, for almost instantly, the door swung open.
"Can you teach me?" he asked her. Tsunami rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"You idiot. What do you think I'm here for? You think I want my friend to look like an idiot in front of the girl he has a crush on? I mean, come on!" Tsunami stated. Fred smiled.
"Ya, I guess you're right." Fred said, stepping out of his room and closing the door. "What's the first step."
"Well, first of all, you'd better put on some dress robes instead of your school robes, otherwise you're not only going to look like a person who can't dance, but an idiot as well."
--- ~* ~*
"One two three, one two three . . ." Tsunami counted off measures while Fred struggled to practice dance with Rachel. He looked highly disgruntled. "C'mon Fred. Left foot, right foot. You're leading, so just go wherever you want. To the side, front, back, front. There you go. Now, try a twirl . . ." Fred let go with his left arm and spun Rachel around slowly. "Perfect!" Tsunami smiled. "By Jove Watson . . .I think you've got it." Fred collapsed on the couch.
"Why do you keep calling people 'Sherlock' and 'Watson'?" Rachel asked, seating herself elegantly in a chair.
"The muggle author Sir Arthur Connan Doyle wrote a series called Sherlock Holmes many centuries ago. It's still famous in the Muggle world today. I actually have the whole set. It's my favorite series." Tsunami explained. She headed for the door, putting her blue handbag on her shoulder. "Well, I think you're ready now. I have to be going back to my room."
"Hey . . . Tsunami?" Fred's voice stopped her hand on the door. Tsunami looked back over her shoulder.
"Ya? What is it?" Tsunami asked.
"What do you think I should act like?" Fred asked. Tsunami raised an eyebrow. "As to say . . .should I, like, try to impress her, maybe?" Tsunami smiled.
"Fred, what a lot of human beings don't seem to understand is that the best part of a person is their personality. That's why being an aurasee is one of the most beautiful gifts in the world. You don't always see the façade of the person you're talking to . . .you see what's really inside them . . .who they are. You see the person instead of the mask. And if people would open up and show what's behind the mask more, this world would by far be a better place." Tsunami smiled. "So just be yourself." Tsunami winked at him. "I promise you'll be fine. Good luck!" Tsunami waved, then closed the door behind her.
--- ~* ~*
Ginny walked back alone through the halls towards her room from outside. Sometimes, going outside to think was the best medicine in the world. Fred and George had bought both her and Ron new dress robes. Hers was a deep purple that brought out the red in her hair and the brown in her eyes. She also wore a pair of flats the same color as her robe with her toenails painted a sparkly purple. Hermione had done her hair and it was now pulled back on each side with two beautiful purple flower clips. Tsunami had done her makeup, and Ginny had been praised because of how little she'd had to use. A little bit of concealer here, a little bit of purple eyeshadow there, and a little peach-flavored lipgloss was all she'd needed. After they were finished, and despite Ginny's distress, the girls had called Harry in.
For all of a minute, Harry had just stood there, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Ginny saw Tsunami's lip twitch, and she turned the hand at her side outward toward Hermione, palm up. Hermione gave the hand a sideways glance, before giving Tsunami a low five. Both girls grinned. Ginny, by that time, was blushing furiously. Finally, Tsunami cleared her throat, breaking the spell. Harry visibly jumped.
"Uh . . .erm . . ." he stuttered. "You look very pretty Gin." he said, his face a vibrant shade of red.
The other girls had finally left and Harry had gone into his room to finish changing (his face still looked like the color of a tomato). Ginny, having nothing to do and wasn't really all that sure how to react to Harry when he got like that, called to Harry that she was taking a walk and left the room taking a key.
And here she was now, walking slowly back to her room, so lost in thought that she didn't have time to see it coming. Before she had time to react, her arms were pinned behind her and a rough male voice that Ginny recognized with disgust said: "My, miss Ginny, don't you look pretty . . .good enough to eat if I do say so myself . . ."
Boris Tybalt.
Ginny's stomach contracted in fear and disgust, and she felt as though she was going to throw up. This guy had been chasing ever since she arrived at Hogwarts, trying to make her go out with him. She still refused to this very day. Boris was one of those tall, handsome, dark guys that radiated danger, so girls usually flocked to him for some reason, though Ginny had no clue what that could be. Harry always seemed much more attractive than he did.
"Let go of me Tybalt." Ginny spat, trying to twist out of his hold. This only succeeded in twisting her arm more, and Ginny fought the urge to wince. He still didn't comply with her order. So Ginny said it again, but with more vehemence. "I said, let go of my Tybalt!"
"Hm . . . I don't think I can do that." Tybalt said in a low growl. Ginny stiffened, her stomach turning into an even tighter knot. "Do you know why?" Ginny swallowed, her throat dry.
"No, I don't." Ginny spat. "And I don't care to know. Now let me go or I'll scream!" Tybalt put a hand over her mouth.
"Not any more." he sneered, but Ginny wasn't giving up that easily. She sank her teeth into his palm as hard as she could, and he pulled his hand away, giving a short yell. Suddenly, Ginny began to scream. It was very high pitched and very, very loud. "Damn you." Boris growled. He shoved her against the wall and raised his hand as if to slap her. Ginny winced, expecting the sharp, stinging pain at any moment. But it never came.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Ginny cautiously opened her eyes to find Boris suspended over six feet of the ground, his eye wide with terror and his arms flailing helplessly. Ginny stared, stunned. Suddenly, he was thrown straight into the wall opposite Ginny. He fell to the floor with a loud 'thud' and a groan of pain.
"Ginny!" Ginny turned her head as her name was called. Harry was running toward her at an alarming rate, and he looked as though he'd just had the fright of his life. "Ginny!" She was hauled roughly into his arms has he reached her. Ginny could only blink in surprise. "Ginny, are you alright?" Harry asked. Ginny relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She nodded against his shoulder.
"Yes. I'm fine Harry." Some of the tension seemed to go out of him.
"You're sure?" he asked. Ginny smiled slightly.
"Harry, I'm fine. I promise." Ginny told him.
"Good." His green eyes suddenly turned stormy. "Because when that son of a bitch wakes up, I'm gonna beat the shit out of him." Ginny's eyebrows shot straight to her hairline. Never before had she heard Harry swear so much in one sentence.
"I think I can do that by myself, thank you." Two heads turned to see Tsunami standing at the entrance to the hall, and glaring at the slumped figure of Tybalt as if she were willing it to burst into flame.
"But-" Harry started.
"Look." Tsunami interrupted. "Ron and Hermione are coming this way, and if Ron finds you like this, he'll freak, and then not even his girlfriend can distract him." Tsunami said, referring to Hermione. "I think you both know this. So I would recommend finishing your lovey-dovey conversation somewhere else." Harry and Ginny both flushed a shade of dark scarlet. "Well?" Tsunami asked. "Why are you still standing there?" Harry blinked.
"R-right." he stuttered, before grabbing Ginny's hand and dragging her off.
--- ~* ~*
"I swear to god, sometimes I think she can read minds." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair, which only succeeded in musing it further. Ginny laughed lightly.
"Well, she is an aurasee, true?" she asked.
"True." Harry admitted. "Well, come on Gin. We'd better go finish getting ready." Ginny nodded.
'He was concerned!' she thought happily. 'He was really concerned.'
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami flopped down on the couch. "Hey Sullivan, you almost ready?" Tsunami called.
"Yup!" Mondo called back through the bathroom door.
"'Kay!" Tsunami called back. She smiled happily. Boy, had it felt good to give that S.O.B. a beating. If he ever touched one of her friends again, she'd probably have to kill him.
"Alright. Ready to go?" Sullivan asked from behind her. Tsunami stood.
"Sure, I-" What Tsunami had been about to say died halfway to her mouth as she turned and looked at him. Damn, but he looked handsome. He had on chocolate brown dress robes that brought out the color of his eyes. His bangs, which, like the rest of his hair, was a shade darker than his robes, were pulled back into a braid at the back of his head with the rest of his hair. He seemed slightly puzzled at the way she was staring.
"Yes?" Mondo asked, seemingly puzzled.
"I-I was just saying that we should go." Tsunami stuttered, fighting a blush that was trying to make itself known on her face. Mondo shrugged.
"Alright then." He held out his arm to her. "Let's go!" Tsunami slipped her arm through his, and they made their way to the Great Hall.
--- ~* ~*
As they stepped into the Great Hall, they were shocked at what they saw. The Hall was beautifully decorated with ribbons in all of the house colors. A huge Christmas tree was upright in the corner, its leaves decorated with beautiful streamers and many ornaments and candy canes. The tables had been pushed into a ring around the room, which opened up a space for the dance floor. The tables were spread with white embroidered tablecloths, and for once they weren't spread with the house colors. Tsunami jumped as McGonagall's voice said next to them, "Sit anywhere you want. It's free seating." Tsunami turned and smiled at her teacher.
"Does that mean we get to sit at the High Table, too?" she joked. The corner of McGonagall's mouth quirked upwards in what, for her, had to be a smile.
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Nudelman." McGonagall said. "The High Table is still only for the teachers."
"Aw rats." Tsunami sighed, then waved good bye to her teacher. She and Mondo found a seat near Lee, Fred and George, who were also sitting with their partners.
"Some party, eh?" Fred asked, as she sat down.
"I'll say." Tsunami agreed. "I've never seen the Great Hall this pretty before."
"Who cares if it's pretty?" Lee asked. "Think of the wonderful food they'll have!" Tsunami laughed and shook her head.
"Somehow, Lee, I'm not surprised."
--- ~* ~*
Finally, everyone was seated, and the hall was buzzing with excitement, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the head of the table and cleared his throat. Everyone in the hall immediately stopped talking, and turned to look at the Headmaster.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Dumbledore boomed. "As you know, since the Yule Ball was such a hit last year, we are doing it again this year. A few thank yous are in order. First, to Hagrid, for bringing in our Christmas tree." The hall burst into applause. Dumbledore waited until the last clap was gone before he continued. "Second, to Professors Flitwick and McGonagall for putting up the ornaments," Thunderous applause again. "and lastly to the rest of the teachers for helping set up the Great Hall." Thunderous applause for the third time. When the last clap had finished, Professor Dumbledore finished up the last part of his speech. "Now . . . Let's eat!" Suddenly, all the plates in the Great Hall were filled with food. Ham, steak, potatoes, stuffing, salad, along with many other delicious dishes were available. Tsunami licked her lips.
"Mmm . . . smells good!" she said.
"Wait till you taste it!" a muffled voice beside her said. Tsunami turned and looked at Lee with a long-suffering expression.
"Lee, you're such a pig." Tsunami sighed. Indeed, he had already emptied five plates of food in the span of five minutes.
"Hey, I'm going slow here!" Lee protested, after swallowing.
"Right. I forgot." Tsunami said. "Usually it's three plates a minute instead of one." Beside her, Mondo laughed.
"Oh, leave him alone Tsunami." he said, and Tsunami turned to him, her temper sparking. "You know he's just doing it to show off." Lee nearly choked to death on whatever he was eating at the moment. Tsunami blinked at him, then a smile split her face.
"Of course." she said, sending a sly glance at Lee. "I should've known."
"I-I-I have no clue what you're talking about!" Lee sputtered indignantly.
"Oh, my mistake. So you have no clue about . . . her, maybe?" Tsunami pointed her finger towards Alicia Spinit, who was sitting a couple chairs away, talking to Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. Lee's cheeks reddened, making his skin look like a chocolate bar in the process of being dyed red. Fred and George turned and looked, puzzled, at where Tsunami was pointing. Fred seemed to get the shivers when he spotted Angelina. Lee turned even redder, and Rachel poked Fred in the arm.
"What's the matter Fred? Afraid of stepping on Angelina's toes?" she joked.
"Shut up." Fred growled at her. Rachel laughed.
"Ooo. Hit a nerve did I?" she asked.
"What is it with you girls?" he huffed, turning back to his food, his face the color of his hair. Sarah, George's partner, and certainly the quietist of the group, chuckled softly.
"Men are so easy to annoy." she said softly. Tsunami lifted her glass in toast.
"Hear, hear." she said.
"Hear, hear!" Rachel and Sarah echoed, clinking Tsunami's glass against hers and giggling.
"And women are the most difficult creatures on earth." Mondo laughed, raising his own glass.
"Hear, hear." George agreed in mock seriousness, and the four boys clinked their glasses together, chuckling, while the girls scowled at them.
Suddenly, the entrees disappeared, their plates suddenly turned clean, and rows and rows of delicious deserts popped up where the entrees had been. Tsunami's eyes immediately lighted. Spotting the chocolate pudding, she heaped a huge glob of it onto her plate, then immediately dug in.
"Tsunami, you are such a pig." Lee sighed, using her earlier words against her.
"Shut up." Tsunami told him, licking her spoon. This only succeeded in getting chocolate pudding on her nose. Lee rolled his eyes.
"Man eat. Woman tells him he is a pig. Woman eats. Man tells her the same thing. Woman tells man to shut up. Boy, that's productive." George sighed.
"Yes, well, female superiority does play a roll in that." Rachel said, grinning as she popped a forkful of pie in her mouth.
"What female superiority?" Mondo muttered. Under the table, Tsunami dug her heel into his foot. "OW!"
"Look, you may be handsome, but that doesn't mean don't strike out when insulted." Tsunami told him.
"And you may be adorably cute with pudding on your nose, but that doesn't mean you can't be incredibly annoying." Mondo laughed, wiping a bit of pudding off her nose. Tsunami glared at him over her spoon.
"Bite me." she said.
"Tsunami!" Lee hissed.
"For god sakes, Lee. It's an expression." Tsunami said casually. But then again, no one had missed the distinct flirting between the two. It was starting to make the Twins and Lee nervous. "Oh, do stop glowering at me, you three." she said to Fred, George and Lee, then popped another spoonful of pudding in her mouth.
"I'm not glowering." Fred denied. Tsunami gave him a disbelieving look.
"Oh? Then what do you call the glare on your face now?" she asked. Fred looked absolutely flustered.
"I think she's got you there, Fred." Rachel told him, grinning craftily as she ate the last of her pie.
"Bite me." Fred growled, and Rachel laughed.
"Naw." she said, poking him in the arm. "I'll leave that to Angelina." Fred turned as red as his hair. What ever retort that was about to come out of his mouth was stopped as the deserts disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore stood up again.
"Well, now that we are all fed and watered . . . " he started. "Since this is a ball, I think it is proper to dance!" He clapped his hands, and the lights in the middle of the room went up, and the first song began to play musically over the crowd. Tsunami didn't recognize it, considering that she wasn't really familiar with the magical world's music because she lived in a muggle household. Mondo grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet.
"C'mon! Let's go dance!" he exclaimed, dragging Tsunami onto the dance floor, the Weasley twins and Lee glaring after them.
--- ~* ~*
Ron sighed, putting his chin on his hand and gazing over the tabletop at the students engaged in dancing with one another. Hermione still wasn't here yet. She was still in the bathroom when she'd told him to leave and he would catch up later. So here he was, sitting at the table alone, watching everyone else have fun and dance. Suddenly, Tsunami plopped down in the seat next to him.
"Hey ya, twit." she said. Ron raised an eyebrow at her.
"Twit?" he asked.
"Yup. It's your nickname for the night." Tsunami told him cheerily.
"Goody." Ron sighed. Tsunami frowned.
"Hey, what's up? Where's your girlfriend?" she asked.
"Hermione's still changing." Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Wow . . . she took longer than I thought she would." Tsunami said thoughtfully.
"Why?" Ron asked. "How long did you think she would take?"
"Well, I thought she'd be done at least by dessert . . . guess not!" Tsunami shrugged.
"Ya . . . guess not." Ron sighed. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted in a half-smile.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Tsunami told him, punching him lightly in the arm. "She'll be here . . . and in enough time to dance, I'm sure." The corner of Ron's mouth hitched upwards slightly.
"You're right . . . I'd better stop worrying . . . " Ron said slowly. Tsunami stared at him as if he'd grown horns. "What?" Ron asked.
"You admitted I was right . . . maybe 'Mione is having a good influence on you!" Tsunami told him, grinning. "Well, see ya twit. Gotta go dance!" With that, Tsunami turned and walked off in the direction of the dance floor.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami flopped down in her chair, almost completely worn out. Damn, some guys just didn't take no for an answer! Another song began to play magically over the crowd. Tsunami was surprised to hear a muggle song . . .she knew it because her mother listened to it at home. The title was "Fallin'", she could remember that part . . .she just couldn't remember who wrote it. She turned to look around the room, her eyes searching. She finally located Mondo walking across the room towards her. As he was coming towards her, another girl walking up to him stopped him. Tsunami recognized her. It was Tiffany Sinclair, another Ravenclaw 7th year. Tsunami felt a strange flair of jealousy as Tiffany took Mondo's arm and began to lead him another way. Tsunami turned her head to the side stubbornly and glared at the wall.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo watched Tsunami, not paying any attention to Tiffany's babbles. He's seen the flash in her eyes, then her turning her head angrily away from him. Damn . . .she was jealous. The corner of Mondo's mouth quirked upwards.
"If you'll excuse me," he said, his eyes still intent on Tsunami as he pulled Tiffany's hands off his arm. Then he strode purposefully toward Tsunami.
~~~~ If I tremble when I'm by your side . . . If I look a little starry eyed . . . Darlin', don't you get the message? ~~~~
Ron glared grumpily as Harry swept Ginny across the floor. He turned to the side at a poke in his arm, and his thoughts scattered. Hermione had finally come out of the bathroom and to the dance, and she looked absolutely stunning. Heck, stunning didn't even describe the extent of it. Her hair was pulled back by two clips on each side of her head, and her emerald green robes swished around her ankles. She had little makeup on, from what Ron could tell, but then again, Ron wasn't a makeup expert.
Hermione giggled and blushed at his shocked look. "Well?" she asked. "Ready to dance?" Ron grinned and stood.
"You bet." He agreed, before taking her hand and steering her onto the dance floor.
~~~~ I'm fallin' . . . Falling in love with you. ~~~~
"Excuse me miss . . . would you like to dance?" Tsunami opened her mouth to say no, but the words got clogged in her throat as she turn to look at who it was. Mondo looked down at her, giving her a smile that could make almost any girl melt. The corner of Tsunami's mouth quirked upward.
"I think I can give it a shot," she said, standing.
~~~~ If I'm trying hard to come on cool . . . And I come off looking like a fool . . . Darlin' don't you get the message? ~~~~
Mondo had to keep from smiling as he swept her onto the dance floor. 'This is kinda nice . . .' he thought, as he brought her into his arms for the slow sway to the music. 'We're not fighting for once . . .she's looks absolutely stunning . . .well not that she wasn't before . . .but she's even more so now . . .'
Tsunami couldn't seem to figure out what the hell was going on. She wasn't exactly sure this was the Mondo she had been rooming with for the past four months. He seemed different. 'He's much more nicer,' she thought. 'And more handsome . . . man, just look at those warm brown eyes . . . enough to make your heart melt . . .hold up! Where the hell did that come from?!'
~~~~ I'm fallin' . . . Fallin' in love with you. ~~~~
'Okay . . .concentrate Tsunami.' Tsunami told herself, but she was finding it easier said than done. At each sway, he seemed to pull her closer. She didn't want him to pull her closer, dammit! If he kept doing that, she might let her guard down . . .god knows what could happen if she did that!
Mondo pulled Tsunami all the way up to him, tucking her head under his chin. He felt her go rigid in his arms. He bent his head down near her ear and whispered, "Hey . . .don't worry. I don't bite . . ." He felt Tsunami consider his words for all of three seconds, before agreeing with him and relaxing, tucking her head back under his chin. Mondo breathed in the scent of her light perfume. It was a nice fragrant smell, and he smiled in content.
Tsunami let her eyelids flutter closed and let her head drop onto Mondo's chest. Damn . . .this felt good. It was like a safe haven . . .so warm and strong. Later . . .she'd have to put her guard up. But for now . . .for now, she was just going to enjoy the moment.
~~~~ If I don't quite know just what to say . . . And I'm acting in a foolish way . . . That's the way it is with silly Valentines . . . You've got to learn to read between the lines! ~~~~
Fred slowly began to relax as he held Angelina.
'Well,' he thought. 'Dancing isn't as hard as I thought it to be.' He probably only thought this because he was to absorbed in the girl he was dancing with to notice that he had bumped into about five couples and stepped on more toes than there were feet on the dance floor. Lucky for him, Angelina hadn't noticed either, and it looked as though she wouldn't.
~~~~ Though I keep my feelings locked in place . . . "I love you" is written on my face. ~~~~
Mondo caught Lee Jordan, one of Tsunami's friends, looking at him warily over the shoulder of Alicia Spinit. His glare said everything: "You do anything to hurt her in any way and you're a dead man." Mondo nodded slightly to show he understood, and Lee seemed to relax. Mondo let a smile quirk his lips. 'Ah, the joy of male communication.' he thought.
"You know . . . I was thinking . . . " Mondo said slowly, and Tsunami looked up.
"A once in a life time occurrence." Tsunami joked, and Mondo flashed her another 100-wat smile that almost made her stumble. Tsunami cleared her throat to clear her head. "Um . . . you were saying?"
"Oh, I was just thinking . . . how nice this is." he said. Tsunami looked puzzled. Could the guy read thoughts now?
"H-how so?" she stuttered out.
"Well, you and I aren't disagreeing . . . we aren't fighting . . ." Mondo let go of one of her hands to twirl her slowly. "Or any of that. And I was just thinking how nice it was that I didn't have to match odds with you, and instead I could just-"
"Enjoy your company." Tsunami finished turning back to him after her small spin. Mondo smiled again.
"What? You're now a mind reader as well as an aurasee?" he asked, and was rewarded with her beautiful smile and a sparkle of laughter in her emerald eyes.
~~~~ Darlin' don't you get the message? I'm fallin' . . . ~~~~
Harry's eyes swept around the dance floor, though not really looking for once. Usually, at this time of year, he'd be looking for Cho Chang . . . but now . . . now, things were different. Different how, he didn't know. He just . . . really wasn't interested in her anymore. Not when there were . . . other things . . . distracting him. Like, the girl that was dancing in his arms for example. Ginny looked absolutely stunning tonight, no one could deny it. But what was he going to do when the other boys started going after her? There really wasn't anything he could do . . . and it was starting to bother him. Further more, he really couldn't stake a claim on her because of Ron. What the hell was he supposed to do about his best friend?
"Harry, is something wrong?" Ginny asked. Harry looked at her, startled out of his thoughts. Then he smiled.
"No Gin. Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking, that's all." Harry told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"Alright . . . if you're sure." Ginny said uncertainly. Harry's eyes seemed to soften, and he pulled her even closer.
~~~~ Fallin' in love with you. I'm falling in love with you. ~~~~
Mondo sighed with reluctance as the song came to a slow end. Now things would have to go back to normal. Now he and Tsunami would have to go back to their original way of at least one fight a night. Dammit! He didn't want to do to that! He only wanted the song to go on forever . . .
~~~~ I'm falling in love with you. ~~~~
Tiffany glared as Mondo lead Tsunami off the dance floor, and the both sat down at one of the tables.
'Okay . . .' she thought. 'Plan A didn't work . . . time to go onto Plan B.' She stood, excusing herself from her friends, and made a beeline for Mondo and his partner.
--- ~* ~*
"Excuse me Mondo." Tiffany said in her sugar-sweet voice. "May I talk to you a moment?" Mondo frowned at her for a second before shrugging and standing. Right before she turned to walk away, Tiffany locked eyes with Tsunami. The message in Tiffany's eyes was clear: 'Hands off!'
Tsunami glared right back at her, but Tiffany turned away, dragging Mondo out into the hall. Before he was totally dragged away, Mondo sent her an apologizing look. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted in a grin at his distress, and she gave him a sarcastic finger wave. He rolled his eyes at her, just before Tiffany dragged him out into the hall.
--- ~* ~*
Once they were in the hall and a little ways away from the dance, Tiffany turned to him.
"Well, since my advances don't seem to be working, I have to take the direct approach." Tiffany purred. Mondo backed another step away from her. The farther Mondo backed away from her, the closer Tiffany came. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?" she asked in a sultry tone.
"No." Mondo replied truthfully. He wasn't scared of her, she was just making him nervous.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stared at the dance floor until she couldn't take it any more. She stood up, then practically flew to the door to the Great Hall. Just a little spying wouldn't hurt, would it? She didn't know how wrong she was.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo kept backing up, but Tiffany kept coming. The girl didn't seem to give up! Finally, to Mondo's despair, he hit a wall, and came up short. Tiffany still advanced.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stomped out from behind the door, prepared to give a good, loud, yell to stop whatever Tiffany was doing. She opened her mouth to go with her plan, but then Tiffany did something she didn't expect. Then, just like that, her heart broke.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo wasn't really sure what had happened afterward. He only really remembered Tiffany advancing, the wall, and then Tsunami . . .
The damn girl kissed him. Kissed him for God's sake! Her lips were hard, not very inviting. He stared down at her, eyes huge, not exactly certain what to do. After what seemed like eternity, Tiffany moved away from him.
"Well?" she asked, not talking to him, but someone down the hall. "How did you like the demonstration, carrot-top?"
Carrot-top? Shit.
Mondo turned his head, slowly, knowing he was dead either way . . . but some how . . . .some how hoping it was one of the Weasleys. Just his bad luck . . . it was Tsunami. And she was staring at him in a way that made him want to run away from her and go to her all at the same time.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stared at him, not knowing what emotions were playing across her face. She slowly felt herself go numb, then she turned on her heal and stalked away. His cry rang after her, but she could not recognize what he was saying.
--- ~* ~*
"Tsunami! Wait!" he called, starting to move forward, but the hands on his arm stopped him. He turned to Tiffany angrily. "What?!" he shouted at her. Tiffany looked innocently at him.
"But Mondo honey, after the kiss we just shared, you're going to walk away?" she asked, batting her huge eyelashes at him.
"Shared?" Mondo sputtered. "Shared nothing. The only person in that kiss was you. Now let go of me!" Mondo yanked his arm out of her grasp, and strode quickly after the distant form of Tsunami.
"Mondo honey! Wait! I'll tell everyone you took advantage of me!" Mondo ignored her. "You're reputation would be in ruins!" Mondo stopped for a second, turning to look at her.
"Read my lips. I . . . Don't . . . Care." With that, he turned back and ran after Tsunami, his brown braid flying behind him.
--- ~* ~*
"Damn him! Damn him, damn him, damn him!" Tsunami fought with the key, swearing as she did so. "Damn key!" Opening the door, she staggered in, closed the door, lay down on the couch, and cried herself to sleep.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo, at the same time, was having trouble with his own key. "Damn key!" he roared, finally fitting it into the lock with much effort. The door swung open, and he rushed inside. An empty room greeted him.
"Tsunami!" he called. "Tsunami! Are you in here?!" There was no reply. He ran to each bedroom, opening each, but still there was no sign of her. He knocked on the bathroom door, and, getting no answer, opened it. Still no Tsunami. Mondo wandered out into the living room and plopped down on the couch, head in his hands. For the first time in 13 years, he cried.
--- ~* ~*
George opened the door to his room, Sarah behind him. "After all that, I'm gonna be glad to get some-" He stopped mid-sentence as they entered the room. "Tsunami!" George ran forward to Tsunami's sleeping form on the couch. "Sarah, go get my brother and Lee. She'll want them to be here." Sarah nodded, and took off. Within seconds, Fred and Lee were in the room, breathing hard from their quick run.
"Hey Tsunami. Wake up." George shook her gently. Tsunami groaned and rolled over, her back now to George. "C'mon Tsunami. Wake up."
"Go away Yuki." Tsunami mumbled. "I wanna sleep in longer."
"Yuki?" Lee asked, brow creasing. Tsunami seemed to frown, roll onto her back, and open her eyes slowly. She looked around at the faces of her three best friends and groaned again, covering her face with her hands.
"Hey . . . how are you feeling?" Fred asked, as he and George helped her sit up.
"Like I was an angel on Cloud 9, then suddenly, someone clipped my wings and I went falling back down to earth and reality." Tsunami groaned.
"Uh . . . isn't that a tad dramatic?" George questioned.
"No." Tsunami deadpanned. "That's describing it nicely." The Twins and Lee looked at each other. Okay, this was serious.
"Tsunami . . . you wanna tell us what happened?" Lee asked.
"No. Because I know you'll go and try to kill him." Tsunami said, peaking at him through her fingers. Lee's ears would've blown steam if it were possible.
"Why that son-of-a-bitch! I'll kill him!" Lee shouted, jumping up and making a run for the door.
"Someone please stop him." Tsunami groaned, watching one of her best friends run out the door looking like someone who was getting prepared for battle.
"Naw . . . He'll be fine." Fred said. "And Mondo can fend for himself."
"How did you-?"
"It was obvious." Fred shrugged. Tsunami sighed, removing her hands from her face and setting them in her lap.
"Do I really wear my emotions on my sleeve that much?" she sighed.
"Hey . . . don't worry about it. That's what we like about you!" George said, giving her a brotherly hug.
--- ~* ~*
"Mondo Sullivan! Open up right now!" Lee shouted, pounding on the door. A shuffling of feet was heard from inside, and the lock clicked open. Lee practically shoved the door out of his way. Damn if he'd ever let anyone hurt his little sister like that! Okay, so maybe she wasn't his real little sister . . . but still!
Mondo was sitting on the couch, tie loose, a bottle of butterbeer in his hand. He regarded Lee out of sullen eyes. Lee balled his hands into fists and shifted into a fighting stance. Mondo only turned his head towards the wall again.
"Why I should -!" Lee started, but Mondo interrupted him.
"Go ahead. Hit me. I'm sure I deserve it." That made Lee pause. His voice sounded almost dead. Lee scrunched up his face, then relaxed his fighting stance.
"Alright. Since Tsunami is too hurt to discuss it-" Lee saw Mondo flinch slightly. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Mondo didn't say a word, just turned and looked at him again.
"I am the biggest idiot in the world, do you know that?" he asked. He turned away again, seeming to study the wall.
"Yes, I gathered." Lee said, eyeing Mondo with slight suspicion.
"I can't believe I didn't see it coming. I guess that makes me even more of an idiot." Mondo sighed again.
"Will you just tell me what happened?" Lee gritted out through his teeth. Mondo sighed for what had to be the thousandth time since Lee'd been there.
"Fine, fine. Have a seat." Mondo motioned a hand at the couch, indicating for him to sit down. Lee sat, and listened.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami sniffled a couple times, drying her eyes. George and Fred were now sitting on either side of her, rubbing her back and telling her comforting things.
"So . . . do you wanna tell us what happened now?" Fred asked, once all the tears were gone from her face.
"Not really." Tsunami sighed.
"Well, how about this?" Fred asked. "Christmas Break is tomorrow. You can come down to our house and you can sort it out there!" Tsunami turned her head to look at him.
"What?" she asked, shocked.
"Ya. Why not? Mum issued the invitation. She said she really wants to meet you, Tsunami." George added. Tsunami turned her head towards George now. "Of course, if you want to go with your family for Christmas, we understa-"
"Oh, my family doesn't celebrate Christmas!" Tsunami told them, momentarily distracted from the Mondo problem. Fred and George stared at her.
"Why not?" Fred asked.
"Because we're Jewish." Tsunami told him. "That's means we don't believe in Jesus Christ."
"Uh . . . neither do I . . . but we still have Christmas!" George said. Tsunami smiled.
"I'd be happy to come."
************************* Preview of next part of the chapter:
Tsunami opened her eyes to blackness. She opened her mouth to call for her friends, but no sound came out. Tsunami gulped, clutching her hands to her throat, and stood. She began to walk. To where she was going, she didn't know. Her intuition just told her to walk. As she walked, a dirt road materialized in front of her. After a while, she began to hear footsteps. Tsunami began to feel uncomfortable, as she usually did when something was wrong. She quickened her pace, but the person behind her seemed to be following her every move, and quickened their pace as well. Tsunami began a light jog, then a hard run as the footsteps drew nearer. There was no escape . . .
Hey guys! I just have a quick note about this chapter. At one point in the story, it is structured like a songfic. The words of the song are in between things that look like this: ~~~~
Just wanted you to know! Enjoy!
-The Author
Finally, the day before the Yule Ball was upon them. The 4th through 7th years had all been given the same assignment. To go with your partner to the Yule Ball. Hilariously enough, Fred requested of Angelina that she save him a dance . . . and he was teased for days afterward about it by Tsunami, George and Lee. Actually, they were still going at it.
"Are you sure you know how to dance right, Fred?" Lee asked.
"Because if you don't, you'll step on poor Angelina's toes!" Tsunami giggled.
"Oh, and we'll have to be sure you look just right." George continued in a very serious voice. "No yellow and purple polka dots this year!" Tsunami and Lee snorted.
"Do you guys ever give up?" Fred sighed. George, Lee and Tsunami looked at each other, looked back at Fred.
"No." they said. Fred rolled his eyes.
"I give up," he said.
"Aww." Tsunami wined. "That's no fun!"
"I hate to brake it to you Tsunami, but that's the general point." Fred told her. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted.
"Yes, thank you Fred." she said. Tsunami looked at her watch. "Well, I'd better go get ready." she said. The boys looked at her with slightly puzzled expressions.
"Tsunami . . .we still have three hours." George told her.
"Ya, I know." Tsunami told him. "I'm already behind schedule by an hour." Ignoring their shocked stares, Tsunami turned and strode towards her portrait. "See you guys in a bit!" she called, before disappearing into the portrait. They stared after her.
"Nuts." Lee said, shaking his head so hard, his dreadlocks fell into his eyes.
"Absolutely bonkers." Fred agreed.
"So . . ." George said. "You wanna go have a snowball fight?"
--- ~* ~*
"Tsunami! You almost ready to go?" Mondo called, stepping out of his bedroom.
"Almost!" Tsunami's muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door. Mondo sighed.
"You've been in there for two and a half hours!" he said.
"So?" came Tsunami's indignant reply.
"Never mind." Mondo sighed. Suddenly, the door opened, and Tsunami stepped out.
"There?" she asked. "Satisfied?" Mondo could only stare. Tsunami beautiful, dark red hair was pulled up onto the back of her head, even the stubborn little strand that usually strayed into her face was back, and it was all secured with a very large clip. Dangling from her ears were two beautiful blue earrings. She had very little makeup on . . .a little lipstick and light blue eyeshadow that accentuated her forest green yes. Her robes . . .her dress robes were stunning. They were a beautiful baby blue at the top, which faded into a royal blue at the bottom. The robes fit her more like a dress than robes, and on her feet were two blue open-toed shoes with three-inch heels, which made her up to his shoulder now instead of his chest. Mondo's gaze traveled all the way from the tips of her toes and back up to her face again, which looked slightly puzzled as it began to talk to him.
"Mondo?" Tsunami said, bringing him back to his senses.
"U-uh . . .ya?" he asked. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted.
"As I was saying, I'm going over to Fred's because he needs to learn how to dance, and he's got a dance saved with Angelina . . .and if he can't dance . . ." Tsunami explained, and Mondo nodded.
"I understand. Be sure to be back soon." Mondo told her. Tsunami smiled, seeming relieved.
"Alright. I'll be back as soon as possible." Tsunami said, taking a light blue handbag and closing the door behind her. Mondo sank down onto the couch.
Running a hand through his hair, Mondo asked himself: "Holy shit . . .was that Tsunami?"
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami swung the door to Fred's room open. "Fred? You in here?" she called. Rachel, Fred's partner, appeared on the other side of their bathroom door.
"He's in his room moping. Something about screwing up when dancing with Angelina." Rachel rolled her eyes at Fred's bedroom, then disappeared into the bathroom. Tsunami sighed, and headed towards Fred's room, knocking on the door.
"No . . .leave me be . . .let me die in peace." Fred's muffled voice came from behind the door.
"Fred! You're not going to die!" Tsunami insisted. "Let me in!"
"No." Fred moaned. "I'll look like a fool . . .you should've seen it last year, Tsunami . . . I was literally going all over the place." Tsunami rolled her eyes.
"Fred, you're going to look like even more of a fool if you don't come at all and you don't give her the dance you requested. Not only that, Angelina will hate you for it." Those, apparently, were the magic words, for almost instantly, the door swung open.
"Can you teach me?" he asked her. Tsunami rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"You idiot. What do you think I'm here for? You think I want my friend to look like an idiot in front of the girl he has a crush on? I mean, come on!" Tsunami stated. Fred smiled.
"Ya, I guess you're right." Fred said, stepping out of his room and closing the door. "What's the first step."
"Well, first of all, you'd better put on some dress robes instead of your school robes, otherwise you're not only going to look like a person who can't dance, but an idiot as well."
--- ~* ~*
"One two three, one two three . . ." Tsunami counted off measures while Fred struggled to practice dance with Rachel. He looked highly disgruntled. "C'mon Fred. Left foot, right foot. You're leading, so just go wherever you want. To the side, front, back, front. There you go. Now, try a twirl . . ." Fred let go with his left arm and spun Rachel around slowly. "Perfect!" Tsunami smiled. "By Jove Watson . . .I think you've got it." Fred collapsed on the couch.
"Why do you keep calling people 'Sherlock' and 'Watson'?" Rachel asked, seating herself elegantly in a chair.
"The muggle author Sir Arthur Connan Doyle wrote a series called Sherlock Holmes many centuries ago. It's still famous in the Muggle world today. I actually have the whole set. It's my favorite series." Tsunami explained. She headed for the door, putting her blue handbag on her shoulder. "Well, I think you're ready now. I have to be going back to my room."
"Hey . . . Tsunami?" Fred's voice stopped her hand on the door. Tsunami looked back over her shoulder.
"Ya? What is it?" Tsunami asked.
"What do you think I should act like?" Fred asked. Tsunami raised an eyebrow. "As to say . . .should I, like, try to impress her, maybe?" Tsunami smiled.
"Fred, what a lot of human beings don't seem to understand is that the best part of a person is their personality. That's why being an aurasee is one of the most beautiful gifts in the world. You don't always see the façade of the person you're talking to . . .you see what's really inside them . . .who they are. You see the person instead of the mask. And if people would open up and show what's behind the mask more, this world would by far be a better place." Tsunami smiled. "So just be yourself." Tsunami winked at him. "I promise you'll be fine. Good luck!" Tsunami waved, then closed the door behind her.
--- ~* ~*
Ginny walked back alone through the halls towards her room from outside. Sometimes, going outside to think was the best medicine in the world. Fred and George had bought both her and Ron new dress robes. Hers was a deep purple that brought out the red in her hair and the brown in her eyes. She also wore a pair of flats the same color as her robe with her toenails painted a sparkly purple. Hermione had done her hair and it was now pulled back on each side with two beautiful purple flower clips. Tsunami had done her makeup, and Ginny had been praised because of how little she'd had to use. A little bit of concealer here, a little bit of purple eyeshadow there, and a little peach-flavored lipgloss was all she'd needed. After they were finished, and despite Ginny's distress, the girls had called Harry in.
For all of a minute, Harry had just stood there, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Ginny saw Tsunami's lip twitch, and she turned the hand at her side outward toward Hermione, palm up. Hermione gave the hand a sideways glance, before giving Tsunami a low five. Both girls grinned. Ginny, by that time, was blushing furiously. Finally, Tsunami cleared her throat, breaking the spell. Harry visibly jumped.
"Uh . . .erm . . ." he stuttered. "You look very pretty Gin." he said, his face a vibrant shade of red.
The other girls had finally left and Harry had gone into his room to finish changing (his face still looked like the color of a tomato). Ginny, having nothing to do and wasn't really all that sure how to react to Harry when he got like that, called to Harry that she was taking a walk and left the room taking a key.
And here she was now, walking slowly back to her room, so lost in thought that she didn't have time to see it coming. Before she had time to react, her arms were pinned behind her and a rough male voice that Ginny recognized with disgust said: "My, miss Ginny, don't you look pretty . . .good enough to eat if I do say so myself . . ."
Boris Tybalt.
Ginny's stomach contracted in fear and disgust, and she felt as though she was going to throw up. This guy had been chasing ever since she arrived at Hogwarts, trying to make her go out with him. She still refused to this very day. Boris was one of those tall, handsome, dark guys that radiated danger, so girls usually flocked to him for some reason, though Ginny had no clue what that could be. Harry always seemed much more attractive than he did.
"Let go of me Tybalt." Ginny spat, trying to twist out of his hold. This only succeeded in twisting her arm more, and Ginny fought the urge to wince. He still didn't comply with her order. So Ginny said it again, but with more vehemence. "I said, let go of my Tybalt!"
"Hm . . . I don't think I can do that." Tybalt said in a low growl. Ginny stiffened, her stomach turning into an even tighter knot. "Do you know why?" Ginny swallowed, her throat dry.
"No, I don't." Ginny spat. "And I don't care to know. Now let me go or I'll scream!" Tybalt put a hand over her mouth.
"Not any more." he sneered, but Ginny wasn't giving up that easily. She sank her teeth into his palm as hard as she could, and he pulled his hand away, giving a short yell. Suddenly, Ginny began to scream. It was very high pitched and very, very loud. "Damn you." Boris growled. He shoved her against the wall and raised his hand as if to slap her. Ginny winced, expecting the sharp, stinging pain at any moment. But it never came.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Ginny cautiously opened her eyes to find Boris suspended over six feet of the ground, his eye wide with terror and his arms flailing helplessly. Ginny stared, stunned. Suddenly, he was thrown straight into the wall opposite Ginny. He fell to the floor with a loud 'thud' and a groan of pain.
"Ginny!" Ginny turned her head as her name was called. Harry was running toward her at an alarming rate, and he looked as though he'd just had the fright of his life. "Ginny!" She was hauled roughly into his arms has he reached her. Ginny could only blink in surprise. "Ginny, are you alright?" Harry asked. Ginny relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She nodded against his shoulder.
"Yes. I'm fine Harry." Some of the tension seemed to go out of him.
"You're sure?" he asked. Ginny smiled slightly.
"Harry, I'm fine. I promise." Ginny told him.
"Good." His green eyes suddenly turned stormy. "Because when that son of a bitch wakes up, I'm gonna beat the shit out of him." Ginny's eyebrows shot straight to her hairline. Never before had she heard Harry swear so much in one sentence.
"I think I can do that by myself, thank you." Two heads turned to see Tsunami standing at the entrance to the hall, and glaring at the slumped figure of Tybalt as if she were willing it to burst into flame.
"But-" Harry started.
"Look." Tsunami interrupted. "Ron and Hermione are coming this way, and if Ron finds you like this, he'll freak, and then not even his girlfriend can distract him." Tsunami said, referring to Hermione. "I think you both know this. So I would recommend finishing your lovey-dovey conversation somewhere else." Harry and Ginny both flushed a shade of dark scarlet. "Well?" Tsunami asked. "Why are you still standing there?" Harry blinked.
"R-right." he stuttered, before grabbing Ginny's hand and dragging her off.
--- ~* ~*
"I swear to god, sometimes I think she can read minds." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair, which only succeeded in musing it further. Ginny laughed lightly.
"Well, she is an aurasee, true?" she asked.
"True." Harry admitted. "Well, come on Gin. We'd better go finish getting ready." Ginny nodded.
'He was concerned!' she thought happily. 'He was really concerned.'
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami flopped down on the couch. "Hey Sullivan, you almost ready?" Tsunami called.
"Yup!" Mondo called back through the bathroom door.
"'Kay!" Tsunami called back. She smiled happily. Boy, had it felt good to give that S.O.B. a beating. If he ever touched one of her friends again, she'd probably have to kill him.
"Alright. Ready to go?" Sullivan asked from behind her. Tsunami stood.
"Sure, I-" What Tsunami had been about to say died halfway to her mouth as she turned and looked at him. Damn, but he looked handsome. He had on chocolate brown dress robes that brought out the color of his eyes. His bangs, which, like the rest of his hair, was a shade darker than his robes, were pulled back into a braid at the back of his head with the rest of his hair. He seemed slightly puzzled at the way she was staring.
"Yes?" Mondo asked, seemingly puzzled.
"I-I was just saying that we should go." Tsunami stuttered, fighting a blush that was trying to make itself known on her face. Mondo shrugged.
"Alright then." He held out his arm to her. "Let's go!" Tsunami slipped her arm through his, and they made their way to the Great Hall.
--- ~* ~*
As they stepped into the Great Hall, they were shocked at what they saw. The Hall was beautifully decorated with ribbons in all of the house colors. A huge Christmas tree was upright in the corner, its leaves decorated with beautiful streamers and many ornaments and candy canes. The tables had been pushed into a ring around the room, which opened up a space for the dance floor. The tables were spread with white embroidered tablecloths, and for once they weren't spread with the house colors. Tsunami jumped as McGonagall's voice said next to them, "Sit anywhere you want. It's free seating." Tsunami turned and smiled at her teacher.
"Does that mean we get to sit at the High Table, too?" she joked. The corner of McGonagall's mouth quirked upwards in what, for her, had to be a smile.
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Nudelman." McGonagall said. "The High Table is still only for the teachers."
"Aw rats." Tsunami sighed, then waved good bye to her teacher. She and Mondo found a seat near Lee, Fred and George, who were also sitting with their partners.
"Some party, eh?" Fred asked, as she sat down.
"I'll say." Tsunami agreed. "I've never seen the Great Hall this pretty before."
"Who cares if it's pretty?" Lee asked. "Think of the wonderful food they'll have!" Tsunami laughed and shook her head.
"Somehow, Lee, I'm not surprised."
--- ~* ~*
Finally, everyone was seated, and the hall was buzzing with excitement, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the head of the table and cleared his throat. Everyone in the hall immediately stopped talking, and turned to look at the Headmaster.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Dumbledore boomed. "As you know, since the Yule Ball was such a hit last year, we are doing it again this year. A few thank yous are in order. First, to Hagrid, for bringing in our Christmas tree." The hall burst into applause. Dumbledore waited until the last clap was gone before he continued. "Second, to Professors Flitwick and McGonagall for putting up the ornaments," Thunderous applause again. "and lastly to the rest of the teachers for helping set up the Great Hall." Thunderous applause for the third time. When the last clap had finished, Professor Dumbledore finished up the last part of his speech. "Now . . . Let's eat!" Suddenly, all the plates in the Great Hall were filled with food. Ham, steak, potatoes, stuffing, salad, along with many other delicious dishes were available. Tsunami licked her lips.
"Mmm . . . smells good!" she said.
"Wait till you taste it!" a muffled voice beside her said. Tsunami turned and looked at Lee with a long-suffering expression.
"Lee, you're such a pig." Tsunami sighed. Indeed, he had already emptied five plates of food in the span of five minutes.
"Hey, I'm going slow here!" Lee protested, after swallowing.
"Right. I forgot." Tsunami said. "Usually it's three plates a minute instead of one." Beside her, Mondo laughed.
"Oh, leave him alone Tsunami." he said, and Tsunami turned to him, her temper sparking. "You know he's just doing it to show off." Lee nearly choked to death on whatever he was eating at the moment. Tsunami blinked at him, then a smile split her face.
"Of course." she said, sending a sly glance at Lee. "I should've known."
"I-I-I have no clue what you're talking about!" Lee sputtered indignantly.
"Oh, my mistake. So you have no clue about . . . her, maybe?" Tsunami pointed her finger towards Alicia Spinit, who was sitting a couple chairs away, talking to Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. Lee's cheeks reddened, making his skin look like a chocolate bar in the process of being dyed red. Fred and George turned and looked, puzzled, at where Tsunami was pointing. Fred seemed to get the shivers when he spotted Angelina. Lee turned even redder, and Rachel poked Fred in the arm.
"What's the matter Fred? Afraid of stepping on Angelina's toes?" she joked.
"Shut up." Fred growled at her. Rachel laughed.
"Ooo. Hit a nerve did I?" she asked.
"What is it with you girls?" he huffed, turning back to his food, his face the color of his hair. Sarah, George's partner, and certainly the quietist of the group, chuckled softly.
"Men are so easy to annoy." she said softly. Tsunami lifted her glass in toast.
"Hear, hear." she said.
"Hear, hear!" Rachel and Sarah echoed, clinking Tsunami's glass against hers and giggling.
"And women are the most difficult creatures on earth." Mondo laughed, raising his own glass.
"Hear, hear." George agreed in mock seriousness, and the four boys clinked their glasses together, chuckling, while the girls scowled at them.
Suddenly, the entrees disappeared, their plates suddenly turned clean, and rows and rows of delicious deserts popped up where the entrees had been. Tsunami's eyes immediately lighted. Spotting the chocolate pudding, she heaped a huge glob of it onto her plate, then immediately dug in.
"Tsunami, you are such a pig." Lee sighed, using her earlier words against her.
"Shut up." Tsunami told him, licking her spoon. This only succeeded in getting chocolate pudding on her nose. Lee rolled his eyes.
"Man eat. Woman tells him he is a pig. Woman eats. Man tells her the same thing. Woman tells man to shut up. Boy, that's productive." George sighed.
"Yes, well, female superiority does play a roll in that." Rachel said, grinning as she popped a forkful of pie in her mouth.
"What female superiority?" Mondo muttered. Under the table, Tsunami dug her heel into his foot. "OW!"
"Look, you may be handsome, but that doesn't mean don't strike out when insulted." Tsunami told him.
"And you may be adorably cute with pudding on your nose, but that doesn't mean you can't be incredibly annoying." Mondo laughed, wiping a bit of pudding off her nose. Tsunami glared at him over her spoon.
"Bite me." she said.
"Tsunami!" Lee hissed.
"For god sakes, Lee. It's an expression." Tsunami said casually. But then again, no one had missed the distinct flirting between the two. It was starting to make the Twins and Lee nervous. "Oh, do stop glowering at me, you three." she said to Fred, George and Lee, then popped another spoonful of pudding in her mouth.
"I'm not glowering." Fred denied. Tsunami gave him a disbelieving look.
"Oh? Then what do you call the glare on your face now?" she asked. Fred looked absolutely flustered.
"I think she's got you there, Fred." Rachel told him, grinning craftily as she ate the last of her pie.
"Bite me." Fred growled, and Rachel laughed.
"Naw." she said, poking him in the arm. "I'll leave that to Angelina." Fred turned as red as his hair. What ever retort that was about to come out of his mouth was stopped as the deserts disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore stood up again.
"Well, now that we are all fed and watered . . . " he started. "Since this is a ball, I think it is proper to dance!" He clapped his hands, and the lights in the middle of the room went up, and the first song began to play musically over the crowd. Tsunami didn't recognize it, considering that she wasn't really familiar with the magical world's music because she lived in a muggle household. Mondo grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet.
"C'mon! Let's go dance!" he exclaimed, dragging Tsunami onto the dance floor, the Weasley twins and Lee glaring after them.
--- ~* ~*
Ron sighed, putting his chin on his hand and gazing over the tabletop at the students engaged in dancing with one another. Hermione still wasn't here yet. She was still in the bathroom when she'd told him to leave and he would catch up later. So here he was, sitting at the table alone, watching everyone else have fun and dance. Suddenly, Tsunami plopped down in the seat next to him.
"Hey ya, twit." she said. Ron raised an eyebrow at her.
"Twit?" he asked.
"Yup. It's your nickname for the night." Tsunami told him cheerily.
"Goody." Ron sighed. Tsunami frowned.
"Hey, what's up? Where's your girlfriend?" she asked.
"Hermione's still changing." Ron said, rolling his eyes.
"Wow . . . she took longer than I thought she would." Tsunami said thoughtfully.
"Why?" Ron asked. "How long did you think she would take?"
"Well, I thought she'd be done at least by dessert . . . guess not!" Tsunami shrugged.
"Ya . . . guess not." Ron sighed. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted in a half-smile.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Tsunami told him, punching him lightly in the arm. "She'll be here . . . and in enough time to dance, I'm sure." The corner of Ron's mouth hitched upwards slightly.
"You're right . . . I'd better stop worrying . . . " Ron said slowly. Tsunami stared at him as if he'd grown horns. "What?" Ron asked.
"You admitted I was right . . . maybe 'Mione is having a good influence on you!" Tsunami told him, grinning. "Well, see ya twit. Gotta go dance!" With that, Tsunami turned and walked off in the direction of the dance floor.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami flopped down in her chair, almost completely worn out. Damn, some guys just didn't take no for an answer! Another song began to play magically over the crowd. Tsunami was surprised to hear a muggle song . . .she knew it because her mother listened to it at home. The title was "Fallin'", she could remember that part . . .she just couldn't remember who wrote it. She turned to look around the room, her eyes searching. She finally located Mondo walking across the room towards her. As he was coming towards her, another girl walking up to him stopped him. Tsunami recognized her. It was Tiffany Sinclair, another Ravenclaw 7th year. Tsunami felt a strange flair of jealousy as Tiffany took Mondo's arm and began to lead him another way. Tsunami turned her head to the side stubbornly and glared at the wall.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo watched Tsunami, not paying any attention to Tiffany's babbles. He's seen the flash in her eyes, then her turning her head angrily away from him. Damn . . .she was jealous. The corner of Mondo's mouth quirked upwards.
"If you'll excuse me," he said, his eyes still intent on Tsunami as he pulled Tiffany's hands off his arm. Then he strode purposefully toward Tsunami.
~~~~ If I tremble when I'm by your side . . . If I look a little starry eyed . . . Darlin', don't you get the message? ~~~~
Ron glared grumpily as Harry swept Ginny across the floor. He turned to the side at a poke in his arm, and his thoughts scattered. Hermione had finally come out of the bathroom and to the dance, and she looked absolutely stunning. Heck, stunning didn't even describe the extent of it. Her hair was pulled back by two clips on each side of her head, and her emerald green robes swished around her ankles. She had little makeup on, from what Ron could tell, but then again, Ron wasn't a makeup expert.
Hermione giggled and blushed at his shocked look. "Well?" she asked. "Ready to dance?" Ron grinned and stood.
"You bet." He agreed, before taking her hand and steering her onto the dance floor.
~~~~ I'm fallin' . . . Falling in love with you. ~~~~
"Excuse me miss . . . would you like to dance?" Tsunami opened her mouth to say no, but the words got clogged in her throat as she turn to look at who it was. Mondo looked down at her, giving her a smile that could make almost any girl melt. The corner of Tsunami's mouth quirked upward.
"I think I can give it a shot," she said, standing.
~~~~ If I'm trying hard to come on cool . . . And I come off looking like a fool . . . Darlin' don't you get the message? ~~~~
Mondo had to keep from smiling as he swept her onto the dance floor. 'This is kinda nice . . .' he thought, as he brought her into his arms for the slow sway to the music. 'We're not fighting for once . . .she's looks absolutely stunning . . .well not that she wasn't before . . .but she's even more so now . . .'
Tsunami couldn't seem to figure out what the hell was going on. She wasn't exactly sure this was the Mondo she had been rooming with for the past four months. He seemed different. 'He's much more nicer,' she thought. 'And more handsome . . . man, just look at those warm brown eyes . . . enough to make your heart melt . . .hold up! Where the hell did that come from?!'
~~~~ I'm fallin' . . . Fallin' in love with you. ~~~~
'Okay . . .concentrate Tsunami.' Tsunami told herself, but she was finding it easier said than done. At each sway, he seemed to pull her closer. She didn't want him to pull her closer, dammit! If he kept doing that, she might let her guard down . . .god knows what could happen if she did that!
Mondo pulled Tsunami all the way up to him, tucking her head under his chin. He felt her go rigid in his arms. He bent his head down near her ear and whispered, "Hey . . .don't worry. I don't bite . . ." He felt Tsunami consider his words for all of three seconds, before agreeing with him and relaxing, tucking her head back under his chin. Mondo breathed in the scent of her light perfume. It was a nice fragrant smell, and he smiled in content.
Tsunami let her eyelids flutter closed and let her head drop onto Mondo's chest. Damn . . .this felt good. It was like a safe haven . . .so warm and strong. Later . . .she'd have to put her guard up. But for now . . .for now, she was just going to enjoy the moment.
~~~~ If I don't quite know just what to say . . . And I'm acting in a foolish way . . . That's the way it is with silly Valentines . . . You've got to learn to read between the lines! ~~~~
Fred slowly began to relax as he held Angelina.
'Well,' he thought. 'Dancing isn't as hard as I thought it to be.' He probably only thought this because he was to absorbed in the girl he was dancing with to notice that he had bumped into about five couples and stepped on more toes than there were feet on the dance floor. Lucky for him, Angelina hadn't noticed either, and it looked as though she wouldn't.
~~~~ Though I keep my feelings locked in place . . . "I love you" is written on my face. ~~~~
Mondo caught Lee Jordan, one of Tsunami's friends, looking at him warily over the shoulder of Alicia Spinit. His glare said everything: "You do anything to hurt her in any way and you're a dead man." Mondo nodded slightly to show he understood, and Lee seemed to relax. Mondo let a smile quirk his lips. 'Ah, the joy of male communication.' he thought.
"You know . . . I was thinking . . . " Mondo said slowly, and Tsunami looked up.
"A once in a life time occurrence." Tsunami joked, and Mondo flashed her another 100-wat smile that almost made her stumble. Tsunami cleared her throat to clear her head. "Um . . . you were saying?"
"Oh, I was just thinking . . . how nice this is." he said. Tsunami looked puzzled. Could the guy read thoughts now?
"H-how so?" she stuttered out.
"Well, you and I aren't disagreeing . . . we aren't fighting . . ." Mondo let go of one of her hands to twirl her slowly. "Or any of that. And I was just thinking how nice it was that I didn't have to match odds with you, and instead I could just-"
"Enjoy your company." Tsunami finished turning back to him after her small spin. Mondo smiled again.
"What? You're now a mind reader as well as an aurasee?" he asked, and was rewarded with her beautiful smile and a sparkle of laughter in her emerald eyes.
~~~~ Darlin' don't you get the message? I'm fallin' . . . ~~~~
Harry's eyes swept around the dance floor, though not really looking for once. Usually, at this time of year, he'd be looking for Cho Chang . . . but now . . . now, things were different. Different how, he didn't know. He just . . . really wasn't interested in her anymore. Not when there were . . . other things . . . distracting him. Like, the girl that was dancing in his arms for example. Ginny looked absolutely stunning tonight, no one could deny it. But what was he going to do when the other boys started going after her? There really wasn't anything he could do . . . and it was starting to bother him. Further more, he really couldn't stake a claim on her because of Ron. What the hell was he supposed to do about his best friend?
"Harry, is something wrong?" Ginny asked. Harry looked at her, startled out of his thoughts. Then he smiled.
"No Gin. Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking, that's all." Harry told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"Alright . . . if you're sure." Ginny said uncertainly. Harry's eyes seemed to soften, and he pulled her even closer.
~~~~ Fallin' in love with you. I'm falling in love with you. ~~~~
Mondo sighed with reluctance as the song came to a slow end. Now things would have to go back to normal. Now he and Tsunami would have to go back to their original way of at least one fight a night. Dammit! He didn't want to do to that! He only wanted the song to go on forever . . .
~~~~ I'm falling in love with you. ~~~~
Tiffany glared as Mondo lead Tsunami off the dance floor, and the both sat down at one of the tables.
'Okay . . .' she thought. 'Plan A didn't work . . . time to go onto Plan B.' She stood, excusing herself from her friends, and made a beeline for Mondo and his partner.
--- ~* ~*
"Excuse me Mondo." Tiffany said in her sugar-sweet voice. "May I talk to you a moment?" Mondo frowned at her for a second before shrugging and standing. Right before she turned to walk away, Tiffany locked eyes with Tsunami. The message in Tiffany's eyes was clear: 'Hands off!'
Tsunami glared right back at her, but Tiffany turned away, dragging Mondo out into the hall. Before he was totally dragged away, Mondo sent her an apologizing look. The corner of Tsunami's mouth lifted in a grin at his distress, and she gave him a sarcastic finger wave. He rolled his eyes at her, just before Tiffany dragged him out into the hall.
--- ~* ~*
Once they were in the hall and a little ways away from the dance, Tiffany turned to him.
"Well, since my advances don't seem to be working, I have to take the direct approach." Tiffany purred. Mondo backed another step away from her. The farther Mondo backed away from her, the closer Tiffany came. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?" she asked in a sultry tone.
"No." Mondo replied truthfully. He wasn't scared of her, she was just making him nervous.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stared at the dance floor until she couldn't take it any more. She stood up, then practically flew to the door to the Great Hall. Just a little spying wouldn't hurt, would it? She didn't know how wrong she was.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo kept backing up, but Tiffany kept coming. The girl didn't seem to give up! Finally, to Mondo's despair, he hit a wall, and came up short. Tiffany still advanced.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stomped out from behind the door, prepared to give a good, loud, yell to stop whatever Tiffany was doing. She opened her mouth to go with her plan, but then Tiffany did something she didn't expect. Then, just like that, her heart broke.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo wasn't really sure what had happened afterward. He only really remembered Tiffany advancing, the wall, and then Tsunami . . .
The damn girl kissed him. Kissed him for God's sake! Her lips were hard, not very inviting. He stared down at her, eyes huge, not exactly certain what to do. After what seemed like eternity, Tiffany moved away from him.
"Well?" she asked, not talking to him, but someone down the hall. "How did you like the demonstration, carrot-top?"
Carrot-top? Shit.
Mondo turned his head, slowly, knowing he was dead either way . . . but some how . . . .some how hoping it was one of the Weasleys. Just his bad luck . . . it was Tsunami. And she was staring at him in a way that made him want to run away from her and go to her all at the same time.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami stared at him, not knowing what emotions were playing across her face. She slowly felt herself go numb, then she turned on her heal and stalked away. His cry rang after her, but she could not recognize what he was saying.
--- ~* ~*
"Tsunami! Wait!" he called, starting to move forward, but the hands on his arm stopped him. He turned to Tiffany angrily. "What?!" he shouted at her. Tiffany looked innocently at him.
"But Mondo honey, after the kiss we just shared, you're going to walk away?" she asked, batting her huge eyelashes at him.
"Shared?" Mondo sputtered. "Shared nothing. The only person in that kiss was you. Now let go of me!" Mondo yanked his arm out of her grasp, and strode quickly after the distant form of Tsunami.
"Mondo honey! Wait! I'll tell everyone you took advantage of me!" Mondo ignored her. "You're reputation would be in ruins!" Mondo stopped for a second, turning to look at her.
"Read my lips. I . . . Don't . . . Care." With that, he turned back and ran after Tsunami, his brown braid flying behind him.
--- ~* ~*
"Damn him! Damn him, damn him, damn him!" Tsunami fought with the key, swearing as she did so. "Damn key!" Opening the door, she staggered in, closed the door, lay down on the couch, and cried herself to sleep.
--- ~* ~*
Mondo, at the same time, was having trouble with his own key. "Damn key!" he roared, finally fitting it into the lock with much effort. The door swung open, and he rushed inside. An empty room greeted him.
"Tsunami!" he called. "Tsunami! Are you in here?!" There was no reply. He ran to each bedroom, opening each, but still there was no sign of her. He knocked on the bathroom door, and, getting no answer, opened it. Still no Tsunami. Mondo wandered out into the living room and plopped down on the couch, head in his hands. For the first time in 13 years, he cried.
--- ~* ~*
George opened the door to his room, Sarah behind him. "After all that, I'm gonna be glad to get some-" He stopped mid-sentence as they entered the room. "Tsunami!" George ran forward to Tsunami's sleeping form on the couch. "Sarah, go get my brother and Lee. She'll want them to be here." Sarah nodded, and took off. Within seconds, Fred and Lee were in the room, breathing hard from their quick run.
"Hey Tsunami. Wake up." George shook her gently. Tsunami groaned and rolled over, her back now to George. "C'mon Tsunami. Wake up."
"Go away Yuki." Tsunami mumbled. "I wanna sleep in longer."
"Yuki?" Lee asked, brow creasing. Tsunami seemed to frown, roll onto her back, and open her eyes slowly. She looked around at the faces of her three best friends and groaned again, covering her face with her hands.
"Hey . . . how are you feeling?" Fred asked, as he and George helped her sit up.
"Like I was an angel on Cloud 9, then suddenly, someone clipped my wings and I went falling back down to earth and reality." Tsunami groaned.
"Uh . . . isn't that a tad dramatic?" George questioned.
"No." Tsunami deadpanned. "That's describing it nicely." The Twins and Lee looked at each other. Okay, this was serious.
"Tsunami . . . you wanna tell us what happened?" Lee asked.
"No. Because I know you'll go and try to kill him." Tsunami said, peaking at him through her fingers. Lee's ears would've blown steam if it were possible.
"Why that son-of-a-bitch! I'll kill him!" Lee shouted, jumping up and making a run for the door.
"Someone please stop him." Tsunami groaned, watching one of her best friends run out the door looking like someone who was getting prepared for battle.
"Naw . . . He'll be fine." Fred said. "And Mondo can fend for himself."
"How did you-?"
"It was obvious." Fred shrugged. Tsunami sighed, removing her hands from her face and setting them in her lap.
"Do I really wear my emotions on my sleeve that much?" she sighed.
"Hey . . . don't worry about it. That's what we like about you!" George said, giving her a brotherly hug.
--- ~* ~*
"Mondo Sullivan! Open up right now!" Lee shouted, pounding on the door. A shuffling of feet was heard from inside, and the lock clicked open. Lee practically shoved the door out of his way. Damn if he'd ever let anyone hurt his little sister like that! Okay, so maybe she wasn't his real little sister . . . but still!
Mondo was sitting on the couch, tie loose, a bottle of butterbeer in his hand. He regarded Lee out of sullen eyes. Lee balled his hands into fists and shifted into a fighting stance. Mondo only turned his head towards the wall again.
"Why I should -!" Lee started, but Mondo interrupted him.
"Go ahead. Hit me. I'm sure I deserve it." That made Lee pause. His voice sounded almost dead. Lee scrunched up his face, then relaxed his fighting stance.
"Alright. Since Tsunami is too hurt to discuss it-" Lee saw Mondo flinch slightly. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Mondo didn't say a word, just turned and looked at him again.
"I am the biggest idiot in the world, do you know that?" he asked. He turned away again, seeming to study the wall.
"Yes, I gathered." Lee said, eyeing Mondo with slight suspicion.
"I can't believe I didn't see it coming. I guess that makes me even more of an idiot." Mondo sighed again.
"Will you just tell me what happened?" Lee gritted out through his teeth. Mondo sighed for what had to be the thousandth time since Lee'd been there.
"Fine, fine. Have a seat." Mondo motioned a hand at the couch, indicating for him to sit down. Lee sat, and listened.
--- ~* ~*
Tsunami sniffled a couple times, drying her eyes. George and Fred were now sitting on either side of her, rubbing her back and telling her comforting things.
"So . . . do you wanna tell us what happened now?" Fred asked, once all the tears were gone from her face.
"Not really." Tsunami sighed.
"Well, how about this?" Fred asked. "Christmas Break is tomorrow. You can come down to our house and you can sort it out there!" Tsunami turned her head to look at him.
"What?" she asked, shocked.
"Ya. Why not? Mum issued the invitation. She said she really wants to meet you, Tsunami." George added. Tsunami turned her head towards George now. "Of course, if you want to go with your family for Christmas, we understa-"
"Oh, my family doesn't celebrate Christmas!" Tsunami told them, momentarily distracted from the Mondo problem. Fred and George stared at her.
"Why not?" Fred asked.
"Because we're Jewish." Tsunami told him. "That's means we don't believe in Jesus Christ."
"Uh . . . neither do I . . . but we still have Christmas!" George said. Tsunami smiled.
"I'd be happy to come."
************************* Preview of next part of the chapter:
Tsunami opened her eyes to blackness. She opened her mouth to call for her friends, but no sound came out. Tsunami gulped, clutching her hands to her throat, and stood. She began to walk. To where she was going, she didn't know. Her intuition just told her to walk. As she walked, a dirt road materialized in front of her. After a while, she began to hear footsteps. Tsunami began to feel uncomfortable, as she usually did when something was wrong. She quickened her pace, but the person behind her seemed to be following her every move, and quickened their pace as well. Tsunami began a light jog, then a hard run as the footsteps drew nearer. There was no escape . . .
