More Important Than Winning?
The Great Hall was loud tonight, even more so than usual. Minuet resisted the temptation to stuff napkins in her ears and instead leaned over to grab another bread roll. The ceiling reflected the clear spring sky above them, stars twinkling, but every eye flickered regularly to the hourglasses containing the coveted house points. As usual, Slytherin was ahead, though with Dumbledore you never knew if that would last the night.
Min looked out over the sea of heads, looking from the Slytherin table all the way to the Gryffindor table. Harry looked better tonight, not so frazzled and upset; he must have spoken to Professor Leblanc at last. Min had urged him for two days, poking and prodding him until he agreed to go. He had been so woebegone and lost after the fight in Hogsmeade, accusing himself of every conceivable fault. Min had grown quickly impatient with his self-deprecation and swatted him hard. He had given her a wide-eyed look of shock, but he had stopped and finally listened to her.
He turned and his glasses flashed as he smiled at her from across the room. Minuet's heart beat a little faster and she smiled back at him. It was hopeless, of course, because he was Harry Potter, two years older, a hero, a Gryffindor, just everything unattainable. She was the daughter of a Death Eater, the ward of Professor Snape and a Slytherin to boot. It was probably just a crush anyway, she reminded herself for the hundredth time.
"Min, you're staring again." Fauna nudged her friend lightly. Min sighed and dropped her eyes back to her plate.
"Thanks, Fauna." Min pushed the hanging lock of pure black hair away from her face and studied her friend.
Fauna Broomworthy came from an old pureblood family. She had the aristocratic features and sharply sculpted nose that ran rampant among the families. Golden hair that fell in ringlets and cornflower blue eyes softened the harsh cast of her face. She had no trouble getting any boy she wanted.
When they had been paired together as part of the Inter-house Project, Minuet had thought they would have nothing in common; she had been wrong. Fauna was sympathetic and friendly with an outgoing nature, but her wicked sense of humor was what had cemented the friendship.
Minuet was beautiful as well. She had enough people tell her so to believe it, but her cool exterior turned off the boys; that and her sharp mind and swift tongue. Her ability to put someone in their place with a tart comment left most boys wary of her. She was not Slytherin enough for the Slytherins or Gryffindor enough for the Gryffindors. The Ravenclaws loved her smarts, but Hufflepuffs feared her temper.
Only two girls at school liked Min: Fauna, and Hermione Granger. Fauna liked her because Min's whispered comments in class had her in stitches and her scathing denunciations of everything she didn't like about school could make the Common Room roll with laughter, as long as it wasn't directed at them.
Of the boys, well, Harry liked her, in a brotherly way, she thought despairingly. Draco felt the same, which was fine; she felt rather sisterly towards him. There were, however, no other boys who fancied her, despite Harry's assurances that she was wrong. If there were other boys where were they? She sighed again, because she knew Harry Potter was destined for someone far greater than one Minuet Ravagienne.
Professor Dumbledore stood up and the food faded from their plates. Min waited expectantly for the announcements.
"Well, here we are again; another year at Hogwarts has passed. We sadly say good-bye to the departing Seventh Year class and we think back on all the wonderful friends we have made this year."
Minuet looked at Professor Leblanc involuntarily. She was seated as always between Professors Snape and Hooch. She seemed rather pale and sad tonight and Minuet watched as Professor Snape's sneer grew more pronounced at Dumbledore's words.
"And now to award the Inter-house Project winners. The winners are, in third place: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Minuet Ravagienne, Fauna Broomworthy, Regina Flock, Sara Goldblum, Trevor True and Gentile Frakes." The Great Hall clapped and the six students grinning and happy walked to the front of the room to receive their rewards. Min was handed a hundred-galleon gift certificate to Flourish & Blots, which made her eyes go wide with joy. Harry peered over her shoulder and chuckled.
"You should be in heaven, Min." His voice had the strange power to make her knees go weak and her heart flutter wildly, but she just grinned back at him.
"What did you get, Quidditch supplies?" His chagrined expression as he showed her the certificate to Quality Quidditch Supplies made her laugh. "Tell you what, you get me a broom servicing kit and I'll get you a book of equal value."
"Slytherins." It should have been an insult, but when he said it about her there was a fond edge to it that gave her hope. She knew it was false hope, but it was hope nonetheless.
"In second place: Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Cho Chang…" Minuet stopped listening to Professor Dumbledore at that point and watched as Harry's face closed up with a pang of anguish.
It happened every time Cho Chang was mentioned, that little tightening around his mouth and the way he crossed his arms protectively. Minuet didn't know what the pretty Ravenclaw had done to Harry, but one day she would tear the girl's long black hair out by the roots.
The second place team flounced into place and accepted their prizes with much cooing and lots of verbal exclamation points. Even if Cho hadn't hurt Harry, Minuet had a constitutional aversion to girls that fluttered and preened.
"In first place: Draco Malfoy…" The room erupted and drowned out the Professor's words. The Slytherins were yelling and stomping and the rest of the room was howling in outrage. Min burned in anger and shame at the outburst for Draco as he rose with the rest of his team and headed for the front.
Harry began to clap, expressionless and steady, and the room fell quiet. He showed no pleasure at the other boy's win, merely good sportsmanship and the other houses picked up his cue and applauded as well.
As he reached the front, Draco and Harry exchanged glances, neither acknowledging the other, but Minuet knew that Draco was grateful for Harry's support. It wasn't easy being Harry Potter, but it also wasn't easy being Lucius Malfoy's son. She also knew that underneath it all, Harry had a sneaking liking for the other boy, envying his easy assurance and social skills.
Professor Dumbledore handed out the prizes to the winning team and they all filed back to their places, Harry squeezing her hand as he was leaving. Min felt elated by his brief touch and then forced herself to make nothing of it. Harry was being kind to a little girl, that was just who he was, it meant nothing. She repeated it like a mantra as she marched back to her place at the Slytherin table. Fourteen was a terrible age to be, she decided.
"And now, some last-minute points for the houses." Professor Dumbledore's words sent Slytherin house into gloom and despair. "For rescuing Miss Ravagienne from Death Eaters, Forty points for Mr. Potter." Min watched as Slytherin house's fifty point lead evaporated to a mere ten. "For warning a Professor of danger, twenty points to Hermione Granger. The House Cup goes to Gryffindor!" Banners unfurled into red and yellow, cheers started up at all the other tables and Minuet plunked her head onto the wooden surface before her and wished she could die.
Slytherin house sunk into their seats. Another year where they worked hard for every point and it was swept away by some act of heroism by Harry. This time, the act was to rescue one of their own, so they couldn't even appear too upset about it. Min got some angry looks, but Draco countered them with a glare of his own and they subsided.
"I'm so sorry, Draco." She whispered to him as they filed out of the room. He put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
"You were tricked, Min. What makes me mad is Potter gets all the credit and Professor Leblanc did all the work."
"Not all of it, Potter did protect me for a long time before Professor Leblanc got there and he flew me back while the Death Eaters were firing on us." Credit where credit is due, Min thought glumly. Harry had been brave and for all her practice of hexes and curses, she had been useless when the real fight began.
"I hear you got off a curse or two on the flight back." Draco tried to cheer her up as they tromped down the steps headed for the dungeons.
"Yeah, but I froze during the fight, it all happened so fast and I was so scared." Minuet whispered, ashamed of her cowardice.
"You're a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor. You make strategies; let the lions be the shock troops." Draco's arrogant shrug and insouciant smile were meant to make her laugh, but she shook her head in negation.
"It was like getting beat up all over again, Draco. I was helpless."
"You weren't, you took out one of those guys. Potter has been doing this for ages, Professor Leblanc was an Auror for ages; you are a fourteen year old girl, and no one expects you to take on fully-trained Death Eaters." His voice was exasperated and Min nodded.
"You're right." She admitted grudgingly. It didn't suit her image of herself as a strong powerful woman, fighting injustice and Voldemort at Harry's side, but it was far more realistic. And if Minuet had learned one thing this year, it was realism.
Fauna had been walking beside them both in silence, but finally spoke.
"You know, you are both forgetting something important here. It doesn't matter who wins the House Cup this year. There are more important things to lose than house points right now." Fauna's voice conjured images of her father's funeral and her mother's face. Her mother had looked broken, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, lost and unsure.
"Fauna, you are too smart to be that pretty." Draco tugged one of Fauna's curls and strode off towards the dorms, his long legs leaving them far behind. Fauna had blushed at his words and then sighed, exchanging a knowing look with Minuet. They each had their hopeless dream and each other to cry upon.