Chapter 8 ~ The Party
Sirius walked down from the houses behind his parents. Regalus trailed along after him silently. He couldn't believe he'd done this. She had heard him say that nothing would bring him to this party. Surely she would guess why he was here. He suppressed a sigh and looked around. Why WAS he here?
The main pavilion glittered out on the lake in front of him. It was definitely better than the Rosiers' party last year. He wondered if Snape had been right about Riddle coming. Perhaps that's why his mother had been so insistent.
His father pointed silently at a second pavilion at the lake's edge, then took Mrs. Black's hand. They both disappeared with a crack that was answered a moment later when they reappeared next to the fairy-covered Christmas tree on the main pavilion. Sirius led his brother over to where Mr. Deesia was speaking with Severus and Muriel. He caught the end of what her father was saying, and had his answer.
"Listen to me, both of you! Do not let ANYONE refer to him as "Riddle." You will call him the Dark Lord, or Lord Voldemort if you must refer to him at all. He has disposed of his father's name for good. Don't give him any reason to be angry." Sirius hung back as Muriel's father reached out a hand and placed it on his daughter's cheek. "He's a powerful Legilimens, Mur. Be especially careful." She nodded as her father disappeared with a pop.
Sirius noticed with irritation that they were the first to arrive. Well, no one had ever said his mother was fashionable in any other way, so he didn't know why he was surprised. He let Regalus run ahead. Snape shook his brother's hand, chatting easily with him. They were, after all, housemates. This reminded Sirius yet again that there wouldn't be a soul here from Gryffindor. The closest he was likely to get was Muriel, and she'd hated him for as long as he could remember. He took a deep breath, put his wand in his left pocket, so he could keep a hand on it, and walked up to the pavilion.
"I wondered if you were coming up or if you were just going to stand there," Mur said, smiling. Sirius felt his eyes narrow. Why was she being so nice? She shook his hand and invited him in, but he didn't want to turn his back to her. She laughed as he walked away, his eye still on her.
Well, no one was here yet except them, so she could be honest. "Relax, Black. I'm under strict orders to cause no trouble, so I'm going to be as nice as I can stand to be tonight." She grimaced at him and he smiled. He really did have a dazzling smile.
She was distracted with the arrival of the Averys. Thankfully, Severus shook their hands and gestured them inside. Muriel had a notion to turn Avery into something innocuous, like an extra candle for one of the tables, but decided against it. Jolina would tell, even if the Blacks kept their mouths shut. She watched them humorlessly as they stared daggers at each other across the room, before calling Severus over to greet Macnair, Crabbe and Goyle. Rosier and Wilkes arrived a few moments later, followed by Malfoy and Narcissa. Malfoy took a moment to smirk at them before apparating to the pavilion. The crowd was all here, now, and Mur turned to go into the pavilion herself when several more people she didn't know arrived. They invited them in, and Severus hurriedly cast an enlargement charm on the place. How many more people would be invited?
The newcomers were from everywhere. Several of Muriel's cousins from her mother's side arrived as well, and she introduced them to the Slytherins around her. Severus introduced the rest, since he had a better memory for names.
Sirius nodded as he was introduced but kept a sour expression on his face. His brother had gone to sit with his dorm mates, Rosier and Wilkes, and honestly he didn't want anyone to sit with him. If Muriel's mother had invited these new people, he was sure they weren't anyone he wanted to meet. He watched as Muriel stopped at each table to chat with them, smiling smugly when she passed Avery without a word. His smile vanished however, when she sat down with him. 'Here it comes,' he thought dryly.
"So, Black, ten points to Slytherin for getting you home for Christmas. Do I even dare ask how she threatened you?" Her hair was up in the same knot of curls she'd worn to the Halloween dance, and her dress robes, a deep purple fringed with black lace, came up high on her neck, though they were only held closed loosely with a silver clasp over her black dress. Her face took on an odd expression, and he realized he hadn't answered her yet.
"Er – Turns out no one dared to skive off, since Riddle was coming this year." Muriel narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he'd heard the instructions Papa had given her and Severus. Maybe he just wanted to see if she'd follow them.
"Hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Voldemort?" she asked, just loudly enough to make a few of the younger children nervous. For that matter, Sirius seemed rather nervous as well, and didn't answer. He had suddenly remembered Mr. Deesia's warning, and knew she was correcting him.
"Mur? Macnair wants to know why we aren't dancing tonight. Don't tell me you danced with HIM at Halloween, too?" Severus' taunting voice cut through the chatter, and Muriel grinned wickedly. She left Sirius to himself, and walked over to the sniggering Slytherins.
"Well, I don't see why we couldn't dance, so long as someone sat out and kept an eye on the kids," she answered sweetly, knowing this would gall Sev to no end. She was right. He'd only meant to tease her for her choice in dance partners, not encourage her to dance with him again!
She summoned a house elf and instructed it to find a way to make music for dancing, ignoring her friend's scowl. Severus tried to clear his head. He'd read every book in the library on Occlumency, and was sure he could manage to block her out long enough for one dance. The house elves returned with a set of enchanted instruments from the Snapes' home, and they played unsteadily, though prettily enough.
He watched as she and Macnair spun around the Christmas tree, laughing, and wondered if that's how she'd looked at Halloween. He was suddenly sorry he'd missed it, and was surprised to find that he wasn't jealous. But then, he knew she didn't fancy Macnair, and he hadn't had any such assurance about Maverick.
Their foreign guests were dancing now as well. Severus looked around, satisfied. The dancing had been a good idea. Undoubtedly these young witches and wizards would report back to their parents that they'd had a good time. Mur was dancing with one of the Karkaroff boys now. He was talking with a thick accent. Severus smiled, knowing that without her particular ability to read minds, she'd probably be having a difficult time understanding.
"Igor, I was surprised you made it," Mur said lightly. She was dying to know why her cousins had come. It had been nearly four years since she'd seen them last. He mumbled something that made no sense, but Mur caught the meaning behind it. His father went were Voldemort went. She nodded and smiled. Lord Voldemort had supposedly been abroad garnering support for the last several years. It looked like it had worked.
Since the ridiculously old instruments tended to run their songs together, everyone was changing dancing partners haphazardly. Muriel thought it was a great deal of fun, until she found herself face to face with Sirius. She saw Sev start toward them and shot him a warning glance. He backed off. She couldn't afford to make Mr. and Mrs. Black angry by being rude to their son. Even if he didn't tell, it was inevitable that the Slytherins present would mention it to someone who WOULD tell. And her mother would be furious.
Almost before she'd had a chance to think it through, he had an arm around her waist. She let him take her hand, but soon realized that he had no idea how to dance. "Here, let me," she said quickly. An evening with Maverick had taught her more than she would ever need to know about dancing, and a moment later, she was leading them across the floor.
Sirius was amazed that she was letting him dance with her. He'd expected her to turn around when he stood up, but here he was, his arm still around her waist. She was avoiding his gaze, and he knew that any minute Snape would probably be here to pull her away.
His mind was scattering bits of thought around like confetti. He couldn't remember at what point he'd decided to stand up and dance with her. He remembered consciously deciding NOT to. It appeared that decision had gone out the proverbial window. She had turned him into a duck earlier this term! He ought to be furious with her, he HAD been furious. He'd sworn to turn her into something awful, just as soon as he got a little better at Transfiguration. But somehow all that had slipped his mind when he'd seen her dancing.
Muriel was trying to find Severus. She had no idea where he'd gone, but she could really use his help. She was confused by all the conflicting thoughts coming from her dance partner. One minute he seemed to be seriously considering tossing her in the lake, and the next it was as if he were actually pleased to have ended up dancing with her. For just a moment, she thought maybe he'd even TRIED to dance with her, but that couldn't be right. They hated each other, had for years. She was only dancing with him now so no one told her parents that she'd been rude to one of their guests.
That theory, however, was soon proven wrong as Avery tapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Let someone else have a go, Black," he said, making Mur wonder how long they'd been dancing.
"Er – actually, Avery, I think I need to sit down for a minute. Thanks, though." She left both boys standing on the dance floor and sat down quickly with Goyle and Crabbe, who looked at her angrily. She grinned, and Goyle's face softened a bit. Obviously Malfoy had told them not to be nice to her. It didn't matter, since without him here they were hardly dangerous. She gave Crabbe a sympathetic look, after all he was of age. It was no wonder if he was in a bad humor, having been relegated to the children's pavilion again.
Severus sat down beside her a moment later. "Where'd you go, I could've used your help back there!" she whispered, making Goyle snigger into his fist. It HAD been pretty funny to see her dancing with Black, of all people. Crabbe didn't laugh.
"You didn't seem to think you needed my help when he first grabbed you," Severus whispered back, teasingly. In fact, he'd found it very amusing to leave her dancing with Black as long as he could. "I just thought maybe you wanted some privacy."
"Prat!" she exclaimed, jumping up. Sirius, who'd just managed to get away from a very annoyed Avery without getting hexed, looked up from the dessert that a house elf had set in front of him.
Muriel knew Severus was trying to get under her skin, and it was working. She'd danced with just about everyone there, except him and Avery, and she wasn't going to dance with Avery. The thought had just crossed her mind when the boy in question took her elbow. "Ready to dance again, Mur?" he purred. She wiped the revulsion quickly from her face and turned calmly to him.
"Actually, Avery, I am. Severus just asked me to." There was a beat of silence before Severus took his cue and stood.
"If you'll excuse us," he said quickly. He was irritated at being maneuvered that way, but felt a grim satisfaction as Avery sat down in his seat, scowling hard at Crabbe and Goyle. He tried desperately to clear his mind as they walked out onto the dance floor. But he couldn't help but notice how pretty her hair was, and was dumbstruck for a moment when she told him she'd done it that way because she had noticed yesterday that he liked it. Obviously his feeble attempts at Occlumency weren't working. He cast about for any way to get himself out of this, and was relieved to see that Avery had raised his wand.
Avery wanted to stop the dancing as well, being more than a little annoyed at Muriel's second refusal. So, he transfigured the now-empty plate in front of Sirius into a duck. Instantly the pavilion erupted in laughter. Everyone from Hogwarts had heard about his brief stint as a fowl. Sirius turned very red, and unfortunately, he looked around quickly enough to see that Avery's wand was still in the air.
In moments Avery had several large boils appearing on his hands, and presumably the rest of him as well. The music ceased immediately as several more hexes flew. It was Severus who thought to put a silencing charm on the pavilion, which was good, since several people screamed when their noses turned into carrots, or their feet began to wobble. Muriel stunned Avery and her cousin, Igor Karkaroff, helped her with the rest. When everyone was unconscious except Igor, Sirius, Muriel and Severus, the latter two exchanged a meaningful glance. This couldn't get back to the adults.
"Black, do you know the counter curse for this?" Muriel asked wearily, pointing to the boils on Avery.
"If I did I would hardly be kind enough to perform it for the bloody git, now would I?" The duck had reminded him rather forcefully that he had no allies here, and he was smirking in a very self-satisfied way. Mur looked at Severus again and thought, 'I'll handle it,' at him. He nodded, understanding, and went to work on transfiguring carrots back into noses.
In the meantime, Muriel brought up her wand. Sirius took a hasty step backward. "Look, Black. Lord Voldemort is here tonight. If my parents get wind of any of this, I'm as good as toast. Since that is the case, one more hex won't get me in any worse trouble," she growled. "Now, fix Avery so we can put a memory charm on him and send him home happy!"
Sirius glowered at her angrily. "Fine!" he snapped, walking over to the slumped form and whispering the counter curse so she wouldn't hear it. He'd only just found that one, after all. No sense in giving away his secret before he could use it on her.
The house elves were instructed forcibly to lie to their parents if asked, and otherwise not to mention anything about the impromptu dueling. They all bowed and scrapped as though they would comply, but Mur and Sev knew it was only a matter of time before it came out. Still, at least no one would know except their parents. As long as the secret stayed in the family, they wouldn't get in TOO much trouble.
Severus thought briefly about putting a memory charm on Black as well, but decided against it. If he should miss on the first try, it would just cause another volley of hexes, and they really couldn't afford that. The party on the pavilion would be winding down soon, and they were only just going to get things back to normal before the adults came to get their children. Besides, Black never talked to his parents.
The music started back up, and Severus forced his mind into submission as he and Muriel danced. After all, SOMEONE had to be acting normal when everyone else woke up. By the time the adults started to head back to the houses, several people were dancing again. Severus was thinking very hard about potions ingredients while he and Mur danced, which was earning him the strangest looks. Once in a while, he grinned down at her and she shook her head. 'How can he possibly be thinking about potions right now?' she wondered. 'What a swot!' But she was enjoying what little of his attention she had, and said nothing.
Sirius was watching them angrily from a table. Thankfully, his parents lived close enough that they wouldn't be staying the night. He didn't bother to answer later on when his father asked if they'd had a good time. Regalus told them everything he knew, which wasn't much. Sirius locked the door to his room as soon as he got home, with no intention of coming out until it was time to catch the Hogwarts Express.
Sirius walked down from the houses behind his parents. Regalus trailed along after him silently. He couldn't believe he'd done this. She had heard him say that nothing would bring him to this party. Surely she would guess why he was here. He suppressed a sigh and looked around. Why WAS he here?
The main pavilion glittered out on the lake in front of him. It was definitely better than the Rosiers' party last year. He wondered if Snape had been right about Riddle coming. Perhaps that's why his mother had been so insistent.
His father pointed silently at a second pavilion at the lake's edge, then took Mrs. Black's hand. They both disappeared with a crack that was answered a moment later when they reappeared next to the fairy-covered Christmas tree on the main pavilion. Sirius led his brother over to where Mr. Deesia was speaking with Severus and Muriel. He caught the end of what her father was saying, and had his answer.
"Listen to me, both of you! Do not let ANYONE refer to him as "Riddle." You will call him the Dark Lord, or Lord Voldemort if you must refer to him at all. He has disposed of his father's name for good. Don't give him any reason to be angry." Sirius hung back as Muriel's father reached out a hand and placed it on his daughter's cheek. "He's a powerful Legilimens, Mur. Be especially careful." She nodded as her father disappeared with a pop.
Sirius noticed with irritation that they were the first to arrive. Well, no one had ever said his mother was fashionable in any other way, so he didn't know why he was surprised. He let Regalus run ahead. Snape shook his brother's hand, chatting easily with him. They were, after all, housemates. This reminded Sirius yet again that there wouldn't be a soul here from Gryffindor. The closest he was likely to get was Muriel, and she'd hated him for as long as he could remember. He took a deep breath, put his wand in his left pocket, so he could keep a hand on it, and walked up to the pavilion.
"I wondered if you were coming up or if you were just going to stand there," Mur said, smiling. Sirius felt his eyes narrow. Why was she being so nice? She shook his hand and invited him in, but he didn't want to turn his back to her. She laughed as he walked away, his eye still on her.
Well, no one was here yet except them, so she could be honest. "Relax, Black. I'm under strict orders to cause no trouble, so I'm going to be as nice as I can stand to be tonight." She grimaced at him and he smiled. He really did have a dazzling smile.
She was distracted with the arrival of the Averys. Thankfully, Severus shook their hands and gestured them inside. Muriel had a notion to turn Avery into something innocuous, like an extra candle for one of the tables, but decided against it. Jolina would tell, even if the Blacks kept their mouths shut. She watched them humorlessly as they stared daggers at each other across the room, before calling Severus over to greet Macnair, Crabbe and Goyle. Rosier and Wilkes arrived a few moments later, followed by Malfoy and Narcissa. Malfoy took a moment to smirk at them before apparating to the pavilion. The crowd was all here, now, and Mur turned to go into the pavilion herself when several more people she didn't know arrived. They invited them in, and Severus hurriedly cast an enlargement charm on the place. How many more people would be invited?
The newcomers were from everywhere. Several of Muriel's cousins from her mother's side arrived as well, and she introduced them to the Slytherins around her. Severus introduced the rest, since he had a better memory for names.
Sirius nodded as he was introduced but kept a sour expression on his face. His brother had gone to sit with his dorm mates, Rosier and Wilkes, and honestly he didn't want anyone to sit with him. If Muriel's mother had invited these new people, he was sure they weren't anyone he wanted to meet. He watched as Muriel stopped at each table to chat with them, smiling smugly when she passed Avery without a word. His smile vanished however, when she sat down with him. 'Here it comes,' he thought dryly.
"So, Black, ten points to Slytherin for getting you home for Christmas. Do I even dare ask how she threatened you?" Her hair was up in the same knot of curls she'd worn to the Halloween dance, and her dress robes, a deep purple fringed with black lace, came up high on her neck, though they were only held closed loosely with a silver clasp over her black dress. Her face took on an odd expression, and he realized he hadn't answered her yet.
"Er – Turns out no one dared to skive off, since Riddle was coming this year." Muriel narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he'd heard the instructions Papa had given her and Severus. Maybe he just wanted to see if she'd follow them.
"Hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Voldemort?" she asked, just loudly enough to make a few of the younger children nervous. For that matter, Sirius seemed rather nervous as well, and didn't answer. He had suddenly remembered Mr. Deesia's warning, and knew she was correcting him.
"Mur? Macnair wants to know why we aren't dancing tonight. Don't tell me you danced with HIM at Halloween, too?" Severus' taunting voice cut through the chatter, and Muriel grinned wickedly. She left Sirius to himself, and walked over to the sniggering Slytherins.
"Well, I don't see why we couldn't dance, so long as someone sat out and kept an eye on the kids," she answered sweetly, knowing this would gall Sev to no end. She was right. He'd only meant to tease her for her choice in dance partners, not encourage her to dance with him again!
She summoned a house elf and instructed it to find a way to make music for dancing, ignoring her friend's scowl. Severus tried to clear his head. He'd read every book in the library on Occlumency, and was sure he could manage to block her out long enough for one dance. The house elves returned with a set of enchanted instruments from the Snapes' home, and they played unsteadily, though prettily enough.
He watched as she and Macnair spun around the Christmas tree, laughing, and wondered if that's how she'd looked at Halloween. He was suddenly sorry he'd missed it, and was surprised to find that he wasn't jealous. But then, he knew she didn't fancy Macnair, and he hadn't had any such assurance about Maverick.
Their foreign guests were dancing now as well. Severus looked around, satisfied. The dancing had been a good idea. Undoubtedly these young witches and wizards would report back to their parents that they'd had a good time. Mur was dancing with one of the Karkaroff boys now. He was talking with a thick accent. Severus smiled, knowing that without her particular ability to read minds, she'd probably be having a difficult time understanding.
"Igor, I was surprised you made it," Mur said lightly. She was dying to know why her cousins had come. It had been nearly four years since she'd seen them last. He mumbled something that made no sense, but Mur caught the meaning behind it. His father went were Voldemort went. She nodded and smiled. Lord Voldemort had supposedly been abroad garnering support for the last several years. It looked like it had worked.
Since the ridiculously old instruments tended to run their songs together, everyone was changing dancing partners haphazardly. Muriel thought it was a great deal of fun, until she found herself face to face with Sirius. She saw Sev start toward them and shot him a warning glance. He backed off. She couldn't afford to make Mr. and Mrs. Black angry by being rude to their son. Even if he didn't tell, it was inevitable that the Slytherins present would mention it to someone who WOULD tell. And her mother would be furious.
Almost before she'd had a chance to think it through, he had an arm around her waist. She let him take her hand, but soon realized that he had no idea how to dance. "Here, let me," she said quickly. An evening with Maverick had taught her more than she would ever need to know about dancing, and a moment later, she was leading them across the floor.
Sirius was amazed that she was letting him dance with her. He'd expected her to turn around when he stood up, but here he was, his arm still around her waist. She was avoiding his gaze, and he knew that any minute Snape would probably be here to pull her away.
His mind was scattering bits of thought around like confetti. He couldn't remember at what point he'd decided to stand up and dance with her. He remembered consciously deciding NOT to. It appeared that decision had gone out the proverbial window. She had turned him into a duck earlier this term! He ought to be furious with her, he HAD been furious. He'd sworn to turn her into something awful, just as soon as he got a little better at Transfiguration. But somehow all that had slipped his mind when he'd seen her dancing.
Muriel was trying to find Severus. She had no idea where he'd gone, but she could really use his help. She was confused by all the conflicting thoughts coming from her dance partner. One minute he seemed to be seriously considering tossing her in the lake, and the next it was as if he were actually pleased to have ended up dancing with her. For just a moment, she thought maybe he'd even TRIED to dance with her, but that couldn't be right. They hated each other, had for years. She was only dancing with him now so no one told her parents that she'd been rude to one of their guests.
That theory, however, was soon proven wrong as Avery tapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Let someone else have a go, Black," he said, making Mur wonder how long they'd been dancing.
"Er – actually, Avery, I think I need to sit down for a minute. Thanks, though." She left both boys standing on the dance floor and sat down quickly with Goyle and Crabbe, who looked at her angrily. She grinned, and Goyle's face softened a bit. Obviously Malfoy had told them not to be nice to her. It didn't matter, since without him here they were hardly dangerous. She gave Crabbe a sympathetic look, after all he was of age. It was no wonder if he was in a bad humor, having been relegated to the children's pavilion again.
Severus sat down beside her a moment later. "Where'd you go, I could've used your help back there!" she whispered, making Goyle snigger into his fist. It HAD been pretty funny to see her dancing with Black, of all people. Crabbe didn't laugh.
"You didn't seem to think you needed my help when he first grabbed you," Severus whispered back, teasingly. In fact, he'd found it very amusing to leave her dancing with Black as long as he could. "I just thought maybe you wanted some privacy."
"Prat!" she exclaimed, jumping up. Sirius, who'd just managed to get away from a very annoyed Avery without getting hexed, looked up from the dessert that a house elf had set in front of him.
Muriel knew Severus was trying to get under her skin, and it was working. She'd danced with just about everyone there, except him and Avery, and she wasn't going to dance with Avery. The thought had just crossed her mind when the boy in question took her elbow. "Ready to dance again, Mur?" he purred. She wiped the revulsion quickly from her face and turned calmly to him.
"Actually, Avery, I am. Severus just asked me to." There was a beat of silence before Severus took his cue and stood.
"If you'll excuse us," he said quickly. He was irritated at being maneuvered that way, but felt a grim satisfaction as Avery sat down in his seat, scowling hard at Crabbe and Goyle. He tried desperately to clear his mind as they walked out onto the dance floor. But he couldn't help but notice how pretty her hair was, and was dumbstruck for a moment when she told him she'd done it that way because she had noticed yesterday that he liked it. Obviously his feeble attempts at Occlumency weren't working. He cast about for any way to get himself out of this, and was relieved to see that Avery had raised his wand.
Avery wanted to stop the dancing as well, being more than a little annoyed at Muriel's second refusal. So, he transfigured the now-empty plate in front of Sirius into a duck. Instantly the pavilion erupted in laughter. Everyone from Hogwarts had heard about his brief stint as a fowl. Sirius turned very red, and unfortunately, he looked around quickly enough to see that Avery's wand was still in the air.
In moments Avery had several large boils appearing on his hands, and presumably the rest of him as well. The music ceased immediately as several more hexes flew. It was Severus who thought to put a silencing charm on the pavilion, which was good, since several people screamed when their noses turned into carrots, or their feet began to wobble. Muriel stunned Avery and her cousin, Igor Karkaroff, helped her with the rest. When everyone was unconscious except Igor, Sirius, Muriel and Severus, the latter two exchanged a meaningful glance. This couldn't get back to the adults.
"Black, do you know the counter curse for this?" Muriel asked wearily, pointing to the boils on Avery.
"If I did I would hardly be kind enough to perform it for the bloody git, now would I?" The duck had reminded him rather forcefully that he had no allies here, and he was smirking in a very self-satisfied way. Mur looked at Severus again and thought, 'I'll handle it,' at him. He nodded, understanding, and went to work on transfiguring carrots back into noses.
In the meantime, Muriel brought up her wand. Sirius took a hasty step backward. "Look, Black. Lord Voldemort is here tonight. If my parents get wind of any of this, I'm as good as toast. Since that is the case, one more hex won't get me in any worse trouble," she growled. "Now, fix Avery so we can put a memory charm on him and send him home happy!"
Sirius glowered at her angrily. "Fine!" he snapped, walking over to the slumped form and whispering the counter curse so she wouldn't hear it. He'd only just found that one, after all. No sense in giving away his secret before he could use it on her.
The house elves were instructed forcibly to lie to their parents if asked, and otherwise not to mention anything about the impromptu dueling. They all bowed and scrapped as though they would comply, but Mur and Sev knew it was only a matter of time before it came out. Still, at least no one would know except their parents. As long as the secret stayed in the family, they wouldn't get in TOO much trouble.
Severus thought briefly about putting a memory charm on Black as well, but decided against it. If he should miss on the first try, it would just cause another volley of hexes, and they really couldn't afford that. The party on the pavilion would be winding down soon, and they were only just going to get things back to normal before the adults came to get their children. Besides, Black never talked to his parents.
The music started back up, and Severus forced his mind into submission as he and Muriel danced. After all, SOMEONE had to be acting normal when everyone else woke up. By the time the adults started to head back to the houses, several people were dancing again. Severus was thinking very hard about potions ingredients while he and Mur danced, which was earning him the strangest looks. Once in a while, he grinned down at her and she shook her head. 'How can he possibly be thinking about potions right now?' she wondered. 'What a swot!' But she was enjoying what little of his attention she had, and said nothing.
Sirius was watching them angrily from a table. Thankfully, his parents lived close enough that they wouldn't be staying the night. He didn't bother to answer later on when his father asked if they'd had a good time. Regalus told them everything he knew, which wasn't much. Sirius locked the door to his room as soon as he got home, with no intention of coming out until it was time to catch the Hogwarts Express.