Chapter 9 ~ Halloween
Halloween arrived, and the castle was cold and drafty as Muriel rushed around her dormitory after dinner, chatting with the other girls about how to do their hair. As she'd predicted, Severus hadn't asked her anything about the dance, although he'd offered to help her with her Potions homework that night. She'd told him it was already done. He knew she was seeing someone, and had even been teasing her about her uncharacteristic daydreaming periodically. She supposed it was that knowledge that kept him from asking her to the dance, and didn't let his apparent apathy upset her. After all, it wasn't as though she was available to go with him.
She was smiling shyly as she hurried down to the Great Hall. Sirius, James and Remus were standing outside the Hall, each looking in a different direction. As she watched, a smile spread over Remus' face and he offered his arm to a girl Muriel recognized as a 5th year from her own house. Sirius spotted her as she watched and met her on the stairs. "Careful," he joked quietly, "If you stand there and stare at Moony too long I might get jealous." They laughed, and she pointed down at James.
"Who did he end up asking?"
"Aurora Youngdahl." Sirius grimaced as the tall blonde walked up to James, tossing her hair back away from her face and laughing at whatever he'd said. Muriel laughed a bit too as she and Sirius headed down the stairs and into the Great Hall. The tables had been pushed back against the walls, and the sky was perfectly clear overhead, although there were so many candles floating above them that it was hard to see the stars.
After the first few dances, Sirius left to get them something to drink, and Muriel sat down to watch her classmates. She was joined shortly by Remus, who told her his date was already dancing with someone else. "Well, let's pay her back," Muriel said, standing. Remus grinned wolfishly and offered her his hand.
"I never got a chance to thank you properly for all you did to help me," she said. They were dancing to a slow song, and Muriel was grateful. It gave her a chance to say some of the things she couldn't say when Sirius was around. Remus looked amused.
"I didn't do much of anything, except keep James and Snape from killing each other when they woke up. Sirius definitely got the best job," he replied, winking. Muriel laughed.
Over Remus' shoulder, Muriel could see James dancing with Aurora. He kept casting furtive glances in the direction of the drink table where Kyle McDouglas, the 7th year that was captain and chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was flirting outrageously with Lily Evans. Muriel spun Remus around so he was watching them, and pushed a little closer to him to whisper in his ear, "Can you get James to sit one out? I think I have a plan."
Remus chuckled and headed off toward James as the song ended. Muriel found Lily sitting with Kyle, sipping her drink and laughing appreciatively at his jokes. Muriel, having practiced Quidditch with him for several weeks, was pretty sure that Kyle's jokes weren't that funny. "Hey Kyle, aren't we playing Slytherin in next week's match?" she asked innocently.
He nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"Well I just overheard Ginger Rhodes saying she booked the pitch every night this week for Hufflepuff practices." Predictably, Kyle excused himself and hurried off, looking upset. Lily, who wasn't nearly as gullible, was looking at her with raised eyebrows as Muriel took his empty seat.
She got right to the point. "That boy hasn't looked at anyone but you all night," she said, gesturing toward James. Lily frowned, looking over at where Sirius, Remus and James were sitting. James and Sirius were both staring at them openly, while Remus tried valiantly to carry on a conversation.
"If he hadn't been so conceited when he asked me, I might have said yes," Lily admitted grudgingly. "But he's just such a prat all the time!" she added, with a bit more emotion than Muriel had expected. Mur smiled.
"If I tell you who I came with, will you promise not to tell Severus?" Muriel whispered conspiratorially.
"Didn't you come with Remus? I saw you dancing with him." Lily pulled her eyes away from the marauders.
"No. I came with Sirius Black."
Lily's eyes widened. "But he throws hexes at you every time he sees you! And he challenged you to that duel! I thought you hated each other."
Muriel nodded wisely. "You thought right. This time last year I thought he was the most conceited prat in the school. In spite of that, I couldn't help but notice that he was also passionate, brave, and intelligent, not to mention handsome." Lily giggled, still rather amazed that she was hearing this. She looked over at James again. It didn't look like he'd moved at all. She smiled and noticed the shocked look in his eyes as he smiled back. Muriel noticed too. "You know, James and I have reached something of a truce as well. He really seems to have grown up a lot over the summer." Lily had not turned back to look at Muriel as she spoke, and Mur was pretty sure she'd made her point. "Well, see you later, Lily. I'd better not leave Sirius sitting there with those drinks much longer, someone else will grab him!"
Muriel headed back over to Sirius and took her drink, looking smug. James had not noticed her approach and was startled when she spoke. "James, you can't ask her to dance from all the way over here," she said pointedly. He hardly looked at her as he got up and headed toward Lily.
Sirius grinned and offered Mur his hand. They made it through half a dance before someone tapped Sirius roughly on the shoulder. It was Macnair. "Mur, what are you doing?" he hissed, when he had their attention.
"Dancing, what are you doing?" she answered mildly.
"Cutting in," he responded angrily, with a pointed look at Sirius. Mur shrugged and Sirius let her go. Macnair pulled her as far away from him as he could before he started. "Severus is going to have a fit when he finds out you came with Black," he whispered, looking around worriedly.
"How do you propose we deal with that?" Mur asked carefully. She knew now that it had been he who'd told Severus about Maverick in their fourth year, because he was seriously considering doing it again.
His eyes snapped back to hers. He recognized a threat when he heard one, though her tone hadn't been angry. "You'd better dance with all the usual people," he began.
"And?" Mur prompted dangerously, when he fell silent.
"And I'll keep my mouth shut and tell everyone you were here with me," he replied after a silence.
"Who do I need to talk to?" Mur asked quickly.
"We're going to have to intimidate just about the entirety of Slytherin house if you want to dance with him again. We can pass off what happened earlier as a fluke, since you've danced with Black at every other function we've all attended." Macnair was panicking, and speaking very quickly.
"Would it be easier to just obliviate you," she asked wearily, "or can you handle this?" That snapped him out of it.
"I can handle it, but I think you'd better tell him – "
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Macnair, think! Sev's hardly spoken to me since the mirror – did he tell you about the mirror?" She waited for his cautious nod before continuing. "I promise, the moment he shows any interest in my life at all, I'll tell him all about it, but not until then." In her anger, her voice was a little louder than she'd intended. The idea of spending the rest of the dance subtly intimidating Slytherins was less than pleasant.
Macnair took on a dubious expression at this proclamation, but had little choice but to agree. "I guess I'll start with the Slytherin girls, then," he said defeatedly as the song ended. Thankfully even the seventh years were wary of upsetting Mur, and he could always hold her volatile temper over their heads. It shouldn't be difficult.
"And I'll take care of the rest. Honestly, I ought to just hex them all blind for the night." They parted with slight smiles, and Mur danced with every Slytherin boy present before looking for Sirius again. By then she'd gotten a thumbs up from Macnair that everything was taken care of. Most of them got the impression that she was just trying to regain Severus' interest by baiting him. That didn't sound too dangerous, and they were happy to play along.
Sirius was sitting sulkily beside Remus, watching Lily and James dance. He smiled suddenly when she sat down next to him. "Finished bullying the goons?" They danced happily the rest of the night, Muriel winking cheekily at the Slytherins they passed.
"You did a good thing, you know," Sirius said later, as they walked outside hand in hand. Muriel, whose mind had wondered back to thoughts of her father and the ever nearer Christmas vacation, looked at him blankly for a moment. "I mean, whatever you said to Lily made a real difference. I don't think she danced with anyone but James the rest of the night."
"I just told her that if you could manage to behave yourself, then surely James could too." She smirked as Sirius set his jaw and tried to look angry.
"Who says I have any intention of behaving myself?" he whispered, pulling her close.
Halloween arrived, and the castle was cold and drafty as Muriel rushed around her dormitory after dinner, chatting with the other girls about how to do their hair. As she'd predicted, Severus hadn't asked her anything about the dance, although he'd offered to help her with her Potions homework that night. She'd told him it was already done. He knew she was seeing someone, and had even been teasing her about her uncharacteristic daydreaming periodically. She supposed it was that knowledge that kept him from asking her to the dance, and didn't let his apparent apathy upset her. After all, it wasn't as though she was available to go with him.
She was smiling shyly as she hurried down to the Great Hall. Sirius, James and Remus were standing outside the Hall, each looking in a different direction. As she watched, a smile spread over Remus' face and he offered his arm to a girl Muriel recognized as a 5th year from her own house. Sirius spotted her as she watched and met her on the stairs. "Careful," he joked quietly, "If you stand there and stare at Moony too long I might get jealous." They laughed, and she pointed down at James.
"Who did he end up asking?"
"Aurora Youngdahl." Sirius grimaced as the tall blonde walked up to James, tossing her hair back away from her face and laughing at whatever he'd said. Muriel laughed a bit too as she and Sirius headed down the stairs and into the Great Hall. The tables had been pushed back against the walls, and the sky was perfectly clear overhead, although there were so many candles floating above them that it was hard to see the stars.
After the first few dances, Sirius left to get them something to drink, and Muriel sat down to watch her classmates. She was joined shortly by Remus, who told her his date was already dancing with someone else. "Well, let's pay her back," Muriel said, standing. Remus grinned wolfishly and offered her his hand.
"I never got a chance to thank you properly for all you did to help me," she said. They were dancing to a slow song, and Muriel was grateful. It gave her a chance to say some of the things she couldn't say when Sirius was around. Remus looked amused.
"I didn't do much of anything, except keep James and Snape from killing each other when they woke up. Sirius definitely got the best job," he replied, winking. Muriel laughed.
Over Remus' shoulder, Muriel could see James dancing with Aurora. He kept casting furtive glances in the direction of the drink table where Kyle McDouglas, the 7th year that was captain and chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was flirting outrageously with Lily Evans. Muriel spun Remus around so he was watching them, and pushed a little closer to him to whisper in his ear, "Can you get James to sit one out? I think I have a plan."
Remus chuckled and headed off toward James as the song ended. Muriel found Lily sitting with Kyle, sipping her drink and laughing appreciatively at his jokes. Muriel, having practiced Quidditch with him for several weeks, was pretty sure that Kyle's jokes weren't that funny. "Hey Kyle, aren't we playing Slytherin in next week's match?" she asked innocently.
He nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"Well I just overheard Ginger Rhodes saying she booked the pitch every night this week for Hufflepuff practices." Predictably, Kyle excused himself and hurried off, looking upset. Lily, who wasn't nearly as gullible, was looking at her with raised eyebrows as Muriel took his empty seat.
She got right to the point. "That boy hasn't looked at anyone but you all night," she said, gesturing toward James. Lily frowned, looking over at where Sirius, Remus and James were sitting. James and Sirius were both staring at them openly, while Remus tried valiantly to carry on a conversation.
"If he hadn't been so conceited when he asked me, I might have said yes," Lily admitted grudgingly. "But he's just such a prat all the time!" she added, with a bit more emotion than Muriel had expected. Mur smiled.
"If I tell you who I came with, will you promise not to tell Severus?" Muriel whispered conspiratorially.
"Didn't you come with Remus? I saw you dancing with him." Lily pulled her eyes away from the marauders.
"No. I came with Sirius Black."
Lily's eyes widened. "But he throws hexes at you every time he sees you! And he challenged you to that duel! I thought you hated each other."
Muriel nodded wisely. "You thought right. This time last year I thought he was the most conceited prat in the school. In spite of that, I couldn't help but notice that he was also passionate, brave, and intelligent, not to mention handsome." Lily giggled, still rather amazed that she was hearing this. She looked over at James again. It didn't look like he'd moved at all. She smiled and noticed the shocked look in his eyes as he smiled back. Muriel noticed too. "You know, James and I have reached something of a truce as well. He really seems to have grown up a lot over the summer." Lily had not turned back to look at Muriel as she spoke, and Mur was pretty sure she'd made her point. "Well, see you later, Lily. I'd better not leave Sirius sitting there with those drinks much longer, someone else will grab him!"
Muriel headed back over to Sirius and took her drink, looking smug. James had not noticed her approach and was startled when she spoke. "James, you can't ask her to dance from all the way over here," she said pointedly. He hardly looked at her as he got up and headed toward Lily.
Sirius grinned and offered Mur his hand. They made it through half a dance before someone tapped Sirius roughly on the shoulder. It was Macnair. "Mur, what are you doing?" he hissed, when he had their attention.
"Dancing, what are you doing?" she answered mildly.
"Cutting in," he responded angrily, with a pointed look at Sirius. Mur shrugged and Sirius let her go. Macnair pulled her as far away from him as he could before he started. "Severus is going to have a fit when he finds out you came with Black," he whispered, looking around worriedly.
"How do you propose we deal with that?" Mur asked carefully. She knew now that it had been he who'd told Severus about Maverick in their fourth year, because he was seriously considering doing it again.
His eyes snapped back to hers. He recognized a threat when he heard one, though her tone hadn't been angry. "You'd better dance with all the usual people," he began.
"And?" Mur prompted dangerously, when he fell silent.
"And I'll keep my mouth shut and tell everyone you were here with me," he replied after a silence.
"Who do I need to talk to?" Mur asked quickly.
"We're going to have to intimidate just about the entirety of Slytherin house if you want to dance with him again. We can pass off what happened earlier as a fluke, since you've danced with Black at every other function we've all attended." Macnair was panicking, and speaking very quickly.
"Would it be easier to just obliviate you," she asked wearily, "or can you handle this?" That snapped him out of it.
"I can handle it, but I think you'd better tell him – "
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Macnair, think! Sev's hardly spoken to me since the mirror – did he tell you about the mirror?" She waited for his cautious nod before continuing. "I promise, the moment he shows any interest in my life at all, I'll tell him all about it, but not until then." In her anger, her voice was a little louder than she'd intended. The idea of spending the rest of the dance subtly intimidating Slytherins was less than pleasant.
Macnair took on a dubious expression at this proclamation, but had little choice but to agree. "I guess I'll start with the Slytherin girls, then," he said defeatedly as the song ended. Thankfully even the seventh years were wary of upsetting Mur, and he could always hold her volatile temper over their heads. It shouldn't be difficult.
"And I'll take care of the rest. Honestly, I ought to just hex them all blind for the night." They parted with slight smiles, and Mur danced with every Slytherin boy present before looking for Sirius again. By then she'd gotten a thumbs up from Macnair that everything was taken care of. Most of them got the impression that she was just trying to regain Severus' interest by baiting him. That didn't sound too dangerous, and they were happy to play along.
Sirius was sitting sulkily beside Remus, watching Lily and James dance. He smiled suddenly when she sat down next to him. "Finished bullying the goons?" They danced happily the rest of the night, Muriel winking cheekily at the Slytherins they passed.
"You did a good thing, you know," Sirius said later, as they walked outside hand in hand. Muriel, whose mind had wondered back to thoughts of her father and the ever nearer Christmas vacation, looked at him blankly for a moment. "I mean, whatever you said to Lily made a real difference. I don't think she danced with anyone but James the rest of the night."
"I just told her that if you could manage to behave yourself, then surely James could too." She smirked as Sirius set his jaw and tried to look angry.
"Who says I have any intention of behaving myself?" he whispered, pulling her close.