The next weeks were filled with much anticipation. Right and left students were asking each other to the Noël Soirée, girls were commenting on what robes they were going to wear, and boys were daring each other to ask a certain girl to the ball.
Peeves watched with glum resentment. However, he did feel a bit better when he found that the other champions had to get dancing partners. Peeves did not know how to dance and wasn't about to make a fool of himself. But he couldn't keep from eyeing Farrah Elson, the tall, pretty Gryffindor. Each day he would watch her float to and from the Great Hall or into the classroom wondering why she suddenly looked so wonderful or why he had just really noticed her. Peeves knew without a doubt that she wasn't particularly fond of him. That was his fault, he had dropped a Dungbomb on her in second year and she had never quite forgiven him. Still, he couldn't help but wish he could ask her to the Noël Soirée.
While everyone else was rushing around, preparing themselves for the holidays, Peeves stayed in the boys' guest room, pondering how he could get back at Sourdine. The more she punished him, the more she was going to pay, and boy, was she going to pay this time. Peeves kept his thoughts to himself mainly because he didn't want his evil schemes to be found out and he didn't feel that he could trust anyone. Whilst all the other students anxiously awaited the Noël Soirée itself, Peeves earnestly anticipated the mischievous fun he would have that night.
âª
Christmas Eve had finally arrived. The students awoke to find the fortress shimmering with tinsel, gleaming with ornaments, and fresh with the scent of the pine greenery. Wonderful smells wafted from the kitchens and house elves tramped joyously around carrying out special chores and errands. After a light breakfast, most of the students from all three schools hung around the Great Hall, not quite knowing what else to do. Several games of Exploding Snap, Wizards Chess and French Poker were brought out and enjoyed as the day slowly lulled by. Around mid-noon, many of the girls left, muttering about their hair and robes. Soon after the boys left to get ready and the Great Hall was empty.
âª
"Too bad you can't be there," Lawson said to Peeves, straitening his deep blue robes gingerly. Peeves shrugged sleepily.
"Why are you so tired today," Lawson asked quizzically. Inwardly Peeves grinned.
"I just couldn't get to sleep last night," he answered innocently. Lawson smiled encouragingly.
"Don't worry, I'll bring you back some of that nice French wine," Lawson said, glancing around at the other boys who were also ready to go down. "Come on, Sean," Lawson said, grabbing Sean's arm. "I wouldn't want to miss this for the world, uh, sorry Peeves," Lawson looked apologetically over at Peeves. Peeves sighed.
"Have fun," he said with a dejected look on his face. With that, Lawson and Sean swept out of the room followed by Adrian Malfoy, Barlow Bignose, and Haywood Worts. Peeves watched them go with mock misery. Thumping back onto his bed, Peeves propped his hands behind his bed.
"Oh, they'll have fun," he murmured.
âª
The night was going as planned. Everything couldn't be more perfect. The two champions allowed at the ball opened it grandly with their partners at 7 o'clock sharp. The students and their partners walked into a transformed Great Hall. The room was dark, the great windows had been covered with rich blue drapes, and the chandelier's candles were lit, creating a soft warm glow in the dreamy darkness. Meltless Icicles hung from everything standing still and gold sparkling stars floated around the ceiling. Surrounding the room were many large, sparkling ice sculptures. They glittered in the candlelight, looking like large diamonds. The sculptures varied from designs of famous wizards or witches, mythological creatures, and fortresses much like Beauxbatons. The twenty round tables had been covered with creamy gray cloths and positioned at either side of the hall generating room for a dance floor.
The Noël Soirée began with a large feast. Elaborate French dishes with rich sauces, fancy pastries, trays of tender roast beef, sweet puddings, and delicate seafood flew from the kitchens on the flying platters, serving all of the diners. While the students ate, a choir of what appeared to be small, leafy wood nymphs marched in and began a wonderful anthology of French Christmas songs.
After the banquet the students gathered out on the dance floor and the orchestra began. The night lulled by in perfect bliss. The food kept coming, and the partygoers kept dancing. It could have gone on way past midnight, had there not been one slight problem. Around 9 o'clock, there were several gasps and cries of horror from the dance floor. Sourdine, sitting comfortably at the head table, looked up from her conversation with Headmaster Influencia and stood up quickly.
"Headmaster! Come quick!" cried a voice from the crowd of students. Sourdine, Influencia and Headmaster Juven rushed down to the dance floor and through the mob. Lying in the middle of the group was Amy Giotisa.
"Vat happened here?" Influencia demanded.
"She just collapsed!" someone else called. Sourdine knelt down and studied Amy closely.
"She's alive," she said gravely. A big sigh swept through the crowd.
"Quick, let's get her to the Hospital Wing," Juven said smoothly. Sourdine nodded and stood up, beckoning for Influencia to pick Amy up. Suddenly there was a shrill shriek.
"Leroy!" someone screamed. Everyone's heads turned in one motion. Lying on the outskirts of the group was a short, dark boy surrounded by several students shaking him to wake him up. Within seconds there was another cry.
"Walton!" Again the heads turned to see another boy lying on the ground.
"Bontina!"
"Granville!"
"Imogen!"
"Nora!"
Right and left students were dropping like flies. Sourdine whirled around at each cry, her face contorted in a look of absolute horror.
"Matilda!"
"Gilbert!"
Before long only a few were standing, but still they were going down. With a gasp, Headmaster Influencia sank to the floor. Sourdine shrieked and dashed to his side before looking desperately at Headmaster Juven who was looking around with a white face, his eyes darting from student to student. With absolute calmness he knelt down to the nearest student, feeling their pulse, making sure he was still alive. Within minutes, the horror had ended, leaving only five students, Sourdine, and Juven standing. All seven of them were gazing desperately at their friends, pupils, and colleagues, rushing around in blind panic.
"What happened?" Sourdine wailed. Juven looked up coolly.
"I think they were drugged."
"Drugged? Why do you say that?"
Juven stepped over several students and up to one of the round tables. He surveyed several plates, sniffing them and taking small bites. Finally he dropped one of the pastries in disgust. "Did you eat any of the pecan rolls?" he asked frigidly.
Sourdine shook her head. "No, I'm allergic to nuts."
"As am I," said Juven. He looked at the other students. "Did anyone eat a pecan roll?" One by one each of the students shook their heads. Juven smiled decisively. "These rolls were poisoned."
Sourdine bristled. "Why? How? By who?" she asked furiously. Then she stopped and her pale face turned beet red. "PEEVES RADLEY!" she screamed. The chandeliers overhead jiggled. "That is the last straw!" she cried. "I'm going to kill him! This time I am going to kill him!"
"Madam—"
"No one can stop me this time! I can't handle this anymore! I need a break! A break! Ohhhh! I hate that child so much I could just kill him! Kill him! Uuugggghhh!" Sourdine roared.
With that, she fell to the ground, sobbing into her robes and being eyed warily by the five other students. Over her crying Juven looked down at the lifeless people on the floor. "They should wake up soon, depending on how many pecan rolls they ate," he said. "They were only poisoned by a simple knock-out potion, nothing very deadly. Eat too many of these and they could be deadly, but one would have to eat a lot of them to die."
Sourdine gave another wail. Juven sighed and beckoned to the five students standing.
"Come, help me carry all of the students to a comfortable place. Follow what I do."
The students silently nodded, copying Juven as he pulled his wand out of his robes. "Mobilicorpus," he said clearly, pointing the wand at the closest person sprawled on the floor. The girl was lifted into the air by an invisible force.
The students did the same, picking up the nearest people with their wands and following Juven out of the Great Hall, through several corridors and into the large hospital wing. After coming back and forth several times, all of the hospital wing's beds were filled, so Juven magicked out some cots.
The whole time Sourdine remained sobbing on the Great Hall floor. This prank had finally taken its toll. Gently, Juven pulled her to her feet and helped her walk to her privet guest room, tickling the beautiful lady statue's chin, and setting Sourdine down in a comfortable chair near the fire. Then he left to see how the sedated students were doing.
Walking swiftly back into the hospital wing, an unruffled expression on his face, Juven pointed to the closest conscious student.
"Go get me Peeves Radley, bitte," he said sternly. "He should be in the Hogwarts boys' guest room. If he is not, come back to me."
The student nodded obediently and hurried out of the room. Juven gazed around him, as tranquil as ever. No one had awakened yet. The hospital wing looked more like a mortuary than an infirmary. Walking from person to person, Juven readjusted bodies and pulled covers up to chins. Standing a longer time than the rest at Influencia, Juven smiled ever so slightly. At that moment Peeves was pushed into the hospital wing, an innocent look on his face. Juven looked up, still standing motionless at Influencia's side. Silently, the five other students left the room. Peeves stood in the doorway for several seconds, staring Juven in the eyes. Finally the Durmstrang Headmaster broke the gaze and looked back down at Influencia.
"I wonder if half of the people here tonight haven't deserved what happened to them," Juven said clearly and abruptly. Peeves was taken aback.
"But—"he sputtered.
"No," Juven said, holding up his hand. Then dropping his arm he looked back up at Peeves. There was silence again as Juven looked at him thoughtfully. After that moment Juven started to meander slowly towards Peeves, stopping from one bed to the other. Still checking on the victims, Juven started speaking again.
"Tell me, Peeves. What is your family like?"
Again Peeves didn't quite know what to say. "W—well, sir, t—they're my family," he said uncertainly.
"No, tell me about them. What's your mother like, or your father?"
"Well...they...I—I try not to think of them much."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, they're just...they're just..." Peeves' voice trailed off. Juven nodded to himself.
"Come here Peeves," he said quietly, and walked over to a clump of comfy chairs in one of the corners in the hospital wing. Peeves shrugged and followed Juven, sitting down in one of the chairs. Juven also sat down and looked into Peeves eyes as if trying to find something inside of them. Sighing a little, Juven looked around at the beds.
"I never knew my mother," he said out of the blue. "Because of that, I think it was hard for me to fit in when I was young. I was the boy that only had a father; I was the boy that was timid and shy because I didn't have the encouragement of a loving mother. My father was always working; it sometimes felt that I didn't have a father either. I hated it. I hated life. I hated everything because I wasn't like everyone else, I didn't have the precious thing that other people have, a mother and father. I lived my childhood with that pain clamped up inside of me. There was no one to go to and that made life miserable."
Juven stopped and looked at Peeves then went on. "In my late teens, about your age, Peeves, my father sent me to a university in England. It was there that I learned to be the teacher that I am today. Many people have mentioned how noticeable I am from other teachers. Some say I'm calmer. Others say I'm collective. Still others have observed my interest in study. I have also noticed these qualities, as they make me different from other people. Yet I have concluded over time that my character has nothing what so ever to do with my education. Indeed, Peeves, my character has to do with my childhood. My family. My parents." Juven paused. Peeves sighed.
"So you're trying to say that my character is based on my parents. That I drugged all of these people because of my parents?"
Juven smiled.
"Precisely."
"This is Bubotuber pus!" Peeves said with distain. Juven shrugged.
"So, now tell me about your family."
"You want to know about my family?" Peeves bellowed, his voice steadily rising and quickening. "I'll tell you all about them alright. I'm a nobody. My mum and dad don't care a damn about me. Everything is based on my sister, Erica, the Quidditch star. What Erica wants she gets. If she needs a new broom she gets the finest one ever! If she doesn't like a teacher my dad'll go up and get in his face! Erica has to be at every practice and game. So do mum and dad. They have to cheer her on, boast to all their friends 'my daughter's going to be a pro Quidditch player, she's the best Chaser ever!' Me, I'm all alone at Hogwarts Quidditch games. Oh, I don't play Chaser; I play Beater. That's nothing important. Beaters just whack around iron balls, they don't help the team win by scoring points or catching Snitches. But Erica is good. Everything's based on Erica! Stupid, horrible Erica! I hate it! I hate it!" Peeves broke off, panting as he fought for breath. Juven nodded solemnly.
"I understand," he muttered. At that moment, there was a stirring in one of the beds. Juven stood up swiftly. "Come help me with them," he said. Peeves shook his head.
"I'd rather not," he said flatly while he also stood. Then, without another word, Peeves dashed from the room. Looking after him, Juven shook his head sadly before heading over to the slowly waking students.