Harry's feet pounded the stone hallways, and he panted slightly as he ran
towards the Great Hall. He could hear just hear the Weird Sisters shout a
muffled question, and corresponding dull roar of the cheering students. A
fast paced song with lots of electric guitar started echoing hollowly off
the walls. He quickened his pace – he had to find Ron and Hermione...
He was coming down the main staircase, and was just about to cross the foyer to the Great Hall when he heard the door leading out to the Main Gate slammed open on its hinges.
More out of instinct than anything else, Harry threw his back flat against the wall, and waited to see who it was coming round the corner.
Severus Snape stalked into view, beckoning to someone behind him.
"This way," he said, irritatedly.
Harry inched his way backwards up the stairs, and ducked behind a large stone griffin.
Two tall, dark figures wearing hooded cloaks entered following Snape.
"Vot is deh hurry, Severus?" one of them asked in a throaty, sensual woman's voice. She lifted her hood, and Harry actually gasped – she was that beautiful.
She had long, black, curly hair, cherry-red lips, and strong, high cheekbones that were flushed from the cold October wind outside. She was smiling slightly, and Harry could see her perfect teeth glinting whitely in the torchlight, "Can you not show some hospitality ven you haff guests?"
"Or 'ave you no respect for your eldeirs?" said the other, "And your betters?"
He pulled back his hood also, and Harry saw he was also dark-haired, with a widow's peak, a strong Roman nose, and ruddy complexion.
"Durmstrang," Harry thought to himself, "Or the area...judging by her accent...but not him. He sounds like Fleur..."
Snape had stopped abruptly in his tracks. He turned around slowly, and gave them a cruel smile.
"Of course...how rude of me. Mieva Pamira," he announced. Harry thought it might be a spell at first, but then realized that must be this woman's name, "And...sidekick."
"Oh, please excuse," Mieva Pamira said casually, "This is Louis Chauve- Souris."
"Don't bother," Snape said disgustedly, "I [I]won't[/I] remember."
Harry leaned a bit closer – just how exactly did they know each other?
"You're looking [I]well,[/I]" Snape said, and the way he emphasized "well," made Harry think he didn't really mean it at all, "You're positively [I]glowing,[/I] in fact."
"Yes, apologies for beink so late," she said, "But ve vere just so hungry that ve had to stop..."
Harry liked her less and less the more she spoke...she had the same cloying, teasing tone in her voice that Bellatrix Black had.
"Mmmm," Mieva said, licking her lower lip teasingly, and tilting her head to seductively display her neck, "The food in this country is vary good, Severus."
Euugh. Watching a beautiful woman flirt with Snape had just made it onto his list of things he wished he'd never seen. But something about the way she spoke made it clear that she was mocking him at the same time...almost taunting him.
"If you were looking for food," Snape said frostily, through clenched teeth, "Dinner has just begun. [I]Steak.[/I] I'd be only too happy to [I]serve – it – to – you...[/I] Now if you don't mind?"
He turned abruptly on his heel, and led them, fuming, down the hall...Harry snuck down the stairs after they'd passed, and peered around the corner. At the end of the hall, they took a right towards the Headmaster's office.
"What is Snape doing inviting his creepy friends over?" Harry shuddered.
With a jolt, he suddenly remembered the vision he'd just had in Trelawney's office...or was it a dream? Or was it Lord Voldemort...
"Nevermind," Harry told himself, "Find them. Find Ron and Hermione."
He dashed over to the Great Hall, pulled open the heavy oak door and stepped inside.
For a moment, he could hardly see – The Weird Sisters had set up a strobe light and had apparently enchanted all the torches to flash different colors. The tables were arranged in a large rectangle, leaving the center of the room open for dancing. The Weird Sisters were waling away on their instruments on a make-shift stage set up in the corner of the room.
He was momentarily distracted from his search by the appearance of the Weird Sisters themselves – He'd been so nervous at his first Ball, he hadn't gotten a really good look at them. A witch with a broad, toothy grin and short, black pigtails was hammering away at her drum set, while a black witch picked at her bass guitar with a "cool and bored" look on her face. The scrawny blonde witch in front had pink and blue streaks in her hair, a nose stud, and a hemp necklace, and was frowning in concentration as she played a flashy solo on her bubblegum pink guitar – they all wore Hogwarts uniforms and ridiculous shoes. Harry suddenly understood why Tonks was such a fan. Half the school was eating and racing around the tables gossiping, while the other half formed a large, swarming mass of bodies at the foot of the stage.
"Focus," Harry told himself, feeling disoriented. He scanned the crowd, willing himself to find Ron and Hermione.
"Harry!" cried Ginny, bounding up to him. She looked him up and down and laughed. "Didn't you bother to change? You're going to roast. Take those off."
Harry scowled as he was spun awkwardly around in place, Ginny yanking his black school robes off and draping them over the nearest chair. Ginny was wearing blue jeans and a green top that was far too small for her. He had a feeling Mrs. Weasley was unaware of this particular item of clothing.
"Borrowed it," she said, flirtatiously, catching him staring, "from Parvati. Like it?"
"Where's Ron and Hermione," he said urgently, "I've got to tell them something."
Ginny gave him a sarcastic look. "Nice to see you, too. Come on, we've been waiting for you."
"Ginny!" he tried to interrupt, but she couldn't hear him. He let her drag him to the dance floor, and followed as she wormed her way in between people. Being much smaller than he, she had a much easier time of it, and Harry kept getting elbowed and jostled by vigorous dancers. He caught Dean and Seamus out of the corner of his eye, wearing their ties as belts and jumping around trying to bump into as many people as they could.
"HARRY!" bellowed Ron, who suddenly pushed his way around a girl who, from behind, appeared to be wearing jeans and a piece of string, "YOU MADE IT!" The Weird Sisters must have put the Sonorus charm on their instruments, because the sound was deafening.
Ron looked at Harry's school uniform, and laughed out loud. "AT LEAST TAKE OFF YOUR SWEATER!"
"No, RON, YOU DON'T—"
But he and Ginny had playfully grabbed the hem of his Hogwarts sweater and pulled it over his head. Harry yanked the sweater off angrily, emerging from the gray wool with his glasses askew and one shirttail untucked.
"RON!" shouted Harry. But he was talking to the girl next to him wearing a string. She suddenly turned around, and –
All Harry's thoughts suddenly ground to a halt. Hermione was wearing a handkerchief...that had to be the only explanation. A silvery...shiny sort of handkerchief thing, that was tied strategically about her neck and back.
"HARRY!" she beamed.
"[I]Hermione![/I]" Harry said, feeling his face go red, "What are you [I]wearing[/I]?" He began turning his sweater right side out.
"[I]WHAT?[/I]" she hollered, putting a hand to her ear.
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Harry hollered, thrusting his sweater towards her. She laughed.
"YOU SOUND LIKE MY DAD!" she shouted, "DANCE!"
"NO! LISTEN TO ME!" he said, grabbing her bare arm, "[I]HEY![/I]"
But the song had just ended, and he'd just shouted "HEY!" at the top of his lungs. Several people turned to look at them, and laughed as they applauded for the Weird Sisters.
"Great," Harry thought, "Just perfect."
"Will you three just follow me somewhere where we can actually talk?" Harry muttered under his breath.
"Alright, alright," Ron said, clearly annoyed at losing their spot, "We're coming."
Ginny was scowling as well, but Harry saw that Hermione had a concerned look on her face.
"Good," Harry thought with relief, "Finally."
He led them over the far corner of the room, where Ginny had left his robes. They all leaned into a small huddle.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"I was with Trelawney," Harry said, "And my scar hurt, really badly..."
"There we are, then," Harry thought, taking in their reactions. Hermione's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, while Ron and Ginny's faces went pale.
"—and I had another vision – I think it might have been Voldemort..."
But he trailed off. Ron and Hermione were looking at each other sadly, and Ginny was somberly staring at the floor.
"What?" Harry asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.
"It's nothing," Hermione said quickly, "Tell us what you saw."
"No...No, I understand," Harry said slowly, his anger rising, "Raising another false alarm, am I? Well, if it's not a good time, I'll just let you get back to your party then. Sorry to bother you."
"Harry," Ron said abruptly, and Harry was taken aback by the strength of his voice, "Stop being a git, take a deep breath, and tell us what's happening."
Too surprised to do anything else, Harry related the contents of his vision to them, the details spilling out of him in his anxiety.
Ron frowned, "But I'm here now, right? I'm alive, and everything..."
"Go to Dumbledore," Hermione said. She took a deep breath, resignedly, "We'll go with you."
Harry looked at their faces, disappointed but determined, and felt like an absolute heel. All they'd wanted was one night to blow off some steam and enjoy each others' company for once, without threat of sudden death or the doom of wizard-kind.
"It's because of you," the guilty little voice in his head told him, "You only think about your own life, but none of your friends can have normal lives either..."
"No," he said, "I'll go. You enjoy the rest of the Ball."
"Hah! Not likely," Hermione said, with wry laugh.
"Try anyway," Harry said, his gaze falling on Ginny. She was trying to save a brave face, but he could tell she was crushed.
"Your fault," said the nasty little voice, "Your fault!"
"Look, it's like Ron said. You're all here now...and you're safe. In the vision, Ron was in a corridor, not the Great Hall, and there was no dance, and you were dressed differently – I think we're safe for now, at least until I can go tell Dumbledore."
He paused, and took a deep breath.
"Why does this always happen?" he asked aloud, with a glance at Ginny's down turned face.
Ron shrugged helplessly, "Because it's you, mate. Sorry."
"I'm sorry, Ginny," Harry said.
She didn't seem to want to talk, but she nodded briskly and smiled as though to say, "It's fine, no problem." It melted the last traces of his anger and frustration.
"Go!" Hermione said.
Harry turned, pushed through the oak doors, and ran towards the Headmaster's office.
He was coming down the main staircase, and was just about to cross the foyer to the Great Hall when he heard the door leading out to the Main Gate slammed open on its hinges.
More out of instinct than anything else, Harry threw his back flat against the wall, and waited to see who it was coming round the corner.
Severus Snape stalked into view, beckoning to someone behind him.
"This way," he said, irritatedly.
Harry inched his way backwards up the stairs, and ducked behind a large stone griffin.
Two tall, dark figures wearing hooded cloaks entered following Snape.
"Vot is deh hurry, Severus?" one of them asked in a throaty, sensual woman's voice. She lifted her hood, and Harry actually gasped – she was that beautiful.
She had long, black, curly hair, cherry-red lips, and strong, high cheekbones that were flushed from the cold October wind outside. She was smiling slightly, and Harry could see her perfect teeth glinting whitely in the torchlight, "Can you not show some hospitality ven you haff guests?"
"Or 'ave you no respect for your eldeirs?" said the other, "And your betters?"
He pulled back his hood also, and Harry saw he was also dark-haired, with a widow's peak, a strong Roman nose, and ruddy complexion.
"Durmstrang," Harry thought to himself, "Or the area...judging by her accent...but not him. He sounds like Fleur..."
Snape had stopped abruptly in his tracks. He turned around slowly, and gave them a cruel smile.
"Of course...how rude of me. Mieva Pamira," he announced. Harry thought it might be a spell at first, but then realized that must be this woman's name, "And...sidekick."
"Oh, please excuse," Mieva Pamira said casually, "This is Louis Chauve- Souris."
"Don't bother," Snape said disgustedly, "I [I]won't[/I] remember."
Harry leaned a bit closer – just how exactly did they know each other?
"You're looking [I]well,[/I]" Snape said, and the way he emphasized "well," made Harry think he didn't really mean it at all, "You're positively [I]glowing,[/I] in fact."
"Yes, apologies for beink so late," she said, "But ve vere just so hungry that ve had to stop..."
Harry liked her less and less the more she spoke...she had the same cloying, teasing tone in her voice that Bellatrix Black had.
"Mmmm," Mieva said, licking her lower lip teasingly, and tilting her head to seductively display her neck, "The food in this country is vary good, Severus."
Euugh. Watching a beautiful woman flirt with Snape had just made it onto his list of things he wished he'd never seen. But something about the way she spoke made it clear that she was mocking him at the same time...almost taunting him.
"If you were looking for food," Snape said frostily, through clenched teeth, "Dinner has just begun. [I]Steak.[/I] I'd be only too happy to [I]serve – it – to – you...[/I] Now if you don't mind?"
He turned abruptly on his heel, and led them, fuming, down the hall...Harry snuck down the stairs after they'd passed, and peered around the corner. At the end of the hall, they took a right towards the Headmaster's office.
"What is Snape doing inviting his creepy friends over?" Harry shuddered.
With a jolt, he suddenly remembered the vision he'd just had in Trelawney's office...or was it a dream? Or was it Lord Voldemort...
"Nevermind," Harry told himself, "Find them. Find Ron and Hermione."
He dashed over to the Great Hall, pulled open the heavy oak door and stepped inside.
For a moment, he could hardly see – The Weird Sisters had set up a strobe light and had apparently enchanted all the torches to flash different colors. The tables were arranged in a large rectangle, leaving the center of the room open for dancing. The Weird Sisters were waling away on their instruments on a make-shift stage set up in the corner of the room.
He was momentarily distracted from his search by the appearance of the Weird Sisters themselves – He'd been so nervous at his first Ball, he hadn't gotten a really good look at them. A witch with a broad, toothy grin and short, black pigtails was hammering away at her drum set, while a black witch picked at her bass guitar with a "cool and bored" look on her face. The scrawny blonde witch in front had pink and blue streaks in her hair, a nose stud, and a hemp necklace, and was frowning in concentration as she played a flashy solo on her bubblegum pink guitar – they all wore Hogwarts uniforms and ridiculous shoes. Harry suddenly understood why Tonks was such a fan. Half the school was eating and racing around the tables gossiping, while the other half formed a large, swarming mass of bodies at the foot of the stage.
"Focus," Harry told himself, feeling disoriented. He scanned the crowd, willing himself to find Ron and Hermione.
"Harry!" cried Ginny, bounding up to him. She looked him up and down and laughed. "Didn't you bother to change? You're going to roast. Take those off."
Harry scowled as he was spun awkwardly around in place, Ginny yanking his black school robes off and draping them over the nearest chair. Ginny was wearing blue jeans and a green top that was far too small for her. He had a feeling Mrs. Weasley was unaware of this particular item of clothing.
"Borrowed it," she said, flirtatiously, catching him staring, "from Parvati. Like it?"
"Where's Ron and Hermione," he said urgently, "I've got to tell them something."
Ginny gave him a sarcastic look. "Nice to see you, too. Come on, we've been waiting for you."
"Ginny!" he tried to interrupt, but she couldn't hear him. He let her drag him to the dance floor, and followed as she wormed her way in between people. Being much smaller than he, she had a much easier time of it, and Harry kept getting elbowed and jostled by vigorous dancers. He caught Dean and Seamus out of the corner of his eye, wearing their ties as belts and jumping around trying to bump into as many people as they could.
"HARRY!" bellowed Ron, who suddenly pushed his way around a girl who, from behind, appeared to be wearing jeans and a piece of string, "YOU MADE IT!" The Weird Sisters must have put the Sonorus charm on their instruments, because the sound was deafening.
Ron looked at Harry's school uniform, and laughed out loud. "AT LEAST TAKE OFF YOUR SWEATER!"
"No, RON, YOU DON'T—"
But he and Ginny had playfully grabbed the hem of his Hogwarts sweater and pulled it over his head. Harry yanked the sweater off angrily, emerging from the gray wool with his glasses askew and one shirttail untucked.
"RON!" shouted Harry. But he was talking to the girl next to him wearing a string. She suddenly turned around, and –
All Harry's thoughts suddenly ground to a halt. Hermione was wearing a handkerchief...that had to be the only explanation. A silvery...shiny sort of handkerchief thing, that was tied strategically about her neck and back.
"HARRY!" she beamed.
"[I]Hermione![/I]" Harry said, feeling his face go red, "What are you [I]wearing[/I]?" He began turning his sweater right side out.
"[I]WHAT?[/I]" she hollered, putting a hand to her ear.
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Harry hollered, thrusting his sweater towards her. She laughed.
"YOU SOUND LIKE MY DAD!" she shouted, "DANCE!"
"NO! LISTEN TO ME!" he said, grabbing her bare arm, "[I]HEY![/I]"
But the song had just ended, and he'd just shouted "HEY!" at the top of his lungs. Several people turned to look at them, and laughed as they applauded for the Weird Sisters.
"Great," Harry thought, "Just perfect."
"Will you three just follow me somewhere where we can actually talk?" Harry muttered under his breath.
"Alright, alright," Ron said, clearly annoyed at losing their spot, "We're coming."
Ginny was scowling as well, but Harry saw that Hermione had a concerned look on her face.
"Good," Harry thought with relief, "Finally."
He led them over the far corner of the room, where Ginny had left his robes. They all leaned into a small huddle.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"I was with Trelawney," Harry said, "And my scar hurt, really badly..."
"There we are, then," Harry thought, taking in their reactions. Hermione's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, while Ron and Ginny's faces went pale.
"—and I had another vision – I think it might have been Voldemort..."
But he trailed off. Ron and Hermione were looking at each other sadly, and Ginny was somberly staring at the floor.
"What?" Harry asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.
"It's nothing," Hermione said quickly, "Tell us what you saw."
"No...No, I understand," Harry said slowly, his anger rising, "Raising another false alarm, am I? Well, if it's not a good time, I'll just let you get back to your party then. Sorry to bother you."
"Harry," Ron said abruptly, and Harry was taken aback by the strength of his voice, "Stop being a git, take a deep breath, and tell us what's happening."
Too surprised to do anything else, Harry related the contents of his vision to them, the details spilling out of him in his anxiety.
Ron frowned, "But I'm here now, right? I'm alive, and everything..."
"Go to Dumbledore," Hermione said. She took a deep breath, resignedly, "We'll go with you."
Harry looked at their faces, disappointed but determined, and felt like an absolute heel. All they'd wanted was one night to blow off some steam and enjoy each others' company for once, without threat of sudden death or the doom of wizard-kind.
"It's because of you," the guilty little voice in his head told him, "You only think about your own life, but none of your friends can have normal lives either..."
"No," he said, "I'll go. You enjoy the rest of the Ball."
"Hah! Not likely," Hermione said, with wry laugh.
"Try anyway," Harry said, his gaze falling on Ginny. She was trying to save a brave face, but he could tell she was crushed.
"Your fault," said the nasty little voice, "Your fault!"
"Look, it's like Ron said. You're all here now...and you're safe. In the vision, Ron was in a corridor, not the Great Hall, and there was no dance, and you were dressed differently – I think we're safe for now, at least until I can go tell Dumbledore."
He paused, and took a deep breath.
"Why does this always happen?" he asked aloud, with a glance at Ginny's down turned face.
Ron shrugged helplessly, "Because it's you, mate. Sorry."
"I'm sorry, Ginny," Harry said.
She didn't seem to want to talk, but she nodded briskly and smiled as though to say, "It's fine, no problem." It melted the last traces of his anger and frustration.
"Go!" Hermione said.
Harry turned, pushed through the oak doors, and ran towards the Headmaster's office.
