Chapter 13 – The Ball, Part One!
On the morning of the dance I woke up to all the girls in the seventh year dormitory running around in the common room, blabbering and squealing as the made their way across the room looking for the perfect shade of turquoise nail polish, or a spell book that might include a charm for frizzy bangs.
Cissa was also tossing and turning in the bed next to me, obviously furious because of the noises.
"Oh shut it would you?" She whined into her pillow before she put it over her head in a hopeless try to get some decent sleep.
"I don't think this is going to work honey." I confessed to her and got up.
I realized I was the only girl in the room (excluding Cissa) with pyjamas on.
I looked down at my yellowing tank top and my baggy boxers and then up at everybody else.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Hey!" I shouted over the room causing almost everybody to look at me, even Cissa turned around "Why does everybody have their effing dress on? It's only
like..." I took a quick look at my watch "…ten a.m."
"Well unlike you," Zoë said "we are working organized; we should be able to finish up before eight o' clock!"
"You mad cows. Are you going to tailor your dresses right now or something?"
This comment of mine only caused the girls to grunt and turn back to their 'busy schedule' so I walked past them and took a quick look in the mirror on the wall against me.
My eyebrows looked a lot better after Cissa's plucking actions last night; at least they had some sort of a shape.
I decided to save my daily shower for later considering how that would widen my possibilities in hairdo-matters.
And since I didn't seem to have any actual purpose just standing there, I decided to get Cissa on her feet, put something on and get upstairs to the great hall to get some breakfast.
Although, when I saw that Cissa had, amazingly managed to fall asleep again, I just didn't have the cruelty to wake her up when she lay there so peacefully.
So, I put on a clean tank top and a tracksuit I sometimes used for Quidditch practises, pulled my hair into a messy, loose bun, swiped on some mascara and made my way to the great hall, alone.
The great hall was almost empty; all the people had probably finished their breakfast already. Only two persons were sitting at the Slytherin table, and they were both second years.
I gazed over the other tables and noticed that Remus was sitting at the Gryffindor table all alone. After grabbing a dish of hot bacon, two fried eggs, two toasts and lots of baked beans I sat down at the bench opposite him.
"Hey, how's it going?" I asked him casually before I started shoving the food in my mouth.
"Fine, thanks. Sirius and James are both getting really excited to go to that dance, couldn't stop blabbering about it in the common room last night."
"And you?"
"No, not dying for truth to be told."
"You have a date?"
"I do actually; she's from Ravenclaw, Anna."
"Yeah, I've met her couple a times, nice girl, blonde right?"
"That's the one. So, are you looking forward?"
"Absolutely. But obviously not as much as the girls in my dormitory. They're upstairs putting their dresses on as we speak."
"Seriously? That's crazy!" He squeked.
"Yeah I know! I thought I was being a bit odd when I planned to start to get ready at four."
"You're being very odd." He said simply "They're just odder."
I grinned. "Well I better get up there with some food for Cissa before she starts attacking our roommates of sheer hunger."
"Good call." He smiled, though I thought I saw his eyes widen a bit at the words 'attacking our roommates'.
"Well, see ya."
"Bye, I'll see you later."
When I got down to the dorms Cissa came running towards me.
"Hey Crys, you'll never guess who just asked me to the dance!"
"Lucius?"
"I said 'you'll never guess', well Luce's name is sort of obvious since he's been half-stalking me all winter huh?"
"Zabini?" I asked again.
"No."
"Well then who is it? Are you going to tell me or what?"
"Just guess again hon."
"You've got to be kidding me." I sighed. "Well is he in Slytherin?"
"Yep." The grin on her face widened.
"That doesn't leave us many guys does it? Hugh Wade?"
Cissa mocked throwing up. "If so had been Crystal, I wouldn't be here speaking with you. I'd be off somewhere strangling myself."
"Well yeah, then there's just one bloke left and I doubt that he would-" I stopped in mid-sentence when I saw the look on Cissa's face. "He didn't? Did he? Oh Merlin, he did!"
"And I said yes. He's so sweet when you get under his shell. Really loyal."
I took a sharp breath. "Look, I support your decision and everything but," I glanced out the dorm door and down to the common room where a few boys sat in front of the fire. "Severus Snape, Cissa?" I cocked and eyebrow.
"Yeah, Severus Snape. Well I see you've brought breakfast, let's not let it get cold."
And she started eating and I decided this couldn't be so bad. Until…
"Cissa?" I said slowly, letting the facts sink in. "Won't Lucius be furious?" I pictured him blowing up Hogwarts before kidnapping Cissa and putting a chastity
belt on her.
"Let him be furious. He's got to face it some day. He's not the king of the bleeding universe. Sometimes you just don't get the stuff you want."
"Unfortunately no. Well it's just eleven o' clock. I think I'll tempt somebody to come play Quidditch with me."
"You do that. I'm going to find a hairdo I can tolerate for a whole evening without going nuts. I hate corkscrews in my eyes and hair pins sticking into my head."
"Right then. Buh-bye."
I went out into the dungeons, up all the staircases, past the portraits, to find the same old Gryffindor painting of the sarcastic fat woman in the pink dress.
"Password?"
"Gee are we going to do this again?" I sighed.
After ten minutes of pointless attempts trying to convince her to let me in (she seemed to be really entertaining herself), I decided to get to the Quidditch pitch and practise by myself, after all the final match against Hufflepuff was coming up soon, if we beat them by two hundred and fifty points we'd win the cup.
On my way to the pitch, I found Sirius and James sitting up against a tree, James was reading a book, his glasses in his hands and his extremely expensive broom in the grass on his side, but Sirius was pointing his wand at an ant, making it fly in the air, then turning it into a worm, then back into an ant.
"Hey guys." They both looked up smiling. I bent down and kissed James lightly on the lips; Sirius blew up the ant, on which he still had been aiming his wand, leaving a small pile of ash in the green grass.
"Well, how are you," I asked, "I hear you're looking forward to the dance, both of you."
"Where did you hear that?" Sirius asked casually.
"Met Lupin at breakfast. So," I lifted up my broom. "Anybody wanna play?"
"Yeah sure, I'll go with you." James said, standing up and grasping his broom. "You coming Padfoot?"
"No Prongsie loverboy, you go ahead and have fun." He smiled but it obviously didn't reach his eyes.
"I will." James replied and there was a certain cold hint in his voice.
"Well, good for you." Sirius clutched his wand and sexily pushed a shiny black lock out of his eyes, needless to say it fell right back into the same place.
James grasped my hand with his bigger one and stalked off, pulling me towards the pitch.
"James." When he didn't slow down, and we were at the entrance to the pitch I raised my voice slightly. "James!"
He turned in his steps and faced me, holding my shoulders now.
"What?"
"Well, in the first place you're ripping my arm off."
"Sorry." He whispered. "It's just that… He says I'm imagining it, but I think…well I just know that something's going on between you and Sirius."
"What?" My heart skipped a beat. Was he joking? And more importantly, was there something going on between me and Sirius?
"You heard me. Do you fancy him Crys?"
"No," I lied. "You silly little…gah, stop imagining stuff and just kiss me." I put one hand lightly on his jaw, tempting his head down to kiss me. I pushed him forwards and in the end he fell on his back, into the soft green grass, just under the left goalpost.
We kissed softly for a while, his tongue tracing every single spot of my mouth and my tongue.
"Quidditch you say?" He grinned and reached for his broom.
I giggled and got my broom as well. "Race me, a straight line over the field and back through the middle goalpost!" I yelled and kicked myself up. James caught up with me at the goalposts on the other side and I flew straight in his way and stopped him.
I took off the tracksuit sweater, revealing a thin white tank top, the outlines of my white bra clearly visible through it.
I noticed he was staring and flew tight up to him. He put an arm around me and
we flew through the middle goalpost on the other side, in a bundle of arms, legs and brooms.
"I was getting very hot." I whispered in his ear when we landed on the ground, he on top of me. Me breasts were squeezed down to my chest and his nose was in my hair.
I kissed his jaw line and blew in his ear, causing him to shiver. Suddenly I felt something throbbing hit my thigh.
"Is that your wand or are you just happy to see me?"
He laughed and blushed, and I used his distraction to roll on top.
"Thought so." He blushed even more.
After about twenty more minutes of making-out I decided to get back to the dorm to Cissa.
We parted in the entrance hall, his finger tracing my collarbone.
"I'll see you at the dance." He whispered in me ear and I left down the stairs to the saggy, cold dungeons.
When I got up to the dorms, it was three o' clock and Cissa had already started to draw up her make-up plan on a piece of parchment, she was lying on her bed obviously fresh from the shower with a towel around her chest and another one wrapped around her head.
"Seriously Cissa." I teased and sat on the bed beside her. "Isn't this called overplanning?"
"I dunno. Ask somebody smart." She smirked and turned back to the drawing.
"I am asking somebody smart." I grinned.
"How flattering." She said mockingly and pretended to be touched. "Now get your stinky ass the hell of my bed and take a shower." She gave me a kick in the back.
I needn't be told (or kicked) twice and zoomed into the bathroom and turned on a slightly cold flow, putting my special occasion shampoo and conditioner in my hair.
When I got out I put a mild tanning charm on my body, and the 'silk waves' spray in my curls when they were finally drained.
"Well," Cissa was standing by the bathroom door when I came out. "This is the moment of truth. Put on your fancy underwear and then come into the bathroom with your dress."
I obeyed her orders and was back into the bathroom in a minute.
After shrinking, shortening, widening, lengthening and a gluing charm by Cissa, the dress was perfect and not going anywhere.
When Cissa had her dress on too we went back into the dorms where we were greeted by catcalls from the girls.
"Thank you thank you!" Cissa lifted her hand pompously and I chuckled.
After some complex make-up actions, putting all the accessories in the right places, and criss-crossing the ribbons up my calf I sat on my bed and waited for Cissa to finish, so we could get to the hair.
"Is Sirius going to come down here to get you?" Narcissa asked while applying mascara to her lashes.
"Yeah, he said eight sharp so there's no need to hurry." The big black clock on the wall showed that it was still six o' clock.
"Okay. But I'm done so it's cool." She posed a bit in front of the mirror, then came and sat down beside me.
She got her wand, a box of hairpins and small rubber bands that were charmed to take on the exact colour of the hair of the person wearing them.
After several suggestions and several denials we both found an updo we liked in the muggle magazine from the salon.
We began with her hair, and since she hated bobby pins we decided to just curl it all and make two thin braids in her bangs and then placing them over the curls, forming a beautiful tiara of blonde hair.
I began by heating my wand tip and after thirty minutes of patient curling her hair was finally flowing down her back the way it was supposed to.
The braiding part was easy and Cissa was very happy with the results.
My hair was even easier to do; I chose to pull all the hair into a big hair clip ponytail, leaving a few curly locks to frame my face. The ponytail was very high and graceful, and I took a several minutes just to stare bewildered into the bathroom mirror.
At two minutes to eight I decided to go down to the empty common room and wait.
Cissa was already at the dance with Severus, since we couldn't quite picture Sirius and him together, neither of them acting stupid and immature.
I got out of the common room the second the big grandpa clock went off.
And there he stood, dressed in plain dark blue dress robes, looking, for truth to be told, sensational. His hair was obviously freshly cut, his bangs fell into his eyes like always, and his wonderful body shape and his broad shoulders were more obvious than ever.
"Hey," He greeted, his voice was a bit raspy which made him even hotter. "you look stunning, really. I like the hair." He grinned. "Did that sound gay?"
I nodded and grinned widely as I gave him a small motherly peck on the lips.
"James won't mind." I explained. "By the way, nice robes!"
"Nice dress." He offered me his arm. "Shall we go?"
"Sure!" I took his arm and looked up slightly, to find him looking at me. "So, do you know what band will be playing tonight?"
"I heard from some boys in my Dorm that Dumbledore has booked Pickle Potion."
I froze and my heart jumped with excitement. "No kidding? Merlin! They're my favourite band, I know all their songs!"
"But of course that's just a rumour." Sirius said and smirked.
"They better be playing tonight, for your own good, that is. 'Cause if not, I'm going to kick you're ass for getting my hopes up." He laughed, his laughter was loud, amused and very charming.
"Well, we can't let that happen can we?"
"No we can't. I want to get at least one dance with you. If I'd have a go at you, you wouldn't be able to dance, trust me."
He snorted.
"Well, they better show up because I really want to dance with you as well. And there's even a yet another great thing about this dance in particular."
"Oh yeah?" We were in front of the great hall now.
"There's no staff guidance." At this statement my heart skipped a beat. The teachers were so irritating on dances, always swirling around like big bats, making the whole situation seem awkward.
"Why?"
He laughed again.
"Because you're of age now Crystal. Like everybody else in 7th year. We all turned seventeen last year."
We stood in front of the oak door for a while; my heartbeat was slowing down again.
"Milady?" Sirius gestured towards the door.
I smiled at the sight of the Great hall as I walked in. The four house tables had now turned into a lot of smaller ones and the lightning was dim.
Sirius lead my on towards a table with the same people that I had shared the train compartment with in my last Hogwarts trip.
Everybody at the table was really friendly and Lily even complimented my dress, and I complimented her back in full honesty. She was wearing a green sort of 'Ballroom Dance' looking dress, with a poofy knee length skirt and a tight upper part, her make-up was slightly heavier than usual and it really suited her. Her hair was pulled up in a sleek bun.
Beside her sat James, who stood up to greet me, wearing plain, black robes.
I was surprised to see that his glasses weren't on his nose.
"Baby," I whispered in his ears when we hugged and kissed, causing both Lily and
Sirius to get really interested in their fingernails, "where are your glasses?"
He chuckled.
"Magical contact lenses. I don't feel a thing but I see perfectly." His hazel eyes were really obvious now, as were his macho-looking thick, black eyebrows.
"Cool." I said smiling, and sat down beside Sirius, who was also smiling widely. "So..." I said again, causing everybody at the table to look at me, "Does anybody know what band's going to be playing for us tonight?"
…
After half an hour of chatting with the Gryffindor people at the table, I was really started to feel at home. They were simply nice people. I had even started to regret it when I had asked the sorting hat not to place me in Gryffindor, like he was going to, when I remembered the people from my own house.
"Sorry guys," I stood up, causing Sirius' hand to fall from my lap, I hadn't even noticed that it was there, "I have to go check on the peeps from Slytherin. I'll be back."
"Come back soon!" Sirius shouted at my back, causing me to grin widely, and I just couldn't seem to wipe it off.
I saw a glimpse of Cissa's golden locks in the corner of the great hall, and when I came closer I saw that everybody from Slytherin's seventh year was sitting there, except for me of course.
"Hey everybody." I said cheerily, causing everybody to look up. I had to try hard not to grunt. The atmosphere at this table was so painfully different from the atmosphere at the Gryffindor table. "Is anybody alive around here?" I asked jokingly, my comment causing Cissa to grin.
"I'm still living, but it'll not be long till I'll die of boredom."
"Poor thing." I smirked. "A little bird told me that Pickle Potion will be playing tonight."
And that simple statement seemed to be enough to break the ice, in two minutes there were lively comments coming from every side of the table.
"I'll just get going; they'll be serving dinner soon." I smiled and winked before I got back to the other table, on which there were plates now.
"Hey Crys," Lily said, startling me a little. "You're supposed to order, look."
She pointed at her dish and said loud and clear, "Beef with Roquefort sauce and a baked potato."
"Wow…" I sighed, having no idea what to order. I finally got an idea. "Taco shell" And like requested, a shell of beef, sauce, salad and cheese appeared in front of me.
I grinned at the people around me before I bit the shell, which was my favourite food.
And again and again I bit, causing my mouth to be full all the time.
"Go easy on that taco." Sirius exclaimed jokingly from my right side.
"Nothing wrong with a healthy appetite." I answered lightly and shoved the rest of the taco in my mouth and ordered another one, which appeared on my dish immediately.
I looked at Sirius, and saw that he hadn't taken a single bite of his lamb chops, and was gazing at me lovingly.
"Now this is unhealthy appetite." I pointed at his plate, causing him to drop his stare.
"Huh? What… I mean yeah it is…I mean no." He was blushing.
"Hey don't go red just because of me. I'm not saying that you're anorexic or anything." I had now finished my second taco and ordered a drink of cherry fizz
soda.
"Good. 'Cause I can fill my mouth too." He cut his lamb chops up and put about ten bites in his mouth.
"Elegant." I joked and looked up at him. He grinned back.
"Indeed." He shoved the whole potato in his mouth now. After he had choked two times, he finally managed to gulp it down with my glass of cherry soda. He shoved the empty goblet on the table.
"Sure Sirius, you're welcome to take sip of my soda." I said mock sarcastically and glanced at the glass, and then at Sirius, who was still grinning widely.
"Thanks."
After I had slapped him playfully on the arm, I looked up at the stage and my heart skipped a beat. On the brightly lighted stage floor there were two microphones and a drum set with two green P's and a small crest with a pickle in the middle.
"Yes, yes, yes!" I yelled happily and laughed in Sirius' face. "They are playing!" I pointed towards the stage and he grinned.
"Guess I'm safe from your beatings for tonight then."
"Yeah, I think you are." We looked up at the stage again, as did everybody in the great hall. 'Pickle Potion' were getting in the right places, the band including two singers, a man and a woman, both with bright green hair, a drummer, a guitar player, a bass player and a keyboard player. All the band members were wearing tight, green robes with neatly cut holes in the right places.
"How cool are those outfits that they have on? Do you think I could get one of those in Hogsmeade?" He pointed at the bass player, whose robes had two holes on his chest for his nipples.
"If you'd wear them to class, I'd buy them for you." We were both giggling.
"I think I might have to rethink my position here. How about, I buy them for you? Nipple holes and everything" He waggled his eyebrows in a very suggestive manner.
I patted his shoulder.
"You dream on, fella."
He sighed.
"It was worth a try."
The heads were now getting ready on the dance floor, and finally a slow tune started. They danced around for a while, and one by one, quite a few students had gathered on the floor and started to dance.
James came walking up to me and offered his hand, Lily accepting Sirius' on the same time, and Anna from Ravenclaw leading a blushing Remus to the middle of the crowd.
James lead me to the dance floor and another song started, this time a lot faster more popped tune, sung by both singers.
... No, no, no, no, don't phunk with my heart
Girl, you know you got me, got me
With your pistol shot me, shot me
And I'm here helplessly
In love and nothing can stop me
You can't stop me cause once I start it
Can't return me cause once you bought it
I'm coming baby, don't got it (don't make me wait)
So let's be about it...
We danced for a while and finished the song in general conversations about this and that, we were both glancing over at Lily and Sirius for most of the time, and they were doing the exact same thing to us.
'Things are getting heated.' I thought to myself before James and I parted, and walked towards Sirius and Lily.
"Care to swap, James?" Sirius asked and handed Lily over to James, who took her soft, ivory hand immediately.
This time, the song was a little more country style, sung by the woman singer.
The moment she started singing and I heard the ironically honest lyrics flow out of the speakers, I clutched Sirius' hand tighter, and didn't let go until the end of the song.
I kept glancing over at James and Lily, who had both obviously heard how amazingly accurate the lyrics were, and were both really busy listening.
...Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you...
After the song stopped, Sirius and I stood completely still on the floor for a while, our hands not letting go of the other's.
"I don't know if you noticed..." I started slowly, "but it almost sounded like she was singing about Lily or something."
"Well, yeah, apart from one thing." Sirius gave me that little grin of his that spelled 'I'm about to say something that I'm not supposed to say'. "Her beauty isn't beyond compare, James compares her to you all the time."
I was at a loss of words.
"What did you just say!" I didn't start dancing, even though a new tune had begun.
"I didn't say anything." Sirius pulled me of the dance floor, steering me away from James and Lily, who were dancing far too close.
"Look," He started again, "the lad is devastated. One minute he's all into you, and the next he talks about how Lily is just more 'his type' or something. I don't blame him. You're both gorgeous and you're both into him. I mean, if I were to choose, there would be no doubt in my mind…" He winked at me, his black lashes batting to his chin. "But you have to confess that they look good together. They make each other's goods and bads up. I know that you and James do have your moments, and he's told me lots and lots of times what a great kisser you are, but I think they're just more… I don't know if you understand…" He sighed.
My mind was swirling with thoughts, and I took one more look at them dancing
there.
A new song had begun, and they didn't show any signs of pulling away from each other.
...There are too many questions
There is not one solution
There is no resurrection
There is so much confusion
And the love profusion
You make me feel
You make me know
And the love vibration
You make me feel
You make it shine...
That was it. What they had, and not me and James. Love... It was so obvious really. It shone from their every move and their every look.
"You're right." I said, startling Sirius, who had been staring at his glass of punch "I have to end this."
"Well, I didn't expect this to go quite so fast. Can't you at least wait until morning to dump the guy?" His look was questioning, almost pleading.
"No." I let myself slip from the barstool that I was sitting on. "This is the perfect moment."
Three pieces of lyrics were shown in this chapter, all lovely songs, the first
ones were by Black eyed peas - Don't phunk with my heart, the second ones were
originally by Dolly Parton – Jolene, and the third ones are by Madonna – Love
profusion. Remember, the more reviews, the faster the second half of the ball
chapter will be posted:)
