Chapter Nine

The Ties That Bind

The next month seemed to pass in a flash. No more problems came from Voldemort, which caused Harry to relax. Due to his new ability to reach into Voldemort's mind, Harry had aurors working round the clock grabbing Death Eaters, seizing mansions, freezing accounts, and often having to arrest a houseful of people. Harry could never find exactly where Voldemort himself was. He had begun to think he was using a fidelius charm.

Harry became slightly distant from everyone but Serena the week before Christmas break. He helped plan the ball, and even went looking for bands, but he seemed to disappear between the hours of seven and ten. no one knew where he was going except Serena who was sworn to secrecy. Hermione kept worrying that he was going to get hurt, but every night, exactly at ten, he reappeared with a smile on his face.

Pranks became increasingly more fun for them now, as so many Slytherins were complaining about being poor. Harry offered to pay anyone who hexed Malfoy with a spell that was permanent for at least a day a galleon. He ended up paying out a five hundred galleons, but Malfoy was so disfigured he felt it was worth every one.

They pulled some of their own pranks, moving from Slytherins to Connie. The Marauders had received their Potions NEWT and were free of the class which left them almost two hours with nothing to do but share Harry's invisibility cloak and cause trouble. His class was continuously disrupted as potions ingredients were switched with things that would cause the most problems, cauldrons randomly exploding when the class was brewing things like hair growth potion, which caused an entire class to look like the wolf man from the old muggle movies, dreamless sleep draught, which had people visiting the hospital wing after Snape woke up to see his class snoring, and the draught of beauty, which turned whoever was touched by the potion into a beautiful woman. Harry almost revealed himself while laughing when he saw Snape turn into a voluptuous redhead.

The full moon was even more fun now, as they had seven animals roaming freely over the grounds of the shrieking shack. Playing tag was a lot more fun, though everyone agreed that Hermione was cheating, being the only one who could fly. Sam was full of cheer every day the children returned to her and told her Remus really was fine. This small piece of information seemed to mean the world to her everyday.

They were planning something amazing for the ball. Harry was using some ideas Serena wanted for the wedding when she said they would be marvelous for the ball. He asked Dumbledore for the freezing spell for fairies, learning at the masquerade that saying 'petrificus totalus' was a wasted effort on them. With that learned they began planning more things to make it seem even more amazing. They used the Marauder Spellbook to help them with charms and transfigurations they were looking for. They were all quickly calling the book their bible.

The DA were in serious training, learning spells at a speed that they weren't expecting. Harry kept telling them they would need to learn quickly as he knew the war was going to keep getting closer to Hogwarts. He now had every student doing at least all the seventh year spells that would be covered in the year. Serena increased their physical training to half of what the Marauders were doing now.

Their classes were moving fast as well. Remus was showing spells in his usual manner, fast and fun. Other teachers began taking his lead, and the classes became more interesting. Students began asking to learn more, often staying after class to ask questions about the next days lessons.

The day of the ball the school seemed in a state of excitement. Students kept running up to the six asking what to expect. None of them answered only smiled and said it would be fun. Again they began setting up the great hall after dinner. They worked tirelessly for the next two hours making sure everything was in the perfect place before finding the right clothes and allowing the other students in.

As they allowed the students to enter, they looked over their work appreciatively. This was nothing like the masquerade, but seemed more for couples than for fun. The band was playing soft slow music while students entered the great hall. Looking up towards the ceiling they saw blue ice fairies frozen a few feet above their heads, looking like stars on a winter night.

In each corner of the room there were Christmas trees decorated with all sorts of magic. Strings of light wrapped the trees in silver and red light, magical ornaments that sang in tune with the band, and presents laid under them, one present for each student of every house. What made the room look even more mystical was the light fog that covered the floor a foot high.

For every group of students that entered the room, small tables appeared allowing everyone a chair to sit when they wished. Even the teachers seemed impressed with the work they had done. With a nod of approval the teachers began to supervise the event so that all the children would be able to enjoy the ball.

The Marauders, who were never seen as separate recently, seemed more separated than ever before. Harry and Serena stayed in the center of the room most of the night. They went briefly to the area for pictures and had two of them alone and two with the entire group, then they danced the entire night. No one heard the conversation in their minds. Both were talking of how close their wedding was coming, of the secret of their new home, and how happy they would be to have a Christmas party in their own home, even if it was only to be one time.

Ginny and Neville were having much the same discussion while tucked away near the left wall of the hall. They were talking about what they wanted at their wedding, whether to ask their friends for help or try it on their own. They were also wondering what it would be like to be married. Neither was complaining, but both of them were wondering what would happen at the end of the year when they left school.

Hermione and Ron weren't having such serious conversations, as their wedding was still months away. Instead they were talking about how happy they were for their friends and wishing they chose a time closer to their weddings, so they could all return to school married. They were happy with their decision to take more time however, as it meant they would have wonderful ideas for their own.

Remus and Sam, being chaperones, were watching over the children of the school happily. In the few months they were in school, no one had been as calm or relaxed as they had been this night. No one thought of attacks, plans, or war for one night. They watched their Godchildren closest, smiling at each other as they saw them dancing slowly, sometimes moving without music to guide them. They knew this was the first time in a long time they felt completely free.

The night ended peacefully, with students quietly leaving the great hall. When only the teachers were left Harry waved his hands and the great hall returned to normal. They knew tomorrow morning everyone would be heading back to their homes for the holidays. Walking peacefully to their rooms, the Marauders looked happy that they would be free of all trouble for the holidays. Harry had promised this and they all believed him merrily. They looked forward to a happy Christmas.