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Chapter 11.
Feel the love
"Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,
Ring the Hogwarts bell,
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,
Cast a Christmas spell,
Have a wondrous wizard Christmas—"
"Shut UP!" Fiona screamed and threw a cushion at Alexa Dawn, who was dancing around the dormitory with a scarf of golden tinsel.
Alexa squealed and jumped out the way, just as Lara shot up into sitting position in her bed, half-expecting to see Fiona committing a murder. Bleary-eyed and still mostly asleep, Lara watched as Alexa huffed, picked up the cushion and shot it back.
"It's Christmas." Alexa spat aggressively. "A time for love and HAPPINESS."
"I'll show you love and happiness—"
"No, no." Allison Sky jumped into action, grabbing Fiona's wand before the other girl could use it. "They'll be no hexes on Christmas morning!"
"You lot have been a pain in my arse for seven years," grumbled Erin, still laid in bed with her eyes closed.
She was, of course, ignored.
"Instead of killing each other, why don't we open presents?" Lara suggested, trying to sound chirpy but her voice was thick with sleep.
Alexa and Fiona glared at each other, but then moved towards their piles of gifts and began to open them. Sharing a long-suffering look with Allison, Lara crawled to the end of her bed, where a pile of presents wrapped in Christmas paper were set up. As she grabbed the first one, Lara felt a small stab of homesickness.
Usually she'd be with Walter, sat under the tree while they ripped open their gifts, Christmas music blaring in the background. Her parents would wake up late, stumbling down the stairs in a haze. Her mam would make a cup of tea for everyone, while her dad would sit in his armchair with the Daily Prophet and indulge Lara when she showed off her presents to him. It wasn't the most interesting or exciting day, but it was theirs, and it was the first time she'd been away from them for Christmas Day.
The first present was some pyjamas from Erin (who was gratefully thanked), followed by some perfume from Amanda and a stash of sweets and chocolate from Stan and Omar. Angelina and Alicia had also bought her some chocolate. Walter's presents were covered in spellotape and crinkled wrapping paper, though the actual contents were good-quality; two new slogan t-shirts, some obscure coloured nail varnish, a new book on dragons and a pair of fluffy slippers. Her parents gifts—a new jumper, faux leather knee-length boots, various make-up pieces, and finally a pair of diamond earrings—came with a card that read;
Dear our darling daughter,
Merry Christmas! We'll miss you so much, but we know you can't miss the Yule Ball. We're excited to hear everything about it! We want details, details, details! Don't leave anything out!
Take a picture in your dress and send it with your next letter. We can't wait to see how beautiful you look.
We thought the earrings might complete the outfit!
Love,
Mam and dad xxxxxxx
Lara set her things back onto her trunk with a sigh. She never thought she'd say it, but she actually missed being home.
Erin, whose parents spoiled her rotten at Christmas and her birthday (she said, when asked about the extravagance, it was to make up for the emotional absence of their relationship, which always led to an awkward cough from Stan and a look from Amanda to whomever asked in the first place), took quite a bit longer to finish off. Finally, however, the two girls changed and went downstairs to find their other friends. In the common room, Stan was sat with the sixth years as they exchanged presents.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Erin beamed, launching herself through the crowd to hug Stan.
The crowd returned the gesture of goodwill, and repeated it again when Lara also wished them a Merry Christmas. She also went to hug Stan first, as he was her oldest and dearest friend among the group, and then moved onto the sixth years. When she got to the twins, who were sharing the armchair, they pulled her into a double hug, their cheeks all pressed together.
"Hey losers," she said good-naturedly once they released her. "What'd you get?"
"Pranks—"
"Sweets, chocolate—"
"Fireworks—"
"A jumper," they both pointed to their jumpers, one red, the other blue, with 'F' and 'G' in gold on the front. "Thanks for the t-shirts," George grinned widely.
"You're welcome," Lara replied. She'd asked Walter to buy two t-shirts with pointing arrows and the words 'HE DID IT' on the front, mostly to see the twins using them when they got into trouble, which was a lot recently thanks to their Canary Cream obsession.
"Can't wait to use them on Snape," smirked Fred.
"He'll be so annoyed," George sounded absolutely delighted about annoying their Potions Professor. "Anyway, here's your present."
He handed her a small black box. Lara had no idea what to expect; another pink firework? A piece of chocolate that turned her into a walrus? If it was food, there was no way she was eating it. She'd learnt the hard way not to accept anything from them. Two days ago, she'd spent twenty minutes hopping around the common room as a little yellow bird, tweeting indignantly and flapping her wings, her friends howling with laughter around her.
The box wasn't filled with exploding objects or strange looking food; no, inside was a thin silver ring with a little love-heart in the middle. For a moment, Lara was too shocked to react.
"You guys…" she breathed, staring at the jewellery unblinkingly, half-expecting it to change into a shark or a flower that squirted water all over her face. "This is beautiful—I can't—aw, guys," and she launched forward to bring them into another squishy hug.
"Are you going to cry?" George asked, sounding rather panicked.
"No, but I can if you want—"
"No, no. You're good. You're fine," he patted her back awkwardly.
She squeezed them one last time before pulling away and looking at the ring again. It still hadn't changed into something that would bite or sting her, and it was so simple and yet so perfectly pretty. Picking it out of the box, she slipped it onto her right middle finger. After a moment of staring at it on her hand, she brought the twins into yet another hug—they both groaned and tried to push her away—before she was dragged away by Erin, who wanted to find Omar and Amanda.
They found them in the Great Hall, where they all had breakfast together at the Ravenclaw table. Wanting to spend the day together, the group of friends then went to a windowsill and got comfy. Amanda cast a warming charm over them and Stan summoned a few jackets to use as blankets. At some point in the afternoon, Erin, who was sat next to the window, could see the Weasley's and some friends having a snowball fight on the grounds. Lara tried to see, but most of the window was covered in frost, blocking the view.
Amanda was the first to leave. At half four, she announced she was already half an hour behind schedule and rushed off towards the Ravenclaw Tower. The boys looked confused but said nothing, though at five, when Erin said she and Lara had to get back too, they didn't hold back.
"How long do you need to get ready?" Stan whispered, sounding half-awed and half-horrified.
"Oh, come on. You don't need three hours," said Omar. "Stay a bit longer—"
"Hey, if you want me to look pretty tonight, you shut up," Erin directed this at Omar. "Otherwise I'll look like Pennywise and nobody wants that—"
"Who's Pennywise?"
"A killer clown," Erin offered no more explanation after this (even though Omar looked utterly befuddled), and dragged Lara towards the Gryffindor Tower.
The other girls were already there and in the process of getting ready. Alexa and Allison were going with two boys from Hufflepuff, while Fiona was going with some of her Ravenclaw friends. All the girls chatted excitedly throughout the night, even Fiona, who, to her roommates' relief, was in a relatively good mood. She even borrowed Alexa some charcoal eyeliner. For a moment, Alexa looked as if she thought it was a joke, then cautiously took the pencil and used it. When she handed it back to Fiona, who thanked her and went back to getting dressed, Alexa looked very surprised indeed.
At quarter to eight, Lara found herself stood in front of a mirror, self-consciously twirling and inspecting every inch of her body. The dress fitted relatively well (though it was a little tight at the bust; Erin said this was good for her cleavage) and her hair, which was pin-straight and long down her back, and make-up, simple except the blood red lipstick, were well done thanks to Alexa and Allison's help. Letting out a small, shaky breath, Lara stepped aside and allowed Erin to critique herself.
"I think we all look fantastic!" Allison beamed, patting down the front of her lacy orange dress. "Shall we head downstairs?"
The other girls nodded silently, too anxious to speak. Lara felt like she'd been Jelly-Leg Jinxed as she carefully walked down the stairs. Once she got down them safely, she looked up and was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of people and variety of colours in the common room. Erin gently took her hand and pulled her along to the back corner, where the sixth and seventh years had gathered together.
Lee whistled when he noticed them. "Looking good, girls."
"Cheers, you too," Erin grinned. Lara could only manage to give him a friendly smile.
"Your dress is so lovely," Angelina appeared at Lara's side, giving her a swift pat on the shoulder. "Are you nervous?"
"Petrified." Lara replied with a gulp. "It's ridiculous, I know, but…"
"It's not. You've liked him for ages, you're bound to be scared—"
"Don't worry about it," a voice said from behind Angelina. "You'll have the best night of your life, I guarantee it."
Lara peered around Angelina's shoulder. Fred was stood there with a grin on his freckled face, dressed in black and red robes. He looked very handsome and, somehow, beefier and taller than usual. "You look good," Lara smiled anxiously.
"You look spiffing," he chirped, then dipped down to kiss her cheek. "Brentford won't know what's hit him."
"Thanks," she sighed, just as George appeared in black and blue robes. "Hey, Georgie. Looking handsome."
"You look handsom-er," he also kissed her cheek, the one Fred hadn't. Unlike Fred, however, he looked slightly nervous. "Ready to dance?"
"Absolutely not. You?"
"What you said."
Lara snorted and turned to Alicia, who was stood with Glenn Chan, her date for the evening. Once they'd shared a quick hug, Lara bid goodbye to her friends and walked out of the portrait hole with the people who had dates from other houses, which was George, Erin and Stan.
Stan was the first to find his date; his pretty brunette Beauxbatons date was stood with her friends near the staircase, clad in a turquoise dress with glittering silver lace. He met her with a dazed smile, offering her his hand while she giggled. Erin and George found Omar and Amanda stood together in the middle of the Entrance Hall. Amanda was in her purple dress and Omar was in light grey robes, his hair combed and fluffy looking. Omar bowed as Erin rushed towards him, while George met Amanda halfway, momentarily lifting her into air by her waist.
Shaking her head at their antics, Lara glanced around the throng of people looking for a tall head of dark hair. Just as she was about to join her friends and wait with them, she saw David stood near the Great Hall doors with some friends and their dates. He looked jittery and sweaty; one of his friends seemed to be giving him a pep talk, patting him on the back with an amused grin. Lara went to bite her bottom lip, remembered her red lipstick, and cursed. She huffed at her own stupidity before slowly heading over to David.
His friends spotted her. They nudged and hit each other for a bit, and then one of them whacked David in the arm and motioned towards her. David, who was listening intently to his pep-talk, glanced over to where his friends were pointing and saw her. One of his friend thudded him in the back, pushing him forward, and David glared at him for a second before meeting her halfway.
"Hey," Lara said softly, swallowing down a nervous giggle. She eyed him up and down, her mouth going dry as she took in his fitted black robes, his tousled hair and bright, bright eyes. "You look…great."
"You look…wow," he peered down at her ruby red gown.
"I'm pretty sparkly."
"I like it. It's like looking at the stars."
Lara decided she didn't mind this analogy. "Thanks. Are you ready to dance?"
"Nope," he offered her his arm, which she gratefully took (her heels were already pinching her feet). "Are you?"
"Nope."
They entered the Great Hall together, and Flitwick's description of the theme being 'Winter Wonderland' seemed entirely fitting. Everything was covered in silvery-blue frost, with hundreds and hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The familiar long house tables were gone, replaced with smaller, circular tables with lanterns upon them that fit a dozen or so people.
David took hold of her arm and steered her into the crowd, which Lara was thankful for as she was too invested in the decorations to take notice of her surroundings. They ended up near George and Amanda, the latter of whom gently grabbed Lara's arm and said, "Doesn't everything look amazing?"
"It doesn't even look like the Great Hall," Lara replied wondrously. "And I thought the Christmas decorations were extravagant this year…"
The crowd suddenly went silent, looking over to the large golden doors of the Great Hall. Lara didn't know what was going on until Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies appeared, floating quickly through the crowd to a round of applause. The rest of the Champions followed with their dates.
"Is that Hermione Granger?" Amanda gasped as a pretty girl in a periwinkle dress walked along with Viktor Krum.
"I think so," Lara replied after eyeing the girl's face. "She looks beautiful."
By the looks Hermione was getting, Lara wasn't the only one to think so. In particular, Ron Weasley couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Lara snorted and hid it with a cough, just as the Champions took their seats at the teacher's bench, allowing the rest of the students to take their places around the circular tables. Lara ended up with most of her friends and their dates, including Angelina and Fred, who sat on the opposite side of the table laughing and clowning around together. They barely paid anyone else attention.
"And you are Lara?" Stan's date, Adela, said politely.
"Yes, that's right," Lara smiled politely. "It's nice to finally meet you—Stan can't stop talking about you."
Adela smiled and glanced fondly at her date. "Ah, that iz lovely, Stanley."
"Alright, Brentford?" Stan said, blushing under Adela's gaze. "I've been waiting for you to turn up as Lara's date for years."
"Shut up, Stan," replied Lara, rolling her eyes at the same time David chuckled and said;
"Finally worked up the courage to ask her out."
"Took you long enough!" Omar shouted down the table, pointing a chicken leg at the Hufflepuff. "I was about to march you over to her myself with some flash cards…"
Amanda let out an offended scoff, "That was my idea!"
"You're embarrassing Lara," Erin commented, though she didn't seem overly bothered and continued to eat her food.
"I hate you all," Lara sighed, her face and neck bright red, and the table laughed at her expense.
After everyone had eaten, Dumbledore asked the crowd to stand and, once they had, waved his wand. The tables and chairs disappeared, making way for a large dance floor, and then he conjured up a raised platform along the right wall. Several musical instruments appeared on the stage.
Stan let out an excited laugh as The Weird Sisters lolled onto the stage, all extremely hairy and dressed in dark, edgy robes. As the members grabbed their instruments, Lara could see Stan's older brother, Orsino, sat at the drums. She began to try and get his attention along with her other friends (whose dates just stared at them as they waved their arms and jumped up and down), but then the Champions were on the dance floor and everyone gathered around them, blocking the band from view.
"The drummer is Stan's brother," Lara explained to David, who had his eyebrows raised questioningly. "Orsino—he was a Gryffindor a couple of years ago."
"Oh, yeah, I remember him," murmured David, as The Weird Sisters started up a slow, melodic tune. "Cool guy—makes sense that he's in a band now."
The Champions began to twirl around the dance floor. Roger Davies was doing extremely well, in Lara's opinion, not to trip over his own feet as he stared dazedly at Fleur. The others seemed nervous, though nobody fell over or span into the crowd, and soon the teachers and other students were joining in. David eagerly took Lara's hand and pulled her to the floor, easily slipped his hand into hers and resting the other on her waist.
"You can dance?" Lara murmured anxiously.
"Well, I know a few steps—my mum taught me," he smiled down at her. "Why, can't you?"
"I—well, I can sway from side to side and hum a little bit."
"That's good enough," he laughed and suddenly picked her up, twirling her around in the air.
The dance continued; Lara could see other couples around her, though David was steering her around so expertly that she could not take in faces. Suddenly the slow music stopped and was replaced by a faster, more light-hearted tune. David stopped twirling them around and arched his arm, spinning Lara around so fast she lost her footing and stumbled into his chest.
He simply laughed and spun her around again, her hair flying out around her, and she let out a breathless laugh against his chest when she crashed into it again. They danced until the next song ended and then David said, "Shall I go and get drinks?"
"Sure!" Lara beamed over the music, allowing him to lead her off the dance floor.
Angelina and Alicia were stood nearby talking with smiles on their faces. Lara headed over to them.
"Hey," Lara chirped once she was close enough. "Having fun?"
Angelina nodded brightly and, Lara noticed with a jolt, she seemed rather dishevelled, as if she'd been dancing exuberantly. "I was always going to have a good time with Fred, wasn't I?" she shrugged, and Alicia nudged her teasingly in the side.
"Glenn's gone to get some drinks," Alicia then said.
"Yeah, so has David."
"I'm so happy you're here with him," grinned Alicia, bringing Lara into a side-hug. "My little Lara, all grown up…"
"I'm older than you!"
"Technicalities, woman."
Over Alicia's shoulder, Lara could see the twins heading their way, their identical heads bent as they whispered to each other. They both looked rather angry, their eyebrows pinched together. Angelina called out to them and they looked up, their faces softening slightly.
"Hey Angie," George grinned as she rushed over to him. "Good night?"
"Great night," she responded and eyed him worriedly. "Are you okay?"
Glenn Chan appeared and Alicia disappeared with him. Lara stepped up towards Fred and said, "Are you okay? What's happened?"
"Nothing," Fred forced a smile to his face. "Just talking about business, is all."
"Business?"
"The joke shop."
Lara nodded understandingly. "You know, if you ever need investors…I have about ten galleons in the bank…"
"Thanks, Culpepper," chuckled Fred, gently tugging on the end of her hair. "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah," she sighed dreamily. "You?"
"Of course," he glanced over to where Angelina was still fussing over George. "Angelina's a worse dancer than me, I think."
"Impossible."
"Cheeky cow," he smirked, and she jokingly reached out to kick him in the shin.
"Oh, sorry, Weasley. I didn't realise you were here or I would've got you a drink," David appeared with two bottles of butterbeer, handing one to Lara.
"No problem, Brentford," Fred shrugged. "See you guys later."
He bounded over to Angelina and dragged her towards the dance floor. Watching them go for a moment, Lara then turned to David and gave him a smile. "Was it difficult to get the drinks?" she asked.
David was staring at the floor intently. Hearing Lara's question, he shook his head, knocking himself out of his trance and replied, "Oh, not really. I'm pretty tall so I could just reach over and grab a couple."
"Yeah, that wouldn't work for me."
"Maybe in those heels it would."
"Doubt it. Half of the school is still taller than me."
David looked like he was going to argue, but then a group of boys walked past, all of whom towered over Lara's small frame. "Yeah, okay," he laughed. "I'll get the drinks tonight."
Finishing off their bottles, the duo went back into the crowd on the dance floor. They danced for a long time, sometimes joined by Lara's friends, sometimes David's, and the night wore on. Later on, Lara dragged all of her friends together for a dance, just them and no dates, and she seemed to kick-start something among the group. Everyone swapped partners; Angelina went to George, Erin to Stan, Amanda to David, and so on and so on. Lara ended up stumbling into a pair of strong arms, giggling brightly.
"Hey Freddy," she smiled up at the ginger-haired boy.
"I'm George."
"You're Fred," she replied, because she could tell by his teasing smile. "I can tell you apart now."
"I doubt it. Our own mum can't tell us apart."
"I thought that was just a rumour."
"Nope, we're the ultimate tricksters," he placed his arms lazily around Lara's waist. She smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're wearing the ring," he said after a stretch of compatible silence.
"I'll always wear the ring," she grinned back. "It's proof that you and George are big softies at heart."
"I regret the present."
"No takesies-backsies," she chirped. "And every time you call me annoying, I'll show you the ring as proof of your undying love—"
"You're annoying."
Lara pulled back her arm and pressed the ring into his face. "Feel the love, Fred, feel the love—"
"Don't be weird."
"My love,
There's only you in my life,
The only thing that's right…"
Fred burst into uncontrollable laughter. "You're a shite singer, Culpepper."
"…MY FIRST LOVE,
You're every breath that I take,
YOU'RE EVERY STEP I MAKE!"
He began to tickle her waist, effectively ending her tirade. Lara continued to laugh long after he'd stopped, swaying from side to side exuberantly as Fred stared down at her with a half-amused and half-bewildered expression. "How many drinks have you had?" he asked.
"A few," she shrugged. "How many have you had?"
"Not enough, clearly."
"Do you want me to get you drunk?"
"I'll get myself drunk," he reached for her hand and began to pull her towards the drinks table. "Butterbeer?"
"Sure."
She perched herself onto a table, her legs dangling in the air. She glanced around the party as she waited for Fred to return; everyone seemed rather dazed and dreamy, their eyes dilated, stunned smiles on their faces. The trivial, childish drama that usually invested the hallways had disappeared. In the distance, Lara was pretty sure she could see some Gryffindor's and Slytherin's having a civilised conversation.
"Here you go," Fred appeared with two butterbeers, handing one to Lara whilst taking a swig of his own.
"You know what I've realised?" Lara said as Fred downed his drink, placed the empty bottle onto the table and then pulled a full bottle from his robe pocket. "The more I drink, the less my feet hurt."
Fred peered down at her silver-heeled feet. "Those look awful."
"They're like weapons, aren't they?"
"Middle-Aged spears," Fred murmured, picking her right leg up by the ankle to stare at the shoe. "How have you worn these all night?"
"Beauty is pain, my friend."
"I think I can see your blood."
"Probably, they're pretty uncomfortable—"
"Eh…what are you doing?"
Fred and Lara looked over to the familiar voice. David was stood, arms-crossed, as he stared at them with raised eyebrows. Lara was about to ask what he meant, and then she realised what it must look like. Her, perched on a table, dress hiked up to her thighs; Fred, stood holding her foot in his hand, bending over to stare at her slightly swollen foot.
"Admiring the technicalities of heels," Fred responded smoothly. "I'm suddenly very glad I'm a bloke."
"Yeah, but girls have boobs, and they're great."
Fred shot Lara an amused look. David, for the most part, looked more confused than ever at her comment.
"Anyway," Lara pushed her dress back down and hopped off the table. She cringed as she landed on her aching feet. "I'm not sure I can dance anymore…"
"Shall we go onto the grounds?" David asked, walking over and grabbing her hand. "And you can take them off."
Lara nodded, bid goodbye to Fred, and hobbled towards the Great Hall exit and into the open grounds. The fairy lights in the rose garden glittered above their heads in the pressing darkness, leading them down the steps and to an area filled with tall bushes. David gently tugged her up an ornamental pathway and towards a bench carved in off-white marble. Flopping down on it, Lara tugged off her strappy heels and placed them on the floor.
"Merlin." She whispered, rubbing her aching feet. "I can't feel my toes."
"Why didn't you wear flats?" David smirked and sat down beside her.
"Well, that would be too practical."
Lara glanced around the garden and noticed several granite statues, varying in size and colour. Somewhere nearby, water trickled gently, reminding Lara of the sound of a fountain. Other couples milled around the place, talking in low voices, their heads pressed together. In the distance, a girl in blue and a boy in green were snogging fiercely against a bush.
"I wonder if they came to the ball together," Lara giggled, turning back towards David.
"I really hope so," smirked David, glancing over at the couple before staring at Lara again. "Otherwise they'll be a lot of drama tomorrow."
"I bet at least six couples will have split tonight."
"That many?"
"I'm a cynic," she shrugged with a teasing smile. "Loads of new couples will have been made, too, though!"
David smiled and placed his hand upon Lara's. Her heart lurched as his eyes flicked down to her lips. Giving him a small, encouraging smile, Lara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. His lips pressed against hers, warm and slightly dry. She shakily cupped his face with her hands, her stomach in knots, her skin burning from the pressure of the moment.
She'd thought about this since she was fourteen and it was glorious.
"Are we?" David murmured, pulling away slightly, his lips hovering over Lara's.
"Are we what?"
"One of those new couples."
Laughter burst from her lips, "Yeah, I hope so," she whispered and kissed him again.
...don't hate me?
At least she and Fred still got a dance, right? Kind of. Until Lara started to sing. But anyway-hope you guys still liked it. And thank you for the reviews and everything else, I really do read and appreciate them all!
next chapter: the aftermath