Bree made it to class on time, and soon everything was back to normal. No cracks and no nightmares. But the Doctor had warned her that the alterations the worm had made to the neuronal pathways were irreversible, and since the worm had been removed and could no longer renew the block that was in place, Bree would have to be careful not to let anything go poking around in her mind because it might jar the block and cause her mind to overload. But other than that everything was as it should have been.
The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Harry didn't believe half of them - for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters. Exactly who or what the Weird Sisters were Bree didn't know, listened to a wizard's wireless, but she deduced from the wild excitement of those who had grown up listening to the WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) that they were a very famous musical group.
Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to Harry about the perfect Summoning Charm Harry had used during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions - as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, they supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It was amazing how he could make even bloody and vicious goblin riots sound as boring as someone describing paint drying.
Professors McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of their classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term.
"Evil, he is," Ron said bitterly that night in the Gryffindor common room. "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."
"Mmm… you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" said Hermione, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes. Ron was busy building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap pack - a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance that the whole thing would blow up at any second.
"It's Christmas, Hermione," said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire. Hermione looked severely over at him too.
"I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"
"Like what?" Harry said.
"That egg!" Hermione hissed.
"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," Harry said.
"All it does is screech." Bree, who had been dozing on a couch with her cat, muttered sleepily.
"It's a clue that might take weeks to work it out!" said Hermione. "You're both going to look like idiots if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"
"Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," said Ron, and he placed the last two cards on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, singeing his eyebrows.
"Nice look Ron… go well with your dress robes, that will."
"There's nothing that will make his dress robes look worse."
It was Fred and George. They sat down at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Ron felt how much damage had been done.
"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.
"No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"
"Because George wants to invite him to the ball." said Fred sarcastically.
"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat." said George.
"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" said Ron.
"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred, waving his wand threateningly.
"So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?"
"Nope," said Ron.
"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.
"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.
"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.
"What?" said Ron, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"
"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oy! Angelina!"
Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.
"What?" she called back.
"Want to come to the ball with me?"
Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.
"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.
"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake."
"Good for you then. No one has asked me." Bree said, standing up and walking over to the table. She glared at the twins.
"Finally figured out why." she said. The twins both looked very uncomfortable.
"We were just worried about you." Fred defended.
"Most of those guys were only interested in you because you're a champion. And the rest were well…" George trailed off, pointedly not looking and Bree's chest, an act that was made difficult by the way Bree was leaning over the table. Not that Bree noticed, actually Bree ever paid mind to her new… assets, was when her favorite shirt no longer fit, and again when she went back in time and watched herself face the Vipertooth. Bree frowned, partly because she didn't understand why George hadn't finished and partly because she was upset with the twins.
"Well McGonagall told me that I need a dance partner, so congratulations George, you're going to open the ball with me." the blond stated.
And with that Bree walked up to her dorm.
"… What just happened?" George asked after a moment.
"I think Bree just asked you to the ball." Fred stated.
The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls. Bree stole one of the owls and kept in her room. She named it Apollo.
The suits of armor had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear "O Come, All Ye Faithful" sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves from inside the armor, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.
One day Bree found Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner of the common room. Ginny was sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.
"What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them.
Ron looked up at Harry, a sort of blind horror in his face.
"Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!"
"What?" said Harry.
"He - er - just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him," said Ginny.
"You what?' said Harry.
"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people, all around, I've gone mad, everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall. She was standing there talking to Diggory, and it sort of came over me, and I asked her!"
Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though the words were barely distinguishable.
"She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then, I dunno, I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."
"Well she's part veela." Bree commented.
"Her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it, but she was wasting her time. He's going with Cho Chang." Harry added.
Ron looked up.
"I asked her to go with me just now," Harry said dully, "and she told me."
Ginny had suddenly stopped smiling.
"This is mad," said Ron. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"
"What?" said Harry, completely distracted by this startling news.
"Yeah, I know!" said Ron, some of the color coming back into his face as he started to laugh. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville… I mean, who would?"
"Don't!" said Ginny, annoyed. "Don't laugh -"
Just then Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole.
"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said, coming over to join them.
"Because they just got rejected!" Bree said happily.
"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."
But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl…"
"Oh my god." Bree muttered.
"Oh well spotted," she said acidly.
"Well - you can come with one of us!"
"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.
"Oh come on," he said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has…"
"I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone."
"No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"
"Oh did I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"
Ron stared at her. Then he grinned again.
"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said.
"That do? Will you come now?"
"I've already told you!" Hermione said very angrily. "I'm going with someone else!"
And she stormed off toward the girls' dormitories again.
"She's lying," said Ron flatly, watching her go.
"She's not," said Ginny quietly.
"Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.
"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.
"Right," said Ron, who looked extremely put out, "this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I'll just -"
"I can't," said Ginny, and she went scarlet too. "I'm going with - with Neville.
He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought… well… I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She looked extremely miserable. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, and she got up and walked off to the portrait hole, her head bowed.
Ron goggled at Harry.
"What's got into them?" he demanded
"Ron, you're a prat. And since you're a prat, it is now my duty to might you're life miserable, or at least somewhat irritating." said Bree, before she left the common room.
Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else.
Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center.
Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savoury puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.
"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food." Bree heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening.
"I will not fit into my dress robes!"
"Then eat less!" Bree yelled at her.
Fleur glared and left.
Bree woke up on Christmas morning with her cat hitting her in the face. She fed Muffin then opened her presents. She got books from her parents, three rolls of duct tape from the twins, superglue, rubber fish, dye and paint is various colors, and a note that said "I'm sure you'll think of something" from Sirius. Remus was much more practical and sent her a list of spells that she might find helpful in the Tri-Wizard tournament.
After breakfast, Bree spent most of the morning lounging in front of the fire in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then she returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.
Bree went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch Harry, Bree, and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.
"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.
At six Bree went in, after knocking off Harry's glasses with a well aimed snowball, in order to get ready.
Bree's robes were, at first glance, blue, with splashes of other colors. On closers inspection however, it became clear that the colors were moving and were actually fish swimming around a reef.
Bree met George in the common room.
"Those are interesting robes." he commented as a butterfly fish swam across Bree's stomach.
Bree grinned. "Thanks."
The entrance hall was packed with students. All milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another.
Harry and Ron had finally gotten dates with Parvati and Padma Patil.
A group of Slytherins came up the steps from their dungeon common room. Malfoy was in front; he was wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar. Pansy Parkinson in very frilly robes of pale pink was clutching Malfoy's arm. Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them had managed to find a partner
"You look like you're wearing an aquarium." Malfoy stated when he saw Bree.
"At least I don't look like I have a giant wad of cotton candy attached to my arm." Bree responded.
The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a Hermione in blue robes. But she didn't look like Hermione at all.
She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow. Or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back.
Over their heads Bree saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights. Meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Santa and his reindeer.
Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"
Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim other hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down.
Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies stationed themselves nearest the doors; Davies looked so stunned by his good fortune in having Fleur for a partner that he could hardly take his eyes off her.
Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting. The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
Bree caught sight of Ron and Padma as he neared the top table. Ron was watching Hermione pass with narrowed eyes. Padma was looking sulky.
Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr. Crouch was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley. On Percy's left Bree saw three familiar people. The Doctor, Rory, and Amy. Bree sat down next to Amy. She noticed that the Doctor was deep in conversation with Percy. It sounded very boring and technical, but the Doctor seemed very excited.
"What are you doing here?" Bree asked Amy.
"I wanted to see a magical ball. The Doctor used the psychic paper to get in. They think that the Doctor is an ambassador and that Rory and I are his aides." Amy explained.
There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Harry picked his up uncertainly and looked around - there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"
And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Bree looked around the table. Krum was talking very enthusiastically to Hermione.
"Veil, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking," he was telling Hermione. "Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these - though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains -"
"Now, now, Viktor!" said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, "don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Igor, all this secrecy… one would almost think you didn't want visitors."
"Well, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?"
"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
Bree leaned over to whisper to Amy. "See that twinkling in his eyes? It's just a little man turning the lights on and off inside of his empty head."
641. Not allowed to insist that the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes is really just a little man turning the lights on and off inside of his empty head.
Meanwhile Fleur Delacour was criticizing the Hogwarts decorations to Roger Davies.
"Zis is nothing," she said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. "At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we 'ave ice sculptures all around ze dining chamber at Chreestmas. Zey do not melt, of course… zey are like 'uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place. And ze food is seemply superb. And we 'ave choirs of wood nymphs, 'oo serenade us as we eat. We 'ave none of zis ugly armor in ze 'alls, and eef a poltergeist ever entaired into Beauxbatons, 'e would be expelled like zat." She slapped her hand onto the table impatiently.
Roger Davies was watching her talk with a very dazed look on his face, and he kept missing his mouth with his fork. Harry had the impression that Davies was too busy staring at Fleur to take in a word she was saying.
"Absolutely right," he said quickly, slapping his own hand down on the table in imitation of Fleur. "Like that. Yeah."
Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables; he was back in his horrible hairy brown suit and gazing up at the top table. He gave a small wave and Madame Maxime returned it, her opals glittering in the candlelight.
Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly; he kept calling her "Hermy-own."
"Her-my-oh-nee," she said slowly and clearly.
"Herm-own-ninny."
"Close enough," she said.
When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.
The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments.
The champions and their partners stood as the Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune. Bree walked onto the brightly lit dance floor. She saw the Doctor wave happily at her. Bree blushed slightly when George put his hand on her waist but all and all it wasn't a bad as she expected. She didn't mess up any of the steps and very soon many of them too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby. Ginny was wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet, and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime.
He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg.
The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more. Bree saw Harry and Parvati leave the dance floor just as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster. Fred and Angelina began dancing so exuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury.
Amy was getting some looks as she danced with Rory. She was wearing a black dress that showed off all of her curves. The Doctor was showing off distancing skills… or complete lack thereof. But he did appear to be having a lot of fun. Percy looked on disapprovingly.
After dancing for awhile Bree needed a break so she grabbed a drink and to sit with Ron and Harry, who had been abandoned by their dates and joined by Percy. Fred and George had gone to confront Bagman.
"What do they think they're doing, annoying senior Ministry members?" Percy hissed, watching Fred and George suspiciously. "No respect…"
Ludo Bagman shook off Fred and George fairly quickly, however, and, spotting Harry, waved and came over to their table.
"I hope my brothers weren't bothering you, Mr. Bagman?" said Percy at once.
"What? Oh not at all, not at all!" said Bagman. "No, they were just telling me a bit more about those fake wands of theirs. Wondering if I could advise them on the marketing. I've promised to put them in touch with a couple of contacts of mine at Zonko's Joke Shop…"
"Really? I thought for sure they would have asked about the money you owe them." Bree stated.
"M-Money?" Bagman stuttered. "I afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Those in debt should not make bets, Mr. Bagman. It just incurs more debt. If you're not careful you'll end up owing more than just money." Bree stated with a predatory grin. Then she got a thoughtful look on her face.
"I wonder what kind of trouble you'd be in if word about this got out… It'd probably cause problems for you and the Ministry as a whole. Ya'll haven't been that popular since the incident at the world cup, and a scandal would just make things worse…" Bree smirked. Bagman sputtered and fled.
173. I am not allowed to blackmail ministry officials.
Amy and Rory came over and sat down. Before Bree could speak Percy immediately questioned them.
"What's it like being ambassador's aides?"
Harry and Ron took the opportunity to flee before the conversation turned mind numbingly boring.
"Um it's very… aide-like. Lot's of aiding involved." Rory said.
"You are so bad at this." Bree commented. She caught sight of the Doctor dancing.
"Though not as bad as he is at that." she stated. Rory and Amy both turned to look.
"Yeah. You should have seen him at our wedding." Amy stated.
"I did." Bree said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"What? When did you…" Amy began, then she noticed the look Bree was giving her. "Oh. Right. I forgot." She turned to Rory. "Lets go join him." The couple left, leaving Bree alone with Percy.
"You've met them before?" he asked.
"Yeah, once." Bree responded.
"Once? You seem rather close for having met them once." Percy said.
"What do you mean?" Bree asked.
"You were at their wedding." Percy stated.
"No I wasn't." Bree stated bitterly.
"But you said-" Percy was cut off by Bree.
"It's complicated. So very, very, complicated." Bree stated.
"You could explain it." Percy pressed.
"I could try but-" Bree was cut off by George.
"Bree. I've come to rescue you from my brother. Let's get back to dancing." He exclaimed grabbing Bree and leading her out onto the dance floor.
When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer.
"That was fun." Amy said to Bree. "Bet your glad you came."
"Yeah. You going to the next task?" Bree asked.
"Of course." Amy stated.
"You're just going to hop in the TARDIS and appear there in a few minutes, while I'm stuck going the slow way, aren't you?" Bree muttered.
"No. We've got to change. Maybe take a nap and have some breakfast first." the Doctor said.
"Great. And I'm stuck dealing with a screaming egg." Bree said bitterly.
"Did you try giving it a bath?" the Doctor asked. Bree gave him an amused look.
"I thought you didn't want to change the timeline?" she said.
"I'm just helping a friend. A nice bath could help you figure things out." The Doctor said.
"Right. See you in a little while." Bree said.
"And we'll see you in February." said the Doctor.
So yeah, at the start of the chapter I just wanted to point out the Bree's body is no longer that of a child, but her mindset hasn't really changed from when she was younger and that causes problems.
