A week can pass quick or it can pass slow. Felix found when he was doing something he liked, like studying wand lore, transfiguration, new spells and trained for Quidditch it had a tendency to fly by, while doing Potions or Divination homework or when he had to wait for something that was to happen in the near future really made it seem as if it was dragging its feet not wanting to pass.
This week with the anticipation Felix felt behind the upcoming Governors' Ball made him think pass had gone still and unmoving.
Yet time passed and on the day after the end of term Felix stood in his Ball tuxedo in colours of black and red in the Great Hall waiting. His hands covered in white leather gloves and a white fedora hat and red tie. His loafers glistened under the candlelight.
His friends eating dinner were waiting as well for Claudia to arrive.
She entered the Hall wearing a long red Ball gown with a tear along her right side, white high heels, just the right combination of makeup emphasizing her cheeks, lipstick that made her lips stand out and an eyeliner that made her blue eyes appear to be pools of infinity. Her hair was caught up above her head in interlocking braids.
Felix swallowed hard feeling his heart pounding in his chest. "I…you…you look amazing."
She smiled. "Why are we meeting here? You can't apparate from in here…"
Felix cut her off. "No, but…" he was also interrupted.
"No, but I can", the Headmistress' voice originating from behind them made Claudia almost jump out of her heels, startled.
"By Gryffindor's beard!"
"Felix displayed some amazing level of maturity by telling me of this…escapade. I of course do not begin to trust the slimy snakes that are the Governors. So, Felix if you think for a moment you have been betrayed and your lives are in danger, smash this on the floor and apparate away. Mrs. Russo, if Felix does smash it on the floor, you have two options if he is somehow barred from dissaparating away. Option one, use the button inside this pouch, it's a portkey. If for some reason neither apparition nor portkeys seem to work, use the time turner in this second pouch. It's a Ministry time turner, turn it back to 2pm, not a moment before or after. They can block apparition and portkeys but not time travel by Ministerial time turner", Professor Horsewood gave Felix a black and orange crystal orb, red mist circling inside it like a malevolent entity wanting to break out. And to Claudia she gave two pouches, one black and one yellow.
"Ma'am…do I even want to know what will happen if I do smash this on the floor?"
"It will incinerate the Joymother Manor, everyone and everything in it, and in a two-kilometer distance in all directions and it'll do so at the temperature of the surface of the sun and will do so nonstop for two hours. The very oxygen in the atmosphere will self-combust and every set of lungs that inhale it will burn from the inside out. So, in other words…do not drop it by mistake or you have two seconds to apparate out."
"So, more or less if we're ambushed, trapped and unable to leave smash it and take everyone and everything in two kilometers with us", Felix tried to joke.
"Yes."
"How will it do this, ma'am?" Uriel asked stepping closer.
"By unleashing a torrent of liquid fire that'll burn as bright and as hot as the sun, and it should make fiendfyre look like toddler's play and put Professor Jordan's Vulcan charm to shame", Professor Horsewood looked very satisfied with herself.
"That a spell I can learn?" Felix batted his eyelashes with an impish grin.
Claudia rolled her eyes as Professor Horsewood replied. "Can? Yes. Should? No. Will? I'm sure you will but not by me or any Professor in this School nor is it in any book in the Library."
"Fair enough, but I will learn this spell at some point."
"Of course you will…shall we go to the Hyenas' den?" Claudia passed an arm around his elbow.
"But of course, how better to spend a festive day", Felix chuckled taking hold of the Headmistress' elbow.
A blink later they stood outside in front of the Joymother Manor, a tall seventeenth century building with conical roofed towers at each corner and glass-stained windows made from brown and white bricks.
Joymother waited outside with his head-servant House-Elf and his daughter, Anneke.
"What are YOU doing here?" Anneke seemed beside herself with anger and disgust, in her black Ball gown and mascara applied in a way which made her eyes shedding black tears.
Felix couldn't restraint himself giving her the deepest, most sardonic smile he had in him. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I was invited here….must have slipped my mind. And of course Claudia's my plus one, oh yes, sorry but not sorry she's not "at least five generations pure blood", tough ain't it!" He gave her his invitation as he and Claudia stepped to the Manor's entrance door held open by another House-Elf in black tie rugs.
"Welcome to the Governors' Ball, do enter my humble abode", Joymother told them with disdain.
"As humble as you are honourable", Felix replied not so unintentionally loud enough to be heard.
Professor Horsewood closed in closer to Joymother giving him a cold death glare. "I'll come pick them up in three hours, if anything happens to them, and I mean anything, I'll be bringing in along with me every Auror this world has."
"You can bring your friends and I can bring mine. Good thing this is a social event and not a military one", Joymother told her calmly.
"Very good thing indeed", she dissaparated.
Once inside Claudia could not avoid but be awed by the level of luxury everywhere in the Manor. Every surface, every furniture, every item flaunted extreme wealth with gold-dyed furnishes on the walls and ceilings.
"So much luxury…it is…it is…" Claudia stuttered as they passed by a grand staircase with pure white glistening marble, oak and gold balusters and winged cherub statues of marble waving at them.
"Hideous? Obscene? Infuriating?" Felix said in disgust.
"Yeah, but I mean look at that Ball room…" Claudia replied entering a vast rectagonal high-ceiling chamber with a dance-floor parquet and moving wall paintings of famous dancers and musicians from Wizarding History.
At one end of the room there was a band playing live music and three long tables filled with beverages and food.
The Manor and Ball room were already full of people. Some they knew by reputation, some more personally parents of students and students from school and a lot they didn't know at all.
"It is, indeed, impressive, as is the cost of it, not the Galleons, the real cost of it", Felix felt threatened by it, by what it had cost for Joymother to be able to afford all this luxury.
"Yeah, but we can enjoy it just this once, yes?" She looked at him hopeful, melting his heart.
"We can, and we will", he replied giving her the warmest smile he could. "And at some point Imma need you to do something I'm sure you really don't want to do, so that I can slip away and sneak in the Library."
"Oh, goodie…how much am I going to hate you after?" She joked.
"I don't know, how much hate does you dancing with Joymother earn me?"
"I'd rather eat flesh-eating slugs, but okay."
"Ariana is here", Felix spotted her near the band talking to a French wizard. "Her parents must be as well."
"Nice, perhaps she can dance with Joymother instead."
Felix chuckled. "Unrelenting…no, she will dance with her father…hopefully."
Anneke came in after them, catching up with them just past the Ball room's entrance. "Do try to not get your hands on anything, with such fifth I don't want to have to clean the whole house.
"Oh, please! Tormented House-Elves do the cleaning around here, not you", Felix waved his hand at her dismissively.
"Oh, sweetheart. Do eat some of that badly applied makeup you're wearing, maybe you'll become beautiful on the inside", Claudia's smirk made Felix's spine shiver, it reminded him of a wolf stalking its prey, teeth bare.
"I'm not wearing makeup. I am always naturally beautiful!" Claudia bent over from laughing, clutching her belly.
"If that black under your eyes and that rouge on your cheeks is not makeup, then I don't know what is! And since the fuck when are your eyebrows green, or your lips this maroon? Please!" Claudia took Felix by his elbow before Anneke could reply further walking him to the buffet.
"Well, this is definitely a surprise!" Ariana approached them as they tried some of the various different kinds of canapes and oeuvres. "Considering my father and Joymother aren't your biggest fans."
"Hello, Ariana. Joymother invited me. He probably hates me even more than your father", Felix laughed.
"Possible, although father was…livid after Alicia. Anneke must not be happy about your being here."
"Understatement of the century!" Claudia beamed. "It was a most shocking surprise for her."
"Oh my lords, you mean she didn't know? Damn, I missed it."
"Soooo….what is even the protocol with an event like this one?" Felix asked with a silly grin of ignorance.
"Traditionally this is the event where the new wizards and witches of the wizarding high society come together and…mingle. And by the end of the night lots of marriages are arranged and fortunes are entwined. So, protocol? Make yourself as presentable, eligible, desirable and wantable by not only to the girls or boys in here but also their parents. And currently you are down by two on that one."
"Ah, good thing then I don't care about having me married off to anyone tonight. Do you intent to dance with your father?" Felix replied, looking around casually yet intently for who might be listening in.
"Not if I can avoid it…but I can see the cogs turning in that mind of yours, so why I am I going to dance with my father?"
"I didn't come here to get married, obviously. And while I enjoy seeing Anneke squirm, that ain't the reason either. When you see Claudia dancing with Joymother I need you to dance with your father."
"Will it help you with Azrail?" Ariana asked and Felix nodded. "Okay then, enjoy this, whatever this is…" she smiled going over to greet someone else she knew.
"May I have this dance?" He picked up Claudia's hand, his fingers brushing with hers.
She smiled and taking his hand walks them to the center of the dance stage.
The band was playing a slow melodious tune for a waltz. "We tease you about your fascination with fashion, but you do know how to dress amazingly, and that perfume…" Felix placed a hand under her shoulder as he started following the dance's steps and the tune's melody and butterflies flying erratically in his stomach.
"Levander with a hint of ylang-ylang flower…are you…is this a friendly compliment or are you…" her voice seemed caught in her throat.
"I don't know, would you want us to be more than friends?" Felix pulled his head back a bit so he could see her face.
"Wouldn't it be awkward?" She bit her lower lip for a passing second.
"No, not if we didn't make it so…I think…"
"You dance nice, you are good at this…maybe, we have time…"
"Yeah, back in Hogwarts…let's dance."
"Two Balls in one year…."
"We can handle it, dancing, chatting, whatever else…"
"Yeah…" she pressed her body up against his, settling her head at the small of his neck and making the butterflies turn to immovable boulders.
Five songs later the band changed the tunes going for faster-paced dances.
"We should mingle some, pretend at least we're here for what we're not."
"Yeah…there's a lot of faces I don't recognize from Hogwarts."
"I don't think it is restricted to Hogwarts or England."
"Right, fascists the globe over…"
"Yerp", Felix escorted Claudia to the side of the room away from the dancing couples, where he left her to mingle with the other guests.
"Camille Bisset", a tall brown-haired girl with a French accent offered him her hand.
"Felix Burton, your family weaves invisibility cloaks I believe. You are Head-girl in Beauxbatons. Your family's infamy may precede you, but it does not do your beauty justice."
Camille tried to hide it, but she was pleased by his comment. "Merci monsieur. Felix Burton? I am afraid I do not recollect you."
"You know me by another name. Dreogan Gaunt."
"Oh! Monsieur Gaunt! Enchanté, may I have a dance? You must accept, you just must!" She cried taking his arm by the wrist.
"How could I refuse you?" He took her to the dance floor where he played his part for three songs.
"You are a very good dancer, monsieur."
"Thank you, as are you. I'll see you later I'm sure", he told her giving her hand a kiss before trying to walk away, but she grabbed him by his collar bringing his face close for a French-kiss. "Humm….good kisser as well", she fluttered her eyelashes leaving with a giggle.
"Dear lords…." he saw Claudia a few meters away talking to an older boy in a navy-blue military outfit with ribbons and black pants. Claudia was smiling but Felix could tell just how bored out of her skull she was of him.
Ariana looked even more bored dancing with a boy from the states who was obvious knew as much of dancing as Felix knew of Muggle currency.
A middle-height Asian girl with blond-dyed hair got in his way. "Felix Burton, pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs….?"
"Claire Colt, of the New York Colts. Burton aka Gaunt? Lots of Dark history there", she replied in a New York accent, guarded.
"Can't escape or undo the history, or my family's past. I can only work to not repeating it myself", he smiled at her.
"Oh, I love your accent, I just do. What's Azrail like? I hear a lot of things, but I do not know what to believe from so far away."
"Think of the most depraved, self-obsessed narcissistic sociopath psychopath…that a thousand-fold."
"My dad trades in ingredients, he hears a lot through his business endeavours", she insisted although Felix had a feeling it wasn't about Azrail's personality anymore.
"Like?"
"Like you might be interested in selling property you have in the states?" She was well informed on him being his father's heir.
"Perhaps, my lawyer handles these matters though."
An Asian-looking short and burly man came up giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And who might this charming young man be that has you so deep in conversation be, daughter?" He asked in a rhinal voice.
"Felix, daddy. Daddy, Felix Burton", Felix shook the man's hand with a pleasant smile.
"Archibald Colt pleased to make your acquaintance. At some point I'd like to talk about your Fifth Avenue flat young man. I can make you a most fascinating offer you won't want to refuse!"
"Pleased, sir. My lawyer handles these matters. I am sure he would bargain you to death and back most admirably."
"I shall write him tomorrow and inquire of the property's value", Archibald replied looking sure of himself.
"Expensive, I'm sure."
"Money is a means to an end. I have both in great abundance."
"That is good to hear, sir. If you'll excuse me", Felix shook the man's hand one more time before leaving feeling nauseated.
He continued to mingle for an hour or two more, as did Claudia. He wanted to leave as little time for something to go wrong as possible, but in the end there came the time he had to act.