"Smile, Ronnik- Oi! Where do you two think you're going?!" Fred reached out and caught Harry's arm, and George did the same for Draco. "Smile!" Colin's camera went off with a flash. Harry was sure they all clashed terribly, except for Draco whose robes were black with silver trim; Fred wore a painfully bright turquoise, George a rich purple, Harry and Ron were in dark red and maroon, respectively, and Ginny wore a pastel yellow. "One more, Creevey, for luck." Flash went the camera again, and then Colin was tugged away by a group of fifth years.
"Ready, Ang?" Fred called.
"No," she said, tossing her braids over her shoulder. "I want photographs too."
"Can't blame you," Fred said, gesturing to himself. Angelina snorted and waved George and Harry over:
"Quidditch team," she said. "Or, the team we'd have if it wasn't a Tournament year. Alicia, Katie!"
By the time Harry escaped back over to his friends, Neville had come downstairs to meet Ginny. He wore dark brown robes with a bib not dissimilar to Ron's, though Neville's was not quite so frilly.
"They were my dad's," Neville was mumbling, adjusting his bib.
"Least you've got a good excuse," Ron said, tugging at the lace at his cuffs, and then sighing as they tore. "Stop it, you're making them worse," Draco said, swatting at him.
"'S'not possible," Ron said, but stopped fiddling. Privately, Harry agreed. "Even Neville's are better, and they're brown." Neville's cheeks went pink with embarrassment.
"I think Neville looks lovely," Ginny said, patting Neville's arm, and giving Ron a nasty look.
"You look nice, Ginny," Neville said. "I should've said so straight away, sorry-"
"That's enough touching, you two," George said, pointing between Ginny and Neville. Neville sidled away from her, apologetic. George had Alicia on his arm and Fred was in tow with Angelina.
"Ignore him," Alicia said, poking George in the side. "See you all down there."
"Hermione's taking her bloody time, isn't she," Ron muttered when they were gone.
"She's already gone, actually," Ginny said. "She left just before you lot came down." Ron's brow furrowed and Harry blinked in surprise but neither of them got a chance to say anything:
"Well, best get moving then," Draco said, sweeping them both toward the portrait. Harry didn't think he'd known either but he didn't smell particularly surprised by the news. Ginny tugged Neville along with her. "I'm fetching Astoria from the Slytherin common room - are you going to Ravenclaw for Lovegood, Potter?"
"Er, no," Harry said. "I told Luna we could meet in the Entrance Hall. Should I have suggested Ravenclaw?" he asked, suddenly worried; Draco was shaking his head.
"It would be the polite thing to do," Draco said. "And I suspect the Entrance Hall will be incredibly busy and that'll make it hard to find-"
"You won't have any trouble finding Luna," Ginny assured Harry, who was starting to panic. "Stop winding him up," she added, poking Draco's back. He turned and smirked and Harry stuck his tongue out, then lengthened his strides to catch up with Ron, who'd managed to leave them behind despite looking like he was dragging his feet.
Harry bumped their shoulders together and offered Ron a sympathetic smile. Ron's return smile was more of a grimace and Harry was fairly sure it was also only for his sake.
Draco had been right in expecting the Entrance Hall to be incredibly busy, but Ginny had also been right; Luna was easy to find.
She wore dress robes made of an almost metallic fabric that looked to be a dark greenish-blue, but then she shifted to wave at him and suddenly they were a dark coppery orange.
"Hi, Luna," Harry said.
"Hello Harry," Luna said. Her hair was entirely up - he didn't think he'd ever seen her wear it up - in a curly mass atop her head, and long silvery feathers dangled from her ears. "You look very handsome."
"Er, thanks," Harry said, a bit embarrassed. Ginny sniggered.
"For what?" Luna cocked her head, then frowned at his robes. "Were we supposed to coordinate and wear our House colours?"
"No, you're fine," Harry assured her. "You look nice." She beamed at him. She did look nice, even if her robes - now deep purple, and shifting to red - were probably going to give him a headache before the night was up.
"Potter!" McGonagall swept over, wearing robes of fir green and a sprig of holly in her matching hat. She seemed stressed, but paused when she reached them, looked Harry up and down, and then nodded with a surprised sort of approval. "Nice robes," she said, with an almost-smile, the refocused. "The other Champions are gathering over here. Has your partner arrived?"
"Right," Harry said, grimacing, as Ginny and Neville waved and slipped away, joining the procession toward the doors. Ron slinked after them. "Yeah, Luna's- here." He gestured at her, rather unnecessarily, and McGonagall eyed Luna then gestured for them both to follow her.
The first person Harry noticed was Fleur, looking incredible in a muggle-style gown. It was made of flowing, clingy silver fabric and yet somehow reminded Harry of battle armour. He noticed Hermione next, though it took him a moment to realise it was actually her; she too wore a muggle style dress, more modest than Fleur's but still incredibly flattering, and in a soft shade of periwinkle blue. Her hair was smooth and wrapped in an elegant knot at the back of her head, and her smile was a little shy, but bright and happy. Krum stood beside her, his fingers laced with hers, his robes Durmstrang red.
Cho wore dress robes in tasteful navy and gold, and Cedric wore simple but sharp black.
"Hello," Luna said airily.
"Hello, Luna," Cho said, smile becoming fixed. "Harry." She smiled a bit more genuinely at him, which surprised him a bit; she'd been more or less ignoring him since Gryffindor's win against Ravenclaw the year before.
"Hi," Harry said trying - and probably failing - not to be awkward. Cedric gave him a pat on the shoulder, and asked politely after Luna's father - apparently they were neighbours of sorts.
"Roger!" Cho hissed, and gave her captain a swift kick in the shin. He blinked, eyes flicking toward her for just a moment before sliding inevitably back to Fleur and glazing over. "Honestly," Cho muttered, in a tone that Harry had heard Hermione direct toward him and Ron a number of times over the years. Cedric glanced at Davies, then down at Cho, amused.
Thankfully, Hermione stepped in, tugging Krum with her.
"Viktor, this is Luna. Luna, this is Viktor." Krum gave her a short bow and nodded politely at Harry:
"Potter," he said.
"Krum." Harry nodded back. "You look brilliant, by the way," he said to Hermione. She pinkened, clearly pleased, and Krum looked at her, his perpetual scowl softening.
Before anyone could say anything else, McGonagall was back, ushering them into two neat lines and explaining seating arrangements and how the first dance would work, and that they were representing their respective schools now as much as in any task. Harry must have looked wry, or thoughtful, or like he was planning something, because she gave him a pointed look when she said best behaviour, and kept looking until he gave a short nod.
Then, she was gesturing at Fleur and Davies - the latter had the sense to stop staring and offer her his arm - and then Luna linked her arm with Harry's and they headed inside.
"Black," Snape said, as Sirius slipped in through the heavy doors, just before they swung shut. "So nice of you to deign to join us after they've finally been ushered inside."
"I've been doing my part," Sirius said. He hadn't seen the Hall in a few hours, and it looked excellent; instead of the usual, long tables, there were a hundred or so smaller, round tables covered in gleaming silver tablecloths, glittering cutlery, and wintery centerpieces. Tinsel and baubles hung from the walls, and candles burned merrily from traditional glass lanterns, and from the tables' centrepieces. The ceiling showed an inky blue sky dotted with stars and gently flurrying snowflakes.
"Broom cupboard duty," he added, when Snape gave him a dubious look. "Had to make sure no one got sidetracked on their way here-" He grimaced, and Snape looked queasy. "-and place age lines to make sure no one gets sidetracked during or afterward." Back in his days as a student, stumbling across an occupied broom cupboard had been a fantastic pranking opportunity and usually very funny. These days, as a teacher, it was inappropriate to laugh, and usually he was more exasperated than amused anyway. "Urgh, when did we get old and mature?"
"You mean to suggest you have?" Snape drawled.
"Along with making sure broom cupboards and empty classrooms are off-limits, I've also been casting chaperoning charms on all the suits of armour," Sirius sighed. "So yes, I'd say I have."
"I considered asking the house elves to mix an antiphiltre into students' drinks," Snape said, just as Remus sidled over.
"Grounds for an Order of Merlin, that," Sirius said, and both Remus and Snape snorted. "Although… don't antiphiltres usually have really awful side effects?" He frowned, thoughtful. "Moony, didn't Prongs and I…?"
"Yes - Jack Thorne, sixth year," Remus said, grimacing.
"Yeah," Sirius said, nodding, "and he-"
"I can well imagine," Snape said, holding up a hand. His eyes narrowed at something across the Hall and he stalked away, robes billowing. Sirius pitied whoever it was he was after.
"Dora here yet?"
"Not yet, but she shouldn't be far off; she was supposed to drop Stella off with her parents at six." Remus rubbed the side of his face and winced.
"What's wrong with you?" Sirius did a mental count but the moon wasn't for another week and a bit.
"I had to break up three fights on the way here," Remus said, turning slightly so Sirius could see the bruise forming on the other side of his face. "I walked down with Fleur and the other girls," he added, when Sirius stared at him.
"Ah."
"Indeed." Remus grimaced again, then gave Sirius a grateful look when he pulled out his wand and prodded it gently against Remus' cheek. The bruise darkened, yellowed, then faded entirely. "Thanks." Sirius waved a hand and tucked his wand away.
"If everyone would please take their seats," Bagman's loud voice said, "we'll commence with the evening's formalities. Not table One, Two, or Three, though - they're reserved for Champions, staff, and special guests."
Most people seemed to have been loitering with their friends by their chosen tables and - aside from a few noisy conversations about who was going to sit next to who - everyone settled with minimal fuss.
"S'pose we'd better grab seats, then," Sirius said, and Remus nodded, trailing after him to Table Three.
Dora joined them shortly after, tripping over the back of Hagrid's chair with a muttered curse that earned her a fondly reproving look from Sprout.
"Wotcher," she said brightly, pressing a kiss to Remus' cheek, and then one to Sirius'. She was wearing simple lime green robes that clashed with just about everything except Remus' navy ones. She gathered her robes up and flopped into the chair Remus had pulled out for her with a smile. "I saw Marlene on the way in, she said to tell you to save her a dance for when her shift ends at ten, and that you should smuggle her some dessert before then, if you can."
"If can…"' Sirius shook his head and pressed a hand to his heart. "It's like she doesn't even know me."
Dora grinned but Remus was too busy reprimanding a boy in exasperated French to hear.
A hush fell over the Hall without further noise from Bagman; the doors had just opened and McGonagall strode in, with the Champions in her wake. Fleur was first, her arm tucked loosely in Davies', gleaming silver and looking like she belonged in the sparkling, wintery Yule-themed Hall. Both looked oddly triumphant - Fleur at the attention, Davies for having secured her as his date. Diggory and Chang were next, both at ease, him grinning and waving at people he knew, and her smiling and blushing and shooting him adoring looks every now and then.
Behind them were Hermione and Krum; the latter was utterly unfazed by the eyes on him and had his eyes fixed almost solely on Hermione, who looked so different in a dress and with her hair and makeup done that Sirius wouldn't have recognised her if he hadn't known she was going with Krum; Krum murmured something to her and she smiled up at him.
And then there was Harry bringing up the rear with Luna, both of them looking very young compared to the others; Harry seemed resigned and a bit stiff, but not actually unhappy, and Luna drifted along beside him, a politely bewildered look on her face. She leaned over to say something to Harry that Sirius couldn't hear over the chatter and clapping, but Harry blinked and laughed aloud, then fought to smooth out his expression. Luna just smiled serenely and waved at someone- at Ginny, Sirius realised, spotting her.
"Don't they look spectacular, folks!" Bagman said, as the Champions and their partners reached Table One.
Skeeter, Fudge, and Sprottle were already seated there, and Bagman would presumably end up at the seat he was standing behind; Fudge all but dragged Krum into the seat beside him, so Hermione ended up beside Sprottle, who had Diggory on her other side. Chang took one of the seats beside Bagman, Davies took the other, and Harry glanced between Skeeter and Fleur and pulled the chair Skeeter was patting so encouragingly out for Luna. Luna settled with a smile, oblivious to Skeeter's disappointment, and Harry squeezed in between her and Fleur.
With a bit of head bobbing, Sirius managed to manoeuvre himself to where he could catch Harry's eye.
Okay? he mouthed. Harry shrugged, nodding. His eyes slid across to Luna, who was already in conversation with a reluctant-looking Skeeter, and then he looked back to Sirius, smirking.
Ron looked miserable. He was sitting between Katie and Draco, picking absently at the cuffs of his robes, and alternating between staring down at his soup and staring at Harry's table… Try as he might, though, Harry couldn't catch Ron's eye, because every time he looked over, it was in Hermione and Krum's direction.
Perhaps fortunately, she was oblivious, talking - well, more like arguing - with Fudge about something, while Krum stared at her with a wary sort of awe.
Draco, at least, was willing to catch Harry's eye; they grimaced at each other, and then looked away, Draco to coax Ron into conversation (Astoria was occupied with Ginny), and Harry to focus on his dinner; Luna was still doing an admirable job of occupying Skeeter and he was loathe to disturb them. Skeeter currently had the most satisfyingly baffled look on her face, while Luna sipped serenely at her soup.
"Le garcons sont ridicules," Fleur muttered, and Harry didn't know what that meant, but knew from the way she was curling her lip at Davies that it wasn't a compliment. Davies didn't notice; he was talking eagerly with Bagman and Cho about Quidditch. Fleur's scent turned speculative and Harry found he couldn't look away, though Davies was still absorbed in his conversation, his back to her. Harry wasn't sure how; if he'd had a date like Fleur-
She huffed, tossed her hair back, then noticed Harry watching her and looked a little guilty. The intensity of her beauty seemed to fade and Harry blinked, then narrowed his eyes.
Fleur jabbed her spoon into her soup.
"'Ow has your break been so far?" she asked, and because she didn't look at him, it took Harry a moment to realise she was talking to him.
"Er, good thanks," he said, and hoped she'd leave it at that; so far it hadn't consisted of much except the Order meeting and talking about the egg and merfolk, none of which would be wise to share with her. "Yours?"
"Bien," she said dismissively. "Fine." Silence fell between them for a few long moments and Fleur really must have been bored because rather than turn away, she said, "Ees she your girlfriend?" She nodded past him to Luna.
"Just a friend," Harry said.
"Just a friend?" Skeeter pounced on that almost desperately, cutting Luna off mid-sentence. "A friend you hope could become something more, Harry, or-"
"Oh dear, I hope not," Luna said, turning to give Harry a concerned look. "I thought I was very clear when you asked me-"
"Just friends," Harry said firmly, and Luna beamed.
"Why's that?" Skeeter asked. "Could it be that you're still hung up on someone else…? A little birdie told me that you used to date Cedric Diggory's date." Fleur glanced around Davies and Bagman at Cho, then at Harry.
"For a bit last year, yeah," Harry said, warily. "But I'm not-"
"And how does it make you feel," Skeeter asked, "to see her on the arm of your competitor?"
"Happy," Harry said firmly, and made himself smile, before she could find some way to twist his response. Skeeter frowned.
"Happy for them, even at the expense of your own heart?"
"No," Harry said. "Just happy."
"Harry's very nice like that," Luna said.
"Mmhmm," Skeeter said, giving her a sideways look, then turned back to Harry. "So-"
"'Ow ees it you 'ave a seat here?" Fleur interrupted. "I thought zis was a table for Champions and special guests only." Skeeter's smile turned poisonous.
"I am a special guest, dear," she said. Fleur looked her slowly up and down, and said nothing. It somehow spoke volumes, and Skeeter turned a nasty shade of pink. "I'm-"
"I know who you are," Fleur said dismissively. "You wrote zat terrible article about Monsieur Lupin and now you are trying to find your next veectim." Harry suspected that victim might be Fleur, if the way Skeeter was watching her was any indication.
"Such anger," Skeeter said, pressing a hand to her heart. "I didn't set out to victimise anyone, I simply wanted to ensure my readers knew the truth-"
"Zere was no truth in zat," Fleur said, tossing her hair back; it was back at the length it had been before the dragon scorched half of it off in the first task. "Eet was slander-"
"Defensive of Lupin, aren't you?" Skeeter asked. "You're close then?" Fleur's eyes narrowed but she gave a single curt nod. "I suppose you must find him relatable… after all, you're another not-quite-human trying to find your place in the world…"
"She's got a place," Harry said, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. "She's a Triwizard Champion."
"Oui," Fleur said, giving Harry a look that was surprised and begrudgingly grateful all at once. "And I would not 'ave made it zis far wizzout Monsieur Lupin's teaching, not quite 'uman or ozzerwise." She lifted her chin, challenging.
"So he's helped you prepare?"
"Not since ze Tournament started," Fleur said firmly, though Harry knew that wasn't quite true. "We are not allowed 'elp from teachers. But 'e was very supportive when I first told 'im zat I wished to enter, and 'e did what 'e could to make sure I was ready."
"So you'd say he's taken a special interest in you?" Skeeter asked.
"I am one of 'is favourites," Fleur said, rather proudly. This time it was Harry who was on the receiving end of the challenging look, as if she perhaps expected him to disagree.
"I wish I'd got to have him as a teacher," Luna sighed. "He went to teach at Beauxbatons the year I started here." Fleur looked a little smug at that, but before she could say anything else, she was distracted by the appearance of their main course:
"Trop cuit," Fleur muttered, prodding her steak. She glanced at Davies' plate and then leaned over, resting a hand on his arm to get his attention.
"So, Harry," Skeeter said, cheerier now Fleur was otherwise occupied, "if it's not Diggory's date you're pining after, then who is it… there must be someone…?"
"Must there?" Luna asked, cocking her head. "I would have said the opposite; it would be a bit silly for Harry to have come with me if he actually fancied someone."
"Perhaps he was nervous." Skeeter's smile was more a baring of teeth.
"I don't think that's it at all," Luna said, oblivious. "Harry's very brave, you know, so it wouldn't be like him to let something like nerves get in the way of something he wanted." She gave a thoughtful hum while Harry kept his attention very firmly on his pork chop, embarrassed.
"Speaking of things you want, then Harry… how does it feel to have been so successful in the Tournament so far? Is it satisfying to have made everyone that said you were too young to compete eat their words?"
"I told you the first time you interviewed me that I thought I was too young," Harry said, glancing at her sideways. "And I also told you I didn't really want to give any interviews without my guardian present, because I'm so young." He gave her a blithe smile. "And that still stands too." He turned back to his dinner.
"This isn't an interview, Harry," she said, with a laugh, "this is just a bit of a chat-"
"Evening," Padfoot said, appearing so quietly and suddenly behind them that Skeeter jumped; he'd clearly been keeping an ear out from the staff table and Moony and Dora were still both watching, satisfied; Dora winked when she noticed Harry looking. "Having a good night, so far?"
"Yeah, so far," Harry said, aware of Skeeter's scrutiny. "You?"
"Always," Padfoot said. He ruffled Harry's hair, more out of habit than anything - or so Harry assumed - and then muttered a curse and set about trying to flatten it, scent apologetic.
"Just leave it," Harry muttered, ducking out the way. He bumped Fleur and she gave him a withering look, then went back to her meal - he noticed she'd swapped with Davies. "It's a lost cause."
"I swear it's worse than James' some days," Padfoot said, giving Harry's head one last finger-comb before giving up. "Ah, well. You all ready for the dance?" Harry gave him a baleful look and Padfoot grinned. "It'll be fine, kiddo -just do what we practiced."
Fleur turned around at that, eyebrows raised and wearing a small smirk, like she thought that was particularly funny. Harry scowled at her until she turned around again, though her scent was still distinctly amused.
Padfoot patted him on the shoulder - apparently a safer target than Harry's head - and with a smile for Luna and a distinctly warning look at Skeeter, returned to his own table.
"Know much about selkies?" Harry asked Luna.
"Oh, yes - lots!" She turned more fully toward him, which had the added bonus of putting her back to Skeeter. If Skeeter minded, she didn't say anything, but Harry wasn't ever sure she'd noticed; she was frowning after Padfoot. Harry glanced that way too, worried, and Padfoot noticed, shooting him a smile that was half-grimace, half-satisfied.
"Better me than you," he said, loud enough that Harry was able to hear him over the rest of the Hall's chatter, and turned back to Moony and Dora and his dinner, unrepentant. Harry looked back to Skeeter, who was now doing her best to join Fudge's conversation with Krum and Hermione.
"Sorry," Harry said to Luna, "I missed that."
"I said there are selkies here in the lake at Hogwarts," Luna said, not seeming to mind his distraction.
"Did you read that in Hogwarts: A History?" Harry asked, amused. His eyes went to Hermione, who was biting her lip and looking at Ron, Draco, and Ginny's table.
"No, Myrtle told me," Luna said, and Harry's eyes refocused on her.
"Myrtle, as in…?"
"Myrtle Warren. She's a ghost that lives in one of the toilets here."
"You know Myrtle?" Harry asked, but wasn't really surprised.
"I think it's more interesting that you know Myrtle." Luna cocked her head. "She doesn't spend a lot of time in the boys' toilets, and when she does she doesn't usually let them know that she's there."
"Urgh," Harry said.
"Yes, I've tried to tell her she shouldn't do that," Luna sighed, and then shook her head. "But when she's not haunting toilets, she's been known to spend a bit of time in the lake - sometimes she gets flushed unexpectedly."
"Again: urgh," Harry said. Luna smiled.
"I suppose, but it's given her some fascinating stories," Luna said. "Although, it's sometimes a bit tricky to get her to tell them; she's very easy to upset."
"Sounds like Myrtle," Harry muttered. Then: "So what's she said about the lake?"
"All sorts," Luna said. Her robes flashed a particularly bright blue. "Once she told me she'd seen the giant squid adopt a baby grindylow. I'm not sure I believe it, because grypts - grindylow larvae - are about the size of my spoon-" She held it up to make her point. "-and they have to live in thick kelp for the entirety of their larval stage because they're very shy, but it's a nice story."
"I thought they had to live in kelp because otherwise they get sunburned and it ruins the development of their mucous- er- something to do with their skin," Harry said, trying to remember what he'd heard Moony and Hagrid say about them over the years.
"Oh, no," Luna assured him, "it's definitely shyness. Why else would they be so aggressive as adults, if not because they're in hiding and solitary during what would be their key socialisation period?"
"Maybe they're just aggressive?" Harry said. "Territorial, or whatever."
"That would explain some of them," Luna said, nodding, "or behaviour at a certain time of year… But the whole species, all the time? No, it's got to be a developmental issue. Dad thinks so too. He ran an experiment a few years ago, where he tried to pair each grypt with a plimpy - for support, obviously, because plimpies are very calm and persistent, and they live in schools from the moment they hatch, so they're very social."
"How'd that go?" Harry asked.
"Not very well," Luna said, frowning. "The grypts ate the plimpies."
"Oh- er- oh no," Harry said, mouth twitching.
"Yes, it was very antisocial of them," Luna said, then shook her head, a curl tumbling loose. "But we've been sidetracked; Myrtle also told me…"
