Author's Note:
****** WARNING THIS CHAPTER GETS VERY DARK AT THE END ******
While writing this chapter, I was researching my flower choices for corsages and boutonnières and I learned that in Britain they call them buttonholes and I found this hilarious as I had no idea! I don't know why I found it so funny, but I did, so I had to share. Thanks Saz for confirming this for me! You are always my go to for anything British related and I appreciate it :D
Reviews and Comments: To iKingAnomalyII: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the Hermione and Krum pairing! I am having fun expanding on Krum's character and we will definitely see more of him! Ron will definitely be jealous too! Harry and Luna will definitely have a good time together at the ball! To Leaf Ranger: Harry definitely still hasn't noticed LOL. No way! I love Ron and Hermione together too much, but right now, her and Viktor are doing well. Thank you! As to Skeeter, well, do we ever really see the last of her? To MadMile: Thank you! I love showing sibling love between Harry and Hermione. Ginny is definitely friend-zoning Harry and the best part is he hasn't even noticed! Thank you! To geekymom: Thank you! To coloredwords: Thank you! I love that you love Harry is taking Luna and yes, Harry had a talk with Krum! As to Snape being redeemed, well… he's grey. Thank you!
To Moony The Sheep: I love you, 3000, was too soon! I'm sorry! New cultures and new languages does sound like an awesome class, doesn't it? No wonder Bagman wants to talk to Carthaginian! Hermione is very cute with Viktor! Thank you for your feedback, I adjusted the waltz dance in the last chapter. I learned the waltz back in grade nine, but I forgot we did this combination thing which is why we had eight steps. Thank you! LOL, fuck tea! Definitely not surprised. Sirius and Zee are very sexual. I definitely think my brown haired beauty is something a boyfriend would say! I may have been influenced by one James Fraser, but that's okay. Thank you! To love reading20613: Yes, Luna will be Harry's date! Thank you! To PolarWriter95: Yes, Harry is going with Luna, not Parvati. Sirius and Zee had a lot of fun at the Prophet LOL. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! I love Sirius being protective over Harry!
To ninaz08: Happy Birthday to ninaz08, glad I could assist with a chapter on your birthday. I hope you had a good one. Harry going with Luna is a good idea. Yes, Sirius and Zee saying "our son" definitely is so important! We will see a bit of jealous Harry. Thank you! To purplevictory: Thank you! Harry definitely knows Hermione would make his life miserable if she finds out he gave the talk to Viktor, but he felt better doing so. Thank you! To Steelcode: Zee is a very protective mama bear! Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Let her play Culture Club when she gets the green light, LOL. I have not mentioned Cordelia before. Viktor is a sweetheart and very patient with Hermione. They can joke about the article because they know the truth. Harry is an amazing flier and doesn't need a sticking charm to broom surf. Thank you! To littlehughesy: Thank you! Yes, Hermione's relationship is going well and is more than just an instrument to make Ron jealous. Thank you!
To Wolf's scream: Yes, it does help explain why Hermione would become Viktor's hostage. I always thought there was more between them than just the Yule Ball. Ginny's reaction to the article was very fun and her saying he and Ginny would always just be friends… yes, Harry's not sure why he doesn't like that. As to Snape, I am trying to give his character more depth and I did always picture the Dark Mark as something that was very much alive, which is why I have been writing it as such. It is essentially a personal tracker for Voldemort that allows him to control his followers, to an extent, at least that's how I imagined it. To Tai Shiryuki: Thank you! I appreciate you saying that the scene between Harry and Hermione was "quite moving and really does show the depth of their relationship and it was lovely to read." That means a lot. Thank you for wishing Zee was in the original series, that means so much to know how much people are growing to love her! To alix33: Definitely saved all of the dragon eggs. No injuries! You don't trust Delta Carthaginian as far as you can throw her? Interesting. Thank you!
To supersandman86: Thank you! Yes, Harry will find out Ginny and Michael are dating at the Yule Ball. Remus' return is definitely allowing for the students to be more prepared than in canon. He is a very good educator. Thank you! Thanks for saying that "how much detailing I put into this story is worth galleons." You are kind. To Annie: Thank you! Wow, saying ASC is better than the original is really honouring. I love that you love Hermione and Krum together! They are cute and yes, who wouldn't have a massive crush on Krum? Zee and Sirius could definitely rule the world together. Thank you! To Guest: Love your guesses on who the mysterious figure is. Can't wait to see if any of you are surprised. You think the smoking gun is Bagman? Interesting, we shall have to wait and see. Ginny will do some travelling in the future and there will be another guy outside of Michael. It is a slow burn for Hinny. I love Harry having two sets of parents and I definitely thing James and Lily would have approved. Thanks for not hating Snape (I think). He is grey. Thank you!
To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: I hope the mystery stays a mystery. Though there has been some interesting guesses and distrust tossed around from Bagman to Crouch Jr to Carthaginian. I do want Harry to be friends with the champion. I'm glad he's going with Luna too. And ah, Snape, the forever troublesome character of where does he really stand? And wow! You're re-reading ASC? I'm honoured! Thank you! You've re-read this 7 or 8 times! My god! I am seriously amazed and humbled by that! Thank you so much! To Soveliss: Luna will be a fun date! It's nice to show the softer side of Viktor, I'm glad you're enjoying him. Thank you! To Ash: Aw, thanks for being disappointed you have to wait for the next chapter. Thank you for saying ASC is one of your favourites. You think Bagman is the bad guy? Interesting. We'll see. Thank you!
Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!
My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN:
The One Where Harry Thinks It's the Formal Wear
Sirius opened the Daily Prophet on the twenty-third and quickly scanned the headlines in search of the formal apologies to Harry, Ginny. and Hermione. He smiled when he came across them, reading the printed words with smugness.
Zee stepped into the kitchen and began to organize the counter into her cooking station, taking out flour, sugar, ginger, and eggs and lining them up carefully.
"What'cha making?" he asked, standing up to kiss her.
"Biscuits and tarts," she said with a smile. "Do you think that Harry will be disappointed that we decorated for Christmas without him?"
Sirius shook his head. "He'll understand. He's coming home late tomorrow which doesn't give us a lot of time for decorating. When I pick him up tomorrow, we'll decorate the tree and do some of our own traditions."
Zee nodded. "All right, good. I'm glad that you saved the tree for him. I know that you like to wait until he comes home to decorate, but with him coming home so late this year, you just don't have the time. I can finish most of my Christmas baking today. Though on Christmas Day I want to get the potato casserole dish made in the morning to bring to Andromeda and Ted's for dinner, or at least get it started. I'll save some of the tarts and biscuits for then as well, but I want to get started on my pies"
Sirius kissed her ear. "Need help?"
"No, I got this," her eyes fell on the paper in his hands. "Is there an apology in there?"
"Six of them," he said with a grin. "Three rather measly ones from Skeazer and three much better ones from Evangeline, one from each of them dedicated individually to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, which an apology on getting Ginny's name wrong. He also wrote an editor's note apologizing for publishing gossip in the newspaper. He kept his word, babe."
"Good," she said sternly, turning to look at him as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "He listened. We'll see if and what he publishes concerning the Yule Ball and if he continues to stay true to his word, I'll sign the contract in January."
Sirius grinned, tossing the newspaper back on the table and spanning her waist with his hands. "Maybe you can throw a few provisions in there, something like the contract becoming null and void if he goes back on his word."
Zee put her arms around his waist as she smiled up at him. "That could be arranged."
Sirius bent his head to kiss her deeply. "You don't need to start baking right this minute, do you?"
Zee chuckled against him. "Yes, I do. Go outside in the workshop and play with the bikes or something."
He kissed her again and sighed. "Fine, fine." He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "I'm excited for Harry about the Yule Ball tonight and everything, but I wish that he was home with us."
She smiled at him. "We'll have him home with us tomorrow."
He nodded and moved to put the kettle on. "I think I will go out and work on the Motosacoche for a bit. I'm going to make myself a tea first. You sure that you don't need any help in here?"
Zee smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure. Now, why don't you mirror-call Harry and make sure that they all saw the apologies from the paper?"
"Yeah, that sounds good."
She watched him take his tea and wander off to do just that and she grinned to herself. Sirius wasn't the only one who was anxious for their boy to come home for Christmas, she thought. She clapped her hands together, shaking herself from her thoughts. Time to get to work; she had lots of Christmas baking to do.
~ ASC ~
After talking to Sirius, Harry immediately sought out a copy of the newspaper which he knew that Neville had a subscription to. He opened it up to the page that Sirius had told him and he quickly read the apologies.
It wasn't much, but it did cover the basics: That the paper had been wrong, that Hermione was not his secret girlfriend nor did she use love potions or blackmail to get his or anyone else's attention, and that Ginny (not Guinevere) was not his secret girlfriend nor was she using blackmail in an attempt to wrangle his money from him. The paper went on to say that they were sorry to have printed such gossip and promised to only print the truth in the future. He figured that it was acceptable enough. The one from Rita Skeeter left something to be desired, but it still made Harry feel a bit better to see it and he knew that Hermione felt the same.
Ginny still found the entire thing amusing, especially since they hadn't even gotten her name right the first time, but Harry thought she appreciated the apologies just the same.
He spent the morning and most of the afternoon involved in a snowball fight that soon encompassed most of the fourth years, a few third years, and some of the fifth years, along with the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team. They built forts to divide and conquer and were laughing as snowballs went flying in every direction.
Fred and George had even sent a few flying towards Remus when he was walking on the grounds. Everyone had slightly panicked thinking that they were all going to end up in detention when the snowball smacked Remus right in the back of the head. But he had only chuckled and told them to have fun.
But Harry knew better.
Ten minutes later, a giant snowball had been enchanted to hover over Fred and George and their team. They tried to outrun it, but it simply crashed down on top of them, making Fred, George, Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and Katie, who had all been in the vicinity with the twins, look like abominable snow monsters. They had stared ahead, mouths open in shock as Remus had simply walked by whistling.
"Well, played, Professor," George said, shivering under the snow.
Remus had simply winked at him on his way back up to the castle.
The snow fight pretty much ended after that and the girls all took off to get ready for the ball. Harry, Ron, and Neville headed inside to warm up themselves chatting about the ball and wondering if the rumours about the Weird Sisters performing that night were true.
Neville reassured Harry that he would be fine during the opening dance, but he only nodded. It wasn't the dancing that he was worried about so much as being the centre of attention and he was thankful again that Luna had been kind enough to agree to attend with him. Even if Sorcha hadn't taught him to dance during the summer, McGonagall's lessons over the last two weeks had been quite informative. He felt eyes on him, dragging him from his thoughts and turned to find the culprit the same pretty dark-haired girl who often seemed to be around him. She smiled and blushed before she looked away.
Harry watched her for a moment before he turned his attention back to his friends as Ron asked them who Hermione was taking for the umpteenth time.
Harry rolled his eyes. "You'll see tonight, Ron."
"I still think that she's lying. Poor girl, doesn't want me to know that she has no one to take her. I would have taken her, you know?"
Harry glared at him. "You sound like a right prat, you know that, right? What makes you think that no one would have asked her?"
"I didn't mean —"
"— To speak before you think? Yeah, you should work on that. Someone great is taking Hermione because he knows that she's beautiful and smart and he makes her smile. She deserves that and you should be her friend and be supportive," Harry said bluntly. "Because at the moment, you just sound like a jealous arse."
Ron ran his fingers through his hair. "You're right. I'm sorry."
Harry shrugged. "Don't apologize to me."
Ron only nodded as he followed his friend up to their dorm to shower and get ready. He knew that Harry was right, but he couldn't help but think about what Theodore Nott had said to him during the summer.
"So, you don't think that she's attractive and you don't want to snog her?"
"I didn't say that! I mean, of course she's beautiful, but she's Hermione and —"
"— And you like her. Just saying, someone else is going to notice her soon and you're going to beat yourself up if you don't make a move first."
Someone else had realized that she was beautiful and intelligent and he scowled at himself. It didn't matter, Hermione would never think of him as more than a friend anyway, he thought bitterly. But when he stepped into the shower, he found himself once more wondering what it would feel like to kiss her and when he imagined a faceless bloke leaning in to kiss her instead, he felt murderous.
Whoever this mystery bloke was, he had better treat her right, he thought. He would talk to her and apologize and then he would talk to the bloke too. He nodded to himself as he washed his hair. Right, a plan. That was a good start. He heard Seamus say something from the shower stall next to him and he grinned.
He had his own date tonight and if he played his cards right, maybe Lavender would let him kiss her. That would definitely help him take his mind off of Hermione and her mystery date.
At least he hoped so.
~ ASC ~
Remus' mouth went slightly dry when he caught sight of his mate sneaking into the Great Hall at exactly five fifteen that evening. She had done something different to her hair, he noticed, changing it from the usual bubblegum pink to a bright magenta with bubblegum highlights. It was longer in the front, dipping just past her chin and she'd straightened it, but kept it short and choppy in the back revealing her slender neck. Her long dress was bright yellow satin, form fitting, long flowing sleeves and with a deep revealing v to her abdomen where the satin criss-crossed leaving the sides of her stomach bare. A thigh high slit was on the left side of her dress. One button tied at the back of the neck and left the rest of her back completely naked. She wore black mesh lace up stiletto ankle boots that he knew she would stumble in all night, but made the glimpses of leg he could see through the slit in her dress look more incredible than usual.
His heartbeat dangled between her breasts and she wore long earrings in black and pink quartz. A black and pink bracelet adorned her wrist as well along with a matching ankle bracelet. She caught sight of him and smiled, her magenta lipstick matching her hair as she made her way over.
He took her hands in his just as she stumbled and he kissed her hand. "My lovely, klutz."
"I have to wear heels if I'm going to dance with my Celtic giant."
He smiled, slipping an arm around her waist. "That dress is entirely too provocative for a school dance. You aren't even wearing a bra."
Tonks smiled, looking down at the v cut that outlined the sides of her breasts down the middle. "The dress doesn't call for one."
McGonagall marched over to them in her deep green dress with a high neck and long sweeping sleeves. "Remus, Tonks," she said sternly, taking in Tonks' dress. "Miss Tonks, don't you think that that's a bit revealing? Let me seal up that slit in the side just a bit?"
Tonks only smiled. "Minerva, I'm hardly a student."
McGonagall nodded, but still gave her a disapproving look. "You look beautiful, I will admit, but I really think that thigh high slit is just a bit too much and the v-cut… you are at a school dance after all and —"
"— Minerva, I love it."
McGonagall sighed. "Fine, but you should be aware that internally I'm giving you detention."
Remus chuckled as they watched her march away. "Detention, eh? Naughty. I'll have to make sure that you're properly punished later."
She laughed and kissed his cheek before she reached out to straighten his tie. She had picked out Remus' clothes for him when he had protested about finding a new suit to wear. He wore a steel grey suit with a light blue and white pinstripe shirt and a wide bright yellow tie that was the exact shade of Tonks' dress. "You look smashing in this."
"The trousers feel a bit tight in the rear," he admitted.
"Your arse looks fantastic."
He blushed. "Dora, I'm not looking to showcase my arse. This is my place of work. I need to be professional."
Tonks smiled. "Are they actually tight or just tighter than you normally wear?"
"The latter," he admitted.
Her smile widened. "You look very sexy, Professor. Now come on, let's go stand where we're supposed to before we dance. You'll have to lead me through this waltz in these heels."
He nodded and took her hand in his. "Come on; we're just over here. Harry will be opening the ball with the other champions."
"I know. He's so nervous," she said with a smile. "I'm glad that he's taking Luna. She's the right sort of friend he needs tonight to help get him through this."
"Exactly. Plus, it helped that Zee's mum taught him to dance this summer. He feels more confident about it. We'll be sitting at his table."
"Excellent," she said, putting her handbag down on the chair that Remus pointed out. "He's excited to come home for Christmas this year. His last letter was just full of it. Mum will be cooking on Christmas Day and then they are spending Boxing Day in Scotland with Zee's family. Sirius is becoming quite domesticated, is he not?"
Remus chuckled. "I suppose he is, but don't tell him that. It's hard to say no to Harry when he wants that family so badly. Sirius does too; he just is too chicken to admit how much he wants."
"Why, do you think?"
He sighed, his arm resting on her hip as he led her over to where they were supposed to stand for the Champions' arrival. "You and your parents are all that he has left, Nymphadora. Fee and Monty took him in and they doted on him and gave him a true family for the first time in his life and he lost both of them within weeks of each other. Then James and Lily died, then he lost Harry and I when he went to prison… I think that he's more afraid of being hurt again than he wants to admit. I think that's his fear and not the commitment that we tease him over. To be honest, if he lost Zee right now… I don't know if he'd survive it. The fact that he finally asked her to move in with them is a good thing. For both him and Harry."
She nodded, smiling at him. "Zee is perfect for them. Too bad that they couldn't be here tonight to see Harry open the ball."
Remus smiled. "Special invite only, however, there will be some important Ministry officials here. And I asked Colin Creevey to make sure that he gets a lot of photos of Harry for myself and Sirius. He's photographing the event for the Hogwarts Herald."
"Good. Did any of the other staff members invite dates?"
"Only a few of us: Myself, Delta, Gideon, Aurora, and Charity."
Tonks nodded as she looked around the Great Hall. "Anyone that we know?"
Remus shook his head. "No one that I've met before. Delta is bringing a friend from Italy, a fashion designer she said, I think his name is Leonardo? Gideon is bringing his boyfriend, Liam O'Kelly. I guess he's a journalist for an Irish newspaper and will be writing about the ball and the tournament. Aurora is bringing her husband. Charity is bringing her fiancé, a woman named LiMei Lee who actually works as the Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic in Hong Kong so, I think that Dumbledore is rather pleased with that just because it opens us up even more to the whole promotion of international magical cooperation."
She smiled. "Fascinating. I don't know any of these people."
He chuckled. "Sorry, I sometimes forget. You know Aurora Sinistra and Charity Burbage. But Delta is the new professor for Life in the Magical World and Gideon teaches the new Muggle Studies class."
"Oh, right," Tonks said, smiling up at him. "I only ever had Sinistra for Astronomy, but those people all sound very interesting. I didn't know Sinistra was married. Will they all be sitting with us?"
"No," he said, holding her hand. "McGonagall has arranged the special guests around the three main tables. We'll be with Harry and Krum and a few others." He let go of her hand, moving his hand to her waist and letting his fingers tighten on her hip. "So, are you going to keep looking for an excuse to avoid it and leave me in suspense all night?"
Tonks only smiled at him beneath her lashes. "Whatever do you mean?"
He smiled. "Nymphadora, what did King say?"
Tonks smiled, brightly. "He said that if I can close six more cases successfully I can write and perform my final A3 proficiency test at the end of March. If I pass, then I will be promoted to an A3 and given the official title of Special Auror Tonks."
Remus beamed at her and kissed her forehead. "I am so proud of you."
She grinned back at him. "I will pass it. I am determined to come out on top."
"And you will, my bad-arse Special Auror," he told her, kissing her, softly.
"I want it so badly, Remus."
He smiled. "You've been working hard for it and you deserve it, King knows that. I know that you can do this." He watched Flitwick and McGonagall move around some last minute decorations before he spoke again. "Come on; you get to look the part of stern chaperone now. The students are starting to arrive."
Tonks simply smiled at him, staying by his side with his arm possessively resting on her waist. "Now I'm going to know which ones fancy you."
He blushed. "No one would… you're being ridiculous."
She leaned into him. "I know how sexy my professor looks right now. I'll be keeping my eye on your delectable backside all night."
Remus let his gaze drop to v of her dress that exposed the sides of her small bra-less breasts. "I think it's me that needs to be worried."
Tonks grinned. "No need, love. You can peel me out of it later. Maybe under our Christmas tree."
Remus' heated gaze sent shivers down her spine. "That excuse of a dress is not going to be peeled off."
She pouted. "But under the tree would be fun!"
He lowered his head to nip gently at her earlobe. "Nymphadora, I want you wearing that dress when I take you and trust me, under the tree is only just going to be the start."
She blushed just as the doors opened and the first few students began to make their way into the hall. His arm stayed around her waist as he smiled at the incoming students, greeting them by name when they saw him and she knew that there was no place that she would rather be than by his side.
And later on, riding him under their tree, she thought with a grin.
~ ASC ~
Harry stood in his dormitory looking at himself in the tall mirror. He had to admit, the green suit that Zee had picked out for him looked good. The white button-down shirt with the grey pinstripes and the dark navy tie seemed to tame the green down while still making him stand out. He wore a chestnut brown belt with matching brown oxfords. His black formal cloak tied around his shoulders. His hair was its usual mess, but he felt like he had finally learned to tame it somewhat to look casually messy in its voluminous way. He added a bit of cologne before he turned to glance over at Ron.
Ron had the unfortunate luck to be wearing robes from the nineteenth century in a deep maroon colour with a cream coloured ruffled blouse. He glowered at himself in the mirror. "Why does Mum hate me?"
"She doesn't hate you," Harry said, carefully. "And it's not that bad."
Ron turned to glare at his friend. "Not that bad? Harry, I look like I'm wearing a dress!"
Seamus laughed from behind them. "Er, I mean, no, you look fine."
Ron glowered again. "Lavender is going to hate it."
Seamus sighed and moved to stand in front of Ron. "Maybe we can fix it up so that it doesn't look quite so… old-fashioned?"
Harry grinned. "We can start by getting rid of the maroon." He whipped out his wand and said, "Colovaria!"
Ron's robes immediately shifted from maroon to black. "Brilliant! Thanks, Harry!"
Harry nodded, looking at him critically. "Wait. I can fix this."
He waved his wand again and said, "Diffindo," severing the lace edges. It still looked old, but the black and the lack of lace made him look more aristocratic and less like he had time travelled.
"That's the best that I can do, mate. I'm not a tailor."
Ron beamed at him. "It looks loads better, thanks, Harry!"
Harry smiled back. "You're welcome. Turn around."
Ron did as Harry asked, lifting up his shirt and robes as Harry walked around him critically. "Something else wrong with the trousers?"
"No," Harry assured him. "The trousers are fine." He brushed the loose strings from his diffindo charm off of Ron's arse. "Better."
Ron grinned and put his shirt and cloak back down.
"Wait!" Seamus said, grabbing his own wand. "My mum uses this one all the time." He waved his wand around Ron's shirt and said, "Inalbesco!"
The cream colour of Ron's shirt became a pristine dazzling white as Seamus nodded in approval. He raised his wand again with a grin.
"Evanesco solutam linum!"
The loose threads of the lace that Harry had severed vanished making Ron's robes look smooth and clean cut. The black robes were old fashioned with a high collar and long tails, but with the lace gone and the maroon out, it looked much better.
"You actually look rather dashing, Ron," Seamus said with a grin. "And I did the charm correctly without destroying your robes so, point for me."
Harry chuckled at that statement. Seamus had improved a lot this year and was less prone to blowing things up, mostly, he thought with a grin.
Ron looked at himself in the mirror again, smiling widely. "Blimey, it looks completely different! Thanks Seamus!"
Seamus grinned at him. "You're welcome."
He was dressed in black robes himself with a bright royal blue bowtie and he had added a bit of gel to his hair to get it to stand up in a loose spiked fashion. Dean stepped out in his own black dress pants with a hot pink tuxedo jacket with a black collar and bow-tie over his bright white shirt making them all grin.
"Parvati's dress is this colour and we wanted to match. You lot are just jealous because I can pull the pink off," Dean said with a smirk. "I like the green, Harry. It seems champion worthy."
Harry smiled at his friends as Neville came out of the bathroom in his navy suit, white dress shirt, and burgundy tie with his hair carefully slicked and parted to the side. "Looking good, Nev."
He flushed. "Gran just sent me the tie last week. Ginny said that she's wearing burgundy. Did you know that we're supposed to match our dates?"
Ron blanched. "We are?"
Harry chuckled. "Didn't you wonder why Lavender kept asking you about your dress robes?"
Ron shrugged. "Not really. But now that they aren't so awful, I guess that I feel bad for not making more of an effort to match her."
"What's she wearing?" Seamus asked, adjusting his tie.
"She said black and white?"
"Then you're golden," Dean said with a grin. "What about you, Harry? What's Luna wearing?"
"She actually asked about my robes since she didn't have any to wear when I invited her so, I have no idea."
Neville smiled. "Knowing Luna it could be anything."
Harry grinned. "I know. She will definitely help make my opening waltz a bit better."
Dean nodded. "What about Will, Seam?"
Seamus grinned and touched his bowtie. "We got matching bowties."
"All right, you lot, let's go get our dates and maybe we can figure out who the hell Hermione is going with!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry rolled his eyes. He was really getting annoyed lately with the fact that Ron was convinced Hermione had said no to him out of spite and planned to spend the night of the Yule Ball alone in her room. He even wondered if he had detected a jealous undertone from his friend, but he thought that he might be imagining it. He had hoped his words earlier had hit home with Ron, but he honestly wasn't sure.
"She's going to have the time of her life. Wait until you see her date," he said with a grin, thinking of how many girls were going to be jealous when they found out that Hermione Granger was the girl to have stolen Viktor Krum.
Ron scowled at that and Harry thought that maybe he wasn't crazy, Ron was definitely jealous and he found that very interesting. He didn't say anything as the five of them made their way downstairs. Seamus and Harry left together to meet their dates down in the entrance hall as Ron, Neville, and Dean waited for theirs in the Gryffindor common room.
Seamus was fidgeting with his sleeves and Harry smirked at him. "What?"
"You look nervous, mate."
Seamus shrugged. "I am a bit. I mean, I know that I've come clean about Will and all, but this is a dance, and everyone will be there."
"And what?"
"Don't you think that people will care that I'm going with a bloke?"
Harry only scoffed at him. "No, and if they do, they're bigots so they can piss off. It's not like you're the only gay person in the school, Seam."
Seamus smiled at him. "Thanks, Harry. I sometimes think that everyone has the same views as my dad and well… you're right."
Harry smiled at him in reassurance as they made their way down into the entrance hall to wait for Luna and Will. Harry looked around at the other students and he nodded in surprise when he saw Cho, looking radiant in a white and gold dress, take Cedric's hand in hers. Harry saw that Roger Davies, a seventh year Ravenclaw, was lucky enough to be escorting Fleur to the ball and Viktor was dressed in his formal Durmstrang robes of blood red with an ocean blue rose over his heart as he shifted nervously at the bottom of the stairs. A few girls were staring at him and giggling.
Will came down the stairs in navy robes with a white shirt and his matching royal blue bowtie, grinning widely. He hurried right over to Seamus and kissed him, earning a catcall from someone across the room.
Seamus smiled at him. "You look amazing."
"I can say the same," he said with a grin.
Seamus opened his hand to show Will the matching buttonhole that he had purchased for him. "I picked this out in Hogsmeade. It's a dendrobium orchid. I thought since we have matching bowties in this exact shade of blue that blue and white orchids would be nice." He flushed as he carefully placed the buttonhole over Will's heart.
Will smiled and kissed him. "It's gorgeous. Thank you."
Seamus beamed at him as Will adjusted Seamus' buttonhole and then he offered his arm which Seamus gladly took and the two of them made their way into the Great Hall.
Harry, who had made himself scarce to let his friend greet his date, smiled at Viktor. "Viktor," he said nodding in greeting.
Viktor nodded back. "Harry. Are you ready to valtz?"
"Not even a little," Harry said with a grimace. "But I suppose that we can all make fools of ourselves together."
Viktor nodded as Fleur made her way over to them with Roger on her arm.
"Bonjour, Viktor, 'Arry. Comment ça va?"
Harry smiled kindly at her. "Bonjour, Fleur. Je vais bien. Vous avez l'air incroyable ce soir, votre rendez-vous est très chanceux."
Fleur beamed at him. "Tu parles très bien le français, 'Arry. I am impressed."
"Merci. My father taught me. I am decent, but not great," he said with a grin.
"More than decent," she said with a smile. "Ze effort is appreciated."
Harry smiled at Viktor. "I never learned Bulgarian I'm afraid."
Viktor chuckled. "Vat is okay. I am still learn English." He made to say something else, but his eyes widened, and Harry turned around to see what he was looking at.
The vision coming towards them in a beautiful dress of ocean blue silk and tulle surprised him. If he hadn't known that it was Hermione, he wasn't sure that he would have recognized her immediately. Her dress left her shoulders and the top of her back bare, tapered at the waist and flowed out like a lampshade as she walked down the grand steps in dark blue heels with a silver ornamental design. Her usual rather bushy hair was pinned up out of her face in some complicated twist that framed her face in soft curls and rained over her shoulders and down her back. Her lashes were longer and she wore a blood-red colour on her lips the exact shade of her date's robes. Thin silver strips with shimmering rhinestones dangled from her ears and she wore a simple silver y necklace with stars. She looked incredible.
"Her-mio-nee," Viktor said with a smile, taking three quick steps to her and kissing her hand, making her blush. "You look breath-ta-king."
She smiled at him. "You look wonderful, too. I like the blue rose."
He kissed her hand again before he held his arm out to her, slipping a ruby red rose with a glittering jewel in the centre of the corsage, on her wrist. "Now, ve match," he said, kissing her hand again.
She grinned wider and he led her over to the door of the hall where they were to wait to be announced into the hall.
Harry looked down at the wrist corsage that he had made for Luna. Not knowing what her dress looked like, he had tried to find something that made him think of his friend. He had chosen a wrist corsage with a bright sunflower after explaining to the florist about his date's personality. He saw a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye and turned, his eyes widening when he saw Ginny coming down the stairs on Neville's arm.
She was wearing a beautiful burgundy ball gown with pointed lace sleeves that fell gracefully to the floor as Hermione's had. Her gold heels peeked out from beneath it and her hair tumbled around her shoulders and down her back in careless fiery waves, a small messy bun pinning it out of her face and held in place with a Gryffindor lion clip. She wore a rose gold choker around her neck with diamonds on a black velvet ribbon that Bill had bought her for her birthday and large tri-coloured gold hoops at her ears from Percy. He swallowed slowly when she smiled at him. She had grown up, he realized and he was suddenly incredibly jealous of the fact that Neville was taking this breathtaking beauty to the dance.
"Harry! You look rather dashing!" She saw the corsage in his hand and grinned. "Ooh, that's perfect for Luna! Wait until you see her dress. She looks amazing!"
Harry only nodded and watched as she and Neville disappeared behind the doors to the Great Hall. He couldn't believe that was Ginny, he thought. When had she grown up on him? Had she always been that beautiful? Had he just been too dense to notice? He swallowed slowly and closed his eyes.
It was Ginny.
She was his best friend and he had no business even thinking the thoughts that he was thinking. But a sudden image of assaulting those red lips, of his hand on the small of her waist as he pressed her against a wall shot a lick of lust through him that surprised and horrified him at the same time.
No, he thought, no, no, no. She was his friend. He wasn't going to ruin that. This ball was doing strange things to his mind. It was the formal wear, he insisted to himself, shoving the thoughts away. He was here with Luna, he thought. Where was Luna?
And then he saw her.
She seemed to float down the stairs in a long sleeved lace dress of dark charcoal grey speckled in bronze. It had a high neck and was slim fitting, falling to the floor as her turquoise mermaid mesh ankle heels peeked out the bottom. A thick turquoise bedazzled sash worked as a belt at her waist and dangled down the left side of her dress. She wore three turquoise studs in each ear with a silver hoops and her long pale blonde hair was braided around her head and then pinned up in bun part way into a bun that looked like a rose, leaving her hair to tumble down her back.
Harry took her hand when she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Luna, you look incredible," he said sincerely. "Absolutely beautiful."
She did look beautiful and just quirky enough to still be the girl that he knew. She had grown up on him as well, he realized, wondering when all of the girls he knew had turned into gorgeous women. Taking a page from Viktor's book, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, making her smile in surprise.
"I have something for you."
He slipped the corsage onto her wrist.
"Oh, a sunflower!" Luna exclaimed with a smile. "Harry, that's my favourite flower!"
"I'm glad," he said with a grin. He offered his arm to her with a bright smile. "Are you ready to open the ball with me?"
"I am," she said with a smile. "We will dance like fairies on a mound!"
Harry grinned at her. "Thank you for coming with me, Luna."
"Thank you for asking me," she said, sincerely.
Harry smiled at her as she accepted his arm and the two of them made their way to the entranceway to wait for their announcement. He fidgeted with his own buttonhole over his heart; he had gotten himself a sunflower to match Luna's and she smiled sympathetically at him.
"It will be fine, Harry. We only have to dance for two minutes before everyone else joins us."
"I know," he said. "Everyone looks great, too. Ginny told me that I would be impressed with your dress. She was right. You really look great."
"Ginny helped me pick it out. She is excited to be going with Neville. She said that it will be nice to go with a friend, no pressure, and I quite agree. But I think Michael is disappointed anyway that he didn't ask her in time. Did you see her dress? I'm the one who suggested that she get gold heels. If she's going to look radiant in that shade of deep burgundy than she might as well add in some gold and go for a Gryffindor-ish tone," she explained with a smile.
"Yeah, I suppose. Michael wanted to take you?"
Luna shook her head. "No, his girlfriend, silly."
Harry only shook his head in confusion. He had no idea who Michael was nor who his girlfriend was, but knowing Luna, he sometimes knew that it was better not to ask questions. He nodded at McGonagall as she hurried over to them.
"Champions, everyone is just settling in and then Dumbledore will announce you in. You will be entering in terms of your score. First will be Mr Krum with Miss Granger, then Mr Potter with Miss Lovegood, Mr Diggory with Miss Chang, and lastly Miss Delacour with Mr Davies; you will enter when your name is announced."
It was only a moment later before the doors opened and Dumbledore's voice could be heard.
"And now to announce our wonderful champions! I present Mr Viktor Krum from Durmstrang!"
Viktor and Hermione stepped into the Great Hall to polite applause.
"From Hogwarts, Mr Harry Potter!"
Harry kept Luna's arm tucked into his as they stepped through the doors into the winter wonderland that the Great Hall had been turned into and he blinked at the flash of the camera. Gone were the house tables and in their place were round tables of twelve surrounding a large dance floor. Tables numbers were assigned as groups had signed up for their tables over the last two weeks with their heads of house. Icicles hung from the ceiling and everything was white and blue and silver from the ice statues to the tinsel and the silver and white trees. It was beautiful. He led Luna over to stand next to Viktor and Hermione as Cedric and Cho were called in, followed by Fleur and Roger.
"Your champions, ladies and gentlemen!" Dumbledore called out as the four champions and their partners got into position in each corner of the dance floor. "Our champions will lead us in a waltz!"
The room applauded once more and Flitwick led the orchestra into Tchaikovsky's Garland Waltz from Sleeping Beauty and Harry carefully put his hand on Luna's waist, taking her hand in his.
Harry smiled at her and he felt reassured when she grinned back at him and then they began to dance and he knew that it would be all right. Luna was a graceful dancer and she let him lead happily, a soft smile on her dreamy face. When Dumbledore invited everyone else to join in, Harry let out a breath of relief and Luna chuckled.
"I for one, thought that went swimmingly, and there wasn't even any gnome saliva to make us dance too strangely."
"Er, right," Harry told her.
They moved seamlessly into the second dance, Strauss' Blue Danube, and when the song ended, Dumbledore urged everyone to take their seats for dinner. Harry and Luna followed the other champions to the Head tables where they would be sitting with the staff and special guest Ministry members who were in attendance.
He looked around at all of the new people that filled the Great Hall. There were three large circular Head Tables of thirteen at the front of the dance floor. Harry and Luna were sitting at the large table on the right with Viktor and Hermione along with Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, and to Harry's displeasure, Snape. Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore stood up, smiling brightly.
"Welcome! I welcome you all to this joyous Yule Ball as we spend this lovely evening together. As you can see, we are full of many guests and dignitaries tonight to help us celebrate not only the TriWizard Tournament, but to help celebrate the importance of international magical cooperation — which is something that this tournament strives for. Bringing together three magic schools is not only about competition, but a chance to learn more about the countries that the students come from and about the people they are. I see many of you tonight have found dates with students from other schools, including two of our champions. I applaud you and I urge the rest of you to please, make friends. Let's show them our Hogwarts school spirit."
Applause broke out as Dumbledore smiled and raised his hands to speak once again. "I would like to introduce to you our very special guests to you now. When I call your name, please stand so that we may all welcome you to Hogwarts here tonight." He extended his arm to the main table that he was sitting at as he spoke. "Mr Ludo Bagman from the Department of Magical Games of Sports."
Loud applause met his announcement and he smiled jollily as he waved as Dumbledore continued.
"Mr Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Miss Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. Madame Simone Richelieu, President of the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France. Mr Chavdar Oblansk, the Bulgarian Minister of Magic. Mr Jericho Jones, from the International Confederation of Wizards. Lady Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Miss Katherine Thomas of the International Magical Office of Law. And of course you all know our own Professors Minerva McGonagall and Aurora Sinistra, along with Madame Olympé Maxime of the Beauxbatons Academy, and Professor Igor Karkaroff of the Durmstrang Institute."
Loud applause followed each name and Harry watched Tonks lean in towards Remus and hiss angrily. "How dare they bring that foul toad here after what she did!"
Remus simply locked his fingers with hers, bringing her hand to his lips. Harry knew his father could feel said foul toad's eyes on him, but he was pointedly ignoring her as Dumbledore continued his introductions.
"The table to my left, has Miss LiMei Lee, the Ambassador to the Hong Kong Mófǎ bù. Mr Liam O'Kelly, a journalist for the Irish Prophet. Our own Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory and his date, Miss Cho Chang. The Beauxbatons Champion, Miss Fleur Delacour and her date Mr Roger Davies. Professors Sybill Trelawney, Charity Burbage, Filius Flitwick, Gideon Birmingham, and Bathsheda Babbling, along with our own Hogwarts librarian Madam Irma Pince, and our caretaker Mr Argus Filch."
He smiled at the polite applause and slight coughs at the mentioning of the crabby caretaker's name.
"And lastly our table to the right includes Auror Nymphadora Tonks, an A2 in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Signore Leonardo Fanucci, Rome's famous fashion designer. Mr Percy Weasley, Junior Assistant to Mr Bartemius Crouch from the Department of International Magical Cooperation, who unfortunately could not be in attendance tonight. And of course our second Hogwarts Champion, Mr Harry Potter and his date, Miss Luna Lovegood. Durmstrang's Champion, Mr Viktor Krum and his date, Miss Hermione Granger. And of course, Professors Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, Delta Carthaginian, Septima Vector, and Severus Snape along with our own school healer, Madam Poppy Pomfrey."
Loud applause once more erupted and Dumbledore smiled. "Tonight, we celebrate with this ball the beginning of Yule. We celebrate the accomplishments of our four champions in the First Task and we look forward to cheering them on in the Second Task at the end of February. The tournament is about discovering our own international magical cooperation, making new friends, and discovering new places and new cultures. Tonight I urge you to mingle, to talk, and to learn about our new friends. Together, we can make the world a better place and it all starts with a friendly smile. Now, I urge you to order something delicious from the menu provided. Relax and enjoy because at exactly nine, I have the honour of announcing that our musical guests for the evening will be the Weird Sisters."
"You're shitting me!" Tonks hissed as the crowd cheered in excitement, earning a light smack on the arm from her mate and making Harry laugh. "You knew the whole time!"
Remus smiled at her, taking her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers. "Shush, love. I wanted to surprise you."
Tonks beamed at him. "I think I love you even more than I did five minutes ago."
He kissed her fingers again. "Behave yourself and maybe I'll waggle an introduction to the band from Dumbledore."
Her eyes widened to saucers as she whispered to him. "If you manage that, Remus Lupin, you are getting so lucky tonight."
He blushed and grinned at her as Dumbledore sat back down and Harry grinned across the table at Tonks. "Can you believe it?"
"No!" she said, her eyes wide. She turned and kissed Remus' cheek. "This is the best surprise ever!"
He smiled at her. "Good."
~ ASC ~
The food was delicious. The menu had five different main course options and one could order as many of them as they wanted: Beef, chicken, fish, vegetarian, or lamb. There were salads and vegetables and antipastos galore and Harry eagerly ate the delicious food as he chatted around the table.
Luna was a delightful date. She asked question after question to their table guests including questioning Viktor on his views about dragons and the mysterious mythical Jarvey and whether or not he might have seen one in Bulgaria. Remus and Tonks spoke mainly to Professor Carthaginian's date, Signore Fanucci, about his job as a designer in Italy and what had brought him to Scotland, outside of Delta, who he in fact was engaged to.
The only downside to their table was Snape, who seemed to be avoiding conversation with most of the table. Luna, however, decided that this wasn't right and pulled him into the conversation at every opportunity asking him about obscure potions and about whether or not he could invent his own potions about absolutely anything. By the time that dessert was served, Snape had even cracked a small smile at something Professor Vector had told him.
Harry couldn't stop himself from watching Hermione. He had been shocked when she had told him that she was attending the ball with Viktor Krum, but watching her with him was something else entirely.
Viktor was incredibly attentive to her. When she spoke, he gave her his full attention and stared at her like every word out of her mouth was music to his ears. He tried to get her to eat more food and poured her white wine, water, and pumpkin juice to drink and Harry had caught him kissing her hand twice. Hermione was smiling at him, her brown eyes beaming in happiness. It was nice to see her so happy, he thought.
When dessert was finished, Dumbledore stood up again, arms stretched wide to silence the hall.
"Now that we are all fed and watered, I would be honoured to introduce our musical talent for the evening. Drinks and snacks will be available at a table against the wall at the back for anyone who needs some more refreshments during the dancing. Now, I urge you all to get onto the dance floor and to enjoy yourselves. Hogwarts is proud to welcome, the Weird Sisters!"
The lights dimmed and brightly coloured lights illuminated on a stage that appeared in the middle of the dance floor. The music began to play and Luna grinned.
Harry smiled at her and jumped to his feet. "Shall we dance, Luna?"
She nodded, accepting his hand as Viktor and Hermione followed them along with Remus and Tonks and most of their table. Harry was much more comfortable with this kind of dancing then the formal waltz and he couldn't help but laugh as Luna shimmied, her arms moving in the air like she was trying to fly as the Weird Sisters sang asking them if they could dance like a hippogriff. He laughed when Seamus and Will came over to join them, Seamus wiggling his bum in an attempt to dance as Will grinned at him, shaking his head at his boyfriend's exuberant dancing skills.
When the music finally slowed down, Harry took Luna's hand to slow dance with her. He put her arms around his neck and placed his hands on her waist.
"Thanks for coming with me tonight, Luna. It means a lot."
Luna smiled up at him. "It's been a great deal of fun so far so, thank you."
He smiled. "And if there's another bloke who you would like to dance with, go. I won't be offended."
Luna nodded, a soft dreamy expression on her face. "I will dance wherever my feet take me."
He chuckled and when the song ended they headed to the refreshment table to get drinks before making their way over to where Ron, Lavender, Parvati, and Dean were sitting at one of the tables.
"Hey, you lot," Harry said, sliding into an empty chair. "Why aren't you dancing?"
Dean grinned. "We were. We needed a breather."
Lavender crossed her arms in front of her chest, the black and white tule of her dress so puffy it tickled her arms. "This one won't dance."
Ron scowled at her. "I said, 'not now,' not that I wouldn't!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron," he hissed, leaning into his friend. "Why aren't you dancing with your date?"
"Are you not seeing this?"
Harry frowned in confusion, following Ron's steely gaze across the dance floor to where Hermione was dancing and laughing between Viktor and his two friends Andrei and Dimo, and two girls who he assumed were the other Durmstrang boys dates. She looked like she was having a wonderful time.
"Yeah, she's having fun. You should try it."
Ron glared at him. "Having fun? Harry, she's dancing with Krum! He's your competition!"
Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "He's a nice bloke and he likes her."
Lavender stood up now and tapped Ron on the shoulder. "You are coming to dance with me right now, Ron Weasley."
Ron looked at her in surprise and then yelped when she grabbed his arm and tugged him from his seat. "Okay, okay, ow! No need to yank so hard!"
Harry grinned as he watched Lavender drag him onto the dance floor and Ron reluctantly started to dance, but within a minute he was smiling and seemed to be having a good time. Dean and Parvati had also moved back to the dance floor.
Luna smiled at Harry. "Ron is being a bit unreasonable with Hermione, isn't he?"
He nodded. "Yes, but I hope he'll figure that out on his own. You want to dance some more?"
She shook her head. "I'm going to rest for a bit and I want to talk to Colin about the photos that he's been taking all night. He's really proud to be in charge of the photographs for tonight's event."
"All right, that sounds fun."
Luna stood up and kissed his cheek. "Go dance. I'll come find you after."
Harry watched her go with a grin. Coming with Luna was definitely a great choice. He headed to the refreshment table to get something cold and found himself standing in front of Ludo Bagman.
"Harry!" he exclaimed, cheerfully. "How's the Yule treating you?"
"Very well, thank you," Harry said.
Bagman grinned at him. "I'm still incredibly impressed with those flying skills you pulled off in the First Task! You should consider a professional career in the sport. You're quite good! I'd be happy to help get some scouts out here for you, you know, when you're old enough to consider playing."
"Wow, really?" Harry asked in surprise.
Bagman, nodded. "Of course! I know talent when I see it and if you're up for the hard work it entails, we recruit as young as sixteen if the talent is there."
"Wow," Harry said, grinning widely. "Would I still be able to stay in school and get my NEWTs like Viktor?"
"It would be a lot of work for you, but depending on the team, they would encourage it," Bagman said with smile. "One of my favourite tasks is finding new Quidditch blood. Listen, Harry, while I have you alone for a moment, have you been looking at your clue for the Second Task?"
"Oh, um, not really," he admitted, remembering the Golden Egg tucked away in his trunk.
Maybe he should bring it home tomorrow, he thought. If he had it at home he might motivate himself to open it again and try to figure out what that atrocious shrieking was.
"If you need any help with it, I'd be happy to drop a hint or two," Bagman said, interrupting his thoughts. "I've said it before, you were thrown into this without your consent. Anything that I can do to make it a little easier on you is the least that I can do!"
"Er, thanks, Mr Bagman, but I kind of think that I should do this one on my own. Are you helping Cedric, too?"
Bagman looked uneasy for a moment. "Well, no, like I said, you didn't sign up for this… and I wanted to make sure that you aren't too nervous."
Harry smiled at him. "I appreciate your concern, but I think I've got this."
He nodded. "Well, if you change your mind, don't be afraid to ask."
Harry watched him walk away and he frowned. It was strange that Bagman kept offering to help him out when he wasn't helping any of the other Champions. He was pretty sure the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports was not supposed to be doing so, but then it dawned on him. Bagman was a gambling man and he'd bet anything that Bagman had bet on him winning this tournament. After all, he had said it himself, having The Boy Who Lived as a Hogwarts Champion was newsworthy and how much more newsworthy would it be if he won.
He grimaced. This tournament was more of a pain in the ass than anything, he thought.
He grinned when he saw Hermione wave him over and he hurried onto the dance floor, thoughts of Bagman's gambling far from his mind.
~ ASC ~
Draco watched Theo dance with Daphne Greengrass on the dance floor in amusement. He was dancing around from partner to partner and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself for a bloke who couldn't find a date. Scratch that, Draco thought, who had found a date but said date had cancelled last minute. Theo was taking it in good stride though.
He had been set to attend with a fifth year named David something or other, but the bloke's grandfather had passed away and he had to go home, missing the ball entirely. Theo was understanding about it, but Draco knew that he was disappointed. He'd been seeing him the last few weeks and Draco got the feeling he rather liked him.
Ever since Snape had stepped in and called in Draco's mother and Lord Black to stop Thaddeus Nott from taking Theo home for his birthday, Theo seemed to be walking on air. He was happy and seemed more full of life than he usually was and as Draco watched his friend move to dance with a fiery redhead, he realized that a lot of it had to do with his growing friendship with Ginny Weasley.
Draco wasn't sure what he thought about her if he was honest. He knew that his father had been the culprit behind Weasley opening the Chamber of Secrets three years ago and despite Lucius not really knowing what the book was capable of, he was still guilty of the horror that had happened because of him. But Theo insisted that Ginny was beyond cool and she made him smile a lot. The fact that Theo had even spent some time at the Weasley residence that summer surprised him, but his friend was happy so he couldn't fault him for that even though the thought of going to the Weasley residence made him want to vomit.
He turned to smile at his own date. He had finally gotten up the courage to ask out Ophelia Rowle and smiled at her as she tugged him back onto the dance floor. She was beautiful with her dark hair and bright blue eyes. She always had a smile and she was intelligent and unlike Pansy, didn't seem to have the intention of trying to get him to marry her at the tender age of fourteen.
"Come on, Draco; at least try to pretend that you're having fun with me," she teased, taking his hands and moving his arms back and forth to urge him to dance. "Shake those hips a little."
Theo came up behind him, placing his hands on Draco's hips and shifting his body from side to side. "Yeah, come on, Draco — shake that booty!"
Draco elbowed his friend who grinned and turned Ophelia in a circle. "Hey, leave my date alone."
Theo grinned. "Just showing her how a real man dances."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I'll show you how a real man dances," he said in annoyance, tugging Ophelia close to him. He placed a hand on her lower back, took her hand in his, and spun her out and into him flawlessly and she gasped.
"You're full of surprises!" And then to his surprise, she tugged his face down to hers and kissed him. "Spin me again."
Theo winked at him as he danced off into the crowd and Draco did as Ophelia asked, unable to keep from smiling. Tonight was definitely exactly what he needed.
~ ASC ~
Seamus couldn't imagine feeling any happier than he did at this moment. He was dancing with Will, their arms around each other as they slow danced and he was grinning widely.
"Did I tell you how good you look in that suit?" Seamus asked him, tilting his head back to look up at his boyfriend.
Will smiled and bent his head to kiss him softly. "Not nearly as good as you do in yours."
"You two are adorably disgusting," Parvati said with a smirk as she and Dean danced next to them. "Go be disgustingly happy somewhere else."
Seamus laughed. "You go be disgustingly happy somewhere else."
Parvati winked at him. "All right, we'll be disgustingly happy together," she said, standing on her toes to kiss Dean.
Will bent his head again and kissed Seamus. "It's almost midnight. You want to get out of here?"
"Get out of here?"
Will smiled, leaning down to whisper in his boyfriend's ear. "I was thinking you could take me to your bed."
Seamus' mouth went dry as he nodded. "I'd like that."
Will grinned as he spun Seamus out and back into him. "Lead the way, Mr Finnigan."
Seamus couldn't stop smiling as he danced with his boyfriend out of the Great Hall, both whistling happily.
~ ASC ~
Harry caught Ginny in a dance as Seamus and Will left the dance floor. The song had changed to a slow one and he placed his hands on her waist and held her close.
"I finally caught you for a dance."
She smiled at him, her fiery red hair sparkling in the candlelight. "You did. Neville is a wonderful dancer."
"I can see that," he said with a smile. He had seen that, he thought. He had spent a good portion of his evening watching his friend twirl her around the dance floor, watching her big curls bouncing along her back, and watching her soft lips turn into a laugh at something that Neville had said to her. "You look beautiful, Ginny."
Ginny blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself, Mr Potter. We clean up nice, don't we?"
"That we do," he said, inhaling a whiff of her distinctly floral scent.
"So, has my brother stopped being a prat yet?"
"Why do you say that?"
Ginny shrugged, turning and her breasts brushed Harry's arm. "He's obviously jealous. Does he know that he likes Hermione as more than just a friend?"
"I couldn't tell you," Harry told her, his eyes moving down to look at her lace covered breasts before he caught himself. It was just the formal wear, he told himself. She looked too grown up like this and too beautiful to be his Ginny. When had he started to think of her as his, he wondered, scowling at himself. "And I'm not completely sure he does, I think he just… I have no idea."
Ginny smiled, her bright lips shining, and it made his skin pimple in gooseflesh as his stomach did a small flip-flop. "Should be interesting to watch him figure it out."
"Yeah," Harry said with a grin.
His eyes were on her soft lips and he wondered what she would do if he just lowered his head and kissed her. Would she hate him? Would she even let him? Would she hex him? Or would she kiss him back? He licked his own lips in anticipation, imagining how good it would feel to press his lips to hers and then he heard someone call her name breaking his thoughts.
Ginny tugged herself away from him, turning to the person who called her name and Harry's eyes widened in surprise when she let herself be caught up into a dance with Michael Corner.
And then to Harry's horror, Michael bent his head and kissed her.
And all Harry saw was green.
Someone grabbed his hand and he found himself looking down at Luna.
"Did you see that? Luna — Corner just stuck his tongue down Ginny's throat! She's going to hex his balls off!"
Luna chuckled and carefully led Harry away from the snogging couple and into a dance. "I rather doubt it, since they've been snogging non stop for about a month now."
Harry's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
Luna grinned. "I told you earlier, Harry. Michael wanted to take her, but she had already agreed to go with Neville before she and Michael had their first date. He was really nice about it, too."
"She's been snogging — him?"
Luna nodded. "Her boyfriend, yes. Don't get all overprotective, Harry, or she'll hex you."
He scowled, knowing that Luna was right. Of course she had a boyfriend, he thought. Hadn't he just been thinking that she had grown into a beautiful young woman? And he had almost… he cursed himself.
Ginny was his friend. His best friend and he wasn't going to ruin that by acting on something like this. It was just the formal wear, he told himself. Once he saw her in the New Year in her school uniform it would be like before.
Feeling better about himself, he turned to smile at Luna when he caught Ron marching out into the Great Hall after a distraught Hermione and he dropped her hands.
"Luna, I have to go."
Luna's gaze followed his and she nodded. "I'll go keep Neville company. Good luck stopping that explosion from going off."
He grinned at her and hurried off, catching the tail end of the argument and visibly wincing. He had thought that he had managed to curve Ron's attitude, but obviously he hadn't been very successful on that front.
"Do you even know what you're doing, Mione? You — are — fraternizing — with — the — enemy! How can you do this? To Harry? To Hogwarts?"
Hermione scoffed. "Professor Dumbledore just spent five minutes opening the ball with the importance of promoting international relations and you can say that to me?"
Ron merely let his eyes travel down her body and back up. "Well, if you're going to dress up like some tart and whore yourself out to the enemy, what else do you need me to say?"
Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock as tears filled her eyes. "You bloody arse! How dare you call me a whore!"
"— No, I —" he said quickly, realizing what had escaped his lips. "'Mione, I didn't mean it like that!"
"I think you made your thoughts pretty damn clear, Ronald!"
Harry stepped forward into the entrance hall and saw that Ron's face was bright red and Hermione was equally as flushed and on the verge of tears. He threw a quick privacy charm up around his friends as he made his way over to them. Ron looked beyond livid and Hermione looked crushed.
"Hey," he said easily as Hermione turned around and glared at him.
"Do you have something to say to me as well? Do you also think that I'm a traitor? That Viktor is only using me to pull one over on you? That I'm just whoring myself to fraternize with the enemy?"
"Hermione, you know that I don't," Harry said quickly. "Ignore Ron. Don't let him ruin your night."
"Ruin her night?" Ron exclaimed, angrily. "Ruin her night? Harry, do you see her? She's dressed up like a tart and getting close to the enemy!"
Harry grabbed Hermione before she could run off, glaring at Ron. "Viktor's not our enemy, Ron, and you don't mean that. Hermione looks incredible and you know it."
He blushed. "I didn't — I mean, I… "
Hermione tugged her arm from Harry's grip and ran out the front doors of the castle. Harry glared at his friend.
"What is wrong with you? I think that it's great about her and Viktor. He's a nice bloke and she looks beautiful! You have no right to call her a tart or a whore or to treat her the way that you are currently treating her. It's not her fault that you're a jealous git!"
"I'm not jealous!"
Harry only stared him down. "Could've fooled me! You should be ashamed of yourself! Now, go find Lavender and apologize to her for being a shitty date. I'll find Hermione."
Ron shook his head, his face pale. "No, I'll find her. You're right, Harry, I... I'm being a git."
"A jealous git."
Ron chose to ignore the last part, running his fingers through his red hair. "Tell Lavender... I'll be back. I need to make this right or I'll never forgive myself."
Harry only nodded and watched his friend run out the front of the castle to find Hermione.
~ ASC ~
Ron ran outside where the winter wonderland theme continued. The front courtyard had been transformed with a warming charm that extended around the outside area. Ice sculptures were around the edges and plush arm chairs and sofas were situated under the stars and the dancing candlelight illuminated the courtyard. He looked around helplessly and then he saw the hint of ocean blue on the left side and he made his way over there.
"'Mione?"
"Go away, Ron!"
His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Not until you listen to me."
Hermione wiped tears from her eyes, turning to glare at him. "Ever since I told you that I already had a date tonight, you've been treating me like I have some contagious disease! I'm sick of it! What did I do to deserve this? I am not dressed like a tart! And I am definitely not whoring myself or consorting with the enemy! How dare you even say such things to me?"
He sighed. "I know. I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it. Of course, you would never…" He dragged his fingers through his hair. "I guess I just… I was surprised. You… I took you for granted. I assumed that you would always be around and that was unfair of me. Harry's right, I am a git. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry. You're beautiful."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.
He smiled at her. "You're my best friend, you have to forgive me."
Her mouth dipped a little before she caught herself. "I don't have to do anything. You hurt me, Ron!"
"I know it. I'm so sorry. Do you want to hit me or hex me? Or both. You can. I deserve it. Just please don't shut me out. You're my best friend and I can't… I can't lose you. I didn't mean any of it, I'm so sorry, 'Mione. Go on, hex me."
"Don't tempt me," she said, steely.
He grinned and extended his hand to her. "Come back inside. Dance with me and then maybe you can introduce me to your Krum?"
She smiled at him, her eyes wide in surprise. "Really?"
Ron nodded, his blue eyes on hers. "Please? I'm so sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean any of it. Not a single word and I know that you have every right to hate me for what I said and I can't fault you for it, but please… I'm sorry. I'm rubbish at apologies and all I seem to do is shove my foot further into my mouth, but I am, sorry, that is. You know that I just blab things out without thinking them… you deserve better. Come dance with me. Let me make it up to you. Please."
Hermione stared at him. The fact that Ron was here grovelling for an apology told her exactly how bad he felt. It took a lot to get Ron to apologize for anything and she knew that and she could see the sincerity in his blue eyes. He had called her beautiful, she thought, still surprised by his outburst.
"That would be nice, Ron, thank you."
She placed her hand in Ron's outstretched one just as a loud bang made her jump. Ron tugged her towards him as he stepped in front of her, his wand out and eyes wide as he suddenly saw what the sound had been.
Something was blocking the doorway to the Hogwarts bridge; leading directly onto the cobblestone path to Hogsmeade. At first, Ron thought that it was a cave in of some kind, but when he moved closer he realized that it was none of the sort. The smell alone should have alerted him to something being wrong, but he was too horrified to look away and when he realized what it was he turned and grabbed Hermione, burying her face in his chest so that she wouldn't see it.
"Get Dumbledore. Now."
"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked, trying to sneak a look behind him, but even in her heels, he was much too tall.
Ron gripped her chin tightly in his fingers. "Trust me, Hermione, you don't — want — to — see — this. Get Dumbledore, now!"
She only nodded and hurried towards the castle without a backwards glance. Ron cast a spell to build a wall up the way that he had learned from the twins that summer in their attempts to hide their inventions from their mum. The wall blocked the entrance from everyone's view except him.
He could still see it.
He tried to look away, but he found himself incapable of it.
There was the figure of a man hanging upside down from the front archway, his arms and legs spread wide, chains holding him in place between the archway. The figure had been skinned alive in what looked like long thin strips. His hair was shaved off of his head and his left eye was dangling from its socket. The soles of his feet looked like they had been set on fire multiple times or roasted over an open flame. The only part of his body that hadn't been flayed alive was his torso which had been sliced open instead with the symbol of the Dark Mark glowing an eerie green from where it had been carved into the cavity of his chest. From the amount of blood surrounding the wound, it looked like he had been very much alive while it had happened.
The body itself was mutilated as if he had been tortured beyond recognition, but the face had been left largely intact outside of the left eye, untouched in its flawless look of horror. The pencil-thin moustache stained in blood and bile as the wide life-less eyes stared straight ahead.
Bartemius Crouch hadn't died gently.
Ron fought back his urge to vomit. The figure was still oozing blood and bile and when Ron managed to tear his gaze away from the face, they drifted up the man's naked legs and he realized that the man's penis had been split down the centre and sliced like the legs of an octopus; his testicles were gone completely, or so he thought, until his gaze moved down and he noticed that they had been shoved into the man's mouth.
The message beneath his body written in bright burning flames on the cobblestones sent a chill down his spine:
He is only the beginning.
The Dark Lord will rise again.
And he will bring an end to all
Who do not stand with him.
End Author's Notes:
I know, very dark! I wanted it to be very dark and very disturbing on every level and I think that I managed that. I made up random spells for this chapter. Seamus always gets a bad rep because his movie counterpart often blew things up, I'd like to somewhat remedy that. I think he would have picked up on some skills from his mother so here we go!
Inalbesco = dazzling white
Evanesco solutam linum = vanish loose threads
(French) Bonjour, Viktor, 'Arry. Comment ça va? = Hello, Viktor, Harry, how are you?
(French) Bonjour, Fleur. Je vais bien. Vous avez l'air incroyable ce soir, votre rendez-vous est très chanceux. = Hello, Fleur, I am good. You look incredible tonight. Your date is very lucky.
(French) Tu parles très bien le français, 'Arry = You speak French very well, Harry
(French) Merci = thank you
(Chinese) Mófǎ bù = Ministry of Magic
As to the Yule Ball itself, I felt like there should be some important people in attendance at the Yule Ball so I made up some names — also I wanted Tonks to be Remus' date and thought some of the other professors should have the option of bringing guests and decided to randomly select people. Based on the age of the professors, I chose Burbage, Carthaginian, Sinistra, and Lupin. Then I was thinking that if Fudge attends, why shouldn't the Ministers of the French and Bulgarian Ministries also be in attendance since their respective schools are being represented? And yes, Umbridge would attend because Fudge attends. I just made up some names and some interesting positions for the other important people.
This is about magical cooperation so, let's get some.
Head Table organization:
Table One:
1. Albus Dumbledore
2. Minerva McGonagall
3. Madame Maxime
4. Igor Karkaroff
5. Ludo Bagman
6. Cornelius Fudge
7. Dolores Umbridge
8. Simonne Richelieu
9. Chavdar Oblansk
10. Aurora Sinistra
11. Jericho Jones
12. Amelia Bones
13. Katherine Thomas
Table 2:
1. Cedric Diggory
2. Cho Chang
3. Fleur Delacour
4. Roger Davies
5. Sybill Trelawney
6. Charity Burbage
7. LiMei Lee
8. Gideon Birmingham
9. Liam O'Kelly
10. Irma Pince
11. Argus Filch
12. Filius Flitwick
13. Bathsheda Babbling
Table 3:
1. Harry Potter
2. Luna Lovegood
3. Viktor Krum
4. Hermione Granger
5. Remus Lupin
6. Nymphadora Tonks
7. Rubeus Hagrid
8. Delta Carthaginian
9. Leonardo Fanucci
10. Septima Vector
11. Percy Weasley
12. Severus Snape
13. Poppy Pomfrey
Thank you as always and please review :D