Prompt: "Compatibility"
No one quite knows which student it was that brought up the subject of the Yule Ball, but it is known that whoever it was brought it up in Herbology, mainly because someone had wanted to know what it was like and Professor Longbottom would have been there. As it was, the question distracted him from his lecture on the mimbulus mimbletonia, causing him to accidently poke it wrong, and sending a shower of green stinksap all over him and the unfortunate students next to him. After he used his wand to clean him and the few students, he frowned.
"Why do you want to know about the Yule Ball?" he asked, setting his plant down before he managed to rain green sap down again.
"C'mon, Professor; what was it like?"
"Were the Weird Sisters actually there?"
"Was there a lot of dancing?"
"Was it fun?"
"Do you think we could do it again?"
Professor Longbottom frowned, and raised his hands to shush his class. "Hold on, one at a time." Now that he had their attention, he tried to answer the questions (that he could remember). "It was nerve racking and embarrassing but plenty of people enjoyed it. Yes, the Weird Sisters were there. Since dancing is the main feature of the whole thing, yes, there was lots of dancing. And to be honest, no, we won't."
There was a lot of groaning at the final answer, and he could see them beginning of the protests already.
"If you guys want it that bad, petition the headmistress," he suggest then raised his brows. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to return to teaching my class." Pleased to see that they were at least giving up the subject for now and settling back down, Professor Longbottom returned to his lecture, certain that that was the end of it. What he didn't know was that as soon as his class was over, several students would actually draw up the petition, and get an alarming large amount of their fellow students to sign it. He certainly never imagined them delivering it to Professor Sprout's desk, and for her to actually agree.
Being headmaster or mistress must do something to one's sense of humor Professor Longbottom decided, but he agreed to chaperone the students anyway.
While Professor Longbottom's reaction was decidedly lukewarm, the students were ecstatic. The students got into the mood very quickly, writing home to beg for dress robes, clumping together in large groups to either gossip or bemoan the ordeal, circulating rumors and coming up with theories as to the entertainment/food/decorations for the Yule Ball as it came closer. Even Lily wasn't above getting in on the act as she browsed fashion magazines, and tried to figure something she could with her barely shoulder length hair.
The entire castle was practically buzzing the night the Yule Ball was to be held—only two days before winter holiday, and when most students would leave Hogwarts to go home for Christmas. Lily spent half the afternoon in her dormitory along with her roommates, trying to get ready. Helena Bennett helped her into her dress, an off the shoulder iridescent ice blue number, while Gwen Price helped her gel her hair into something classy looking. After that, she was either helping the other girls, or trying to remember where she put everything like shoes or jewelry.
When it was time to go, her and her roommates dawdled for a bit, fluttering about like a group of nervous pigeons. Finally Ariadne Jones managed to calm them down enough to get them out of the room, and up to the common room. There they separated, some of the girls having dates with other Hufflepuffs while Lily took a steadying breath, and left to find her own date.
Alfred Cattermole was a sweet Ravenclaw friend of her cousin Rose so when he had asked Lily to the ball about a week earlier she had only thought about if for a minute before she agreed. He was suitably handsome and nicely dressed, but he was very stiff as he offered her his arm, and led her down to the Great Hall. Any attempts of conversation were met with curt replies so Lily gave up quickly, and looked around for her friends. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long before Lucy and Molly Weasley, Percy's twin girls, appeared at her side and dragged her away from Alfred.
"You must be daft, going with that guy," Molly huffed, pulling her over to where many of their family, including Albus and Hugo, sat waiting.
"He looks he's heading off to get a Dementor's Kiss," Lucy added in distaste.
"He's not that bad really," Lily tried to argue. "He's just…"
"God, sis, you sure can pick 'em," Albus grinned at her as the twins sat her down. Molly and Lucy made identical agreeing noises as they sat on either side of her.
Rose sighed. "Poor Alfred—he's even worse with girls than Hugo is."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Hugo demanded.
Rose blinked owlishly, but failed at properly hiding her amusement. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help noticing that you're lacking a date for tonight."
"I am not," he insisted, this time puffing out his chest.
Fred grinned and leaned closer to him. "She invisible, or just in your imagination, Hugh? Cause I don't see any-"
Lily couldn't help but be distracted (along with the rest of them besides Fred and Hugo) as Wren Frost, lovely in a white empress cut gown with a delicate wire headdress that Lily recognized as Wren's own creation, walked up behind Hugo, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Hugo jumped, but when he saw her he got a dopey grin on his face. "Mister Hugo, would you prefer to dance with me now or would you like to get a butterbeer first?"
"Ah, dancing would be fine," he answered then nearly tripped himself as he tried to get up. Wren smiled at him, and took his arm before nodding in greeting to Lily then walking out to the dance floor.
Their entire table sat in shocked silence as they watched the couple wander off. Finally Lily spoke. "So that's who she was planning to go with…"
Rose's eyes were very wide still. "Hugo's going with a Slytherin...dad's going to be so mad."
Molly coughed. "Lily, did you really not know that they were coming together?"
Lily shook her head. "Not a clue."
"But they're your best friends," Albus pointed out.
"I think it is très romantique," Dominique sighed dreamily. Louis made a disgusted face at her.
"It's certainly unexpected," Roxanne giggled. When she started giggling, the rest of them could hardly contain their own laughter. Finally, they began to drift apart, mainly to find their dates, and have fun on their own. When Lily went looking for Alfred, she found him nursing a butterbeer, and trying his hardest not to be noticed by her. Taking the hint, she frowned, and walked out of the Great Hall only thinking of fresh air, and if the brisk air stung her eyes enough for a tear or two, that was quite acceptable, wasn't it?
She meant to sit down at one of the benches in one of the magically heated courtyard, but she was distracted by a groan from the other side of the courtyard. To her surprise, she found Scorpius Malfoy, dashing in sharp charcoal dress robes, cradling his foot, and cursing quietly beneath his breath. In spite of herself, Lily raised her eyebrows as curiosity over took her. Finally, she couldn't resist, and she walked over. "Hiding, Malfoy? That's not very like you."
The Slytherin prefect glared up at her as he tried to rub his foot. "I happen to be mourning my foot, thank you. You can shove off."
A Hufflepuff through and through, Lily felt a stab of concern run her through. She bit her lip, and crouched down to inspect the foot. "Here, let me see."
Scorpius tried to pull his foot closer, not that he could do much, since he already had it in his lap, and he couldn't bend it much closer than it already was. "And what makes you think I'd agree to that, Potter?"
She frowned at his stubbornness, but remained crouched down. "Because I am the sister of James Potter—who do you think mended him and Al up when they managed to hurt themselves pulling those stunts of theirs?"
Malfoy didn't say anything, but merely glared. Lily, however, was the daughter of Ginny Potter, the reigning champion of staring down, and was no pushover herself, so he was the one to finally look away. "There's not much worse you could do anyway," he grumbled at last, letting her take his injured foot into her hands to inspect it.
"Actually, my father had his arm de-boned once when someone tried to fix one of his injuries," Lily smiled sweetly at her triumph, and began to daintily prod at his foot. The toes and half the foot were covered in bruises and were swelling already. She hissed softly in sympathy.
"That's not very reassuring, you know," he pointed out, flinching every now and then, but kept mostly quiet.
"Just be glad I know more than the idiot that tried to help him," she replied. "It doesn't look sprained, but it sure is bruised to hell."
"Feels like it looks then," he hissed as she brushed a finger against the swelling. "Ease up there, will you?"
"Hold still, I'll take care of it-" she began, but he quickly pulled his foot back.
"I don't think I'd…" She glared, and snatched his foot. "OW. Ow, oh, fine, but it'll be your head if it gets worse—stop pulling already!"
She smirked. "I'll keep that in mind," she retorted smugly. She pulled her wand out from where she had tucked it in her garter belt, and began to heal his foot.
"Very James Bond-ish of you, Potter," Scorpius commented, raising a brow when she brought out her wand.
"You watch James Bond?" she asked, surprised.
He shrugged. "Aunt Daphne's got weird tastes in what she watches."
She shook her head, and returned to his foot. "What did you do to this foot anyway?"
"Let's just say Deborah Runcorn hasn't a clue on how to waltz," he answered tightly.
"You mean she did this by stomping on it?" she asked, horrified on his account. "God lord, Malfoy, I would have thought a centaur had done it—here, try wiggling your toes."
"Yes, well, we can't all be excellent dancers," he muttered before wiggling his toes like she ordered. "Well, I'll be, Potter. Not bad at all."
"You're welcome," she said, rolling her eyes at him. She watched him curiously as he put his sock and shoe back on. "So you can dance then?"
Scorpius glared a bit at her. "Been doing it since I was six," he admitted.
Lily bit her lip to keep from grinning. "And your father approved?"
He stood, rolling his eyes now. "He said it was good for my posture."
"Huh," she muttered, sitting down on the bench before he could reclaim it.
He looked at her, looking caught between amused and befuddled. "What?"
She smiled and shrugged. "Just weird, imaging you needing dancing lesson to help with bad posture."
He raised a brow and frowned. "Now why would you say that?"
"Because…" she started. "You're a Malfoy."
He smirked at her. "Why is it that if I say something like that, people think I'm being a prig, but if someone else says it, it's fine?"
She grinned playfully at him. "Because you are a prig." He shook his had at her, and she fought not to laugh. "Although, you know, I'm not I trust this 'dancing since I was six' business."
He frowned, but then tilted his head up, nearly smirking down at her again. "Shall I prove it to you?"
She raised her brows. "Are you asking me to dance, Malfoy?"
He smugly offered her his hand. She frowned playfully, and sized him up. After a moment, she placed her hand in his, and he pulled her up. She had to fight from laughing as he placed her hand on his shoulder before putting his at her waist then taking her other hand in his free one. He looked down imperiously at her. "Ready, Potter?"
"Just start dancing." And so they did; he swept her up into an effortless waltz that even her inexperienced feet found easy to follow. She caught to him within a few steps, and she realized suddenly that he had her going round and around the courtyard already. She would have laughed, but he was looking at her expectantly. She frowned at him, but her eyes still bespoke amusement. "Alright, I admit—you're good."
He smirked. "I should be after eleven years of it."
She couldn't help but laugh. "You've been practicing for eleven years or dancing for that long?"
To her shock, suddenly he dipped her. She nearly yelped, and he looked very smug. "Does it really matter?"
"Show off," she giggled.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Startled, Scorpius and Lily both looked up to see Rose smiling softly at them. Flustered, Scorpius quickly pulled her up, and they nearly jumped apart. "No, you weren't, Weasley," Scorpius answered. "In fact, I was just about to leave."
"Fancy that. And here I thought you were flirting with my cousin while hiding from your date—as well as you, Lily."
The two shifted guilty, and Scorpius moved to brush past Rose when suddenly he paused, and looked up. "Oh, no."
"Oh, dear," Rose said agreeably. Above them, in the arch of the doorway, someone had hung a sprig of mistletoe. Scorpius tried to back away, but Rose merely snatched his collar. Lily gaped as her cousin pressed a kiss onto the startled Scorpius's cheek before letting go. "This doesn't mean we're dating, Malfoy, but someone's got to uphold tradition."
Confused and very flustered, Scorpius choked out "Right."
Rose turned to leave herself but before she did, she raised her brows specifically at Lily. Lily pressed a hand to her mouth to try, and keep from giggling, not that she succeeded very much. Malfoy gave her a wide eye look of horror. Finally, she moved to join him. "Merry Christmas, Malfoy-"
Before she could move past him however, to follow Rose, he caught her arm. She looked quizzically up at him, and then followed his amused gaze upward. In her glee, she had forgotten the mistletoe which hung very innocently from the doorway. "Oh, dear," he said, barely controlling his laughter.
"Oh, no," she answered, grinning lightly. They stared at each other for a moment before he bent his head down to brush his lips against hers. She tried not to grin, but failed miserably.
"Now, that's très romantique!"
Lily and Scorpius both turned to stare incredulously at who had spoken; half hanging out a window, Roxanne, Dominique, Percy's twins, and Albus laughed at the looks on their faces. Roxanne, who had interrupted them, wolf whistled at them, but Albus gave Scorpius a very stern look.
"Scorpius, just let me say this—you break my sister's heart, and I'm breaking your face. Got it?"
Scorpius and Lily looked at each other stunned for a moment. "Why is it your family seems set on interrupting us?"
She giggled then let her head fall against his shoulder, hiding her blushing face.