The next few weeks saw no more pranks played on the new teacher. Anna kept a normal teacher's routines; teaching classes, grading homework, eating meals in the Great Hall, and of course, learning more and more about this strange Wizarding world.
One evening in early December, Professor McGonagall came to Anna's chambers. Anna invited her in and offered some tea.
"No, thank you dear" said her aunt as she took a chair by the fire. "Anna, as you may have heard, there will be a winter formal held one week before the students depart for winter break."
How could I not have heard about it, Anna thought. The winter formal was all her students seemed to talk about recently. Who was going with whom, what they were going to wear, who was going to get kissed; all the normal concerns for teenagers when a big social event was looming. She did have one question through.
"I thought there was only a Yule Ball held during Tri-Wizard tournaments?" Anna had asked Luna one evening at dinner.
"Yes, that used to be the case" answered Professor Lovegood. "However it was so popular with the students, it was decided that a formal winter ball should be held each year. All the staff are expected to chaperone." Anna had, of course, chaperoned dances at her previous school. Would keeping magical teenagers off of each other and out of dark corners really be that different?
"Yes, Aunt Minerva, I have heard about the winter formal. Sounds like a lovely evening for the students."
"So then you also understand that all the staff will be chaperoning the event?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Oh, yes" Anna replied. "And don't worry, I have done this before! My favorite was patrolling the dark corners. I used to carry a small, but very bright flashlight. One flash in the faces of anyone snogging usually killed the mood!"
"Yes, I'm sure that was very effective" her aunt did not sound amused though. "It wasn't so much your snog-stopping abilities I wanted to speak with you about though. I was wondering what attire you were considering for the dance?"
"Do you think that I need dress robes?" asked Anna. Although she usually wore regular Muggle attire at the school, her aunt had provided a few plain robes, with the expectation that Anna should wear them to more formal school functions. However, none of them would qualify as dress robes, at least as Anna understood them.
"No, I was thinking that this might be another good time to introduce more Muggle tradition. I think that you should wear a comparable Muggle ball dress" said her aunt.
That stirred Anna's interest. Since her room and board had been provided by the school, and she the only expense she really had anymore was maintaining her small London flat, she had a nice nest egg built up. A weekend in London shopping for a formal dress sounded amazing.
"That sounds great!" she told her aunt. "I'd like to go back to London this weekend to do some shopping."
"By all means" said Professor McGonagall. She enjoyed watching her niece glow with excitement. "Have a wonderful weekend!"
The evening of the winter formal found Anna in her chambers getting ready. Her ball dress was a deep cream colored velvet. It hugged her waist snugly, and flared out to a full skirt. The dress had slight drop sleeves, and a stiff, high collared neck that folded down at her throat. It was cut in a modest V line at her neck. The designer had worked some kind of glitter into the fabric, so that the dress sparkled like moonlight on a freshly fallen snow. Instead of her usual up-do, she let her chestnut hair flow down her back. At 7pm, there was a knock on her door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"Luna" came the reply.
"Please come in!" Anna responded.
Luna entered Anna's chambers. She looked lovely in her dress robes of midnight blue satin. The dress looked to have been brushed with a thin coating of golden-bronze dust. A matching blue satin cape backed with golden-bronze satin flowed from her shoulders. Her hair fell in a thick braid over her left shoulder and reached her waist.
"Luna, you look lovely! I didn't realize your hair was so long!" Anna complimented her friend.
"You look very nice too" Luna replied. "And my hair really isn't this long, it's a glamour charm."
"Is that like magical makeup?" Anna asked.
"I suppose so. It changes your looks, but only for a short time" Luna answered.
Anna sighed. Another magical advantage she would never have.
"Would you like to try one?" asked Luna.
"Do you think it would work?" Anna asked.
"We can always try. But we would have to do it in the corridor, since no magic can be done in your rooms. Since I placed your protection this morning, I can remove it and cast the charm."
"Luna, you're brilliant!" Anna said, grabbed the witches hand and pulled her to the hallway. Luna did a few waves of her want to remove the protective spells. Then she waved her wand again at Anna's hair. Anna felt a slight heat and tingle at her scalp and felt her hair moving against her back.
"There" said Luna. "That should do nicely."
"What did you do?" Anna asked excitedly.
"See for yourself" Luna said, magically producing two mirrors so Anna could see her hair from all angles.
Anna looked and gasped. Her normally glossy chestnut hair had been transformed so it seemed to glow from inside. The slight wave to her tresses had been re-arranged into long ringlets that bounced with the slightest movement. "It's so beautiful" she whispered. "Luna, you are truly an artist!"
"You're kind to say so" said Luna with her usual modest tone. "Now, shall we head to the Great Hall?"
Anna had come to expect magnificent grandeur (at least to her eyes) in the Great Hall for special occasions. This evening was no exception. The ceiling of the hall was a deep midnight blue, studded with hundreds of silver stars. A magical snow fell from the ceiling, disappearing before it touched the floor. Hundreds of blue and white fairy lights floated in the air, giving the hall a moonlit glow.
"It's wonderful!" Anna laughed as they entered.
"Thank you" replied Luna. "I was the faculty head of the decorating committee this year."
"Well done you!" Anna said and laughed with her friend. Professor McGonagall called all the chaperones together in the middle of the hall.
"Thank you all for coming tonight and helping create this special evening for the students. Please remember that the punch bowls have all been charmed. If anyone tampers with them, they will immediately begin to glow red and produce green smoke. All students should keep daylight between them when dancing. Heads of houses, the ball ends at midnight. Please ensure your students return to their dormitories promptly. And, now, if we are all ready?" she looked around at the group and saw no dissent, and clapped her hands twice. The doors of the Great Hall opened and students began entering.
Anna smiled at the students. As always with these events, she marveled at how grown they seemed, compared with how she saw them every day in classes. Some had dates, others came with groups of their friends. Many of the girls complimented her on her dress, and she returned to compliments on their attire as well. As far as her chaperoning duties, she had been right about what that would entail. She spent the evening discreetly separating couples that were dancing too close and discouraging any seeking more private areas of the hall. The charmed punch bowl only smoked once, when a 6th year tried to add something. Anna wasn't quite sure what it was, but she did see Professor McGonagall whisk the offender out of the hall by his ear. She accepted a few invitations to dance with groups of her students. Even though she was not familiar with the band or any of the music, it didn't seem so different than the Muggle pop music she was used to hearing. After one particularly physical dance that consisted of throwing your arms in the air and spinning as fast as you could, Anna headed for the punchbowl. As she sipped her drink, Draco Malfoy approached her. Wow, she thought. He looks extraordinary tonight. His well-made dress robes were black accented with deep emerald green satin.
"You look lovely tonight" he said to her.
"Thanks!" she replied. "You too" she said and then laughed. "Or, whatever the male equivalent of lovely is at least! Having any more insomnia trouble?" she asked.
"If I did, I would not tell you for fear that you would brew me another foul 'potion'!" he said.
"It was not that bad!" she protested.
"It was not that good" he shot back as she laughed. The loud pop song ended and the band began a slow ballad.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked.
She smiled at him and said "Yes, thank you."
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. As he took her in his arms, she noticed his eyes up close for the first time. They were a most unusual shade of steel grey. She wouldn't have thought eyes that light could look so intense, but she would have been very wrong. He seemed to be studying her brown eyes just as closely. While she had been scrutinizing his eyes, she hadn't noticed how close he had pulled her to him, definitely no chaperone approved distance here. Anna was not a dancer, but Draco had apparently had some lessons. He confidently led her around the dance floor with ease. The song seemed to go on and on, and yet end in a heartbeat, at the same time. As the last note faded, he leaned into her and whispered "Thank you" in her ear. She felt a slight movement against her hair that could have been a brush of a kiss, or maybe it was just the air moving as he backed away from her.
Before she could say anything else, Professor McGonagall clapped her hands again, signaling the end of the ball. The heads of houses left to escort their students back to the dormitories and Anna left with the other faculty members to return to their chambers, although Anna barely remembered getting to hers.