A/N : JK Rowling's property. Not mine.
The Yule Ball
I remember the Yule Ball. I came, because it was expected of me. My parents would have liked for me to have a date. No, that's not true. They would have been relieved. But I didn't. Who would have accepted ? Who would I have tolerated enough ? But I remember the other guys getting ready and being anxious. I remember the girls dressed in lovely robes. For a fleeting moment, I was disappointed and I regretted I hadn't even tried to invite someone. Some of the girls in Slytherin talked with me. Since I hadn't acted as a carbon copy of my father at the same age, people had eased around me. I wasn't what they had expected. At all. But they didn't know me well or they would have known I was as proud as my parents - both of them. I was sarcastic and well-mannered. I had a quick mind and a sharp tongue. Like Father, like Son. But I hadn't been educated in Pureblood Supremacy ideology. I wasn't mean to Muggleborns and Half-bloods. Well, let's say I wasn't meaner to them than to the others.
So I came alone to the Yule Ball. I didn't regret coming. It was an interesting night. That's the night I decided I should mingle with fellow students. That's the night I started to be noticed. That's the night I spoke to Rose Weasley for the first time. That's the night I met the very closed Weasley-Potter clan.
Rose. She had grown over the years. I hadn't really paid attention to her until then. I had no reason to : she didn't really try to better me in school and she stayed clear - like everyone else. But I was observant. She was popular but she didn't like the limelight because of her parents. She rebuked people without actually being mean. She could have been a competitor in class - had she tried.
Rose. She was pretty enough. She had obviously spend a long time getting ready. She had chosen her robe well : it flattered her. She must have been a bit shy because she was flushed with embarrassment when she entered the Great Hall. Everybody could see she was happy on the arm of her date. I assumed she must have liked the bloke for some time.
Poor Rose. I don't really know what happened. She never said. We weren't close. But I saw her arguing with her date. She was angry. She was disappointed. Suffice to observe how she held herself. She stormed over to where I stood. I don't think she even noticed me. I watched her for a few minutes before enquiring about her well-being. I've never quite seen her start so high again. Pity. That's how I discovered she was a fairly interesting debate partner. She wasn't what I expected. I suppose the reverse was also true.