Ch. 11: Party!
Shion's new-found courage lasted about five minutes. His cheerful expression crumbled and his eyes welled up with tears when Malfoy, passing by, sneered that this "Halloween comes with its own freak show". Crabbe, or Goyle, Ciel had no idea which one, "accidentally" pushed Shion and the tea the white-haired boy was holding, spilled on the table.
Ciel didn't boil with red hot anger, like the Gryffindors did. With cold fury, he took his wand out under the table and restrained Nezumi from throwing himself at the blond. In any other circumstances, he would have loved to see the resulting fight, but there were a couple of teachers having breakfast at the high table and Ciel didn't think it was wise to draw their attention. He ignored Nezumi's betrayed expression and watched Malfoy go out of the Great Hall. When the blond was almost out, but still in plain view, he waved his wand, still under the table, and Malfoy's trousers vanished.
For a moment nothing happened and then one of the first-years squealed and all eyes were on Malfoy's underwear and Ciel couldn't have wished for a better choice on Malfoy's part: green with small, orange pumpkins. He almost forgot to accio the water carafe, in case somebody would like to check the last spell he cast with his wand. As laughter erupted, Ciel dropped the carafe over the table for the sake of theatrics, but there were more glasses falling and crashing and chaos ruled over the Great Hall even as Malfoy fled.
'This is forbidden,' Shion hissed at him, even though he couldn't quite erase the smile from his face. 'You're gonna get into so much trouble over that,' he added, fighting and failing to look serious. Around them, the Great Hall still roared with laughter and excited chatter. Ciel sighed.
'Well I won't, if you won't tell McGonagall that Malfoy insulted you just before,' he pointed out, suddenly wishing that McGonagall didn't veto the dress-up party idea. 'Luckily for me, about half of the school hates Malfoy for being a git and Snape will never suspect that it was one of the Slytherins.'
'You better make sure you don't wear embarrassing underwear,' Nezumi pointed out, looking positively gleeful. The vanished the spilled tea from the table and from Shion's uniform and helped himself to another toast. Ciel glared at him.
'For your information, I never wear embarrassing underwear, as opposed to you,' he shot back. Nezumi protested that his underwear was not embarrassing and they would have continued to fight if Shion didn't laugh out. They both blushed at their immature behaviour and threatened Shion if he told the girls.
'Tell us what?' Elizabeth asked as she bounced over to them, Safu in tow. 'Did you see? Did you see? Oh my god, did you see Malfoy's underwear?' she asked with a laugh. She sat next to Shion, nudging him in the side and smiling at him. Safu sat next to her and, with an excited whisper, told them how Malfoy nearly ran them over in his haste to get back to his dormitory.
'It happened here. Suddenly Malfoy's trousers just vanished,' Nezumi informed her with a smirk. Safu and Elizabeth squealed, looked at each other and laughed. 'I think I'm not going to be able to look at a pumpkin with a straight face ever again,' he added, provoking another eruption of laughter.
'Same here,' said a seventh year Slytherin sitting down next to them. 'I think they should cancel Halloween this year,' he added with a grin. He looked at them all, did a double check when he saw Shion and then, politely, focused on the breakfast.
'You just don't want to dance,' Ciel pointed out, wondering what the guy thought.
'They cannot cancel Halloween,' Safu protested. 'I've spent a week trying to find the right dress to wear and I hate when my effort goes to waste,' she added. Elizabeth agreed with her and they started talking about their dresses. Shion looked at them, then at Ciel and Nezumi.
'I thought we're not supposed to dress in evening robes,' he said. Ciel blinked. Did Shion really think that "casual" meant the girls would come in their uniforms?
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Hermione was in an uncharacteristically giggly mood. She invited Ginny to join her, Safu and Elizabeth in getting ready and the four of them were sitting in her dormitory now, profiting from the fact that the other girls from her year occupied the bathroom. She never really had those girly, sleepover parties, thinking that they wouldn't work for her but, as she sat on her bed, with Elizabeth doing her hair and babbling about the newest fashion, she wondered. In front of her, Safu was doing Ginny's make-up and they were almost finished.
'So anyways,' Lizzy sighed and stepped away. 'I think this will be perfect. I mean your hairstyle for the Yule Ball was jaw-dropping, but this is more casual and it brings out your natural beauty,' she asked and showed Hermione a mirror.
'I don't think I have that much of natural beauty to bring out,' Hermione replied, feeling rather plain, in her simple, blue dress, next to Elizabeth who could easily pull off her pink, slightly frilly dress like a real lady. The girl waved her hand in dismissal.
'Don't give me that fake modesty, Hermione,' she said. 'You are extremely pretty and you make even the school uniform look sexy, otherwise do you really think that Krum would keep sending you letters for two years and making the effort to visit you so often?' she asked and Hermione felt that she was blushing. How did Elizabeth know that Krum was visiting her?
'The whole school knows,' Safu answered her unasked question, her voice very matter-of-fact and light. She put away the mascara and nodded at Ginny with satisfaction. Hermione wished that the floor would swallow her and she searched for a change of topic.
'How do I look?' Ginny asked, standing up and striking a pose. She finally bent to the pleading of Elizabeth and Safu and wore a green, tight dress that reached just until her knees and looked amazing on her. She was worried to wear green, for obvious reasons, but the other girls begged her to at least try and, of course, it worked amazingly with her red hair and pale skin. Her hair was loose, except for some strands on the sides of her head that were clasped with a small, green clip. Elizabeth flicked her wand and earrings appeared on Ginny's ears, green emeralds sparling slightly as she moved.
'Now you're perfect,' she said with an honest smile and Ginny smiled back, even as she looked shocked at the jewellery on her ears. 'It's just an illusion, don't worry,' Lizzy assured her, when she voiced her concern. 'It might fade during the night, but if you see that, I can always redo it for you.'
'I don't understand why witches don't like to pierce their ears,' Safu, who was wearing a knitted, violet dress, that was more less the same shape as that of Ginny's, said. 'It took me a year to convince Lizzy and now she has a million of earrings.'
'I don't have a million of earrings, I just transfigure them every time,' Lizzy protested. 'My mom almost got a heart attack when I came back home with pierced ears in the summer after the first year here,' she added with a laugh.
'Doesn't Ciel have pierced ears?' Hermione asked, remembering that suddenly. She never saw a boy with pierced ears before Ciel and she never thought it could look good, but somehow Ciel's earrings didn't stand out at all and it was easy to forget them. Ginny looked at her funnily, but said nothing.
'He does, but I suppose you can call it heritage,' Lizzy replied easily. 'His father also has the same kind of earrings and I suppose that his son will have them as well. Malfoy was making fun of them until Ciel found out that he was wearing a necklace with a snake pendant and threatened to reveal that to the school.'
'But, if it's a family thing,' Hermione wondered out loud. 'Then why doesn't Nezumi have his ears pierced as well?' she asked. Safu and Elizabeth exchanged troubled looks before the latter said that Hermione would have to ask Nezumi herself. Another secret those five were having, she thought, before it occurred to her that maybe Safu and Elizabeth didn't want Ginny to hear what they would say.
'So, are we ready?' Safu asked after a moment of silence. 'Do I look good?' she asked with some worry in her voice. 'I really want to look good tonight,' she added and Hermione wondered if there was a particular reason. She knew that they all thought she made herself pretty to dazzle Ron, as much as Ginny did the same so that Harry wouldn't take her eyes off her. Elizabeth was dressed up for Ciel, but they were engaged, so it was a different situation, right? In any case, romance was blooming in Hogwarts and Hermione wondered if McGonagall was going to regret letting a bunch of sixteen and seventeen year olds party like the Muggles partied.
She blushed at the very thought, remembering her mom's lecture last summer, about growing up, boys and sex. When Hermione protested that nothing like that was going on at her school, her mom just looked at her weirdly and continued as though Hermione hasn't spoken. Now she wondered if nothing like that was going on at Hogwarts and her blush deepened at the insinuations of her own thoughts.
'Not like he's going to notice anyway,' Safu mumbled next to her and Hermione remembered who she was looking at with longing and love, when she thought nobody saw. Elizabeth was whispering something to her friend and Ginny looked at Hermione.
'Do you think there's any chance Ron will leave Harry alone?' she asked rhetorically, straightening the non-existent creases on her dress nervously.
'I think you should make it clear that you want Harry to try harder,' Hermione replied firmly, not wanting to be the one to drag Ron away again. She wanted to have fun tonight and she knew that Ron didn't dance. She suddenly wondered if Ciel did and it was somehow a disturbing thought, especially since it brought the afterthought of Nezumi dancing and that made Hermione blush for no apparent reason.
'I hope Ron will be so entranced by you that he will not notice,' Ginny commented, probably misreading Hermione's blush, as they made their way out of the dormitory. They were met by Nezumi, Ciel and Shion, by the staircase next to the entrance to the Great Hall. Music was spilling out onto the corridor and Ginny giggled, saying that those guys were real gentlemen to wait for their ladies. Hermione's face burned red when Ginny wondered who Nezumi was waiting for, but, thankfully, they made their way inside as a group, not in couples.
Inside, there was already a crowd and Hermione waved at some of her friends, looking around to see who was there. When Ginny nudged her and nodded towards where Harry and Ron were sitting, Hermione forced herself to not roll her eyes and allowed Ginny to drag her away, promising herself that she would sneak off to dance at the first chance. She glanced back to see Lizzy drag Ciel to the dance floor and she wished that she could hear the comments that they were getting from the other three.
Harry was thrilled when they arrived and, much to Hermione's surprise, asked Ginny to dance almost immediately, leaving her behind with the sulking Ron. She tried to talk with him, but he only grumbled back and glared at his best friend and his sister as they were enjoying their time on the dance floor. Finally Hermione asked if he was really going to be so difficult about Harry dating his sister.
'It's betrayal, Hermione,' Ron whined. 'She's my sister!' he added and Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Besides, I don't know what is so fun about dancing, it's girly stuff.' Raising her eyebrow at him, Hermione looked back at the dance floor. Loads of the students were there, looking like they were having a great time. There were also some standing next to the buffet tables, chatting and laughing and only Ron was sulking in the corner. Mumbling that she was going to find something to eat, she left, ignoring Ron's exclamation that there was food after all.
She barely made it to the buffet table, when Ciel came up to her with a wicked smirk on his face and asked if she would like to dance.
'Won't Lizzy be jealous?' she asked when she understood his question. She was very aware of Ron's glare burning into her back. Ciel laughed shortly.
'Of course she won't be,' he said and Hermione noticed that Lizzy and Safu were going crazy on the dance floor, trying to convince Shion to dance with them. She smiled at the picture and looked back at Ciel, who was picking up some food, waiting for her reply. 'Besides,' he said in a conversational tone. 'Nezumi and I have a bet, to see if and which one of us will manage to make your wannabe boyfriend lose it tonight and I cannot afford to lose another bet.'
'A bet?' Hermione asked, not sure if she was supposed to be offended or not. And what did he mean by not losing again? Unbidden, Nezumi's comment from the Three Broomstick Inn came to her head and she gasped. 'Did you make a bet whether I'm going to meet you in Hogsmeade or not?' she asked. Ciel nodded, picking up something else to eat. 'You do know that I really didn't plan to meet you, right?'
'Yeah, Nezumi always had more luck than brains,' Ciel muttered with some dejection. 'So, shall we dance? I'm sure that you don't want to spend the whole night with the sulking Weasley in the corner,' he added casually. Hermione glanced back at Ron, who was making his way towards them.
'Yeah, let's make him jealous,' she said and let Ciel guide her to the dance floor. Once there, she found out that he was quite a good dancer and she enjoyed the song immensely. When it finished, another student asked her for a dance and Ciel winked at her, before disappearing in the crowd.
Hermione hasn't seen Ron for a long while afterwards and she hadn't even thought about him until a slow song started and she found herself in Nezumi's arms and she remembered about the bet. A smirk twisting his thin lips, the Slytherin asked her if he could possibly have that dance with her. He didn't wait for her answer, but wrapped his arms around her waist and guided her to the rhythm of the music.
'Don't you have somebody who will be jealous that I steal this dance from her?' Hermione asked, wrapping her arms around Nezumi's neck and looking into his eyes, realising her mistake too late. His steel-grey eyes were hypnotising and the smile on his face was pure charm.
'There's only one person I care about being jealous and he will not be,' Nezumi replied, not looking away from her and not losing his smile either.
'He?' Hermione asked, thinking that she should be more surprised. She should pull away in shock and scream or something, but Nezumi's hands were holding her close and she couldn't quite look away from his eyes.
'Mhm,' Nezumi hummed, leaning closer to her. 'But let that be our little secret, huh?' he whispered into her ear and Hermione almost moaned. She was being seduced by a guy who just admitted to being attracted to another guy! And she didn't mind!
'Is this part of your bet with Ciel?' she asked, trying to gather her thoughts. He chuckled slightly and she felt it through the vibrations of his chest, rather than heard the sound. He was so close, she realised.
'Maybe,' Nezumi whispered. 'Ciel doesn't think he can go that far, with the engagement and everything. He's too much of a gentleman really,' he kept on going and Hermione felt hot.
'And you're not?' she asked and Nezumi looked back at her. Again, she found herself drawn to his grey eyes and she wondered how it was possible that she never noticed before how magnetic they were. She licked her lips, seeing how his gaze focused on them.
'Of course I'm not. If I was a gentleman I wouldn't do this,' he said and, before she had time to ask what "this" was, he leaned in again, but this time he was not aiming for her ear. She let her eyes close as their lips met and she allowed him to take the lead, knowing from her experience with Victor Krum, that guys really liked that. If she was going to be seduced than she could do some seducing herself, right? However, Nezumi's kiss was nothing like Victor's. It was slow and sensual and Hermione was sure that she moaned into his lips and she hoped that the music wasn't over because she couldn't hear it and-
She stared at him when their lips parted. She realised that some people were looking at them and the song was finished.
'Wow,' was all she could whisper and he laughed, taking her hand and kissing it, thanking her for the amazing dance and leaving her, dazzled, on the dance floor as another song, faster this time, started. What a bastard, she thought but there was no anger in her. Slowly, she raised her hand to her lips and touched them, wondering if there was a way to steal another kiss from Nezumi.
'Hermione? What the hell was that?' she heard next to her and, still slightly dazzled, looked at Harry, who was staring at her incredulously. She vaguely noticed Ginny's shocked face behind and, weirdly enough, Safu's gleeful expression further away. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on Harry.
'That's having fun, Harry,' she replied, glad that her voice didn't tremble. Then, leaving her shocked friend behind, she made her way to get something to drink and gather her thoughts properly. With the corner of her eye, she saw Ciel sulk and, as Ron all but jumped at her, demanding to know what was going on, she realised that Nezumi won the bet again. Unable to stop herself, she laughed. Ron asked her if she was alright and if she was bewitched or something, but it only made her laugh harder.