22- Dandy in the Underworld
They debated her theory almost all night long. Raven listed up all the facts and Severus could find no fault in her train of thoughts
But did it really matter if the Dark Lord was a half-blood, a pure-blood or even a Muggleborn? Did it matter at all whether his name used to be Tom Riddle before he called himself Lord Voldemort? Severus had caught a glimpse at His power and could still feel His eyes penetrating his mind, trying to reveal all his secrets. And yet, Raven was right. He had managed to fool Voldemort- or Tom Riddle. And calling him Tom made him appear more... well, definitely not more human, since he seemed to have lost a good deal of his humanity to the Dark Arts... but at least he was less terrifying when they called him Tom.
It was true, knowing the real name of something or someone did take away a certain amount of dread. Nevertheless, there still remained the fact that You-Know-Who was a tyrant with profound knowledge of the Dark Arts, and that wasn't to be taken lightly... no matter what you called him. The Dark Lord was a dangerous wizard, a dangerous man.
And he had promised anything, should the Dark Lord ever ask a favour of him. Had he already pledged his soul to the devil with that promise? Wasn't it just as good as joining the fraternity of Death Eaters, which he had actually been trying to avoid?
In front of the fireplace with its merrily dancing flames, smoking Muggle cigarettes with his best friend and being infected by her optimism, Severus thought that probably he could weasel himself out of the situation he had so willingly- foolishly!- landed himself in; that perhaps he could fool the Dark Lord once again when the time came to fulfil his promise.
Later, in the darkness of the dormitory, in his lonely four-poster bed, he very much doubted that.
They didn't talk again the next morning. Actually, they didn't talk at all the next day. The very idea that Lord Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin, the champion of pure-bloods and blood supremacists, could possibly be a half-blood by the name of Tom Riddle- now that was something they rather kept to themselves. Within their house, the thought alone was probably considered blasphemy.
Monday morning, Raven received an owl that made her smile, reading her mother's letter, before she got all moody and grumpy for the rest of the day, cursing Hogwarts in general. By Monday evening, however, she was suddenly all excited as she passed Severus a note to meet her at the staircase in the Entrance Hall after dinner.
"What's up?" He asked, surreptitiously glancing around. But the Entrance Hall was too crowded with students for anyone to pay them much attention.
"Your birthday present has arrived," she said and handed him a slip of paper.
It was a concert ticket. Marc Bolan and T. Rex, Glasgow Apollo, Saturday, 12th March 1977, 7-30 p.m .
Severus feigned a smile, immediately hiding the ticket so that none of his house mates could possibly see it. Yes, she had already surprised him with the fact he that would have to accompany her to a gig of her favourite Muggle band when he had come of age in January, but now he was holding the proof of how serious she was about it in his hands.
"Great," he lied, trying to sound at least a little bit thrilled- which he wasn't. Nevertheless, he had long accepted his fate and besides, he truly wanted to do her the favour of accompanying her, given that it seemed to mean so much to her. After all, she was his best friend. The only friend he still had...
Raven beamed brightly at him, looking so happy it almost made his heart ache. Especially when he recalled the way her thumb had caressed his arm the other night- damn!
"Come with me," she said in a playful tone as she took his hand and led him up the ever-changing staircases to the seventh floor. "I want to try something..."
In front of a large painting that showed Barnabas the Barmy's attempt of training trolls how to dance ballet, she stopped in order to walk past it exactly three times, her brows furrowed in concentration. All of a sudden a door appeared where previously there had been nothing but a blank wall.
Carefully, Raven opened the door- and squealed in delight.
The room looked very much like a Muggle living room in the fifties, with a kidney-shaped table, two lounge chairs and a big old-fashioned radio. It was tuned to BBC Radio One as a male voice announced.
"Hi, this is John Peel and your listening to BBC Radio One..."
"Oh wow!" Raven squealed again, then she hugged Severus. "It worked! This old castle isn't really that awful!"
Although the furniture was of the wrong decade, the radio station wasn't.
"… today, we have Marc Bolan on the show and he will tell us all about the upcoming T. Rex album, Dandy in the Underworld, which will be released on March eleventh."
She was happy. It was so hard to live without music and although there was the Wizarding Wireless Network, she didn't like the kind of music they played. But now she could listen to some new songs of her favourite band and she could do that in the company of her best friend.
Severus rolled his eyes even though he had to admit that he was a tiny little bit infected by her enthusiasm, so he didn't remind her of the essays they still had to write for Transfiguration. Instead, he flashed her a wry smile as he sat down in one of the lounge chairs and listened to that Muggle guy, John Peel, talking to that Muggle singer, Marc Bolan.
The Room of Requirement had also provided them with a bottle of Coke (probably it thought that belonged into every Muggle living room) which was a welcome change for Raven, who strongly disliked pumpkin juice. For the first time in almost six years at Hogwarts, she finally felt completely at ease with the castle.
There was magic in music, Severus realized since he had forgotten about the Dark Lord and all other problems for a while, had even tapped his foot to the rhythm- those new songs weren't really bad and he was almost looking forward to the concert now.
Raven smiled brightly at him. She was quite a sight when she was happy and her eyes were sparkling in that deep shape of blue that always reminded him of summer skies.
Unfortunately, they couldn't stay in the Room of Requirement forever. When the radio show was over, they had to return to their common room and they had to be careful not to get caught on their way back since it was already past curfew.
The corridors were empty. Raven had extended her strange Notice-Me-Not spell over both of them as they scurried down the staircase- until all of a sudden she stopped dead in her tracks.
Severus hissed, "What-?", but she silenced him immediately and gestured him to listen.
Now, he could hear it too. They weren't alone on the staircase, and it wasn't Filch or any of the teachers patrolling the castle.
"Be quiet, Wormtail!" The voice of James Potter whispered, coming from out of nowhere. At least three pair of feet were clattering down a few more steps before they stopped.
"I thought I heard something." Potter's voice again but he himself wasn't to be seen.
"Don't wet your pants, Prongs," Black said, just as bodiless as his partner in crime, "there isn't anyone."
Invisibly to the invisible Marauders, Raven took another step backwards until she felt the solid wood of the banister in her back. Severus cast a non-verbal Muffliato.
"We should follow them to see what they're up to."
"We can't see them," Raven reminded him in a low tone. But she felt something- like the cool breeze of a movement- indicating that the Marauders had passed by them on their way down the stairs.
Impatiently, Severus pulled at her sleeve; he really wanted to follow them. It was plain to see that he was still dreaming of getting them expelled. Probably because of Lily. In the end, it was always because of Lily... as if she would suddenly fall head over heels in love with him as soon as Potter was gone...
Then they heard Pettigrew chuckle, "No one can catch us while we're hidden under your Invisibility Cloak, Prongs!"
Now that surely explains a lot, Raven thought, glancing at Severus. Potter owned an Invisibility Cloak. That's why he and his cronies could sneak around the castle unseen, hexing students for the fun of it. Really funny indeed.
Nevertheless, that still didn't explain the strange nicknames the Marauders were using to address each other... Wormtail... Prongs... Padfoot...
"Moony is waiting," Black barked, urging his companions to hurry.
...Moony- Moony? Well, Moony was obviously Lupin since he wasn't with his friends tonight; there were only three Marauders, three pair of feet on the staircase. Wormtail, Prongs and Padfoot. Raven knew that Black was Padfoot (although she had never paid attention to his feet) because Potter had called him so in class. But as she cast her eyes to one of the windows, Raven knew why Lupin was called Moony. She elbowed Severus to make him take notice of the full moon that was shining outside.
He gasped. "They're going to meet the werewolf!"
"Yeah... but how?" Raven wished she hadn't given up research on that, since the very same question had occurred to her almost a year ago, after the werewolf incident... and she hadn't followed that lead because... well, she had been busy with her OWLs and other things. And now it was nigh impossible to dig any deeper or to follow the Marauders (wherever they were heading to) just to solve that mystery,. After all, there was a dangerous werewolf lurking somewhere and she wasn't foolish enough to run straight into his hungry muzzle.
"Let's follow them," Severus suggested, apparently not thinking clearly.
"No!"
"We have to find out what they are up to!"
"True. But we're not some overzealous Gryffindorks jumping headlong into danger."
Affronted, Severus glared at her. Of course she was right- but still, there was a chance to get the Marauders expelled. He just had to come up with a clever idea...
Raven sighed. "Sev, let it be. Please. They're not worth any trouble nor any danger we might get ourselves into, and we will have trouble explaining why we are out of our common room after curfew."
He grumbled. Why was it that the Marauders would always make him act on impulse, forgetting his fine Slytherin traits? It was because of Lily, Severus concluded. Because he wanted to know she was safe, and she wasn't safe if she was in the same house as Potter, who wasn't only friends with a werewolf, but was apparently also about to meet his werewolf friend during full moon.
Severus and Raven had to follow the Marauders down the staircase if they wanted to get to the dungeons, but when they reached the Entrance Hall, they saw the front door being opened and then closed again by invisible hands.
Immediately, Severus forgot Raven's warning and hurried to pursue the Gryffindors; he was almost obsessed with the thought of catching them in the act of breaking the rules- he needed to see where they were heading to. He would get them expelled, and then Lily would have to realize that Potter wasn't as wonderful as she thought. And then... then... Nothing. Needless to say, he couldn't see anything since they were still hidden beneath Potter's thrice damned Invisibility Cloak. Neither could he hear their footsteps anymore.
Raven dragged him back inside. "Don't rush things. We're not gonna run out of the castle during full moon, alright? First, we have to find out why they aren't afraid to become a tasty werewolf snack."
"I bet they're on their way to that tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow," Severus hissed, cursing the fact that it had thawed the other day and all the snow was gone, otherwise he would have been able to see their footsteps. Frustrated, he turned to Raven. "Why don't they fear him? And please don't tell me it's because they're friends. A fully-fledged werewolf doesn't know friends."
"I know."
"And yet they're treating him like their favourite cuddly toy! Why do they behave as if that dangerous monster is simply having a little problem once a month?"
"Decidedly more dangerous than the monthly PMS curse." When Severus gave her a comical glance, Raven shrugged. "Never mind. We'll find out, Sev. I-" She fell silent when she heard someone approaching them, so she dragged Severus to the staircase leading down to the dungeons.
Only an instant later, Argus Filch, Hogwarts caretaker, appeared in the Entrance Hall. Jingling in his hands were a pair of polished manacles that seemed to glow threateningly in the pale moonlight that fell in through the windows. Breathing hard, he let out a wheezy cry of triumph when he saw that the front door war standing slightly ajar.
"Now I'll get you, you obnoxious little trouble-makers... leaving the castle in the middle of the night, and you think you can get away with that? I've been telling Dumbledore for years he's too soft with you-" Filch swung open the massive oak doors only to stare at the totally peaceful, empty grounds. There was no sign of anyone at all. He clearly was very disappointed
His cat, Mrs Norris, miaowed and rubbed her dust-coloured head against his leg, while her tail was lashing as angrily as a whip. The scrawny feline knew that there were two students lurking at the landing of the staircase to the dungeons, although they weren't to be seen.
Very carefully, Raven and Severus descended the stairs in order to not get caught by Filch. True, he was a rheumatic Squib, so he could neither uncover their disguise nor catch up with them if they started running now- but better safe than sorry.
In the end, they reached the Slytherin common room untroubled. Severus was a little upset because he had given in to Raven's whims by joining her in the Room of Requirement, since that had almost resulted in the precarious situation of getting caught for breaking curfew. It was not her fault though, that he had lost track of time. He should have glanced at his watch occasionally, knowing quite well that she wasn't capable of paying attention to anything as mundane as school rules when it was about her bloody music. On the other hand, it had been an enjoyable evening and they had found out why the Marauders could roam the castle as jauntily as they did. They were in possession of an Invisibility Cloak.
That also explained why Potter always managed to attack him when he was all on his own- it was an easy thing to gather your cronies and sneak up on the enemy while hidden underneath an Invisibility Cloak. It wasn't, however, what Severus considered bravery. Actually, it added to their dastardly behaviour.
Time flies when you're having fun, they say, but time seemed to fly even more when you were busy with everyday routine, buried under stacks of homework. February went by and turned into March. One day, there was spring in the air, and the next it was snowing again. And all the while, Raven was counting the days until March 12th , when she would be going to the T Rex gig with Severus.
She was so looking forward to it that she almost forgot about the Marauders and their werewolf friend.
A week before the gig, her mother sent a permission form that allowed Raven to leave Hogwarts for the weekend; all she had to do was to get her head of house to sign it- which Professor Slughorn without really looking at it. But he promised to pass it on to Headmaster Dumbledore, as requested.
After the Apparation lesson on Saturday, Raven and Severus took the Knight Bus to Glasgow, both dressed in Muggle attire. Of course, he had been trying to hide that by wearing a cloak over his leather jacket, but when they were sitting in the Knight Bus, he took off his cloak, shrunk it, and stuffed it in the pockets of his leather jacket.
Raven flashed him a fleeting glance, smirking as she once again realized how dashing he looked in Muggle clothes, and how well a pair of jeans accentuated his long, slender legs. She felt a swell of pride next to her overall joy that she was going to this gig with her best friend, even if he- unfortunately- wasn't her boyfriend.
He hadn't expected it, but the concert was... agreeable. Severus did indeed enjoyed the music, but what he didn't understand was why people had to be crammed in a jam-packed place like cattle in order to enjoy music.
He was being surrounded by sweaty bodies, jumping up and down while he hardly couldn't move at all- not that he would have wanted to move. Severus would have been perfectly alright if no strangers rammed their elbows into his ribs. At long last he heaved an exasperated sigh and pulled his wand to cast the non-verbal modification of a Cushioning Charm that gave him a little more comfort.
The crowd was simply absurd! No only that they were jumping around, there were also girls screaming they wanted to have a baby with the lead singer, who was a married man... as far as Severus knew from Raven (not that he cared).
That didn't stop them, though. Some of them even lifted their awfully coloured tops to bare their breasts, which he found mightily bewildering and he tried to avert his eyes. Didn't Muggles know anything about decent behaviour? After all, these girls weren't familiar with the guys on stage; they didn't know them personally. And yet they worshipped them so much they wanted to sleep with the singer in order to get pregnant, as if staring at his picture or reading every articles about him in the tabloids was a way to get to know someone. It definitely wasn't a sane basis for raising someone's child...
Briefly, Severus' mind drifted back to his own family situation; to his mother who had been disowned by her parents for getting pregnant by a Muggle guy she had probably never loved, and how one single night of pleasure had resulted in three totally unhappy lives. Mother blamed father for her misery, while father blamed his wife for being a witch, and together they blamed him. Probably.,
He shook his head to dispel his thoughts as he stole a sidelong glance at Raven. Without having any clue about his train of thoughts, she simply took his arm, smiling beatifically at him. It was plain to see that she was happy.
Of course, it was easy to take unadulterated joy in the simple things of life- like the concert of a Muggle band- if you were born into a family that treasured words like love and respect, and living up to those words instead of deriding them.
The band played their last song and then left the stage. The crowd was cheering, applauding frenetically as they called for an encore. Apparently, the concert wasn't over yet although all the lights had gone dark. Then, a little later, they lit up again with spotlight on the singer, who was now sitting cross-legged on stage, strumming his acoustic guitar to a tune Severus actually knew because Raven had played it to him on various occasions- it was one of her favourites.
And he still didn't know what 'playing the Spaceball Ricochet' meant.
If only they had left after the final encore. They should have taken the Knight Bus back to Hogwarts, and everything would have been alright. They wouldn't have been caught by Filch, who escorted them to the Headmaster's office, cursing all students in general while threatening to flog them for being incorrigible rule-breakers and trouble-makers.
"I have a permission to be out for the night," Raven tried to argue with Filch, but he didn't even listen.
They should have headed back to Hogwarts right after the concert was over, Severus thought, but no- that was not what Raven had had in mind. She sort of seemed to have tasted freedom (as weird as that might sound), the freedom of the Muggle world with all its music and clubs and bars and people, and she had been determined to savour her night out.
If not for her, he wouldn't have to justify himself to the Headmaster now. He wouldn't have to face Dumbledore's pink socks- Severus was averting his eyes, knowing that the Headmaster was a skilled Legilimens (or he simply wanted to avoid looking at that frivolous nightshirt, light blue with embroidered golden dragons, that Dumbledore wore under his lilac dressing gown)
What was he to tell him now? Most likely, Dumbledore would not believe the truth. Especially not if a Slytherin told him he'd been to a Muggle glam rock gig in Glasgow; had been to a couple of Muggle clubs afterwards, and had finally met the members of said Muggle glam rock band in a hotel bar, where he had talked to their lead singer. A friendly, but slightly crazy poet by the name of Marc Bolan, who believed in unicorns, futuristic dragons, seers and sages... who seemed to believe in magic without knowing that there really existed a wizarding world.
Raven wasn't pleased with Dumbledore's attitude at all since the Headmaster was eyeing them suspiciously.
"I have a permission signed by my mother. I was allowed to go out for the night. I handed it to Slug- um, Professor Slughorn, with the request to pass it on to you. It's not my bloody fault you cannot find it now." She'd had a few glasses of wine, otherwise she probably wouldn't have dared to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore like that. Raven glanced at his desk, which looked a tad messy indeed for someone who wasn't used to Albus Dumbledore's way of organizing things.
"Miss Lestrange, please don't feel affronted when asked a simple question," Dumbledore said in a benevolent tone, his blue eyes twinkling, "I'd like to assure you that as headmaster of this very fine school, the welfare of each and every student is always my utmost interest..."
"Oh really? Then where- pray tell me- has your interest in my welfare been all those years and every time I ended up in the infirmary due to some prank your precious Gryffindors played on me? So what if I told you our night out had been a big prank? Would you let us go off lightly, silently amused by our guts?"
Severus elbowed her, but Raven paid him no attention. One of the portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses that covered the walls of the office opened a sleepy eye.
"I am inconsolable if you feel less dear to me than other students, Miss Lestrange. Why don't you simply enlighten me about your night out, for better understanding? Did you enjoy yourself?"
He was clever; she gave him that. Now he mimed the good old, albeit slightly eccentric grandfather- while trying to use Legilimency on her. But instead of slamming down her mental shutters, (Raven didn't trust him, therefore she didn't want him to know of her Occlumency skills) she merely averted her eyes; just like Severus did every time the old wizard glanced at him.
"We've been to a concert," she finally admitted, although he should have known that if he had bothered to read her mother's note.
"Ah, music- it really is a magic of its own. Mozart's serenades, the Magical Flute, the symphonies of Bach and Haydn..."
"Ahem, the music was glam rock, the band called T Rex and there were no flutes but guitars." Honestly, Raven thought, do I look like I'm into that classical stuff?
"Please forgive my ignorance when it comes to modern music," Dumbledore flashed her an apologetic smile, his blue eyes still twinkling. "I hope you were having fun?"
The headmaster didn't quite seem to believe Raven; it became obvious the way he watched Severus (who hadn't uttered a single word yet) from under the rim of his half-moon spectacles.
"Let me hazard a guess- we're under general suspicion because we're Slytherins, and you believe we sneaked out of the castle for some secret meeting with the Dark Lord?"
"Hear, hear," one of the portraits whispered, a clever looking fellow with a pointed beard..
"Miss Lestrange, you seem to insist on misinterpreting my true and honest concern-"
The portrait snickered.
"I don't think so." Raven reached into the pocket of her purple bell-bottoms and produced two crumpled concert tickets that she slammed on the desk right in front of Dumbledore. "Here's the proof- although I don't have to prove anything since I did no fucking wrong. Your bias is just as discriminating as the Dark Lord's ideology of pure-blood supremacy."
"Miss Lestrange-"
"Why don't you bother to look at us for a change?" She interrupted the headmaster once again, irritated, stubborn and slightly drunk. "Look at us! Do we appear like the typical future of Death Eaters to you?" Raven heaved a sigh. "And now I'm tired of this charade. Would you please call my mother so we can get over with that tedious affair? I'm certain that her word will solve the matter, although you should not expect to find her pleased about the necessity of her presence, that early on a Sunday morning. But that's your bloody problem, not mine."
"Well, if you insist," Dumbledore agreed, recalling the former Hufflepuff student Nigella Marigold with fond affection, although (unfortunately) she hadn't been very gifted in Transfiguration. Nevertheless, she had been a model student, never causing any trouble... Alas, he recalled a little later- after he had already thrown a handful of Floo Powder into his fireplace- that the adult Nigella Lestrange was quite a fervid witch when it came to her beloved daughter; she had already criticised him on several occasions because of what she believed was unfair treatment, and once she had even send him a Howler.
Only a moment later, Nigella Lestrange stepped out of the fireplace and nodded a brief greeting in Dumbledore's direction while looking for Raven and Severus; she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted them, apparently safe and sound.
"Hi Mum," Raven said, "I'm sorry for-"
"Don't worry, love, it's alright as long as you are alright," Nigella was glad when both Raven and Severus nodded in the affirmative, then she turned to the headmaster with a stern mien on her face. "Would you please be so kind and enlighten me what this is all about?"
Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Well, your daughter and her companion were caught by Argus Filch at 5 o'clock this morning when they entered the castle; it is obvious they exceeded curfew for many hours."
"Did Raven not tell you that I gave her permission to be out for the night? As far as I recall, that is not against the school rules."
"Ahem..." Dumbledore began searching his desk for that permission, but couldn't find it. Nevertheless, he believed Nigella Lestrange. So Raven had told the truth. "Well, now that that's settled, you may leave and go to bed, Miss Lestrange."
Raven glanced at her mother. "Mum?"
"Yes, darling, go and wait outside. I will have a few more words with Headmaster Dumbledore, but if you're not too tired, I would like to meet you afterwards."
"Alright." She turned to leave and so did Severus, who was in a grumpy mood and hadn't uttered a single word to his defence the whole time.
"Mr Snape!" Headmaster Dumbledore called after him, "I didn't allow you to retreat."
Severus stopped at the door, hanging his head as he thought how very typical this was. He would receive punishment for nothing while everyone else was always getting off lightly. But to his surprise, Nigella told him to join Raven and wait outside the office.
"...just go, my dear boy, and let me handle that."
Dumbledore was slightly perplex. "Dear Mrs Lestrange, I must protest-"
"No, headmaster, I will have none of that. If you had actually read my letter that permitted Raven to leave school for the weekend, you would know it was explicitly mentioned that she would be accompanied by Severus, who is of age already..."
The door to Dumbledore's office closer behind them, so Raven and Severus couldn't hear any more of the conversation between her mother and the headmaster, except when Nigella got really upset. She actually accused Dumbledore of being 'sloppy', amongst other things.
Severus couldn't quite believe that there would be no detention, no point loss- simply no consequences of their night out, thanks to Nigella Lestrange. Instead, he was now sitting at the Three Broomsticks with Raven and her mother, having an early breakfast since they were all still too agitated to go to bed and hope to fall asleep any time soon.
Nigella was still angry at Dumbledore, but she didn't want to show her negative emotions when the kids were around, so she put on a cheerful face and asked Severus if he had enjoyed the concert.
"It was agreeable," he answered politely.
Raven beamed brightly, took a sip of coffee, and started gushing.
Severus glanced at Nigella, a small smirk on his face, while Raven was talking on and on; she seemed to remember every song. Then she told her mother about the clubs in Glasgow and the music they played there, about the people they had met and how at long last they had even met the band in that hotel bar.
"… you have to ask Sev- he and Marc talked for hours..."
'Your girlfriend?' the Muggle inquired when Raven came over to join them.
'No,' Severus mumbled, slightly bewildered that anyone could come to that conclusion, 'we're just good friends.
His conversational partner cocked a surprised brow at him. 'What a pity, she's quite a pretty one...'
Indeed, Severus realised as he glanced briefly at her- she was a pretty witch, especially when she smiled so happily, and she was definitely happy tonight.
'I think you really should reconsider your relationship with her.'
What was that supposed to mean? Severus wondered. Although the Muggle was pleasant to talk to, he was a bit cryptically sometimes- probably because he was an... artist. A musician, a singer, songwriter and poet, and these sort of Muggles seemed to tick differently in comparison to other Muggles. They were more... open-minded and less set in their ways, and they wouldn't call him a freak because they were freaks themselves, at least in the eye of conservative Muggles...
Raven will be pleased to hear that her favourite singer thinks her pretty, he thought- so far so good- but what did that have to do with him? She was his best friend, a clever, intelligent witch who hadn't turned into one of those silly girls that started gushing at the sight of a... celebrity (albeit, he had to admit that that Muggle singer was actually quite down to earth for someone being so popular, even if he did seem to have his head way up in the clouds of fairy-tale-skies)
Nigella couldn't keep her eyes off her daughter as she was prattling on and on, beaming so happily about her night out that it almost made her mother's heart ache with joy. So it had been a good idea to allow her to go to that concert and have fun, and most definitely, it had also been a good idea to write that letter of permit for her, even if Headmaster Dumbledore had been loath to admit he couldn't find it anywhere, due to the mess on his desk. She didn't regret having argued with him, because it was worth arguing if at long last the reward was to glance at happy young faces.
Merry Christmas everybody! Reviews are welcome as they look so nice under the Christmas tree.
Yes, I know the Room of Requirement does not provide food, but Coke has no real nutritional value and besides, the Room sees it more as an accessory that all Muggles have in their living-rooms. So no flames please.
Thanks to hypnotic ink for moral support and to Alabaster Princess for doing a great beta job. All remaining mistakes are mine.