A while earlier, James had finally asked the question. Not in a typical way, though; in the special way that James Potter did everything, a perfectly balanced mixture of cute and cocky.
"You look far too pretty tonight to be dancing alone, dear," he complimented, coming up behind her, and sweeping her onto the dance floor without permission.
She of course was practically tripping over her own feet, although she was a much more graceful dancer than Rose gave her credit for. That being said, she did have to keep looking at her shoes to stop from accidentally kicking her partner. James kept the dancing slow and careful, totally unlike what Sirius had done, and what he was capable of doing. They occupied their own little corner, and no one bothered to come near, save for the chaperones that circled like vultures, occasionally grouping together and talking under their breath.
They continued to dance slowly, no matter how the music changed, and they eventually changed positions until his hands rested on her waist and hers were around his neck.
Ellie didn't seem nervous to him, even if she was really worried enough to faint.
They spoke quietly like that for awhile, until a popular song came on and the floor was flooded by people who wanted to dance.
They were pushed almost directly into the arms of Professor Flitwick, who had now had several glasses of punch, and could hardly stand.
"Oh! Mr. Potter! Deepest apologies. I seem to have somehow been confunded!"
"'S alright Professor," James replied, curious as to why the small professor was even more tipsy than usual. Just overexcited, he decided.
They walked over to a bench and began to people watch, while James poured the two of them punch. The bottom of her trumpet skirt had floated magically a few inches above the ground as she danced. Now, it dropped down in a graceful circle as she sat.
He came back with two glasses that were filled to the brim.
She took one without paying attention.
"There's Lynn," she pointed, now intently watching one couple, whose costumes were a matching royal blue.
"With Nate Bennett?"
"Uh huh."
"Yeah. I've had to split them up in the team room a few times after practice before," he commented, taking a sip of his punch, and promptly spitting it out.
Ellie opened her mouth to ask exactly why they needed splitting up, when James interrupted her by coughing.
"Dear Lord, Sirius!" he choked.
"Are you okay?!" Ellie exclaimed, alarmed, narrowly avoiding getting punch on her dress.
He swallowed.
"He spiked the punch. Do not drink it," he warned, his eyes squinting and watering against his will. She laughed at him and he joined her the minute he could talk without sputtering.
"I'm sorry," Ellie replied, still laughing, which only caused the two of them to laugh all the harder.
"Don't be," he replied, once their uproar had subsided to a few innocent giggles. "You have a beautiful laugh. Especially when you're laughing at my misfortune," he teased.
"And that sentence was going so well," she sighed dramatically, making him grin.
"Was it? I'm still a bit busy choking to death on some firewhiskey-infused punch, if that's okay with you," he joked, making her break her false disappointment in favor for another grin.
"It's not okay with me, actually. No dying without my permission," she demanded lightly.
The music started to get slow again, and Ellie debated going to dance, but decided against asking him. Her heels were just as uncomfortable as they looked.
"Hi, James."
A girl walked up to the bench in front of the pair of them. She was tall and envyingly thin, with long, silky straight hair, as black as night. Her costume was black and emerald, bringing out the green flecks in her eyes, and the mesmerizing glow of her heels that were almost as thin as the stem of a wineglass.
Vanessa Riddle, Slytherin.
It took a lot for Ellie to hate someone. In fact, out of every single human being on the planet, she only truly hated about three. And Vanessa was at the top of the list.
In general, she was just an absolutely rude person, mean for the sake of being mean, along with her best friends (who had since graduated), the sisters Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, who were coincidentally Sirius' cousins. Their group of five girls, simply known as The Witches to anyone who dared talk about them, were hated by the teachers, and yet somehow commanded respect from all of their fellow students. Rumors had spread near and far about how many dark spells they had learned from their parents, how both of Kyla's were imprisoned in Azakaban for torturing muggles to death, and Clarissa's mother ran a part of the black market on dark artifacts. Rumors about them warned that you had to do what they said, when they said to do it. Or else.
Ellie had little experience in their affairs because Rose, quite frankly, scared them off. In fact, Rose had dueled with Bellatrix in second year, and had very nearly gotten expelled for standing on top of the Slytherin house breakfast table, and winning the duel by cursing off part of her opponent's ear (which had been healed perfectly back to normal, thank you very much). The duel had been started when Bellatrix had refused to stop calling a first year a whore, and then Vanessa had publicly embarassed Ellie. Rose had never met the small Ravenclaw, Pandora, before, but had gotten sick and tired of how The Witches treated people, and had snapped and knocked Vanessa out, before Bellatrix had responded whith what may well have been a Cruciatus curse, which burned a hole through Rose's school robes, resulting in Bellatrix's loss of an ear. After that, teachers interveined, and all order was restored to the world; the witches' reign of terror was less prominent in Hogwarts.
There was no instance of payback, following that, but Ellie still felt that she was playing the unsuspecting victim, constantly awaiting an attack. She didn't like to think of that, the day she considered the worst in the life.
"Evening, Vanessa."
Ellie's nightmare smiled to James' response, dark lipstick highlighting her somehow perfectly shaped lips. Ellie stiffened, and felt James' hand in hers, somehow distant, as though she had already lost him to the viper's poison.
"Care to Join me for a dance?" She asked casually.
Ellie held her breath and prepared herself to let go of James, because of course he would want to dance with her. What guy wouldn't?
"No. I already have a partner. In fact, we were just getting ready to get up. Shall we Ellie?"
He again practically had to drag her to the floor, this time, because she hadn't really been expecting his response. The last thing she saw before the crowd enveloped the Slytherin, was wide eyes that showed something like surprise, with hurt and rage etched into the lips that were now pressed into a thin frown, curling down more than enough at the ends to show that James would have to pay for this slight.
XXx
Ellie didn't hesitate in telling him the problem.
"James, I think you just sentenced us to two more years of hell," Ellie contemplated aloud, now somehow graceful enough to manage dancing and talking at once this time around.
"What? Old Nessie got you worried?" He joked, smirking. She didn't laugh. And he noticed.
"What's amiss, darling?"
"Why did you reject her, James?" She answered.
"Because she's an absolute bitch. Besides that though, she already has a partner. She had to force Rodney Davies to invite her just to be able to come," he replied, indignantly.
Not quite the answer she had been looking for.
"James, that was dangerous. She's going to be out to get me now," Ellie argued. The song changed again, and with it their position, as Ellie felt James' hands carefully move to her waist.
"Because I'm dancing with you?" He asked, seemingly surprised.
Everyone knew that Vanessa went after whoever was considered the hottest guy in their year, an office that James apparently had the privilege of holding, since Clark Quinn had gotten terrible spots.
"Yes." Ellie replied, sounding a bit down.
"Well, cheer up. Is she looking this way?"
Ellie looked around to see Vanessa watching them darkly.
"Yes. Why?"
"Because I figure we'd better give her something to actually be jealous of," he grinned, leaning down a bit towards her. She hesitated for a moment, but rose up on her toes to meet him.
It wasn't just a small gesture, like his smile on the stairs had been, this time.
At first, Vanessa just stood there, going stiff next to her date, poor Rodney Davies. Ellie didn't have the pleasure of seeing it, but from the second the kiss began, the witch was squeezing her cup of punch with so much rage that it crumpled and spilt all over her hands and dress, which promptly began to steam and let off an odor of fire whiskey. She threw her glass on the floor, and stormed out.
They stayed together for as long as they could hold their breath, just a still pair of people in a sea of moving ones. They were lucky that all of the chaperones had, in that precise moment, rushed to the other side of the room to stop Professor Flitwick from attempting to steal a violin from someone in the band. All of the Professors, that is, save one. Professor Dumbledore, who had just accepted a bag of galleons from Professor McGonagall.
"Two for two," he chuckled under his breath.
XXx
She hadn't wanted the night to end. She wanted to stay with James, despite her aching feet and tired eyes. When a clock struck twelve, the band stopped abruptly, save one viola holding out the last note in a desperate attempt to make the night last even a moment longer.
The students were dismissed back to their houses, and James walked back with an arm around Ellie's waist all the way, up several flights of stairs to the Gryffindor common room, where students were still trickling back in, and saying goodnight to their partners to go back to their dormitories.
Typically, there would be some kind of after party, where food would be stolen from the kitchens, and students would stay up until daylight, but tonight, there was none. This was at least partially due to the lack of Sirius Black, the typical food stealer, who was not anywhere to be found. Peter had already gone to bed some time earlier.
Ellie could not seem to will herself up the stairs. Instead, she flopped down on a sofa, and took off her shoes, neatly placing them down next to her feet. James sidled in behind her and sat down neatly beside her, jumping over the back of the sofa.
"I want to wait for Rose," Ellie announced, leaning back, already exhausted, but unwilling to go to bed before her friend had arrived back safely.
"Well, their escapade was not put in to be approved me, so I don't know when they'll be returning."
"Fine." Ellie replied wearily, somewhat stubbornly.
They spoke while they waited, until conversation lulled into a small comment so often. After what felt like years, the fire died, and darkness encroached upon them from the shadows. Ellie realized at some point that she was slipping in and out of sleep, and in another that she was accidentally leaning (and probably drooling) on James. Unless it was just a dream.
The next time she woke up, she was back in her dormitory.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxx
Bit of a longer chapter here, but I think that's a good thing. Romance isn't my strong suit, and neither is teenage guy, so this whole relationship thing is being a little tricky. Whatever. Please feel free to review. Don't let the muggles get you down!
post edit: it was about now that i realized that ellie and james couldnt be together yet. James potter still has some growing up to do, and i think thats part of what will make the rest of this story interesting. Ok, thanks for the usual reading and reviewing!