The towering ice sculptures glinted and glowed in a rainbow of colours as the floating candles of the Great Hall slowly circled through the air. On the wide dance-floor, dozens of pairs of dancers twirled and plunged beneath the enchanted ceiling. The Weird Sisters struck up a fast tune and the elaborate display of dress robes whirled faster in response.
As I spun in a dizzying circle with Lisa Turpin, I felt someone grab my arm and pull. Looking to my left I saw Stephen's grinning face as he tugged the two of us into a group dance with his partner, Susan Bones. I laughed as we all revolved on the spot together.
'Where's Kev?' shouted Stephen over the noise of the music.
'No idea,' I shouted back, almost tripping over Lisa's emerald-green robes.
The crowd parted before us and we moved out of the way just in time as Hagrid waltzed by with Madame Maxime. Right behind them, I spotted Kevin and Mandy Brocklehurst, both roaring with laughter at Dean Thomas, who had locked lips with a pretty Beauxbatons girl nearby. Stephen exclaimed in delight at the sight and I reached forward to tap Kevin on the shoulder. Mandy pulled Kevin into our group and embraced Lisa quickly before whispering hurriedly into her ear. Stephen wolf-whistled and Dean broke into a wide grin without interrupting the kiss, flashing a rude hand gesture in our direction. We all laughed.
'Have you guys seen Hermione Granger tonight?' Mandy shot at us as we migrated to the edge of the crowd.
'Yeah, she looks bloody incredible!' exclaimed Stephen.
I noticed Susan purse her lips at this. As Stephen caught my eye, I inclined my head slightly in Susan's direction, but I wasn't sure if he understood my message. A moment later and the song ended. All the dancers paused in order to applaud loudly, while the Weird Sisters changed positions on the stage. Their next song was even louder and faster, and was apparently quite well known, as Mandy, Susan and Lisa all cried out in delight after the first few bars. As a result, we were all swept around the floor once again, while several of the teachers took the opportunity to leave for the round tables.
'I love this song!' Lisa shrieked in my ear, her lips brushing my cheek.
I felt an inexplicable heat climb up my neck as she held on to me tightly. Her lips stayed by my cheek, and I could feel them against my skin as we twirled in rapid circles. Stephen winked at me over her shoulder. But I had no idea what to do in this situation – was she expecting me to kiss her? Did I even want to kiss her?
She clutched me tight and rested her head on my shoulder. When the song reached its chorus (an unfortunate couple of lines about unrequited love), Lisa raised her eyes to look at me steadily and I experienced a moment of intense panic. As she waited expectantly, her face mere inches from my own, I looked away and tried to quicken the step of our dance. There was an intensely awkward moment as we reached the edge of the dance-floor when we both avoided each other's gaze. The song had not yet ended when Lisa dropped her hands and folded her arms.
'I'm tired … I'll see you in a bit.'
'Yeah, ok,' I croaked.
She stalked off across the hall, her dress robes sweeping along behind her. I stood awkwardly on my own for a few moments, watching her as she sat down beside Padma Patil. The music thrummed and the walls seemed to vibrate with festive energy.