Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Harry Potter and the Afterlife, Inc." by dunuelos. Not only is it one of the better responses to Reptilia28's challenge, but it was actually completed!

Chapter 14 - Ballroom Blitz: Yule Ball, Part 2

Friday, December 25, 1994, Dancing.

After the Dinner-Which-Must-Not-Be-Remembered, Jasmine joined the other champions and their dates as they made their way on to the dance floor. This was the part of the evening that she thought she would be most nervous about, but as she got into position with Neville, she realized that she was far calmer than she had anticipated. It was then that she understood how much the practicing and preparation had helped her.

She had already danced numerous times with Neville, and many different kinds of dances, too. Sure, this time she was doing it in front of quite a few people who didn't like her and would have been happy to see her fail, but they didn't matter. All that mattered were her friends — her surrogate family — some of whom were already out on the dance floor with her. Smiling broadly to Neville, she said with more confidence than she expected to feel, "We'll be fine, Nev. We've done this so much already that we could do it with our eyes closed if we wanted."

"Easy for you to say — you don't have to lead," Neville said under his breath. Still, the Longbottom heir stood up a little straighter, gripped his date a bit more firmly, and as the music began he moved confidently into the dance steps he'd come to know so well.

They'd had some trouble when first practicing together because Jasmine had been reluctant to let him lead her around. It wasn't that she didn't trust him; it was just that she preferred to be in control of where she was going. Having to move backwards based upon the directions of someone else simply didn't sit well with her, no matter who it was doing the leading.

They'd gotten over that, of course, and while they were by no means experts, they were certainly competent. Jasmine found that she actually enjoyed the dancing, at least a little bit. There was plenty of space between the couples, so she didn't have the impression that she was hemmed in by masses of students. Feeling like she was surrounded bothered her — it was a legacy from many days in her past when she was ruthlessly hunted for sport by her cousin and his gang.

Most of the time she could manage her reactions when surrounded, like when maneuvering in the busy corridors of Hogwarts, yet she was in control of her own movements then — a crowded dance floor was a different matter. And while the practice sessions had hardly been teeming with other couples, Jasmine had felt a sense of dread come over her when thinking about what the real ball would be like.

When it became obvious during the dance practices that she was nervous about something she didn't want to talk about, Hermione had to browbeat her into explaining her fears and then browbeat her some more into telling Neville. She had been right, of course, but that didn't make Jasmine any happier about it at the time.

And before she knew it, the opening waltz was over. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had hardly noticed the time passing. Apparently her dancing had gotten good enough that her body was able to carry on with the task without her mind needing to be fully present.

"Back with us, then, are you?" Neville asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

Smiling for all the people now applauding the champions and their opening dance, she answered, "Sorry, got distracted thinking about various… issues. Did I miss anything?"

"You mean, aside from my magnificent dancing skills? No, nothing of great importance," Neville replied cheerfully. Jasmine was pleased to see that he'd grown enough in confidence to talk back to her like that. It was one of the things she had appreciated about Ron — he was never afraid to speak his mind.

Grinning back, she said, "Shall we continue?"

"Indeed we shall, m'lady," he responded. They took their positions while the dance floor filled with students, and they started moving with the music once it resumed. It was certainly more difficult to dance in a crowd — Jasmine could see it in Neville's eyes. Not only was he responsible for keeping them from crashing into other couples, but since her revelation of her fears he seemed to take it upon himself to also keep a second eye out for potential trouble and a third eye on Jasmine herself to make sure she was OK. By Jasmine's count, that was at least one eye more than Neville had been born with.

Pushing down the anxiety that had been slowly building, she tried to smile warmly. "Thanks, Neville. I appreciate what you're doing for me. For us… everything that you're doing."

A little startled by the sudden thanks, Neville needed a moment to focus his attention on her words. "Uh, sure. Yeah, you're welcome. You two can always count on me. What brought that on all of a sudden, though?"

"I already knew that what you were doing for us wasn't easy," Jasmine explained, "but a moment ago I could see how much active work was being required from you right now. We should sit the next one out so you can rest." Neville wasn't that tired or stressed, but he didn't decline the offer. They both knew that they'd be stopping primarily for her, not for him.

Walking off of the dance floor, they noticed Viktor and Hermione had already appropriated a table, so they decided to join the couple. "You wanted to take a break, too? It was getting too crowded and hot for us," Hermione stated as soon as they arrived. "At least with Viktor being taller than most, he was able to prevent us from bumping into too many others."

"Neville was doing a great job, too," Jasmine added with a smile. "But you're right, it's almost oppressive out there. Hopefully it will clear out a bit after a few more songs."

"Is that Ron sitting over there alone?" Neville asked. Hermione and Jasmine had to crane their necks to see where he was pointing, but both agreed that it was Ron. "I wonder why he's alone — last I saw, he was rushing off to meet his date."

Conversation turned to general observations about the decor and food of the ball, and the two couples were soon joined by Ginny and Dean. "Tired? Or did the crowd get to be too much for you?" asked Hermione.

"A bit of both, frankly," Dean answered. "Ginny was more annoyed by the crowd than I was, but I think it's because she dances better and knows more about what we would be doing if we had more space. Me, I don't know enough to be annoyed." This was all said with a grin, showing that the Gryffindor boy wasn't bothered that his date knew more about dancing than he did and that he was having a good time anyway.

"Say, Gin, is that Ron over there alone?" Neville asked the new arrival. "We were wondering about that a few minutes ago because we saw him leaving Gryffindor tower to meet his date, but so far we haven't seen anyone with him."

Standing up to get a better look, she saw that it was indeed her brother and immediately started searching around for his date. After looking for a minute without any luck, she turned to face the dance floor and stopped, then slowly sat down. "Oh, dear," she said.

"Vat's wrong?" Viktor asked.

"Well," Ginny answered, "I found his date." Trying to point without being too obvious about it, she directed their attention to a waifish blonde girl in a strange silvery dress that was decorated with numerous flowers. She was dancing, though it wasn't a dance any of them recognized. It certainly wasn't the formal sort of dance one would normally do with the music being played. She was moving her arms and legs in a vaguely stylized fashion, as if she were dancing to some music or rhythm that only she could hear.

"Is… is she alright?" Hermione asked, not sure what she should say about the sight in front of her. It seemed that other students were equally bewildered, judging by their attempts to keep some distance between her and themselves out on the dance floor.

Ginny sighed and tried to explain. "That's Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw in my year. She lives near my family in Ottery St. Catchpole, so we've known each other since we were both little. It probably won't come as much of a surprise that many people refer to her as "Looney" Lovegood. Luna is… different. Unique. Eccentric. All those words fit, but they don't fully describe her, either."

Taking a sip of her drink while trying to figure out how to continue, Ginny finally said, "I'd say that you have to experience her to understand, but I've been experiencing her for years and I still don't understand. I just accept her as she is because she's incredibly sweet and nice. You'll never find a more gentle soul, but not everyone can deal with her oddities. Unfortunately, I think she's being bullied by others in Ravenclaw, but I don't have any proof, and she doesn't want to get them in trouble. Or perhaps I should say, she doesn't want to make trouble and risk the bullying getting worse."

Only Hermione noticed the tightening in Jasmine's face, a sure sign there'd be hell to pay if a sweet, gentle girl was being bullied. Hermione could only hope that she'd be able to channel Jasmine's reaction into a form that didn't produce significant injuries or property damage. Trying to at least distract Jasmine for the moment, she asked, "Do you have any idea why she is… well, this way?"

Her expression growing sad, Ginny answered, "Luna was always a little strange, and I think it was because her parents were a bit odd themselves. Then, sometime around when I was eight or nine, Luna's mother was killed. It was some sort of accident while she was developing a new spell, I think. I never knew all the details, but I did find out a couple of years later that Luna was there. She watched her mother die. After that, she grew more and more bizarre."

Bringing the conversation back to its starting point, Neville asked, "So, what's up with Ron being alone? Do you think he's annoyed that his date is eccentric?"

Frowning, Ginny said, "I'm not sure. It's not like his date was a surprise — he knew Luna from before and knew he'd be escorting her. I even warned him in advance, just in case he didn't remember her well enough to understand how odd she can be. Maybe he didn't listen, as is often the case." With that, she quickly downed her drink and said, "Sorry, Dean, but I'm going to need a few minutes with my dear brother. Granted, they aren't an actual couple, and I set this up both so that she would be able to come and so that he wouldn't be pathetically dateless, but that doesn't mean that he's allowed to completely ignore her. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Not a problem, Ginny," Dean said. "I share a dorm with him, remember? I know what he's like."

Giving him a smile that was a bit more of a grimace, Ginny turned and stalked over to where her brother was sitting. He didn't see her approach, otherwise he'd have probably gotten up and made a break for it. Instead, she was able to trap him at the table, where she proceeded to give him a bollocking worthy of their mother.

Noticing that the crowd on the dance floor had thinned a bit, Viktor stood and with a bow to Jasmine asked, "Vould you care to dance?"

Out on the dance floor, Viktor began blinking rapidly as they were assaulted by the sudden flashing of cameras. "I never get used to camera flashes," he groused. "Should have expected they vould vant many pictures of us dancing together, but I didn't expect them to get to this part of the dance floor so qvickly."

"True enough," Jasmine said ruefully. "I can see the headlines now: The Girl Who Lived Swept Off Her Feet by Bulgarian Bon Bon."

Viktor almost choked in horror. "Bulgarian Bon Bon? Vhere do you get such things?"

"Oh, it's not my invention, I'm sorry to say," Jasmine answered. "I heard it as part of some rumor about you. Girls' Network, you know. I may still be ostracized by a lot of the students in this school, but I continue to pick up things."

Snorting in annoyance, Viktor said, "Girls' Network, huh. Despite my best efforts, that is one group I cannot eavesdrop on. Even with my mask, they talk in whispers and giggle if I get too close."

"Yeah, well, don't get your hopes up of sneaking into that information stream," Jasmine said with a smirk. "You'd look awful in a wig and skirt." The shock of that image caused Viktor to miss a step in his dancing, which gave Jasmine no small amount of amusement. Just because she didn't want to be at the Yule Ball didn't mean that she wasn't going to try to have a little fun where she could.

When the next dance number started, they were greeted by Neville and Cho Chang, who had apparently joined them on the dance floor. Viktor and Neville bowed to each other before switching partners, and then the two couples began to spin off in different directions. As she was dancing by with Cedric, Hermione thought she saw Jasmine's eyes once again linger on Cho for a bit longer than seemed appropriate.

"When we turn in that direction again," Neville said to Jasmine once they got started, "look back over at the table we were sitting at."

Jasmine did as he said and was surprised to see what looked like Luna Lovegood sitting there, talking with Dean. "Is that...?"

"Yep," Neville said. "We saw Dean wave Luna over when she walked off the dance floor. We thought it might be to distract her from whatever Ginny is saying or doing to Ron. It's a nice gesture, especially if her oddness makes her as difficult to deal with as Ginny said."

Jasmine frowned when she was reminded about that particular issue. "I hate the idea that a sweet, gentle girl might be being bullied by others because she's different. And in Ravenclaw, no less! I wouldn't be so surprised if it were Slytherin — that house does prize a certain amount of ruthlessness as part of promoting ambition. Ravenclaw, though, is supposed to be about intelligence, wit, academics, and scholarship. At worst they should only have an excessive focus on books and studying, not cliquishness and bullying!"

"Well," Neville tried to answer while still doing his duty to keep an eye on things, "I suppose that just because you're in Ravenclaw doesn't mean you're immune from other human flaws. I take it you have plans? Maybe plans that involve bloody retribution or something along those lines?" There had been a time when Neville thought that Jasmine was a fairly reserved, sweet girl. He had been disabused of such notions after learning about what she'd endured in her life — and he was still convinced that he hadn't heard everything. On top of that was the way she had been growing more brash ever since she and Hermione had gotten together; he had no idea what to make of that.

Jasmine snorted at the question. "Not exactly, though I'm not ruling it out, either. First, I'd like to get to know her — I want to find out if she really is being bullied. From what Ginny said, that might be hard. I also want her to know that she can come to me for help or safety. I hope I'll be able to include Hermione, Ginny, and you in that commitment?" Neville nodded vigorously at that. "Then, if there are any bullies, we do something to them."

Later, all three couples found themselves sitting again at the same table. Ron and Luna were out on the floor dancing, and while Ron didn't look too happy, Luna looked absolutely ecstatic. Ginny had explained the facts of life to Ron — in particular, the fact that his life depended on doing the proper thing for the girl he had escorted to the ball and actually dancing with her, even if only a few times. She must have done an effective job at channeling Molly Weasley because he had fetched Luna from Dean's company before the next dance had even started, and they hadn't sat back down since.

Other than having to deal with minor nuisances like Ron and photographers, all six students had had a good time at the ball so far — a better time than most of them had expected, in fact.

Unfortunately, a much larger and more persistent nuisance picked that moment to make himself known.

"Hey, Potter, I should have known that the only date you could manage to get was a pathetic squib. I guess that's why you didn't need to pay — when you're with a squib, even a halfblood like you manages to be magically dominant."

Malfoy seemed to think that his comments were pretty witty, and the chuckles from his sycophants — Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson — helped reinforce that image he had of himself. Jasmine, though, saw an opportunity to use some of what Neville had been teaching the group every evening. Even better, she could do so in a way that would highlight how crass Malfoy tended to behave.

"Why, Mr. Malfoy, I'm frankly surprised at you," Jasmine drawled. Pleased to see the look of confusion on his face, she continued, "It sounded for all the world like you might have been insulting Neville Longbottom, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. I'd like to point out that his family is recorded as having practiced magic in Britain centuries before the Malfoys crossed the channel as peasants imported by Norman invaders." If the red that was suffusing Malfoy's face was any indication, he knew she was right and was incensed that she had the gall to say any of it aloud.

"In fact, if I'm not mistaken," Jasmine turned to Neville at this point as if to get confirmation, "the Longbottom family can be traced back to Vikings who settled in northern England in the early 9th century." Neville nodded casually.

Turning back to Malfoy and his cronies, she continued, "That was quite a long time before the French peasants decided to stick their overly large noses into our business in England. So you see, you're in no position to be insulting the magic or heritage of a family far older and nobler than your own will ever be. If that was what you were doing — which I'm sure you weren't, given the ramifications to your family honor and fortunes from issuing such insults. Am I correct, Mr. Malfoy?"

The red in Malfoy's face suddenly drained to a stark white as his brain caught up to his mouth, and he realized that there were indeed potential consequences to insults like those he'd just made. Funny how he never seems to think about the consequences of his actions, Jasmine thought sourly.

"N-no, Miss Potter. Certainly not," he stammered.

"Very good. I'm glad to hear that. Run along now, go play with your little friends. Your presence is no longer required," Jasmine said to dismiss him, just before turning her back and completely ignoring him. Shaking a little in anger at being treated as if he didn't matter, Malfoy stormed off with his minions trailing along behind. Off to the side, she thought she could see Mad-Eye Moody grinning.

"Wow, Jasmine, where'd all that come from?" asked Dean.

"Oh, it's all thanks to the lessons I've been getting from Professor Longbottom here," Jasmine said with a warm smile at Neville.

Neville blushed a little at the praise. "Thanks, Jasmine. I couldn't put him in his place without looking worse. Something like that is best coming from someone like you — someone whose family has a similar status." Turning to Dean, he explained, "Defending your family by pointing out how old and titled it is may be a legitimate response to insults, but it's also regarded as incredibly crass. It's like a person who goes around bragging about their Quidditch successes all the time — their words may be true, but that's not the sort of person you want to spend time with, right?"

Dean nodded in understanding, so Neville continued, "But someone else can defend you by pointing out how strong you are or how old your family is. That's not socially inappropriate, at least if done properly. Also, the more significant the family of the person who does so, the better it is, because it doesn't look like they are trying to benefit by sucking up to you. Hermione could defend me, for example, but some could interpret that as her trying to get into my good graces. Viktor wouldn't be seen that way, however, regardless of his family background because he's so famous in his own right."

"That all makes sense," Dean said slowly as he thought about it, "but it also sounds awfully complicated."

"You're right, it is," Hermione said as she joined the conversation. "Even the strangest customs or traditions among British magical purebloods make at least some sense once they are explained in context, but few are what I'd call obvious. That means you need instruction in them to even begin to fit in."

"It's a good vay of keeping outsiders excluded," Viktor said. "People who aren't raised in the culture never feel totally at home, and those who try to stay vill always be recognizable. It's simply a more subtle and deeply embedded expression of the overt bigotry you see from children like Malfoy. Most probably don't even realize vat is happening."

The previous happiness at chasing Malfoy away had now been replaced by a somber mood. Everyone was seeing how difficult it would be to ever make magical Britain more open to groups like muggleborn when the very fabric of its customs and traditions served to keep them out.

"It's starting to get a bit stuffy in here," Jasmine finally said. "I'd like to take a walk outside. Anyone want to join me?"

Ginny and Dean chose to stay inside and go back to dancing, so only two couples went out to stroll through the enchanted garden. Jasmine started out walking beside Neville, the two talking further about wizarding culture, whereas Hermione and Viktor chatted in low voices about something Jasmine couldn't quite hear. Somehow, though, the girls ended up walking together with Neville between them and Viktor. If Viktor thought it was in any way odd, he didn't say anything, though Neville did seem to be doing a good job keeping him distracted by talking about Hogwarts.

During a lull in their conversations, heated voices were heard from a nearby path. They couldn't make out the exact words because of how the plants muffled the sound, but Viktor recognized one of the speakers. "That is my headmaster, Karkaroff. Who vould he be arguing vith?" No one had any answer to that, so they quietly made their way around a corner to witness a heated exchange between him and Professor Snape.

Whatever the subject was, neither looked happy, but Karkaroff looked far more upset and agitated. Finally he stormed off in the direction of the Durmstrang ship while Snape walked away from them towards the castle. The conflict on Viktor's face was clear to everyone.

Hermione spoke up first. "Viktor, I take it you want to follow him to make sure he's okay?"

Sighing, Viktor said regretfully, "Ja. I don't like him much, but I do have obligations to him as my headmaster. I cannot easily ignore something like this."

"Go ahead, then," Hermione responded. "We'll be fine. I know it's a bit early to end the evening, but this is important too."

"Don't worry," Neville added, "I'll see that they both get back into the castle safely."

"Thank you," Viktor said with relief evident in his voice. Turning to Hermione, he took her hand and bowed to kiss it. "I had a delightful evening dancing and talking with several new friends. Thank you, Miss Granger, for accompanying me. I hope we can do this again some time."

With a curtsey, Hermione responded, "I had a lovely time dancing and talking with you Viktor. I know we all enjoyed your company, in fact, and I hope we'll all be able to continue spending time together. Thank you for inviting me."

After a click of his heels and another short bow to the others, Viktor quickly made his way in the direction that Karkaroff left. Turning towards her girlfriend, Jasmine said impishly, "I'm sorry your date had to leave early, but I can think of some benefits to the situation." Hermione smiled back and moved a bit closer.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt," Neville broke in, "but this is a bit public. Why don't you go to that dark corner over there, and I'll stand here as a lookout."

Jasmine beamed in appreciation at Neville while Hermione simply grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the darkened corner of the garden path. They barely had time to stop and face each other when once again, raised voices came to them from a nearby path. "Really?" asked Jasmine in a disappointed tone. "Are we going to do this all night?"

Before anyone could answer, they saw Madam Maxime of Beauxbatons storm by, clearly upset about something. "We should leave," Hermione said, "before Dumbledore comes out to have a tantrum, too."

All three Gryffindors made their way back into the castle, though as none cared to continue dancing, they didn't bother returning to the ball. Jasmine and Hermione walked next to each other, occasionally brushing hands and arms, while Neville accompanied them a discreet distance away. It wasn't much privacy, but he wanted them to have whatever he could offer.

None of them were aware of the pair of blue eyes watching them walk up the stairs. Stepping out of the shadows in a corner in the Entrance Hall, Fleur Delacour considered what she was witnessing. She had noticed the way they walked together, and how they sat next to each other when taking breaks from dancing. During dinner, they kept looking at each other more than at their dates.

None of this needed any explanation beyond their friendship. Mere friendship, however, would not explain the powerful magical connection she could sense between them. Most of the time, she could only liken it to a kind of music, and the volume seemed to be growing. The melody also seemed to be growing more complex.

When she was closer to them, like at the dinner tonight, she felt like there was more than music going on — more than melody and rhythm. What she felt was power: enough power that at times she was sure she could almost see it arcing between the two witches. No one else noticed anything, though, so unless her senses were playing tricks on her, it had to be something that only veela could detect.

It wasn't much, but Fleur felt like she now had enough that she could write to her family in France. Hopefully her maman and grandmere would understand what was going on and could advise her. Before, she only wanted to write so they could help her satisfy her curiosity. Now, though, she was concerned: she could feel and see the power being exuded by those two witches, even though no one else seemed able to. She wasn't sure what it meant, but that much power could be dangerous — especially since it looked like it was growing, too.

Yes, she thought, I'll have to send out a letter first thing in the morning.

Far away, in a town called Little Hangleton, a short, dumpy man sat morosely in an old, dilapidated manor house. I used to believe that there was nothing worse than spending Christmas alone, he thought. Now I know better.

Peter Pettigrew had spent many Christmases alone. Many of those times he'd felt sorry for himself, but now he looked back on those days with wistful nostalgia. They may not have been his best days, but they were far better than what he was enduring now. Worse yet, he had no one to blame for his current situation but himself.

"Wormtail," came the screeching from that… that… thing in the other room. "Wormtail, come milk Nag… AAARRRGGGHHHH!"

The short, dumpy man slowly rose to his feet, wondering for the umpteenth time how long he'd have the strength to endure this. That thing he served had been experiencing more and more of these episodes of pain, followed by weakness, over the past couple of weeks. Of course, he was always the one punished for it.

"Happy Christmas to me..." he muttered to himself as he trudged into the other room to do his master's bidding.

"Crucio!"