Chapter seven - The Triwizard Ball

Gina had a lot of fun getting ready for the ball with Jill, Gabriela and Fleur, putting on their dress robes and helping each other finding jewellery that matched their dresses, borrowing and lending things to each other.

After a long argument Gina was allowed to do Gabriela's make up. Gabriela had beautiful green eyes and Gina accented them with a subtle red eyeliner, which also matched her airy red dress robes. When Gabriela looked in the mirror she looked so relieved and happy Gina felt a little bad for teasing her with Jonne sometimes. But she made it so easy...

They made their way to the Entrance Hall at five to eight. It was very crowded, many students had arranged to meet their date before going inside the Great Hall for the start of the ball. Gina was wearing a simple low cut green dress with a big split, and had let her hair down. She saw Andre Fawcett and Tarjei Boot from her potions class look admiringly at her when they walked by. Jill, who was wearing a short, silvery dress, looked around nervously. Gina knew she was looking for Louis and his date. Gina waited quietly until the other champions were ready, standing a little in the back and making sure she was standing nowhere near Lucian Bole and his date, a strict looking Slytherin girl in frilly robes. Gina waved and smiled at Bill, who looked dashing in black dress robes.

After what felt like hours the Entrance Hall slowly emptied, leaving just the champions and their partners waiting for instructions. They didn't have to wait long for professor McGonagall coming out of the great hall and closing the double doors behind her. She was wearing tartan dress robes and a star on her pointed hat, making her look slightly less strict.

'Please get in line,' she said to the champions. 'I will open the doors in a moment, and you will walk on to the dance floor in the middle of the hall. Wait there, the band will start playing when everyone is in position. Any questions?'

'Are we allowed to dance hip hop style professor?' Jonne asked.

'Absolutely not, mister Virtanen.' Professor McGonagall didn't smile.

Bill and Jonathan grinned.

'Whenever you are ready.' She waited until they formed a line, Fleur Dellaceur leading with her dazed looking date, Oaklee Berrycloth. Gina saw professor McGonagall look at her and Jill when they took their place beside each other. Gina leaned over to Jill.

'I am not hitting on you, but you look gorgeous,' she whispered in Jill her ear. Jill grinned at her, looking pleased and a bit more confident.

Professor McGonagall opened the double doors and they they entered, walking in a line under loud applause from the other students, who were standing around the enormous circular white dance floor erected in the middle of the Great Hall. The usual house tables were gone, and all around the dance floor white standing tables were placed. There were little white benches around the walls and in between, grouped around old looking pear trees full of blossom, and there were beautiful large branches conjured to grow out of the walls over the heads of the students, draped in blossoming white flowers. It was a beautiful sight.

Gina and Jill took their place next to Jonne and his date, and when the band started playing she hold out her hand to Jill, taking the lead, which was a good move, because Jill wasn't an amazing dancer. Gina steered her confidently over the dance floor, glancing at señor Gonzalez, who was standing nearby and who was looking very displeased about something. Gina smiled widely.

'I'm going to spin you,' she whispered at Jill.

'Nooo,' Jill mouthed wide eyed. 'You spin.' She held out her hand and Gina spun elegantly at the spot, spinning her dress robes.

'You are such a good dancer,' Jill whispered at her.

'This is nothing,' Gina whispered back. 'Wait till you see me do the Lawnmower and the Sprinkler. I'll end with that at the end of the song.'

Jill laughed, than clapped a hand to her mouth, looking shaken. Gina caught Jonnes looking at them over Clair's shoulder. Gina stuck her tongue out at him for a second, took Jill her waist again and steered her around. The look on señor Gonzalez his face was priceless.

When the song ended, Gina gave Jill a deep bow and winked, than turned around, zigzagging between the students entering the dance floor in great numbers. She walked over to the table with drinks, noticing a lot of people looking at her. She knew students found her interesting, with her being a princess and the stories about her in the papers all the time. She took a goblet full of a dark red drink, wishing she had Jonne by her side, so she could just hold his hand and let him to the socialising and make jokes about her being in the spotlights. Jonne had made a lot of family parties and royal events a lot more bearable. But he was slow dancing with his date, Clair Bridgewater, a pretty Ravenclaw girl with light brown hair and dress robes with a low back.

Gina looked at dance floor, sipping from her drink, thinking that at least her parents weren't present tonight. This cheered her up a bit.

Gina sipped her drink and watched señor Gonzalez dance with professor McGonagall, and professor Dumbledore bowing for Madame Maxime, asking her for a dance. Her eyes lingered on professor Snape on the other side of the hall. He was talking to mister Griffiths, wearing his usual black and looking rather bored. He was blocked from her view when a tall freckled boy came up to her.

'What's your poison?' Andre Fawcett asked, who was in her Potions and Arithmancy class, indicating her drink.

'I'm not sure,' Gina said. 'Punch? Pons? Bowl? I don't know how to call it.' She took another swig. 'I know it's not Sangria, though I wish it was.' She smiled at him to let him know she was kidding. Mostly.

He laughed. 'I think it's bowl.' She noticed he took only a glass for himself.

'No date?' Gina asked.

'She is over there,' Andre pointed to a tiny blond girl who was dancing rather wildly with a chubby boy in bottle green dress robes. 'We're not really a match,' Andre grinned.

Gina noticed he had cute dimples in his cheeks when he laughed.

'Would you like to dance?' he asked.

Gina hesitated.

'Come on,' Andre smiled at her, holding out his hand. 'I like this song. Just one dance.'

Severus didn't enjoy the evening. Granted, he had enjoyed being able to watch miss Aldaya shamelessly for a while, her dancing the opening dance and all. She had danced with miss Dubois, which was quite amusing, not in the least because of mister Gonzalez' face. Miss Aldaya danced very graciously and her close-fitting dress emphasized her slender waist, curvy hips and long legs. If he would have to be honest he couldn't take his eyes of her. Merlin how he wanted to-

He stopped himself. He couldn't go there.

He couldn't.

He'd have these thoughts in his mind. He couldn't have that. He was so much stronger than unwanted thoughts. She was his student. And he was talking to mister Griffiths... Merlin that man was a bore.

Severus took another swig of Butterbeer and listened to Griffiths drone on about the Tournament and the trouble his department had gone through to make it happen, with Beauxbatons fighting the rule on secrecy for two of the tasks and mister Gonzalez demanding an extra judge on the jury, arguing the majority was pro Hogwarts otherwise.

Severus watched miss Aldaya dance with bloody Fawcett from Ravenclaw, and he indeed felt the urge to start throwing things. His Butterbeer, for one. And Griffiths' ridiculous hat. Taking a last swig from his Butterbeer, he grumbled to Griffiths he was getting another drink. He stalked out of the great hall. He needed some fresh air first.

Gina and Andre kept dancing after the first song. Andre was quit a good dancer and the band was fun. After the third song had ended, Gina thanked him and said she was going to look for her girlfriends. Andre looked a little disappointed.

While Gina made her way over to the other side of the dance floor, she found herself cornered yet again by Lucian Bole. He was wearing dark blue dress robes and was towering over her, looking at her cleavage. Gina cursed under her breath.

'My eyes are up here,' she said, waving an irritated hand in front of his face.

'I know,' he said grinning. 'That dress looks good on you. Nice colour too.'

'Thanks,' she said stiffly.

'I thought for a moment you were a pot.'

Gina frowned at him. 'Lesbians can look very nice too,' she said, while looking around for her friends. 'Or does that make me sound like one too?'

'You can stop your little games,' Lucian said. 'I know you had a boyfriend in Spain. It was in the Daily Prophet. And that you fooled around with that Northern boy. Now that's something pots don't do.'

She looked defiantly at him.

'But I noticed he came with Clair Bridgewater tonight,' Lucian continued. 'It didn't work out between the two of you than.'

'Shouldn't you go back to your date?' Gina asked coldly.

'I'd rather dance with you.'

'We can't,' Gina said. 'Our dress robes don't match. That's really important to me. We'd look silly.'

She ducked under his arm and sped off. She had just seen Lorene, Helen and Hannah, the girl with the blond pigtails she had met in the library the day they talked about leaning defensive magic, getting a drink at the bar in the back of the hall and walked over to them.

Getting a Butterbeer and standing with them in a tight group around a standing table, Gina started to feel tired. She wanted to stand here the rest of the evening. Or go to bed, she thought miserably. She took a sip of Butterbeer and looked around. She saw professor Snape standing a few tables down with professor Flitwick and professor Sinistra. She felt a pang of electricity when he looked up and their eyes met for a moment.

'Are you alright Gina?' Helen asked.

'Y-yes, why?' Gina said, feeling flustered and looking away.

'With you know,' Lorene looked significant, talking quietly. 'Jonne coming with Clair. I mean, if my ex boyfriend came with someone else so quickly after we broke up, I'd be furious!'

'We didn't break up,' Gina said. 'I mean,' she quickly corrected herself when Hannah gagged on her drink. 'We weren't a couple.'

'He kissed you on the lips, what was it... three weeks ago?' Lorene said looking dumbfounded. 'I saw him. In the courtyard.'

'Oh you know,' Gina said casually. 'You know how Finnish people are...' She was counting on them not knowing. They indeed looked a little confused.

'Jonne is just a really good friend,' Gina said.

'If he kissed me I would hold on and not let go,' Lorene said dreamily. 'He is prettier than me.' Gina smiled but didn't say anything.

'So why didn't you come with a date?' asked Helen. 'If you didn't just went through a break up. Or are you still upset about-' She stopped, looking a little embarrassed. There was an uncomfortable pause.

'It's fine,' Gina reassured her. 'I am not still upset about Alejandro.' Still a little pissed though...

Gina could not prevent herself breathing a little heavily when she thought him and Lucía. The fact that her ex boyfriend and one of her former best friends would be having a baby in a few months was still hard to comprehend.

'I just wasn't feeling like going with someone.' She forced herself not to look at Snape again. 'And I don't like people telling me what to do,' she added, grinning. She had seen señor Gonzalez look very angry during the openings dance and the though of it made her feel a little better. She had seen Jill dancing with a boy Gina had seen in her Ancient Runes class, and she hoped Jill had a nice evening.

The rest of the evening, Gina talked, laughed and danced with Gabriela -who Gina scooped up sitting when she saw her sitting alone- Lorene, Helen and Hannah. She ended up having a nice evening, and was even a little disappointed when it was midnight and the great hall slowly emptied and everyone went to bed.

Gina went to breakfast early next morning, enjoying the piece and quiet in the Great Hall. There were only a few people up yet, sitting quietly with half closed eyes and cups of coffee in front of them. Only tiny professor Flitwick was present at the high table. Gina enjoyed her pancakes while reading a few chapters of A study of Unusual Magical Symptoms and How to Fix Them. When she looked up, she stared at her own face. A young Hufflepuff girl sitting opposite her was reading the Daily Prophet, and she had it folded in half, giving Gina a peak at page four.

Good morning. Could you get my face out of my face? Gina said.

She had meant to say it nicely but somehow it did not come out sounding friendly at all. The girl jumped in fright, and at seeing Gina, blushed scarlet, dropped the paper and left at a run.

Honestly, first years... Gina thought irritably.

She hesitated, than picked up the paper and looked closer at the article.

Aristocratic beauty goes to dance solo

While the other Triwizard Tournament champions danced with their respective partners, Spanish princess Gina Aldaya went to the Triwizard Ball on her own. Looking stunning in simple yet elegant green, miss Aldaya danced the opening dance of the ball with Beauxbatons champion Jill Dubois, who spend the rest of the evening with sixth year Ravenclaw Bentley Adams. And we thought beauty and haughtiness only attributes passed down through the Black Family. Miss Aldaya reportedly turned down over thirty candidates who asked her to go to the ball, apparently not finding any of them suitable. It raises the question if Gina is not over her old boyfriend, Alejandro Martín Vargas, who-

Gina slammed the paper shut.

'Maldición periódico', she mumbled. She jumped when Jonne sat down next to her.

'You are early,' Gina said grumpily.

'Clair wanted me to walk her to the castle,' Jonne said sounding equally bad tempered. He glanced at the slightly crumpled up paper.

'Couldn't control yourself huh.' He looked a little surprised. Granted, it did not happen often that Gina took upon reading a paper by herself. She usually let Jonne keep up with her press appearances.

Jonne took the paper and browsed through it, scanning the article below Gina her picture.

'Don't tell me you actually turned down so many guys,' he said sternly. 'You aren't that stupid. Are you?'

'Of course not,' Gina said irritatedly. 'She probably counted every time Malcolm Jaust asked me, which was about twenty-seven times.'

'Really? That's interesting. Can you imagine how much devotion that guy will put in giving lip service?'

'Oh Merlin Jonne,' Gina said, pinching her eyes closed. 'That's disgusting.'

'The term or-'

'No! Talking about Malcolm. I don't like him. That's actually why I turned him down twenty-seven tim-'

'You don't have to like someone. Just close your eyes. I mean, devotion really help-'

'Stop talking.'

'Oh fine.' Jonne glanced at the paper again. 'It is written by a different journalist this time. Isabel Vane. That's not a student is it? I mean, Skeeter wasn't allowed at the ball. I heard señor Gonzalez talk about it with McGonagall.'

'I don't know,' Gina said a little gloomily.

After eating porridge and toast with tomatoes Gina stood up. 'I'm going to the library. I guess you are not coming?'

'It is impressive you keep asking. See you at lunch querida.'