I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.
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Chapter 45: The Yule Ball
"There is no doubt about it?" the Chairman asked.
"None at all. Their reactions left no doubt that these were deliberate attempts of sabotage. Considering that only the champions of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons suffered from such, it's pretty obvious who the guilty party is," the charismatic wizard reported.
He had been one of many spectators in the crowd and thus had seen everything. Unlike normal spectators however he had been very observant about the reactions of the officials as well. These incidents all of a sudden made his mission to observe the tasks much more serious, especially considering how this could cause another international incident in the magical world.
"Of course it's him. We did background checks on Karkaroff after being informed about his school attending the tournament. How such a terrorist can not only get away with his crimes scot free thanks to a deal but then even manage to become headmaster of a school is downright baffling," the Chairman said, feeling the man's victims got outright mocked.
"To be fair, many in the magical world are uncomfortable with the idea as well. He is not a popular man, that's for sure," the wizard added.
"Still, such a golden parachute is an insult to justice..." The Chairman then looked at the evening edition of the Daily Prophet on his desk. "I noticed that there is not a single word about those incidents in there."
"It would be a miracle if there would be. It's pretty obvious the Ministry wants to bury those incidents so that the big show is not endangered," the wizard concluded, feeling downright cynical about it.
"Well, that would explain what I got an hour ago from France. The French Ministry had given a strong-worded diplomatic note to the British Ministry. While its contents are unknown to us, it has to be about the incident. That could further damage the international stance of the Ministry," the Chairman explained, remembering his confusion about the report.
"It's honestly like they don't care they are ruining their international relationships. First Germany, then Bulgaria, now France. The Ministry however for the most part only seems to be interested in the domestic response," the wizard observed, though he found that kind of thinking incredibly shortsighted.
"We will observe that. For now, until the next task begins, try to support the other agents in observing and investigating the political changes happening in Magical Britain," the Chairman gave him his orders.
"Yes, Sir!" the wizard acknowledged, before he left.
Now alone, the Chairman knew he had to report this to the Prime Minister. He knew that would not be a fun conversation, considering how much the man already had to deal with.
John Major had to steer the United Kingdom into preparing for a nasty conflict - a conflict he was sure would break out before Major's term was over. Since he knew that Major's chances at re-election were not particularly good, the man also would have to explain the whole mess to his successor. He could imagine how fun of a conversation that would be.
Whoever comes after him, he'll have a huge mess on his hands and little time to prepare for it. I already feel sorry for the poor bloke, the Chairman thought while picking up the phone.
...November 27th...
After all of the excitement surrounding the first task yesterday, the following day, a Sunday, was downright relaxing. Due to the steadily worsening weather and dropping temperatures, the students decided to stay indoors and, if not being busy with their homework, mostly filled their time with all kind of activities. The Gryffindor common room also was quite busy at this time, students from all years enjoying their leisure time.
However, the day would take an unpleasant turn for the six friends, revealing a new headache to them. They were busy with their own business, until Neville, having noticed something for a while, spoke up.
"You know, call me paranoid, but have you also gotten the feeling that other students give us strange looks?" Neville asked Harry while they were playing a card game in the Gryffindor common room.
"You mean I didn't imagine things?" Harry said, looking up from his cards. "Over the past weeks I got a strange feeling, but today some people act really weird. It's like they are watching us and expect something to happen."
Ginny looked up from the task of polishing her broom. "It's not only you. Recently Lavender and Parvati act rather strange. Living together with them in a dorm was never exactly easy due to our differences in personality, but recently it's like they intentionally keep their distance and wait for the other shoe to drop. It's weird."
They discreetly looked to where the two girls were going over several astrological star charts - never having given up on it despite Trelawney telling them it didn't work that way. However, they noticed the girls glancing to an open magazine and then to them, before returning to their charts. This was quite weird in itself.
Why the hell are they always looking to that gossip rag? Ginny wondered.
Ron meanwhile had stopped testing his new chess strategy and also looked around, noticing multiple students giving them weird looks. However, he did notice something. "Guys, did you notice that those from non-magical families are not giving us these looks?"
Now that Ron had said it, they did notice.
"It makes me wonder how long this has been going on without us even noticing?" Hermione wondered while she continued to brush Crookshanks' fur, knowing her cat would otherwise complain.
Luna, the third player in the card game, put down her cards and stood up, then walked over to Lavender and Parvati, who froze when seeing the emotionless look Luna was giving them. They hated that look, it had made them uncomfortable from the very first day, especially since they knew Luna was capable of actually showing emotion.
"Eh, can we help you?" Lavender asked awkwardly.
"Your behavior towards us is starting to get annoying, just as are the looks some others give us," Luna told them bluntly, not bothering with being nice.
Lavender and Parvati noticed that everyone had fallen silent and watched the confrontation. They knew they hadn't been discreet enough and had been noticed. Parvati quickly held out the magazine. "Here! Better read it for yourself!"
"Thank you very much." It was bizarre how politely Luna thanked them for it. Walking back to her friends, she put the magazine onto the table. "We should look through this for clues."
Hermione grimaced at the Witch Weekly magazine. "Normally I would not read such rubbish, but I now want to know what's going on."
Shoving their distaste for such junk publications aside, they started to comb through the newest issue of Witch Weekly. They quickly found what they were looking for, and the more they read, the more astonished they became - not in the positive sense that is. Their mood turned quickly to incensed and disgusted the more they read.
Then Ron realized that there was no way it could be just this one magazine considering how many strange looks they got, stood up, and faced the common room. "All right. All of you who read articles about us better show us the evidence now!"
Ron didn't care how harsh he sounded, but the result was clear when minutes later half a dozen different magazines were on their table. These too contained stuff that was written about them, all from the same person: Rita Skeeter. Her writing style was highly deceptive as well, acting like she never called them things, only that she did do so, hiding behind speculations and what 'sources' said, trying to deflect everything as not her own words, which of course was bullshit.
After reading all of it, each of them, even Luna, was quite angry.
"Hermione, most of us are too angry, please summarize it for us," Ginny asked her friend.
Even Hermione needed to collect herself. "Basically, Skeeter mixed a bunch of lies sprinkled with actual facts that she twisted beyond recognition to show us in the worst possible way. I honestly can't explain otherwise things like her claiming Harry being emotionally weak and playing a game where he plays Ginny and me against each other, Ron being an immature glutton who envies Harry for his money or Neville being a crybaby who still hasn't gotten over what happen to his parents and who has a memory like a sieve."
"Not to speak of how Skeeter is going after me especially hard. How she hinted at me being mentally ill and delusional was very hurtful," Luna added, several tears showing how deeply that accusation had hurt her.
Neville hated seeing Luna cry, but then he realized something. "People... Reading some of that stuff... I know most of it she made up, but the small things that were true and she twisted, how does she even know that? She must have spies in the castle."
They looked at each other in alarm, feeling this was quickly ballooning up. No way they could do anything about this on their own.
"This is beyond our scope. We need to tell the teachers," Hermione decided, herself hurt at how Skeeter painted her as a horrible person.
There was quick agreement. No way they could do anything about this on their own.
Almost an hour later, the office of the Headmaster was full.
They had first went to McGonagall and showed her these articles. She had been horrified that something like that was going on for weeks under their noses without them noticing and had quickly alerted the Headmaster about the issue, since this problem was anything but harmless. Dumbledore in turn had alerted their parents and guardians of the problem, resulting in all of them arriving. All of them, the six friends, McGonagall and the Headmaster made the office feel a bit crowded.
"How is this even allowed?!" Veronica growled after having reading more of Skeeter's poison. "This is outright libel!"
"It most certainly is, Mrs. Evans, and newspapers printing Ms. Skeeters writings did lose multiple court battles. Sadly, as Sirius and Mr. Lovegood can tell you, the situation is a bit complicated," Dumbledore said, looking quite unhappy with this development.
"How can it be complicated?! Augusta and Frank did successfully sue newspapers that printed lies about our family and those papers never did so again," Alice asked heatedly, feeling protective of her son.
Xenophilius on the other hand knew how things worked with such magazines and shook his head. "It would work with actual newspapers which are concerned about their reputation, but not with such magazines. They feel all kind of attention is good attention and simply pay the fines, feeling their circulation makes up for it."
"Sadly, Xeno is correct. They couldn't care less about their reputation, pay the fines we squeeze out of them, and just continue. The libel laws are bad in that there is a cap how high fines can be, and they shamelessly take advantage of that," Sirius added, having experienced several such rulings about stories concerning Harry - which Harry had never heard of since Sirius didn't want to bother him with that.
"And that's mainly because the cap is low enough that publications with high circulation are not bothered by those fines, since they can easily compensate," Xenophilius finished the bad news.
Ron looked quite distressed at these news. "So, does that mean you can't do anything against that?"
"Of course not. We'll still sue the hell out of them for that, but I have the bad feeling that won't stop it," Sirius told Ron, feeling Shark Solicitors & Barristers would have lots of work in the near future.
"You mean because it could be more than just Skeeter having something against us?" Harry asked.
"Mr. Potter, you yourself said that the twisted details only make sense if someone in Hogwarts is supplying her with information. This does have all the signs of a planned action," McGonagall reminded him.
"So this is done to deliberately hurt our children?!" The way Molly looked was like lioness ready to rip her prey to pieces. "What can we do about it?!"
Dumbledore looked resigned. "I honestly see little we can do about it apart from your legal action. We can not punish students for sending information to Ms. Skeeter, since that is hardly forbidden under magical law. From a legal standpoint what she then does with said information is no longer the school's problem and does not reflect on her informers."
Needless to say this realization made everyone unhappy.
"So essentially, unless we manage to root out the moles and make them stop it, nothing can be done about it. Even then Skeeter will probably just fully make up stuff," Harry said bitterly, once more feeling the laws of Magical Britain were shit.
Ian looked to the Headmaster. "Can't you at least make an announcement to the students about this smear campaign? There is no reason to have their social life suffer from this."
Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a look, clearly feeling this was reasonable, especially since those articles would otherwise start to disturb life in the school. "I shall make sure that the students will know."
...Transfiguration class, December 6th...
"Now, before I start today's lesson about the Color Change Charm, an announcement has to be made. While the Headmaster will announce it at dinner, he has given the teachers permission to announce it early during their lessons," McGonagall announced at the start of this Tuesday's Transfiguration lesson.
McGonagall waited until she got the full attention then started to explain. "The Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish..."
Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. They both looked towards at Harry as if seeing something interesting. McGonagall gave them a hard look, causing them to shut up. The woman hated it when girls acted like an unflattering stereotype.
"Evening wear is required, that's why you were required to buy it as written in your letters," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the great hall. The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to relax, but that does NOT mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
"One final point. Since the center point of the ball is of course dancing, I will hold special classes for that. I only accept pairs for that, so don't come to my office to apply for those classes on your own," McGonagall finished.
This caused a lot of quiet discussion during the lesson - something McGonagall seemed to have expected, since she was more lenient than normal about such disruptions of her lesson and also seemed to be less strict of them if they messed up their task.
The Six were just glad that Dumbledore had announced to the school how they were being targeted by Rita Skeeter and her articles, thus the strange looks had finally stopped and even a number of students had apologized - which included Lavender and Parvati. Considering the Yule Ball announcement they were glad they didn't have the headache of this libel campaign on top of it, though they knew the world outside of the school still read that junk and they continued to get smeared.
Sooner than it felt like, the lesson was over.
However, right after McGonagall announced the lesson to be over, Luna started to walk over to Neville, looking quite determined. "Eh, Luna, can I help you with something?" Neville asked, being a bit unnerved with how determined she looked.
"Neville, you know I truly care a lot for you, do you?" Luna asked him.
"Of course, and I care for you, Luna. Why do you ask?" Neville wondered what this could be about.
Luna seemed to steel herself and then asked "Neville, do you want to be my partner for the Yule Ball?"
Neville was caught on the wrong foot by the question but then also felt interesting. Part of him felt incredibly flattered that Luna wanted to be his partner for the Yule Ball. Luna was a close friend - actually closer than his other friends considering how much time they spent together. That she was trusting him... wanting him to accompany her to the Yule Ball...
He managed to gather his courage but still blushed and stammered. "Y-yes Luna. I w-would really like you to be my partner for the ball." That finally said, he added. "You know... normally the boy asks the girl."
Luna started to blush as well, which was a rarity. "I know... It took me all my courage to ask you, but I couldn't live with the idea of another girl asking you."
"You know you look cute when you blush?" Neville remarked, causing Luna only to blush harder.
"Do you like embarrassing me?" Luna wondered while students around them started to clap in applause for such a fast and bold way to get a partner for the Yule Ball.
Neville then noticed Luna pressing her legs together. "Ehm... is something wrong?"
Luna thanked all goodness that she already was blushing heavily, so it couldn't get any worse than it already was. "No... just... excuse me for a moment."
Luna then gave a crap on how it looked when she ran out of the door and to the nearest girls toilet. When it came to Neville and her overcoming her internal block to push further, she had been forced to gather all of her courage to boldly ask him for being his partner. All the time she had been nervous enough she could have peed on herself and now that the tension was gone, she became aware her body was about to relax in a highly humiliating way.
Yes, while she was less concerned about what other people thought of her, even being partially apathetic to it, she was mortified by the idea of having such a highly embarrassing accident in front of others. Thankfully, she managed to plant her naked arse onto a toilet seat just in time and sighed in relief when she started peeing in the correct place.
Matters of the heart are very difficult, Luna thought while emptying her bladder, part of her feeling envious how easy emotions were coming to other girls her age.
o
"So, what do you think about it, Harry?" Eloise Midgen asked shyly.
Harry tried not to grimace when looking to the girl, who was a severe victim of acne. "Sorry, Eloise, but I don't think we are compatible. You could do better for the Yule Ball. I'm there is a boy who can see beyond the surface."
"If you think so..." Eloise made little secret of her disappointment.
Watching the fifth girl of the day being rejected by Harry, Ginny by now was trembling with barely suppressed emotions.
Ginny honestly was not used to feeling like she did now, but she couldn't help it. Perhaps it was a result of all the estrogen circulating through her body, but the end result was clear. She felt quite a bit alarmed and afraid and she knew she had to do something. Now was early evening and the Gryffindor common room was full of activity - sadly also the kind of activity which had driven Ginny into this for her unusual state of mind.
Luna's example in Transfiguration had animated other girls to ask for partners for the ball instead of waiting for the boys to do so like it was traditional. While she honestly was happy for her friend that she had overcome her mental blockade and made the first step with the boy she liked, it also had the unfortunate side-effect of other girls asking Harry to be his date for the ball.
That sight over the past several hours had severely distressed Ginny. While up until now Harry had declined all the invitations as politely as possible, a primitive part of the female section of her brain whispered into her ear that she had to do something now - create facts - before these other females could manage to actually entice the male she wanted to court.
Oh hell, no! Ginny then thought when seeing Romilda Vane - who was a second-year student to make it worse - having the nerve to ask Harry. Does she have no shame?! She hardly acts like a twelve-year old.
Ginny conveniently ignored that she was only a year older than Romilda. Even seeing Harry turn down Romilda as well didn't douse the fire. No, she had to do something now!
Harry was his part was getting quite stressed.
Ever since the announcement a number of girls had asked him to be his partner for the Yule Ball. However, he had turned down all of them. One big reason was, that almost all of these girls were seeing the Boy-Who-Lived, and not Harry Potter. Some were less obvious about it than others, but it always was there and made Harry painfully aware that the damn title was still causing him problems even after all these years.
What will it take for the Boy-Who-Lived to finally die? he wondered. While not noticeable in his everyday life, it did rear its ugly head in such situations.
The other reason was, that something was holding him back. Granted, while it was flattering he had a choice of partners for the Yule Ball, he couldn't find much enthusiasm with the fact. That was because he honestly wanted to ask someone specific - a realization he had only come to over the course of the day - but still was too chicken to actually ask her, fearing she could take it the wrong way.
Harry then saw Ginny walk over to him, an unreadable expression on her face, and froze, since that was the girl he was too chicken to ask. In the past months, Harry had begun to see Ginny as a girl instead of his friend who just happened to be a girl. Ever since that hug in Hogsmeade, which had hardly felt platonic, the testosterone in his body had latched onto the redhead and increasingly made him wonder if Ginny wanted more than just friendship.
"Harry, can you be honest with me? What do you really think about all these girls throwing themselves at you?" Ginny asked him bluntly, taking a page out of how Luna usually dealt with such matters.
They did have an audience and both of them knew it, but Harry couldn't help but to be honest with Ginny. "Most of them don't ask me to be their date for the Yule Ball. They want the Boy-Who-Lived; someone that I'm not."
A number of girls grimaced when realizing how badly they had messed up with Harry. Ginny however frowned. "I know you, Harry, and your tells. There is something more."
Realizing that he should have known Ginny could tell after years of knowing him, Harry reluctantly started to reveal the other issue. "You see... getting bombarded with offers made me realize... well ... I realized there is someone I wanted to ask."
Suddenly Ginny's heart did beat faster, a hope growing within her. "Harry, please tell me..."
Seeing how hopeful Ginny looked all of a sudden, Harry felt a bit stupid that he'd thought she could take it the wrong way, but that was the life of a teenager. "Ehm... Ginny, do you want to be my partner for the Yule Ball?"
Out of nowhere Ginny suddenly hugged him! "You better believe I want to be!" Then she realized she did so in front of an audience and let go, looking quite awkward.
"Ginny...?" Ron asked, being taken aback by that reaction.
Ginny blushed a little, then... "What are all of you doing?! There is nothing to see. Scram!" Knowing that Ginny did have a mean side, they went back to their own business, but of course rumors now would fly. Ginny then looked to her brother. "Don't you dare to comment, Ron."
Ron held up his hands. "I'm not insane. You can be really mean to those that wronged you, even if they are family."
Ginny then saw Fred and George leave quickly and knew what they were about to do. I bet they are running to tell Percy. In their mind it's funny that he'll tell Mum and I get letters with good advice from her.
Should that happen ,she would think of a fitting punishment.
...December 10th, Hogwarts library...
No pressure... my ass! Do they have any idea how difficult this is after the show they did a few days ago? Ron thought bitterly while trying to initiate his next attempt in Operation: Secure a Date.
Ron was not the most secure teenage boy when it came to romantic stuff. Most of it still went over his head, which made things more confusing for him, since the sexual part of puberty had arrived in force. His father had tried to explain relationships with girls to him, but he perhaps should have listened better, since he now could have used said knowledge.
Fact of the matter was, he actually wanted to ask Hermione to be his partner for the Yule ball. He couldn't explain why he felt it was either her or not attending at all. Something had changed between them, causing him to actually put more attention on the fact that Hermione was a girl and recently his dreams had become... rather interesting, since they now often featured a certain bushy-haired girl in an erotic way.
Problem was, he simply couldn't find a good way to ask her; not without fearing he could make an idiot of himself.
He was about to start another attempt, knowing she was in the library this time. He was looking around the corner to see if the coast was clear, but froze when he saw something that made his heart feel cold. Hermione was in the library, but she also was no alone. Viktor Krum also was present, speaking with her in broken English. Suddenly Ron wanted to hear what that was about.
"...it's quite flattering, but it also comes out of nowhere," Hermione told Krum.
"Oh... I do not want... to make you feel pressured," Krum said with a heavy accent.
"Can you give me some time before my answer?" Hermione asked.
"Most certainly. Finding a good partner for this ball... has proven more difficult than I thought," Krum sighed.
Ron hid behind a big bookshelf when Krum started to leave, but deep inside him, the cold now was warring with a burning beast. The burning beast was jealously that someone else was asking Hermione out, even if it was Viktor Krum, while the coldness was the realization that he was about to lose his chance to ask her to be his date for the ball.
Ron honestly had no plan at all, he felt he now had to do something before it was too late.
"Hermione," he said while approaching the desk she was sitting at.
She looked up from what she was writing, noticing right away that Ron clearly was looking quite stressed. "Ron, is everything all right?"
Truth to be told, Ron was coming apart. "Hermione... I... well... Man that is difficult. ... I mean... Are you still free?" Ron babbled, feeling like an idiot.
"Stop, stop!" Getting up, Hermione put her hands onto Ron's shoulders. "From what I can put together, you want me to ask if I can be your partner for the Yule Ball?"
Hermione had for a short moment felt very tempted to give Ron a snarky question what this was about and that he should use the Queen's English, but realized that that would have been mean. Ron clearly was out of his element and didn't need insult to injury. She had waited days to see if he could gather his courage to ask her about the Yule Ball, and in her mind this did count. It after all was the thought that counted.
"Y-yes... Do you want to be...?" Ron knew he looked pathetic, but he really was out of his depth here.
"You know, you took your sweet time." Then finally taking pity on Ron, Hermione added "Yes, I do want to be your partner for the ball. I wanted to give you the chance to ask me before I approach you. I felt Luna and Ginny were a bit too direct."
That finally helped Ron calm down, only to then look a little guilty. "Ehm... I overheard..."
"Of course you did," Hermione sighed. "No, I would have declined Krum's invitation. Don't get me wrong, under the sour exterior he is quite thoughtful and charming, but I wouldn't have accepted, even if he says he is into intellectual girls. For one, it came out of nowhere and I do want that evening to be more meaningful. Also... that would have been unfair to you."
"How would it have been unfair to me?" Ron wondered.
"Knowing that you were trying to gather your courage to ask me, accepting Krum's offer would have been like pulling the rug from under your feet. I couldn't do that to you," Hermione explained, knowing that doing so would have been incredibly petty.
Finally all the tension left Ron and he sat down on a chair next to her. "Thanks... this is all more difficult than I thought."
"I don't mind. After all, not everyone can be Casanova." Seeing the questioning look Ron gave her, she added "I'll explain later who that is."
Ron then looked at what she was working on. "I thought you had all your homework already done?"
Hermione brightened at the interest showed in her work. "Oh no, this is a little project I'm doing on my own. Even though I can't help any house-elves as of now, I still want to learn more about them as well as how that attitude towards other sentient species had developed. The elves are still a mystery to me. How they developed that compulsion..."
Ron saw how him listening to her was brightening Hermione's mood, so he did try to listen. Hermione still got him lost at times, but at least he knew to raise his hand and then ask her what she meant. That it made Hermione understand she would in the future have to use more layman's terms in order to be understandable in her cause was a nice bonus.
...shore of the Black Lake, next day...
Maman et papa aiment sûrement m'embarrasser, [Maman and Papa surely like to embarrass me,] Fleur thought while walking at the shore of the lake.
Fleur was an adult woman by the international standards of magical countries, yet her parents had insisted on visiting her, bringing along her little sister Gabrielle. While it always was wonderful to be around family, she had excused herself, saying she needed some fresh air. Fact of the matter was, her mother asking her when she would start to look for a boyfriend and her little sister needling her about it had been like sandpaper on her nerves.
Thinking of it, she still didn't have a partner for the Yule Ball, and as one of the champions she was expected to attend with a partner and start the first dance. Sure, it would have been piss-easy to get a date, but that would have felt hollow. The best boys sadly already had dates of their own and no way she would get in the way of a relationship. Also no way she would accept a date that came to be purely due to her looks.
She honestly already was desperate enough that she was thinking about asking Marc to help her out. Her friend would gladly agree to help her out of this fix, and a platonic evening with a friend still was better than a meaningless date.
Other people would see it as a luxury problem, but to Fleur it was annoying. Hell she even was too chicken to again approach Harry Potter and his friends, despite being curious about them. Sabrina and Marc after all had managed to do so easily, as they had let her know.
Being on her way back to the guest building, she did notice a man standing at the shore of the lake, talking to some merpeople. Considering she was not hearing any sound like nails being dragged over a blackboard - and boy had she hated that puzzle and was glad to have already solved it - she guessed it was about the second task. Though she of course had no idea what exactly the second task entailed, only that she needed way to act underwater for a longer time.
Being done with the merpeople, the young man noticed her and walked over to her. "Oh, hello. Didn't expect anyone else out here."
Feeling a bit annoyed at possibly another man wanting to lay it on thick due to her looks, Fleur opened up her allure to tell the man to leave her alone. After all, they then always were eager to do as she said. However, to her great surprise and confusion, nothing happened and the man continued to talk like nothing was wrong.
"Fleur Delacour, correct? My name is William Weasley, and I'm helping with the tasks," Bill introduced himself to her.
Even blasting him with her allure at maximum didn't seem to faze the man and Fleur all of a sudden felt rather flustered. She had next to no experience with men who ignored her allure and he also seemed to not see her as an object of lust. Instead it seemed her really just wanted to talk and she was unprepared for it.
"Ehm, nice to meet you..." Fleur honestly wanted to curse herself for sounding like an idiot.
Bill of course knew perfectly well why the young woman was confused, since he after all knew everything he needed about the three champions. Seeing how insecure she looked, he took some pity on her. "I know it comes as a surprise to you that your allure doesn't work on me. But after getting blasted by a hundred full-blooded Veela and only reacting mildly, I can honestly say I'm immune."
"Immune?" Fleur then finally managed to regain control. "Sorry, but this comes... as a surprise. No straight man ever before... managed to resist."
"I guess magically turning into an object of desire cheapens the experience considerably, doesn't it?" Bill asked.
He'd hit the nail right on the head with that. Fleur was about to answer, when she spotted someone on the pier where the Durmstrang ship was moored at. "Zut alors... Gabrielle!"
There were multiple reasons why she didn't want her little sister there. Not only was it too close to the ship - and she mistrusted Durmstrang - but fact also was that Gabrielle couldn't yet swim. Therefore Fleur didn't want her anywhere near the lake. It also created the question how she had escaped their parents in the first place.
"Fleur, regarde comme ce bateau est gros!" [Fleur, look at how big that ship is!] the young girl told her sister when noticing her approach.
"Gabrielle, descends là tout de suite," [Gabrielle, get off there right now,] Fleur told her sister, but it was too late.
"Wahh!" -splash- Gabrielle slipped on the wet wood and fell into the cold waters of the lake, which was quite deep at that point. The young girl started to trash around in a panic. "Aider! Aider!" [Help! Help!]
"Oh non, Gabrielle!" Fleur gasped and was about to run and jump into the cold waters to save her sister, when someone else was faster than her.
Bill for his part did not hesitate to run up the dock before jumping into the cold waters of Black Lake. Swimming to the struggling girl, he quickly took hold of her and then swam both of them through the bitingly cold water back to the shore. The girl had stopped struggling but now started to shiver due to the coldness of the water, which had soaked her winter clothes.
"Gabrielle!" As soon as they were ashore, Fleur hugged the soaked, shivering girl.
"She needs to get warmed up. The water was bitingly cold," Bill warned Fleur while using his wand to get both of them dry, though the effects of the coldness prevailed.
Fleur did not let go of her sister until they were back inside and their parents, sick with worry when seeing the condition Gabrielle was in, did take over. Only then did she look to where Bill was standing in the corridor outside the door, looking a bit awkward, like he didn't want to intrude in family matters. However, Fleur felt great appreciation that the young man had come to her sister's rescue without hesitation.
"Thank you for saving my sister." Fleur honestly had not expected such a selfless act from a total stranger.
"Not saving a little girl from drowning would have been monstrous of me. I hope she isn't too traumatized by this," Bill replied, feeling any decent person would have done so.
Finally remembering how Bill was not affected at all by her allure and that she honestly had misjudged him - he clearly was not just seeing a beautiful face - Fleur's nervousness returned, but she tried to keep it at bay. She had no wish to again look like a flustered idiot.
Though she could not hold down her laughter when a Durmstrang student called from the entrance hall, asking who had lost a fedora at the docks.
...Potions class, December 16th...
Today's Potions lesson was about antidotes and the students were quite busy with the brewing process. Considering all the buzz surrounding the Yule Ball as well as the dancing lessons numerous students were going through - since many boys and girls never before saw the point in learning it - normal lessons all of a sudden had become rather relaxing.
Professor Slughorn most certainly was in high spirits while watching his students work on their potions. Maybe it was the spirit of pre-Christmas time, or perhaps the fact that most of his students were doing well and needed only little help. Slughorn most certainly attributed that to his teaching style, giving the man a good feeling that most of his class would get an OWL in Potions.
Well, most of them, Slughorn thought, looking to two problem students.
"Looks like Professor Slughorn got reminded not everyone in his class will make it," Harry remarked to Daphne, with whom he was sharing the desk with.
Daphne looked up from stirring her own potion. "Ah, you are talking about the two morons. Crabbe and Goyle are the laughing stock of Slytherin - two inbred idiots that no one wants to deal with. Even Malfoy has started to keep them at a distance after their latest stunt."
Looking over to the desk where Draco and Pansy were brewing their potions, Harry saw Pansy facepalm after witnessing Crabbe putting an entirely wrong ingredient into his cauldron.
"Dudley told me about that one and I've witnessed some of the punishments Filch is giving them. Really stupid to attack other students in the middle of main street Hogsmeade. Must have been the final straw for Professor Slughorn as well," Harry remembered.
"He knows when someone is a lost cause. Everyone in Slytherin knows he by now is convinced that Crabbe and Goyle will amount to nothing in life. He's rather embarrassed they are part of his house," Daphne explained Slughorn's feelings on the matter.
"As long as he stays professional about it, there is no problem." -tchhhhhhh- Harry looked up from his cauldron to so Goyle's cauldron literally having a meltdown.
"In a way that's impressive, considering these school cauldrons are made to be extra tough," Daphne commented.
Professor Slughorn meanwhile just shook his head and then told Goyle to clean up the mess. It was still a few more days before the punishments for the incident in Hogsmeade were over, but to Slughorn the message was clear that these two would amount to nothing in life, something he found to be rather sad.
Thankfully, no other incidents occurred during class.
At the end of class however, Slughorn told the six friends to stay.
"Are we in any trouble, Professor?" Hermione asked once everyone else was out and Slughorn put a charm on the door to stop anyone from listening in on them.
"Oh, no no! You are not in trouble at all.," Slughorn reassured them. "No, there are some important things I have to talk with you about. First of course again is the fact that due to the Yule Ball, there won't be a big Christmas celebration of the Slug Club this time. Very sad and unlucky, indeed."
"I bet you still have a surprise prepared for the Yule Ball. After all, you teased us about it, Professor," Ron guessed.
"I won't say anything, otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise. Though I can tell you there will be a surprise at Easter as well. No, what I want to talk about is that now that you are in fourth year, you should start to think about the future. Each of you is talented in a field, but raw diamonds still need to be polished."
"Ah, these small, informal gatherings you mentioned," Luna guessed.
"Indeed. I knew a smart girl like you would connect the dots quickly!" Slughorn finally got to the meat of the matter. "Everything up until now was to prepare you. Now the true networking starts. Heed my advice, and you will make it far in life."
They all knew that while Slughorn indeed would be very helpful to those he vetted, there always was the unspoken other half of the agreement. Slughorn was not greedy, but they had seen for themselves that the sheer amount of small favors he was reaping in the sum amounted to impressive things. Yes, Slughorn did this to give himself a cushy life, but he also was serious about helping those he saw talent in.
And to be honest, Slughorn's implementation of Slytherin's values of ambition and being sneaky was a lot more acceptable to them than simple egoistical self-interest or outright malevolence.
...December 25th...
The day of the Yule Ball had finally arrived, and yet the castle was a bit quieter than usual. That was due to the fact that all students from first to third year, unless they got invited to the ball, as well as those from the higher years that held no interest in the ball, were already home for Christmas. The Hogwarts Express would do another round tomorrow to ship all the students home that did attend the ball. While there was some disappointment that in meant missing Christmas with their families, the excitement for the ball made up for it.
None of them knew what the great hall would look like for the ball, everyone having been highly secretive about it, hinting only that Flitwick and McGonagall had went all out to make it a truly memorable evening. That of course made everyone itch even more to finally see what the decorated great hall would look like.
The week leading up to the ball had been stressful enough - none the least due to the pockets of chaos that did spring up due to Fred and George having had their big breakthrough in selling their wares.
With the younger years having went home a week ago, Fred and George no longer felt a need to be discreet about advertising their joke products, clearly reasoning that everyone still in the castle was old enough to know what they were doing. Hermione had facepalmed when the twins had taken one of the tables to open up shop in the common room and their products were starting to sell really well.
It was stuff like joke wands that look like the real deal but either squeak or turn into a rubber chicken, Canary Cream that would turn people for a few seconds into canary birds, toffees that caused all kind of temporary - thankfully harmless - body part growth and other things.
The resulting chaos, especially once word had reached the other houses, had alarmed Percy, who then had taken it upon himself to see if any rules were broken. However, not only was selling such things not forbidden by school rules - maybe no one had ever thought about it - but inspecting the merchandise, even Percy had to conclude that the joke articles were of a harmless nature and didn't cause any long-lasting or permanent effects.
Fred and George had tried to make well sure not to sell anything that could be dangerous after two scares. First George had almost suffocated on his enlarged tongue when testing a special toffee and then Fred had suffered nasty blood loss due to a nosebleed nougat gone wrong. Both incidents had landed them in the hospital wing and convinced them to never sell anything that could cause actual harm, even if it was only by accident.
However, all of this was unimportant right now for the boys waiting in the Gryffindor common room, all of them wearing black dinner suits - traditional black tie - waiting for the girls to come down the stairs leading to the girls' dorms.
"I'm still amazed that Angelina literally cornered you and gave you an offer you couldn't refuse. She seems pretty intent to go to the ball with you," Ron remarked to George.
"She was very convincing... not that I complain," George replied, still remembering it.
"I honestly don't get what's going on between the two of you, it's like over the past months you are dancing around each other, This is the first time I'm truly puzzled by your behavior," Fred told his twin brother.
"Difficult to explain. It's like certain sparks have appeared, and they became more sparks," George tried to explain. He and Angelina recently had started snogging, but he would never admit that - not even to Fred.
Ron looked to Fred. "What I want to know is how you convinced Parvati to be your partner?"
For once Fred was not making a joke but instead looked a little embarrassed. "I walked up to her and asked. I know, sounds lame."
"Considering how I asked Hermione, I won't comment. Well, today had already started exciting after Dobby's visit this morning," Ron remarked.
"I had no idea he would do that!" Harry defended himself.
This morning their dorms had gotten a visit from Dobby, who had insisted on giving Harry his Christmas present in person, causing a little panic before everyone realized it just was a house-elf. Dobby's present turned out to be a strange picture and Harry still had no idea which side of it was up. Harry thanked all goodness that Dobby was happy with his new job, otherwise he probably would have been emotionally unstable.
Neville meanwhile looked to the stairs. "What is taking them this long up there?"
"There are some things about us girls you don't ask about. One of them is why it takes so long for us to make ourselves look gorgeous," Parvati said, having walked down the stairs that moment. She did look wonderful, her milk coffee-brown skin seemed to shimmer and her evening gown and jewelry emphasized her Indian ancestry.
"Oh, wow..." Fred was unable to say anymore.
"Speechless, I see." Parvati was pleased to have hit the intended effect. "The others will we down here shortly... Now come." They then watched Fred escort Parvati away.
"Honestly makes me wonder what we'll see once the girls come down. They after all didn't even let us see their gowns," Harry thought aloud.
"You boys clearly are getting impatient, but don't worry, the wait is over." That was Angelina, who moments later appeared walking down the stairs.
Angelina, who normally was not big on things like make-up, looked gorgeous. Her purple evening gown - she clearly had something against dress robes - contrasted nicely with her dark skin. Unlike normal she did use a modest amount of make-up and did wear actual earrings. George for his part felt like the breath was taken out of him.
"W-wow, Angelina, you look..." George had difficulties to find words.
"We girls can pretty up ourselves when we feel like it." She clearly was enjoying the attention George was now giving her, then looked to the stairs. "Come down, girls, and give the boys a little show."
Ginny was the first to appear. Her gown was beautiful shades of pastel greens and pinks. Ginny's red hair was shimmering and unlike normal, she was wearing some modest make-up; lipstick and eye shadow. Ginny must have had her earlobes pierced some time before today, since she was wearing earrings shaped like little suns.
"Ginny, I had no idea..." Harry then realized how that sounded. "Not that you normally look bad, but going the extra mile..."
"Don't worry, I understand what you mean. To be honest, I still feel it's a bit much, yet I also feel I'm showing the world I can do this when I want to and present my best side," Ginny admitted her conflicted feelings about prettying up.
"Well, I like it," Harry said, then saw Ron's small grimace, reminding himself that this was weird for Ron, seeing his sister like that.
Luna walked down next. Luna's dress was as blue as the sky and looked like many twinkling stars were on it. Like with Ginny, her blond hair was thoroughly washed and brushed and she was also wearing the same make-up. Of course she did have to give it her own touch, still wearing her butterbeer cork pendant as well as earrings that looked like silver radishes.
"I see you are speechless, Neville," Luna observed.
"It's... it's so much you." Neville knew that sounded completely stupid, but Luna seemed to appreciate it, giving him a small smile while pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
Hermione was the last of the girls to appear, and her change was perhaps the most drastic of all of them.
Ron's eyes had widened comically in surprise. "Hermione... your hair..."
Indeed, while Hermione's pale pink and purple evening gown was certainly eye-catching, as were her golden errings and the fact that she was wearing the same make-up as Luna and Ginny, the most drastic change was her hair. Instead of its normal bushiness, her hair had become perfectly straight and smooth and they only now noticed that her hair was longer than they had thought it to be.
"You like it?" Hermione seemed really proud that she had managed to tame her hair. "I found a wonderful hair care product which does this. I still needed two cans of it and even with help this here took two hours. At least even with washing it, it'll last for about three days."
Ron understood that this was something she only would do for special occasions. "Uh... yes. But if it's such a pain for you..."
Harry meanwhile ran a hand through his own hair, remembering how it always was a chotic mess that his guardians many years ago had given up on taming. Perhaps he should ask Hermione for the name of that hair care product? He most certainly could use it at certain times.
"I think we can now all go, don't we?" Angelina reminded them before there would be more delays.
Right outside the portrait hole they saw Percy and Penelope waiting. Both of them clearly had noticed the trend of not using dress robes and thus got non-magical evening wear as well, though Percy had perhaps gone a bit overboard by wearing actual white tie. On the other hand, considering his personality, it did fit rather well for him.
"Did the two of you wait for us?" Ginny asked, having a suspicion.
"Orders from Mum. She told us to escort you to the ball. She after all is very concerned about things staying proper," Percy told them, getting some eye-rolling in return. "This is not negotiable. I made an exception for Fred, but no more exceptions."
"And don't even try to appeal to me. A higher power decided," Penelope added when seeing the looks they were giving her.
They knew exactly what this actually was about and why he had given Fred a pass; namely Molly Weasley being overprotective of Ginny, her only daughter. Ginny knew this was quite a relapse, since normally her mother no longer did such things. Maybe it was due to her now being a teenage girl and her mother fearing she could do something stupid.
Still, she knew it was useless to protest. "Well then, escort away."
Thankfully, there was nothing interrupting their walk to the entrance hall, where everyone was waiting for the great hall to be opened. Everyone was wondering what had been done to it to make it outstanding for the Yule Ball. Even Malfoy and Parkinson emerging from the stairs to the dungeons didn't cause an incident, though both of them did sneer at the group, especially when seeing their outfits, before minding their own business.
"Malfoy's dress robes make him look like a vicar," Harry joked when seeing the dress robes Draco was wearing.
"Kind of ironic, considering how far he is from being a man of the cloth," Hermione added, seeing the humor in it.
They did look around while waiting and spotted that they were not the only ones not wearing dress robes. Looking at it, they guessed only about a 40 percent of the Hogwarts students did wear dress robes, which showed how times were changing. The Durmstrang students did stand out, since they were all wearing dress uniforms, which only underlined the militaristic character of Durmstrang.
The doors to the outside were wide open and instead of the usual grassy plains the area next to the entrance now sported a vast rose garden, complete with walking paths and benches between the bushes. That no cold air was coming through the big doors also hinted that some kind of warm air bubble had been created surrounding the rose garden.
They also noticed various pairs.
That Cedric was going with Cho Chang was no wonder, considering they were in a relationship. Krum in turn was escorting a girl they vaguely recognized as a seventh-year Ravenclaw. They also did spot Dudley and Millicent, so clearly they did manage to get their act together. Daphne was being escorted by Justin Finch-Fletchley of all people, and like Percy he was wearing white tie, most likely due to his upper-class upbringing.
Just that moment the Beauxbatons students walked through the entrance gate with their partners. Their evening wear looked quite expensive. One girl with asian features in particular stood out, since for some reason her red dress had big black dots all over it, as if she was trying to look like a human-sized ladybug. Her partner, a blond Beauxbatons boy, clearly was liking it considering how close he was holding her.
Then however they heard Ron gasp. "I will be! People, take a look at that!"
They did look... as did a lot of other people.
They saw Fleur enter the entrance hall, looking like a Disney princess in her dress, but it was her partner for the evening that made the six friends gasp. It was Bill Weasley. Granted, Bill looked really sharp wearing actual white tie - most likely Fleur had insisted, but that he was escorting Fleur to the Yule Ball was a shock and created the question how that did happen.
"How did that happen?" Harry wondered.
Ginny on the other hand gave Bill a dark look. "Oh, Bill, you better believe I'll tell Mum about this. Dropping this on us out of nowhere..." Everyone knew that was a credible threat.
The doors to the great hall opened that moment and everyone turned to look, seeing Professor McGonagall stand there, wearing her best. "Champions over here, please!"
The chattering crowd parted to let the champions and their respective partners walk to the door. Professor McGonagall, told them to wait on this side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the great hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down. Thankfully, there was not much problem, though the hall did look really different from normal.
The walls of the hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people. It most certainly did fit all the effort put into it and thankfully this event was entirely press-free as well.
"Hey, look over there..." Hermione whispered, looking to a large round table at the top of the hall.
They did see it. Hagrid sat there together with Madame Maxime, and they had to admit Hagrid looked really good in evening wear. "How nice, their relationship seems to be progressing at a good pace," Luna commented.
Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the great hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward the large round table, where the judges were sitting. When the champions and their partners reached the table and sat down, it clearly was time for the dinner part of the Yule Ball.
"How does this work?" Harry wondered while picking up the small menu that was in front of all of them, seeing a number of meals being listed. "Do we just pick one and announce it?"
"I can imagine the elves in the kitchen being swamped with work, though they of course will see it as the highest honor." Hermione made little secret that she feared this system could easily result in the elves being overworked.
Seeing how other people announced their selection and actually got served instantly, they all made their choice and did so as well. Their food did appear and compared to what normally was served, it was clear the eleves had went the extra mile for this, as it looked like something from a two or three-star restaurant.
"Boy, this looks extra fancy," Ron remarked when looking at the served food.
Ginny could only agree with her brother. "I understand why they go all out, and I'm sure we'll enjoy it, but this feels a bit outside of our alley."
However, while it did look extra fancy, it also did actually taste good, unlike the stuff which normally was served at posh restaurants. While they were eating, Hermione looked to where Bill was seated. "I not only wonder how that happened, but also how it is possible that she could invite him to the ball."
"Bill is helping with the tournament, so I guess that makes him eligible for being a dancing partner," Neville guessed, having the most experience with such things. "Isn't he coming home to be with the family?"
"Yes, and as much as I like him, I won't hesitate to reveal this right in front of Mum," Ginny said, making it clear she was serious about it.
Harry meanwhile took a look at the top table and had little difficulty to see the dynamics over there. While all seats were equally spaced, there was a clear divide between Karkaroff and the others at the table - even Krum was keeping an emotional distance. Some kind of heated discussion was going on, but he was unable to hear what it could be about.
The dinner part did go by without any trouble.
However, while enjoying their dessert, they did notice Professor Slughorn approach. He looked like quite the happy fellow at the moment, though his belly was straining the front of his highly ornamental dress robes. "Ah, how are all of you enjoying this evening?" he asked them.
"So far it was enjoyable, though of course the dance has not started yet," Luna said, actually looking a bit eager after the dancing lessons all of them had had.
"Ah yes, the dance. Sadly, I myself would be a poor dancing partner." At least Slughorn was self-aware and knew his big belly would make any kind of dancing awkward at best. "However, a Horace Slughorn has his own ways to contribute. Wait for it..."
Right then desert was over and the tables cleaned. Dumbledore told everyone to rise from their seats and then the tables and seats zoomed back to now be aligned with the walls, leaving the main floor clear for the upcoming dance. A platform at the right wall appeared, a set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes being set upon it.
It was when the musicians appeared that people gasped.
"Isn't that the Weird Sisters?" Ginny gasped as well, not having expected this.
"Who?" Harry wondered.
"They are a famous band in Magical Britain. Many in our generation are big fans of them," Luna explained, herself also looking surprised and showing some anticipation.
The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and the lanterns on all the other tables went out while the champions and their partners were moving to brightly lit dance floor.
"Once I told the Weird Sisters of the opportunity, they were most eager to provide the music for the ball. Granted, their usual style of music is not what you associate wit a ball, but they can easily adapt," Slughorn said proudly, enjoying the awe at how far his connections were reaching.
"The champions and their chosen partners will start the first dance," Dumbledore announced.
Everyone else quickly walked to the dance floor as well, many of course looking unsure since this would be their first time ever having a dance in such a public environment. Most hoped that their dancing lessons would now pay off so that they wouldn't step on each other's feet.
A minute into the dance, Hermione couldn't help it anymore. "For someone who only had a few dancing lessons, you are doing really well, Ron."
"Well... eh... I might have practiced on my own a lot." Seeing the look she was giving him, he added "I really didn't want to embarrass you by stepping onto your feet."
"This is really thoughtful of you, Ron." Hermione couldn't battle the small blush that crept onto her face.
Ron felt now was perhaps the best moment to confess. "I have to admit...the way I'm looking at you changed in the past months. I'm starting to put more attention on the 'girl' part of you. Dad tried to explain all of this to me, but right now it's a bit confusing for me."
If anything, Hermione's blush became a little stronger. Considering his words and what she was doing in private while thinking about Ron, she did have a good idea what he was doing to relieve these urges while having fantasies of her. Not that she had any room to complain, since she did the same while having fantasies about Ron.
"To be honest, it's confusing me as well," Hermione admitted, then saw Ron's raised eyebrows when he realized what she meant with that. "I imagined this would be a great revelation for both of us, but instead we are more confused than anything now."
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked while the dance continued. "Both of us never did anything like that."
Hermione sighed, knowing that Ron had a point. "Maybe continue as we did before and... baby steps."
"Good idea." Ron agreed.
Considering how awkward this conversation had been for both of them, not trying to force it and instead letting nature go its course seemed like the best idea. Nonetheless, this mutual revelation had changed something in the dynamics between them. The seeds had been planted.
Elsewhere on the dance floor, Luna was now very close to Neville during the dance.
Neville looked at how Luna's eyes were closed behind her glasses, making it appear like she was almost sleepwalking through the dance. He was awfully close to her and the closeness was hammering home certain facts to him - especially that Luna was a girl. Granted, recently he had started to see her with different eyes, but it now was hitting him like a sledgehammer.
"Neville, I can feel you holding me a bit tighter. Is something wrong?" Luna asked, her eyes still closed.
"No, nothing is wrong..." He knew Luna was quick on the uptake, despite the serene and seemingly detached aura she liked to give off. "I only now realized something..."
"Oh?" Luna still hadn't opened her eyes.
"I only now realize that I see you as more than just a friend. You also are growing more mature and..." Neville stopped when seeing Luna open her eyes, giving him hopeful look.
"You think of me as being attractive?" Luna asked directly.
"Ehm, yes. But it's not only that but also who you are." Neville stopped when seeing a small blush gracing Luna's face. That was highly unusual. "I honestly have no idea what to do next."
"You think we have to act different? I'm... unsure how to do that. While I admit that I harbor certain feelings for you, I have difficulties acting on them," Luna admitted.
Neville for his part also didn't know how to act after this emotional revelation. "Perhaps we should not act any different and just let nature take its course? Maybe we learn how to act on it in due time. Gods, being a teenager is really confusing..."
"For us girls it's just as confusing. So many emotions..." Luna then again closed her eyes and leaned her head against Neville's shoulder while the slow dance continued.
A different pair was enjoying the evening as well.
"I hope I'm doing well, since I feel I'm a bad dancer," Dudley admitted.
Millicent for her part wondered why Dudley felt that way. "I wonder why you think so. You are a wonderful dancer."
They both honestly had not expected the evening to become this good. Millicent had thought the ball would be boring as hell while Dudley had feared it would end like the Gunnings anniversary celebration. Dudley asking Millicent to be his partner was more to save her after several upperclassmen had asked her - though they both knew Dudley getting jealous also had played a big part. However, up to now it had proven to be far from boring.
"Thankfully none of these other guys are your dance partners," Dudley added as an afterthought.
"Still jealous, Dudley?" Millicent added. "You should have known I wouldn't accept anyone but you for this. Mhhh... all of this is giving my feminine side a much-needed push."
"Millie, for me you are quite feminine." Seeing Millicent go against her tough image by blushing a little, Dudley added "You remember how you felt after the chamber? How we grew closer after that experience?"
"Yes... You know, this evening is almost magical..." Millicent said, making Dudley aware how during the dance she had inched closer to him.
It seemed like Millicent was getting a little impatient.
o
"I had no idea that dancing could be this exhausting," Ginny admitted to Harry.
"Me neither. Thank goodness that we managed to slip away," Harry agreed.
By now they were quite a bit into the evening, several dances and a few refreshments later. Things had eased up and become a little less formal by now and not everyone was in the great hall at the moment. Some pairs were visiting the rose garden for some alone time while others needed a bathroom break. Ginny, who had just had one, confessed that as nice as an evening gown was looking, it made using the toilet a huge hassle.
Now however they were visiting the rose garden for some peace and quiet before they would return to the great hall. Sitting on a bench together and close to each other, they both were a bit awkward with this situation, before Harry decided to finally break the ice.
"Don't get me wrong, Ginny, I'm really enjoying the evening and I do like how much work you have put into looking extra good for the this, but it doesn't mean I like your regular self any less." Seeing the look Ginny was giving him, he added "Ginny the tomboy is far from being unattractive."
Ginny cursed all the hormones circulating through her body which were causing her face to color. "When did that happen? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited you start to see me that way."
"It happened over the past months. Ginny, you are no longer a little girl and I started to notice, but I would never reduce you to just that. I've known you for years and you are the toughest girl I met... and I think I like that," Harry confessed.
Ginny felt deeply moved that Harry liked her tomboyish self, yet also admitted he also liked seeing her all prettied up. Her feminine side felt deep satisfaction at that fact. "Mum would say we are a bit young for such things."
"And I think she would be right. I for my part think we better take our time. This is all new to us and I feel like both of us will make our share of embarrassing errors," Harry confessed.
Imagining herself doing something idiotic, Ginny knew Harry was right. "Yes... let's take it slow..."
The moment however was broken when they hear voices from the other side of a rose hedge and their eyebrows rose when recognizing Snape's voice. The other wise belonged to Karkaroff, even hearing it as little as they did, he was simply that memorable, though right now he sounded quite different from normal. Being quiet, they listened in.
"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroff's voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. "It's been getting clearer and I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it any longer."
"Then flee," Snape said curtly. "Flee and see what good it will do you. Betraying the Dark Lord has a high price - a price you should have thought about before you turned traitor. Also don't use my first name... not after you tried you tried to backstab me as well."
"But the Dark Lord will..." Karkaroff tried to remind Snape.
Snape cut him off. "What he will do to you is of your own making. Ask yourself if there even is any way to convince him to show you mercy. I for my part will remain at Hogwarts. The Dark Lord has already made up his mind about me."
The voices then became quieter, both men moving away from them.
What little they did hear however concerned them, since it clearly was about Voldemort. By silent agreement they started to make their way back to the castle, when suddenly Ginny pulled Harry behind a bush, then pointed to the path they almost had taken. Looking, Harry saw Hagrid and Madame Maxime having a private conversation.
"...I honestly never thought I would feel like this," Hagrid admitted.
"Oh, me neither. This is the first time ever. Sometimes I wish I weren't..." Maxime then stopped, like she had just said too much.
Clearly Hagrid realized it was about both their ancestry and now hoped his coaching in such matters would pay off. "I know, Olympe, people our size are being shunned. Maybe it's better in France, considering how high you have risen, but romantically it's seen as a no-go."
Maxime's expression relaxed, since Hagrid had avoided talking about her shameful ancestry and kept it more general. Perhaps in the future, once she felt comfortable enough, she would breach the topic on her own. "Rubeus, maybe I can convince you have some wine? Just you and me?"
"I could never say no to such a beautiful woman." Granted, he was laying it on thick, but considering both of them were new at this...
They then quickly left the rose garden, walking to the Beauxbatons carriage.
"I can already imagine how the evening will end for those two, especially after alcohol is in play," Ginny said with a sigh.
"At least they are both adults, even if this is not exactly role-model behavior" Harry added.
They continued their trek, but shortly later it this time was Harry who held back Ginny, since he saw Dudley and Millicent sitting on a bench. Both of them clearly were testing out if they enjoyed snogging. Feeling that there was no way they wanted to interrupt them with their presence, they decided to take the long way around.
Millicent and Dudley meanwhile had parted again. "Well, how do you think it is?" Millicent asked after their experimental kiss.
"New for one thing... wet as well," Dudley said lamely. "I think we need to practice more before we can actually enjoy it."
They had not exactly planned this to happen - it had just happened. Excusing themselves to explore the rose garden, one thing had led to another and they had decided to test what snogging would be like. Both of them knew for sure that if there was a next time, it would not involve lipstick - a fact both of them would be glad for.
Millicent honestly had not expected this answer. "So you do want to do it again?"
Dudley felt quite flustered at the idea but then again, without training you'd never get good at something.
...at the same time, 12 Grimmauld Place...
Sirius hated that he was doing this, but since he had entered the political field, he was expected to socialize with the higher circles of society, something he had always avoided whenever possible. That however would no longer fly with his political rise, so he had decided to host this event, his official acceptance of the role the high society of Magical Britain was giving him.
He had announced it well in advance, thus other families all knew to not make any big receptions of their own on Christmas Day. Thankfully, this was in the evening, so he'd had the whole day for his family - something he would not compromise on - and only needed to entertain these people in the evening.
At least Grimmauld Place is now good for something. Kreacher certainly seems to get a kick out of the whole thing, Sirius thought while watching the house-elf carry around trays with refreshments.
"I know right away this is not my alley," Diane told him, looking incredibly bored. "All this high society stuff feels wrong and boring to me. Not to speak of the fact that there are numerous people here who see me as subhuman or something to be gawked at in a zoo."
Diane made no secret that she held a severe dislike of racists and bigots. Thank all goodness that their children were still a secret, having a little sleepover at the Evans house right now. She also felt it was a waste of time to dress up for this crowd.
"At least they are behaving themselves. After all, they are in my house," Sirius tried to find something positive in this.
"Too bad, actually. I would have loved seeing them misbehave and Kreacher act as your bouncer. That would have livened up the evening," Diane remarked. Hell she even imagined her father manhandling one of these bigoted assholes in order to get through the evening.
"As our host I thought you would be more busy with talking to your guests." Thankfully, it was Frank Longbottom who approached them.
"Please don't. This is already difficult enough for me," Sirius told Frank.
Frank knew Sirius disliked doing this - he himself also had grown to dislike such formal receptions - but it had to be done. "Sadly, sometimes we have to do things we dislike in order to help a greater cause."
"Considering how you tried to avoid hosting such things in the past and always found excuses to avoid most of these, you can't exactly give me advice on how to endure it," Sirius reminded Frank, knowing that he and his wife had disliked going to such events.
"All right, you got me there. You can't blame me for it, however. During the war we certainly had better things to do, and after it I honestly wanted as little contact as possible with those who weasled themselves out of punishment... Oh, speak of the devil..." Frank then cursed.
Sirius barely held back a grimace when seeing Lucius Malfoy approach together with his wife Narcissa. He honestly had hoped the Malfoys would not come, considering their enmity towards him, but sadly his wish had stayed unfulfilled. Maybe the Malfoys saw it as a petty way to torment him, since there was little they could do to attack him directly.
Narcissa opted to just give Diane and him dark looks while ignoring Frank entirely, leaving the talking to her husband.
"You must be really proud of yourself, Black. All of the important people are attending your reception," Mr. Malfoy told him, hiding his emotions behind a mask.
"Perhaps, perhaps. However, considering how our standpoints are polar opposites, I can not imagine that this is something you see in a positive light," Sirius returned, knowing exactly what Malfoy really thought of him.
Malfoy however didn't take the bait. "Yes, but you should be careful, Black. A meteoric rise to the top can easily be followed by an equally fast fall. After all, things can change."
"You mean when you take the throne directly instead of standing behind it? That will never happen," Sirius gave Malfoy as a promise.
Malfoy's expression still was mostly unreadable, but what did come through made it seem like Malfoy felt he was talking to a man who was already on death row without knowing. "As I said, things can change... sometimes faster than some people can imagine."
The Malfoys then left and Diane gave Sirius a slightly confused look. "What was that about? I expected him to be his usual bigoted self, but instead he was as cold as a fish."
"Indeed, unusual of him. Though, recently he is more quiet than usual," Frank agreed.
Sirius also was confused by Malfoy acting so calmly, as if he was wanting to make extra sure not to show any outside weakness. "Really weird, but Frank is right that there's a pattern. Over the past months, he has become quieter and more guarded. Last time I saw him as his usual bigoted self was back at the World Cup."
He got a bad feeling, but couldn't pinpoint what was rubbing him the wrong way about it. It just felt dangerous to him.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Constant Vigilance"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I will be honest that it had been a huge pain in the ass to write my version of the Yule Ball. The canon one had been a vehicle for inter-personal drama, and I honestly had no wish for that. Tbh, I feel most of the inter-personal drama in the books was essentially pointless.
Finally, Skeeter's dirt-slinging has caused the attention of our protagonists, but as always things are not easy, especially due to the rather archaic press laws in Magical Britain.
I hope I did Luna justice with how she right away directly asked Neville to be her partner for the ball. Of course I then showed that deep inside she had been a nervous wreck and also pissed herself. Ginny in turn makes a snap decision when being horrified at the attention Harry is getting. Ron meanwhile, not wnating his male pride bruised, does get the courage to ask Hermione.
Note how that only works due to the different circumstances (Luna being in Gryffindor, Ginny actually getting along well with Harry and Hermione actually waiting for Ron and declining Krum's offer) and them being better socially adjusted as a result.
Here we have how Bill and Fleur meet for the first time and Bill leaves a strong impression on her.
No comment on the ball itself and the developments surrounding it, since all the text should speak for itself.
Next chapter, we'll start to see what Harry and friends will be busy with for the rest of the school year.