Friday, December 1st, 2006
Hogwarts
The euphoria of the First Task had certainly hung around the castle, even two weeks later. It seemed like nothing could spoil the high.
And then something did.
Ari was in Potions class, attempting to finish a batch of Felix Felicis, aka "Liquid Luck." He had just added the common powdered rue to his cauldron when it happened. The students next to him, in an effort to rush their potion finished, forgot the penultimate step ("Stir vigorously then heat the cauldron one last time"), instead opting to heat the cauldron while stirring. There was a pop, followed by a hiss, and the cauldron erupted, sending tainted Felix Felicis all over the dungeon. Thinking on his feet, Ari conjured a Shield Charm to protect him and some of his closer classmates from the potion. When the potion stopped raining from the ceiling, Professor Slughorn evaporated it with his wand, saying exasperatedly, "I believe that's enough for today. If you would all please bottle your potions, we will continue this next week."
The commotion of students bottling their potions ensued. Ari looked at his book, noticing that he was one step short of finishing. Quickly, he waved his wand in a figure eight over his cauldron and said, "Felixempra!" before bottling his completed potion and putting it on Slughorn's desk.
"Oh, before you go," Slughorn addressed the class, "I must inform you all, specifically you, Mr. Haswari, of a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament that is coming up in just a few short weeks: The Yule Ball. At eight o'clock on Christmas night, all students, Fourth Year and above will gather in the Great Hall for a night of music and dancing."
The class began murmuring, but fell silent when Slughorn raised his hands. "I know many of you may not wish to attend. However, those that do, had better be on their best behavior." He shifted his gaze to Ari and Malachi, knowing full-well their penchant for trouble. "That is all. Class dismissed. Mr. Haswari! A quick word. please."
Ari doubled back to Slughorn's desk, hoping that he hadn't done something wrong. "Yes, Professor?"
"Ari, m'boy," Slughorn began, "I wanted to let you know before the Ball, that the Champions and their partners do, in tradition, have the first dance to open the Ball."
"So what you're delicately trying to tell me, is, I need to find a date?" Ari asked. Slughorn nodded and Ari grinned. He knew exactly who he wanted to ask.
December 12th, 2006
Hogwarts
The Christmas spirit was alive and well within Hogwarts. The usual twelve trees adorned the Great Hall, trimmed with tinsel, holly, and actual fireflies, among other decorations. The suits of armor were singing Christmas Carols as they did every Christmas, and all three Triwizard Champions were still without dates for the Yule Ball. LeBeau's stand-offish nature had not endeared him to many, especially from Ilvermorny or even from his own school. Ari still hadn't managed to get Kate alone to ask her, and Kate hadn't really been considering any possible dates. Her mind kept drifting to Ari, wondering if she should go ahead and ask him. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Tony DiNozzo came running up to her, grinning.
"Guess what, Kate?"
Kate thought for a second and said, "You're getting yourself neutered before the Ball?"
Tony cringed a bit. "What? No. I just got a date for the ball!"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Who?"
"One of the Hogwarts students we sit with at meals. I think she said her name is... Zee-vah! Yeah, that's it!"
"Are you planning to add her to your body count, DiNozzo?"
Tony scoffed. "Oh, come on, Kate! There's more to me than..." He trailed off his sentence, feeling what he hoped was a wand in the center of his back.
"You had better treat my sister well, Mister DiNozzo. Otherwise I may feed your bollocks to the Giant Squid."
Tony turned around cautiously, chuckling nervously. When he saw Ari, wand in hand, he started talking. Fast. "Oh, hey, we know you. You're the Hogwarts Champion, right. Great job with that Wendigo, by the way. Also, did you know that Kate has a thing for y..." He was cut off when Kate smacked him on the back of his head.
"Shut up, DiNozzo," Kate growled.
"How wonderful to see you, Caitlin," Ari greeted, offering his arm. "Can we take a walk?"
"Sure," Kate answered, smiling. She took Ari's arm and the pair strolled through the castle grounds, making only small talk now and then. Finally, the subject of the Yule Ball was broached.
"Kinda crazy, this ball coming up, isn't it?" Kate asked.
"It definitely is," Ari answered.
"You find a date yet?" Kate hoped she didn't sound too hopeful. Her fears were assuaged when Ari gave a light chuckle.
"No, not yet. There is one person I wanted to ask, though. I just never could seem to get her alone to ask her."
"So what are you waiting for, Mr. Full Marks? You took out a Wendigo. You shouldn't have a problem finding a date for the Yule Ball."
Ari nodded, grinning. "You're right. I should have no trouble with this." Taking a breath, he asked, "Caitlin Todd, will you accompany me to the Yule Ball?"
Kate sighed, and nodded. "Yes. It's about damn time that you asked me, by the way."
"You could have asked me any time," Ari laughed.
"Sometimes a gal just wants to feel special." Kate closed the distance between her and Ari, kissing him on the cheek.
The two of them walked back to the castle in comfortable silence, smiling all the while. When they reached the inside of the castle, they found their friends all hanging around each other. Ziva was the first to notice their return, and she noticed them holding hands as well. She pointed this out to Malachi, who began laughing at his friend.
"Finally," Malachi chided. "You were only taken by her for how long?"
"Why don't you worry about finding a date, my friend?" Ari joked back. "Unless you plan to go stag?"
Malachi nodded, smirking. "There's bound to be some heartbreak at this ball."
"How Slytherin of you," Ziva joked, before turning to Ari. "You already threatened my date, dear brother?"
"I was merely performing my duties as older brother," Ari replied with a grin. "עםזאת, אנימופתעשלאשיתפתאותו." ("I am surprised that you did not hex him, however.")
"If he asked me, I probably would have. But, since I asked him, there will be no hexing."
"Hexing?" Tony asked. "What did I get myself into?"
December 25th, 2006
Hogwarts
Christmas Day dawned bright and snowy. The Beauxbatons carriage was covered in three feet of snow, while the Ilvermorny bus (and subsequently, the grass around it) sat warm and barren of snow, thanks to the environmental charm work of Kate, Tony, Abby, & McGee. The castle itself was covered in about six feet of snow, clinging onto the high towers.
The entire day was rowdier than usual, with the thought of the ball and all its frivolity and jocularity sustaining the chaos. Ari, who was supposed to be relaxing and getting ready for the ball, found himself in the Hospital Wing, helping Ducky with all manner of maladies. Everything was relatively minor, at least until Kate dragged McGee in.
"My friend here needs help," Kate explained, seeing the worried look on Ari's face. "He tried to do an Engorgement Charm on something and it didn't work out so well."
"I will take him from here, Caitlin," Ari replied, giving her a peck on the cheek. "See you tonight."
"See ya." Kate left the hospital wing, practically skipping as she did so. Ari turned to McGee, raising an eye brow.
"Mr. McGee," Ari started, trying not to sound accusatory. "What did you try to engorge?"
McGee turned red, from his forehead all the way down to his neck, as he pointed to his pants, more specifically to his groin. "Abby was talking about taking our relationship to the next level after the ball tonight, and I wanted to bring my A-game."
Ari stifled a laugh and guided McGee to a bed, drawing curtains around it. "Alright, let's see what we're dealing with."
"What?" McGee seemed to pale under the blush on his face. "You mean I have to..."
"Drop them." McGee dropped his pants, and almost immediately, Ari stuck his head out from the curtains. "Ducky! I could use a second opinion over here!"
"I'm on my way!" Ducky called back from the other side of the ward. When he finally reached Ari and McGee, his exclamation was loud enough that it was heard in the kitchens. "GOOD LORD!"
Ari roared with laughter that he didn't even realize he'd been keeping in. He took a few deep breaths to compose himself and turned back to Ducky. "My apologies, Ducky. And to you as well, Mr. McGee."
"I believe a few drops of Shrinking Solution should do the trick," Ducky told McGee. "Mister Haswari, if you would, please?"
Ari nodded and left to grab the Shrinking Solution, leaving Ducky alone with a terrified McGee.
"What's the Shrinking Solution gonna do?" McGee asked.
"Relax, dear boy," Ducky replied. "All it will do is shrink everything back to its normal size."
McGee breathed a sigh of relief as Ari returned with the Shrinking Solution. Ducky applied two drops to the affected area, and not long after, McGee was good to go. He thanked Ari and Ducky, running as quickly as he could from the Hospital Wing.
Ari and Ducky shared a look. "Not a word," Ducky warned his protégé.
"I see nothing," Ari replied, trying to hold back more laughter. "Nothing."
Later in the day
Ari left the Hospital Wing around 4pm that afternoon, fully intent on using all the time he could to get ready for the Ball. He made a detour to the Slytherin Common Room, fully intent on teasing Malachi about flying solo, but also to steal a couple of shots of his friend's firewhiskey. After nearly half an hour, he departed the Slytherin Common Room for the Head's Dormitory, locking himself in his room for almost two hours.
715pm
Hogwarts
Ari made his way from the Head's Dormitory down to the Entrance Hall, drawing many a stare as he went. He attributed it to his dress robes, jet black with alternating green snd silver trim, complete with a silver tie made of the finest silk, and his Head Boy badge pinned to his robes to complete the ensemble.
At the giant oak front doors, he met up with Ziva, Tony, McGee, Abby, and Kate. Of course, Kate had his full attention, wearing a silver dress that just missed the floor by inches, with an American Flag/Yellow Ribbon pin over her heart. Ari took in the appearances of her friends, noticing that they, too, wore the yellow ribbon pins. Tony, in what could best be described as a Muggle Tuxedo, McGee in all black with the exception of a red tie, and Abby in all black from head to toe. Ari looked to McGee with a raised eyebrow, and McGee responded with a look that said "don't ask." Kate stepped away from the group and over to Ari, taking in his appearance. He linked their arms together, and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Shall we?" Ari asked as the doors to the Great Hall opened. The Heads of School, McGonagall, Gibbs, and Maxime, entered first, followed by the Champions and their dates.
"I believe we shall," Kate replied, mocking Ari's aristocratic tone, causing him to laugh.
Ari turned around to check that Tony was being respectful with Ziva more than anything, but saw to his surprise that LeBeau managed to gind himself a date. Grinning, Ari turned back to his date and escorted her into the Great Hall. The site that met their eyes was astonishing. The four House tables had been cleared away. In their place were several smaller tables with chairs surrounding them. One of these tables had a placard that read "Champions and Dates." Kate, Ari, LeBeau, and his date all sat around the table. Since Kate and Ari came together, that left two empty seats, which were quickly filled by Tony and Ziva. LeBeau raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off when Ari started questioning Tony.
"So, Mr. DiNozzo, am I correct in my assumption that your dress robes were inspired by James Bond's tuxedo in Goldfinger?"
"Yeah, it is," Tony answered. "Honestly, I thought that only students with No-Maj parents, like Kate here, would get it."
LeBeau turned to Tony, sneering. "Are your parents Non-Magiques as well?"
"Half-Blood," Tony answered, trying to keep his tone civil. "Dad is a wizard, Mom wasn't. I got the best of both worlds growing up."
"And what of you?" LeBeau turned to Ziva, missing Ari's glare as he did so.
"Witch mother, wizard father," Ziva replied shakily. "Father recieved the Dementor's Kiss after the War ended."
"And your mother allows you to talk to and associate with Non-Magiques and the lower-status members of Britain's Magique society?"
Before Ziva could answer, Ari spoke up. "If you intend to continue talking to my sister, you will keep a civil tongue in your mouth."
LeBeau turned to Ari and paled at the glare on the Hogwarts Champion's face. Ziva had seen this look before and knew what it meant. If LeBeau kept talking like he was, hexes were almost guaranteed to start flying. Any further conversation ended, however, as food appeared on the table and on their plates. LeBeau made a grab for the fish; Tony, Ziva and Ari went for the Prime Rib; LeBeau's date reached for the chicken; Kate made a grab for the pork chops.
"Bien sûr, l'animal sale pour les gens au sang sale," LeBeau muttered under his breath. ("Of course, the dirty animal for the dirty-blooded.")
"Would you care to repeat that?" Ziva asked LeBeau. "Perhaps in English, so the person you are insulting can respond?"
"She knows what I said," LeBeau answered, motioning to Kate. "And if she does not, perhaps someone with more class could explain-"
LeBeau suddenly found it difficult to talk, as his tongue had been glued to the roof of his mouth. Under the table, Ari slipped his wand back up his sleeve, unseen by any of the staff. He glared at LeBeau, adding a few four-letter words in French for extra effect. Dinner was so much more enjoyable with LeBeau unable to talk.
Once the food was cleared away, the tables were magicked into a corner of the Great Hall. A bar with accompanying bartenders materialized seemingly out of nowhere, where the Staff table usually sat, and a dance floor appeared around a stage in the middle of the Great Hall. A string quartet was setting up, and soon each Champion and (In LeBeau's case) their dates were on the dance floor. With a flourish of their wands, the quartet befan to play a slow waltz. Ari took Kate by the waist and guided her around the dance floor with the greatest of ease. Soon, all attendees were on the dance floor. Gibbs was waltzing with McGonagall and Madame Maxime with the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Hagrid (they were being given a wide berth by everyone else). Abby and McGee were close by, and Malachi was standing by the bar, observing the scene.
"So what did he say?" Kate asked Ari. "LeBeau, when you hexed him?"
"He called you something," Ari replied vaguely, seeing that McGonagall and Gibbs were close by. "He made a remark about you being a Muggleborn."
"So you hexed him for it?" Kate was slightly taken aback.
Ari nodded. "I would hex anybody that used the words he used."
"That bad, huh?" Ari nodded, and Kate sighed in frustration. "I knew it. If I hadn't let DiNozzo pressure me into signing up for this stupid tournament, then..."
Kate trailed off as Ari lifted her chin so that they made eye contact. "Caitlin, look at me. The Goblet of Fire chose you for a reason. Think about this. Would DiNozzo known how to defeat a Wendigo?"
Kate shook her head. "Probably not."
"Or even those two, the ones that look like extras from the set of Top Gun. Would they have handled all of this with dignity and grace?" Ari motioned to two of Kate's classmates, Mitchell and Bradshaw, both of whom appeared to be doing a bit for the amusement of some Hogwarts students.
"Definitely not," Kate scoffed. She pulled Ari in for a quick kiss as the music changed from a waltz to a tango. They quickly darted out of the way of Maxime and Hagrid as the pair of half-giants cut across the dance floor, taking out several students in the process. Grinning, Ari looked at Kate and motioned to the bar. The pair journeyed over, joining Malachi. The trio were soon joined by Tony, Ziva, Abby, and McGee.
"Having fun?" Ari asked Malachi.
"Loads," Malachi responded, taking a sip of his drink.
Ari ordered a round of butterbeers for himself, Ziva, Kate, and her friends. After passing them put, he raised his own in a toast.
"To new friends and new relationships." The group drank, and Kate tugged on Ari's arm.
"Look at LeBeau," she said.
Ari (and by proxy, the rest of the group) looked up just in time to see LeBeau's date throw a glass of wine in his face and slap the taste out of his mouth. The seven of them roared with laughter, watching as the Beauxbatons Champion angrily stalked over to the bar and ordered a firewhiskey. He glared at the others before draining the glass in one gulp.
The string quartet that was on the stage switched out their instruments for something more modern, much to the delight of the students. Two guitars, a bass, and a drumset appeared and the quartet began playing some modern music. Kate dragged Ari back to the dance floor and they began dancing again, cutting their own path through the crowd. Ari managed to slip away from Kate long enough to request a song from the band.
Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
I'm chasing after you
Ari rejoined Kate as the song began to play, taking her hand in his as he pulled her in close.
"I love this song," Kate told Ari. "How did you know?"
Ari smiled shyly. "I didn't. I just guessed, since I heard you talking about Green Day a few weeks ago."
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
The smile on Kate's face spoke volumes as Ari pulled her in for a kiss, right in front of Merlin and everybody. Amongst the hullabaloo, nobody noticed McGonagall hand Gibbs five Galleons. Gibbs pocketed the Galleons with a smirk.
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you
The Yule Ball broke up around midnight. Malachi had disappeared with LeBeau's former date some time ago, much to the chagrin of the Beauxbatons Champion.
Kate and Ari were among the last to leave the Great Hall, along with Tony and Ziva. Abby and McGee opted to leave around 11. The quartet were halfway through the Entrance Hall when a jet of red light went flying past Ziva's ear. All four students turned, wands drawn, to see LeBeau waiting with his own wand at the ready.
"Attacking us from behind?" Kate asked. "That takes some serious balls... Or a lack thereof."
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Mudblood," LeBeau snapped. He raised his wand to unleash another spell, but was unable to as four jets of light hit him directly in the face. When the dust settled, he was on the ground, with his face sprouting tentacles and giant bogies attacking him. Ari knelt next to him, admiring the damage.
"This is quite the combination. Who cast Densaugeo?"
"That was me," Tony said proudly.
Ari laughed. "And the Jelly Legs?"
Ziva raised her hand, smiling timidly.
"I cast Bat Bogeys," Ari said proudly. "So Caitlin cast Steleus then. No wonder the bogeys are growing so rapidly. But maybe these shouldn't all be used on the same person, at least not all at once."
The quartet laughed ad Ari cast a Finite spell on LeBeau before conjuring a stretcher and carrying him to the Hospital Wing. Kate went with him, holding the hand that didn't have a wand in it. He dropped LeBeau off with a brief explanation to Ducky, telling his mentor that he could not and would not treat the wounds he had helped inflict. With Kate's help, he told Ducky the entire story, pausing only when Ducky laughed at the mention of four curses hitting LeBeau at once. Hecagreed to heal LeBeau, sending Kate and Ari on their way. After a few twists and turns, they found themselves in the Room of Reqirement. They stayed there, talking until they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Just hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment here with you