Chapter 59: Ball, part 2
For the first time that she could recall in living memory, Ariadne let out a giggle.
"Giggling" was not an action she had ever imagined herself partaking in. In fact, it was so wholly inconsistent with her personality that it seemed wrong to pair the words "Ariadne" and "giggle."
But she was pretty sure that's what she had just done.
The precipitating event of that giggle was the cleverly modified Bat-Bogey Hex that Sirius had just performed on Severus Snape, which, rather than causing the area around his nostrils to erupt in little bat wings, had produced one vast leathery pair which were flapping so powerfully that they had now cause Snape to rise several inches in the air, suspended by his hooked nose as he struggled against them and twisted wildly about.
Ariadne and Sirius were crouched just inside the doors to the entrance hall, which were wide open and spilled the light and warmth of the ball into the temporary fairy garden out front. Sirius had spotted Snape creeping around the edges of the garden in the darkness. Clearly without a date and lacking the bravery to show up to the ball alone, he was attempting to spy on the ball; and Ariadne had a suspicion he was trying to catch a glimpse of one black and red-haired couple in particular.
Ariadne stifled her laughter as the flapping bat wing unbalanced Snape and caused him to do a sort of flip in midair. She whispered to Sirius, "Shouldn't we let him down now? He could get hurt."
Sirius turned to her with an expression of righteous indignation. "Morrigan, this is the man who called us 'Mudblood lovers.' If you can even call him a man..." he finished with a mutter.
Ariadne's concern for Snape quickly evaporated; though it wasn't solely due to anger. She just didn't really care anymore. The unnerving freedom she had felt at the beginning of the night had slowly but surely turned into lightness. All of the worries and seriousness and sense of responsibility that usually kept her firmly grounded had disappeared, and she felt rather like she was floating.
Antagonizing Snape was only the latest in a series of adventures that the night had occasioned. After a few dull opening speeches and slow waltzes, the free flow of butterbeer and mead (and, Ariadne strongly suspected but couldn't prove, some stronger stuff smuggled in by one James Potter) thoroughly loosened up the night. Priya had succeeded in booking her preferred musical guests, the Warbling Warlocks, and Ariadne spent a good amount of time dancing with her and Sophie, though she knew Sirius was eager to join her when she was ready. After some small talk about their upcoming Potions N.E.W.T. with a group of Ravenclaws, Sirius decided that the food and drink needed a bit of spicing up. He spiked the gillywater with a few drops of long-stored Euphoria Elixir, so that the next twenty or so Hufflepuffs to get a drink suddenly began acting quite raucously, charismatically, and enjoyably out-of-character. When Florian Clarke and Clarice took to the dance floor (Ariadne had made Sirius swear not to curse anyone that night) Sirius sneakily turned its glittering surface into actual ice, and sent them skidding and crashing into the drinks table. Then, James had given them some kind of secret signal (Ariadne had yet to decode the cryptic language that passed between him and Sirius) which indicated they should meet up in the girls' bathroom across from the hall, where they, along with Remus, Priya, Lily Evans, and a few other chosen companions took shots of Firewhiskey.
"Serves you right, you foul, greasy slimeball," Sirius was saying with satisfaction as he watched Snape shouting and tumbling about the grounds, struggling with the giant bat wings on his nose. Ariadne, deep enough in wizard alcohol to have lost her sense of propriety around this, was admiring, unobserved, how handsome Sirius was. His hair was just a bit disheveled from all the dancing; his high cheekbones were flushed from drink; the white shirt beneath this dress robes had (of course) several opened buttons; and the gleam of black dragon skin on his robes set off his dark eyes rather nicely.
Ariadne herself was a bit less perfectly put together than she normally was. Seated next to Sirius with her back against the stone wall of the entrance hall, her silky mauve robes flowed around her and crumpled under her; a few strands of hair had come loose from her elegant half-updo, falling to frame her face. She hadn't felt this drunk and loose since the Quidditch match afterparty months ago, when she and Sirius had practically been strangers.
Sirius had finally noticed her staring. He turned his head away from the spectacle of Snape and they were nose-to-nose, only a few inches separating their flushed, sweaty faces.
In any other circumstance, Ariadne would have quickly looked away. But something, and she couldn't explain what, compelled her to meet Sirius's gaze.
"Having fun, Morrigan?" he asked in his meltingly husky, deep tone. He held himself perfectly still, prolonging the moment of closeness, letting them savor it.
Ariadne couldn't help it, she smiled back at him. "As a matter of fact, Black, I am," she replied, trying to keep her slightly tipsy voice steady.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at her, but instead of his usual sardonic expression, he, too, was grinning. "Call Binns, this is an event for wizarding history. Ariadne Morrigan, represser of all revelry, is having fun. Did James slip you some Euphoria when I wasn't looking?"
"No, there's no way your potion was strong enough to have this effect," she answered, moving just the tiniest fraction closer. Sirius raised an eyebrow again. "A touch too thick," she clarified. "Expired shrivelfig, most likely."
Sirius shook his head in exasperation. "Ariadne Morrigan, you're insufferable." He leaned toward her, his face actually brushing a strand of her hair. Ariadne knew what came next.
James burst from the glittering fairy garden through the entrance hall doors, a very pretty-looking Lily Evans in tow. Sirius and Ariadne broke apart.
"THERE you are!" bellowed James, swaggering up to them. "Sirius, mate, are you ready to take this ball to the next level?"
"What exactly did you have in mind, my friend?" drawled Sirius, lazily rolling away from Ariadne against the castle wall.
James grinned at the pair of them. A combination of his natural charisma and, no doubt, a healthy dose of Euphoria had combined so that he seemed to radiate electric energy. Even Lily, Ariadne noticed, was excited by it.
"I was thinking the ol' standby..."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You mean, the plan you developed a week ago and won't let go of?"
James grinned. "Exactly."
"That'll be a solid two weeks of detention if you show your face, mate. At least."
"Worth it."
"All right then," said Sirius, rising to his feet resignedly, seeing that his friend could not be persuaded or contained in this state.
"Here," he muttered, pulling the crumpled invisibility cloak from his pocket and handing it to Ariadne, indicating they should cover themselves with it. "Potter can't resist the publicity, but there's no reason we need to sit in detention with him."
James glanced around at his entourage, beaming. "On my mark then…one…two…accio brooms!"
Several broomsticks came hurtling down the marble staircase, including James's prized Shooting Star 7. Pulling Lily onto the broom behind him, he waited for the rest of the group to mount up. Ariadne held Sirius around the waist, casting a handy Sticking Spell to keep the cloak from flying off them, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu. They kicked off as one and soared through the doors of the Great Hall, prompting shrieks, whoops, and the distinctive angry shouts of the teachers.
It was the Great Hall from a perspective Ariadne had never seen before, gliding just beneath the snowy enchanted ceiling, so close that she felt she could reach up and touch the stars. The tables seemed small and narrow beneath them, the multicolored dress-robe clad crowd of students very far away. She had never appreciated just how tall the hall really was. Although she had scoffed at James's ridiculous proposition to McGonagall, there was actually plenty of space for brooms to maneuver.
James dived suddenly and Sirius and the rest followed, although he and Ariadne were still unseen. James was tipping the contents of the flask of Elixir to Induce Euphoria down into the crowd. But this wasn't ordinary potion; as the great golden drops fell through the air, some turned into gold Galleons; others burst into bouquets of crocuses and snowdrops; others into festive holly wreaths. The effect, of course, was to sow utter chaos and delight in the throngs of students below. The shrieks of surprise soon turned into screams and cheers of adoration for James. They swooped in laps around the hall, turning into streaks of color as the ball-turned-party seemed to roil in euphoric energy beneath them.
It was the final dance of the night. The teachers had managed to restore some semblance of order after James's stunt. He had cleverly made his escape by air out the front doors into the temporary fairy garden, where, dismounting and hiding their brooms, him and the others attempted to re-appear innocently at the ball as though they had had no part in the extraordinary prior events. This, of course, did not fool the sharp-eyed McGonagall, who was miraculously persuaded to allow James and his crew to enjoy the rest of the ball based on an emotional plea from none other than Lily, Priya, and Remus, on the basis that it was "Christmas, after all," and the condition that he serve not two, but three weeks of detention after the holidays.
Snow continued to fall gently from the ceiling as the Warbling Warlocks played a slow, romantic tune. Ariadne rested her head gently on Sirius's chest as they floated around the dance floor, rotating slowly, Sirius's hands on her waist. Everything seemed soft and dazzling around her: the icicles glittering in the windows, the sparkles of jewelry and beaded robes, and Sirius's dark, twinkling eyes. She raised her head to look at him, and she seemed to register his handsome half-smile through a haze of happiness. Was this what Priya was talking about? The feeling of really liking someone? They twirled through the magical snow shower and Ariadne felt like she hadn't stopped flying. She had not had a drop of James's Euphoria that night.