The village the tavern was located in was quiet, probably due to Christmas dinner. Something I still found somewhat weird, having Christmas dinner on Christmas instead of Christmas Eve.
As we rounded a corner, I finally saw it, the place every British wizard or witch I've met sees as a second home: Hogwarts.
It was… magical. No other word could do it justice; the way the castle seemed to almost glow in the moonlight, the inside of the windows lit up with warm light, and the soft snowfall adding to the scene, it was almost like being inside a snow globe.
I shook off those thoughts as I kept moving. According to Severus, the castle had magical protections against apparition, so he warmed me off against apparating on the grounds in fear I may irreparably destroy them.
The walk didn't take overly long anyway, and the peaceful surroundings helped curb my anxiety.
I had never been to a date before, and definitely not a formal Ball like this one.
Letting my worries out with my exhalation, we passed the gates and quickly reached the doors at the back of the castle.
Severus dramatically opened the doors to a grand audience of zero and kept walking, hurrying along the mazelike corridors.
The inside of the castle was much, much more magical than the outside.
The outside was magical in a natural way, a beautiful landscape mixed with human ingenuity. Plenty of places in the world like that.
The inside, on the other hand, was magical in the literal sense. The living portraits, smokeless torches, shuffling suits of armor, freaking moving staircases.
Everything inside the castle was seeped in so much magic I was more surprised the building hadn't grown a conscious than if it had.
'It hadn't, right? Those moving staircases were a little bit too fast in getting us precisely where we needed to go, considering how Severus hadn't stopped or turned around once, but that must have just been a coincidence.'
It didn't take long for us to arrive. It was an elaborate door without a doorknob or keyhole, just a bronze knocker.
Snape gave one knock with the knocker and said, "The Head of House Slytherin requires entrance," and the door swung open.
"Go in and wait for her in the common room," he said, indicating the entrance before turning to walk away.
"Thanks, Sev," I smiled as he stopped, slightly inclined his head, and kept walking.
The common room was a wide, circular room with arched windows hung with blue and bronze silks and a midnight blue carpet covered in stars, which was reflected onto the domed ceiling. There was an eagle statue mounted on the wall and two sets of stairs on the left and right. The two staircases formed a circle, so it was obvious they led to the same place.
Quite a few boys were milling about. From the dress robes they were wearing, they were waiting for their dates to come down.
I didn't garner much attention when I got in, thanks to how anxious most of the boys here were acting; only a few even noticed me, and they were the most relaxed of the bunch. So I found myself an open stretch of wall and leaned on it, as all the seats were already full.
It took a few minutes for the girls to start descending the stairway, one or two at a time, perfectly spaced so that each of them got their time in the spotlight.
I was getting worried when the last girl came down with no sign of Luna, the other couples were starting to head out when I saw her timidly poke her head out of the door atop the stairway.
I moved into her line of sight, and her eyes instantly widened, she quickly got out of the door, and I felt the world fall away behind me.
She was radiant. From her shimmering, light periwinkle blue dress, her tiara and earrings that looked to be carved from solid crystal, and her brilliant smile that seemed to light up the world around it.
"Alex!" Her voice rang out, grabbing the attention of the slowly leaving couples.
"Luna!" I exclaimed back with a smile.
A torrent of whispering almost exploded from behind me, with words like 'Loony,' 'weirdo,' and 'skank' prominent among them.
Luna either hadn't heard it or noticed it, so I forced my smile to stay in place as I held myself back from turning those people and the rest of the castle into molten slag.
With a quick thought, I flexed my pinky finger and a soft, barely there wind enveloped her in a way that made her hair and dress flow slightly, with the added benefit of dispersing sound in her immediate area.
My mastery of the basic elemental Runes finally let me have easy-to-control wandless magic. Pity that it only applied to magic I did using the Runes as a base.
But my work was done. Luna didn't notice the whispering, and as she rushed down the stairs to meet me, the people behind me went back to getting out of the common room.
Luna jumped the last few steps of the stairway straight into my arms, and I forgot all about those people in favor of spinning her around and laughing like a lunatic.
"Did you miss me?" I asked when we calmed down.
"Do you have to ask?" She said, pulling me into a hug with all of her strength.
We stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying each other's presence. She had grown in the months since we last saw each other, and I did too. But I wondered how much more we'd have grown by the time I came back from getting my sword and worried if one aspect of it would be apart.
I put those thoughts out of my head as I gave her the corsage I made, light purple flowers with gold accents. Luna admired the arrangement while I led her out of the common room, letting her lead the rest of the way to the Great Hall while she excitedly talked about how her year had been going.
As we got close to the Great Hall, a throng of students were slowly moving inside. At the side of the door, three couples stood with a severe-looking older woman who appeared to be searching for someone in the crowd.
Luna pulled me toward the couples, where I saw Cedric with an Asian girl, Hermione with a gruff boy, and a blonde girl and brown-haired boy who couldn't stop staring at her.
She went directly to the Blonde girl, "Fleur, you look amazing!" she said, giving the girl a quick hug.
"Me? Look at you! You're glowing!" Fleur said with a smile before turning her eyes on me. "And is this the Alex we heard so much about?"
"That I am," I smiled before raising an eyebrow at Luna. "You talk about me?" I teased.
Luna's face flushed, and she looked away with a pout, muttering too low for anyone but me to hear, "Of course I do, meanie."
She glanced at me just after she finished her sentence to see my shit-eating grin. Realizing her mistake, she tried to turn around in embarrassment, but I pulled her into a hug, letting her hide her face in the crook of my neck while I turned my eyes back to Fleur, who was making a visible effort to hold her laughter.
Getting herself together, Fleur smiled at me and formally introduced herself, "I'm Fleur Delacour, pleased to meet you."
"Alexander Lupi. And the pleasure is mine," I inclined my head as much as I could with Luna still stuck to me, which wasn't much. "So, how did you two meet? Luna didn't mention anything in the last Summer break."
"Oh, I'm the Beauxbatons champion for the tournament! During the Halloween feast, my friends and I saw Luna by herself, so we sat with her." She said, giving Luna a fond look.
But my gaze sharpened at her words, and upon Fleur noticing it, I glanced at the rest of the crowd and then pointed at Luna. Fleur became serious and gave a small nod. I motioned for later, and she gave me a sharp smile in return.
It was at that point that Cedric decided to approach us, his date in tow. "Alex! How have you been?" He asked, extending his fist at me.
"Pretty great, man, how about you?" I answered, fist-bumping him.
"Became Hogwarts champion, so I can't complain," He said with a shrug and a smile. "This is Cho, my date."
"Hey, I'm Alex," I gave her a smile and a little wave, although going by the fake smile, she didn't want to be there with us.
It was at the time Luna pulled back, turning to Cedric with a bright smile, "Hi Cedric!"
"Hi, Luna!" He gave her a small wave. "You look great!"
"Thanks! Look at the corsage Alex made for me!" She extended her left arm for both couples with us to be able to see. And while Fleur instantly started gushing about it and Cedric gave me a respectful nod, Cho made a weird face at it, and Fleur's date kept staring stupidly at her.
A few moments later, the older witch cleared her throat and commanded everyone who wasn't a champion or their date to get inside.
I didn't know what the Great Hall usually looked like during the year, but that day, it looked like a Winter Realm, with a floor that looked like ice, snow in strategic places, and ice crystals reflecting the light of thousands of candles suspended midair and the moonlight shining through I knew was an enchanted ceiling.
There were several tables surrounding the room, with a large space in the middle for dancing and a small, elevated stage for the band to play.
"Luna, over here!" I heard a voice call, we turned towards it and saw Ginny sitting beside a boy with a round face, Ron, and an Indian girl.
We quickly made our way over, with me pulling Luna's seat for her after a quick round of introductions.
"Oh my God, Luna! You look amazing!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Right? If the Great Hall looks like a Winter Realm, she looks like its princess." I said with a nod.
Luna gave me a weak slap on the arm while her face flushed.
Ginny and Padma, on the other hand, were vigorously nodding in agreement.
We spent a few more minutes making small talk. Ginny, Luna, and Padma talked about their friend's dates and dresses while Neville and I got into a discussion about his newest plant.
But soon enough, everything quieted down, and the Ball officially began, with the champions and their dates being announced and entering, getting in position for the first dance of the night.
It was as the fourth and last champion was announced that I turned to the table and asked, "I thought this was the Triwizard Tournament, why are there four champions? And why is it Harry?"
"Because Harry has the worst luck," said Ginny, Neville, and Ron in unison.
Shrugging off the weirdness of their answer, I leaned back to watch as Fleur, Cedric, and Hermione had fun dancing with their partners while Harry set out to humiliate himself and what appeared to be Padma's twin sister. Worst luck indeed.
The first dance was completed, and we were finally allowed to eat.
The Hall was filled with conversation, but as the meal progressed and couples started finishing, the silence started to progressively take over as the anticipation for the main purpose of the event drew nearer.
Finally, the old wizard at the head table that had to be Dumbledore stood up, killing the last few conversations in favor of paying attention to him.
He silently looked around the Hall for a few moments, then, with a small smile, he said, "Dance!" Waving his hands at the empty dance floor, at which point music started playing.
Standing up, I extended my hand to Luna and asked, "Would my Lady care for a dance?" with a bad British accent.
"Your Lady shall accept," she said, taking my hand with a giggle.
I pulled her with me to the dance floor, and we started to dance. I didn't know what I was doing, but I was a Campione, so my reflexes and precision of movement more than compensated for it.
Quite a few songs later, a slow song arrived. I pulled Luna close, and we slowly danced across the Hall, her head resting on my chest as I guided us back to our table.
The song came at the right time. So much dancing tired her, and it was a nice opportunity to let her rest a bit.
As the song finished, I gently guided her to a chair. Upon sitting down, she gave me a thankful smile. I was about to say I was going to get us something to drink when I noticed Padma sitting in the corner, arms crossed and a pissed-off look in her eyes.
"You ok there, Padma?" I asked, drawing Luna's attention to the girl.
"What did he do?" Luna asked, quickly changing seats to be closer to her.
"He just! I don't know!" She said, motioning to the side where, a few tables away, Ron and Harry were sullenly staring at the dance floor. "After the first dance, he closed off, and he only got worse when the dance started! Harry was the same with Parvati, but at least she had Lavander set her up with another boy from Gryffindor!"
She looked on the verge of crying, and I had no idea what to do, thankfully, Luna was there, and she did.
"Alex, take Padma for a few dances, let her enjoy herself a little," she whispered to me.
With a nod, I extended my hand to Padma, "Well, Luna's tired, and you look like you need some cheering up, so wanna dance?" I asked with a smile.
After a moment to recompose herself, Padma took my hand, and I pulled her into the animated rhythm of the song playing.
It didn't take long for Padma to tire, try as she might, she just didn't have the same constitution as Luna did after her months of training. Approaching our table, we saw Fleur, Luna, and Ginny sitting together and laughing at something one of them said.
As Padma took her seat with a relieved smile, I looked at Luna with an eyebrow raised and asked, "Ready for more?" with a smile.
She shook her head, letting strands of hair that had gotten loose during our dance frame her face.
"Fleur's date never managed to gather himself enough to give her a proper dance after the beginning of the Ball…" She said, discreetly waving me in Fleur's direction with a pleading look.
I winked at her with a smile before approaching Fleur.
I gave her a slight bow, extended my hand, and said, "Would you give the pleasure of a dance, mademoiselle?"
"Oui," she said, using my hand to pull herself up and raising her head comically high so she could look down her nose at me.
With a snort at her ridiculous affectation of a self-important princess, I pulled her close to me and led her to the dance floor.
Our first two dances were great fun, but when a slow song came around, Fleur's eyes lost some of their light in favor of a melancholic look.
Noticing my eyes on hers, she turned her head to the side, her ears turning pink.
Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her closer, letting her head rest on my chest while she dealt with whatever had come over her.
It took a few moments, the song already at its end, but she finally let out a sigh and muttered, "It's unfair."
"What is?" I asked, thankful that the following song was also a slow one so we wouldn't look weird being this close together.
"You!" She said as she pulled back to stare at me. "Do you even feel the compulsion at all!?"
"What compulsion?" I confusedly asked.
"Ugh!" She groaned, pushing herself forward so we were hugging/dancing again. "I'm a quarter-Veela, so my compulsion isn't that strong, but it's still a problem."
"Ah, so it's hard for you to find someone who can see past that," I said.
I felt her nodding in my chest, "Mamá always said to snatch up a boy who could get past it as fast as possible. But I don't want to do that to Luna, she deserves how happy you make her feel," she looked up at me at that, "and I doubt I have any chance at all considering how you look at her."
She laid her head down on my chest again as we slowly danced to the song, and as the song finished, we made our way back to the table.
"Hey, Fleur!" I called out before reaching the table, "Don't give up hope yet, you'll find your prince charming."
"Thanks, Alex," she said as she gave me a big smile and a nod in response.
We barely reached the table before Ginny had already taken my hand and was pulling me back to the dance floor. I looked at Luna, my eyes begging her to save me, but it was for naught, as she was laughing herself silly at my predicament.
She pulled me without a care in the world. Before turning abruptly, getting us both in position, and leading me in dancing to the upbeat song that was playing.
"So, what was that all about?" I asked.
"I didn't want to be left out," she stated outright.
"You just came right out and said it, huh?" I said, feeling amusement bubbling up at how unapologetic she was.
"It's not like it means anything," she said with a shrug, "and how many chances will I have to dance in a formal Ball with someone who literally killed a God?"
"That's fair," I said.
"Great! Now shut up and dance!" She said, upping our pace.
It was a few songs later when I approached our table for the last time.
"The plan is simple: I'll go there, pull Luna up for a dance, and only let her go once the sun rises or she passes out, whichever comes first," I stated seriously.
"And if she takes too long, you can just grab her in a princess carry and keep going as if everything is normal," Ginny said between giggles.
I snorted at the image of Luna pouting up a storm while I danced with her in my arms on a princess carry.
"I don't think it'll come to that," I said.
"Please, you could just look at her, and she'd…" Ginny trailed off.
"She would…?" I prodded.
"Just get there and extend your hand, you don't need to say anything," she said in exasperation.
With a shrug, I let Ginny get herself a place to sit while I approached Luna with a smile and an extended hand.
Quickly finishing her drink, Luna almost jumped out of her chair, took my hand, and pulled me back onto the dance floor.
We danced some more, but as she started to get tired again, Luna pulled out of the Hall towards the front entrance of the castle, where an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights, meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Santa and his reindeer.
It was beautiful, all the more because Luna pressed to my side.
We slowly walked around the bushes, the smell of roses permeating the area, while we quietly talked with each other.
I was enjoying myself immensely when I felt it: someone had started following us.
It was Severus. I could hear him breaking up a particularly amorous couple on the other side of the lawn, so with a glance, I saw a girl, the one from the common room who called Luna a 'skank.' I felt my blood start to boil, but I forced myself to calm down. This day was for Luna, and it was going to be perfect.
So I ignored the girl while keeping my senses focused on her, always a few ways behind us.
I almost thought I was worrying for nothing when I felt a spell come from her direction. With the pretense of repositioning my arm around Luna's shoulders, I slapped the spell right back at the girl.
The repositioning had brought me face to face with Luna, both of us smiling at each other.
The approach felt natural. I leaned down as she stood on the tips of her toes to meet me halfway.
Our lips touched, and nothing else mattered.
A/N: And we have liftoff!
This chapter honestly wrote itself, and apart from some parts that I forgot to add while rushing it to release on Valentine's Day which I had to add later, I think it came out pretty good. So, what did y'all think?
Like my writing? Want to be able to read a full three chapters ahead? Then check me out on P a treon . com (slash) NickKane.