Black and Potter | H. Potter

33 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆ the yule ball.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

| THE YULE BALL |
song: je te laisserai des mots by patrick watson.

Open the comments to see the dress!

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

ARA HAD ACCEPTED THE FACT THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO ENDURE migraines pretty much daily, though that didn't mean she'd let it stop her from enjoying herself. Despite the heavy load of homework that the teachers had assigned, Ara was in no mood to dedicate a minute of her time working and spent the week leading up to Christmas relaxing and having fun along with her friends.

Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feathers all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the centre.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savoury puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron skulking behind Ara and Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh there's a tragedy," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall after giving Ara a finger wave. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Will you drop it, Hermione?" said Ara with a tired sigh after she'd returned Fleur's gesture with a smile and giving her friend a pointed look. "She isn't doing anything to you, is she?"

Hermione huffed.

"Hermione—who are you two going to the ball with?" said Ron, he'd soon realised his sister was going with Elizabeth, but he was still pushy about Hermione's date.

He kept springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, "I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."

"You're joking, Weasley!" said Malfoy, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"

Ara, Harry, and Ron all whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy's shoulder, "Hello, Professor Moody!"

Malfoy went pale and jumped backwards, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" said Hermione scathingly, and she, Ara, Harry, and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

"Hermione," said Ron, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, "your teeth . . ."

"What about them?" she said.

"Well, they're different . . . I've just noticed. . . ."

"Of course they are — did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?"