An: Here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 9 - A Troll of a Ball
Harry arrived home in a terrible mood as he hastily wiped his boots on the mat outside. The last thing he needed was a lecture from his mom about giving the house elves extra work to do. Directing horses was not his idea of a good day and he angrily trudged into the kitchen to find his mother, Charles and Anna reading.
"How was your day son?" Lilly asked him fondly as she looked up from the pages of her book.
Harry gave her a disgusted look before kissing her softly on her cheek. "Hello mother."
Lilly was about to question her son about his mood when an owl flew through the window and landed on the kitchen counter in front of her. She summoned the tray of owl treats and offered the owl with her left hand while she retrieved the letter with her right. The owl hooted appreciatively and flew off. Lilly looked at her name written on the front and instantly recognized James's untidy scrawl. She eagerly opened it but her excitement soon faded away as she read the words on the parchment.
"Mum what is it?" Harry asked concerned as he watched his mother closely.
"There's a troll loose in the forest." Lilly said as she handed the letter to Harry.
He quickly scanned it, "That's quite a ways from here. Dad will probably get to it before it'll even reach here. Just in case we should probably all stay inside."
"You don't understand Harry. Hermione was just here. She left about three minutes before you arrived. She cut through the forest to get home!" Lilly said hysterically.
Harry's Auror instincts kicked into full gear. "Stay here. I'll go find her and get her home safely. She's probably already there." Harry said hopefully.
"Harry you shouldn't, I'll owl your father and let him know." Lilly replied as she looked around for a spare piece of parchment and quill.
"I'll be fine mother." Harry reassured her as he headed for the door and gave her a quick glance to assure her that everything would be fine.
"Be careful." Lilly pleaded with her son.
Harry exited through the back door and cursed under his breadth and as he saw the last rays of the sun duck behind the eastern ridge that marked the borders of Hogwarts. The sunset today was beautiful as the sun light up the clouds in the sky with marvellous shades of red. Unfortunately that meant that a storm was rolling in from the south and that wasn't a good sign. Those storms usually struck quickly and lasted all night. He knew he didn't want to get caught in it but if it did start he would probably end up staying the night at the Grangers.
He made a bee line for Firebolt, summoning his saddle and rein on the way out to her. He used magic to quickly harness the saddle on to her and mounted her before the last strap was in. He took her into a quick sprint to the forest's edge where Harry slowed her down a bit. It was dark, eerie and dead quiet except for Firebolt's quick breathing and hooves hitting the ground. The hairs at the back of Harry's neck stood on edge and coldness passed through him.
He decided to head along the route he was sure Hermione would have taken and he wondered why she couldn't go around the forest like the rest of Hogwarts. He guided her in the direction and soon after she came to an abrupt stop causing Harry to topple forward and fall off hitting the ground with a loud thud on his right side.
Harry groaned as pain shot through his right side but he knew he had to get up. Firebolt was still spooked and he tried to calm her with soothing words from the ground. There was a loud crash from somewhere off in the distance and Firebolt instantly started to trot backwards away from the noise and Harry.
Harry ignored the pain in his right side and dragged himself to a standing position.
"Steady girl," Harry said as he carefully approached his horse. There was another loud crash and she moved further away from him. Harry briefly registered that the crash was a lot closer but he really needed to get to Firebolt as his wand was in a special pouch at the side of her saddle.
As the sound grew closer, he could tell that in between the loud crashes, there was the sound of breaking trees and heavy footsteps. Harry ignored the panic that was building in him as he realised that the troll was indeed closer than he had anticipated and if his instincts were right, it was heading straight for him.
Another loud crash and Firebolt retreated completely out of sight from Harry causing him to curse his horse loudly before he realised that he just attracted unwanted attention towards him.
The bushes rustled softly in front of him and a small object burst through the bushes and ran straight into his injured side knocking him to the floor again. Harry experienced more pain than he had ever before and he groaned loudly. He doubted he would be able to get up this time as he was fighting to remain conscious.
"We need to keep running," a terrified voice screamed. Harry glanced over at the other person who was quickly getting to their feet and even though it was dark and he felt light headed he managed to recognize Hermione.
She moved over to him and he felt her small soft hands on his as she used her weight as leverage to drag him to his feet. As she pulled him up her brown eyes locked on his emerald ones and she instantly realised that it was Harry Potter that she had run into.
The Troll's club came into contact with the ground two feet from where they stood shaking her out of her thoughts. She gripped his hand even tighter and pulled him forward with her. Hermione realised that Harry was having difficulty running and she wondered if she had injured him when she ran into him earlier. She drew her wand and cast a feather light spell on him as she threw his arm over her shoulder and began to pull him along with her as she ran.
A slight patter of rain started to drop and it soon turned into a heavy downpour. The soil soon turned to mud and Hermione was having a hard time making her way through it. She was just barely ahead of the troll and she had no idea where they were. The addition of the heavy rain made it very difficult to see where she was going and she was sure Harry now had a broken nose as well because she stupidly ran him face first into the trunk of a very large tree. He wasn't too happy with that and didn't hesitate to let her know.
Hermione could feel her pounding heart against her ribcage as she tried to negotiate her way through the forest. She had originally been trying to get back to Godric's Hollow but she knew she was off track now as she was running up a hill. She barely registered running through some type of ornate gate at the top of the hill before she heard it shut behind her.
"Was that a gate?" a confused Hermione muttered as she stopped to catch a quick breath.
There was no response from Harry and Hermione realised that he was unconscious and she gently laid him on the muddy ground. She drew her wand and performed a diagnostic spell that she had learned from one of the healing books she had read earlier. She discovered that Harry had broken a rib that had pierced his skin.
Panic started to flood her mind as she could hear the troll banging against the gate. She reached into her cloak and withdrew "Antimony of the wizard" and quickly scanned it for information on healing injuries to the ribcage. There were several complex spells but she knew she had to make an effort. She picked the first spell reasoning that the least complicated spell is always taught first. She read through the wand movement and the correct pronunciation but she was having a terrible time concentrating with the troll banging away. She knew the gate wouldn't hold the troll but she had to heal Harry.
Her first few attempts were unsuccessful and she was getting extremely frustrated. She knew that as more time passed the situation was going to get worse but healing Harry was a priority. She glanced back at the book and tried to figure out what she was doing wrong. She was fairly certain she had the pronunciation correct so she reviewed the wand movement carefully.
She took a deep breath and attempted to tune out the loud noises made by the troll's heavy club against the Iron Gate that stood between her and the extremely angry troll. She knew concentration was the key to the success of the spell and she focused her full attention on Harry's wound. At that moment the only person that existed was the raven head wizard and she could feel the magic building in her as she started the spell. She directed her magic towards his wound and when she finished the spell the area glowed a soft blue and she watched amazed as Harry's bone retreated and the skin mended itself. She prayed that this was enough. The thought of Harry dieing because of her was terribly painful and she would hate to have ruined her newly found relationship with her Godmother.
Tears blended with rain drops on her face as she leaned over Harry. He was still unconscious and she repositioned herself so that his head was cradled in her lap. She had done everything she could think of but he was still unconscious. There was a loud noise and the gate came crashing to the ground in a tangled mess. The troll wasted no time in charging through and looking for its quarry. Hermione pulled Harry closer to her and attempted to shield him from the troll as she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
There was a bright white light that Hermione could see even with her eyelids closed followed by a loud blood curdling cry from the troll. Her eyes shot open when the light faded and she looked in the direction the troll was in to find it empty.
"Hermione…" a weak voice said below her.
"Hmmm…?" Hermione answered as she watched the space in front of her.
"Let go please." Harry said as her firm grip was not helping the pain in his body.
Hermione immediately let go and placed some distance between them as she became conscious of how close they were to each other.
"Sorry," She muttered as she shivered slightly as she stood to take a look around.
"Where is it?" Harry asked as he too noticed that he felt significantly colder now that Hermione had moved away from him.
"I don't know." She admitted as she looked around the pitch black scene in front of her. "I wish the moon were out."
"It wouldn't help; this rain would prevent the light from coming through." Harry said switching to his Auror tone as he tried to sit up causing Hermione to immediately return to his side.
"I think we're out of the forest. The wind is too strong for us to be in the forest still." Hermione said logically as she helped him stand.
"You are correct Mistress." A high pitched voice said behind them causing Hermione to scream while Harry quickly turned around and placed her behind him.
He reached into his robes for his wand only to be reminded that it was still with Firebolt. He realised then that he hadn't seen his horse and he hoped that she was ok.
"I mean you no harm Master." The voice said.
Harry squinted into the darkness but couldn't see anyone. His ribs felt very sore but he felt well enough to move and he reached behind him and made sure that he had Hermione's hand firmly in his. If they needed to run, she'd definitely be coming along with him.
"Who's there?" He called out. His mind was clearer now and he no longer felt tired and weak.
"Master, please follow me into the manor." The voice asked politely.
Harry was mystified. He didn't understand why the voice kept calling him master or what possible manor it could be referring to.
"It's a house elf." Hermione whispered softly from behind him. Her warm breathe on his neck caused a tingling sensation to run through his body.
"House elf?" Harry questioned ignoring his body's response to her.
Hermione moved around him without breaking their handhold and stooped till she came eye level with the small house elf. All she could see were its bright blue eyes shining back at her. She tugged at Harry's hand and he looked down as stooping would have been a bit painful for him.
"Oh," he said as he too stared into the house elf's eyes.
The house elf held on to each of them and suddenly they were inside a large room lined with many book shelves and a roaring fire. Without thinking Hermione broke free of Harry and instantly moved towards the fire holding out her hands to warm them.
"Pardon me, Mistress but we have retrieved dry robes for you." the elf said presenting her with dry robes.
Hermione looked down at the elf with a confused look, "Where are we?"
A huge smile lit up the elf's face, "You are home Mistress!"
Hermione crinkled her brow, "This can't be my home. We don't own any house elves!" she cried offended.
"But it is Mistress," the house elf countered holding out the red robes to her.
A shiver passed through her and she reluctantly took the robes as she wanted to avoid getting sick. Harry's stomach grumbled loudly reminding Hermione and the elf of his presence.
"My lord, forgive my ignorance." The elf said bowing low to Harry.
He looked puzzled at Hermione and scratched the back of his head.
"Do you have any robes that I could use as well?" Harry asked the tiny creature.
"Of course my lord, follow me." The elf said.
Harry gave a concerned look at Hermione. "I think it's best if I stay here."
"But my lord, you can't change in front of Mrs. Potter until you are married." The elf replied.
"Mrs. Potter," Hermione spluttered.
"Please mistress, you must change out of those clothes." The house elf emphasized.
Hermione looked helplessly at Harry who just shrugged at her as the house elf continued to plead with her.
"Ok," She relented. "But Harry stays with me. I can conjure a screen in between us."
The house elf considered the suggestion for a moment before accepting and the screen appeared between herself and Harry. Hermione asked the house elf if she could change by herself and the disappointed house elf left. She eagerly ripped off her wet clothes and changed into the new robes. She wondered if Harry was ok and if he needed help with his clothes. She contemplated asking him if he wanted help but thought it wouldn't be a good idea.
Harry, with much difficulty, managed to undress himself. His right side was deep blue with a purple tinge around the edges. He wondered if Hermione was ok on her side. He didn't know if she was injured and it worried him that he didn't know what had happened. He was supposed to be an Auror but right when someone needed him the most, he passed out. He had failed Hermione. If his father ever found out it would bring shame to the Potter name. If Edward Granger ever found out, Harry would be a dead man but who was he fooling, it was late and Mr. Granger must have noticed that his only child wasn't home yet. He was a dead man.
"Are you finished?" Hermione called out anxiously.
"Yes, you?" Harry asked as the screen between them disappeared and he was left staring at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
"Yes," Hermione said smiling softly at him. He looked very handsome in his matching red robes. She noticed that there was a gold emblem of a lion over his heart and she moved closer to examine it.
"Gryffindor," Hermione said as she traced her finger over the emblem on Harry's robe.
"Mmm," Harry mumbled as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensations she was causing in him.
"Sorry," Hermione said pulling her hand away instantly once she realised what it was she was doing.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them and Hermione looked at the books in the room. She knew Harry was watching her intently and she tried to ignore him. He caught sight of himself in a mirror and asked about his nose. Guilt flooded Hermione as she remembered what she had carelessly done in her panic to get away from the troll.
She drew her wand and walked over to Harry. She carefully ran her hand along his nose before using her wand to examine the broken cartilage. His eyes fluttered close at her touch and she felt a bit more comfortable now that his green eyes weren't fixed on her. She carefully healed the damage she had caused. Once she was finished, his eyes landed on her again and his hand reached up to hold her hand which was still hovering over his face. Her heart started pounding in her chest.
"Thank You." He told her sincerely.
Hermione's mouth had gone dry and all she found she could do was smile at him. She was saved from her predicament as the house elf re-entered the room.
"Dinner is served!" The house elf cried as he reappeared at the door with a tray of food. The elf placed the food at a small table for two and eagerly invited them to sit.
"My favourite!" Harry declared as he eagerly sat down and started to eat.
Hermione eyed the food sceptically.
"You didn't have to cook for us?" She said. She hated people slaving away for her.
"It was our pleasure, Mistress." The elf replied.
"Please stop calling me that. I am not your mistress." The brunette said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared defiantly at the little creature.
Tears stated to well up in the little elf's eyes and he began to hit his head against a book shelf causing the books to topple onto the poor creature.
"No stop it!" She cried as she tried to pull the creature away from the bookshelf.
"I disappointed you!" The elf cried.
"No, no you didn't." Hermione said to the elf. She threw a frustrated glance over at Harry, who was watching the scene with amusement as he ate. "You could help?"
"You have no experience with house elves do you?" Harry asked with a lopsided smile.
"I don't approve of slave labour." She replied back icily.
Harry looked firmly at the elf, "that would be all now."
The elf bowed low and disappeared.
"You just encouraged him in this delusion!" Hermione said throwing her hands up in the air.
"It was either that or let him keep banging his head against the bookshelf." Harry pointed out.
Hermione sat down in the chair opposite Harry defeated.
"You could eat something." he said as his emerald eyes bored into hers.
Hermione eyed the food and decided to give it a try. Halfway through the meal Harry decided to broach the topic of what happened after she ran into him. She apologized profusely for hurting him and explained that she had used a spell she had found in a book his mother had lent her to heal him.
Harry nodded absently as he really wasn't interested in the intricacies of the spell that she had used on him. His eyes were beginning to feel heavy and he found it extremely difficult to keep them open and focused on her. She seemed to be tired as well, as a few well placed yawns made their way into her explanation of the spell. Harry felt a yawn coming on to and he slowly rearranged himself to a more comfortable position on the chair. Soon his eyes were closed and he was lulled into a pleasant dream.
"They're asleep." The eldest house elf said as he came into the room.
"Did we have to put the sleeping draught in their food?" The younger elf with the bright blue eyes asked.
"It was necessary. It isn't time yet and you told them too much." He reprimanded the younger elf who bowed his head in shame.
"Move them to a safe place. They will be looking for them." He said as he eyed his new masters.
The younger elf nodded and soon the elf and his new masters disappeared. The older elf stared at the spot where they had been earlier. For years they had prepared for this but now that the moment was finally upon them, he no longer had the answers and only hoped that they had been right to protect them at this early stage.
-*-
James and William arrived home to find Lilly pacing the floor while Charles and Ana looked on worriedly.
"Is Harry with you?" She immediately blurted out.
"No," James answered confused.
Lilly burst into a fit of tears as she continued to angrily pace.
"Lilly calm down," James said as he moved over to his wife to comfort her.
"You don't understand." She said breaking free of his grasp.
James looked at his wife dumbfounded.
"The Troll, the storm, Firebolt," Lilly said.
"The Troll was found about half an hour ago in Hufflepuff, the storm stopped two hours ago and Firebolt is safe in the stables." James explained. "You don't have to worry. We are safe." He reiterated.
"Harry left to find Hermione four hours ago with Firebolt. He's not back yet." Lilly explained.
"Harry, Hermione, what?" James said not understanding his wife.
"Hermione was here this afternoon. She left to go home through the forest and shortly afterwards I got the owl from you. Harry left to go search for and he's not back yet and Firebolt would never leave Harry unless something bad has happened." She continued hysterically as she madly paced the floor.
"Maybe he's at the Grangers." William offered trying to comfort his mother.
"He isn't at Granger estate either for Edward owled two hours ago looking for his daughter." Lilly explained in a rush.
James frowned at the news but before he could respond there was a loud knocking at his front door.
"I'll get that." James said.
Liilly nodded and watched her husband walk away.
"Are you alright William?" She said as she appeared to notice her second son for the first time that night.
"I'm fine." He replied.
"You have a bruise on your face!" Lilly said aghast with horror.
"Father let the first year Auror's assist with the apprehension of the troll. It was a great experience." William said excitedly.
Lilly glared at her son. She already feared for the safety of Harry she didn't need to be told that she could have also lost her second son as well. She waved her wand over his face the bruise slowly disappeared.
"He'll be alright mum." Ana said repeating the line that she had already said hundred times that night.
"Harry's almost graduated mum. He can handle anything." William tried to reassure his mother.
"What is taking your father so long?" Lilly asked impatiently.
Suddenly an angry Edward Granger burst through the door followed by her husband and a young man she was not familiar with.
"This is your entire fault Lilly!" He screamed angrily.
"Edward, do not shout at my wife!" James told him angrily.
"Why did you encourage her to visit you. If she never came here we wouldn't be in this predicament." Edward said.
"I understand how you feel Edward." Lilly started to reply.
"You couldn't possibly understand how I feel. Your daughter is sitting here safe and sound." He replied harshly.
"My son is out there as well!" Lilly replied angrily.
"You have two more boys, Hermione is my only child." He replied selfishly.
"It doesn't matter how many children I have. I'm still as worried as if Harry were my only child." Lilly replied affronted that Edward would imply that she needn't worry because she had two more sons.
"Calm down!" William said. "Let's form a search party and look for them."
"I already searched the common trails between here and Granger Estate." Edward stated.
"Then we'll have to search the uncommon ones." William informed him.
"It might actually be better if we wait until its light." James suggested much to the chagrin of his wife and Edward.
"No James, I've sat here for hours waiting. I can't wait anymore. Charles look after your sister. William come with me. James you go with Edward." Lilly stated firmly.
James would have argued with his wife but the fire in her eyes told him that he would get no where and he reluctantly followed her instructions and soon he was back out in the forest in the dead of night looking for his Goddaughter and eldest son.
-*-
Quirrel withered in pain on the hard cold marble floor in the middle of a large circle of hooded figures.
"You've failed me yet again." A hissing voice said to him.
"Master, it was a mistake." Quirrell pleaded as soon as the curse had been lifted.
"Petigrew!" the shrill voice called as he patted the head of his pet snake.
"Yess masstterr," Peter said.
"Have the Aurors intercepted the Troll?" He asked him coldly.
"Yesss Sssirr," Peter stuttered in fear of what his master might do to him. He was known for punishing the bearers of bad news.
"Crucio!" he yelled causing Peter to flinch but he was relieved when Quirrel's screams pierced the room again.
"I want you to watch this carefully," he said to his servants who had gathered, "failure is not acceptable!"
His pet snake twirled excitedly around his legs sensing that it would be meal time soon.
"Not today my dear Nagini." He hissed in parsletongue to her and she retreated disappointedly behind his throne.
"Bellatrix, fix this fools mistake!" He ordered before he dismissed his servants. They wasted no time in leaving for they knew that would be the last time that they would all see Quirrell.
Once his servants had departed he commanded the great door in his chamber to open and he invited his other pet to dine on his latest disappointment.
Quirrell was grateful when his master lifted the Crucio but the last thing he saw before he could beg his master for forgiveness was a pair of yellow eyes.
-*-
Harry was on a hilltop looking out over all of Gryffindor grounds when his heavily pregnant wife emerged from the manor chasing after their three year old son. Harry frowned.
"Haven't I told you to behave yourself for your mother?" He scolded gently as he reached down and scooped up his son.
His son giggled and threw a cup of cold water on him.
Harry's eye's shot open and he was greeted with the sight of his dishevelled brother, all memories of his dream vanishing instantly.
"You look like hell," He commented as he sat up to stretch his muscles.
"You don't look so great yourself," William replied.
"Oh Harry," Lilly said as she threw her arms around him.
"Ow," Harry said as his mother put too much pressure on his right side.
"What's wrong?" Lilly asked concerned.
"My ribs, Hermione fixed, HERMIONE!" Harry screamed finally remembering the events of the previous night.
"Right here, thanks for remembering." She responded from her spot right next to him.
"What happened?" Lilly asked.
Hermione explained to Lilly about Harry's rib and she instantly pulled up Harry's shirt to examine his chest.
"It's healed but I'll need to do some further spell work to ensure that the bone is knitted properly. It should be sore for a few days." Lilly said as she completed a thorough examination of her son.
"What about the bruising?" Hermione asked observing the large black and blue mark on his side.
"It's best to let it heal on its own." Lilly explained to her.
"Firebolt?" Harry asked suddenly as he remembered his horse.
"She's home." William informed him.
"You're lucky, Comet didn't make it." Hermione said sadly.
"What happened?" asked William.
"The Troll," Hermione responded as she angrily brushed a few stray tears away from her face.
William gently bent down and pulled her into a comforting hug. "It's ok to cry." He said to her.
Harry felt oddly angry at this brother for comforting his new friend.
"Let's get on our way. Your father is quite anxious to be reunited with you Hermione." Lilly told her gently.
"Is he angry?" Hermione asked with her head downcast.
"Angry doesn't even begin to describe it!" William said and Lilly glared at her son for making Hermione feel worse.
"Let's head home. I'm sure this can all be sorted out over a cup of tea." The Potter Matriarch said as she offered a hand to her son who gladly accepted it.
They were soon on their way back to Godric's Hollow.
-*-
The rest of the week had passed without incident and Harry found himself outside Ravenclaw Manor waiting for Cho. Mr. Chang had been very cold towards him but Mrs. Chang was very happy to see him. She couldn't stop commenting how handsome he looked and what a great couple he and Cho would make. She also couldn't stop talking about how lovely weddings in Spring were and Harry would have had to be very daft not to understand what she was getting at.
He was spared further torment when Cho made her grand entrance down the staircase. She was flanked on either side by her younger sisters who were also attending the ball. If would be the first ball for Rui and the girl looked very nervous. All three girls had chosen to wear white gowns but Cho's had that extra bit of sparkle to it that told Harry that Mrs. Chang had spent more money on her eldest daughter.
Cho let go of Wei's hand but had to pry Rui's hand off of hers before she could greet Harry.
"You look beautiful." He told her before bowing politely to her.
She responded with the customary curtsy, "As do you,"
"We need to leave now or we will be late." Mr. Chang said harshly.
Harry nodded and he escorted Cho to the carriage. The ride had been awfully quiet and Harry counted away the minutes before he could get away from the angry glares of Mr. Chang. Rui was fidgeting nervously with the hem of her dress and Wei kept pulling Rui's hand away.
Finally, Harry felt the carriage begin to slow down and the lights of Hufflepuff Manor appeared around the bend.
"We're here." Harry said relieved that he could finally take leave of his present company.
"Oh no," Rui said as all colour drained from her exotic face.
Cho rolled her eyes at her sister and grabbed Harry's hand to exit the carriage with him.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Cho asked as she exited the carriage.
The entrance to Hufflepuff Manor was lined with floating candles and sparkling beads dangling in mid air. Harry agreed with her but his mind touched briefly on Hermione and he wondered what she might think of it. He knew she wouldn't be coming to the ball. Her father had made that quite clear, when he stated she wasn't to leave Granger Estate for the rest of her life. He knew his mother was currently trying to smooth things over with him.
Cho was soon leading him up the stairs and soon they were at the entrance. Their names were announced and Harry found himself, much to his annoyance, surrounded by Cho's gossiping friends.
On the other side of the room Draco poured himself another drink. He had yet to see any of the Weasleys arrive and he figured they would be late as usual. Being a Malfoy, he had to be punctual and they arrived there fifteen minutes early. The whole carriage ride there, Pansy complained about his yellow dress robes because the female Slytherin had worn light green to represent Slytherin and she thought when they stood together they looked like an Avocado. Draco couldn't help but admit she had a point there but he didn't care. He matched the witch he wanted to.
Ron was outside with his brothers, Ginny and Luna. The last girl that he had escorted to a ball was Lavender Brown and it had been an awful experience. The witch had never let go of him and now he was afraid that if he held Luna's hand to escort her into the ball, he would be stuck all night. He had to admit that he liked Luna's robes though. They were the most beautiful he had ever seen and they matched his splendidly unlike poor Ginny. Oliver wore a shade of red that clashed badly with her pastel yellow.
"We're late, dinner's about to be served." Molly said as she tried to encourage her charges to head into the ball.
Ron reluctantly held on to Luna's hand and headed inside.
Draco immediately straightened as he heard Ginny's name. She looked even more radiant than she did in the store. He politely excused himself from his parent's presence and subtly tried to pry Pansy off of him. Once that was done, he circled round the large room to get closer to Ginny. Just one dance, that was all he wanted but he needed a way to get rid of Oliver. He saw Ginny's twin brother's handing out chocolate frogs and he remembered the one Hermione had given him and what had happened to him.
"Weasley's," Draco greeted.
"Malfoy!" both chorused.
"Interested in a frog?" They both asked.
"As a matter of fact I am." He replied slyly.
The twins's face lit up and Draco eagerly took it. He used his wand to melt the frog and stored it in a vile he had transfigured from the glass he had in his hand. He sat down to eat next to Pansy and saw Oliver sit proudly next to Ginny. He was happy to see that Luna seemed to be enjoying herself. He made a mental note to try and keep his date away from her as he knew Pansy wouldn't have anything good to say to Luna.
Half way through the meal he excused himself to use the bathroom. As he walked the length of the table he used a trick Luna had thought him to distract the persons on the table. Oliver looked up at the turkey that had mysteriously flown into the air and started dancing. Draco knew he needed to time this perfectly. As he passed Oliver's plate he summoned the turkey towards him. As he faked avoiding the turkey he moved forward over Oliver's plate and emptied the contents of his vile into Oliver's food while everyone was concerned with the mad turkey.
Cedric Diggory, son of the owner of Hufflepuff Manor, angrily summoned the house elves right as the turkey suddenly became an edible dish again. Draco smirked, in three minutes Oliver would be feeling the effects of the chocolate. He only hoped that Oliver was as daft as he thought he was and wouldn't question the miraculous appearance of chocolate on his plate.
As Draco emerged from the bathroom he passed Oliver on the way there and he couldn't help but smirk more at his brilliance. He sat down next to Pansy again and was quite surprised to see that Ginny seemed happy that Oliver was absent from the table. As time passed and Oliver didn't return Ginny expressed no interest in his disappearance and it was only when Angelina Johnson pointed out his absence did Ginny appear to be concerned.
He watched as one of her brothers went to the bathroom and returned with the message that Oliver was sick and needed to retire for the night. Ginny seemed even happier at this news and Draco knew he would be getting his dance that night.
At the other end of the table, Peter Petigrew downed his third glass of fire whiskey. His master wasn't going to be happy for he had foolishly promised him her name before the end of the night. He had studied each girl at the table. There were a few options but none were the girl that he was looking for. He would have to re-examine each girl once the dance floor was open.
Once dinner was finished and the dance floor opened, Draco had the customary dance with Pansy then tried to head across to Ginny but was cut off by Harry.
"Have you seen her?" Harry asked. He had left Cho at a table with her friends to get drinks for them.
"Yes," Draco replied knowing exactly who he was referring to. "I had to climb up to her window to check on her."
"How is she?" Harry asked worriedly.
"How do you expect?" Draco spat at him.
"It's not my fault." Harry replied.
"She hasn't left her room for the week." Draco told him.
"Her father?" Harry questioned.
"No, even he is worried about her. She's taking Comet's death really hard." Draco elaborated.
"Oh," Harry said.
"When do you go to see her?" Harry asked.
"At nights, while her father is sleeping." Draco revealed.
"Can I come?" Harry asked.
"Meet me just after the moon sets in front of Slytherin Manor." Draco told him.
Harry nodded and continued with his drinks towards Cho.
"What took you so long?" She asked.
"Ran into Malfoy," Harry answered honestly and Cho scrunched her face in disgust.
"Look," Wei said pointing to Malfoy and Ginny on the dance floor.
"Poor girl, don't know how any witch could stomach him." Cho said superiorly.
"It's strange though. Their colours are matching. I could swear the Weasley girl came with Oliver Wood." Wei commented.
Harry absently nodded as he quietly scanned the floor for Ginny's brothers. He gave Malfoy one minute before he would be interrupted.
Ron was seated at a table with Luna.
"Do you want to dance?" She asked him.
"I'm not a very good dancer." He told her.
"We could take it easy. If baby grymes could learn to fly then you could learn to dance." Luna said confidently.
Ron hesitantly looked over at the dance floor and noticed that his sister was with someone. As they twirled on the dance floor he realised that that someone was Malfoy. He abruptly stood and Luna stood with a smile.
"Wait here," he told her.
"Aren't we dancing?" She asked confused.
"No," he told her coldly and the smile slid off her face.
He pushed passed her and headed out on to the dance floor.
Draco had been pleasantly surprised to discover that Ginny was a great dancer.
"I'm sorry about Oliver," he told her.
"Are you really?" she asked him.
"No," the blonde Slytherin replied honestly.
"I thought so." She responded.
"You don't seem that upset either." He said to her.
"I can't help it if something in his food didn't agree with him." Ginny commented and Draco wondered if she saw what he did but then a thought occurred to him.
"You didn't put anything in his food?" He asked causing Ginny to blush.
"One of my brother's puking pastels might have ended up in his food." His dance partner admitted innocently.
"It just ended up there?" Draco asked with a sly smile.
"I have no control over where my brother's leave their products." Ginny stated in a light tone.
"That was very Slytherin of you!" Draco pointed out with a cocky smile. He knew there was a reason he was attracted to her.
Ginny batted her eyes at him and feigned innocence but her look changed quickly as she saw Ron storming towards them.
"Ron!" Ginny said moving in front of Draco.
"What are you doing with her!" Ron hissed.
"It's called dancing Weasley. Maybe you should try it someday!" Draco retorted.
"Ron, its fine." Ginny said as she kept herself fixed between her brother and her dance partner.
"It is not fine. I don't want you anywhere near him." Ron said raising his voice.
"You can't tell me what to do!" Ginny screamed at him causing everyone's attention to focus on her.
"What's going on here?" Lucius Malfoy asked as he made his way towards them.
"Your son can't seem to keep his hands to himself." Ron told him rudely.
"I can assure you that my son would have nothing to do with this filth." He said superiorly as he looked down his nose at Ginny.
"Father," Draco tried to interrupt.
"I think its best we leave now. The air seems to have turned bad." Lucius said as he grabbed his son and yanked him across the room.
Ginny looked scandalized at Mr. Malfoy and she stormed off the dance floor with Ron following behind her.
Harry watched the disaster happen and could only listen as Cho and her friends gossiped about the incident. Shortly after that Mr. Chang indicated that it was time to leave and Harry escorted Cho back home. He retrieved his horse from the Ravenclaw stables and glanced at the moon which was hovering over the horizon. It was time to meet Draco.
-*-
Lucius Malfoy had been summoned late to his master's room. He knew he hadn't upset him and he could only be summoned for the moment that he had dreaded for years. It was time and he knew his wife would be terribly upset with him.
"Lucius," his master's voice greeted him.
"My lord," Lucius replied bowing low.
"It is time for young Draco to join our ranks." He told his loyal servant.
"My lord, he's still too young." The eldest Malfoy dared to reply.
"Do not try my patience Lucius. He will be an Auror in two weeks. He'll be in the perfect position to implement the plan. The night he graduates you will bring him to me."
"Yes my lord." Lucius said as his eyes flicked to the snake that eyed him hungrily before he looked back at his master. He briefly wondered if the snake was ever full.
"Nagini's appetite is not your concern, you'd be better off making sure your son doesn't disappoint me." He told him
He cursed himself for forgetting his master's talents when it came to mind reading. Nothing could be hidden from him.
"My son will be honoured to serve you as I have." Lucius remarked.
His master inclined his head towards the door and Lucius wasted no time in departing, his only thought was how to break the horrible news to his wife.
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