Natsu Dragneel and the Goblet of Fire

The Yule Ball

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays Natsu was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else.

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. Erza and Mira had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather 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 center, and Erza confided to Natsu that she and Mira were now working on developing something else. Natsu made a mental note never to accept so much as a crisp from Erza and Mira in future. He still hadn't forgotten Zeref and the Ton-Tongue Toffee.

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 Gildarts' 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 savory puddings, and only Mary Hughes 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 (Gray skulking behind Natsu, keen not to be spotted by Mary). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh there's a tragedy," Juvia snapped as Mary went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Juvia - who are you going to the ball with?" said Gray.

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

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

Natsu, Gray, and Lucy whipped around, but Juvia said loudly, waving to somebody over Minerva's shoulder, "Hello, Professor Bull!"

Minerva went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Bull, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Minerva?" said Juvia scathingly, and she, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

"Lucy," said Gray, 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 Minerva gave me?"

"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you... They're all... straight and - and normal-sized."

Lucy suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Natsu noticed it too: It was a very different smile from the one he remembered.

"Well... when I went up to Madam Porlyusica to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were," she said. "And I just... let her carry on a bit." She smiled even more widely.

"Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade Mr. and Mrs. McGarden to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces. You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should - look! Pigwidgeon's back!"