Winter Ball
edited on : 26/8/2021 (Thursday)
words : 2269
A/N : Above is your dress for the Winter Ball. Of course, if you don't like it, you may use your imagination to create the dress you want. Personally, I like the color red. ᕙ('▿')ᕗ
This will be a long chapter with a lot of scenes, prepare your mind. Sit back and enjoy!
Warning : This chapter includes death.
★★★★★
𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, f𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺,
I 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘕.𝘌.𝘞.𝘛 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥; 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥!
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴: 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘏𝘰𝘨𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭! 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰!𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘨𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘸𝘯! 𝘚𝘰, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘔𝘰ther.
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰f𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳, 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵.
𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘹 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.
𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬!
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺,
𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘵
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳
★★★★★
Ariana put down her quill and folded the letter carefully and neatly, kissing it once more, "Send this to my parents. I'll give you a treat if they write back to me. Take care, Gylfie."
The white Snowy Owl purred softly as his owner stroked his head. He then took the letter in his mouth and flew away, leaving the girl alone in the Owlery.
Ariana's parents gave her Gylfie as a gift. He'd been with her for the past six years. They created an unbreakable bond that no one can break. Ariana felt guilty for not paying attention to Gylfie for a few months now since she had been so preoccupied with preparing for the upcoming N.E.W.T next year.
Ariana hummed to herself as she put away her quill, and pondered why Severus had changed within just a few months.
Severus seemed different after the Amortentia lesson which was months ago. He even pretended Ariana wasn't in his class sometimes.
He would only offer her a nod if she answered his question correctly. Nothing else.
She didn't mind what she smelled during the Amortentia lesson, since she obviously loved Severus. Plus, she did smell Severus's scent in those potions. New parchment, Quidditch field, leather, and even soft scent that she couldn't describe. There's no need to hide the truth.
Ariana, of course, continued to act normally. She was still the same Ariana Hart, who was loud and lively everywhere she went. Ariana didn't let what happened with Severus bother her.
But deep inside, she was hurting. She was putting on a brave front to hide her feelings.
Without her realizing it, she was similar to Severus Snape.
★★★★★
Ariana decided to leave the Owlery and go to the Slytherin common room as she rubbed her arms up and down, cold. The cold breeze certainly didn't help. She saw McGonagall coming down the corridor, apparently on her way to the Great Hall.
"Professor McGonagall!" Ariana called her out, running a little to catch up.
"Yes, Miss Hart?" the older woman asked as she turned around, halted, and smiled, waiting for the girl to stand next to her.
"Is there a rule prohibiting a professor from dancing with a student at the Winter Ball?" Arian pulled her hand behind her back and looked up at the professor, her eyes filled with hope.
"No, Miss Hart. It's an event where you can have fun. Hogwarts did not prohibit students and professors from dancing together. You may do anything you want as long as it is appropriate." McGonagall explained calmly.
Ariana grinned, elated to hear the news.
"I'm assuming you want to dance with one of your professors?"
Ariana smiled and nodded, "Yes, Sev- Professor Snape! I really wanted to dance with him at least once!"
McGonagall studied her student, who was beaming with excitement. She could see Ariana was ecstatic about the upcoming Winter Ball, "Well then, good luck, Miss Hart. I'm hoping you'll join the dance lesson next week."
The girl nodded, "Yes, Professor. I'll be there with Addison!"
★★★★★
Did they not get her letter? Why didn't they reply back? Gylfie did not return either. Ariana couldn't stop worrying. It's finally the night of the Winter Ball, and she's still waiting to hear back from them. It had been two weeks.
"Ari? Why aren't you ready yet? The ball is in an hour!" Addison patted her on the head, bringing her back to reality.
(It's not mine. Credit to the designer)
Ariana glanced up to see Addison dressed elegantly in a strapless gown adorned with beautiful pearls and design. Her strapless gown emphasized her thin waist. Ariana couldn't help but wolf-whistle as she watched her friend whirl about a little, flaunting her dress. (Again, you can use your imagination or your own dress)
"Addison! You look absolutely stunning!"
"I know." Addison flipped her hair.
"That Hufflepuff guy is lucky to be taking you to the ball tonight." Ariana teasingly poked her friend in the stomach.
Addison chuckled, "His name is Noah. Now get up and get ready! I will tell Leo it will take you a while." She grabbed Ariana's crimson dress and tossed it to her.
★★★★★
"Merlin, could you just stop fidgeting? She will not ditch you. Trust her!" Addison scolded Leo as they waited for Ariana to arrive at Slytherin's common room.
Leo let out a sigh. Addison was correct. Ariana wouldn't ditch him for another guy unless she chose not to come.
"Hey, guys! I apologize for keeping you waiting. It took me a long time to get my hair done." A familiar voice greeted them, startling the pair.
Leo turned around. As he glanced at his date, his eyes widened and his mouth fell. Addison, on the other hand, was beaming like a kid who had just received a chocolate frog. She was thrilled to see her friend standing before them, looking stunning.
"Should we get going right now? We're already 20 minutes late." Leo was pulled back to reality by Ariana's voice.
"Yes. You're looking stunning tonight, Ariana. I nearly mistook you for someone else." Leo extended his arm for the girl.
She linked her arm with his, "Hey, I don't think that's a compliment."
Addison rolled her eyes before pushing the pair out of the common room.
★★★★★
Severus stood in the Great Hall's corner, watching every student who came in and out, ensuring that none of them were doing something foolish.
He couldn't help but notice that the golden trio was still nowhere to be seen. It had been a long 30 minutes and there was still no sight of them. It was almost impossible not to notice the trio. They were annoyingly loud and lively.
All of a sudden, murmurs could be heard. Severus noticed that everyone's attention was drawn to the entrance; some even stopped what they were doing as if they were seeing something amazing.
"Merlin's Beard, is that Ariana Hart and Leonard Lewis?"
"There was no point asking them to the ball. I told you they are going to the ball together! Look, Noah from Hufflepuff is going with Addison from Slytherin!" Severus scowled when he overheard the conversation.
He too, decided to have a peek. What was it about them tonight that was so remarkable tonight?
.
.
.
.
.
His eyes widened slightly, and his frown vanished for a split second before it returned.
He wouldn't admit it, but Ariana Hart looked decent tonight. He stood on the sidelines watching, as Leo bowed his head to the girl, offered her his hand, and asked her to dance which she gladly accepted.
Severus scowled and cursed under his breath as he suddenly felt his chest ache. It was the same pain he had when he found out his Lily had gone on a date with James Potter. But of course, Severus, on the other hand, would just shrug it off.
He convinced himself that he had no feelings or emotions for the girl, which is why he avoided her for the most part. But, much to his dismay, the girl did not give up and continued to bother him.
Severus then decided he needed some fresh air and exited the Great Hall. He couldn't tolerate being in a crowded room.
He was able to clear his thoughts thanks to the cold winter breeze. He walked around and found himself alone atop the Astronomy Tower, so he stood there, gazing up and studying the stars for 20 minutes...
Before he heard someone opening the door to the tower.
"Miss Hart? What exactly are you doing up here? You don't have your coat and robe to keep you warm. It's snowing, you fool!" Severus hissed at the girl's recklessness.
She giggled, a puff of faint cold air came out from her mouth, "I could ask you the same thing."
"Return back this instance. I'm not going to help you if you freeze to death here."
Ariana pursed her lips and shook her head. She approached the professor and stood next to him.
"The last time I checked, there was no rule prohibiting students and teachers from dancing together in a ball.
Severus arched his brow, "Your point?"
Ariana smiled as she turned to face him, "So... would you want to dance with me? I've been told that I'm a great dancer. Fear not, Severus."
Severus frowned, "I believe you already have a date tonight, Miss Hart."
Ariana grinned, "Don't worry. Leo is okay with me finding you. Plus, he'll be preoccupied with the buffet anyhow." Ariana went on, "Would you like to have a dance with me, Severus?"
Severus grumbled in annoyance, "No. Return back to the Great Hall, Miss Hart."
"Aw, I just want to have a dance with you. Please, just one dance." She bit her lower lips.
"No, Miss Hart. I'll deduct 100 points if you don't return back." He concluded, annoyed by the girl's persistence.
Ariana let out a huge sigh. Severus made it pretty clear that he didn't want to have a dance with her. Without her realizing it, she murmured softly, "Lily Evans must be very special to you if you keep on avoiding me."
Severus seized her wrist all of the sudden and forced her to look him in the eyes. Ariana's eyes widened at the abrupt movement.
"How did you know about her? Speak!" He snarled.
"I told you I know you better than you know yourself!" Ariana replied calmly.
Severus's tone was venomous as he said, "Listen well, you ignorant fool! Keep your nose out from my affairs! Put your intelligence to good use! You have no right to violate my privacy just because you think you know everything! I despise it when you keep on pestering me like a bug!"
Ariana's face fell. Her eyes lost their light and joy.
All she wanted was to have a dance with him.
Neither of them was speaking; instead, they were staring at each other intensely. They were both unaware that someone else had opened the door.
"Miss Hart. Where have you been? I've been looking for you!" McGonagall went up to the girl, interrupted the pair. Severus immediately drew his hand away from her.
"Merlin, you're freezing! Severus..." She narrowed her eyes at him as she put a thick coat over the girl.
"I'd appreciate it if you could accompany me to the Headmaster's office, Miss Hart. Immediately." McGonagall's stern look sent shivers down Ariana's spine.
"Yes, Professor. Pardon me, Professor Snape. Please accept my apologies for interrupting your night. Have a good night." Ariana gave him a tight smile as she walked away with McGonagall, leaving him alone.
Severus sighed deeply, the ache in his chest intensifying.
★★★★★
Ariana saw Gylfie screeching in the Headmaster's Office. She could tell the owl was very upset.
Ariana rushed over to her owl, attempting to calm him down, "Aw, my baby. What happened?"
Dumbledore and McGonagall gave her some space and let her do her work, both exchanging glances.
"Is there anything you'd want to tell me, Headmaster?" Ariana eventually started the conversation.
Dumbledore stood up and handed the girl a familiar letter.
Ariana was puzzled as she examined the letter; it was her letter. She wrote it weeks ago for her parents.
"Miss Hart, please accept my apologies. Your letter didn't go through and was not delivered." Dumbledore said as he looked at the girl.
"What exactly do you mean? Are you certain it isn't my sister who is mailing back the letter as a joke without my mother and father knowing? I swear to God, she sometimes does-"
"No. It was the opposite." McGonagall cut her off as she breathed shakily.
"This is difficult for us to say, Miss Hart. However, something horrible happened to your parents-" Now it was Ariana's turn to cut them off.
"Just say it, please." She pleaded.
For a brief moment, Dumbledore and McGonagall were deafeningly silent.
"Your parents... are no longer alive."
★★★★★