꧁—— ❦ ——꧂
" Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention?"
Professor McGonagall's irritated voiced cracked like a whip through Transfiguration class that Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up.
It was the end of their lesson; they had finished their work; the guinea-fowl they had been changing into guinea-pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk ( Neville's guinea-pig still had feathers ); they had copied down their homework from the blackboard ( 'Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transforming Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches,' ). The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron now holding a tin parrot, and Harry, a rubber haddock.
"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age." Professor McGonagall said, shooting an angry look at the pair of them as the head of Harry's haddock drooped and silently fell to the floor ( Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before ), "I have something to say to you all."
"The Yule Ball is approaching — a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth-years and above — although you may invite younger students if you wish —"
Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she, too, fought a giggle. They both looked around at Harry, who, for all intent and purposes, was as confused as ever. Professor McGonagall ignored them, which Harry thought was distinctly unfair, as she had just told him and Ron off.
"Dress robes will be worn." She continued, "And the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight, in the Great Hall. Now, then —"
Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.
"The Yule Ball will be a chance for us all to — er — let our hair down." She said with a disapproving voice.
Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time; Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.
"But that does NOT mean —" Professor McGonagall went on, "That we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders. Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter — a word, if you please."
Assuming this had something to do with his headless rubber haddock ( which he thought was even further unfair, as Ron was just as guilty as he ) Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk.
Waiting until the rest of the class had gone, Professor McGonagall then said, "Potter, the champions and their partners —"
"What partners?"
She looked at him suspiciously, as though she thought he was trying to be funny. "Your partners for the Yule Ball." She coldly said. "Your dance partners."
His insides seemed to curl and shrivel, a distant ache in his chest when he thought of his last dance, "Dance partners?" Feeling himself going red he quickly said, "I don't dance."
"Oh, yes, you do." Professor McGonagall irritably said. "That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."
Harry had a sudden mental image of himself in a top hat and tails, spinning in a circle with Lavinia at the end of his arms, her wearing the same yellow sundress ( his favourite one, if he's honest, she looked so pretty in it ) she'd worn the first time she'd stormed into his room. A small smile grew on his face before the sudden realization that he couldn't ask her to be his date slammed him like a bag of bricks, and she was replaced by a girl in the sort of frilly dress Aunt Petunia always wore to Uncle Vernon's work parties. The image made him shudder.
"I'm not dancing." He decided.
"It is traditional." Professor McGonagall firmly replied. "You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."
"But — I don't —"
"You heard me, Potter." Professor McGonagall said, in a very final sort of way.
One tense nod, and turning to sulk out of the classroom, the ache in his chest grew more intense. He wished Lavinia were here to be his date.
Lavinia thinks she's barely made it out the door of the classroom before Katalina has looped their arms together and fallen into step with her, "Avie, darling, have you seen they've posted the parts?"
Lavinia turns her head, furrows her brows with a small frown, "Parts? Parts for what, exactly?"
"The play, Avie." Katalina, at this point, is almost squealing with unadulterated excitement. She isn't sure why, honestly. "I think you'll be quite pleased by the outcome."
"And why would I — oh." Lavinia breathes, a bashful smile when unexpected pleasure thrums her bones. "Well, let's go look, shall we?"
The walk to the auditorium suddenly seems so short; she'd always hated walking from her classes to it. It felt like the longest five minutes of her life, turning left in one corridor and right in another, up a small flight of stairs and taking another left at the sharp corner. But for some reason, on the most random Thursday, it feels like Katalina has said perhaps maybe ten words ( 'Can't wait to see the look on Wilson's stupid face,' ) and they've made it to the large group of their peers huddled around the bulletin board beside the door. Katalina, never one to miss an opportunity to shove another, nudges her way through the crowd, elbowing a student here, stepping on another's foot there, until they've placed themselves in the front, where a large piece of laminated parchment reads,
ROMEO AND JULIET,
William Shakespeare.
CAST LIST,
( Performance February 3, 1994. )
LAVINIA VINKE..... Juliet Capulet
ELIO DISCROLL..... Romeo Montague
THEADOSA CIRILLO..... Lady Capulet
OLIVER ADLER .....Mercutio
SEE PAGE TWO FOR FURTHER CAST.
"Holy shit." Lavinia grins. For once it doesn't feel forced. "I didn't think I'd actually get it..."
Katalina squeals, plants a quick kiss on her cheek and tugs her back towards the edge of the crowd, "I told you that it couldn't have been that bad! Reckon everyone else that auditioned were a bag of sloths."
"A bag of sloths?" Lavinia says with a giddy laugh. She feels drunk with content.
Katalina shrugs, "Well, yeah." She says, rolling her eyes. "Boring and not worth watching, therefore, a bag of sloths, you see?"
She doesn't see, but she finds she doesn't care all that much. She finds that Katalina says the oddest things with the most vague explanations majority of the time, but it's one of those traits she loves about her. Katalina embraces it and says it with a hefty confidence that Lavinia has never been able to achieve, and she thinks ( more so knows, really ) that she'd rather Katalina say those odd things to her over anyone else. Some would probably call it possessive jealousy, she calls it a willing compromise.
"Right..." Lavinia slowly says with a large grin. "That's so exciting I — wait, but what if I mess it up? Oh, God, perhaps I should drop it. No, I definitely should drop it. I'll fuck the whole thing up —"
"You can't possibly be thinking of backing out on me now, are you, Vinke?"
Lavinia peers over her shoulder to spot Theadosa walking behind them, coming to a stop and placing her hands on her hips and pursing her lips, "I mean, really, your audition was the best."
"Well no... I just... you see..." Lavinia quickly rambles as she turns on the spot, a faint blush scattered across her cheeks.
Theadosa laughs, shakes her head, "I'm only pulling your leg, Vinke — well, not about you being the best audition, of course — but you can't just call it quits because you think you'll mess up. You'll be brill."
"Oh, well, thank you, Thea." Lavinia says, bashfully turning her head towards the large window. She misses the look of envy Katalina shoots the older girl. "So, how come I didn't see you at the audition?"
"You wouldn't have recognized me." Theadosa waves her hand. "Didn't know me then, did you? I'd have been another face in the crowd."
She has a point, Lavinia thinks. She'd been too focused on imagining she were with Harry. Not that either of them know that, it feels like a small secret to call her own.
"But in all honesty, way to go." Theadosa smiles, claps her hand on Lavinia's shoulder as she passes them, and shooting a quick wink. "Hope St Brutus' has some cute boys."
"St Brutus'?" Lavinia quickly repeats, and it feels her heart starts thundering in her chest.
Theadosa nods and raises a brow, "Who'd you think was casted for the male parts? The teachers?"
Lavinia shrugs, but suddenly finds herself hoping Harry's name is somewhere on the list and she just hasn't noticed. She can't stop herself from smiling.
"The Yule Ball has been has been a tradition of the —" Professor McGonagall says, quickly shooting an irritated glance towards Mr Filch as he fumbles with the record, turning back towards the Gryffindor students in the Great Hall. "— Triwizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity."
She paused, pointedly staring around the room, "As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward — and I mean this literally because the Yule Ball is first, and foremost, for those of you who have not been made aware yet, a dance."
A scuffle of whispers from the younger years broke through the Hall. Excited girls nudging their friends and leaning forward to discreetly point towards the boys, and the boys, on the other side of the room, groaned and sighed, slumping down in their seats.
"Silence!" Professor McGonagall raised a hand, waiting for absolute silence before continuing. "The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the Wizarding world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening, besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons."
Harry stifled his laugh by dropping his head, listening to Fred and George whispering, "Try saying that five times fast," and "Babbling, bumbling band of baboons — babbling, bumbling —" from where they stood behind him. Ron sat to his right, frowning as he slumped further in his seat.
"To dance is to let the body breathe." Professor McGonagall carried on, looking all too disapproving and irritated at once. "Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight. Inside every boy a lordly lion prepared to prance — Mr Weasley?"
Ron watched, horrified, as Professor McGonagall made her way towards them, hand outstretched, "Yes?"
"Will you join me, please?" She didn't wait for an answer, grabbing on to the corner of his robes and pulling him up as Harry gave him a quick pat on the back, quietly laughing.
Leading their way back towards the middle of the room, Professor McGonagall came to a halt, "Now, place your right hand on my waist." She said, looking at him expectantly.
"Where?" Ron repeated, eyes wide and glancing back at Harry.
"My waist, Mr Weasley." Professor McGonagall said with an exasperated, moving his arm. "Okay, now, bend your arm — Mr Filch, if you please."
Filch placed the stylus in the grooves of the record, and a song began to play. Fred and George whistled as Professor McGonagall began a chorus of, 'One, two, three. One, two, three,' and this time, Harry didn't bother to stifle his laughter. Ron looked even further horrified ( and Harry thought part of it may have been how horrid his dancing skills seemed to be ) trying to quickly follow Professor McGonagall's steps and avoid stepping on her toes.
"Oi!." Harry whispered, leaning back over his chair towards the twins, "You're never gonna let him forget this, are you?"
Both Fred and George wickedly smiled, glancing at Ron, then each other, then back at Harry, "Never."
"Everybody come together!" Professor McGonagall called over the noise as the girls all stood up, "Boys, on your feet!"
There was a moment of hesitation where they all seemed to look down the line at one another, wondering who would be the first to stand up. What came as a surprise to Harry, was when Neville quietly sighed and stood up, striding across the room towards the girls. It seemed to be enough for the rest of them, and Harry quickly made a beeline towards Hermione.
" 'Mione." Harry quickly said, grabbing on to her arm, "Dance with me."
"Just don't step on my toes, again." Hermione replied, warily staring at him. "Please." She seemed to add as an afterthought.
Harry rolled his eyes, grabbing one of her hands with his own and placing the other on her waist, "Relax, 'Mione, I know how to dance."
"I find that hard to believe, you know." Hermione laughed, "Just let me lead at first — follow when I step to the left and —"
"Hermione." Harry interrupted, nodding his head towards their feet to draw attention to that fact that they were already dancing, and that he was the one leading. "I've just told you I know how to dance, what do you think we're doing right now?"
"Oh, sorry, Harry." Hermione flushed, then suddenly looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "And just who has taught you to dance? When I tried to teach you last year, I thought you'd broken my foot."
"I wasn't that bad! Besides, I didn't break your foot." Harry defended, laughing at the reminder of when they'd sat in the common room, unable to sleep, and he'd mentioned that he wanted to learn to dance like he often saw in movies. "And I don't think who taught me matters all that much."
Hermione pointedly raised a brow, "You're blushing."
"Piss off."
"Not until you tell me who had the patience — and metal foot — to teach you."
"I taught myself."
"That is the biggest lie I've ever heard."
"Hey! It's not!"
"Harry, you can barely tell your lefts from your rights..."
"Alright, no need to mention it." Harry scowled, not really wanting to tell her. His secret, his jewel. "The girl from the photograph."
"Oh..." Hermione nodded, smiling. "Well, you'll have to thank her for me. No offence, Harry, but your dancing was truly ghastly."
"Hey!" Harry gasped, but she wasn't really all that wrong. He had stepped on Lavinia's toes countless times ( as much as he hates to admit it ) but the thought of her causes that dull ache in his chest to begin again. He thinks he'd do just about anything to dance with her one more time.
"Hi, Thea." Lavinia says, seating herself in the open chair next to her in the auditorium. "When is St Brutus due to arrive?"
The days following the realization that St Brutus' had been casted for the other parts of the play seemed to pass in a blur. It all felt like one really short day; hours that meshed together, the sun and moon seeming to become one the same, it was hard to believe that not only was term coming to end in a few short days, but that the possibility of seeing Harry was growing higher. There was an excitement blooming in her chest, drumming against her heart in a joyful tune and lifting her spirits higher than they had been in weeks. She'd been terrified at the prospect of returning home for the holidays, knowing fully well that she did not heed her mothers warning of getting rid of Katalina, but the chance of seeing Harry before the holidays seemed to make the eerie feeling low in her gut worth it.
Theadosa smiles and glances down at her watch, "Ten minutes, I think. Headmistress Halliwell wanted to say a few words before they showed up. You reckon we can get a quick smoke in before she does?"
The door to the auditorium opened and Lavinia peers over her shoulder, turning to Theadosa with a laugh, "No, not unless you're willing to bulldoze Charlie down in the process."
"Bugger." Theadosa sighs. "I like her more than the rest of the staff, so I suppose I won't be bulldozing her down for a drag. This time."
Charlie made her way to the front of the various students and teachers in the auditorium, shooting Lavinia a wave and small smile as she passes. Lavinia sends a wave back in her direction, though, her heart still seems to twist in some sorts of betrayal.
"Good morning, students." Charlie greets, glancing around the room. "I hope everyone is well rested and prepared for the day. I'd like to say a few things before we greet our guests."
Theadosa shifts closer and whispers, "Reckon she'd notice if I crawl out the door for a drag?"
"Shut up, of course she would." Lavinia whispers back, covering her snort as a sneeze. Theadosa rolls her eyes in response.
"At St. Atarah's, we pride ourselves on our ability to mingle with guests and to make them feel welcome within these walls. This — I'll remind you — is a privilege, and is to be looked upon with the upmost of respect. We will not tolerate any disrespect, or any attempts at making our guests feel they are unwelcome here, is that understood?"
Charlie glances around the room once more, nodding in satisfaction when no one rebuttals her statement ( not that they would do so in front of her, that is ). "Now, as representatives of St. Atarah's, I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behaviour and to treat our guests as if they are one of your own. Any notion, any impression, or any thought that reflects poorly against us, reflects poorly on all of you, and will simply not be tolerated. Any behaviour that is not deemed acceptable will be dealt with. The harsher the action, the harsher the consequence. Do I make myself clear?"
A chorus of, 'Yes, Headmistress,' rings throughout the room. It feels so hollow.
"Very well." Charlie nods, smooths her hands over the edge of her blazer. "I shall see that they find their way in here, carry on."
Lavinia watches as Charlie walks across the room and leaves before she turns to Theadosa, furrowing her brows. "Isn't that something she should have said over announcements last night? Why'd she only say it to those of us in the play?"
"I don't know." Theadosa replies, staring at the door. "Perhaps because we'll have the most contact with them?"
"Perhaps." Lavinia says, folding her arms over her chest and slumping down in her chair.
"My, my, Vinke, slumping down in your chair reflects poorly against the school." Theadosa teases, though, she follows suit and slumps down in her own.
Lavinia snorts, "My apologies, Thea, I forgot that this was a privilege. Heaven forbid those boys think we're anything but perfect."
"My dear, we are perfect." Theadosa says with a sharp smile. It almost unsettles her, but that seems to be a common theme in her life.
Lavinia opens her mouth to reply when the auditorium door suddenly squeaks on its hinges, and every head in the room turns towards it. The other girls have all gotten up, in what she thinks is them hoping to get a good look at the St Brutus students as they walk in. A tall man, that she thinks can't be older than his late thirties, is the first to enter the room. With raven hair and an odd moustache to follow, he's an intimidating sight to look at. The group of students following behind him isn't very large, and both her and Theadosa watch with curious eyes as he leads them towards the teacher who planned and set out the play.
"That one near the back there is quite cute." Theadosa whispers, pointing towards one of the older students. But it's not him that Lavinia's looking at, it's who is in front of him that grabs her attention.
Had it been under any other circumstance, she thinks, she'd have calmly made her way towards him. This time, however, she really doesn't care. Not when she sees the edge of his glasses and unruly hair, and that excitement in her chest bursts. Without so much as a second thought, she quickly stands up and hurdles towards him, launching herself at his back and squealing, "Harry!"
hallo x bit of a poorly written chapter but i wanted to try out the back and forth pov switches for something new so please let me know if you liked them! also i know the scene where mcgonagall teaches them to dance isn't in the books, but i think its too funny to not write it out and give us some good old harry missing lavinia. but anyway, don't forget to comment and vote and until next time luvs <3