↱ in which
it's the compromising
of hearts
THE FIRST TASK wasn't even all that exciting.
It was supposed to be a dangerous, life-threatening thing, but they all survived. Where was the fun in that?
Scarlett's lips were sealed the entire time Harry was in the arena, though she still watched with interest as he swooped around the dragon on his broom. She wasn't even shocked when she saw the enormous creature thrashing against its restraints, it seemed fitting for Hogwarts.
After the first task, the castle was buzzing with excitement, talking about the winner, Krum. Unfortunately, Harry had tied for second place along with Cedric.
Over the next few days, the enthusiasm died down and everything almost seemed normal. That was until the professors dropped a bomb on them all. Figuratively, of course. Though Scarlett was beginning to wish the metaphor would come true.
It was a Thursday in the first week of December and the end of Snape's lesson was nearing. She couldn't have been happier as she watched the clock tick by, her bag already packed even though the professor was still droning on. But he suddenly stopped.
"There's something the school is requiring you all to know," Snape said in his nasally voice, but he looked even more annoyed than usual which automatically caught Scarlett's attention. Anything that made Snape angry was something that made her extremely happy.
"The... Yule Ball is approaching— a traditional part of the Tri-wizard Tournament," the professor paused, heaving a loud sigh. "...And an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will be open only to fourth years and above although you may invite a younger student if you wish —"
Scarlett caught Daphne's gasp as realization settled in the blonde girl. With a smile on her face, she nudged the girl sitting next to her who had the complete opposite expression.
A ball? In the midst of this dangerous tournament Hogwarts was hosting a ball. How delightful.
"Dress robes will be worn," Snape continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Please be on your best behaviors."
The bell rang and immediately the classroom sprang into loud chatter and the sound of students packing up.
"So that's why we had to bring dresses this year!" Daphne squealed as she shoved her book in her bag harshly, disregarding the sound of crumbling papers. "We're having an actual, real life ball!"
"That'll be strange," Ariah noted, slipping her textbook into her well-organized bag.
"I wonder if Elijah would be interested in going..."
Scarlett sighed exasperatedly. Ever since she introduced them, Elijah had been the only thing on Daphne's mind. It was sickening. She always found a way to bring him up. Scarlett had yet to talk to him about her blonde haired friend, but she had a feeling he wouldn't mind attending the Yule Ball with Daphne either.
"Why don't you ask him yourself," Scarlett huffed.
"I want him to ask me. Obviously," Daphne stated matter-of-factly. She linked all three of their arms and lead them to the Great Hall for lunch. "So, we all know who you'll be going with, Ari."
Scarlett perked up slightly. Apparently she wasn't in on something everyone else was. "No we don't," she spoke. "Who are you going with?"
Ariah's ears turned a dark shade of red, spreading down her caramel colored skin. "She's just making things up, Scar, it's nothing."
But Daphne had a look somewhere between disappointment and excitement.
"I'm not making anything up!" she turned to Scarlett, unlinking their arms and clutching her shoulders harshly. "We've talked about this before. Many times. And it's just completely obvious!"
Scarlett shook the blonde's hands off her shoulders, hearing the chatter grow louder and louder as people flowed into the Great Hall.
Scarlett's mind wandered too much to remember everything they'd ever talked about. For example, she was currently very focused on how much she didn't want to be in the Great Hall. Too many people, too much noise. She was so busy finding an escape that she didn't even notice Daphne's stare that said 'I told you so.'
"What?" Scarlett pulled at one of her curls. "Oh... It's not obvious to me! And we obviously haven't talked about it enough because I still don't know what you're talking about."
"Nothing's obvious to you, Scar," Daphne's voice held a mocking tone, but she saw the endearment in her eyes. "What I mean is..." Daphne leaned in close. "Ariah and Blaise!"
Scarlett blinked. Twice. She stared around at the crowded hall, then to the two girls next to her. "Blaise Zabini?"
The noise that left Ariah's mouth was almost unearthly as she threw her hand over Scarlett's loud mouth.
"Yes, Scarlett?"
All three girls immediately looked at the table. It seemed they had arrived at the Slytherin table where Theo and Blaise were waiting for them.
"Er—Nothing..?" she mumbled, avoiding Blaise's curious stare.
Now her mind was really clouded with thoughts of how badly she wanted to leave. She couldn't wait till this whole Yule Ball thing was over and she could go back to being her oblivious, loud mouthed self.
"I take it you lot are excited?" Theo grinned up at them. Scarlett had almost forgotten the two boys had been in the same class as them when the Yule Ball was announced.
"Extremely," Daphne picked up the conversation like it was nothing while Ariah was shakily taking her seat across from Blaise, ears still dark red.
"You'll be able to put that dress to good use, Scar," Theo commented.
Scarlett's head snapped up at the mention of her name. Really, she hadn't noticed how absent-minded she was until Daphne pointed it out. Maybe it was because of all those years of tuning out Sue Harper's, the owner of the Home, shouting and the tantalizing cries of little kids when they had to go into her office. She was never a crier.
"Oh, of course," she smirked lightly. "Seems like you're more excited than I am."
"Hold on," Daphne held her hands up in a 'timeout' motion. "What do you know about our dearest Scarlett's dress?"
"My mum made it."
The group was silent for a singular beat.
"It's stuffy in here, too much excitement. You guys ready to go?" Scarlett slapped her hands on the table in a way that dropped the subject completely.
"Of course it's too much happiness for you, Scar," Theo remarked helpfully. "There could be a room full of crying people and you'd still think the same thing."
"You know me so well," Scarlett remarked with a small smile, ignoring the look Daphne sent her way.
"THERE ISN'T ONE person you'd like to ask?"
Scarlett was no good at this. She didn't understand why Daphne didn't just ask Elijah to the Yule Ball instead of waiting for him to ask her. Even more confusing, Daphne had a number of boys who had asked her to go to the ball with them, all of which she had politely declined. Scarlett was the exact opposite. There wasn't a queue of boys waiting for any opportunity to ask her to the ball; only an impatient group waiting for her to leave Daphne alone so they could ask the blonde privately. The whole ordeal was sickening. Even Ariah said she got asked a couple times.
Personally, Scarlett was mostly excited that term ended and she finally got to hang out with her long time friends. Which was how she started the conversation in the first place.
"Nope," Elijah replied stubbornly, a smart grin on his face. Adelaide watched the two fondly from where she sat on the other side of the nearly empty Slytherin table.
"What about you, Grinchy?" the older girl asked.
"What about me?"
"Anyone in particular you'd like to go with?"
Scarlett curled a strand of her hair around her finger in thought. "Honestly, I don't see the appeal. Why go with a specific person and have to hang out with them the whole time?"
Adelaide and Elijah both shared a glance. "I think that is the appeal, Scarlett," Elijah said, placing a mocking hand on her forearm rested on the table.
Scarlett shoved him off with a scoff. "Sorry for thinking logically."
"More like lonely."
"You just said you didn't wanna take anyone?"
"Maybe I was lying."
Scarlett scoffed once again, this time in utter disbelief. "You're impossible!"
Adelaide suddenly let out a gasp. Both heads turned to her. "Scarlett, that sounded almost... British."
Elijah bursted out laughing but Scarlett was in no way amused. She was horrified, actually, at the thought that she may be losing her French accent. "You're kidding?"
The blue-eyed girl nodded warmly, "I am, don't worry." It was silent for a moment as Elijah recovered from his annoying giggles before Adelaide began speaking again. "But, that boy behind you has been staring at the back of your head this whole time."
Scarlett looked at her suspiciously before slowly turning her head around to see if the information was true.
Sure enough, she locked eyes with stunning green ones.
Of course Harry Potter was the one staring at her, he really did have a problem with that.
This time, though, as they made eye contact—he didn't look away flustered. His intense gaze stayed on her.
Harry Potter was entirely the last person she wanted to look at for the rest of her life, but for some reason, she couldn't pull her eyes away.
He looked like he was having an internal debate and was trying to transfer his thoughts into her brain through telepathic waves. Alas, she wasn't a superhero, so she looked away in confusion.
"I hate him," Scarlett confirmed as soon as she turned back to her friends. "Loathe, actually."
"You loathe Harry Potter? He seems pretty cool," Elijah said in disbelief. "How many babies do you know that can survive the killing curse?"
"That just makes him arrogant! He thinks he can control everything and everyone around him! Then he has the audacity to throw a tantrum when things don't go his way."
Both of her friends looked at her in confusion.
"You sound like you put a lot of thought into this," said Adelaide with furrowed eyebrows and a slightly agape mouth.
"We have a history."
Elijah and Adelaide shared another glance. She was utterly mortified at all this eye contact. Maybe she just wasn't the best at reading people, but she was sure everyone in the entire school was in on some sick joke that she wasn't aware of and communicated it through staring. When did everybody develop mind reading powers?
"What kind of history?" Adelaide questioned cautiously. "Maybe you could sort it out and go the ball with him—?"
"Absolutely not!"
A few others around them whipped their heads in shock at Scarlett's loud shriek, but she couldn't help that she was appalled. They quickly went back to what they were doing.
"Alright..." Elijah placed both hands on her shoulders. "You seem a bit tense, Grinchy."
She tried to glare at the boy, she really did, but she ended up letting slip one small giggle, that led to his own very manly fit of giggles.
THE NEXT FEW DAYS leading up to Christmas were filled with groups of giggling girls (some of which she found herself apart of) and couples everywhere you went. The prospect of spending the Yule Ball with her friends—no date—was sounding extremely fun until that faithful day that Daphne came barreling into the common room late at night at an unfathomable speed.
It was just Ariah, Blaise, Theo, and Scarlett spread out in front of the fire of the empty common room. Scarlett was comfortably sat in an armchair, leaning over her potions essay which still only had one word written on it after staring at the blank paper for several minutes. She'd probably just finish it later. They were sitting in comfortable silence, each doing their own thing, when Daphne burst through the door.
"Guess what!" she squealed, practically bouncing off the walls.
The group immediately perked up in curiosity. Although, Scarlett already had a sneaking suspicion of the news they were about to hear from the sheer happiness Daphne showed, which made her even more excited.
Scarlett jumped out of her armchair, dropping her quill and essay to the floor. She wasn't one to squeal, but after all the trouble she went through for this very moment to happen, she let loose a little.
"It happened?" Scarlett shouted with as much enthusiasm.
"Yes! Yes! I love you so much Scarlett you don't understand!" Daphne threw her arms around the curly-headed girl. The hug was short-lived as Scarlett shimmied out, but this did nothing to dissipate Daphne's mood.
"Wait..." Ariah was finally catching on to what was happening, putting her hands to her open mouth in shock. "He asked you?" her voice, though muffled by her hands, projected throughout the entire empty common room.
Daphne nodded bashfully like she was accepting a life-changing award.
"Anyone care to fill us in?" Blaise asked, still sitting on the couch suspiciously close to the spot where Ariah had just been sitting.
Daphne stopped squealing to address the two boys sitting (Theo on the floor for some odd reason that could only make sense in his own mind).
"You'll have to wait till Christmas."
They groaned in protest.
"Oh c'mon, I was so prepared to giggle with you guys," Theo remarked, slapping his knee in fake disappointment.
Daphne waved him off. "I have so much to tell you guys," she grinned, making her way to the dormitories. Ariah was quick to follow her after bidding the boys a goodnight.
"Wait!" Scarlett groaned, putting her essay in her bag hurriedly. She quickly realized she was missing her quill. "Blaise, did you take my quill again?"
"Nope," his voice said, growing farther and farther away as he retreated to his own dorm.
She heaved a loud sigh, brushing a curl out of her face.
"Scar," said a quiet voice from below her.
Scarlett looked down. Theo was still sitting on the floor, leaning lazily against the couch.
"Merci," she made a grab for the quill he held out for her, but he snatched it away quickly.
"This whole things pretty crazy, huh?" Theo smiled slightly. "Crazy enough to get you speaking French."
"I am French, Theo," she replied impatiently.
She made a motion with her outstretched hand, signaling for him to give her back her things, but he only looked at her arm before his hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her down.
She collapsed right in front of him, sitting on her folded knees, nearly between his legs.
"Seriously?"
Theo grinned extra cheekily, resting his arms on his knees. "Yes."
The two looked at each other in silence. Scarlett grew increasingly impatient, she was actively missing the entire story of how Elijah asked Daphne to the Yule Ball due to Theo's dumbness.
"You want your quill back?" Theo asked and she gave him a look with raised eyebrows that said 'obviously'. "Go to the ball with me."
Scarlett's eyebrows dropped, her entire face went slack. Instinctively, she created more space between them.
She had no intention of being someone's date to the ball. Truly, she just wanted to have fun with her friends. And it seemed weird that her date would be Theo. He was her friend, possibly one of her best friends. He was kind to her, and made her laugh a lot, but he was not romantic to her. She would not get married to Theodore.
Sue Harper had a habit of spilling her own secrets in times of severe self pity, a lot of which involved her ex husband. Sue had a lot of love for her husband, but he had none for her. Scarlett assumed that would be like her and Theo if they got married, she would have no love for him. She didn't know a lot about love, but surely being his date to the Yule Ball would lead to marriage? That was love. Date then marry. Sue Harper talked a lot about how she wanted to find a man to date.
Scarlett was left speechless, the words getting caught in her throat. She didn't know what to say to Theo, and she didn't want to slip up like Sue Harper and hurt his feelings.
She watched his shoulders fall slightly, before he spoke again.
"As friends?" he began. "Y'know, Daph is head over heels for that French boy and Ariah and Blaise are practically an old married couple. What if we go together, just so we're not alone?"
Scarlett smiled. "That sounds fun, Theo." She quickly snatched the quill away from him, standing up from her position and holding a hand out to him. He took it, his smile wavering slightly as he looked down at her. He pulled one of her curls taut, watching it spring back up into place.
"Yeah. I can't wait to see you in that dress again," his voice faltered slightly. He had this look in his eyes, not his usual mischief but almost... sadness?
Scarlett smiled warmly, happy that Theo and her could be on the same page about that.
"And I can't wait to see you all... joli."
"What's that mean?" Theo asked before she could leave.
"Pretty."
i'd hate elegant society
and you'd hate my
scribbling and we
would be unhappy
and wish we hadn't
done it and everything
will be horrid.
-jo to laurie