FIC: Phoenix Rising, Part 28 of 37

[geri_chan]

Title: Phoenix Rising, Part 28 of 37
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: ~8,680
Warning: AU; my own version of Year 6 (was written pre-HBP).
Author's notes: {} Indicates character's unspoken thought
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Always (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Summer Vacation (Part 1, Part 2), For Old Time's Sake (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), Three's a Crowd (or, Summer Vacation II) (Part 1, Part 2), Return of the Raven (Part 1, Part 2), Phoenix Reborn (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8)
Summary: The Yule Ball takes place.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27


***

Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, Tonks, Professor Blackmore, and the Weasleys were enjoying Christmas morning together at Grimmauld Place. Hob was not left out, either. He found a stocking hanging up outside his cupboard door stuffed with sweets, and three gaily wrapped presents from the children lying beneath the stocking. Not clothes, he was relieved to find, because receiving clothes would mean that he would have to leave this house, but peppermint sticks and a huge bar of Honeydukes chocolate and a small clay pipe. (The last was probably from one of the boys, because Hermione disapproved of smoking.) Hob contentedly puffed on his pipe and munched on a peppermint stick as he listened to the sound of laughing children--which was just the sort of noise a hob liked his house to be filled with.

Fred and George gave everyone gag gifts from their shop; Ron and Harry took turns eating Canary Creams and turning briefly into giant canaries until Mrs. Weasley finally shouted at them to stop. Harry gave Ron a poster and biography of his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons; Ron gave Harry a box of Chocolate Frogs. Hermione gave them both Potions textbooks "to help you keep up in Snape's class". Harry gave Hermione a book on runes, and Ron gave her a bottle of perfume (she had seemed to like it last year, and he figured he'd stick with a sure thing), and she thanked them profusely for both gifts. Professor Blackmore gave them Summonings textbooks, and Lupin gave them books on lifting curses. Harry and Ron flushed and gave Bane a guilty glance when they opened Lupin's gifts. In an attempt to make peace with Bane, they had decided to get him a Christmas present: a big bag of chocolates from Honeydukes. The bird did seem to regard them much less balefully after that, although Blackmore sighed that Bane was getting a little fat. The bird was enormous, but he didn't look any fatter to Harry than he had during the summer, but he wasn't about to argue with Blackmore about it. Sirius gave Harry another penknife (one that could magically unlock doors and undo knots) to replace the one he had broken trying to break into the Department of Mysteries, and Tonks gave him a model flying Snitch. Harry thanked her and tossed it back and forth for a little while with Ron and the twins, but playing with the Snitch reminded him uncomfortably of the young and quite full of himself James Potter in Snape's Pensieve memories. Crookshanks began batting at it, and Harry readily surrendered it to the cat for the moment, and watched the others open their presents.

Mrs. Weasley gave everyone sweaters as usual, of course. Percy didn't come for Christmas (he was spending it with his girlfriend Penelope's family), but he didn't send back his Christmas present this year, either. He even sent a Christmas card (all it said was "Best wishes, Percy," but that was an improvement over last year) and a tin of Christmas cookies to his family. "Stuck-up git," Fred muttered, but Mrs. Weasley seemed pleased. Harry didn't much like Percy, but he hoped for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's sake that this was the first step in Percy patching things up with his family.

To Harry's relief, Snape didn't give them any Christmas presents this year, although he and Lupin did give Blackmore a book about tengu (Japanese shapeshifters, Sirius informed Harry when he asked) and a box of chocolates, which was apparently meant more for Bane than for Blackmore; at least the raven seemed to regard the box with a very proprietary air.

To Ron's great displeasure, Dylan Rosier gave Hermione a silver charm bracelet with four tiny silver charms attached to it: a rose, a wand, a book, and a quill. Hermione blushed as she put it on and held it up to be admired. Ginny made a great fuss about how pretty it was; Tonks gently teased Hermione about how popular she must be; Mrs. Weasley said, "How lovely, dear," in an indulgent tone as Ron scowled at her; and Blackmore merely smiled and looked very amused.

"Just like his father," she murmured in a fond tone, and because it was the dreaded Professor Blackmore speaking, Harry and Ron refrained from pointing out that Dylan being "just like his father" was not necessarily a good thing, considering that his father had been a Death Eater.

Finally, Hermione found she had one gift left. "It doesn't say who it's from," she said in a puzzled tone as she looked at the tag, which had only her name on it.

"Ooh, I love a mystery!" Tonks said with a grin.

"Maybe it's from a secret admirer!" Ginny giggled.

"Open the gift, dear," Mrs. Weasley suggested practically. "Perhaps there's a note inside."

Hermione eagerly tore off the wrapping, revealing a textbook on warding spells, but no note. There was no inscription inside the book, either.

"Well, it's obviously not a secret admirer," Ron said with relief. "Nobody in their right mind would consider a textbook a romantic gift!"

"It's a great gift!" Hermione said, sounding a little offended. She flipped through the book enthusiastically. "This is a really great book; it goes beyond the stuff Professor Lupin covered in class. I was thinking of buying it myself, but it's kind of expensive..."

Ron thought to himself, feeling annoyed and amused at the same time, that both he and Rosier were going about things all wrong--the way to Hermione's heart was not through jewelry or perfume, but through textbooks! {I should have known better,} he told himself ruefully.

"Maybe it's from Professor Lupin," Hermione said. "We were covering warding spells in his class."

"Lupin already gave you a present," Harry pointed out. "That book on curses, just like the ones he gave me and Ron. Besides, I'm not sure he has enough money to go around buying expensive books for his students, even if he is employed again."

"It's not from you, is it, Professor Blackmore?" Hermione asked, a bit timidly.

"No, dear, I gave you the Summonings text, remember?" Her eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her...but she kept it to herself; it was only a suspicion, after all, and besides, she wanted to see if the girl was clever enough to figure it out on her own.

Meanwhile, Hermione sat there trying to logically puzzle things out. Neither Ginny nor Ron had enough money to buy such an expensive present; Harry did, but he was clearly just as puzzled as she was. Besides, it wasn't the sort of thing her friends would have picked out unless she had hinted about it to them, which she hadn't. It was more the sort of thing an adult would give to a promising young student. Blackmore, Sirius, and Tonks all said it wasn't from them; Lupin was the logical choice, but it would be out of character for him to give her two presents when he had only given the other children one apiece, and besides, why would he leave his name off the tag? Then her eyes widened as she suddenly thought of someone who knew a great deal about magic, who had an appreciation for scholarly texts, who had enough money to buy expensive books, and who most definitely would not want his name on any Christmas tags...

"Did you think of who it might be?" Ginny asked, noticing the expression on her face.

"No," Hermione said innocently, feigning a sigh of disappointment. "I guess it will just have to remain a mystery. But whoever it is, I'm very grateful to them!"

Since all the presents had been opened, Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time for breakfast. The mention of food (and a promise of waffles from Mrs. Weasley) reminded the boys how hungry they were, and they ran off to the kitchen, forgetting all about the mysterious textbook. Ginny gave Hermione a suspicious look, and Hermione just grinned and gave her an "I'll tell you about it later" look. Branwen let the children run ahead, and stayed behind to clean up the discarded wrapping paper and ribbon--which Bane was currently playing with, gathering bits of bright paper and shiny ribbon as if he were nothing more than an ordinary raven. But when she gave her familiar a closer look, it seemed to her that he looked just a bit smug.

"Do you know something you're not telling me, Bane?" Branwen asked, scratching him on the head affectionately.

Bane cocked his head to one side, giving her a look that seemed to say, "Who me?" and helped himself to one of his Christmas chocolates.

***

"You look very handsome, Theo," Blaise said a little wistfully as he watched Theodore get ready for the Ball.

Theodore scowled at his reflection in the mirror. He was too tall and thin, and while his hair was black like Blaise's, it always looked coarse and a little unkempt, no matter how recently he'd combed it. Blaise's hair always looked smooth and sleek, while Theodore privately thought to himself that he looked more like Bane going through a bad molt. Too busy worrying about the Death Eaters to bother with a haircut, Theo had let it grow out longer than usual, and it was currently falling over his collar, nearly reaching his shoulders. He wondered if he should cut his hair, but decided it wouldn't make any difference one way or the other. "You need glasses," he told his lover in a grumpy voice.

"I like your robes," Blaise said with a smile, wrapping his arms around Theodore from behind. "They bring out the green in your eyes. I don't get to see you dress up very often." Theodore's dress robes were a very dark green that looked almost black until the light hit them just right. Custom-made and very expensive; his mother was very concerned that he look the part of a proper pureblood heir. Of course, she didn't seem quite as concerned about the fact that Theodore's father liked to test out new curses and hexes on his son on a regular basis. The old man needed to practice on someone, Theodore told himself sourly, until the Death Eaters were allowed to go hunting Muggles and Mudbloods again. But it wasn't really accurate to say that his mother wasn't concerned about him--she was just too scared of his father to do anything about it. After his father was done tormenting him with some particularly nasty and painful curse, his mother would cry and fuss over him and tell him how sorry she was--but by the time he was five, Theodore had figured out that was all she was ever going to do. By the time he was seven, he was heartily sick of her useless sympathy, and from then on spurned all such attempts, hardening his heart to her pleas for forgiveness. By the time he was eight, she had more or less given up trying to comfort him, and seemed to accept her son's contempt as her due.

"Theodore?" Blaise asked, sounding concerned. "Are you all right?"

"I just don't want to go to the Ball," Theodore said sulkily.

"I wouldn't mind going if I could be your date," Blaise said playfully.

"Even if it wouldn't get me into trouble with Malfoy, we'd be laughed out of Slytherin," Theodore said sullenly.

"I'd risk the scandal for your sake," Blaise said in a joking tone, but he looked a little hurt, and Theodore felt guilty.

"I don't really care what anyone thinks of me," Theodore said apologetically, "but it's just not safe. Malfoy--"

"It's okay, Theo," Blaise said gently, kissing him lightly on the mouth. "I understand. We can celebrate tonight after Ball, just the two of us." He grinned at Theodore. "Save a dance for me?"

"I hate dancing," Theodore groaned.

Blaise laughed and hugged him, and after a moment's hesitation, Theodore hugged him back, clinging to him almost desperately. Although Blaise tried to hide it, he was very concerned about his friend and lover. Ever since the Death Eaters' escape from Azkaban, Theodore had been more remote and sullen than ever. Sometimes, like now, he would cling to Blaise like he was afraid to let go of him, and at other times, it almost seemed like he was trying to push Blaise away from him. But Blaise tried not to feel too hurt by that, because he suspected that Theodore was only trying to protect him. Theodore had never talked much about his family, and Blaise had assumed that was because he was ashamed of his father being a Death Eater. But after the prison break, he realized it was much more than that: Theodore was terrified of his father. He had gone so pale when Dylan had told them the news, and ever since then, he'd had frequent nightmares.

But what Blaise found odd and rather frightening was that Theodore never screamed during them; in fact he barely made a sound. He would tremble and toss and turn in his sleep, and his face would contort with fear, but only an occasional, barely audible whimper would escape from his lips. A horrified Blaise realized that Theodore had somehow trained himself to have quiet nightmares, and not to scream himself awake no matter how bad they were. He wondered uneasily what Theo's home life was like, that not only did he have such terrible nightmares, but he was afraid to make a sound in his sleep. Blaise also learned not to wake him up too suddenly; the first time he'd tried to shake his lover awake during one of the nightmares, Theodore had thrown him out of bed and lunged for his wand--he had actually pointed it at Blaise before fully waking up and realizing where he was and who had woke him. Blaise wasn't sure what spell Theodore would have used, but decided it was better not to find out. From then on, when he felt Theo trembling next to him in his sleep, he would gently kiss and caress him, whispering soothing endearments until Theo stopped shaking, then Blaise would carefully put his arms around his lover and let him drift back into a peaceful slumber. Theodore usually didn't even wake up during the process; when he did, he always looked anxious and embarrassed, and would absolutely refuse to tell Blaise what the nightmares were about.

Blaise had his suspicions. Lately he had realized, for all that they were best friends and lovers, that he actually knew very little about Theodore. He didn't know what the nightmares were about. He knew that Theo was one of the few students able to see the Thestrals, but he didn't know whose death Theodore had witnessed, and Theodore refused to tell him. And...Blaise didn't know what had happened to himself on Halloween. He remembered leaving for Hogsmeade, but everything after that was a blur. Snape and Madam Pomfrey had told him he'd had a fever; Snape's eyes had been expressionless as they often were, but there had been something in Pomfrey's eyes that told him there was more to it than that. And Theodore had been watching over him very carefully and nervously since then, warning him not to go anywhere alone with Malfoy, though (of course) he wouldn't say why. Not only that, but a couple of days after his Halloween illness, Blaise noticed a burn on Theodore's wrist; he had been trying to conceal it, but that was difficult to do when they shared a room and were lovers. He'd been wondering why Theodore was suddenly so reluctant to get undressed around him, and finally caught him applying salve to the burn on his wrist, which looked suspiciously like a handprint. Theo had claimed that it was a minor hex, a stupid prank, nothing to worry about. But Blaise did worry--about Theo's burn and his fear of his father, about the Death Eaters' return, about the fact that Draco was suddenly being very friendly to Blaise when he had always been beneath Draco's notice before, and most of all, about the gap in his memory--which reminded him uncomfortably of the "accident" that had befallen Professor Lockhart. Blaise had the sneaking suspicion that all of these things were somehow related, but no amount of coaxing, arguing, or even begging would persuade Theo to shed any light on the subject. "It's safer for you not to know," was all Theodore would say.

Theodore had missed out on their last Hogsmeade trip because Snape had given him detention for spilling his potion in class; which was odd because Snape rarely gave the Slytherins detention for things like that, but Theo claimed that Snape had been in a bad mood because the Gryffindors had been unusually well-behaved, giving him few opportunities to dock points or give out detention to them. In any case, Theodore had seemed almost relieved to stay behind, and insisted that Blaise stay behind as well, which he was more than willing to do, although he wished Theo would tell him exactly what was going on.

Still, since Slytherin had won the match over Gryffindor, Theodore had been more cheerful than usual, and things almost went back to normal. But as the holidays approached, he started to brood again. Snape sent out letters to the parents urging them to leave their children at Hogwarts over the holidays "for their own safety," and Theodore had been adamant that Blaise stay back with him. Blaise had been pleased that they'd be able to spend the holidays together, but then he noticed that Theodore and a few other select members of Slytherin were sneaking off to Snape's office for "special tutoring." "To prepare for our N.E.W.T.s," Theodore claimed, but it didn't escape Blaise's notice that all the students Snape was tutoring were the children of Death Eaters.

"Just what is Snape tutoring you in?" Blaise asked quietly, even though he knew Theodore wouldn't give him a straight answer.

Theodore let go of him and scowled. "I told you, he's helping us prepare for our Potions N.E.W.T.!"

"I'm not stupid, Theo," Blaise retorted, "and I don't think he's teaching you anything that's covered in any official exams! He's tutoring you in the Dark Arts, isn't he--?"

"Shut up!" Theodore hissed. "How many times have I told you that it's not safe to talk about--"

"I don't care!" Blaise shouted. "I'm worried about you!"

"You should stay away from me," Theodore said, now looking more despairing than angry. "It's not safe to be with me. You should have let the Sorting Hat put you in Ravenclaw."

"Too late for that now," Blaise said, wrapping his arms around Theodore again. "And I told you before, I won't leave you, no matter how dangerous it is! I love you, Theo!"

"I love you, too," Theodore whispered. "That's why you have to trust me; I only want to keep you safe. You don't know what the Death Eaters are like...as bad as you think they are, as bad as the Daily Prophet makes them out to be, the reality is a hundred times worse."

This was more than Theodore had ever confided in him before. "So why are you letting Snape tutor you in the Dark Arts?" Blaise asked quietly. "I know you don't want to be like them..."

Theodore just stared at him for a very long time; he seemed to be trying to make up his mind about how much he should tell Blaise. Blaise waited anxiously, afraid to say anything for fear of breaking the mood and sending Theo back into an uncommunicative silence. Finally, Theodore said, "Snape's all right."

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked skeptically. "Isn't he, well, one of them...?"

"Do you trust me, Blaise?" Theodore asked, his murky green eyes very solemn.

"Yes," Blaise replied without hesitation. As frustrated as he got with Theodore's stubborn silence at times, he knew that Theo was only trying to protect him.

"Then believe me when I say he's all right. I can't say anything more, but..." Theodore hesitated. "If...if anything bad happens, and I'm...not around...go to Snape, okay?"

When Theodore said "not around," Blaise had the sinking feeling that he was talking about something permanent and possibly fatal. "You're scaring me, Theo," he whispered.

"Good," Theodore said grimly. "You should be scared. Fear is a self-defense mechanism. It's supposed to keep you from doing stupid things that will get you killed. Like talking too freely about...You-Know-Who and his followers."

"I trust you, Theo, but Snape...?"

"Who else is going to look out for a Slytherin?" Theodore asked bitterly. "The Headmaster?"

"Well..."

"All he cares about are his precious Gryffindors!"

"I'm not sure that he--"

"People like him only care about the big picture!" Theodore insisted. "People like you and me, we're expendable! He might shed a tear or two afterwards, but he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice the likes of us if he thought it would help him win the war!"

Blaise was more open-minded than most Slytherins, but distrust for Gryffindor had been ingrained in him by his family as it had been in most of his housemates. And he knew that most outsiders considered "Slytherin" synonymous with "Death Eater." He wasn't sure if Dumbledore was one of those people, but perhaps it was better to be safe than sorry. "Well, what about Lupin or Blackmore? They've treated us fairly and haven't favored the other Houses."

Theodore frowned thoughtfully. "Blackmore is a fair teacher, true enough, but she used to be an Auror," he said slowly. "She killed people during the war." Comrades of Theodore's father, were the unspoken words that neither boy wanted to say aloud. "I wouldn't trust her...not unless there were no other choice." Theodore added that last remark only because he knew that if things got bad enough, there might be no other choice. If for some reason Theodore and Snape were not able to protect Blaise, then he would rather Blaise go to Blackmore than the Headmaster, because despite having been an Auror and having slain Death Eaters, she still had Slytherin blood, and if even a fraction of the rumors were true, came from a long line of Dark Wizards. She might, just possibly, have some sympathy for a Slytherin child in need. As for Lupin...

"I think Lupin would try to help you if you were in trouble," Theodore said. "But I'm not sure how effective he'd be. He's a good mage, but one mage alone can't stand against...those people we were talking about."

"Snape is only one man himself," Blaise pointed out. "What makes him a better protector than Lupin?"

Theodore scowled. "Isn't it obvious? Snape has influence among...the people that matter. Lupin has none. My father's...friends...might listen to Snape, but they certainly won't listen to Lupin. And Lupin's a werewolf, just barely tolerated in society. Say he attacked a supposedly upstanding citizen to protect you or me--who do you think the Ministry would listen to? Who do you think they'd punish?"

Blaise went cold with fear; if he had been scared before, he was utterly terrified now. He knew Theodore was right; the Ministry had not believed Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater until they had caught him red-handed leading an attack on the Ministry of Magic. Even now, as a fugitive on the run, he wielded enough power that everyone in Slytherin was afraid to offend his son. What chance did one unimportant, softhearted werewolf have against people like that? Likely all they would accomplish by going to Lupin would be to get him in trouble as well--maybe even killed. "Theodore," Blaise whispered.

But before he could say anything else, there was a loud knock at the door, and both boys jumped. "Come on, Nott!" Draco called out cheerfully. "Let's not keep the ladies waiting!"

Theodore's face settled back in its normal sullen expression, and he opened the door without another word to Blaise. "Fine," he said sulkily. "Let's go." He and Blaise fell in step behind Draco, along with Crabbe and Goyle.

"You look like you're going to your own funeral, Nott," Draco said lightly. "I know Millicent probably isn't your idea of a dream date, but try and have a little fun."

"Yes, Draco," Theodore said gloomily.

"At least you HAVE a date," Crabbe told Theodore in a surly voice. He and Goyle were dateless, as usual.

Draco seemed to be the only one in a good mood. "What about you, Zabini--couldn't find a date, either? You should have told me, maybe I could have fixed you up."

Blaise just smiled and shook his head. "Thank you, Draco, but I don't think there are many girls who would want me for a date." He indicated his black dress robes, which were slightly faded and several years out of date; Draco, of course, was dressed in brand-new, very stylish black velvet robes. Blaise didn't have to say, because everyone in Slytherin knew, that while he came from an old pureblood family, they had no money and therefore, no influence.

Draco grinned at Blaise in a sly and conspiratorial way. "Stick with me, Zabini, and you'll be moving up in the world fast enough. Play your cards right, and you'll have girls flinging themselves at your feet. And more than girls--money, power, influence."

Blaise gave Draco what he hoped was a properly fawning smile, but inside he was more afraid than ever.

***

Pansy and Millicent met their dates in the common room, and all the boys' jaws dropped open. "Wow, you look great, Parkinson!" Draco blurted out, and Pansy smiled smugly at the sincere if rather inelegant compliment. Her new haircut suited her well, and following Parvati's advice, she wore an off-the-shoulder red velvet gown that clung to her torso then flared slightly at the waist, falling to the floor in loose folds. It was low-cut enough to show a hint of cleavage (or "decolletage" as Parvati preferred to say), but not low-cut enough to be improper. A pair of small ruby earrings (borrowed from her mother) and a bit of red velvet ribbon tied around her throat like a choker completed the picture.

Millicent wore her braids--woven through with gold ribbons--up in that coronet style, held in place by a few hairpins topped with glittering green stones. Her robes were green velvet with a bit of gold trim--a simple, almost severe style with long sleeves and a high neck, but it suited her. She looked like a queen, Parvati and Lavender told her, but Millicent wasn't sure she believed them until she saw the boys' reactions. "You look...nice," was all Theodore said, but he looked mildly impressed, if in a slightly detached way. Crabbe and Goyle were outright gawping at her, and even Draco gave her an appreciative glance before turning his attention back to Pansy. Blaise smiled politely and said, "You both look very nice."

Damien Pierce walked into the room accompanied by his date, a pretty--if slightly feather-headed--blonde Slytherin yearmate named Yvonne. His jaw dropped open like the other boys' and all the normally loquacious (and most flirtatious) boy in Slytherin could say was, "Wow!" Yvonne glared at him, and when that had no effect, elbowed him none too gently in the side, and he blinked and closed his mouth. He made a quick recovery, smiled at his date, and said gallantly, "My, don't all of you Slytherin ladies look lovely this evening?"

The girls giggled, and Draco offered his arm to Pansy, saying, "Shall we?" She smiled and laid her hand on his arm. Theodore offered his arm to Millicent, although with less enthusiasm, and they all headed for the Great Hall.

The teachers were dressed festively and looked cheerful, except of course for Snape, who, as usual, was dressed in black and had a sour expression on his face. Even Blackmore got into the holiday spirit, wearing a wreath of tinsel on her head, and had hung a tinsel garland around Bane's neck.

After dinner, the dancing began. Pansy was enjoying herself; Draco was a good dancer and was being a properly attentive date, even if his favorite topic of conversation was himself. Millicent was not having quite so good a time. She was dancing with Theodore, who moved a bit stiffly but at least managed to avoid stepping on her feet, but he obviously would rather be anywhere than at the Ball.

To occupy herself, she turned her attention away from her unwilling partner and scanned the dance floor. Lavender was dancing with Seamus Finnigan, and Parvati with Dean Thomas. Millicent noted that she was not the only one with a less than enthusiastic escort; Thomas seemed to be paying more attention to Ginny Weasley than his own date, much to Parvati's obvious displeasure. Ginny seemed oblivious, and appeared to be having a good time dancing with Harry Potter. Potter's little sidekick Weasley was dancing--rather ineptly--with Hermione Granger.

"Oops, sorry about that," Weasley said, flushing, as he trod on Granger's foot--obviously not the first time he had done so.

Granger winced, but smiled and said, "It's okay, Ron. Just relax. We're here to have fun, remember?"

Damien Pierce waltzed by with Yvonne, and his smile was beginning to look a little forced and his eyes a little glazed, probably because she was babbling nonstop about Dylan Rosier. Millicent loved gossiping about Dylan, too, but she had enough sense and manners not to do so in front of her date--although Theodore probably wouldn't care. Then, to her surprise, Millicent saw Serafina Avery go up to Blaise Zabini and ask him something--for a dance, apparently, because he looked startled, then smiled and led her out onto the dance floor. Millicent was shocked that Serafina had shown up in the first place, and even more shocked that she was actually dancing; she hadn't bothered to dress up for the Ball, wearing a very plain black robe, and she looked about as happy to be there as Theodore and Snape did. Perhaps her mother had forced her to come, although House gossip had it that Serafina paid little heed to her parents' wishes.

Then Millicent got yet another shock as she glanced up at her date; Theodore was staring at Blaise and Serafina with a look of surprise and jealousy on his face. Hmm...perhaps Nott did like girls, after all. Everyone assumed that Nott and Avery would eventually be paired off by their parents, although the two had never seemed to be particularly fond of each other. But perhaps he had taken her for granted, as boys often did. Or perhaps he wasn't fond of her, but just didn't like the thought of anyone, even his friend, poaching on his future bride. Unless...could it be Blaise who was the object of his affections and not Serafina? But honestly, Millicent couldn't picture either of the two--quiet, studious Zabini or strange, emotionless Avery--inspiring feelings of passion in anyone. She looked up at Theodore again, and his face was once more fixed in its usual sullen, remote look, and she wondered if she had imagined the whole thing...

***

Blaise was sitting with his fellow dateless housemates, Crabbe and Goyle, watching the dance floor and wishing that he could be dancing with Theodore instead of Millicent. Not that he blamed her, of course; in fact, he felt rather sorry for her, because Theodore wasn't bothering to hide the fact that he'd been drafted into being her date. Draco had insisted on fixing her up with one his inner crowd, which was a pity, because she would probably be having more fun with someone who actually wanted to be there. And she looked surprisingly nice tonight, although the effect was totally wasted on Theodore. She wasn't exactly pretty, but the braids and the new robe looked quite impressive on her--not so much the fairy tale princess look most of the girls were trying for, but more like a Valkyrie or Celtic warrior queen, perhaps. He saw Parvati and Lavender look at Millicent and Pansy in a rather smug way, and he wondered if they'd had anything to do with the Slytherin girls' dramatic makeover; they had been surprisingly friendly ever since Blackmore had grouped them together for the Summonings project. They had tried to keep it low-key, but Blaise had still thought Draco would have a fit, but instead he had taken advantage of it by arranging the rose giveaway for Slytherin's Quidditch match against Gryffindor.

"Blaise?" a soft voice said, breaking his train of thought.

"Oh, hello, Serafina," Blaise said politely, looking up with a start. He was surprised that she had bothered to come to the Ball; she had come alone, and looked less than thrilled to be here.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Serafina asked, her voice and face expressionless as always. Crabbe and Goyle stared at her in shock, their jaws hanging open.

Blaise realized that he was doing the same thing and quickly closed his mouth. "Uh, sure," he replied. He rose to his feet and held out his hand; she took it, and he led her out onto the dance floor. They began dancing, a little awkwardly, since neither of them had much practice at it, and Blaise said, "I, um, didn't think you'd be here tonight. I mean, this doesn't really seem like your sort of thing..."

"It's not," she replied glumly. "I was going to skip it, but my mother insisted I go. So I thought I'd just stay for dinner and then leave, but she made me promise that I'd dance at least once, so here I am. Thanks, by the way. For helping me keep my promise."

"No problem," Blaise replied, still in shock. Serafina had just said more to him right now than she'd said to him all last year, and he would have thought that a girl capable of hexing her own father would have no qualms about disobeying her mother's orders to attend a school dance.

He was too polite to voice these thoughts out loud, but they must have shown in his eyes, because Serafina explained, "My mother's going through a hard time right now. Going to a stupid dance isn't such a big deal if it makes her feel better." Then she flushed, looking a little embarrassed, perhaps at having revealed a rare hint of emotion. "Actually, I would have asked Theo to go with me, but Draco had already set him up with Millicent."

"Theo doesn't want to be here anymore than you do," Blaise said with a smile.

"Yes, I can tell," Serafina said in a dry voice, and to Blaise's surprise, she almost smiled. "I almost feel sorry for Millicent." Then her expression turned serious, and she whispered in a voice soft enough that the other dancers wouldn't overhear, "Please look out for Theo, Blaise."

He stared at her in shock, causing Serafina to stumble when he suddenly forgot to move. He quickly resumed dancing and whispered back, "I'll try. But I'm not really sure what I can do."

Serafina gave him a sad little smile. "Neither am I."

Blaise was very curious about her uncharacteristic behavior, and he wondered if he could glean some information from her. "I didn't think that you and Theodore were close," he said cautiously.

"We're not," Serafina replied. "But he was always nice to me when we were little; at least, he never made fun of me the way the other kids did. He's not a bad person." Her eyes flickered over in Draco's direction, and she lowered her voice. "At least when he's not hanging around with Malfoy."

"He's not a bad person at all," Blaise whispered firmly, aware that this conversation was taking a rather dangerous turn. But this might be the only chance he would ever have to talk to her; even if he could catch her alone in the Slytherin dorm, who knew when she would be in such a garrulous (for her, anyway) mood again? "He just knows it isn't wise to offend Draco."

"I know," Serafina said softly.

"How can I help him, Serafina?" Blaise whispered. Fortunately Draco was on the other side of the dance floor, out of earshot, and while he looked surprised to see Blaise dancing with Serafina, he didn't look suspicious. In fact, he grinned and gave Blaise a thumbs-up. Theodore flashed him a quick, sour look before turning his attention back to Millicent.

"I don't know, Blaise," Serafina replied. "If I did, I would do it myself." For just a moment, her expressionless mask slipped, and she looked sad and frightened and despairing, all at the same time, before she regained her composure a few seconds later.

"What about you, Sera?" Blaise asked, and she looked startled at hearing him use her childish nickname. "Who's going to look out for you?"

"I can look after myself," she said firmly.

Blaise knew that wasn't true; if it was, she wouldn't have looked so frightened, and she wouldn't be asking him to watch out for Theo. It scared him that both Serafina and Theodore were suddenly so worried; everyone knew that the Dark Lord was back and that war would come eventually, but he suspected they knew something more specific than that--something that would cause Serafina to break her usual silence, something that would make Theo tell Blaise to go to Snape for help if "anything bad" happened.

But while he was trying to think of a safe way to ask her what that something might be, the song ended. Serafina curtsied to him, said, "Thank you for the dance, Blaise," and left the dance floor. She moved at a quick walk, not a run, but she deftly threaded her way through the other dancers and vanished before Blaise could catch up to her. He heaved a sigh of disappointment and headed for the refreshments table, where bowls of punch and pumpkin juice had been set out.

He had just ladled out a cup of punch for himself when Damien showed up. "Hey, you were dancing with Avery!" Damien exclaimed. "What's up with that?"

Blaise shrugged. "No big deal; she promised her mother she'd come to the Ball and stay for at least one dance. She kept her promise and left. She didn't really want to come in the first place. Neither did Theo."

Damien laughed and gave him a sly grin. "Yeah, because he couldn't take his first choice for a date! But Millicent looks pretty good--who'd have thought she could look so, well..." He paused, trying to think of the right word.

"Elegant?" Blaise suggesting. "Regal?"

"Yeah," Damien agreed. "Pansy, too. Maybe the Gryffindor girls' fashion sense rubbed off on them or something." He stared a little wistfully at Parvati and Lavender, who were still dancing with their dates.

"Yvonne looks nice," Blaise said. "Not as stunning as Parvati, maybe, but she's pretty enough. Aren't you having a good time?"

Damien made a face. "Not really. I think she only agreed to go with me so she could ask me to fix her up with Dylan!" Blaise laughed, and Damien joined in, laughing good-naturedly. "Well, I knew she wasn't really interested in me. I'd rather have asked out one of the Patil sisters, or maybe Ginny Weasley, but then I'd be in hot water with Malfoy."

"Maybe you could cut in on Theo," Blaise suggested with a mischievous grin. "I think both Theo and Millicent would thank you for it!"

"Hmm, maybe I will," Damien said with a speculative look in his eyes. But just then, Miles Bletchley walked up and tapped Theodore on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" he asked.

"Not at all," Theodore said in relief, relinquishing Millicent to him. Millicent looked startled but not displeased. Bletchley was no Dylan Rosier, but he was a seventh-year and the Keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch team, so she still felt flattered that he wanted to dance with her. And on the plus side, he was tall and muscular enough that she looked almost dainty beside him. Well, maybe not dainty, but normal at least; she felt like a troll next to some of her scrawnier male classmates. She beamed at him, and he grinned back at her, looking pleased and flattered himself, and they began to dance. Maybe the Ball would turn out to be fun after all...

Theodore joined his friends at the refreshments table. "Why were you dancing with Sera?" he demanded of Blaise.

"Not jealous, are you?" Damien asked with a grin. Blaise kicked him in the shin and shot him a quelling look.

"She promised her mother that she'd go to the Ball and dance," Blaise replied calmly. "She fulfilled her word to the letter and left. She didn't want to come in the first place; she was just humoring her mum." He decided not to mention Serafina's warning, at least, not yet. It wouldn't be safe to discuss it in public, anyway.

"Oh," Theodore said sheepishly, and gave Blaise an apologetic smile. "I should've known." He turned to Damien. "What happened to your date?"

"She's off powdering her nose or something," he replied, sounding unconcerned. "All she wants to do is talk about Dylan, anyway, and ask if he's seeing anyone and whether he might be interested in her..."

Theodore laughed. "So the Ball is a bust for you, too." He saw Draco and Pansy leave the dance floor and slip out into the garden. "Malfoy and Parkinson seem to be having a good time, though."

"The teachers seem to be having a good time, too," Damien observed. Most of them took at least one turn on the dance floor; Dumbledore was currently dancing with Professor McGonagall, Hagrid was dancing with Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Blackmore, of all people, was dancing with Lupin! She was laughing and smiling up at him, looking quite pretty and girlish, and not at all demonic. "I can't believe it!" Damien exclaimed at that unexpected sight.

Blaise grinned. "Well, she did dance with Dylan's father when he was a student here. So I suppose she does like to relax a little when she's not terrorizing her students."

"Hmm, do you think there's anything going on between her and Lupin?" Damien wondered.

"A werewolf and a demon," Theodore observed darkly. "A perfect match."

Blaise laughed. "Well, Lupin's the nicest werewolf I've ever met!"

"The only werewolf you've ever met," Theodore pointed out, but he smiled a little.

"And it's only a rumor about the Blackmores having demon blood," Blaise continued. "You don't know that it's true."

"It must be!" Damien insisted. "No normal person could be that scary! Even Snape seems a little scared of her." He watched her dance with Lupin and added, "She's awfully pretty for a demon, though."

Theodore grinned, a little wickedly. "Demons can take the forms of beautiful men and women, in order to seduce human victims. But if you find her that attractive, why don't you go up and ask her for a dance, like Dylan's dad?"

Damien shook his head vigorously. "I'm not that brave!"

The boys all laughed. When the song ended, Blackmore curtsied to Lupin, who bowed to her, then they returned to the head table.

***

"Will you dance with me, Severus?" Branwen asked, mischief sparkling in her green eyes.

Snape just crossed his arms and scowled at her. "You've got to be kidding," he said.

"I'm dead serious," she laughed, and his scowl grew even fiercer. "Oh, come on, Severus," she cajoled. "For old time's sake."

"No," he said stubbornly, settling back more firmly in his chair. But Branwen reached out and grasped one of his hands as Lupin accidentally-on-purpose bumped into Snape's chair while making his way back to his own seat, tipping the chair and knocking Snape off balance just long enough for Branwen to pull him out of his seat and drag him onto the dance floor.

"I'm going to kill you," Snape growled into her ear, even as he gave in to the inevitable and put his arm around her waist and reluctantly went through the steps of the dance.

"You're welcome to try, Severus," Branwen replied cheerfully.

"You're making a spectacle of us," Snape pointed out sourly, as the students all stared at them. "How am I supposed to explain this when word gets out?"

"You're cultivating me," she said smoothly, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Trying to win me over and gain information. I may be demonic, but I have a soft spot for my former students. You're just taking advantage of that."

"Not bad," he muttered in an equally soft voice. "Though it's still dangerous. You know the school will be gossiping about this for weeks. You're behaving almost like a Gryffindor."

"I wanted to dance with my two favorite students this Christmas night," she murmured with a smile. "And by the way, Severus, speaking of gossip--do you realize while we're talking like this, it looks like we're whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears?"

Horrified, he jerked away from her, and held her as far away from him as he could, dancing almost literally at arm's length. She laughed merrily, and he scowled at her.

***

"Okay, so which one is she interested in?" Damien wondered. "Snape or Lupin?"

"Snape's a better match for her," Theodore said. "They're the two scariest teachers in the school. Lupin's too nice; werewolf or not, she'd eat him alive."

"Funny, though," Blaise said thoughtfully. "Lupin doesn't seem to be scared of her the way Snape is."

That might have something to do with the fact that Snape had once been one of the Death Eaters Blackmore had hunted down as an Auror while Lupin had not, but Theodore knew it wasn't safe to voice such a thought out loud. And just then, Parvati Patil stalked over to the refreshments table, looking quite cross, distracting the boys from their conversation.

Damien instantly snapped to attention, the way he did whenever a pretty girl crossed his path. "Can I get you some punch, Parvati?" he offered.

She smiled at him, looking a little less vexed, and replied, "Why, thank you, Damien. That would be very nice." He handed her a cup and she added, "You're very considerate. Unlike some other people I could mention." She glared at Dean Thomas, who seemed to be trying to cut in on Potter and Ginny Weasley. Potter looked nervous, but Ginny gave Dean what seemed to be a firm rebuke, and he sulkily retreated back to his table.

"What a fool Thomas is," Damien said scornfully, "not to notice that he already had the most beautiful girl in the school by his side!" Parvati beamed at him. "You're looking so lovely, tonight, Parvati. That dress suits you perfectly." And indeed, her robes of flame-colored satin nicely set off her dusky skin.

Parvati blushed and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "You're too kind, Damien."

"I'm only speaking the truth," he said, practically oozing sincerity. Theodore was glaring at him, but he ignored it.

"Where's your date?" Parvati asked.

"Alas, I too, seem to have been abandoned," Damien replied in a tone of dramatic woe.

Parvati giggled. "Would you like to dance, then?"

"I would love to, milady."

"Are you crazy?" Theodore hissed into Damien's ear. "What will Malfoy say?"

"Malfoy's out canoodling with Pansy in the rose bushes," Damien replied with blithe unconcern. "He won't notice." He swept Parvati off onto the dance floor before Theodore could stop him.

"Idiot!" Theodore fumed. "Does he think word won't get back to Malfoy? I swear, it's like his brain shuts off whenever there's a pretty girl around!"

"That's typical of most boys our age," Blaise pointed out.

"A Slytherin needs to be smarter than that," Theodore growled.

"Maybe no one will notice," Blaise said hopefully. "Everyone's still staring at Snape and Blackmore."

"Maybe," Theodore said doubtfully.

When the current song ended, Snape disentangled himself from Blackmore as fast as he possibly could and stalked off into the garden.

"Uh-oh," Theodore said. "He's really in a bad mood now; he'll be blasting rose bushes apart like he did the last time. Maybe we should go warn Malfoy."

"Snape's not going to give Malfoy detention," Blaise said, unconcerned.

"I suppose not," Theodore agreed.

A few couples soon ran back into the Great Hall, looking pale and slightly disheveled; one of the girls had leaves in her hair. Draco and Pansy sauntered back in at a more casual pace, smiling; Blaise had obviously been right. Draco scowled when he saw Damien dancing with Parvati. "What the hell is Pierce doing?" he demanded.

Theodore shot Blaise an "I told you so" look. Blaise, thinking quickly, said, "Pissing off the Gryffindor boys by stealing the most popular girl in Gryffindor right from under their noses!" Draco blinked, looking startled and less angry, so Blaise hastily continued, "They're already upset that their girls like Dylan. They're going to be utterly humiliated when the whole school can see that the Gryffindor girls prefer Slytherin boys to their own housemates!"

Draco snickered maliciously. "Heh, that's true!" He saw the stunned and outraged looks on most of the Gryffindor boys' faces and looked even more pleased, to Blaise's relief. "Serves 'em right," Draco said. "But tell Pierce not to get too carried away. Dancing at the Ball is one thing, but it wouldn't be right for one of us to be going out with one of them."

"Yes, Draco," Blaise said meekly. Draco, his good mood restored, drank some punch and headed back onto the dance floor with Pansy.

"Good recovery," Theodore whispered. "I'm impressed."

Blaise smirked. "I told you Slytherin is the House for me."

Theodore smiled, although a hint of worry crept back into his eyes. "I guess you're too devious to be a Ravenclaw, after all." He glanced at Millicent, who still seemed to be happily occupied with Bletchley. "I think it's safe to sneak off now. I don't think Millicent will miss me."

"You should still say goodnight to her," Blaise insisted. "That would be the proper thing to do." Theodore rolled his eyes. "Just say you're not feeling well or something. Bletchley will think you're just being polite and ceding ground to him because he's a seventh-year."

"Slytherins aren't supposed to be polite," Theodore grumbled, although that wasn't quite true. They were polite, but only to the people that mattered, people in a position to do them favors--or cause them harm. Still, Theodore went off to make his excuses, and Blaise whispered that he'd meet him back at their room.

"Sorry, Millicent," he said. "I'm not feeling well; I think I'd better call it a night." He turned to Bletchley. "You'll look after her, won't you?"

"No problem, Nott," Bletchley said in a magnanimous tone.

"Goodnight, Theodore," Millicent said cheerfully, and the pair continued dancing without a backwards glance at Theodore, who shrugged and hurried off to meet Blaise.

"Hope you're not disappointed," Bletchley said.

"Not at all," Millicent replied. "Theodore's not interested in me, anyway."

"The more fool he," Bletchley said gallantly.

"I didn't know you had such a way with words, Miles!" Millicent laughed, and he grinned at her. Feeling more generous now that she had a much more satisfactory escort, Millicent added, "Well, everyone knows that Theodore's parents intend to match him up with Serafina one day, anyway."

"Poor Nott," Bletchley said, then dismissed the matter from his mind. He gazed out at the garden and said, "I wonder if Snape's still blasting apart rose bushes..."

Part 29