Chapter
16
Masquerade
: Part I
A water nymph
entered the Great Hall, turning her eyes up to the twinkling stars on the
ceiling.
They seemed
brighter than usual. Snow appeared to be falling, but it must have been
enchanted
snow, for
it never seemed to touch the ground. Hermione lifted the hem of her silver
dress, and
moved nervously
towards the other end of the hall. Several hundred Hogwarts students were
milling around,
talking and sipping the Christmas punch. It had been specially brewed by
Severus
Snape, and
had been mixed with a mild happiness potion and a touch of conversation-starting
elixir.
Hermione had
been more than nervous when he'd first mentioned this in one of their last
potions
lessons. But,
as Ginny had pointed out, he wouldn't be able to poison the Gryffindors
without
poisoning
the Slytherins. Approaching a large Christmas tree, she remembered the
last decorating
session with
Flitwick. He'd fallen off a high stool while performing a tree-light lighting
spell.
Hermione smiled
slightly, but her smile froze in place when she saw another tree next to
the one
she'd been
standing in front of. The tree she'd seen looked no different to any other
from afar.
But when she'd
seen it up close, she realised it was covered in little tear-drop shaped
crystal
baubles. Each
one shimmered, and each one had her name on it in gilded silver letters.
As she
reached out
to touch one, a hand tapped her shoulder.
It was somebody
in a seeker outfit, in the colours of the Chuddley Cannons. The water nymph
racked her
brain to think of who it could be, but found nothing. McGonagall had been
teaching
them to 'become'
the character they had chosen for the ball. Everyone attending the ball
had to
perform a
spell on themselves so others would recognise them only as the character
they were
dressed as.
At midnight though, the spell would be lifted, so everyone would be revealed.
Now, as she
danced with the seeker, Hermione remembered Draco. Perhaps he was on
holiday in
some exotic location, having forgotten all about her. As the song finished,
Hermione
felt her hand
being taken by someone else. He was wearing a completely black outfit,
and was
holding a
black rose. Half his face was covered in a white porcelain mask. Hermione
closed
her eyes and
let the music take control.
"I am the Angel
of Death." The man said, and spun her in a breath-taking circle. "And you,
most beautiful
water nymph, are...?"
"Charmed I'm sure."
*
"Narcissa!
Where is he!" Lucius Malfoy stormed through the halls of Malfoy Manor in
a
raging fury.
His wife sat in the immensely luxurious living room, her face pale and
her hands
gripping the
arms of the chair with white knuckles.
"Lucius, he said he'd be staying at Hogwarts this time."
"Why!? Oh,
I know why..." He wagged a finger in front of Narcissa's face. "It's because
of that little
mudblood brat. The rumours must be true then."
"Lucius, he's only a boy. Let him have his freedom."
"I will not tolerate such behaviour from my son! He is destined to be Voldemort's heir!"
"And what about your's? He is your son, not Voldemort's. Let him enjoy one night in peace."
"Shut your
mouth woman! I won't let him waste his life away with a worthless mudblood!"
With a final
snarl of rage, Lucius turned and was gone.
*
After the current
song ended, the nymph and the dark angel did not split up to dance with
other people.
Infact, they kept on dancing. From the teacher's table, Snape watched them,
a rare smile
flitting across his lips. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor. Night and day.
Together.
Well, about
time too! Perhaps he'd been too hard on them before. After all, he remembered
how it felt
to be in love. Although, it had been a long time ago for him.... He sighed
and
gulped down
a goblet of wine.
"Three, two,
one!" The countdown to Christmas went unnoticed, as did the squeals and
giggles of
surprise and shock that followed. Hermione rested her head on the shoulder
of
her mysterious
partner.
"Merry Christmas
everyone!" Announced Dumbledore loudly, a rather loud pink party hat
on his head.
"I think it is time for some more Christmas cheer from our very own Christmas
elves!" At
this, a troupe of small elves marched into the hall. Upon a wave of Dumbledore's
hand, they
began to, rather loudly, sing Christmas carols. The water nymph sighed
as she
and the dark
angel danced to their own music.
"Don't they ever shut up..." The dark angel mumbled against the water nymph's neck.
Hermione gasped
and pulled away from the man before her...
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