After returning from the Halloween Feast, which had been delectable as usual, Harry found himself in his room, straightening his dress robes and pondering all the equally disastrous situations he might find himself in that night.
He had attempted to get some information from his bushy-headed friend about her mysterious Slytherin date, but it seemed to be fourth year all over again. She simply refused to divulge a name to Harry, and demanded he keep it quiet from Ron. It all seemed rather pointless, since everything would be revealed at the ball, anyway, and would surely cause more problems when it all came out in the open for everyone to see rather than before hand, when it could at least be handled quietly.
But Hermione wouldn’t budge, and now Harry was nearly sweating with dread. He took a seat on his bed to breath, and noticed a golden glow from his journal that lay on his nightstand.
His stomach gave a happy hop, and he quickly opened it and found Katie’s message.
I hope you enjoy the ball tonight, pity I can’t be there “ and Siobhan better not try anything! Of course, I’m kidding. Have a lovely time, take some pictures; I want to see you looking devilishly handsome in your dress robes. Oh, and don’t let Ron kill or otherwise injure Hermione’s date; I don’t think it would do much to promote house unity.
All my love,
Katie.
He put it away with a smile, heaved one more preparatory sigh, and left his dormitory and Gryffindor Tower for the entrance to the dungeons, where he would be meeting Siobhan.
It didn’t come as much as a surprise that he arrived at the rendezvous point before his Slytherin escort, and he waited patiently for her to show up. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes after the ball had started she finally ascended the steps of the dungeons, greeting Harry with an appraising eye.
“Well, don’t you look dashing all fancied up?” she teased.
“You shine up well, yourself,” Harry answered, looking her over with wide-eyes. She was dressed in velvet robes of deep green with gold embroidery down the centre and along the sleeves, and her red hair was straightened, falling fast her elbows. “I see those extra fifteen minutes were put to good use…”
“Being fashionably late is not a bad thing, Potter,” she answered, catching his implication.
“Oh, and I suppose you’re the expert on social events?” Harry chided.
“I do come from a pureblood family, after all…” she replied.
“Right, well “ if it’s not too unfashionable for you, m’lady, I would prefer to get to the Ball as soon as possible, in case I need to stop Ron from throttling Hermione’s date.”
“Very well, then,” she said in feigned exasperation, and they headed for the entrance to the Great Hall, from where they could already hear the sounds of chattering students and fast-paced music. “So, Hermione has a date for the ball. That’s…”
“Surprising?” Harry finished for her. “Yes, I know. And you know what else is surprising?”
“No. Enlighten me.”
“When someone who is supposedly your friend manages to let a large piece of information about their life slip their minds…”
“What kind of information?” Siobhan asked innocently, but her green eyes carried that familiar knowing twinkle.
“Like, being the Seeker on their Quidditch Team for instance.”
“Ah. Well “ I was going for the element of surprise…”
“You certainly captured that element alright…”
The conversation was soon whisked away by the sight of the Great Hall, lavishly decorated, and filled with students of every house associating with one another as though it had never been any other way. Harry quickly spotted Neville, Susan , Seamus and Luna at a nearby table conversing with Dean and his date, a girl in turquoise robes whom Harry did not recognise. He gave Siobhan a small nudge, and they went over in the group’s direction.
“Hiya, Harry.” It was Seamus that greeted them first. “And its Siobhan isn’t it?”
Siobhan returned him an unfriendly smile, before turning to the yellow-robed Luna who had been watching a dancing couple with great interest.
“Hello Siobhan, I’m Luna,” she said in her usual dreamy tone.
“Yes, I know who you are.” Siobhan replied.
Harry scowled, and gave a slight tug at the indifferent Slytherin’s arm.
“Do you have to act so callous?” he asked in a low grumble.
“Well, I do know who she is,” she said aside to him. “I could pretend to be uninformed, just for the purpose of making an official acquaintance, but I don’t understand the point.”
Harry chose not to respond and instead turned to Dean and his unknown date.
“Hey Harry, this is Haley,” he introduced them. “She’s in Ravenclaw.”
“I’m a friend of Luna’s,” Haley added, shaking Harry’s hand with a polite smile.
“Nice to meet you Haley,” Siobhan said warmly, shaking her hand after Harry had. “I’m Siobhan…”
Harry looked at her in bewilderment.
“What? I didn’t know her “ and since you chastised me for being rude, I thought I might… not be rude.”
“I just do not understand you,” Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“And you never will,” she answered simply.
“Has anyone seen Ron or Hermione, yet?” Harry asked, turning back to the others.
“Ron hasn’t arrived yet,” Dean answered. “I think he’s handling something in the kitchens with the House Elves. Hermione’s over there, though…”
He pointed to the other corner of the hall, where Hermione was seated at a table in discussion with a dark haired boy Harry assumed was her Slytherin date.
“Thanks,” Harry said politely to the group, before whispering a quick ‘C’mon’ to his own date. They walked around the dance floor to the other side of the tables that were set up, and quickly made their way towards the couple.
“Harry,” Hermione exclaimed happily upon seeing them approach the table. “Siobhan “ you look lovely.”
“So do you,” Siobhan said kindly; Harry caught her eye, and she added to him, “See, I can be nice…”
“Harry, I want you to meet Blaise Zabini “ he’s my date tonight.”
“Er… Hi… Blaise,” Harry said awkwardly. He definitely did not feel comfortable greeting the person who had so suddenly stepped into Ron’s place. Blaise shook his hand and gave him a silent smiling nod, but said nothing, before turning his attention back to Hermione.
“Well, erm,” Harry said, looking at the two of them, “we’re just going to go…”
“Dance,” Siobhan finished for him, and tugged his hand, pulling him into the crowd of dancing students.
“Thanks,” Harry said, tearing his eyes away from Hermione and Blaise.
“So “ I suppose you want the dirt,” Siobhan said quickly.
“What?” Harry replied, befuddled.
“You want to know about Blaise. He’s in my house, you know. My year.”
“Oh. Yeah. Well “ what… can you tell me about him?” Harry asked quietly.
“Well “ he never really hung out with Malfoy or Parkinson, or any of that lot. He’s a bit… secretive, doesn’t do too badly in class. I couldn’t tell you if his family is into the Dark Arts or not, but I don’t think they’re Death Eaters.”
“What about his interest in Hermione… any chance that’s sincere?”
“Well. Hermione has some qualities that might attract a Slytherin. She’s smart, friends with the most well-known student at school, and she’s Head Girl. And in case you haven’t noticed, she’s not bad looking…”
“She’s also a Muggleborn,” Harry said darkly. “Is Blaise a blood purist?”
“I don’t know,” Siobhan sighed. “In case you haven’t noticed… I don’t actually talk much to my “ ”
Siobhan stopped suddenly and looked off behind Harry uneasily.
“What is it?”
“Ron’s here.”
Harry turned and saw a stressed looking Ron approaching the two of them.
“Hey Harry, Siobhan,” he said, tiredly. “Having a good time?”
“Yes. Fantastic,” Harry lied.
“Seen Hermione?” Ron asked.
“No. Not at all. Not once… why?” Harry asked, his voice cracking slightly.
“I wanted to talk to her about the situation with the kitchens…” Ron said, scrutinising the surroundings in search for the Head Girl.
“What’s the problem?” Harry asked, stealthily placing himself to block Hermione from Ron’s line of vision.
“Oh, don’t want to worry you about it,” Ron shrugged. “If I can just find…”
He trailed off as his eyes took rest on a spot of the room he had been viewing over Harry’s head.
“Ah, there she is,” he said. “I’ll see the two of you later.”
With a nod, he left them and headed for Hermione and Blaise; Harry and Siobhan turned and watched the impending disaster. At first, Ron didn’t seem to even notice Hermione’s date, because he began talking to her as though Blaise were invisible.
Harry noticed that Hermione’s confidence evaporated in Ron’s presence, her eyes averted to look anywhere but directly at him. She seemed smaller, broken; but she paid him attention and nodded as he spoke.
It was not until he was done explaining what must have been the ‘situation with the kitchens’ that Ron spotted Blaise. He tossed the dark haired Slytherin a small nod, before looking back at Hermione for a response.
She muttered something quickly, and the three stood there very awkwardly.
“It’s coming,” Harry breathed to Siobhan, both of their eyes still glued on the three as they moved closer to hear, and possibly intervene.
“… this is Blaise,” he heard Hermione say, her voice catching in her throat a little.
“Nice to meet you,” Ron said politely, extending his hand in what he must have supposed to be a gesture of house unity. They were quiet again, and Hermione looked as though she were preparing to throw herself from a very high building.
“Hesmydatetonight.”
“Excuse me?” Ron said, looking at her in bewilderment.
Hermione cleared her throat and said more clearly, “He’s my date tonight…”
Harry could have been sure that at these words everyone in the Great Hall stopped moving and fell silent, and that the only sound to be heard was the beating of Ron and Hermione’s hearts, though common sense told him that was simply his perception.
“Oh,” Ron said in a deadened tone, looking as though he had been slapped in the face. “Well… erm. Have a nice time. I’ll just talk to Dumbledore about the kitchens…”
With that, he turned and walked away, straight past Harry and Siobhan as though they weren’t standing there, and out of the Great Hall.
“Well, that was not what I expected,” Harry remarked.
“You should go after him,” Siobhan sighed. “Just… make sure he’s not going to poison himself and throw himself into the Forbidden Forest… or something like that.”
“You’ll be alright here by yourself?” Harry asked.
“I’m a grown lass, Harry,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll survive without you.”
With that, he left quickly to catch up with Ron and found him sitting on the marble staircase of the Entrance Hall.
“Hey...” he said awkwardly.
“Did you know she was coming with someone?” Ron asked quickly.
“Yeah, I found out on Saturday…” Harry confessed. “I didn’t know who, though… and, well she wouldn’t let me tell you.”
“I can’t believe she has a date… we only broke up three weeks ago. And a Slytherin… what’s he want with her anyway?”
“Have you considered that he genuinely likes her?”
“Harry, please…”
“Don’t do this, Ron.”
“Don’t do what?”
“This is what you did with Krum. You were jealous and controlling, and you had no right to be…”
“I have a right to be jealous, especially now!”
“You have no control over Hermione, though. You gave up any rights to that when you ended things.”
“I just don’t want to see her hurt by some bastard…”
“Well, it’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” Harry snapped, causing Ron to look at him in sheer astonishment.
“Look… sorry, I didn’t mean that. But “ don’t assume Hermione’s jumping into a relationship. It’s just one date, and she probably only agreed to it because he’s a Slytherin, and she’s so bent on this house unity thing…”
“Yeah, whatever you say…” Ron glowered. “You should go back to the ball… Siobhan… not very social, is she?”
Without offering a reply, and assuming Ron wasn’t expecting one, Harry returned to the ball , hoping he could just get his mind from everyone else’s entanglements. He found Siobhan waiting for him at a table off to the side of the dance floor
“Is he alright?” Siobhan asked, handing Harry a goblet of frosty pumpkin juice as he took a seat next to her.
“He’s brooding…” Harry told her. “I don’t think he’s going to start anything tonight… but I have a feeling it isn’t the end of this…”
“You want to talk about something else?” she guessed accurately.
“Yes, please. Anything else.”
“How’s Katie?” Siobhan lightly; Harry’s face broke into a wide grin at just the mention of the name.
“She’s fine,” he said. “I miss her like mad, though…”
“Yeah…” Siobhan replied.
“The two of you did hit it off suspiciously well, though,” Harry prodded casually. “You never told me what went on with that…”
“I was just trying to be friendly…” Siobhan said flippantly.
“Exactly.”
“Look, if I explain it to you, will you just let it alone?” she replied in aggravation.
“Of course,” Harry answered, very pleased that he had been right in thinking there was more to Siobhan’s sociability with Katie than had met the eye.
“Well… how to put this…” she started with difficulty. “You know usually I don’t really put forth much an effort to be nice to people…”
“I have noticed that, yes…”
“Well, sometimes there are exceptions. For instance… when I already know I dislike someone, I try to push myself to be friendly with them. Perhaps make myself like them. Of course “ Draco Malfoy is the exception.”
“That seems a little backwards…”
“I didn’t ask you to criticise my thought process, Potter.”
“Sorry, sorry. But, er… what does that have to do with Katie?”
“I don’t like her.”
Harry stared at his companion, momentarily taken aback, and a little bruised at her honesty.
“What do you mean…?”
“I don’t like her. That simple.”
“But you hadn’t even ever talked to her before,” he replied defensively.
“Well… I had my reasons.”
“And what are those?”
“That’s not any of your business, Potter.” Harry opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. “And you said you’d let it alone if I told you, so I don’t want you prodding any further.”
Defeated, for the time-being, Harry left the subject where it stood, though he mentally compiled a list of reasons why Katie was a wonderful person with whom nobody, even Siobhan, should have a problem with.
“You remind me a bit of Ginny…” Harry said suddenly, looking into Siobhan’s red tresses.
“Why?” she answered softly, consolingly.
“Not sure, really. There’s just something about you. She was like you in some ways… didn’t let anyone tell her what to think or do. But she was just as scared as the rest of us on the inside. She’d seen things… nobody should have to see.”
“What did she see?” Siobhan asked carefully.
“She saw inside Voldemort’s mind. She saw the future. And she saw her father die.”
“That’s… quite a lot to see,” Siobhan said fairly, obviously at loss for words. “It’s very sad… what happened to her.”
“Yes. But sometimes… she just felt like she wasn’t part of this world. Like she was meant for something more. Especially since Mr. Weasley died… she just became detached.
“Well, I know how that feels. Though on a more superficial level, of course.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked with interest.
“Being a pure blood. A Slytherin. I just feel like it’s not me… I’m weary of living in my own world…”
“Well, maybe you were born into that life so you could do something about it. Maybe it’s your destiny.”
“You believe in destiny?” Siobhan asked sceptically.
“Oh, definitely…”
“You sound so sure.”
“Well, it’s because I am sure. Trust me… in some parts of life there are certain things that we have to do, because we were born to do them. No matter if you fight it, it will always be there.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.”
“I haven’t had the most positive experiences with fate.”
“What about Katie? Do you think she’s your ‘fated love’?”
“I like to think I made my own decision to be with her. But on the other hand, it is comforting to believe we’re meant to be together.”
“And what do you think my destiny is, then, Potter?”
“I think Slytherin and Gryffindor have been enemies for too long. And that… maybe you’re here to help put an end to that.”
“You think one person can change a millennium of dispute?” Siobhan laughed.
“I know you changed my mind,” Harry replied with an earnest look into her green eyes; she stopped laughing and looked away.
“Still… one person.”
“Well, you’re not alone,” he said, nodding over at Hermione. “You’ve got her to help you. And Blaise, apparently. Hopefully.”
“And what about you? Is someone helping you fulfil your destiny?”
“Sometimes it seems like the whole world is in on that one,” he smiled. “I think in the end, it all comes back to me, though. Some things we have to do for ourselves.”
The rest of the night passed without much drama, and Harry was sure Hermione would be delighted with the turn out of inter-house couples. At midnight, when Neville had stepped on Susan’s toes one too many times, and Ryan had cast one too many scowls over his date’s shoulder at Erimentha and her Ravenclaw partner, the evening met its end and the students made their way back to their dormitories.
“Well, I suppose other than the little incident with Ron and Hermione, that all went pretty well,” Siobhan commented as Harry escorted her down the corridor towards her dormitory.
“Oh, and I’m sure I’ll be dealing with that ‘incident’ tomorrow…”
“What would life be without the drama?” she teased.
“Enjoyable,” Harry replied simply.
“Well, you should probably leave me here,” Siobhan said in a falsely conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t think the Slytherins want everyone knowing how to get to our common room.”
“Oh, but I already know,” Harry said with a wink.
“Well, really…I suppose I should have given you more credit, Potter.”
“Next time you’ll know better.”
“Oh, and one more thing before I say goodnight…”
“And what’s that?”
“This…”
Before Harry knew what was happening, he found Siobhan’s lips on his own, in what he would clearly define as a kiss. His mind and body numb to what had happened, she pulled away and gave him a mischievous grin.
“Tell Katie she’s a very lucky lady, to be engaged to such soft lips.”
And with that she turned and left him in the corridor of the dungeon, feeling stunned and very confused.