~Chapter 8- Big Night~

Christmas Day arrived quickly. I woke up to find presents by my bed. As usual, the pile was rather small. I had a large box of homemade sweets from Ted and Andromeda, a box with some Muggle sweaters and jackets from Dora, and to my surprise, a small box of Chocolate Frogs from Ginny. 

Almost everyone fourth year and up had stayed for the holidays, as well as some younger students who had older dates, so the school was very crowded. At lunch, we ate a feast of turkeys and Christmas desserts and afterwards many students decided to play in the snow on the grounds, but I went back to the dormitory to get ready for the ball, even if it was several hours early. I didn't know how much time I'd need.

I was the only one up there at the time. I went to the changing room and put on my dress before taking out my wand to get rid of all the wrinkles. I brushed my hair straight down and used a spell Dora had taught me to get rid of any stray frizzy pieces before putting it in a headband, as Dora had sent me a pink one in her box of Christmas gifts. I put on the matching heels as well as the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that Dora had forced me buy.

For once, I looked different in my pink dress with my straight brown hair slightly wavy as it flowed past my shoulders. I wasn't that plain girl who blended in well, wearing the same robes as everybody else. For once, I felt like I would stand out from the crowd. And oddly enough, for once I thought the fact of being noticed wouldn't bother me much. That confidence streak hadn't quite terminated; I'd help Ginny find a dress and I felt perfectly composed about going to this inter-school ball with Neville Longbottom. I think some of Dora had rubbed off on me.

For once, I didn't feel like myself, I felt like a normal person. I felt pretty, even. Or at least decent-looking.

Once I was finished staring at my transformed self in the mirror, I went back to my bed and pulled out my journal. I wanted to talk to Dora. I had plenty of time.

I opened my nightstand drawer and saw the journal shaking madly. I opened it; Dora had already written to me today. I guess it vibrated when you had a message waiting. Written in the usual purple ink was:

So, today's the big day.

I answered ‘yes' and got a response quickly.

Who are you going with?

Of course. I knew that would be the first question.

Someone.

Come on, Lyra. Tell me.

His name's Neville.

I didn't tell his last name.

Fine, be elusive. But later tonight you have to tell me every detail.

The ball ends at midnight; I won't have time to tell you.

Tomorrow morning, then. I want to know everything. I heard the Weird Sisters are going to be there. I'm so jealous of you.

Why? You've been to about ten of their concerts.

I know, but you get to see them for free.

All right. Well, I should continue getting ready. I still have a lot to do.

You're already getting ready? The ball doesn't start until eight!

I know, but I want to be prepared!

Smart thinking! I've taught you well. Well, I'll talk to you later. I miss you. I thought we'd get to see you over the break, but obviously you wanted to stay for the ball.

Yes. I miss you too. See you.

I closed my journal and put it away. Before I set it down, however, I picked up the picture frame that I kept underneath it. In it was a picture of me, Dora, Ted, and Andromeda (taken about a year ago), but that was just a cover. I opened the frame and took it out. Underneath was the picture of my parents.

I thought of them, locked away in prison. What would they think if they saw me now? I began to feel depressed again, thinking of how I'd never get to see them, how they'd never get to see me, how I'd be stuck with a fake identity for the rest of my life. I stared at the thirteen-year-old photograph for a long time when suddenly I heard footsteps.

I crammed the pictures back into the frame and threw it back into my nightstand drawer as quickly as I could. Lavender and Parvati appeared, laughing and giggling as usual.

"Hi, Lindsey!" Lavender said. "We're coming to get ready for the ball! I see you've already changed. You look great."

"What was that you just shoved in there?" Parvati asked.

"Nothing!" I said quickly. "Just...just a picture." I reluctantly showed them the picture of Dora and me with my ‘parents.'

"Oh. I get it: you're homesick. Not a surprise. Most people would see their families this time of year."

"Yeah," I said quickly. Saved! I jumped up and grabbed my makeup from my trunk. "I'm going to finish getting ready."

I finished extremely early, so I hung around the dorm for a bit. Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione (who came up shortly after the other two) took their time and looked great by the time they'd finished. Parvati was in shocking pink dress robes with her dark hair braided with gold. Lavender was wearing robes of...well, lavender, and Hermione looked fantastic in her periwinkle blue robes with her normally bushy brown hair sleek and up in a knot.

"You all look great," I said.

"Thanks!" Hermione replied, smiling widely. A perfect smile.

"I hope Seamus thinks so!" Lavender said excitedly. "This will be so fun! I never thought Hogwarts would have a ball!"

"So, who are you all going will?" Parvati asked.

"Seamus," Lavender said, and began to giggle, of course. It was rather annoying.

"How about you, Lindsey?"

"Er..." I said. Should I tell them? Well, everyone would see at the ball tonight, anyway... "Neville. Neville Longbottom." My face glowed red.

"Oh," Parvati said, and left it at that. At least she didn't giggle. "What about you, Hermione?"

"No, you first!" Hermione said, actually giggling and even blushing somewhat, something that was so unlike her.

"Fine. Harry Potter," Parvati said, and she flopped back onto her bed and giggled as well. "He asked me, so I accepted...and his friend Ron needed someone, so I set him up with my twin from Ravenclaw. Now, who are you going with, Hermione?"

"Okay, fine...well, he asked me in the library the other day, and so, you know, I figured I might as well..."

"Who is it?" Lavender demanded.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Viktor Krum."

Parvati jumped off her bed, looking stunned. Lavender actually screamed. I rolled my eyes but she didn't see.

"Krum?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"Wow," Lavender said. "That's amazing. Krum! He's a famous international Quidditch player! I figured he'd probably ask someone..." She trailed away, a smart move on her part.

"Someone better?" Hermione snapped. "Someone prettier, like those pathetic Beauxbatons girls?"

"No!" Lavender exclaimed quickly. "Someone older, I meant!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and left the dorm, passing Ginny coming up the spiral stairs. She stepped into our dormitory wearing the robes we had bought together, except they were trimmed in silver and had glitter all over. She'd also tied a large, silver ribbon around the waist.

"Ginny, you look great!" I said.

"Thanks. Those spells worked really well. I'm excited; I can't believe I'm actually going to the ball!"

"Hey," Parvati said, "it's about to start. We should head down."

Lavender and Parvati went first. Ginny and I followed. Once we reached the common room, Neville walked over to me. He was wearing black dress robes and had done something with his hair that made it look neater.

"Hi, Lindsey. You look really nice," he said quietly, but it was polite.

"Thanks. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I'll see you later," Ginny said. "I told Justin I'd meet him by the dungeon entrance."

"All right. See you later, then," I replied. Turning to Neville, I said, "Shall we go?"

We walked to the entrance hall silently and rather awkwardly. I saw many couples as we passed. To my displeasure, I caught sight of the Slytherins. There was Theodore Nott with Millicent Bulstrode; there was Draco Malfoy wearing black velvet, high-collared robes (the high-class, arrogant pig) walking with Pansy Parkinson. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, both wearing green robes. Neither of them had a date.

That made me feel good to the point I almost laughed. At least I wasn't the most pathetic person in the school!

When we reached the entrance hall, I saw Fleur Delacour with Roger Davies, Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. Padma Patil was standing with an extremely miserable-looking Ron Weasley who was in appalling maroon robes with frayed lace. Ginny was right: they were horrible. If only he'd gone to Hogsmeade with us that day, I thought to myself.

I also saw Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang. I hastily looked away and entered the Great Hall with Neville, which was brilliantly decorated for the ball. Dazzling frost and garlands of ivy and mistletoe beautified the walls. I'd never seen it decorated so elaborately.

The usual house tables had been replaced with about a hundred smaller ones, each seating twelve people or so. Each table also had sparkling golden plates and goblets as well as menus. Neville and I took a seat at an empty one and sat down to watch the opening.

The champions and their dates had to dance first as an opening. They paraded into the Hall in a line: first came Fleur and Roger, then Cedric and Cho, followed by Krum and Hermione, and finally Harry and Parvati. Everyone took their seats and Dumbledore showed us how to get our food.

The meal was awkward at first. I had no idea what to say to Neville. But he broke the ice by saying something about the decorations.

"Yes, they're nice, aren't they?" I asked.

"Yeah. Better than they usually are."

I took a quick, small bite of food, then said, "So, Neville...er...how's everything going?" It sounded so dull. However, he perked up a bit.

"Not bad. I've been reading this book Professor Moody lent me. It's about water plants. It's really interesting."

"Herbology is your favorite subject, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes. It's the only thing I'm good at," he said quietly. "What's your favorite subject?"

That was easy: Astronomy had always been my favorite and best. I just found studying the night sky interesting, especially constellations. This was mainly because many people in my family were named after stars or constellations. I knew that Bellatrix was a star, Andromeda was a constellation and a galaxy, and my name, for one (Lyra, of course, not Lindsey) was the constellation for the lyre. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean about me, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

The Weird Sisters began to play a song, and the four champion couples danced in the middle. When they finished, the Weird Sisters began to play their usual songs. ‘Do the Hippogriff' was the first one. Many couples went onto the floor to dance, but Neville and I stayed. I tapped my foot to the music, though. I knew this song.

"Do you listen to them?" Neville asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"The Weird Sisters. Do you know their music?"

"Yes, mainly because my sister blares their songs on her Wireless. I know almost every song by heart just from hearing it play from her room. And that's when both of our doors are closed!"

He nodded his head when I thought of a question. "Do you have any siblings, Neville?"

"No," he said. I noticed he looked slightly miserable. "It would be nice, though. Then I'd have someone other than my grandmother to talk to."

"You live with your grandmother?" I asked.

"Yeah. My parents...well, it's a long story."

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me."

Of course I wanted to know why his parents couldn't take care of him, but it was obviously personal. Part of me wanted to say that I didn't live with my parents, either, and that I didn't really have an older sister. Honestly, if I didn't have to live a secret life I'd tell everyone who I was without caring.

The Weird Sisters sang two more songs, ‘This is the Night' (Dora's personal favorite) and ‘Magic Works' (a slow song for slow-dancing).

"Er...we could dance," I said kind of awkwardly. "But..."

"Maybe not," Neville said, reading my face. I had to agree. I couldn't really imagine Neville and I dancing at all. Not even slow dancing.

"We could take a walk on the grounds," I said.

"Yeah," Neville agreed.

We stood up and left the Hall, proceeding to the grounds where we couldn't hear the music anymore.

We strolled down the path, which was sided by rose bushes and lit with real fairies. Statues and fountains were around each corner. Several people were out there, including couples who, er...looked kind of busy with each other. I tried to look straight ahead and walk on, pretending I hadn't seen anything. I was beginning to think coming to the grounds wasn't such a good idea-it seemed that all anybody did was snog in the bushes.

We turned a corner and I heard a voice say, "Severus, I beg you to listen to me! I can feel it right now! Surely you can too?"

Karkaroff. Talking to Snape. Why?

"I told you not to talk to me about this," Snape said sourly, but his discomfort was obvious.

"But it's becoming stronger!"

"We should go back," I whispered. "If they catch us-"

"What are you two doing?" Snape asked suddenly. "Tonks, Longbottom, why aren't you in the castle?"

"We're taking a walk," I said rather firmly.

"Keep walking! Go on," Snape said.

"Let's go back," I whispered to Neville. We turned around, but Karkaroff gasped. "Severus...it's her!"

"What are you talking about?" Snape spat.

"She's the girl-"

"Stop talking! I have absolutely no idea what you mean!"

I walked as fast as I could in my heels, which I now wished I hadn't worn. Neville kept up and we went back to the castle.

"What was that all about?" he asked upon reentering.

"I don't know," I said. It was the truth: I had no idea why Karkaroff had gasped. But then it hit me: could Karkaroff be a Death Eater? And then...what about Snape? He worked at Hogwarts, he worked for Dumbledore...surely not? And yet, Karkaroff had said something about ‘it' becoming stronger. Could that be the Mark? If he had one after all?

I was lost in thought when we returned to the Great Hall. I sat down at my seat again and put my face in my hands, listening to the loud music once more, though my wandered with it.

If Karkaroff had the Mark and felt it becoming stronger, did that mean...? No, that was impossible...

"Lindsey, are you okay?" Neville asked.

I lifted my head from my hands. "Yes, I'm fine. I just...have a headache."

"Is it the music? It's pretty loud," he said. "We could go outside again. It's much quieter."

"No, it's not the music," I told him.

He looked kind of concerned, but I ignored this and stared down at the table. My goblet of butterbeer was empty. I decided to use this as an excuse to leave. I wasn't thirsty, but I wanted to be alone for a few minutes.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to refill my goblet."

My thoughts flowed freely. If only everything could be perfect in this world. I wouldn't be in this mess-the whole identity crisis-never get to know my parents-what side am I for-can't get close to anybody mess. I felt like slamming my goblet of butterbeer down in frustration. I was honestly about to do this before a Beauxbatons girl in line right behind me said, "Excusez-moi, but I would like ze butterbeer, si'l vous plaît. Could you move up in ze line?"

"Oh...sorry," I said. I'd been so lost in thought that I hadn't realized I'd been holding up the line.

"Merci," the girl said. I went back to the table.

"That took awhile," Neville said.

"Sorry. Long line."

"No, it was fairly short, actually," he said. "Are you sure you're all right? You keep staring off into space."

"I'm fine."

He sighed. "Sometimes I get the feeling that there's more to you than there appears."

"You may be right," I mumbled almost inaudibly.

"What?"

"Uh..."

My words were drowned out by laughter as Draco Malfoy approached our table with Pansy Parkinson at his side. Crabbe and Goyle were behind him like always.

"You actually managed to find a date, did you, Longbottom?" he laughed. Crabbe and Goyle joined in. Neville went red.

"Yeah, he did," I said. "I see your goons didn't manage to find anyone."

Crabbe and Goyle stopped laughing, but Malfoy continued. "Not saying much, is it? If the only person willing to go with you was Tonks-"

"Leave him alone, Malfoy," I said.

"Defending him, are you?"

"Why don't you just go show off for Parkinson?" I said.

"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Malfoy snapped. "But if you insist that I leave, Tonks, I will. I have better things to do than talk to outcasts like you two." He turned around to go, looking back once to say, "Don't get your hopes up, Longbottom. You just got lucky. Same to you, Tonks."

Neville's face was as red as it could be. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be, they're not worth it."

"You probably deserve better."

"Better, ha! Like them? Crabbe and Goyle are as brainless as can be!"

The next song started, ending the loud, metallic one. It was a slow and soothing sound.

"We should dance," I said. "Just for one song. We might as well; it is a ball."

"I-well-all right, then," Neville said.

We stood up and moved to the dance floor. I'd never danced before and was sure that Neville hadn't either, so we were equal. I didn't care if I messed up, I just wanted to make the most of the night. Honestly, if Dora found out I hadn't danced at all and just sat around drinking butterbeer and being taunted by Draco Malfoy...almost shuddered at how angry she would be.

Neville stepped on my foot several times and I tripped in my heels. We were both extremely clumsy at this.

"Sorry," Neville said after stepping on my toes for the fifth time. My foot slipped out of my shoe again. "I'm not good at this. Maybe we should sit down."

"Don't worry. Trust me, there's no one on this earth who's clumsier than my sister, and she's and Auror!"

I was in a better mood after that, hardly thinking about what Karkaroff said. But something happened that brought my mind back to that as I sat at the table again: my wrist began to throb. It was strange; at the World Cup it had been sharp and extremely painful. Now it was just hurting slightly.

I grabbed it and began to rub at it. Neville asked if I was all right again.

"My wrist just hurts. It happens sometimes and I don't know why. I'm sure it's nothing, though." That was a lie. Deep down, I knew that there was something more to the pain in my wrist, and I was sure it had everything to do with the Dark Mark.

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey," Neville said.

"No, it's fine."

The Weird Sisters finished with a song I hadn't heard, one about simply having fun and enjoying life. They were right, I thought, but frustration came to me: how were you supposed to live life to the fullest when you couldn't even be yourself? The lyrics replayed in my head...well, I certainly felt I'd lived life to the fullest that night.

It didn't take me long to fall asleep, and as I drifted off, I thought about how I would be telling Dora every single detail the following day. My hand felt cramped just thinking about how much I'd have to write. Oh, wait...that was my wrist. It was throbbing again.