A day before Christmas
At the Slytherin table, Hermione, Daphne, and Darcie sat for breakfast.
Suddenly, an uproar made them look up, their eyes landing on Ron, who was holding onto the dress robes he had just received.
Black, Harry, and Draco were laughing their lungs out, whistling.
"Seriously…" Hermione hissed under her breath. "They have no regard for Hogwarts' image in front of students from other Schools!"
The students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang were seated at all the tables.
After the New Year, with the students from two more Schools joining them, it was bound to get even more crowded.
"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," Fleur Delacour, seated next to Hermione, said before getting up with the other girls. "I will not fit into my dress robes!"
"Oh, does she?" Hermione grumbled when the Beauxbatons had gone. "Does she really? Why doesn't she make her owl bring her food directly from France, then?"
Daphne and Darcie shared a glance, barely hiding their smiles.
Ever since the matter of Black asking Delacour had spread, Hermione had suddenly become quite a stark critic of Delacour. Of course, none could dare say that there was any correlation between the two things; at least, not to her face.
A fifth-year Ravenclaw approached them when breakfast was almost over.
He looked at Darcie and gulped. Then, he looked at Hermione and frowned. Finally, his eyes landed on the girl seated between the monster and the unknown. "Will you…"
"No," Daphne replied, meeting the boy's gaze to be polite.
With a totally blank face, the Ravenclaw retraced his steps.
And that's how the last week had gone for Daphne—constantly getting proposals and constantly rejecting them.
"You already have a date?!" Hermione asked, shocked.
Daphne shook her head. "I do want to go to the Ball. Just not with someone who didn't even mean to ask me."
Hermione nodded in understanding.
"What about you?" Darcie asked. "Krum's been visiting the library a lot…"
Hermione's entire face gained a red hue. "How do you know that?!" she asked, barely hiding her smile.
Darcie grinned.
"He's always there…" Hermione told them. "Just looking…"
"Oh, he wants to do more than just look," Darcie said. "Believe me."
Daphne elbowed Darcie's side, and Hermione openly gaped at the renowned prodigy.
"Seriously…" Daphne shook her head. "I think I ought to secretly record some of the things you say and play it in the Great Hall… That should teach you a lesson…"
Darcie shrugged. "You have Hogsmeade Visit today, right?" she asked, getting up. "Here's a thought. Don't stay together. It would be a shame if two Hogwarts Champions entered the Ball without partners."
Daphne and Hermione's eyes popped out. "You… have a date?!" they said together, shocked.
In reply, Darcie smirked as she went away.
…
"I think it's because you are a Half-Blood," Black said as he, Harry, Ron, and Draco walked outside.
"You are still thinking about that?!" Draco asked.
Black shrugged. "I am a touch offended, you know," he said. "Dumbledore owes me a lot! He should have sent me to Ilvermorny. Not Potter! What's he gonna do there anyway? Miss Hedwig?!"
"Like you had better things to do there?" Harry countered.
"You are still a child," Black said. "Hear this… Over 60% of Ilvermorny students are girls…"
"Of course!" Ron threw up his hands. "Bagging a French wasn't enough for him! He wanted to get the Americans, too! Kill him!"
The only thing that stopped Harry, Draco, and Ron's elbows and kicks from continuing to rain over Black was a baffling sight.
Filch had just run past them… crying.
"What the…" Black almost cursed, Draco holding onto his collar.
Neville caught up to them. "Crookshanks was chasing Scabbers when Filch came between them and scared off the cat," he explained. "Suddenly, a Boggart came out from nearby closet and took the shape of another dead cat…"
Ron's entire face reddened as he ran back to the castle. "That bloody monster!"
After a while, Ron came back, carrying Scabbers in his hands, grinding his teeth. Behind him, with a similar expression, was Hermione, with Crookshanks in her arms.
"No wonder no one has asked her out…" Ron said, sounding half insane.
"How dare you?!" Hermione snapped, turning around. "Not that I need to prove something to you, but I've already got a date!"
When she was gone, Ron licked his lips. "She's lying… I know it."
Black patted his robes as a few girls rushed by, smiling at him. He winked at them and made them giggle even louder.
"There's something wrong with you…" Draco said. "For once, old Dumbledore made the best decision by not sending you with my sister."
Sharing a laugh, the boys went to the Castle's entrance, where the students of the third year had gathered.
"Passes…" Filch grumbled, gnashing his teeth.
"Alright," Harry said, trying not to look downcast. "Tell me what you did at Hogsmeade after coming back…"
Draco and Ron couldn't even say anything, just showing Filch their letters.
Suddenly, they stopped and turned around, finding Black slapping his hands inside his pockets.
"…"
Slowly, Black looked at them, aghast. "…I lost it…"
And Filch's hideous smile returned.
…
Black went back to the Castle, cursing, Harry following him with a wide grin on his face.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, seeing Black take a random direction suddenly.
"To Delacour, of course…" Black said. "I need someone to console me…"
Harry facepalmed. Why did he even ask?
"At least it's better than visiting Lupin," Black said.
"He promised to teach me how to defend against Dementors!" Harry explained. "You are welcome to come with me, too! I only had one lesson with him, and I couldn't even do it properly…"
Before Black could reject Harry, though, they heard voices.
"No need…" the first said.
"Absolutely no need…" the second nodded.
Black and Harry looked in that direction and found Fred and George Weasley, smiling toward them.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"We mean that you two are going nowhere…" Fred began.
And George finished. "… because it's time that you visited Hogsmeade, too."
Then, they took out a bundle of parchments and together said, "Who's up for an early Christmas present?!"
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