"The Yule Ball"

December 1994, 3 months later

On the approach to Christmas, it was announced that a Yule Ball would be held. The teachers encouraged students to dress their best and there were dance workshops held.

The announcement was not the part the students cringed at upon reflection, it was the preposition provided by the head of houses that varied in trauma. Circi had heard stories of the youngest Weasley boy, apparently his name is Ron, demonstrating the waltz with professor McGonagall. And while the Slytherins were not humoured by Professor Snape in such a way, his countenance in the announcement was ingrained in their heads.

They were gathered in the common room one evening when Snape joined them. It wasn't unusual for him to stand by the entrance and observe them but this time he required their attention. The students in their dorms were summoned and they were all subjected to Snape explaining what a ball was and telling them step-by-step how to execute a waltz while standing as still as possible. Recognising his words were boring them, he simply left the room and understood that many of them had likely attended a ball before.

To an extent, this was true, Draco and Circi had enacted their own version when their parents were at a ball and their grandfather was caring for them. They knew how to waltz simply from their grandfather's instruction but they knew.

The common room was quiet and full of sniggering but Carmen soon stood and offered her services as a waltz instructor for she had, on many occasions, attended a formal dance with her parents.

No one had asked Circi to the dance and so, in solidarity, she had agreed with Mica that they would be each other's dates. The afternoon of the ball, Circi was in her dorm preparing with her dorm mates. The girls were excited, Fern was applying eyeshadow to Niamh as the two of them were singing a muggle song they claim was popular in muggle schools.

Circi, Myrna and Rhiannon, in the dark due to their purely magical upbringing, shrugged it off and were busy complimenting each other's dresses. Wearing her birthday dress, Circi was determined to wear it as much as she could and was certain everyone would love it as much as she did.

An hour later, they were lying back on their beds, talking to the ceiling. They had been taking turns telling stories from their childhood schooling and, when it came to Niamh's turn they all looked at her to see she had her dress shirt unbuttoned and she was drawing eyes above her navel with Fern's eyeliner. The latter screeched and snatched it back but Niamh was perfectly content as she grinned and pinched the fat on her stomach to make it look like her navel was talking.

After a moment of this the girls were laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. Isabell, with a frown on her face as usual, searched the room before heading towards Circi. She was dressed as though she was attending a funeral instead of a ball and her countenance held all of the sorrow of a funeral.

"Prott wants to talk to you." She crosses her arms as Circi dismisses her and responds to the question Myrna had directed her way. "Now, Malfoy." The sharp tone in her voice surprised the girls, eliciting a few 'oohs' from the others as Circi gathered herself from her bed and followed the older student out.

Isabell had abandoned her in the hallway, storming off to her own dorm.

In the common room, there were little to no students around. A couple sitting and whispering to each other on the couch acknowledged her briefly and nodded to the reading nook before turning their direction solely on each other.

Joining Leslie in by the lamp-lit armchairs, she picked her feet up and glanced over at him.

"You okay?" He shook his head, dragging his wrist under his nose.

"No." His voice was thick and hoarse, as though he was fighting to hold back tears. "Manu broke up with me." Circi reached across and held his hand. He threw his head back, blinking away the tears and squeezing her hand. "He said he didn't like boys, not me, just boys." Leslie looked over at her. "I could be a girl if he wants! Here, swap clothes with me," he stands and Circi does everything in her power to push him back down. "It's not fair... he held my hand and everything! And now I don't have anyone to go to the ball with."

Circi could tell that he was hurting, he was confused, and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She didn't know what to say so, instead, she stood and hugged him.

It was an awkward position at first. Her arms were wrapped mostly around his head, which buried into the waist of her dress, and his arms were around her thighs but it was comforting nonetheless. After a brief moment, they pulled away and Circi picked up the tie hanging over his shoulders and tied it for him.

"Do you like boys?" She asked, the question appearing to her suddenly.

"Sometimes," Leslie responded, his eyes downcast as she continued to tie his tie, "do you?" He looks up at her and a contemplative look falls across her face. Her eyes lose focus as her gentle smile drops,

"I don't know," she drawls her answer out, almost hesitant to admit it. "I suppose I'm too young to know." She tightens his tie. "Is twelve too young? Maybe I'm just slower than you." They fall into a brief silence. The topic had driven them into a dead end and, like the day they met, an awkwardness consumed Circi. Noticing the time, she remembers she is due to meet Mica soon and holds her hands out to Leslie, "C'mon," she smiles, "you can be my date, Mica will be glad to see you."

In truth, she knew very little about the friendship between Mica and Leslie. They were so different. Mica was loud and often ignorant to those around her, she demanded to be heard at the expense of others whereas Leslie was much more passive. He chose when to speak and what to say with precision, though the opinions he often shared were often not carefully worded. Circi had seen them interact civilly more as their first year passed but she couldn't help but notice that they were only ever seen together near her.

But Mica wouldn't mind Leslie joining them... right?

In fact, Mica had hugged Leslie upon seeing him, announcing she had heard what happened. This astonished both Slytherins. How had she found out? Was Manu spreading the news?

The thought striked fear in Leslie and, as they approached the final staircase to the Great Hall, he stopped in his tracks. It was unexplainable. But he did not want to go any further, he could not face anyone other than his friends, especially the Beauxbatons students for they were bound to know.

"One dance?" Mica had convinced him with a few uttered words and an encouraging pat on the back.

They were some of the first students in the hall and Headmaster Dumbledore greeted them directly. He ended his pleasantries with compliments on the bite-sized cornish pasties and moved to greet the arriving champions and their dates.

Throughout the first dance, a waltz led by the champions and the teachers, Leslie stuck himself at a table with a plate of food and refused to move. Mica, suddenly excited by the event, stood from her seat and spun to face Circi. Her dress, Circi now noticed, was green. It swished slightly when she turned, the satin fabric brushing her knees as she moved. Her hands were held out,

"Care for a dance, milady?" She giggled at her imitation, dimples appearing in her cheeks, and wiggled her fingers. Circi, checking briefly on Leslie, accepted her hand and they ran to the dance floor.

Mica took control, placing a hand on Circi's hip while guiding her hands to her shoulders.

"McGonagall demonstrated this dance with Ron Weasley," she bit her lip at the memory, "usually the man would hold the woman's hips but I'm the best you'll get."

Circi's heart was hammering in her chest. Talking in a low, quiet voice, Mica's words were vibrating through her and seemed to almost be rattling around her head. They swayed to the music and for once Circi was glad she had learnt with Draco considering her partner seemed to be a natural.

Between them, the yellow tulle of her skirt crackled with static as it brushed against the green satin. The sound wasn't audible to anyone but them over the music.

As the dance came to a close, Circi felt as though she had fallen into a deep state of bliss. She had hardly noticed Draco dancing by with Carmen, or the fact that Francis had joined Leslie, or that she had been staring at Mica the entire time, but the blonde knew all of this and more. They came to a stop before the song finished and moved back to the table.

"That was fun!" Mica announced, picking at the cheese cubes on the side of Leslie's plate.

"Yeah, I half expected you to have two left feet." Mica threw a cube of cheese at her, which Circi narrowly dodged with a scowl. She hates cheese. The waltz finished and as Leslie began announcing his plans to go back to the common room, the music grew louder and the band began to play a much more upbeat song.

Jumping from her chair and throwing the plate back onto the table, Mica whooped, adjusted the straps of her dress and grabbed Circi's hand.

"Let's go!" As she ran for the dance floor, Circi lunged for Leslie. He protested and she pouted.

"You said one dance!"

"It's been one!" He countered.

"But you didn't dance," Circi gave his arm a tug and he relented, removing his suit jacket and running onto the dancefloor with them.

As the music reverberated around them and the students grew more wild in their dancing, Leslie lost himself in the dancing. He jumped to the music with the girls when the bass was heavy and yelled along when he knew the lyrics. At one point they were all holding hands and tugging eachother about.

In the middle of the dancefloor, they had been moved to create an empty space and students were demonstrating their dance moves. Two fourth-year Gryffindors had begun a dance battle which consisted of stomping their feet in a few different ways before jumping aggressively forward and pumping out their chests. The scene grew rowdy and two older prefects jumped in to escort them out of the circle.

It didn't stop any other dance battles. Circi, Mica and Leslie were standing on the edge and had front seat views of the Weasley twins dragging Cedric from his seat beside Bea and his girlfriend into the centre and displaying a choreographed routine and shouting over the music for him to beat them.

At first, they had doubted Cedric. He pulled off a meek dance move and blushed in the spotlight. The sight of the great Cedric Diggory blushing was hilarious in itself and the twins weren't shy in showing that. They laughed with him until they were shoved apart from eachother.

Appearing from behind the twins and separating her own path, Carmen made her way to the centre of the dancefloor in a meticulously patterned ballgown that sparkled the same rouge as the punch at the refreshments table. Her black hair, straightened and her fringe freshly trimmed, bounced with each step as she powered forward.

There was something in the way her dress move as she spun around and landed herself in Cedric's arms.

From their angle, the trio could clearly see the determination on her face as she said something to Cedric and spared no glance at the twins as they began to dance. Cedric and Carmen moved in sync, clearly prepared for such a moment. The twins stood, mouth agape as they were undoubtedly put to shame in their attempt to embarrass Cedric. Carmen clung to Cedric's neck as he dipped her, giving a wink to the twins before standing back in place and high fiving her friend.

Suddenly, all grace and professionalism vanished from her as she pumped her chest and squared up to one of the chins, yelling, "Winner!" in his face.

The surrounding students went back to their dancing and Mica and Leslie moved away to get a drink. But Circi stood watching the scene play out. Carmen was poking the twin's shoulder and face, teasing him to the point of retaliation. He had poked her in the side, causing her to squirm and run away from him.

They disappeared in the crowd and Circi was dragged away into the music.

She swayed alone and bounced to the music until she saw Draco. Her arms were around his neck as she leaped onto his back unannounced. Instinctively, he caught her legs before realising it was her but nonetheless bounced her around as he moved out of the crowd.

"Are you having fun?" She asks him as they help themselves to the small cakes. He shrugs.

"Father throws better parties." He responds.

"Don't be silly!" Circi nudges his arm with her elbow, partly to tease him in hopes of knocking his plate but also because his eyes were wandering the hall. "You wouldn't get dance battles at home." As she said 'dance battles' her arms waved dramatically in an imitation of some of the dancing that had been displayed.

Draco ignored her this time. Huffing, she looked across the hall to see Mica and Francis sat alone and in silence. Stealing a handful of cakes from Draco's plate she left him to his ignorance and crossed the room.

"Hey!" She drops into the seat next to Mica. "Where's Les?" Mica glances sideways at Francis who was rubbing her hands along her skirt and avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Ms Twiggy over here let him leave." Francis finally looked at them.

"He wanted to go," she defended herself, "you know he was upset, at least let him be alone when he wants." Circi leaned forwards on her knees to look Francis up and down. The girl seemed to be in an oversized blazer and trousers yet the buttons on her ill-fitting shirt strained when she moved. Something about the girl rubbed her up the wrong way, made her angry and hateful.

"And who are you to tell us how to treat our friend? You can't even dress yourself properly. You haven't danced or spoken to anyone all night, why are you even here?"

Both of the girls were looking at her wide-eyed.

"What the hell, Circ?" She had said it quietly, nearly inaudibly, but the look in her eyes was evidence enough Mica didn't agree with her. "You can't just say stuff like that." Turning back to Francis, Mica had every intention of comforting her but they soon noticed that the Ravenclaw was heading for the exit. "Twiggy, wait!" Mica was on her feet, running after her in her kitten heels.

Circi pulled her shoes off, not trusting them with her feet anymore, and runs after Mica. She comes across Mica talking to Francis in a low voice and they stop completely upon noticing her. Francis turns and leaves.

"Mica, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise to me," the Gryffindor descended the steps, standing above her as if she wasn't taller already, "she's the one you insulted. Besides, she was right. We weren't fair on Leslie; he wanted to go back and we made him stay."

"He wanted to be here," Circi countered, feeling herself grow angrier at her friend taking a different side, and stepped up a step, "he told me. And he was enjoying himself." Mica crossed her arms and sat down on the steps, the green fabric of her dress spreading out around her. She lifted one end of her skirt to uncover the step and allow Circi to sit beside her.

"What he said wasn't how he was feeling, Circ. It's hard to understand but, trust me, I know. He probably felt more obliged to enjoy himself but Manu really hurt him." Circi sighed, she was right, it was hard to understand. She had never really had friends before, or dealt with the whole relationship drama. Friends, boys, even girls, they were strange and foreign. A concept her father had successfully kept her in the dark about. Leaning her head on her shoulder, Circi sighed.

"I know you're probably right-" they were interrupted by a cry. At the bottom of the stairs they witnessed Hermione storm around the corner with tears in her eyes as she was yelling at Ron. He stuttered in response, they couldn't quite hear his response. Harry Potter walks up to them, blissfully unaware. She begins to yell at him and it is evident he wasn't quite expecting it. They listen as she orders them to bed and drops down on the stairs to cry.

Harry and Ron walk by them, not noticing them watching out of the corner of their eyes.

"They get scary when they're older." Ron told Harry. Circi's irritation made her lift her head and glare at him, he noticed only briefly but became distracted when Hermione turned around to yell at him again. Circi was halfway off the step but Mica held her down.

For a moment they sat where they were, Mica tracing Circi's forearm with her finger and Circi watching the shaking back of Hermione.

She hated it. She hated seeing the girl so upset, especially in such an extravagant outfit that was a periwinkle blue set of dress robes. Pulling away from Mica, Circi hopped down the stairs and sat next to her.

Now she was there, she was suddenly speechless and very nervous. Hermione hadn't noticed her, or at least she thought she hadn't.

"Come to gloat, Malfoy?" Circi looked at her, finding that the fourth year was staring directly at her. Her heart hammered in her chest and she was filled with sorrow at the red blotches around Hermione's face.

"What?" Hermione shook her head and sniffed.

"Hurry up, I'm sure your brother would kill to see me like this." Glancing back at Mica, who stood and moved up the stairs and out of sight, Circi shook her head.

"Why would I get Draco? He would just be mean to you and I think you've had enough people being mean to you tonight." They fell into silence. Hermione was staring at her, confused, and Circi was trying her best to focus on the cold floor beneath her bare feet. She couldn't remember where she put her shoes. "I like your robes." She touched the long fabric gingerly and drew her hand away. "Um," Hermione wasn't saying anything, she was just staring and Circi felt desperate to fill the silence, "I'm glad you punched Draco... he deserved it."

"Why are you being nice to me?"

Eyes wide, Circi stumbled over her words. What could she say to that? 'You're pretty' or 'you're really smart and I admire that'? Perhaps she should just admit that part of her wants to be her... or with her...

"Because she is nice- well, sometimes." Mica squashes into the gap between them. "She's not a bully, unlike Draco, although she could be nicer to some people." She gives Circi a pointed look briefly, enough to elicit a blush. "But she tries to make upset people feel better and you are clearly upset, so here," she gives her a handful of tissues. "I'm Mica, Crane, you don't know me but I know who you are and maybe when you're on better speaking terms with Harry maybe you could put in a word for me as a potential stand-in beater-" Circi knocks her elbow, "sorry bad timing."

Hermione giggles, finally smiling at them and thanking them as she blows her nose.

"Boys suck." She states. The two second-years share a look and nods.

"We know someone who can share those exact sentiments."