Right Now Could Last Forever

The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang , seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. When the decorations went up, I noticed that they were the most stunning I had yet seen inside the school. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting golden owls, and the suits of armour had all be bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear ‘Oh Come, All Ye Faithful’ sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves from inside the armour, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.

“Why weren’t you two at dinner?” I said, climbing through the portrait hole with Hermione, and going over to Harry, Ron and Ginny; who had obviously been in the common room while we had been eating.

“Because – oh, shut up laughing, you two – because they’ve both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!” said Ginny.

That shut Harry and Ron up.

“Thanks a bunch, Ginny,” said Ron sourly.

“All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?” said Hermione loftily. “Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone somewhere who’ll have you.”

But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light. “Hermione, Neville’s right – you are a girl...”

“Oh, well spotted,” she said acidly, while I chuckled.

“Well – you can come with one of us! And then Corey can go with the other!”

“No, we can’t,” snapped Hermione.

“Oh, come on,” he said impatiently, “we need partners, we’re going to look really stupid if we haven’t got any, everyone else has...”

“We can’t come with you,” said Hermione, now blushing, “because I’m already going with somebody else, and you’ll have to ask Corey why, yourself.”

“No, you’re not!” said Ron. “You just said that to get rid of Neville!”

“Oh, did I?” said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. “Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl!”

Ron stared at her. Then he grinned again.

“OK, OK, we know you’re a girl,” he said. “That do? Will you come now?”

“I’ve already told you!” Hermione said, very angry. “I’m going with someone else!”

And she stormed off towards the girls’ dormitories again.

“She’s lying,” said Ron flatly, watching her go.

“She’s not,” I said quietly.

“Who is it, then?” said Ron sharply.

“I’m not telling you, it’s her business,” I said.

“Right,” said Ron, who looked extremely put out,” this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I’ll just –“

“I can’t,” said Ginny, and she went scarlet too. “I’m going with – with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought... well... I’m not going to e able to go otherwise, I’m not in fourth year. “She looked extremely miserable. “I think I’ll go and have dinner,” she said, and she got up and walked off to the to the portrait hole, her head bowed.

“So why can’t you go with either of us, Corey?” Ron asked, turning to me.

“Someone’s already asked me,” I said, smiling instead of turning red.

“Who?” Ron asked, getting frustrated no one would give him what he wanted.

“Why so nosey, Weasley?” I accused.

“Wait here,” Harry said to Ron all of a sudden, and he stood up, walking straight to Parvati, who had just walked through the Portrait hole with Lavender. I could just hear what he was saying, and I smiled proudly at his courage. “Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?”

-

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth-years had been given for the holidays, I was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying myself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Gryffindor Tower was hardy less crowded now then during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly, too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred, George and I had had a great success with our Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learnt to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the centre. People would come up to the three of us regularly congratulating us on our amazing product.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid’s cabin, while the Durmstrang ship’s portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savoury puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

“It is too ‘eavy, all zis ‘Ogwarts food,” I heard her saying grumpily, as we left the Great Hall behind her one evening. (Ron skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur.) “I will not fit into my dress!”

“Oooh, there’s a tragedy,” I said, as Fleur went out into the Entrance Hall.

“She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn’t she?” Said Hermione.

“Hermione – who are you going to the ball with?” said Ron.

He kept springing this question on both of us, hoping to startle us into a response by asking it when we least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, “I’m not telling you, you’ll just make fun of me.”

“You’re joking, Weasley?” said Malfoy, behind us. “You’re not telling me someone’s asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?”

Harry, Ron and I whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy’s shoulder, “Hello, Professor Moody!”

Malfoy went pale and jumped backwards, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

“Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you, Malfoy?” said Hermione scathingly, as she, Harry, Ron and I went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

“Hermione,” said Ron, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, “your teeth...”

“What about them?” she said.

“Well, they’re different... I’ve just noticed...”

“Of course they are – did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?”

“No, I mean, they’re different to how they were before he put that hex on you... they’re all... straight and – and normal sized.”

Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously.

“Well... when I went up to see Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror, and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were,” she said. “And I just... let her carry on a bit.” She smiled even more widely. “Mum and Dad won’t be too pleased. I’ve been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my brace. You know, they’re dentists, they just don’t think teeth and magic should – look! Pigwidgeon’s back!”

Ron’s tiny ow was twittering madly on the top of the icicle-laden banisters, a scroll of parchment tied to his leg. People passing him were pointing and laughing, and a group of third year girls paused and said, “Oh, look at the weeny owl! Isn’t he cute?”

“Stupid little feathery git!” Ron hissed, hurrying up the stairs and snatching Pigwidgeon up. “You bring letters straight to the addressee! You don’t hang around showing it off!”

Pigwidgeon hooted happily, his head protruding over Ron’s fist. The third-year girls all looked very shocked.

“Clear off!” Ron snapped at them, waving the fist holding Pigwidgeon, who hooted more happily than ever as he soared through the air. “Here – take it, Harry,” Ron added in an undertones, as the third-year girls scuttled away looking scandalised. He pulled Sirius’ reply off Pigwidgeon’s leg, Harry pocketed it, and we hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to read it.
Everyone in the common room was much too busy letting off more holiday steam to observe what anyone else was up to. We sat apart from everyone else by a dark window that was gradually filling up with snow, and Harry read out:

Dear Harry,
Congratulations on getting past the Horntail, whoever put your name in that Goblet shouldn’t be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitis curse, as a dragon’s eyes are its weakest point –

“That’s what Krum did!” Hermione whispered.

-but your way was better, I’m impressed.
Don’t get complacent, though, Harry. You’ve only done one task; whoever put you in for the Tournament’s got plenty more opportunity if they’re trying to hurt you. Keep your eyes open – particularly when the person we discussed is around – and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble.
Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual.
Sirius

“He sounds exactly like Moody,” said Harry quietly, tucking the letter away again inside his robes, “’Constant vigilance!’ You’d think I walk around with my eyes shut, banging off the walls...”

“But he’s right, Harry,” said Hermione, “you have still got two tasks to do. You really ought to have a look at that egg, you know, and start working out what it means...”

“Hermione, he’s got ages!” snapped Ron.

“Want a game of chess, Harry?” I asked, trying to change the topic.

“Yeah, OK,” said Harry.

I spotted the look on Hermione’s face, and said, “Come on, how’s he supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? He won’t even be able to hear the egg over this lot.”

“Oh, I suppose not,” she sighed, and sat down to watch the chess match, which culminated in an exciting checkmate of mine, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and a very violent bishop.

-

I awoke on Christmas Day with the feelings of small butterflies in my stomach. I ignored it, and grabbed my presents; dragging them onto my bed, so I could unwrap them in warmth. Hermione had gotten me, surprise, a book. Ron had given me some products from Zonko’s which I didn’t have, and Harry had gotten me a cute sushi plush, which came from my favourite Muggle shop (I could tell by the tag). The twins had given me a new charm for my bracelet; which was series of three W’s linked together made out of fine goblin gold. Hagrid had given me a huge bag of sweets, and Mrs Weasley had sent me a new sweater; blue as usual.

Hermione and I met up with Harry and Ron in the common room, and we went down to breakfast together. We spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage Wizarding Crackers.

We went out into the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch Harry, me and the Weasleys’ snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o’clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

“What, you need three hours?” said Ron, looking at her incredulously, and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. “Who’re you going with?” he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved, and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

“I better go after her; she might want help,” I said, and they all gave me weird looks. “What?”

“When did you become such a girl, Samuels?” George said, ruffling my hair.

“Hey!” I said, hitting him on the arm. “Really, though; I’ll see you guys later.”

They all waved goodbye as I jogged after Hermione.

-
I stood in front of a full body mirror in between Hermione’s bed and mine. I had just slipped into my dress. I turned this way and that, trying to get a look at what I looked like from every angle. In the reflection of the mirror, I could see the other girls standing in front of other mirrors; fixing each other’s hair and make-up.

As it was winter, it wasn’t surprising that I was the only one without a floor-length dress. My dress was light blue and had a plain black band just below the chest, with no bow at the back. The skirt part of the dress was layered, and puffed up around me if I twirled around. The whole dress was made of a silky sort of material which felt nice against my skin.

I wasn’t someone who enjoyed dresses, but this one I liked; for it wasn’t too girly. I made my way over to Hermione, who was trying to put her hair up.

“Here, let me,” I said, pushing her hands gently away and putting her hair into place.
“Thank you,” Hermione said, turning around to look at me. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, I think the shoes really tie it all together,” I said, clicking my toes together. I was wearing a pair of black converse. “But I don’t think I look as beautiful as you.”

“Corey, I honestly doubt you believe –“ She started, but I quickly cut in.

“I honestly do, Hermione. Now, I have to go down; I have people waiting for me. You should come down soon.”

She opened her mouth to speak but I continued to talk.

“You look great, don’t worry about it; Krum will be all over you.”

She simple nodded, while starting to blush violently, and I quickly rushed out the door. I ran down the stairs, into the common room where other people were making their way down to the Great Hall. I felt people’s eyes watch me as I quickly made my way over to the portrait hole.

I basically ran down all the stairs, until I got to the last one. I stopped dead by the wall next to the staircase leading down into the Entrance Hall, where I could already hear crowds of people talking excitedly with their friends.

I took a deep breath, and flattened down my dress. At a normal pace, I made my way around the corner. The noise of the crowd never faltered as I made my way down the stairs.

I quickly made my way down to the base of the staircase, where Fred and George stood, whispering to each other.

“Hey guys,” I said, jumping from the third step, down to stand in front of them.

“Hey Blondie,” they said in unison.

“Where’s Angelina?” I asked George.

“Not here yet,” he said.

Both of them kept exchanging glances. After a few minutes, Angelina showed up, and the four of us headed into the Great Hall, Fred guiding me by putting his arm around my waist.

We waited in the crowd, which was standing around an empty dance floor and had a pathway for the Champions to get through. Music started playing, and Fleur, and her partner, lead the way into the Hall. They were followed by Hermione and Krum, Cho and Cedric, and lastly Harry and Parvati. The rest of the students, and staff, clapped loudly.

There was a pause in music as the champions reached the dance floor. It then started again, but this time a light waltz started playing. The champions and their partners started to dance, all in time. Soon, Dumbledore and McGonagall joined in, followed by students and staff alike.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing Fred’s hand and attempting to drag him to the dance floor.

“What?” he said, dumbstruck.

“We’re gonna dance,” I said, now pulling his hand with all my might.

“All right, all right,” Fred said, starting to walk with me. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

I walked happily onto the dance floor, where we stopped and waited, making sure we were in time with everyone else.

--

“All right Hogwarts; are you ready for some real music? I said, are you ready? Are you ready? I can’t hear ya.” Everyone stood screaming in front of a stage, while the Weird Sisters started playing. “All right. Come one, I wanna see your hands in the air. We’re going to teach you a brand new dance tonight. So move your body. You gotta help us Hogwarts, together we can do this thing.”

Everybody jumped, totally at random, not bothering to stay in time with either each other or the music. I laughed as Fred and George danced crazily, and quickly joined in. Fred grabbed my hand in the small space and spun me around.

I soon found myself squished amongst, not only the twins and Angelina, but lots of other students from all three schools. I clung to Fred, not wanting to lose him; not that it was hard with his flaming red hair.

As the night grew old, people started leaving, and the music slowed down. George and Angelina drifted off somewhere and we didn’t really want to follow them. I found myself with my arms around Fred’s neck, and him with his hands around my waist.

There weren’t many people left in the Great Hall, as it was getting late, and people were getting tired. Fred and I moved in time, and I found myself lost in the moment; not caring about what had happen before this or what would happen after. I didn’t care what anyone else was doing. All that mattered was this one moment.

My eyes were locked on Fred’s, as his were on mine. His adorable grin mirrored my own. For a moment, I almost thought he was leaning closer… But he couldn’t be…

“Hello, children,” came George’s cheery voice. Fred and I both gave a little jump. “Do you mind if I cut in?”

I shrugged at Fred, and he walked over to the food table. We got into the dance hold and started moving in time to the music.

“Where’s Angelina?” I asked him.

“Went up to bed,” George said, grinning.

“Wear her out with all the crazy dancing, did you?” To this, he chuckled a little.

“So, did you two kids have fun?” George asked.

“Yeah,” I said, spotting Fred out of the corner of my eye and grinning. “Yeah we did.”

Out of nowhere, George suddenly spun me around. I laughed as I quickly put my hands out in front of me to stop myself falling straight into him. Both of my hands landed on his chest, and I hit him lightly.

“As long as you didn’t enjoy yourselves too much,” George said with a wink.

I hit him again, a bit harder this time, before we started dancing again. The song soon finished, and we walked over to Fred. As soon as we reached him, Fred grabbed my waist again and pulled me to his side.

No more music played, and the three of us headed up to the common room together.