Prosapia Aenigmatis - The Family Riddle

Chapter 13

The week of the Ball Quinn was nauseous nearly every day. At first she felt ill because of other girls, mostly Hufflepuffs. She formulated a theory that hundreds of girls, all giggling simultaneously, had sucked all the oxygen from the school. This explained the dizziness and headaches Quinn experienced that week.

How could girls her age and older be such dimwits? Quinn endured hours of pitiful and vapid discussion about hair, dates, robes, and charms. Perhaps six months earlier Quinn might have tolerated it. She might have even acted in a similar manner. Now she found it innocuous, insipid, and mundane.

Ginny was going to the ball with Neville Longbottom. She wasn't entirely excited about this idea, as she'd nearly lost a toe when they had gone to the Yule Ball together. Aislinn had sniggered at this until Quinn pointed out that Aislinn's own date suffered from perhaps the most gnarled and deformed teeth in the history of the Wizarding World. Aislinn had been rather querulous after that.

A day or two before the dance Quinn began to actually get nervous. Aislinn was a bit uneasy about her date, but things were different for Quinn. Fred was planning something. Quinn could feel it in the air; see it when he glanced at George. Quinn was petrified.

Her first official date with Fred and she was frozen with fear. Quinn normally loved Fred's pranks. Most of the time however, she wasn't a target to be humiliated before the entire school. Quinn even wondered if perhaps Fred had merely asked her to the dance as part of the prank. This was probably the thought that terrified her the most.

Aislinn suggested that Fred would most likely not play a prank on his own date. Quinn had laughed herself silly. Fred showed no mercy. Quinn had become his favorite target it seemed. The more she was able to avoid his pranks, the more he seemed desperate to get her. He continued to raise the stakes.

Fred tried to do a few more small pranks the week of the dance. He took Quinn's positive mood as permission to torture her. Quinn briefly considered pretending to fall for one of the pranks, ignoring the gleam in his eyes and his quivering lips. She thought he might be satisfied after that and leave her alone. Her pride wouldn't let her go through with it however, and Quinn refused to let him win.

When the day of the ball finally arrived, Quinn was a ball of nerves. As with the Yule Ball the previous year, Quinn met Aislinn after lunch to begin preparing. So that the girls could be alone, they went to the one place where no one would bother them.

Quinn packed her cosmetic potions and headed for the second floor. She sighed as she walked into the dilapidated and grimy bathroom. A slight sobbing was echoing from the dingy stalls to the left. Quinn set down her things on the counter and walked slowly toward the stalls.

"Myrtle? Myrtle where are you?" she called with a heavy sigh. This was the worst part of dealing with this bathroom. Once again, Aislinn was running late, and Quinn was forced to talk to Myrtle alone. Quinn grumbled under her breath as she searched the stalls. She found the forlorn ghost perched in the furthest stall, her head in her hands. She was emitting low, pitiful moans. Quinn tried to hide her face as she rolled her eyes. "Hello Myrtle."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the dance?" Myrtle let loose a huge sob and looked prepared to throw herself into the U-bend. Quinn gritted her teeth. "Olive Hornby used to bug me on the day of Hogwarts Balls." Quinn sighed. She had heard this story the previous year. Myrtle picked a spot on her cheek as she continued her one-sided discussion.

* * *

Aislinn grabbed her things and ran out of the Slytherin dorm. She knew she was late, as usual. Aislinn thought about Quinn waiting for her in the bathroom trying to think of a way to get Myrtle to leave and Aislinn giggled to herself. She then came up with a plan. She rounded the corner and burst into the bathroom, bending over slightly to ease the stitch in her side.

"Sorry I'm late Quinn," Aislinn panted. "That damn Potter was taking his jolly time going into the prefect's bathroom. He had his robes slung over his shoulder, apparently going to take a shower." Aislinn stole a glance at Myrtle whose jaw was hanging open.

"Did you say Harry was going into the prefect's bathroom?" Myrtle asked in an innocent tone.

"Yeah," Aislinn replied, still trying to catch her breath. Without another sound, Myrtle flew to her cubicle and splashed into her toilet, no doubt on her way to the prefect's bathroom. Aislinn had no idea why, but Myrtle clearly wanted to see Potter in all his puny, undeveloped glory.

"Good one," Quinn said with a smirk once Myrtle had disappeared. The two girls began piling beauty potions on top of the dilapidated counters. Quinn took her time, closely examining each bottle as she took it from her bag. Aislinn watched curiously as Quinn opened the bottles and appeared to be sniffing each one.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Aislinn asked finally, giving her friend a strange look. Quinn looked embarrassed.

"I just wanted to make sure Fred didn't do anything to my potions." she explained, opening the bottle of bright blue hair tamer and turning to Aislinn. "Alright, let's get started on that hair." Aislinn scowled, but turned around so that Quinn could work the blue goo into her hair. "Terry Boot would be so proud if he could see us now." She said under her breath. "Did you hear who he is going with?"

"No. Who?" Aislinn asked while applying a cleansing charm to her face. Quinn giggled.

"Alyssa." Aislinn nearly dropped her wand, turning to Quinn in disbelief.

"But she's got split ends!" Aislinn cried in mock terror. This got the girls laughing and they spent the next hour giggling maniacally while attempting to get ready for the dance.

* * *

Aislinn dashed quickly back to the Slytherin dorms to put on her robes before she and Marianne had to meet Marcus and Nathanial. She found Marianne sitting on her bed looking quite surprised as Aislinn burst through the door and ran into the bathroom to change. Marianne burst out laughing as Aislinn explained that she had forgotten her robes. Aislinn scowled.

Aislinn took one final look at herself in the mirror and decided that she was pleased with her appearance. She walked back into her dorm where Marianne was waiting for her, still looking rather surprised and now a bit nervous as well.

"Marianne, you look lovely." Aislinn said and her friend smiled shyly. Marianne was dressed in shimmery robes of lavender that complimented her dark coloring beautifully. Her hair was elegantly tied up with several flowers adorning it around the crown.

"Thanks Aislinn, you look very pretty as well." Marianne paused and then added in a mischievous tone, "I am sure Marcus will be very pleased." Marianne grinned and Aislinn sighed. Marianne had decided over the past week to try and play matchmaker for Aislinn and Marcus and several times the two of them had found themselves in precarious positions indeed. They had laughed it off however, refusing to give into Marianne's ridiculous plans.

"If you are finished Marianne, I believe it's time to meet the boys in the common room." Aislinn said. Marianne grinned and opened her mouth to speak, but Aislinn shot her friend a look of warning and Marianne fell silent, nodding her head.

The two of them walked out of their dorm and up the stairs into the common room. They found Nathanial and Marcus sitting by the fire, Marcus with his back to them. Nathanial looked up as they entered the room and a broad smile lit up his face as he took in Marianne's appearance. Marcus seemed to notice the goofy look on Nathanial's face and turned around to see what he was grinning at.

Aislinn smiled as Marcus' gaze met her own. His face betrayed no emotion but he smiled back and stood up to meet her. Nathanial and Marianne promptly became quite wrapped up in one another and Aislinn politely looked away. She grabbed Marcus' arm and forced him to do the same.

"You look wonderful Aislinn." Marcus told her and placed a light kiss on her cheek. Aislinn blushed slightly.

"Thanks Marcus, you look nice too." Aislinn quietly replied. It was true; Marcus did look rather handsome in his dress robes. Just then Aislinn heard an annoyingly shrill voice call out from across the room.

"Draco, darling you look absolutely stunning!" Aislinn knew at once whom the voice belonged to. Aislinn looked away from Marcus to see Pansy sprinting across the room to where Draco was standing. He did look wonderful. Aislinn immediately tried to break her gaze from him, but before she could, Draco's eyes met hers. A brief look of annoyance passed cross his face as he looked from Aislinn to Marcus and back again.

Something strongly compelled her to grab Marcus' arm at that moment and as she did, Draco's eyes narrowed and then his usual smirk was covering his face once more. Marcus' hand covered her own, which was placed on his arm.

"Shall we go then?" Marcus asked her.

Aislinn nodded and looked over at Marianne and Nathanial who were still quite busy. Aislinn cleared her throat and exclaimed, "Hello Professor Snape!" Marcus snickered as the two enamored Slytherins immediately sprung apart and began scanning the room, fear written all over their faces.

Aislinn and Marcus began laughing. Marianne shot a murderous look at Aislinn while Nathanial just blushed furiously.

"If you two can separate for a moment, we're ready to go down to the ball." Marcus managed to speak in between breaths.

Marianne scoffed and grabbed Nathanial by the arm rather roughly, and practically yanked him to the doorway. Marcus and Aislinn grinned at each other and took off behind them. Aislinn glanced back at Draco and Pansy and saw that Draco was still glaring at the pair of them, giving Marcus' back a particularly nasty look. Aislinn turned back to the opening in the wall, but couldn't suppress the smirk that was threatening to cover her face.

* * *

Quinn left Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and slowly walked to the entrance hall to meet Fred. She fidgeted nervously with her hair and robes as she went.

When she arrived in the Entrance Hall, Quinn immediately saw Fred. He stood with George near the middle of the hall. Fred wore dark blue dress robes and a big grin. Quinn walked toward him, seemingly in slow motion. Quinn had imagined this moment before. She had imagined Fred telling her she looked beautiful, encircling her in his arms, and kissing her softly. Quinn blushed even now at the idea. She tried to look confident as she approached him.

When Quinn finally reached the twins weaving her way through the throng of students, Fred greeted her by pulling on the end of a loose strand of hair. Not precisely the romantic moment Quinn had imagined. Fred seemed to be distracted and Quinn wondered just what he did have planned for that evening.

The three of them entered the Great Hall with everyone else. The music began and Fred immediately hauled Quinn to the dance floor. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Aislinn arrive with Marcus.

When Quinn's gaze returned to her date, Fred had already begun to dance. His flailing movements, combined with his long arms, strongly reminded Quinn of an intoxicated windmill. She stared at him momentarily. She had never known a human being could move that way. Quinn tried briefly to keep pace with him but soon afterwards the song ended and Quinn took her exit.

* * *

As they entered the Great Hall, Aislinn's attention was immediately drawn to the middle of the room and Aislinn had to stifle a giggle. A circle had formed around a set of arms and legs thrashing wildly about. Upon closer inspection Aislinn discovered that the limbs in question belonged to Fred Weasley. Aislinn saw a very nervous looking Quinn backing away from him, but Fred pulled her back into the line of fire. Aislinn stifled another laugh as she thought back to the Yule Ball of the previous year, when Fred had danced in the same disturbing manner with Angelina Johnson. She wondered if Quinn had remembered Fred's dancing techniques when she had accepted his invitation to the ball.

They followed Marianne and Nathanial over to a table near the dance floor and Aislinn took a seat. "I am going to get us some punch Aislinn." Marcus said to her and disappeared into the crowd. Aislinn immediately began watching Quinn and Fred again. Quinn stood there for a moment watching him, apparently debating on whether or not to dance or to run for dear life. Quinn started slowly moving to the music, but just as she began quickening her pace, the song ended. Aislinn saw Quinn heave a huge sigh of relief and she grabbed Fred's arm dragging him off the dance floor. The couple passed Aislinn's table and Quinn shot Aislinn a strange look. Aislinn giggled silently.

Marianne and Nathanial were absorbed in one another yet again. Aislinn rested her chin in her hand and glanced around the room. Harry Potter was dancing with the head girl. Chang was her name, Aislinn thought but wasn't quite sure. Aislinn then saw Ginny standing with that dolt Longbottom exceptionally close to where Potter was. Aislinn noticed Ginny was glaring daggers at Chang. She then let her eyes roam around the rest of the room.

She spotted Draco and Pansy near the punch table; Pansy was pouring a glass for Draco with a huge smile on her face. Crabbe and Goyle were in their customary positions behind each side of Draco. Aislinn saw Goyle's eyes roving the room and started a bit when their eyes met. Aislinn cringed and turned quickly.

Aislinn continued to look around the room when she saw a looming figure approaching their table. Goyle had broken free of his Masters side and was swiftly approaching. Aislinn saw that he was staring intently at Marianne and Aislinn nudged her friend. Before Marianne could look up, Goyle was hovering over her with an intense look of longing on his face. He licked his lips and Aislinn wanted to gag. Nathanial looked torn between anger and fear.

Marianne stood up abruptly and put her hands on her hips, looking at Goyle in a warning fashion. Goyle let his eyes rove over Marianne's petite frame and a growl slipped out of his mouth. Aislinn was revolted, but that was nothing to the look on Marianne's face.

"Can I help you with something?" Marianne spat the words at him and he continued to stare at her, his mouth hanging wide open.

"Damn you're fit. Wanna shag?" Goyle said in a rough voice. Marianne grabbed for her wand, and Nathanial stood up, apparently ready to knock Goyle's lights out. But neither one of them were quick enough. Two drinks came flying in from nowhere and landed right on Goyle's head. This seemed to rouse him out of his stupor and he looked wildly around him. Marcus was lunging at him and Goyle took off like a bat out of Hell. He headed straight for the door to the hallway and kept going. Several of the teachers had stopped to see what was going on, but all they saw was Marcus smirking as he walked back to sit down with his friends.

Aislinn looked away from Marcus and saw that Professor McGonagall was heading over to their table quickly.

"Mr. Flint, a word if you don't mind." McGonagall said in a stern voice. Marcus got up from his seat and followed her across the room to where Dumbledore was standing.

Aislinn sighed; it seemed that she would be without a date for a while. Marianne and Nathanial got up to dance, and Aislinn was left alone at the table. Aislinn decided that she would have a walk about the room. She made her way around and spotted Quinn standing next to the food table alone. Aislinn headed toward her. She felt an arm grab her and pull her aside. Aislinn pulled against it and turned to see who it was. She found herself looking into familiar gray eyes and she stiffened momentarily.

"Shouldn't you be with your date, Draco?" Aislinn asked him.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Am I not allowed to dance with anyone else?" Draco asked her with a smirk.

"Oh, you're asking me to dance. Is that what this is about? You have an awfully strange way of doing so. I suppose your father taught you that 'attack' was the best approach to getting a girl to do what you want." Aislinn replied. She had to try hard to keep the disdain out of her voice.

"Would you like to dance with me, Aislinn?" Draco rolled his eyes and asked in a sarcastic voice, cocking his head mockingly. He held his hand out and she looked at it for a moment. She had wanted nothing more than to dance with him at the Yule Ball the previous year. That seemed like a lifetime ago after all Aislinn had learned in the past month and a half.

Aislinn took his hand reluctantly, and he led her to the dance floor. The song playing was slow and Aislinn didn't know it, so she couldn't busy herself with singing the words in her head.

Aislinn then felt Draco's hand pressing on her back, urging her closer to him. She complied and allowed him to move her. Aislinn was now so close to him that she was sure even a single sheet of parchment wouldn't fit in between the two of them. Aislinn took a deep breath and when she did, Draco's familiar scent filled her mind. She knew that if she looked into his eyes, it would be all over. She forced herself to think back to the Christmas holiday. This definitely worked. Aislinn could feel her pulse quickening as the hatred coursed through her body.

"I don't suppose Flint would be too happy if he knew I was dancing with you." Draco said in her ear. Aislinn fought the urge to pull away from him.

"Why would Marcus mind?" Aislinn asked in confusion. "He and I are just friends."

Draco was smirking. Aislinn didn't need to look at his face to see this. "Macnair, people don't look at their 'friends' the way Flint looks at you. Trust me." Draco said, still smirking. Trust him? He was joking right? Aislinn wanted to laugh at the very idea. She knew better than to trust a Malfoy, although Draco had never lied to her before.

"Draco, Marcus and I are friends. Whatever it is that you think you see you are wrong. Marcus is like a brother to me." Aislinn said, hoping this dance would be over soon. The strain of her torn emotions was beginning to give her a headache. Half of her wanted to throw him down and ravish him on the spot. The other half, which was much stronger at the moment, wanted to pull out her wand and curse his very existence.

"How naive you are, Macnair." Draco said in a superior tone. 'Naive, am I? That bastard!' thought Aislinn. She felt every muscle in her body tense and it was made even worse by the fact that she couldn't retaliate. She decided to let it go and bring up a subject that she knew he despised: Pansy. Aislinn smirked.

"What about you, Draco? I imagine Pansy wouldn't bee too pleased to see you dancing with another girl. She especially seems to dislike me for some reason." Aislinn stopped to think about what she had just said. She had never really thought about it much before, but Pansy did seem to glare at her more than anyone else.

Draco scoffed. "As if I give a damn what Parkinson thinks. Sure she is good for...some things..."

"Draco, contrary to your apparent belief, I have no desire what so ever to hear about your sex life." Aislinn interrupted, hoping against hope that the subject would change. Her headache had grown almost unbearable, and thinking about Draco that way certainly wouldn't help it any.

"Are you sure you know what you want, Aislinn?" He whispered lightly in her ear and a shiver went down her spine. Draco felt her shift and he pulled away from her slightly. He had a cruel and satisfied look on his face.

Aislinn wanted nothing more than to slap the smug expression of his face, but she knew that was not an option...yet. The music stopped and Draco relinquished his grip on her, but didn't move. He was obviously waiting for a response to what he had said. Aislinn merely winked at him, turned, and quickly walked off toward her table. That would get him, she thought as her own satisfied smile crept onto her face.

Quinn saw that Aislinn was alone and seized the opportunity. Fred was doing something suspicious with George but Quinn tried not to think about what it was. She walked over to where her friend was standing.

"I saw you dancing with Draco, are you alright?" Quinn asked with a furtive glance at the tall blonde boy.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Fred is," Aislinn paused for effect, "very enthusiastic." Aislinn tried to look serious but began to giggle incessantly. Quinn glared at her but soon began to giggle herself. They couldn't stop until Professor Dumbledore called everyone's attention to the front of the hall.

"Welcome everyone, to the Valentine's Day Ball. I hope..." Quinn let her mind roam as Dumbledore began making the customary pre-ball announcements.

Halfway through his speech Quinn caught site of Fred and George. There was no mistaking the look in their eyes. The two of them were barely suppressing their grins; so full of energy that they were having trouble sitting still. Quinn gulped and tuned back in to the headmaster as his dialogue came to a close.

"I would once again like to thank Professor Flitwick for the festive decorations." Professor Dumbledore said and then added with a gleam in his eye, "And without further ado, let the festivities commence."

Quinn watched as Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall made their way hand in hand to the dance floor. Everyone clapped as they began waltzing around the room. Quinn chanced another glance at the twins. This time George was biting his lip with a maniacal look in his eye, and Fred was literally sitting on his hands and rocking front to back ever so slightly. Both twins were staring intently at the dancing couple. Quinn turned her attention back to the dance floor and the room immediately burst into laughter and applause.

Professor McGonagall was now clothed in an elaborate black muggle tuxedo complete with tails, top hat and --Quinn looked closer to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her-- a cat headed walking cane. She had a furious expression on her face as she surveyed her new clothes.

Aislinn was doubled over in laughter next to her and Quinn then looked at Dumbledore. He was by far the more amusing of the pair. He was wearing an elaborate wedding gown. It was shimmering white with intricate beading on the bodice. Quinn couldn't help but giggle at Dumbledore's appearance. The dress had a twenty-foot train that was littered in white roses. Everywhere he moved there were rose petals on the floor behind him. His long white hair was hanging loosely down his back in large curls and his beard was covered in white roses. Dumbledore smiled and even began to chuckle.

"Oh my God." Aislinn said in a strained voice, and pointed across the room. Quinn followed Aislinn's gaze and nearly collapsed from laughter at the sight that awaited her standing near the head table. Professors Sinistra, Vector and Sprout were all adorned in tuxedos and top hats that matched McGonagall's, but that wasn't even the funny part. Professor Flitwick was standing near the end of the table. He was wearing a lovely lavender dress and was holding a small bouquet of flowers. His hair was pulled back in a bow. Filch was standing next to him, wearing a green dress in the style of Flitwick's. He too was carrying a bouquet. On the very end of the row stood Snape. Quinn couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard at his appearance, and the look on his face made it ten times more humorous.

Snape appeared to be the maid of honor. He was dressed in a beautiful gown of the palest yellow. It was satin in appearance and had a full skirt, a sweetheart neckline and thin straps--two on each shoulder. His hair was piled elegantly on top of his head with soft, curly tendrils framing his sallow and terribly menacing face. He was holding the largest bouquet of the three and he seemed ready to launch it at someone.

That would teach him, Quinn thought, remembering the poor sales clerk at Gladrags. Quinn looked over at her friend, who was nearly on the floor crying with mirth. Aislinn wasn't the only one either. Students everywhere were clinging to one another, desperately trying to hold them selves up while the whole room shook with laughter.

"How lovely you all look." Dumbledore said, grinning at his colleagues. The female Professors seemed to find this display highly amusing. The men all looked torn between embarrassment and homicidal fury.

"What, no flower girl?" someone yelled out from across the room. Quinn saw it was Lee Jordan, who was now sitting next to the twins. Fred and George were banging their hands loudly on the table, clutching one another laughing so hard that no sound was coming out of their wide open mouths. Quinn thought Fred looked as if he might strain something laughing that hard.

The entire room gasped and burst out laughing as if they were one entity when, as if on cue, Draco Malfoy's black robes transfigured into a hideously frilly pink dress with a very full and fluffy skirt that came just above his knees. Lacy socks and white shiny high heels appeared on his feet. His hair began to curl and a huge floppy pink bow appeared with a pop, right smack on the top of his head.

"Thank you Merlin." Quinn said in between breaths as she saw a small basket appear in his hands. Draco looked angrier than Quinn had ever seen him, and when Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing next to him, began to snicker, Quinn thought Draco was actually going to hurt them. Mrs. Norris, however, took the opportunity to leap into Draco's arms and began clawing madly trying to get at the bow in his hair, saving them. Quinn saw that Mrs. Norris had a black bow tie around her neck and two sparkling things were dangling from it. Ring bearer, Quinn realized. Draco avoided Mrs. Norris' claws and threw her across the room.

"Mrs. Norris!" Filch cried wildly and he tore after Draco. Draco tripped over his heels, twisting his ankle, and slid into Hagrid, causing the large man to stagger dangerously. Quinn saw Draco's eyes widen in horror as the man swayed over him. Draco quickly rolled out of the way, saving himself from becoming a blonde pancake. Quinn laughed as he furiously tried to hold his dress down while wiggling his way to safety. Filch then went skidding into Hagrid and the two men flew back into the punch table. The whole room fell silent as everyone surveyed the damage.

Hagrid was slumped on the ground, covered from head to toe in punch. Filch was next to him, his hair coming down from its elegant twist and one strap of his dress hanging off his shoulder. Hagrid groaned and stood up. Filch then pulled the strap absentmindedly back onto his shoulder causing the room to burst into laughter once more.

Quinn helped Aislinn to her feet. Her friend clung to her, still gasping for breath. Quinn looked around to the table where the twins were sitting, half expecting not to see them there at all. She knew it was them; there was no doubt in her mind. But this had been bigger than any prank they had ever done. Quinn wondered how long they planned this.

Dumbledore made his way to the front of the room and began to speak. "Attention, everyone please." The room fell silent. "Whoever was involved in this little, well rather large actually, prank will not be punished tonight." Quinn saw Dumbledore's smiling eyes glance over at the twins who had perked their heads up at the announcement. "We will however, be conducting an investigation as to who the culprit or culprits were in the morning. Until then, please enjoy your evening. Teachers," Dumbledore paused and grinned, "And Mr. Malfoy, I am sure the effects will wear off soon and until then have a lovely evening." Dumbledore proclaimed as he lifted up his skirts and walked back to his dance partner.

Quinn grabbed Aislinn by the arm and dragged her still laughing best friend across the room to where the twins were seated. "How did you do it? It was brilliant!" Aislinn nodded in agreement though she felt odd standing with the two Gryffindors.

"A transfiguration tablet," Fred said his grin increasing. "We slipped it into their drinks." Quinn was about to ask more when something strange caught her eye. She turned and looked out onto the dance floor where a circle had formed around a dancing couple. Quinn stood on her tiptoes and looked over the heads of the other students.

Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom were standing in the middle of the circle. Neville was doing elaborate dance moves, tossing Ginny about. Quinn watched with wide eyes and Aislinn turned to look as well. Neville moved gracefully, twirling Ginny in his arms. Ginny looked perhaps more surprised than anyone. Quinn remembered Ginny's trepidation about attending the ball with Neville. She had even learned a special armor charm for her shoes, to protect her toes. Now she was grinning widely as Neville dipped her nearly to the ground to end the dance. Everyone cheered.

Well, almost everyone. Aislinn clapped, still half shocked, but stopped as Draco Malfoy caught her eye. His robes had returned to their normal state but he still wore a sour sneering expression. Pansy Parkinson appeared to be trying to cheer him by sucking on his neck.

Ugh, Aislinn thought she would be ill. Aislinn nudged Quinn and pointed to the corner where the two Slytherins were snogging. Quinn made a disgusted sound and turned to continue talking to Fred.

"George thought of the women in top hats and tails...but I came up with the cat-headed cane," Fred said proudly. Everyone began laughing and Aislinn started to feel at ease. It wasn't everyday that a Slytherin was accepted in a group of Gryffindors.

"Macnair, we need to talk." Aislinn turned around and saw Draco standing over her, sneering, his eyes full of malice. Aislinn sighed and stood up. Quinn was glaring at Draco and Fred and George were snickering, obviously still thinking of the dress Draco had previously been wearing.

Draco scowled at them and grabbed Aislinn's arm, dragging her out the doors and into the courtyard. When they reached their destination, Aislinn realized that Draco still had a painful grip on her arm and fought to free herself of it.

"What are you playing at, Macnair? That is the second time you have been caught with the Gryffindors. You aren't thinking of joining their little quest against evil, are you?" Draco asked in a dangerous voice. Aislinn wanted to laugh, if he only knew. "Draco, you are terribly paranoid. I am not joining them in anything. Think about it, Quinn is my best friend and she is dating a Gryffindor. Why not use that to my advantage? I know that you should have no objection to that, you all but told me that you do the same thing with Pansy not an hour ago. You know you don't like her, but yet you let her hang all over you. Don't think you are the only one who knows how to use people to get what they want." Aislinn smirked.

Something passed across Draco's face that she didn't recognize, but Aislinn didn't really care what it was. She pivoted quickly, wanting to get back into the Hall to see if Quinn had decided to dance with Fred again or not. As soon as she turned she felt him grab her arm and whirl her around. She was face to face with him and before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers. Aislinn was startled and immediately pulled away from him. She looked at him incredulously for a moment. Draco was smirking at her and Aislinn had had enough. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she drew back and slapped him across the face. Draco reeled back, staring at her in disbelief.

"What in the hell did you do that for?" He asked her; clearly amazed that she didn't give in to him.

"I am not Parkinson, Draco." was all Aislinn could think to say. She stood there for a moment more, and as the smirk returned to his face, she knew she had to leave before she was tempted to kill him. Aislinn ran back into the Great Hall to tell Quinn what had just happened. Aislinn stopped at the door as she saw Quinn on the dance floor with Fred. They were both doing synchronized movements that looked like they were trying to save the other from an angry swarm of hornets. Aislinn laughed to herself and walked over to the table where Marianne, Nathanial and Marcus were all sitting.

Draco had kissed her; the thought was still careening around in Aislinn's mind. She was quite proud of herself for not giving in to him. She didn't even get the usual weakness in her knees. Aislinn supposed that it was due to the fact that he seemed to think he could be an arsehole to her one minute and then kiss her the next. Draco was indeed the most conceited person Aislinn had ever met. She couldn't help but think she had done the wrong thing though. Slapping Draco Malfoy wasn't the safest thing to do, and it definitely wasn't the best way to make him think she wanted to get closer to him. Aislinn rubbed her forehead. Why did things have to be so complicated? She looked over to Quinn and Fred again and wished that she could just let loose and have fun, not having to watch every move she made in fear of being discovered.

Aislinn sat down at the table next to Marcus. Marianne and Nathanial were putting on quite a show, Aislinn fully expected Snape to waltz over any minute and break the two of them up. Aislinn grabbed Marcus' arm.

"Dance with me, Marcus?" Aislinn smiled weakly and glanced at Marianne and Nathanial.

"Yes!" Marcus practically yelled and ran for the dance floor, dragging Aislinn behind him.

"I didn't know how much longer I could sit with those two! I was beginning to think you abandoned me." Marcus said, grinning as they began to dance.

"Sorry about that, I was talking to someone." Aislinn said. She saw Draco walking back into the Hall and the smile left her face. Draco looked remarkably calm considering everything that had happened that evening. Marcus noticed Aislinn's change in expression and glanced at the doorway.

"You were talking to Malfoy, weren't you?" He asked. Aislinn nodded. "Aislinn, if he ever hurts you I want you to tell me. I know what kind of people the Malfoys are. All you have to do is say the word and I'll..."

"Thanks Marcus." Aislinn interrupted, "I am fine, I can handle Draco, really." Marcus nodded and began to laugh.

"Looks like your friend is having a good time." Marcus nodded in the direction of the center of the room, where Quinn and Fred were once again in the middle of a group of students who had mixed looks of terror and amusement on their faces. George and his date had joined them this time. Aislinn watched them moving wildly and was amazed. Aislinn had never seen Quinn jump that high in her life. Fred was next to her shaking his arms and head so frenetically that he looked as if his head were on fire. George was on the other side of Fred, kicking his legs and waving his arms in circles over his head. George's date was merely standing in front of the lot of them, shaking her head as if she thought all three of them were nutters. Aislinn began to laugh and grabbed Marcus' hand, bringing him over to the crowd.

"Oh no Aislinn, I'm not going to do...that!" He pointed to the twins. "I might hurt myself, and others."

"No silly, I just want to watch." Aislinn squeezed his hand and grinned.

"All right then." Marcus replied skeptically.

Aislinn and Marcus watched the dancing group for a moment when Aislinn noticed Marianne and Nathanial approaching, Marianne looked ready to kill and Nathanial looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor.

"'Bout time you two came up for air." Aislinn said and Marcus snickered. Nathanial immediately went red and Marianne scowled.

"Very funny." Marianne snapped. "Snape took five points from each of us and we got detention for 'inappropriate behavior'." Marianne snorted derisively. "As if he has any right to lecture people on appropriateness. Doesn't he know it is quite unfitting for a professor to never bathe?"

"Marianne!" Aislinn said in disbelief. She knew Marianne had a temper, but she had never heard her insult their head of house before. "Don't you think you should show the man a little more respect than that?"

"Don't Marianne me!" Marianne yelled and several people turned around to see the cause of the disturbance.

"Marianne, keep your voice down." Marcus growled at his sister. Aislinn was thankful Marcus was there. If Marianne didn't stop soon the whole school might be apprised of several things Aislinn didn't want everyone to know. Marianne had a tendency to run her mouth when she became angered.

Marianne stared blankly at her brother and then at Aislinn. She then looked at all the people who were still staring at her.

"Sorry." Marianne muttered. "Come on Nate. Let's go outside."

"My family has never been known for being reserved." Marcus said with a weak smile as he watched his sister leave the room.

"Let's go for a walk." Aislinn said, taking Marcus' hand.

* * *

Quinn spent the rest of the night listening to Fred tell the story of his brilliant plan, and dancing in some of the strangest ways she could imagine possible. It wasn't her style but it was certainly silly enough to be fun. Whenever Quinn wasn't sure what to do, she pretended to be directing traffic. Fred's windmill movements continued for most of the night and Quinn spent the whole evening laughing.

Quinn saw that Aislinn was out on the dance floor with Marcus Flint. She wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, Marcus was surely better than that horrible Malfoy. On the other hand, those teeth were unforgivable. Aislinn didn't seem to be having much fun.

Quinn said a quick goodbye to Fred, George and Ginny and started walking back to Ravenclaw tower. Fred reached out and grabbed her arm, twirling her back toward him. Quinn smiled, looking up into his mischievous eyes. He smoothed a strand of hair out of her face and leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. Quinn relished in the smell of oranges, the taste of chocolate, and the texture of his warm soft lips. One of his large hands pulled her waist close to him and he ran his fingers through her hair with the other. Quinn sighed happily as he released her and she turned back toward her dorm.

Shortly afterwards she was accosted by Terry Boot. Quinn sighed and felt a headache begin to form. Terry stood annoyingly close to her and began talking incessantly about something. Quinn wasn't really paying attention.

"Where's your date Terry? Leave her in the bathroom with some new shampoo?" Quinn asked finally, hoping Terry would leave her alone.

"Don't change the subject Quinn. It's completely unacceptable. Think of the message you're sending to everyone in the school. You're setting our cause back so much. Have you no respect for the cause?" Quinn was too tired to ask what Terry was on about; sure she would get an answer sooner or later. Terry looked at her incredulously.

"Have you no shame? Taking that...redhead to the ball. Honestly, it's almost as if you don't care about hair at all. Perhaps I misjudged you. I for one am trying to help people, but who is going to believe me when I say how important hair care is, if people like Roger Davies are head boy and you're taking people like Fred Weasley to the ball!" Quinn finally caught on to what Terry was implying and wheeled around to face him. She tried t calming breaths but was overcome with rage. More than anything she wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that Terry was a MORON!

"Terry if you ever talk to me about hair again I swear to Merlin I'm going to kill you. We both know I'm smart enough to get away with it." Quinn said furiously. Terry looked rather flabbergasted for a moment and didn't interrupt as Quinn took a deep breath and continued ranting. "I have no idea how you ended up in Ravenclaw as you are obviously an idiot!" Quinn tried to keep her voice from rising, "All I can think of is that the sorting hat was so impressed with the lavender scent emanating from your head that it took pity on you."

Quinn stood awkwardly for a moment, waiting for a reaction from Terry. He simply stood and looked angrily at her for a few seconds. Suddenly a smirk appeared on his face and Quinn was immediately reminded of Draco. Terry stepped closer to Quinn who refused to back away.
"I wouldn't be so self righteous if I were you," he said with a condescending sneer. "Your family is very similar to mine you know. That's part of the reason I hoped we would have a future together." Terry sighed and Quinn shuddered as she felt his breath on her neck. He kept leaning closer, trying to intimidate her. Quinn refused to back away, although the smell of so many cosmetic potions was making her slightly woozy.

"Both our families care deeply about appearances. It always seems perfectly obvious to me that your family cares more about looking hag happy. Perhaps I merely noticed this because it was so similar to my own home life. Indeed that's nearly all we've been brought up to care about. The only difference between you and me is that long ago I realized that life is so much easier when you become what is expected of you." Terry let his words sink in. Quinn remembered all of the times she had met the Boots, and she realized Terry was probably right about his family. They were always immaculately dressed, well mannered, and seemed nearly obsessed with impressing everyone they came in contact with. Quinn's mother could barely stand to be in the same room with them once Mrs. Boot began discussing her numerous accomplishments as the beauty editor for Witch Weekly.

Quinn tried to deny what he said about her family but she knew it was true. Her parents barely spoke to one another when they were alone, and yet they were always playing the happy couple at social gatherings. Her own mother had always explained to Quinn that to be happy and successful, you must project the image of happiness and success. Quinn looked back into Terry's smirking face and felt a brief flash of shame.
"My family may only care about appearances, but I am not my parents. I don't do only what is expected of me." Quinn said stubbornly.

"No?" Terry smirked still more and Quinn wanted only to strangle him with her bare hands. "You may think you are independent, but in the end, we always do what we were raised to do. You were raised to look down at Muggleborns, and even more at those whem. So you do. I was raised to care most about how I look, so I do. You can't escape who you are Quinn." Terry stepped back a bit, giving Quinn room to breathe. She was about to tell him she didn't need to hear this crap when he continued. "What about your cousin then? Your own flesh and blood Quinn. Have you ever even spoken to him?" Quinn was surprised. She had never thought about it really. Seamus had never been a part of her life; it had never occurred to her that perhaps he should be. Terry took Quinn's look of shock as apparent victory. He turned quickly away and entered Ravenclaw tower alone. Quinn stood in the hall, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

No she had never spoken to Seamus really. Quinn sat down on a stone bench and asked herself why. She sat for a long time thinking about it. Her father had constantly complained about the 'other' Finnigans as she grew up. Quinn knew that her father very nearly blamed Aunt Brenna for Grandma Finnigan's death. He had often ranted about the extraordinary amount of grief Grandma Finnigan had gone through when Seamus' parents had been married. He couldn't believe his own sister would be so inconsiderate to the family. The more Quinn thought of it, the more she realized that she sympathized more with Aunt Brenna than her own father. Brenna had chosen to do what made her happy, regardless of how it looked to others. Quinn found herself admiring this. She would rather be happy than be cooperative for the rest of her life. Quinn resolved not to do anything in her life just for the sake of appearances. If the alternative meant ending up like Terry Boot, Quinn knew she would stick to this new ideal. She went to bed still questioning in her mind, should she try to talk to Seamus?