Turning the Corner

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Fizzing Whizzbees

The next morning the younger students lugged their baggage into the Entrance Hall. Laura Madley waved at me as she climbed into the horseless carriage that was to drive her to Hogsmeade. I tried not to lose heart about finding a dancing partner, but it really did seem that I would be attending the Yule Ball alone, just for the food, as I had been telling everyone for days.

There were twice as many girls as boys at the dancing lesson, so that afternoon I began to hope again. Surely, among so many girls, there must be one who was waiting for an escort to materialise? At least it couldn't hurt to find out if anyone were still available. I held out my hand to Jennifer Rivers from my Muggle Studies class, and she agreed to practise with me.

Madam Hooch was teaching us the Gavotte, which was a far more complicated dance than last week's Fox Trots and Swings. "It's quite fast, but it's still a rhythm!" she called. "Fizzingwhizzbee, fizzingwhizzbee, don't let that beat out of your heads!"

The Gavotte apparently cut a wide swathe across the hall. By the time I had learned the steps enough to notice my surroundings, I realised that every couple was twirling practically in isolation. Certainly nobody could overhear as I casually asked my partner: "Are you going to the Ball with someone special, Jennifer?"

Jennifer stared at me defiantly. "I don't care what anyone thinks - I'm going with Colin Creevey. And proud of it!"

Since I couldn't imagine what might be wrong with this, I stood still, lost for words. "Er," I began, "well, that's nice ... you and Creevey ..." But I couldn't even remember who Creevey was.

"You think I'm stupid, don't you?" demanded Jennifer.

"No, I, er ... well, what's so stupid about the situation, anyway?"

"My birthday's in August," she said, "and his is in November. The age difference is about twelve weeks. And Colin's taller than I am. Nobody would say he was too old for me if he were the one who was twelve weeks older, would they? Or if we were both six months older, so that he was in fourth year too, would they even notice that I was born eighty days earlier? It's just so mean, the way everyone looks at me as if I were a cradle-snatcher in a wheelchair, simply because my dance partner is a third year!"

I began to have a dim understanding of what was upsetting her. "Oh, very mean," I agreed. "I hadn't even realised that Creevey was only in third year. After all, he's quite ... mature, isn't he?" Obviously I had no way of knowing whether this were true, but Jennifer nodded slightly, and relaxed a little.

"And, honestly, the fourth-years in my House are so boring! You can't blame me for liking Colin better."

"Oh, not at all ... well, I hadn't noticed whether they were boring or not. There aren't many Gryffindors in my classes."

"Seamus only talks to Lavender, and Harry and Ron only talk to Hermione, and Neville never talks to anyone. Dean talks to everyone, but only about that Muggle sport he's so keen on ... do they call it legball? Whereas Colin is a really interesting person, with so many hobbies, and he never says a bad word about anyone."

"Is Creevey here today?" I asked, for lack of anything else to say.

"No, he had to develop some photographs. But he's a very good dancer, he learned most kinds of dancing at his Muggle primary school."

"And do the other Gryffindor girls all have partners?" I knew this was not subtle, but how else was I to find out?

"Lavender's going with Seamus - no surprise - and Parvati with Harry - big surprise - and Lilith can't shut up about how she's going with Geoffrey Hooper in fifth year. As if that's such a big deal! I don't know about Hermione, I heard a rumour that she'd had an invitation, but there doesn't seem to be a real man materialising out of the rumours. I think she's just pretending because she feels left out. Poor Hermione, everyone says she's a show-off, but really she's fine when you get to know her."

As soon as the metronome stopped, Zabini held out a hand, and whirled Jennifer away to dance the next measure with him. I suspected that he assumed Jennifer to be my permanent partner, and that he had selected her as a snub to me.

The next dance was a Minuet, which required us to keep in formation as well as memorise some complicated movements. This time I danced with Marietta Edgecombe, who really was a good dancer, which made it easy for me to learn the steps by mirroring her. Marietta paid me no attention: she minuetted so easily that she was able to talk to Cho Chang behind her at the same time. Minuet couples keep close together, so as soon as Madam Hooch stopped the metronome to re-form the S shape we were supposed to be making, I tugged Marietta through the crowd and jostled us into standing behind Zabini and Jennifer.

"I can't believe I was too late," Zabini was saying. "I've been watching you for days. I kept promising myself that you were the girl I'd take to the ball, but there didn't seem to be a good moment to approach you. Beauty is so intimidating, you know."

She can't swallow that line

, I thought. She can't.

But Jennifer was wavering. "We-ell. As I've said, I do have a partner. He's not exactly a boyfriend, though - "

And Zabini had whipped the little white stone out of his robes, and was holding it in the right hand that rested against Jennifer's back.

"Well, can you get out of it?" Zabini lowered his face towards Jennifer's breathlessly. "If only you could take courage - be a true Gryffindor, as they say - and tell your friend - "

Jennifer was opening her mouth to reply. The stone was shimmering, flushing the palest possible shade of blue. I twirled Marietta gracefully under my arm at the same moment as Jennifer twirled confusedly under Zabini's. I scowled at Jennifer with a ferocious scowl.

She recoiled instantly, embarrassed to have been overheard. As soon as she was facing Zabini again, she declared: "It's out of the question! If you like me so much, tell me again after the ball!"

And the stone turned jet black. As Zabini flung it back into his pocket, I saw that golden writing had appeared on the reverse side:

19. Jennifer Rivers

Apparently the Slytherins intended everyone to know in which order Zabini had invited the girls to the ball. Nineteen. Only one stone to go.

Jennifer rounded on me furiously as soon as the Minuet was over. "You were spying!"

"I don't trust Zabini," I said. "I was spying on him, not you."

"What's your excuse for that?"

"No excuses," I said. "Let me just tell you two things. One, I won't be mentioning this to anyone. If anyone else ever finds out, it's you or Zabini who has talked. Two, what do you think Zabini is saying right now to your best friend?"

Jennifer gasped, and raced half way across the hall, just out of earshot of whatever Zabini was saying to Lilith Moon. By the time I had caught up with Jennifer, Lilith was walking towards us, half-laughing, and gesturing with her hands in a way that was almost literally a push in Zabini's chest.

"No, no, no!" We saw rather than heard that. "Say no more, and I'll assume you were joking! But ask me again, and I'll give Geoffrey a reason to be angry with you!"

Zabini smirked as he replaced a black stone in his pocket. Lilith may have thought she had brought the matter to a graceful conclusion, but Zabini couldn't possibly be afraid of Hooper's opinion.

"He tried it on with you, too, didn't he?" said Jennifer.

"Yes, the fool!" said Lilith. "Why does he think I'd want to go with someone like him? Him and his long eyelashes and his Renaissance nose! Oh, Jennifer, look - !"

There was a great flash at the door of the hall, and then a mousy-haired boy unslung a camera from his neck. "Jennifer!" he shouted. "I've finished them all! Am I in time to join the practice?"

"Just one more dance today," said Madam Hooch. "Something easy. Let's have a go at the Congo. Not at all difficult, but much more fun when danced properly. You don't need a partner, just line up..."

Jennifer flashed me a grateful smile before placing her hands on Creevey's shoulders. I knew that she knew she could trust my silence. I was glad that there was going to be one dance at the Yule Ball that didn't depend on this endless pairing off of male with female.

Zabini and Nott left the hall together. Nott was asking, "So are you going to ask Malfoy for more stones?"

"No way!" said Zabini firmly. "The last two said no, and I reckon that's because all the girls are taken now. Still, I had twice as many accept as refuse, so I'll quit while I'm ahead."

I hardly had time to be relieved that this was the end of it before I noticed Flavia Spinks sitting miserably by herself, twisting her yellow hair around her fingers. Another one who's only just found out, I thought. I sat at a careful distance on the same bench.

"Bad hair day, Flavia?" I asked.

"Ha ha, very funny." She dropped her hair quickly. "Did you see how many girls Blaise was flirting with this afternoon?"

"A few," I said.

"Cho Chang ... Marietta Edgecombe ... Lilith Moon .... Jennifer Rivers ... Constance Roper ... Hannah Abbott ... Daphne ... even Millicent! He's meant to be with me, and he didn't practise with me once!"

"Well, I don't suppose he was exactly asking them all to the ball, just because he chatted them up a little," I said cautiously.

"Daphne told me this morning that he's taking her. That he only asked me out of pity, because he could see nobody else would have me, but he thought he'd taken on more than he could manage, and he was going to dump me for her. What kind of a friend is she, to spread stories like that? But when I asked Blaise about it, he just said to use my common sense, did I really think he'd asked me!"

"Sounds as if he's not the right kind of friend either," I suggested.

"But he can't go with Daphne - she's supposed to be going with Theodore!"

"So there's only one thing for it!" I said.

"What?"

"Wash your face, comb your hair, change into non-school robes - and ask Nott whom he thinks he's taking to the ball!" It was lucky that I knew how Nott was likely to react to this conundrum. Otherwise I wouldn't have known what to say to Flavia.

She considered this. "What if they both think they're taking Daphne?"

"Let them fight it out. Seriously, if Zabini can steal Daphne from Nott, I'm sure you can steal Nott from Daphne."

As we left the hall, we saw Daphne Greengrass just inside the dungeon corridor, practically in Zabini's arms.

"You mustn't listen to silly rumours," he was telling her. "You know the other Houses gossip about Slytherins. Of course a lot of fantasy is talked about who's going with whom. But when their fantastic stories conflict, they don't have the honesty to admit it was all speculation. Instead, they accuse us of inconstant mind and foul play. Beautiful one, be as wise as you are charming (as some poet undoubtedly once said). If other girls claim to be going to the ball with me, that's their wishful thinking. They won't be able to keep thinking it once they see that you are the one waltzing into the hall on my arm."

This was the first time I had heard of Zabini dealing with his jilts in this way. It occurred to me that perhaps he really did have a serious dancing partner in mind. Daphne did not look totally convinced, but she nodded.

"There you are," I said to Flavia. "Doesn't poor Nott deserve to know about this?"

She agreed that he did.