A Hogwarts Tradition

Pansy looked over at her friend and fellow Slytherin, Millicent. "Who are you asking to the Yule Ball this year?"

Millicent shrugged, and continued to work on her potions essay. "To be honest, I hadn't thought about it. It's not like there are very many options anyway."

Pansy looked over at the fire in the common room for a minute, before Millicent's words caught up with her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The surprise in Pansy's tone finally caused Millicent to look up in confusion. "You mean you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Pansy hissed. "Don't tell me Draco has already asked someone else?"

Millicent just blinked at her friend before exploding into honking gasps of laughter. "You - you - honestly didn't know?" She managed to get out between snorts.

"Know WHAT?" Pansy repeated, loudly. The other people in the common room were starting to glare at the pair.

"Pansy," Millicent said, once she'd calmed down a bit,"Draco asked Potter to the Yule Ball."

"POTTER?" The name was shouted at the top of Pansy's lungs. Millicent looked around and noticed a few wands pointed their way. If she couldn't get the other girl to shut up, they'd both be hexed.

"Yes, Potter, now shut up before they do something nasty," Millicent nodded towards the 7th years.

"Potter?" Pansy repeated dully.

"Potter. Get over it. Draco's gay."

"But... but he took me to the Yule Ball for the last two years!" Pansy exclaimed, looking over at Millicent, who sighed and put down her quill. Obviously she wasn't going to get any work done until this little misunderstanding was cleared up.

"Pansy, you've been a student at Hogwarts for six years and you haven't figured it out?"

"But Draco, and Potter?"

"Yes, Pansy." Millicent enunciated the words as if talking to a child. An extremely stupid one. "Draco. And. Potter. Together. Kissing. Dancing. And let's not forget that Blaise Zabini is taking the Weasel, and Crabbe and Goyle aren't going at all so they can spend a night of unrestrained passion. With each other." Millicent hoped her words were sharp enough to hit target.

Pansy gulped, before her face began to turn red. Millicent nodded. A disbelieving Pansy she didn't want to deal with. An angry Pansy she could handle. "Is EVERYONE queer around here? Damn! Who the hell is going to ask us to the Ball?"

"... Uh, I suppose I could ask you..." she said, smirking inside.

Pansy froze and stared over at her friend. "Millicent, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." She paused for a minute, and played with a few curls of hair. Millicent took this as her chance to get back to work, and picked up her quill. "I suppose I could ask someone older." Or maybe not.

"What like Marcus Flint?" Millicent scoffed.

"Well, why not? I see him often enough at home. And he was Quidditch Captain, not to mention a staunch supporter of the Dark Lord."

Millicent sighed, and idly wondered if Pansy's skull were thick as, or even thicker than brick. "He's boffing Oliver Wood."

"WOOD?" Pansy shrieked again. Millicent quickly cast a silencing charm in hopes of not irritating the other students further.

"Pansy, it's a Hogwarts tradition. No male gets accepted here unless they're gay," Millicent said simply. Pansy gaped at her friend.

"But... but... what about DUMBLEDORE? And the Dark Lord?"

"....heh heh."

"NOOOO! I DID NOT NEED THAT MENTAL IMAGE!" Pansy quickly began beating her head against the table and Millicent went back to her work.

Just a normal day in the Slytherin common room.