Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and (the rest of) The Beast Within ❯ Chapter (IDEFK): Deck the Halls with Socks and Dobby ( Chapter 4 )

(NM)MNK: an undisclosed amount of time has passed since the events of the last chapter. Cutesy couple stuff has happened, along with unnecessary drama, fatal misunderstandings, and the usual. There has been some progress in finding out what’s wrong with Crystal but other than “a poison was involved,” nothing is certain.

This chapter originally had some songfic nonsense in it. I’ve cut that to spare you the trauma. Just imagine some crap by Enya and The Bee Gees playing. (Nope. Not making that up.) Also, grab a snuggie because you’re going to cringe all your body heat away. This is…terrible. I don’t even have words for how terrible it is.

If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be poor. I am poor, therefore I clearly don't own Harry Potter. It's simple logic.

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Chapter (IDEFK): Deck the Halls with Socks and Dobby

Harry rubbed his eyes and rolled over in bed, groaning. He did NOT want to get up. Suddenly, the sound of a snowball thwacking into someone’s back caused his eyes to pop wide open. In doing so, they landed on the Greatest Quidditch Moments In History calendar that hung beside his bed in the dorm room. He sprang up in bed and shook Ron and Viktor awake. The next day was Christmas Eve, and the students were going to Hogsmeade. The three friends scrambled to get dressed, then raced down the stairs to the Common Room, only to find that their female friends Hermione and Ginny were sitting on the couch, wearing smug expressions.

“Bout time you guys got up!” Hermione chastised them as they left the common room through the portrait hole, and sprinted up the stairs to the East Tower. Harry stopped at the first landing, Ron and Viktor on the second, and Hermione and Ginny at the third. Soon, they had convinced Sapphire, Peridot, and Iris to come to Hogsmeade with them to do their shopping. They headed down stairs, and were almost to the road leading to the village, when they noticed, Blaise walking just ahead of them with Azalea. Strangely, he had left Crystal behind. Then Sapphire noticed her twin sister walking not far away, hidden by Professor Snape. Sapphire smiled softly to herself, thinking, “I THOUGHT so.”

~*~

When the students had gotten to Hogsmeade, the groups had split up, Harry going with Iris, Ron with Peridot, Viktor with Hermione, and Ginny with Sapphire. In these groups, they began their Christmas shopping.

“Well, I don’t really know much about what he likes NOW, but I remember what he USED to like,” Iris said softly, slightly embarrassed. Harry, who knew nearly EVERYTHING about his Godfather by now, quickly led her to one of the stores, giving her advice on what she should get for Sirius. Meanwhile, Ginny was giving Sapphire similar advice, as were the other pairs. Suddenly, Ginny realized something.

“Oh, CRUD!” she squeaked. “I left my dress robes at HOME!” Sapphire chuckled softly, and smiled.

“Not to worry, Gin. I already promised to let Hermione borrow one of my dresses, and you can borrow another. We’ll have to go home to get them, though,” she warned.

“How far from here is that?”

“In steps, only to the end of the block. In light-years...” she thought a moment as Ginny’s eyes widened. “See, my home is another planet, in another dimension. It’s impossible for a space ship to get there, but we have a way to make it in a matter of minutes.” Ginny sighed in relief, and they left the bookstore to find Hermione and Viktor, as well as Blaise and Azalea. They soon had the two young men convinced to do the rest of their shopping without them, and they headed down the road to the Shrieking Shack. Just before they reached it, though, they turned and walked around to the back. They stopped at a door leading into what had to be the garage.

“This door houses the portal that Iris and Peridot took to get back home not long before Voldemort...” The two humans flinched out of habit. “...made his presence known. It leads straight to our home in Jewlarnia.” Sapphire looked nervously into the eyes of the younger girls, and asked, “Are you ready?” They steeled their nerves and nodded. “Good. Just walk straight ahead, follow the light, and don’t look anywhere else. If your eyes wander, your feet may, too, and you could get lost in the time waves. I’ll go first. Hermione, you go next, and hold onto my tail.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Only if you hold it too tight. Ginny, keep both hands on Hermione’s shoulders, and Azalea, make sure neither of them wander off the path.”

“What happens if you fall off?” Ginny asked anxiously.

“Theoretically, you’d get lost in the Twilight Zone, so to speak. No one’s ever come back that we know of, but neither of us knows of anyone who’s fallen, either. The path’s about 2.5 yards wide, so don’t worry too much. Well, if you’re ready, let’s go.”

~*~

While in Jewlarnia, they didn’t get to see much other than the inside of Sapphire and Peridot’s home. Soon, they had dresses picked out, and were on their way back. On their way back to the vortex they’d left, the other three noticed Azalea coming out of a room down the hall, stuffing a small box into her pocket.

“What on Earth?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already that we AREN’T ON Earth!” Azalea smirked. She opened the box and showed the contents to the humans. “I snagged a charmed tie from Flitwick to shrink Crystal’s wardrobe.”

“Great idea, Azalea!” Sapphire smiled. “Now Crystal can choose her own dress!”

“Surely you don’t mean your twin sister?” Hermione asked in a half worried, half offended tone. “As in the one who attacked Ron?”

“She has a terrible temper, and is very protective of those she loves,” Sapphire said softly. “She doesn’t remember much of our past together, but once we get the poison out of her system, she should be pretty much as she was before. Despite how she has treated us, my feelings for her haven’t changed…She is still very dear to me.”

“You have a big heart, Sapphire,” Hermione smiled sadly. “If I were you, I could NEVER do something so nice for her, after what she’s done. I just hope you don’t get that big heart of yours stepped on.”

“That’ll be hard...” Azalea snorted. “...considering that she and Crystal BOTH wear their hearts on their SLEEVES!” The girls began giggling as they made their way to the vortex.

 ~*~

The great hall was decorated with silver and gold tinsel, red poinsettias and ribbons, and evergreen garlands abound, and was lit only by the candle sconces on the walls and the crescent moon and stars above them. As it was every year, an enormous fir tree stood in the middle of the hall, decorated with tinsel, stars, and bells. A large holly wreath hung behind the staff table, and a multi-pointed star the size of a quaffle topped the tree. Harry waited anxiously just inside the door leading into the dining hall, subconsciously smoothing out his slacks and jacket once again. He was absolutely terrified. He’d been nervous when he’d asked Cho Chang to the dance during the Tri-Wizard Tournament three years ago, but not THIS nervous! And the idea that troubled him the most was this: He had no clue as to why he was so worried. He was dressed nicely, he had good manners, he knew she wouldn’t run off and dance with Draco Malfoy, despite how many times the little blond git would try to lure her away...Not to mention that she was hardly ever critical of anyone, and had NEVER intentionally hurt his feelings...He was so busy brooding that he didn’t notice Ron return from the punch bowl and stand beside him. Suddenly he was aware of Ron waving a hand in front of his eyes.

“Hello!” he called out, pretending to rap his knuckles on Harry’s head. “Anybody in there?” Harry pushed his hand away.

“My hair’s impossible enough to manage as it is, Ron,” he reminded his friend with a grim look on his face. “No offense, but please don’t mess it up!” Ron rolled his eyes as Harry tried unsuccessfully to smooth it back down. Viktor looked around them, noticing the other couples migrating into the hall. Hardly any were wearing their dress robes, this year. Instead, the girls wore dresses and the guys wore slacks and a dress shirt. He couldn’t help but wonder what Ginny would be wearing...

Navy eyes discreetly peeked around the corner at Harry, and widened significantly as they roamed his slight figure. He had worn a pair of black dress slacks and a matching jacket with a white button up shirt and dark midnight blue vest, with black dress shoes. His hair looked unnaturally flat, but he was still handsome to those eyes. Suddenly, the owner of those eyes was gently pulled back from the corner. Hermione was about to lecture her friend for her shyness, when she saw the anxiety in her eyes.

“Sapphire, what on Earth is wrong?”

“Th...The last real dance I went to...” she stuttered, blushing heavily. “...was at a wedding. I wound up dancing with fifteen different guys that night, so I have experience, but...”

“But what?” Ginny asked in a worried tone.

“...That was over...twenty years ago.” She blushed even harder.

“TWENTY YEARS?!” Hermione squeaked as Ginny just stared in shock. “No offense girl but HOW OLD ARE YOU?!”

“My thirty-fifth birthday is next Sunday...I think.” She frowned at the floor, clearly doing some mental calculations concerning the date. She muttered to herself for a moment, then finally looked up. “Actually, come to think of it, it’s this SATURDAY. Keep in mind, my years are fewer if you go by the calendar of my home planet. Their years are much longer.”

“Does Harry know?”

“Yeah, I told him my age the day I bit your head off.”

“I meant when your birthday is.” Sapphire chewed her lower lip for a moment, shaking her head.

“Most people who travel from planet to planet don’t keep track of their ages very well, so they only celebrate their birthdays if they’ve been on the same planet for a long time.”

"And you’ve been here...?”

“I came here right after Crystal was healed enough to kick me out of the hospital room she’d been staying in…That was about...fifteen years ago, give or take a few months.”

“That settles it.” Hermione grinned smugly. “We’re having you a birthday party, so don’t you go wandering off between now and then.” Sapphire was about to protest when Ginny glanced around the corner, then looked up at her two friends, and said,

“Harry’s about to have a nervous breakdown.” Sapphire was immediately brought back to the present, when Hermione put both hands on her shoulders.

“Now, I know you’re nervous, Sapphire.” Hermione said softly. “But Harry is literally about to pass out from nerves. If we keep our men in suspense much longer, at least one of them will be in St. Mungo’s by midnight.” Sapphire could see the sarcasm in her friend’s eyes, and smiled back. “Ginny,” she turned to the redhead. “You’re the gutsiest. You go first, then I’ll go, then Sapphire, ‘kay?” The other two forced a swallow and nodded. “Right then. Let’s crash this party!”

 ~*~

Harry was about to think that Sapphire had stood him up when he saw Ginny inching around the corner in a soft, brown satin dress, heading toward Viktor. Hermione followed in a simple green dress that came to mid-calf. It was a moment before Harry saw Sapphire gliding toward him, with a nervous, shy look on her face. Harry was mesmerized.

Her dress came down to her ankles and was soft and full, cut in a modest off-the-shoulder fashion. It was made mostly of midnight blue satin with small, silver rhinestone accents, and it fit almost like a glove from the neck to the hips. A wide ribbon of fine silvery cloth draped loosely around her waist, tied in the back right over the base of her tail. Around her neck was a delicate chain of white gold with a small dark blue sapphire that had been carved into the shape of a forget-me-not. Hermione had clearly put a little bit of makeup on her...a slight ghosting of blue eye shadow and a light application of plum tinted lip gloss graced her features. She was starting to look hurt when the soft smile in his eyes caught up to his face. He hadn’t paid much attention to the other two, but he could tell they were also nicely dressed. Still, she beat both of them out in every department without even trying. Her lips curved up in a shy smile as he drew near to her, while the whole hall (As usual) turned and stared.

“My God...” Harry said softly, tracing a finger along her jaw line. “Sapphire...I...Never thought you could get any more beautiful...” he breathed, pulling her close. “You look like a dream...” She blushed slightly, averting her eyes to his chest. “And I probably look like a nightmare,” he thought grimly.

“Thank you, Koi,” she said softly. “I know I’ve never told you this, but personally I didn’t think YOU could get any handsomer than you already were.” His eyes widened, gazing down into hers as they sparkled with love. “You may be dreaming, but if so, then I am as well.”

“You...You don’t mean...” he stammered. “You think I’m...attractive?” She shrugged slightly, smirking.

“What can I say? You clean up nice, but you look good dirty, too.” Everyone in hearing range broke out laughing as he blushed.

“Believe me, Sapphire,” he thought, suppressing the urge to speak his thoughts aloud. “One of these days, I’ll SHOW you JUST how DIRTY I can get!” Suddenly, he found a multitude of ‘Dirty’ images of him and Sapphire flashing through his mind. His eyes bugged as he looked down at the mischievous smirk on her face.

“Watch your thoughts, young man,” she chided, winking at him. “Keep in mind, you‘re with a lady!” His face turned beet red, then he realized that SHE had put those images in his head! He wasn’t THAT creative!”

“Quit putting dirty thoughts in my head, woman,” he chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist, convinced that she had just been toying with him.

“What EVER are you SUGGESTING?” she asked, batting her eyes with an innocent look on her face as they headed toward the refreshment table to get a drink.

~*~

Blaise stood outside the door to Crystal’s room. He’d been waiting for a moment, and was about to knock again when the door opened. He stood there dumbfounded. She wore a soft, silky silver dress with black sandals and a black ribbon around her waist. A platinum chain draped around her neck, holding a single diamond. Blaise stood and stared for a moment before he found his tongue. “Crystal...” he muttered, his eyes raking over her body once again. “You look AMAZING!” She blushed, discreetly looking him over. He’d worn black slacks and a silvery-grey dress shirt with black dress shoes, and his long dark hair was hanging loose instead of pulled back in its usual ponytail.

“You look awful nice too, Blaise,” she whispered, her eyes meeting his. He finally broke free of the trance he’d been put into at the sight of her, and led her down the hall.

“Thank you,” he answered, linking his arm with hers. “Step lightly, we’re already a bit behind.” Just as the couple entered the dining hall, they heard the Headmaster clear his throat. The music stopped. Everyone looked up at him.

“As you know, we’ve had some guests this year,” Dumbledore began as Crystal and Blaise scrambled to hide in a corner. “Guests from another world. Miss Peridot Gemasia, her younger sister Sapphire, and their step sister Iris Flurdali were the first to arrive. Not long ago, we had two new arrivals: Iris’s younger sister Azalea Lute and her step sister Crystal.” Blaise let out a sigh of relief as the headmaster failed to mention any other relationships. “It is a great honor to have even one Daughter of Lica in our school, so it is an even greater honor to have FIVE of them here at once. In honor of our guests, I have requested that the band randomly play a few songs from their homeland tonight, starting with the next.” Dumbledore smiled broadly. “As for now, enjoy the night!”  The band picked up their instruments again, starting into a new song.

Suddenly, Crystal was aware that Blaise had said her name. She turned to him in shock. “Will you dance with me?” Blaise asked Crystal softly, holding out his hand. She shyly accepted, following him to the dance floor. Meanwhile, across the room, Harry persuaded Sapphire to dance with him as well, while Viktor and Ron tried to work up the nerve. Finally, Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look, and literally dragged their beaus out onto the floor.

Harry and Sapphire were swaying in one another’s arms when suddenly the front doors opened and a hefty breeze swirled through the hall, mussing up his hair. “Oh, no!” he groaned, realizing that his hair was, once again, all over the place. He reached to slick it back again, but Sapphire caught him by the arm. She squinted at him for a moment, then her eyes flew open wide.

“You really ARE my Harry!” she grinned kissing him.

“You mean you didn’t recognize me?” he asked stunned. “And they say MY eyesight is bad!”

“Nah. I’m just picking at yah.” She released his arm. “Would you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Leave your hair the way it is naturally...at least when I’m around. You’re much cuter without slicking it back.”

“You LIKE my hair when it’s messy?!” he squeaked.

“It’s not messy, Harry.” She smiled. “It’s wild. Just like you.” He blushed heavily, pulling her close.

“One of these days, I’m gonna have to show you just HOW ‘Wild’ I can be!” he murmured into her ear. She immediately felt a heavy plum blush cross her face as her eyes grew wide. She laughed nervously, holding him closer.

“You little hentai!” she giggled, trying to regain control over her body. As they passed by, Ron asked Hermione in a low whisper,

“What’d she call him?”

“She called him a pervert,” Hermione giggled.

“Well, if SHE thinks he’s a pervert, then he’s acting pretty perverted!” Ron smirked, leading her a little further away.

Azalea stood against a dark wall, watching Blaise and Crystal dancing to the beat of the music. Suddenly, she was aware of a presence inching nearer to her. She didn’t even look up as Severus Snape stood before her, hesitantly holding out his hand. “Care to dance, Miss Lute?” he asked in a nervous tone, wondering why he was so drawn to her.

“Why?” she asked, somewhat shocked. She’d plastered this guy to that very wall with a single punch! Why was he asking her to dance with him? “You getting desperate?”

"No, I...” he faltered, beckoning her to step out into the foyer with him. “I’ve not asked any of the women here to dance. I’ve been waiting...”

“For what?” He turned to stare at the trophy case, and in doing so gave her the perfect view of his emotional eyes.

“The nerve to ask you,” he answered softly, his pale skin darkening in a slight blush. She could see it in his eyes. They were full of longing, sincerity, and pain...much like hers were, usually...only this time they lacked the anger and hatred of the world that they usually held. Not hearing a sound from Azalea, he turned to leave. She caught him by the sleeve of his black jacket, and he looked back, uncertain.

“Why would you ask me after what I did?” she asked in confusion. His blush deepened, and he smoothed his hair back.

“I’m...not quite sure.” he answered honestly. “I’m still new at following my heart, so I don’t know why it told me to.” Azalea was shocked. “I know we haven’t much in common, but for some reason, I feel so...drawn to you...”

“Like a bug to a streetlight,” she said under her breath. “Look...” she began, realizing that students and staff alike were beginning to stare in curiosity. “Can we go somewhere else? Where everybody and his brother aren’t staring?” she added quickly, seeing the look in his eyes. He nodded, and they walked to the garden.

In the garden, the professor and the Wanderer sat side by side on a stone bench, the moonlight dripping over them like quicksilver. He discreetly looked her over now, enjoying the silence they shared. She wore a loose, sleeveless black dress with a pattern of black scalloping along the lower hem, and dainty black sandals. Her hair had been arranged in a braid that hung about to the middle of her shoulder blades, and a Cloisonné azalea hung from a black chain around her neck. Little did he know that out of the corner of her eye, Azalea was also taking in his appearance, black slacks, black jacket, white shirt, pine green vest, and all. Finally, she spoke up.

“Why?”

“What do mean, ‘Why?’” he asked, taken aback.

“Why do you care?” she clarified, staring at the moonlight dancing across the surface of a fish pond that had been put in recently. “I’m a Wanderer. I’m a killer. I’ll probably never be able to settle down as it is. Why would you take the chance, Snape? Why do you care?”

“Please...” he pleaded. “Just call me Severus.” She didn’t answer. “As for why I care, I’ve done my fair share of roaming, and I committed my fair share of crimes in my past life.”

“During your time as a Death-Eater?” He went into shock.

“How...did you know....”

“The other teachers and the students are always telling me stories of the past, here. One they told me when Voldemort came back, you risked your life for the people you hate, by going back as a double agent.” He turned away, shame burning in his eyes.

“Don’t be ashamed,” she said softly, turning his head back to look into his eyes. “We all have our baggage, Sn...Severus. EVERYONE has baggage, no matter how well they hide it. Personally, I was pretty much drummed out of Anirania the year of the Beast-Man war, because I single-handedly tried to exterminate the humans of Dethernia as revenge for what they did to Crystal. The other Licans have let me go back, but usually I spend my time wandering Earth and other planets of its ilk.” She sighed, releasing him and looking away. “You may have been a dark wizard, Severus...” Regret tinted her voice, and her brow creased in sorrow. “...but I committed Genocide.” Severus gently brushed her tears away and pulled her close, comforting her as best he could.

“I may not know much about the Licans, Azalea,” he said softly, “but I do know that they were given the right to a life without shame. Licans need not be ashamed of who they are or what they’ve been. Regret is acceptable, but I will not allow you to feel ashamed.”

“Oh?” she asked, slightly glaring at him. “And what can YOU do?” He just smiled back.

“Not much...But I can do my best.” Without another word, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft, chaste kiss, and pulled away. The look on her face frightened him, making him think he’d upset her, but without warning he felt her arms wrap around his neck as she leaned up to kiss him. He eagerly returned the kiss, embracing her tightly. When they pulled back from one another, their heads were spinning and their hearts were pounding. “Will you dance with me?” he asked, a slight smirk on his face. She reached up to brush a lock of his ink black hair from his cheek.

“Of course.” With that, they stood and headed into the hall.

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(NM)MNK – This chapter was unfinished and will remain unfinished, but I can give you the gist of it.

Yule Ball nonsense collides with American Prom nonsense. There’s petty childish behavior, horny teenagers, someone spikes the punch, etc, but for once, Snape is the only one caught necking out in the rose garden. Nobody calls bullshit but the author, who is now an old fart. Somehow, nobody ends up drunk or pregnant. Boring stuff, in other words.