Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 06:38:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Jayson Vascardi <jcvascardi@yahoo.com> Subject: Return of the Heirs - Chapter 19 Harry Potter and the Return of the Heirs By J.C. Vascardi * * * Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places and characters that are not in the books. * * * Chapter Nineteen * * * The day had finally arrived: Thursday, October 31, 1996. The Halloween Ball was taking place after the feast. Professor Dumbledore cancelled classes for the day, as he knew that the majority of the students wouldn't be concentrating on their classes anyway. The Headmaster also cancelled the weekly meeting of the Defense Arts group, considering that all of the students would be at the Ball instead. The annual Halloween feast went off without any problems thankfully. No professors running in yelling about a troll in the dungeon or anything else out of the ordinary. Professor Dumbledore stood and dismissed everyone from the Great Hall, stating that the fifth year and older students should return in an hour's time for the Ball, while the younger students should get ready for their own parties. In the sixth-year Slytherin girl's dormitories, the girls were all getting ready for the Ball, although Pansy Parkinson was livid. "What does Draco think he's doing?" she practically yelled as she sat in front of a mirror fixing her hair. "How could he possibly want to take Blaise to the Ball instead of me?" "I'm going to take a wild guess here," Tracey said, "but maybe it's because he's gay?" "I still don't believe that for a second." "Then you are delusional, Pansy," Daphne said. "You know that Adrian is my boyfriend and he tells me everything. If you don't believe that Draco is gay after the Virginitas charm revealed that he lost his virginity to Blaise and he admitted being gay under the influence of Veritaserum, you really are delusional." "I'm afraid, Pansy, I have to agree with Daphne," Tracey said. "You're awfully quiet, Millie," Pansy said as she turned to look at Millicent Bulstrode. "What do you think?" "I'm inclined to agree with Tracey and Daphne," Millicent answered. "You saw Draco and Blaise kiss in the common room, along with half of our house. To be honest, that was enough proof for me that Draco was gay, but with the Virginitas charm and Veritaserum confirming it, I don't see how there is any room for doubt about Draco's gayness." "How do I know that it was really Veritaserum that Adrian gave Draco?" Pansy asked. "I mean, when brewed properly, Veritaserum is as clear as water. How do I know that Adrian didn't just put three drops of water in their mouths and they then pretended to be under the influence of Veritaserum?" "You're grasping at straws, Pansy," Tracey said. "The sooner you admit that Draco doesn't want you, the better off you'll be." "Tracey is right, Pansy," Millicent said. "You'd be better off giving up on Draco. I know not all of the pureblood families believe in the whole virginity thing, but I do know that your parents will never let you marry Draco now that he's no longer a virgin." "Like I care what my parents think," Pansy said. "Pansy," Daphne said, "you know the penalty for going against them on something as serious as this. They will blast your name off the family tree and disown you. And you're a girl, so you know that Wizarding law will favor your older brother when your parents die. Which means you'll be lucky to get enough money to buy a candy bar at Honeydukes." "I don't care!" Pansy shouted. "Draco is worth it! Besides, why do I care if I don't get any of my family's money? Draco's family is loaded and he's the only heir." "Stop embarrassing yourself," a voice said. "Who said that?" Pansy asked, as she recognized the voice, sounding quite a bit like her own, but she knew that she didn't say anything. "I did," the voice said again and Pansy realized it was her reflection in the mirror talking. "See, Pansy?" Tracey asked, as she pointed at the magical mirror. "Even your reflection thinks you should give up on Draco." "No!" Pansy shouted. "I will never give up on Draco. We are destined to be together and I don't care what I have to do! We will be together!" Pansy's reflection rolled its eyes at her and the other three girls in the room finished getting ready for the Ball and left the room, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and Pansy as possible, considering that she was obviously crazy in addition to being totally delusional. * * * "Kev, Steve, please tell me you two are not seriously thinking about going to the Ball that way?" Ryan asked, as he finished combing his hair and turned away from the mirror. "What do you mean?" Kevin asked, as he looked down at his robes with a confused look on his face. "Is there something wrong with our attire?" Stephen asked, as he did the same thing as his boyfriend. "Well, I guess not," said Ryan as he looked at his two housemates. "Though I'm sure you probably will be the only boys at the Ball wearing pink dress robes." "What's wrong with pink?" Stephen asked. "Nothing is wrong with pink," Ryan said, "I just can't say as I would ever wear it to a formal event." "I'm going to have to agree with Ryan," said Terry. "What do you think, Tony, Mike?" Kevin asked. "I'm staying out of it," Anthony answered, as he sat down on his bed and began tying his shoes. "I think you look ridiculous," Michael replied, "but it's up to you. If you two want to wear matching pink robes, then I won't stop you." "I won't stop you either," Terry said, "but I will say that I think you should consider something a bit less colorful." "I don't see why people think guys shouldn't wear pink," Stephen said. "I'm not saying that guys shouldn't wear pink," Ryan said. "I happen to have three pink shirts that I wear fairly regularly, but I just don't think it's appropriate for a formal event." "Straight guys," Kevin muttered. "They have no sense of style." Ryan started laughing, causing Kevin and Stephen to look at him as if he'd gone crazy. Stephen asked, "What?" "Oh come on," Anthony said as he stood up. "You two really need to take a break from snogging each other's brains out every now and then. If you did, you would know that Ryan has been dating Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff for weeks now." "Is that true, Ryan?" Kevin asked. "Yes, Kevin, it's true," answered Ryan as he stopped laughing. "I'm just as gay as you and Stephen, and I still think that you two shouldn't wear pink to a formal event, but if you really want to, then go ahead." "Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad," Michael said, "if you still wore pink, but less of it. Do you guys have any dress robes that aren't entirely pink?" "Yes," Kevin said as he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a dark blue robe with pink trim. "That looks better," Ryan said. Kevin and Stephen changed into the different robes and then Stephen asked, "Happy now?" "You do look much better now," Michael said. "I was trying to be nice, but those other robes really looked too feminine; solid pink? Not to mention the fact that if you had just added a bit of lace they would have looked more like a dress than a robe." The five Ravenclaw boys finished getting ready for the ball, before they left their dorm to go and collect their dates. * * * Harry's Journal -- Thursday, October 31, 1996 The Halloween Ball will be starting in fifteen minutes. I suppose I really shouldn't be writing this right now. I should go down to the common room, meet Hermione, and then go down to the Great Hall. I'm still worried about how Ron will react when he finds out that I'm taking Hermione to the ball. I just hope that he doesn't do anything stupid. I've been hearing rumors lately that Draco is taking Blaise Zabini to the ball. Despite our newfound friendship, I'd be lying if I said I knew everything there is to know about him, and I certainly never would have pegged him as being gay. Too bad he's with Blaise, because I don't think I'd mind dating him myself. Not that the Ice Prince of Slytherin would ever lower himself to date me, even if he is willing to be friends with me. Oh well, I should get going. The ball starts in ten minutes and I'm sure Hermione is starting to get impatient, wondering what's taking me so long. * * * As the fifth-year and older students gathered in the hallway outside the Great Hall, it was clear that everyone was excited about the festivities. Even after the attack on Hogsmeade over the weekend, the closest to Hogwarts any of the Death Eater attacks had come, the student body was determined to put the war out of their minds tonight and have fun. At the stroke of seven, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey appeared in the doorway. "Welcome students to the Halloween Ball," Dumbledore said. "If you will please line up next to your partners," Pomfrey said, "and then follow us into the Hall." All the students lined up next to their partners as Dumbledore and Pomfrey turned and lead the group through the massive doors into the Great Hall. Only, it was different because instead of seeing the Great Hall upon stepping through the door, the students instead saw a long hallway. Black linen draped the walls and suits of armor from all over the world and many different periods rested on pedestals along the entire length of the hallway. The students stared in wonder at the collection of armor and weapons on display, as their two Professors walked silently down the hall to the large doors at the other end. Reaching the doors, Dumbledore and Pomfrey turned to the students behind them and Dumbledore said, "Eat, drink, dance, and be afraid, be very afraid." If it wasn't for the twinkling in Dumbledore's eyes and the smile on his face as he said it, some of the students might have actually been scared, but they knew that he was only saying it because it was Halloween. Dumbledore and Pomfrey turned towards the doors as they opened and they lead the group into a large room, very different from the Great Hall that the students had gotten to know so well during their time at Hogwarts. Directly ahead was a massive stone fireplace, flanked on either side by several French doors, covered in blood red draperies. Instead of stone, the floor was now white marble, with a highly intricate inlay of the Hogwarts coat of arms in the center of the floor. Numerous groupings of candles floated in mid-air throughout the room. On the far end of the room, a marble staircase lead up to a landing on which rested a large pipe organ, with two more stairways wrapping around it on either side. On the other end of the room, opposite the organ, a long table of food and drinks was set out, along with several round tables, so that the students could sit down and rest. The length of the room, though, left more then enough space between the tables on one end and the organ on the other for a large dance floor. As the last of the students filed into the room, the large doors slammed shut and the enchanted ceiling, the one thing in the room that still looked the same as the Great Hall, burst into life with a display of orange and black fireworks. As the fireworks display ended, what seemed like every ghost who inhabited the castle, and perhaps a few that didn't, appeared and began dancing, as the organ began playing by itself. The ghosts waltzed around the room to the organ music for a few minutes, before they disappeared and Dumbledore turned towards the organ and raised his hands. "And now, let the Ball begin!" he shouted as a shower of orange and black sparks shot forth from his hands and a stage rose up from the staircase in front of the organ, as the Weird Sisters began playing one of their latest hits. The students applauded and soon everyone was out on the dance floor. The other professors, who had remained unseen before now, seemed to suddenly appear. Every Hogwarts professor, with the notable exceptions of the four Heads of House, was present. Though, that was most likely because the Heads of House had stayed to keep an eye on the younger students partying in their common rooms. After two dances, Harry and Hermione stepped off the dance floor and took a seat at one of the empty tables. "Your dancing has vastly improved," Hermione said. "Because of you, Hermione," Harry said. "I'd still be hopeless if not for your help." "Well, you give me too much credit," Hermione said. "You really weren't all that bad when I started. Bill may have gotten his feet stepped on fairly often, but he must have taught you something." "Yes, Harry can be a bit hard on himself," Bill said as he walked over with Valen Lasinius on his arm. "Hello Professor Weasley," Hermione said, "Professor Lasinius." "Hello, Hermione," Bill said, as Valen nodded. "Decided not to bring a certain black and blond haired person as your date, Bill?" Harry asked. "Well, Harry, Nick and I have only been together a couple of weeks now," responded Bill. "We both decided that it was too soon to make our relationship public knowledge, so Valen agreed to be my escort this evening. I believe Nick is escorting Tracey Davis this evening." "Not jealous about that are you?" Harry asked. "I do seem to recall Nick telling me that he's bisexual." "Harry," Bill said, "no, I'm not jealous of Nick and Tracey. I trust Nick enough to not think that he's going to spend one night with her at the Ball and decide he'd rather be with her, instead of me." "I know, Bill," Harry said with a grin. "I'm just messing with you." "Oh you little," Bill said as he returned the grin. "What did I ever see in you?" "You mean besides my dashing good looks?" Harry asked with a dumb grin on his face as Bill just chuckled. "I take it that you and Harry were together at some point, Bill?" Valen asked. "Yes, before school started," confirmed Bill. "I broke it off though once school started, since Harry is only sixteen." Valen nodded, "Well, I must say, Bill, you do have good taste. First Harry and now Nick, yes, you definitely have good taste. I only wish that I had known that Nick was turning seventeen soon, because maybe I could have beaten you to him." At the look that Bill gave his fellow professor, Valen chuckled and said, "I'm only kidding, Bill. Nick isn't really my type." "And what exactly is your type, Professor?" Hermione asked. "We're not in class, so please, call me Valen. As for my type, well, I've always been partial to brown hair and gray eyes." "Males or females?" Harry asked. "Oh males definitely," Valen answered. "No offense meant to present company," Valen smiled at Hermione, "but the female physique has never done anything for me." "None taken, Valen," Hermione said with a smile. "So, is there any particular reason that you chose to bring Valen tonight, Bill?" Harry asked. "Well, Harry, I should think it's obvious," Bill said. "Of all the people on staff, Valen is the only one close to my age, well, other than Matthew and Oliver, but they're engaged, so I wasn't about to ask one of them. After that the next person closest to my age would be Professor Snape and I wouldn't ask him out if he was the last man on the planet." "I'd have to agree with you there," Harry said. "Well, we're supposed to be chaperoning here, Bill," Valen said. "So, we should probably mingle." "Yes, you're right, Valen," Bill said as he smiled at Harry and Hermione. "Nice chatting with you two." "Do you feel strange in class?" Hermione asked once Bill and Valen were gone. "I mean, since you've been with him an all?" "Sometimes, yes," Harry said. "It's hard not to think about it, you know? I mean, he was my first, so they say you never forget your first time." Hermione nodded, as Harry stood and held out a hand to Hermione, before the two of them returned to the dance floor. * * * Ryan and Justin happily danced in each other's arms for several dances, before they snuck off for a little private time. As many other students had noticed, the French doors on one side of the room lead to a terrace, which everybody was sure they'd never seen at Hogwarts before. The terrace was very romantic though, with numerous places for couples to sit down and have some private time away from the crowd in the Hall. "The professors certainly went all out with the decorations," Justin said, as he sat down on a stone bench with Ryan. "I can't believe they totally transformed the Great Hall in only an hour." "Well, magic can do a lot of cool things," Ryan said. "Although, somehow, I get the feeling that Rowena and Helga may have had a hand in the decorations. I can't be sure, of course, but it's just a feeling I got." "Yeah," Justin said. "I've never seen the professors decorate quite so elaborately. Even for the Yule Ball, during fourth year, and the decorations then were quite spectacular. You could tell that you were still in the Great Hall though, where as tonight, it looks like a totally different room." "That's because it is," Matthew said, as he and Oliver walked over to Ryan and Justin. "Hey Matt," Ryan said, "Hey Oliver. What do you mean it's a different room?" "Well, would you believe," commented Oliver, "that despite what it seems like, we are not actually outdoors right now?" "We aren't?" Justin asked, confused. "Nope, we're not," confirmed Oliver. "We're actually in the Room of Requirement. Professor Dumbledore used a spell which basically turned the doors of the Great Hall into a portal to the Room of Requirement, which was then designed to look like a certain room that Ryan really should recognize." Ryan cocked his head at Oliver and thought for a moment, before his expression changed and he suddenly said, "Oh my Gods, I can't believe I didn't recognize it before now." "Recognize what, Ryan?" Justin asked. "That hallway with the armor, the ballroom itself, this terrace," Ryan asked, "it's like a copy of the Grand Ballroom at Cromwell Hall. With the exception of the house banners, the enchanted ceiling, and the Hogwarts coat of arms on the floor, it's exactly the same." "How did the professors decorate that way?" Justin asked. "Professor Dumbledore asked all the professors for decorating ideas for the Ball," Matthew revealed. "I gave him some pictures of Cromwell Hall as a suggestion, and I guess he liked it so much that he ran with it. I can only assume that it would have been too much work to re-configure the Great Hall in an hour's time, so he setup the Room of Requirement." "Wow, it's amazing," said Justin. "So, this is a copy of your family estate?" "Yeah, it's so real that I almost can't believe that I'm still at Hogwarts." "Same here, Matt," Ryan said. Ryan, Justin, Matt, and Oliver continued to chat for several minutes, before both couples went back into the main room for another dance. * * * Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey were resting at one of the tables, having just danced several dances in a row. They didn't really advertise it, but the two were romantically involved. It was really the only reason the nurse was a bit more lenient on allowing Dumbledore into the Hospital Wing, when she wouldn't allow anyone else. People usually assumed that it was because he was the Headmaster, but that certainly wasn't the case. "Oh Albus, I'm glad you convinced me to host the Ball with you," Pomfrey said. "It feels good to get out of the Hospital Wing and relax." When Dumbledore didn't answer, Pomfrey placed a hand on his and said, "Albus? Albus are you okay?" "The wards," Dumbledore said suddenly. "What about them?" Pomfrey asked. "Somebody is breaching the wards," Dumbledore said. "Are you sure?" Pomfrey asked, horrified at the thought. Dumbledore never got the chance to answer though, as the doors of the Hall suddenly burst open and a strong wind blew through the room, upsetting the house banners hanging from the ceiling and the draperies on the windows. Dumbledore was on his feet at once as all the lights went off and suddenly there was a loud bang as what looked like a bolt of lighting struck the floor, causing an inferno of green flames to burst forth from the Hogwarts coat of arms. As the lights came back on, the flames disappeared. Standing where the flames had been, a man and a woman, both wearing ocean blue robes and possessing an otherworldly appearance, were now visible. Before Dumbledore could reach the newcomers, Professor Valen Lasinius was standing in front of them with his hands on his hips and said in a voice that was easily heard throughout the quiet Hall, "Corelian, you old fool, you always did have a flair for the dramatic." * * * To be continued... Your thoughts on the chapter would be greatly appreciated, so please review!