Bejeweled: A Draco Malfoy Fanfic

07. Dumbledore, What Were You Thinking?

"He's not Fred, I am!" - fred weasley

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The Christmas holidays eventually came to an end, and Ivy and her friends were forced to settle into the regular routine of classes once more. The Hunt was still ongoing, and Ivy frequently checked her pockets for the ring, making sure it hadn't been stolen. She was still keeping it a secret from her friends, and wondered how she would collect the other four, two of which were still in Draco's possession. As if this wasn't unsettling enough, Draco also seemed to resume his old habit of staring in her direction.

"Still obsessing over Malfoy, are you?" asked Harry one evening over dinner. He had just caught Ivy glancing over her shoulder to look at the Slytherin table. Ivy stuck her tongue out at Harry, who laughed and shook his head in amusement.

Ron sniggered and helped himself to his fifth slice of cake. "I'm telling you, if I had a Galleon for every time you've looked over your shoulder, I'd have enough to buy ten of those pearls."

"And maybe you could buy yourself your own robes and a new wand," said Ivy playfully.

Hermione scoffed. "This whole Hunt thing has gotten rather dangerous, don't you think? And I knew it would. Students killing each other left and right over some stupid pearls. I mean, honestly! You'd think Dumbledore would call it off or something. It's not worth it!"

"I think it's brilliant," said Harry, and Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione glared at him. "But yeah, with students dying and all... very dangerous," he added quickly.

Before Hermione could argue further, there was a loud Clink! Clink! Clink! coming from the front of the Great Hall, where the professors were seated. The chattering students went silent as Professor Dumbledore stood, raising his goblet and tapping its side with a fork.

"Silence, if you please. I'd like to give you all an announcement that I think some of you will find quite enjoyable," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "As you all know, Valentine's Day will soon be upon us." This was met with a series of groans and eye rolls, along with excited whispers and giggles. He continued, "This holiday is a time for expressing love and affection, gratitude and warmth, to those we hold near and dear to our hearts." He paused for dramatic effect. "It has been decided, among the staff here at Hogwarts, to bring back an old tradition that will do just that. This coming Valentine's Day, Hogwarts will host a grand Valentine's Ball!"

The Hall erupted with noise as students excitedly talked amongst each other. Fred and George cheered and banged their utensils on the table. Ron and Hermione groaned and hid their faces in their hands. Ivy and Draco glanced at each other, but he immediately turned away.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The noise died down as Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued. "The Ball will be held here, in the Great Hall, this coming February fourteenth. I hope you all are looking forward to it just as much as I am. With that being said, the Hogwarts staff wishes you all a pleasant evening." He finished with a bow, and students noisily left their seats to head off to their dormitories.

Ivy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the Common Room with a crowd of other Gryffindors who were too shocked to go to sleep.

~

"A Valentine's Ball," Hermione goraned. "It's not an awful idea, but I'd much rather be finishing homework. And if I was going, I wouldn't even know what to wear," she sighed.

"You wouldn't know what to wear?" repeated Ron in disbelief. "Hermione, you don't even have a date yet! Although you could ask Snape's Potions homework to the ball, seeing as you're probably going to be up all night with it either way." Ivy tried not to laugh as Hermione blushed and shoved Ron off his chair.

"We thought we heard a racket," said Fred, as he and George made his way over to where the group was sitting.

"Ivy! My favorite person!" George exclaimed as he ran over to hug her.

Ivy rolled her eyes in amusement. "Alright, George. What do you want?" she asked, hugging him back. "Hugging is so not you."

"Yeah, George, what do you want?" repeated Fred with a devilish grin.

"Pleasegototheballwithme," George whispered to Ivy.

Fred nodded to the corner of the Common Room, where a group of first year girls were huddled together, peeking over their shoulders to glance at George before giggling and whispering among themselves.

"They won't leave me alone!" George cried dramatically. "I know I'm painfully good looking, but I don't want to go to a Valentine's Ball with ickle firsties! I need an excuse to turn them down politely - they won't ask if they see me hanging around another girl. Come on, Ivy, you've got to help me!"

Ivy, Harry, Ron and Hermione burst out laughing. They knew the twins were popular among students, but this was too good. Eventually, they regained their composure, much to George's relief.

"George, I'm not even sure I want to go to the ball," said Ivy sympathetically.

Deep down, Ivy felt that this was another golden opportunity to Hunt. It would be much easier to find a pearl if half the school was packed in the same room. She sighed. Here she was, scheming to find a pearl while her friends would be having the time of their lives without her. What had her life come to?

"You mean to say you're not going?" Asked Ron, as a wave of disappointment washed over him.

"Ron, don't tell me you were going to ask her to the dance," said Fred. "Dearest brother. So young, so much to learn," he teased.

Ron turned pink. "What the bloody hell's that supposed to mean?"

George laughed. "It means you don't stand a chance if you want to ask Ivy to the ball. Don't you know? Half the bloody school's going to be asking her. You should've seen Malfoy's face when his lot was talking about it! Bloke looked like he was going to bite their heads off! Probably wants to ask you himself, Ivy," he said with a wink. "I just thought I'd get first dibs, but seeing as you're not going," he sighed and shrugged, turning to walk away with Fred, carefully avoiding the group of huddled first years. "See you around!"