Valentine's Day Ball: Hogwarts Mystery

You Shall Go to the Ball

Sarah, Jae, and Merula trudged out of the kitchens after detention smelling of hot water and moldy bread. Their faces were contorted into nearly as unpleasant visages as their pruny fingers, each of them stewing away on their own troubles. 

Dumbledore had sent Sarah and Merula to detention for holding unsanctioned meetings of the Circle of Khanna, putting a hold on their plans for revenge. Jae, meanwhile, was upset with Sarah for not inviting him to their latest meeting. 

"We've still got a bit before the end of study hall," he said, checking his watch. "You two coming?"

The girls stared at him. 

"You actually want to study?" Sarah asked him. 

"I'm not going to study." He sounded more offended than he had when he'd confronted Sarah about not inviting him to the whomping willow. "Dumbledore's supposed to be making some big announcement at the end. I'm curious what freedoms he's gonna take from us next."

Security had been tightened around the castle this year anyway, but after what had happened to Rowan, students were hardly able to run to the loo without permission from the teachers. 

Sarah felt her throat tighten, as it always did when she was reminded of her best friend. 

"We better go," said Merula, though her eyes were shining with anger. Merula was always angry these days. "If nothing else, we can droop our heads in Dumbledore's presence and convince him we've learned our lesson. Maybe he'll get off our backs for a bit."

So, they hurried up the winding staircases from the kitchens to the Great Hall. Merula stalked off to join Ismelda and the Slytherins, while Sarah and Jae found seats at the end of the Gryffindor table. As usual, the Great Hall was much more crammed than it would've been for a regular study hall. The students kept craning their necks over at the headmaster in impatience. 

They didn't have to wait long for Dumbledore to stand behind his podium and clap once for their attention. All heads turned to him. 

"I apologize for the interruption, as I'm sure you were all quite focused on your studies." A few students glanced guiltily at their unopened books. "But, I have an announcement which I suspect will interest you even more than your homework.

"As you all know, we are rapidly approaching the time of the year when we shift our attention to happy matters of the heart. As such, it is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting a Valentine's Day Ball on the 14th for those in the 5th year and above."

Sarah jolted. Was it February already? She'd completely forgotten about Valentine's Day, what with everything else going on. She peered in between heads to see the Slytherin table across the hall until she found Barnaby. By the looks of it, he was just as surprised as her. 

Dumbledore had paused a moment to let the students whisper excitedly about the ball, but he called for silence once more by raising a hand. 

"To give you more details about the event, I welcome to the podium our gracious volunteer planner, Madam Pince."

"Wait, what?" said Jae, not bothering to keep his voice down. 

He wasn't alone. It was like staring into a beautiful stained glass window, only for it to shatter with glass pelting down at you. The hall erupted in confused and angry whispers as Pince rose from her seat to take Dumbledore's place behind the podium. Sarah didn't blame them; everything about Pinched-face-Pince--from her black robes to her narrow, beaded eyes--spoke more of a funeral than a fiesta. 

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," said Pince, her face splotched with red and her shoulders puffed up like a vulture, as was always the case when she detected too much noise. "I vow to approach planning this ball as I do in maintaining the library...with the utmost seriousness."

Jae groaned. 

The audience tuned in and out of Pine's speech. Sarah physically cringed each time she said words like "chaste" and "subdued."

"Well, this is a nightmare," said Jae, once Pince had finished and Dumbledore dismissed them. "A dance is just what we needed to bring some life into this place. But if Pince is in charge, it'll likely be just another study session. She probably won't even allow music because she hates noise!"

Their friends began to converge on them to discuss the announcement. "It can't be all bad," said Penny hopefully. "At least Madam Pince is taking her job very seriously. A Valentine's Day Ball will be quite special. It's a chance for a night out with a special date."

"That's easy for you to say," said Jae, as they were joined by Tonks, Tulip, and Andre. "You both have boyfriends. The loud music and disregard for the rules was all I had to look forward to."

"Well don't look for anything special from me," said Andre, his face screwed up like he'd sucked on a lemon. "I'd die before designing anything to fit such a drab dress code."

"Doubt I'll go at all," said Tulip. "Unless its to spoil Pince's party with a few cleverly placed dungbombs."

"No need for that," said Sarah quickly. "The Ball will turn out fine. I'll make sure of it. I'll go explain to Pince what the students want from a party."

"Fun," said Tonks. "Fun is what we want, and I don't see how even you can convince that ol' bat to give it to us."

Sarah shrugged. "Not the maddest thing I've done this week."

"Is that really what you should be prioritizing right now?"

Sarah looked up to see that the Slytherins had joined them--Merula, Barnaby, and Liz. Merula was staring down at her with murder in her eyes. 

Sarah knew what Merula wanted her to say. That a ball wasn't important, that it would only get in the way of their revenge. But what good was continuing to sneak out if Dumbledore kept catching them? She glanced over at the head table. Dumbledore had an eye on her even now. 

She looked around at her friends' concerned expressions. They'd all aged so much in a year. Sarah realized she no longer thought of herself and her friends a children. It wouldn't be long before Tonks was hunting down dark wizards and Andre was playing professional quidditch. Barnaby had started shaving last year; occasionally Sarah could feel the stubble along his jawline. 

Her thoughts turned to Rowan. The last big event Hogwarts had held had been the Romance festival. Rowan had been so excited in her little, red dress. Sarah cracked a smile thinking of Rowan's clumsy dance moves. 

"Yeah," said Sarah to Merula. "We deserve a nice night. I'll make sure we get one."