The Secrets of The Sighted (Golden Trio Era) {3}

Food For Thought

It is seven forty-five on December twentieth 1996. Mikayla, Hermione are chatting in the Gryffindor common room waiting on their dates. Harry has just left as he is going to pick Luna up at Ravenclaw tower. Hermione wore a gorgeous blush pink cocktail dress, whilst Mikayla was in a navy satin sleek dress that reaches just below the knee. "You too look gorgeous." Parvati spoke up from behind them causing the pair to jump. "Awe thanks." Mikayla smiled as she spun around to face her, Lavender and Ron were behind her taking in Hermione and Mikayla's appearance. "Wow." Ron smiled at them affectionately whilst Lavender gave the two girls the stink eye.

"So Hermione, who are you going with?" Lavender asked in a shrilly high pitched voice that was very unlike her natural sounding tone. "Oh, I'm going with Cormac McLaggen." Hermione was polite even though her relationship with Lavender and Ron has been on the rocks for weeks. "What? You said you didn't like that twat." Ron spoke in disgust whilst Mikayla sent Parvati fleeting looks as warning of a brewing argument. Parvati took this warning and excused herself to go speak with Seamus who was in a foul mood.

"I never said that Ronald. Cormac was very polite when he asked me to be his date." Hermione defended, Mikayla looked around uncomfortably wishing Neville would hurry. "Have you forgotten what he did to Mikayla?" Ron's voice was starting to raise, Mikayla sighed as she saw the smug smirk that grew on Lavender's face. "Honestly Ronald, that was years ago. We've all grown up and matured, some more than others." Hermione huffed and Mikayla decided to jump in now to prevent a full scale row. "Look Ron, Hermione is allowed to go with whoever she pleases. She asked you to go, you promised you would and then bailed on her." Ron looked a bit green at the reminder of him breaking his promise.

"McLaggen stepped up and actually showed interest in Hermione, and he might've been a dickhead in the past but Hermione is an adult, you can't boss her around." Mikayla passed her attention drew to Lavender's possessive hold on Ron's upper arm. "You have a girlfriend, maybe you should focus less on who your friends are dating and more on your own relationship. Lav, please refrain from stirring shit between my friends, jealously is ugly." Ron's face when red, as Mikayla came to the end of her rant. 

"You never pick my side." Ron hissed at the blonde, Mikayla looked at him confused, "I wasn't aware there was sides." Mikayla straightened up to show she would not back down to Ron. "Granger!" McLaggen shouted from the staircase for the boys dormitories, "see you there." Hermione plastered on a fake smile, giving Mikayla's hand a squeeze before walking off to greet McLaggen. "Lav, I know you like Ron a lot, but there is no need to be so possessive, nobody is trying to steal him from you. Now leave so I can have a word with my brother alone." Lavender sent Mikayla a death glare before stalking over to Parvati and Seamus. 

Mikayla pulled Ron into an abandoned corner of the common room, out of earshot of the other occupants and hidden from view. "Ron, I love you, but you have to make a choice, you can't have Lavender and Hermione. If you're going to be with Lavender, then be with her and stop trying to control who Hermione decides to date." Ron went to argue with Mikayla but she held her hand up to silence him. "Don't even try to lie and say you don't see Hermione like that. The way you look at her says it all, the way you seek her praise and get jealous by the fact that she snogged a guy two years ago." 

Ron blushed as Mikayla mentioned the fact that he got jealous over Hermione snogging Krum. "So, I want you to do something for me. I want you take a minute, everyday, just to think about how you see your future and who you want by your side for it all. Take all the time that you need but try and avoid breaking too many hearts along the way." Ron smiled softly at Mikayla's request, pulling her into a hug, resting his chin on the top of Mikayla's head due to the height difference. "I'm here for you Ron, every step of the way." Mikayla heard Ron sniffle, she pulled out of the hug and took Ron's face in her hands and wiped away his tears. 

"I have to go now, Neville is waiting but I'll see you after yeah? We can have one of our strolls." Ron nodded his head eagerly, "I'd like that, have fun at the party, and watch our for our Hermione." Mikayla chuckled lightly, promising Ron that she'll make sure McLaggen doesn't try anything.

Mikayla made her way over to Neville, who was stood by the portrait hole in traditional black and white dress robes. "You clean up well Neville, very dashing indeed." Neville smiled at Mikayla's appearance, she noticed that he looked nervous, "sorry I'm late, Dean accidentally burned a hole in my pants and I had to look for the right spell to fix it." Mikayla smiled shrugging off Neville's tardiness, "it's alright, we'll just be fashionably late to the party." Neville offered Mikayla his arm, they linked up and Neville escorts me to Slughorn's office.

As they were approaching Slughorn's office and the sounds of laughter, music and loud conversation were growing louder with every step they took. Whether it had been built that way, or because he had used magical trickery to make it so, Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study. The ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson and gold hangings, so that it looked as though they were all inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the centre of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each a brilliant speck of light. 

Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of house-elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing, so that they looked like little roving tables. "Mikayla!" Mikayla jumped at Slughorn's booming voice as he deserts Harry and Luna with a pair of men. "Come in, come in. Ah, I see you've brought Mr Longbottom along with you, I'm glad you both came." Mikayla smiled politely at the professor as he ushered the pair into the room.

"You throw quite the party, Professor." Mikayla commented as she looked around to take in the appearance once again, "oh it's just getting started, follow me." Mikayla and Neville share a uncomfortable glance as Slughorn leads the pair to join Harry, Luna and the two men. "Mikayla, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires"  Worple, who was a small, bespectacled man, grabbed Mikayla's hand and shook it enthuasically. 

"And, of course, his friend Sanguini." Mikayla beamed brightly at a familiar sight. The vampire Sanguini, who was tall and emaciated with dark shadows under his eyes, merely nodded. He looked rather bored. "Good to see you again, Sanguini." Mikayla smiled at the vampire which he soon returned. "Oh you know each other?" Worple questioned and Mikayla nodded her head yes, "I volunteer at STV on weekends. Sangini gave me a tour of the office on my first trip there." Mikayla explained and Slughorn lit up as he saw that Worple's  new interest in Mikayla over Harry. Harry too looked grateful taking Luna's hand to lead her away, Mikayla made a secretive gesture to Neville that he can go too, but Neville stayed by her side. 

"Mikayla Black, I am simply delighted!" Worple chimed peering short-sightedly up into Mikayla's face. "Oh and who is this?" Worple looked at Neville rather enthusiastically, "Neville Longbottom, sir. Nice to meet you." Worple and Neville shook hands, "Miss Black, I was under the impression you are betrothed to a Mister Fred Weasley." Mikayla looked at the man wearingly, Slughorn chipped in saying that Fred couldn't come as he wasn't taught by Slughorn. Mikayla pointed out that she isn't betrothed to Fred, as they were not engaged, and that Neville was accompanying her as a friend, so she wouldn't have to go alone. "Ah I see, no disrespect Miss Black, one can't tell what rumours are true." "My Mum used to say 'don't spread with your mouth, what you didn't see with your eyes'." Slughorn hummed sadly, "your mother was a very clever woman."