Corruzione (A Barty Crouch Jr Fanfiction)

SIX - Manners

Classes had been canceled after lunch to give the students time to get ready, they were trying to impress the other schools after all. She and Daphne helped each other get ready, curling the other's hair with their wand or sharing makeup. It was a nice reprieve for Darcy from the stress of being a traitor, well not quite a traitor, but more so than she ever thought she would be. For a reason, Darcy couldn't quite put it into words, she felt a sense that something would go wrong, that something might put her in danger that night although she had no idea what or whom. But I can guess who it might have something to do with.

"Come on, you look Gorgeous, can you at least manage a bloody smile?" Daphne coaxed her from across the room, trying to take in the view of Darcy in her dress to see if anything needed tweaking. Her dress was of the palest gold and sleeveless and Daphne had pinned her hair back from her face. She felt foolish. "A better smile than that," Daphne coaxed, "you're going to the Yule Ball with Oliver Wood for god's sake." Darcy grinned and Daphne hugged her. "My turn." She said, shimmying into her own dress. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." Darcy complimented and together they left their dormitory and joined the crowd heading for the Great Hall.

Daphne veered off to find her date among the Slytherins and Darcy was left standing alone. "Darcy." A voice said tentatively behind her. She turned to see Oliver looking very dapper in a black suit.

"Oliver." She mimicked.

"You look stunning." He said so quietly she barely heard it over the crowd.

"Thanks, you do too." She said, moving a bit closer to him to try and assuage the awkwardness. They were saved from any further interaction however because they were joined by Fred and George.

"You never said you managed to get out of Moody's detention?" Fred said.

"Yeah, did you give him the slip?" George asked.

"I never had a detention," Darcy said through gritted teeth. Now that she thought about it, Barty would be coming to the Yule Ball, unless he had some more urgent business sneaking around the castle. Fred and George raised their eyebrows. She looked around the Great Hall but she couldn't see him.

"Well, I'm glad," said Oliver taking her hand gently. He smiled thankfully at him, he didn't have to be so kind to her.

"That's it, Oliver, turn on the old charm," George smirked. Oliver looked ready to hit George but before he had a chance, they were let into the Great Hall. Darcy had never seen it so gleaming, she saw the looks on the foreign students' faces, clearly they had thought that the Great Hall couldn't look as nice as it did either.

The four school champions had their first dance and the others were then allowed to join in. "Shall we?" Oliver asked her, a slight color to his cheeks as he held out his hand to her. She took it, the butterflies in her stomach giving rise to a much more panicked flutter as their hands entwined. She and Oliver only had eyes for each other as they twirled around the hall, Darcy only looked away to make eyes at Daphne which said 'Can you believe this?' and Oliver was resolutely keeping his gaze away from Fred and George who knew the two would be laughing at him.

After they had danced two songs, the two rejoined their group at a table. "Look at you two, Aye." Fred laughed at them as they sat.

"Shut up Fred," Oliver said through gritted teeth but he was smiling all the same. "I'll get us a drink, give me a sec." Oliver whispered in her ear and he disappeared through the crowd.

"Do you have to tease him?" Darcy asked.

"Yes." Replied Fred and George in unison. And the two began to gabble about something else, but Darcy was watching the large frame of Mad-Eye Moody, across the room. He looked thunderous, already glaring at her, he stalked out of the hall and Darcy felt she had no choice but to follow him.