Thick Smoke

Research

"Hey, Liz! You forgot this!" Fred Weasley-Eliza hoped she was right and that was Fred not George- ran after her holding tightly onto what looked like a black ball.

"Huh?"

Eliza stopped in her tracks and waited for the ginger to catch up to her. Once Fred was right in front of her, the black ball became familiar.

"F- it's a frisbee! Right..." She spoke, her voice rising an octave.Fred obviously saw through her lie. "Where did you find him?" Eliza asked in her normal voice.

"In the Entrance Hall. I think he was trying to find the kitchen."

Hearing the magic word, the black ball opened up, showing his true identity. His bright green eyes stared up at the ginger innocently, looking like he wasn't even real.

"Furvus. Come here," Eliza ordered her kitten but Furvus didn't move an inch. Instead, he purred and jumped on Fred, digging his little claws into his clothes.

"I think he likes me!" The ginger exclaimed happily.

The kitten glanced over his shoulder at his master and purred again. It looked, in Eliza's eyes, as if Furvus was asking her who Fred was.

"I have to go to class. You can hang around Fred for now but be nice. Be nice, Furvus." She repeated, her tone getting a bit colder.

Furvus purred again and turned back to Fred happily.

"How the heck did he get here again?" She mumbled on her way to Divination.

Furvus proved to be a troublemaker so naturally, he liked following the Weasley twins around. They quite liked him too and were using him as a pawn in their games. The one who was taking all the blame though was Eliza because Furvus was her cat.

She got late to Transfiguration because Furvus found the entry into the kitchen and unlike anything she had seen, there was a house elf that found the black cat very entertaining.

"Who the heck is that elf anyway? He's taking great care of that little troublemaker..." She mumbled, her attention far from the subject in class.

Only when professor McGonagall threw a very sharp look, Eliza finally shut up and looked at her teacher.

"Now, before you leave I have an announcement to make. The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward. And I mean this literally, because the Yule Ball is, first and foremost a dance."

Eliza was somewhere in the back, hoping she won't have to dance and show everyone that she was actually good at it. She could still remember Remus teaching her how to dance because you never know what may happen in the future and I won't be there, nudging you towards a boy. Now, that she was in that position, she was definitely questioning Remus' foreseeing abilities and everything he has done, Furvus and Willy included.

Now that it struck her, her eyes widened and quickly turned to McGonagall. Remus probably heard about the Yule Ball and was going to send her a dress. Oh no. He probably sneaked one inside her trunk when she wasn't looking or maybe that was why Furvus appeared at school...

"I'm not going." Eliza firmly stated when they got back in their dormitory.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest, seemingly ready to lecture her.

"I-I'm serious! I am not going to that ball wearing a dress- Hermione!" She whined at the end, feeling like everyone was against her.

"It's going to be fantastic! We have to find a partner and I already have someone in mind," Parvati trailed, her eyes looking into distance thinking about that certain someone.