Yule Ball
NOTE: Fluff and Slight Smut
Background song: Dance, Baby! - boy pablo
Y/N - your name
Y/F/N - your full name
Y/L/N -your last name
“Professor Mcgonagall, Detention?!”
“Yes, Ms. Y/L/N? Do you have a problem with that?”
I looked at the chaotic Transfiguration classroom. The desks were all over the place and half of the chairs were crushed into splinters. Cauldrons were scattered into tiny pieces around the floor. The chandelier in the room swayed loudly against the silent room.
Professor Mcgonagall let out all the students early, leaving me and a Gryffindor, who I haven’t talked to for a very long time, behind.
“But everybody is going to Hogsmeade today and I wanted to buy a dress for the Ball.” I pleaded to her.
“Well, I suggest you and Mr. Thomas fix this mess up before you can’t.”
“Why am I here, Professor? I wasn’t the one who turned that board into an elephant.” Dean finally spoke. He was in the corner, unfolding his arms, and walked towards us. He gotten really tall and lean the last time I saw him.
“Me neither!”
“Silence!” McGonagall raised her voice, making the lights quake. She was a reasonable professor, but to get in her temper would be the last thing I want to do. “Unless, you’re telling me that I didn’t see you two with your wands out in the air while that happened, then I recommend for you to start before this Detention gets any longer, am I clear?”
“Yes, Professor Mcgonagall.” We replied. She strode off the classroom with haste. We took the cleaning supplies in the closet and started.
After a few minutes, two girls were in the corridor whispered my name.
“Y/N!” Two Slytherin girls appeared in the arch of the door, waving at me to come to them.
“Pansy, Millicent, you should go ahead. I have to clean the mess with Dean Thomas.” I told them. I moved closer and whispered. “You know that it wasn’t me, right? It was Draco, Crabbe and Goyle! I was just trying to fix it before it gone worse.”
“We know!” They snickered quite menacingly. They knew it all along.
“What?! Why didn’t you tell Professor it was those three!?” I asked them. I was beginning to get furious with Pansy and Millicent. They were my friends and didn’t tell the professor that I wasn’t the one who did it.
“You want me to tell off Draco?! Are you mad?” Pansy raised her tone, as if I asked her to get smashed by the Whomping Willow.
“Just enjoy yourself here, Y/N. I know we will in Hogsmeade.” Millicent remarked. She had a sarcastic tone in her voice that made me wish that she got hit by the Whomping Willow.
Pansy and Millicent giggled and walked out of the room before I could say anything.
“You have great friends, by the way.” Dean commented.
“I know… HEY!”
In the corner of my eye, he smiled at my remark and went on cleaning. His smile jolted me, sending butterflies in my stomach. I walk towards him and took his mop and cleaned the other side of the classroom.
We were almost done with the work when Dean spoke.
“So, how are you?”
“Do we really need to make small talk?” I asked. I looked at his direction and never realized that he wasn’t wearing his robes anymore. His sleeves were rolled halfway up, showing his toned arms. Apparently, he loosened his red and gold tie and unbuttoned two buttons of his white shirt at some point. He was sweating profusely from cleaning, beads of sweat glistening against his dark skin.
My face suddenly felt hot. I shook my head, getting back my senses.
“Yes. If we’re going to do this without magic, might as well have a conversation.” He replied as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Fine. I’m doing well, Dean Thomas, how about you?” I was being too sarcastic with him, unintentionally. It was a trait I picked from Pansy which I didn’t love.
“Great! Considering this is the longest we had together since our first year.”
I was shock he said that, something so trivial hit the wrong nerve. Then I remembered the last time we actually talked to one another was this same room years ago, after the Sorting ceremony. Transfiguration class was both our first class and we agreed to be seatmates. Unfortunately, the whole Harry-and-Draco-mortal-enemies started, and Pansy didn’t like the fact that I was friends with any Gryffindors, even Dean.
“That long, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah. We were actually close, you know. It’s a shame you started to ignore me.” He looked at me with his brown eyes, like he was reading me too deep.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, you know. I’m a Slytherin and you’re a Gryffindor! You’re friends with Harry Potter and I’m friends with Draco Malfoy.” I explained to him. In all honesty, it was quite petty. I really liked being friends with Dean, but I don’t want to get on Pansy and Draco’s nerves. It was just Hogwarts status quo, I guess. If I were in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, then between us would be easier.
My throat started to tighten with guilt. I instinctively held my chest and Dean saw that. He suddenly let go of his broom and went towards me. He held my hand and looked at me concerned.
“Hey, it’s alright!” He reassured me, rubbing my hands. “See? We’re still friends.”
Weirdly enough, he smiled at me and all my worries vanished. I could breathe easily now.
“Now that we’re done, let’s get you that dress!” he exclaimed.
“What? It’s too late, Dean. I think all the pretty ones are already sold.” I sighed.
“C’mon, Y/N! I was planning to go to Hogsmeade. You were planning to buy a dress there. After we worked this hard for something we didn’t do, can’t we spoil ourselves now?”
“Fine, let’s go to Hogsmeade!”
We separated for a moment to go to our dormitories and dressed in Muggle clothes. I ran hurriedly, excitement rushing through my veins, to the Great Hall where Dean was already waiting for me, smiling.
Then, we went off to Hogsmeade.
It was chilly in the village. Luckily, I was wearing my green and silver house scarf and a parka. I held out my hand and snow melted off my gloves. I looked up and saw Dean doing the same, he smiled while he tried to catch snowflakes unsuccessfully. His cheeks were colored in red from the cold. I never felt this warm in the middle of a cold day before. It’s nice.
We walked endlessly in the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade until we found Gladrags Wizardwear still open. Dean quickly pulled me into the shop to scour some dresses which I know this shop rarely has.
“I don’t think this is the best place for me to buy.” I told him.
“Y/N, all of the shops are closed and I have this feeling that we can find what you want here.” He explained. Dean pushed me deep in to that maze encouragingly.
We scoured the racks hoping that I would get something other than unusual socks. One actually yelled at me, shouting they were smelly. Dean held out a weird-looking lime green floor-length gown that made my eyes burned. He said it makes my eyes pop, unironically.
It was already nightfall and we were already starting to give up when the lamp reflected something in the corner of my eye. I went towards it, pulled it out and gasped at the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
It was like Rowena Ravenclaw worn it herself. It was a dusty blue gown with crystal gems scattered around the skirt. It had a corset for its bodice and drop sleeves that billowed on the wrist. I ran to the fitting room and tried on the dress. It fit me perfectly. It was strange how this ethereal dress would be in the dingy shop.
I walked out and proudly shown it to Dean Thomas who apparently were eating exploding Bon-Bons and dropped it out of his mouth. He walked towards me, put his arm around and we went in front of a full-sized mirror. The mirror showed a pair of happy teenagers: one wearing her dream dress and other staring at her with adoration.
“See, it’s beautiful.” Dean said.
“It’s perfect!” We looked at our reflection again, admiring the view, until he said something that surprised me.
“Come to the Yule Ball with me.”
“What?”
“Y/F/N, I’m asking you to come to the Yule Ball with me.”
“Dean, don’t be ridiculous!” I hastily went to the fitting room and removed the gown. We both went to the cashier to pay for it and went out of the store. The lamps flickered in the moonlight, snow enveloping the streets.
“Was that a yes?” He asked again.
“No.” I rolled my eyes.
“Then, was that a no?”
“Let’s eat at the Three Broomsticks before heading home.” I distracted him and went on ahead to the entrance of the Three Broomsticks. The hearth of the place couldn’t warm the chills that went down my spine when I saw them.
Pansy, Millicent, Blaise, and Draco were seating at the dead center of the shop and right when they saw Dean behind, all of them gave me that Slytherin look. Hate. Disgust. Dean saw them as well and change his expression into a stern look. Pansy and Millicent took it upon themselves to march across the room and confront me.
“Why the hell are you with this mudblood!?” Millicent gasped. She pursed her lips as if she ate something horrid.
“Sweetie, we don’t mix well with their kind. A mudblood and a Gryffindor.” Pansy batted her eyes at me, as if showing she was a goody-two shoes. “Sweetie” rolled in her tongue like venom. “You disgust me by being with him but I’ll forgive you this once. Let him go, Y/N. You’re better off without being involved with his type.”
“Pansy, you spoiled little -.” Dean was infuriated. I never saw him like this.
“Dean! Stop it.” I interjected. “Let’s get out of here.” I pushed him outside of the Three Broomsticks before everyone noticed the ruckus we were causing.
“Run along, filthy mudblood!” Pansy and Millicent giggled from afar.
We were out of the streets again, with the light hovering over us. I could see Dean breathing heavily and rapidly in the light, fog came out of his mouth like a dragon’s huff. He was pacing, trying to calm her nerves.
“Why are you friends with her, Y/N?” He asked me, still pacing.
“I don’t know.”
“She is snooty, arrogant, a prick and I can’t even come up with other words because that’s how awful she is! Why do you let her treat you like that?”
“Because she is a Slytherin!”
“Don’t tell me that. That’s bull!”
“Then why do you want to go with me to the Yule Ball, Dean?!” I asked him which made him stop pacing. He looked at me with surprise.
“What?” He furrowed his brows, trying to understand what I meant. The streets of the little village were silent, apart from the music coming from the Three Broomsticks.
“Why do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me, Dean Thomas?” I sighed. My throat squeezing again.
“Because this day has been the happiest day of my life, apart from that prick Pansy Parkinson, and I don’t want it to end like nothing happened. I don’t want to lose you again, Y/N!” He told me, his word stuck in the air making my throat tighter.
“You’re being utterly stupid asking me! I know Parvati hasn’t gotten a date yet. Ask her!” I blurted it out. I didn’t know who I was mad at: Dean, Pansy or me?
“I don’t want to. Why are you so firm on not being with me? I know you’re happy when we’re together. Don’t deny it!” He shouted. We were both yelling at this point.
“Because we haven’t talked for years because Gryffindors and Slytherins are enemies! I completely ignored you every time you said hi and pretended you never existed when we have classes together. I pushed you away from my life because I wanted to be in Pansy’s clique even though you were my first friend at Hogwarts. My only real friend in my bloody life!” I was word vomiting already. Everything I said felt like poison. It was all true and I denied everything from him and from myself. I hated the fact that I did. “I’m like Pansy, Dean. Don’t you understand? I am her! I’m selfish, self-centered, ambitious, and feel like I’m above everyone else. A complete Slytherin!”
“And so?” he laughed, as if telling him I was a Slytherin was a joke.
“Why? Tell me why?”
“Because I never cared for it!” He said without any indiscretion. I was surprised of what he said. He was smiling foolishly. His cheeks were bright red. “You think that’s what being a Slytherin is, but it isn’t. You think that’s what you are, but I don’t. You think you’re selfish and ambitious and all the ugly things you think you are but I think you are brilliant, headstrong, cunning and the most enigmatic girl I know… and I love that about you, Y/F/N. I love that you’re in Slytherin and I love you!”
The air felt quiet. Snow fell on us like crystals caressing our skin and clothes. It was really late in Hogsmeade with nearly all of the shops closed. The lights were closing one by one, but I can still see him clear as day.
“…You love me?” My heart felt like it was about to explode, but in a good way. Love. I never thought of Love… until now.
“Well, this was not how I planned to confess my feelings to you but yes, I do.” Dean exclaimed, moving to me closer and closer. I could smell him in this distance. He smelled of sweet peppermint and wood. I wanted so badly to hold him. “It’s weird that I still do. After all these years without any interaction at all but hell, Y/N, I love you.”
I couldn’t understand why but kissing him was right. I put my arms around him, tiptoed as far as I can and let our lips touched. He was startled for a second, but he finally kissed me back. He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me closer and closer to him. He felt warm, like sunshine on a cloudy day. His comfort felt like home and all I wanted was to not let go.
Unfortunately, he started to part our lips to say something.
“So, do you still want to go to the Yule Ball with me or you just wanted to kiss -?” He asked.
“Shut up, Dean Thomas.” I started to kiss him again passionately. He was really getting into it as he moved his hands to my hair. His fingers intertwining with my messy hair. His lips were soft and sweet like Sugar Quills.
“What would Pansy think?” he interjected again jokingly. I looked at him smiling impishly, his one brow raised. I realized then that he was such a tease.
“Let her.” I grabbed his collar and kiss him and finally he didn’t stop kissing me. He wanted me like I wanted him for a very long time.
We kissed under the last light in Hogsmeade, craving for the time we’ve lost all these years.