The Prefect Social, Part One
Chapter Twelve:
The Prefect’s Social, Part One
For Liam Wren, the Autumn Term flew by. Between his academic workload and his prefect duties, there was nothing in the way of free time. He was grateful that Quidditch practises would not start until after Christmas break, as he had no idea when he would fit one more thing into his schedule.
He took time twice a day to check on his young charges, once at breakfast and again at dinner. One evening, as the Hufflepuffs were enjoying beef stroganoff, Liam said to Goonah, “You keeping up with your schoolwork?” Goonah nodded. “What’s your favourite class?” Goonah’s mouth was full of noodles, but he answered anyway. “Swallow your food and then tell me,” said Liam.
“Herbology!” said Goonah, finally. The other boys nodded. “I never thought plants were interesting, but these plants are crazy!”
“Any subject you’re struggling with?” They shook their heads. “When you’re a Third Year, and you’re picking electives, don’t take Ancient Runes. I hate that class.” The boys laughed. “You getting any flack from those boys in Ravenclaw?”
“Those Ravenclaw boys can’t get their nose out of a book long enough to make trouble with us,” said Evan.
“Yeah!” agreed Goonah. “They walk around with their noses so high in the air, every time they’re out in the rain, they nearly drown.”
Liam knew tensions were typically, predictably tense between the Gryffindor boys, led by Teddy Lupin, and the Slytherin boys led by Nolan Marrett. “Be careful when you’re hanging out with Lupin and them,” said Liam. “Don’t get caught up in any craziness between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. If things start looking tense, come get me.” Softer, so the other students couldn’t overhear, he added, “But if you get hit with something, give ‘em what for and then call me.” The boys laughed.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, he had an hour of patrol with the other prefects. He was always paired with a girl, either Lara, Sadie, Morwena or Alma. He would have liked to be paired with Umberto or Dave sometimes, as they were both quite witty. Mary, however, declared that they were to go out boy/girl, so they could better handle any situation that might arise.
No one was less pleased by this arrangement than Vanessa. She didn’t like it when he spent time with any girl other than her, but Liam being on patrol with Morwena Felwich seemed to irk her particularly. One afternoon, as she and Liam studied Ancient Runes together, Vanessa groused, “How is it that you’re spending more time with Felwich than you are with me?”
“I don’t hang out with Felwich!” Liam protested. “Every so often, she and I go out on patrol, but it’s just part of the schedule. Besides, she hardly says a word to me when we’re together. She probably spends the whole time wishing she was with someone else.”
“You don’t understand Morwena Felwich at all,” said Vanessa with a scowl.
“You’re right about that,” said Liam.
“When is the Prefect Social? Have you heard?”
“I don’t know nothing about that,” said Liam. “Are we having a social?”
“There’s one every year. Umberto says they haven’t announced the date yet.”
“So, there you go,” said Liam. “Berto will know stuff like that quicker than I will.”
She gripped his sleeve and pushed her long pink nails into his skin. Her blue eyes were wide, and he felt the weight of her enchantments pushing down on him. “You’ll take me, won’t you? You’ll get to bring a guest.”
“Of course, I’ll bring you!” said Liam. “Who else am I going to bring?”
She released her grip on him and sunk her head into his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and sent his heat spell coursing through her while her hair sang, a choir of alto and soprano voices singing wordless notes. “I just don’t want you to forget about me.”
“Who could forget about you?” asked Liam.
Who was taking whom to the Prefect Social quickly became a hot topic among the Fifth Years. Before the invitations even went out, Sadie asked Philip to be her guest at the party. “We can go as friends,” she said, blushing and wringing her hands. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you or anything.”
“Sadie, it’s fine,” said Philip. “I would be happy to accompany you.”
She reached up and gave him a quick hug. “I just wanted to snap you up before someone else did. I didn’t want to go alone.”
“Believe me, no girl has been beating a path to my door.”
“That’s only because the invites haven’t gone out yet,” said Sadie.
Philip thought she was being ridiculous, but the next day, he got two more requests: one from Lara and another from Morwena. To each girl, he said, “Sadie already invited me. So, I will be there. I promise to socialize with you.”
He remarked to Liam about it later. “Three invitations to the Social in twenty-four hours! I guess my stock has risen when I wasn’t looking.”
Liam clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah, it has. You’re not that skinny little boy everybody used to pick on.”
It was Monday morning. The Prefect Social was on Friday evening of that week, and Lara Guishar still did not have a date. During Transfiguration, she was sitting beside Morwena. Lara leaned over and said, “Can we talk after class?”
“Of course!” said Morwena. After Tranfiguration was an hour-long study period. Later in the week, they would desperately need that hour to keep up with their course load, but as it was Monday morning, both girls were caught up.
Professor Meadows dismissed the class. Morwena said to their friends, “Lara and I have some prefect business to discuss. We’ll meet you in the library in a few minutes.”
They went out into the hallway. The Hufflepuff girls lingered nearby, socializing. With so many students loitering and talking, Lara was reluctant to speak her mind. Just then, Reginald Dennison walked by with his troop. He gazed haughtily at Lara and Morwena, and the girls glowered back at him.
Trailing behind Dennison was the pack of Third Year girls, some from each House, all interspersed. After them was the group of rowdy Gryffindor and Hufflepuff boys, Patrick Wren at the lead. Lara heard Liam Wren call out his brother’s troop. “Keep it down, you louts. There are still classes in session.”
Beside Patrick Wren was Benedict Took. As the boys walked past, Lara caught Benedict’s eye. He smiled and blushed.
When the boys were out of earshot, Morwena said, “My sister has a huge crush on that boy, and he doesn’t seem to know.”
“No,” says Lara. “His eyes are always on Alyssa.”
“Except when they’re on you,” said Morwena. “He must prefer blondes.”
“He doesn’t think of me that way!” protested Lara. “Well, I hope he doesn’t, anyway. Benedict is like a little brother to me, the one I never had. I was the one who suggested he take Healing Arts.”
The two girls walked down the grand staircase to the library. They lingered in the hallway before going inside. “What’s troubling you?” asked Morwena.
“It’s silly, really.”
“Tell me.”
Lara flushed. “I don’t know who to take to the Prefect Social! I was planning to take Stacy, but she’ll be with Claire. I asked Philip . . ..”
“. . . but Thompson snatched him up,” Morwena interjected. “I asked Philip, too. Quite clever of Thompson to beat us to the punch like that. Not that I blame her. I wouldn’t want to go to a social with any of those Ravenclaw boys.”
“And, I don’t either. But now I’m in a bind! I can’t ask Monique and leave Stephanie behind, and vice versa. With the boys, it’s even worse!”
“No, you don’t want to take Bendrix and have him drooling over Ables all night long.”
“Even if he controls himself, he’ll want to talk to Liam all night. I’m afraid he’ll just ignore me. If I take Fortney and not him, he’ll be miserable.”
“I coaxed Umberto into taking me. Neither of our significant others go to Hogwarts. But I understand your dilemma.”
Morwena’s brown eyes were keen and bright. Gazing into them, Lara felt there was some solution brewing that Morwena had yet to express. “Everyone assumes I can just use my prophetic powers and figure this out, but that’s not how it works!” said Lara. “I can’t abuse my powers over trivial matters. It’s different if someone asks me a question. That’s why I made my prophecy deck. But I can’t just pick up a card and ask whom I should take to the social. It’s not a dating service!
“I really don’t want a boyfriend, anyway. I’m far too busy. If I ask a boy, he’ll think I’m interested in him, and I’ll be swatting away his hands all night. I don’t want to go snogging with someone. I just want somebody to hang out and talk with me. I don’t want to be there by myself,” she added morosely. “Sometimes, I think I shouldn’t even go.”
Morwena, as was her habit, presented her solution from an oblique angle. “You know, Larry Durrell, the senior Ravenclaw prefect, asked Frederica Denholme to go the Social with him. She’s a Slytherin Fourth Year, in the same coven as Claire Quillan!”
Lara gasped. “How does he know her? She’s not even in his house!”
“Apparently, she’s friends with his younger sister.” Lara wrinkled her nose, and the two girls laughed. “The precedence is set,” Morwena continued. “You could take someone younger than you are. Even two years younger.”
Lara’s cheeks flushed hotly. “You don’t mean . . ..”
“I hear he’s very good company. Quite adept at holding up one end of a conversation. It comes with having a twin sister, I suppose. You seem to have a good rapport with him. Why not ask him?”
“I know guys do this all the time, go out with girls who are younger than they are, but girls hardly ever . . ..”
“You said it yourself,” said Morwena. “You’re not looking for a boyfriend. You just need someone who will stand by you and talk with you at the social, who won’t wander off and leave you by yourself. I think Benedict Took is a divine choice. It’s not like he’ll be busy.”
“Your sister will be furious,” said Lara, starting to giggle. “Part of your motivation for suggesting it, I assume.”
“Nothing of the sort,” said Morwena primly.
During dinner that night, as Lara walked with her friends to their spot at the Hufflepuff table, she brushed her hand against Benedict’s sleeve. He turned to her and said, “Hi!”
“I’d like to talk to you. I have my late class tonight, but I’ll be back in the Den before nine.”
“Sure.” There was worry in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”
“No, but I have a favour I need to ask you. We’ll talk more later.”
Though she knew it would worry him, that was all she felt she could say in such a crowded place. She ate dinner with her friends and listened to the gossip from the other girls. Stacy was gushing about her new girlfriend. “Q is just so cool! She’s smart, savvy, funny. When I was with Tess, I always felt like she was the star and I was the groupie. With Q, we’re on the same level, you know?”
“I’m so glad you found someone!” said Monique brightly.
Stephanie wasn’t convinced. “Things are more even because you’re a year older than she is. But, Quillan is a little Tess.”
“She is not!” protested Stacy.
Instead of continuing the argument, Stephanie turned to Lara. “What’s this favour you need of Ben Took?”
“I’m not discussing it at the table, thank you,” said Lara.
The girls asked her no further questions, but their eyes darted one to the other. They knew Lara didn’t have a date for the Prefect Social yet.
Herbology fascinated Lara. She was particularly interested in Magical Herbs that had healing properties, but even dangerous plants like Fanged Geraniums held her attention. Though she dearly missed Professor Sprout, Professor Longbottom was young, handsome and deeply passionate about his subject.
If only the class wasn’t so late at night, mused Lara. If we just had a covered walkway from the castle to the greenhouses!
On the way back to the castle, it was raining. Lara and Stacy huddled together, sharing an umbrella. The wind whipped the rain sideways, soaking their cloaks and hoods. In the Entrance Hall, they shook the rain from their cloaks. The prefects, Liam and Lara, Dave and Alma, blasted away the puddles with their wands. With a wave, the Gryffindors headed for the Grand Staircase, while the Hufflepuffs headed downstairs.
As Lara crawled through the barrel to reach the common room, she felt her knee begin to poke through her tights. There must be a more dignified way of entering the Den, she fumed.
All her angst and worry vanished when she saw Benedict, sitting in a chair by the fireplace, his History of Magic textbook in his lap. Lara went over to the hearth and stood with her back to the flames. With knowing looks, her girlfriends swept past her into the girls’ dormitory.
Lara shook some raindrops from her hair. “It is so miserable out there!” she exclaimed. “I hate these late classes.”
“You were out in the rain,” said Benedict. “You must have Herbology.”
“Yes. I do enjoy it. I just wish it were some other time and place. How are you doing in Healing Arts?”
“Oh, I’m learning loads! This week, we’re learning the heating spell, that you use when someone’s going into shock. Still getting the hang of that one. But I’ve got the analgesic spell down pat!”
Lara laughed. “Wonderful! Us Fifth Years will want you to clear our headaches as we get closer to O.W.L.s.”
Benedict’s expression became serious. “What did you need to talk to be about? It is Dennison?”
Lara let out a sigh. “I worry about Dennison constantly,” she admitted. “But no, I needed to talk to you about something else.” She pulled in a deep breath and then plunged ahead. “What are you doing Friday night?”
He shrugged. “This Friday? Nothing in particular. What are you doing Friday night?”
“I’m going to the Prefect Social. And, I’m expected to take a guest.”
“You ought to be able to find someone,” said Benedict earnestly. “If I dare say so, you’re very pretty.”
“Thank you.” She gazed steadily at him and watched as he made the connection.
“Oh! You mean me? You want me to go to the Social with you?”
Lara looked down. Her eyes settled on a decorative circle of wood, part of the frame of the plush chair Benedict was sitting in. “If I ask a boy my age, he’ll think he’s my boyfriend, and I don’t want a boyfriend right now. I just want someone to talk to at this thing on Friday.”
Benedict stood so they were face to face. They were about the same height, though he was thin and wiry. “I would be honoured to be your guest at the party,” he said. “I would be very happy to hang out and talk with you.”
“Oh, I was hoping you would say that!” she gave him a hug. “You must tell all your other girlfriends that they needn’t worry. We’re just going as friends.”
Benedict laughed. “I will be sure to tell them. They’ll be terribly jealous otherwise.”