13 Christmas and the Ball

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Commander of the Order of Merlin First Class, Grand Wizard, Supreme Wizard of the Wizengamot, and President of the International Confederation of Wizards sat in his office, deep in thought. He had been like this ever since Peverell had turned up at Hogwarts. And his recent conversation with Gruim had only increased the questions.

Flashback

Towards evening, when all classes were over, Alastor Moody was on his way to the Headmaster's office. Once there, he saw that nothing had changed. Albus was also sitting at his desk writing something. The Headmaster's phoenix was still sitting on the porch. Seeing the entrant, the Headmaster broke away from his class and turned his attention to the DADA teacher.

- Come in, Alastor. Have a seat. Tea? Lemon slice? - The Headmaster asked, pulling the aforementioned from under the table. Moody silently declined, as he didn't like sweets. - 'I assume you had a class with Peverell. What were you able to find out? - Dumbledore cut to the chase.

- The boy is smart, good in both theory and practice, and has seen a lot of things in his short life. He also seems to have sensed the spells I put on the whole room. His knowledge is impressive. I've never met anyone like him before," Alastor replied.

- And what is his knowledge and skills? - Albus asked, leaning forward slightly.

- I don't know exactly, but in theory, he's on the level of a third year, if not higher. And in practice, he's already better than a lot of upperclassmen," the DADA teacher said.

- And what did he tell and demonstrate? - another question from the principal.

- He gave a complete answer to the question about Dementors and how to counteract them. Patronus, animagic, and occlumency, he knows it all. From what he said, he is proficient in two of them. Patronus and occlumency," Albus was surprised at the answer but still asked again.

- Dementors? That's from the third-year syllabus, isn't it? Is this a joke? - Had the old mage known that he had repeated the author's question?

- He demonstrated the Patronus. Not a corporeal one, but I think he has it as well," Moody replied with a grin at the Headmaster's question. After the author's words, Albus leaned back in his chair with eyes huge with shock.

- Interesting," the Headmaster stretched out.

- I didn't believe it myself at first, but after the demonstration, I had to give the third-year assignment to the others to avoid suspicion. Only theory, since practice, is a bit early for them," Albus nodded his head in agreement.

- How is he at dueling? - Albus asked, pulling himself together.

- I paired him with a third year. What surprised me a little was that Flitwick didn't say a word. He defeated the third year with just one disarming. And his spell was an order of magnitude stronger than his opponent's," Moody replied thoughtfully.

- 'Filius and Minerva have already told me that Peverell is good at their subjects as well. In spells, he was in the top three who could do Lumos and the only one who could keep it up for the rest of the class. And in transfiguration, he was the first to be able to transfigure a match into a silver needle and give the best answer on the basics of transfiguration," Dumbledore enlightened the Auror.

- The boy's good," Alastor said, impressed, which was odd. The auror had seen a lot of things in his life, and it was no easy task to surprise or impress him.

- And his wand? - The Headmaster asked his most troubling question.

- It was an ordinary wand, black in color. It probably has some sort of defense on it, even if my eye couldn't detect it," the auror said with his hands spread.

- And we can't detect it? - The frowning Headmaster asked.

- Unless we take the wand away from him. He won't give it to us willingly. But if we steal it, there's a chance of Azkaban. If he knows the school curriculum so well, he knows the law. Besides, he's a pureblood from the oldest bloodline in the Magical World. When the other purebloods find out, they'll make such a fuss in the Minister's office, and in the Ministry itself, that we'll just be buried," Grim replied.

- In that case, we'll wait," the Headmaster said into the void, then turned to Alastor himself. - 'Thank you for the information Alastor. Keep watching him. And try to find out the limits of his skills and knowledge. And especially where that knowledge comes from. If he's three times a Peverell, he's still an 11-year-old boy, so someone taught him all this stuff. We need to find out the identity of this person," the Director instructed.

- 'I can answer that last question,' Albus was surprised by Moody. - 'Peverell mentioned that he had a teacher who taught him everything. He didn't mention anything about him, not even his name. But from what he said, he's a Peverell too. That's the only thing I could find out," the auror said.

- 'In that case, try to find out more,' the Headmaster said after hearing what his friend had said. Groom only nodded in response and walked out of the office, heading towards his apartments.

End of Flashback

Deciding to think about it later, Dumbledore went about his other business. And the most important of them all was Tom. After Albus had turned him down for the position of ZOTI teacher, Tom cursed the position and seemed to fall through the ground. And after all these years, he had reappeared, intent on leading the pureblood movement. Albus had heard rumors that some pureblood families had joined him. The Lestrange and Rosier were the most prominent among them. Putting those thoughts aside as well, the Headmaster got down to the business of the school, including the Christmas Ball, which would take place tomorrow, and then the students would go home for a fortnight.

At the same time, Peverell sat in his room, which he shared with Malfoy, and looked at the parcel with a letter attached to it. Opening the letter, Alex began to read.

"My Lord, I have heard rumors that there will be a Christmas ball at Hogwarts, and as far as I remember you didn't bring any festive clothes with you, that's why I sent this parcel this morning. Behave yourselves with the dignity of Lord Peverell. Oh, yes, we've been invited to visit the Black family. I received a letter from Orion today. During your time as a student, I've been able to become quite, quite good friends with Lord Black while I've been sorting out some family problems. And since I'm regent of the Peverell family until your sixteenth birthday, Lord Black has offered me a marriage contract between you and his eldest niece. I don't mind, and neither do my ancestors."

After reading the letter from Darius, Alex, to his surprise, felt only a little shock. He knew that Bellatrix was his mate. And no matter what he did, they would still be together. But even though he is no longer Harry Potter with his nobility, he just couldn't do that. To tie his life to a girl without hearing her consent. Determined to remedy that, Alex tucked the letter in his pocket and Darius' parcel on his bed and went in search of the girl. To Peverell's joy, he didn't have to look for the girl for a long time, as she was sitting in the drawing room and reading a book. So the young lord headed in the direction of the Black maiden without delay. Bellatrix was engrossed in the book and did not notice Alex.

- Bellatrix," the young lord called out to the girl. The girl raised her head in frustration and annoyance. When she saw the one who called her, all the irritation and discontent vanished.

- Is something wrong? - The girl asked.

- We need to talk, - said Alex.

-Okay, -said the girl pulled out her wand and cast a couple of privacy spells from the curious and those who liked to warm their ears.

-Darius sent a letter," the boy began.

-And what's in it? - Bella asked curiously.

- Well, first of all, your uncle invites Darius and me to visit you. And secondly, your uncle invited Darius to conclude a marriage contract between us, - Alex helped to quench the girl's curiosity, and Bellatrix heard the answer and fell into a stupor.

- And what did you say? - excitedly asked the girl.

- Nothing yet. I don't mind making a contract, but I wanted to ask you, - said Peverell, and Bella looked at the guy with surprise.

- Why are you asking for my opinion? Usually in pureblood families, girls don't have the right to choose. All the decision is made by the head of the family. And the girl has to accept that decision. You could have said yes without asking me," the girl asked, staring at the boy with her black eyes.

- Because I care about your opinion. And if you refused to sign the contract, I would have refused too, - Alex answered, but the possible refusal of the girl gave a dull pain in his heart.

- Ah, you don't mind? - Bellatrix asked.

- I already said no, - repeated the guy.

- Good, then I agree too, - answered Bella and was surprised to find that she was glad of it, and the guy felt that a stone fell from his shoulders.

- Who are you going to the ball with? - Peverell asked suddenly.

- Of course with you, Lord Peverell,- replied the girl, smiling, and the boy to her surprise kissed her on the cheek. This shocked her and the rest of the faculty who had been watching them. The privacy spell made it impossible to hear what they were talking about, but it was more than possible to see.

- I have to write a letter to Darius, - with these words, the boy kissed his future bride on the other cheek and after dispelling the spell went to his room, and Bellatrix after that smiling like an idiot, went to her room.

The next day was very noisy. The ball started at seven in the evening. The whole school was buzzing like a beehive. All the male students were nervous and irritated. It didn't leave anyone out, not even the Slytherin faculty.

Close to seven o'clock, the tension in the school reached its peak. All students except the Slytherins, along with their pairs, gathered outside the Great Hall. The doors of the Great Hall opened and all the couples began to walk inside.

The Great Hall had changed beyond recognition. A clean freshly scrubbed floor that sparkled, the absence of four faculty and professor's desks and tapestry decorated walls. A large holiday tree is in the center of the hall. Tables with drinks and snacks stood against the walls. Instead of faculty tables, several dozen upholstered armchairs and about a dozen massive padded couches were visible, and snow was falling from the enchanted ceiling. 

With only five minutes left before the start, members of the green faculty began to enter the Great Hall. They were all beautifully dressed and flaunted icy, impenetrable masks. Suddenly, one couple caught the attention of the entire hall. A guy with white hair dressed entirely in black, which created quite an interesting contrast, and a girl in a dark blue dress down to her knees.

It was exactly seven in the evening when the whole school gathered in the Great Hall and the doors of the Great Hall closed. Headmaster Dumbledore, wearing a purple robe decorated with a pattern of golden stars and a pointed hat, stepped forward and began his speech.

- Firstly, I would like to congratulate everyone on the festivities. The ball will last until midnight, so curfew is canceled tonight. And I announce the start of the Christmas Ball," Dumbledore waved his wand and the first tune rang through the Great Hall. Immediately afterward, everyone who didn't have a date moved to the wall. The rest of them spun their partners around.

The Slytherin was tense and the dozens of stares directed at him not only from students but also from professors did not improve the situation. The whole of Hogwarts had already realized that Peverell was the best in both study and practice, and everyone was curious to see how the young lord would prove himself in the dance. 

Alex and Bella twirled in the dance with everyone else. His partner danced beautifully and Peverell thanked Death, Merlin, and Magic for the umpteenth time that his teacher had been relentless and taught him thoroughly. At the very least, he would have given her all her legs. After three dances, Alex felt his mouth dry and went with the girl to one of the tables with drinks. There was everything from water to pumpkin juice for the juniors and wine and champagne for the seniors. Peverell had already had both wine and champagne. But, deciding not to stand out, he took plain water for himself and his bride-to-be and headed for the chairs.

- How did you like the ball? - Alex asked, taking a sip of water.

- Quite, not bad. And my future fiancé dances very well, - the girl grinned.

- Considering how much time and effort was spent, it's not surprising, - said Peverell, finishing his water. 

- Did you write a letter to Darius? - The girl asked, looking at the dancers.

- Yes," the Lord nodded in reply.

- And what did he say? - Bellatrix asked, rising from her seat.

- Literally, 'I had no doubt,' Alex parodied the man's voice. To which the girl smiled. After sitting like that for about an hour the couple went to the dancing again.

The ball, as it was said, lasted until midnight, after which everyone went to their living rooms to go home the next day.