Ten: Infatuate
Ashtad followed his friends through The Floo network and into the Atrium. The Victory Day Ball had all ready begun. The golden symbols which usually moved across the ceiling had been replaced by silver stars which twinkled in the peacock blue ceiling. His plum dress robes felt oddly stiff and uncomfortable after months of being dressed in scuffy muggle clothing. All he really wanted to do was go home to bed and sleep for a week, but he had said that he would be there and he was a man of his word.
“Oh my poor heart, where has it gone?
It’s left me for a spell…”
He could see Mackenzie Lark up on stage, singing a very respectable cover version of an old Celestina Warbeck song. He could see Phoenix waiting for him and he made his way through the crowd. “Alright mate?” He grinned at the suit Phoenix was wearing. He tried so hard to hide his money and connections that he had cultivated an air of faded grandeur, as though his vault at Gringotts was only full of cobwebs.
“Yeah, yeah. Can you see that girl?” Phoenix asked him. Ashtad looked towards the stage where Phoenix was pointing. Mackenzie was leaning forward while the guitarist played a solo. He was talking to a short girl with wavy blonde hair.
“Cadence? Yeah, she’s Mac’s little sister. Don’t you remember her?” Phoenix shook his head and Ashtad looked at him with mild amusement. He looked like he’d been hit over the head with a blunt object.
“She’s…” He seemed unable to express his thoughts about her.
“Beautiful? Wait ‘til you meet her. Cady’s cool, come on, I’ll introduce you.” The two of them made their way through the crowd. As they neared the stage there was a loud squeal over the music. With a flash of blonde curls, Adrasteia Harper had her arms around Ashtad’s neck and was kissing him on the cheek.
“Where have you been hiding?” She pouted.
“Oh, you know around. Berlin, Rome, Madrid… around.” Ashtad told her, shooting a look at Phoenix that clearly said Leave me and die! Adrasetia pulled him down into a kiss, which quickly became intense. Ashtad tried to pull away, but she was like a limpet and she wouldn’t let him go. Eventually he managed to detach her lips from his, frowning at Phoenix who smirked a little.
“Hello ‘Tia, how are you?”
Without letting go of Ashtad, Adrasteia turned and pulled Phoenix into a deep kiss. He stumbled backwards a look of shocked disgust. Ashtad put his hands on Adrasteia’s waist and pushed her away from him. She gave him a hurt look and turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.
“What in the name of Merlin’s pants was that all about?” Phoenix asked him, beginning to laugh.
“Not a clue! I think she’s drunk.” Ashtad joined in with Phoenix’s laughter.
Up on the stage, The Ashwinders brought the Celestina Warbeck song to an end with an impressive crescendo. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” Mackenzie’s strong Yorkshire accent was magically magnified over the applause, “We are very lucky tonight that my beautiful and talented sister Cadence is going to grace us with a song.” Phoenix stopped laughing and clapping and stared at the stage where Cadence was blushing. “I’ll pay you later bruv!” She chuckled. As the band struck up with a sultry song, Ashtad turned to Phoenix and asked “Have you seen Hermia Smith anywhere?”
“I'm a broken doll,
And you're the puppeteer…”
“Shhhh!” Phoenix slapped him hard on the arm. He was totally transfixed by the young woman on stage.
“I don't claim to be perfect -
I know I'm damaged goods,
But I wanna be let out of darkness
Just like every lady would…”
And then Ashtad saw her, dancing with Wilmot Shacklebolt, his hands on her hips, her head on his shoulder, his lips on her ear…
“Lick my wounds and watch them seal
With a healing heart,
Embrace my sadness, look after me,
'Cause there's no-one else I'd ask...”
Ashtad felt the pain of the disappointment shred his stomach. “Drink?” he muttered hoarsely. Without waiting for an answer, he pushed his way blindly through the dancers to the refreshment table, seeking out a glass of anything that he could get his hands on. Eventually, firewhisky seared his taste buds. He looked back towards the dance floor. They were gone. Swearing violently he slammed his glass down onto the table and stormed towards the fireplace. A hand closed on his wrist.
“Hey! You’re not leaving without saying goodbye are you?”
He turned, for a moment expecting to she Hermia standing there. But the curls were blonde, not brown. “I’m sorry Tia. I just don’t feel like partying tonight.”
“Aww that’s a shame,” she purred, pouting a little. She pressed herself against him, winding her arms around his body. “I wanted us to catch up, I’ve missed you.”
Ashtad tried to detach himself again from the girl. She was like Devil’s Snare. “I just want to go home Tia. I’m tired. I’ll -”
Adrasetia had kissed him again and this time he kissed her back. He didn’t like her, but at that moment, liking her didn’t seem important. Her lips were so soft and her hands were so warm, he had not felt comfort like this in what felt like years. After several, intense moments they broke apart and he looked down at her. “Come on, let’s dance.” He led her onto the dance floor.
*****
Hermia could hear giggling. She looked over her shoulder to see who it was and was annoyed to see a fellow Ravenclaw,
Jack Mannequin was trying to suppress his laughter by stuffing his knuckles into his mouth. Next to him sat a Hufflepuff, Cadence Lark, who had clearly done something to make him laugh in the first place as she too was giggling like a loon. Professor Boot called out “Miss Smith, are you listening?” Hermia could barely believe her ears. He was reprimanding her but ignoring them? That was hardly fair.
“Yes sir.” She concentrated on her Wit-Sharpening Potion, ignoring the frequent giggles from behind her. At the end of the lesson, she packed up her things and glared at the two of them as she walked past.
“You want to lighten up you do.” Jack’s Irish lilt followed her up the corridor.
She whipped around, hair flying and narrowed her eyes at the pair of them.
“You two prat about and I get in trouble? Oh yes, that puts me in a very light mood.” She snarled.
“Oh come on Hermia, if you relaxed a bit you might have some, errrm, what is that stuff?” Cadence asked Jack. Before he could answer, she said “Oh yes, I know, fun!”
The two of them started to laugh again.
Infuriated, but apparently without an answer for them, she stormed away, out of the dungeon corridor and up to the Great Hall. She took a seat opposite Elspeth and pulled a bowl of leek and potato soup towards her. Ashtad came and sat next to Elspeth.
“And don’t you start Djalili!”
Elspeth looked at him. “What have you done now?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m innocent!” Both girls gave him a look of disbelief.
“This time, I really am innocent!”
***** “Oh my poor heart, where has it gone?
It’s left me for a spell…”
Hermia stood back from the dance floor, her tiny frame clad in periwinkle robes, her chocolate brown hair cascading in curls down her back. She sent frequent and increasingly nervous glances towards the fireplaces. She turned to Elspeth, “And you’re sure?”
Elspeth rolled her eyes. “Yes I’m sure. I saw him this morning and he said that he was coming.”
“Just calm down BG, you’ll give yourself wrinkles.” Jago joked, digging her in the ribs. She turned and shot him a nasty look and was about to give him a list of reasons why he was wrong when she saw:
“Wil!” Her eyes widened with shock. She had not seen him since the day that she had slapped him.
“Miss Smith, a vision as ever.” Wilmot took her hand and kissed it for the third time, again slipping his fingers along her wrist, causing her pulse to quicken traitorously. He released her and greeted Elspeth and Jago, kissing her on the cheek and shaking hands with him. Hermia reeled momentarily, and then pulled herself back together. She looked out across the dance floor and saw Ashtad with Phoenix, making their way towards the stage where Mackenzie Lark was leaning forward to speak to his sister. Suddenly, Adrasetia Harper was flinging herself shamelessly at Ashtad, kissing him. Hermia’s blood began to boil.
“… to dance?”
She span on her heel, back towards her friends. “Sorry?”
“I said, would you like to dance?” Wilmot smiled, extending his hand.
“That would be… lovely.” She said, turning back to the dance floor to see Ashtad with his hands on Adrasetia’s waist. Hermia took Wilmot’s hand and almost dragged him onto the dance floor.
Mackenzie introduced his sister Cadence and The Ashwinders started to play a new, smooth song. Wilmot took Hermia into his arms. She felt slightly awkward. The last time they had been this close he had kissed her and she had slapped him.
“I’m sorry.” She murmured suddenly.
He lowered his lips to her ear. “I rather enjoyed it.” She looked up at him and saw that he was grinning. She blushed. She allowed him to pull her closer to him, feeling his hard, muscular body almost absorb her curves.
“Piece me all together,
The broken high and sweet,
You thought my heart was made of wood
But I, I hear it beat…”
“Come on, I want to show you something.” He laced his fingers into hers and guided her towards the lifts.
When they were inside he pressed all the buttons and then pulled her into his arms, kissing her so suddenly and enthusiastically that he took her breath away. She returned the kiss automatically, not because she liked him or because she even wanted to but because the anger within her had not yet subsided. The lift clattered and clanged as they sank into the depths of the ministry and the kiss became so intense that he lifted her off her feet.
Quote: Celestina Warbeck song from page 311 of the British Hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Broken Doll by Paloma Faith