The Greatest Love, The Highest Sacrifice

Chapter 13 - Pretty Follies

But love is blind, and lovers cannot see

The pretty follies that themselves commit.

Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act II scene 6

It was Friday afternoon, and Gryffindor was still reeling from their loss to Slytherin three weeks before. Ron and Harry had taken the defeat personally, and now spent most of their time slouched in the chairs near the common room fireplace, brooding over what had occurred. They had been forced to perk up a little when Hermione confronted them mid-week, informing them in no uncertain terms that the Quidditch match had been a fair one, and warning that if they couldn't deal with that fact, they weren't to expect sympathy from anyone - least of all herself. But the pair continued to bemoan their losses, particularly Ron, who felt directly responsible for the fact that Ginny was now officially going to the Yule Ball with Draco Malfoy.

The outcome of Ginny´s bet to Draco had quickly become the hottest gossip sweeping through the halls of Hogwarts. Except for Ginny´s bemoaning several times that she had absolutely nothing to wear to the Yule Ball in two weeks, the young Gryffindor was notably tight-lipped about the whole thing. She tended to be quite reserved with Norri about several things lately, especially about her feelings towards Draco, and Norri was starting to feel a little uncomfortable about how often she was receiving the cold shoulder.

Of course, Norri recognised the possibility that Ginny could be angry with her because Norri had been unable to help with the preparations for the Gryffindor Christmas party as much as the other girl would have liked.

Especially because Norri had been spending that time with Draco.

Allegedly working on their Potions assignment.

In reality, attempting to discover a spell that would allow them to know whenever Justin entered the grounds of Hogwarts.

So far, they had experienced little success. Not that Ginny knew any of this - which was why she had so little patience with the situation.

Just then, they were discussing the decorations for the Christmas party. Norri had already declared herself exempt from that evening's decorating crew, but in an attempt to be conciliatory, she promised, "I will try, Ginny, but the thing with this Potions assignment is that I just can't tell for sure."

"Well there are a lot of things I can't seem to 'tell' about lately myself," Ginny replied, her voice cold as ice. "I can't tell why you go off on your own so much - let alone why you go off with Draco. No one else is spending as much time on this stupid Potions assignment as you two. I can't tell why you and Professor Lupin seem to know each other so well either. Or why you let Sirius Black hold your hand at the Quidditch match last week - "

She stopped, seeing the look of shock and the tell-tale blush on Norri's face. Ironically, it only made her angrier.

"I'm not blind, Norri," she said testily. "I've seen the way he looks at you, and even if I've never had a boyfriend of my own, I've watched enough of my brothers and their dates to recognise that look. He's old enough to be your father!" she yelled suddenly, and Norri jumped at her vehemence.

"Ginny," she said softly, hoping her calm would rub off on her best friend, even though 'calm' was the last thing she was feeling herself. I'll kill Sirius! Norri thought. That is, if I don't die of mortification first. "It's okay. Really. I wouldn't say so if it were otherwise. I'm sorry you freaked out over Sirius, but I promise you, I didn't mean for it to happen. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do. And then he let go - I mean, the whole thing must have taken all of a minute. And anyway, you know I don't like Sirius Black."

"No, you like Snape," Ginny muttered. "Which is even worse, if you ask me."

"I don't need to ask you! You tell me more than enough on your own steam," Norri shot back, starting to resent being on the defensive so much.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry," Ginny replied, though she looked far from it. "It's just...I'm really stressed about this stupid Christmas party. And I'm furious because Charlie's not going to be here."

"Oh?" Norri asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Though Ginny's explanation made sense, Norri could tell that her best friend was still far from happy with her. Ginny wouldn't look her in the eye. And Norri knew she wasn't really stressed about the Christmas party, which was the most well-planned event of the year. But Norri felt she had to at least attempt to believe Ginny, if there was any chance of a genuine reconciliation of some kind.

"He's going to London to look for that evil ex-fiancée of his," Ginny explained, her expression openly fierce again. "I hate her, I tell you! She never deserved him, and now he wastes his life searching for her. She's probably married to some fat Swedish wizard, flaunting furs and phoenixes."

"You can't say that!" Norri protested weakly, knowing all the while she should be doing her best to change the subject. "She might just have realised she didn't love your brother. It takes two, you know."

"Yes, well," Ginny replied dismissively, obviously not about to agree with any explanation that vindicated the hated ex-fiancée. "I still wish he hadn't gone to London."

"I know," Norri soothed. "But he'll be back before you know it - definitely for New Year's, and maybe even for the Yule Ball too. Now, come on, I was thinking we could grab the next half hour or so together, and I could help you with the plans for where all the decorations are going to go, so there isn't so much to do this evening..."

Ginny gave her a frosty glare and pulled away from her. "And, of course, it's not your fault that you're not going to be here this evening, is it?"

Norri winced at the sarcasm that emanated from her friend with more strength than unadulterated Bubotuber Pus. The set of Ginny's jaw spoke even louder than her words, and Norri realised with a sinking certainty that there was little point in attempting to explain things so that Ginny would understand - the girl simply didn´t want to listen.

***

"Do you actually expect me to approve of this excuse for a potion, Miss Norr?"

Professor Snape´s caustic tone froze all murmured conversations in the seventh year class. Everyone turned and looked at Norri, who was sitting beside Draco near the front of the class, her head bowed over her cauldron, and at the Potions Master, who hovered over her ominously.

"Well?" he snapped. "Answer me, girl! Is this your final attempt at Polyjuice Potion or isn´t it?"

"Yes, it is, Professor," Norri answered quietly, not lifting her head to meet Snape´s scathing gaze.

Snape hissed in disgust.

"You disappoint me, Miss Norr," he snarled. "Even Longbottom could do better than this. You´ve obviously been spending too much time talking to Malfoy here to pay attention to what you were doing. Ten points from Gryffindor and a detention at seven this evening."

At this verdict, Norri´s eyes shot up, and her gaze met the Potions Master´s. She couldn´t hide the raging fury she felt from her expression, and so she didn´t try to. Instead, she pinned Snape´s eyes with her own blazing glare. To her surprise, Snape´s normally impenetrable mask melted away suddenly, exposing pain and - was it regret? - before the shutters fell, and her professor´s face once again resembled an empty slate.

Confused, Norri looked down again, expecting another scathing comment. But none came. After prowling down several more rows, looking in cauldrons and commenting ruthlessly on the bad quality of the work completed, Professor Snape returned to his desk and sat down in a whirl of black robes. He sat upright for a moment, glaring at the class, then leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together.

"Class dismissed," he stated tonelessly, and the seventh year students immediately burst into a cacophony of assorted noises, packing up their things and leaving the room.

***

"Why the hell is he treating me like this?" Norri snapped.

At Norri´s sudden outburst, her friends stopped their conversation and turned to her.

"Who, Norri?" asked Hermione uncertainly. She looked at Ron and Harry, as if to determine whether they had a better idea to whom their friend was referring, but they both looked as confused as she felt. However, Draco had a better idea of what she was talking about.

"You mean Snape, of course, don´t you?" he asked calmly.

"Yes!" Norri shouted, blinking suddenly to keep back the tears of frustration from spilling from her eyes. All but Draco jumped, not used to such an outburst from her. Norri could see from his expression that Draco was totally unperturbed - Probably remembering how annoyed I got in that Astronomy Tower, she thought grumpily.

Harry lightly punched Norri´s arm in a comradely fashion. "Well, if it´s any consolation, he´s not really treating you any differently than what I normally get."

"Uh, I don´t think that´s exactly the kind of consolation that she had in mind, Potter," Draco whispered sotto voce, earning himself glares from Ron and Norri alike.

"But I haven´t done anything to make him mad at me," Norri grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. She acutely aware that she was whining, and she tossed her head, trying to ignore the huge knot of anger in her throat.

"Norri has a point," Hermione mused, obviously missing the glares which were shooting all around her. She was the only one who had adjusted to Draco´s smooth insertion to their group with the most ease, and she refused to let either Ron or Harry express their annoyance with the new arrangements while the Head Boy was present.

"See?" Norri sniffed. "Hermione understands."

"But you don´t have to actually do anything," Harry insisted. "Snape just has to get it into his head that you´re unworthy and that´s it, hey presto! I mean, I´ve been living with it for seven years."

"Yes, but it doesn´t seem to bother you all that much," Norri muttered. It angered her that she sounded so much like a - a - scorned, lovestruck teenager - but for some reason, she couldn´t stop herself.

"That could of course be because Potter has no interest in Snape other than as his Potions Master," Draco murmured back at her.

Which earned him a scathing glare before an extremely miffed Norri flounced off on the extremely feeble excuse that she had to check that the lights were working on the Gryffindor Christmas tree.

"Well, you certainly knew how to push her buttons, didn´t you?" Hermione commented to Draco in some surprise.

Draco smiled beatifically. "Yes, well, I do tend to have that effect on people, don´t I?"

***

"Ginny, how on earth are we going to manage organising this Christmas party if all you can do is moon about planning for the Yule Ball?"

Lavender Brown´s tone was tinged with frustration, but also a goodly measure of envy. The news that Draco Malfoy was taking Ginny to the Yule Ball as a result of the Slytherin Quidditch victory two weeks before had flown through the school faster than Viktor Krum on the latest Nimbus edition, and every girl - single or otherwise - couldn´t help but be a little miffed that the Hogwarts Head Boy had not chosen her instead.

Ginny smiled, dampening her own rising sense of frustration. Okay, so she liked Draco. Okay, so she was secretly thrilled that she was going to the Yule Ball with him. But she hated the fact that everyone automatically assumed she was thrilled. Honoured. Bowed down under the munificent invitation Draco had bestowed upon her. And she hated even more that, now he was assured of her going with him, Draco had hardly exchanged two sentences with her in the last week. He certainly didn´t make any effort to find her, talk with her, bait her the way he had been doing since the beginning of the year.

Instead, he was spending most of his time in the library, poring through old books, apparently doing some kind of seventh year project. A project that meant he had no time to spare. That saw him closeted in the library, or the potions classroom, or the dragon nest.

Alone.

At all hours.

With Norri.

Ginny sighed to herself, once again brushing aside her passing fears. Norri was her best friend. She would never betray her. She had set her up with Draco in the first place. And she had been as thrilled when Slytherin won the Quidditch match just as Ginny herself had been.

And besides, Norri didn´t like Draco - she liked Professor Snape. Hopelessly. Fruitlessly. To the point that she had shown no interest in any male remotely near her own age.

And that was what bothered Ginny the most.

Maybe spending time with guys her own age - Harry, Ron, Draco - had finally made her best friend realise what she was missing. Maybe she had actually decided to rejoin the ranks of normal teenagers and develop interest in guys her own age, rather than brooding older men with great minds, sharp tongues, beaked noses and long, oily hair.

Ginny couldn´t blame her for coming to her senses.

But she didn´t want Norri to come to her senses by attaching herself to the one guy Ginny was interested in herself.

Ginny´s eyes hardened, and her chin tilted stubbornly.

Best friend or not, if Norri was interested in the guy Ginny had set her sights on, it was war. She wasn´t about to give Draco up without a fight.

***

Severus Snape contemplated the latest turn of events with a sense of dubious approval.

For the last fortnight, he had brutally - and deliberately - done his best to destroy any sentimental attachment Elsie Norr might secretly harbour for him.

He had criticised her nigh-perfect work, picked holes in her theories, and ridiculed her practical efforts. He had given her detention four times - to be served with other teachers, naturally - and had made a point of scorning her attempts to help other members of her class by dismissing her talents at Potions as `barely more than paltry´.

He had exhausted himself in annihilating the wistful gazes he had received from her in the past, and finally he believed he had achieved his ends.

For the last fortnight, Elsie had spent every waking moment he observed with Draco Malfoy.

Not that this was all that unusual. Elsie had been Draco´s working partner in Potions since the beginning of the year. But normally, Elsie spent time with Draco in the company of Virginia Weasley, and sometimes even Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as well.

Not that Snape thought much of Draco´s new taste in friends. Though it did seem, even to him, that Potter might be one step up from Crabbe and Goyle, who only had the fact that they were in Slytherin to recommend them.

So, Elsie and Draco spending time together was perfectly normal.

But the fact that they were spending time together alone was not.

And the fact that Snape had seen Malfoy comfort Elsie after she had burst into tears - immediately after Snape himself had given Miss Norr her fourth detention in a week - was a clear indicator that something was happening between Draco Malfoy and Elsie Norr.

Which Snape found depressingly satisfying.

Not that he would admit the `depressing´ part to himself - even in his weakest moments.

He just hoped that the quality time paid off, that Elsie and Draco actually became a couple, and that the young Gryffindor would leave him alone once and for all.

And he hoped that Sirius Black would to Hogwarts soon. Severus Snape was truly looking forward to that particular encounter.

***

"Do you reckon Norri has a thing for Draco?" Ron asked Harry hopefully as the two balanced precariously on a ladder, hanging the various pieces of mistletoe around the Gryffindor common room.

"I doubt it," Harry replied uncertainly, his words muffled by the length of string hanging from his mouth.

"Definitely not," Hermione uttered with certainty, standing below her two friends, passing the mistletoe up to them. "You know Elsie only has eyes for Snape."

Hermione uttered this last statement in bitter tones. Harry stilled and Ron winced at the harshness in her voice, and a heavy silence fell over the three. Then Ron spoke up hurriedly, attempting to divert everyone's thoughts from Snape and Elsie's infatuation with him.

"I thought I´d never say that there could be a reason I would actually say I wanted someone to like Draco Malfoy, but there it is. Besides, even Malfoy´s a step up from Snape. And anyway, if Elsie and Draco have a thing going, I don´t need to worry about Ginny anymore."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron´s petulance and Harry grimaced.

"Honestly, Ron," the latter said sternly. "You don´t understand, do you? Let Ginny lead her own life. The more you pressure her not to see Draco, the more determined she will be to do just that."

"And what would you know about siblings, considering you don´t have any?" Ron snapped back, then paled as he realised the underlying meaning of his words.

Harry whitened. His hands clenched into fists, and for a moment it looked like he was going to knock his best friend for a sixer. But then he turned and stalked off.

After a long silence, through which Ron stubbornly refused to meet Hermione´s glare, Ron also walked out of the common room, in the opposite direction Harry had taken.

Standing on her own, underneath the mistletoe, Hermione sighed, then turned vengefully and flung a grinning angel on the Christmas fir with such force that the entire tree trembled.

"Why do I not feel like it´s almost Christmas?" she muttered to herself.

***

"Will you stop examining that book as if it´s about to disappear and return to the real world for a moment?"

Norri grimaced in frustration as Draco ignored her and continued reading.

"I swear, it´s like everything outside the library has ceased to exist for you."

"That´s not quite true," Draco answered, still not looking up from the dusty tome he was balancing on his lap. "I´ve been spending a great deal of time in the dungeons and the dragon nest."

"You know what I mean, Draco!" Norri hissed. "If you don´t start paying attention to Ginny, the Quidditch match will have been worthless, and the Yule Ball will go down in your personal history as the worst night of your life. Not to mention the moment you blew all future chances at happiness," she concluded darkly.

Draco sighed and looked up at her.

"Norri," he said patiently, as if talking to a child, "if you and I don´t find some kind of protection for you against Justin, you´ll be totally vulnerable any time he decides to show up at Hogwarts. And, considering that he´s likely to appear sooner rather than later, it stands to reason that we should concentrate on finding you a spell now rather than waiting."

"But that doesn´t mean you have to spend all your time looking for it!" Norri snapped. "It´s my responsibility, and I´ll take care of it."

"Just like you´ve taken care of Justin in the past?" Draco returned imperturbably. "I don´t think so."

"Well, it´s not really your place to think, is it?" she shot back. "Aren´t you listening to me? I´m worried about you and Ginny. Even a blind Squib would be able to notice that you´ve been spending no time with her, and it would be totally understandable if she decided you weren´t worth the effort, and lost interest. Besides," Norri added, a distinct note of pique entering her voice, "Ginny´s been awfully short with me lately, and I get the feeling that she´s jealous."

"Of us?" For the first time, Draco´s voice revealed a trace of concern.

"Yes, of us, you prat! And why wouldn´t she?"

As Norri stood glaring at him, hands on her hips, Draco finally conceded her point and closed the book he was holding.

"All right, you´re right. It does look a little weird, I admit, us spending so much time together. It´s just that I´m worried about what could happen."

"And you think I´m not?" Norri sighed. "But this is getting ridiculous, Draco. Why don´t we just give it a rest for a week or so."

"But -" Draco protested, but was cut off by a wave of Norri´s hand.

"Just until after Christmas. We both need a break from this, and Christmas is only three days away. A few days won´t change anything. That way, you can spend time with Ginny, she can stop giving me the cold shoulder, and we can still fix things so that Justin is not a problem."

Draco sat still for a moment, obviously weighing up what Norri had said. Then he sat up straight and slammed the old book closed.

"Right, then," he said decisively. "If you´re sure?"

And when Norri nodded, he stood up and moved towards the library door with a stride that just bordered on hurried.

"I´ll see you in class," he called out to Norri over his shoulder. He disappeared out of the library, and Norri grinned before sitting back calmly in her seat, one finger idly flipping through the pages of the book he had discarded.

Five minutes later, when Draco came back to stand behind her, Norri was still flicking through the book in front of her. And still grinning when Draco asked sheepishly, "Um, do you know where Ginny would be right now?"

***

"Doesn´t it look fantastic?" Lavender and Parvati cooed in mutual congratulation to each other as they entered the Gryffindor common room, with Ginny and Norri following close behind. Lavender clapped her hands together excitedly. "There's no way any of the other Houses are going to come even close to this!" she cried.

Ginny grinned in pleased satisfaction. She, Ron and Hermione had been the three Chief Decorators for the occasion, and she was thrilled to know that the others appreciated their efforts so much. With a quick word to Norri, she hurried over to where Hermione and her brother were standing to pass on the good news that the Gryffindor Annual Christmas party once again promised to be a raging success.

Norri watched her affectionately. Sometimes I feel like her friend, and sometimes like her mother, she thought, then sighed and pushed the thought away. It will only make things more complicated if you think that way, she berated herself firmly.

Seeking a distraction, she let her eyes wander around the room. There were quite a few old faces around. She had always thought that the best thing about the House Christmas parties was that old students came back to celebrate the festive season - unlike the Yule Ball, which fell the week after Christmas this year, and was exclusively for current students and teachers. No, the Gryffindor Christmas Party was definitely one of the occasions of the year - and practically everyone who had ever been at Hogwarts and was still in Great Britain was certain to attend.

Even Percy Weasley seemed to have taken time out from his busy schedule at the Ministry to be present. And possibly the biggest surprise was Oliver Wood´s presence - the Quidditch coach of the Chudley Cannons almost never attended social functions. Norri caught Oliver´s eye and grinned. He returned her smile, and raised his butterbeer, obviously asking if she wanted one. When she nodded, he grabbed one from the bar, and headed over towards her.

As Oliver wound his way through the throng of people attending, Norri continued her perusal of those present. She raised a hand in greeting to Seamus and Dean, clowning around as usual, and noted with relief that Charlie wasn't present. Ginny had told her the week before that he would be away, but she had been dreading the possibility that he would change his mind at the last minute. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case.

The last two people to catch her eye were the ones she had been looking for from the beginning. Remus and Sirius were talking intently together near the common room fireplace. She waved to them, and grinned as Sirius did a double-take before he recognised her and waved back. He didn´t see her very much as Elsie, and it continued to be a shock for him when he did. But there was no way she could come to this party as anything other than Elsie - her plans for the Yule Ball were risky enough as it was without adding further complications here.

She was nodding her head at an invitation from Sirius to come and join them when Oliver appeared at her side, butterbeer in hand. With a squeal of delight, Norri threw her arms around him in greeting and gave him a kiss on the cheek. All purely platonic, of course - Oliver´s one love was Quidditch, though he had told her once that there had been a student, an older girl apparently, who he had been interested in for some time. But she had left Hogwarts years ago, before Norri was around, and to her Oliver just seemed the bachelor type.

Sirius obviously didn´t think the same. From the corner of her eye, Norri caught his expression as it changed from one of relaxed ease to barely restrained ferocity. Her eyes widened with surprise - he was never normally so fierce that Remus actually had to hold him back.

Honestly

, she thought in fleeting frustration, when is he going to get it into his head that my guy friends are just that - friends? I've already explained to him that the only person I'm interested in is Snape. That thought brought a belated wince with it as Norri remembered that Sirius would have welcomed the information that she liked a ten foot troll better than the truth that she still had a crush on the Potions Master. Oh, well, no need to worry about it now, she decided stoically, and turned to ask Oliver what his plans were for the Cannons in the New Year.

***

More than an hour later, Norri finally managed to reach Sirius and Remus. Every time she had made a move towards where they were standing, she had been waylaid by other Gryffindors, past and present. She'd also made a conscious effort to spend time with Ginny, who was obviously missing Charlie, even though the younger girl assured everyone she was having a fantastic time.

"Well!" Norri said breathlessly. "It took long enough."

"I know," mumbled Sirius, only to be nudged sharply by Remus. "It is awfully crowded," he acknowledged reluctantly, obviously making an effort not to reveal that he had actually been waiting for Norri to reach them.

Remus laughed.

"I think you two should go for a nice walk around the common room. Catch up with people and give yourselves a chance to chat at the same time. After all," he added cheerfully, "I'm going to have Norri all to myself at the Yule Ball. And I see her all the time in term."

"Don't remind me," Sirius growled.

"Good idea, Remus!" Norri said brightly, not about to get into a discussion of why she didn't see Sirius more often. Explaining that your best friend made you feel uncomfortable more than once a month got very - well, uncomfortable - and tonight was meant to be fun. "Let's go, Sirius," she prodded, and the two of them started walking, stopped almost immediately by Bill Weasley, who wanted to know what Sirius was up to, now that he was officially cleared of betraying James and Lily Potter.

***

For the next half hour, Norri paid little attention to where they walked. Her focus was divided between her conversation with Sirius and making sure they didn't bump into any of the other numerous party-goers. Tired of circling the common room, she stopped not far from the fireplace, Sirius coming to a halt beside her. He continued their conversation easily, clearly relieved that they were on speaking terms again, though Norri had the feeling that, as always, he wished she could regard him in a different light to that of best friend and confidante. But that was how things stood, and how Norri intended for them to be.

Norri had not participated in decorating the common room at all, although she had admired the bright red and gold theme that had been predictably chosen. Still talking with Sirius, but also listening vaguely to the conversations around her, Norri was taken completely by surprise when she heard Harry´s outburst from across the room, from where he stood with Remus and Ron.

"Norri´s standing underneath the mistletoe!" he blurted, then blushed as Ron made some inaudible comment and dug him in the ribs with his elbow. His expression was dogged, however, as he began to weave his way through various groups of people, and his intentions became perfectly clear to Norri.

"Sirius!" she whispered frantically, looking up at him properly for the first time. "What the hell am I going to do?"

"About what?" he answered calmly, though the dancing light in his eyes told her he knew exactly what she meant.

"Harry´s coming over here to kiss me. Even if I step out from under the mistletoe, it´s still tradition - and he can´t - because I´m his aunt - but I can´t say that - and -"

"Don´t worry," Sirius said smoothly, and something in his voice made her heart leap. "He can´t kiss you if I´ve already done it first."

Norri gasped.

"But Sirius - you can´t - are you crazy? I´m still Elsie - you look like you could be my father - I won´t let you -"

"Well, if you´d prefer it to be your nephew, who is getting rather close now..."

Norri spun around to see that Harry was, indeed, only several steps away. He looked a little flushed, clearly embarrassed that his approach was so obvious to anyone who might be observing, but he also appeared to be determined to fulfil his plans.

Turning back to Sirius, Norri moaned. "Oh, what do I do?"

"Nothing," he murmured, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Or at least - don´t slap me." And he drew her closer to him, leaning down so that his mouth covered hers.

It took Norri a moment to realise that Sirius had actually kissed her - was kissing her - his lips were so gentle, almost feather-light, on her own. They moved softly against hers, touching her, learning her. Norri felt as if she was almost apart from the experience - though she was present enough to acknowledge he certainly knew how to kiss! And then, when his hands shifted their position on her shoulders, the reality sank in. She gave a little gasp of shock, inadvertently parting her lips, and immediately she felt a response in Sirius - his whole being shuddered. Yet his kiss did not change, though beneath his soft touch, Norri could sense an iron restraint being tested to its utmost limits.

Her own heart was beating erratically, and her ears thundered with the sound of her racing pulse. She could not understand the strength of her reaction to his embrace. Charlie´s kisses had never invoked such a feeling within her, and the one time Justin had managed to kiss her in fifth year had left her with only a feeling of disgusted shame. But this - words could not describe this. She could not have identified the feelings within her even had she tried, and the most bizarre thing of all was that when Sirius moved away from her seconds later, she felt inexplicably bereft.

He stood an arm´s length away, looking at her intently from beneath heavily lidded eyes. Norri felt a sudden heat in her cheeks and, raising her hands to them, was shocked at how they burned. For one long moment they looked at one another, oblivious to the crowd that surrounded them. Then Norri glanced behind her, took in Harry´s shocked expression, Ron´s disgusted face, and Ginny´s look of furious distaste - and she knew she wouldn't be able to face them, let alone anyone else. Refusing to look at Sirius, refusing to look at anyone, she ducked her head, stared at the floor, muttered a few words...and promptly disappeared.

***

Naturally, what had happened became the talk of the party.

"Did you see?" Lavender whispered to Seamus and Dean.

It made no difference, of course, that they had seen - or that Parvati had just regaled them with the details moments before. Lavender had to repeat the whole story all over again.

Within minutes, the entire membership of Gryffindor House - past and present - knew that Sirius Black had kissed Elsie Norr, a seventh year student, and that Elsie had 'done a Baggins'. Which in itself was hot gossip.

As Dean was overheard telling a sympathetic Oliver Wood: "I mean, we never had any idea! About the Baggins thing, I mean," he clarified quickly, not wanting to be lumped with Lavender, Parvati, Susan Bones. and every other Gyrffindor female gossip. "It's not like it's simple magic or anything. And she did it wandless, too!"

"Well," Oliver responded wryly, "that is the whole point of doing a Baggins." And he sauntered off to talk to Fred and George Weasley, who seemed equally unconcerned by what had happened - both by the Baggins and the kiss.

Percy Weasley was overheard pompously announcing to anyone who would listen - and that was not too many people, considering that his longstanding girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, was a Ravenclaw, and thus not present at the Christmas party - that doing a Baggins really should be outlawed by the Ministry.

"It's dreadfully dangerous," was his pontifical declaration. "You could bump into anyone, before or after. And if you touch someone else while you're doing a Baggins...well, of course the poor person gets dragged along with you. Most inconsiderate." And on he continued in a similar vein for the rest of the evening.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny all stood clustered together, holding a private conference to discuss damage control.

Harry was in a state of shock.

"Does she like him, then?" he'd asked Ginny right after Norri had disappeared.

"I don't know," Ginny had retorted with cold fury. "She told me a few days ago that she didn't, but then, that doesn´t count for anything, does it?"

And apart from that, she had refused to say a thing. It was obvious to the other three that Ginny was not only shocked by what had happened, she was also personally offended and extremely angry. But there were too many other things to deal with for them to work out what was wrong with Ginny just now.

"I don't think she does like him," Hermione felt impelled to say reassuringly to Harry, who looked as if he had just been hit by the Hogwarts Express.

"It certainly looked as if she does," Ron commented imprudently, then flushed when Hermione glared at him. "I mean," he quickly amended, "it certainly looked like she was too shocked to really be feeling anything. Otherwise she wouldn't have disappeared, right?"

At that moment, Ginny muttered something that sounded disturbingly like guilty conscience. But when she declined to repeat her words, the others continued with their discussion.

"So, she doesn't like him," Harry surmised, obviously more than willing to give Norri the benefit of the doubt. "What about Sirius then? I mean, he was the one who kissed her, right? And he's an adult, so one presumes he knows what he's doing...." He broke off for a moment, then continued in a tone of extreme frustration. "Sod it, he's my godfather! And she's one of my best friends! It makes the whole thing seem like a bout of incest."

The others winced.

"I really don't want to think about it just now," Hermione stated, looking thoroughly sickened by Harry's last statement. "I'd much rather dance while the music's still good."

"I'd rather dance too," Ginny complained, and it was obvious that she was thinking of Draco. But, for once, Ron said nothing about it.

"I'd rather get drunk," Harry said morosely.

"I wouldn't mind finding out from Sirius exactly what was going on," Ron said unexpectedly, hoping to clear the issue up so Harry could actually enjoy the party and not get himself totally smashed on bad quality butterbeer. But a chorus of dissent from everyone else overwhelmed him, and he gave in quickly, noting privately that finding Sirius could prove to be nigh impossible.

While he had not done a Baggins like Norri, Sirius had quickly made himself scarce. After standing alone for a few moments when Norri disappeared, he had seemed to come to himself and realise exactly where he was and why everyone was staring at him. His cheeks darkly flushed, he had glared at everyone, looking once again as the newspapers had displayed him years before; the desperate man escaped from Azkaban, whom it was extremely dangerous to approach. Accordingly, no one had done so, and Sirius had quickly made his own escape - his destination as much a mystery as Norri's had been.

***

It was freezing in the castle courtyard, Draco noted, but not cold enough to prevent a few people from being out this late at night. Draco himself was just returning from the Owlery, where he had sent a last-minute owl to his mother, wishing her best wishes for the Christmas season.

He had decided not to go home this year, based on the fact that he was afraid he might let something slip in front of Justin and endanger Norri unintentionally. Although it cost him more than he would admit to be away from his mother, Draco knew that the decision had been the right one to make.

Just like he knew that, right now, heading back to the warmth of the Slytherin common room was a much more sensible option than staying out here with the two idiots who seemed happy to freeze to death.

Shouting at each other.

Shouting at each other in very familiar voices, actually.

Realising that Norri was one of the people involved in the argument that was apparently taking place, Draco inched through the columns that separated the halls from the courtyard, careful to keep himself in the shadows.

Within moments, he had ascertained that his first conclusion had been correct, and that the person Norri was arguing with was Sirius Black. As he listened, Draco's eyes widened, then narrowed. And he began to make plans.

***

Unbeknownst to Draco, Norri or Sirius, a fourth figure was also in the courtyard. He also listened with keen interest to the argument that was taking place, his mouth sharp with disapproval, and then with anger.

And, as Severus Snape listened, he began making plans of his own.

***

"Here you are!" Sirius said sharply as he walked up to Norri, half-hidden behind a rosebush. "You could have told me where you were heading off to, you know. I've been looking for you for almost half an hour. I checked every rose bush in the gardens!"

"Well, maybe I didn't tell you because I didn't want to be found," Norri replied tersely, hoping Sirius would take the hint and go away. But he seemed oblivious to the implications of her statement, and sat down next to her, obviously intending to talk things through. "Besides, I don't like the gardens," she added unnecessarily. "They make me feel...uncomfortable. Always have, ever since the Yule Ball in sixth year."

Sirius shrugged, then headed straight for the jugular.

"Why did you disappear on me like that?" he asked with a perfect combination of calm and candour. "It's not often you're stressed enough to do a Baggins."

"And he asks me why I would be stressed!" Norri exclaimed, leaping up from her seat and rounding on him, her arms thrown out as if asking the whole world to sympathise with her over this infuriatingly obtuse man who sat before her.

"Why would I be stressed, Sirius?" she asked again, pacing up and down in front of him. "Well, let me fill you in on what happened in the Gryffindor common room a little while ago. A man, a very nice man, but a significantly older man, who happens to be the godfather of one of my best friends, decided that he would kiss me, under the mistletoe, in front of my class, the entire Gryffindor House and a whole heap of other people who were also present, including at least two of my teachers! Does that explain why I might be stressed?"

"Norri, come on, it will be over in no time," Sirius refuted, and his calm attitude riled Norri even further. "Besides, half of them won't even remember it, they'll get so sozzled this evening."

"That isn't the point!" Norri said desperately. "My friends will remember it, no matter how drunk they get. Harry will remember it," she concluded darkly.

"Harry will get over it," Sirius replied with certainty.

"And Ginny will be simply furious with me - she already disapproves of Snape, and now she will be livid because I assured her that nothing like this would happen with you," Norri continued, gesticulating wildly.

"Ginny Weasley is not the determining factor of what either you or I do," Sirius said tautly, obviously getting annoyed. "Though she does have the sense to realise your liking Snape is ludicrous. Your friends are precisely that - friends, not your conscience. What they think of you doesn't make all that much difference in the end."

"That's not the point either!" Norri cried, now so angry and confused and embarrassed that she was almost hysterical.

"Well, what is the point?" Sirius asked testily, fast losing his own patience.

"You kissed me!" Norri wailed.

There was a moment of silence, during which Norri glared at Sirius accusingly.

From the shadow of a column, Draco also glared at Sirius accusingly.

And on the upper level of the open courtyard, Severus Snape overcame his shock that Norri not only still liked him, but had told Black she liked him, and glared at Sirius, vowing that very shortly there would be a private reckoning between the two of them, no matter what the outcome of the conversation taking place below. A reckoning in which Black would learn the error of his ways. And pay for them, dearly.

Finally, Sirius spoke.

"Yes. I kissed you," he acknowledged, though his voice held no inflection whatsoever, and his face was wiped clean of all expression.

"Well, why?" Norri asked despairingly, thinking that talking to him was much like trying to remove teeth.

"Damn it, Norri, you know perfectly well why!" he exploded, and the teeth analogy fled from her mind.

"But in front of all those people?" she protested.

"Who gives a damn about who it was in front of?" Sirius growled, now standing up himself, his arms crossed implacably in front of him.

"I give a damn!" she retorted hotly.

"And I don't," he shot back sulkily.

"Well, you should!" she exclaimed with a toss of her hair. "Apart from the fact that you could have damaged your relationship with your godson irreparably tonight, spare a thought for the fact that, as far as everyone present was concerned, you indulged in a spot of necking with an under-aged juvenile. And I let you!"

"A very flattering description of what happened, my dear," Sirius said sarcastically. "And yes, you let me. Now, could you tell me how that happened?"

Norri saw the gleam in Sirius' eyes and she backed away from him.

"You know perfectly well why it happened," she said defensively. "I couldn't very well retaliate - you're a great deal bigger and older than me, and it wouldn't have worked. And besides, I was in shock. I couldn't do anything. Not that it lasted longer than half a minute, anyway."

"You sound disappointed, Norri," Sirius purred, and the gleam in his eyes was now a steady burning. "Though I don't quite remember it as being thirty second necking. I remember how you were pressed against me, your heart thudding madly and your eyes glazed and unfocused..."

"They were not unfocused!" Norri interrupted, desperately latching on to the last thing he had said. "There is no way I enjoyed that kiss, Sirius Black!"

"Would you care to try it again and verify that?" he retorted silkily.

"Definitely not!" she avowed.

"Coward."

Norri pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Don't try daring me, Sirius! There's no way I'm getting close enough for you to kiss me again. I don't want to kiss you. Definitely not." Aware that she was sounding increasingly unconvincing, she began clutching at straws. "And you probably don't - didn't - want to kiss me. It was probably the firewhisky. Or the butterbeer. Or the fact that it's Christmas -"

By this stage, Sirius had run out of patience. So much so that he lost the vaunted control he had exercised for years and let every frustration and desire he had been harbouring come tumbling out.

"Norri, I swear to you, if you try to blame what happened on anything but what was really going on -"

But when she continued to babble on about the atmosphere in the party and the people there, and the nostalgia he must have felt, he grabbed hold of her arms and shook her. Hard.

"Norri, I kissed you because I'm in love with you!" he yelled.

Her deluge of feeble excuses ceased. Immediately.

"You can't be," she whispered, her face a portrait of denial.

"I wish I wasn't," Sirius rejoined, the familiar sense of frustration and defeat pouring through his veins in the place of the desire which had flowed there shortly before. "But I am. And that's why I kissed you, and that's why I followed you here, and that's why I'm trying to get through to you that we need to work this out."

He let go of her, and stepped away a little.

"I've been in love with you since you were a teenager," he said calmly.

At a loss for something to say, Norri gestured at her appearance. "Sirius, I am a teenager."

"Don't be stupid, Norri," he answered absently.

"You even talk to me like I'm a teenager!" she cried.

"Only when you act like one!" he snapped. "Honestly, I've tried to discuss this with you so often. I've kept my mouth shut for longer than I ever thought possible. I've avoided you when you wanted, talked when you wanted, stayed silent when you wanted. And tonight, finally, I had a chance to show you how I felt. To feel something myself for a change instead of this terrible helplessness. And what do you do? Retreat behind the same stupid façade you've been using since Charlie. Well, it won't work with me, Norri. I know you too well."

Norri opened her mouth to say that Sirius knew her no better than Charlie did, but he didn't give her a chance to speak.

"And I think you're lying to yourself. You felt something tonight, when I held you in my arms. Even in front of all those people. And if I were to kiss you again, out here, it would be the same. But you're too much of a coward to explore the possibility that we might have something more than friendship. And the sad thing is, if you're not careful, you could lose even that."

There was an awful silence as Sirius' last remark fell on still air.

Norri looked at him, her eyes wide and horrified at the implicit threat he was making. She couldn't imagine life without Sirius, but...he wasn't right about how she had felt when he kissed her - he couldn't be right!

She looked over at him, standing and staring at her, one hand raking through his black hair.

She didn't speak. She couldn't think of anything to say.

Sirius sighed.

Another pointless exercise in futility - and the worst possible ending to what had been one of the best moments in his life.

"I'm going," he announced quietly. He knew there was no point in staying. There was nothing left to say.

He walked over to where Norri stood, hugged her, and then ran one of his fingers down her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Norri."

Then he turned and walked away. At one point, he looked back, as if he was about to say something more. But then he shook his head, and kept going, leaving Norri alone in the courtyard staring after him, starting to shiver in the cold.

***

It was almost four in the morning before Norri stumbled into the Gryffindor common room. Unable to shake Sirius' words from her mind, she had wandered around the halls of Hogwarts, lonely and miserable. Her mood had not been improved when she finally reached the entrance to the common room, where the Fat Lady had jovially asked her what made her so attractive to a man as handsome as Sirius Black.

Skirting the question, Norri had ducked through the entrance, fully intending to retreat to the safety and privacy of her room. But the moment she entered the common room, she realised her hopes were to be more than thwarted - they were thoroughly annihilated.

Seated in congress around the fireplace, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had obviously been waiting for her. For some time. And it was clear that she would not be able to put them off from their obviously intended interrogation until morning.

They wanted answers now.

"Hey guys," Norri said tiredly, too exhausted in both body and spirit to attempt to get out of this one.

"Hello," they all chorused back, degrees of discomfort, caution, and - in Ginny's case - accusation in their tones.

"I don't need to ask you what this is all about," Norri said. "So let's get it over with. What do you want to know?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, obviously having been designated by Ron and Hermione. But Ginny beat him to it.

"Why the hell did Sirius Black kiss you?" she asked icily. "And why did you let him do it?"

At another time, Norri might have managed to come up with a flippant answer, something which would have successfully gotten her off the hook and allowed her to retreat to bed. But tonight she didn't have it in her.

And as she stood there, telling her brain to start functioning, wondering what on earth she was going to say, praying for a miracle, Norri realised she had no answers. She really was doomed. And this was the end of everything.

So exhausted that she was seriously contemplating letting it all out and telling her friends the real truth about Elsie Norr, Norri tried to marshal her thoughts and say something. Anything.

And then, the miracle came.

"You want to know why Sirius kissed Norri, Ginny?" came a voice from everyone's left. "You want the truth? Well, the truth is that Sirius Black didn't kiss Norri tonight - I did."

And Draco Malfoy, hovering on his Nimbus 2002 outside the main window of the common room, smiled calmly at all of them.

Author's Notes:

Well, you weren't expecting that last bit, were you now?! Hope you like the cliff-hanger. But don't worry - chapter 14 will be up...fairly soon. Now that the dreaded Quidditch match is over with, things actually seem to be moving along very quickly. My especial thanks go out to Zsenya and Aieshya - the best betas on the web! - and to my little sister Jenny, who was instrumental in getting me the missing half of the chapter. Greetings also to Irulan, Mai, all my Saras, Kimber, Jade Sabre, Hildigunnur, Earenwe and everyone else who bas continued to read this so faithfully. Remember - I really do take what you all think into consideration so...if you want something to happen, write and ask!