"Think it'll work for me?" Harry asked as he pulled back to get a better look at the form-hugging periwinkle blue gown she was wearing.
"It should, your great-grandfather, Fleamont Potter created it, and apparently made quite a sizeable profit with it. He sold it and the company he used to make it, to a Chinese company when he retired." She replied.
"Huh, I did wonder where most of that gold came from." Harry mused.
"Well, probably not most, but a sizeable chunk of it I suspect. I'm pretty sure you still hold a large share in the company. From what I read, when Fleamont sold it, he retained a sizeable share in the company as part of the deal, and that transferred down to your grandfather, then to your father, then to you."
"Really…I did not know that." Replied Harry, silently wondering why Sirius or Remus had never told him, though it was possible they didn't know, he'd have to ask one of them about it.
She then stepped back and raised the hem of her gown a little, letting him see the clear crystal footwear she wore. He raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Glass slippers? Good thing you don't have to be home by midnight." He said with a grin and a chuckle.
Hermione giggled, as did several of the others.
"They're shoes, and they're actually very comfortable." She said. The gown she was wearing was gorgeous in Harry's opinion, from the waist up, it hugged her body very closely, hiding almost nothing, stopping at her chest and leaving her shoulders and arms bare. Her hair, as he'd stated when he'd first noticed it, was combed back and tidy, done up in a bun on the back of her head. A small bird necklace which was animated, completed the ensemble rather nicely.
The rest of the girls were all wearing similar gowns, even Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, the former two quickly finding their way to the arms of Fred and George, while Kate quickly moved to Lee Jordan.
Daphne was wearing a silver gown that was just as form-fitting as Hermione's, her hair done up in a braid also, with what looked like a headband round her head. Harry moved to take her hand as he had done Hermione's but she stepped forward and hugged him instead.
"What's the headband?" he asked, she smiled, eyes sparkling.
"It's called a Kransen, or 'Head Wreath'. By Nordic tradition, unmarried virginal maidens wore these headbands on special occasions, such as weddings and functions like this. They're passed down from mother to daughter, Tori will get this when it's her turn to wear it, and I'm married, or no longer a virgin, which ever happens first. Last time my mother wore it was her wedding day."
"Looks lovely, and so do you." Harry said, and he was right, she did.
His gaze then moved to Susan, who was wearing a rather nice looking formal dress that didn't really call much attention to any particular part of her. Her hair was done in its usual pliât.
"Looking lovely this evening Susan." He said, bowing slightly and kissing her hand, as he had done with Hermione. Susan blushed fiercely, and if he didn't know better, he could swear she was smirking, casting a knowing glance at Hermione and Daphne.
"Thanks Harry, there's actually a nice little surprise feature built into this, I'll show it to you once we're on the dance floor."
Harry smiled, then turned to Luna. All he could think was pink.
Her dress had a lot of pink. It was honestly the last colour he'd ever think of her choosing to wear.
The dress looked rather old-fashioned, with several bows tied off in strategic places around the neck, waist and hemline. Under the pink top layer, was a second, white layer to the dress. The shoulders and collar were puffed out, giving it a very elegant and 18-century look to it. Around her neck was a single cork linked to a chain and simple bead necklace. Evidently the bottle cap necklace had never materialised after it had gone missing several weeks ago.
On her feet she wore a pair of miss-matched shoes, one red, the other green.
"That's a rather nice dress you've got there Luna." He said, giving her a slight hug, which she happily returned.
"Thank you Harry. It belonged to my mother. It was her favourite Ball gown, daddy had it resized to fit me. She also wore it to their wedding."
"Who's your date?" Daphne asked. Luna shrugged.
"I don't know. I got an anonymous note asking me to the Ball, it said I'd meet my date inside."
"You don't know who your date is?" Hermione asked, raising a brow. That sounded…suspicious.
Luna shook her head, appearing rather excited about the prospect of a blind date. Daphne, Hermione and Harry all exchanged looks however, they thought it was very odd for someone to send an anonymous note to a girl asking them to the Ball, and then apparently not show up to actually meet her there.
Before any of them or Harry could say anymore on the matter, McGonagall stepped forward, clearing her throat.
"Alright, we're ready for you now. Miss Lovegood, Miss Bones, Miss Greengrass, if you would kindly go through and join the others, we can make the announcements."
With a nod and a happy, expectant smile, Luna almost skipped through the doors, quickly followed by Daphne and Susan, who both looked back and winked at a surprised Harry, smiling arm-in-arm. Then, once they had closed, the faint noise from within died down, and Bagman's voice rang out.
"Introducing the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic's Champion Fleur Delacour, and her date, Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang Institute's Champion!"
As the doors opened to the sound of applause, and some boos, Krum and Fleur walked confidently into the Great Hall. Harry leaned over and whispered to Hermione.
"I had no idea Susan and Daphne were each other's dates."
"We decided that if we all went with you, it would cast an even bigger spotlight on you and we know you hate that."
Harry smiled at her, putting his arm around her in a quick hug. "You wouldn't happen to know what surprise Susan has planned?" He asked cheekily with a smile.
"I do, since it was my idea. But I'm not telling you. Wouldn't be a surprise if I did. And don't go poking around inside Susan's head either. You'll just have to wait and see lover." Hermione purred, her eyes half closing in a seductive, sly smile.
The doors then opened again, and Bagman's voice once again rang out.
"Presenting the Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory, and his date, Miss Cho Chang!"
The crowd inside roared with thunderous applause as the two students walked through the door, Cedric casting a supportive glance back at Harry and Hermione before the door shut.
"I wonder how that oaf is going to spin our announcement. And I wonder how many boos I'll get." Harry muttered.
"Actually, I don't think you'll get as many. Ever since the first task, people have been paying you a lot more respect." Hermione countered.
"Really? I hadn't noticed. I've usually just seen the regular stares and whispers. Well, since Draco and co got carted off to Azkaban, the Slytherin have usually been giving me a wide birth, well, except Snape. But that's just Snape being Snape. A git."
Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a slight sigh, "Please don't get wound up Harry, just enjoy the event and ignore Snape, if he's even in there, I'm pretty sure I saw him doing patrols earlier with Professor Moody. Besides, we all want to dance with you tonight, so try to stay focused on your dancing lessons."
The doors then opened again, and Bagman's voice rang out again.
"And finally, our Wild Card, the Fourth Champion Harry Potter, and his lovely date for the evening, Miss Hermione Granger!"
Arm-in-arm, they two walked through the doors to a cordial applause, though Harry could tell some were only doing it because it was expected, and not because they generally wanted to.
Harry led her to the table where Cedric, Cho, Fleur and Viktor were sat.
Dumbledore stood, raised his wand and let out a shot of sparks to get everyone's attention, at the head table with him were the rest of the staff and the Tournament Judges.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, honoured guests. I would like to welcome you all to this very special event. First, the Yule Feast. Then in an hour, at 8pm, the Ball will officially begin, with our Champions and their dates opening the Ball with the first dance of the evening. And at Midnight, we will close with a final dance performed by the Champions and their dates. During the Ball you're free to leave at any time, and you also may return if you wish, however, please remember that just because this is a special celebration, the rules of the School have not been slackened. Any misbehaviour will not be tolerated. And anyone who breaks the rules will be ejected from the Ball, and spend their first month of the start of next term in detention." The old man paused to take a sip of his drink before continuing. "Professor Snape and Professor Moody, along with Filch are on patrol, looking for anyone breaking the rules. Please be mindful and respectful to them. And with that said, tuck in!"
With a swish of his wand plates of food and jugs of various wines, butterbeer and other refreshments appeared in the middle of the tables. Harry eyed the food, it certainly looked nice. He thought back, remembering that none of them had 'eaten' since that morning, he hoped they'd all manage until after the Ball.
'We'll be fine Harry.' Hermione's voice echoed in his head. He smiled at her, pushing all the feelings of warm and affection he could towards her through the link, feeling a sense of pride at the blush that coloured her cheeks under her makeup. 'Prat!'
"Try not to wear yourself out too much Harry, we've got a group present for you tonight." Hermione said, which got raised eyebrow from him, a chuckle from Cedric and Viktor, and a curious smirk from Fleur, Cho looked somewhere between scandalised and curious. "And no, Susan's surprise isn't part of that."
"No promises dear." Harry replied as he tucked into his food while looking around at the rest of the people in the hall. They had an hour for the food, then the dance would start at 9 and go through to midnight, when the Ball would wrap up. Off to the side there was a raised stage where he suspected they'd have a band playing, idly he wondered who they'd hired, he didn't really know that many music groups, or even if the Magical World had that many.
Over the next hour, Harry talked with Viktor, Fleur, Cedric and Cho, getting to know the Asian girl a little better. Though he did find it somewhat odd that she had two names that were from completely different cultures. When he'd asked her about it, she'd blushed and mentioned that her father was Korean and her mother was Chinese, but they had both emigrated to England shortly after she was born.
-=-
Eventually, after the meal, a group of 8 wizards came up onto the stage and took their seats on the stools, holding musical instruments.
"Wait, are those…" Harry asked.
"The Weird Sisters." Cho said, grinning as she watched the band finish setting up.
"Guess this is our cue guys." Harry said, before standing and turning to Hermione, her eyes met his as she smiled at him in anticipation.
The others soon joined him on the dance floor, while several crystal balls hung from the clear ceiling, shining light down onto the dance floor.
-=-
As the third song ended, Hermione proposed a partner swap, winking at Susan as she and Daphne came over towards them, getting the hint, Susan grinned and nodded. Harry smiled and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek. As soon as she stepped away, Susan was there, grinning at him in a flirtatious way while Daphne claimed Hermione's hands.
"Ready for your surprise?" She whispered, her eyes dark with excitement and lust as she pressed in close kissing him deeply, her arms going around his neck, while his went around her waist.
When they broke, they were both panting Susan quickly reached for her wand and tapped the collar of her dress. For a moment it seemed like nothing happened, then the dress seemed to shimmer for a second and he suddenly found it extremely difficult not to stare. He was honestly surprised his trousers didn't rip, or that he didn't suffer a stroke.
Gone was the rather casual looking dress-robes. In their place was a deep red dress. The form-fitting dress she now wore hid nothing. It was also painfully clear, as Harry's shaft was clearly pointing out, as one might say, that she also wasn't wearing a bra, as the glimmering dress split in the front just below her chest and spread out in a rather impressive V that went up in a pair of straps that only just covered her rather amble bust, but went no further. Though what was keeping the fabric in place over her breasts he had no idea.
She was also wearing long sleeve gloves that went to just above her elbows that in the light, looked to be a light purple in colour. He could also see that she was wearing red high heels that seems to sparkle the same way her dress did as she moved.
When she did a little spin, he almost choked. Not only wasn't she wearing a bra, but the dress came round to her waist, just above her lower back, showing the entirety of her naked back. There was also a slit cut into each side of the dress to allow her legs more freedom to move.
And when she'd done her little spin, he was sure he saw bare hip.
'Oh god please tell me she's at least wearing knickers or a thong.' Harry pleaded, not sure if he could handle the idea of Susan being practically naked at the dance. 'Is that dress even allowed?'
However, it seemed his question was quickly answered in the negative as he got a good look at her backside, which the dress heavily emphasised as the thin material seemed to cling to her bum as she arched her back, pushing her hips towards him while looking over her shoulder, grinning.
"Surprise! You like it?" She asked, turning back around to face him.
"Er…wow…" he uttered. Daphne giggled.
"Told you that'd break his brain." Daphne said cheerily.
"Miss Bones! What on Earth are you wearing?!" McGonagall yelped as she approached them, shooting a very amused look towards the nervously smiling redhead.
"A dress I found, I thought it'd be a nice surprise for Harry." Susan replied, her smile slipping as she noticed the disapproving and stern look from their professor.
"I hardly think that dress is appropriate."
"It was my idea professor." Hermione spoke up as she and Daphne approached.
McGonagall turned and fixed her favourite student with a stern look, "I hardly think this is appropriate attire for this event Miss Granger, however, since it's too late for you to go change, I guess I will allow this. But if the school hosts any more events in the future, I highly recommend you choose something more fitting for the occasion next time." And with a final frown, she turned and walked away.
Susan sighed with relief and grinned as she moved back in close to Harry, and they started dancing again, as did Hermione and Daphne. Several others had taken note of McGonagall's brief appearance and were now openly gawking at Susan's dress, and the fact that he apparently hid almost nothing. Nervously, Harry reached down and placed his hands on her waist, feeling the incredibly smooth material, it felt almost like liquid, and it was very thin, but surprisingly not transparent, as he figured something that fine would be.
"What is this made of? And are you wearing anything under this?" he asked quietly. She smirked, giving him a hungry look through half-closed eyes.
"It's made from Acromantula silk, dyed of course. And of course I'm wearing something else under this. It'd be very uncomfortable dancing on this floor with nothing on my feet otherwise." She grinned and winked at him.
"Uh…" Harry blinked, surprised that she'd be so brazen in the middle of a packed dance floor. He made a mental note not to do any fast spins or try to pick her up or anything.
Leaning in close, she whispered in his ear, her hot breath making him shiver with desire that he found hard to get control of, yet somehow managed it.
"Feel free to let your hands roam, I wouldn't mind."
"I think the staff would." He muttered. He couldn't believe she'd actually managed to talk her way into keeping the dress, then again, if she'd had it on display when she'd shown up outside the Main Hall, McGonagall probably would have stopped her.
"That was really Hermione's idea? Where did you find that?" Cedric's voice spoke up as he danced his way over with Cho, who was sending a rather unflattering look towards Susan.
"Room of Requirement. And yes, it was Hermione's idea. She said she got the idea from something called a 'movie' called Who Framed Roger Rabbit, though if there's a woman in it wearing something like this, then I can't see how that would be appropriate for family viewing.
Harry frowned. That name sounded…familiar. He cast his mind back a few years, to one time he'd been left in the house along with his uncle, who had been sat in the living room watching a movie on the telly, Harry had mostly ignored it, until he saw some cartoon characters on on the screen while he'd been passing the open door while cleaning, and he'd paused, and he remembered seeing a woman wearing that dress.
He'd quickly moved on before his uncle had spotted him, and his aunt and nephew had come home only five minutes later, and just a few minutes after that, Petunia had seen what was on the screen and she'd gone apocalyptic, screaming about 'cartoon whores' and such. He'd done his best to keep his head down and ignore the ensuing fallout.
"Yeah, I know that movie, my aunt caught my uncle watching it couple of years ago. She was not impressed. I think it's the only time Vernon ever slept on the sofa for a week. Well, when he wasn't rolling off it in his sleep." Harry snorted.
-=-
Luna smiled brightly as she spun with Harry to the gentle flow of the music, all around them, other couples danced, while a few had retreated to the tables. Her gaze went to Hermione who was sat at the table catching a break, and chatting animatedly with Padma and Seamus, while her sister and Dean were still on the dance floor. Both twins wore the same outfit, with inverted colours. A long flowing dress, blouse and sash. Evidently an Indian style that Harry knew next to nothing about. Ron sat off to one side, sulking and glaring at both Harry and Viktor Krum, who was dancing with Fleur.
Ginny sat on the other side of Ron, looking less than pleased. Apparently, a few of the fourth year boys had approached her and asked her to the Ball, only to then run into her twin brothers Fred and George. So out of desperation, she'd asked Ron, who, unable to find a date, and unwilling to face the humiliation of being the only Weasley boy without a date, had begrudgingly accepted.
Apparently, Ron hadn't appreciated the pity date all that much, as after the first group dance, he'd broke from the dance floor and headed straight for the drinks table, while Ginny had followed, looking rather put out and staring forlornly at one or two other boys in Gryffindor robes, then casting rather unflattering looks in the direction of her older twin brothers, who were too pre-occupied with their own dates to notice.
It seemed to Luna that where their sister was concerned, the twins' joking nature turned very territorial. The demonic duo in question were currently dancing with their respective dates, Angelina and Alicia.
"Cutting in!" Came a cheery voice, and Luna giggled as Daphne and Susan cut in between them then separated and spun to catch the two dancers. Daphne taking Luna's hands, and Susan taking Harry's.
"Having fun?" Daphne asked as she spun Luna away from Harry and Susan to give them room to move.
"Yes. Very enjoyable. No Wrackspurts, Nifflers or Nargles anywhere." Luna said happily.
"Uh…right. Sure." Daphne said uncertainly.
"So, how are you and Susan finding things now?" Luna asked. Daphne blushed, looking around, wondering how many could overhear them, thankfully, no-one was paying attention, and the music seemed loud enough.
"We're managing. It's a bit more difficult now there are two extra involved, but we figured out a new routine. Plus me and Susan have started producing, so, that's helping."
"I'm surprised he's producing enough for all three of you." Luna replied. Daphne blinked, she still wasn't used to how forward Luna tended to be, and that seemed to be her Default.
"Uh, well…according to Hermione, he's…producing more than when it was just her. At least when they started, but by the time we'd joined, he was already producing enough to feed all three of us quite comfortably."
"He's producing more? So he's increased in volume? I wonder if the curse is affecting his production, making sure he produces enough for all of you. Hm, interesting. It must be proportional to the number of partners, at least partially. That theoretically could mean that he could supply enough to feed this entire school, if everyone were under the curse." The younger blonde pondered aloud.
Daphne blinked, slowing as the other girl's words processed in her head. "Uh…yeah, maybe. I'm not sure Harry could physically take it though. He'd either die from dehydration or his testicles would revolt."
"Oh there's a way to deal with that. Just make sure they're properly taken care of, nurtured and compensated for their hard work. How much did he produce when it was just Hermione?" Luna asked casually.
"She…she never said. Are you always this forward?" Daphne asked as the song everyone was dancing to came to an end, and everyone broke for a break. Luna shrugged.
"Better than being backward." Luna said casually.
Daphne blinked, "I guess…"
"Have you guys figured out a cure yet?" Luna asked, Daphne shrugged as as she raised an arm for Luna as she pirouetted.
"Fleur mentioned a cure being discovered accidentally when the curse was first used on humans, but she didn't say what it was, and she said that it only seemed to work for women, now whether that means it also works for men, and she didn't mention it, or if it just doesn't work for men at all, none of us have had the chance to ask. If it doesn't affect men, and we break the curse on ourselves, that could leave Harry dependent on us for his survival. And I honestly get the impression he'd hate that. He resisted feeding for those few days and nearly killed himself, because he felt like a parasite, feeding off of us while giving nothing back." Daphne snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Obviously he wasn't paying enough attention to the owner of the fanny he was devouring. I know I personally got a lot out of him eating mine. But that's okay, Harry's just a boy, they're very clueless."
"Mhmm." Daphne said, and the two girls giggled as they moved towards several other dancers, notably Hagrid and Maxime, who were cutting a wide swath across the dance floor.
-=-
Harry smiled as he watched Luna and Daphne dance, then quickly turned his attention back to his current partner. "So, you and Daphne having a good time?"
"Sure, though I don't want to steal too much of you from Hermione." Susan said with a giggle as she leaned in, giving him a quick hug, which also let Harry know that she wasn't wearing a bra under the fine dress she was wearing. Harry smiled and pressed his lips to her ear as he ran his hands down her back before pulling back.
"Minx." He whispered, which made her giggle again.
"You better not wear yourself out too much mister. You're going to be getting a late night." She whispered, letting a hand reach down between them, to gently take hold of his hard shaft, giving it a firm but gentle squeeze, making him stiffen for a moment, before he quickly looked down, then back up at her grinning face and sparkling eyes full of laughter.
"Susan!" Harry whispered hoarsely, face flushing as Susan pushed her hips forward, releasing her hold on his shaft and gripping his hips as they moved, grinding his covered shaft against the apex of her thighs, all under the pretence of dancing.
"Yes Harry?" The redhead smiled, grinning.
"What are you doing?!" He whispered frantically.
"Scratching an itch. For both of us I think. How are you keeping this hidden? Has it even gone down lately? You seem to be hard constantly now."
"Uh…well, I'm using a space expansion charm, and uh, yeah, it's hard pretty much constantly now, I think it only ever goes down when I'm asleep, and even then, not fully. Damn curse." Harry replied. She nodded.
"I know. My clit has been hard since the day Draco cursed us, same with Daphne, and I'm pretty sure Hermione too, except I'm not sure if it ever goes soft, even when I'm sleeping. It actually gets very painful at times. Guess you'll have to check for me. It first, it was rather uncomfortable, but since we started using cushioning and ever-drying charms on our underwear, it's more manageable, but still, I think I'm starting to get an appreciation for you having to deal with a wand in your pants."
Harry snorted with a smile, stumbling slightly as she gave a particularly sharp grind of her hips, and gasped, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Mmm…this is nice." Susan moaned. Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, making sure he didn't put his hands anywhere he shouldn't.
"Luna! Your dress!" a yelp caught Harry's attention and his gaze immediately snapped to Luna and Daphne, who were dancing a short distance away, but stopped the moment Padma had called out. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw broke apart, as they both stared down at Luna's pink and white dress, which started to unravel as they watched.
He and Susan stopped dancing as they turned to watch what as going on. Several other people had also started noticing what was happening and had stopped dancing, but the music kept playing.
Luna looked down at her dress in a state of total confusion. She couldn't see anything wrong with it. Then she saw it. The thread of some of the seams was starting to unravel. Even the panels of the dress itself started to come apart; small holes opening at random on the panel that covered her stomach up to her chest. Holes that quickly widened to reveal the white fabric underneath, and even that was starting to unravel.
When Luna felt a draft on her right shoulder, she looked to see the shoulder pad had already pretty much disintegrated, and when one of the sashes that that went from the hem of the dress to her left hip snapped mid-length, and the white dress she wore also started to disintegrate, her eyes widened, the shock and confusion in them turning to denial and horror.
"What's going on here?" McGonagall asked as she stepped forward.
The music finally stopped, and everyone seemed to be taking notice. Hermione was there in an instant, reaching out to try and physically hold Luna's dress together, Padma, Parvati and Fleur soon joined, forming a tight ring around Luna and Daphne, shielding them from the rest of the hall.
"Her dress…its…its coming apart…" Padma hissed, trying to keep her voice down so as not to alert the entire hall. Unfortunately, her voice seemed to carry unusually well in the now silent hall, and those standing close enough, heard her just fine, and started to whisper among themselves.
Assessing the situation, McGonagall drew her wand, as Flitwick suddenly seemed to appear as if he'd apperated, and started casting a diagnostic charm, McGonagall tried to stop the unravelling.
"Finite!"
Nothing happened. At least, nothing seemed to happen, until Daphne noticed that the rate of disintegration seemed to have picked up slightly.
A large piece of the pink fabric that was all that remained of the front of Luna's dress suddenly came loose and fell into her hand, she held it up and watched as the threads of silk seemed to fray and separate, and as they watched, the piece of silk frantic became a collection of loose pink silk thread, then seemed to disintegrate further.
"Finite Incatatem!" Flitwick enchanted, and everyone who could see watched as what remained of the pink parts of Luna's dress fell to the floor, dissolving into loose threads of silk, and the disintegration of the white dress under that accelerated.
"Stop! You're making it worse!" Daphne yelped, watching in shock as the waistline of Luna's white dress seemed to almost unzip, as the front of her dress opened to show her pale midriff and blue bra, the seems at the shoulders separated and the top of Luna's white dress dissolved as the bottom half fell to the floor in a pile of silk, which rapidly turned into a pile of loose silk threads.
A body suddenly blocked her view as Harry stepped forward, having pulled off his dress robe, leaving him in just his white shirt and tie, he wrapped it around Luna's shoulders, doing his best to cover her. The girl in question, who hadn't really reacted much since watching that piece of fabric in her hands unravel, looked up at him with a sad smile, tears pouring down her face as she silently cried.
Harry was at a loss, he wanted to hug her, but wasn't sure if he should, when he noticed another piece of fabric fall the the floor at her feet, and he looked down, to see that it was blue. His gaze quickly ravelled up her legs to the smooth 'arrow point' of her labia at their peak, a few scraps of blue fabric that seemed to recede as he watched were all that remained of her knickers. His gaze quickly moved up to her now bare chest as it finally sunk in.
In just under 90 seconds, Luna Lovegood had been stripped naked in the middle of the dance floor.
"We need to get her out of here." Susan said in a hushed voice.
"My dress…" Luna murmured, looking down at the pile of frayed white, pink and blue threads that had once been her clothes. Her socks also seemed to have disintegrated, but her shoes remained intact, thankfully. She looked heartbroken, and it made Hermione both furious and and on the verge of tears herself.
"Dobby." Daphne said in a clipped tone. With a small pop, the elf appeared.
"Yes Harry Potter Sir's Greenie?" the little elf asked.
Daphne bit her lip to stop the automatic retort at that name, then focused on her objective. "Take Luna, myself, and Professor McGonagall to the Come and Go Room, ask it to set up a dressing room with some new ball gowns for Luna."
With a nod Dobby vanished, then returned a few moments later, and took Daphne's and Luna's hands, while Daphne took hold of McGonagall's, after collecting the fallen strands of silk and cotton, and all four vanished.
Harry knelt and picked up the loose strands of thread that, as he watched, continued to disintegrate. "Is it supposed to do that?"
"No, while silk is organic and biodegradable, it should last a fairly long time, decades when properly maintained."
"Seems to have gotten very brittle." Harry noted. Hermione nodded.
"That usually happens when exposed to environmental conditions and not properly maintained, also age. What ever that spell did either aged the silk to the point of failure, or magically severed every thread. I doubt even Madam Malkin could repair this." She said sadly, turning to look towards the main entrance.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cho whisper something to Cedric before hurrying to the main doors and out of the hall.
"Huh, wonder where she's off to in such a hurry." Harry said, standing, "I want to know what spell that was. Someone just went to a lot of trouble to humiliate her."
"I'm sure Professor McGonagall will figure it out." Hermione said, she no longer felt like dancing, so just pulled Harry and Susan over to the drinks table.
"Cedric? Where did Cho go?" Harry asked. Cedric shrugged.
"No idea, she said she wanted to check on something."
Dumbledore then spoke up, attempting to regain order and get the Ball going again. Soon, the music started playing again and people were dancing, though the mood among some of the students was either subdued or jittery. No doubt what had just happened would be the talk of the school for a while.
Sitting at the drinks table, a short distance away from Harry and the girls, Fred and George looked concerned at one another.
"Brother of mine?" Fred spoke up, watching Cho Chang leave.
"Yes brother?" George replied.
"I think one of our side projects needs further refinement. Considerable refinement." Fred speculated, a note of guilt entering his voice. George nodded.
"Sadly, I agree. Had we known the spell wasn't completely perfected, perhaps we shouldn't have told—"
"Gentlemen." Came the too chipper voice of Angelina. The boys froze, then turned to face their dates, who had just come back from from one of the girls bathrooms just in time to see Luna's dress dissolve. "Are we to assume, that the spell that just stripped a Third year Ravenclaw naked in the middle of a packed Dance floor was one you two created?" her smile was beautiful, but ice cold, and her eyes were full of flickering anger, and the promise of pain if they had created that spell, or ever used it on either herself or Alicia. Beside her, Alicia stood with her arms crossed, a stern glare on her face.
Fred and George both paled.
"It wasn't supposed to do that!" Fred protested, holding up his hands. "Its supposed to be a spell that makes getting into and out of clothes quicker!"
"But clearly needs more work." George quickly added, "And we didn't cast it on Luna."
"Then who did?" Angelina growled.
-=-
"Zat ez quite an interesting dress, Susan." Fleur said as she took a seat next to the redhead. "I am surprised they let you wear eet."
Susan blushed, and smiled at the older blonde. Strangely, the usual sense of jealously most girls felt around the veela were rather faint now in the redhead. Even though they hadn't interacted much since the Beauxbatons students had arrived, apart from that explanation of the curse Fleur had given a couple of weeks prior.
"Thanks. It's…" she leaned over and whispered in the other girl's ear "It's for Harry, its all I'm wearing right now." She added with a giggle. Fleur grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
"I too am, 'ow you say, 'Commando' tonight." Fleur whispered giving the redhead a wink.
"I guess Viktor is in for a lucky night then. I'm surprised you went with him." Susan said, having to speak up a bit over the music. Fleur shrugged.
"We shall see. I asked 'im because no boys 'ere really grabbed my attention, I did not want to intrude on 'Ermione's territory, and most of ze boys from my own school, zat are 'ere at least, eizzer 'ave dates, or…"
"Or you've already had 'em." Susan said with a knowing smirk that wasn't accusatory or mocking. Fleur shrugged and smiled.
"One way of putting it, I suppose. 'Ow about you, Daphne and 'Ermione? Looking forward to giving 'Arry 'is present tonight?" Fleur asked with a wink. Susan blushed.
"Figures you'd know about that, but yes, yes I am. I'm curious to know what it's like."
"When done right, it feels amazing. I gave 'Ermione a few spells and a potion recipe she can use to 'elp."
"So that's what she was brewing the other day. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't tried Bonding with him yet." Susan said.
Fleur tilted her head, she too was surprised. "Considering what it involves, probably best you are taking it this slow. Ze Bonding process is supposed to be without pain or discomfort, and ze best way to ensure zat is to practice before ze main event, non?"
"I guess. So, what can we expect from the Bonding?"
Fleur gave her a knowing smirk, "It will be life changing."
"And it will break the curse?" Susan asked. Fleur nodded.
For a moment, Fleur hesitated, once again debating on whether or not to tell her friend everything or not. On one hand, telling them would prepare them, but on the other, a small part of her did want it to be a surprise.
Details on how the last human victims of the curse had been prepared and made ready, or even if they had, was sketchy at best. "Oui. Alzough you must remember, it will not cure 'Arry. Once you 'ave all Bonded, you may not need to feed from 'im at all, but 'e will still need to feed from you."
"For the rest of his life?" Susan asked. Fleur nodded seriously.
"For ze rest of 'is life."
After a moment, Susan spoke up again, "When I get my hands on the one who hexed Luna's dress to disintegrate…"
Fleur tilted her head, and nodded sadly. "It was a nice dress. I do not understand why someone would do such a zing."
"Luna has been bullied for a while. Items of clothes going missing, possessions getting stolen, petty stuff, but this? This crossed a line." Susan growled.
Fleur nodded. If anyone had humiliated her like that, well…they would suffer for it.
-=-
McGonagall blinked as she suddenly found herself standing in a large room with several dress mirrors similar to what one would find in a clothing store, and racks of different styled ball gowns.
"What is this room? And where is it?" McGonagall asked.
"It's called the Room of Requirement, the house-elves call it the Come and Go Room, or Room of Lost Things. We're on the Seventh floor, in front of the tapestry of the dancing trolls." Daphne replied.
"But…but…there's nothing in front of that tapestry!" McGonagall protested.
"There is, the door is just hidden most of the time." Daphne said, turning to address Luna, who was now silently crying. Daphne was about to say something when she noticed the robe Harry had thrown around her shoulders was starting to fray in places.
Luna looked down at the robe, noticing the slight damage, and immediately shrugged the garment off, not particularly caring who saw her now. She then saw the remains of her ball gown and started to whimper. Daphne dropped the fabric and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the crying girl.
"It's okay Luna, we'll fix you up with one of these gowns."
"It won't be the same." The little blonde whimpered, sniffling as she hugged Daphne back. Daphne drew back to look her in the eye.
"What do you mean?"
"The dress…it belonged to my mummy…it was her wedding dress. Daddy had it resized for me. Now it's gone. That was one of the few things I had left of her." The Ravenclaw whimpered, tears flowing freely down her face.
'Shit…' Daphne thought as the girl started crying openly.
"I'm truly sorry Miss Lovegood. I'm sure we can find a new dress from these robes." McGonagall said gently. Luna sniffed, then stepped forward and hugged the professor, who looked surprised for a moment, then returned the hug.
"And if you don't feel like going back down to the Hall, I'm sure we can have a private dance here. The room could easily recreate the Hall." Daphne said. Luna pulled back, sniffed again and shook her head.
"No. I won't let them win. I want to go back down."
"Are you sure, Miss Lovegood?" McGonagall asked gently, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder. The girl nodded.
Within a few minutes, Luna was in a new bra and pair of knickers, as well as one of the dresses, a white one that looked like it had been made in the 40s. However, within a minute, the dress started to fray and unravel, disintegrating as her original had.
Soon Luna was once again stood in a pile of frayed, useless thread, completely naked. She didn't look as upset this time, just resigned.
McGonagall frowned as she watched the dress unravel. Raising her wand, she started casting all the diagnostic charms she knew, a conjured sheet of parchment and a self-inking dicto-quill rapidly writing down the results.
A bra and knickers were tried next, no dress. Same result.
Daphne huffed in frustration. This wasn't working.
"It's not her clothes, it's her. The spell was cast on her."
"Where did you get ready for the Ball?" McGonagall asked.
"My room in Ravenclaw." Luna responded. To the surprise of the Transfiguration Professor, she seemed completely unconcerned that she was naked in front of one of her teachers.
"Was anyone else there with you?" Daphne asked. Luna shook her head.
"No. I did pass some students in the common room, but I didn't really pay attention to who was there."
McGonagall narrowed her eyes. Clearly she would have to talk to Edgar, the 'guardian' of Ravenclaw Tower and find out who had left Ravenclaw, and who had remained.
"I don't mind being naked you know. My family were nudists before mummy died, though I stayed one until I started here."
"Well, that as maybe Miss Lovegood, however, I'm afraid we cannot let you wander the halls or attend classes with everything on display."
"We could try illusion charms, make it look like you're wearing school robes until we figure out how to take this hex off you." Daphne suggested. McGonagall frowned.
"An interesting idea but not perfect. Anyone who gets too close or touches her would be able to tell the clothes aren't real. Not to mention simulating all the robes will be difficult. And how would this curse affect something like the protective clothing she'd have to wear in Potions class?"
Daphne answered the question by silently asking the room for some dragon-hide clothing, specifically, gloves, tunic and pants.
The dragon-hide leather grooved more resistant than any of the other fabrics, but they soon realised the problem with using dragon-hide clothing: while the stitching that held it all together was made from material that was just as resistant to magic as the leather itself, dragon-hide outfits were not meant to be worn for hours at a time, were generally rather heavy and typically did not make for good special occasion wear such as a Ball. It was also not meant to be worn over bare skin, which would have made Luna very uncomfortable rather quickly.
Luna seemed to sigh and shrug. Daphne scowled as she pulled off the dragon-hide gloves.
McGonagall was just about to suggest something else when a large wooden bucket appeared between them, and with a wave of Daphne's wand, it was filled with water.
"What are you doing?" Her Head of House asked.
"This is an old family technique, created a few hundred years ago by a distant relative on the continent, in Norway. She was allegedly a natural at transfiguration." Daphne said as she waved her wand in a very complex pattern, and the water lifted out of the bucket, until it was roughly level with Luna's shoulders. "Arms out to the side please Luna."
Once the other blonde had assumed the pose, Daphne made a few more adjustments to the water, stretching it until it matched her profile, hovering before her.
"Hold still please, I need you to be as still as you can so I can get this right, and I apologise in advance, but this is going to be wet." Daphne said with a smile that Luna returned.
Standing with her feet shoulder width apart, and her arms outstretched, Luna waited.
With a wave of her wand, Daphne pushed the water back until it surrounded luna's body, then, with several flicks and waves of her wand, the water separated into very small interlocked pieces, which then solidified, taking on a blue tint, making them opaque, and leaning her covered from shoulder to ankle in a tight blue dress that seemed to be made of ice crystals, and a transparent cloak over her shoulders and down her back. Even her shoes had been replaced with ice ones. To complete the look, Daphne even created a small ice tiara nestled on top of Luna's head.
It took McGonagall a few seconds to realise that it was a perfect replica of Ravenclaw's missing Diadem.
Luna blinked as she looked down at the dress she now wore. It felt like ice on her skin, but it was only cool to the touch, not freezing cold.
"Amazing." McGonagall said, impressed, as she reached out to gently touch the material covering Luna's left arm, finding that it was indeed made of ice. "I dare say I don't think I've ever seen a better example of transfiguration in the classroom. If this had been your OWL or even NEWT practical exam, it most assuredly would have gotten you at least an O Miss Greengrass. I hope you show this same level of skill during your actual exam next year. And I expect to see you in my NEWT classes also."
"Er, thanks Professor. As I said, this technique was first used by a distant relative, who, according to family legend, used to use water and ice to make all of her formal dresses for special occasions." Daphne said with a blush.
"It's perfect." Luna breathed, tears once again coming to her face.
"Well then, I think we'd best get back to the Ball, don't you?" McGonagall said. No sooner had the words left her mouth, then a new door appeared. Cautiously she opened it with a wave of her wand, and stared at the main Entrance Hall.
"That's…that's not possible…" she said.
"I think you'll find, Professor, that with this room, anything is possible." Daphne said with a smile. Taking Luna's hand, she began to lead the younger girl to the doorway, McGonagall following close behind.
-=-
Cho Chang hurried down the corridor, following the direction of her wand as it pointed her towards one of the unused classrooms.
When she opened it, she found Edgecombe and Smythe, who were talking and snickering amongst themselves. Without a second thought, Cho flung open the door then quickly closed and locked it behind her.
"What the fuck did you two do to Loony's dress!" Cho growled.
"What makes you think we did anything." Marietta said innocently. Cho wasn't buying it.
"Don't give me that. You followed her down from the Tower. I'm pretty sure she was the last one out, before you two. Don't think I didn't see you two hovering round the door."
"It's her own fault." Margot huffed.
"Actually, last time I checked, it was yours for getting caught by Flitwick." Cho retorted.
"Like it matters." Marietta snorted, folding her arms.
"I think it does. You just better hope they never find out it was you." Cho replied, before she turned to leave. "I don't like her anymore than you do, but you crossed a line tonight, and she'll probably end up in Potter's circle as a result, so just be careful you don't end up crossing him."
"You're afraid of Potter? You think we're afraid?" Edgecombe snorted in derision.
"You probably should be. I don't know if he's in a House Alliance with anyone yet, but he likely will be soon, with at least Bones and Greengrass, and probably soon Lovegood. He's about to get a lot of weight behind him in the Wizengamot. And he's not afraid of people like Malfoy. Think on that." And with that, Cho turned and left.
-=-
Back in the Great Hall, the dancing had once again started when the main doors opened again, and barely anyone noticed the three figures walking in, but Harry did. He smiled as he saw the blue floor-length dress Luna was wearing, and it looked truly fascinating. He blinked in confusion as Luna stepped into the Hall and onto the dance floor, heading straight for him, and then the light caught the dress and his breath caught in his lungs, and he heard several others gasp as Luna's dress caught the light and seemed to glow as the light passed through it. This had two knock-on effects.
First, the dress seemed to change colour depending on the colour of the light shining on it, and as she moved, light seemed to radiate from the dress almost like an aura of different, ever changing colours. And second, the light made the dress, which had seemed opaque when he first saw her standing at the door with Daphne and McGonagall, turn almost transparent, save for the kaleidoscope of colour passing through it and out of it. But that lighting effect did nothing to hide small, waif-like, and in his humble opinion, quite cute form of Luna beneath it.
If anything, the multicoloured aurora of light that seemed to come from her dress only emphasised her form.
It also did nothing to hide the fact that she wasn't wearing anything under the dress.
Several of the couples paused as Luna strolled onto the dace floor, completely oblivious, or just ignoring the fact that the lights from above were making her dress almost clear. As she got closer, both Hermione and Susan moved to meet her with a fierce hug.
"That's quite an interesting dress. Where did you find it?" Hermione asked as she stepped back. At this distance, everyone who was close enough could see the interlocking pieces of ice that made up the dress, and how they all seemed to act like prisms, which caused the light from above to strobe out in a beautiful array of colours.
"Daphne made it for me." Luna smiled.
"But you're not wearing any knickers or bra." Susan said, resting a hand on Luna's shoulder, wincing slightly as the cold of the ice, and wondering why it wasn't bothering Luna.
"Neither are you three, or Harry." Luna replied casually. Hermione and Susan just gawked at her.
Back with McGonagall, Daphne stared wide-eyed as she watched Luna move, then face-palmed. "I did not expect that. I really didn't think this through."
"So much for 'Dress Robes' and setting a fine example." McGonagall sighed, rolling her eyes as she headed for the table where the staff were seated.
She gave a side-ways nod to Hagrid as he led Madame Maxime past her towards the doors, she smiled to herself. She was happy that Hagrid had found someone he could relate to more, she just hoped he didn't put his giant foot in it.
"I must say Minerva, that is quite an…interesting fashion design. How'd you come up with that?" Septima asked.
"I didn't. Miss Greengrass did. Though I thought it was just made of interlocking pieces of ice, I had no idea they'd act like prisms…" Minerva said as she turned to look at the living light-show that was now dancing with a rather flustered and embarrassed looking Potter.
"Daphne made that dress? How?" Pomona asked.
"An old family secret. I told her I expect the same performance in her OWLs next year. And after a performance like that, I'll definitely be taking her on for NEWTs." Minerva said with a smile.
"But did you have to let the girl be naked? And Miss Bones's dress? What kind of an example are we setting here? If word of this gets out, and if i know that muck-raking vermin, it will…" Aurora said.
Minerva sighed. "Believe me, we tried giving her something. But every piece of fabric that came into contact with her skin disintegrated within minutes. Hopefully what ever was placed on her is temporarily and will wear off, or we're going to have to try and figure out how to keep her decent for the rest of the year."
"And what about Miss Bones' dress?" Filius asked, raising a brow. "I'm surprised you let her keep it."
"Had I known before hand, I wouldn't have, but I couldn't very well send her back and cause a scene, could I?" Minerva sighed. "Right now, I'm just more concerned about Miss Lovegood. I'd truly hate to have to put her in isolation for her lessons, but most illusion charms won't hold up for the entirety of a school day I don't think."
Back on the dance floor, Luna was now dancing with Hermione while Harry danced with Daphne, and Susan got another drink and decided to have a talk with Hannah, who was eyeing Luna's dress with keen interest.
"Is it okay if I stay with you guys tonight? I don't feel like returning to Ravenclaw." Luna said quietly. Hermione hesitated, unsure. She had plans for that night, for all of them, and she didn't really want to put them on hold for Luna, the thought of all of them feeding in front of her didn't bother her as much, since she'd already fed Harry once.
'It's okay Hermione, we can wait until another night. Maybe New Years Eve? Ring in the new year on a high note.' Daphne said.
"Uh…sure, sure thing, it's just, the girls and I sort of had a special gift planned for Harry tonight and…" Hermione said, hating herself for making Luna feel bad.
"Oh? Like what? Can I help?"
"Uh…I'm not quite sure this is something you'd want to be involved in, considering what just happened to you tonight…" Hermione said quietly, so Harry wouldn't overhear. That was the plus side about the Bonding, the telepathic link wasn't a constant stream of thought. Anyone in the link could control who heard what.
Luna shrugged. "I honestly don't mind Hermione. I'm honestly more upset that my mummy's wedding dress was destroyed. I don't care that a few hundred people saw me naked. I'm a nudist after all, remember? I just usually can't practice the lifestyle because the school rules forbid it."
"You are?" Hermione asked, surprised. Luna nodded with a sad smile.
"Yes, though I haven't practices since mummy died. I'm looking forward to doing so again. And the fact that I'm essentially naked now is…quite exciting to be honest. Have you given any thought to being a nudist or naturist?" the blonde asked.
"Uh…the only time I've been around nudists was on vacation in France a few years ago. In fact, Fleur offered for Harry, me, Daphne and Susan to join her and her family in a veela colony on the coast of southern France during the summer. I haven't mentioned that to Harry or the others yet, and I still need to write my parents."
"Really? She did? That was nice of her. Are you sure you and the others will be okay around all those veela? Considering most girls feel rather threatened by them. At least that's been my observations. And from what I've heard, Veela are naturists by culture." Luna asked. Hermione paused, giving that answer some serious thought for a moment, then shrugged and smiled.
"I think we can trust Harry enough Luna. Besides, we've all been around Fleur this long and we haven't tried to murder her, so I think we'll be fine." Hermione replied as they moved together to the music, Hermione taking keen notice of the small prisms that made up Luna's new dress, and how they gave off rainbows of light as she moved. It really was a nice dress.
"So, back to my question." Luna said. Hermione blinked.
"Oh! Right, uh, sure, sure, you can stay with us tonight."
"Wonderful! And you and the others can give Harry his Christmas orgy. Though I do have to wonder how this one will differ from all the others he's had since Daphne and Susan joined you two."
"Shh! I don't want him to know!" Hermione whispered. "It's a surprise! But if you really want to, and you feel comfortable enough, then yes, I suppose you can take part. How did you even know about that anyway?"
"Yay!" Luna yelped as she hugged Hermione tightly, then whispered in her ear "Oh, it was obvious thats what you had planned. So, are you going to Bond with him? Or is it something else?"
Biting her lip, Hermione leaned forward, and whispered in the girl's ear, the little blonde's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and she grinned as Hermione pulled back, blushing.
"Oooooh…that sounds like fuuuun!" Luna giggled.
-=-=-=-
Eventually, round about ten to midnight, the party started to wind down. Hagrid had come back into the Hall looking rather solemn, apparently, he'd taken Maxime for a private chat and apparently said something to upset her, and she'd stormed off in a huff. Fleur had quietly explained to Harry and his friends that the Beauxbatons Headmistress was, like Hagrid, a Half-Giant, but had deliberately kept quiet about it for fear of losing her position, and she didn't want attention to be drawn to herself.
Ron's time at the ball had ended as everyone expected it to: with him still dateless and miserable. Ginny had eventually hooked up with a fourth year Beauxbatons student, who had completely missed the looks of Impending Doom being sent his way by her over-protective brothers.
Soon Harry and the girls, plus a rather excited Luna, were on their way to the Room of Requirement, he'd initially rejected the idea after the Twins had said they might need to use it, Luna had then suggested they ask the room to make several separate rooms for each couple (or group in their case), one that blocked vision, but not all sound. Seamus and Dean had also gone with them, even Neville and Hannah tagged along, though Neville clearly wasn't comfortable with the idea of all of them doing things in rooms that were close enough to allow sound to transmit. Lee and Katie had opted to return to Gryffindor.