Snape and Lily's daughter

Yule Ball

Christmas morning arrived. Not surprisingly, Grace noticed that most of the students had signed up to stay at Hogwarts, which usually didn't happen, but because of the Yule Ball, most of the students chose to stay, especially the fourth to seventh year students.

Grace and the Slytherin students who had stayed for Christmas went down from their dormitories to the Common Room to open their presents. Soon after, Grace and her friends gathered as usual for breakfast in the Great Hall.

They all spent most of the day in the Slytherin Common Room having fun with their presents. When the clock struck five, Grace and several other girls went back to their dormitories to start getting ready.

"Do you all need three hours to get ready?" Theodore Nott asked.

But they all ignored him and went to their dorms.

Already in their dormitory, the girls began their tidying up extremely anxiously. Grace had managed to produce enough Beautification Potion for all her roommates. In addition, a few days before the Ball they all went to the library to research beautifying spells, and other enchantments to straighten or curl hair.

Later, all five were ready. Grace was wearing a green dress, representing both the color of her House and her eyes. She went downstairs to the Common Room, and when she got there, she ran into none other than Draco Malfoy, who was waiting for Pansy Parkinson, his date for the Ball.

When the boy saw her he was in shock, his jaw opened.

"Hi, Draco." Grace greeted him.

For a few more seconds the boy could not utter a word.

"Oh, hey, Grace. Y-you l-look beautiful."

"Thank you!"

The two were silent for a few seconds.

"Blaise asked me to let you know that he is waiting for you near the Great Hall."

"All right, I'll be going then. See you later."

"See you."

Blaise was wearing dress robes more or less like all the other boys. He was waiting for his date at the foot of the stairs leading to the ballroom. Grace came downstairs with her friends, all looking wonderful in their dresses, each wearing a dress of a different color. Melia wore a navy blue, Megan a red, Ella a baby pink, and Astoria a purple dress.

Blaise had exactly the same reaction as Draco. Upon seeing Grace, he stood in open-mouthed shock, but quickly pulled himself together.

"You look amazing, Grace."

"Thank you, Blaise."

The two held hands to enter the hall together.

All the students were now seated in the hall. The champions sat at a large table at the back of the hall. Cedrico was with Cho Chang, Harry was with Parvati Patil, Fleur was with Roger Davies, and last, Grace couldn't believe her eyes, Krum was with Hermione!

Unlike all the other meals that took place in the Hall, this time at each place there was a menu with some food options.

As they ate, everyone chatted, looking forward to the Ball. At Grace and Blaise's table were Draco and Pansy, Melia and Theodore, Megan and Cassius, and Daphne and Adrian.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause.

Grace stood up and pulled Blaise's hand.

"Come on, we've got to dance!"

The band was playing a slow song. Grace put Blaise's arms around her waist and the two began to dance.

Grace glanced over to the teachers' table, where her father was sitting. Snape did not look away from his daughter for a second. Grace didn't know whether it was her he was staring at, or Blaise.

Professor Dumbledore was now dancing with Professor Sprout, Ludo Bagman with Minerva, and Maxime with Hagrid.

After dancing to several songs, Grace and Blaise walked away from the dance floor. Strangely enough Grace realized that her father was no longer staring at his daughter, or rather, her father was nowhere to be found in the Hall.

Hand in hand the two walked out of the Great Hall.

"How are you enjoying the Ball?" Blaise asked her.

"I'm loving it!" she answered.

The two of them were now sitting half-hidden on one of the benches outside.

"I know I'm not your pale blond, but I hope that by the end of the evening you will have enjoyed coming to the Yule Ball with me.

Grace chuckled. "Of course, Blaise. You're my best friend."

The two of them sat in silence for a while, watching the students come and go from the Hall.

Without Grace realizing it, Blaise had stretched out his arm and was now supporting it around Grace. They were closer than ever.

Blaise's face slowly moved closer to Grace's face, and as much as she was in love with Malfoy, Grace couldn't resist her friend and the two kissed. Grace wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around her, she only heard footsteps approaching the two and blaring some spell that caused them to separate. When she saw who had cast the spell, Grace turned so pale she thought she was going to faint.

"Zabini, what do you think you are doing with my daughter?" Snape hissed.

" Ah, sir, I mean... Professor ... excuse me. I... umm..."

Like Grace, Blaise was also speechless at what had just happened. Snape grabbed his daughter's arm and pulled her away. He was taking her to his office.

As soon as the two entered, Severus closed the door to his chambers and, with a little more aggressiveness than he normally treated his daughter, asked her to sit down.

"You promised me that he was just your friend! You're not old enough for that!"

Grace, who until now had been quiet, began to cry.

"I NEVER PROMISED YOU ANYTHING! I'M 13 YEARS OLD NOW AND I'M NOT A CHILD ANYMORE!" she yelled.

"Grace-" But the girl interrupted him, already getting up to go to her dorm.

"ARE YOU HAPPY, DAD? YOU MANAGED TO RUIN A PERFECT EVENING!"

Grace slammed the door and ran out toward her room. As soon as she arrived, she jumped on the bed and continued crying.