Unexpected

Yuletide Cheer

.....

Lycelle hated parties. She had ever since she was little, and the Yule Balls at Draco and Blaise's estates every year were not an exception. She'd never felt that she fit in at them, or really anywhere at all, and she sincerely wished that they would just let her stay in her room all night. Knowing that was impossible, she didn't argue when the house elf came in to do her hair and slip a pastel green gown over her head. She didn't fight it when it applied the cosmetic spells that it had been given leave to perform, or when it dutifully slipped her feet into the strappy sandals waiting for her. Glancing in the mirror, she sighed audibly.

"Why so down, sweetheart?" The mirror questioned in a feminine soprano. "You look fabulous."

"Thank you." She replied, and turned away.

She supposed she looked passable. Her dark brown hair, a twin of Pansy's, hung to the middle of her back in loose waves, and the black kohl lining her eyes made the green in the hazel orbs stand out. But she was nothing special, definitely not a classic beauty like her sister, and she had grown to hate her own reflection. There was a knock at her door and she called for whoever it was to enter. Hermione walked in, Mephite at her heels as always, and she was already dressed for the Ball as well. Straightened hair the color of meranti hung just a little past her shoulders, her eyelids had been dusted a light mauve, and her cyan-shaded gown shimmered as she walked.

Gods, even the mudblood looked better then she did.

"Good evening, Hermione." She greeted the other girl, and Hermione smiled.

"Are you ready? You look wonderful to me."

"Thanks, and yes, I believe so. Is everyone else in the foyer already?" Lycelle asked as they walked out of her room. Those who'd been staying at the Manor would be announced to the guests (who had arrived an hour ago) last, and they were all meeting up with each other in the foyer beforehand.

"I think so. And tell me honestly...What should I be expecting?" Hermione questioned, and Lycelle knew that she'd been dying to ask all day.

"Anything, mostly." She replied. "It should all go quite normally until after the fireworks at midnight. Then the liquor and the Nirvana are brought out, and there's no telling what might happen."

"The Nirvana?" Hermione asked with a small frown. "What on earth is that?" Lycelle laughed.

"The pureblood drug of choice, I suppose you could say. Only seven people alive today can brew it, and you've been staying with four of them. It...it is freedom, joy, abandonment of all reservations and restraint. The wizarding aristocrats only let their hair down, per say, once a year. But when they do, they go all out. Most will only remember tonight as a swirl of colors, music, magic and laughter. This is their escape from their titles and positions, their responsibility and obligations. They feel safe here, and each new person admitted takes the same oath of secrecy that you did earlier."

"Oh." Hermione said faintly.

"The Nirvana can also go bad, of course, as nothing is completely perfect. But it's rare for that to happen, especially with almost every single person consuming it. Narcissa, Silana and Severus won't partake because of the chance that someone will react negatively, and anyone under sixteen is sent to their rooms, including myself."

"Who is it that can brew this...stuff?" Hermione inquired, and Lycelle shot her a look.

"Severus, Draco, Blaise and, now, Virginia. Pansy said that they started it the second day here." She said, and noticed Hermione stiffen. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just—Well, do you know what...happened?" The other girl asked hesitantly.

Of course she knew what had happened. It was one of the reasons that she was even at the Manor. She'd been told before the holidays that she might be needed, and then the day before yesterday, a Malfoy eagle owl had swooped into Parkinson Hall right before dinner. It had been from Blaise, and he'd given her a short overview on what had been going on, then requested that she come the next day and do something about Hermione. He hadn't specified what, and the tone of the letter had suggested that he really didn't give a shit, so she had thought on it. How to get the nosy Gryffindor girl to quit causing trouble?