Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Twenty-Four

 "Chips are the best form of the potato," Avalon said as she popped one into her mouth.

Zelda shook her head. "Absolutely not. Mashed potatoes are easily their superior."

"Are you mad?" Avalon frowned, taken aback by her friend's bold dinnertime statement. "That's absolute rubbish, Z."

"Love, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but even you have the capability to be wrong sometimes."

"I'm always right," she shrugged with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that," her roommate chuckled.

Several days had passed since Avalon had detention with the Slytherins, and for the most part, things had been relatively quiet. Most of her time had been spent catching up on schoolwork or trying to help Zelda come up with a way to ask Jane to the Yule Ball. With just over a month until the dance, the castle had been alight with excitement as students began to get asked by their friends, lovers, and crushes to be their dates. Everywhere she looked, nervous boys were huddled together staring at their crushes, while giggling groups of girls clumped around their friends as they showed off their bouquets to each other moments after being asked.

She had found herself in an awfully good mood. Memories of the Yule Ball back in her own time made her heart flutter with the thought of helping her friends figure out creative ways to find dates, dress-shopping with the girls, and the hours prior to the dance when they all got ready together.

It had been a much simpler time-- one that she longed for dearly.

She let out a wistful sigh before returning her attention to dinner. "Will you pass me the..." Her words trailed off as a rose petal fell onto her plate... followed by another... and another.

She looked up at the ceiling and furrowed her brows at the sight of crimson petals raining down atop the entire Great Hall. A chorus of confused murmurs erupted from students all around as they all curiously eyed the flowers that had begun to drop delicately onto their plates.

"Oh... my... God..." Zelda muttered, her words turning into laughter as Avalon looked at her quizzically. Zelda didn't answer her, but merely pointed to Xavier, who had begun making his way to the front of the Hall. He was dressed in formal wear, his black dress shirt loosely unbuttoned as he marched up the stairs to the High Table where the professors sat. Dippet and Merrythought were deep in conversation in front of the Headmaster's podium, but the cheeky heir gently weaseled his way between the two of them, interrupting their discussion as he put his wand to his neck and projected his voice throughout the hall.

Avalon felt her cheeks begin to burn bright red as he spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?"

From the Slytherin table, Mulciber yelled back, "Do we have a choice?"

Xavier shook his head, "Not even the slightest bit!" Headmaster Dippet put a stern hand on Xavier's shoulder, and Merrythought opened her mouth to protest, but Xavier quickly scurried away from them before they could object, running over to Ravenclaw's table and jumping up atop it, earning a string of strongly-worded protests from the students sitting there. "Pardon me," he chuckled as he walked along the table, forcing the students to quickly pull their plates away before he stepped into their meals. "I'm sure you are all wondering why I'm up here right now," he began.

"I'm leaving," Avalon said, attempting to stand up, only to be dragged back down by a cackling Zelda.

"Absolutely not, this is rich," her roommate said between gasps of air as she tried to contain her laughter.

"Well, as I'm sure you all know, the Yule Ball is coming up soon," he said, his voice echoing through the room. "And, naturally, as the best looking bloke at this school, I had to ask the most beautiful girl to be my date... thankfully, she also happens to be my girlfriend!"