Second Place - Romance

The next few days found most of the occupants of Hogwarts happily chatting about the upcoming ball. Dates were made and dress robes were brought out of the mothballs to air. Harry bemusedly listened to the excited prattle of his schoolmates, even while he fretted about the impending festivities.

Professor Dumbledore had met him before his Transfigurations class earlier and had erected a powerful silencing spell so that they could speak freely. The headmaster had reminded Harry of the importance of making sure that everyone believed that his marriage to Severus was real so that Minister Fudge and the Aurors would have no reason to try to have the marriage annulled. Harry had gulped as he realized the implications. Firstly, it would be the first time he and Severus would be expected to truly act like a loving couple in public, and it also meant that failure to convince people could result in Severus being sent back to Azkaban. A somewhat paler Harry Snape-Potter made his way to his classroom afterward, studiously ignoring the inquisitive looks being sent his way.

Minister Fudge sat furiously plotting in his office, trying to decide how best to overcome the latest fiascos in his career. First, his hand had been forced by the news of Harry Potter's bonding to the Death Eater and then in order to avoid public scandal he had had to release Severus Snape to his new husband. And then he had tried to reason with the Wizengamot only to find that support was not to be his and he had been forced to back down or face even greater humiliation.

Cornelius smiled as he pondered his newest scheme. Fortunately, he did have a few good people around him and the Auror Smith, or Smythe, or something or other, had reported that he had some more damning information regarding Severus Snape. It would seem that Lucius Malfoy had some concerns with his son's safety around the potions master. Cornelius was not going to concern himself with the fact that these particular accusations had come from another Death Eater. No, what he cared about was that Lucius Malfoy seemed to believe that Severus Snape had been abusing his son over the course of several years. And what was more; Malfoy had revealed that the young Malfoy was the godson of Severus Snape. The Minister of Magic shuddered in disgust at the thought of a man molesting his own godson. The dedicated Auror had been working hard to find a way around this farce of a marriage and had even ventured to Azkaban prison to speak with the elder Malfoy. All in all, Cornelius thought that a nice bonus might be in store for the diligent Auror. It was a comforting thought that he had at least one reliable person working for him.

Oh, yes, this upcoming ball should be quite interesting. It should be easy to expose the fraudulent relationship in such a public venue. Oh, it would be a huge feather in his cap if he could come out the winner in this little escapade. With visions of a landslide victory in the next elections, Cornelius rose and extinguished the lights in his office as he left for the day.

Lucius Malfoy sat back in his dingy little cell in the infamous Azkaban prison. How did they think that he could possibly survive in such dismal surroundings? After all, the room was tiny, with only his large four-poster bed with its silk sheets, an elaborate armoire and an ornate writing desk, along with a single wingback armchair and a side table able to fit into the measly quarters. And then there was the matter of his bathroom. The bath itself was rather paltry as only two strokes brought him to the opposite side, whereas he had been assured that the one at Malfoy Manor was the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, whatever that meant. And yet here he was, languishing in this horrid prison with nary a creature comfort, he thought to himself as he sipped his snifter of aged cognac.

Oh, but there were delights to be found here, even if they were only metaphysical in nature. He would make sure that his dear friend Severus Snape joined him soon. And once Severus was safely behind the walls of Azkaban, well, he wouldn't be safe for long, now would he? Raising a silent toast to the dear traitor, Lucius vowed that he would indeed have the last laugh.

Rita Skeeter, special correspondent to The Daily Prophet carefully smoothed her coiffed hair and straightened her glasses. Her nails had just been done and her new outfit nicely followed her curvaceous figure. She had received her VIP invitation for the Ministry Ball to be held at Hogwarts. The Ministry had gone all out in its celebration of the defeat of You-Know-Who. But of course the real reason the nosy reporter was going was because of the guaranteed attendance of Harry Potter and his new husband Severus Snape. The pushy witch snickered as she imagined the scoop she was going to garner tonight.

As the day had drawn closer, Harry had grown increasingly nervous. But as always, such dreaded occasions eventually arrived. His occlumency lessons had continued since he and Severus had found out they could sense each other's emotions and thoughts. Harry was understandably feeling rather proud of himself as he was finally getting it. Of course, his mate was being completely irrational and was taking much of the credit for himself. The young hero grinned as he sensed his husband's amusement at his thoughts. While they were both trying to be careful about keeping their thoughts and feelings to themselves, Harry had a feeling they were both rather enjoying the new sensation of having someone else in their head. Not that Severus would ever admit to such a weakness, Harry thought in amusement.

Severus was able to walk up behind his preoccupied mate without being noticed. Being the Slytherin that he was, he took the opportunity to observe his young mate. It was a continual source of amusement to him that Harry truly didn't know just how handsome he was. Severus knew without question that Harry would have people lined up at his doorstep if he were available. A tightness constricted his chest as he thought of the idea of losing his mate. The potions master closed his eyes against the pain he was feeling. Too late, he realized that he had not isolated his feelings and thoughts from his mate.

Harry looked up in concern as he felt the pain and loneliness that was seeping through the bond. He caught his husband's eye in the mirror and turning around, Harry did the first thing that came to mind. Raising his arms he enfolded his mate in his embrace and brought his forehead to that of Severus'. The two stood silently for a moment before Severus found the strength to pull away.

"Harry, are you ready? I do believe that if you attempt to straighten your attire any more you will succeed in completely destroying those robes."

Harry ruefully acknowledged that Severus had a valid point. He knew he had been fretting endlessly about this stupid Ministry sponsored ball. But he was willing to acknowledge that his anxiety was overrunning his emotions.

The potions master gently rubbed circles on his mate's back as he silently lent his support to the young reluctant hero of the wizarding world. Severus truly had no idea of how to alleviate his husband's fears. He had never had to face the specter of public adoration/ridicule that Harry had regularly faced since his introduction to the wizarding world. There truly were benefits to living in the shadows, the older man opined.

Fred and George Weasley put the finishing touches on their attire. They were once again wearing matching outfits of lemon yellow soft silk shirts and dragon hide pants under canary yellow robes. Fine dragon hide orange boots completed their ensembles. Business had been good to the twins and they were enjoying the fruits of their success. Fine clothes were just one of the many splurges in which the twins had indulged.

They were of course preparing for the Ministry Ball at Hogwarts, but the twins had another agenda planned in addition to the obvious celebration. After a great deal of discussion, they had agreed that another person was needed in their lives. And as they both agreed on just who that person should be, they had decided that tonight would mark the beginning of their campaign to win him over.

Sporting identical grins, the two nodded and twin cracks of disapparation sounded in the now empty room as the two left for the ball. Moments later the two apparated outside the impressive gates to the school. With a shared laugh, the twins entered the gate and set up the winding road to the castle.

"Arthur, have you seen my dragon scale earrings? You know, the ones Charlie sent me for last Christmas?" Molly Weasley bustled around in their bedroom, trying to get ready for the ball. It had been ages since she and her husband had needed to dress up for a formal event and as such, she seemed to have misplaced all of her nice accessories.

"Dear, I do believe that you are already wearing those," Arthur responded patiently. Over the years he had become used to his wife's frazzled flurry of activity and he knew well enough to stay out of the way. He had been pleased that his old dress robes still fit him and placing a matching wizards hat on his head, nodded, pleased with his appearance.

Without a word, Arthur handed his wife's hat to her and smiled as she finally sighed. "All right, dear, I am ready if you are," she informed him.

Bill Weasley brushed out his long hair and grabbed a favorite clasp to fasten the mane of red hair. Hanging a new dragon tooth earring from his ear, the young curse-breaker for Gringotts bank smoothed down his dress robes and followed his parents down the stairs of the Burrow. Once outside the wards, they disapparated to Hogwarts for the party of a lifetime.

Nymphadora Tonks concentrated as she tried to decide what hair color and style she should sport tonight. Ah, she thought, blue wavy shoulder length hair should do it with lilac colored eyes. Scrunching her nose, she smiled as it took on the shape she wanted. Deciding that she wanted to be just a little taller tonight, Tonks concentrated and grinned as she felt her body stretch. With a wave of her wand, her clothing resized itself to fit her now taller self and Tonks was satisfied with her appearance. Smiling, she left to attend the Ministry Ball.

Remus Lupin frowned at his reflection. Fortunately it was still a few days to the full moon and he was able to attend the ball. As a member of the Order and one of the participants of the battle, he had an automatic invitation to the festivities. Remus had also realized that this would be his first real opportunity to observe Harry and Severus together as a couple since their bonding. The protective werewolf was anxious to see how the two were faring.

Since inheriting a small potion of Sirius' estate, money had not been a problem, even though as a werewolf he was not allowed to work. Harry had insisted last summer that he spend some of the inheritance to buy himself a new wardrobe. The practical man had balked at first, preferring to save the money for a rainy day, but his adopted godson had been persistent. Looking now at the results, the werewolf had to admit that Harry had been right in saying that these dress robes played up his best features. Finally deciding that he had done the best he could, Remus left his guest rooms at Hogwarts to go down to the Great Hall.

Narcissa Black smiled as her personal house elf attended to her mistress. Narcissa was using the occasion of this ball to not only celebrate the defeat of the Dark Lord, but also her freedom from her husband, Lucius. The elegant woman had taken her maiden name back after the divorce as a sign that she was now her own woman. She was looking forward to the idea of being a free woman once again, and she was determined to mingle and party her way through this evening's festivities.

Graciously thanking her elf, Narcissa swept out of her bedroom and prepared to travel back to Hogwarts. A sly smile graced her lips as she contemplated her possible partners for the evening.

Ron cringed as he thought of how his girlfriend had once again laid into him over his treatment of their friend Harry. He knew she was right, and he really should be there for Harry, but at the same time he just couldn't accept that his best mate had bonded to the �greasy git' who had made their lives miserable for the past six years. He personally was inclined to think that Harry had suffered brain damage during the final battle. But he had promised Hermione that he would try to extend the olive branch to his best friend. Although, he really couldn't understand what an olive branch had to do with anything, but Hermione had been insistent. Ever the practical one, Ron figured that in this case, if he ever wanted any ever again, he had better go along with his girfriend's wishes.

Draco Malfoy smirked as he regarded his reflection. Perfect as always, he thought. Tonight, he was going to ask Ginny Weasley to be his girlfriend and he was determined to look his best tonight.

Hermione Granger stood next to her friend, Ginny Weasley as they helped each other get ready for the ball. The brainy Gryffindor was still fretting over the problem of her two friends and their latest squabble. But she had an idea. Hermione was sure that she could get the Weasley matriarch to help her convince her son to accept Harry's bonding to Professor Snape.

Ginny giggled as she twirled in her dress robe. Her family's financial situation meant that she did not often have the opportunity to dress finely. She was hoping to be able to at least dance with Draco Malfoy tonight. The young Slytherin had changed drastically since renouncing his father's ideals. With stars in her eyes, the youngest Weasley left the Gryffindor tower with her friend Hermione.

Neville Longbottom nervously tugged on the collar of his dress robe. He was meeting his girlfriend, Luna Lovegood, in a few minutes and he wanted to make sure he was looking his best. With a few minutes to spare, the young man met up with his Ravenclaw girlfriend near the Great Hall. Secretly he was pleased to see that she had eschewed her usual attire and had dressed in a very pretty and flattering gown that seemed to make her eyes sparkle. Gallantly holding out an arm, the two entered the already crowded hall.

The Flipside of Sanity - Chapter 19

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