❝ Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes, and men grow better as the world grows old. ❞ — Ella Wheeler Wilcox

   I stepped inside, my mouth falling open as I took in the sight of the Great Hall. It looked nothing like it always did. Garlands of ivy and mistletoe crossed the starry black ceiling and large sparkling snowflakes were floating in the air high above our heads.

The house tables had vanished and were replaced by numerous round ones, lit by frosted pinecone candles. The tablecloths were white and jars filled with cranberries and loose sprigs of greenery sat in the middle of each table as a centerpiece. Chalky white slipcovers mantled the dining chairs.

Lush garlands lined the large windows and a majestic Christmas tree towered over the top table, where the teachers were sitting. Breeze McBon was sitting on the left of Headmaster Dashawn, wearing dress robes of purple velvet. Her sapphire blue hair with aquamarine highlights was twisted into a flattering side updo and as soon as she met my gaze, she gave me a broad smile. I smiled back at her and walked towards one of the round tables with Sibi and Mike.

The food appeared magically almost as soon as we sat down. All sorts of delicious dishes appeared on the table in front of us. Roasted lamb with butter beans, bacon-wrapped pork loin with cherries, broccoli with toasted garlic and hazelnuts, vanilla sweet potatoes, wood-fired shellfish, crispy roasted spuds and many more.

We indulged in the delicious food, and about forty-five minutes later, the now-empty plates magically disappeared, replaced by new and clean ones. For dessert we had cherry trifle, as well as vanilla ice cream with butterscotch bananas. I didn't eat much since I was already full, but the dessert wasn't any less tasty than the main course.

The house-elves' cooking never failed to impress me, but tonight they had really outdone themselves. I savoured every mouthful and swore to myself I'd go down to the kitchens the next day to personally compliment and thank every single one of them.

Once we were all done eating, Headmaster Dashawn wanted to make an announcement. He stood up from the table and pointed his wand at his neck so that his voice resounded through the entire hall.

"Dear students," he spoke loudly, smiling around at all of us. "Now that we're all fed and watered, I must ask you to listen up. Tonight, we have the honor to welcome some very special guests. They will be pleased to join us in our little Christmas celebration by accompanying us with their enchanting music. Please give it up for Celestina Warbeck and The Weird Sisters."

A wildly enthusiastic applause rippled around the hall, followed by loud whistles and cheers as Celestina Warbeck appeared next to Dashawn, followed by The Weird Sisters. They all shook hands with the headmaster and Breeze quickly got on her feet to greet them as well. Then, the singers turned to face us all, waving their hands or bowing slightly with big grins plastered on their faces.

The first who took the stage was Celestina, dressed in a frilly red gown. With a wave of his wand, Dashawn conjured a raised platform into existence and a set of musical instruments were set upon it.

Celestina started singing her famous hit, You stole my cauldron but you can't have my heart, followed by joyful clapping, as people started singing along. Since almost everybody was getting on their feet and I adored this song, I got up to dance as well, together with Sibi and Mike.

It felt weird in the beginning, considering I had never danced before and my dress was designed for little-to-no movement, but at some point, the feeling faded away and I started to enjoy myself. Dancing didn't feel forced at all, because I wasn't following any instructions. I was just letting my body move naturally, my head bobbing to the beat.

When the song ended, applause filled the hall once again as Celestina smiled at us, mouthing endless 'thank-yous' that were drowned out by the loud noise. She left the stage and went to take a seat on the teachers' table, next to Hagrid. He waved at me joyfully and I flashed him a smile before turning my focus back to the stage.

The Weird Sister trooped up onto it to another round of applause and whistles. Their costumes were dark and so was their hair, which reached just above their shoulders. They picked up their instruments and struck up a fast song.

About what felt like half an hour later, my friends and I decided to take a short break. I was tired, but I had absolutely enjoyed myself dancing. I sat down at the table with Sibi and Mike, watching as many glasses of foamy Butterbeer and other nonalcoholic cocktails appeared on the table.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" asked Sibi with a smile. I nodded and took a sip of Butterbeer.

"This was so much better than last year," Mike said. "Last year the music was played by a band of trolls, can you believe it? I swear, I was losing my bloody mind the whole night long. I can't believe that both Celestina and The Weird Sisters actually showed up."

"Yeah," agreed Sibi, letting out a soft laugh. "Quite an upgrade, huh?"

I couldn't imagine a band of trolls playing music. That was just impossible to be taken seriously, though I was sad I'd missed it. We stood in silence for a couple of minutes, sipping on our drinks. I felt exhausted, but the refreshing taste of Butterbeer was slowly filling me up with energy.

Celestina Warbeck trooped up onto the stage again. This time, she started singing a slow song, which I was relieved about. All the loud beats had made my head start pounding.

Suddenly, I caught sight of Akker Simmons walking towards our table. Maddie wasn't with him. He looked handsome like always, clad in dress robes of black tartan with a high collar, his blond hair fully brushed up. As he walked towards us, many girls' heads turned—some of them were giggling, others tugging at their friends' robes to make them look at him.

Akker walked up to Sibi, covering her eyes with his hands.

"Guess who?" I heard him whisper teasingly in her ear. A grin spread across Sibi's face.

"Akker!" she exclaimed. She removed his hands from her eyes, looking up at him and smiling.

I heard Mike grunt beside me and I elbowed him under the table. He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart," Akker said softly, planting a small kiss on her lips.

"Dear God, please let the Dementors take me right now," Mike muttered through gritted teeth, getting up from his chair.

I shook my head and pursed my lips to suppress a laugh. Akker turned to me.

"Hey, Polly," he greeted me with a smile.

"Hi, Akker. Where's Maddie?"

"Oh, er . . . probably in the bathroom," he replied. "You look good, by the way."

"Thank you," I said. "So do you."

"Polly, Akker and I are going to dance," Sibi said as she she got up, Akker's arm around her waist. "You don't mind, do you? Oh, where did Mike go, by the way?"

I let out a light laugh. "He probably went to get himself another drink. Don't worry, Sibi, I'll be fine. Go have fun. I think I've danced enough for tonight."

Sibi gave me a hesitant look, but I just smiled at her reassuringly, motioning for her to go ahead, so eventually she left with Akker to dance. Celestina was singing a slow version of the song A cauldron full of hot strong love. I took another gulp of Butterbeer, looking at the couples swaying across the dance floor.

Suddenly, an uproar of laughter snapped me back to reality and I turned my gaze to the table next to mine, where the laughters came from. Rena and Melvin were urging Ralph to chug down a whole bottle of Butterbeer, dissolving into laughter each time he pulled away from the bottle with a lightheaded look.

I smiled to myself. Typical Richards, always trying to find a way to make the most out of every moment. Poor Ralph, though.

"Would you like to dance?"

I barely held myself from not jumping up at the familiar sound of Alex's voice. Placing my now empty glass of Butterbeer on the table, I whirled around to face him, trying to keep myself from grinning.

But as I turned around and my eyes fell on him, my breath suddenly caught in my throat. He was wearing a jet black tux and his chestnut brown hair was slicked back, framing his face.

He looked at me fixedly as if trying to read my facial expression, his hand extended in anticipation. He was looking at me with those glistening eyes of his, those breathtaking grey eyes with flecks of milky blue, that had captured my attention since the day we first met.

I gulped, my pulse pounding in my temples, my skin tingling. He looked so handsome . . . Oh, who was I kidding? He looked gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer," Alex said, a smirk hovering on his lips.

Oh, right, he had asked me to dance.

"I-I don't want to dance," I stammered. Damn, why was I so nervous all of a sudden? I had talked to Alex many times before and had never felt like this.

Polly, why isn't your freaking brain functioning now that it should?

"Why not?" he asked, surprised. "Weren't you dancing just about ten minutes ago?"

"That was different," I said, glad that this time my voice didn't come out as a stutter. "Everybody was dancing."

"Well, so are they now," Alex retorted, gesturing towards the dance floor.

I hated the fact that he was right. Everybody was indeed dancing, and only few people were sitting like me. The tables were all empty and everyone was on their feet, even the teachers, as Celestina continued her song, accompanied by gentle violin trills.

"It's not the same thing," I persevered. "I have no experience with ballroom dancing. I don't—"

"I'll teach you," he cut me off, his voice enthusiastic. "It's not hard at all once you get the gist of it. Besides, you aren't just gonna sit here like a loner, are you? This is an opportunity you won't get till next year. And there's no guarantee that Celestina Warbeck and The Weird Sisters will even come next year. Maybe we'll have to settle for troll music again, who knows? Doubt you'd rather dance to that."

I laughed, once again imagining a band of trolls making music. But Alex was telling the truth, maybe I wouldn't get to experience a night like this twice. Besides, I also wanted to dance with him, I really did.

"All right," I finally said. "Prepare to make a fool out of yourself."

Alex's face brightened, a smile hovering on his lips.

"Make a fool out of myself?" he asked in amusement. "By dancing with you? Never."

I felt a sudden heat rush to my cheeks and thanked God silently that I was wearing powder blush. Alex held out his hand once again and I took it as he escorted me to the dance floor.

My eyes scanned the hall, observing the attendants who continued to swirl gracefully around the dance floor. Spidery arms and legs twisted to the music, shoulders moving smoothly, parallel with the floor.

Alex slid his hand around my waist and I placed mine on his shoulder, our free hands clasped in the air. I tried to mimic the other people's movements, my fingers digging into Alex's shoulder as we swayed with the melody.

I allowed him to take command, focusing on the movements while we slid along the floor in quick steps. Very soon I came to realize this type of dancing wasn't as hard as I'd thought, so I let my shoulders relax.

"See?" Alex said, as if he'd read my mind. "It's not that difficult."

He stepped back to give me a sudden twirl, and God knows how I managed to not lose my balance or trip on my dress. Instead, I stumbled back gently into his arms and Alex dipped me to where my braided hair dragged across the floor. He pulled me upright with a small smile, his gaze never once leaving my face. We were so close that I could feel the warmth between us grow more powerful, along with the beatings of my own heart.

"You're quite good for a beginner," Alex mused. He gave me another twirl.

"Why, you're not so bad yourself," I said, overwhelmed by the scent of his cologne that wafted through the air.

"I didn't say I was a beginner," he said, his mouth curved in a playful smile.

I smiled back. "Good point."

We spent the rest of the waltz dancing in silence. Just enjoying the music, the atmosphere of the party, the dance. Alex pulled me closer to himself, until I could feel the warmth of his breath on my neck, leaving a tingling sensation on my skin. His grey eyes were fixed on me, almost burning me with their intent gaze. I tilted my head in order to avert my eyes away from his steady, unperturbed gaze.

What was going on inside his head as he looked at me with so much intensity without saying a word? Was he able to know how I felt right at that moment? Did he have any vague idea that millions of butterflies were fluttering madly in my stomach and a rush of tangled and inexplicable emotions was running through my entire body? Did he know that my heart was pounding loudly against my chest—could he hear it? Did he know that I couldn't even bring myself to look at him in the eye?

I had never felt this way before. I didn't even think it was even possible to experience such strong feelings that were so hard to repress.

Did Alex feel this way too? Did he also get that warm, tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach? What was he thinking about as he gazed at me silently? Was his heart fluttering in his chest too? Or was he as calm and unperturbed on the inside as he appeared on the outside?

Talk to me, Alex. Show me what you're feeling. Or am I just another girl to you?

With one last tremble of sound, the song came to an end. There was an outbreak of applause when Celestina finished her song on a long, high-pitched note. The crowd dwindled as some students stumbled toward the tables, but the majority of them did not to move from their spots.

I finally looked up to meet Alex's eyes, as if silently telling him I wanted to continue dancing. He smiled down at me softly, still remaining silent, but he didn't move either.

The Weird Sisters took the stage again and announced they'd play a song called Magic Works. The melody wasn't the type we could waltz to, so I let go of Alex's hand and removed my left hand from his shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he positioned his loosely around my waist.

We started slow-dancing, both of us swaying back and forth as we became one with the song.

"Did I tell you that you look ravishing tonight?" Alex said in a whisper, causing me to blush madly.

"I guess you just did," I said.

"Remember the first time I met you, Polly?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, thinking back to the time I bumped into Alex at Flourish and Blott's. "You were staring at me like you had never seen a girl before."

"Well, I hadn't seen you around before," he sad. "And I was surprised that you weren't even trying to start a conversation. I mean, bumping into a strapping lad like myself is a chance many girls would die to get. While you were just interested in my Arithmancy book."

I let out a laugh and rolled my eyes. So we were back to our normal sarcastic conversations. This was something I particularly liked about Alex—he was charming and sweet one minute, easygoing and playful the next.

"Well, I guess I lost the chance to have your autograph, mr. Popular," I said. "Silly me."

"It's okay, Polly. The guiltiness shall pass," he said. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so funny, Alex."

He smirked slightly. "I am."

I rolled my eyes again. Funny how the same person capable of making you so nervous could make you feel so at ease at the same time. Just a few minutes ago, my heart was beating rapidly as Alex and I danced together, whereas now I felt surprisingly relaxed, like I was talking to a friend that I'd known my whole life.

Friend. I mentally laughed at that word. Just friends? Was that seriously what Alex and I were? Maybe months ago, when I had just arrived at Hogwarts, the answer would be yes. Maybe even a few weeks ago, the answer would be yes.

But now, as we stood less than a foot apart, my arms around his neck and his wrapped around my waist as we moved in sync with the flow of music, I knew the answer wasn't yes. I knew that from now on, I'd never be able to see Alex as 'just a friend' anymore. And maybe, deep down I knew I hadn't viewed Alex in a purely platonic way in a while now, though I hadn't admitted it.

"You know, Polly," he said, snapping me back to reality. His tone was serious and somewhat vacant. "I myself am a firm believer that the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I think that once you do find that meaning, you begin to see everything from a new perspective. You aren't the same person you were before, when your life was hollow and meaningless."

I didn't respond right away. Instead I kept silent for a moment, my brain calculating his wise words. What was he trying to say? Alex did that quite often sometimes: said something enigmatic and left me wondering for hours about the meaning of it.

"So, have you found the meaning of your life then?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied slowly, giving me a meek smile. "You."

I froze, utterly taken aback by his sudden response. Then I let out an unintentionally loud chuckle. Me? He had to be joking. I had never done anything to become such an important person in Alex's life.

"You're not serious," I said. "I'm still working on giving meaning to my own life."

"And that's exactly why," he answered back. A slow smile upturned one corner of his mouth, but I just looked at him with more confusion than ever.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You see, Polly," he began to explain. "The thing is that people often force things into happening, but that's just not the way it works. The best things in life happen unexpectedly."

"So do the worst," I said. "I've come to realize that life is just like an iceberg. Always worse than it seems."

"Yes," he replied, absorbed in thought. "But we cannot guess the greatness of an iceberg, right? In order to see it, we have to risk going down."

He paused for a moment and a glitter lit his eyes.

"When I first met you, I had no idea you would mean so much to me, Polly. You became an important person in my life without you even knowing it. I expected a lot of things to happen this year, but never to find a girl who would turn my whole world around. That was the last thing I ever expected."

I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to think. Alex was admitting that I mattered to him, a lot more than I thought; he was admitting that he had feelings for me, so bluntly, so openly, that I was completely caught off guard.

My heart started racing again and I lowered my gaze as I felt the heat creep up my face. The music continued to play softly in the background and our steps moved slowly in time to the beat of it.

Suddenly, I felt Alex unwrap one of his arms from my waist. Just as I was about to lift my gaze, I felt his fingers slide under my chin, tilting my head up so that I could look at him.

"I love you," he whispered.

My breath caught in my throat, my heart beating like it was going to explode in my chest. My feet stopped moving as Alex leaned closer, our faces now only few inches from each-other.

And then his lips met mine. For a moment, I stood there, immobilized, unable to breathe. It felt like the music stopped playing and the only sound I could hear were the excited beats of my hammering heart. The warmth of his lips brushing against mine sent a current running through my body and I closed my eyes.

For a brief moment, I even lost track of time and place. Nothing and nobody else mattered at that moment. Only the two of us. Only him and I.

Alex slowly pulled back and I opened my eyes. I felt like I had just woken up from a magical dream. It took me a moment to realize we were on the dance floor and the music continued to play in the background.

I looked at him straight in the eye, his mouth curved in a warm, tender smile. Now he seemed even more striking, his grayish-blue eyes were shining more brightly. Alex slowly lifted his hand and tucked a lock of my hair gently behind my ear.

"Happy Christmas, Polly," he murmured sweetly.

I smiled. So widely that I feared my face would split in two. I probably looked like a happy child. I felt like a happy child.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," I whispered.

◈

POLEX IS FINALLY CANON SKFJJSKDJHE

lmao i'm legit fangirling over my own characters but they're my heart & soul okayy? :')