October 31st, 1976
Who: Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick and a little bit of Frank Hood Longbottom.
When & Where: Halloween Ball, Great Hall.
What: Ben shows up for his date with Em, and they have a good time. Then Frank shows up and plays the role of Ben's conscience, before everything turns good again.
Rating: All PG, I think.



Emmeline entered the Great Hall nervously, biting her tongue as she made her way along the wall, away from the dance floor. Her dress was white and lacey; it was an empire cut, authentic from the early 1800s. She wasn't even sure of the relative it had once belonged to, but it had been in the family for generations. Her hair was loose and in long, soft curls around her head, but she couldn't stop touching it, in fear that it looked bad. Her light blue eyes scanned the Hall for 'Anonymous', hoping that maybe she'd be able to prepare herself for his introduction before he surprised her. Everyone was in costume, though, and it was pointless to search.

Clad in an all-black suit with a black hat and mask covering most of his face, Ben moved swiftly between groups of chattering students, his long sword safely in his belt, feeling content at the fact that nobody knew who he is. Well, nobody except Frank, but he was almost sure his friend would be too busy with Alice to notice him. It was such an easy task for him to spot the desired girl, her flowing, white dress making her look like an angel. The minute his eyes landed on her, the familiar 'why are you doing this?' question popped in his head, but he calmed himself by insisting that it was out of curiosity only, and that it wouldn't be that bad when nobody knows it's him.
Taking in a deep breath, he made his way over to her in firm, confident strides, and when he finally reached her, he gave her a graceful bow, "You look wonderful, miss Vance."

She noticed him walking towards her before he arrived, but didn't realize that this was him until he bowed. What was his costume? A masked man with a sword-some sort of bandit? No&hat was much too different for that. "Why-th-thank you," she stuttered slightly, feeling overwhelmed by this actually happening. Emmeline didn't know how to react, or what to say-"You look very nice as well, Mister&?" Maybe she'd get a name out of him.

"Wouldn't you agree that it would be much more interesting if we didn't break the mystery?" He asked with a small smile, slightly nervous about her recognising him. Fortunately the hall was quite noisy, so she might not be able to detect his voice. But still, Ben hoped she'd play along for an hour or so, he didn't want to have to leave.

Emmeline smiled, and nodded, excitement surging inside of her. Nothing like this had ever happened to her, and she was so desperate for a story to tell. She straightened her shoulders and played with her fingernails. Her smile reached her ears, and she knew she'd feel ridiculous about the way she was acting tomorrow morning-but right now she didn't give a damn. "What made you pick me?" she asked, tossing her hair slightly, over her shoulder. "I'm not very popular."

"You underestimate yourself." Ben replied with a tilt of his head, her smile boosting his confident a great deal. She was happy about spending the night with him- even though she didn't know it's him, and that made the bad feeling he had in his stomach disappear without a trace.

She blushed and darted her eyes away for a moment, before looking back up at her masked date with another beaming smile. Emmeline was itching to know who it was underneath the black mask, but she was enjoying the mystery as much as he seemed to be. Feeling slightly jittery, Emmeline grabbed onto his hand, pulling him towards the dance floor, "Well, you're mine for the night-so let's dance, yeah?"

Ben was absolutely thrilled when she took hold of his hand, and he bowed his head with a grin while allowing her to lead the way. "Hmm, pushy. I like that." He mused out right before they stopped, and placed one hand on her waist and held hers with the other when they stopped. His excitement was still controlling the best of him, and he daringly tightened his grasp around her waist and pulled her closer to him in a graceful move, hoping it wouldn't result in a slap across his cheek.

Her blush deepened a tenfold, but she didn't pull away. No, Emmeline was going to enjoy every minute of this ball, knowing that it might be a long time before she had a date so interested in her. Unless, of course, Mr. Mystery decided to be brave and take off his mask and correctly ask her on a date. She wouldn't mind if he didn't, Emmeline was too entranced with their current situation to think about the future. "What House are you in?" she asked over the music. Maybe he'd give her some information, play a game.

"Don't ruin the magic." Ben simply replied, his heart pounds matching the pace of their sways, and because she seemed to like him being close, he allowed himself to lean even closer, his head tilted so that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. "You know you look beautiful tonight?" He whispered in her ear, finally realising that he had enough bravery to be a true Gryffindor.

Emmeline's eyes fluttered closed and she let out a soft breath at his voice. How amazingly romantic, how incredible and just unbelievable was this boy? He was making her feel and do things she had never felt before, and she didn't even know his name&Emmeline dared to look into his eyes again, and was only slightly startled at how close their faces, their bodies were now, and she completely forgot what she was trying to say as she stared into his eyes, lost for words and thoughts.

The feeling of her body against his was overwhelming, and Ben drew in a deep breath, inhaling every bit of her flowery scent and wishing he could keep it in for ever. But holding his breath and dying in that moment wasn't an option, especially when her faces were so close, and her lips looked more than inviting. He was feeling dizzy and lightheaded when he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against her, and the feeling increased even more when he got a taste of her perfection.

Frank, who had been having a lovely time with Alice, just only by chance saw two people kissing a few yards off from them. At first, he took no notice; everyone would be kissing each other sooner or later this night. Then, after doing a double take, Frank stopped moving and stared at the two people. That was Ben. In his costume. Kissing Emmeline, who was supposed to be going to the ball with that random-stalker person. It didn't take Frank very long to put two and two together.
"I&er, Alice, I'll be right back," he apologized to her, although he didn't feel that bad for not having to dance for a few minutes. Frank stomped up to Ben and Emmeline as a lot of thoughts ran through his head. Was this why Ben wouldn't tell him who he was going with to the ball? What was so wrong with that? Frank was his best friend! And Frank was wearing this stupid costume he was tricked into wearing. No, this was a little uncalled for.
Frank poked (more like stabbed with his index finger) Emmeline's shoulder, breaking them apart. "Would you mind if I talked to him for a second?" Frank pointed his thumb at Ben with a look on his face.

She was in heaven, she was floating high and all she could hear was her heart beating and then---"Ow!" Emmeline involuntarily snapped away from her date's lips, and snapped her head towards Frank (who looked a bit ridiculous in his outfit. "What are you doing?" she hissed, and then looked between the two boys as Frank announced he needed to speak to her date. "Wha-you! I can't believe! UGH!" She exclaimed, storming away from the two, and towards some chairs. Frank was going to PAY, but she wasn't going to make a scene in front of everyone.

Despite the mask covering most of his face, Ben was becoming visibly pale. The drastic change in his feelings felt like being drenched in icy cold water after a hot dream, and the sight of his friend in tights sent shocks of panic through his body. He was grateful that Emmeline walked away before Frank could say anything about his identity, but not enough to feel relieved. He was half expecting Frank to be somewhere snogging Alice, but no, Robin Hood decided to show up and ruin what was probably the best kiss Zorro has ever had.
"Please don't tell." Ben pleaded as soon as he found his voice, looking nervously at Frank.

Brushing off Emmeline's anger, Frank grabbed Ben by the arm and dragged him to the opposite side of the room. "I'm not going to tell her," he said, letting out a huff of air. "But why didn't you tell me?" he continued, throwing Ben a bewildered look. "You'd think, after cornering me into this, this...thing (at this point, Frank gestured at his own costume), the least you could do was tell me you're Emmeline's crazy stalker-person!" He said this all quietly, or at least tried to.

"I'm not a crazy stalker person!" Ben protested in a harsh whisper, feeling better now that Frank wasn't going to tell. "And I've already told you, Robin Hood is a greatly appreciated hero in the muggle world, it's not-" He waved a hand in front of his face, trying hard to hide his amusement, "uncool."

Frank let out a snort, knowing fully well that one of Ben's highlights of the night was his costume. "That's not the point," he said, trying hard not to start jumping up and down with aggravation. "You could've told me, or something!" Frank would never admit it, but he was a bit hurt.

All those feelings of guilt that Ben had worked hard to suppress were resurfacing at the sight of Frank in front of him, and he couldn't find the situation amusing anymore. "You're right," he shrugged, looking as guilty as he was feeling, "I could've said something earlier. Sorry."

He stood there for a moment with his squinted and arms crossing his chest. Well, there wasn't really anything to be mad about anymore, Frank concluded. Feeling much better, he nodded and said with a sly grin, "So you set Emm that letter, then?" At this point Frank was grinning. "Some mystery ma-" Frank's grin disappeared as his mind began to churn things over for a minute. His stream of conscious went from writing letters, to Ben writing letters, to Ben writing letters to his muggle girlfriend back home. Girlfriend. "You have a girlfriend!" Frank hissed midway through his other sentence, his jaw dropping slightly.

Ben flinched at Frank's last statement, as if he didn't know he had a girlfriend whatsoever. His faced paled once again, and he had to lean his back against the wall behind him. "I'm an awful, horrible person." He muttered desperately, feeling more ashamed of himself now that his best-friend was sending him those accusing glances. "I don't know why- I think I like her- I can't break up with Lindsay in a letter, it's too cruel- and-" No, nothing he could say could justify the kiss he shared with Emmeline only seconds ago, and suddenly leaving the ball for his own dormitory seemed like the right thing to do, for Lindsay's sake.

Cringing slightly, Frank looked upon his friend with sympathy. Ben might've screwed up, with his own family, and in a public gathering, but Frank couldn't really get mad now. Or have any other emotion really, except scheming at this point. "Well, we just...need a plan," Frank said slowly, trying not to wonder whether he should be aggravated with Ben for cheating on his girlfriend with Emmeline. "Calm down."

"A plan? What kind of a plan?" For a minute there, Ben was intrigued. Could it be possible that Frank would not be against him and Emmeline dating? Even though he had a muggle blond waiting for him in Kent? He had to shake his head violently to get of that thought; it was tempting, of course, but it wouldn't be fair to either one of the girls.

"A plan to get you through this night so Emmeline doesn't murder you," Frank said in a matter-of-the-fact tone. He stuck his chin out sightly and finished, "Then we can deal with this whole 'you're-cheating-with-my-cousin' thing." He quickly glanced to the side, making sure that Emmeline wasn't right near them before redirecting his attention back on Ben.

"It sounds so bad when you put it that way." Ben groaned, slamming his forehead with his hand a few times, as if he was trying to knock some sense back into his head. "Maybe I should go back to the common room, and you could tell her I turned out to be some slimy Slytherin or something."

"And risk getting my head blown off because I sent away her dream date? Er....no," Frank answered with a small grin. He patted Ben's shoulder lightly, trying to at least seem supportive. Although Frank had to admit, he had never seen Ben screw up this badly in well....ever. Not that that was a good thing, just interesting.

"What's your plan then?" The question came at once, accompanied by a raise of Ben's eyebrows. Surely Frank didn't expect him to go back and play that dream date again, not after he stirred every image of Lindsay Ben had in his head.

"Uhh....go on your merry way and get really drunk so you can't remember anything?" Frank tried, giving Ben two thumbs up, waving them around with a stupid grin. He shrugged, turning his palms up to the ceiling and scrunching his nose.

Ben made a funny sound at that point, starting to think that Frank might have followed his own advice before showing up at his side. He was oddly reminding him of a little drunken hobbit he had read about in one of his mother's books, and the costume Frank had on wasn't helping. So, the only logical thing for Ben to do was flick his fingers at Frank's nose in a 'stop-being-crazy' kind of way.

After what seemed like an eternity, Emmeline finally had it with Frank's 'big brother-like' instincts. She stood up and stormed back over to the two boys and yanked on her date's arm, glaring at Frank. "That's enough out of you!" she snapped. "I'm quite capable of choosing who I dance and---and do anything else with!" Frowning greatly, annoyed that her first kiss (yes, yes it was her first kiss, a highly romantic one at that!) had been interrupted by a boy in green tights. Emmeline pulled on her date's hand again and managed to get as far away from Frank as possible.
They were in a quieter part of the ball, and now that her anger had subsided slightly, Emmeline felt tears prick at her eyes. She kept her gaze away from her date, but she couldn't help her lip from trembling. Everything had been going splendidly, and then Frank had to go and break it all into pieces. Now she wondered if other people had seen them kissing; they must know she wasn't dating anyone, and to be kissing a boy right there in public? Oh, she must look like some scarlet woman!

Ben was thrown completely off guard when Emmeline stormed over and led him away from Frank; he was set on leaving the ball before she came to make it easier. But now that she did, he had to keep his eyes fixed away from her, in case he was tempted to stay. "Longbottom didn't do anything, we just talked." He explained in a quiet voice, and glanced at her in the corner of his eye.
What he saw wasn't pleasant, and running away was completely pushed out of his mind. Instead, he turned to face her with a concerned frown, and held up his hand to brush his thumb lightly against her trembling lips, but dropped it down in a second. "Do you want to go for a walk, away from everybody?" He offered, mentally insisting that nothing was wrong in comforting a friend. He wasn't cheating anymore.

"Okay," she agreed quickly, hurrying towards the door that led outside to the rose garden. Emmeline was realizing that she wasn't really mad at Frank, just annoyed at her self for getting so wrapped up so quickly-how easily had she been won over? He must think she was easy, or something horrible like that. The night was chilly and Emmeline rubbed her arms, hoping to calm herself down before the night was ruined completely. "I'm sorry about Frank, he just&cares. A lot. I dunno why," she said with a shrug, wondering how she was going to deal with her cousin later. "I&don't think I know what I'm doing, I've never dated or anything, I don't know if I was doing anything wrong-maybe that's why he came over, I don't know," she exclaimed, some tears falling from her eyes.

"No no, you weren't doing anything wrong. Frank really cares about you, and he was really polite and friendly- you're lucky to have someone who takes care of you like that." Ben said quickly, feeling his heart pounding faster at the sight of the crying girl. Really, as much as he liked her, he didn't think he knew how to act around a girl when she cries. So he stood facing her, lamely playing with his fingers and shuddering every time a new tear came down her cheek.
"I know this-" And at this he waved his arm around to point at the costumes, the castle, and everything in general, "isn't ordinary, but it's difficult for me to do it the proper way, for reasons you may not understand. I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I'm sorry if I did."

She couldn't understand why Frank would care so much about her, seeing as she hadn't been very nice to him lately&but it warmed her heart a bit, and Emmeline managed to smile. "He's such a fool sometimes. Did you see his costume? I wonder where he thought that up?" She looked him over, trying to put together his words in her head, "So, there's a reason other than being incredibly romantic behind the secrecy?" She wiped at her eyes, trying to put any bad thoughts away.

"I thought his costume was nice." Ben said with a shrug, feeling grateful that Frank already has a girlfriend. He didn't want to be the reason his friend remained single all throughout his Hogwarts years, he really didn't. "Yes, there is a reason. I swear I'm not trying to make a joke out of you, or avoid the responsibility that comes with all this- I just need more time." At least he was being honest.

Emmeline's heart filled with dread, but her face remained neutral. She'd heard all about boys 'needing time' and having to 'think things through' and she feared she'd fallen for the trap. Everything felt so real, though, his intentions seemed so pure and honest...she'd never been one to distrust her instinct, and with the way he had made her heart pound only minutes before...Emmeline knew she couldn't write him off as just a randy boy. "Okay," she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Just don't leave me hanging for long, yeah?"

Even though he was hoping she'd say this, he still didn't believe it. Was she really going to give him the time he needed without asking questions? It sounded too good to be true. "Re- really? You really mean that?" But he didn't wait for her to answer, in case she changed her mind and said no. Instead, he reached out to hold her hand and gave her his best grateful smile, determined to break up with his muggle girlfriend before telling Emmeline who he was. "I won't let you down."

"I'll hold you to it," she said with a grin, that light-headed feeling swarming back. Emmeline refused to let this night go badly, and she gave his hand a squeeze, gesturing back towards the ball. "Let's get back to the dance floor. We can still dance and have a nice time, right? Nothing wrong with that?" Her blue eyes sparkled, maybe with a little mischief, but mostly because she was just happy to have someone that cared.

"Yeah, nothing wrong with that." He agreed, grinning back at her from behind his black mask. "We'll just dance." The last part was mainly for himself, trying to ease the guilt that was burning inside him. He tightened his grip around her hand and began leading her back inside, knowing that he was going to enjoy the rest of the night with her.