My Brother's Keeper

by ChatterChick

Summary: Sophie Potter is the younger sister of the infamous Harry Potter. Her life at Hogwarts should be set, but things take an unexpected turn when she is sorted into Slytherin. Being green is never easy, especially when those cunning folk will befriend you just as fast as they would cut your throat.

Chapter 19: Nephele's Date

"Oi, Sophie!"

She felt confused as Ron approached her in the corridors. They were friendly towards each other most of the time, but they rarely interacted without Harry's presence. She signalled for Astoria and Kitty to go ahead without her, curious what Ron wanted.

"I was wondering, well, you're a girl and I needed a favour."

She narrowed her eyes, wondering where this was going. Did he need advice? Or did he expect her to find him a date? She had had to interfere when Harry failed to find a date for the Yule Ball. She had felt pleased with herself when she managed to pair him off with Mallory McKinnon, a fifth year Gryffindor. But Harry was her brother, and she sort of owed him for being a brat earlier in the year. Plus he would look incredibly stupid being one of the champions and not having a date.

Ron, however, was going to have to be super nice to her.

"I've managed to piss off all the other girls I know," Ron told her, "and you wouldn't be able to go anyway. So what do you say?"

"Wait a minute - is this your, really awful, way to ask me to be your date for the Yule Ball?" Sophie asked. That was the only thing she could come up with in that muddled statement.

"I've already asked Harry, he doesn't mind."

Yes, she drily thought, because Harry was her keeper and could decide who was an acceptable date for her. Part of her wished one of the older Slytherins asked her first just so she could make a point. Unfortunately none of them were interested in a second year, so Ron did have a point. She wouldn't be able to go if she didn't go with him.

"Fine," she said after a while, making it seem like she had to stop and think about it. In that moment she was rather excited. The students below fourth year were annoyed that their school was holding a ball and they weren't even invited. It wasn't like it was something they could look forward to in upper years either since Hogwarts was only doing it for the Triwizard Tournament. "I'll have to see if I can get dress robes this late, but I might be able to go."

Ron thanked her and walked away, looking relieved that he had a date secured. Even if it was just his best mate's kid sister.

"What did Weasley want?" Kitty asked later when Sophie rejoined them in the second year girls' dormitory.

"Ron's dateless and wants me to go to the Yule Ball with him so he doesn't look like a complete loser." She was starting to regret her decision a little, realizing how awkward it would be to go as Ron's date with all the fourth year Gryffindors. She was also a little embarrassed to be going with Ron Weasley of all people. He wasn't popular among the Slytherins, even less so than Harry. She knew she'd be teased and defending her decision constantly. "I'm wishing I didn't agree to it now, it's not like I'm going to know anyone else."

"I'm going," Nephele said in a tiny voice.

"What?!" Astoria and Sophie immediately rounded on their friend.

"With who?" Kitty demanded.

Nephele looked as if she swallowed something unpleasant, "It's going to get out eventually, so I'd rather you hear it from me."

There was complete silence as they waited for Nephele to explain, it was almost as if they were scared to breathe. Sophie knew that if any of them interrupted Nephele, she would likely clam up. She was not one to share her secrets.

"It's not quite an arrangement," she explained, "the Ministry made those illegal back in the seventies, but my mother's hoping that I marry a pure-blood from a respectable family and she's trying to set me up with - well, there's not exactly a lot of options for me, with my father being a - you know."

Nephele's ramblings were oddly uncharacteristic of her, and Sophie wondered just who her mother had set her up with. She shared a nervous exchange with Astoria. Kitty tilted her head in confusion like she wasn't sure what the big deal was. Sophie was struck with the thought that to her friends, the idea of their parents setting them up with a partner was probably normal. She couldn't imagine her dad or Sirius picking out a husband for her. That would be a complete disaster.

"Nephele?" Astoria asked.

"My mother's hoping to marry me off to Gregory Goyle. His family's quite pleased about it."

Nephele was not prettiest witch of their year, but she was pretty in her own way. She was tall with a slender frame and platinum blonde hair. Her features could be considered delicate, if it wasn't for her striking grey eyes that hinted at that there was nothing delicate about her. The pure-bloods would consider her the prefect result of generations of selective breeding. The last of the Rosier line. Sophie could understand why the Goyles would be eager to have her.

Poor Nephele though. Sophie knew her friend could do loads better than Goyle.

"Considering Greg has the intelligence of a flobber worm, they're probably hoping between the two of us our children will be average." Nephele made a face in disgust. "The Goyles can't afford to be any stupider, or they'll just be apes with wands."

"The Goyles are nice," Astoria said, filling the silence. "Greg seems to be the quiet type. Daphne says he's kind too, but most people only associate him with Draco."

There wasn't a lot of good things one could say about Gregory Goyle. He tended to follow Draco Malfoy around and act like a personal bodyguard. He was loyal, Sophie supposed. That was a nice thing she could say.

Nephele just shrugged her shoulders, although she still looked forlorn at having to be Goyle's date. "I guess. I'm just doing this to make my mother happy. Once I'm seventeen I'll inherit my father's estate and my mother won't be able to tell me what to do any more."

xXxXx

Ron's last minute invitation to the Yule Ball didn't leave Sophie much time to find dress robes. Most of the older girls had been planning this since October and had their dresses ordered, altered and delivered long before Sophie even knew she would be going. Luckily she was about the same size as Kitty, who owl'd home for her mother to send her dress robes. Sophie picked a nice sky blue set and hoped Ron was able to match them or at least not clash too horribly. He didn't even ask what colour her robes would be and that worried her.

It turns out that clashing was the least of Sophie's problems.

She turned her nose up at the hideous maroon robes Ron was wearing. It looked like the sort of thing some fussy old witch like Augusta Longbottom would have considered fashionable, back in the forties. It looked like it had seen better days. The neck and sleeves were starting to fray and there was a patch on one of the pockets.

Harry gave a quick shake of his head, probably catching the look of horror in her eyes, so Sophie decided against saying anything. Ron already looked like he was in a foul mood. Sophie pursued her lips. Even if he couldn't avoid new robes, he was a fourth year wizard for Merlin's sake. He could have altered them. Even she had been able to transfigure her black ballet flats into a pair of sparkly silver kitten heels for the evening.

"Hi Ron," she said.

"Oh hello," Ron said. He gave her a brief nod, but didn't say anything. "Have either of you seen Hermione yet?"

Sophie shook her head, feeling her curls bounce as she did so. She scanned the crowd forming in the entrance way to the Great Hall. She spotted Nephele, who had left the common room with her, but had joined the group of fourth year Slytherins in the entrance to the Great Hall. Nephele was wearing moss green dress robes with silver accents, looking like a true Slytherin witch. Pansy was wearing these frilly, pale pink robes and Daphne had these pretty sapphire blue lace robes that made her blue eyes stand out. Of course, all their dates were dressed in smart dress robes that even colour coordinated with their date. Most of the girls were given corsages for their wrists, but Sophie didn't hold her breath that Ron had conjured her one.

They were joined by Harry's date, Mallory. Sophie was pleased to note that her brother had more manners than his friend and told Mallory she looked pretty. Unfortunately, the pair had to go with the other champions and their dates, leaving Sophie stuck with Ron. She looked around, wondering if Hermione would be joining them. Hermione would make for much better company than Ron. When Sophie finally spotted her, she gasped.

"Oh my gosh, is that Hermione?"

"No," Ron said in disbelief, "that's not - "

It was Hermione. She was wearing periwinkle blue dress robes and she had somehow managed to tame her impossibly bushy hair into an elegant knot. More surprisingly, she was on the arm of the Drumstang champion.

Ron spent the entire dinner complaining that Hermione had gone to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. They had been joined by the rest of the Gryffindor fourth years and their dates, Seamus and Lavender, Dean and Parvati, and Neville and Ginny. Sophie hadn't interacted with Lavender and Parvati much before, but found that she liked the older girls' company. They talked about fashion and dress robes and who asked who to the Yule Ball. It was much more enjoyable than the heated discussion Seamus, Dean and Ginny were having about Quidditch. Or the whinging Ron was doing to poor Neville.

"He's the enemy!" Ron sputtered, "he's competing against Harry and she's gone and - "

After dinner, the champions and their dates opened the dance and soon the floor was crowded. Everyone else eagerly left the table to go dance with their partners. Every except Ron, who seemed determine to sulk the entire evening. Not that Sophie was helping the situation by any means. Her date's foul mood was getting to her and she was just as miserable.

"Doesn't Hermione look pretty?" Sophie asked. She couldn't help but rub it in a little. When her comment didn't even warrant a grunt, she decided to try something else. Not even trying to be subtle, she said, "Well, I'm going to look for Nephele. I think I saw her over with Draco."

With that, she got up and left, giving her brother's best mate one last dirty look. She joined Nephele who was standing with the cluster of fourth year Slytherins. Nephele had a rather bored looking expression on her face while the rest of them talked amongst themselves.

"Thank Merlin," Nephele mumbled loud enough for only Sophie to hear.

Draco and Pansy appeared to be the centre of attention within the group, although Daphne and Theo would whisper into each others' ears and snicker whenever Pansy said something particularly ridiculous. Their group was completed with fellow couple, Blaise Zabini and Portia Dolohov. Vincent Crabbe had even managed to find a date, a bewildered third year girl named Annie Runcorn. Nephele was standing next to her date, although she wasn't really paying attention to him. Gregory Goyle kept looking at her though, clearly pleased at his good luck.

"Potter," Draco greeted. "Have you decided to leave Weasley for better company?"

"Everyone's got to start somewhere, even if it is the bottom," cried Pansy, as if she made some great joke.

Sophie's face reddened as the rest of the group laughed. Daphne shrugged apologetically, but Sophie knew that the Weasleys were considered wizarding trash amongst most of the population. They picked on Ron for a few more moments, starting with his hand-me-down maroon dress robes and then the fact that he was left sitting by himself at the table. Then Blaise and Portia excused themselves to dance. Not to be outdone, Pansy immediately started badgering Draco for one as well.

Daphne held Theo back for a moment to speak with Sophie and Nephele.

"Sophie, did Weasley dance with you at all?" Daphne asked with a sniff of disapproval.

Sophie flushed as she shook her head. As much as she tried to defend her brother and his friends, sometimes they really didn't help themselves. Still, she knew not to expect much when she accepted Ron's invitation to the ball. At least she was able to come.

Daphne looked scandalized at Sophie's response. She immediately turned to her boyfriend. "Theo, you must take Sophie dancing! She can't come to a Yule Ball and not have a dance. Honestly, leave it to a Weasley – "

"That's really not necessary," Sophie protested.

Daphne was impossible to argue with and Theo graciously offered his hand. "Daphne's right, and it would be my pleasure."

Sophie recognized this as a pity dance, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. It was still a little awkward dancing with Daphne's boyfriend, a wizard she barely knew. Theo was the quiet type, he didn't say much as he skilfully twirled her around the dance floor. Unlike some of the other couples, who were clumsy and trying not to stomp on each other's feet, Theo was quite graceful and Sophie found herself wishing she could have come with him as a date instead.

Theodore tilted his head off to the side. "Your date's watching. He doesn't look happy."

"Really? Good," Sophie said, giving her best smile and a little wave to Ron. Dancing with Theo was much more enjoyable when she thought of it as revenge on Ron for being a prat. Let him gripe that she was dancing with the enemy too. They even stayed for a second song.

Theo returned her to the sidelines where Daphne and Nephele were deep in conversation.

"Aren't you going to dance?" Sophie asked. "You don't have to stay here for my sake."

"Well, we tried earlier, but Greg has all the grace of a hippopotamus in a leg-lock jinx." Nephele rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're much better company."

Sophie wished their year would have been old enough to attend the Yule Ball. It would have been much more pleasant had Astoria and Kitty come. While Sophie usually enjoyed Nephele's company, she wasn't exactly the dancing or partying type.

"Where is Goyle anyway?"

Nephele grunted.

"He's really rubbing off on you," Sophie giggled. She hastily stopped at the glare Nephele gave her. Greg appeared, carefully carrying three cups of punch.

"Thanks," Sophie said, accepting the cup he handed her. They chatted at the sidelines for a while. Eventually the Weird Sisters broke out into a lively tune and the couples formed groups rather than pairs on the dance floor. Sophie itched to go out there and join them.

"I wonder what Ron would consider worse? His best friend dancing with Viktor Krum or his date dancing with Draco Malfoy?" Sophie asked, trying to keep a straight face.

She could still see Ron sitting at the table, this time Harry had joined him. Neither of the pair looked happy to be there.

"I think Slytherin's starting to rub off on you, Sophie Potter," Nephele laughed. She threw her cup in the rubbish bin and linked her arm through Sophie's. "Let's go find out!"