Anon gets asked to the ball. [One shot write prompt]

Tulip was cheerful one morning. The headmaster of Hogwarts, the old coot Dumbledore himself had just made an interesting announcement, which assured the coming next weeks would be interesting. And everyone was chattering about it, like it was the second coming of Merlin.

The girl was eating breakfast in the Ravenclaw table, she had secluded herself away from the rest of the people and she was glad for it. She had the perfect vantage point to observe reactions around the great hall. Four girls in particular had the most interesting reactions to the announcement. Two slytherins, who glanced at each other and seemed to both realize what the other was going to do with the information; A hufflepuff, who immediately turned to her friends and started planning; and finally a gryffindor girl, who somehow managed to drop not only her own glass but every glass within 5 meter radius around her on the floor.
Finally she glanced at the reason for all that. The most popular guy in Hogwarts, who seemed to be more interested in finishing his plate than chattering or looking around for potential conquests. Somehow his naivete made the girl even more excited for the upcoming weeks, the potential for chaos was palpable.
The girl startled giggling to herself maniacally, but was interrupted by the first incident. The first victims of the news, the slytherin girls had a falling out. The shorter violet eyed one started shouting demands at the other, who smiled and ignored the angry girl.
This is going to be good...


Later that day, Tulip Karasu decided she'd take a more hands on approach, after all. Chaos of this magnitude needed to have her handiwork on it, she decided to chart the situation a bit. And picked the best victim out, the timid gryffindor girl.
"Clumsy!" She shouted cheerfully at the gryffindor.
The gryffindor girl looked a bit annoyed at the nickname, but was used to it.
"Hello, Tulip... A-are you here to tell me to leave too?" The girl asked saddened.
"Noo... Why would I do that?" Tulip said cheerfully.
"O-oh, uh... Merula came and told me that she'd make it look like an accident, if I decided to meddle with her affairs... And that probably wouldn't be too difficult." The gryffindor girl said sadly.
"Oh, Olivia, you shoulnd't let Merula push you around that much." Tulip smiled at the girl trying to sound as reassuring as possible.
"But she scares me, Tulip... I don't want any trouble... Any more trouble..." The timid gryffindor said.
"Surely this isn't as bad as the time she got mad at me, and I'm fine!" Tulip smiled. "Besides, Anon would protect you, I'm sure."
The gryffindor girl turned completely red.
"H-how do you know I was hoping to... Go to dance with him?"
"Isn't it obvious, the guy likes you!" Tulip said smiling.
"I-is that so?" The gryffindor got hopeful.
"How could he not, you're cute as a button!"
"What about you, tulip?" the gryffindor asked concerned.
"Oh, I am not interested in him, he's boring and dances aren't my thing. But I will root for you, don't let Merula steal him like that!"
"You're right!" The gryffindor said full of determination. "Thanks Tulip!"
The girl ran off and slipped on a carpet and rolled out of sight.
The ravenclaw girl giggled as she went on to look for more opportunities to stoke the flames.


One of the girls didn't even need a push, she was already determined from the start. Also it was unwise for Tulip to cross her any more than she has to. Instead she decided to observe her as she was going for a more direct approach.
"ANON!" Merula shouted loudly, trying to get the boy's attention in the courtyard. People immediately started flocking around the girl and her target, not to miss a single detail.
Tulip on the other hand had climbed up to a tree well in advance, she knew Merula and she knew where she would strike. She had the best view in the school.
"What do you want, Merula?" Tired Anon asked.
"What do I want, no no no, what do YOU want?" Merula said with her usual tone.
"I am not following you, Merula" The boy admitted.
"HA! You are as transparent as you are stupid, Anon!" Merula taunted the boy. "I challenge you to a duel, and the loser has to do what the winner demands."
"Alright..." Anon said and took out his wand.
"Ha, this will be easy... I will make you wish you never crossed me!" Merula declared, pulling out her wand and immediately assuming the most offense heavy stance she knew.
Tulip wished she had popcorn, the duel between the two rivals was going to be epic...
"DEPULSO!" Merula shouted and knocked Anon down, but the boy had been practicing some muggle techniques. He immediately shifted his bodyweight in a manner that let him roll back on his feet.
"Tarantallegra!" The boy shouted when he had a steady enough footing, the spell however missed. The girl predicted the boy's move, she had dropped herself on the ground to avoid getting hit.
"Levicorpus!" The girl shouted from the grass and the boy was hoisted by his ankles.
"Expelliarmus!" The boy shouted and disarmed the girl without losing a beat, he was released from the spell and landed on his arms. He then rolled forward and landed back on his feet.
The girl had managed to get her wand back, and got up quickly and assumed another offense.
"Incendio!" The girl shouted.
"Aquamenti!" The boy retorted and their spells collided mid-air causing an explosion of steam that obscured the courtyard.
Both rivals realized they had to wrap this up quickly, teachers were already on their way to the scene.
The girl pointed her wand at the boy triumphantly and was going to cast expelliarmus, but the boy wasn't where she expected him to be, he had started running towards the girl under the cover of the mist.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted and hit Merula from her blind spot, and without stopping he jumped and grabbed her wand from the air.
Tulip started clapping along with the other students, she knew Anon was going to win. Merula has to think of another way to demand the boy to chose her. She started laughing until she realized that Merula was acting strangely.
"Clever girl!" Tulip said out loud.
Merula tried her best to look humiliated and defeated, but she glanced at the boy and rocked her shoulders. She had put extra effort into her makeup and hair for this, and although she was slightly covered in grass, she hoped Anon would recognize it regardless.
"Bah! I was going to order you to do something humiliating." The girl said uncharacteristically to her and looked at the boy as seductively as she could muster.
"Well, you won... What do you want from me?" The slytherin girl said blushing, but trying to cover it by stoping her foot frustrated.
"Eh, I don't want anything from you, Merula" The boy said quickly.
When Tulip heard it she burst into laughter and nearly fell from the tree. Merula had been clever throwing the duel like that, but Anon simply wasn't interested in going to the ball with her.
Merula looked at the boy surprised and went into an incredible fit of rage.
"But... But! WE HAD A DEAL!" She shouted in anger.
"Wait what, you lost, Merula..." Anon said confused.
"YEAH! AND I DEMAND YOU DEMAND SOMETHING OF ME!" The girl stomped her foot.
"What..." The boy said flabbergasted.
"Did you already ask someone!? I will destroy you!" Merula shouted at the confused boy, but was cut short when she saw snape walking towards the commotion.
"This isn't over, Anon!" She declared and ran off.


Tulip decided to risk Merula's ire and ran after the girl.
"Merula!" She called out to the girl.
Merula turned around seething.
"What the hell do you want?" She asked angrily
"I saw your duel with Anon, it was great!" Tulip said praising the girl.
"Why were you watching me duel that idiot?" Merula asked suspicious
"I just happened to be in the courtyard when it happened, you really should have won that, but he played dirty."
"I know, he's such an asshole. And then he scorns me as a final humiliation." Merula said looking like she was about to start throwing curses without caring who she hits.
Tulip just smiled and took a step back.
"Really, it's his fault for not realizing it!" Tulip said trying to sound neutral.
"What are you talking about?" Merula asked angrily.
"He had a golden opportunity, but he is too much of a gentleman. I'm sure he would have asked you if it didn't feel like he was forcing you" Tulip said smiling a bit worried, she was going to start vomiting slugs any second now.
"Oh! Was it that obvious?" Merula asked. "How did you notice it and he didn't?"
Tulip was a bit astonished how open Merula was about this.
"It wasn't a bad plan, but he's a bit shy and naive!" Tulip said laughing a little. "You shouldn't give up, I am rooting for you!"
"Why are you on my side? What about you?" Merula demanded to know angrily.
"O-oh, no reason... I don't like dancing, and seeing you two dancing together is probably a really funny sight, that's all" Tulip said quickly. "I bet Penny doesn't agree though."
"You better not start laughing when I am dancing with Anon, or I will destroy you! As for Penny, I will deal with her." Merula declared and walked away determined.
Tulip could barely contain her laughter long enough for Merula to be far enough.


Only a few weeks remained until the boy had to pick, things were bound to get even more interesting. Tulip kept her ear to the ground and found out that none of the girls had asked the boy directly. Penny probably wanted Anon to ask her out, otherwise it wouldn't be romantic meanwhile Merula is too proud to beg. Murk was a wild card and Clumsy was too timid and shy, she would probably blow the school up if she had to muster the courage ask Anon out herself.
Tulip decided that sacrificing the school for amusement was worth it and went out to look for Clumsy. It was surprisingly easy, the girl was sitting on a bench in a courtyard.
"Hello, Clumsy, how goes your quest to get Anon to pair up with you?"
"I decided I would go with Barnaby instead." Olivia said.
"W-what?" Tulip asked surprised.
"Yeah, Barnaby had been nice to me, before and between Ismelda and Merula, he thought he had no shot with going with anyone." Olivia said smiling.
"What about you, didn't you want to go with Anon?"
"Initially, yeah, but... I don't want trouble, besides he wont be left dateless, even if he doesn't ask me. Which he hasn't." The clumsy girl said smiling a bit forlorn.
"You'd give up on this opportunity just like that?" Tulip asked starting to get a bit angry. Why would the girl give up on someone like Anon that easily?
"Truth be told, I don't really like the idea of the dance... I would just step on the toes of everyone involved and probably cause other mayhem. I thought about just staying safely in bed, but Barnaby was a bit down as well."
"G-good for you, you're very kind, Clumsy... I hope you have a great time." Tulip said a bit confused.
"Thanks for believing in me, Tulip. Sorry to let you down." Olivia said a bit sad, but smiled.
That's one girl off from the potential chaos, oh well... Clumsy will cause mayhem during the dance, so it doesn't matter who she goes with.


Tulip felt a bit uneasy, but decided she would instead focus on the three remaining contestants. She decided to ignore Murk altogether, because the girl seriously freaked her out. But Penny, that was going to be interesting. She's stubborn and determined, a little push and she would probably try to duel Merula herself. She would have to talk to her in the morning.
That night Tulip was scheming, she would have to think of some way to get Penny angry or courageous enough to fight Merula head on, or atleast during the ball. It was obvious that whoever Anon didn't chose would inevitably start trouble.
Tulip started imagining the chaos that ensued, but stopped herself when she realized she was imagining herself dancing with Anon, while every other girl glanced at her and tore their dresses in frustration.
Tulip snapped out of her dream and and sobered up a bit, she probably would enjoy the dance with Anon... But it was too risky... Oh well, the chaos was more than enough for her...


The next morning, Tulip woke up and went to the great hall for breakfast, when she ran into Penny, who had a vicious look of determination.
"Hey, Penny, good morning!" Tulip said cheerfully.
"Hello, Tulip..." Penny said uncharacteristically coldly. Tulip realized the girl had started to consider every other girl in school a potential rival for the big event... She only needed a tiny push.
"How are you doing, Penny... Have you found a date for the ball yet?" Tulip asked trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"Yes, but he doesn't know it yet..." Penny said in an almost Merulalike fashion.
"Well, good luck to you, I hope you can beat your rivals!" Tulip just said quickly and smiled at the girl.
"Wait, have you thought of someone to go with, Tulip?" Penny asked, without letting Tulip walk away.
"Oh, I am not interested in a dumb dance... Although I wouldn't miss the chance to see Anon dance with his biggest rival probably, I heard Merula is interested in him now." Tulip said passingly, trying not to smile too smugly. But the point hit home, Penny looked like she was ready to try duelling even Merula now.
Tulip walked away and realized she had started feeling a bit hollow, she had started imagining what it would be like seeing Anon dance with Merula and although the sight would have been amusing to say the least, she really felt a bit bad about it. But the chaos would be worth it, right?


Tulip went to dinner, she wasn't actually looking for mayhem anymore, she just watched at Anon, who was completely oblivious to his surroundings. Or maybe he was just trying to ignore it, but it was unlikely. The boy was completely ignorant to the fact why everyone was staring at him at every turn now. Even some of the faculty was seemingly interested in the boy now. It was all about to boil over, the three remaining girls had started to openly stare at each other with murderous intent. It would all be resolved in the coming hours.

After the dinner the three girls all ran out to the courtyard, followed by some of the more observant students. Who, like Tulip, realized the cauldron was about to boil over. She wanted to follow the girls, but she realized Anon stayed behind. She decided to go talk to the boy directly for the first time in this campaign for chaos.
"Hello, Anon." She started.
"Oh, hello, Tulip" The boy said sounding a bit lonely.
"What are you up to?"
"Oh, nothing, I was just... Oh it's nothing." Anon said.
Tulip was a bit surprised, what went into Anon... What reason does he have to be so depressed, he had cute girls fighting for his attention.
"What is bothering you, Anon?" Tulip asked the boy.
"Oh, I don't know... No one has really talked to me in a while, Rowan's been busy trying to find a date for the Ball and everyone else seems to be avoiding me."
"Oh, what about your date?" Tulip asked surprised.
"Hah, I don't think anyone wants to go with me... Dances aren't really my thing, I was planning on picking a wall to support."
Was the boy always this shy? Or naive... Or... HOW DID HE NOT NOTICE?
"What about Merula... Or Penny... Or Olivia... Or Ismelda?"
"Heh, Merula hates my guts I think she would rather drown me in the punch bowl that go out with me, Penny is waay out of my league and Olivia is going out with Barnaby, the two make a cute couple." Anon said. "Also, Murk... Well... I suppose I could ask her, but she is the only one of the girls that has openly said she wants to kill me for real... Not even Merula hates me that much."
Tulip laughed a bit forcedly.
"Yeah... It's not like three of those girls are out literally fighting to go out with you."
Anon laughed with Tulip, who was surprised at first. But started to see how utterly funny it was that the boy could be this ignorant, Oh the dance would be a sight to behold if none of the girls thought to ask him directly. He probably wouldn't ever ask anyone, seeing how insecure he seems to be. But seeing the girls fight in their dresses to get a dance from him... That's a chaos worth beholding... Right?
Tulip glanced at Anon, who was smiling a bit forlorn and turned to look at the girl.
"What about you, Tulip?" Anon asked
"Oh, I... I am not much of a ball-person, I think I might pick a wall to support as well..." Tulip said quickly, but realized she felt bad about imagining herself standing in a corner while everyone else was having fun, maybe even with Anon.
"Yeah, someone has to support those walls." Anon said and smiled looking at Tulip.
Tulip felt her heart skip, she was the only one who had bothered to talk to Anon. It was her chance, she could do it... But then she would be in the epicentre of the chaos... She looked around and noticed a commotion happening in the lobby. She turned back to look at Anon, who was looking at her reaction puzzled.
"Anon." Tulip said quickly, realizing she was running out of time.
"Yes, Tulip?" The boy asked
"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" Tulip finally shot out. "We could support walls together and maybe dance a bit too, if the mood strikes."
"Oh, sure, I'd be happy to go with you, you seem like a fun person to go out to a ball with."
"Great!" Tulip smiled at Anon and realized the commotion had reached the great hall, and the faculty had stood up to observe the situation.
"ANON!" Three girls shouted at once. "GO OUT TO THE BALL WITH ME!"
Anon just smiled at the girls a bit troubled and a lot confused
"Oh, sorry, I just promised to go with Tulip." Anon declared to the people staring at him.
The whole great hall erupted into chaos. Tulip had never seen anything like it, It was amazing. Students were clapping and making noise. While Merula was screeching bloody murder at everyone that cared to listen. Penny had nearly fainted out of rejection and Murk just smiled her dangerous looking smile, but it was clear the girl had never been so emotional before.
Tulip just looked around, she turned out to look at the teacher's table and noticed that Snape and Mcgonagall had both sat down and covered their faces in disappointment. While Flitwick had jumped on the table and was pumping his fists and clapping.