Hello, readers. I'm very excited to begin this story, which I know I will have an immense amount of fun with. I hope you enjoy reading it as much I as I enjoy writing it. So, here you are; I would really appreciate some feedback, so I can get some fuel to continue onto chapter two. Just to let you know, future chapters will be much smaller.
Chapter 1
I am such a dweeb.
I flipped through the pieces of parchment in front of me with my chin in my hand. I was so bored in the common room last night I decided to complete the Potions essay and observation experiment that wasn't due until next week. The four page assignment was chock full of perfect cursive writing, long sentences and complicated diagrams. I completely BS'ed the observation, but decided by using big, exciting, intelligent-sounding vocabulary words I'd ace it. My diagrams were enormous, elaborate, and probably, completely wrong. My paragraphs were descriptive, strong, and terribly off topic. But it was so satisfying, holding the papers in my hand, knowing I had I had won the raging battle against my terrible procrastinating habit.
I put the papers down on my desk and glanced around the room. The dark, moldy dungeon housed a small group of Gryffindors and Slytherins. Normally, the Slytherins would be watching Professor Snape with keen interest, but they were either too distracted with the thoughts of our Beauxbaton and Durmstrang guests that were arriving today or just completely bored out of their minds.
Professor Snape didn't seem to mind. Well, I'm sure he was seriously annoyed with the fact that his students looked like a gaggle of Inferi, but he didn't show it. Although, he did shoot Neville a positively nasty look when he sneezed and knocked his books off his desk.
The determined Professor Snape waltzed around the room, droning on. Actually, waltzing was a poor choice of words. I don't think Professor Snape could ever waltz with his awful posture. He was more of a slithering fellow. Like a snake. How appropriate for a man with a honker like his.
My vivid imagination began to concoct an image of Professor Snape as a snake with a huge nose and beady little snake eyes. The image was too rich. The professor, slithering on the floor making hissing noises, as if he were pretending to be Charlie Cleaver, who only a few days ago had a violent fit and began to cease in the Dining Hall.
And of course, such an image made me giggle. I bit my lip and bowed my head, trying to stop my shaky laughter. I was starting to hear hissing noises, and the damned image of a ceasing Severus Snape kept creeping into my mind.
The giggles stopped and full blown laughter shot out of my mouth. Complete with a snort.
Snake Man whipped around and sent me a cold glare that could freeze butterbeer. Slowly, my classmates turned to me, their faces horror-stricken. I tucked a chunk of my bangs behind my ear and stared at the Professor's eyebrows, pretending to look him in the eye.
This was a trick I picked up in my second year. If you look at a point one a persons face near the eyes, it gives the image you're looking them dead in the eye. I was hoping Snape couldn't tell I was ready to wet my pants.
"Miss Ashford, please enlighten the class on the humorous attributes of your essay and observation experiment due next week. We are all dying to be informed." The Professor snapped, not missing a beat.
Did he rehearse those snap-backs before class, I wondered? Write them on his hand so he would remember? I leaned off my chair a bit to sneak a peak at his pale, clammy hands. They were white and clean.
He was good: very good. But I was better. Wait, I still had to answer him, crap…
"I'm…" I inhaled deeply. He wasn't going to eat me, I said to myself to calm my rising nerves. At least I didn't think five feet tall, mousy, loud mouth students were in his diet.
"I'm sorry, Professor Snape. I was just…thinking on something that occurred earlier. It had nothing to do with the…essay, thingie. Sorry." I said with an innocent smile. He ignored it.
"How would you like to hand in the essay and observation on Ashwinder tomorrow morning in class? Would you find that to be humorous? Or should I deduct another ten points from Gryffindor, the second time this week?" Snape rolled out. I swallowed the sticky wad of spit that was forming in my throat. My fellow Gryffindors were looking at me with wide, pleading eyes. It was only October and we were down a ton of points.
"The essay…will be in tomorrow, Professor." I said ironically as I clutched the essay in my sweaty palms. Snape sent me one more cold, intimidating glare before whipping around dramatically.
"You will serve detention, tomorrow, during Lunch." Snape growled.
"But I just said I'd…"
Before I could finish my sentence, a booming bell shook through the dungeon.
"Class dismissed." Snape grumbled. I picked up my parchments with shaking hands and shot out of my seat. On my way out of the room my house members gave me jolly slaps on the shoulders and grins. I smiled weakly and continued out of the room. I stepped out of the door and tripped over a loose stone.
"Whoa-ah!" I cried out. Luckily I was able to grab onto the shoulder of the girl in front of me before smashing into the slimy, black stone. The girl turned around and flashed me a smile.
"Why I am not surprised?" Tai Moore said, shaking her head. She grabbed a hold of my elbow and pulled me along. She held onto me until my feet started moving correctly, then gently let go of my arm. She shoved me a little and let out a snort of laughter.
"Nice job back there, by the way. I was sure icicles were going to shoot out of Snape's eyes." Tai noted as she tucked a piece of blond hair behind her ear. I flashed my crooked smile and looked down at my books.
"I wish his nose weren't so big, maybe I would be less distracted." I mumbled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing…"
Tai and I continued walking, as the crowd grew and we merged into the swarm of bustling students. We were shoved and swayed every which-way until we jumped out of the traffic jam and into our next class. We sighed, fixed our hair and walked into the room.
"So how are you ever going to finish that assignment by tomorrow when we have the social in the common room tonight?" Tai asked curiously.
"Well, actually, I've already…"
Before I could finish my sentence I felt something hit my foot and once again I went flying to the floor, only this time Tai didn't move fast enough, and I made contact with the black stone
"Urghuh…" I mumbled into the floor. I tasted blood on my lips. Splendid, just splendid.
Tai gasped and got to her knees to help me up. I shook my head and winced when I ran my tongue over my swollen lip. I heard muffled laughter to my right.
Tai and I turned simultaneously and saw the boy who tripped me. Tai narrowed her sharp gray eyes. I felt my stomach drop and my cheeks heat up.
"Nice job back in Potions, Miss Assford." Draco Malfoy said with an irreplaceable Malfoy sneer.
"Thanks." I said with a grin.
Wait, what? Why was I thanking him? And why on earth was I smiling? Oh god, my poor social skills were finally revealed…
But strangely, nobody called me out on it. Tai scoffed and shook her head.
"Don't even waste your sarcasm on this jerk." Tai snapped.
Right, sarcasm, that's what I was going for…right…
Tai turned back to Malfoy and sent him another cold glare. She was an expert at this. Tai was such a sweet girl, but when you got her angry enough to let out one of her stares, you'd be better off if you ran and cowered in a dark corner somewhere.
Malfoy didn't move. Actually, he let out a bark of laughter. His ogre-like cronies beside him joined in. The students in the room with us turned at this sudden jolt of noise. Professor Burbage hadn't arrived yet, so everyone watched the pre-class show with interest.
"You think you're a big toughie, eh? Think you're so sharp, girl?"
"I have a name." Tai said through gritted teeth.
"Ooh, she's gettin' angry, mate." Ogre number one said, stepping forward. I almost wanted to clap him on the back and give him a cookie for forming a sentence; he had been in a ton of my third year classes, and his ogre like looks went perfectly with his ogre like brain.
Tai didn't move an inch; she wasn't the slightest bit hurt by this comment. She just kept on glaring. I followed her move and tried to send an equally terrifying glare. But I stopped before one of the boys noticed; I was pretty sure it looked like I was trying to blink something out of my eye.
"Ugh, you disgust me." Tai spat before walking away, her blond hair whipping out behind her. I had no indication she was going to take her leave, so now I was standing right in front of Malfoy and the ogres. Of course, they walked closer to me.
"Alright, class, we have a lot to cover today, please find your seats!" Professor Burbage said above all of the noise as she entered the room. I turned to glance at the Professor and then back to Malfoy, who was looking dead at me now. I dropped my eyes to the floor and tried to order my feet to move, but they weren't responding.
C'mon, c'mon, before he lays one on you…
"So, Ellie…" Malfoy said slowly. I felt my mouth go dry and winced a little, not ready for this blow of humiliation.
"Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Ashford, am I interrupting something?" Professor Burbage snapped. Again, the eyes of the class were on the two of us. I felt my cheeks turn a darker red then ever before, but Malfoy remained as cool as ever. He gave the Professor a smile and slowly walked to his seat. His Slytherin buddies gave him a nod as he walked by. I quickly walked up the isle to my seat after Malfoy found his and mouthed "sorry" to Professor Burbage. She nodded curtly and turned to walk to her podium. As I sat I could hear sniggers from the back of the room.
No thanks to the alphabetical seating arrangement, I was far from Tai and couldn't sulk with her over my embarrassment. I turned around and saw that Malfoy was sitting two seats in front of her. He looked quite pleased; Tai was burned holes into the back of his head with her death-glare. I bit back a laugh and turned to the front of the room.
As class went on, I began to doze off. I was an expert and pretending to take notes, so if I lost concentration there was a small chance I'd get caught. I would always add a hand raise here and there, ask a question about when the next exam would be, give the teacher an eyebrow raise and then an understanding nod as if I reached realization; I don't mean to brag, but I was a pretty good actress. Instead of taking interest on today's subject, I was doodling on my parchment. I was writing my name in fancy script, drawing a flower, an owl, and writing out lyrics. Whatever was on my mind ended up on my paper.
When I finished my owl, which ended up looking more like a cat with clipped ears, I began to draw a ferret. Ever since the unforgettable stunt that happened with the insane but awesome Professor Moody, it was now an inside Gryffindor joke to refer to Draco as the "fuming ferret". I made this ferret long and furry looking with little eyes and an upturned mouth. I bit on my swollen lip suppress my laughter: I learned my lesson earlier when I expelled my humor.
I leaned back in my chair. I turned once again to look back at Tai and Malfoy. Malfoy was looking dead at me. I whipped my head around and felt my cheeks burn once again.
Why was he staring at me? I'm not much to look at, and he obviously hated me. Maybe it was just one of those things, like he was just casually looking around the room and happened to stop on me. I turned my head and little and looked towards him without making eye contact. He was still looking at me.
What the hell? Didn't he make it very clear to me and half the Hogwarts community he didn't like me? I mean, I'm not surprised; Draco Malfoy was an infamous jerk to anyone who wasn't a Slytherin. He was nasty even to the popular girls in my year, like Tai. Tai never did anything to him. Very few people hate Tai. She's just a nice, funny person. She's kind of like me, just louder and prettier and blonder.
It confused me. I never said two words to Draco before. Maybe I gave him a weird look in class one day and he thought I was trying to send him off. Maybe his father hated my father: I knew that Mr. Malfoy worked in a department similar to my father's. Maybe he was formulating some secret scheme to ruin me and I didn't even know it.
But that would be absurd. I turned to look at him again. Thank god he was writing notes. I watched him for a second before averting my eyes. His hair was a little tousled today. I wondered if he brushed it like that or woke up and it just did that little floppy-thing. He was scowling. Hmm. I guess he wasn't a fan of note taking. His icy eyes were narrowed, as always. They looked cold, angry, and weary. He was glaring at the paper.
Was he always angry? What on earth did the parchment ever do to him?
I blinked hard and turned back to my paper. I don't know why I had a sudden interest with such a nasty person. I tried to distract myself instead. I turned the parchment over and started some new doodles.
There was a cat in the corner of the room for some odd reason, but lots of odd things happen in Hogwarts, so it was being ignored. I decided to draw it. I gave this cat big warm eyes and a small smile: it reminded me of Tai. I glanced over at Tai, being careful not to look at Malfoy. She had one hand in her hair and the other on the desk. She appeared to be absurdly bored and exhausted, but she still looked lovely. She had run a dried out quill through her hair to hold it up in a bun. Her gray eyes were lined with a little coal, thanks to Parvati, who opened a gift from her aunt last night which bore beautiful coals and lip stains. Everyone stayed up late getting makeovers and choosing their favorite colors to wear for the pre-Halloween social tonight while I curled up with my book. I veered away from the eye coals and weird looking sticks. Tai begged me to put a little on, but all I could see was me, poking myself in the eye with them. I let her stain my lips with a little papaya colored lipstick, but that was it. I guess it looked okay; I kind of liked the way the brownish red looked on my small mouth. But when I woke up in the morning it had smeared off, and the magic was gone.
I absently began another cat. This cat was scrawny, with oddly-huge eyes and a weird haircut with bangs that fell right against its head, coming close to covering its eyes. This cat was a spitting image of me.
Just as I began a lion, which was being modeled after by the Weasley boy in the back of the room, everyone was rising out of their seats and shuffling to their dormitories. Class was over.
I felt Tai grab my shoulder and pull me out of my seat and towards the old staircase in the front of the room that was a shortcut leading to the Main Hall.
"Ugh, that was absurdly boring. I ended up writing out my outfit for tonight. I was thinking on those cool looking pants my mum sent me and a nice, blue sweater." Tai said with a dreamy smile. We climbed down the long, winding staircase until we reached a dark hallway. She sighed and nodded.
"Yes, I think that'll do...what are you going to wear?" she asked, turning to me.
"Wear to that Gryffindor pre-Halloween thing? I dunno: you know I don't like those." I said, tucking a piece of dark hair behind my ear.
"Oh, Ellie, come on, they're so fun! Everyone actually loosens up for a night, and all the boys try extra hard to look nice…what's not to like? And, since the Durmstrang boys are coming tonight, maybe we could…you know, slip a few of them into the party? We could pass it off as a 'social opportunity' for them to make new Hogwarts friends." she said, liking the idea even better when put into words. I shrugged. Her eyes narrowed.
"You're not upset over the Malfoy thing, right? He wont be there, it's just for Gryffindors, remember?" Tai said. She looked concerned. I shook my head quickly. She didn't believe me.
"Oh, just forget him. He's such an animal." Tai said with a hint of disgust.
Animal. Ferret. How ironic.
We followed the passageway until we reached a skinnier hallway with carpeted floors. There was a huge painting of Dutch men from the 1600's at the beginning of the hall, full of jabbering old men with weird hats. The watched Tai and I walked by and waved. The hallway became larger and opened into a large clearing. We walked along the path beside several packs of students now. Soon the path became clogged with students, all heading to the front of the castle, where we were required to wait for the arrival of the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students.
Finally, we reached our destination. Tai and I found a good place to stand, right in the front of the growing crowd. Thankfully Tai had reminded me to pack a hat back in the common room, which I whipped out my bag. Tai stuck her hat on her head; hers was a black beret with a small white button on it. Mine was a crimson Muggle newsboy hat I bought in London. A pleasant October breeze blew past our ears, bringing the tantalizing smells of our dinner to our noses. I could hear several stomachs grumble in anticipation.
"Here they are!" Parvati Patil exclaimed once she spotted Tai and I. Parvati waved and quickly walked through the crowds, followed by Madge Keller. They were wrapped in scarves and gloves: they must have snuck off to the common room to grab them. I noticed they also had a bit more makeup on then they did earlier that day: it was obvious they were trying to look their best for the new arrivals.
"Hey guys." I said to my friends.
"Hey Tai, Ellie; Madge was just telling us all about the little fiasco in Potions today." Parvati said with a giggle. Madge turned to me and flashed a bright smile.
"Job well done, Ellie; sticking up for your fellow Gryiffies, as always!" she exclaimed.
I smiled weakly back at her and tugged on my bangs. Madge kept on smiling and began to hum quietly as her eyes wandered from us. Madge was infamous for doing this. She was always in such a cheery mood; she had to exert some of her excess positive energy through song, dance, compliments…an odd girl, but a true friend. She could keep a secret better than anyone and was great for support, never letting anything negative slip from her mouth. Actually, the first and only time I saw her cry was when Professor Lupin left last year. Madge was one of his best students and often went to his office for hours, just to chat. She was a gifted student and began to learn spells well beyond our third year level, along with Harry Potter, she had told me. Madge had even met Professor Lupin's girlfriend. Madge still writes to him and sends an occasional greeting to his girlfriend, who I hear has a knack for pink hair.
"Oh god, you guys wont believe what Draco Malfoy did today to poor Ellie!" Tai suddenly exclaimed. Parvati and Madge leaned in. I saw Ginny Weasley's ear perk up a bit, and even though she turned her head away from us I knew she was listening.
"He had the gall to trip her today and get all snooty with us. Ugh…I despise that boy." Tai said, glancing over Madge's shoulder to observe the Slytherin line that had formed several feet away from our gaggle. Tai breathed heavily out of her nose in frustration.
"Jerk." She grumbled.
"Mmm, quite the grouch he is. During the Quiditch Cup fiasco he saw me running into the woods with my brother. He followed us and kept telling us to run faster, or those Death Eaters would find us. Y'know, since I'm only a half-blood…" Madge said, lifting her eyes to the skies, looking to see if the Durmstrang or Beauxbaton groups were arriving by broomstick, as she had guess earlier that day.
"Maybe he's lonely." Madge suggested, being true to her optimistic nature. None of us could conceal our snorts of disagreement.
"That kid has an ego the size of Trelawney's hair. Oh god, did any of you see it today?" Parvati said with wide eyes. I recalled watching the frazzled Professor scurry through the halls earlier and remembered her curls were defying the dazzling headband tied against her skull and shot up in a maddening design.
Parvati shivered a little and patted her smooth, black hair, just to make sure it was still perfectly groomed.
"Oh, look!" Madge cried with excitement, pointing to the Forbidden Forest. About fifty heads shot in the direction of where Madge was pointing to. An enormous horse drawn carriage was careening towards us. I let out a yelp as I watched the carriage hit the ground like an unsteady first year on their broomstick.
"And you call yourself a Gryffindor." Tai mumbled with a sneer. I stuck my tongue out at her.
We all watched in silent awe as a giant woman who dressed very much like my prissy old grandmother stepped out of the carriage, followed by a group of delicate looking students. They stared back at us with wide, glassy eyes. I caught the gaze of one of the girls and smiled at her. She turned away sharply.
"Wow, look at their skin; it practically glows. I wonder what facial wash the use…" Tai mumbled to me, stroking her cheek with was as dull as old copper compared to the pale cheeks of the Beauxbaton girls.
Not long after, the Durmstrang ship arose from the depths of the Black Lake.
"Ha, it's like Titanic." Madge said with a giggle. I shot her a perturbed look.
"What's a tie-tonic?" I whispered to Tai. She shrugged.
We all watched the parade of heavily coated boys, who looked more like dirty polar bears, march up to Hogwarts. I heard girls whisper and shuffle as the boys passed us. The boy's eyes darting from one girl to the next. I saw a particularly handsome one gaze at Tai. I looked up at her and saw her grinning back. I bit my lip jealously.
Soon enough we were back inside the Great Hall with our guests. We watched our guests carefully as they chose their seats wisely, sticking to the most inviting looking groups. Just as Tai, Parvati, Madge and I were about to sit, I saw a couple of Beauxbaton girls tap Tai on the shoulder.
"Pardon, do you mind if we zit with you?" a very pretty girl asked Tai, with her equally pretty friend nodding in agreement.
"Not at all." Tai said warmly. We pulled two extra chairs towards our favorite part of the Gryffindor table and sat. The two Beauxbaton girls sat across from us warily.
"I am Danae, and zis iz Afifa. She speaks poor English, see. I do most of ze talking." Danae said with a small smile. We all introduced ourselves to the French pair just as Professor Dumbledore stood and revealed to us the exciting news concerning to Goblet of Fire. After he finished, the feast appeared on our table, and we began to eat in silence. I had almost forgotten how hungry I was. I played with my French glob that had been made out of courtesy for our guests, while Danae and Afifa chatted in rapid French, occasionally spooning food into their mouths. They kept ceasing their conversation, looking up at us from across the table, and then picked up where they left off. Tai side-glanced me with a confused expression; I wasn't the only one noticing this.
"So…does 'Ogwarts 'ave any 'ansome teachers?" Danae asked, fluffing up her red hair. I choked on the water that was running down my throat as everyone stared at Danae with wide eyes.
"Err…not really, they're all sitting up there." Tai said, pointing to the front of the room. Danae quickly turned her head; Afifa mimicked this once she saw Tai's finger pointing to the teacher's table. They scanned the table and frowned.
"Egh: what a shame. Back at Beaux 'e 'ave men that look like sons of veela. Lots of good fun, see." Danae said with a wicked grin.
"How nice." Parvati said politely.
"You…'ave party?" Afifa attempted, racking her brain for the English that was back there somewhere. She laughed a little and shook her head, causing her mane of long black hair to dance onto her shoulders. I saw the eyes of many eager Gryffindor boys watch Afifa, mesmerized by her super shiny locks.
"She means do you 'ave parties here." Danae said, smiling at Afifa. Afifa nodded back.
"Well, we have House socials." I put in.
"With boys?" Danae said pointedly.
"Well, yes…"
"Can vee come to ze next one?"
"Sure!" Tai suddenly exclaimed. A smile grew on Danae's face. Afifa stared at us blankly. Danae turned to her and translated quickly, and soon Afifa was clapping her hands like a dumb monkey.
"But there's a price; you have to bring a boy with you. It's tonight, in our Common Room. We can meet you outside this room at nine thirty and bring you there." Tai said as she placed her arms on the table.
"I don't think that…"
"Merveilleux! It is settled." Danae said with a triumphant pound on the table. Tai was beaming, Parvati and Madge were smiling wanly, and I was sure I had a horrorstruck expression on my face. Danae and Afifa were being called over to the Hufflepuff table by a group of Beauxbaton girls, so they left us, throwing kisses and smiling with excitement. We all smiled and waved back, and when they were gone, I whipped around to Tai with flushed cheeks.
"Are you insane? If we get caught, Tai, do you have any idea how much trouble we could get into?" I said, my voice shaking. Tai laughed in her throat and patted my cheek.
"You have to loosen up." She said slowly, a wise grin growing on her face.
"I do not have to loosen…" I began, but a blow to the back of my head made me stop mid-sentence. I furiously whipped around and glared at the person behind me.
"What the hell do you…oh, it's only you."
"Are you quite alright? Need a sedative or two?"
"What's a sedative?" I asked with a smirk.
"Oh; it's just a Muggle medicine usage to calm the mind."
"Oh course; only something the brilliant Cedric Diggory would know."
Cedric rolled his eyes at me and sat on the edge of my bench.
"Hello Madge, Tai, Parvati." Cedric said, nodding to my friends. They smiled back and only Madge was able to sputter out a quick "Hullo."
"So, I heard a rumor floating around that you might be slipping your name into the Goblet of Fire?" I asked, smiling crookedly.
"Damn, word travels fast around here. Maybe, I'll see…" Cedric said distantly. "How've you been?"
"Cant really complain; I have detention tomorrow, from Snape, of course." I grumbled. Cedric let out a laugh. I shoved him off the bench and stuck out my tongue at him.
"Go on; get back to your Beauxbaton ladies." I said, pointing to the crowd of French girls, watching with big eyes and even bigger smiles. Cedric turned and waved to them. I let out a snort of laughter as they squealed.
"I'll talk to you later; maybe I'll drop by that little Gryffindor party I'm hearing so much about. Good luck in detention!" Cedric said with a wave as he left the table. I waved back as he walked towards his crowd of adoring fans. I turned back to my friends who were staring at me with open mouths.
"I can't believe you get to talk to Cedric Diggory like that, let alone talk to him!" Tai sputtered. I shrugged.
"My dad's best friends with Amos, I've known him for years. He's just a friend." I said for the millionth time.
"I don't know any girl who would want to be 'just friends' with him!" Parvati exclaimed.
I hated when this happened. All of my friends, even Madge, were die hard fan girls of Cedric. Whenever he would talk to me, they'd come in closer, smile, and throw him compliments. Cedric, being a gentleman, would think nothing of it and feed them compliments too. After he'd leave the area, they'd stare at me with dumbfounded awe.
Amos Diggory, Cedric's father, went to school with my father. They were very close friends, top of their classes together, Quiditch players, and later, work partners. The Diggory's were at my house a lot, meaning I had no choice but to befriend Cedric. Not that I didn't enjoying being around him. Cedric was a close friend of mine, although the age difference made it a little hard to stay in contact during the school year. Cedric once told me I could pass for a seventeen year old, like he was.
"It's your wit. I'm surprised you're not in Ravenclaw." He said with a laugh. Most girls would have wanted him to say they looked seventeen for their looks, but I didn't mind. I could probably pass for a second year, I was so damn mousey.
After we were excused from dinner, we all left the table and headed to our common room, where the pandemonium began. Clothes were being flung all over the room, makeup was strewn across the floor, hair potions were thickening the hair; it was all too much for me. Tai came over to my bed and stared at me. I looked up at her in her jeans and bra, he hair pilled into strange curling barrels. They were spinning in her hair and seemed to be emitting heat. One by one they jumped out of her hair and let loose a wave of blond curls and scurried off to her bed.
"We have to meet Danae and Afifa downstairs in ten minutes. You should start getting ready." She said loudly over the laughter and squeals of the overcrowded room.
"I told you already, I don't want to…"
But before I could voice any more of my opinion, I felt a tug on my hair.
"Hey!" I cried sharply. I felt a weird, hot feeling in my head.
"Sit still, this'll only take a second." I heard Parvati say.
Tai ran off for a second and returned to me with a pair of black jeans and a red sweater.
"Put them on." She said, throwing them at me. I looked up at her weakly and sighed. Still feeling the warmth on the top of my head, I whipped off my school clothes and changed. Tai flicked her wand towards a pair of white shoes under her bed and dropped them at my feet. She then came at me with a small case of eye coal and one of those weird sticky-things. Madge and Parvati practically strapped me down to the bed as Tai decorated my face. She stood back, yanked the strange heat thing out my hair, and nodded approvingly.
"There, you look lovely…ah, it's nine thirty two! I'm going to get Danae and Afifa!" Tai exclaimed, whipping on a shirt before running out of the room, forgetting I was supposed to go with her.
I had absolutely no idea how she would get the two French girls and their male companions into the common room without a teacher walking by, but I didn't think on it. I collapsed back onto my bed and felt a sudden urge to shower and curl up under my sheets. My face felt weird. My eyes felt heavy. I could feel sweat pooling in all the wrong places and I was ready to choke on the perfumed air that was filling the room.
"C'mon, guys! You have to see the turnout!" I heard Madge called excitingly. The once crowded room because silent as the girls who filled it moments ago leaked out. I was left alone.
Well, let's get this over with.
I rose from the bed and clonked over to the door, passing the mirror on my way. I stopped and did a double take. My clothes were tight, but actually looked sort of nice. The weird heating thing that was in my hair made the ends of my short hair flip out. My bangs looked nice and fluffy. My eyes were lined with dark brown and brought out the hazel tint that was normally hard to notice.
I sighed heavily. Maybe this evening wouldn't be so bad after all: maybe.
The minute I walked out of my room, I heard music and laughter. All around me I saw people, half of them not even in Gryffindor, dancing, chatting, eating and drinking. I had to smile a little. Everyone looked like they were having fun. I saw Parvati and her twin sister Padma talking with Seamus and Ron, while Madge danced around the room, shining with easy confidence in her white shirt and blue denim pants. Some people referred to Madge as the "hippy-dippy weirdo", but tonight everyone looked to be impressed by her life of the party attitude.
"'Allo, Ale-ey!" I heard someone say from behind me. I turned and saw Danae and Afifa, grinning from ear to ear. Behind them were Tai with two, very handsome Durmstrang boys.
"Hey, Danae, hello Afifa." I said politely.
"You look zo pretty with make-up!" Danae chirped, obviously running on a ton of excited energy. I smiled politely and tired not to let the embarrassment boiling inside me set my cheeks aflame.
"Rolv, Durnrick, this is my best friend, Ellie." Tai said, beaming. Rolv was a tall, skinny boy with icy blue eyes and curly brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Durnrick was shorter and buffer with short, brown hair and deep brown eyes. From the way Tai was clinging to Durnrick's arm, I picked up the hint that I was to accompany Rolv.
"Eet is 'vonderful to meet you, Eel-ey." Rolv said, stepping forward.
Could somebody please just get my name right!?
"It's nice to meet you too, Rolv." I said, trying hard not to butcher his name like he did to mine. I was pretty sure I said it like an ape with a bad cough, but thankfully Rolv didn't notice.
"Do you al'vays have parties like these?" Rolv asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. His eyes were running up and down my body. I presumed he was trying to figure out if I was good looking or looked like a stupid pixie.
"Well, sort of. I've never seen one this big before. Normally it's just Gryffindors, but I see a lot of different houses here. Padma's a Ravenclaw, Louis is a Hufflepuff, and Malfoy's a Slyth…"
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I stopped mid-sentence with my mouth hanging open. There, in the corner of the room, just walking in, was Draco Malfoy.
"Vhut?" Rolv said, following my gaze. A grin grew on his face and he waved wildly to Draco.
"Ah, zat is Draco Malfoy! I sat with him at dinner, he is so funny...Eh, Draco, over here!"
"No, stop…" I began, but Draco's cold eyes landed on Rolv, and then me. For an instant I thought a terrible grin was about to grow on his face, but it never showed. Instead, a weird look spread across his pale face. A look I wasn't familiar with at all. He began to walk towards us, looking sort of drowsy as he stumbled over the rug. The closer he came, the further I backed against the wall to where Rolv was standing.
"Ah, Draco, zis is…"
"Can I talk to you fo'a minute?" Draco mumbled. His glassy eyes were on me and only me. I almost gagged on the scent of his breath. He smelled like my Uncle Rocky after one too many drinks.
"No." I said a little too blatantly. Oops.
Malfoy did a weird little shifty thing and was now leaning against the wall beside Rolv. Rolv stared at him for a minute then shook his head a little.
"You smell like old fire whiskey and Braun Balm rum." Rolv said with narrowed eyes. I looked at him suspiciously, curious with his skill of alcohol identifying.
"My father vorks in a brewery." Rolv said with an innocent smile.
"So can I pleasetalkto…you…now?" Draco asked, swinging his head in all different directions. Rolv patted him on the shoulder and sighed a little.
"I think you should go vith him." Rolv suggested. I opened my mouth to speak but Draco had taken a step forward and was now towering over me. I looked up at him; feeling exasperated, confused and slightly embarrassed.
"Fine, come with me." I grumbled. I quickly walked away from Rolv and led Draco outside the common room, trying to avoid the eyes of angry Gryffindors.
"Good, show 'im the door, that priss. Who does he think he is, coming in here…" one of the Weasley twins said to me as I walked by. I shoved Draco outside the portrait and let him slump against the wall. It was eerily quiet outside here. I felt a draft from one of the opened windows and shivered. I clutched my elbows and turned to Draco, who appeared to be lost in a daze.
"Ok, what do you want?" I asked, feeling a bit more confident knowing he was absurdly intoxicated. He couldn't get his eyes to focus into that stupid glare of his, and I didn't feel those tingly embarrassment nerves shooting up and down my legs. I lifted my chin a bit, like Tai always did, and let my hands slide down to my hips. For once, I felt as if I was…superior. And it felt great.
At that moment, a little sliver of moonlight came through the large window beside the portrait. I felt the white ray pour over me and cast a glowing light all around me. Draco noticed this and slowly took a step towards me, into the light.
"Y'know, you look really…pretty…" Draco said distantly, reaching out for my hair. I stepped aside. What the hell was going on? Wasn't he ready to smash me against the Potions floor about four hours ago? Didn't he want to destroy my social status? Maybe he had more to drink than I thought.
I was feeling quite angry, actually. Like, who didn't he think he was? He could insult me in front of everyone and then get all flirty with me when he had me alone?
"I'm going back inside, and you're not going to follow me." I said calmly. I took a step towards the Fat Lady, who was watching Draco and me suspiciously. I opened my mouth to say the password, but felt a warm hand jerk me away.
"What the…"
Draco had me against the wall. He looked down at me as I squirmed.
"Kid, le'go of me…" I began, but when I looked up at his pale face, I saw something. His eyes weren't squinty. They were relaxed, calm. I noticed that the icy blue color wasn't all that harsh. It was actually quite nice. They were a soft blue, a comforting blue. His pale lips broke into a little smile.
"Young lady, are you alright? Do you need me to call for someone?" The Fat Lady shrieked, moving to the edge of the frame to watch us.
"No…I'm-I'm fine." I whispered.
Draco was still looking at me. He tilted his head a little and let out a little sigh.
"I never noticed…how pretty you are…" he said faintly. His head moved closer.
Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god…he was going to kiss me. Oh, god. My insides were on fire, I was seating profusely, and my heart was ready to beat of my chest. I had never kissed a boy before! What was I supposed to do? Tai always talked about using her tongue, but what was that for? Did you…move it or something? His eyes were slowly closing and I could feel his warm breath blowing on my cheek. He was about to land and I was still standing there with huge eyes and a mouth hanging open. I closed it immediately and squeezed my eyes shut. This was it, my first kiss, with a boy who hated me and I hated him back.
They landed. He kept them there for a second. I squeezed my fingernails into my palms and tried to focus as I felt his tongue coming into my mouth. Oh god, it was disgusting thinking about it. His little pink tongue was now inside my mouth, searching for mine. It was like hide in seek except my poor little tongue had nowhere to hide, except down my throat, but I certainly wasn't up for puking into Draco's mouth, as much as I hated him. So I lifted it to his.
And the strangest thing happened; they started to dance together. His hands went on my shoulders. I didn't know what to do with my hands so I put them up and let them land where they may. They were now awkwardly around his neck, and since he was so much taller than me, I felt as if I would fall to the ground if I let go. I felt his lips push a little harder onto mine and I let out a little gasp.
Well. That felt kind of nice, actually.
(Next morning)
I was pretty sure my cheeks were going to stay flushed until the day I died. My lips were still tingling and felt kind of swollen. But not like falling to ground after being tripped swollen. Snogging Draco Malfoy outside the common room swollen; which was so much better. I was absently chewing a piece of toast while my friends plus our two French acquaintances chatted about last night; who they made out with, who they thought looked cute enough to make out with, the clothes and the music. Everything went smoothly, and amazingly, nobody got caught. The Beauxbaton girls (Danae and Afifa were certainly not the only ones there) told Madame Maxine they were at a small social in the Dining Hall with a couple of Gryffindor girls. The Durmstrang boys said they were meeting with a couple of Slytherin boys for a game off Dashnore. And the other non-Gryffindor Hogwarts students silently slipped into their common rooms unnoticed. Everyone was in great spirits coming down to breakfast, although a little drowsy, but with bright smiles and tons of gossip. I did see, however, a good amount of Slytherin boys looking paler than usual. I saw a couple falling asleep at the table.
I saw Draco, who looked terrible. A small smile grew on my face. After we kissed for what felt like forever, he backed off me, smiled, and walked back into the party. I waited a good ten minutes before going back inside; I was shaking from head to toe. When I finally did get control over my nerves I entered the room once again to hang out with Madge and Parvati; I couldn't find Tai. She was probably off snogging some upper classman. The rest of the party went on as a blur. I had a huge, stupid grin on my face and couldn't stop giggling. I wanted Draco to come back and kiss me again: it had felt so wonderful. I knew a ton of girls who complained about their first kisses, but I saw no flaws with Draco's kissing style. My distaste for him melted away. Maybe we could hang out now with him making fun of me. Maybe we could actually be more then friends! The excitement almost made me choke on my toast.
I lifted my eyes to the Slytherin table, and sure enough, Draco was staring at me. I grinned brightly; he cast his eyes down and didn't look back.
"So, girls, I have a confession to make. I know it may be a little weird to hear, but please, let me explain myself, okay?" Tai announced. We all turned to Tai, who was flushing a little and had a mysterious smile on her face. Danae quickly translated for Afifa.
"Last night, I didn't just kiss Fred Weasley...or was it George…" Tai mumbled, but shook her head. She took a deep breath and look up at us with huge eyes and an even bigger smile.
"I snogged Draco Malfoy!"