A/N: This is my entry for round 12 of TLFC. This one-shot is based on the fairytale the Red Shoes.
I don't own Harry Potter.
Alice is late for dinner without any doubt. The hallways are practically, the only thing she can hear are her own footsteps and a few people talking somewhere further down the hallway. Her stomach was making sounds of hunger through the entire last hour and a half, but, luckily, no one in her study group noticed. She would be lucky, if she will get to the Great Hall before dessert, which only makes her walk faster. There is no way she is going to unintentionally skip dinner because she forgot one of her books in the library.
''Alice!'' a voice calls suddenly and Alice's heart drops, until she realizes that it's Lily's voice.
Lily Evans appears from one of the hallways, holding a couple of books in her right hand and a bag in her left arm. Though Alice stopped walking, Lily runs to catch up with her and gives her a smile after fixing a few strings of her hair. ''Are you going to the Great Hall? I haven't eaten anything since lunch, I'm starving.'' Lily complains, causing Alice to grin.
''Yes, I am.'' Alice says with a nod, ''So, what's in the bag? Did James give it to you?''
Lily gives her a look, before looking down at the medium red bag that is in her hands. ''Oh, I forgot,'' she says with a frown and looks back to Alice, ''I was actually looking for you. I found this bag in the transfiguration classroom; it has your name on it. Isn't it yours? Maybe it's a gift from someone.''
''Maybe,'' Alice says as Lily hands her the bag. She can only think of one person that will leave her a present without saying anything, but it still seems a bit weird that Lily was the one who found it. However, anyone else would have owled her a present, or would have given it to her directly. It must be from Frank.
She opens the bag to see red wrap paper covering whatever is inside, the bag is heavy enough to make it clear that it's not empty. ''I'll catch up with you later in a few minutes, alright, Lil?'' Alice asks, wanting her privacy to see what Frank sent her. ''Save me some food, if you can.''
''Alright, just don't take too long. I can't control Sirius's actions when it comes to food.'' Lily grins at her before rushing towards the direction of the Great Hall.
Alice glances to see that she is alone, before she stops walking. She put her books on the floor as she leans on one of the walls and pulls out the contents of the bag- a white box. She lays down the empty bag on the floor as well and glances curiously at the box. There is a small note on the box, which says ''for Alice'', but no signs for who from the box might be. It must be from Frank, she tells herself, she can easily imagine him forgetting to write that the gift is from him.
When she opens the box, her mouth opens widely with shock. The box contains a pair of red, beautiful new shoes. They remind Alice flat, dancing shoes just enough to make her want to wear them. She's not a great dancer, but the new shoes look much more comfortable than the pair she is currently wearing, not to mention that they are ten times more beautiful. She sits on the ground, right next to her belongings, and changes into her new pair of shoes. The new pair fits her perfectly and she makes herself a mental note to thank Frank for it.
After standing up, Alice puts her old shoes into the bag. She picks up her belongings and tries to make a few steps in her new shoes. She was right, they are much more comfortable than she thought. Even though she knows that Frank likes her just as much as she likes him, she didn't expect him to give her such a present. Maybe he decided to make her a gesture, show her his affection. The thoughts about the shoes and Frank make Alice happy. Looking down at the shoes, she decides to dance.
Alice only makes a few steps, the only dancing steps she can think of at the moment, but then she can't stop. Her feet make her keep dancing, which makes Alice frown. She doesn't want to dance, so why does she keep dancing? Why does she keep moving? Stop, Alice tells herself, stop dancing, you're late for dinner. Her body doesn't listen to her head and she keeps moving. She even notices her feet are making a few dance moves that she didn't know to do before and didn't know that such moves existed at all.
''What…'' Alice whispers in confusion. She considers leaning on one the walls to take the shoes off, but her legs still don't listen to her, taking her the opposite way. She tries to reach the shoes while she keeps dancing, her finger almost reaches the right side of the heel, but then her feet make her slip. Her hands move away from her shoes to balance herself right before her feet make her steady again and continue dancing. What do I do now? Do I call for help? What will I say? ''Help me, my feet won't stop dancing''? It sounds bloody ridiculous.
A strange feeling draws Alice's attention, causing her to look down at her shoes. It feels as if the shoes became tighter around her leg, but that can't be possible… She studies the ribbon that is tied around her ankle, almost certain that it is moving. The ribbon can't possibly become tighter around my ankle, it's not possible. I just need to calm down, I am only imagining. Even though her feet still don't do as she wants, preventing her from stop dancing or going in a certain direction, Alice tries to take calm, deep breaths to calm down.
As soon as she feels calm enough to think logically, she looks at her shoes again. The ribbon is moving, becoming tighter and tighter. Helpless, that is mostly how Alice feels. She has no idea what she can do to stop or to take the shoes off. No one is around to help, not even one of the ghosts, and she is sure that she left her wand in the common room. Then, Alice realizes she didn't leave her wand there, she put it in her pocket right before she left the common room. However, when she reaches into her pocket, a sharp pain makes her drop to her knees.
Alice screams as her knees hit the ground. All she can feel is the pain coming from her feet, making her moan with pain. Her legs are no longer dancing, but she guesses that the pain she is feeling is the replacement of the torture. After glancing at her feet, her eyes widen with horror. The ribbons around her legs make them bleed and cause the pain she feels. She catches a glimpse of the ribbons tightening more, before she feels the pain getting worse and screams with pain again.
The pain continues, making Alice lay down on the hallway's floor. She continues moaning and screaming, her pain growing worse with every second that passes. Through the pain, Alice realizes she must take her shoes off, or else she doesn't want to think about how the situation will end. Managing to somehow sit, she reaches the ribbon with her hand, but when she tries to pull the ribbon away, nothing happens. The ribbons only move in one direction, tightening on her leg, and the shoes don't come off.
''Alice! Alice, what's wrong?'' Lily's voice asks and within a few seconds she appears next to Alice, on the floor.
''The shoes,'' Alice moans with pain, ''take them off.''
She sees Lily looking towards her shoes, her eyes widen instantly. From then on, Alice sees nothing, she only hears voices. She hears how Lily calls James to come and help her, Remus saying he will go to call a teacher, Sirius trying to help Lily and James. She hears more and more footsteps coming towards her and surrounding her. Her body feels numb, she feels nothing and she has no idea how much time passes until Lily is beside her again. Lily tells her something, her eyes filled with tears and worry, and even though Alice can't hear her, she nods. It would be much harder for Lily, if she knew that Alice can't hear her.
Nothing goes through Alice's mind for what feels to her like forever. She keeps looking at Lily, who tries to balance her attention towards her and her attention to the people who are trying to help. Alice doesn't feel the tears that fall on the side of her cheeks, or the way Lily keeps squeezing her hand as a sign that everything will be alright, or the way James and Sirius try to use all kinds of spells to release her from the shoes and stop the pain. She finally feels again when the shoes are taken off her, making her feel like was being choked and now she can breath again.
James Potter lets out a certain victory shout and the people around clap. Within a few seconds, Alice sees James, Sirius, Remus and Frank gathering around her, mixed expressions of worry and relief written on their faces. ''How do you feel now?'' Lily asks, who still has a deep frown on her face, her face a bit wet from tears.
''Good. I knew you and the Marauders will save me.'' Alice says with a shrug, trying to make a joke.
''See, Evans? I told you that you shouldn't worry.'' James smirks and puts his hand around Lily's shoulder.
''Oh, sod off, Potter.'' Lily says, shaking Jame's hand off and making the rest of the group chuckle, almost making them forget about what just happened.
''Some things never change.'' Frank says and his eyes meet Alice's for the first time tonight. She can tell that he is trying to act as if everything is alright, but his voice doesn't really play along with his act, and she sends him a small smile, trying to show him that she is alright. She feels two hands holding her, one beneath her knees and one under her back, as Frank adds, ''Come on, let's take you to the Hospital Wing.''