It was just another normal morning in the Parkinson household. Pansy was picking at an eggcup sized portion of muesli with skimmed milk, washed down with copious quantities of black coffee. Sitting opposite her, I made a big deal of spreading as much butter and jam onto my toast as I could humanly manage, and then adding a huge splash of cream to my coffee. Pansy glared at me. My fast metabolism was about the only advantage I had over my sister, and I used it to annoy her as much as I could.
Suddenly, a huge owl swept into the kitchen and held out it's leg for Pansy. I watched jealously as she ripped the letter open and read it quickly, before squealing with excitement. "Oooh, I've been invited to the Malfoy's Easter Masquerade!"
Our parents hurried over to read the letter and coo excitedly over their successful, beautiful and amazing daughter. I watched glumly, knowing that I wouldn't be going. I'd been friends with Draco as a child, but as far as the Malfoy's knew I had died of dragon pox at the age of ten.
As soon as she'd proven to our parents what an amazing little social climber she was, Pansy started to issue instructions. "I'll need new dress robes, of course. Something springlike- maybe pale green. And a mask obviously."
"Of course, darling," mum gushed. "I'll take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow. I suppose we'd better get you some jewellery, too. This could be your chance to really get to know the Malfoys, after all!"
"Mother, I already know them."
"Yes, but going to their ball is the perfect opportunity to get to know him in a more… romantic way. We have to make sure you make the best impression possible. Oh, how exciting! My daughter, going to her first real ball-"
As my mother wittered on about how excited she was for my sister, I slipped away from the table and took my coffee up to my room. I doubt they even noticed that I was gone. I don't exactly blame my parents for their favouritism of Pansy – I'm lucky they even let me come home for holidays. After all, I'm the thing that could really bring all their hopes of Pansy marrying into a good family crashing to the ground. You see, I'm a Squib.
Pansy was unbearable for the rest of the week. She only had two topics which she talked about: Draco and the upcoming ball, and she talked about them constantly. I tried to tune her out. Even so, by the time the ball came around I probably could have given you Draco Malfoy's complete life history, a complete physical description of every inch of his flawless skin and an exhaustive list of his likes and dislikes- from his hatred of all things muggle to the fact that his favourite colour was silver.
When the day of the ball arrived, she was even worse- pacing the house, panicking about her outfit and asking anyone who would listen if they thought she looked too pasty. By lunchtime, she was seriously considering rushing out to buy a whole new set of clothes in case the ones she already had showed too much flesh. Mother spent most of the afternoon convincing her that she looked fine, and that she would be by far the most beautiful girl there. After all, she was the one Draco had taken to the Yule Ball, wasn't she?
By six o'clock, Pansy was in a screaming panic. One of her shoes had disappeared.
"Peony!" my mother screamed up the stairs to my attic bedroom. "PEONY! Come and help your sister, NOW!"
I glanced with irritation towards the door. I had been trying to work on my Chemistry coursework, without much success- our house didn't have internet access, for obvious reasons. But anything was preferable to dealing with my mother and sister when they were in their current state.
"Peony, what are you doing?" my mother shouted again, as I failed to respond within five seconds of being called. "Are you listening to me?"
I sighed. I didn't have much of a choice. "I'm coming!" I shouted back. I slammed my pad of paper shut and walked down the stairs. "What do you want me to do, then?"
"Help me find my shoe!" Pansy screeched. Her room was a mess. Clothes, magazines and shoes were scattered all over the floor, and Pansy was knelt in the centre, throwing things around. She had just one shoe on, with the other foot bare, and she was near tears.
"Oh no," I said sarcastically. I tried not to smile too obviously at her panic.
Pansy looked up and glared at me. "Just help me find it!" she shouted.
"OK, OK, I will," I said. "What does it look like?" Of course I knew exactly what they looked like- I'd heard her describe them a million times in the last week- but I knew it would annoy Pansy to ask for clarification.
"Peony!" she screamed, her face contorting. "Just help me find them!"
My mother rushed to comfort her, putting an arm around her and cooing, "It's alright, dear, we'll find it." She turned back to me. "They're silver, with a heel and lots of straps."
"And where do you want me to look?" I asked.
"Try the living room," mother told me, before turning back to Pansy and making soothing noises to her. I stomped downstairs and clicked on the light in the living room, before beginning a half-hearted search of the room. I poked the fire vaguely, and then looked under the sofa cushions and the tables. Upstairs, I could hear Pansy shouting. I looked underneath the sofas and checked the bookshelves. It occurred to me that the obvious way to find it would be to ask our house elf, Mally, but I wasn't going to point that out to Pansy. Instead I wandered around the living room aimlessly, so that if anyone came to check on me I could claim to be helping.
A few minutes later I heard footsteps on the stairs. Seconds later Pansy entered the living room, closely followed by our mother. This time, it was mum who was almost in tears- but with happiness at how amazingly at least one of her daughters had turned out.
And Pansy did look gorgeous. Her robes were a bright, springy shade of green which brought out her eyes and made her pale skin look almost translucent. She had found both her shoes, and the heels (so high I couldn't even imagine wearing them) made her look tall and graceful. And it was all matched perfectly by a silver clutch bag and a delicate silver necklace at her throat. I felt my jaw drop- I had never realised that my sister could be pretty. I hated her more than ever for it.
"Oh, I'd better go and make sure your father is ready to go," mother said, rushing off. "Albert!" she called up the stairs. "She's ready!" And then she hurried back in, looking over Pansy one last time and fiddling with the low neckline of her dress robes- although as far as I could tell, they didn't really need it.
My father came in with a camera a few seconds later. "Alright, Pansy, smile."
Pansy didn't even bother to protest about being photographed- quite possibly a first. She simply put one hand on her hip, and smiled in a pouty sort of way. The camera flashed, and then Pansy was taking down the jar of Floo Powder on top of the fireplace and stepping gracefully into the green flames. I watched sulkily, feeling tears pricking at the back of my eyes. More than ever, I wished that I were in Pansy's position. Not just for the ball, but for everything.
Pansy stepped into the fire. For a second the bright green flames clashed hideously with her robes, and then she was gone. My parents both glanced at me and said goodbye awkwardly. My mother warned me briefly not to try and do anything stupid, and then they, too, were gone. I crawled closer to the fire, and stared into the flames that my sister had just disappeared into, trying not to cry. I never cried, and I certainly wasn't going to just because my sister was going to some stupid ball that I wasn't invited to.
I thought about how Pansy had looked stepping into the fire again- it was so unfair. Pansy and I were non-identical twins, although you'd never guess it. So why did I have to be a Squib and a loner because of it, while Pansy got to do magic and go to balls?
A slight pop startled me from my thoughts, and I realised that I had been crying crying. Only a little, not really crying, but I could feel damp tear tracks running down my cheeks. I glanced to my left to see that Mally was standing beside me, looking worried. "What is wrong?" she squeaked.
"I'm OK," I said hastily.
"Mistress is crying. Mistress must tell Mally what is wrong, and maybe Mally can help."
"I'm fine, honestly," I said. I wiped the tears from my cheek with my sleeve, and forced a smile.
"If mistress would like to go to the ball, Mally thinks that it could be arranged. It is a masquerade ball, so no-one will see mistress's face. And there are plenty of Misstress Pansy's clothes that would fit perfectly."
An image suddenly flashed into my mind: me, wearing a beautiful set of flowing robes, mingling with witches and wizards. I could look just as beautiful as Pansy, and they would all love me, not knowing that I was a Squib. There would be dancing, and conversation… But it was no more than a dream, of course.
"Mistress would need a mask, of course," Mally continued, speaking more to herself than to me. "But I think I could make something quickly from what is in the sewing cupboard… Come!" She squeaked, coming out of her reverie and taking my hand. She began to lead me towards the stairs. I followed excitedly. "Mistress shall go to the ball!"
