Everything has Changed

(Inspired by Taylor Swift's Everything Has Changed. To watch the music video copy and paste watch?v=82fCBqsLLIM after the / on Youtube.)

I walked into the dance with my peacock feather train trailing behind me off the end of my skirt. The entire ministry Atrium had been transformed into a world of mystery and dark hued crystal. Each face looked like a stranger and each seemed to exude an unknown personality. Where my friends here? I had told them about it and they said they'd go but that didn't mean they actually showed up or arrived yet.

"Invitation please, Ma'am."

I handed over the silver and white formal invite and watched at the words "Cordially and Hallows Eve Ball reflected in the light. The doorman scanned through it, caught my name, asked how I would like to be introduced to the public. Moments after I said my self-made name, Pearl Dalfino, a voice announced it and a smattering of polite applause followed. All the gentleman had been required to show up an hour early to get organized and prepare for the formal arrivals.

As was proper the men waited on the floor for a girl that struck their fancy to arrive then offered the first dance. I noticed of the four girls I watched descend the stairs and cross the floor, only one of them made it to a chair before a boy asked them to dance. All the others had been caught in the middle, and one at the bottom of the stairs. This was my first formal dance (you were required to be 20 to attend) and I had panicked and worried all day about being the only one to make it to their seat without being asked. My dad had walked in as I sucked in my stomach, fluffed my hair, exhaled shakily, and smoothed the front of my dress for the hundredth time before gazing into the mirror to find my eyes behind the ornate metal mask.

"Lily, if you suck in anymore you will vanish. Don't worry baby, you are skinny with curves in all the right places. Your trademark hair is safely hidden beneath that magnificent wig, your make up makes you look completely different and older than you are, and that dress was custom fit to your body with final touches done yesterday, as was the mask. If you make it all fifteen steps and more than ten across the ballroom floor I will buy you a new broom, ice cream, and pay off all your party expenses tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't bet so high but you're my daughter and, as much as I don't want to admit it, you've grown into the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. That includes your mother. Together we created perfection. Oh, time to get going. It's not fashionable to be late, not even to your first ball, and all the respectable men who deserve a dance with you will be taken. I love you. Have fun. Be safe."

I began to descend the staircase as I focused on counting fifteen stairs instead of looking around in a panic to see if anyone had moved to escort me to the floor. 12...11...10... My dad was standing up in the balcony with his arm around my mothers waist...9...8...7...6...5... A shadow moved on the stairs and I looked up to find a man in a phoenix mask that shimmered in the light. It came off his shoulder and framed his face with wings and a huge tail trailed down his back. There were two other disgruntled men waiting at the bottom of the stairs. This one had come up three stairs to catch me on the fifth.

"Pearl Dalfino, you look more stunning that the moon tonight. My name is Cashmere DeLillo. May I offer my hand for your first dance of the evening?"

I accepted his arm and he spun me out onto the floor before pulling me in to begin a waltz with those who had entered already the floor. We joined mid step and he led perfectly, forcefully and steady enough that I could follow like we had practiced together for this moment. As we spun and synced I began to smile and relax. He knew the waltz like he was born dancing it. Two songs later (A formal court dance and a Foxtrot) he spoke again.

"Let me know when you would like to switch dancers or stop for a drink or fresh air. I am planning on dancing every dance until the music stops. I love these balls and there are too few of them."

The look of shock and awe on my face made him laugh and speak again.

"I let every lady I dance with ask me five yes or no questions to try to guess my identity. You are entitled to the same and as quickly or slowly as you deem necessary."

We started the next dance before I asked my first question. Had he attended Hogwarts in the past five years.

It took him a minute to count up before he smiled and answered: Yes. Due to his response and the time it took him to count backwards I had guessed that he was either at five years or at four years. This five question thing was more difficult than I thought. How did I find out which house he was in or if he knew my family without giving myself away. He used these five questions to discover things about his partners as well, I was sure of it.

Someone walked by with a tray of shots and as my eyes followed them briefly my masked fellow located what I was watching and moved quick enough to get us two ornate shot glasses and whispered, "To Hogwarts and mystery" before shooting his and inhaling to feel the burn. Mimicking and inhaling just in time to prevent coughing on the liquids effects my next question came to mind.

"Cashmere, do you like Quidditch?"

"Yes. I love Quidditch. I played in school a bit, as did you if I had to guess."

He was going to realize who I was faster than I found him out if I wasn't careful. Another three dances past and I had all but forgotten about my remaining questions when he locked eyes and nodded with a lady standing off to the side of the floor. Her hair was brown and so shiny it had to be a wig. She looked considerably older than him, enough so that I guessed it had to be his mother or an aunt or family friend. I wasn't about to waste a question to find out. Moments after mentioning getting a drink one was in my hand and we stood side by side, drinking quickly and watched the others dance.

"Is your last name well known in the magical community?"

This one he struggled with before reluctantly replying that is was a most likely considered a prominent last name. Had he been trying to find a way out of answering or answering slyly? I just had to ask questions that told me things about him without giving any hints about myself away. Though I didn't know him I wanted to keep him hooked and knew just the way to do so.

"If you'll excuse me sir, I think I should dance with a few others now. It was lovely to dance and chat with you."

"You aren't going to ask your last two questions?"

"Not tonight. If you have a prominent last name than you are aware that there is another masquerade ball on Christmas Eve. I'm not saying my last name is as prominent as yours but I was already invited to that one as well. Until then, Cashmere, it was a pleasure."

Just like that I left him standing there, trying to look relaxed and not even a little disappointed.

With her final words she sauntered away and was out on the floor with someone else before she hit her seat. She had gone to Hogwarts in the past five years, loved Quidditch (since she had thought of it before asking if I was in a particular house at Hogwarts I figured she deemed it more important to know my opinion on the sport or if she might have played against me while at school.), and she was prominent enough in the community to be invited to the Holiday Ball in two months. Her last question made me nervous. I hadn't thought of courting any prominent girls. Not because there weren't smart or beautiful ladies but because the stains of my grandparents involvement with Voldemort hadn't washed from the public mind. My father still had people pull their children away from him when he walked by, we got Howlers at the house on the anniversaries of the Hogwarts victory. I didn't want to see that blank look when the sparkle faded from their eyes. Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy? Nope. That would be the end of that. If my name hadn't been tainted perhaps I would have a girlfriend or wife already. My parents had tried the age old "set up" but no one wanted their family to take on the last name. We still had our fortune but what was endless Galleons next to a shady past and heavy association with the biggest evil the Wizarding world had ever seen.

Pearl was twirling around the floor with a boy I knew from my customer base. I knew he was rich because he bought some of my most expensive item as gifts a few weeks ago for Christmas. After school there were very few things I actually wanted to do. My skills could make me one hell of a Auror but I doubted I could get in due to my last name. (The past that wasn't mine haunted my every choice.) My friends thought I was good enough to go into professional Quidditch but I didn't want to fly in storms, ice, blistering sun, or fog. When I flew I wanted leisurely drifting and playful adventures. My father thought I'd go into the Ministry like he had. My mother wanted me to become a Healer at St. Mungo's. All the choices made me queasy and nauseous. My hobby had pulled me through and once school was over it was what made me happiest. With my wand and a knife wood seemed to ripple and mold under my fingertips as though it were clay. I learned how to work with crystal and glass soon and business expanded. After outgrowing the room set up at Malfoy Manor my business was moved to a location on the coast south of London with a shop in the mercantile area to the left of the Leaky Cauldron which I occupied during the business hours. Did Pearl know his real name? Were they friends? Would she stick by his side the rest of the night?

No. Two songs later that same guy was dancing with a redhead in a blue dress who laughed like a choking camel when ever he said more than a few words. The balcony outside looked over a huge pool of dancing fountains and shifting lights. There were a few couples out there, gazing into each others eyes and occasionally meeting at the lips, but they all seemed to be at one side of the huge patio. With nothing else to do in here looking at the water and figuring out when this party would hold no more interest seemed like the best things to do at the moment. Hours ago the full moon had risen and the stars dotted the clear sky. Every blade of grass seemed to have its own depth and story in that lighting. Below a couple walked along the cobblestone path and entwined fingers as they went and Apparated just outside of the gate half a mile away.

When I turned an owl, tall, lean, and ruffled stood next to me with a note. Its thick leg stuck out and the note attached gleamed. I didn't know this beast and hadn't been expecting a message.

Cashmere,

You look rather elegant and effortlessly charming with the light from the ballroom backlighting your form. I don't want to waste my two questions so every question I ask won't be able to have a yes or no answer. I was thinking and wondering about our meeting tonight. It would be amazing to keep in touch. What would you think about sending our owls back and forth between now and the Holiday Ball? My owl already knows you because of this letter. Yours could fly home with my owl next time he shows up at your house so he knows where to find me. What do you think about that idea?

Pearl

She had phrased her questions in a way that would make me respond with multiple words. She had said I looked elegant and backlit here which meant she could see me right now and was somewhere facing me. It took every muscle in me not to immediately look for her. After writing the letter P on the back of her letter I wrote the word "Yes..." knowing she would laugh at the response to her complex questions. With a continued message about keeping in touch and arranging a time for her owl to find me tomorrow finished the owl took the letter in his beak and jumped from the railing. He made lazy circles down to a girl sitting, legs in the huge fountain, with her dress pulled up to her thighs in the front and trailing into the dirt behind her.

As I thought I got a laugh and our eyes met as she nodded before the note was tucked away and the owl was sent away. Two people joined her, a man and a woman who danced a tango while she rearranged and put shoes back on, and together they walked to the gate and as she turned to look the small group Apparated. This party had lost its spark and appeal and nothing sounded more comforting than a hot bath, a soft robe, and soft pillows in my foam bed. My feet met the carpet moments before a overly cheery and snug voice float over the sofa's backing.

"You're home early Scorpius. Didn't see anyone worth trying for?"

"Stop pestering him Draco. He has high standards. That's good. Really good. Scorpius, what's happened? You are smiling like an idiot?"

How could I put this into words, what I realized had happened all night?"

"I met someone. She went by the name Pearl. I've never been so completely matched, teased, and outwitted. Every line I said was countered and even my game of five questions failed when she stopped after asking about the prestige of my last name. She's going to the Ministry Holiday ball and said if my status really was high enough I would be there as well. Then she left to dance with a few others. Right before she left she said we should owl back and forth, only letting our birds know where we lived. Pearl knows how tightly she has me wrapped around her finger. She knows I went to Hogwarts within the past five years, meaning I'm her age or knew people she knew. If there was a chance to guess I'd say this was her first ball or first time attending a ball which would make her 20 or 21. She likes Quidditch, maybe played in school, and knows I played in school. Then there is the whole name thing. We are both high enough in the social ladder to attend next months celebration...

"Do you know who she could be?"

They hadn't a clue. Not that I expected them to, well, I had hoped they might have some guesses. There were over a hundred families invited to the ball, not all of the British, and she could have belonged to any one of them! Once in bed dreams came easily and sweetly. If my feet were sore it wouldn't shock me. Ever dream was filled with music and classical dancing and, some even involved some physical touch. How was I supposed to wait for a month before seeing her again, even if it was through the mask and heavy make-up?

When I woke her owl was already sitting patiently at the window with his head down against the cold wind around him. Between his talons was a small lilac envelope with a shiny white ribbon around it. Once the window was open the tall bird ducked his head and waddled into the room, admiring the gleaming objects and finally coming to rest on the polished wood of my bed end. My own owl, Aphrodite, was sleeping, her head under wing in the large cage opposite the bed.

C,

Hello again! I hope you enjoyed the rest of the party last night. It had to be my favorite event of the year thus far. Though I'm hoping this next one will be better. I got home safely and was drilled by my parents. Why do they insist on knowing every detail? It's not like anyone at those parties is close to underage or anything.

This morning I went shopping in Diagon Alley and saw an amazing cloak and form fitting silver dress. It has the most amazing texture and I can't wait to show up in it at the next ball. All I need now is a new mask! I know you probably don't care about fashion or clothing but I do and I wanted to tell someone other than my parents. You will be looking for me at the next dance anyway so I figured I 'd tell you! I'm glad the trip was useful in some manner of speaking. Without finding something worthwhile the trip through the snow and bursts of icy wind would have put a damper on the day.

I hope you are well and warm,

P.

As I finished writing Aphrodite woke up, noticed the other bird, and came out to sit next to him. Before sending the letter my routine was completed: work out, shower, brush teeth, style hair, dress, tiding the room, with the last added part being to seal the letter with cerulean blue wax and enchant it against the drifting snow outside. I watched as my slender bird followed the larger bird away from the house before settling in to a couch by the fireplace to read before breakfast or lunch.

P.

I actually left a few minutes after you did. I had hoped to ask you for one more dance but I saw you leave with your friends and didn't see anyone else I wanted to talk to. My parents did the same thing when I got home, though only a few questions before they went back to their previous engagements. I don't think my parents will ever stop asking me about the details of my life. Years down the road when I married with kids they will still be just as interested.

Oddly, I love fabric and different aspects of the fashion/art world. I have tickets to a fashion show in Milan just after Boxing Day. I call myself Cashmere at masquerades for a reason! Something about the way textures and colors combine is enchanting. Something about the combinations and textures with other patterns or feelings make sense in my mind. I'd love to hear more about your fashion tastes. (I'm fairly sure I'll love it. That dress you wore yesterday caught my eye before that amazing mask did. Would you go into more detail as to why you chose the name Pearl?) I'd recognize you even if you didn't tell me what you'd be wearing. People usually go by the same names as the last dances so they can find those they were interested by and even if you didn't I paid attention to the way you walked and carried yourself. It's funny the things you notice about a person when you don't have their actual name or address. Normally I don't pay attention but it seemed crucial to remember this time. Just in case.

I had a getting to know you question. What is your dream life? Who do you want to be in ten years? I'll answer the same question in my next letter.

It is snowing right now at my house. I feel a bit bad about sending Aphrodite out into the storm but the two birds should be able to keep each other company on the trip. I hope your day is fantastic and better than the last.

C.