As the days went by, Athenys felt more and more anxious about the Yule Ball. She had sent her mother an owl about the ball a few days ago but she still had not sent a reply. Meanwhile, everyone already had their robes and dresses delivered. Theo had also been sent his robes from home. He had tried convincing everyone that he did not really care about the Yule Ball, however Athenys could tell that he was still upset about Daphne going with Blaise. He had been avoiding Blaise and every time Athenys bought up the Yule Ball he changed the topic. After a while Athenys could tell that he wasn't only upset about Daphne, but also seemed quite tense about the upcoming ball itself.

On Saturday morning, Athenys had planned to complete her Divination essay in the library and went to the Great Hall early for breakfast. As she entered, Theo was already sitting alone at the table picking at his cereal.

"Hey," Athenys said as she approached him, and he jumped a little.

"Oh, hey," Theo mumbled sleepily.

"Jumpy, much?"

"Hm."

Athenys frowned but chose to remain silent as she poured herself some cereal. Just as she was about to start eating, a barn owl flew in and landed on the table, carrying a large box attached to the owl's leg with a string. Athenys carefully untied the package from the owl and let it fly away.

"That's probably your Ball robes," Theo mumbled.

"About time, don't you think?" Athenys exclaimed excitedly as she ripped the paper off the box and opened it.

Inside, there was an envelope sitting on top of white fabric. She opened the envelope to find a letter from her mother.

Dear Athenys,

How are things going with school and preparing for the Ball? I'm sorry it took so long for me to send the dress. It took days for me to find it. It was passed down to me from my mother and I had been waiting for the perfect moment to gift it to you. I had never gotten the chance to wear it, but it will look gorgeous on you! I hope you are able to find the appropriate jewellery to match it in time.

Lots of Love,

Mum

Smiling, Athenys closed the box and picked it up to take it to the common room to open it with Daphne.

"Hey, I'm gonna go open in it the common room, you wanna come and see?" Athenys asked Theo who seemed to be phased out.

"Huh? Oh, nah I think I'll stay here."

"Oh," Athenys felt her excitement die down a little, "Ok then."

As Athenys reached the common room, Daphne was about to leave it to go to breakfast. Her eyes lit up as she saw the box in her arms.

"Athenys, is that…?"

"Yep!"

"The Yule Ball dress? Finally! Let's see it! Open it up!" Daphne squealed.

"Ok, ok calm down," Athenys laughed as she opened the box and pulled out the dress. It felt heavy in her hands, and smooth as silk, yet it wasn't quite silk. Rather, it was less shiny yet more vibrant than silk and was a snow-white colour with intricate golden details on the edges.

"Go try it on!" Daphne exclaimed.

Athenys went into her dorm room and quickly tried on the dress, calling in Daphne once she was ready.

"So, how do I look?" Athenys asked as Daphne closed the dorm room door behind her.

Daphne's eyes widened, "Wow, it looks so gorgeous on you! It contrasts with your skin perfectly! Ooh, and it really brings out your eyes!"

Athenys turned around to look in the mirror. Sure enough, it fit her really well. She might need tall heels since the dress was quite long, though. The white and gold contrasted with her olive skin and the neckline extended straight across her neck, draping off her shoulders a little. The neckline had a similar golden pattern to the edges of the dress, yet larger and in a 'v' shape. The best feature about the dress that Athenys loved, however, was the cape-like fabric that was attached to the dress which draped around her arms. Despite the intricate detailing, the dress was quite simple, yet elegant.

"I love it," Athenys said as Daphne fixed the dress's hem.

"I love it too!" Daphne exclaimed, "We need to find you jewellery when we go to Hogsmeade next week!"

"I don't want too much though, just simple jewellery," Athenys replied.

"Sure, okay, we can work with that," Daphne said with a wink.

As the Hogsmeade trip approached, all Athenys could hear in the common room was about the Yule Ball. Daphne and Pansy had already gotten all of their jewellery sent from their families, all of which were family heirlooms. They had both agreed, however, to look at jewellery in Hogsmeade with Athenys. The Hogsmeade trip was tiring, with walking around to every single shop while listening to Pansy go on and on about her dress and jewellery and how well Draco and her would look together. With a belly full of butterbeer, they eventually returned to Hogwarts and the first thing Athenys did was take out her jewellery and put it beside the dress to see if they matched, which they did, thanks to Daphne's perfect selection. Smiling, she carefully folded the dress up and stored it away with her jewellery. As she walked out of the dorms and into the common room, she found Theo sitting alone by the fire with his Arithmancy book in his lap.

"Hey," Theo said as she shut the book and made room for Athenys to sit.

Athenys took the seat next to him and took the Arithmancy book, "You're looking at references already? We only got this essay yesterday."

"Thought I'd get a head start."

Athenys smiled, "Of course you did."

There was an awkward silence that followed, which Theo broke.

"I was waiting for you to get back from Hogsmeade, I actually wanted to talk to you about the Yule Ball."

"Really? I thought you were trying to avoid talking about it."

Theo sighed, "Yeah, I was, and I'm sorry. It's about taking you to the ball," Athenys frowned. Theo quickly continued seeing the look on her face.

"I felt bad, it's just that I don't want to be on Goyle's bad side. But also in the back of my mind, if-"

"Your father found out. Yeah, I guessed," Athenys said sadly, "Look, Theo, I totally understand if you want to go separately. I just thought that going as friends would be fun but if it bothers you…"

Theo shook his head, "No, no it's fine. Surprisingly, Father was alright with it. He encouraged it, in fact, which was kinda weird."

"Weird," Athenys replied quietly.

"Yeah," Theo said with a smirk, "And in that case I think it's only right for me to ask you to the ball properly without Goyle lurking around."

Being the theatrical person he was, Theo bent down on one knee and held out his left hand dramatically, "Will you, Miss Seraphina, go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Absolutely, Mr Nott," Athenys giggled as she placed her hand in his. She couldn't be more glad to be going with Theo since she knew that they were going to have a fun night, even if they were going as friends.

The days leading up to the ball were both exciting yet nerve-wracking. Every day the girls in the dorms went to sleep late, talking about hairstyles and makeup for the ball. Daphne consistently fought with her about what would look best on her and they both finally came to a look they were both happy with. On the day of the Yule Ball, Athenys had decided to go with thin, long gold earrings and a simple gold bracelet to match the dress details. Her hair was curled and pulled back into a higher, elegant bun with some loose strands. She initially wanted to have a lower bun however Daphne insisted that the higher bun suited her more since her face more since it was quite chubby.

Daphne herself looked incredible, with a high neck burgundy dress and her hair in loose waves. As they stepped into the Great Hall, Daphne and Athenys separated their ways as Blaise came to greet Daphne and a short while after Athenys spotted Theo and waved excitedly at him.

"Bloody hell, Seraphina!" Theo exclaimed as he waved back to Athenys.

"How do I look?"

"Not… twelve?"

She hit him on the shoulder, and he laughed, "Just kidding. You look amazing."

"Are you just saying that?"

He smiled, "No, honestly, you look amazing, Athenys."

"Not so bad yourself, Theo."

Theo honestly looked like he was from a high-class family. Of course, he was from a pureblood family, but it never showed, since he always wore his hair messy and clothes were hardly ever pressed. This time, his hair was smoothed to the side yet not too slick and his dress robes were well pressed and put together perfectly.

"Wanna go finish all the pasties?" Athenys asked playfully.

"Ooh yep, before everyone gets here!" Theo whispered as they both inched towards the food platters.