*(A/N)* Hello, I've been asked to write faster, so I'm going to attempt to get 15 up ASAP. I wonder what the longest series ever to go up is??? I wonder if I'll beat it. Hehehe, Don't worry, things will start rolling now that we've got Quidditch tryouts over and all.
Chloe Patil at Hogwarts: Chapter 15
Chloe sat in the common room, bored and lonely. It was Sunday evening, and she had nothing to do. The girls in her dorm were discussing the upcoming ball, and nothing else. This was all very well, but after a day and a half straight of the discussion, Chloe began wishing that the ball was already over. In reality it was a couple weeks away, but each of these girls already knew who they wanted to go with, what they would wear, which shoes would be most appropriate, their makeup, and how their hair would be. (Which they'd convinced Chloe to do with her hair charm. She was the only one that knew it, and she'd relunctantly agreed.) Chloe hated planning for things too far ahead, she found that it took some of the fun out of the event. So there she found herself, curled up in her favorite chair in front of the fire, wondering what she could do to fill time.
She began to find herself half-wishing that she hadn't fought with Jack. After all, it was sort of flattering that he was jealous of Malfoy. But, still, that hadn't been what had made her mad. It was mostly the part about him telling her she couldn't talk to other guys. The bruise on her arm hadn't helped ease her anger either. If he hadn't been so violent with her, she would've probably found it in her heart to forgive him.
Someone sat down in a chair nearby. Chloe didn't bother to look over at who it was, she was lost in her thoughts.
"Hey." They said softly. She turned and sighed. It was Jack.
"Speak of the devil." She muttered.
"What's that?"
"Nothing."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, when Jack spoke up.
"I'm really sorry about hurting your arm, Chloe. I didn't want you to move and cause a big scene, it's nobody elses buisness if we're fighting."
"Oh, and pulling me down, causing me to crash. THAT didn't make a scene." She added sarcastically.
He sighed. "I'm sorry. Can't you forgive me already?"
She looked over into his pleading eyes, and felt herself melt inside.
"Yes. I can forgive you. BUT, I can't get back together with you just yet. I don't want to get into all that, and I just can't forget the look in your eyes. Let's just start over as friends, can't we?" She asked wearily. "If you really do like me, then you'll do this for me." She added sweetly, knowing that would get him.
He rolled his eyes. "Well then I suppose I'm going to have to do that then."
"Yeah, you are. I'm going to go up to the dorms, see you later." Then she got up and left. For some unknown reason, she suddenly felt like going over all the ball plans one more time. She wanted to spend some time with her friends, even if it meant taking some of the fun out of the Ball.
*~*
"Ok then, Chloe. Just do it one more time, to make sure it's absolutely perfect!"
"Get Lost Sarah!! She's already done it seven times! We all know that it's perfect!"
Sara sighed, and sat up reluctantly from the stool in front of the large mirror in their dorm. Chloe was practicing doing all of their hairdo's, just so that things would go smoothly on the night of the Ball.
They had all been huddled around Sara, who was requesting the carbon copy of Sarah Micheline Galdor's hair. The movie/tv starlet was never seen without her mass of curls, pinned up in an extravagant sort of plait. Sara, with her poker straight hair, longed to have curls like those and immediately chose that exact hairdo for the ball. The others had mulled over various magazines, and had eventually chosen what they wanted.
The only person left to decide was Chloe, who had flat out refused choosing something from a magazine just then. She wanted to wait until it was closer to the date of the event.
Jessika flounced across the room to her bed. From under the mattress, she pulled out a blue spiralled notebook, in which she kept all the information about the ball. Chloe rolled her eyes at the diligence of the girl, who took her 'scrapbook' seriously. After printing what they'd just done neatly into the book, she looked up at Chloe.
"Chloe, you have got to start deciding what you're doing! Look at these spaces under your name! You don't know what dress, shoes or hair that you're going to use, nor do you know who your date will be. Well, nobody but me knows who they're going with for sure, but we've all got somebody listed."
"You don't know you're going with Frederick for sure, Jessika!" Chloe hissed.
Jessika just shrugged and began listing off all potential dates that the girls had listed.
"Listen to this. Jessika: Frederick, Chloe: hmm, who knows? Roz: Draco, Sara: Crabbe, Autumn: Goyle and Ashley: Jack."
Chloe spun around at Ashley at this. "Why do you want to go with Jack?" she demanded.
"Well, you two have broken up, and, well, Chloe. He's hot." She told her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Chloe just rolled her eyes, and headed towards her bed, yawning. She couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy.
"I'm tired. Don't worry, Jessika. I'll think of what I'm going to do for the Ball for you're little scrapbook. Maybe it'll come to me in a dream." She said sarcastically.
Jessika just shrugged. "Well, hurry up before all the good dates are taken, and we've all claimed the best dresses. Good night." She finished.
"Yep. Night." Chloe murmured, slipping into bed, and drawing the curtains around her. She laid awake for several minutes, wondering if Jessika was right, and realizing that she knew how Jack had felt when he'd seen her and Draco.
*~*
A week had passed by. Chloe was nowhere nearer to knowing what she was going to do for the Ball. Between classes and Quidditch, she had no free time. Quidditch practices had finally began, and a few days ago, Slytherin had won their first game against Hufflepuff. Chloe was still overcome with elation whenever she thought about it. She'd flown about, hitting Bludgers at anyone in yellow robes, and had actually aided in some great plays!
One night, the week before the Ball, Chloe was sitting in the dorms, trying as hard as she could to get some nasty Care of Magical Creatures homework out of the way. She sighed, thankful that Christmas vacation was only seven days away. After awhile, Ashley, Sara and Autumn entered the dorm, each looking incredibly smug.
"Hey, what's up?" Chloe asked nonchalantly, wondering what the smug expressions could mean.
"WE have dates for the Ball." Sara announced, jumping onto Chloe's bed, scattering some papers. "Oops!" she giggled.
"Really? Who?" Chloe asked curiously.
"I," began Autumn, "Am going with Goyle. Hey, shut up!" She said indignantly, noticing Chloe's feeble attempt to cover up a snigger, "Sara's going with Crabbe!"
Chloe looked at Sara in surprise. "I thought you were kidding when you said that!" She cried.
Sara just shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, he's stupid. I'll be able to bend him at my will." She said, smiling evily. Chloe grinned, wondering what Sara had in mind. The other two just giggled.
"And you?" Chloe asked, gesturing towards Ashley.
"Jack Lawson." She said, grinning stupidly and pretending to faint on her bed. Chloe's smile vanished immediately. She'd taken it as a given that she and Jack would go together now that they were 'friends'. What was he doing taking Ashley?
"You're serious." Chloe said.
"Well yeah, I just asked him. Unless 'sure' means no, which it doesn't, then I'm going with him." Ashley replied, annoyed. "You're ok with this, aren't you Chloe?" She asked, grinning sweetly in a way that said that she knew that Chloe wasn't.
"Oh yeah, it's just peachy." Chloe replied sarcastically. "I've got to go, see you guys later." She told them, hopping off her bed, and heading down towards the common room. She needed to find someone to go to the Ball with, and fast. She thought long and hard of who else would take her. Surprisingly enough, Draco popped into her mind. She figured she could do worse, and strolled over to where Malfoy was sitting. All alone, in the chair she usually sat in.
"Draco," she began, shaking her head, "you're in my chair!"
Draco gazed at her lazily, although there was a gleam of amusement in his eyes. "There's another right there." He said, gesturing towards the one beside him. Chloe tossed her hair in mock indignation and sat down primly.
"So there is." She said sarcastically, relaxing. She tried to pump up her courage to ask him, knowing that if he turned her down, she'd never hear the end of it.
They chatted briefly about the Quidditch game, but the conversation turned quickly towards the upcoming ball.
"Who're you going with?" Draco questioned.
Chloe smirked. "No one yet, but surely a jerk like you doesn't have a date either." She teased, trying to trick him into asking her instead.
Draco smiled. Little did Chloe know, but he had intended on asking her. He, however, did have a date, which she didn't know yet. He didn't know why he'd accepted when the girl had asked him, maybe he thought that Chloe would be going with Jack. He'd seen the two of them talking civily in front of the fire earlier.
"Actually, this 'jerk' does have a date." Draco sneered. Then, lightening up, he added, "Roz Turner asked me to go with her earlier today." He shrugged. "She's nice enough, and if I've heard right, she's going to be one of Slytherin's future cheerleaders."
Chloe gaped at him in surprise. "You're serious." she stated, for the second time that night.
Draco looked at her oddly. "Yeah.." he said slowly. "What're you looking at me like that for? I thought she was your friend." He added.
Chloe changed her expression abruptly. "Oh, yeah, sure she is." She said quickly. Then, standing up, she walked off, without even saying goodbye.
Draco watched her walk away. He wondered what was going on with her, she was acting really strange that night.
*~*
Chloe walked out of the common room, a feeling of panic flowing through her.
"Two up, two down." She muttered to herself. She was walking briskly through the halls of the castle, trying desperately to calm herself down. She didn't really know anyone else that she could go with. Suddenly, she came across a boy, who was laying down, a victim of the body-bind curse. He looked up at her with startled eyes. Chloe sighed and performed the counter-curse. The boy sat up.
"I've really got to learn the block for that curse." He muttered to himself.
"Um, are you alright?" Chloe asked the boy, who was looking vaguely familiar. She thought he looked like a boy in her Potions class. Definitely not from Slytherin, which meant he was a Gryffindor.
He looked up at her, as if he was just remembering that she was there. "Oh, yeah, thanks. That happens to me a lot." He explained. "I couldn't remember the password to my common room, and Draco Malfoy came by, putting that curse on me. What are you doing out here, Chloe?"
Chloe smirked, that sounded like the exact thing that Draco would do. Then she looked at him, startled. "How do you know my name?" She asked curiously.
"Well, you are in my Potions class. Besides, everyone knows you. I mean, Dumbledore did single you out on the very first day."
"Oh, right." Chloe answered, remembering all too well. "I was, uh, taking a walk." She said lamely.
"You looked upset." The boy stated.
Chloe began to blush slightly. "Yeah, I was. It's just that, I don't have anyone to go with to the Ball, and all my friends do, and I don't know why on Earth I'm telling you this, but..." She said this very quickly, trailing off at the end.
The boy stood up, realizing he was still sitting on the floor. "Yeah, I don't have anyone to go with either. Um, do you want to go with me?" He asked timidly.
Chloe was taken aback. She gazed at him curiously, wondering how to take his question. "Well, er, yeah, alright." She answered in the spur of the moment.
The boy looked at her wonderously. "Really? Great! I'll, um, see you later." And he left in a hurry, almost as hurriedly as Chloe had left Draco earlier.
Chloe watched him go off, wondering what she'd gotten herself into. She then realized that she didn't even know his name. She sighed, and headed back towards the common room, suddenly feeling very tired.
*(A/N)* Hehehe, I'm assuming that you all know who she just accepted a date from? If you don't, you'll find out next time!!! I kind of wish...never mind, I won't say it. It might ruin the next part, I have an idea swimming around inside this brain of mine!! Hehehe, review for me please!!!
*S~B*