The night of the Christmas Ball, Harry stood in the Gryffindor common room, playing with the white rose he had brought for Laurelle. He stopped fidgeting with the rose and put it down on a table. He straightened his tie. Why was he so nervous? They were only going as friends, nothing more. But he knew perfectly well why he was so nervous. Every time that Laurelle had walked into a room from the first time he had met her on the train, he felt weak in his knees. He wanted so badly for her to look on him as more than a friend, but right now, even her seeing him as a friend was enough. Maybe tonight he could win her over. He would look her straight in her beautiful, sparkling hazel eyes and tell her exactly how he felt… Suddenly he stopped short in his daydream. There, standing in front of him, was the most beautiful creature he has ever seen in his life. It was Laurelle. She was wearing a simple long black dress that accentuated her perfect figure. Her small-heeled black shoes left Harry with only an inch on her, and her hair was full and graceful, just grazing the top of her hips. Her dress had spaghetti straps and a modest neckline, not high, but not too low either. The fabric was light and floaty and seemed to whisper around every curve of her body. She wore silver teardrop earrings and a silver necklace with a matching teardrop pendant suspended from it. She has only the lightest hint of makeup on, which only served to accentuate her natural beauty. As she approached Harry, he caught the light rose scent of her perfume. She smiled at Harry, a smile that made him feel like his legs might give out at any moment. She thought that he looked incredibly handsome in his suit. "Are you ready to go?" Laurelle asked. Harry needed a few moments to collect his voice. "Yeah. Yeah! Let's go!" he replied. He offered her his arm, which she accepted with a grin and the walked down to the Dining Hall, where the ball was being held.
The room was decorated with yards of tinsel and garlands of pine. The tables had been removed to create a large dance floor. Christmas trees of all sizes were scattered about the room. In one corner, an orchestra was warming up for that evening's music. Harry looked to his left and noticed Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked beautiful also, in a long red dress, but when he saw the flowers she carried, he realized that he had forgotten the rose for Laurelle in the common room. "Oh!" he said, "I forgot something upstairs. I'll be right back!" "Okay." said Laurelle. He dashed off. Immediately, Draco Malfoy sauntered over, with Crabbe and Goyle at his side. Laurelle had never spoken to him before but she had often seen him watching her during the classes they had with the Slytherins. "So you're the new girl!" he said, with a falsely friendly voice. "Would you care to dance?" "Thank you for the offer," Laurelle said. "But I'm here with Harry." "What do you see in him anyways?" sneered Malfoy, taking a step closer to Laurelle. "He's a very good friend to me!" said Laurelle, praying with every fiber in her that he would leave her alone. He took another large step towards her, pressing her up against a wall, leaving very little room between the two of them. "I'm twice the man he is," Malfoy said. "And a girl as pretty as you shouldn't waste her time with Potter when she could be with…me" Laurelle pushed him hard to get him away. "I don't want anything to do with you, Malfoy." She said. "Fine." he said silkily. He took a step back, boring his gray eyes into her, wearing the type of smile that someone wears when they have a secret no one else knows. "Tell me," he said in a voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Is it true that you haven't any family?" Laurelle faltered. She closed her eyes and braced herself. With fifteen biting words, Malfoy had managed to recreate Laurelle's haunting past. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. You do have a grandfather. Well then why is it," he said in a mocking tone, "why is it that you never go home over holidays? And why is it that you never get letters from home? Is there something wrong with you, Laurelle? Or does he just not like you? And where are your parents anyways?" Laurelle could feel the hot tears welling up in her still closed eyes, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Malfoy grinned evilly. Laurelle knew that if she stayed in that room any longer, with everyone staring at her, she would explode. So she ran.
Laurelle ran out into the rose garden off to the side of the Dining Hall, slamming the door behind her. She dropped down onto one of the benches, a secluded one, incase anyone came out, and finally broke down. The tears of frustration that had pent up since she had first arrived all came tumbling down her cheeks now, each leaving a salty trail on her cheeks. Her long hair swung in front of her face, covering it.
"Laurelle?"
The voice came soft as a whisper, barely audible, from the side of the bushes, but Laurelle would recognize it anywhere. She didn't want Harry to see her like this, but it seemed to hardly matter to her anymore.
"I came back down just in time to see you run out," Harry said, taking a place beside her on the bench and setting down the white rose he had been carrying. He sat there patiently for hours; it must have been, with his arm around Laurelle, trying to find the words to soothe her pain. He hated seeing her this upset; it near broke his heart. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, he wanted to tell her how smart, and funny, and witty she was, he wanted to tell her how perfect she was. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he needed her, how much he wanted her. But there were no words to describe any of these things.
Laurelle slowly picked her head up. Harry reached over and gently wiped the tears from her face. "Her skin is so smooth," he thought. He softly tucked her hair behind her ear. "Her hair is so soft." She stared into his eyes. Laurelle, what are you doing here with him? Leave! Leave now, before he can hurt you like all of the rest, she though. Almost involuntarily, Laurelle stood up, yet after she did, she couldn't move. Harry stood up with her. "Laurelle," Harry started, "Laurelle, I…" He couldn't stop staring at her eyes. She was the most amazing person he had ever met, and he wanted to tell her that, he wanted to tell her that so badly that he could barely breathe. Laurelle could sense him growing closer, so slowly that he was almost not moving. He kept coming closer, and almost instinctively, her eyelids began to flicker closed. Their lips were scarcely more than a whisper apart, and the voice inside of Laurelle's head was screaming Stop! Stop before it's too late! Then, for the first time in her life, a strange thing happened. For the first time in all of her fourteen years, another voice, quiet at first but steadily growing louder, spoke back, saying No…no! This is what I want! He… He isn't like the others! She felt herself closing the minute gap between them and their lips touched, so softly that she would have doubted they were touching at all if it hadn't been for the sensation of the stars and the moon colliding above their heads. Harry pulled back ever so slightly and kissed her again, more deeply this time. Laurelle felt him put his hand on her waist and she slowly moved her hand so that it was touching his neck gently. He kissed her again and again, and they both felt as though all of their dreams were coming true at once. They had no concept of how long they stood there, but when they both finally pulled back, the sun was beginning to rise. They had been so caught up in this new feeling that neither had noticed the pair of malicious gray eyes that had been watching them from the start.
(For all of your information, this scene was "inspired", if you will J, by a bee-you-tee-ful song, by Jessica Andrews, a country singer. The song is called Every Time and can be found on her "Who I Am" CD. Here are the lyrics: (you can see why its my fave!)
I laid the blanket there on the shoreline
And saw the water shine with the moon
What kind of fool would fail to notice
The best thing shining was you
Oh I laughed kinda nervous
I felt you move closer
And felt the world unwind
Once was a stranger not quite a lover
But steadily crossing the line
Carry me far away
Don't hold back, I won't break
Leave the ghosts behind
All I know wrong or right
Just the thought of this night
Will get me every time
Every time
Well the voice in my head said what
Are you doing
I thought not listening to you
You see I'm taking a chance
I'm thinking bout flying over the blue
And its crazy to be this out of practice
And have it all come so naturally
Don't you love knocking logic right off
Its axis
And watch it float far out to sea
Carry me far away
Don't hold back, I won't break
Leave the ghosts behind
All I know wrong or right
Just the thought of this night
Will get me every time
Every time
So now here I am reading my fortune
In the winding lines of your hand
Oh and I see a lost unwanted orphan
Head right for the promised land
Carry me far away
I won't, I won't break
Carry me far away
Don't hold back I won't break
Leave the ghosts behind
All I know wrong or right
Just the thought of this night
Will get me every time
Every time
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