Chapter 7 : (please ignore my previous "chapter", thanks (: )
Christmas that year was a big affair, with almost more than half the school staying back to celebrate the festivities among their classmates and teachers. The girl's were comparing notes on what they would be wearing and who was taking them to the Masquerade. Students above the fourth year were allowed to enter Hogsmead any time they wished from seven am to eight pm, allowing them to do some last minute Christmas shopping.
Christine on the other hand, seemed like the only one to exclude herself from the mood. Every morning, she would skip breakfast to either go to the Hogsmead book store to buy more books, or spend her time thumbing through interesting books on Transfiguration or Potions. Not wanting to look plain or drab, she wore everyday clothes like the other students which consisted of a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a sweater. She also allowed herself the privilege of wearing a pair of silver plated earrings and a chain given to her by her grandmother, on which her Chinese name was inscribed. (BTW, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO A CERTAIN SMART ALEC, AND TELL HIM/HER/HETEROSEXUAL, THAT USUALLY WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A MIXTURE OF ENGLISH AND CHINESE NAMES, THEY WOULD GO WITH THEIR ENGLISH NAMES)
Ignoring requests to the dance by other boys, she spent her lonely Christmas by herself. In Hogsmead, she would often go to the Three Broomsticks and order herself a cup of hazelnut coffee, which was a drink best served when the hazelnut syrup was mixed with hot, freshly brewed coffee. While drinking, she would correspond with her father by sending him letters, in reply to his, assuring him that her Christmas was fine alone and that she was going to the Masquerade.
On Christmas day, she sat by herself in the Three Broomsticks after spending the past three hours in the bookshop. She spotted Cedric and his friends coming into the café, joking among each other. When they saw Christine sitting alone in the corner, frowning at them for disturbing the peace, they suddenly went quiet, but on hearing Zacharias Smith pass a venomous remark, they burst into laughter, only to be hushed up by Cedric who didn't laugh. She ignored them and continued writing a letter to her father.
"I heard she hasn't got a date to the dance…" whispered Jonathan Cleen.
"Well, who can blame any guy for not wanting to take her? I mean, she would look good standing next to me, but a definite no no when she starts blowing up…" whispered William Avien.
"Why don't you take her Cedric? I mean, not like you love her or anything, I mean, she would kinda look pathetic standing alone…"
"I can't, I didn't want to look like a fool standing in the hall without a date, so I immediately accepted the first invitation…"
"CARMELITA SNOTGRASS!" Zacharias blew up, shocked, who was hushed by the whole group of guys.
"No! Not her, the other girl from Ravenclaw. Cho Chang," said Cedric.
"Oooh…. So you finally have someone you like..."
"No…I mean, there's nothing between us…I'm thinking of focusing on my studies now…" Cedric said, sounding annoyed, with an air which was trying to persuade his friends to do the same.
"Your so boring Ced! I'm going with the Slytherin hottie Shanna Queendie"
"Well I'm going with the Gryffindor girl, Matilda Miggs…"
"Well I'M going with-" Zacharias said before being cut off by a loud BANG.
That was when they realized Christine had left, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Boy, look at that attitude…"
"If my sister did that to me I'd slap her…"
"Who does she think she is?"
"Apparently, her father is the Minister of Education, and they inherited a large amount of gold from her grandfather who recently passed away…"
"How do you know?"
"My mother is a healer. When her grandfather was on his deathbed, she overheard him willing all his assets to her father!"
boring border, please ignore
Christine headed back to the old book store down the street and buried herself in an interesting book on famous wizards and witches throughout the ages. Although she appeared to be extremely absorbed in the contents of the book, she kept replaying the conversation the group of boys had. She tried pushing away the thoughts of a "lonely Christmas" to the back of her mind, trying hard not to think about the wonderful times she had with her parents on Christmas night. She began to cry softly, bringing her hand up to her mouth trying to stifle her sobs. Her tears dripped all over the crisp, yellow pages of the books, causing the pictures of the famous wizard Merlock duck for cover.
She grit her teeth in anger as she replayed the gossips about her in her mind over and over again…
Hey its her! Shes that girl with no date!
Apparently shes not going!
Yeah…won't want anything to be spoiled by her…
I heard that was too proud to accept any invitations…
Shes not THAT pretty…
She then thought to herself : I must not let these bitches triumph over the fact that I am not going. In fact, I WILL go, I shall go. No one can recognize me under my mask anyway, they will never know.
Realizing how late she was, she scrambled up and wiped her tears away after placing the book back on the shelf, knowing that she had already missed the feast. It was fine by her. All she needed was the dancing, all she needed was to take every body's breath away, all she needed was to leave that night, making people wonder aloud who that beautiful girl under that mask was…
She made it in time back up to Hogwarts as Filch had already begun closing the large iron gates. Briskly walking back to her common room (which was deserted), she pulled out the half opened box from under her bed, in which the magnificent dress lay. She put it on with great care, along with wearing matching pink diamond earrings and a tennis bracelet. She wore the beautiful heart shaped necklace and played with it, entwining it on her index finger. Recognizing everything she wore as her mother's, she was overwhelmed with emotion as she stood, looking at herself in the mirror. In place of her body and face, she saw her mother looking back at her, smiling.
She reached out and touched the cold reflection, only to notice in the mirror that it was a half past eight, an hour after the Masquerade started. Grabbing her mask, she lifted her skirts and quickly ran to the Great Hall where the celebrations took place. Before entering, she made sure her mask was well secured on her face. She pushed open the doors and saw many people dancing merrily to a brisk rhythmic song, played by an orchestra of instruments which were bewitched to play by themselves. Smiling in amazement at such wonderful spellwork, she completely forgot that she was standing infront over four hundred students, who had their gazes fixated on her. She gingerly withdrew her gaze from the instruments and gingerly walked in, aware that many familiar voices began to whisper.
"May I have this dance?" asked a voice behind a mask, adorned by sea green sequins.
She recognized this voice by the third year, Draco Malfoy. She quickly accepted, feeling extremely embarrassed at so many people staring at her. Though she felt odd dancing with a boy a year younger than her, she allowed herself to be steered by him. Anything which can get these people off my back, she thought to herself.
But wasn't this what you wanted? Revenge… a soft voice at the back of her head told her.
Ignoring it, she carried on dancing.
"So, who are you?" inquired Malfoy after dancing for a period of time.
Putting on her angelic voice (which she seldom used) so that he would not recognized her, she said, " It doesn't matter who I am,"
"Well it does to-!" he said, in a demanding tone, only to be interrupted by a familiar tall boy, who tapped Malfoy on his shoulder, signaling that he wanted to dance with her by gentlemanly putting his hand forward.
Hissing in anger, Malfoy stormed away, in sought for his two cronies :Crabbe and Goyle.
"Thank you kind sir," she said, using the same voice as she used on Malfoy.
The boy did not reply, but instead danced with her with an unusual grace. She found it odd, but carried on dancing with him. Their eyes locked, grey on brown. She found this surprisingly familiar…too familiar… Though many people were dancing too, their eyes were locked on Christine, wondering who that girl behind that beautiful mask was. Once their eyes were locked, it was like as if they were glued together. Not able to look away from those charming grey eyes, she allowed him to steer her over the dance floor. When the song ended, she began to draw away, curtseying like the other girls in the room. He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly, before drawing away too…
Through out the night, she was asked by different boys to dance, but not the same one who had the entrancing grey eyes. Lord help her she was falling for the boy behind that mask. Despite dancing with many boys whose voices she recognized as handsome and confident seventh, sixth, or fifth years, she could not stop thinking about that boy behind that pale and ordinary mask.
Whenever someone asked her who she was, she would give the same answer, "It doesn't matter who I am…" , which either shut the boys who were romantics up, or kept the talkative and irritating ones asking her who she was. (she dumped those she found annoying even before the song ended).
Leaving before the last dance over, she disappointed many guys who had tried so hard to get her attention. Much to her annoyance, many boys and (ravenclaw) girls had followed her, determined to see what house she was from, so while they were still a good distance away from her, she broke into a sprint, running all the way back up to the Gryffindor common room. She stripped off her dress, thurst it back under the bed, and quickly washed up. She didn't expect so much attention turned on her that night. She changed into her usual shorts and shirt, throwing on a jacket due to the cold weather, and lay in bed, reading a book on Herbology. That night before she slept, she just could not stop thinking about that boy behind that mask…
Hey wassup people? Thanks to all my loyal reviewers….but im partly in the wrong…as a writer…I should be more open to suggestions…rude, direct, or honest. ((: that's all for now…but please review