Alright, so here's the deal, if I receive a grand total of 50 reviews (that's only six for this chapter) by Sunday, I'll update Monday night. If not, I'm going to wait until Wednesday because I have fallen a bit behind, but I'm really excited to post the next chapter because... I love it!
Chapter 14
My reflection shocked me.
I was standing in-between two gorgeous girls, but it wasn't me I was sure. The first thing I noticed was that I was a good head shorter that both of them, and while each had an extravagant exquisiteness or flare, I appeared a little bit plain. I erased the thought from my mind—I was younger, and had yet to gain the little sparkle they had. It was then that my mind set had changed. I looked beautiful.
My robes were pale blue velvet, and sparkled when I moved, the tiny stones sewn into the fabric. The sleeves went down three quarters of the way down my arm. The neckline was in a 'V' shape and almost proceeded in a wrap style down to the bottom of my ribs where it was cut off by a crème colored strap. A small satin bow sat a little off center on the strap and glittered, covered in stones. From the contour down it was merely material and flowed straight to the floor. It didn't have a poof like Hermione's, and wasn't as stunning as Ginny's, but it suited me just fine. A slit made it's way up to my mid thigh on the left side, making me slightly self-conscious.
I looked up to my face. With glittering stones throughout, my hair sat upon my head like a doll. Small ringlets framed my cheekbones, not one left untouched. A minute clip had been set on the side of my head, supporting a blue tropical flower. My golden (not quite blonde) hair was very shiny and not one piece of hair strayed. My face looked almost normal, and the only evidence of my wounds was the small pale blue shadow of the scar ran from my temple to my mid-cheek, the make-up's only flaw. The bruises were gone, the small gashes had disappeared, and my bangs covered up the purple gash on my forehead. My eyes shimmered; a pale white and pink placed across the lids and my lashes took their time to get down to my cheeks when I blinked.
"Oh my gosh."
Hermione stood beside me, the image of the perfect bride. Her shoulders sat firm, square, and visible, and she was happy with the results. The white rose pinned in her hair gave her poise. Like me, she also sparkled, and the satin on her dress shimmered with movement, epitomizing her beauty. Ginny to my right was making faces in the mirror.
"I look like an exotic gypsy!" she exclaimed. "A Spanish gypsy!" It was true. Her breasts were pushed up in an old fashioned style, and the rock that hung around her neck gave her a look of power. A daring red rose clipped into her shiny bob topped off the perfect package.
"Beth?" Hermione looked at me. I was still staring at my reflection, entranced by my crazy revelation. "Can you speak? Don't pass out or anything, cause... well it would be a bloody waste."
Hearing Hermione use bad language brought me back to earth and my face broke into a small grin. "Thank you." In my state of shock, I had trouble speaking those words even if there were only two. It was then that I noticed the shimmering on the skintight cuffs. An extravagant design glittered silver, but was so tiny you could only see it in the direct light. It was a difficult design to decipher, but I discovered it to be small flowers.
Ginny and Hermione hugged me from either side, then started to chatter about how nice they looked. I stood remaining, and saw the necklace.
"This isn't mine," I said tugging at it with my satin-gloved hands. A set of white pearls sat around my neck, and evenly set between each side was a petite square blue gem, outlined in silver.
"Erm, when you went to the loo this morning, I bought it. I had some extra credit towards the store when I returned my other silver necklaces because she charged me less. She knew that we were going to be with Harry tonight, so she charged me a little less for the publicity. I thought it matched your earrings." Ginny shrugged as though she though nothing of it. Other than my disfigured face, I thought myself to be the perfect picture of elegance.
§
Molly, Hermione, Ginny and I all walked into the dining room where everyone was waiting. A group of people I didn't recognize on a first name basis stood at the back of the room. I assumed these to be the invisible members of the house—those who I heard about, but never saw. A witch in midnight blue robes turned from the conversation with Moody and another man I didn't know at the back of the room to look at us. The room was quiet for a moment and all eyes were on us.
"Well don't you ladies look pretty," said Arthur. He stepped out from a shadow to the left and gave his wife a kiss. Molly blushed, her purple, frilly robes floating around her. Her hair had been done up with a butterfly clip the same color of her dress and she seemed content pretending to be a little girl. Arthur smiled and adjusted the collar of his robes, black with a stylish purple gem design around the cuffs—matching his wife's dress.
Ginny walked in front of me and did a little twirl, her face radiant. I watched as Bill, George, and Fred, who had been standing together, jaws drop. A combination of shock and overprotection kept them from speaking in outrage over Ginny's robes. She waltzed across the room to speak to her parents, absolutely glowing.
I followed in quietly, my face towards the ground. I had no parent's to hug, and stood along the wall. Remus walked up to me and gave me a hug.
"You look prefect," he said with a smile. I looked up at his old face and smiled. His chocolate brown robes gave him the slight appearance of a monk, and I had only withdrawn that mental image when he turned and where his breast pocket should've been sparkled a small, embroidered "R.L.". A gold sequence around his left arm sleeve was the only further evidence of formal wear.
I watched as Hermione strolled into the room, her robes glittering a gorgeous white. She smiled a beautiful smile and made her way over to Ron. His black robes garnished with a crème bow brought the couple together. He kissed her hand like a gentleman, and proceeded to place a necklace around her bare neck.
Conversation made it's way back into the room and I waited for the announcement that we had to leave. Fred and George seemed to glitter more than the ladies, and by looking at the two of them together I was blinded. I couldn't even have guessed at the color of their robes. They wore extravagant top hats which each had a bow tied around; Fred's was orange, George's was a lime green. Bill stood beside them, his eyes still on Ginny as she moved around the room and chatted with various people, his eyebrows knitted together. His robes were black and embroidered with a green embellishment along the front.
I watched the room's constant flutter of activity, and then Harry walked in.
"The man of the hour!" exclaimed a wizard from my left.
He was dressed in black from head to toe, and like Remus, the only ornamentation on his robes were pastel gems around where his breast pocket should've been, and the cuffs. His hair looked like normal, as if he had made no effort to appear above the standard.
"Well, everyone's here," said Remus. "We should get going."
"On with the show!" exclaimed the same wizard who announced Harry's presence. Everyone began to shuffle towards the door, and I found myself caught up in the crowd of people getting there.
We made our way through the front door, shuffling along quietly so as to not wake up Mrs. Black, whose curtains were floating in and out, as if she was snoring.
The cool early evening air felt good on my face as I was moved into the third ministry car in the line. I sat down beside Remus and the window. Moody and Shacklebolt sat beside Remus, and another rather short wizard beyond that.
The ride their was quiet, except for the small talk made by the tiny wizard who I came to know as Dedalus Diggle.
"Remus," I said softly, as not to disturb the quiet atmosphere, "Where exactly is it being held?"
"You'll know it when you see it," said Remus, his face lit up with a broad smile. "Just wait! I've only ever been there once, but the outside is stunning." He laughed. "It's too bad that muggles only see it to be a run down gas station, because from an architectural point of view, it could be an eighth wonder of the world for them."
There was chatter for the rest of the ride, and I counted streetlights as we drove passed. I fingered my necklace puzzled. I knew Ginny hadn't have had credit. The necklace she bought was much too expensive for her to afford. It didn't make sense. As I reflected I began to think that maybe I was just being paranoid. Maybe Ginny had done it on the encouragement of Hermione, or possibly of her own accord as a kind gesture. Too nice in my opinion, but like I had thought, maybe I was just paranoid.
"Did you know pearls represent teardrops?" asked Moody gruffly. I turned and look at him on the opposite end of the seat. It was a rather poetic thing to say from such a hard man, and I knew he wasn't finished.
"No," I said carefully, "I didn't."
"It's ruddy peculiar. You're wearing a lot of them now aren't you?" His china blue eye found me in mid roll. "Bad luck girl. To wear something that represents such grief…"
Remus patted my shoulder. "I think they're beautiful, teardrops or not." Moody grunted in acknowledgement although I knew him to be stubborn, and probably assuming me to be a bad luck charm. I frowned and stuck a piece of hair in my mouth, a new habit I'd come accustomed too and chewed on it in a weary enthusiasm. The anticipation for such a large event had finally made its way down to reality, and I was starting to get nervous. My foot twitched, and my ears burned hot.
I waited anxiously, my heart pounding in my throat the rest of the excruciatingly long ride. I was afraid of messing up, or making a fool of myself, but when we turned the final corner, I found my worries faded. The prominent, striking, and royal looking structure to my left seemed to come alive in the twinkle of dusk.
The car turned into the breezeway of the palace, and the door was opened for me. I stepped out, and found all my fears evaporated.