My dress was completely ruined, it's silvery sheen spattered and discolored from the claret drink Cho threw on me. Now it hung slickly, in thick heaps, the wetness clinging to my ribs cage and legs uncomfortably.
Click. Click. Click.
The chatter of boots sounded on the pavement just outside the balcony arch that led to my courtyard.
"Come to mock me stranger?" I snipped, blinking back the tears. I refused to let anyone see me in such a state if I could help it, "Just go away please. I've had enough of this night."
When the footsteps didn't retreat, I glanced toward the pale archway where I could still hear the host of music playing from the ballroom.
A tall man stood before me, dressed simply in a set of black dress robes without frills or flourishes. It was highly pragmatic and rather sharp. A raven mask obscured his face. He must be from Durmstrang I decided- definitely older than me by his towering and narrow stature. Wordlessly, he withdrew a black wand from his right pocket and pointed it towards me with a quick decisive move. I flinched, then softened- the spilled juice had evaporated from my dress, as though it had never been touched.
I fingered the fabric tentatively. How? Or perhaps a better question was why? It was an unexpected gesture of kindness that I had not seen since the rumors started in November and I became the official school "slut."
"Thank you." I said, as my heart squeezed in my chest, "I haven't had much in the way of kindness lately. This means a lot to me- truly."
The wizard nodded solemnly, lowering his wand. He turned to leave, but paused as my hand flew unbidden to his arm.
"Stay with me for a while? I could use someone to talk with for a bit." I asked quietly, staring into the dark eyes within the mask. Intense eyes that reminded me of ash after a flame.
For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse. Then he twitched his head as if to say he would, but only for a little. We sat down on the white marble bench, separated by a foot of space.
So we talked. I say "we," but it was really just me. Telling him about the girls, the dress, the ice. Some good things too: Luna and her unfailing kindness. How she had saved me from missing my Potion's final. My ruined clothing. My uncle and our butterbeer adventure. How I wondered about my parents, trying to imagine what they were like and who they were. It was freeing, coming clean at last. Maybe he was just what I needed- a stranger to talk with, free of judgment. A human to just listen without advice or sympathy.
My tears had stopped falling. My breathing was even and relaxed now. We sat in silence for several minutes, before he made to leave.
"Wait, before you go- I owe you." I hastened as he stood up from the bench, "You've...You've been a greater help tonight than I could possibly explain. I wish there was some way I could repay your kindness."
He waved his hand as if to say it was unnecessary.
I shook my head in disagreement, "I always repay my debts. There is something I could do for you. I've never done it for any guy before. I wonder if..."
I trailed off as he looked rather alarmed and flinched away from me.
"No- nothing like that! That came out worse than I intended! I promise that was not what I meant! Believe it or not, I've never been with anyone, despite those awful rumors. Not even so much as a kiss!" I was blushing then, my metal mask heating unevenly on my face. "Why I'm even telling you that, I don't know. I just get the feeling that I can trust you. What I was trying to say before is that I am a rather gifted dancer- or so my uncle says. Probably due to my siren blood. If you'd like, I'll dance for you tonight."
He began to shake his head no.
"No singing I promise." I replied hastily, "Just one dance. That's all."
There it was again, that flutter deep in my chest. The squeezing. My inner siren wanted to dance for him- and him alone.
He paused, contemplating. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded his head in assent. He glanced towards the white bench and sat back down, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.
"Ok then." I replied, uncharacteristically nervous. I'd never danced for anyone beside my uncle. Where to even begin? I removed my mask, unwilling to have it fall off mid performance, and set it on the edge of the arched railing.
I stood several feet away from him. At first, I tried looking into his eyes. That was a mistake. My heart began to pound unsteadily and my palms were sweating in the cold air. I gulped. Better to just close my eyes. That helped.
I inhaled sharply, lifted my arms and began to dance. Slowly, languidly, as if I had all the time in the world and I alone could command it. Every step, every twirl was heavily calculated as I began my waltz.
Let me out. Let us be one.
She called to me from the depths of my soul, stirring in the long forgotten shadows and dark water. I felt her, churning in the water, craving to be released.
Come. Come join me on the surface. I replied. My siren pulled herself out of the depths of our soul, her hands entwining with mine. She was me, and I was her. We were a circle without an end.
I am free. Free after so long...
My eyes snapped open, fixing themselves on the man before me. He was watching me intently. Though I couldn't see his face, his lips were open in uncompromising fascination. And his eyes, those onyx eyes sparked with an emotion I could not name. They reminded me of hunger, as if he could devour me in a single glance.
Mine. My siren called unbidden.
Then, I was twirling as I had never done before, blazing with the inner pressure of a waterfall unlocked within my soul. I was a river falling into a torrent turned whirlpool. My hands were fluttering over my waist, down my shoulders, waving into my hair, pulling my long locks free from the tight up-do so my black-greenish hair fell to my thighs in a wild tumble. My legs wove intricate patterns as I spun faster and faster, my chest heaving, breathlessly. Unconsciously, my feet danced closer and closer to him until I was only mere inches away. My back arched and my hair rippled under the moon's watchful stare. I was glowing. My skin, palest of blues in the starlight. My hair, like liquid darkness.
More. She purred. Need more.
My chest was burning from the exertion as my hips swayed sensually. I was pirouetting faster and faster, like the flickering of a flame. The dance was at its end. The conclusion nearing the climax of ecstasy. My fingers laced together as my spine arched seductively, sweat trickling down the small of my back. He was standing now, no longer sitting. Marching over towards me, eyes blazing, his hands reaching out towards me.
Suddenly, I was in his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Instinctively, I knew he was meant for me, and me alone. My siren blood was singing, echoing arias in my veins. This Raven-masked man- I would know him even if I were blind and devoid of all sense. He was mine and I was his. He was my mate, the man I was destined to be with, to grow old with and share my life with.
We danced, as if consumed by fever for a time unknown. Fiercely, he claimed my right hand and spun me again and again. The lights in the sky swirled as I twirled, laughing into the night.
How long had I held back this side of me in the hope of fitting in? This stranger, just who was he to make me lose control like this? I wanted to know-no- needed to know who he was. I stopped spinning, near gasping for breath as his hand clung to my waist possessively. I swayed backwards gracefully, looking him directly in those fierce eyes that now reminded me of a hurricane mixed tsunami, exposing the whiteness of my neck. His eyes drifted down my face as I licked my lips.
I straightened myself in his grasp. His obsidian eyes darkened and hands were trembling now, his lips but a breath away from mine. Gently, I cupped his mask with my hands and closed the distance between us. Lust swirled in my blood when his lips covered mine.
It was perfect, unyielding, and all-consuming. Then he stilled, becoming as motionless as a statue. I waited for him to continue, but he did nothing.
The silky unyielding nature of his lips lured me into exploration. I softened my lips against him, opening them ever so slightly. His taste was dark and evocative. There was a hard pulse of magic from him that was contained so quickly, I couldn't decipher the flavor. His lips curved into mine- that was all the warning I got before he lost control.
His tongue traced my upper lip. I opened my mouth as his tongue pressed inwards, dominating me. My arms twined behind his neck as I lost myself in the taste of him. He groaned fiercely, tightening his grip around me, his free hand pressing my head closer, warm fingers weaving through my hair, deepening the kiss.
He had awakened something primal in the depths of my flesh and bone. I staggered backward, pulling him to the bench so I laid down. He came readily, cradling my head away from the hardness of the stone, still kissing me wildly.
Mine.
I moaned into his mouth as his leanness pressed flush against my body. He cupped my cheeks, ravishing me with his mouth. His tongue beckoned and sucked. Heat rose through my entire body. Everything about him called to the Siren in me, and she responded eagerly to the greediness of his touch. I needed to see him, needed to know who he was to me. I lifted my hands to his mask, pulling it tentatively up.
Abruptly, he shoved himself off of me, staggering to his feet. I blinked as the shocking cold air surrounded my exposed skin. My siren nearly screamed from the loss of his warmth. He recoiled as if I had burned him, his hands clutching his skull as if struck with a sudden migraine.
Stumbling backwards, he dragged out his wand, pressing the tip on his throat. An unfamiliar voice spilled out from him.
This… this was a mistake. I cannot be with you. You will never see me again."
With a last tortured look, he ran from me, cape billowing in the wind.
My heart fell as he vanished from view. I was frozen for the loss of him. Emotions I never knew existed were spiraling out of control. He had left me- abandoned me despite our soul searing connection. I was drained, too exhausted to even cry. Numb. I was numb.
As I left, I spotted Ginny Weasley, whose arm was interlaced with Neville. .
"Ginny, Neville." I inclined my head, "Do you two mind telling Luna I'm going up for the night? I'm feeling a bit out of sorts."
"Sure. You ok?" Ginny said.
I shook my head, wordlessly, leaving the music and light of the ballroom towards the darkness of the hallways beyond.
The next morning, I walked straight out to the courtyard- my mask, the silver of the swan was gone. In its place, a black rose. My siren wilted. I felt her dive down back into the depths, hiding, wounded as though stabbed with a trident. I would not feel her again until 2 years later...
