Through the Tears
I woke up the day of the party to a pounding on my door.
"What is it?" I asked, grogginess making my words almost unreconizeable.
"I am here to make you look stunning," I heard Pippy shout. "How do you expect me to do that when you are still in bed at six in the morning?"
I could hear a snicker that undoubtedly came from my roommate. "Shut up Riddle," I called. I turned my attention back to Pippy. "I refuse to get out of bed. The earliest I've ever gotten ready for a dance was two hours. I don't care about my looks enough to wake up 13 hours before the ball starts."
I heard my door open but I ignored it. It wasn't until I felt Pippy grab my legs and yank me out of my bed that I fully opened my eyes.
"I get the feeling that I'm going to like you a lot less after today," I told my friend.
She just grinned.
Seeing as Lisa and I were the only two Gryffindors that were part of the Slug club, Pippy had taken it upon herself to make us both look dazzling. I finally got out of bed and dragged myself to the seventh year, Gryffindor dorm room. When I saw Lisa, I wasn't surprised that she was just as tired as I was.
The rest of the day was spent getting ready. We dressed Lisa up first. It took us about five hours to get her bathed, dressed, put her make up on, dry and style her hair, paint her nails and anything else that would in anyway, change her appearance.
When she was completely dressed, she looked stunning in a strapless, pale yellow dress. It had intricate designs all over the bodice that had twists and sparkles and shimmers and was complimented nicely by a flowing pale yellow skirt. Her hair was straightened to perfection and its jet black was a beautiful contrast to her pale skin and the light shade of the dress. Her make up was just as gorgeous as the rest of her and her look was finished off by a pair of silver high heels.
Once Lisa was dressed up, both turned on me with maniac grins on their faces.
Before I had enough time to take a last breath of freedom, they started on me.
Taking a bath, putting on make-up, getting dressed, painting my nails, putting on jewelry, and applying lotion (to make my skin incredibly soft) took about five hours. The remaining three, were spent managing the mane on top of my head.
My scalp was incredibly sore afterwards but I forgot about it when I looked into the mirror.
I had completely transformed.
The dress I had picked out was a floor-length emerald green dress. It was very simple, all made out of the same deep green, silky materiel with straps that were about two inches thick. The top was very fitted, like a corset, and even though its cut wasn't that low it was still incredibly sexy. At my waist, it poofed out a little but not enough that in order to dance with someone, he would have to lean forward to avoid crashing into my dress.
My make-up was flawless as well. There was a bronze tint to my eyelids and mascara made my eyelashes even longer and fuller than they already would. Since I refused to wear a lot of make-up, the only other thing I was wearing was lip-gloss, charmed to not smudge or come off until I said the counter-spell.
It was the hair though, that really made the difference. Pippy had somehow managed the slight frizziness (though these days there wasn't that much left) and had curled it so that instead of clumps of knots, my hair was made out of perfect, luscious rings.
My jewelry was a simple necklace, a silver chain with a single diamond for a pendant and just as simple earrings, a diamond stud in each ear. My nails were painted silver and I had silver high heels to finish everything off.
I still can't believe that I could look so … charming.
Both of us now fully dressed, Lisa and I headed down to Slughorn's classroom. It ended up looking the same as the Slug club parties that I went to last year – in the future.
When we entered, the noise gradually quieted until the room was silent all together.
"Well, Lisa," I said. "It looks like you're attracting quite a bit of attention."
She laughed. "Don't be stupid. Everyone's looking at you."
Looking around I saw that she was right and I blushed. Despite my embarrassment though, I was unable to keep a smile off my face."
Lisa and I started walking to the refreshment table and people started to go back to what they were doing.
After pouring myself a drink, I still felt as though I was being watched. Looking around I caught three sets of eyes looking at me. Ironically, it was the other members of my group, Matteo, Malfoy and Riddle.
Riddle was openly staring. Obviously in shock about the way I looked. We met eyes and held the other's gaze for a while. I was unsure of what emotion his eyes were showing.
My attention was broken when I heard someone say, "Hermione, would you like to dance?"
Snapping my gaze back to where I currently was, I saw Matteo standing next to me, holding out his hand for me to take.
I did and we started walking towards the dance floor.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lisa with a thoughtful and questioning expression on her face. Her eyes shifted from me to something behind me and when Matteo spun me, I could see that her attention was on Riddle. Much to my surprise, he was still looking at me.
"You look gorgeous tonight," Matteo told me.
I smiled at him. "Thank you, after Pippy spending eight hours playing dress up with me as the doll, I would hope I didn't look that bad." Matteo laughed. "You're looking quite nice yourself."
He blushed and insisted that there really was no competition.
We danced for one more song until Malfoy asked to cut in.
Matteo handed my hand to him, obviously as confused as I was, and I started dancing in the arms of Malfoy.
"You look breath taking, Hermione," Malfoy told me. Apparently, he decided to turn on the charm.
"um, thanks Malfoy, I guess," I said.
He smiled at me. "Hermione, please call me Liam."
I gave him an assessing look. "No more fighting or verbal abuse?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Alright then. Liam," I said. It was the strangest sensation to call a member of the Malfoy family anything other than their last name.
I spent two more songs dancing with Liam Malfoy before, much to my surprise, Tom Riddle asked to cut in.
Quickly getting over my shock, I said, "Sorry Riddle, I've left Lisa all alone for five songs so I think I should rejoin her and grab a drink."
He narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, "Well then, I'll come with you."
Seeing no way to protest without being completely rude, I agreed and the two of us started walking towards Lisa.
"Having fun?" she asked, sending a questioning look at Riddle.
I shrugged, answering both her spoken question and the unspoken one.
"Alright, you've had your drink," Riddle said abruptly. "You have no more reasons not to dance with me." He held out his hand and I grudgingly took it.
He led me on to the dance floor, as a song was ending. Just my luck, the slowest song of the night so far started playing.
Following Riddle's lead of putting his hands on my waist, I placed my hands around his neck. Sadly, not in a strangling motion but in a dancing position.
I looked into his eyes and found that I could not look away. I had never noticed before but they were the darkest I had ever seen. They were midnight blue with flecks of purple in them surrounded by a black right. I was captivated by his eyes; by Voldemort's eyes.
The next song came on and was equally so. Completely unfazed, we continued dancing and staring into one another's eyes.
With incredible speed, I snapped back into reality. Realizing what I was doing, and with who, I took step back and started walking away. Before I had taken two steps, I felt him grab my arm and pull me back towards him, capturing me in a kiss.
As soon as our lips met, all rational thoughts evacuated my mind. I could only feel the passion in that kiss as it deepened. The kiss itself was completely mind-blowing. Wrapping my hands around the back of his neck, I pulled him closer.
After a few more moments of being lip-locked with him, I realized what was happening. More specifically, I realized whom I was kissing.
I hastily took a step back, my eyes wide. "No," I whispered. "This can't be." Meeting Tom's eyes, I answered the question that they held. "It just can't be."
I turned around and fled the room, leaving Tom Riddle standing in the middle of the dance floor, confusion expressed all over his face. And maybe if I looked hard enough, a little hurt.
A/N: awwwwwww, did you hear her call him tom? I thought that that chapter was pretty good, but who cares what I think. I'm bias after all.
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