I don't own. Still.

Chapter Eight: The Winter Ball

The next morning, the girls' dormitories were filled with anxious buzzing. Thankfully, the excitement of the ball had pushed Will and I off of the gossip charts—temporarily, of course—but any relief was welcome at this point. The day passed slowly, and soon it was five, and the ball began in two hours.

Rose, Lydia, Alyssa and I began the preparations for the evening. I was extremely grateful that Lydia and Alyssa had forgotten to ask about Will. We spent a dreadfully long time doing make-up and hair...but, when it was over, I hardly recognized my reflection. My dress was simple: black, with a full skirt that fell just below my knees. I put on my mask, being careful not to smudge the make-up that Lydia had applied, and slipped on my silver shoes.

Finally ready, we descended the staircase to the common room with me in my black dress, Alyssa in violet, Lydia in gold, and Rose in red. Most of the guys had already left for the ballroom, so we headed that way as well. As we stepped down the stairs, I saw a figure wearing black dress-robes break off from the crowd.

"Hello," I said to Will.

"Hello..." he replied. He was wearing a silver mask not unlike my own. He glanced at me shyly. "You look amazing, Evey." I was thankful for the mask—it hid my pink cheeks. We didn't say much else, but walked into the Great Hall. The room had transformed. Tables were decorated with golden cloths and intricate centerpieces, while a dance floor of gold-veined marble was set in the center of the room. To the far right was a spiraling staircase, draped with more golden cloth, that led to an outdoor balcony for fresh air. The enchanted ceiling showed large snowflakes spiraling from the heavens.

"Do you want to...dance?" Will asked me.

"I'm no good," I warned.

"Neither am I," he laughed, and led me onto the dance floor. The band—Puck's Pansies, an up-and-coming new group—was playing rather loudly. A tangled mess of other students were already dancing wildly, and we joined in, flailing our arms like those around us. Will was a bit standoffish, but he soon seemed to forget himself, and we danced through several songs before we emerged from the dance floor. I caught sight of Rose and Andy, sitting at a table, laughing together. I considered venturing over and saying hello, but decided against it after seeing the way that Rose was looking at him. Will followed my gaze and chuckled. We wandered around the hall, finally ending up at the snack table, where we scarfed down a few cream puffs and drank a cup of punch.

"So," He said, "how have you been?" I shrugged. "Your...family?" He guessed. I nodded. "I saw the way you stormed out of supper yesterday...Evey, I'm sorry. I mean, I shouldn't have done that...like that, I mean..." I shook my head.

"Please, don't apologize for that." I winked at him.

"But I caused trouble between you and your cousins, and I feel awful about it."

"It's not my cousins, it's my brother. And you didn't cause it...we did. If you recall correctly, I kissed you back." I heard him chuckle.

"How could I forget?" he said, and I felt an arm snake around my waist. I leaned against him, and we walked towards a table.

"Did your...parents catch wind of this particular fiasco?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I'm sure they're bound to. Did yours?" I nodded. "And...?"

"Well...they were surprised, but fine with it. They're fairly lax, as far as parents go. It's my brother that's the real thing to worry about, at this point."

"Oh." We headed back toward the dance floor, his arm still around my waist. I have to admit, I was enjoying the public display of affection portion of this predicament. Forget what Fred thought, this was...nice. More than nice. The evening continued in a sort of pattern. Dance, punch, dance, punch. Our cycle was only broken when the band struck up a slow song.

"I...um...don't do so well with slow songs," Will murmured. I laughed.

"Well, let's go get more punch." I was only a little disappointed, and I quickly got over it.

"Evey!" Rose caught up to me.

"Hey, Rosie! Where's Andy?" She grinned.

"He went to get drinks...oh I've had the best night!" She seemed to notice Will for the first time.

"Oh-how have you two been?"

"Great!" I said, glancing again at Will. He nodded.

"Um...Will..." Rose began. "I just wanted...to say, that...well, anyone who's Evey's friend is my friend, too." She smiled nervously, and Will returned it.

"Thank-you," he said quietly. "Uh...I'll go get us punch. Be right back."

"You know, he is sort of cute..." She said to me, eyes alight. I laughed.

"Rosie, what would I do without you?" I said fondly. Just then, Andy joined us.

"Hey, Rose!" He said, then spotted me. "Oh, hello, Evey. You here with...uh..."

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Oh. Well, great, then." He cleared his throat. "Uh...do you mind if I steal Rose again? For a dance?"

"Of course," I said, smiling after them as they headed to the dance floor. Will returned. "Hey," I greeted, "where's the punch?" He smiled beneath his mask.

"Let's dance." He said.

"But I thought you said you didn't-" I broke off as he pulled me closer, one hand grasping mine, the other on my waist. With no breath, or desire, left to argue, I followed him. He led me out on the dance floor, and proceeded to lead me through a winding maze of intricate steps. People began to watch us, or rather, him, as he whipped me across the floor.

"Will, you said you didn't dance..." I was shocked, but a large grin had taken over my face. He only smiled again. When the dance ended, He took hold of my hand and led me up the winding staircase to the balcony.

The air was cold, but welcome after the warm room below. Several couples were already there, most of them entwined together amorously. Will led me over to a corner, and I gazed at the sky above. The snow had stopped, and the stars were visible.

"It's a beautiful night," I murmured to him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and turned me to him. I looked into his eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked him. His arm felt strange against my back, as if he didn't want to keep it there.

"Nothing." He whispered to me, but something in the back of my mind disagreed. He pulled me closer, until his mouth was next to my ear. "Goodbye, Miss Weasley." He murmured melodically. My heart pounded.

"Wh-what?" I slipped my hand down to the side of my dress, where the thin pocket containing my wand was.

"I'm going to throw you over the edge of this balcony, and you are going to plummet to the ground, several stories below, and die." His tone was still soft. My fumbling hand finally managed to free my wand. I pointed it at him, but my voice caught in my throat.

"Stu..st...stupi-"
"Silencio," He murmured, and I looked down to see his own wand, jabbed between my ribs. I swallowed, my heart was racing. I looked around frantically, but no one payed any mind. Will clucked his tongue at me. "Now, now. Be obedient. Imperio." My body was not my own. I couldn't force myself to blink...I was paralyzed, but standing. "Now," the being that looked like Will chuckled. "I want you to walk over to that railing over there, and throw yourself off of it. You are not to make a sound, not that you really could, anyway. Nod to me if you agree. My senses screamed at me to resist, to tear away and run, but I felt my head bob calmly up and down. I could not fight the order, I had to obey. My head screamed, my body was numb. I moved slowly to the railing, willing myself to go as slowly as possible. The railing was cool as I swung one foot over it, then the other. I stood on the ledge outside the railing, clutching to it and staring onto the balcony.

To my shock, two people burst onto the balcony.

"STUPEFY!" I heard one yell. The other caught sight of me, and raced to the ledge. In the moonlight, I saw Will's face frozen in panic.

"Evey, Evey what are you doing?" I couldn't speak. My left hand released its grip on the railing, and I dangled by one arm, my body below me. "Evey, stop! STOP!" I heard his command, why wasn't I obeying? Will grabbed my left hand, trying to pull me up. Fred rushed over to me, looking at my glazed-over eyes in terror.

"Evey! What is it? What's wrong?" My right hand let go as well, and now I dangled by the arm in Will's grasp. Fred grasped at me, too, and they began to pull me onto the balcony. My body thrashed about as I fought their grips.

"SHE'S BEEN IMPERIUSED! SOMEONE HELP! HELP US!" Will screamed. I saw the tears on his face glint silver in the moonlight. I felt his grip on my arm loosen, I slipped farther down, thrashing harder, and then I was tumbling into blackness. The shouts from the balcony grew further and further away as I plummeted downward. I hit something hard, and all was black.