"Can you do me up in the back, please?" Daphne asked, holding the loose panels of her corset-top dress in her hands as she pouted at Tracey. With a smile of demonic pleasure, Tracey waltzed over in her black, plain ball gown and gripped the ribbons in the back of Daphne's dress.
"How tight?" she asked a second before yanking on the lacing of her top, causing Daphne to feel the wind knocked out of her.
"Well, I'd like to breathe, thanks!" she managed as she coughed in pain. Tracey chuckled quietly and pulled again, this time not so hard.
"I'm sure Blaise is going to love this dress." She remarked, looking over Daphne's shoulder at the reflection in the full-length mirror they stood before. "As will every other guy..."
"Except Draco," Daphne remarked solemnly. She saw her friend roll her eyes, and Tracey tugged extra hard again on the ribbons, making Daphne coughed out the displaced air from her lungs.
"Now that's not the right attitude we discussed, is it?" Tracey mused sarcastically. "You have to be positive, and remember that Pansy could screw up at any time."
"With a little help, she may screw up tonight..." Daphne mumbled under her breath.
"There you go! Take charge of your destiny! Don't let Loose Lucy have all the fun!" Tracey smirked, finishing off the back of Daphne's dress. Now completely laced in, Daphne took a moment to turn sideways and examine her profile, all tightly wound up in her dress robes. Tracey caught her looking with a satisfied smile and gave a small chuckle. "Yes, I'm sure if I had bludgers like you, I would be smirking like that too."
"What!?" Daphne exclaimed, a small laugh mixed in her voice. Tracey cocked one eyebrow and poked her in the breasts with her elbow.
"You can't tell me that you haven't noticed them! Notice your shirts getting a little snug and a lot more boys glancing your way lately?" Tracey laughed, covering her mouth with her hand as if to prevent herself from screaming with hilarity.
"What do you mean?" Daphne breathed, looking back in the reflection again. Perhaps it was only the cut of the dress, but her breasts did look bigger than they did before. "It must be these dress robes." She explained, turning around in front of the mirror again. Tracey made a small face and walked over to her own mirror to finish dressing.
"You keep telling yourself that," Tracey laughed quietly as she fixed her hair into a tight bun atop her head. "But, then again, I suppose you are rather blind when it comes to people staring at you."
"Staring at me? When!?" Daphne said, this time glancing at the clock and realizing that they were going to be late. She scrambled across the room, slipping a little on the hem of her dress, and picked up her shoes off the bed. "Nobody notices me," She remarked sternly as she pulled her silver shoes.
"They will after tonight," Tracey smiled widely, slipping the small gold studs into her ears. "Shall we go meet our dates then? I'm sure they're awfully anxious to see you."
"Just let me get my jewelry on," she sighed, picking up the diamond studs and silver snake bracelet (with emerald eyes that matched the colour of her dress). She put them on, and then stood before the mirror once again. While she was enthralled by the fact that she had never seen herself looking this lovely before, Tracey had snuck up behind her.
"Nothing to draw attention to your-"
"Shut it Trace!" Daphne warned, giving her a stern glare. "They're not even close in comparison, by the way, to bludgers, as you call them!"
Tracey raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Just wait until they turn into Quaffles..." Daphne glared in response to her friend as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Wow! Most girls would take what I said as a compliment!" she nodded her head slowly. "You take it as an insult. I wonder why..."
Daphne sighed out of irritation and rolled her eyes "Once again, you seem to know more about myself than I do! Care to share whatever theory you have?" she asked sharply. Tracey was unshaken and merely shrugged her shoulders in a blasé manner.
"I only observe, not comment," She smirked before she picked up her black shawl and headed towards the door. She started down the stairs, and Daphne felt her teeth grind as she followed.
When they entered the common room, Tracey turned from Blaise and Theodore, smiling. By the looks on their faces (and directions the boys were looking), she had already told them about her recent discovery. Daphne pulled her matching shawl around her shoulders and covered her chest, and for a moment wished she could use it to cover her now beet red face.
"I've half a mind to go back upstairs now..." She grumbled, glaring at Tracey and Blaise, who seemed the most amused by it. Thankfully, Theodore didn't seem that obviously entertained.
"Don't be so dramatic!" Blaise chuckled, taking her arm and leading her out of the room. "Tracey's right; it is a compliment, you know."
"Say it again Blaise and you're going to be dancing with a stool for a foot." She warned. Blaise and Theodore laughed a little, which made her face go even redder.
"Don't be like that Daphne! We're only giving you a hard time because we know you won't hex us," Theodore said, clapping his hand on her back chummily.
"Speaking of hexing, how did our little bargain go?" Daphne said, desperate to change the subject.
"Let's put it this way," Theodore smirked to himself, pushing the common room door open and holding it for Daphne and Tracey (and letting it hit Blaise as he tried to walk through) "If Yuri does come tonight, he'll be puking up everything he somehow manages to swallow-"
"And then some! I saw the hex he did! It was brilliant!" Blaise exclaimed elbowing Theodore in the side.
"So there's no way he's going to come?" Daphne pressed, a satisfied smirk slowly crossing her lips. Theodore looked at her with his honey brown eyes, his expression clearly showing the joy he took in his victory.
"No way, unless he's desperate," he replied coolly. Daphne felt a small giggle of happiness escape her lips; one less time her sister could whore herself out and embarrass the family.
"Thank you so much Theodore!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in a hug. After a moment, he returned the gesture, but very stiffly.
"Hey, hug your own date!" Tracey teased, playfully pushing her off and taking Theodore's arm again.
"And don't forget the other part of the bargain," Theodore pointed out, ignoring Tracey. Daphne nodded her head and opened her mouth to speak, but Blaise beat her to the punch.
"If I don't wear her off her feet, I'm sure she'll find a moment," he winked before he continued to lead Daphne towards the Great Hall.
They met their housemates outside the doors of the Great Hall, all standing off to the side and watching as everyone entered the ball.
"...could she look any fatter in that dress!" Daphne overheard Pansy sneering from the top of the stairs. As they climbed up to stand with them, her insults and remarks got louder. "Honestly, these French Hussies are shameless! What is she wearing? A dish towel?" she remarked to Millicent, who snickered beside her.
Tracey and Daphne exchanged knowing glances as they looked at Pansy's dress; it wasn't exactly what she had told them all, but at least she got the colour right. Flattering and in-style isn't exactly how I would describe that frilly disaster! Daphne thought, forcing a smile as she approached Pansy and Millicent. "Daphne, you look marvelous!" Pansy exclaimed, giving Millicent a sideways glance "I never knew you could clean up so well." She added, a coy smirk on her face.
"Neither did I!" Tracey interjected from out of nowhere. "Doesn't her rack look huge!"
Daphne felt her face go to red that she was sure it looked like she was sunburnt. Pansy and Millicent gave a small frown together when they noticed that they were indeed looking rather inadequate as compared to her.
The only thing I ever received from my Mother that should bring me joy, and I want to cut them off!
She thought furiously as she gave Tracey a death glare "I really hate you right now," she hissed.
"What's going on?" Draco said, walking over with Crabbe and Goyle. Tracey gave Daphne a slight smile but said nothing this time.
"Tracey's being her typical vulgar self!" Pansy sneered, jealously clearly in her eyes. "Honestly, can't you keep facts like that to yourself?!" Tracey said nothing; she just bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter.
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion, looking at each girl for a moment. Daphne felt her heart pounding, praying that no one repeated it; otherwise, she may faint on the spot.
"Blaise, let's go inside and watch Potter make a fool of himself!" Daphne announced jovially, very blatantly changing the subject. Her date smiled and motioned for the others to come along as well; there was nothing that a good Slytherin loved more than watching Gryffindors make mistakes.
Watching the champions dance around at the start of the ball was really entertaining for the Slytherins. Of course, none of them had anything against Cedric and Victor, who were their favourites. Fleur was also a decent choice, except that all the girls spat insults about her every time she was mentioned. And of course, Potter was their least favourite... to the point where they had cheered more for the dragon at the first task then him.
"Potter dances like a troll that's gotten into some Firewhisky!" Theodore chuckled quietly. Tracey and Daphne couldn't help but also laugh at the comparison.
"Speaking of!" Blaise said randomly and then whispered something over at Draco. He smirked at whatever Blaise was saying to him, but shook his head a little.
"I think I'll pass. It will be more entertaining to watch." He said before he turned back to watch the dance.
"Suit yourself," Blaise said lightly before he too turned back to watch the dancing.
"What was that about?" Daphne asked, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Theodore turned around and gave Blaise a look of warning, which only added to her curiosity.
"Don't worry Daphne, you'll see..." He smirked before he took her by the hand and nodded his head towards the dance floor. "Shall we join them?"
Daphne's eyes went a little wide at the prospect of dancing in front of everyone. She had never been the greatest dancer, and the last thing she wanted was to be compared to a troll drunk on Firewhisky, or anything close to that! But the dance floor was now practically full, and there would be no way for anyone to focus just on her dancing now. After taking a deep breath, she smiled at Blaise and followed him out into the crowd of dancers.
Swirls of dress robes flew by her peripheral vision as she concentrated on her feet and hands, trying to match her waltz moves with Blaise. Lucky for her, he made up for whatever skills she lacked, and as they whisked past the other partners, barely taking notice of whom they were."Tracey and Theodore are an interesting couple, aren't they?" Blaise remarked casually as he watched the swirl of black pass them by.
"They're not the couple I'm concerned about..." she mumbled, hoping to keep that remark to herself, but Blaise had better hearing than she thought and overheard her.
"And which couple is that?" he inquired, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Daphne felt her cheeks flush pink again and tried to look away, but Blaise caught her face with his hand and turned it back slowly "I bet I can make a pretty accurate guess."
"Please don't!" she pleaded quickly, the words sounded more like a frantic hiss. Blaise either didn't understand her or he ignored her because he glanced around the ball at the other dancers.
"Is it a couple where the boy is wearing black and the girl has a silver gown?" he pointed out proudly.
What? Pansy's wearing pink, not silver!
She looked around the room and trying to find that couple. The closest thing she could find was Cedric and Cho, who seemed to match his description. She turned back with her face contorted in confusion; He thinks I like Cedric?! Lucky that's all he knows about it... Quick! Look guilty! Think of something embarrassing... Bludgers! Tracey and that damn comparison to bludgers!
As she planned, her cheeks turned a faint shade of scarlet and she looked down at the floor shyly. Blaise let out a short laugh at his 'victory' and twirled Daphne as the dance was coming to a close.
"I expect that half the school likes him too..." He continued on happily "Of course, it's not someone I expected you to go after, but to each his own."
"I want a drink," Daphne announced suddenly, hoping to escape the conversation as soon as possible. Blaise nodded his head with a small smirk on his face and motioned for Theodore and Tracey to follow.
They walked over to the punch table, where Theodore and Blaise both acted like gentlemen and went to get their drinks, leaving Tracey and Daphne to chat momentarily.
"Blaise thinks I like Cedric," Daphne said quietly as she looked away from everyone, pretending to be fixing her skirt.
"What? He must be blind!" Tracey laughed, clapping her hands together with entertainment. "I thought everyone could see your love for Dra-"
"Apparently not, so shut it!" Daphne interrupted, stomping her heel on Tracey's toe; she shouted something out that wasn't audible but sounded very angry. But, as typical to Tracey, she put on another smirk and began to chuckled again.
"I wonder when Draco will realize it too... can't be far off now..." She said in a low tone of voice, her eyes reflecting her devious manner. Although Tracey was her best friend, she still had an unruly habit of stirring up more trouble than necessary for her own entertainment. Usually, it wasn't directed at Daphne, but she was beginning to think that it was her ultimate goal to out Daphne and her secret love for Draco.
Although they hadn't spoken much lately, Draco and Daphne still remained rather close, sitting at the same table in Potions and walking to dinner together when no one else was around. The events of the past summer were rarely talked about, but both of them remembered what had happened, and made a silent pact to not talk about it around Pansy.
Pansy. Her mind hissed angrily If it weren't for her, I would have Draco by now! Although Daphne and Pansy had no real disagreements between them, Daphne still felt a large fire of contempt inside her every time she saw Pansy and Draco together. Jealousy really was her worst enemy, but she didn't have the rage of courage to try and bring her down. She had convinced herself that she would have to wait until Pansy ruined it for herself; lie in wait until she had the chance to strike, and then steal Draco away right under her nose.
"Drinks, Ladies?" Blaise announced, holding out two cups towards them. Daphne and Tracey exchanged quick glances before they took their cups and took small sips.
"Ugh, what is this!" Daphne coughed, her throat burning slightly as she tried to swallow whatever it was. Blaise and Theodore smirked a little but said nothing as they knocked back whatever it was they were drinking.
"Isn't this supposed to be punch?!" Tracey asked, her face reflecting the same disgusting taste she had just consumed.
"And doesn't punch have a punch?" Blaise remarked coolly. "Hurry up and drink, we want to get back to the dance!"
"Speak for yourself." Theodore pointed out, putting his empty glass on the table beside them.
"C'mon then! Down the hatch!" Blaise urged his voice reflecting slight annoyance. Daphne and Tracey looked at each other for a moment, both of them clearly un-amused by whatever this trick was. But, Tracey was the first to shrug, and then tipped the cup back and emptied it a moment later into her mouth. She made a face and shook her head like she was tried to rid her mind of a horrible image. "The last one Daphne! C'mon, hurry up!" Blaise edged.
"It's not so bad once you lose your sense of taste." Tracey smiled a little, tapping her on the knee a little. Daphne looked down at the dark red liquid in her cup and sniffed it slightly, her nose recoiling a little when the sharp, woody scent hit her brain.
"Don't smell it! Drink it!" Theodore laughed. Blaise crossed his arms a little with impatience as he watched all the other students dancing again. Daphne felt a little guilty for making them all wait for her and sighed little as she took one last look at the drink in her hand. Then, after a deep breath, she lifted the glass to her lips and began to chug it back. Her throat felt like it was on fire, and her taste buds were revolted by whatever it was, making her gag for a moment as she tried to drain her glass. But as Tracey had promised, her tongue lost its sense of taste, and the drink was no longer so bad. When she swallowed the last drop of the drink, she slammed the cup on the table and wiped the remaining red from around her lips.
"Ugh, that was disgusting! Can you pick a different punch next time?" she breathed, coughing a little as her throat tried to rid the remaining burning sensation.
"Sure. We'll get you some pumpkin juice next time," Blaise assured her inattentively. "Now let's get back out there!"
"Most guys are horrified by dancing, and yet you are more anxious than half the girls here!" Daphne remarked as she hung her shawl on the chair that Tracey had left hers.
"Yeah, is there something you want to tell us, Blaise?" Theodore laughed, taking Tracey by the arm again and starting towards the dance floor again.
"Only that I can dance better than anyone in this room," Blaise retorted smartly.
"Wouldn't know it from watching you," Tracey laughed. Blaise shrugged and looked over at Daphne.
"It's not my fault..." Blaise said in a low voice. Daphne's jaw dropped at the implied insult, and she attempted to walk back to the table, but he wouldn't let her "Which is why I'm going to help you learn! Now c'mon!" he chuckled, pulling her towards the dance.
As they danced, Daphne was scanning the crowd for familiar faces. She saw many of her classmates and housemates, but none that were very important. The Drumstrang and Beauxbaton students were all mixed in together, so it was impossible to tell who was from what school.
At last, a familiar dress caught her eye; Astoria, dancing with a Ravenclaw boy who she knew to be closer to her age. Daphne smiled a little when her sister caught her eye, and to her surprise, she returned the expression but promptly turned back to her date.
"Your sister looks like a Beauxbaton girl," Blaise said close to her ear. The gesture startled her, and she simply nodded her head awkwardly. As they continued to dance, she saw her cousin's in matching gowns, one wearing gold, and one wearing silver. Tracey's cousin Aleksey was laughing about something with the girls and Daphne felt a small pang of jealous fly through her again. Everyone else in her family was attractive and popular, and Daphne couldn't help but feel overcast and ignored again. She was sure that if she looked like her cousins - or even her sister - she could have anyone she wanted! Instead, she was stuck as one of the last girls in her house to be asked to the ball.
She sighed a little, to which Blaise leaned in right beside her ear and spoke to her again. "Did you want to get another drink?" he asked. Daphne's memory of the drink suddenly came back like she had just sipped it again, and she felt her throat close a little.
"No thanks. Actually, I'm feeling kind of dizzy. Do you mind if we sit down?" she asked, realizing that her vision was getting blurry and her head feeling heavier than normal.
"But I love this song! Can we please dance a little longer?" he complained. Daphne rolled her eyes and reluctantly agreed, despite how horrible she was feeling.
By the time Blaise was ready to stop dancing, Theodore was standing at the sidelines, waiting for Daphne to come over. "Time to fulfill our bargain," he smiled, holding out his hand for her. Daphne rubbed her head and felt like perhaps she was going to faint, but she still felt her hand reach out and take his. He led her back onto the dance floor and they started to dance to a song that she wasn't even listening to. The Weird Sisters were just about to start playing, so she knew this would be the last dance that would be considered a ballroom dance.
"Theodore, are you feeling as weird as I am? I think that punch was a little off..." Daphne said, rubbing her head a little as her vision swirled a little.
"I am feeling a little strange," Theodore said coolly as he turned Daphne gracefully as they danced. If she had been a little more aware of what was going on, she perhaps would have noted that Theodore, although he wasn't as good as Blaise, certainly was a very good dancer. "So, did you notice your sister managed to find another date within 24 hours?" he said casually, taking Daphne by the waist as they followed the other dancers circling around the floor.
"I did. But at least he's close to her age," Daphne said, her words slurring a little. She suddenly felt very tired, but she continued to dance.
"He was also taking another girl, whom he ditched to bring Astoria," Theodore told her. Daphne's attention snapped back to aware, and she felt very angry.
"What a surprise! The little snake convinced him not to take another girl?!" she said, her eyes furiously scanning the room for her sister. Not surprising, she was not there, and Daphne felt her fury rise even more. "That little slut is going to ruin everything my father has worked for all his life!" she growled as she tried to leave the dance floor, but Theodore pulled her back. "Theodore, please! I have to find her before-"
"And where do you propose to start? Which of the thousand rooms in the school are you going to search first?" he asked. Daphne felt her rage deplete a little. "Just let it go for now. You can call her all the nasty names you want tomorrow. Don't ruin your night just because she's having fun in a way that might be frowned upon."
"Might be? You sound as bad as her!" Daphne hissed.
"Really Daphne, I had no idea you were able to read minds!" Theodore laughed. "How do you know your sister is up to no good?"
"Because she's my sister, and I know her better than you!" Daphne shot back.
"Daphne, just let it go!" Theodore laughed again "I can see her date from here; she's probably gone to the bathroom."
"Oh," Daphne said quietly. To her surprise, they hadn't stopped dancing. She felt all the feeling of anger fade away and replaced with a giddy, euphoric wave that made her smile contently to herself as she danced.
"So Tracey tells me that you have a little crush on someone," He smirked. Daphne's eyes opened very wide and she felt her stomach turn over into something that would resemble a tangled vine.
"S-she told you what!?" she breathed frantically, trying to find Tracey in the crowd so she could glare at her (or worse).
"Yeah, she told me you like someone, but she wouldn't tell me who," He said brightly. "Why didn't you tell me?" he prodded.
"Because i-it's not something I need everyone to know!" she stammered "And it's not like it's going to go anywhere!"
"I'm still rather insulted that you wouldn't tell me!" he said, his voice pretending to sound offended. Daphne sighed a little, still embarrassed that Tracey had said anything at all, but despite the rather obvious hints that Theodore was dropping that he wanted to know, she was not about to give in.
"Theodore, you are one of my two-" she paused for a moment, glancing over at the table where she now saw Tracey and Blaise laughing about something with Flint "Although it may soon be one- best friends in the world, I don't want to tell you because you know him-"
"He's in our house?" Theodore pressed and Daphne bit her lip, angry at her own stupidity.
"Theodore, please drop it! Can't you just be my best guy friend ever and spare me this humiliation right now?" she slurred, leaning her head on his shoulder. He didn't say anything at first, but he stiffly patted her on the waist where he was holding her.
"Sure. But I would like to be informed someday," He agreed; Daphne ignored it. They danced in silence for a few more minutes before the dance finally came to a close, and Daphne leaned up from leaning on Theodore's shoulder. He looked at her in a way she had never seen before but felt a wave of dizziness hit her very suddenly, and she groped for his arm to support her.
"You alright? Here, let's go sit down." He suggested, putting his arm around her and leading her towards the table where Tracey and Blaise sat. Before they were within earshot, Theodore leaned his head down and said something in her ear. "By the way, you look very beautiful in that dress."
"Thank you, Theodore! I hope all of your attention isn't focused on my rack when you say that, but I appreciate it. And you look quite dashing yourself," she answered, a small satisfied smile on her face.
Theodore chuckled a little but didn't say anything else. He helped her onto the chair he pulled out for her and then whispered something to Blaise.
"Not that much! Maybe she's just never had any." Blaise replied aloud, looking right at Daphne. Theodore rolled his eyes and sat down beside Tracey, who looked like she was dozing off at the table. "Shall we have some more punch?" Blaise asked, clapping his hands together.
"No!" Tracey and Daphne replied together.
"I'll get it this time," Theodore said, motioning for Blaise to stay in his seat. As Daphne watched Theodore walk away to get them drinks again, she felt her head swirl around like she was still dancing. She gripped the table to try and stabilize the world around her, but everything she saw was spinning.
"Daphne, are you alright?" Blaise asked, reaching out and putting his hand on hers. Daphne tried to focus on what he was saying, and she looked over to see that Tracey had now fallen asleep at the table, her head resting on her crossed arms with her hair a mess.
"I feel very dizzy." She said closing her eyes to try and settle her mind. But even with her eyes closed, she still felt like she was spinning.
"Here, drink this." Theodore's voice said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder and putting a drink in her hand. Daphne slowly opened her eyes and noticed that the punch was a different colour. She leaned in and sniffed it again; it smelled much sweeter now, like fruit and flowers.
"This is different," She said suspiciously. She craned her neck over to the refreshments table and saw that there was only one type of drink being served at the table. "Where did you get this?"
"That's the punch," Theodore said in a low voice, giving Blaise a glare. He merely shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
"Then what did I have last time?" she asked, looking at Theodore for the answer since Blaise's stern look at him made her think that he had something to tell her. Theodore glanced at Blaise and then nodded his head at Daphne.
"Fine!" Blaise sighed in annoyance "In order to make this a little more enjoyable for Theodore since he hate's dancing-"
"Do not try to make this my idea, Blaise!" Theodore warned.
"-I offered to loosen him up a little with something I found at the bottom of my trunk," Blaise explained, taking another sip of his drink and trying to look away.
"And that was what, exactly?" Daphne pressed, her head spinning again. Blaise sighed again, this time clearly annoyed with all the questions and leaned in closer to the table.
"My mother borrowed my trunk in the summer and may have left a bottle of Firewhisky in it."
"So you put alcohol in Theodore's drink?!" she gasped. Theodore and Blaise shushed her immediately, waving their hands for her to be quiet.
"Keep your voice down!" Blaise warned her "And not quite... We figured it would be no fun if it was just us drinking..." He continued, looking down at Daphne's drink. After a second, a wave of understanding washed over her, and the burning in her throat now had a cause.
The don't call it Firewhisky for nothing...
"You put it in my drink too?" she hissed, pushing the drink away and looking at Blaise with disgust. Theodore grabbed the drink and pushed it back towards her.
"No, this one is clean. And trust me, you're going to need it later." He assured her.
"Why didn't you tell me! I've never even drunk alcohol before!" she growled, careful to make sure no one around heard them. No matter what story she told the teachers, they wouldn't believe that Daphne had no idea of the contents of her drink, and would surely get in a lot of trouble for it.
"No kidding! I have a feeling Tracey hasn't either." Blaise chuckled, nodding his head over towards Tracey, who was now snoring against the table. "Now don't get all excited about it! It's nothing big, and if anything, it will make the dance more fun!"
"Except that I'm practically drunk!" she hissed, holding her hand against her spinning head. She sighed in frustration and looked at Blaise again "If you had told me, it wouldn't have been so bad. But this is the stuff they put people in prison for, you know!" she warned.
"Yeah yeah, I know; I'm a horrible person, blah blah. Now, are we going to go back out there and enjoy our favourite band, or sit here and let my mother's donation go to waste?" Blaise asked, looking past Daphne at the Weird Sisters, who were now playing Daphne's favourite song. "C'mon Daph! We won't tell a soul that you drank anything." Blaise offered "Unless you want more, which I happen to have in my pocket, by the way."
Daphne looked out at the crowd of students, who were dancing like heathens in front of the stage and couldn't help but want to join them. A school dance was rare enough as it was, and the last thing she wanted to do was waste possibly her only chance to be in a situation like this again. She looked back at Blaise and Theodore, who were waiting intently for her response.
Daphne sighed in defeat and looked over at Tracey "Should we leave her there?" she asked. Blaise and Theodore exchanged smiles before Blaise stood and took her hand.
"She'll be fine. Theodore will take her back to the common room when he's ready," he reassured, helping her out of the chair and walking with her over to the crowd of students jumping like mad in front of the band.
By the time Blaise and Daphne returned from the Yule Ball, Daphne could barely walk her feet hurt so much, but her head wasn't feeling as dizzy as it did before. Blaise had finished off the remainder of his Firewhisky, which he was only just then starting to wear off. Together, while the band played, they were jumping and screaming as they danced, occasionally falling over and taking a few people out with them. As the crowds started to disperse, and teachers could see them more clearly, they decided it was best to call it a night, before they were caught.
When they stumbled into the common room, Daphne ran over and grabbed one of the leather couches, taking the opportunity to at last take off her high heeled shoes.
"I am never wearing heels again!" she swore, throwing them across the room, narrowly missing the dying fire. Blaise walked over and flopped down beside her on the couch, holding his arms out for a hug.
"Thanks for going with me, Daphne." He smiled, his heavy-lidded eyes looking like they were about to close. Daphne giggled a little and accepted the hug.
"Thanks for taking me! Otherwise, I would have been Tracey and Theodore's third wheel." She said, snuggling up against Blaise, who kept one arm around her. They sat there for a few minutes, watching the fire die in the fireplace. Although she was very tired, the back of her mind was telling her that Blaise was awfully close to her right now, and he was, in fact, running his hand up and down her back, like he was strumming the lacing of her dress. Although she wasn't sure what he meant by it, she was sure he meant it as a friendly, calming gesture. After all, he owed her some sort of comfort after he got her practically drunk without her even realizing it at first. His touch actually did calm her, and she felt herself drifting off to sleep slowly, her eyes getting heavier and heavier as she watched the fire die with the night.
When she awoke from what she thought was a brief sleep, she saw that Blaise too had dozed off, and they were sleeping on the cold leather couch in a now dark room. It must have been about 4 in the morning, and Daphne felt very cold in the dark, underground common room. She tried to curl herself up into a ball to keep the heat, but she accidentally nudged Blaise, waking him up abruptly.
"Sorry, Blaise..." She mumbled quietly as she continued to adjust herself. He didn't reply at first; in fact, she got the sense that he was watching her get comfortable.
"Don't worry about it. Comfy now?" he asked in a low, raspy whisper. Daphne thought that perhaps he had lost his voice from all the screaming they did for the Weird Sisters; after all, her voice felt like it was about to break too.
"Yes much better." She nodded slowly.
"Good." He said, barely above a whisper. Then, from behind her, she felt him lean towards her and touch her head. It took her a moment to register what had just happened, and then she felt her heart start to beat faster. Did he just kiss me on the head? She lifted her head slowly to ask, but she found that she didn't need to as soon as she saw his eyes; there was no mistake. He stared at her in silence, like he was waiting for her to say something, his eyes reading hers. Then, when he was satisfied that she was as curious as he was, he took her chin with his hand and slowly brought her face towards his, giving her lots of time to back out if she wanted. He stopped an inch short of her lips, waiting to see if she was going to retreat. Daphne could practically see all of his thoughts through reflected in eyes, waiting to see what she would do. When she didn't pull away, and she didn't say anything, Blaise took this as a good signal and brought her lips to meet his.
Daphne was so unsure of what to do at first that she froze, unable to move or breath as she tried to comprehend what was going on. Then, as it began to sink in, her mind began sending her all sorts of signals. Her head told her that she was having her first real kiss (the boy down the street when she was 9 did not count in her mind), that she was having it with Blaise, and that she was enjoying it.
It was like a small spark had gone off in her head, and was lighting a fire in slow motion. The first thing she did was turn more towards him, to avoid the uncomfortable angle she was at. Then, she wrapped her arms around him to be closer. Those were the two things she did; she was far too nervous (and inexperienced) to try anything else that might seem creative. But it didn't matter much; Blaise apparently knew what he was doing, and he was also very good at it. The longer they kissed, the more passionate Blaise got, and Daphne eventually picked up some of his moves and was able to kiss him back (to a certain extent). At one point, Blaise pulled her body closer to his, so that she was practically lying on top of him, which gave Daphne a near heart attack. He also once again has his hand wrapped in the lacing of her top, lightly running his fingers along them. Much to her surprise, she was sure that he had found the knot and had pulled it open. But she didn't have time to react because suddenly something hit her on the side of the head. Blaise and Daphne pulled away from each other and looked at what had just struck them; a bunched up old sock that looked like it had been under someone's bed for a year or two.
"Ew!" Daphne screamed, throwing it away from her. Across the room, in the dark, she heard laughing. Blaise and Daphne both sat up on the couch and looked towards the dimly lit stairwell that led to the girls' dormitories. There stood Tracey, Millicent, and Pansy, all giggling hysterically. Daphne felt her face turn very red and she immediately crawled off Blaise, who also looked a little embarrassed by the audience they had.
"Are we interrupting you two?" Pansy purred from the doorway, laughing again with the other girls.
"No!" Daphne called out, her voice very wary and strained.
"Yes..." mumbled Blaise under his breath. Daphne looked at him with wide eyes and he only smirked a little. She felt herself blush a little and returned a small, shy smile before she looked back towards her roommates.
"I guess I'd better get to bed..." She said quietly, climbing off the couch and picking up her shoes. The girls were giggling very loudly in the corner, and then they ran upstairs, laughing like hyenas as they ran. "Uh, I guess I'll see you later?" she mumbled awkwardly.
"Sure thing," Blaise said, smiling at her behaviour "Do they always do things like that?"
"I have a feeling Tracey put them up to it, but yeah," she chuckled lightly as she looked around for her shawl. Blaise cleared his throat and held it up to her attention. She smiled and walked over to grab it. "Thanks, Blaise," She said meekly. "And thanks for the...uh-"
"You're welcome." He replied, with a sweet smile on his face. He handed her the shawl but then held on to it as she tried to take it back. "Turn around for a second," he whispered. She looked at him oddly but did as she was asked. A moment later she felt a small tug on the lacing on her back and then he turned her back around "I think I caught it with my cufflink," he told her. They both knew that was a lie, but neither of them said anything. Daphne's cheeks went a little pinker and she smiled at him again.
"Good night Blaise," She said, standing in front of him for a moment, waiting to see if he wanted to kiss her again or something. He saw that she was waiting for it, and made an obvious gesture to look towards the girl dormitories, where they could still hear loud giggles from upstairs. Daphne let out a small laugh at his point.
"Good night Daphne," He smiled before he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he turned and disappeared into the darkness towards the boys dormitories.
Did that really just happen? She thought, placing her hand on her chest as she tried to feel if her heart was still beating. The telltale laugh from upstairs told her that yes, it did happen, and yes she had been caught.
Well, this is going to be interesting... she thought as she gathered up her skirt and started up towards her dormitory, where she knew there were a thousand questions and giggles waiting for her inside...