Chapter 6

Two days later

It was the day of the ball and I was seriously freaking out. In less than four hours I would have to go downstairs and meet Charlie and spend the whole night with him.

"You'll be fine Lex, it's only Charlie." Fred said.

"Yeah it's not like you're in love with him or anything." George added.

"Oh wait, I think she is." Fred responded.

"Guys, not helping. Really not helping." I said.

"Alexis?" Alicia called, "Time to start getting ready."

Fred and George gave me matching grins, "You'll be fine."

I hurried upstairs to our dormitory where the three girls had set up heaps of hair and makeup stuff as well as our dresses, shoes and accessories.

"I think I should go last, because otherwise I'm not going to be much help, I'm starting to shake already." I suggested.

They quickly agreed and we set to work on Angelina .Three hours later, the four of us had all had our hair and makeup done. Angelina's hair was dead straight and had been styled in a bun with a few strands framing her face. Katie's hair had been curled and piled up onto her head. Alicia's was curled while mine had been curled slightly and half of it pulled up and teased with a tiara sitting nicely in it. For the first time my tattoo was visible, Katie said that it was about time everyone got to see it, as it was always covered with my hair. All in all, we looked good.

"Alright, time to get dressed." Katie announced excitedly.

Feeling slightly ill I carefully got into my sapphire blue princess dress that had a few diamantes sewn on to it that sparkled in the lights. Angelina wore a green dress that had a long split up the side that showed a modest amount of leg while Alicia wore a red dress that flared out a little, nowhere near as much as mine and Katie wore a short pink dress. The girls had spent so long with my make up that they had actually managed to hide my scars almost completely. After adding our various other necessities we slowly made our way downstairs. Fred, George and Lee were all waiting in the common room and looked awestruck as we descended the stairs.

The three boys were staring at their dates for what seemed like ages before they noticed the rest of the group.

"You guys look good." Fred said.

"I feel sick." I responded.

"You'll be fine," Alicia said, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"But he's waiting out there and I feel really sick."

"Lex, don't worry about it. You look beautiful if he doesn't already like you he will after tonight." George encouraged.

"Just don't drink any fire whiskey." Lee suggested.

Everyone laughed except me and Katie. "Alright, I think I'm ready now."

"Okay, you come out last Lexy, got to keep him waiting!" Katie squealed, getting excited at the thought of Charlie and I being together.

I tried to wait patiently as everyone filed out of the portrait hole slowly.

"She looks absolutely amazing Charlie, wait til you see her." I heard Fred say from the outside.

Eventually it was my turn to leave the common room. Slowly I managed to get out of the portrait hole and found Charlie looking at me.

"Hey." I said shyly.

He stared at me without speaking for what seemed like forever before finally saying something.

"Hey Lexy." He stepped forward and hugged me, "You are so beautiful," he murmured, kissing my forehead.

I blushed as he took my hand and we all headed down to the great hall for the ball.

The boys went to get us drinks and the four of us put our heads together.

"He can't take his eyes off you Lex." Ang whispered.

"He was speechless." Alicia gushed.

"It's nothing. He's just doing this cause I'm a friend."

"Friends don't have to be speechless or stare or say that you're beautiful in front of your other friends." Katie said.

We sat in silence as the boys returned with drinks. As we drank we chatted idly as the other girls and I were watching each other's partners and gauging their reactions. Lee staring at Alicia more than usual and the dance seemed to have done wonders for George and Katie who usually fought over trivial things. Angelina and Fred were all over each other and Charlie seemed to be trying to avoid looking directly at me.

"Want to dance?" He asked, finally meeting my eyes after what seemed like forever.

"I'm not a very good dancer Charlie."

"It's alright, you won't fall. I promise." He held his hand out, which I took and he guided me to the dance floor.

We danced to a slow song that seemed to go forever, I didn't mind though. I enjoyed the opportunity to be so close to Charlie. It felt nice to be held securely in his arms as he guided me around the dance floor. When the song finished he led me outside into the courtyard that had been transformed into a beautiful garden. He led me to a secluded corner where we sat on a bench, still holding hands.

"You look so good tonight. The girls did a great job at hiding your scars; if I didn't know they were there I wouldn't even know you've got them."

I smiled, not knowing what to say.

"And you got the tattoo after all."

"I got it before I went back to school, two days before. It's usually hidden but Katie said to show it off."

"Why a horntail?"

I grinned, "Because they're the best."

He shook his head sadly before saying, "I just wanted to apologise for the other day, I shouldn't have let those Slytherin's have a go at you like that."

"Don't worry about it Charlie. It was fun."

"But still…"

"Seriously, don't worry about it."

"Okay, if you insist."

"Thanks for coming with me tonight. You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to Lex. I really like spending time with you. I'm glad I came."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I have never seen you look so beautiful." He said softly leaning in and kissing me on the lips. He pulled away almost as soon as he had done it.

"Alexis, I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry I'll just go now." He said, getting up.

"Charlie, wait. There's nothing to apologise for."

"I shouldn't have kissed you, I was just caught in the moment and it just happened. Just forget about it, pretend it never happened. I'm sorry; I've really got to go."

With that, he left me standing in the garden, wondering how I was supposed to forget one of the best moments of my entire life.