I Knew You Weren't
Chapter Fifteen
Kylie walked down the hallway headed to her next class, when she was cornered by Neville.
" Is it true?" He asked. "Are we really having a ball?"
"It's not really a ball, per sa- Wait. How do you know about it?!" Kylie furrowed her brow. Stupid, baby Prefects and their big mouths.
"The whole school is talking about it. Are we not supposed to know?" Then, something clicked in his head. "Thesis what the meeting last night was about and it was supposed to be a secret, so, of course-"
"Of course, the whole school knows." Kylie rolled her eyes. "Minnie is gonna be pissed."
"We'll just pretend I didn't ask, then." Neville shrugged, looking a bit defeated.
Kylie sighed. "It's not really a ball. More of a…gala, I guess. A remembrance dinner… On the anniversary. Food, live music, speeches… Harry is supposed to speak. I'm trying to get Celestina Warbeck for entertainment. Molly will love that. It's to celebrate the ones that made it… and remember the ones that didn't… everyone that fought will be here."
"So, do we, you know, have to bring a date? I mean, I'm just wondering… I had a hard enough time asking Ginny to the Yule Ball, and I suppose she only said yes because Hermione turned me down... So, I was just, um, curious." Neville sheepishly shoved his hands in the pockets of his robe.
"It's not mandatory. I mean, I went stag to the Yule Ball and wound up hooking up with Fred in a broom closet, so, you never know what could happen." Kylie laughed. "If you're worried about who to ask, any girl would be lucky to be your date. Besides, you're a hero now. I'm sure any girl you ask will say yes. Just…hold off on asking until McGonagall makes her official announcement."
"Right. Okay. Thanks."
"I gotta get to class, Nev. I'll see you later." Kylie gave a small smile.
As she walked away, she could have sworn she heard Neville mumble " I don't want to ask just any girl."
Kylie returned to a silent dorm. Looking for anything out of place, she noticed a note sitting on the table.
K,
Blaise and I are gone for the weekend.
No worries. All is well. Just taking care of some business.
Have a good day at Hogsmeade tomorrow.
xx D
Kylie grinned stupidly down at the note, but was distracted by a knock at the portrait hole. The hole opened and a certain blonde walked through into the room.
"You should really change the password. Anyone that knows it could just walk in." was said with a grin as Kylie stood there speechless.
"What are you doing here, 'Zona?" Kylie asked, setting down her note.
"I heard a rumor. Thought I'd come see if it was true." Arizona sat her bag down in an armchair. "Heard there's going to be a dance."
"Not a dance. A remembrance gala. If you've heard about it, it really must be all over the school." Kylie crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "Is that all?"
"Well, I was going to see if you needed a date." Arizona smiled.
"We…we broke up."
"Yeah, I know. I was there. I'm the one that did it." Arizona raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying to apologize. I was jealous and I shouldn't have been. I…I was an idiot and I would like you to forgive me."
"I forgave you the second you walked away, because I realized that I needed some time to myself. I needed to figure things out." Kylie jumped up and sat on the tabletop.
"Okay, then. Now that that's settled, will you be my date?" Arizona began to reach out for Kylie's hand, but Kylie pulled away.
"I can't. I have to go with Draco." Not a total lie.
"Riiiiiight. Why would you want to do that? He'll be a terrible date."
"Because he's kind of the other Head. It'll show good sportsmanship. If you haven't noticed, the theme of the year is unity and friendship."
"Blah blah. It's Malfoy. Come on. You really think he wants to be your date? I'm sure he'd rather go with Pug-face." Arizona rolled her eyes in frustration. "Don't think I didn't hear the two of you spent the holidays together. I was trying to ignore it."
"You need to go." Kylie came down off the table and crossed her arms. "Now."
"I was hoping you got him out of your system over Christmas, but I guess not. Why? What makes him so much better than me? He can't understand you better than I do."
"Actually he does. Because you don't understand me at all." Kylie spat.
"Oh, great. Again with the mood swings. You need to get those under control?" Arizona rubbed her temples. "Merlin, this is not going the way I thought it would."
"Excuse me. My 'mood swings' are not something I can just turn off. That's not how my brain works."
Arizona scoffed. "Are you gonna explain it to me again, like I'm an idiot? 'My brain is different, blah blah blah.' No one's brain is different. You're magical, we're all the same."
"Don't you know what it's like to wake up one morning and just know that if you get out of bed, you won't be alive by the time the sun sets?"
"No. And neither do you."
"Actually, I do. I didn't tell you by choice, but I didn't have to tell him. Do you remember about 3 weeks after we found Draco in the bathroom? I missed 3 days of classes. You didn't notice when I didn't meet you that morning, but he noticed when I wasn't up before he was. He came in to get me and he knew something was wrong. So, he owled McGonagall and he sat next to my bed all day. He didn't speak or anything. Just read the paper and a book. He slept by my bed that night. The next day, he had a house elf bring us breakfast to my room and he sat with me, reading the Prophet out loud for the three hours it took me to eat. He read me passage from a book. We did some homework… For 48 hours, he only left my room to go to the bathroom. And the third day, he got me out of bed, got me showered and dressed, and got me out of my room." Kylie took a deep breath. "You, on the other hand, were annoyed that I had 'abandoned you' for three days. Even though you never bothered to check on me."
Arizona pursed her lips. "So, that's a no to the date. Or anything else."
"It's more than just a no. It's a 'get out of my fucking dorm'."
Arizona spun on her heel, grabbed her bag, and stormed out of the portrait hole, almost smashing into Ginny on her way out.
Ginny looked behind her as the portrait swung shut. "What was she doing here?"
Kylie shrugged. "Making an arse of herself. What's up?"
Ginny made her way to the kitchen and began to raid the cabinets. "Why didn't you tell me there was going to be a dance?"
"Oh, for the love of Merlin, it's not a dance!"
Ginny put her hands up in mock surrender, trying to not drop her snacks. "Sorry. I won't call it a dance again."
"You're the third non-Prefect to mention it. They weren't supposed to say anything." Kylie held get hand up as Ginny tossed her a bag of crisps. "They're ask going to be locked in the dungeons until they admit who told."
"Lock them in the Chamber. The big basilisk skeleton might be a good motivator." Ginny suggested, mouth half full, as she plopped down on the couch. Kylie sat down next to her and paved get had on Ginny's shoulder. "Something on your mind? Queen Bitch, maybe?"
"Nah. Uh, do you want to grab Neville and Luna for a sleepover? Drake is gone for the weekend."
"They're in the library. We can go get them in a bit. We haven't had much time together lately." Ginny laid her head on Kylie's.
Kylie poked out her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. It's my fault."
"I'm to blame, too. I've let my emotions run wild since holiday. I love you, you're my best friend, and whatever you choose to do with your life, I'll support you always."
"Thank you." Kylie grinned. "Tonight can just be us. We'll invite the others tomorrow. Tonight, I'm getting drunk with my best friend."
Ginny laughed. "That…sounds perfect."
XXXXX