Control ▸ Ron Weasley [2]

IX. PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS

      "Thanks," Nova said, her voice quiet as she stared at herself in the mirror. Astoria had applied pretty makeup to her face. Nothing that was too noticeable, but that was simply because Astoria had told her it would be easier to spell off when the party was over. "And thanks again for letting me borrow your dress." The dress in question was hanging on a hook on the back of the bathroom door, looking pretty as ever. 

      "No problem. You'll look great in it." Daphne toyed with Nova's curls for a little bit, pulling some of them apart so they looked even looser. "Do you...do you know if Weasley's going to be there?"

      Nova had worried about that. Would Hermione or Harry take him as their plus one? She didn't think she could handle seeing Weasley and know that he had spent the past month and a half snogging Lavender. "I don't know. Hopefully not."

      "If he does go, just punch him in the face," Astoria suggested.

      "Stori," Daphne said lowly, shaking her head subtly.

      "It's not a bad idea," Nova agreed quietly, sending Astoria a wobbly smile. "Alright, time to get this dress on."

      The two sisters left Nova to herself as she slipped out of her robes and into the dress. It fell to about her shins and had thinner straps holding up the material at her shoulders. It truly was a beautiful dress, one that she was happy didn't resemble something too-Slytherin as she put it on. Nothing was wrong with green, but she didn't feel as though she deserved to wear it much anymore. The pretty rose gold color was a good substitute. 

      Blaise was sitting with Daphne and Astoria when Nova finally made her way down to the common room. There was no smile on her face, but her eyes lit up the tiniest bit when she saw Blaise. "You clean up nice," she said, noticing that he was wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt, a rose gold tie that matched her dress hanging from his neck. "I see Daphne roped you into matching."

      "I thought it would look nice," Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders before reaching out and gently fixing a part of Blaise's tie that had gone wonky. Astoria nearly choked on her cauldron cake. "Off you two go! The party will be fun. I want to hear details when you get back!"

      Nova doubted the party would be something she'd be raving about, but hopefully it would be a nice enough distraction from the fact that her ex-boyfriend was already with someone new. "You alright?" Blaise asked as they made their way out of the common room and started towards Slughorn's office. 

      "Fine. I'm sorry you couldn't bring Theo tonight," she mumbled lowly so no one would hear. Even if they were the only ones in the corridor, she still wanted to be respectful. 

      "Eh, it's alright. I've still got the most beautiful girl on my arm," he said, winking at her. When she rolled her eyes, he grinned. "What? I'm gay, not blind. You look incredible, Nova."

      "You're insufferable." But she squeezed his arm a little tighter to let him know that she appreciated it.

      Nova had never considered herself ugly. She wasn't anything super special, but she did think she had nice qualities that made her face generally aesthetically pleasing. However, over the past month and a half, she couldn't help but compare herself to Lavender Brown. What was it about the Gryffindor girl that made Weasley want to move on so quickly? And then, when her thoughts locked on things like that, it made Nova feel silly. Why should she care about how attractive Weasley found her? 

      Being a teenager, in short of a better phrase...was absolute bollocks.

      Slughorn's office was much bigger than Nova had been expected. She wondered if it was the actual layout of the office, or if he had used some sort of magic to enchant it. Whatever it was, it was decorated beautifully in green, red, and gold trimmings. Nova wasn't quite in the mood for the Christmas spirit, but she could appreciate Slughorn's dedication to his party. Blaise led her around to where Slughorn was entertaining some of his guests. His eyes lit up when he saw the pair, the crinkles around his eyes wrinkling kindly. Nova hadn't interacted with Slughorn much, but he seemed like a decent enough man. Certainly made Potions more fun.