WINTER
Chapter Four
Walking Thin Ice
Winter was slipping into the days, wrapping everyone in a chilly cocoon of snow and spices, evergreen and mistletoe. By mid November the Black Lake was frozen over with frost, looking like lace over a dark dress; Dom toed the thin edges thoughtfully, her black boot tapping and tapping-she wasn’t sure if it would break or not.
Dom had always loved winter. Christmas had been her favourite holiday her whole life, with the snow and the cookies, how her family seemed to be in every corner; the Burrow nearly bursting. Happiness oozed, it was impossible to feel unhappy-yet Dom always felt a little hollow after Christmas and New Years ended, she returned to school and the Christmas tree came down.
Now the hollow feeling was always there, and Christmas had barely begun.
The wind picked up her hair, blowing it around her face as she continued to toe the ice; she wanted to walk on it, to edge slowly onto the surface and see ho long it took the ice to break. It only took a wriggle of curiosity in her gut; a sudden need for a taste of danger-she would come off after a few seconds.
Inching onto the ice, Dom caught her breathe as her boots slipped; she stretched her hands out, cloak shifting around her legs. Something about the thrill of being so close to a breaking point-not even an inch away from the cold waters- made Dom braver.
She took a step farther. And another, and another.
Holding her breathe, Dom stood straighter and looked across the expanse of ice; it was beautifully terrifying. Another tentative step closer and she would be at least a metre from the edge now; an accomplishment, something she’d done that was dangerous and perfect and thrillingly hazardous.
“Dominique!”
The sound of her name sent Dom to turn around, but just as she did a sharp crack echoed across the lake and the ice broke apart. Before Dom could even grab for her wand, or try to move, she fell through the crack with a strangled scream.
Dark water enveloped her, and suddenly the thrill evaporated and fear replaced it-downright heart numbing fear rocketed through her as fillets of light came through the ice, barely thwarting the darkness surrounding her. The crack she had fallen through had disappeared, all there was to be seen was ice and water in every direction; she could hear singing vibrating from the depths of the lake, and Dom screamed.
As her lungs began to burst, her mind fogged and the world seemed to grow fuzzy at the edges the watery world around her exploded. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open as her body begged for air, her limbs growing weaker as she struggled to keep consciousness.
Something slimy was tugging at her ankle, and Dom looked down, another scream scrambling up her throat; a Selkie (a Scottish mermaid) was singing a haunting tune as it tugged her deeper into the lake. Just as Dom began to accept she would never have the light of day touch her skin again, she felt a firm grip on her wrist.
Looking up, she just caught a flash of steely blue before she inhaled a gush of icy water, her vision going black.
“Dom!”
Someone was shouting her name, and Dom wasn’t pleased.
“Dominique Weasley, you wake up right now!”
Who was this person? Why did they think they could boss her around? She deserved a little sleep, a bit of quiet-though she wished she wasn’t so cold…
“Please…Dom…”
And then the light reached her, filtering through the blackness as water rushed up her throat. Eyes flying open, Dom choked on the water forcing itself out of her lungs-the majority of which went in Ben’s already wet face.
“Ben?!” she gasped, her throat aching “Why the bloody hell are you all wet?!”
A strangled laugh escaped Ben as he shook his head, looking at the ground to hide the tears gathering in his eyes-he had been so petrified over the thought of losing her forever that he hadn’t even thought about jumping in the lake after her.
He hadn’t thought about the mermaids or the cold-not even that he might not come back up. The giant squid hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Just Dominique, how her eyes flashed as she fell through the ice and her scream caused the birds to fly from the trees-that scream had chilled Ben to the bone. He hadn’t even flinched at the cold water hitting his skin, soaking his clothes and stinging his eyes.
Leaning on his knees now, the soil probably ruining the knees of his trousers and shaking Ben didn’t regret it-he’d saved her. Saved Dominique, the girl who made his knees weak and insides tremble and knot; maybe this could give him the courage to finally ask her out. Thought what he wanted with Dom, felt for her was much more than just a boy asking a girl out-it as so simple yet so complicated.
“Ben!” Dom cried again, and in reply Ben threw his arms around her and held her close. “Ben?” she whispered, but he just shook his head.
“One of these days, Dom-” he said gruffly into her wet hair “-I’m just going to have to start hanging around constantly.”
“Don’t you already do that?” she asked “You’re my friend. Who tends to save me; too much in my opinion.”
By this time a crowd had gathered, and Madam Pomfrey was trying to shoo the students away, the teachers conversing close by-Headmistress Zatanna looked worried.
“Mr. Wood, Ms. Weasley-meet me in my office at quarter to, please. Longbottom, you, too.” Zatanna walked back towards the castle, twilight purple robes flowing along the ground like fog; the students fell silent, watching her go.
Neville Longbottom knew both kids out of school, and gently got them to their feet and with a hand on each shoulder guided them along the path back to the castle. “I don’t think you’re in trouble,” he said “She just wants to see if you’re alright. Don’t worry, alright?”
The two nodded, and when they reached the castle Professor Longbottom waved his wand and their robes ere dry again; the three trekked through the castle, silent and faces blank. The gargoyle jumped aside when Neville said ‘Centaur’ and they rode the spiralling staircase up to the office.
Neville turned around to smile reassuringly at them “Don’t worry,” he said again, and raised his hand to knock.
They stood on the stoop for a few seconds, holding their breathe, then:
“Come in.”
~*~*~*~
The headmaster’s office was a large circular room with many windows and portraits of old headmasters and headmistress. Dom and Ben had both been told that in Dumbledore’s day the room played host to a number of spindly tables upon which were set delicate looking silver instruments that whirred and emitted small puffs of smoke, as well as an incredible collection of books, making up Dumbledore’s private library. He also used to have a pensive (which Dom knew now sat in her Uncle Harry’s private study at Brooke Cottage) and Fawkes the phoenix.
The room had changed since, but not much; a portrait of Professor Dumbledore sat behind the desk, and another of Severus Snape close by. The décor of the room was mainly the same, except for plush purple velvet living room set by the windows on the upper floor, barely visible. Also, from the ceiling were perches for at least a dozen black nightingales to sit on; most were sleeping at the moment, but one sang a soft tune from it’s spot on Saherra Zatanna’s shoulder.
“Professor Zatanna, would you like me to leave you with Ms. Weasley and Mr. Wood?” Neville asked, and Dom couldn’t see a trace of the boy she’d heard her uncles talk of-just the brave man he’d been at the battle.
“Yes please, Neville.” Looking up, Saherra Zatanna looked at her students with her extraordinary eyes; the left was blue, the right a dark, rich brown. Her hair was black as her nightingale’s wings and up in a swirling bun, a few curls falling out around her face. She was fifty-five years old, but everyone thought she was the most beautiful headmistress Hogwarts ever had.
“Headmistress, I-” Dom started, but Zatanna cut her off.
“There is no need to defend yourself, Ms. Weasley.” She said calmly, placing her quill aside. “Although I realize your near death experience as an accident, walking out on the ice was a foolish idea. I believe you owe Mr. Wood a thank you.”
Ben began to persist, but Dom shook her head “No, Ben. Honestly I don’t thank you enough; so…thank you for saving me, really.”
Looking at his shoes, Ben shrugged “I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Because of your bravery Mr. Wood, I will award 50 points to Gryffindor; I would award more, but Ms. Weasley’s foolishness compromised that.” She stood and walked over to the window, the nightingale on her shoulder playing with a long, dangling earring. “You may return to your common room, and I will be owling your parents about this event.”
“Thank you, Headmistress Zatanna.” They said together, and left the tower. Together they walked down the halls, side by side and silent; somehow the words seemed too large to squeeze out of their throats. What to say when someone has just saved your life or you just saved theirs?
“Ben?” she whispered as they slowed; they’d been walking without any real direction and ended up at the far end of the castle, in a long hall with windows facing outside. Night had fallen while they were talking with Professor Zatanna, and the firelight from the torches on the walls reflected in the glass and in Dom’s eyes as she looked up at Ben.
“Yeah?” his fingers twitched, and he wished that he had the courage to take her hand.
“I don’t know how to thank you. First you caught me when I fell from the bleachers, now…now this.” She didn’t smile, but her eyes told him how confused she was. With her hair tumbling out around her shoulders, shimmering in the fire light and skin dappled with shadows, Ben didn’t know if his heart was trying to escape his chest or just stop altogether.
He shrugged “You don’t have to thank me, really. I didn’t do much.”
Lips trembling slightly and open just a little, Dom looked up at Ben with her transparent eyes, the fire flickering in their shallow depths “But you did.”
Not a word was spoken, and if Ben knew it was about to happen he would have paid more attention-but it just…happened.
Dom went on her tip toes and, with lips that felt satiny as rose petals on his skin, kissed Ben; half on the mouth, half on the lips.
‘Did Dominique Weasley just kiss me?’ Ben thought, staring down at his best friend in wonder. She just shrugged, gave him the smallest of smiles and slipped into the shadows.
“Holy founders!” Ben breathed, watching the spot where Dom had disappeared “Dominique Elise freaking Weasley just kissed me.”
But then he sobered, because Ben knew that it probably wouldn’t happen again.
‘Should have been paying more attention…’ he scolded himself ‘but that bloody body wash shampoo smell…cherry blossoms…always gets to me.’
Walking down the corridors, Ben wondered if maybe-just maybe-he could figure out a way to save Dominique again. Next time he would pay closer attention.
A/N: Hello everyone...I've been having a difficult time writing this story. Not because I can't think of ideas or I'm bored or anything, but it is hitting a little kink in my self confidence armour. You probably don't care and are thinking "Geez Rose, just get on with the story already!" but it's hard for me to write, because I know how terrible eating disorders are and what they do to you, and how they're mostly mental...yet I have always had body image issues, as most girls have, but I've been taking it to the next level lately and writing this story is making me feel so guilty.
The thing is though that I love this story, because I want to be a therapiste for people (mainly teens) with eating disroders and who self harm and are depressed. Yet I am turning into the very teens I want to help. I'm not going to stop writing CMP, but I'm going to try and help myself a bit more. I don't want my body image issues to get as bad as Dom's, and living through her may help me.
Question: What do you think of this interesting development between Ben and Dom? Also, what do you think of the banner I made?
*cough cough* I'd love a banner *cough cough* please *cough cough*
Rose<3