𝓐 𝓨𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝓦𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐳
⟠
"Blimey, get off! I DON'T — WANT — TO — GO!"
Edelyn struggled as Hermione and Ginny grabbed an arm each and dragged her out of the girls' dormitories and down the steps into the common room. It was the night of the Yule Ball and it had taken the combined efforts of Hermione and Ginny to force Edelyn into the dress Juliet Diggory had sent her by owl post a week prior. Ginny nearly got punched in the face when she then proposed putting makeup on Edelyn; she and Hermione resolved that Edelyn was fine without it ( she was a descendent of the Black lineage after all ).
"You're not — leaving us — to go — alone!" Hermione panted, wondering what in Heavens Oliver Wood had ordered for Quidditch practices to make Edelyn so strong, despite a seemingly scrawny build.
Edelyn huffed. "Neither of you is going alone. You're going with Krum, and you with Neville." She groaned. "Urgh, where's my wand? Granger, Weasley, you let go of my arms right now or I'm going to blast your hands off!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oie! George!" she called out to her older brother. He was standing with Lee, fixing his bowtie. "A little help here?"
"Ah, don't you ladies look lovely this evening," George grinned as he pranced over. "And of what service may I be to you?"
"We need to get to our dates," said Ginny, indicating Hermione and herself, "and you, George, need to get Lyn to the Great Hall."
"No, you don't," Edelyn snapped, sending Ginny a disgruntled look. "It's just a stupid Ba—" But before Edelyn could even finish, George had swooped her up off her feet and slumped her over his shoulder.
"George Fabian Weasley!" she seethed, hands clenching into fists as she threw punches to his back. "Let me down this instant, you arse!"
George smirked. "And you've got a pretty good view of my arse," he said, giving his bum a little wiggle.
"You bloody git!"
A string of profanities then escaped her lips and Hermione sent her a disapproving look as Ginny simply laughed.
"Well, run along then," said George. "I've got this."
Ten minutes later, Ginny raced excitedly down the steps into the Entrance Hall to meet a stammering Neville. Hermione, meanwhile, took her time descending the stairs, hand firmly holding the railing as she struggled with her new shoes. The crowd already gathered down in the hall looked up at her and pondered who the foreign face was before dropping their jaws in awe. This was a Hermione Granger they had never seen before.
She was wearing a gown made of a floaty periwinkle-blue material and black heels that added an inch to her height. Her usually untamed bushy hair was tied up into an elegant knot at the back of her head, and her smile, though rather nervous, was vibrant. Not a single person who set eyes on her could say anything negative, not even the Slytherins.
"Hi, Ron! Hi, Harry!" she greeted as she approached her two friends.
"You — you look lovely," Harry said, smiling.
Ron gaped at her, then nearly fainted when Victor Krum — the Viktor Krum — walked over and offered Hermione his hand. "Herm–own–ninny!" he said brightly.
"Um, I'll see you two later then," said Hermione, and without further ado, followed Krum towards where the other Durmstrang students were standing.
"Krum? She's with Krum?" Ron uttered, ears turning red as Parvati Patil came over and greeted them, eyes fixed on Harry. Harry, however, was slightly distracted and spun around when Edelyn's familiar voice floated into the hall. He craned his neck to see George hauling her down the steps.
"Mr Weasley!" Professor McGonagall called. "Put Miss Black down this instant!"
"Sure thing, Professor," George chimed coolly as he strode toward Harry, Ron, and Parvati. "No biting, now," he teased and finally lowered Edelyn to her feet.
"One of these days, George Weasley, I'm going to—"
"I'll save you the trouble," George quipped. "You're welcome," he said, bowing lowly, then walked away to greet Alicia Spinet.
Edelyn muttered something mean beneath her breath, then turned around to face her friends.
"Oh, what a lovely dress, Edelyn!" Parvati complimented, her fingers reaching over to feel the fabric of the olive green gown she wore. It was cinched at the waist, accentuating her build, and the halter was both modest and slightly daring. Her feet were adorned with a pair of flats, and around her neck was a bronze-chained necklace.
Harry stared at her. He suddenly realized just how much she resembled Sirius...The ebony, satiny hair that grazed her shoulders, the cheekbones, the jaw, the perfectly centred nose. It wasn't until Professor McGonagall repeated for the third time, "Champions over here! Potter!" did he finally look away. Hastily taking Parvati's hand, he led her to where Professor McGonagall stood with the other champions.
"Hermione was right," Ron said, at last finding his voice as they sat down at one of the many round tables in the Great Hall. "You are a girl."
Edelyn's cheeks glowed a hue of rosy pink. She grinned at him, then glanced toward the grand doors when the champions entered, making their way to the brightly lit dance floor. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune. Edelyn caught sight of Harry and sent him a thumbs-up, sniggering at the expression on his face as Parvati then led him in a waltz. Ron's eyes, however, were sourly fixed on Hermione and Viktor Krum.
"I can't believe her..." he muttered under his breath. "Consorting with the enemy..."
Soon enough, the champions were no longer alone on the dance floor. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby Dumbledore and Madame Maxime, and Alastor Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg. When the Weird Sisters finished the first song, Edelyn joined the rest of the school in giving applause.
"Oh! This reminds me of that time Charlie took us in the Ford Anglia!" Edelyn said as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, this one much faster. "Remember? Fred and George were furious we didn't bring them along."
But Ron did not respond. He was in a horrible mood. Arms crossed, he simply glared at everyone who had the audacity to be having a good time.
Edelyn rolled her eyes and slumped back into her seat. She was soon pulled up to her feet, however, by George.
"Boogie with me, Lynster!"
Edelyn shot Ron a nervous look.
"Oh, go on," he grumbled. "I'll keep your seat warm," he added, propping his legs up.
"What's with him?" George asked as he guided Edelyn to the dance floor.
"He's been bitten by a little green monster," Edelyn replied, then laughed as George spun her around.
She was rather pink in the face by the time the song ended, and she gave George a high-five before leaving him for Hermione. The two girls returned to Ron, who was now accompanied by Harry.
"Viktor's just gone to get some drinks," Hermione said as Edelyn pushed Ron's legs off her seat and sat down. "Want to join us?"
Ron frowned. "Viktor? Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"
Hermione blinked in surprise. "What's up with you?"
"He's in Durmstrang!" Ron grumbled, ears burning scarlet. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You – you're – fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"
"Ron!" Edelyn hissed.
But Ron ignored her and continued, "I mean, he knows who you hang around with...he's just trying to get closer to Harry — get inside information on him — or get near enough to jinx him—"
Hermione looked as if she was going to slap him, but then she caught Edelyn's just-ignore-him expression and stormed off to find Krum instead.
Edelyn turned to her best friend and said calmly, "Ron, if you wanted to come with Hermione, why didn't you just ask her?"
"W-wait — w-what?!"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, I have known you since you were still wearing diapers. I, for one, am not buying this whole 'fraternizing with the enemy' story."
"She has no idea what she's talking about," grumbled Ron, crossing his arms as Edelyn went after Hermione.
Harry, however, couldn't help but think that Edelyn knew very well just what she was talking about.
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After assuring Hermione that Ron was just being a jealous dunderhead, Edelyn walked over to a table to pour herself some pumpkin juice. Boys. She thought wryly. She halted when she heard a voice call from behind her, "Lookie here, it's Black."
Her body stiffened. "What do you want?" she snapped.
"Tsk, tsk, temper a little short today?" Draco Malfoy sneered.
"Unless you want to see the inside of a Pumpkin again, I'd shut your mouth," spat Edelyn.
Malfoy's features scrunched into a grimace as Pansy Parkinson swept her hair over her shoulder and hummed, "Don't worry, Drakey, Black here is simply mopey no one asked her to the Ball. After all, who'd want to date a sad orphan? Imagine...both mummy and daddy issues." Malfoy sniggered. "And not to mention that sour, ugly face," Parkinson spat.
Edelyn's chest clenched. She reached for her wand, but then a voice sounded from behind, "That's odd...I wasn't aware Edelyn was holding up a mirror."
"Watch your tongue, Potter!" Malfoy snarled.
Harry narrowed his eyes, then glanced at something behind the pumpkin juice fountain. "Greetings, Professor Moody!" he called, and when Malfoy instantly spun around, face as ashen as the white of his hair, Harry grabbed Edelyn's hand and pulled her away. Once they reached the dance floor, however, he quickly let go.
"Urgh! I — I hate them!" Edelyn growled, shooting Malfoy and Parkinson a contemptuous glare.
"Join the club," Harry muttered.
Edelyn huffed, hands fisted at her sides. She turned back to Harry and suddenly felt very hot in the cheeks. He was standing very close. The music blaring from the stage tuned into a slow ballad.
"Do you maybe — erm—" Harry raked a hand through his hair. "Want to dance or something?"
"Oh, I...uh..."
Harry chuckled forcibly. "Nevermind. Stupid idea. Let's go find Ron—" But Edelyn caught his arm. She smiled at him, a little timidly, and said, "No, I'd like to — I'd like to dance with you." Her heart hammered as Harry's hands then lightly grazed her waist. Hesitantly, she rested hers on his shoulders and tried to sync the swaying of her hips to his.
"I like your necklace," Harry stammered, looking down at the golden snitch charm hung around her neck. "Not planning to become Seeker, are you?"
Edelyn laughed. "It's a gift from Cedric. Just a reminder of the Quidditch World Cup. Don't worry, Potter, I'm not after your position."
"Who said I was worried, Black?"
She laughed again. Then, in a bout of bravery, she slid her hands higher up and draped her wrists around Harry's neck, bringing their bodies closer together.
Unbeknownst to both of them, standing a little way's away was Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They both smiled at Harry and Edelyn, who reminded them so much of their former trouble-makers:
James Potter and Sirius Black.
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❛ One-sixty. ❜
published: March 4, 2018
⦅ thank you for reading! ⦆
―hugs, aelizia
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