Draco gently intertwined his fingers with Jordan's, sending an array of warm shivers down her spine. He took the lead, bringing her down a street she recognized well, although she didn't have the slightest idea where he was bringing her.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked curiously, Jordan normally wasn't one for surprises, but the glint in Draco's eye made it hard for her to feel bored. Draco's hand gave a strange warmth, although it did not keep her from shivering in the cold air as the snow was beginning to stick to the window sills and rooftops.
"You'll see once we get there." he smiled as he wrapped his scarf around her shoulders to keep her warm.
As they approached the place Draco had been leading her, he covered her eyes with his hands and led her into the little shop before she could read the name.
She huffed, slightly put off by his invasive touch, although he didn't seem to notice. As they entered she tried to identify the scent, but the shop was strangely unfamiliar. It smelt not of candy or chocolate, nor did it smell of wood or stone. Neither did the sound of animals or the ring of bells fill the space in which they stood. With no clues, all she could do was wonder.
Finally, after leading her to the back of the boutique, Draco released his hands, allowing for Jordan's round, green eyes to gaze upon a magnificent ball gown. She instantly put together that she was in a dress shop and the gown before her eyes was intended for her.
She turned to catch Draco smiling at the gown proudly. "It's for you." He encouraged softly.
Jordan stayed silent as she stepped closer to the entanglement of mixed fabrics. She ran her fingers along the dark green skirt of the gown, admiring the matte, opaque fabric covering layers upon layers of tulle. She examined the corset of the matching colour and was captivated by the dramatic neckline.
She looked back at Draco, searching for answers that were not yet spoken.
He grabbed her hand, showing her the ring on her finger. "It matches the ring from your parents," the boy licked his lips with his eyes set on her delicate hand held within his own, "I was hoping that you would take up position your parents ask of you, and be my date to the Yule Ball."
Jordan often wore long sleeves that she could easily pull down to cover her ring when she was around her other friends, for Willow knew of the significance the ring held. However, as she examined the dress once more, she saw that it had no sleeves, no pockets, nothing to hide the loyalty she was pledging herself to.
Her heart throbbed in her throat, she suddenly regret the hole she had dug for herself, for the walls consist of quicksand and there was no hope of climbing out.
She felt cornered, "Draco, I—"
"It was no problem, really, anything for you." His smile shone through his bright blue eyes, "and it is custom fit for you already so you don't have to worry about a thing."
Jordan stayed speechless, unaware of what to do. If she went to the ball with Draco, she would be openly displaying her allegiance with the Slytherin boy and there would be no turning back. Her friends would have to be dead to her, and her to them, but she knew she was not ready for such commitment.
Gears in her mind turned for someone who she could take instead, to put off the distancing just a little bit longer, but who else would she go with if not Draco? All her other friends have given up on her already and she knew Michael would never ask her to go with him even if they did make amends.
"Jo," Draco whispered, "there is no one else I would rather take."
The pressure behind such a simple assembly of heartfelt words brought Jordan to do something she was not ready to do.
"Yes Draco, I will go with you."
The Slytherin boy kissed her cheek with victory glinting in his eyes before embracing her in a hug. With Draco's body flush against hers, Jordan's stomach did a somersault that she feared he could feel. Though she embraced the slim, pale boy tightly, thankful for the moment to hide the heartache written on her face.
>>> • <<<
Sun filtered through the windows of the library as Harry called to Willow and her friends at a far table. "Hey Willow!" Hermione and Ron trailed at the scrawny wizard's side as he walked up to the full table, "We were just going to head over to the Three Broomsticks if you guys wanted to join us."
Willow hesitated to respond as she wasn't sure how her friends felt about the trio. She looked to the others who showed no resistance, so she nodded, "We would love to." she smiled as she stood to her feet along with the others. Tessa was already familiar with the three and had no trouble striking a conversation with Hermione.
Willow, Tessa, Fawn, Toby, and Michael followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the restaurant and claimed a table for eight. The group quickly grew comfortable with each other, and found they thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. The witches and wizards mixed into unexpected clusters as they took their seats, all sharing laughs and smiles and stories in a friendly manner.
The air suddenly became cold and dense as Willow caught a glimpse of a certain Slytherin girl seated at a distant table. Michael followed her gaze and mirrored her displeased frown as he noticed Jordan laughing at a table with a group of Slytherins.
Jordan was sitting across the pub unaware of the new group that had noticed her. She was laughing at something Draco had said, when she made eye contact with Willow. The redhead's eyes widened before awkwardly averting them back to the table full of chortling Slytherins.
Draco watched with narrowed eyes the short and wordless exchange. "I can't believe that you're old friends are hanging with Potter, it's a good thing you got out in time." He pulled her towards him gently until she was flush to his side.
"I agree. Plus, we are much better company." stated Blaise proudly. Crabbe and Goyle let out a string of deep, mindless guffaws before exchanging a round of mocking comments. Jordan shifted restlessly in her seat as she tried to ignore the cruel commentary. The action did not go unnoticed by Draco.
"I don't understand why you still can't be totally comfortable with me when they're around," Draco whispered to Jordan. "Just relax."
"I'm sorry, I just feel uncomfortable because they think I've chosen you over them." replied Jordan in a hushed tone. The whispered words were so quiet that though the other Slytherins strained to hear, only Draco caught the confession.
"Isn't that exactly what happened?" Draco let the words fall on Jordan with a strong blunt force. Jordan had to restrain a flinch.
She was silent for a moment, but hesitantly dropped her head in a dejected nod. Jordan forced her eyes away from Draco's harsh stare as she sipped her butterbeer. For a moment she let herself watch her best friend laugh charmingly with Toby.
Willow felt a subtle ache as she saw Jordan ignoring her old friends but she shoved away the wayward emotion as she turned back to her conversation with Harry and Toby. The latter grabbed her hand tenderly under the table and glanced over at her with an affectionate grin.
Toby saw the flash of hurt in her eyes before she masked it. His grin faded into a concerned frown as he dropped her hand to wrap his arm around her. "We are here to have a good time. Don't let her bother you." He advised.
"It still hurts." Her lips pressed together as she looked down.
"It does now, but after a while the pain will ease and it won't bother you." He said before letting his arm slip off her shoulder. "I'm going to go get us butterbeer." He slipped out of the booth and Willow turned to a separate conversation. She just caught Tessa asking Ron about his siblings.
"I have 6 siblings. Five older brothers. Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred and George and then my little sister Ginny." He answered in a grin. He had butter beer on the top of his lip, and his smile turned sheepish as he wiped it off.
Fawn let out a laugh as the boy turned a bright red and brought the sweet drink to his mouth again in a shy gesture.
Harry unknowingly saved Ron from further embarrassment when he turned to Michael "So I've noticed you watching Jordan... are you going to ask her to the ball, or are you into that other girl, Alexa, is it?" He asked.
Michael mood immediately soured as he huffed. "Why would I ask Jordan? She's probably already going with Draco. I don't really want to go anyways." He confessed with a shrug. His lanky shoulders were pulled taut with tension at the question.
Jordan couldn't spend one more minute watching her old friends, so she turned to Draco. "Can we go please, I don't want to be here anymore" she mumbled, causing Draco to look at the booth filled with the mismatched students from different houses.
"Or we can go over there." He remarked with a bitter sarcasm. Jordan shook her head sharply in response.
Draco tugged Jordan out of her seat and put his hand on her lower back to guide her towards the door, near where her old friends and the Potter trio were sitting.
Seeing the Slytherins passing, Willow smiled up at Jordan. "Hey Jo, why don't you come join us?" She asked in a desperate last-ditch effort to restore their friendship was more accurate. Jordan could see the pleading in the blonde's eyes.
Jordan felt sick with the resignation that sat in her stomach, but with a nudge from Draco, she shook herself away from her feelings with a brisk shake of her head. "I don't hang around with the filth you have brought with you." Jordan said with her nose up, referring to the Gryffindor trio and the Veelan. "Not that your much better, you and your fairy mixed blood."
Her tone was bitter as she gestured to the occupants of the table before turning with fake arrogance and walking out of the Three Broomsticks. She held her head high and her heart together as she walked with Draco and company back to Hogwarts.
Willow turned a shade of green, feeling sick to her stomach at her once-best-friend's, not to mention lifelong best friend's, change of heart. Toby wrapped his arm around her to comfort her although it made no amends in the girl's broken heart.
Her mind wanted to reject the fact that Jordan had degraded her about her heritage straight to her face. For half of her life Jordan had stood beside them, and for them, she had even stood up to Draco. But now that she was with Malfoy, she was becoming just as much of a purest as the rest of them, and Willow hated every moment of it.
With terrible timing, Oak entered the Pub only minutes after Jordan had left, he caught sight of Willow at her table of friends and sauntered over with a smirk. He took in the faces at the table, the devastation and anger on Willow's, and slowly dropped his grin. Scanning the people one more time, he realised the absence of a particular person.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked instead of commenting on the heartache. Harry welcomed him into the already crowded booth despite that he was competition. They all shuffled to make room.
He took a seat next to Hermione, bringing a blush to her cheeks. He smiled at her before examining the rest of the witches and wizards sitting comfortably at the table.
"Where's Jordan?" Oak asked tentatively with a furrowed brow. "Isn't she always with you?" He directed at Willow.
Willow looked at him with a dead glare. "She's with Malfoy." Her tone bitter and cold.
Oak didn't ask about Jordan again as he could tell that it struck a chord with his sister. He changed the subject. "So, who has dates to the Yule Ball?" He asked the group with a curious smirk. He could see Toby's and Willows hands interlocked as they looked at each other nervously.
"No need to ask you two." Oak grumbled. He came across as playful although his protective nature for his little sister brought a negative and awkward feeling for the Hufflepuff boy. "What about the rest of you?" He continued to pry.
Tessa nugged Fawn firmly and her face became a bright shade of pink as everyone's attention was diverted to her. Despite this, she stayed quiet.
"Come on Fawn, don't be shy." Hermione teased with a poke to her side.
"Fine! I have a date..." She blurted out.
Considering the girls at the table were the only ones that knew of the arrangement, Fawn received a few odd looks from a couple of the boys.
"What!? Hoof head has a date!?" Toby marveled.
"Who!?" Michael blurted out.
"Terry." She blushed a further shade of pink, "He's in Ravenclaw." She added for the rest of the company.
The girl's closest friends, excluding Willow who was staring out the window mindlessly, approved with a few ooh's and aww's as a Tessa squealed. She had been waiting for her best friend to find interest in one of the boys that had been swooning over her for years. As for Harry, Ron and Oak, looks of surprise flooded their faces. All wondering the same question, how did a guy like him manage to get one of the most beautiful girls in Hogwarts?
Harry whispered to Ron, "How did that happen? She is out of his league." Although Ron simply looked down shamefully, not acknowledging his friend's comment.
Oak noticed the boy's look of disappointment and decided to ask, "Having trouble getting a date, Ron?" he observed.
Ron couged to cover up his embarrassment, he badly wanted to ask Hermione but he couldn't find the courage to do so and by then it was too late, Oak had already asked her. "I don't really know who to ask." Ron answered with a shrug.
"Why don't you ask one of the twins? Like that Padme girl, you've met her before!" Harry suggested.
"Yeah! She's nice." Tessa encouraged, "But if all else fails, Micheal will take you." She said as she elbowed the Ravenclaw boy.
"I will?"
"Well you don't have a date either!"
"Well--"
"I will fully support that!" Fawn chimed in.
"Then it's settled!" Tessa triumphed although the boys simultaneously shook their heads in disagreement.
"Now we just need dates for you two." Fawn playfully smirked at Tessa and Harry who sat across from each other.
Toby wiggled his eyebrows at Harry, encouraging him to ask the Colombian girl.
The blood showed beneath the dark skin of Tessa's face, a look that Harry unintentionally mimicked. Although he shrugged off the embarrassment and looked at her to ask, "If you don't have anyone else in mind, would you want to go with me?"
Tessa chuckled, "Sure Harry," she shrugged playfully, "I'll go with you."
He smiled brightly.
"Besides," She added, "It's not like I have anyone else to go with." She teased.
"Well would you look at that! We're all taken care of." Oak announced as he wrapped an arm around Hermione at his side.
The majority of the group beamed proudly of the arrangement, although Willow couldn't focus on anything but the girl that had walked away long ago.
Willow wasn't much like her usual, bubbly self. Ever since Jordan had begun gaining distance from her at a rapid speed, she got less excited about the things that would normally have her bursting at the seems. Bit by bit, she became less joyful, less excited and less like Willow.
She sighed before forcing a smile the best she could. She had to do this for them, and she would.
>>> • <<<
As the day moved later into the evening people slowly began to leave, the golden trio were the last to leave the remaining Willow, Michael and Oak in the dark, empty Pub. Cold winter air seeped through the cracks of the door, bringing chills to Willow's fair skin.
"Just to clarify," Ron mentioned to Michael before leaving, "We aren't going to the Yule Ball together, right?"
"No," Michael dragged out, "I have someone else in mind."
"Great," Ron cleared his throat, "I think I might ask Padme anyways."
"Best of luck, Ron!" Oak wished the boy as he left with the two other Gryffindors.
A dead silence filled the air between the remaining three, each with a heaviness weighing on their hearts. Oak looked to Willow and then to Michael.
"I have to ask," Oak started, "you two were Jordan's best friends and now she won't even be seen with you, what happened? Has she moved to the white boy instead?"
Michael sighed in irritation. "She fancies Malfoy, he's manipulating her." He responded.
"Don't you share a dorm with her Willow?" Asked Oak.
"Yes but she is only there to sleep." She grumbled, "She comes in late, after I've already gone to bed and wakes up early before I wake up! I never even see her!"
"Have you tried talking to her?" Oak pried further.
"She told me that she needs space to figure things out and wants me to be patient. But I'm running out of it." Willow crossed her arms in frustration.
Oak noticed the anger and anguish the two felt about the unfortunate situation and tried his best to give them helpful advice. "Giving her space is great, but you also need to be there for her." Oak told his younger sister, "The only way this is ever going to get better is if you two communicate to her how much it bothers you."
"She doesn't want anything to do with us anymore, Oak." Michael added wistfully. "She has become just as much as a purest as the rest of them."
Willow sighed as if she had lost all hope. She still couldn't fully comprehend that Jordan was choosing Draco over lifelong friends and remained baffled by the fact that Jordan would make such a comment about other houses as well as her and Fawn's blood 'impurity'.
A feeling of dismay that tugged and plucked at the strings of her heart and filled her stomach with an insect less gentle than a butterfly gave Willow a feeling of complete and utter emptiness. The part that hurt her the most however, is that she was helpless, and all she could do was sit and wait for her heart to run out of music and the bugs to consume the lining of her stomach.
Word Count: 3184