Dance Lessons
It was now the first day of our winter holidays and I hadn’t been more bored in my life. I had been ignoring Max since the Hogsmeade trip so that gave me really nothing to do but I didn’t mind. I’d take boredom over hearing him talk about how great his Yule Ball date was any day. Melinda and Victoire had been trying to get me to just forget about Max but that’s always hard when you’re bloody in love with the stupid idiot fool. And that reason was why I was lying in bed that morning just hugging my pillow.
“Paige, you have to get up.” Melinda told me as she sat down on my bed.
“I do not.” I told her. “It’s holiday. I don’t have to do anything.”
“You have to eat. And you have to go the ball on Christmas. And…”
“Stop!” I yelled and looked at her. She was smiling at me and I sighed. “You’re not gonna stop until I get out of bed, are you?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
I groaned. “Fine.”
I got out of the covers and stood up. She did too and smiled at me. “Now, get dressed and I’ll meet you in the common room.” She left the room and I rolled my eyes.
I went over to my wardrobe and looked through my clothes. My Yule Ball dress hung in the front waiting to be worn. It really was the perfect dress but if only I was wearing it on the perfect night. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a black sweater then changed out of my pajamas and into them. I got on my Converse and grabbed my heavy jacket before leaving my room and walking down to the common room. Melinda was there waiting for me and she wasn’t the only one. Max stood there by her and both looked at me. I groaned and knew she sat this up. I walked over to her and looked at her angrily.
“What the hell? You got me out of bed for this?” I asked.
“I didn’t do anything, Paige.” She told me. “Max knew I was waiting for you.”
“You should’ve given me a signal or something warning me then.”
“I’m standing right here.” Max said and I looked up at him. He was looking into my eyes and my heart jumped. No. I had to keep my cool.
I looked back at Melinda and said, “Let’s go.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the common room.
Both of us were quiet until we got to the Grand Staircase. “Paige, he just wants to know why you’re not talking to him.” Melinda said quietly.
“What am I supposed to tell him?” I asked her. “That I’m mad because he asked Prudence to the ball? What will he think then?”
“Maybe he’ll realize he likes you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop being optimistic, Mel. It’s like you’re a Hufflepuff.”
“Well the blood does run through my veins.” She smiled. “But I’m serious, Paige. There’s a reason he’s so upset that you’re not talking to him. And it’s not just because you two are best friends.”
“Well if he’s hiding something, he should tell me.”
We didn’t say anything else as we finished walking downstairs to the Great Hall. Fred, Teddy, and Victoire were sitting together at the Gryffindor table and they all smiled up at me. I didn’t return the smile, though. Instead, I just sat down and grabbed a doughnut to eat. I could feel their eyes on me and I tried to ignore them. It was hard, though, because every time I looked up they were just staring at me. I groaned after a couple minutes and looked at all of them.
“Would you guys stop staring at me?” I asked them. “It’s annoying.”
“Sorry.” Melinda apologized.
“We’re just worried about you.” Victoire added.
“There’s nothing to be worried about. I’m fine.” I said.
“Well you’re not going to be soon.” Fred said and looked above me. “Hi, Max.”
I looked up and saw Max standing behind me. I groaned and threw my doughnut onto the table. “Bloody hell.” I cursed and stood up. “I can’t even eat anymore.” I walked passed him and out of the Great Hall.
I managed to avoid Max for the rest of the morning as I hid up in the Astronomy Tower. Victoire found me, though, just before I was gonna leave for lunch and said Professor Jordan wanted to see me in the Transfiguration classroom. I went quickly and right before I got there, Max appeared by me; heading towards the classroom too. Great. They got Katie into this, I thought as Max opened the door for us. Music filled our ears and I saw that Professor Jordan wasn’t the only one in there. Darren, Prudence, Valentina, a Hufflepuff boy named Chris Watson, Brad, and a Ravenclaw girl I didn’t know were dancing to the music as Professor Jordan instructed them with the help of Lee. I wondered what this all was but didn’t have to wait long since Katie stopped the music and looked at us.
“Great. You two are finally here.” She said. “Get together and follow my lead.” She instructed.
“What is this for?” I asked curiously.
“The traditional Yule Ball dance. The Champions must dance with their partners at the opening of it.” She answered. “Now get with Mr. Reynolds so we can continue.”
My eyes widened. “Can’t I dance with Darren?”
“No, Ms. Weasley. You were late so you must dance with Mr. Reynolds.”
I groaned and Max held out his hand to me. I took it unwillingly and Professor Jordan turned back on the music. We followed her lead and Darren mouthed an apology to me as we all danced. The dance was pretty simple really and Max and I caught onto it quickly. But that made him start talking.
“Paige, why have you been avoiding me?” He whispered so only I would hear.
“I’m not going to talk about it.” I answered. “Now just shut up and dance.”
“No. I want to know. I haven’t done anything that I’m aware of. If I have, tell me.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s just it. You haven’t done anything.”
He creased his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. It really doesn’t matter. Let’s just get through this and then I can go back to avoiding you like I want.”
“Damn it, Paige. I’ve been losing my mind trying to think of why you’re acting like this and I can’t think of a single reason.”
“And that’s my fault?” I snapped loudly and I could feel eyes on us.
He shook his head. “No.” He came closer so he could whisper, “Is it your time of the month?”
My eyes widened angrily and I moved away from him. I slapped him hard across the face and screamed, “Just because I’m mad doesn’t mean it’s my time of the month!” He looked at me apologetically. “God, you’re the most infuriating wizard on the planet!” I stormed out of the room with all eyes on me.
I went up to my dorm room and slammed the door the second I got up there. What the hell was he thinking? My time of the month. I could just kill him. I sat on my bed angrily and groaned. I bet Prudence was happy to see our fight. Now she would definitely have him to herself. She would probably tell everyone she knew about it and the whole castle would be talking about it. I grabbed my pillow and covered my mouth before letting out a scream. I moved my pillow away as I heard the door open and was surprised to see my father coming into the room.
“Dad?” I asked with surprise and I stood up. “What are you doing here?”
He closed the door back and looked at me. “Well, Lee told me about your outburst while having dance lessons and your mum and I agreed you needed some fatherly advice.” He hugged me. “What’s wrong, Princess?”
I looked into his eyes and couldn’t stop the tears that started rolling down my cheeks. “Everything.” I cried and hugged my father tight. “Why do I have to love him? Why can’t he just be my best friend?”
He rubbed my back. “Princess, Max will come around.”
“How do you know?” I cried.
He looked down into my eyes and smiled. “Because I was in your position once with your mother.”
I sniffled and said, “You were?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I loved her since the Yule Ball but kept it a secret until after the war. She didn’t feel the same about me for months but then she finally did and we got married and had you and your siblings.” He rubbed my arm. “You’re just like me in that department. That’s how I know he’ll love you sooner or later.”
I wiped tears away. “But it hurts seeing him with her.”
“I know. But once you two are together, it’ll be worth it.” He kissed my forehead. “But remember he won’t love you more than I do.”
I laughed softly. “I know, Dad.”
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Hope you like it! Next chapter is the Yule Ball! And if you have any ideas for fan art or one shots, enter my contest! Rules are on my page. Please comment and vote!