"Funnily enough, I never noticed that before," I said, staring at Hermione's teeth. Where there used to be two large front teeth were now two normal-sized teeth. After the hex Draco had hit her with, Madam Pomfrey held up a mirror to her face and asked that she stop her when they were back to how they were before... and she let her go a little further than they used to be.
Hermione laughed, "That's because you were too busy thinking about your own problems."
"Pfft, who doesn't have their own problems?" I asked.
It was the first week of winter break and we just sat around the library for a while. It was mostly just Hermione, Becky, and myself because Fred and George were busy selling their own products in their common room. Hermione warned us not to trust anything they gave us.
"So, who are you going to the ball with?" Hermione asked me.
Becky giggled. After Blaise had asked me, I went upstairs and told her. She was more surprised that I actually said yes to someone than that I talked to someone neither of us really knows... despite being in most of the same classes as him.
"Blaise Zabini," I replied.
"So you did find somebody!" Hermione said in awe.
"Okay, so first you all believe that I'm going to take someone to the ball just to get Marcus off my scent. Now you're surprised that I ever said yes to going to the ball with someone. I admit it's not with someone I know very well, but at least it's somebody who shares my disinterest in this nonsense."
"Not to mention," Becky said with small chuckles. "It's somebody who isn't bad looking."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Draco's going with Pansy," she said in a low whisper. "The girl who looks like a pug."
My heart sank at the reminder, but I ignored it to push a small laugh out. "Haha, I know right? And he said last year that she wasn't his girlfriend."
"That's right.. he did, didn't he?" Becky said thoughtfully, staring at me.
"Still," Hermione said, smiling widely, "it's going to be a really exciting night."
"Right?!" Becky said, snapping out of her deep thoughts to beam at us.
"Heh," I emitted half-heartedly with a smile. "I'm sure."
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Christmas day came and I opened my eyes blearily at the sound of my alarm clock, feeling the dread creep in. The ball is tonight... why, oh why, must I go through with this? I slapped the clock off before rolling myself further into the warmth of my blankets....
The coziness was short-lived.
There was a loud shriek... and Becky came bouncing on my bed, "Oh my gosh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, you're the best!! Squee!!"
That woke me and everyone in our dormitory up. The other girls groaned.. but then they sat up straight, and excitedly began opening their presents.
I looked at what Becky was holding. It was a pearl necklace and matching earrings that I had bought. "I thought it would be good for you at the ball."
She squeezed me in a tight bear hug. "Oh! Em! Gee! Thank you!! You are amazing! I love them! You have no idea how perfectly they're going to go with my dress!"
I chuckled softly, "You're welcome, Becky."
"Are you going to wear your necklace tonight?" she asked, pulling away to face me.
"What necklace?" I asked.
"The necklace! You know, your family heirloom?"
"Oh!" I said in realization. "I always wear it." I pulled it out from under my pajama shirt, still attached around my neck. Such a beautiful silver diamond-shaped pendant with flower designs.
"Well, show it off tonight," Becky said. "It matches your dress."
I smiled, "It does, doesn't it?... Oh, hey, what else did you get?"
Becky became overly excited once more and showed me everything while I crawled over to the edge of my bed to open my own presents.
The only thing from my family was a letter which I opened and read:
Dearest Melody,
Our Christmas present to you is Lissy. If you read this before she finds her adoption papers in her presents, you have luckily been warned before she jumps you. Glad to do this for our wonderfully thoughtful little girl. Besides, we know how you don't want anything too extravagant, so this is your extravagance for the season. Have a wonderful night at the Yule Ball.
With love from,
The Ollivander Family
and
The Grays
Just my luck that Lissy came rushing in to hug me as soon as I finished reading my letter. "Oh, you didn't! Oh, this is wonderful, I hope to dear God this isn't all just a dream!" Her face was buried in my shoulder, and she seemed to be crying with tears of joy.
"What's she talking about?" Becky asked. Millicent and Pansy looked at us too, slightly bewildered.
"My family has adopted Lissy upon my requests," I said, laughing happily. "She'll never have to go back to that awful orphanage ever again."
Trixy rushed in, gasping for breath. Immediately, she started signing to her sister in a panic.. worried about Lissy. Becky took care of that as I patted Lissy's back, her arms wrapped tightly around my waist.
"I have a family!" she shrieked into my shoulder. She pulled away to look at me, her teary eyes glistening. "When did you plan this?"
"Urm..." I said in surprise. "Since... since the day I met you."
"Melody.. thank you," she said.
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At mid-day I sat around in the common room with my friends. Trixy and Lissy were outside having snowball fights with some other friends of theirs.
"Did you two ever find someone to go to the ball with or are you just going to go with each other?" Draco asked, snickering slightly and looking smug as he lounged on his back in his favorite armchair.
Becky snorted, "Apparently you'll be surprised to learn that we both have dates."
He frowned and looked up at us. "You can't be serious."
I found myself automatically frowning back, "Why is it such a shock?"
"Right, we aren't ugly," Becky said, giving a look of mock pain.
"Well, Melody's not," he said.
Her mouth dropped open, "You rat!"
He shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time I was a rodent... I only thought Melody wouldn't because guys wouldn't dare ask her...... and I heard about all the guys she turned down at once."
"Right, plenty asked me after the fight with Marcus. You don't think I could've chosen one out of the bunch?" I asked.
"No.. but , anyway, I heard that Marcus looked murderous afterward."
"That's his problem if he feels rejected. It's not like he can't go with that floozy Beauxbatons girlfriend of his."
"Right," Draco said with a barely suppressed smirk, "so.. who are you both going with?"
Becky smiled mischievously, "I'm keeping mine as a surprise for tonight."
"Pf, I knew you didn't even have a date. You're just stalling."
"She's not," I said with a smile. "Really, your mouth will drop open in shock when you see who it is tonight."
"And I suppose you want to keep yours a secret, too?" he asked.
"Nah, that seems like too much work," I said comically. "I'm going with Blaise Zabini."
"Zabini?" he said in surprise. And before he could say anything else a book was thrown at his face. "Hey!" he glared at Becky.
She looked up at the ceiling innocently and then gave him a side glance.
What? I thought curiously.
"Well, I don't know what you sound so upset about," I said. "I have a date, you have a date, and Becky has a date. What's the problem?"
"Problem? There's no problem," he said, still glaring at Becky. "I was just surprised."
"Save your surprise for later... you're going to need it."
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There was a time when all the girls went up to their dormitories to get ready... three hours before the ball. At five in the afternoon.
"Why, why? Why do we do this so early?" I asked as Becky dragged me to our room.
"Well, there's putting on the dress, fixing up the jewelry and the hair and the makeup –"
"No, no, no. No makeup!" I said, digging my heels into the ground at the top of the stairs.
"Oh, come on," she said, pulling me along with no problem. "It's just a bit of mascara, blush, lipstick, oh and eyeliner –"
"Kill me now –— where did you get this strength from? Did Vincent and Greg lend it to you just for this occasion?"
Becky laughed.
In our dorm... both girls were already ready to go and jittery with excitement. Pansy wore pink, frilly dressrobes while Millicent was all set in a shiny green. They must have come up much earlier.
"Wow," I said. "You two look amazing."
"Thanks," they said, and hurried to our side.
"This just will not do," Millicent said.
"Neither of you two are ready," Pansy added.
Becky seemed to get an idea, "Would you be so kind as to help us? With makeup and all –"
"You will not put makeup on me," I growled at Becky.
"Well then, choose who can put makeup on you," Becky said, feigning innocence.
"I can do it," Pansy said, "Believe me, makeup is essential to any party or ball. Please.. allow me."
I looked at her and Millicent, suspicious. "Why are you being so nice to us right now? Normally you don't even seem to notice us."
"Oh, anything for a fellow roommate and Slytherin," Pansy said. "Millicent, you work with Becky... Melody, where are your dressrobes?"
Becky walked to the other side of the room with Millicent with a definite hop in her step. I walked over to my trunk and pulled out my dressrobes, getting dressed in them while Pansy looked away.
"Done," I told her with a sigh.
She turned and said, "Oh my God... you're gorgeous in that!"
I looked down, "T-Thanks...I – urm – really don't do makeup."
She smiled. "Like I said, makeup is essential at a time like this. Don't worry," she sat me down in front of her vanity, "You can watch as I put the makeup on – at least in between stages – and decide there how you look."
I slowly nodded.
What felt to me like days later...... I didn't look like myself at all. Pansy had turned me into a sort of goddess. "Wow..." I said softly. "I can wash this off afterward right?"
"Of course. Now your hair..." she said softly, pulling it up. "Everyone has got to see this flower patterned lace on your shoulders. They can't see it if you leave your hair down like always."
I opened my mouth to say something... then closed it. True, I never did anything with my hair. But it was because I would wake up in the morning and then run straight to breakfast in a hurry.
"Tell me if you think this is crazy, but I know a perfect way to braid your hair into a sort of flower-like bun."
I chuckled, "Any more and I'll be the flower girl of the night."
She laughed too. "Would it be too much?"
I looked at myself scrutinizingly in the mirror and shook my head. "Actually, I think it would be perfect. Thank you, Pansy."
She smiled and got to work. "I thought that was a really sweet Christmas present... you know –"
"The one for Lissy?" I asked. She nodded. "She's too sweet. I suppose she's sort of like me in a way. Lived her life somewhere not knowing that her parents were wizards... that she could be a wizard. I couldn't leave her to stay in an orphanage, I just couldn't."
"You're so very thoughtful," she said.
Slytherins aren't so bad after all... in a way Pansy and I are alike in that we really don't like a lot of people. However, she shows it without caring what people think of her.... I may have indirectly caused her to like me. Whether from what I did for Lissy or because I'm friends with Draco, she isn't that bad. Draco found a good one... a much better option than I could ever be.
I pulled my necklace out to fiddle with it and looked at myself in the mirror, seeing Pansy's face scrunched up in concentration. I looked like something beautiful and innocent... yet felt ugly, deceitful, and evil..
"Who are you going to the ball with?" Pansy asked.
"Blaise Zabini," I said.
"Wow," she said softly. "It's funny, everyone thought sure you would go with Marcus to the ball."
"Why though? After what happened..."
"Only because he still cares about you," she said. "And he did ask you again. Everyone thought you would say yes, because really no one ever says no to him due to his temper. You surprised everyone that day in the common room when you told him off."
"I wouldn't consider him to care about me anymore," I said simply. "Besides, I've seen his temper at its worst. If he ever dared to use violence against me, he wouldn't be able to lay a hand on me."
"That's nice... to know that you can defend yourself when need be."
"Do you need help with defensive spells?" I asked her. "I can help if you really want it."
"Would you?" she asked hopefully.
"Anything," I said. "It's just defensive spells you need help with?"
She nodded.
"I'll help you then," I said. "It could be considered payment for making me look good tonight."
"Thank you," if it was even possible, I'd say she had a bigger smile on her face.
"I hope you have fun with Draco tonight," I said sincerely.
"I also hope that you have fun with Blaise," she replied with a small curtsy.
I laughed.
At last she pinned the braid to the back of my head and stepped back with satisfaction, taking out a hand mirror and pointing it at the braid so I could see it in the vanity. I held my hand to my mouth in awe.
"Thank you," I said.
I heard Becky walking over so I stood up and turned to look her over. Her dressrobes were a creamy vanilla, and did go perfectly with the pearls I got her.
"You look amazing," she said, choking up.
I smiled and walked over to her in time to catch her in a hug that I couldn't have run from if I had wanted to. "And you are drop dead gorgeous." I whispered in her ear, "George is going to feel really lucky tonight."
"You think so?" Becky asked, all starry-eyed as I pulled away.
"I know so," I turned to Pansy and Millicent, "What time is it?"
"It's time to go, our dates are probably waiting for us. It takes five minutes to get there and twenty minutes to get seated," Millicent said.
These two must be perfect with their timing somehow, I thought. "After you three ladies," I said with a curtsy, following behind them as the last person down the stairs.
Millicent was first and when she reached the bottom she crossed the room to get to her date. Pansy was second, and Draco stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her – wearing dressrobes of black velvet with a high collar – taking her arm when she held it out.
Becky instantly set off to leave the common room, and my date also stood at the bottom of the stairs wearing robes of deep black silk with his mouth dropped open at the sight of me. Draco's mouth dropped open as well. Vincent and Greg stood next to him, somehow partnerless, and wearing robes of green, also stared at me.
"Surprised?" I asked the two of them. Pansy giggled. "Pansy has the magic touch, I see. So," I turned to Blaise, "are we ready to go?"
He closed his mouth and nodded. He held out his arm, I took it, and we made our way to the ball.