𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 | 𝐡. 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟑𝟒 - 𝐲𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥

Christmas Eve arrived in no time at all, and the whole school was buzzing like field of wheat with excitement, girls were making plans to get ready together, exchanging jewellery and make-up tips while the boys were making sly plans to sneak alcohol to the ball, all attempts were stopped by Snape however who had revealed he would be guarding the drinks table, vigilantly.

Ophelia was sat on the Gryffindor table with Ginny and Hermione while they sat on the bench, while the boys actively sweated at the idea of having to dance all night.

"I found quite a few charms in my notebook from mum and Lily for parties and special events, one of them was a softening charm to make your heels not hurt so much, then there's the semi-permanent hair charm to keep your hair in place till you fall asleep, and... come closer."

"A secret to keeping you from smelling like sweat." Ophelia finished, absolutely buzzing with anticipation.

"I think the boys will need that more than us to be fair." says Ginny with a laugh.

"You're going to do my hair and make-up aren't you?" asked Hermione to Ophelia, who nodded.

"And mine too, but we'd better head off now if we're going to be ready by 8, it's already 5." said Ginny checking her watch, Ophelia and Hermione stood up with her, and the three of them walked in formation out of the Great Hall as was now being set up for the Yule Ball.

Stepping into the Gryffindor common room, it was chaos as the boys were fretting asking anyone for help with their ties and cufflinks, Ophelia stopped on her journey to teach them a useful tie charm before jogging up the stairs to catch up with Hermione and Ginny, until someone grabbed her wrist before she could go through the door.

Whirling around she saw it was Harry, looking incredibly nervous and bashful.

"Hey Harry, whats up?"

"Um, I just wanted to say to meet me by the stairs at the Great Hall, yeah?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, I'll see you soon, yeah?" she told him, a kind smile reassuring him that it was only her and him in this moment, he nodded and for a brief moment caught her eyes in the light as she briefly pressed a light kiss on his lips before pulling away, and out of sight.

It wasn't the first time she had ever kissed him on the lips, she did it all the time now that one felt like something else, Harry's heart fluttered as he retreated to the boys dormitory to get changed into his robes.

Ophelia, Hermione and Ginny all took a shower individually and made sure that they were lovely and fresh, Ophelia made sure to use a sugar scrub to get rid of all the dead skin and make sure she was supple and soft, there was nothing worse than feeling dirty in your own skin.

Taking the time to do face-masks, the girls painted each other's nails while they waited, for once feeling like they deserved to take the time to enjoy spoiling themselves, to feel like royalty for one night, perhaps this is what Cinderella felt like, getting magicked up to be beautiful on the outside rather than just the inside.

Even if it was for one night, Ophelia couldn't help but feel confident and satisfied.

"We're going to knock them dead." she mused as she washed off the face mask gently alongside Hermione and Ginny.

"It's hair and make-up time, come on Ophelia work your magic."

"I don't know why you'd think I'll be really good at this..." Ophelia said, as she charmed her make-up bag towards the sink. Pulling out a serum, she passed it to Ginny who turned it in her hands curiously.

"Vivian gave me that, it's meant to make your hair soft and feel healthy, 3 drops from the root to the scalp and massage it in, I'll do Hermione while you do yours."