stardust ⋮ george weasley

thirty-seven :

T H I R T Y - S E V E N

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Christmas night came much faster than Adeline could have anticipated.

The four best friends spent hours in the Ravenclaw dorm, laughing and playing Christmas music from Melanie's small radio as they got ready for the Ball. Adeline could've sworn that she could've spent hours carefully tying back and pinning both Melanie's and Estelle's hair. Even Ophelia – who seldom dressed up for anything – couldn't help but get invested in the excitement.

"This Muggle makeup is so nice," Melanie commented as she went through Adeline's small stash that she had brought along with her from home. "It's nice to wear eyeshadow that's so magically sparkly that it can blind people."

"There's magical makeup like that?"

Estelle nodded as she carefully zipped up the side of her shimmery silver and gold dress robes. "And lipstick and lip gloss that won't ever come off no matter how much you scrub."

"Or kiss someone," Ophelia added as she pulled her short, brown hair back with a clip that matched perfectly with her sleek, golden dress. "It's practically impossible to get off."

The sound of a small chime rang through the room, signifying that it was time for the girls to leave the room and meet up with their dates.

"Is this dress too much?" Adeline questioned worriedly as she carefully held up the skirt as to not trip on it while walking down the stairs, exposing her dainty silver heels that ached when she wore them for so long but were so pretty that Adeline didn't even care. "I think the skirt's too poofy. I'm going to stand out too much."

"You already were going to stand out," Estelle pointed out. "And you look absolutely gorgeous. Like that princess in one of those Muggle movies you showed me."

"Cinderella?"

"Cinderella," Estelle confirmed once Adeline had reminded her of the name. "Trust me, you don't need to worry. You look amazing."

"Says you! You look like a gorgeous snow princess," Adeline gushed, earning a grin of delight out of Estelle.

Cedric Diggory was already standing outside the Ravenclaw tower door in neat-pressed black dress robes, and began to grin from ear-to-ear when Melanie stepped out. After planting a small kiss on the back of her hand, Cedric hooked his arm with Melanie's and led her away to the Great Hall. As the pair walked away, Melanie snuck a glance over her shoulder at her best friends, beaming at the group before turning back to Cedric and talking quietly with him as they made their way towards the Hall.

"With the looks Cedric was giving her in Herbology last year, it's about time he asked her," Estelle commented as the three girls began walking towards the Great Hall.

"How did I never notice that?" Adeline questioned. "The two of us were in the same class as them!"

"You actually wanted to do the work. Meanwhile, I hate Herbology, so I was trying to do everything possible to distract myself."

The trio had almost reached the staircase leading to the Great Hall entrance Estelle met up with a Beauxbatons boy named Louis that her cousin Celeste had set her up with, claiming that the pair were absolutely perfect for each other. It seemed as if Celeste had been right, as there seemed to be no awkwardness between the couple right from the moment they met up.

"Oh, I see Lee!" Ophelia pointed out before running so fast down the staircase that she nearly tripped over halfway down. "Good luck with the ginger!"