The view outside of the large common room windows is hidden almost entirely. Frost that had originally appeared just along the edges now covers the windows entirely and the temptation to go over and draw smiley faces with my fingers is indubitably overwhelming. Outside those foggy windows, snow falls rather delicately. It's chilly yet not completely unbearable. Simply stated, it's the perfect ambiance for this Christmas Eve night.
Quite contrasted to the calmness outside, indoors it's total chaos which is scary because I haven't even seen it to its full extent yet. In the Gryffindor common room alone, the Yule Ball buzz that has been progressively building for weeks has finally reached its max. It's spread like the plague as we grow closer and closer to the dance itself.
Hermione and I managed to avoid some of this craziness by smartly having gotten ready earlier on in the night. Now the two of us relax in the common room. Well, I do at least. I listen to the click-clacking of high heels against the wooden floors in the girl's dorms as last minute touch ups are being finalized. Watch the hysterical nervous saved-until-the-last-minute attempts at trying to perfect the ballroom dancing we've been learning for weeks. The glowering stares from the younger students unable of attending.
Though I try to ignore the way my heart races each time a boy emerges from the boy's dorm staircases, somehow hoping and begging for it not to be Harry at the same time.
Anyways while I manage to find comfort in the chaos, lounging on a comfy couch in front of the fire, Hermione paces back and forth in front of me. I view this as a surprising, somewhat unsettling sight. Hermione is rarely one to get worked up particularly like this. Especially over another human being, a boy no less. I'm feeling at a loss as to how to help in this situation. I'm not really used to being the voice of reason, truth be told I don't think it's a great look on me.
I understand why she's stressing, well kind of. I mean, I understand that she's worried she and Viktor won't have much to talk about, that it'll be awkward but really, is it bothering her this much?
"Surely, Hermione when you see him all your nerves will fade, it's just been built up so much that you're feeling the anticipation," I offer, trying my best to channel what she would say if the roles were reversed.
Hermione nods, not looking much convinced but her pacing slows allowing me to believe that maybe my words were more helpful than I thought.
