Rose Dursley: The Girl Who Lived

18. The Yule Ball

Hermione and Rose avoided each other for the rest of the day. Rose was still too annoyed at what Hermione had said to her.

The next afternoon, Rose went up to the dormitory. When she entered, she saw Hermione was in there, curled up on her own bed. Rose was about to turn around and leave, when she noticed that Hermione looked like she was in pain.

Rose stopped and took a closer look. Hermione was curled up on her bed, and she was holding a hot water bottle to her belly. Hermione grimaced uncomfortably as Rose watched her.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked.

"Just bad cramps," said Hermione.

"Oh, okay," said Rose.

Then Rose turned and went to leave the room.

"Wait," said Hermione.

Rose stopped and turned back to Hermione.

"I'm sorry," said Hermione. "I was stressed about the Ball. I just wanted everything to be perfect, and then my time of the month came... but, I know that doesn't excuse what I said."

"Yeah, I understand. I get kind of ratty when I'm hormonal too," said Rose.

"I know, but I feel terrible," said Hermione. "I never meant to upset you."

"Well, you did..." said Rose. "Though I don't know why."

Hermione swung her legs out and sat up with difficulty. Then she patted the bed beside her for Rose to sit.

"So did you buy something to wear?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I got some cool looking dress robes," said Rose.

"That's good," said Hermione. "But you didn't want to go with something a bit more feminine for a change?"

"No, I've just never really felt comfortable being like that," said Rose. "I was always more interested in hanging out with my brother and his friends. All that girly stuff like doing makeup and playing with dolls didn't interest me. Being more feminine just never felt natural."

"I think I understand what you mean," said Hermione.

"It's hard," said Rose. "It's like, because I'm a girl, I'm supposed to act certain ways and have certain feelings and emotions. But those feelings never came naturally for me."

"I see. I'm sorry I tried to make you wear a dress," said Hermione. "And I'll try to be more understanding in the future."

"Thanks," said Rose. "I'm still trying to understand it myself."

Hermione put her hot water bottle down beside her on the bed, and pulled Rose in for a hug.

Once they had talked things through, Rose and Hermione went back to being friends again. Rose felt happier once she had opened up about some of the things that were bothering her. And Hermione did her best to understand what her friend had told her.

~~~~~

The next Saturday, it was time for the Yule Ball. The anticipation and excitement had been growing all week. Now the time had finally arrived. Hermione and Rose were in their dormitory getting ready.

Hermione had not put on her dress yet. She was busy sorting out her hair and makeup first. Rose watched as Hermione rushed back and forth between the dormitory and the bathroom.

"Hermione, calm down," said Rose.

"I can't, there's too much to do," said Hermione.

Hermione went back to the bathroom again clutching her makeup bag. Rose rolled her eyes, then smiled at Hermione.

While Hermione was in the other room, Rose got undressed and put on her new dress robes. Once she had them on, she started to feel a little self conscious. She worried that maybe she should have tried to dress like a normal girl. She needed more confidence, so Rose went over to her dresser and grabbed her beanie hat. That always made her feel better when she wore it. So Rose quickly put her hair up in a bun on top, and then stuck the beanie on top.

Just as Rose had finished getting ready, Hermione came back out of the bathroom. She was only wearing her underwear, but had finished her makeup and doing her hair.

"How do I look?" asked Hermione.

Rose blushed slightly when she looked at Hermione. "Err, a little underdressed?" she said.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and pouted. "I meant my makeup," she said. "Is the eye shadow too much?"

Rose looked up at Hermione's eyes. "No, you look beautiful," she said.

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Well I'm done in the bathroom now, if you need to finish getting ready?"

Rose looked down at herself. "Well, I am finished," she said. "Why? Do I not look okay?"

"Oh, no. I mean, you look great," said Hermione. "I, umm, just wasn't sure if you needed the toilet or something before we go."

"Nope, I'm all done," said Rose. "In fact, I might go and find Ron now."

"Okay then," said Hermione. "I'll just finish getting my dress on and I'll meet you down there."

Hermione gave Rose a quick hug, then went over to her dresser to get out her new dress. Rose left and went down to the common room to look for Ron.

When Rose got downstairs, Ron was sitting on the sofa eating some biscuits. When he saw Rose come into the room, he gave a little cough.

"Oh, hi," said Ron. "That's, umm... You look nice."

"Thanks," said Rose. "Hermione is still getting ready. Do you want to go downstairs, we can meet up with her later."

"Err, yeah. Okay," said Ron.

Ron and Rose made their way down the stairs towards the Great Hall. As they went, they passed a few other people on the stairs. Rose got a few odd looks, but she ignored them and kept walking.

Professor McGonagall was standing at the bottom of the main staircase. She was attempting to organise everyone before they entered the Great Hall. As she saw Ron and Rose coming down the stairs together, she gave a little gasp.

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and tried to compose herself before speaking. "Ahh, Miss Dursley," she said. "You look very smart."

Then McGonagall turned to look at what Ron was wearing. "And Mr Weasley, you look...umm, yes," she said.

Rose grinned at Ron. "You don't look that bad," she said.

Ron looked down at his robes and sighed. "I look ridiculous," he said. "All frills and lace. Even you got better robes than mine."

"Don't worry about it," said Rose. "I don't think anyone is really paying attention to what you are wearing."

Ron glanced around at everyone else, then froze as he looked back up the stairs. "Bloody hell," he said.

Rose looked around to see what Ron was staring at. Hermione was coming down the stairs. She looked amazing. The dress, makeup, and her hair all came together to make her look beautiful. Hermione blushed slightly when she noticed everyone staring at her.

"She looks beautiful," said Rose.

"Yeah," said Ron.

As Hermione reached the bottom of the staircase, Viktor Krum stepped forward to take her arm. Hermione smiled at him, then they walked together into the Great Hall.

Once everyone had entered the Great Hall, the Yule Ball started. It began with the three champions dancing. Rose and Ron stood at the side and watched Hermione dance with Krum.

After a few moments, other couples started to head onto the dance floor. Soon the hall was filled with people dancing happily.