Alexithymia

03

Pansy looked completely and utterly gorgeous. It had to be a crime to look that good. The crown of her head was adorned with silver pins that held her short hair down. Her dress was pale pink with ruffles down the skirt. It was beautiful really.

Tracey and Daphne were equally as gorgeous. Tracey's dress was sage green and she had small, white flowers braided into her hair, while Daph's was a flowy ice blue gown that shimmered in the light.

Unlike their dates, Blaise made it a point to be heavily involved in the choosing of my dress. While Daph, Pans, and Trace were out shopping for their dresses, he dragged me around to at least three different boutiques before dramatically sighing and suggesting a trip to muggle France. That idea was violently shut down by Draco, who was our self-imposed guardian.

In the end, we decided on an off the shoulder deep purple gown that had a beaded bodice and flared out at the bottom.

The dorms were buzzing from excitement for the ball and all the girls were up and about, flaunting their new dresses and silky hair. The younger students poked their heads out of their rooms, gazing in awe and a little bit of envy that they weren't old enough to attend. Several of them complemented us as we walked by, placing a smile on my face.

Pansy linked our arms together as we headed down to the common room to meet our dates.

—

As the champions walked in with their dates, everyone started whispering amongst themselves.

"Is that Hermione Granger?"

"No way."

"Ah, bollocks. Cedric and Cho are together?"

"Why does Potter always look so uncomfortably awkward?"

Blaise had soon ditched me for a Ravenclaw witch he was actively pursuing.

"Sorry hun, but Padma's making eyes at me so I gotta go." He quipped and pressed a light kiss on my head before dipping.

"Some date he turned out to be. Maybe one of the Durmstrang boys will sweep you off your feet." Theo laughed before pulling Daphne up and dragging her into the mass of dancers.

Everyone was up and having fun while I sipped a pink lemonade. It was quite easy to spot Draco in the crowd. Not only did his hair make him stick out, but I had years of experience trying to find him amongst everyone.

He was smiling and learning down, laughing with Pansy. His hands were on her hips and their faces were inching towards each other.

I had to look away. I had to get away.

I trudged back down to the dungeons, away from the booming music, only to find our dorm room locked. There was a faint humming noise, but nothing else.

Tracey and Pucey... I gagged. Thank Merlin they silenced the room and locked the door.

The common room was still full with younger students since it was fairly early, so I went to the only other room I knew.

The boy's dorm was similar to ours. I knew Draco shared a room with Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle, and I hardly doubted they'd be too bothered if I camped out there for a while.

I twisted the door handle, but it didn't budge. It was rather odd that their door was locked, so I knocked a few times.

"Is anyone in here? Can you open the door?"

Blaise opened the door shirtless and sweaty, but didn't look the least bit unfazed. I cringed at his appearance.

"Don't look at me like that, all judgy." He winced, pointing at me. "What's happened?"

"Trace and Pucey are taking residence in our room and I was hoping to camp out here," Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a lump on his bed that shifted, "but I can see you're busy."

He turned back to Padma and mouthed an apology. "Look, I can't help you, but the least I can do is let you raid Draco's stash. You know, since I did leave you to fend for yourself."

Blaise levitated five bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey out from under Draco's bed and placed them into the clutch he had stolen from me at the beginning of the term. I had heard rumors about Hermione Granger's extension charm and decided to give it a go.

"Do not drink all of these tonight, okay?" Blaise sternly warned and gave me a pat, "Goodbye." He called before slamming the door in my face.

I popped open one of the bottles and took a giant gulp, hissing as it burned down my throat.

Nowhere to go and no one to be with. I had nothing but time.