MAGNOLIA ↠ S. BLACK

THIRTEEN

    Magnolia was a flower, ready to bloom. No, blooming, she was blooming. That was the closest way to describe her appearance the evening of the Christmas Party.

She let out a laugh as she exaggeratedly twirled around the dorm as her friends applauded her look. Magnolia wore a form fitting, terracotta colored dress adorned with flowers of every hue of the sunset. It felt softly to mid thigh and the bell sleeves brushed her finger tips. What made the dress exquisite was the red heels and lipstick that made her a sinful present she knew Sirius would want to unwrap.

"Damn girl, you clean up good!" Hestia said with an approving grin. She wore a silky gold dress that swept the floor, looking like a goddess herself. 

Alice of course, was ever modest in a dusty blue gown that brushes her ankles. She brushed her hair dreamily as she hummed.

Amelia nodded in agreement, her skin-tight velvety maroon dress reminding Magnolia of a certain Hogwarts house. She handed Magnolia her cherry lip gloss she had borrowed which she graciously applied.

The Hufflepuff girls giggled excitedly as they descended to Slughorn's office.

Sirius Black couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as he adjusted the tie around his throat. He had meticulously ironed his suit with a few flicks of his wand and was now flicking invisible speckles of dust off his sleeves.

He stood in the hallway beside Remus and Peter who looked dramatically bored. Evans and Potter were already inside socializing.

Then, he saw her.

Magnolia was striding towards him looking effortlessly beautiful. Sirius could not help but stare, dumbfounded, at the redhead girl he had come to know. He had never been so grateful for randomly setting off Dung Bombs in the library until now.

"Hi," she breathed, giving him a dazzling smile. He nearly fell to his knees as he grinned back.

"You look stunning," he managed. "Beautiful, I mean,"

Magnolia blushed and muttered thanks to him.

"Ready to get wasted with old Sluggy?"

"Of course!" she beamed, taking his hand that he so graciously offered. Sirius nearly forgot, she was his.

Meanwhile, Remus was blushing subtly at something that Amelia had said as the two chatted.

Magnolia could hardly even focus over how good Sirius smelled, and how devastatingly handsome he was in his suit.

The two followed the sound of festive music towards the party. Whether it had been built that way, or because he had used magical trickery to make it so, Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study.

The ceiling and walls had been elegantly draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings so that it looked as though they were all inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy, bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling.  Real fairies fluttered around the room, each a brilliant speck of light.  Jubilant music poured from all corners of the room as a partygoers waltzed upon the dance floor. Servants in white uniforms rotated around the room with silver platters full of food and drink.

"Festive," commented Sirius as they squeezed through the bustling room.

Magnolia took the opportunity to grab two glasses of champagne off a platter from a passing servant, handing one to Sirius.

"Bottoms up," she mused. The two downed the bubbly liquid before Sirius dragged her towards the dance floor.

She placed her hands around his neck as his fingers grasped her waist. The music changed into a slow, merry tune.