Haunted

26 | eclipse

A/N:  serious trigger warnings for this chapter: violence and sexual assault. read at your own risk.

The ball began with a dance. Hazel stood with Red at the top of the main staircase, the same stairs she'd run down so many times before. The same stairs where she'd once stumbled into Malfoy's arms, drunk and babbling. Now she waited at their peak in a floor-length shimmering gown, her hair tied back to expose the tattoo on her neck, her mouth pressed into a line. The soldiers were out of view of the crowd surely waiting below, but Hazel felt like their eyes were on her even through the wall.

Maybe that was just because Carrow was watching, using her wand to smack the soldiers' spines if their postures weren't straight enough. Carrow approached and Hazel straightened her back almost to the point of arching it, and when the instructor turned on her heel and moved away, she let out a small breath of relief through her nose.

Her nerves were tingling, her stomach filled with butterflies that were ramming along the interior of her abdomen. Her mouth felt dry, her palms clammy, her legs wobbly. She'd been forced into a pair of high heels, upon which she was teetering precariously. Don't just step with flat feet, Red had advised when they'd been getting dressed earlier. The other girl had strutted forward in just her undergarments and heels, her arms out in front of her as though she were performing. Heel, toe. Heel, toe, she instructed Hazel, who walked unsteadily behind her, trying to copy her graceful movements.

After a quick fifteen minutes of practicing, she'd learned enough so that she wouldn't immediately fall, but descending a grand staircase in front of hundreds of people held different stakes than walking on a flat surface with only her best friend as her audience.

The air was tense with anticipation, all of the female soldiers waiting in a single-file line for the music below to start. All they could hear now was the sound of their own anxious breathing and the muffled chatter of the people gathered at the base of the stairs. Red turned her head slightly so that Hazel could see her profile, could see the encouraging smile on her lips that had been painted a bright ruby tone. On instinct, Hazel reached her hand forward and squeezed Red's. The other girl squeezed back. Then, Carrow's wand sent a warning spark in their direction, and they let go.

The music began, a melody from string instruments filling the air. She would've enjoyed it if she weren't so nervous. Carrow stood at the front of the line and gestured for the first among them, Pixie, to descend down the stairs. Hazel craned her neck out of the line to watch as Pixie shuffled forward and stepped into the light at the top of the stairs. She was grateful not to be first, but going last was similarly nerve-wracking.

One-by-one, each waiting until the one before had made it to the bottom of the stairs, they stepped out of the hallway and onto the landing. Pixie, Bushy, Braid, and Blue each moved forward, until only Red and Hazel remained. And then, presumably as Blue reached the bottom of the stairs, Carrow guided Red ahead.

Hazel watched her friend glide gracefully forward, her shoes hidden by the hem of the dress that hovered only a centimeter above the floor. When the light of the chandelier overhead hit her, the effect was mesmerizing. Her ginger hair was stunning, and the shimmering dress refracted light in every direction. She paused at the top of the stairs as Carrow had instructed them to do, and then after a moment, began her descent.

The following minute was an agonizing one as the butterflies in Hazel's chest flew in chaos. And then, it was time.

On Carrow's signal, she stepped out into the light. Heel, toe. Heel, toe, she reminded herself, doing her best not to stomp in her heels like an oaf. Her chin was tilted down, eyes carefully watching her own feet.