[Completed] Anne's malady is a curse, is it not? The newest Ravenclaw is not so sure. When all else fails, her Muggle upbringing provides a yet unexplored pathway. After all, the simplest explanation, however improbable, must be correct.
If only it...
Anna smooths down her gown, the blue silk whispering gently under her fingers.
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One last time, they will dance in the Yuletide ball at Hogwarts. It began on this night, two years ago. It beggars belief, truly. So much has changed... so much had stayed the same. The strange melancholy intertwines with the warm happiness in her chest, and her eyes prickle with bittersweet tears.
But she doesn't let them fall... for now, at least. She isn't sure she can keep her composure quite as well through the evening.
In the two years, Hogwarts Castle has become her home, the place where she discovered who she is and met the people she will always carry in her heart. Friends and lovers, allies and mentors. It will all be over all too soon...
But now is not the time for laments and goodbyes. Not tonight.
She waits for Poppy to tuck in a few sprigs of lily of the valley into her hair. The Room of Requirement has transformed itself into a spacious dressing room for her, Poppy and Anne.
"Ready?"
Anne is wearing a simple but sharply cut dress in deep mauve while Poppy is in a familiar pink confection from last year.
They look so good together. Anna smiles and tugs on her long silk gloves.
"Let's go."
They step outside and head down the many flights of stairs to the Great Hall. The corridors are abuzz with students, the usual black of uniforms giving way to multicoloured multitudes of dresses and formal robes.
Enchanted snow is falling from the ceilings and columns are covered in sparkling hoarfrost. Greenery and garlands decorate the halls. She hopes this time around they won't go traipsing through the castle grounds in the middle of the night.
A small smile is tugging on her lips. There are better options for them now.
For the first time, there is no trepidation inside her as the minute hand of the clock approaches the beginning of the appointed time. There is nothing to be worried about, no surprise or catch or twist. Her boys are waiting for her, and all she can feel is impatience and excitement.
Anna cannot wait to see them in their beautiful dress robes, dreamlike and gorgeous and hers.
Here they stand, tall and handsome, by the hourglasses in front of the massive double doors. Anne and Poppy giggle and head over to the Hall, with the latter giving her a conspiratorial wink.
Sebastian's face breaks into a smile as he drinks in the sight of her. Anna looks back at him, adoration and love overflowing her so much she wants to weep once again.
He is dressed in a new outfit - there was no adjusting an old one for him this time, not with how he has grown and matured, his physique honed exquisitely by the months of heavy manual labour, training and fighting.
