𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑

the one with the yule ball

"The earth is littered
with the ruins of empires
that believed they
we're eternal."

•

I WOKE UP ON Christmas morning panicking. I literally screamed as I woke up because -

One, Draco would be ball dancing with me today.

Two, I had a dream.

The dream was simple and all but horribly simple. Like it was a missing piece of my memory. It was about my mother.

Remember the time she was four and set James' cloak on fire? After that she was taken to an augur. Augurs were like seers, almost, but they dissected small objects of the client to predict the possibilities. They don't possess the Sight of seeing the future, but can predict stuffs pretty well. It was a Roman gift from Apollo.

So, anyway, the Augur, Meriwether Knightshade was a middle aged man, slightly bent and with a hoarse voice. Mum was scared as far as I could see. There were dream catchers, wind chimes and crystal balls in the room and had burning flower smell. It was eerily mesmerizing.

The Augur took my mother's diary and ripped it into shreds using a knife. Mum was crying now, her powers going out of hand. Crystal balls burst on the counters and the wind chimes tinkered loud as if there was a storm. Uncle James was taken out of there by grandma. Then Meriwether looked up, with a grave look on his eyes. He pulled out his crooked walnut wand and grey smoke gushed out. It took shapes representing a little girl, happy and merry. She was a strecromancer and was effectively lighting up things and manipulating the things around her. Then it showed that the power backfired and hit her square in the chest.

"With great power comes great responsibility. Control it, girl, before your mind is fogged with evil. No one can prevent you from hurting other than you yourself."

And then a candle fell off the stand lighting a siphon curtain on fire. Mum was crying as the glamour dissolved.

I woke up sweating as if I were in that room in the fire.

Hermione had to talk to me, like charmspeaking, to calm my nerves. And in my hysteria I managed to set my curtains on fire.

"You need to breathe," Hermione said. "Don't let the dreams get the best of you."

Later that day we went snow fighting. Fred and George, of course, set up a Canon that shot out snow balls, and let me tell you, they hit hard, but it was very funny to watch Theo trying to dodge it as he attempted to cross the courtyard.

Later, after lunch, I was at the library in my comfort clothes in the literature section. It was near the Restricted area, and I was tempted to break a rule, but I stuck to the Tales of Beedle the Bard. It had loads of amazing stories.

When it was four, I went back to the dorm where Parvati and Lavender were panicking over dressing up. Hermione rushed in moments later and therefore it started.

I managed to make my red waves pretty. I put on a flower tiara and left the hair open. It was scary how the color of my hair was changing. Last year it was browner. Now it's almost as red as Ginny's. I put on the liner and eyeshadow. Lavender and Parvati were doing theirs with magic. I however decided to stick with normal. I put on the black dress and I felt good. I felt beautiful. I don't wear dresses often but when I do, I admire myself. The dress was so silky and beautiful, I twirled. I was happy with my choices. I put on the heels and jewelry - studded earrings, a nice sapphire finger ring and a necklace. I was done and happy by seven-thirty.