Always - Welcome to the Wizarding World

Part 21

My mood on Christmas Day was considerably better than it had been the day before, until everyone started to get ready for the Yule Ball. I had decided definitely not to go, seeing Cedric there with Cho would just upset me and I was worried what I would do if I became overly infuriated. I didn't have a partner anyway, so I would just feel sad and alone. I wanted to hide in my bedroom, separating myself from the festivities. 

However, I stayed in the common room long enough to see Zarah off with Blaise. Zarah had been in the dormitory for a long time getting ready and when she finally came out, I was very surprised. Zarah had never struck as an particularly attractive girl, but she had never looked more stunning. Her short, tight, silvery curls were now long and straight, cascading down past her shoulders and lying delicately on her silky light blue dress. She wore high silver heels and her normally pale cheeks were now a delicate rose color, as were her lips. She wore the jade necklace that Blaise had given her, bringing out her shining grey eyes. It was safe to say that I was incredibly jealous of how beautiful she looked; I knew I could never look that gorgeous, no matter how hard I tried. She span around on her heels, looking down at her dress to check that it wasn't creased.

"Do I look alright, do you think?" she asked me. I nodded as enthusiastically as I could.

"Blaise should consider himself lucky!" I exclaimed. She smiled shyly, her cheeks going red. She knew how lovely she looked.

"I'm the lucky one". Zarah smoothed down her dress, smiling proudly, then glanced up at me. I was trying to be enthusiastic for her, I really was, but it was difficult. I was miserable because no one wanted me, and that type of misery was hard to hide. Zarah placed her hand comfortingly on my shoulder. "Are you sure you won't come along, Ray? You might not get another chance to go again". I shook my head.

"I can't. Seeing Cedric there will just sadden me. Sorry, Zarah. It will just be too much for me to handle" I admitted. She gave me a pitiful smile and we began to walk down the stairs to the common room. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a scrawny olive colored thing making its way up the steps towards us. It was Parkinson. She was wearing a dark green dress with a puffed out skirt made of netting, which looked horrific and exposed her twig-like legs. Her greasy brown hair was styled into a messy bun, which was held in place by a black scrunchie with two pieces of hair hanging down in front of her face. Unlike Zarah, she did not look gorgeous. She looked entirely the opposite. I pitied Draco, having that repulsive piece of snot on his arm all evening. But it was his choice to ask her out, so he deserved it. Zarah and I stood gawking at her in disgust.

"Pansy, don't you look...delightful?" Zarah attempted to compliment. Pansy flicked her thin mousy hair and chortled smugly. I couldn't stand to look at her.

"I know" she said, not so modestly. Pansy looked me up and down, her pig nose scrunched up disapprovingly. "Well, its a good thing Draco asked me to the ball and not you. Didn't he make the right decision?" she mocked. My lip curled in anger, but I knew I had to simply walk away. I mustn't sink to her level. I stormed past her, leaving Zarah stood there on the stairs, my fists tightly clenched. I quickly left the common room and ran out of the dungeons. I had to get away from that malicious cow. Why was that girl so vile? I hated how she knew that using Draco to antagonize me would work. He affected me in a strange way, he caused an extraordinary emotion to brew inside me that I didn't quite understand and I did not take pleasure in feeling.

On my aimless march away from people who wanted to hurt me, I ended up in the quad, which had begun to be one of my favorite places in the castle. It was quiet and let sun in, something that was rare in the dungeons. I sat down on a bench alone in an empty hallway, undisturbed and slowly calming down, until I heard a group of boys coming around the corner, laughing and jeering with each other. I recognized one of the voices. Cedric. I heard them sit down somewhere in the corridor adjacent to mine and I tiptoed behind a towering stone pillar to hear their conversation. I hushed my breathing, then the boys' laughing stopped.