Draco Malfoy and the last Chanter

Chapter 8: The ball

When I woke up in the morning, Lucy wasn’t there anymore. She must have left. I remembered what happened last night, and I smiled. The memories of last night’s experience were going to last forever in my mind.

I went downstairs to have breakfast, and I saw Lucy at the Gryffindor table and smiled. She smiled back at me. Her hair was all tangled, and her clothes were badly put on. That’s when I realized that my hair was a total mess. I tried brushing it with my fingers, and it got a bit better. I was so happy I even smiled at Harry, Ron and Hermione. They looked at me puzzled, and whispered over my strange act of friendship.

Dumbledore got up and said in a loud bellowing voice:

“As you know, today is 21st of July. All the staff has thought that tonight will be a small ball for the whole school. You have the whole day to ask your partner to the dance. Girls, you may let your hair lose. You will all wear your dress robes. Good luck!” and as he sat down, all the girls started to giggle nervously.

The whole day I was trying to find Lucy to go to the dance with, but it seemed like she was always surrounded by girls, or even boys! I think she always said no because all of them went away with long faces. As I brought up courage to ask her, but Crabbe got in and asked her, she smiled weakly and said that she already had a partner. I heard her and my heart sank deeply. Then she saw me and came running to me. I smiled faintly, but she knew something was going on:

“What’s the problem?” she asked, preoccupied.

“Nothing, nothing. Who are you going with then?”

Her face lit up and smiled.

“Oh you are thick! I was saying that because I want somebody to ask me” she said between giggles.

“Oh!” I said, feeling stupid. “Well… would you like to go to the ball with me?” I asked timidly.

“It would be a pleasure”, she replied, still smiling, and gave me a quick pec on the cheek before going. I went red all over.

I prepared myself for the ball. I had a long shower and put on my dress robes. They were the same as last year: silky black. My hair was put as usual, and my shoes were extra clean. I smiled at the mirror, and went out to look for Lucy.

When I found her, I didn’t recognize her. She was gorgeous. She had straitened her curly hair and had a little silver plate braided in her hair. She was wearing a beautiful turquoise blue dress with little sparkles. She was wearing elegant black little high heels, and her eyes were outlined in black, and her eye lashes extra long, covered in mascara. She wore a silver necklace round her neck, a friendship one. She was wearing silver dangling earrings, and her smile was as radiant as ever. Next to her was Hermione, in the same dress as last year, and with everything the same. I realized she was wearing the same necklace than Lucy. Then I knew that the friendship necklace was between both of them.

I approached timidly to both girls, and when Lucy saw me, she gave me a great big hug. Hermione smiled, and was followed by Ron. We entered in the ball room, both girls chatting and us boys were silent by their sides.

When the orchestra started to play, I took hold of Lucy’s waist and she grabbed my shoulder and we started a slow waltz. We were dancing for quite a while, both in silence, and when the song finished; we decided to go outside to take a bit of fresh air.

We walked in silence, Lucy’s hair moving slightly by the small breeze. We hide behind a bush and kissed. Several kisses later, we heard voices, so we decided to listen to what they were saying. It was Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall:

“Albus, do you think she’s ready?”

“Yes, Minerva. She has been preparing herself for this day her whole life. She has finally found true love and tomorrow will be the sad day”.

“But… It’s only a legend. Can it really be true?”

“My dear Minerva. The curse was made by one of the most powerful witches of the time. She would not make a false curse”.

I was very confused by this, but Lucy seemed to understand everything. Her face showed horror and anxiety. I gave her a nudge, and she came out of her trauma, but the rest of the night she was like missing, not there on planet earth. When we all went to bed, I was still worried about Lucy. I didn’t fall asleep until dawn.