Good 'N Bad

Chapter : 8 Preparations

Author's Note: The colour of the dress is given in the picture above, hope you like it!!!

'She is going to the dance, with me', said another voice. I turned round to see Draco standing there with his hands in his pockets, glaring at Dean.

'Oh, I didn't-'

'And why would she even want to go with you? Look at you. Ever heard of something called a mirror? You should look at it sometime.'

          I could see Dean turning beet red as he turned and stalked away. I turned and faced Malfoy, 'What is wrong with you? Why would you say that to him?'

'I just gave him what he deserved. Asking you to the dance, ugh!' He mumbled the last part so that I wouldn't hear.

'Why are you having such a problem with him asking me to the dance? And why do you expect me to come with you?! I stormed

'So were you planning to go with him', he said and little bit softly, so that others wouldn't hear him, 'because, I was hoping you'd come with me.'

          I didn't know if I was imagining it, but I thought I saw a glimpse of hurt cross his eyes. My mind suddenly went blank, and before I could stop myself, I muttered, 'Fine, whatever', and grabbed my things and left the hall, pondering over what had just happened.

I WAS GOING TO THE DANCE WITH DRACO MALFOY!!!!

          I didn't know if I was more excited or freaked out. A part of me was glad that he had finally asked me. Where as another part was just freaking out. Why the heck would Draco Malfoy want to go to the dance with me!!!

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          A few days later, when we were all having breakfast, discussing our Hogsmeade trip which was the next day, the mail arrived. Hundreds of different kinds of owls soared to their owners and dropped packages and letters. I was surprised when two large barn owls dropped a huge package in front of me, causing the dishes around it to clatter. I never got mail, because I had no one to send me any, so I was curious as to what was inside.

         Throwing an apologetic grin in the direction of all those who threw dirty looks at me, I took the note on top of it. A wide smile spread across my face as I read it,

Dear Ava,
            I am glad that you are going to the dance and figured you would need something to wear. I hope you like my selection. Have fun.
                                    Your's,
                                              U. Sev.

          Hermione, snatched the piece of paper from my hands and read it aloud.

'Gosh, I can't believe you've got a dress in that package. Shall we open it?' If I didn't know better, I would say that she was more excited than I was. Ginny snatched the note from Hermione and asked, 'Who is U. Sev?'

'Oh, just someone I know', I looked over to staff table and saw him looking at me and gave him a wink which he returned. Feeling extremely happy I grabbed the parcel and rushed straight back to my room with Hermione and Ginny following closely by my heels.

          Inside, was the most beautiful dress I had ever laid eyes on. It was midnight blue which deepened to black at the hem. There were sequins all over, making it look like a starry night sky. I held it up to see it properly. It was as long as my ankle and its soft material was pleasant to feel against my skin.

'Look, that's not all', said Ginny and she was right, there was also a sleek pair of pumps and gloves inside the box. Not the usual kind of gloves though, these were forearm gloves, which covered only the dark mark and not my palms. Dear Uncle Sev, he always thought of everything.

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'Ooh, I love this one. I think the colour suits me, don't you think so?' Asked Ginny.

'It does suit you. The colour of Nargles suit almost any skin tone', said Luna in a dreamy manner.

'Oh, move along both of you, I need to see myself in the mirror. Hmm, I like it and I think I will take it. I don't think Ron would care much about what I wear, but just as well', sighed Hermione.

'All three of you look beautiful. Now can you please pick one fast. I want to have butterbeer before we leave', I said matter-of-factly. It was true, the butterbeer of Three Broomsticks was considered the best in the world. And I had really wanted some since the start of the year.

'Oh stop complaining, Ava. We have to be picky if we want to look even half as good as you would look that night', teased Ginny.

          After that I didn't utter another word about my boredom. I was sure that they would skin me alive. Besides, who was I to stop their fun? I gladly passed my comments on their choice of attire and soon we were able to leave the shop. We made our way to Three Broomsticks where Harry and Ron said they would be and ordered large cold glasses of heavenly butterbeer.

'I still can't believe you are going to the dance with that git Malfoy', remarked Harry, 'what do you see in him? He is nothing but a mean slimy git, but I must say he does make a good ferret'. I smiled inwardly when I heard that, but I didn't say anything. There was no point, Harry was dying to prove that Malfoy was a death eater, and he was frustrated that he couldn't get any proof on the matter. 'Oh, speak of the devil, here he comes'.

          And sure enough, Draco was making his way through the crowd towards our table. 'Greene, I need to talk to you for a moment', he said eyeing everyone around the table. 'Sure. I'll be right back guys'.

'Actually no, do you mind if I walk you back to school?' I looked at him and then at the others. 'Its alright, go ahead, we'll meet you in the hall for supper', assured Hermione. I nodded and followed him, but not before gulping down the rest of my drink. Hey, I don't care if the Queen of Naples wanted to talk to me, I had to have my butterbeer!

          Out in the open, he made his way in the direction of the school without saying a word. 'I thought you wanted to tell me something. If you don't, then I would like to go back'.

'No, don't', he stopped and looked at me, then pulled me away to a corner beside a shop. I thought he looked a little tense when he started speaking.

'Look, I have done something which I hope will help my task. But now that I have done it, I am not so sure that it will work. And if it gets in the hands of anyone else, let's just say it won't be very pretty.'

'Well, what do you want me to do?'

'If you could just-', and that's when we heard someone screaming. I rushed to see what was going on, I was just in time to see Katie Bell, a chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, fall from a height after hovering in the air for a few seconds. Harry, Ron, Hermione and another girl were around her, and soon I saw Hagrid coming and carrying her back to the school.

          Too shocked to say anything, I looked back at Draco, to see he had turned as pale as the snow, eyes wide as saucers, terror stricken. Not wanting his guilt to be shown on his face, I pulled him back to where we stood before and whisper-shouted at him, 'What the hell were you thinking! Sending something like that in the hands of a student. Have you lost your mind! What if someone traces it back to you? Huh?'

          I didn't say anything more. I could tell he regretted what he had done as he stood staring blankly into space. His hands were trembling a little and his breathing had quickened. I felt sorry for him, and without another thought I just hugged him tightly. It was during times like these that you needed friends most. And even though I wasn't one, I  felt it only right.

          For how long we stood like that I don't know, but when Draco felt a little better, he loosened his grip on my waist and pulled back. 'Are you all right now? Shall we head back?' He nodded slightly and we walked back together, his hand holding mine. We didn't say a word to each other all the way. When we reached the flight of stairs where we were to separate, he pulled me in for one more hug. Before letting me go, he whispered into my ears, 'I will wait for you here at 8 for the dance', and turned and walked away.

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