the girl with all of the choices

s i x t y - t h r e e

5095 words

december twentieth- gate-crashing

~ Addison ~

Christmas.

The most wonderful time of the year. 

Decorations and trees, delicious sweets, illustrious snowfall, mistletoe hanging where you least expect it.

If only I could actually kiss my boyfriend under the mistletoe. 

Stop thinking like that, Addie. Just get through tonight. Tomorrow, he's yours.

Today was the last day of classes before the holidays. We had been dismissed from Potions promptly, as Professor Slughorn wanted to give us plenty of time to get ready for his party tonight. It was formal. High up officials from the ministry were rumoured to have been invited. 

I wished I could have had Draco by my side for the night, but I was willing to give him up at the party if that meant I could have him for fourteen straight days starting tomorrow.

And that was exactly what we had planned.

Tomorrow, the train would leave Hogsmeade promptly at 11 am. Our plan was to say goodbye to all of our people and act as if we were going home through the commotion in the corridors. Nobody ever went up to the seventh floor, so we didn't have to worry about getting caught once we got up there. 

But, in order to get to the fun, I had to survive tonight.

I actually was looking forward to the party, just not as much as I would have if Draco was my date. I was excited to get to spend time with Theo. He was way funnier than anyone gave him credit for, and he genuinely was a pure pleasure to be around.

Fawn and Ainsley were helping me get ready, but Ernie was also in the room, chilling in our hanging chair and eating a bag of crisps.

Ernie had been a really good friend lately. I was still ignoring Justin, who had finally taken the hint and stopped trying to talk to me, but Ernie had been spending more time with us. He and Fawn weren't official yet, but they had made plans to see each other over the holidays, which gave me hope. 

Fawn said they hadn't kissed yet, other than that drunk night, of course, but I had a feeling she was lying. She insisted they were just friends, but we could all see through that guise. 

Ainsley was lending me a dress of hers for tonight. It was a beautiful green number, with off the shoulder straps that resembled those of a gown that a princess would wear. It was short, a respectable length considering the function we were attending and the guests we would be around.

I had already slipped into it when I crossed over to Ainsley to request her help in zipping the back.

"So Addie," Ernie said, chomping on a crisp. "What are you doing for the holidays?"

"I already told you she's staying here," Fawn answered, glaring at him while she handed me my shoes.

"You and Draco aren't going to stay with your parents this year?" Ainsley asked.

She and Fawn had both started to call Draco by his first name, a monumental step in our group dynamic. 

"No. He thinks it's too dangerous for us to both go back home. Well, to my house, that is," I explained. 

"Too dangerous?" Fawn queried.

"Death Eaters. Their attacks haven't gotten better, you know that. Draco said they can sense magic. That's part of how they figure out where muggle-borns are. It's almost like a dog's sense of smell, but it's not smell, obviously. I don't know, it was very confusing," I said, shaking my head.