Bare

Chapter 49

Arabella

After rummaging through my wardrobe and drawers I had decided on wearing a scarlet red dress. The straps were thin and the dress had a small slit on the right thigh. It reached my mid-thighs, I was contemplating on following Draco's request however the dress was too short to do that.

I knew he would be pissed, but I didn't want to fall over and have my lady parts on display. I also wanted to see his reaction towards me for going against his orders. I hadn't spoken to him since I saw him in the corridor, so I'm sure he will enjoy seeing me in this dress.

"Come on Bell, Merlin's beard you take so long" Astoria huffed. She wore a forest green dress, it hugged her waist nicely, her hair was in a loose up-do, showing off her high cheekbones.

"You look great" she smiled, looking at me up and down.

"So do you," I said, applying a second layer of gloss.

"Malfoy will be speechless for once," she said laughing.

"We will see, he usually has many words to say" I responded, walking out of the bathroom. "Yeah but this time I think he won't be able to find one" she giggled.

We headed towards the Ravenclaw common room, the halls were quiet. We didn't have to worry about Umbridge as she was MIA.

"Fuck me, how do these Ravenclaws get to class on time every day, this walk is horrible" Astoria frowned.

I agreed, we walked to the entrance. Astoria tried to open the door but failed to get in. "It's a riddle," I said in annoyance.

"Of course it is" Astoria sarcastically said "I wouldn't expect anything else from them."

Astoria and I stood there for ages trying to figure out the riddle answer. "Which came first, the Phoenix or the flame?" She repeated.

"This is useless" I groaned, leaning my back against the wall.

"We're not stupid Bell, but now I'm starting to think otherwise," she said standing next to me.

"A circle has no beginning," a voice said. We looked over and saw Cho standing by the door. I rolled my eyes averting them from her.

"Thanks" Astoria mumbled.

The door opened, the music was loud, the smell of whiskey and sweat covered the room.

I walked in behind Astoria "Arabella?" Cho whispered from behind me. I turned around, watching Cho as regret filled her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about what happened" she apologised.

"You're choosing now to apologise Cho?" I said almost laughing.

"Yes, I saw how it affected you, I wanted to say something earlier but I didn't know what to say" she rushed.

"Well, I'm over it now, thanks for the apology, have a good night" I spoke, she nodded and walked away from me.

"Let's get a drink," I said whilst dragging Astoria to the drinks table. We were handed the whiskey and consumed it fairly quickly, which resulted in us collecting two more.

The sound of the music and laughter from around us pounded into my ears. There were bodies were everywhere,  I guess everyone was invited this time.

We stood by a wall, talking about rubbish. Astoria seemed to be getting drunk already as her words were becoming slurred. I still hadn't seen Draco yet, I was starting to miss his presence. As if on cue, a large hand covered the small of my back.