The three ladies tucked their utensils in proper, and headed out together.
When they reached the hallway, an unmistakable, “Psssst,” from a small, curtained alcove to one side of the Grand Staircase called their attention.
It was Pansy Parkinson.
“Draco said to wait for him and the others here,” she whispered, replacing the Silencing Charm over the fabric entrance after checking to make sure no one had seen them duck behind the purple cloth.
She, Tracey, and Daphne stood against one wall, so Ginny leaned against the opposite side, checking out the competition.
‘Mione and Lav huddled at her side doing the same.
For a full minute, there was a strained silence that simply begged to be filled.
“So,” Ginny began, wanting to suss out the manoeuvering of genders for this game.
“I’m going to ask the really important question.” Five pairs of eyes focussed on her as she dramatically paused for effect.
“What’s everyone wearing tomorrow night?”
Tracey tittered, and then tried to hide her amusement behind her hand in embarrassment.
“Well, it is sort of important, don’t you think?” Ginny asked, feigning interest in her nails just then.
The three Slytherins shared their own silent communication with their eyes, and in that instant, she realized how similar she and her friends were to this group of girls who had stood on the opposite side of the fence for so very long.
Pansy shrugged.
“We figured we’d get prettied up.”
“Actually,” Tracey corrected with a wry smile, “the boys asked us to. I’m wearing one of my Yule Ball alternate dresses.”
Ginny straightened, unfamiliar with the term the other witch had used.
“Alternate dress? You mean, like, you bought a second dress just in case you decided you didn’t want to wear your first choice?”
“You do that, too!” Lavender squeaked in pleased surprise.
“Thank Merlin! I thought I was the only wishy-washy girl out there who couldn’t settle on a dress!”
Daphne bent down to adjust her knee-high socks. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“It seems to be a trait we share, as I also will be draped in a secondary choice, although mine was originally intended for the Formal next week.”
“Hmmm… well, I suppose I could wear the dress I planned to for next week’s dance as well,” Hermione considered, chewing her bottom lip in thought.
“I can shop for a different one next Wednesday, as classes will be officially over for seventh-years then.” She looked up at Ginny.
“You’ll be done by then as well, right? We could go together. Make a day of it in Diagon Alley! I’m sure Dumbledore would grant permission, so long as we promise to be back by dinner.”
Lavender cooed.
“Ooooh, sign me up, too!”
The idea of spending good Galleons on several dresses–some of which you might not ever wear–seemed odd to Ginny, but she went with it.
“We’re talking shopping, lunch, and ice cream, right? Seriously, you had to ask if I wanted in?”
Her best girl friend looked across the space between them, and directed her question to Pansy.
“And you?”
Parkinson’s stare was even, unfazed, and clearly weighing how much to say.
She gave a casual shrug, crossing her arms over her chest at the same time.
“I’ve got a costume I wanted to wear last Halloween. It’s a gothic-style dress.”
Hearing that, Ginny’s heart did a teeny jig.
“Well, at least someone with some taste around here,” she smirked.
“I prefer the Romanticism counter-culture myself, so I’ll copy the idea, if you don’t mind. I’ve got just the thing sitting in my trunk, just dying for a chance to air.”
Tracey looked at each of them.
“It’s settled then,” she brought them to an accord.
“We’ll dress to dazzle!”
“How sinful of you all!” Malfoy mock-chastised, stepping through the entrance.
“Conspiring behind our backs like this, ladies. Tsk, tsk.” Following him was the rest of the gaming group.
Everyone hurried in and took up spots against the two walls, just as the girls had earlier.
‘Mione followed it up with a spell of her own that Ginny didn’t recognize.
She turned to the group, noted the variety of questioning gazes and shrugged.
“Doesn’t hurt to be thorough,” her housemate explained.
“And, I even added an extra spell that blends the entrance into the wall. Unless you knew this place was here all ready, you wouldn’t know it existed at all.”
Malfoy’s smirk meandered up his cheek.
“Like the Room of Requirement. Clever,” he complimented.
“But then, I’d expect no less from the Head Girl.”
The earlier comfortable camaraderie that had begun with the women was erased in an instant with that one comment.
The Gryffindors crowded closer together in the already-overcrowded space and faced off against the Slytherins, trading glares.
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and stared her blond arch-nemesis down.
“You just can’t help being a foul-mouthed git, can you?” she asked, shaking her head in resigned cynicism.
“I think it must be a consequence of all that Malfoy in-breeding.”
Opening his mouth to retort, it was a surprisingly quick Daphne Greengrass who slapped a hand over Draco’s face and stopped him cold.
“I do not doubt that the scathingly adroit rejoinder you planned to launch at Miss Granger would generate hours of endless self-gratification, Mister Malfoy, but need I remind you that we have a distinct purpose here tonight, and that belaying said task may, in fact, result in our imminent discovery by a member of the staff sooner, rather than later?”
There was a pause as everyone digested what she’d just said.
“Wow, that was so totally hot,” her brother muttered from somewhere off to her right.
“She made a scolding sound sexy!”
Ginny felt like sinking into the floor.
Only Ron could make the seriousness of the moment inappropriately charged with sexual intimation.
“You said it!” Theodore Nott chimed in from the other side of the aisle.
“Smart girls get you hard!”