Chapter 94 – Intermezzo
The Yule Ball. I didn't understand the frustration and fear that some of my classmates showed as it got closer and closer. Isn't it just dancing and having fun? Where is the issue there?
"You are weird..." The others sighed as we sat at dinner in the Great Hall. People from our group converged around Quincy and me, joining the Slytherin table from all the other houses. At first, it garnered strange looks from others and even from the teachers, but as it happened every day, nobody spoke up against it.
"It's just dancing!" I repeated it for the hundredth time.
"Yes, before everyone else!" They retorted, looking at each other. "Quincy, what do you think?"
"Hm?" She looked up from her plate, too occupied by enjoying her dinner. "It will be my first ball to attend."
"No, we are asking if you are nervous or not!" The others questioned her again, but she just tilted her head, not getting their troubled looks. "I was made to practice dancing and whatnot when I was younger."
"Same." Some other girls chimed in, feeling just as confident.
"It isn't a big deal!" I chuckled, trying to calm them down, "First things first. It will be us, the champions, who will waltz in and start dancing before everybody. Nobody will start scrutinizing the others when the first dance finishes to see if they did it right! So why are you all so nervous? It should be us biting down our nails!"
After what we went through in the past years or just in the past month, dancing before everybody else sounded perfectly fine. A little release from all the troubles brewing in the background and a night where we don't deal with problems.
"I am more worried about making everyone laugh... My family is not the wealthiest, so I have an old-fashioned dress." said another boy, turning red in the face.
"It doesn't matter." I spoke up before he could feel bad about it, "So what if others can dress fancier? What matters is what is underneath it! So, we should just go naked- OW! Why?!" I moaned as Quincy elbowed me while the others began laughing.