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Eleanora slept in on the day of the Ball and in the morning, she woke to see Beatrice and Phillipa admiring her dress robes hanging on the bathroom door. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"What're you doing?" she said, words slurred together.
"Oh, you're up," said Phillipa, turning to her. "I brought you breakfast, it's on the desk." She pointed to a plate heaped with food on the desk in the corner.
"You're a gem, Phil." Eleanora threw the covers back and rolled out of bed. "Where are your dress robes?"
"On Bea's bed." Eleanora looked over to Beatrice's unmade bed where two ball-gowns were laying, both an elegant shade of purple.
"Oh..." Eleanora breathed. "They're beautiful. McGonagall didn't give you any trouble about going together, did she?"
"Nah, she loves us," Beatrice said with a confident smirk. "How're you feeling? You know, about Cedric...?"
"It's fine," Eleanora said shortly. "Honestly, it doesn't matter. I'll probably have more fun with Fred anyways."
"I'm sure you will." Beatrice was more angry over the breakup than Eleanora. Eleanora had tried a few times to convince Bea and the twins she didn't blame Cedric, but then realized her efforts were fruitless. She couldn't say she was exactly happy with Cedric herself, but she appreciated that he was keeping his relationship with Cho quiet for the time being. Beatrice cleared her throat. "Anyways. Phillipa, you can have the first shower. We should all probably start getting ready."
Beatrice organized her extensive makeup collection while Eleanora ate her breakfast and watched in near silence. The girls occasionally spoke, discussing their getting-ready plan. When Phillipa was done in the shower, she told Eleanora to go next.
The hot water felt so good on her shoulders, Eleanora just stood under the jet, unmoving, and let herself zone out. It could've been mere seconds or hours before she finally snapped out of it and started slowly shampooing her long hair. She knew she would have a good time at the Ball with Fred, but she'd been so excited to go with Cedric. She was still confused over the breakup, but she didn't want to ask him. She didn't want to be anywhere near him.
When Eleanora stepped out of the shower a long while later, she dried her hair, then wrapped herself in a robe and joined the other girls in the dormitory. They were sitting together on Beatrice's bed, holding hands and still looking through Bea's makeup.
"I'm going to do Phil first, if that's alright," Beatrice said. She pulled Phillipa over to a chair she'd set up by the makeup spread and brushed her girlfriend's hair back.
"That's fine," Eleanora murmured. She lay on her stomach on her own bed to half watch the process as she flipped through a potions book she'd borrowed from Snape.
