The Wand Maker's Daughter

The Dance

The rest of the week flew by. With exam preparations and preparations for the dance, the whole school was a hive of activity and excitement. Alex's boyfriend, Ethan, asked her to the dance very romantically in the hallway, which caused a lot of jealous mumbling and curses from Diana girls who all seemed to have crushes on the handsome sixth year. Even Florence was taken by surprise when a freckly fifth year by the name of Ludo asked her to the dance, and hurriedly said no before she even thought about it. Evy wouldn't stop sniggering about the incident for days.

Beyond all the excitement of the upcoming dance, much of their time was spent bending over at school desks, and revising spells and charms in the common room. Florence saw less and less of Evy, who's differing timetable separated them for every class excluding herbology and transfiguration. In fact, when they finally saw each other in the common room each night, they had so much to catch up on that they babbled long into the night before realising everyone had gone to bed long ago. Even so, it was a cheerful time, and Florence was happy.

On Thursday night, Florence slept fitfully and so she woke up with bleary eyes and a sore head. Her mood was improved however, by Evy skipping over and pulling her out of bed and down to breakfast. When the clock tower struck to signify the end of the day Florence raced out of the classroom, only to bump into Evy. Together they ran up to their dormitory, laughing breathlessly.

Getting ready in a space crowded with girls is always a challenge, but even more so if they are witches. Florence found herself being whacked in the head multiple times with flying hair brushes and dryers, and even once with a rogue makeup brush. Still, she loved every moment of it, and sat calmly amidst of the chaos, doing her makeup. She squinted at herself in the mirror. A dash of soft, brown eyeliner, a swipe of blush on her cheeks and a little red lipstick enlarged her eyes, exaggerated her cheekbones and highlighted her pout. Taking the heated rollers out of her hair, her scarlet locks fell in big, old Hollywood style curls, and her apple green dress robes and corset cut a low v on her chest, hugging her torso and draping elegantly around her legs. The dress brought out the green in her eyes, and had tiny gold stitches that matched her earrings and rings.

"You look stunning."
She turned around to see Evy behind her. Her ebony coloured curls were swept up and twisted elegantly, exposing her tiny little studded ears. Her robes were a deep wine colour, with a ruched back that cut her figure perfectly. Her eyes, so brown that her pupils blended right in with them, surveyed Florence up and down, and she wore no makeup other than a slight flick of mascara on her lashes. "No, you... you look so beautiful." Florence murmured.
"You both look gorgeous!" Alex exclaimed, dragging Ethan behind her excitedly. He was devastatingly handsome, his black locks tousled and his dress robes fitted. He caught Florences eye and winked at her.

"Shall we?" Evy held out her arm to Florence, who took it, and together they marched off to the ballroom.
A great many people were already in the hall when they arrived. There were silvery hangings on the walls, platters of delicacies lining the oak tables and hundreds of fireflies that lit the enormous room. Florence loved to dance, she felt herself slip into the rhythm and floated away dreamily. Eventually the dancing became more formal, and she was paired with countless pairs of gangly boys that stepped on her feet and messed up the dances, but still she enjoyed herself, leading them through the motions and making attempts at conversation. At one point, one of them must have messed something because she spun into Evy's arms. Laughing, they slowly danced together until the music stopped and they separated again.

It was hot in the ballroom, and before long Florence stepped outside into the cool air for a break. She sat on a slab of stone, grateful for the cold surface on her flushed skin. A shiny beetle crawled across her lap, which made her smile and think of Evy. As she watched it, she barely even noticed the hand placed on her shoulder, until it gripped into her and twisted her around.
"You look beautiful."
Ethan grinned at her. His black dress robes were slightly askew, sweat dripped of his sharp jawline and he drew a hand through his wild hair. Florence felt a slight shiver go down her back as he touched her leg.
"Florence" His voice was slurred, and she could smell the firewhisky on his breath. She gently pushed him away, and stood up to leave. It was the wrong move. He stood roughly, pushing her into the wall and pinning her by his body.
"Ethan," Florence whispered. "What are you doing?"
"Alex is in there dancing with other guys," he cut in. "And you..." She felt his gaze graze her body until it rested right on her lips. "Look so beautiful in those robes. Did I mention how beautiful you look?"
Florence forced out a laugh. "Thanks... I guess so." She smiled awkwardly and tried to shimmy out of his grasp but he tightened his hold on her. Slowly, he trapped her body with his own against the stone walls, then leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. For a second, Florence accepted the kiss, but then she felt the warning taste of firewhisky on his lips and a shock of realisation zipped through her and she stumbled back, pushing him away.
"Don't touch me again." Florence whispered, and his gaze turned from loving to dangerous. His piercing blue eyes that Florence had found so sexy moments ago now looked predatory and he advanced, all sense of gentleness gone. His hands roughly pinned her arms back, his nails piercing her skin as she struggled to get away. She felt panic coursing through her body, and fought as if a wild animal, kicking and scratching, wand forgotten on the ground. But he was stronger than her, and it was with ease that he held her down and kept coming back for more. As his hands began to creep down her body, there was a sudden loud crack and Ethan crumpled away, holding his head in pain. Evy stood over him, wand forgotten, holding onto a large tree branch with a look of utter surprise on her face. She dropped the tree branch on the ground and embraced Florence, who ran crying into her arms.
Ethan spat blood out of his mouth. There was a gash on the side of his face, and he touched it, saw the blood, and started angrily at both of them.
"What the fuck!" He hissed. Evy, trembling, raised her wand at him, and he shot a look of pure hatred in her direction.
"You" he hissed. "You're a liar. I know who you are. You're from Slytherin, from Hogwarts. I bet you told everyone that it's the best house, huh? Ha! There wasn't a witch or wizard that went evil that wasn't from Slytherin!"
"That's not true!" Evy cried. "You know that's not true, what about Pe-" Ethan cut her off again, this time addressing Florence.
"This liar hasn't told you everything. Yeah, I remember her from Hogwarts, I remember her well. I remember her friends. I've kept her secrets until now, but you know..." he touched the blood on the side of his face. "I don't feel like doing that so much any more. Florence, you might want to be more careful around this princess. Be careful she's not watching you when you're getting changed... how they can justify put a lesbian in a dormitory of girls I don't know!" He let out a harsh laugh and Florence felt Evy slip away from her, shaking with rage. He kept going, his gaze raking the floor, his words harsh and desperate. "And you don't know what happens. It's more than that. You're so privileged. I was bullied for years by these Slytherin scum, for having a muggle born mother. Look at her. Pure blooded. That's all that matters to you, doesn't it. That's all you care about. You'll grow up to become a follower of the next dark wizard, you'll find joy in killing muggles and muggles borns, I know it. I saw you, standing by as your friends bullied me for not supporting Voldemort. I know what you'll become. I've seen it all before!"
A strike of fear coursed through Florence's body. She edged away from Evy, feeling confused. Evy seemed to sense her moving away, and began talking panicky and fast in response.
"No." Evy's wand hand trembled, but she kept holding it up. "No! No, I was never... I would never..." She couldn't stop stumbling over her words. "Yes, Slytherin house had a stereotype, but I... Florence... no, don't leave! Please! I can't-"
"Can't what?" Florence's voice was cold and sharp edged, and she was hardly aware of her lips moving. "Can't lie to me any longer? Can't keep pretending that you are someone you aren't? Can't keep pretending that is you had the chance... you would try kill my muggle born mother?" She didn't know where this rage was coming from, didn't know why she was saying these things, all she knew was that she felt confused and hurt in a way that she hadn't before.
Evy recoiled. She shook her head, looking more shocked than angry. "I can't believe this! You believe his word over mine...then maybe you aren't the person I thought you were either."
"How do I know that anything you say isn't another lie?" Florence spat. She groped backwards, feeling for her wand, dimly aware that her robes were torn and muddy.
Snatching it off the ground, she jumped to her feet and pointed it at her, but Evy was quicker and a jet of yellow light hit Florence in her stomach. Her wand flew out of her hand, up into the air, and finally was snatched out of the air by Evy, who caught it deftly with the skills of a quidditch seeker. They stood looking at each other, the air tense and the silence only broken by Ethan whimpering on the ground. Suddenly, he turned over, vomiting on the pavement, and Florence felt herself start towards him, her instinct to help, as disgusted as she was.
"Don't, Florence. Think of what he did to you!" Evy croaked. "Think of what he did to Alex! Please."
Staunchly ignoring her, Florence ran over to Ethan on the ground. She heard the clatter of Evy dropping her wand on the stone, and was all too aware of the sob she heard as she ran towards the dormitories, but Florence stayed, her eyes streaming. She held Ethans hair back as he vomited and once he had stopped she lifted him up, supporting his body with her own, and together they limped off towards his dormitory. 

Florence gently tucked him into his bed. Every time she touched him she felt a shiver of disgust and attempted to avoid his pitiful gaze by focussing on her surroundings. The Diana dormitories had gold wallpaper with burgundy designs on them, and she noticed that his bed was a bunk bed with scarlet hangings, even though the top bed seemed to be unoccupied. As she turned to leave, a noise stopped her.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm sorry for everything. Just... whatever you do, please don't tell Alex about this. Please."
Confused as how to respond, Florence stood to leave, but he held her back with surprising strength.
"Promise me" he demanded, and Florence felt herself nodding.
"I... I promise."

She left, somehow getting into her dormitories even though her mind wasn't aware of her actions. Steadfastly refusing to look in the direction of Evy's bed, she numbly changed and climbed into her bed. And although the feel asleep with little difficulty, her mind stayed conscious, replaying the nights actions.