Such Sweet Sorrow

Twenty-Nine

Eloise Waldorf

"Good morning, Eloise." Cormac was cheesy and proud this morning, "Saved you a seat." 

It was hard to miss the glares that shot Cormac's direction. Cedric sent daggers his way with his harsh expression, and even Draco sneered under his breath at the douchey Gryffindor. 

"She always sits across from me, Cormac," Ginny narrowed her eyes at Cormac, "Nice try though." 

His pretty boy smile faded as Ginny tsked at him, and I thanked her internally for getting me out of that one. I sat across from her, and Draco and Theo took their seats on either side of me. 

"Good morning," I smiled to everyone, fixing my napkin on my lap, "How is everyone?" 

"I'm alright," Cedric, of all people, answered, looking quite content with himself, even after it was his assigned Slytherin that committed the crime that was still plastered on the papers, right next to in memorial pictures of Shacklebolt. 

My question wasn't directed at him in the slightest, and I didn't particularly like that he was so eager to answer. Why was he even over here? Draco's relaxed mood from this morning was long gone at the sight of a the Hufflepuff. His posture was stiff, and he ate like he was angry at his fork. 

"Well, I'm doing alright." Ginny stated. 

"Same," Astoria added casually, poking at a piece of potato on her plate. 

"Well I'm doing shit," Pansy yawned, "Granger kept Daphne and I up until the crack of dawn talking about table settings for the Winter Ball." 

"I didn't know there were so many ways to rearrange shit on a table." Daphne shook her head with a look of exhaustion on her face. 

"Oh hush," Hermione pursed her lips, "McGonagall has trusted me to make sure things go smoothly, and I am a sucker for the details, you all know this." 

"You could say that again." Ron mumbled to Harry, who nodded in agreement. 

"Sounds like you'll have your hands full then." Ginny chuckled. 

"You mean we will," Hermione smirked mischievously, "I took the liberty of signing you all up to work on the Winter Ball committee with me." 

I nearly choked on my pumpkin juice. 

"All as in--" Harry leaned forward. 

"Everyone." Hermione nodded once proudly, "And I don't want to hear a peep about it. This is a fun group project--" 

"Wait, wait, wait..." Blaise shook his head, "Does that mean--" He motioned to himself and his Slytherin friends. 

"With the new supervisions put into place, yes, you will all be lending a hand." Hermione filled in quickly, turning her head before she saw the expression of everyone that erupted.

"I am not hanging streamers and dressing tables." Draco's face fell, "Not a chance in hell." 

"Can I be in charge of food?" Theo rubbed his chin and raised an eyebrow at Hermione. 

"Of course," Hermione smiled, scribbling down his name, "Ron will be needing a helping hand anyway. Anyone else have any areas of expertise they would like to work in?" 

No one said anything. Our expressions said enough. 

The Winter Ball was fun, but planning it sounded like a pain in the ass. Stressful and tiring. Overwhelming. Complicated. 

But then again, I could see this being a fun activity to distract me from everything else that threaten to sweep my legs out from under me. Who knows, maybe I would actually have fun. The only thing I needed to do was convince Draco not to be an ass about it.