Restricted | Draco Malfoy

12

It didn't take us long at all to make it to the grand staircase that would lead us to the ball room at the bottom. I could feel my palms sweating, and my nerves were starting to take over as I thought about the night that lied ahead.

"Alright, Blaise is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, but I know I'm not the star of the show tonight, so I'm going to go first so you can follow." Ari said, as she turned to face me, adjusting some final touches on my hair.

"The other two will go with me, we will try to subtly throw hints that you are coming, because remember, this is your moment!" Ari said as she had a hold on both of my shoulders. I giggled slightly, finding amusement in her enthusiasm.

She was acting as if she was my mother handing me off on my wedding day. Trying to make sure that everything was perfectly in place for me. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at how ridiculous she was being about the situation.

"It's not that big of a de-"

"Stop!" She cut me off, a finger in my face. "No one else was asked by the Hogwarts champion, you were! No one else here will look nearly as perfect as you either! You are THE SHIT! Do you hear me?!" She said strictly. I processed the words quickly for a moment while I nodded.

"Now repeat after me: I'm Juliet Fucking Brown." She smirked.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I opened them as I exhaled, making eye contact with her once again.

"I'm Juliet Mother Fucking Brown." I said with a smirk on my face. I was back on my bullshit. I knew I was the top of the girls here. I surely felt it in this moment, at least. My feelings of excitement towards the ball quickly replaced my feelings of nervousness and my confidence took a boost.

I watched as the three of them slowly made their way down the stairs, their dates meeting them at the bottom. I gave it a couple of seconds to ensure that I'd have a dramatic entrance to meet Cedric at the bottom of the staircase. I slowly walked forward to the edge of the steps and grabbed a hold of the railing on the side, guaranteeing that I didn't slip and fall right on my ass in front of everyone.

I glided down the stairs gracefully, taking my time as I glanced around at the crowd below. I was definitely the last one to show up as everyone looked up at me, awe filling most of their faces. I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach and my confidence grow quickly as I noticed all the heads turning in my direction.

I spotted Cedric at the very bottom almost immediately, a slight smirk playing out across my lips. I wanted to let him know, I was that bitch. He was in the front of the crowd, ready to greet me at any second. He looked star struck, like he knew how lucky he was to get to escort me of all people to the ball.

There was another set of eyes in the crowd that stood out to me as well. The silver ones about five feet behind Cedric. My breathing hitched for a moment when I noticed him, almost like he made my nerves return once again. He eyed me up and down, licking his lips slightly in the process while he took in my appearance. Finally our eyes made contact with one another, and I nearly forgot how to breathe.

He straightened out his jacket to impress me as his date stood at his side, but she didn't matter to him anymore. His eyes didn't leave mine for a second. I could see the jealousy beginning to grow in Pansy's eyes as she knew that Draco was staring at me, but I didn't care. I was feeding off of it.

I finally reached the bottom where I grabbed Cedric's extended hand. He brought my hand up to his lips, placing a small kiss on the backside of it. I felt a bright smile pull onto my lips at his actions, and I let out a giggle.

"You look.." he paused for a second, scanning me up and down while he tried his hardest to find the words to describe me. "Breathtaking. That's all I can say." He flashed a warm smile at me.