Starbeam - A Wizarding World Story - ON HIATUS

Chapter 21

As Bob the Tomato Said In the "Dance of the Cucumber": Dance, Dance, Yeah

In preparation for the Yule Ball, dance lessons were held for all four Hogwarts houses. Professor Sprout taught the one for Hufflepuff, seeing as she was the head of the house. (The thought of Snape directing students through the dances made Claire giggle, and she shared the thought with Hannah, who also giggled)

Cedric had the honor of helping to demonstrate the waltz, as he was the champion. With a quick introduction of how to properly stand in the ballroom position, Cedric and Sprout began to dance to the music that was drifting from the gramophone. Claire caught Cedric's eye, wiggling her eyebrows at him teasingly. He rolled his eyes at her joking expression. 

After the Hufflepuff house had been shown the waltz, they were all prompted to stand up, find a partner of the opposite gender, and begin practicing. Claire nudged Marnie towards Cedric, but the older girl shook her head, instead shoving Claire into her brother. 

The practice only lasted about an hour, and Claire definitely was done with the waltz by the third time they had to redo it. 

"Ced, I know this already, why do we have to keep doing it?" She groaned in a low voice, so as to not be overheard. Her brother just chuckled.

"Practice makes perfect, Little C." was his only reply. Claire huffed but kept dancing. 

The day of the Ball arrived quickly, and Marnie insisted that all four of the girls start getting ready right after lunch, skipping dinner for fear of revealing their make-up/hair-do too early. She started working on Ellie, curling her straight, chocolate brown hair into princess curls, and did her make up, brushing a red eyeshadow on her lids and a matching red lipstick, both of which matching Ellie's dress. 

Then Marnie helped Claire with Hannah's look, expertly straightening they curling her hair into soft beach waved, while Claire did a very simple make-up look. A soft white eyeshadow, glimmery highlighter, and a nude lipstick really enhanced the angel look. 

Soon it was Claire's turn. Using a buttload of hairspray, her hair, too, was curled, a soft curl that wasn't quite princess curls, nor beach waves, and was pinned so it all fell over my left shoulder. The make-up look she did was similar to Hannah's but much more sparkly. Instead of just the soft white eyeshadow, Claire layered a white shimmer that matched the dress over top. She also put a glowy lipgloss overtop the nude lipstick that she, too, used. With a soft blush, thin eyeliner with small wings, and a swipe or two of mascara, Claire's look was done. 

After Marnie did her own hair and make-up (she straightened her hair and did a simple, natural look with red lipstick), the four girls were ready to carefully don their gowns (and, in Marnie's case, jumpsuit). Once they had their dresses on, they were all set to go to the Ball, which was starting soon.Going separate ways after leaving the Common Room so they could meet up with their respective dates, all four boys awestruck by the beauties. George knew that Fred would be even more jealous and said as much to Ellie. She grinned, almost manically. 

Draco was already in the Great Hall, where the Ball was, when Claire arrived. He had been standing awkwardly near the punch table, looking around for his date. And she arrived. Standing in the large archway that made up the entrance to the Great Hall. His breath caught as his gaze landed on her. She looked like she's stepped through a literal star on her way to the Ball, and he couldn't help but gasp "Merlin's beard, she's beautiful." (Theodore Nott overheard and snickered. His best mate was so whipped for this girl)

Claire soon caught sight of him and grinned broadly, waving. He waved back, slightly unsure what else to do as he approached her.

"Lookin' sharp, Malfoy. I like your tie." She commented in greeting. She had bought his tie for him, so as to match it with her dress, and it went beautifully well with his black suit and white shirt. He smiled, offering her his arm. She took it gladly as he returned her compliment.