hot chocolate | d.m.

08. feel like a princess

December 10th

Once Winnie steps into the common room her friends are already making their way towards her. "Winnie," Johnathan calls after as she runs towards her dorm. He runs after her catching her on the stairs. He stares into her bloodshot eyes as tears fall freely. "What did he do?" Johnathan asks quietly.

Winnie just shakes her head and another sob leaves her lips. Clara and Poppy are now right behind Johnathan, looking at their best friend with sad eyes. "Everything was so good," Winnie sobs.

"What happened?" Poppy asked quietly, reaching her hand out to rest on her arm.

"He- He said he wanted to kiss me. And-" Winnie takes a shaky breath, "And then I asked him to the ball. I thought he'd say y-yes. He got mad and-and called me filthy and he deserves better." Winnie explains, wiping the snot from her nose.

"I'll kill him," Clara says in the most obvious voice. That night was a rough one for the group of four.

December 12th

Winnie was sat on one of the couches in the common room with her divination review and book open on her lap. She chewed on her fingernails while skimming through the chapter on crystal balls. She was so focused she didn't even notice the weight of someone else sitting next to her on the couch.

"What are you studying?" A voice asks, making her jump slightly. She looks to her right, right into the brown eyes of Justin Finch-Fletchley. He was leaning closely, looking between her eyes.

"Oh, hi Justin. Um, divination," She says, cheeks flaring. Justin smiles at her blush.

"Well I can't help you there, I dropped that." Justin says, glancing down at her text book.

Winnie shrugs, "It's not too bad. Did you um, need something?"

Justin looks to his hands and takes in a deep breath, "Well, yeah actually." He glances sideways at Winnie who was becoming warmer by the second. "Do you have a date to the Christmas Ball?" He asked.

Draco. Her mind immediately flashes to his face, soft and warm in the light of her wand. She shakes her head, "No, I don't actually," Winnie says, pushing Draco to the back of her mind.

"Awesome! I-I mean, would you like to be my date to the ball?" Justin asks, looking hopefully at Winnie. A small smile finds its way onto her face.

"I'd love to," Winnie says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. A huge smile makes its way on Justin's face as he stands up.

"Cool, um cool yeah. I-I'll talk to you later." Justin says, his cheeks now as red as hers. He purses his lips before leaning down and kissing Winnie's cheek. He walks away before she can say anything.

Poppy leans over the couch behind her and wraps her arms around her shoulders. "That was the cutest thing I've ever seen," Poppy says as Winnie lets her head fall back against the couch. Winnie smiles softly at her, willing all thoughts of Draco to the back of her mind.

"Anyways, a big package from your mum arrived, pretty sure it's your dress," Poppy says, standing up straight. Winnie's eyes widen and she lets out a squeal.

"Where?" She asks giddily, jumping up and slamming her divination book closed.

Poppy laughs at her, "On your bed, psycho." Winnie jumps a little before sprinting towards the stairs, excited to see the dress her mother picked for her. Poppy follows close behind, the two girls giggling. A moment of teen innocence one should cherish but never thinks to.

The door to their room in flung open and Winnie runs to the package on her bed. A big box, probably close to the length of her body, takes up Winnie's bed. It was wrapped in brown paper with a simple bow of string in the center along with a note.