The Sunrise of My Heart

Staring in the mirror, I groaned and pulled off another dress, leaving it in a heap on the floor. I already had a huge pile of dresses laying on the floor, discarded. Pansy was looking at me with envy, whether because I was going with Draco or because the dresses were far more lavish and beautiful than hers, I wasn't sure. Maybe both. Growing annoyed, I pulled on my school robes and headed to the common room, leaving behind the dresses.

At breakfast, I sat next to Draco and refrained from looking at Alexander. I'd told him that I was going with Draco, and he had been very kind and understanding, but i was pretty sure he was still hurt. He wasn't eating very much, and he had a sorrowful look on his face. It made me feel guilty, but not enough to change my mind about my date.

When the morning owls came in, I spotted my owl amongst the others easily. For one, she was a barn owl, which not many of the other students seemed to have. For another, she had glossy black feathers with a pure white tail. Not easily missed. What really caught my eye about her this time, though, was the fact that she and two other owls were trying to carry a large package wrapped in white. They landed in front of me, I paid the two strange owls, and then I eagerly read the card that accompanied the package.

Riley-
If I know you, you have a pile of the dresses I've already sent you, all laying on the floor. Am I right? I know you'll be stressing over what to wear to the Yule Ball, so I sent you a dress I found that made me think of you. I hope you like it.
Love, Mom.

Setting the card aside, I opened the package and removed the tissue paper impatiently. Finally, I got to the dress. Pulling it out, I smiled to myself. Yes, my mom did know me. The dress was a shimmering silver that was floor length from behind, although in the front it rose up almost to me knees. The straps were dainty, and along the bottom hem of the front and the sides, midnight blue flowers extended up about four inches in height. It was beautiful, and absolutely perfect. Also in the package was a pair of elegant silver heels that matched the hue of the dress. Forgetting about breakfast, I ran back upstairs to try it on, leaving behind a very startled Draco (he had been reading the Daily Prophet and hadn't seen me receive the dress).

When I put the dress and heels on and stood in front of the mirror, I couldn't help but smile. Yes, it was perfect. And the heels were only about 4 1/2 or five inches, so I didn't have to worry about tripping and breaking my ankle. Well, not too much anyways. I was now ecstatic about the ball, and eagerly awaited its arrival.

The day of the ball, I was humming music to myself constantly, making the people around me nearly go insane. "Riley, if you don't stop humming, I might remove your vocal cords while you sleep," Pansy snapped. "Just because you have a perfect date and a perfect dress and a perfect hair-do, no doubt, doesn't mean you can annoy the rest of us with your perkiness!"

"Pansy, cork it or I'll cork you. I'm in a good mood. Don't ruin it with your impertinence." She stuttered at my snappish words, but was otherwise silent. Usually, I just ignored her and didn't say much to her,so the fact that I had actually snapped at her this time shocked her. Hah, good. "Look, if you stop moping I'll let you borrow a dress and help you with your hair and make-up and all. I assume you have a date, yes?"

She nodded mutely, then eagerly went to the pile of dresses in my trunk, rotting around until she grabbed a bright pink one with green sequins. Figures. Green for Slytherin, pink for pansy. Gag. Still, it matched her, sort of.

Two hours, three potential hairstyles, and four make-overs later, Pansy deemed herself ready. Her hair was up in an elegant but simple bun, with a bit of bangs hanging down; her make-up consisted of light pink eye-shadow, a little smudge of eye-liner, and a light smattering of lip gloss; she wore black strappy heels, and she looked better than I'd ever seen her before. Finally, I was able to start working on my own hair and make-up.

After a few minutes of indecision, I decided to straighten my hair but take the front two tendrils and curl them. My eye-shadow was a blue that matched the flowers on my dress, and I wore a clear lip gloss that was lightly tinted a pale pink. Finally, I was ready for the Yule Ball, and ready to go meet Draco. I wondered what he would be wearing, and hoped it wouldn't clash with my dress. Thinking about Draco, I realized he wouldn't wear something so embarrassing, so I felt relieved. And now it was time to start the night of wonders.