Invitation
By the time she'd gotten back from quidditch practice, every part of Pansy Parkinson's body hurt, from her ass to her shoulders, to her frail little fingers. She'd spent the whole summer organizing for the Slytherin team to receive the all new Nimbus 4000 broomstick to finally terminate the Gryffindor's once and for all, writing articles on Witch Weekly for her summer intern position, and arranging a theatre play for the Minister of the Wizarding World — The Prime of the Wizarding 'Fudge' World. It was supposed to be comedic, but the actors had no insights on the political mandates whatsoever to even make jokes about it.
With all that, she hadn't had time to keep in top shape for quidditch, and she was feeling it now. All she wanted to do was go back to her dormitory, crawl into bed, and not think about tomorrow and what another over-achieving day would hold: prefect runnings, delegating for the Yule Ball committee, advanced Potions labworks, and another grueling quidditch practice with Blaise Zabini.
On her bedside table lay a letter enveloped in black matte paper sealed with a red ribbon. She'd hoped it was her mother informing her that the new broomsticks they'd been protesting to purchase before sale was being delivered. Theoretically, they were supposed to come any day now based on the detailed schedule she'd written down — if her protest had worked as she'd hoped. Unfortunately, it was signed B.Z. It read:
"Dear Pansy,
I'd hoped and prayed that you hadn't been asked for the Yule Ball, though it seemed like a ridiculous idea for no one to have asked you.
For my sake, I hope you'd denied any advances made by the others, because I would like to take you to the ball.
P.S. Don't respond if you're saying no. If you're saying yes then don't write a response.
I'll pick you up at 8:00 sharp on December 25th. We'll talk themes and colour coordination tomorrow during Potions class. Your seat will be saved.
All the best,
Blaise Zabini."
Pansy's mouth dropped open upon reading the first sentence of the letter. Before she could react, the door to their shared dormitory swung open, revealing Juliet, once again being carried by a random Slytherin boy. It was 4:00 PM. Pansy had stopped asking questions about two years ago, she was just glad these boys would return her to her bed in safety. The boy kissed a passed out Juliet on the cheek before he moved further down the hills of her breasts. Pansy had seen enough.
"Uh uh," Pansy decided, waving a finger at the boy as she stomped over with a protective glare plastered on her face. The boy hurriedly got up and away from Juliet and ran off immediately. Nobody wanted to see an angry Pansy.
With Blaise's letter still between her fingers, she stared at Juliet in her slumber, deciding between sharing this monumental moment with her best friend, or keeping it to herself in fear of knowing that Blaise had asked Juliet first and she'd rejected him. She had no interest in knowing whether or not she was his last resort. All that mattered now was Blaise Zabini had asked her to the Yule Ball, and she couldn't be more happy.
In all honesty, it wasn't that surprising. When Juliet had left for a month in their third year after her scandalous yet unsuccessful journey to rehab, Pansy became the most becoming girl of Hogwarts. She'd received all the attention that Juliet had, except differently. Pansy didn't party as much as Juliet did — nobody partied as much as Juliet did. Pansy didn't pass out on the quidditch field and woke up next to a virgin Hufflepuff nerd, or blow a Ravenclaw to get them to do her homework.
Actually, Pansy was almost the opposite of Juliet. She was responsible and driven, posh and proper, pristine and snobby. She cared about which types of cufflinks go with blazers, or which plaid colour went with the accessories, or which neckline went with each occassion. Juliet just sort of, floats around.
She felt guilty, though. She had never kept a secret from Juliet in her life. When her parents had a phase where they were at the brink of a divorce, the first person she ran to was Juliet, who gave her her first taste of scotch. When Pansy had been rejected by Theodre Nott in the 2nd year, Juliet took her to her first club. When Pansy had had issues with food in the past, Juliet introduced her to day drinking to help build up her appetite.
But things were different now. Pansy had to have her own life with boundaries and secrets and things she couldn't just tell anyone, even her best friend. Besides, was it really a secret if Juliet would find out on December 25th? That was only 2 months away.