FicWad

Nat's face was white as snow and she looked horrible. She took one look at Bella and me and shouted hysterically, "Get out of my way motherfuckers!" Fearing that she would literally trample me, I quickly took a step backwards to get out of her way. Natasha stormed past Bellatrix and me and threw herself down onto her big. Loud, hysterical sobs filled the dormitory.

Bellatrix and I exchanged nervous looks. Neither of us knew what was going on, but it certainly couldn't be good. From Natasha's reaction, all I could guess was that something was terribly wrong or else she was overreacting. Not sure I wanted to stay around to find out, I grabbed a hairbrush and pointed to the doorway. Bellatrix nodded and the two of us slunk out of the dormitory and to the common room to get away from Natasha's wrath.

Once the two of us were safely in the common room, I asked Bella, "What in the world do you think was wrong with Natasha? She looked like she was going to kill someone!" Bellatrix merely shrugged in response, "I have no idea what was wrong with that bitch. You never know with Nat." Looking over at the brush in my hand, Bella asked, "Want me to do something with your hair?"

I nodded instantly and plopped down on a battered old chair in the common room. Bella brushed all the snarls and tangles out of my long hair and then she tried to decide what to do with it. Studying me careful, Bella asked, "Do you think we should put your hair in a bun, a ponytail, or just leave it down? I can't decide what to do."

I considered all the options. I always wore my hair down and decided that look would be too boring for tonight. So now I was between the bun and the ponytail. I figured they would both look okay, but weren't buns more elegant than ponytails? Turning to Bella, I said, "Let's do a bun if that's not too much work. I think it will look fancier."

Bella nodded and instantly started working my locks into a loose bun on the top of my head. It didn't take her very long. Before I knew it, I was completely ready for the party. Looking me over with approval, Bellatrix said, "Wow, that's the best I've seen you look ever, Cissy! You'll be the star of the dance tonight. All the guys will be looking at you. Come on, let's go find our dates!"

Bella linked her arm through mine and started leading me down the hallway to the Great Hall. I suddenly felt very anxious and nervous. Adrenaline surged through my body and crashed through my veins. I trailed Bella slowly, wondering why I was feeling so nervous. I was just going to a simple dance with Walden.

When we reached the Great Hall, I was totally caught off guard. It was beautiful! Colored lights were hanging from the ceiling, a band was playing loudly, and students from Hogwarts and Durmstrang were mingling and dancing light-heartedly together. Bella and I had missed the Durmstrang arrival ceremony since we had still been at our mother's house. This was the first time I had seen the Durmstrang students. To be honest, they were quite different than the Hogwarts students. They had light skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. Most of them were dressed in much more conservative attire than the Hogwarts students as well. I suddenly felt embarrassed for wearing such a skimpy dress. Maybe I should've worn something different.

Just as I was contemplating all this, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I saw Walden grinning at me with a much too big smile. His eyes were almost glazed over and his cheeks were bright red. I could tell that there was something not quite right with him. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew something wasn't right. I just had one of those gut feelings, you know?

"Hey Walden," I said a little apprehensively, not sure what else to say. Walden's eyes immediately took me in and lingered on all the wrong places of my body. He was making me quite uncomfortable. I was almost tempted to go hide behind Bellatrix. Finally, Walden said, "My god, Cissy, you look amazing. Let's go get a drink, shall we?"

I didn't really want to go get a drink. I would much rather dance even if I was really clumsy at dancing. I had a lot of built-up energy that had to be let out. Besides, I had to admit that I wanted to see Lucius. He was going to hook up with Bella at any moment now. Unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice about any of this. I had to obey Walden.

Waving good-bye to Bellatrix, I reluctantly turned and let Walden hurry me over to an empty table. He pulled out a chair for me and I sat down on it. There were already two drinks on the table. Pushing one towards me, Walden said, "Here! Try this! It's amazing. I know you'll love it." Walden took a big gulp of the drink and then grinned.

Feeling sort of suspicious of the drink, I gave it a long look before bringing the crystal glass to my lips. Still hesitating, I took a small sip of the unknown substance. As soon as it was down my throat, I realized it had alcohol in it. Wrinkling my nose, I set the glass down and made a face. I didn't want to get drunk tonight. Now I knew why Walden was acting so strange. He had obviously had a few too many glasses of whatever was in the glass.

Giving me a hurt look, Walden said, "What? You don't like it or something?" To be absolutely honest, I didn't like it. I considered lying, but then saw that there would be no point in it. Deciding to tell the truth, I admitted, "No, not really. Besides, this has alcohol in it. I don't want to get high. I kind of have a sensitive stomach."

Walden frowned and then glanced across the dance floor at something or someone. I tried to follow his gaze, but he immediately looked back in my direction. Giving me a charming smile, Walden asked, "Mind if I go do something a sec, Cissy? I'll be right back. I swear it will only take a minute." Walden was already standing up.

Deciding that he was going to go with or without my permission, I shrugged and didn't say anything. Flashing me another quick smile, Walden said, "Thanks! I'll be right back." With that said, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me all by myself. I frowned and stared at the ground feeling kind of put out. I had just arrived at the dance and Walden had already abandoned me.

So I waited. And waited. And waited some. Thirty minutes later, Walden still hadn't come back for me. I was feeling rather angry at this point. I wanted to dance like all the other girls! Just as I was debating whether or not to go look for Walden or not, someone slid into the chair across from me. Looking up, I saw it was Nott with the head of messy brown hair.

Trying not to let my depression show, I gave a half-hearted smile and said, "Hey Nott. How are you?" Nott considered, ran his hand through his hair, and then answered, "Not too bad. I did some dancing with Irena, a pretty Durmstrang girl. Doesn't look like you're doing so hot though. Um...I hate to tell you this, but you might wanna just go find yourself a different partner."

A different partner? Why in the world would I want to do that? True, I was pretty annoyed at Walden, but still! I wasn't about to just go and abandon him even if he had abandoned me. He could come back at any moment. Frowning at Nott, I voiced my thoughts aloud, "But I came to the dance with Walden. He'll be back in a second."

A strained look came over Nott's face and he stared nervously at the floor as he said quietly, "Um...he may not be back in a second, Cissy." Uh oh, that didn't sound too good. By the way Nott was acting, he knew something about Walden that I didn't know. Leaning forward, I asked, "Is there something I should know about Walden?"

Sighing, Nott looked up and finally met my eyes. Giving me a sympathetic look, "You may not want to know this, but I guess I'll go ahead and tell you anyways. Walden hooked up with a Durmstrang girl before you arrived down here. He's making out with a girl in that hallway right outside the Great Hall. He's kind of drunk too if you hadn't noticed."

"What? Walden wouldn't do that!" I burst out, not wanting to believe what Nott was telling me. Walden wouldn't just abandon me and then go cheat on me...would he? He was always so protective and kind of me. But what if Nott was right? What if he was cheating on me? I had to know for sure.

Standing up rather defiantly, I waved to Nott and said, "There's somewhere I have to be. I'll be back in a bit." Nott grimaced as I left, but didn't try to stop me. Feeling angry and pretty pissed off, I stomped very unladylike across the dance floor and to the entrance of the Great Hall. Right before I stepped into the corridor, I felt eyes on the back of my head. Curious to see who was looking at me, I turned to see Lucius and Bellatrix dancing.

The green monster of jealous immediately seized me. The two of them were pressed up very close together in a suggestive dance. Lucius had his hand on Bellatrix's waist and Bella was shaking her hips in a really seductive manner that no guy could resist. God, my night seriously couldn't get any worse! First, Walden abandons me. Secondly, I hear a rumor that Walden might be cheating on me. Thirdly, my sister is flirting with the only man I will ever love. Shit.

Feeling terrible, I burst into the corridor and looked around for Walden and the Durmstrang girl. It didn't take me long to find them. The girl was in Walden's arms and the two of them were literally eating each other's faces off in big, slobbery kisses. It disgusted me. It really did. This was drunken love, not true love that would last.

Unsure what to do, I merely watched them for a moment. I guess I watched them for a moment too long. Walden's head jerked up and he looked directly into my eyes. Suddenly, I was furious. Tears of anger and rage flashed before my eyes and before I knew it, I was turning and running from the hallway. I sprinted down the corridor, turned the corner, ran blindly, and then stopped.

There was a painful stitch in my side and my breath was coming in loud, messy sobs. Leaning against the wall, I tried to calm myself down. It didn't really matter that Walden didn't want me...did it? I mean, I had already told myself that I didn't want Walden anyways. Lucius was the only one who made my heartbeat quicken. So therefore, I shouldn't care about Walden. But why then did I feel so betrayed and like a second-choice?

As I was drowning myself in my misery, loud footsteps sounded from the corridor. I didn't really want to be seen right now. I must be a mess with my tears smearing my carefully applied makeup. However, I didn't really want to turn and make a run for it either. The cramp in my side was pulsating and I still didn't have my breath back.

Hoping whoever it was who was approaching wasn't going to notice me, I pressed myself into the corner of the hallways, buried my head in my hands, and tried to soften my sobs as I pretended to be invisible. The footsteps grew louder and louder. I waited for them to pass...but they didn't. No, it seemed that they had stopped right in front of me.

Starting to get a very bad feeling about all this, I looked up slowly to see who it was standing in the corridor and why it was that they weren't moving. I was totally when I looked up and found it was Walden I was looking at. His dark gaze was black and glittery and his jaw was tense. He looked angry. I wondered why. I was the one should be angry, not him.

Walden and I merely stood and stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly, without any warning, Walden shoved me roughly against the wall and said, "This is all your fault, you stupid bitch." My eyes flew wide open and I gaped at Walden in shock. What the hell? How in the world was this my fault? This was his fault! He was the one who had cheated, not me.

Feeling flustered, I hissed backwards, "What do you mean? You were the one making out with the Durmstrang girl when you said you were going to go to the dance with me. Who's fault is that, hm? All I wanted was a nice night with you. Instead, you feel like the Durmstrang girl is far superior to me and that you have to ditch me for her. Thanks a lot."

Walden's lips turned into a snarl and his eyes flashed as he replied, "I could've gotten that girl in bed if it weren't for you interrupting us and her wondering if you were my girlfriend or something. You lost me my girl. For this, you're going to pay." Walden grabbed my shoulders roughly and shoved me harder into the wall.

Now I was scared. I hadn't been scared before, but now fear shook my body as Walden pressed me up against the wall. Pinned and helpless, I felt his hot breath drenched with alcohol on my neck. I felt his hand creeping over my back and another hand going up my leg...