CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
our last dance

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AS THE BUTTERFLIES IN HER stomach grow unrelenting and cruel, Cove traces the grooves of her reflection with a scrutinising stare. The arch of her nose, the silk of her curls. She sizes herself up in the mirror and has to relish in the fact that the girl who stares back is not the same girl she had been at the beginning of Seventh Year.

   Sure, she has more or less the same face as she did a few months ago, but the subtle changes dappled here and there make a mountainous difference in her eyes. The brittle, bare skeleton of her character has been eroded by change, her skin toughened up by a thousand different factors that she had never even considered before. Though her softness hasn't been completely sanded down to the bone, it has been refined to chip away at the vulnerabilities that had once been a burden of hers.

Where there is now strength on her face, there was once weakness. She smiles softly at the thought.

The alarm clock in the corner of the dormitory flicks a minute closer to eight o'clock, the digits scarlet and flashing in her peripheral vision. She blinks the glare out of her eyes and focuses back on the task at hand, returning to reality so that she can fiddle about with her appearance and ignore the nerves eating away at her insides.

   One hand fiddles with her pearly earrings, the other coming up to daub at the smudges in her glossy lipstick. Freckles dimple the patches of her skin that aren't dotted with acne or scarred from her transformations, a welcome result of the recent summer sunlight. Her scars have been dressed up all pretty, her lids dusted with shimmery blue eyeshadow and her lips the colour of sea thrift. Tonight she feels beautiful, a true vision of glitter and gossamer.

   The teal fabric of her dress is satiny and slips over her skin like the smooth caress of water, pooling around her ankles in a way that reminds her of a loch's still surface. It has a pretty sweetheart neckline and thin straps that curl up over her shoulders, a small brooch of sea glass and crystal pinned along the front. Her heels are plain white things that she'd borrowed from her dorm mate, Jenny, her woven anklet poking out through the thin slit in her dress that reaches her lower thigh.

Her mousy curls have been twisted up and pinned atop her head with an ornate barrette from Cordelia, small pearls from her home waters woven into the neatly styled coils of her hair. Mary had used a glamour charm to support the thickness of Cove's hair so that it wouldn't come tumbling out, secured in place with magic in a way that wouldn't weigh down her head or unfurl the neat style she'd spent so much time on. Sometimes, she really doesn't know what she'd do without her friends.

Speaking of the devil — Fallon comes crashing into the dorm, strapping a heel over her ankle as she stumbles over the threshold. A thin gold necklace has been wound around her clavicles to match the rings on her fingers. Her gown is the colour of meadowsweet petals and has enchanted flowers sprawling over the skirts, a matching stole of satin bundled up in the crook of her elbows. The chestnut waves of her hair sprawl down her back, glossy and smooth in the flickering saffron hues of their dormitory.

"You look gorgeous," Cove gushes, rushing forward to clasp Fallon's hands in her own. The smile on her face is infectious and her cheeks are beginning to ache but no matter how hard she tries, she can't smother her giddiness.

"Says you, Vee," Fallon says. She squeezes her hands. "You're stunning. Blue is definitely your colour."

She fusses with the fabric of her skirt, smoothing it out against her legs. "You think?"

Fallon nods, beaming. "C'mon, we should start heading if we want to be fashionably late. Mary's waiting for us outside the common room with your date."

   Cove swipes her clutch from where it hangs on her bed frame, her lipgloss and her crystals jingling around inside as she heads for the door with Fallon. They hurry down the stairs, trying not to trip over their heels and hurt themselves as they giggle from pure giddiness. 

  Mary's dress looks as though it were handcrafted for her, deep cerise fabric with a flattering boat neckline. Her goddess braids are streaked with a matching red and reach down to where the contours of her back are peeking out the V-shaped cutout. Her bangles jingle with every little movement and its music to their ears, a squeal leaving her scarlet lips at the sight of them as she throws her arms wide in invitation.

   Cove rushes forward to hug her, inhaling the smell of sweet roses and Dior perfume. "You look amazing!"

   "Thank you, lovely," Mary replies, squeezing her arms. "I knew that dress would be perfect for you, babe. You're a vision." Her smile grows wide and teasing. "Don't you agree, Remus?"

  She steps aside to reveal the boy in question, his black dress robes plain yet flattering. His tie is the same cerulean as Cove's dress and one of her aquamarine rings has been slipped onto his pointer finger, borrowed for tonight to combat the thing that she detests more than anything: unoriginality. His tawny curls are still unruly and fall into his eyes though he has generally made an effort to smarten his appearance for the night, even going as far as to coordinate all his piercings.

   He presses a kiss to her temple through his toothy smile. "Mary's right. You look beautiful."

   Cove doesn't know if it's possible for her grin to grow any sweeter — she'll get a cavity if she's not careful. "You don't look too bad yourself, Lupin."

   "Stop it, you'll make me blush."

   They're broken apart by an exaggerated gagging noise across the hall, followed by an amused snort from Mary. When Cove turns to shoot an unimpressed glare at the culprit, Fallon only nudges her playfully.

   "Get a room, slags," Fallon says, nose scrunched in faux distaste. "Let's go! We've got a party to get to!"

  Mary cheers in agreement, interlocking her hand with Fallon's and pulling her down through the dungeons in the general direction of the winding staircase. She mentions something about promising Lily and Marlene that they'd meet up at some point during the night, urging them all to hurry up so they can meet that deadline before Evans has the chance to crucify them.

   The castle is quiet after hours, save a few other stragglers who are also heading up to the party. Statues murmur sleepily as they go clicking past in a maelstrom of glittery attire and giggles.

  They reach the tall doors of the Great Hall before long, loud music and vibrant lights pouring out from the agape hardwood as the Litha Ball progresses within. Some people are still lingering outside as the festivities rage on, all dressed up with flowers in their hair and sun motifs along their dress robes. Cove feels excitement bubble up inside her chest at the mere sight, taking a step forward and preparing to go inside...

   A flash of sable hair and the crisp collar of a button up snags in her peripheral vision, stopping her in her tracks momentarily. She squints down the hall, eyes straining against the dim torchlight compared to the blaring lights of the party, only for her brain to connect to dots and flare to life like a lightbulb.

"Oh, hang on," Cove says. "There's Regulus! I'll be two shakes of a lamb's tail."

Mary looks apprehensive, reaching out to grab her wrist. "Cove, I don't think—"

But she's already gone in pursuit of the boy, clicking down the hall as quickly as her heels will allow her to. Mary's lips twist in protest but she doesn't follow, folding her arms across her chest and sharing a cautious look with Fallon.

He's about to turn the corner and she hasn't been able to catch up, so she grapples for a solution before it's too late. The most rational thing in her mind is to call down the corridor at him, projecting her voice as loud as it'll go without sounding extremely obnoxious.

"Oi, hang on!" Her laughter seeps through her words. "Where are you hurrying off to?"

Regulus stops, a deer caught in the headlights. His shoulders are frozen up in fear as he turns to face her but they sink back down in relief when recognition settles over him. In hindsight, him skulking about after hours looking as though he were up to no good should've flagged up warning signs in Cove's mind, but she was far too giddy to think coherent thoughts. 

"Nowhere important," Regulus replies vaguely. "You look pretty. Enjoying yourself?"

"Aw, thank you," Cove beams. She has to refrain from saying you too. "I'm having a blast and I've no even stepped inside the hall yet." She laughs, though it trails off into a thoughtful hum. "Wonder why they've decided to do a dance this year specifically..."

Regulus' eyes grow heavy. "To boost morale, I suspect." They flicker up to bore holes into her. For once, instead of carrying the regular judgement and twinge of mirth, they just seem to stare right through. "These are trying times, Cove."

    Her smile goes slack. "I know."

They both go quiet. His lips part as though there's something on the tip of his tongue, perhaps an excuse or another saddening remark, but Cove doesn't let him get another breath in before pulling him in for a bone-crushing hug, her warm arms practically squashing his lanky body hard enough to fold him in half. He looks perpetually sad and she can't think of anything else that would make him feel better.

It's successful, no matter what. He cracks a smile, gloomy and wan upon his desolate face, but a smile nonetheless. It's the best she's going to get out of him so Cove takes her little victory and runs with it.

   "Stop being strange." He nods towards the hall. "Go and enjoy yourself. It could be a while before you next get the chance."

    Her brows draw together. "...Cheers, Reg. See you later, yeah?"

    He pauses, hesitates, before settling on a simple: "Yeah. Goodnight."

   Cove echoes the sentiment, giving him one last side hug that knocks the wind out of him before taking off to reunite with her friends. His lips twitch as she crashes into Remus, linking arms with him and chatting away with a sappy smile upon her face. Even though he finds public displays of affection sickening, he's happy that she's happy — as much as he'll never dare to utter it out loud, she has become something of an older sister to him over the past few months. They're an unlikely pairing but perhaps that's what made them click so easily.

   That thought settles heavily on his chest and he watches her go with that same sadness brimming in his eyes, taking a rattling breath as he turns to stride off in the other direction.

See you later.

He grimaces, her parting words probing at his brain like an echo chamber. It's a simple farewell and a harmless one at that but he can't help the way it tugs on his heartstrings.

See you later.

Well, not bloody likely...

author's note!

certified filler chapter i have no excuse

sad ending for reggie before we party whoop whoop !!! brat summer circa 1978 🥰🥰

( i say sad *ending*, but you haven't seen the last of him just yet dwdw )

usually i would leave it up to your interpretation so pls feel free to ignore this if it wasn't what you were imagining, but this is what i was using as a reference for cove's dress!!