Did she look decent? Okay at least? Beth wasn't sure. The other Slytherin girls all dressed up and did their hair and makeup together, leaving Beth on her own and pretending that she didn't exist. Normally, it didn't really bother her, but on a night like this where everyone was prettying themselves up, Beth thought the other girls might at least have offered to help her. Beth would've told them to bugger off anyway. 

The Black stared at herself in the mirror. She wore an elegant white dress that reached her ankles, the lacy straps see through, and the fabric across her breast and chest area a white floral. 

She felt so out of place, like she was staring at a stranger. She had done her makeup as best she could; using the white, silver and black eyeshadow was the hardest considering she had never really done a look like this before, couldn't even remember the last time she used eyeshadow. Her eyelashes longer, her cheeks rosy, and her lips a burgundy red, which probably didn't match well with the rest of her look but it was all she had. 

All Beth Black could do was hope she didn't look as stupid to everyone else as she already did to herself. 

<>

The Entrance Hall was packed full of students from all three schools. Angelina was hooked on Fred's arm, complaining about starving after being cooped up in her dormitory for three hours just getting ready for the Yule Ball. It was worth it; Angelina did look amazing. She wore a dashing violet dress and her hair was pinned back with a glittery jewel. 

George had his arm hooked with Alicia Spinnet's, who had agreed last minute to go to the ball with him. Lee's date was Patricia Stimpson, who refused to take his arm and just stood there impatiently beside him with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face -- almost like she only came downstairs to show everyone how great she made herself look.

There was a tap on Fred's shoulder and suddenly George was by his ear, pointing towards the dungeon stairs. "Fred, look!"

And Fred did look, and his mouth opened on its own and wouldn't shut no matter how hard he tried to. Beth had just emerged through the sea of students crowding the stairs that lead to the dungeons, and she looked so very different. 

Her black hair wasn't in its usual, everyday braid. Instead, she left it out. Fred had never seen her with her hair out before. The dress she wore made her look like an angel and Fred almost let slip that cliche pick up line about falling from heaven...something along those lines -- he couldn't think straight. 

Beth looked uncomfortable, especially as heads turned towards her. But she continued to push through the crowd. Her grey eyes suddenly found Fred's brown ones, and they held for a moment. It was a quick, but long moment. Fred could just walk up to her and kiss her. But then she broke eye contact as someone stood in Fred's way, taking Beth's hand and planting a kiss on it. Beth forced a smile at the Durmstrang boy, and before she could even get a word out to the boy, the giant oak doors to the Great Hall opened. 

The Champions and their dates walked in first, and as they did so, instead of Fred keeping his eyes on his own date, he couldn't take his eyes of Aleksandr Petrov's date. 

<>

The four tables that were usually situated in the Great Hall were gone, and the walls had been covered in a sparkling silver frost, with what looked like miles of garlands of mistletoe and ivy across the black, starry ceiling. There was a large round table up by the judges and scattered around the hall were dozens of slightly smaller round tables with empty golden plates and goblets. 

"Here, sit with my friends," Aleks said, his hand suddenly grabbing onto Beth's wrist and pulling her in the direction of a table sat at by two other boys and their dates. 

Aleks pulled out a chair for himself and sat, just as a seventh-year Hogwarts boy came around and pulled out a chair for his date, then sat himself beside her. Beth frowned at this and pulled out her own chair, awkwardly tucking herself in in silence. 

"Guys, guys, this is my date Beth. Beth this is Michael and Hans," Aleks said, pointing to the two boys. Michael was blonde with striking bottle green eyes, and Hans was of a bigger, buffer build with brown hair that matched his eyes, and a great smile. Beth nodded at them. 

"It is a pleasure to officially meet you, Beth," said Michael, in an accent much stronger than Aleks'. 

Hans nodded, and said in a deeper voice and an accent slightly easier to comprehend, "Is true. Aleksandr won't stop talking about you. Now that you are here, I can see why."

Beth felt her face heat up, which normally didn't happen, but it was the accents that got to her. She forced a smile. "Thanks."

Aleks hardly talked to Beth as they ate and instead paid attention to his friends. When the students finished eating, Dumbledore waved his wand and all the tables cleared and flew back along the walls, leaving only half a dozen tables scattered around with snacks and drinks, and a huge dance floor. 

The Weird Sisters made their way onto the platform and music began to play. The Champions made their way in the centre of everyone as they were the first to dance. Beth stood uncomfortably at Aleks' side, rubbing her arms. 

Aleks held out his hand. "Shall we dance then?"

Beth gave him a look. "I told you, I'm not dancing."

Aleks pouted and gave her a pleading look. "Oh, come on. Don't be so boring."

Scoffing and raising her eyebrows, Beth spat out, "excuse me? Boring? I told you before tonight that I won't be dancing, and you still agreed to take me as your date. I think that just makes you stupid."

But Aleks didn't appear to be paying attention to her, or he was but was more focused on grinning at the other couples dancing, and more particularly at other girls. Beth suddenly felt hurt. 

"Fine, fine. How about we dance to a slow song then?" Aleks said eventually, reluctantly taking his eyes off Hermione Granger.

Beth shrugged and made to walk away, but she stopped when she found Fred. He and Angelina looked like they were having so much fun together, dancing so buoyantly that other couples cleared off from them. Beth's hurt began to fade and she felt a small smile appearing on her face at how happy and cheerful he looked. 

Beth snapped out of it and looked to her side to speak to Aleks about getting drinks, but he wasn't by her side. She frowned and looked around but couldn't spot him anywhere. When she finally caught him by a table pouring juice into a couple goblets, a girl had just stopped in her line of view, along with her cousin. 

"Oh, Black, is that you under there?" Pansy Parkinson sniggered, looking to Malfoy to see if he'd found it amusing but all he did was snort and looked quite bored, like he'd rather be anywhere else. "I knew there was a girl hiding under all that. Now all you've got to do is work on that face of yours, that look -- looks like you're always swallowing a vomit flavoured bean."

Pansy roared with laughter, and once she realised how loud and hideous it was, finished laughing in a quieter, girlish giggle. 

"Of course. Once you learn how not to laugh like a troll," Beth spat at the girl, barging through her and Malfoy. The last she heard was a scoff from Pansy, and another snort from Malfoy. 

Pansy began to follow her with taunts, but stopped when she saw Aleks approaching Beth. 

"What was that all about?" Aleks frowned with curiosity, taking a drink from his goblet after handing Beth hers. 

Malfoy pulled Pansy towards another table with snacks and shoved a cookie in her mouth, probably to shut her up.

"Just stupid fourth-years being fourth-years," Beth said carelessly. She realised Aleks probably was bored being here with her. "Er... d'you want to go for a walk outside or something? It looked nice out there from what I saw."

Aleks opened his mouth to reply but shut it and said "Hmm," beaming, at the sound of a slow song. Beth winced, almost telling him no, but she couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes. 

She took his hand and he lead her onto the floor where all the other couples were already slow dancing. Beth closed her eyes for a moment and hoped she wouldn't mess this up or look like an idiot. She put her hands on Aleks' shoulders, and he put his on the small of her back. This, she didn't like, so she quickly grabbed his hands and placed them by her waist, before returning her hands to his shoulders.

Aleks gave her a disappointed look and sighed. He still looked bored. Beth didn't know what to do at this point, but at least she hadn't stood on his foot yet. 

"So, I take it you've never danced before either? Or is it just me?" Aleks chuckled. 

"This is my first time as well," Beth replied. 

"Oh?" Aleks said, and Beth felt his fingers dig a little harder into her skin. It didn't hurt, but it was rather suggestive as he said, "I'm sure tonight will allow there to be a first time for many other things as well."

Beth jerked her head back. "What?"

"What? Don't you like me?" Aleks pouted. He leaned close to her and his hands slipped downwards. "Want to go take that walk then?"

There was suddenly a tiny, half-stifled gasp behind Beth at a table, and she turned her head to the side. 

"Look, he's gonna do it. With Black, look!" a boy slurred, clearly drunk. 

"Shush! It's not her anyway... it'll just be like with some other girl. Oh, Michael, go tend to your date she's knocked over all the dip!"

Aleks closed his eyes and leaned towards Beth, clearly intending to kiss her. Beth put her hands on his chest and leaned back. "No, Aleks..."

"Come on," he demanded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him again, rather forcefully to the point her hands on his chest dropped.

One hand gripped the side of Beth's thigh and his face still leaned in towards hers. Just as he squeezed her and just as his mouth managed to connect with half of hers, Beth shoved him off and turned one hand into a fist before swinging it across his jaw. It was a pain unlike any other, but it dulled after many students gasped and heads turned to look at what had just happened. 

Beth hadn't even realised how her eyes had watered until a tear rolled down her face and Aleks, gripping his jaw and spitting out blood, said, "You'll regret that, you bitch."

Professor McGonagall tried getting the other couples to continue on with the ball, as she made to approach Beth and Aleks, but Beth turned on her foot and stormed out the doors to sit on the bottom step of the dungeons, and process what had just happened. 

She couldn't believe it! She should have saw it coming...

Beth held her sore hand in her other, and felt her chest heaving and before she knew it, her eyes were squeezed shut and she was sobbing. 

"There you are!"

Beth's eyes shot open and she flinched, turning her head to look up at the top of the stairs. She relaxed when she saw it wasn't Aleks, but was just Fred, who wasted no time in running down the stairs to sit by Beth. She wished she could've helped it, but she couldn't, so she threw her good hand over her eyes and she cried.

Fred probably wanted to pull her in for a hug, but given the way Beth had been treating him, it made sense that he probably didn't want to go in for more than he wanted to in fear he would anger her. He didn't have to hug her. Beth leaned into him on her own, and Fred let her cry on his shoulder, all while rubbing his hand up and down her back. 

Beth flinched as Fred gently took her sore hand in his. 

"Nice punch," he commented lightly. Beth couldn't help but chuckle shortly, and she raised her head off him and stared down at her hand in his. "What happened in there?"

Beth looked into Fred's eyes with her swollen ones and shook her head, saying, "You were right."

Fred sighed. "I truly wish I was wrong, for you. Want me to go in there and give the other side of his face a good whacking? Been dying to for ages," he joked. 

Beth couldn't feel amused at this moment, instead stared harshly ahead. "I should've seen this coming. Everyone always just wants something from me."

Beth snatched her hand from Fred's and stood to her feet, wiping her wet cheeks. Her hand was all black from smudged makeup. Fred stood as well, wiping the remaining fallen makeup from her cheeks and cleaning it off by wiping his hand on his robes. Fred seemed to understand exactly what Beth was talking about, because he had a distant look in his eye and his head seemed to subconsciously shake in disgrace.

"There are a lot of putrid people, Beth," Fred nodded in agreement. He used a finger beneath her chin to lift her face. "But not all of us are out to get you. Not that I'm naming names or anything but, some actually truly care for you."

He was clearly referring to himself. 

"I know," Beth mumbled, and these two words had Fred in shock, though he beamed at the same time. 

"So, where do you want to go from here? Want to go back in there for a dance with me? Want to go outside and see the fairies and stuff? Or, do you just want to go to bed?" Fred said kindly, holding out his arm for Beth to take. 

Beth didn't know it, but she looked up at him and beamed. She took his arm and said, "Let's see those fairies."