Stars in Her Eyes {Wolfstar's Daughter}

Chapter 44: Blue

"I keep forgetting it's Christmas Eve" Nell remarked absentmindedly, trudging through the wintery hall, Harry's hand intertwined with her own as she dragged him along behind her. Manoeuvring their way through the thinning crowd as the now lulling music grew fainter and fainter the closer to the grand door they got. The last of the fast songs had played and so the duo had set off in search of the others.

As the night was getting on, only a few stray couples remained on the dance floor, Luna and Ginny amongst them as the red head spun her date gently round the floor who was humming contently to the tune. The teachers either hadn't noticed the two third years or simply didn't care to do anything, seeing as they did look so happy. Most other people had either flopped down at the tables either side of the room or returned to their respective common rooms for the night.

"I know, it's weird not being home" Harry agreed, trying to ignore the new tingles that were brought by feeling of her soft palm in his.

"Poor Lucas, has to deal with them all on his own" Nell laughed, pulling them through the last of the crowd as they approached the door.

"God, they're not going to leave us alone at Easter are they?" She groaned, spinning her head round to face him with a laugh causing the lights from the hall behind them to perfectly illuminate her face.

Harry quickly found himself looking to floor with an awkward half laugh, half cough.

"Not a chance" he chuckled as they finally broke out of the hall, the cold air of the hallway rushing over them as they left the sweaty, crowded atmosphere of the ball. Neither saying anything for a moment, just revelling in the coolness burning into their warm skin.

"You know we never did get a chance to dan-" Harry started hopefully, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck in an attempt to seem unbothered. However his query was quickly interrupted when they turned to corner to see Hermione slumped over, sniffling gently on the steps.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Nell asked worriedly, not wasting another second before moving over to where she was sat. She hadn't noticed her friend leaving the hall whilst they were dancing, but clearly she had and something had happened. Nell eyes did a quick scan of the hallway, seeing neither Krum nor Ron anywhere, helping her to piece together what might be wrong.

"Where have you two been?" Hermione sniffed, trying to hide her shaky voice with a scolding tone as she looked between the two who were gazing down at her with sympathetic eyes - with Harry seeming slightly confused.

"We- er" Harry stuttered over his words, his cheeks flushing pink.

"We were in the hall" Nell explained without hesitation, not noticing Harry's failure to form a coherent sentence, before sitting down to pull the distressed girl on the steps into her arms.

Looking up to Harry, Nell sent him a subtle nod, gesturing for him to go up the stairs and find Ron, which he quickly obliged. A small sinking feeling lingered in his heart that he hadn't got to finish his sentence, but he was far more concerned for his friend and thought it best to find Ron in case it did in fact have something to do with him.

For a while the two girls just sat silently on the steps, Nell rubbing comforting circles into her friends back as she sobbed gently into her chest. As her tears slowed and her cries mellowed down into the occasion hiccup, Nell finally felt as if she might be ready to talk.

"What happened?" She asked Hermione softly, her gentle movements on the girls back never faltering.

"Ron" Was all Hermione could mumble out, her voice quiet and weak but that was more than enough for Nell to understand. Ron may have been one of her closest friends, but he had a terrible tendency to miss what was stood right in front of him. He was hopelessly oblivious.