Chapter 57
Julie
Contemplation
Chuck e. myers ‘sea’, Hogwarts Legacy
I stood in front of the large ballroom, from which festive orchestral music rang out. I had always thought that the violin was a beautiful instrument.
Reporters from the Blairville Daily had noticed me and asked if I was Julie Blair, and when I had nodded with a steely expression, they had started taking pictures of me before hurrying into the ballroom, whispering.
Nervousness was building inside me. I felt small in front of the open gates of the Vanderwood ballroom entrance, which filled me with awe for the building and its history.
The man others called my father had been here. He must have stood here the same way. At the Winter Ball of his time.
Admittedly, without the Salma I would have been lost. Not knowing how out of control my emotions would be, I had emptied an entire vial. It helped me to show that part of me without hurting others. It helped me to keep a cool head and face these people.
I listened to the music and looked down at my small baby bump, which was clearly visible in the skin-tight dress, and I tried to ignore the fact that it was too early for that.
The dress was floor-length, with the fabric falling down loosely from just below my hips, from the middle of my thighs. It was made of very light pastel gray-blue fabric, through which one could easily see my skin... studded with thousands of rhinestones that sparkled silver in the light of the lanterns. My shoulders were exposed, and it looked as if the stones were sticking to my skin, as the tight top of the dress was almost see-through. There was also the deep V-neckline that looked like it was melting into my figure with the rhinestones and the hint of a cape made of heavy shimmering threads, in the same design as the rest of the dress, that stretched from my shoulder blades down my arms and sideways over my hips to the floor.
This dress would draw all the attention to me.
The old Julie would have been terrified, would have run away by now, would already have been struggling with the decision in the store and only picked up the dress to longingly hang it in her closet where it would collect dust.
The new Julie was ready to face the people she had run away from long enough.
The orchestra came to an end. That was my signal.
Never Enough
Loren Allred
I gathered all my courage and as the orchestra began a new piece, I entered the hall.
Every step gave me a better view of the crowd, and I hadn’t even fully entered the ballroom when the first people down on the dance floor turned toward me.
When I came to a halt in the middle, in front of the magnificent banister, I let my gaze wander over the crowd. People I didn’t know, students I’d never met, maybe even Erik .
The fact that he could be down there was supposed to destroy me, but it was as if a part of me was calling out to him, as if I wished that his eyes were on me at that very moment and that he felt a connection.
I didn't believe in anything like that, but the mere thought was enough to send an intense tingle through my stomach.
The attention on me snapped me out of my thoughts, and it was as if I could feel the eyes of every single person in the ballroom on me.
They were staring… at me.
I could feel the eyes of the pack on me, watching me, but I was looking for the people whose attention I intended to steal this evening. And I spotted them in a corner where most of the Circle members’ families had gathered.
They looked at me as if I were their princess, awakened from her slumber after all these years. But I was not their princess. And that was exactly what I would show them. Now.
COPYCAT
Billie Eilish
I started moving without taking my eyes off them, step by step.
People on the stairs moved aside, but my gaze was on the Quatura only. And theirs was on me.
Vivienna’s jaw dropped, as did Grace’s next to her. Was it because they could see my baby bump, or because I was the center of attention?
Either way, it felt incredibly good to walk down the stairs with my head held high, looking at the expressions of disbelief on the faces of the Council members.
Attention had never felt so good.
Then I noticed some men in visibly expensive black suits standing at the bottom of the stairs, but they too stepped aside.
None of them said a word, and I walked past them with my head held high, without inspecting them too closely, knowing that I had just left some Ruisangor speechless.
I was glad they were here because Gloria hated them. Just as she would learn to hate me.
I walked on, through the students who had stopped dancing, to the Circle where Bayla, Larissa, and Julian stood.
Before I got to them, I stopped and turned to the people, grateful that I had Salma running through my veins. “This is a ball.” I shocked myself with my confidence and the shakiness that had completely disappeared from my voice. “Why isn’t anyone dancing?”
The orchestra, which had stopped, immediately started playing again. The puzzled faces slowly turned away from me and resumed dancing, although I could still feel some of them staring.
Then I turned to my friends and the Quatura.
The looks on their faces? Priceless.
Larissa grinned at me and was the only one not staring at my small baby bump. The others, especially Amanda, Amara and Diana Adams, stared at it in disbelief and I pushed the feeling of shame aside and even added to it by running my hands over my belly, smiling.
When I spotted Margot, I avoided her gaze. I didn’t want to know what she was thinking. God , how little I cared about her judgment, right now.
Bayla took the opportunity to escape what seemed to be an awkward situation, as she crept further and further back until she was able to steal past Diana and the others, toward a pillar at the side of the hall.
I looked at Gloria. She was staring at my face. Her right eyebrow twitched, and my smile gave way to the one I’d given myself in the bathroom half an hour ago.
“You...” She clenched her hands into fists. “You...”
Before she could finish speaking, I walked past her without a second thought, my head held high and straight.
Here, in front of all these people, this woman couldn’t hurt me. She could kiss my ass.
Even though I could still feel the fear deep inside me, I did my best not to let it show.
Ignoring the whispering that broke out behind me, I walked to the buffet, heading in the direction of where the Senseque had grouped themselves, and reached for a glass of water.
With each sip, I felt the water getting colder. It felt refreshing, and I washed down the last of my fear, doing my best not to stand out with my trembling knees.
I was aware that I still didn’t have a crystal around my neck that would bind my powers to me better. It could burst out of me at any time, and I had to be ready to get out of here if that very thing happened.
I should have gotten a crystal, but since I didn’t fit into the normal elemental category, Amara seemed to have trouble performing the ritual, and it just hadn’t worked out yet. The Councils had forced her to devote herself to research a solution to my problem, and now my aunt was under pressure because of me.
A glance at the Senseque told me that they all looked as if they had been hit by a brick. A few of them were looking at me, but most of them were staring at the Ruisangors with a tense posture, and only now did I notice the man with the scar who was... staring at me.
A shiver ran down my spine, cold and piercing.
It was Nicolaj DeLoughrey. The man about whom many horror stories were told. The visual image of immortal grace and the attractiveness that the Legacy Ruisangors seemed to be born with, combined with destructive darkness that emanated mainly from the four furrows in his face and the cold, piercing gray eyes.
He turned his gaze away from me, looked back at the Copelands. And I remembered how to breathe.
There was a sharp noise, and the last people who had been looking at me covered their ears, along with the rest of the hall. Me too.
Every Breath You Take
Chase Holfelder
The orchestra began to play out of tune until it fell silent.
The strange sound... It came from the auditorium’s loudspeakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a deep, obviously artificially altered voice rang out loudly through the speakers. “May I have your attention, please?”
“What’s going on here?” I heard some guests whisper.
“Who’s that?”
I looked around for someone who might be holding a microphone but didn’t spot anyone.
“A dangerous plague is infecting Vanderwood University,” the creepy deep voice continued over the loudspeakers, and people’s eyes widened. “Caused by someone who thinks she owns this place. Someone who thinks she can make rules, demand discipline... and take away our freedom.”
Something threatening resonated in the strange voice.
A murmur went through the crowd, accompanied by nervous whispering.
I looked back at Harlow because she was the only person who matched this description.
The woman was standing next to Gloria, her forehead reddened like never before and her composure visibly slipping away.
“You’re probably wondering who you have the pleasure of meeting. Well...” The voice paused for a moment. “I’m The Eye.” The whispering among the ball guests returned. “And I will rid this university of Rebecca fucking Harlow!”
The hideous beeping sounded, then a cracking sound and the voice disappeared.
And a second later, tumult broke out.
Loud whispers spread across the hall and the Bexleys, along with their team of reporters, rushed toward Harlow.
“Director Harlow!” began Jenny’s mother, Harriet, holding out the microphone to Rebecca. “What is the meaning of this announcement?”
I watched as Rebecca tried to regain her composure.
“Director, Harlow! Who’s The Eye?” another reporter asked.
That was the moment Rebecca slapped the microphone away from him and stormed through the crowd toward the side exits.
At the orchestra next to the stage, she stopped for a second and ripped one of the microphones out of its holder.
“Everyone, please calm down!” she said with a huff, and the beeping of the speakers sounded again, causing some people to cover their ears. “There’s nothing to worry about!” She tapped the microphone until the beeping disappeared. “This is a ridiculous prank, nothing more. So enjoy the evening and...”
The sound of the microphone disappeared.
Rebecca threw the microphone into the hands of an overwhelmed waitress, clenched her hands into fists, and finally hurried through one of the exits into the West Wing, followed by Harriet, who waved for the team of reporters to follow her.
Alarik Copeland gestured for the orchestra to play, and the Alpha appeared at his side. His gaze was questioning, as if Alarik had allowed this prank to be played, but the young director also looked surprised and shook his head. Then he too disappeared through one of the side exits.
I looked up at the loudspeakers in bewilderment.
Had that just been a hacker attack?
If so, then this person should get out of the university’s IT control rooms as quickly as possible, because Rebecca would go there first. The woman – unfortunately – wasn’t stupid.
When the orchestra started playing again, the guests calmed down and fell into normal conversation. A few even returned to the dance floor.
My gaze slid to Gloria, who had paid no attention to the prank. Because her cold gaze was still on me.
And the moment my eyes met hers, I was in danger of falling back into my old identity.
Thanks to coincidence, something pulled me out of my stupor. Or rather, someone did.
This someone grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor without warning.