Fred x Aubrey

It was two days before the Yule ball. While the majority of the population of Hogwarts was excited, Harry and Ron were put out. Neither of them had dates, and they were cutting it fine. Ron was especially irritated, as he continued to insist that Hermione was not telling the truth about having a date; he ambushed her whenever he could to try and trick her into telling, and was annoyed that he had so far failed. They were so desperate; they went to Fred and George for advice.

"What are we meant to do? Hermione insists that she's going with someone, and so does Aubrey. Who are we supposed to ask? We can't go by ourselves." Ron fussed.

"Aubrey's going with someone?" Harry was surprised, he hadn't known about that.

"Yeah, apparently, but she won't say who."

"That's… that's interesting." Fred stammered.

"Oi, why don't you ask the Patil twins?" George said, elbowing Ron in the ribs. "They haven't been asked yet."

"You serious?" Ron said. "They've not got dates?"

"That's right. And, for your information little brother, Padma's nose is dead centre." Fred grinned.

They had no better ideas, and they had to admit that the Patil twins were cute. So, by the end of the evening Harry was taking Parvati and Ron was escorting Padma. Even so, the mystery of who was taking Hermione – and Aubrey – was still on their minds. And it would soon be solved – to the surprise of all.

Harry and Ron had been deserted by their dates. To be honest, it wasn't surprising. Ron hadn't danced with Padma all night, and Harry had only danced with Parvati when he had had to open the ball. Both boys were far too preoccupied by the boys who had invited Hermione and Aubrey. Ron was fuming, because when the champions had entered at the start of the ball, Hermione had entered on the arm of Viktor Krum. No amount of reasoning from Harry would calm his ravings about "fraternising with the enemy". Harry could only hope that he calmed down before Hermione found them, or there might be an argument.

As for Aubrey, the boys hadn't seen her until about half an hour into the ball. When they eventually spotted her, she was being spun around the floor by none other than Fred Weasley. She looked beautiful, but more remarkable than her golden gown was the smile that lit her face. Neither Harry nor Ron had ever seen her smile like that, and the difference was astounding. It was hard, Harry mused, to tell which of the two bothered Ron the most. He thought perhaps Krum and Hermione, but it was a close run thing. However, something would soon happen that would potentially change that.

It was well after midnight when Harry and Ron decided to leave the hall. Hermione was nowhere to be seen, although they had spoken to her earlier – after the revelation about Hagrid's parentage. As the boys left the Great Hall, hoping to put the tumultuous events of the night behind them, they were greeted by one last surprise. Standing in the door way of the Entrance hall were Fred and Aubrey. As the boys watched, Fred dipped his head to Aubrey's and kissed her. Ron stormed away, and as Harry followed him, he glanced back to see Aubrey's arms wound around Fred's waist.

Between Hermione and Aubrey he thought this is going to be a long few days.

Harry's prediction would, of course, come true. No sooner had he reached the Common Room when he saw Ron and Hermione rowing. It ended with Ron very flustered, and Hermione in tears. Ron stormed up the stairs to the dormitories without a word.

At breakfast next morning, Ron was still cold. Hermione tried to breech the gap, but he shut her down. Aubrey – not realising that Ron and Harry had seen her with Fred – was confused about what she had done; as was Fred, who had no real clue why his brother wouldn't speak with him. Harry, tired of being peacemaker after the first few minutes, spoke to people on his own behalf, and made no attempts to fix things. Glancing over the table at Fred and Aubrey, he was glad to see how happy they seemed. They looked to be holding hands under the table, and Aubrey fairly glowed with a happiness Harry had never seen in her. Wandering back to the Common Room, she confided to Harry that Fred had asked her if she would become his girlfriend.

"What else could I say but yes?" She asked.

"That's great, 'Bre" Harry said, squeezing her gently.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Ron will be angry? I wanted to tell him at breakfast, but he seemed so mad. Should I grab him in the Common Room?"

Harry sighed, and confessed to what he and Ron had seen.

"He doesn't know about Fred asking you out, but I think he was a bit jealous. You can take him aside and tell him if you want, but I'd say leave it for a bit. He's not in a good place, and he'll probably just shout."