For the big sis/lil sis comp - word: wishes; word: glass; phrase: knocked down; emotion: disbelief; and quote:
"I am half agony, half hope" – Jane Austen
For weeks, you watch her from a distance, mesmerized by her. Whenever she passes you in the corridor, you pause until she is well out of your eyesight. She has this unidentifiable aura around her that draws you in like no other girl has.
She's beautiful.
And you're not the only one to notice.
.
You watch her from a safe distance. Watch how she moves, how she walks, how she acts. You can't seem to take your eyes off her.
You watch as other guys walk up to her, attempting to strike up a conversation. And you see how she flashes them a thousand-watt smile while letting them down. You find yourself wishing that she would turn that smile towards you instead.
But you haven't found the courage to approach her yet.
.
In the days after you find out about the Yule Ball, you're sitting in the courtyard with Dean and Neville. As you're talking about the homework that McGonagall assigned you over the break, she walks by you with her group of friends. And that only thing that you can think of is the smell of her strawberry shampoo.
Before you have time to think, you're off the bench and following behind her. "Fleur! Can I talk to you for a moment?"
She pauses and turns toward you. She's even more beautiful up close. Her blue eyes look even darker and you're not sure how that works, but it does. "Oui?"
And in front of her, you're confidence wavers. Your face turns beet red and you stumble through your next words. "I…I wanted to…to know if you wanted to go to the ball," you manage to spit out. And then you add, "With me."
Her impossibly blue eyes widen and her rosy lips go to form words. Then you realize what you have asked and freak out. Before she has a chance to answer you, you turn on your heels and run back toward Dean and Neville.
You see your sister standing with the pair, only adding to your embarrassment. Dean gives you a sympathetic smile and Ginny puts her arms around your shoulder, sheltering you and directing you away from the courtyard.
All you can do is groan in disbelief and shame against your sister's shoulder. You can't believe you just talked to her and ran away. You feel like a coward.
.
The night of the Yule Ball comes. And you look absolutely ridiculous. Harry works magic, quite literally, on your dress robes, taking away the ruffles and frills. By the end, you look a little more presentable than you did before. You still have no idea why your mother sent you these robes.
Together, you and Harry make your way to the doors of the Great Hall where you are to meet your dates – the Patil twins. Your date, Padma, takes your arm and you accompany her inside before the Ball begins.
The door close behind the final guest, only to open a few seconds later. The four champions and their dates make their way to center floor as the music starts to play. And that's when you catch sight of her.
She's radiant in her dress. Her smile is lighting up her face.
You find yourself wishing again that you could be in her arms, spinning her around the dance floor like Roger Davies is, causing that thousand-watt smile to cross her beautiful face. But then you remember the horrible dress robes your mother sent you, and you feel like you've been knocked down a level, that you're even more beneath her standards than you were before.
Jealousy rises in your chest, and you can't seem to shake it.
.
Your head breaks the surface and water is forced from your lungs, causing your throat to feel like broken glass had cut through it. Once you get your bearing, you see Harry with a young girl in his arms. The girl – who you recognize as Fleur's younger sister – still hasn't opened her eyes.
But you send a glare at Harry and tell him that he didn't need to save Fleur's sister, that Dumbledore wouldn't have let her die. But you know Harry almost as well as you know yourself, and you just help him with the younger girl.
When you reach the bank, Harry is pulled away and you lose sight of where Fleur's sister is. You're dried a bit and handed a blanket, which you promptly wrap around yourself. You didn't realize how cold you are until the blanket touches your skin. You find a bench to sit on while Madam Pomfrey fusses over the others.
Harry eventually comes to sit next to you, when Madam Pomfrey releases him. Before he can say anything to you, Fleur is standing in front of you both. Even with all the cuts on her face and her torn clothing, she still looks stunning.
She turns to Harry, saying, "You save 'er even though she was not your 'ostage." When he confirms this, she leans down and places her lips against his cheek.
Not for the first time, you feel jealous rise in your chest. But then she turns toward you. "And you too – you 'elped." And even though you know that you lectured Harry about saving her, you let yourself say, "Yeah, yeah, a bit," in hopes that you too will feel her lips against your cheek.
You do.
And you're too busy holding a hand against the place where her lips were just a second ago to think of anything else.