Dominique Weasley sat in a chair in the ball room of her Uncle Harry's house. She was ready to pull her blonde hair out of her head and poke her crystal blue eyes out. It was the annual Christmas ball and it had been going on for hours. Everyone who was anyone was there along with her multiple cousins, uncles, and aunts. She watched as everyone got drunk. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were the only ones besides herself still sober. Her dad and mum were out in the middle of the floor dancing some horribly scary dance that she was embarrassed to watch. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were over in the corner acting like love sick teenagers while Uncle George was standing on one of the tables dancing much to Aunt Angelina's obvious horror. Uncle Percy had fallen into a drunken slumber his head resting on his wife's shoulder. Her sister, Victoire, had already disappeared with her fiancé, Teddy Lupin. As Dom looked around the room, she realized most of her other cousins had snuck off with their various boyfriends/girlfriends. She was the only one of the cousins left in the room.
"Hello, you must be Dominique Weasley," A familiar looking boy said sitting down next to her.
The boy had light brown hair, laughing blue eyes, and an easy smile. She recognized him as a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.
"I am but call me Dominique one more time and you might find yourself hexed. I go by Dom," She replied with an intense gaze.
"Don't get all defensive. If you are wondering, I am Blue, Calvin Blue but you can call me what you want," He said with a smug grin.
"Thanks, I'll call you prat then." Dom laughed as she mentally reviewed all the famous people in the Wizarding World. She couldn't think of one with the last name of Blue.
"Now now, I prefer something a little more nice like sweetheart or handsome or…" He rambled.
"Sorry to interrupt but why are you here?" Dom asked.
"Oh, I'm Roxy's boyfriend. She invited me to stay with her over the break so I got dragged into going to the famous Potter Christmas Ball." He grinned.
Dom looked him over once more. Calvin Blue was exactly the kind of boy Roxanne would date. He was nice, easy going, and charming. Roxanne would break his heart like she had done with all the other boys she had dated. Dom almost felt bad for Calvin.
"Roxy left once her dad started dancing on the table. She said she had to go find Rose or something," Calvin continued.
That made sense. Roxy would have left once her dad had started to become embarrassing. It only made sense for her to go find Rose. Rose and Roxy were very close to each other even though there was a year's difference in age.
"Right so tell me about yourself. We have about three hours until this ball is over and I'm not about to follow all my cousins and sneak off with some guy so you can keep me entertained," Dom requested.
"Okay well I'm muggle born and…" Dom sat there listening to Calvin tell her everything about his life. She was amazed at the way he opened up to someone he had just met. She learned everything there was to know about Calvin Blue by the time the ball was over. He was a seventh year just like her. He wanted to be Minister of Magic when he was older and was amazed by how many Weasleys there were. He liked Roxy because she was crazy and fun. By the time he was done, Dom knew more about Calvin then she really wanted. She even knew what his first fish's name was.
"So what about you, Dom, what is your story?" Calvin asked.
"Well, I don't like my name. I'm a Gryffindor and I have a sister and a brother. My best friend is Sierra Biggert and I'm currently single," Dom stated.
"Extremely interesting life you have," Calvin chuckled, "I'd love to talk more but I see Roxy over there motioning that it's time to go. I'll see you at school, Dominique."
Dom's hand twitched over her wand. She was about to send a stinging hex at him when a sharp look from her mother stopped her. Instead, she sat there and watched Calvin and Roxy step into the Potter's fireplace together. He turned his head and gave her a smile before he disappeared into the green flames.
The melody of heels clicking against the hardwood of the ballroom floor announced Victoire's arrival.
"Dom, we have to go now," Victoire commanded her blonde hair swinging as she marched over to Dom. "Mama and I have decided that you shall stay at my flat for the rest of break."
Dom sighed as she followed her sister. Victoire had always been one to boss everyone around. Normally, Dom would have said something back but Victoire's wedding was in a couple days and she had been instructed to be nice or else. Stepping into the fire to follow her sister, she couldn't stop thinking about her cousin's boyfriend.
"Dom, how's the Hogwarts life?" Teddy asked her as she walked into Victoire's flat.
"Wonderful," Dom replied sarcastically, "Does Mum know Ted's here, Vic?"
"No and you'll keep shut about it. I don't want another lecture about living in sin," Vic sighed.
Dom laughed. Their mother was a stickler for rules and would be horrified if she knew Vic and Ted were sleeping together before their marriage. Her mother lectured Dom all the time and it was rare for Victoire to get one. When Dom was little, she would do anything to try and get Vic in trouble. She had grown up since then but still enjoyed the thought of not being the only one to receive lectures.
"I won't," Dom assured her sister.
"Now you can go to bed like a good little girl, Domi." Teddy chuckled.
"Oh, I'll go to bed but I don't know if I'll be a good little girl." Dom shot Ted a glare.
"Dom, don't harass Teddy," Victoire called from the kitchen.
Dom laughed and went down the hall to the room she stayed in. Victoire had down well for herself in the fashion world. She owned a little boutique that all the high society wives liked to go to. The flat showed this. It was very artistic looking with an air of elegance. It had three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and a small dining room. The flat suited her sister perfectly. The room that Dom stayed in was very open and bright. The walls were a nice yellow color and the bed was white. It felt like spring in the room. Just as she was falling asleep, Vic poked her head in the door.
"Don't forget tomorrow we are going over to Grandmum's and Grandpa's for lunch," Vic reminded.
"How could I forget?" Dom muttered sarcastically, "Another day with the whole family is just so much fun."
Victoire smiled at her and left the room. Dom lay back down and closed her eyes. Her last thought as she drifted to sleep was that she hoped Calvin would be there.
"Dom, wake the bloody hell up!" Victoire yelled as she yanked the covers off.
"Ah, Vic calm down," Dom mumbled trying to pull the covers back.
"You have thirty minutes to get ready or I'll drag your sorry butt there in your pajamas!" Victoire shouted.
Dom got off bed grumbling. She had forgotten that Vic was a Nazi in the morning. She truly felt sorry for any kids Vic had. They would have to suffer hell.
Stumbling, Dom made her way to the bathroom and into the shower. She let the water wash away her sleepiness. Once she was fully awake, she got ready and went down to the kitchen.
"Hey, Teddy," Dom muttered sliding into a chair. "You have some breakfast for me?"
"Well, Princess Dom, I do." Teddy smiled good naturedly and put a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.
"You're the best," Dom said through a mouthful of eggs.
"Ah, you're finally ready to go," Victoire sighed.
"Why are we going this early again?" Dom asked.
"I want to go over some last minute plans with Grandmum, Mum, and Aunt Ginny so we are getting there early," Vic explained.
"Lovely," Dom said under her breath.
Since Teddy had proposed last spring, the only thing everyone talked about was the wedding. At first, Victoire and Teddy had wanted a long engagement but Grandmum Weasley had convinced them to have it sooner. The date was set for January 1st. Since Vic was the first grandchild to get married there was a big fuss about it and since Teddy was practically family him being their Uncle Harry's godson, everyone was excited that he would officially be family. Dom was happy for her sister but was getting sick of all the plans at this point but she obeyed her sister and followed reluctantly through the flames to the Burrow.
"Oh, Domi, you look so pretty," Grandmum Weasley gasped enveloping her in a hug.
"Thanks Grandmum but you did just see me yesterday," Dom said hugging her grandmother back.
"Dominique, don't take zat tone with your Grandmuzzer," Fleur said as she swooped into the living room.
"James, Al, Lily and Scorpius are upstairs if you want to join them," Ginny offered.
Dom walked over and hugged her favorite aunt. "Thanks for offering me a way out of hell."
Ginny chuckled. Normally, Dom would have had to sit there the whole time and listen to the plans because her sister instead of making her best friend maid of honor had made Dom maid of honor.
Fleur's voice carried up the stairs. "I 'eard zat Dominique Gabrielle Weasley."
Dom found her three cousins and Scorpius upstairs in Ginny's old room playing exploding snap. They were so wrapped up in the game they didn't even notice her standing there. Lily had a fierce look on her face that matched her red hair. James sat back relaxed acting as if he didn't care who won when Dom could tell he really did. Albus seemed focused on one thing, beating James. Al's green eyes blazed with competiveness as he looked at his older brother. Dom couldn't tell what Scorpius thought about the game. She had only shared a few words with him before and his emotions weren't written on his face like those of her cousins.
"Hey guys," Dom said announcing her presence.
"Domi, so glad of you to join us," James grinned.
"Uh, I think I'm going to change my nickname from Dom to Mini so no one can call me Domi anymore," Dom sighed.
"We call you that out of love and Mini doesn't suit you, Domi," James laughed.
"Stop annoying Dom, Jamie" Lily commanded.
Dom laughed. Lily had both of her brothers and her father wrapped around her finger. Her brothers especially, James, were incredibly protective of her and would do anything to make her happy. The funniest part to Dom about this was that Lily knew how much control she had over the boys in her family. The one thing that had stopped Lily from becoming a spoilt brat was Ginny who didn't put up with nonsense from anyone.
An hour later they were all laughing and playing the game. Lily had won the most rounds and was declared the official winner when Ginny shouted up that everyone else had arrived. Dom walked down the stairs to be pulled into tons of hugs. You would have thought she hadn't seen these people in years when she had actually seen them last night. The biggest hug came from her cousin, Roxy. Roxy was probably one of the prettiest of all the Weasleys. She had long dark red hair and blue-gray eyes. Her freckles was scattered perfectly across her tiny face. What's more she looked like a Weasley. Dom and her siblings had never been recognized as Weasleys because they all had light blonde hair instead of the violent Weasley red.
"Dom, I didn't get to see you last night. Where did you disappear to?" Roxy asked.
"Uhm, nowhere. I was in the ballroom the whole time," She answered inwardly cringing at the stupidity her cousin displayed.
"That's nice. Here let me introduce you to my new boyfriend, Calvin Blue." Roxy grinned as she pulled Calvin into Dom's view.
"We meet again, Miss Dom Weasley," charmed Calvin as he kissed Dom's hand.
"Hello Blue, nice to see you again," Dom said her hand burning from his touch.
"Oh, you two already know each other," Roxy interrupted.
"We met last night at the ball, Rox." Calvin bent down and kissed Roxy's lips softly.
It made Dom's heart flutter. She shouldn't feel this way about her cousin's boyfriend but there was something about him that she just couldn't resist. A wave of jealousy hit her as the couple stood there kissing.
"As much as I would love to watch you two snog, I have more important things to do." Dom rolled her eyes at the couple and walked away.
She went and plopped down onto the old worn out couch next to her brother, Louis. Like her and Victoire, Louis had blonde hair and blue eyes. It seemed that veela genes dominated the Weasley genes.
"You look in a good mood." Louis chuckled.
"You didn't spend the night at Vic's flat," Dom retorted.
"Touché," Louis said still laughing.
Dom rolled her eyes and sank back into the couch and watched the goings on of her family. The aunts were in the kitchen helping with lunch while the uncles sat listening to a Quidditch match on the radio. Rose and Scorpius were snuggled up in a chair. Teddy was amusing Lily, Lucy, and Molly by shifting his features. In the corner, Roxy and James seemed to be arguing about something while Al sat on the other couch reading a book. She saw a flash of brown outside and figured it was Calvin since he wasn't inside. She got up and went outside to see.
The smell of smoke led her to where he was. He was sitting on the banks of the little pond smoking a cigarette. His brown hair was tousled and he looked upset.
"Blue, didn't your parents teach you smoking is bad?" Dom asked sliding down next to him.
Instead of answering her question, he offered her one.
"No thanks," She declined. "Why are you out here? It's freezing."
"Just getting away from Roxy for a little bit, she's fun and all but she's not the brightest," He explained.
"Did you just figure that out?" Dom laughed.
"Nah but she reached the peak of stupidity when she asked if I wanted to shag upstairs in one of the rooms as if there weren't tons of people downstairs and the fact that it's her grandparent's house," He sighed.
Dom cringed as she thought of her cousin and Calvin. She should've known they'd shagged before. Roxy was pretty slutty for a fourth year.
"We haven't done it before if that's what you're thinking," Calvin said as if he had read her thoughts.
"Oh, no I wasn't but that's nice," She lied.
Calvin laughed. "Don't lie, Dom. I know that's what you were thinking but its okay."
Dom tried not to smile as she watched his eyes crinkle with laughter.
"Are you excited about your sister's wedding?" He asked.
"I guess, I mean yeah I am because she's my sister but I wish it would be over so everyone could stop talking about it," She said wondering why she was telling him this.
"So they can focus their attention on you again," He chuckled. "Don't give me that glare, Dom. I was just joking. You don't seem the type to want attention."
His lips pulled into an easy smile that made her want to reach out and run her fingers along them. She didn't even really know him but she felt this pull to him. The only problem was that he was extremely off-limits since he was her cousin's boyfriend. They sat outside for the rest of the time. Dom couldn't really remember what they talked about but she had enjoyed every second of sitting in the frigid December air with him. Before she knew it, she was stepping into Vic's apartment.
"Where'd you go off to?" Victoire questioned once they were inside.
"Uhm, I was out by the pond," Dom mumbled hoping that that was a good enough excuse.
"Right," Victoire drawled. "My girlfriends have decided to do my hen night tomorrow night so I'm not hung over on my wedding day, okay?"
"Okay, Vic," Dom answered.
Even though Dom was the maid of honor, she hadn't had to plan Vic's hen night because she was at Hogwarts and didn't know the right places to go according to Vic's friends. It was fine by her. It was one less thing she had to worry about.
"Come on Dominique, have a shot!" One of Victoire's drunken friends slurred.
Dom was squeezed into a booth at the Leaky Cauldron as Victoire got drunk with her friends. The only thing Dom wanted to do was leave but the chances of that were slim. Victoire and her idiot friends were so drunk that they would have to spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron. It was pure luck that they were friends with owners and therefore it wouldn't be that hard to get some rooms.
"Yeah, take one!" Another friend mumbled as she spilled a drink down Dom's shirt.
My sister truly picks the worst friends, Dom thought, sliding out of the booth. She walked over to the bar to find Hannah Longbottom, the owner and long time friend of the Weasleys.
"Well, If it isn't Dom Weasley," Neville greeted.
Dom smiled awkwardly at her Herbology professor. Even though she had known the Longbottoms her whole life it was still weird to see Neville out of school.
"Dom," Hannah Longbottom exclaimed as she bustled up to the bar. "I haven't seen you since Frank brought you around this summer."
A blush flooded Dom's face. Frank Longbottom was a Ravenclaw in the same year as her. They had dated for around a two years but she had ended it with him once the school year started. She had told him that she thought their relationship seemed too forced with their families being friends and all. To say he had taken it bad would be an understatement. He hadn't even looked at her since.
"It's lovely to see you too. I was wondering if I could have a room or two for the night. It's Victoire's hen night and well her friends are drunk," Dom asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Of course, dear, let me get Frank to show you the rooms," Hannah cooed.
It was her luck that the first time she talked to Frank was at her sister's hen night with a bunch of drunken idiots around.
"Long time no see, Niq."
Without even looking, Dom knew it was Frank. Only he called her that. He used to think it was hilarious that her name provided so many nicknames.
"Whose fault would that be, Frank?" Dom turned around and asked.
He smiled and Dom remembered why she went out with him in the first place. Like his mum and dad, Frank was a genuinely nice person. Everything about him was nice. He had shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes and a perfect smile. Dom knew she was lucky to have had a boyfriend like him but it irked her how nice he could be and the fact that he, he was her first. Her first kiss when they were fourteen, her first boyfriend when they were fifteen and her first shag when she was seventeen.
"Be nice, Niq. Now let me show these lovely ladies their rooms." He gestured to Vic and her friends.
Once all the rooms had been sorted out, Dom leaned against the wall exhausted. Even though she hadn't had to plan this, she still had had to help with it more than she wanted.
"You look tired," Frank said walking up to her.
"You try spending the night with those girls," Dom muttered.
"I'm sorry for ignoring you, Niq. I miss you," He whispered into her ear.
"Frank, not know," She pleaded.
"There's no better time than the present," Frank quipped.
Dom dragged her gaze up to meet his. The real reason she had broken up with him had nothing to do with their families. Frank was nice and a perfect boyfriend but with a "perfect" brother and sister and a "perfect" family, Dom didn't want something else that was quote "perfect". She wanted adventure. She wanted someone who added spice to her life not someone who did was monotonously the same every day.
As she continued to meet his gaze, he kissed her and for a second Dom let him. His lips felt familiar on hers. They felt like her favorite pajamas but they didn't make her feel like she did when she wore high heels or a short skirt. His kiss didn't make her blood race, her heart pound or her skin burn.
"Frank, please, I don't feel the same way anymore," Dom muttered, pulling away.
He didn't say anything. He just watched her walk into the room she was to share with Victoire. Dom knew she made the right choice when she had dumped him. She wanted someone to run after her even when she said no, not someone who would stand there and watch her walk away.