A/N: I was trying to write a George/Angelina story that takes place right after the battle and sort of goes into a little bit of how they might have ended up together and how much of a role Fred and his death played in their relationship. But I couldn't get through it - I just didn't know how to write their characters correctly. I realized that part of that was because I didn't really know Fred's and Angelina's relationship to begin with. So I decided to write this snippet of it so I could wrap my head around part of what they had and part of their characters together. Enjoy!

The Gryffindor Way

Fred had been looking forward to the Yule Ball all week, and though he'd never tell anyone this, it was because of the girl he'd asked to be his date.

He had planned and tried and failed to ask her for a few weeks before he actually did, but the Gyffindor in him faltered every time he laid eyes on her gorgeous face. Finally, when Ron had pointed out to him the painful truth that he had no date, the brilliant idea had popped into his mind. Mustering all the confidence he possibly could, Fred had turned, looked squarely into the beautiful face that was giving him such a hard time, and called out the words that secured him the date he most wanted.

And tonight, he'd be dancing with her, chatting with her, ogling at her shamelessly, and (if he could summon the guts) he'd ask her to be his girlfriend. While he dressed for the night, Fred ran various scenarios through his head.

"Angelina?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I really wanted to tell you." His voice grew soft as he looked into her brown eyes.

"What is it, Fred?"

"It-it's just, you're really special, Angelina. Really special," he admitted, taking her hand.

She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling as a smile played on her lips. "So are you."

"No, you're-you're really something, Ange." He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a nervous laugh. "I like you a lot."

Her eyes grew tender. "You do?"

"I like you more than you know," he confessed. "Angelina, will you be my girlfriend?"

No. That was stupid.

Taking deep breaths to steady himself, Fred scrutinized his reflection in the mirror, determined to correct any flaws before the ball. He had donned light brown dress robes that shined almost gold in the light, matched with a pale gold tie around his neck. Underneath the robes, his shirt was a plain white one, and fell lazily un-tucked around chocolate brown trousers. After his mother had sent them all hideously old-fashioned dress robes for the occasion, Fred had written desperately to his older brother Bill for help. Immediately, and to Fred's immense gratitude, Bill had sent him back these very clothes. Any other time, he wouldn't have cared less, and would have had a marvelous time pranking the hell out of the students on the dance floor in any old robes, but this time was different. This time, he had a blissfully perfect girl on his arm, and he had to at least look as though he deserved her.

George approached the nervous wreck he called his brother in front of the mirror and clapped him on the back, an amused smirk on his face. Having altered the second-hand dress robes as much as he could with magic, George now wore plain, dark green robes with nearly invisible threads coming out of the frayed hems. He had chosen a lemon yellow bow tie and trousers, but had (thankfully) kept his shirt a simple white.

"So that's why you've been in an excellent mood this whole week," George commented.

"What?" said Fred distractedly, pulling a comb through his hair. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," his brother said knowingly. "Angelina."

"What about her?" Fred attempted to keep his cool, but when he wouldn't meet his brother's eye, George knew he had been right.

"You're mad about her!" he exclaimed. "You're really, really mad about her!"

"I am not," he insisted. It wasn't that he didn't want people to know how he felt about Angelina Johnson, he simply didn't want George to know about it, because he would never hear the end of the jokes if his brother were to discover that he was, rather than a mischievous prankster, a soft loverboy.

"Don't even bother trying to hide it. It is way too late for that, mate," said George, chuckling, as he strolled confidently out of the dormitory, whistling as he went.

Fred groaned. There was no way he'd be able to ask Angelina out now. George had probably already run to tell her what Fred had stupidly let him find out. Somehow, almost in a ghost-like manner, Fred willed himself to exit the dormitory after his brother.

"Angelina, I really, really have to tell you something," he said, grabbing her hands and pulling them to his chest. They were sitting at a table away from the dance floor so that they could hear each other.

"What is it?"

"I really like you, Angelina."

"You-you do?" Her face showed her surprise, but it didn't look displeased.

"Yes. Merlin, yes. I like everything about you." Fred gripped her hands tighter. "I want—you. I want you to be my girlfriend."

No, that wasn't right either.

It wasn't a surprise that the common room was packed with students, chattering excitedly about the ball.

"I wonder what the decorations will be like."

"Did you see Harry Potter? He looks like a dish!"

"I much prefer George Weasley over there. I can't wait to see what he and Fred are gonna do tonight."

"Is this dress okay? Do I look fat?"

Swallowing, Fred made his way over to Ron and Harry and somehow plastered on his signature smile. "All right, there?"

Harry nodded vaguely, checking his watch. Ron looked positively miserable, eyeing Fred's robes with obvious jealousy.

"Where did you get those?" he said.

"I have friends in high places, mate," he replied, clapping his brother on the shoulder and looking around the room. He caught his breath when his eyes fell on a sight he had been unprepared for; Angelina was striding stunningly down the stairs from the girls' dormitory with her friends.

As if time had slowed down, Fred slowly took in the glorious image. She was wearing a strapless, deep blue dress that hugged her slim, but curvy body and cut off jaggedly past her knees, with a pale gold shawl and matching heeled shoes. Subconsciously, his hand flew to his tie to straighten it while he dimly acknowledged that it matched the shawl that accented her toned arms. Thoughts dashed like marathon runners through his head, and he didn't notice that Angelina was bidding her friends good-bye until she looked over at him and suddenly, his mind was blank.

"Are you having fun tonight, Angelina?" Fred shouted in her ear; the music on the dance floor was almost deafening.

"So much fun, Fred. Thanks!" she shouted back, continuing to sway her hips to the rhythm.

"Hey, could we go out to garden?"

"Sure!" She shrugged, and led him out into the night.

They settled on a bench by a rosebush, sitting close to each other to keep from becoming too cold. Hesitantly, Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

Smiling, Angelina looked up at him and murmured, "Of course I am. You're here with me, aren't you?"

With a breathless laugh, Fred said, "I've been meaning to tell you something."

"And what's that?"

Taking her hand with his free one, he looked deep into her eyes, "I-I think you're one of the most amazing people in-in the world, Angelina."

Shyly, she giggled and averted her eyes. Fred lifted her chin with his hands and continued, "I mean it. You are really so amazing. I like how you get all shy like that whenever someone compliments you. I like how you get so-so fierce when you play Quidditch. I like the way you smile, the way you laugh."

"What are you getting at, Fred?" she whispered, waiting.

"Angelina, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

Merlin. Had he completely turned into a girl?

"Bloody hell," he squeaked, unable to move his feet as she walked toward him. She was right in front of him, leaving barely enough room for a piece of parchment to slide between them, and her smile was blinding him.

"Are you okay?" Angelina said, grinning as if she knew she had just struck him speechless.

Fred cleared his throat and composed himself. He had a date with the most perfect girl the world had ever been blessed with. He was not going to mess it up by making an utter fool of himself. Without another worried thought, Fred wiped the panicked expression off his face and replaced it with the jovial, playful one that everyone at Hogwarts was so used to.

"I'm great," he replied, flashing her a charming smile. She linked arms with him, leaning on him very slightly. He didn't know that she did it because her knees had gone weak.

"Shall we go down, then?" she suggested.

"Of course," he said, and with a sudden swell of courage that reminded him that he did indeed belong in this House, Fred removed his arm from hers and instead, took her hand, entwining his fingers in hers. Both their hearts leapt.

"What is this, Fred?" she said feigning shock. "Holding hands? Is Fred Weasley going soft?"

He cracked a smile. "Never." And to prove it, he pulled out his wand and sent a tiny ball of sparks flying at Ron's bottom. His brother jumped about a thousand miles and he turned around to give Fred a dirty look, rubbing his bottom. Fred and Angelina, however, really could not care less, for they were doubled over in laughter.

"Oh, you two," said George from behind them, his eyes twinkling. Fred stopped laughing almost immediately and gave his twin a warning glare. "You better hurry up or you'll be the only ones left in the Tower. Unless that's what you want…"

George ducked out of the way of his brother's spell and ran out of the portrait hole, laughing and dragging Alicia Spinnet, who mouthed, "Sorry!" at the two of them, with him.

"Ignore him," Fred said quickly. He didn't want her to start questioning him; he wanted the moment when he confessed his feelings to be a perfect one. "Let's get down to the ball."

After the ball, Fred and Angelina had come up to the Gryffindor Common Room, exhausted from dancing and the amount of fun they'd had together. Laughing, they settled onto the couch, allowing their fingers to mingle together.

"Did I tell you how great you looked tonight?" said Fred, looking down at her once more.

"No, as a matter of fact, you did not."

"I apologize, Angelina. You look positively ravishing."

Angelina giggled and leaned her head onto her friend's shoulder. He suddenly grew serious.

"Angelina—" He broke off.

"Yeah?"

"It's-it's just that I really wanted to tell you something all night." Beneath his rumbled robes, Fred could feel his heart pounding wildly.

"Okay?"

"I-I really like you, Ange."

"You like me?" She looked up at him, surprised, and nearly rendered him unable to breathe.

"Yeah, yeah I do," he finally forced out. "I like you a lot."

"That's…really good."

"Angelina, will you be my girlfriend?"

He had no idea what was wrong with him.

After they had wreaked enough havoc with their hazardous dancing, Fred and Angelina had settled into a spot against the back wall of the brightly lit, nearly sparkling hall. Unfortunately, all the tables had been filled up, so they had chosen a vacant corner overlooking the dance floor where they could both lean comfortably against the wall and be able to look at each other.

"So let me ask you something," said Angelina. Fred raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Did you know I'd be wearing gold accessories?"

"What? No," said Fred.

"That's what I thought," she said, chortling slightly.

"What's that all about?" he asked, befuddled.

"Oh, nothing," she said, shrugging. "Just, Alicia was telling me in the bathroom that you'd matched your tie with my shawl on purpose."

"Ah, I see," said Fred. He hadn't done so, but knowing that they matched gave him odd, girlish butterflies in his stomach. "So, let me ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Do you always talk about me with your friends in the bathroom?" he asked with a teasing smile.

Angelina laughed, though she could tell he was partly serious. On another day she would have merely swatted him and continued with the conversation casually, but a surge of Gryffindor courage possessed her to look him directly in his beautiful, swoon-worthy eyes, and say, "Every time, Fred Weasley."

His heart stopped. Looking into her face, he felt incredibly close to her, and the desire to lean forward and snog the hell out of her nearly overcame him. Instead, he leaned back and cleared his throat, flashing her a grin.

"Yeah?" he said, raising his eyebrows cockily.

He didn't notice Angelina let out a breath she had been holding, hoping that he'd kiss her in that tension-filled moment. Giggling, she smacked him over the head with her hand.

"Don't let it go to your head," she warned him. "We're girls. We gossip about everyone." It was the truth, but not the whole truth. Lately, Fred had been the primary topic of most of Angelina's gossip conversations.

"Yeah, sure, sure," he said. "So what do you say about me?" He tried to sound as cool about it as possible, but in all honesty, he was absolutely dying to know.

"Oh, you know, just…just stuff," Angelina mumbled. Shyly, she tucked a strand of curled, black hair behind her ear.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"What?"

"Leave it," he murmured quietly, reaching behind her ear to pull the hair out and let it fall loosely in front of her face. "You look good that way."

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed up into his handsome face. "I-I do?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "You're quite the looker, Ange."

She smacked him across the chest and groaned. "You know I hate being called that!"

Laughing, he clutched his chest in mock hurt. "You have wounded me, Angelina. I'll never recover! The scars from your blow will haunt you for the rest of your life!"

Chuckling with him, she raised her hand to smack him again, but this time he caught and held it against his chest. And suddenly it hit him.

He'd been looking for a tender, emotional way to tell her his feelings, just as he had been to ask her to the ball. But what had worked in the end was the Gryffindor approach: calm, easy, and slightly cocky.

Fred took a step forward and placed his other hand on the wall behind Angelina next to her face. Her expression turned from an amused one to a serious one, full of excited anticipation. She was more aware of the wall behind her than she had been all night. When he released her hand, it remained on his chest, fingers tingling slightly. With his now free hand, he cupped her face, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Fred," she whispered, her lips curling into a star struck smile.

"Yeah?" he said, leaning in.

She could do no more than murmur his name again.

"Are you really trying to tell me something, Angelina? Or are you just begging me to kiss you?" he murmured, his eyes closing as he allowed his forehead to rest against hers.

Angelina grinned broadly, completely taken by his Gryffindor charm. His goal was to send shivers up her spine and make her stomach flutter, and though he had succeeded, she was Angelina Johnson. She wasn't some girl who fluttered her eyelids at Fred Weasley's allure and fell right into his arms every time he called. She, too, was a Gryffindor, and she, too, was irresistible.

"I'd never beg, Fred," she said quietly, teasingly, and his eyes flew open.

"Oh, yeah?" he challenged, smiling coyly at her.

"Of course not. I don't beg for things I want."

"Oh, you don't?" Fred dropped his hand from her face to her waist and ran his fingertips up and down her side, causing her to shudder. He didn't let her see that his heart had jumped into his throat upon hearing that she wanted him.

She didn't lose her cool. "Fred, you've known me six years. You should know by now that if I want something, I take it." And with that, she slid her hand in his hair and finally pulled his lips onto hers.

The kiss was sweet, gentle. It was the kiss of two friends who were experiencing new feelings for the first time, together.

Laughing softly, they both pulled away.

"Damn," Fred murmured.

"What?" Angelina smiled flirtatiously at him.

He took a step closer, taking her waist with both hands and pressing her further into the wall with his entire body.

"That's the Angelina I fell for," he whispered, and then he was kissing her again, only this time it was a forceful one, full of fire and intensity. One of her hands was completely tangled in his hair, and the other was reaching into his robes and clutching his waist tightly. Fred's hands had found their way down to her hips, and suddenly they were one body, one entity, moving together—

"Oi!"

They broke apart, gasping for air, glaring at the person who had interrupted them. Before them stood George, grinning widely.

"So you finally let the little secret out, did you?" he teased his twin.

"Shut up," said Fred.

"Well, you better go somewhere else," said George, eyeing the teachers scattered throughout the hall. "Snape's not in a very good mood, and I'm sure he'd love nothing more than to give you two a detention for kissing in public."

"Or they can just stop kissing," Alicia pointed out.

"Oh, Alicia," said George in mock exasperation. "Whenever will you learn? Now that these two animals have been released, it'll take some bloody divine forces to pull them off each other." He ran away laughing as Fred whipped out his wand and threw hex after hex his way.

"Hey, hey!" said Angelina, pulling Fred's attention back to her. "Don't get upset."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because," she said, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling his face close to hers, "what he said is true, isn't it?"

She was so damn perfect. Fred grinned and grabbed her hand, making his way out of the hall and up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Couldn't be truer."

A/N: I hope you liked it! I do plan to write the story I originally had in mind, but definitely not until I've written a few more Fred/Angelina and George/Angelina ones to learn some possibilities that their relationship could create. If any of you know any good stories that could help me out, your own or somebody else's, or if you have good ideas, please leave them and all your other thoughts in the reviews!

~Maya