"WHAT!?"
Katie tried to over her ears, but too late. Her eardrums were already shattered.
"Hey Alicia," she said nonchalantly. "Do that again, I think some people on Saturn didn't hear you."
Fred laughed, walking up to them. "What was that all about?"
"Oh, she's just mad because-" but Katie was interrupted by Alicia.
"Because Katie thinks she isn't going to the ball," Alicia told him matter-of-factly.
"Actually," Katie corrected. "I know I'm not going to the ball."
"But you have to!" Alicia said. "You'll go to the ball, and a handsome stranger will say to you, 'may I have this dance?' and you'll giggle and then you'll spend the rest of the night dancing. You'll forget to get his name and then you'll spend the next week searching for him. But you won't find him, and just when you give up hope, he'll be there, with a dozen red roses!"
By this time Alicia was no longer describing Katie's nonexistent ball experience, but her own romantic fantasies.
Just then George cam down from the boy's dormitories, and Alicia smacked him on the shoulder.
"Ow!" he cried. "What was that for?"
"Why can't you be more romantic?" she pouted. He didn't appear to have an answer to that.
"So," Fred began, ignoring the now bickering couple. "Why, exactly, aren't you going to the ball?"
Katie shrugged. "It's pointless. It's just an excuse for the girls with dates to get all dressed up and torment the girls without dates. Everyone will be too nervous to dance, and plenty of girls will end up crying. The music will be lame, and the food will suck."
"Geez, Katie, way to be a buzz-kill," Angelina laughed, joining them. "But don't you think it'll be at least a little romantic?"
"I don't believe in romance," Katie said, surprising everyone.
"What do you mean?" Alicia asked, forgetting her argument with George.
"It doesn't exist," Katie said simply. "'Romance' is what girls say they have with their boyfriends when there's not actually anything there. Romance is chocolates and flowers and teddy-bears. It's not love. It's stupid."
"So you don't believe in chocolates or flowers?" George asked. "You are going to make some penniless bloke very happy."
Katie rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that the ball will just be another excuse for guys to snog their girlfriends who they'll break up with before we all graduate anyway."
And with that, she said, "I'm going to breakfast," and left.
George leaned in and whispered to the group, "Do you think she knows she's still in her pajamas?"
*****
"So you really don't believe in romance?" Fred asked Katie later at lunch.
"Are you all still on about that?" she asked absently.
"Well, just me really," Fred admitted. "I was just wondering: why?"
Katie shrugged again. "My mom, I guess. She raised me and my two sisters all by herself, and she always made sure we knew that she didn't need a man and neither do we."
"What about Davies?" Fred asked with contempt, referring to the previous year, when Katie had gone out with the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain.
Katie shrugged again, and Fred really wished she would stop doing that. "He was a nice enough bloke," she said, as if referring to a bug on the sidewalk she didn't want to step on. "You know, until he started snogging Cho Chang while we were going out. I told you, romance doesn't exist."
"And that's why you haven't gone out with anyone else since?" Fred clarified.
"No, I haven't gone out with anyone since because I haven't met anyone worthy of going out with."
Ouch, Fred thought. That stung.
"Besides," she said, grinning. "I have you. Who needs a boyfriend when I have the best best-guy-friend ever?"
And with that she hopped out of her seat and left. She said something about the library, but Fred wasn't listening.
*****
"What about Fairy Tales?" Fred asked, unable to drop the subject, later at dinner. "And true love and all that?"
Katie rolled her eyes. "Fred, can't you just drop this?"
"No," he said simply. "Now answer the question."
She sighed heavily. "I don't know," she cried. "I mean, fairy tales are nice and all, but let's face it, stuff like that doesn't happen. And as for true love…" she trailed off, her mind obviously on other things. "Well, I guess it happens, but not to ordinary people like us."
Fred nodded vaguely, unable to think clearly. She had said 'us'. Not, 'It doesn't happen to people like you or me." No, she had very clearly said, 'us'. Did that mean something?"
Fred wanted to think so, but he knew the truth was that it wasn't going to happen. Katie wasn't interested in romance with anyone, much less with him.
He knew he should drop it, but he couldn't. so instead he hatched a plan with Alicia and Angelina.
*****
It was Saturday, and even though it was noon and most girls were already getting ready for the ball, Katie was in the common room, still in her pajamas.
Suddenly, a hand covered her eyes and another covered her mouth. Surprised, Katie tried to scream but no sound came out. Another person came from behind her and they dragged her up to the dormitory.
Katie, however, wasn't scared, because her 'kidnappers' were giggled ceaselessly.
"You guys!" Katie shrieked once Alicia and Angelina had successfully tied her to a chair and uncovered her eyes and mouth. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry about this, Katie," Alicia said, but by her giggling, Katie could tell she wasn't sorry at all. "But your Prince Charming told us to." She giggled again.
"My Prince Charming?" Katie asked, unconvinced. Alicia and Angelina nodded wildly, still giggling like mad.
"We can't tell you who," Alicia said.
"It's a surprise," Angelina agreed. "But we think you'll like it."
Then they came at her with various instruments of torture.
"Help!" Katie screeched. "Help!"
"Katie!" Angelina admonished. "It's a mascara brush!"
"Get it away from me!" Katie hissed.
"Don't make us stun you," Alicia warned.
"You wouldn't dare," Katie said, low and menacing.
"Try us," Alicia said, smirking. Katie surrendered.
*****
"No," Katie said simply.
"Oh, yes," Angelina giggled, holding the strapless green gown up to Katie. "It goes fabulously with your eyes!"
"Get it away from me," Katie said slowly.
"That offer to stun you still stands," Alicia assured her.
"Please no, guys," Katie begged. "I don't know what kind of prank you're trying to pull, but leave me out of it."
"This is not a prank!" Alicia yelled. "This is for-"
Angelina slapped a hand over her mouth quickly. "Prince Charming," she finished smoothly for Alicia. Just go with it, okay?"
Katie sighed deeply. "Fine."
*****
"Guys!" Katie squealed. "A blindfold was not part of the agreement!"
"There was no agreement," Alicia reminded her. "We kidnapped you."
"Well at least tell me where we're going!" she hissed. "To the ball?" she guessed. "Because after you dressed me all up like this, I can assure you I would have gone willingly!"
"But then you would have seen Prince Charming!" Alicia cried, borderline hysterical. "And the surprise would have been ruined!"
"Alicia!" Katie cried. "Get a hold of yourself! I'm coming, see? It's alright."
Alicia took a deep breath, Angelina laughed, and a third voice sniggered.
"There's someone else with you!" Katie screeched, bringing her feet to a halt. "Who are you?"
"Katie, come on, please?" Angelina begged.
"Yeah, you'll see who it is in…oh, twenty feet or so?" Alicia pulled her arm hard.
"Fine," Katie groaned. "But for the record, if this has anything to do with what I said about fairy tales, in all the ones I've read, 'Prince Charming' doesn't kidnap the Princess."
"We're here," Alicia cried thankfully.
"Finally," Angelina grumbled.
"What was that?" Katie asked, raising her eyebrows before she remembered she was blindfolded.
"Oh, nothing," Angelina said innocently. "Now, we're going to count to ten, then unblindfold you, okay?"
"Fine," Katie grumbled.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Nine and a half-"
"Angelina!"
"Ten!"
The blindfold was off and Angelina and Alicia, knowing what was good for them, disappeared in an instant. Not that Katie noticed. She was still taking in her surroundings.
She had been expecting them to drag her to the ball and set her up on some stupid blind date with some guy who would be either really cute and exceptionally boring, or really sweet but butt ugly. Instead, she was in the kitchens, and there was a picnic basket sitting on the counter. That was it. Just a basket, with food in it. Nothing showy or over the top.
Katie loved it. She loved it so much, that for a moment she forgot there was a guy.
"Surprised?" an all too familiar voice asked.
Shocked, Katie turned around so fast she knocked over a house elf.
"I'm so sorry!" she cried, helping him up. "Are you alright?"
The little house elf looked beside himself with joy. "Such a kind witch!" he cried. "Never has a witch show such concern for Dobby!" And then he scurried away.
"Fred?" she deadpanned, not quite believing it.
"You sound surprised," he said. This was something she'd never thought she'd see. Fred Weasley looked nervous.
"Uh, just a little!" Katie cried.
"Well," he began to explain. "You really seemed like you didn't want to go to the ball, so I thought I'd do this. Something nice that you'd enjoy."
She threw her arms around him. "Fred!" she cried. "You really are the best friend a girl could ask for!"
He stiffened. "Friend?" he asked.
She took a step back. "Yes," she said cautiously. "What else would we be?"
"I just…" Fred was at a loss for words. Another first.
"Oh Fred!" she cried. She didn't know what to say either. "I just…"
He shook his head. "It's alright," she said. "Really. It's fine."
"No, it isn't," she cried. Tears were messing up her makeup. "Y-you're my f-f-friend, and I don't want to h-hurt you."
Her last words were so quiet she was practically whispering.
And then she ran. All the way back to the common room she ran, in high heals, too.
*****
"Katie, we know you're not sick," Alicia called, as her and Angelina came into the fifth year dormitory.
It was noon, and Katie had been in bed since nine o'clock the previous night. She didn't respond.
"Katie, if you are telling the truth, Fred should be the one whose upset, not you. As it is, you both are, and that doesn't work for us."
"Yeah!" Alicia agreed. "There's a reason you're so upset, and we think we know what it is."
"Go away!" Katie called, her words muffled by her comforter. She was in no mood to hear their logic, as she was sure they would end up being right.
"If you won't come up," Alicia warned. "We're both coming in there."
Katie, knowing Alicia was bluffing, stayed just where she was.
"Have it your way," Alicia said, shrugging. A second later, all three girls were squished under Katie's blanket, Alicia and Angelina on either side of Katie, blocking her escape.
"What we think," Angelina began, "is that you like Fred."
"Ridiculous," Katie muttered. "If I liked Fred, why did I run away last night?"
"Because you were scared," Alicia explained. "You've spent your whole life listening to your Mum tell you that she doesn't need a man, and how all men are gits, and how depending on them is walking on very thin ice-"
"Don't talk about my Mum!" Katie cried.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Angelina said. "We weren't saying anything bad about your Mum. We love your Mum. Really. She's a really nice woman. But she's also very firm in her belief that girls don't need guys."
"Yeah," Alicia interrupted. "The first time I met her she gave me a five minute lecture on how I should never trust anything my boyfriend said. And he was standing right there! Remember?"
Katie laughed in spite of herself.
"You see?" Angelina asked. "It's not that you don't like Fred. It's that you're scared to like Fred."
"Well," Katie began slowly. "If you're right-"
"She admitted it!" Angelina hollered. "I heard it!"
And before Katie could get another word in, they had grabbed her and were dragging her, pajamas, bedhead, puffy eyes, and all, down to the common room.
"Wait, wait, WAIT!" she shrieked.
"Now Kates, we can do this the easy way, or we can-"
"I know, I know," Katie said. "But shouldn't I at least brush my hair first?"
Alicia and Angelina looked at each other, then Alicia pulled out her wand.
"There," she said, using a spell she knew. "Your hair looks fine. And don't ask if you can change. There's no time!"
"Where's Fred?" Alicia and Angelina asked George and Lee in the common room. George was about to make a rude comment when he saw how red Katie's eyes were. So instead he just replied, "Down by the lake."
By the time Alicia and Angelina got Katie to where they could see Fred, she had tried to escape three times and they were now carrying her, her feet not even touching the ground.
"Go," Angelina said, pointing to Fred.
"But I-"
"Go." Angelina now had on her Quidditch Captain voice, the one that was so firm you were a little scare of her, even more so that if she were yelling.
Katie walked slowly, and when she turned her head her friends were out of sight, no doubt hiding behind a tree or something.
She sat down about three feet from where he was sitting. Neither of them looked at each other.
Suddenly, "Why aren't they talk-OW!" from a nearby tree. And then silence.
"So…" Katie began, unsure of how to finish.
"It really is okay," Fred told her, not looking at her. "I mean-"
"Fred-"
"I mean, we can still be friends. I won't be angry or depressed or anything. But why would you run away last-"
"Fred-"
"I just don't understand-"
"Fred!"
Fred stopped short. "I was right in the middle of-"
And then she kissed him. There was a squeal of delight from the tree, then another Ow!
"Talk about sending mixed signals," Fred said after a moment. Not that he minded. Not at all.
"Fred," she said. "I'm sorry, but I had to shut you up. I do like you. A lot. But-"
But Katie couldn't get the rest of the explanation out. Her mouth was otherwise occupied.
*****
AN: Yeah, another Katie Bell story. I love Katie. She's the perfect Fanfiction character. She has no real past, no real future (in the books, I mean), no set personality or appearance (two totally different actors played her in the different movies, and only briefly, so I don't count it), but just big enough of a part (D.A. and the cursed necklace) to be important. She's awesome! I always pair her with either Fred or Oliver, but I'm working on a Katie/George story.