I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. from the Harry Potter world, though I do own Brigid, Calli, and Lizzy.
...
She looked at the reflection in the mirror before her, her waist length auburn hair was being charmed into place by one of her friends.
She looked down at her shaking hands and sighed. "I don't know if I can do this, girls."
Both of her friends looked at her. "Brigid, don't tell me your planning on backing out on us," Lizzy warned.
"Well, I have no true proof that he likes me, besides we're all going to be in masks and you know he's going to conceal his hair. I am too, why do you think I'm having you change the colour?"
Calli sighed. "You two are worse than my parents. You could be in a pitch black room and still find each other. You were made for each other. You two are like a moth to a flame."
"Or two magnets," Lizzy supplied, a smirk plastered on her face.
Brigid wrinkled her nose. "That was bad, and I'll just ignore it."
"You look SO weird with black hair and grey eyes," Calli commented.
"I know," Brigid replied. "Like I said, he'll never notice me." Brigid walked to her closet, missing the aggravated looks that Calli and Lizzy shot each other.
"You slept with his brother, how hard can it be," Lizzy offered.
Brigid stuck her head out of the closet, black locks swinging back and forth. "That was his brother and when we were in school. This is HIM, the man I fell in love with a long, LONG time ago." Brigid sighed, her head disappearing inside the closet again. "I mean look at the last girl he dated…bloody tart that she is…was beautiful beyond belief and a blonde."
"We'll be right back," Lizzy called.
"Going to get our clothes," Calli added.
"Okay," Brigid replied.
"What do we have to do to make her realize that he has liked her for as long as she's liked him, if not longer," Lizzy questioned Calli, as they walked down the short hall to their rooms.
Calli stepped into her room, Lizzy right behind her. "Lock them in a room together with powerful aphrodisiacs?" Calli looked at Lizzy. "Hmm…that's not a bad idea."
"But Brigid would kill us," Lizzy reasoned.
"So," Calli replied. She sighed. "Damn, that won't work. Think they could figure it out on their own?"
"Yeah, they're smart people," Lizzy said. "But if they don't figure it out tonight…I say, lock them in a room." Calli smirked.
Brigid looked around the large Ministry ball room. There were people everywhere, all in masks. Brigid turned to Calli and Lizzy.
They both glared at her. "Don't even start," Lizzy warned.
"Where's your Gryffindor courage," Calli questioned.
"I don't know," Brigid replied.
"May I have this dance," someone questioned her from behind.
Brigid turned around, a short dark-haired wizard stood before her. Brigid looked back to Calli and Lizzy, saw that they were gone and turned back. "Sure," she said, before being swept off to the dance floor.
Two hours later, Brigid and her most recent dance partner sat down as a vacant table. Brigid leaned her head back causing her long curls to fall nearly to the floor.
"Two straight hours and it was all dancing. Merlin, no wonder my feet hurt," she sighed.
Her partner chuckled.
"Watch it, my friend, just give my feet some time to rest and then I'll show you some real dancing," she told him.
"Oh, I don't doubt it, you're a bloody brilliant dancer," he commented.
"Well, you're not half bad yourself," she said.
"You should see my youngest brother." He snickered. "Poor guy can't dance to save his life."
"Maybe you should give him some pointers."
"We've tried; he's got two left feet. Not that his best mate is much better." He paused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him dance since my oldest younger brother brought back photos from the Yule Ball they had their 4th year, that was three years ago."
Brigid laughed, but stopped short. Doing some quick mental calculations, she looked up at him, eyes wide. "Is he a 7th year this year?"
"Yeah he is, doesn't seem like he's going to graduate in June." Brigid laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Merlin, Calli and Lizzy are never going to let me live this down."
He looked at her, shocked. "Brigid?"
"Yeah, it's me!" She leapt from her seat and launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck.
He hugged her back and then released his hold on her, but only enough to where she could lean back and look at him.
"How are you doing," she asked.
"Not bad, been busy with work."
"Yeah, I know, I haven't seen you much lately, but then again I've been busy with work, too."
"It seems like every year we get busier and busier."
"That's so true, especially with the war and all. I am very glad that the war is over though." Brigid nodded, but then looked away, remembering the fact that her whole family was gone…grandparents, parents, siblings, and pets…all gone.
He saw her sad face and turned her to look at him. "Hey, how are you taking it?"
"I have my ups and downs and I miss them, a lot, but it's slowly getting easier."
"When Mum owled me with the news, I couldn't believe it. I wanted to come home from Egypt so bad, but my boss wouldn't let me."
Brigid smiled at him. "Thanks, I know you did, your mum told me, but I think having one more person asking me 'Are you ok?' and I would have screamed bloody murder." She paused, looking into his hazel eyes. "I just wish that I could have done something."
"There was nothing you could have done, it was planned so that you wouldn't be there and that you would find them, and you know it was."
"I know," she sighed, "you're right."
He grinned at her. "I always am."
"Oh, don't be so full of yourself." She placed her hand on the side of his face. "I like the hazel eyes, but I miss your blue ones."
He smiled softly at her. "I miss your eyes, too, although, the black hair and grey eyes are different…nice, but different."
She laughed. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, shall we go dance?"
Brigid followed him to the dance floor and through the crowd of people, finding an opening near Calli and her partner.
"Hey Calli, Oliver," Brigid said, wrapping her arms around her partner's neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She smiled up at him.
"Hey Brig…id," Calli trailed off, looking between the two smiling people. She smirked. "I told you so."
Brigid laughed. "Yes, you and Lizzy both did."
"Told you what," Oliver questioned.
Brigid looked at her dance partner. "That the two of us could be in a pitch black room and still find each other," she replied, smiling, "right, Bill?"
Bill smiled back. "Right."