Chapter 4
"So," Alicia said after we'd finished showing each other our dress robes, "Who are you hoping will ask you to the Yule Ball? Or are you planning to ask him?"
I sighed. "There's no way I can ask him. I'm afraid he'll think it's a joke."
"Him?" she raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"You tell me first," I grinned.
She rolled her eyes, and then compromised. "Together?"
I nodded.
"Okay, on the count of three: one, two, three-"
Alicia said something, but it was too fast and too quiet for me to understand. "What?" I asked.
"No fair!" she said, pretending to be angry. "You agreed we'd say it together."
"Yeah, say it comprehensively together, not at the speed of light!" I retorted.
"Okay, fine, let's try it again: one, two, three-"
"Eric Hale," Alicia said, naming a Ravenclaw sixth year. He was smart, nice enough, and cute, but he wasn't exactly someone I thought she would go for. He was a bit boring. I wasn't that surprised though. I'd noticed how she looked at him in classes (and, actually, he probably had too), but we hadn't discussed it.
"Fred Weasley," I blushed. I didn't know how it had happened, but about a month ago, I'd realized that I had feelings for the idiot.
"I knew it!" she shrieked. "For a bit, I couldn't tell which of the twins you liked, but then- I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"You didn't tell me about Hale," I retorted. "I didn't want you to think I was messing up the group or something, and I was so scared Fred was going to find out…. How did you know, anyway? Was I that obvious?"
"No, I just know you really well," she looked at me. "Don't worry; he's way too thick-headed to have noticed you like him as way more than a friend." She shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know what you see in him."
I threw a pillow at her. Giggling, she said, "Just kidding, Ange. Actually, I think you have a pretty good shot of getting to go with who you want because-"
I groaned, cutting her off. "Oh, please don't say I have twice the chances of being asked by the person I want because Fred is a twin. They're not the same person, and I want to go with Fred- not George."
"I know, Angelina," she said, really angry this time. "They're my friends, too. And that's not even what I was going to say!"
"Sorry," I muttered, embarrassed.
"It's okay," Alicia smiled again. "Actually, what I was going to say was that I think that he likes you, so he'll probably ask you."
"Really?" I asked, excited. "How do you know?"
Well, I'm not sure. That's why I didn't say anything, but I think…." She trailed off, thinking.
"Do you think Eric will ask you?" I was suddenly embarrassed by the whole topic and wanted to change the subject.
"I have no idea. I hope he does," she stopped talking as two of our roommates, Elizabeth and Maya, entered the room. They also stopped talking abruptly.
"Night, Alicia," I said, crawling into bed. "You know, the Yule Ball could be a lot of fun, or a lot of trouble."
"Yep," she said sleepily.
Then again, it would probably be both if Fred did ask me.
I really hoped he would.
****
I was sitting in the common room near the fireplace a few days later working on a Charms essay when Alicia came running towards me. She had run to the library to look up something quickly, but obviously, something else had happened. She looked elated.
"Omygoshangueswhat?" she said to me as she sat down, so fast that even I couldn't understand her.
"Jeez, slow down, take a deep breath, and then tell me what happened," I laughed, but she couldn't wait. Slowing down fractionally, she said, "I saw Eric in the library and we were talking and he asked me to the Yule Ball!"
"Oh my gosh," I said, almost as excited as she was, "That's fantastic!"
She nodded, then proceeded to tell me every detail of their conversation. I was genuinely happy for her, even though Eric wasn't my favorite person. However, hearing her talk about Eric asking her made me think a lot about Fred and how he hadn't asked me. As if she could hear my thoughts, when she finished talking about Eric, Alicia asked, "What about Fred? You think he'll ask you soon?"
I sighed, "Probably not. I mean, we were alone at the end of Transfiguration today- even George wasn't there- and the only thing he said was making fun of McGonagall." It had been pretty funny, but not what I had wanted from him just then.
"Well, it is Fred Weasley we're talking about," Alicia said, trying to cheer me up. "You know he wouldn't hesitate about asking you the Yule Ball in front the entire school if he wanted to."
"I know, but I've been in the Great Hall and in classes with him, and he hasn't asked me," I sighed again. "I just have to forget about it. He isn't going to ask me."
"He might," Alicia was trying to cheer me.
I shook my head, adamant, and then changed the subject abruptly. "McGonagall has given us loads of homework lately. Right before Christmas too."
Alicia took the hint and said nothing more about Fred. We spent the next fifteen minutes talking about teachers and writing our Charms essays. Alicia was in the middle of heavily abusing Snape when from the other side of the common room I heard an, "Oi! Angelina!"
It was Fred. I could just tell. I immediately thought he was going to ask me, and then tried to convince myself he wouldn't so I wouldn't be disappointed when he didn't.
"What?" I called back.
"Want to come to the ball with me?"
It was exactly what I wanted to hear, and yet, suddenly, I was scared he was joking. I studied his face for a minute, giving him an appraising sort of look, and then detected the tiniest bit of nervousness in his face. He was serious.
"All right then," I called again, then carried on chatting with Alicia. I was trying to play it cool, but I couldn't entirely hide the grin that was bursting to explode all over my face.
