"Gosh, a dance? Isn't that exciting?" Alexis was practically vibrating with excitement, spinning around in Brook's desk chair while the owner of said chair was busy perusing through files on god knows what on her bed. Brook didn't even register what Alexis had said, too engrossed in her work. The redhead huffed in annoyance and called out to her best friend.

"Brook? Did you even hear me?"

With eyes still glued to the reports in her hands, the heiress replied with an unfocused "Hmm?"

"I said, are you even listening?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am." She trailed off, muttering something about unusually high frequencies under her breath and flipping a page.

"Oh yeah? What was I talking about?"

Brook set the reports down on her lap and sighed.

"You were talking about how excited you are for the Yule Ball."

"Oh," Alexis said, surprised. "You were listening."

"Didn't I say that?"

"Well, I didn't believe you; Your head was buried in your lab reports."

"A Wayne—" Brook started, echoing her father's words.

"—Always pays attention, even to the smallest of details. Yeah, I know." Alexis leapt up from the chair and plopped down on the bed next to Brook, her strawberry curls splaying across the bed sheet. "So?" Alexis asked, expectantly.

"So, what?"

"What are you going to do about the dance?"

"Nothing. I'm not asking anyone."

At that, Alexis immediately sat up, facing her friend with wild eyes.

"Wait, what? You can't just not ask anyone!"

The heiress was busy marking notes on the 17th page of the report in her hands.

"I can and I will." She muttered.

"But isn't it tradition and all that for the champions to go? Dumbledore even said so."

"Dumbledore doesn't know that I have no one to go with." Brook tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, chewing her bottom lip as she thought of different hypotheses regarding the golden egg.

"That's not true!" Alexis contested. "You have…"

Brook scoffed. "Who? You're going with Fleur. And while I am happy for you, you are the only person in the world I can go to the dance with."

The redhead thought pensively for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say or the right ideas to conjure up.

"Oh, I got it!" She snapped her fingers, nearly startling the poor girl just trying to read in peace. "How about Hermione? You guys are friends, right?"

A furious blush colored Brook's cheeks while she attempted to explain herself.

"Well, yes. No, but the thing is—actually,"

Alexis held up her hands in surrender.

"Hey, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to."

"It's not that I don't want to," She paused for a moment. "I, I don't think she'll say yes."

At that, Alexis scooted across the bed, bringing her body just inches away from her best friend's. She laid a reassuring hand on the heiress's shoulder.

"Brook. Brooklyn. Look at me please." Her pale grey eyes lifted to meet Alexis's. "You are the strongest, smartest, and most wonderful person I know who isn't named Fleur Delacour. I haven't been your best friend for years just because. You're sweet and caring when you let yourself, and you are absolutely brilliant. For god's sake, you're the head of a multi-billion dollar company! You bring old asshole CEOs to their knees, begging for your mercy, you've been on the cover of Forbes twice before your fifteenth birthday, mind you, and I'm pretty sure you are the only witch in this entire school who can perform wandless magic like you can. So why on earth wouldn't you be good enough for Hermione Granger?"

Alexis draped her arm over Brooklyn's shoulder.

"And I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to do," her voice was much softer now. "But if Hermione is really the brightest witch of her age, then she'll be smart enough to say yes to you."

The duo sat there on the bed for a few minutes in silence, content in the silence.

"Lex?" Brook asked, looking up from her staring at her bedsheets.

"Hmm?"

"I'll ask her."

It didn't take long for the French champion to make her move. The sun was just beginning to set on the Hogwarts campus; the streaks of blood red rays peeked from beyond the distant clouds. Most of the creatures in the surrounding woodlands prepared for their nightly slumber. But the inhabitants of the ancient Scottish castle were still buzzing about, swiping pre-dinner snacks from the kitchen, starting up homework in the library, or going over Quidditch tactics in the locker room post practice.

In the case of Brooklyn Wayne and Alexis Thompson, the two were sprawled out on the couches of the library, finishing up essays due for potions class. Their work was left unimpeded for the most part, despite a few grumblings from Brook about "busy work," as she called it. Right around dinner time, a certain French voice interrupted their work flow.

"I don't mean to be rude and disturb your work, but we are approaching our reservation, mon coeur."

Alexis lifted her head from her parchment scroll, her strawberry curls bouncing along. Her bright smile was immediate, and she stuck out her hand for the veela to take. In a graceful, yet strong motion, Fleur pulled the redhead from the couch and held her in a tight embrace.

"Why, you sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet, Miss Delacour." Alexis giggled.

"Oh, this is only an appetizer, I assure you," Fleur whispered dangerously close to Alexis's ear, her breath ghosting at her skin.

Brook chose that moment to intervene for her sake and for the sake of the other students in the library.

"All right, lovebirds. Get a move on before Pince kicks you out. Literally."

The rest of the night was a lovely affair. It started with Fleur treating Alexis to a rather romantic candlelit dinner in Hogsmeade. The French champion had spent the last two weeks planning for this night and a good chunk of her time had been devoted to discovering a secret pathway that might lead them into the village undetected. Eventually, after hours and hours of searching and prodding, she finally found a strange loose brick in a section of a wall. A little push here, a little forceful spell there, and the passage revealed itself without much trouble: a literal glitch in the wall.

The sky was now a deep navy, the streets illuminated by the lights that lined them. Flurries of snow blanketed the ground in a relaxed tempo. And thanks to the inclement weather, only a few souls roamed the streets and alleys of Hogsmeade that night.

The interior of the restaurant was characterized by a comfortable warmth, radiating from the central fireplace in waves. First their wind-bit cheeks, then their torsos and legs, then their hands and feet. Part by part, their aching bodies were thawed out, the fire replacing the bitter cold with a delicious glow.

Dinner was quiet. If anything, it was comfortable with the appropriate small talk and not-so-subtle flirtations sent both ways. It wasn't much, but they took great solace in each other's presence. A quick glance, a swipe of her fingers, a curl of her hair around her finger, a shared dessert. It was simple. It was also more than anything they could have asked for. It was just the two of them, and that was enough.

After the meal, Fleur had one more event planned for the night, leading Alexis down to a bar that had suspiciously closed for the night. The door was locked shut, complete with a completely non-magical and comically large lock. They stopped at the foot of the steps leading to the establishment.

"Seems pretty early for a bar to be closed," Alexis mused, her fingers still interlaced with Fleur's.

"The owner of the bar and I," she paused to dig up an equally large key from her pocket. "Have a secret agreement." She finished, sporting a mischievous grin. The lock gave way without much effort and the French champion held the door open for her date.

"After you, ma Cherie."

"You are such a gentleman, Miss Delacour." Alexis said, donning on a southern belle accent while batting her eyes at Fleur. Her knees almost buckled for a second, but she held strong, relying on the past few rigorous months of physical training to keep her upright.

Get it together, Fleur. Focus. She chided herself.

Following her date, Fleur was a few steps behind, looking on expectantly. Alexis stood dead center of the dimly lit bar area, which had been cleared of tables and chairs beforehand at Fleur's request.

"I didn't know that this was here," Alexis breathed out, taking the scene in.

Fleur stepped closer.

"It's quite beautiful, non? It's not fancy, but it has its charms."

"Yes, it reminds me of—"

"Home?" The veela interjected. In that moment, she raised her hand, and snapped. At once, the bar hummed to life, and neon signs began to fill the space. A previously unseen pool table was illuminated and the bottles in the bar reflected the lights in a beautiful kaleidoscope.

"And that's not even the best part," she said, walking over to the right wall, where a classic jukebox was stored. Fishing a nickel out from her pocket, Fleur pushed the coin in and pressed the corresponding buttons for her song of choice, prompting the iconic guitar intro. The champion spun around, gave Alexis a look, and began dancing her way over to her date.

Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans

Way back up in the woods among the evergreens

There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood

Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode

Alexis burst out in laughter, and not to be outdone, joined in on the dancing while dangerously close to Fleur.

"How do you know this song?" Alexis asked through a giggle.

"I did my homework."

They dance for a little while longer, until Alexis' smile briefly faltered and she stopped.

"Is there something wrong, mon coeur?"

Alexis took a step, eliminating what little space had been left between them.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She whispered in her ear, causing involuntary shudders.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do. You just have to let the words fall out."

Fleur took in a deep breath.

"Alex, will you—merde—would you like to be my date to the Yule Ball?"

Alexis donned on a wide, blinding smile.

"Yes. A thousand times yes."