Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay! Life is just so busy right now! Lol! I hope this chapter will be worth the wait! I hope you all enjoy it! Please review! I love your reviews! They mean so much to me! So, since I haven't been good about responding to your reviews... I'm going to thank all of you right now!
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Disclaimer-
All Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer and all Harry Potter Characters belong to J.K. Rowling
Previously
"Hey Belly Bean!" I looked up to see George walking towards me and sat down next to me. "Did Jasper leave?" I nodded, but I wasn't really listening to him. I was thinking about what Jasper said. Do I really love Fred? Why? How? Of all men at Hogwarts. Why would I fall in love with… Fred? I mean I'm sitting next to his twin brother, why can't I love him? What about Oliver? Shouldn't I be in love with Oliver?
I could hear George talking about a new prank he wanted to try and I nodded my head from time to time so he would think I was listening.
"I'm in love with Fred." I didn't realize I had said it out loud.
"Excuse me?" George said staring at me like I had antlers growing out of my head. I gulped, realizing that I really had spoken out loud. I looked at George with wide eyes.
"I'm in love with Fred." I repeated to him and all he could do was stare at me with his mouth gapped open. "Oh my gosh. I'm in love with Fred." I grabbed George's hand. "Please, please don't tell anyone. Please!"
FredPOV
I had turned back around to go find Bella, but I found her was with that pale guy again. What having Oliver wasn't enough for her? Now she has to have this new guy too? I rolled my eyes at them, scoffed and walked away.
"Hey, brother of mine." I saw George walking towards me. "Have you seen Bella?" He asked me and I just walked past him. "Dude! What's your problem?" I spun around to face him.
"You! You are my problem. 'Dude?' really? What are you trying to be like Bella and all her American friends now?" He frowned at me. I didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm sorry. Bella's over by the main gate with her new pale-as-a-ghost boyfriend." I hoped he didn't catch the jealousy and hurt in my voice.
"Boyfriend? Wait… are you talking about Jasper?" I rolled my eyes at him and he shook his head at me. "That's her ex-boyfriend's brother. She's NOT dating him, he's married, you idiot. And he's a vampire, not a ghost." I know my eyes must have popped out of my head. Did he just say 'vampire'? Like a real vampire? George started laughing at me.
"Yes, you heard me right. It's not what it seems though. If you actually took the time to hear Bella's story… you'd be pretty surprised." He was looking to the hall where the main gate was, probably looking for Bella. "She didn't have an easy life before she came here. Think about it Fred, she found out that her birth parents were killed when she was days old, that the people who adopted her also died, that our brothers posed as them…. And that's just the start of it."
He turned to face me full on with his lips pressed into a straight line. "I do not understand why you have given that girl such a hard time, she's incredible. She doesn't deserve the way you've been treating her." Tears filled his eyes, which was something rare. Actually I can't remember that last time I saw George cry. "After all that she has been through and she can still get up every day with a smile on her face… That is something rare and for some reason she cares about you and she hates that you hate her so much."
George has had talks like this with me a few times now, but it has never hit me as much as it's hitting me right now.
"I'm a jerk." Was all I could really say. I have hurt Bella in so many ways and all she has ever wanted to do was be my friend and I have continued to shove it back in her face.
"You are a jerk." George said plain and simply. "You can still change though." He pressed his lips again and turned to walk away. "You just have to want to, Fred." He said over his shoulder. I watched as he turned down the hall, off to find Bella and Jasper.
I can change. I know I can, I'll do it for Bella. I just hope that she can forgive me for all that I have done to her. Gosh, now that I think about it… I really have put her through hell and I hate myself for that. George is right, she didn't deserve the way I have treated her. The Yule Ball is later today; maybe I can show her then that I can be different.
BPOV
It was really hard to say good-bye to Jasper. I miss him already. I am so thankful that he came and found me. I'm really looking forward to seeing him and Alice again… Now if only I can forget about what I said to George. I am so embarrassed! I cannot believe that I blurted out to him that I'm in love with Fred. And why didn't I realize this sooner? It just had to be Jasper to tell me how I feel, well I guess I wouldn't have figured it if he hadn't told me.
"Hey Bella!" Ginny sang as she came over and sat in a chair next to me. "Would you curl my hair when you're done? I love the way you do your hair!" She squealed. We have the Yule Ball tonight and all the girls a pretty much freaking out about it. None of them have ever been to a dance before. The closest they've been to is a wedding and a lot of them have never been to a wedding either.
"Yeah, I can do your hair now. I can curl my hair later!" I got up from my seat and let Ginny take my seat in front of the mirror. Once she stopped squealing and settled down, I started curling her hair.
I do have to admit that the energy from all of these squealing girls is rubbing off on me and I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I am really excited to go. Crazy, right? Me? Excited to get dressed up, wear heels and go dancing? Maybe it's because I have a very handsome date to go with tonight. After my embarrassing outburst in front of George, to save me from further embarrassment, he asked me to be his date for the ball, which I gladly accepted.
Ginny was chattering away, but I was only half listening to her. I did hear her say that she was going to the ball with Neville. They'll have a good time together. I know she secretly likes my brother, but Neville is a good guy. Plus I've heard through the grapevine that he's been practicing his waltz with a broomstick.
"So, who do you think Fred is going with?" Ginny asked, catching me off guard. "I bet he asked Angelina. I saw them together during the tournament." I felt my stomach tighten, she's right. He probably did ask Angelina to go with him. Who am I kidding? Fred will never return my feelings.
"Fred, shmed." I said frowning and Ginny stopped talking and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Her eyes locked with mine. I can't keep up with his bipolar-ness. He either likes me or he doesn't and you know what. I am done with him. He's a jerk and has hated me since the first time he laid eyes on me. I really don't know what I was thinking. Jasper must have gotten this whole thing wrong.
"Bella, are you okay?" I realized I gotten lost in my thoughts again and both Ginny and Hermione were trying to get my attention. I looked up at my closest friend Hermione and smiled.
"I'm just fine." I mean it too. I can't let Fred get to me. If my luck is with me, I won't even see him tonight. I will be with the girls for the next few hours and then I will be with George all evening. I really do wish I had feelings for George, he's wonderful, but he's too much like a big brother to me. He helps keep Fred from torturing me. I sighed to myself and put the finishing touches on Ginny's hair. It looked really pretty.
"I'm all done Ginny." She looked up and checked her hair out; I saw a smile form on her lips.
"I love it!" She said as she jumped up and down and ran into the Common Room. I turned off the curling iron, smiled at Hermione and the two of us walked out into the common room where all the girls from Gryffindor were running around like crazy. They are all so excited for tonight. I helped most of them pick out their dresses. I have to say, they all look stunning. Ginny, is wearing a dark green, floor length dress. Hermione was currently changing into a dark blue dress that goes just above her knees, and is wearing her hair in an updo. I am wearing a blood red dress that falls to my calves and I think I will wash my hair and let it air dry into its natural wavy curls.
Looking at all the girls now, I think even Alice Cullen would approve. Tonight is going to be a great night. I can feel it. Ugh, look at the time! I need to get myself ready.
A few girls had stopped me on my way to the showers; they needed help with their make-up, but I was really running out of time. I was about to say 'no,' when a familiar voice spoke up before I could answer.
"Don't worry Bella! We'll take it from here." I flipped around and nearly fell over when I saw who was standing in front of me.
"Alice!" I gasped and pulled her in for a hug. I couldn't believe she was here.
"Rosalie is here too." I looked over Alice's shoulder and saw Rosalie, timidly standing there. "I saw, that you were going to need help tonight and so we came up early." I grinned at her.
"Yes, I definitely could use your help." I said as I waved at Rosalie, she still isn't my favorite person, but I'm strangely glad that she is here. "It's so good to see both of you." I said to both of them.
"Now, no more stalling, go get cleaned up!" Alice instructed. "I'll take care of make-up and Rosalie will take care of hair." I grinned at the two of them and turned to go take a shower.
The shower felt great, I didn't realize how tired and sore I was. I guess fighting a dragon takes a lot out of you. I quickly shaved my legs, washed my hair, and turned the shower off. I grabbed two large towels, one to wrap around myself and one to wrap up my hair in. I needed to get a lot of the water out of my hair, if it was going to be dry and wavy in time for the dance. I changed into my dress and walked down to the common room and sat in one of the chairs and pulled out my make-up. I was concentrating so hard on my mascara that I didn't realize I had a small audience watching me. I caught Ginny's reflection in my hand mirror and turned around and both her and Hermione gasped.
"What? Did I do something wrong? It's been a while since I've done my hair and make-up like this!" I turned back to the mirror to see if I looked weird.
"No, oh my gosh. My brother is going to flip when he sees you!" Ginny exclaimed.
"You look amazing Bella! Since when do you have wavy hair?" I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face them.
"You girls scared me. I just always put my hair in a bun or blow dry it straight. Do I really look okay? I'm really not very girly." I felt a little self-conscious and I know this is stupid, but I really did want to look good tonight… just in case I ran into Fred. It's stupid, I know!
"You look great! Trust me" Hermione said as she hugged me.
"I don't look like a freak." I asked her.
"Well, I didn't say that!" Ginny said as she started busting up laughing.
"Ginny!" Hermione and I said at the same time, but we both started laughing with her.
"We're going to have a great time tonight. I just know it!" I loved Ginny, she's so optimistic. I looked up at the clock on the wall and realized we were going to be late. I quickly turned to find Alice and Rosalie. I saw them working on one final girl… Angelina. Of course, now she was going to look amazing tonight. I started walking over to them just as they finished up. Angelina stood up and looked into the mirror Rosalie was holding up for her.
"You look really pretty!" Alice complimented. "I can't believe you don't have a date!"
"Yeah, I'm a little disappointed about that too. I really thought one of the guys on the Quidditch team would ask me, but I guess not." Fred didn't ask her?
"No he didn't. I thought he was going to, I even sat with him at breakfast and lunch today, but he never asked." Crap, I said that out loud. "Well, I need to go find my shoes. Thanks Alice, Rosalie." She said to them and then went off to find her shoes. I turned to face the girls and they were both grinning at me.
"You look amazing, Bella! I totally approve!" Alice said to me and I couldn't help but laugh. It's rare to get Alice's approval over my clothes, hair and make-up. I was about to say 'thank you,' but Hermione ran over to us.
"Oh my goodness. Have you looked at the time? The guys are probably waiting for us!" She said as she yanked on my arm.
"Oh wow! 7:15 already? We must get going!" I looked at Alice and Rosalie apologetically.
"Go on Bella, we'll still be here when you get back." Alice said to me and she gently squeezed my arm. I smiled warmly at the two vampires in front of me, it really was good to see them.
"Bye Alice, Bye Rosalie! Thank you for your help." I said as I ran after Hermione.
"You know, Hermione, you never told us who you're going with." I said at her grinning. I saw a blush rise up into her cheeks.
"Please, don't get mad!" She looked at me with pleading eyes.
"Mad? Why would I get mad? As long as you're not going with Fred, I'm happy as long as you're happy" She giggled
"No, not Fred." It was silly how much relief I felt when she said it wasn't Fred.
"Oh good I would have to knock some since into you, if you were going with my brother." I had to laugh at Ginny.
"So, who is it?" I asked her as I playfully nudged her shoulder.
"Viktor Krum" She barely whispered it and it took a second for it to sink in.
"AHH! YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM?" Ginny and I shouted at the same time.
"Ahh don't hate me! I know he's competing against you, but he's just so nice and handsome and smart!" I laughed at her.
"Well, when you put it that way..." I said as I rolled my eyes at her. "Just don't help him beat me tomorrow!"
"I won't! I promise"
We had reached the stairs and this was something I knew the girls wanted to do, but now that I'm here... I'm about to have a panic attack. It's so cheesy, but the girls wanted to have their moment of walking down the stairs to meet their date. Totally cheesy muggle movie kind of thing. I agreed to it, but this means I have to walk down the stairs, in heels! I should have worn tennis shoes. I took a step back and grabbed Ginny.
"They won't laugh at me, will they?" I asked Ginny, her response to me was a big laugh.
"Not helping, Ginny." She hugged me and then followed after Hermione down the stairs. I felt my heart start racing. Why oh why did I agree to do this? George will forgive me if I back out now, right?
"Come on Bella, we're waiting" Ohh shove it Hermione, she's as graceful as a...swan.
"Bella, I promise, they won't laugh at you." Oh goodness. Why did I ask her that? Well, it is now or never. I stepped out from behind a pillar and slowly walked into the guys' view. Well, I didn't hear any laughing, but is it bad that I didn't hear anything at all. I so did not want to make eye contact with any of them, but then I heard someone whistle at me. Which caused me and everyone else to laugh. I looked at George and his eyes were locked with mine and he had such a big smile on his face. He winked at me. Of course it was George who whistled at me, who else would have done that? I was about to take a step down the stairs when George ran up them to meet me. He took my hand and placed it on his arm.
"Please, don't let me fall!" Whispered to him.
"Never." He smiled at me and then led me down the stairs. Harry came over to me with a huge smile on his face and then gave me a hug.
"Well, I guess you can clean up nicely." I playfully smacked his arm.
"No, I'm serious! If George doesn't stop drooling over my sister, I'm going to have to punch him in the nose."
"HARRY! I wasn't drooling and besides. You know Bella is just as much a sister to me as she is to you." I smiled at him and he took my hand. "Let's dance, shall we?" I nodded my head and smiled at my handsome date.
*End of the night*
Tonight has been amazing. I've never had so much fun before. We all had such a great time and what made it even better is that I didn't see Fred once. It was the perfect evening. Believe it or not, but George is a terrific dancer. After a few songs with me standing on his shoes, I felt confident enough to try it on my own. Dancing is so much fun! I can't wait to do this again! I saw Dumbledore walk towards the stage and everyone started gathering around it. For the first time ever, they're going to crown a Queen and King of the Yule Ball. Everyone was voting throughout the dance. Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone quieted down.
"May I have everyone's attention, please? Are you all having a great evening?" Cheers and clapping erupted around the room. "It is time to announce our Queen and King, voted by all of you." Dumbledore smiled at all of his students and you could feel the anticipation rise around the room. "This year's King is...Fred Weasley." You have got to be kidding me. I looked at George; I could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Is he even here?" I asked him. He shook his head no. We heard clapping and saw him jump up on the stage and receive his crown. George and I just shrugged and turned to look at Dumbledore.
"Last, but certainly not least. Our Queen is...Isabella Potter" This is a set up. I looked up at Fred and I could see him watching me. I know people were clapping and cheering for me, but I couldn't hear them. I tugged a George's jacket sleeve and he bent down to my level.
"He won't try anything here, will he?" I asked him.
"No, there's no way he would try something. Not with all these witnesses around." I nodded my head and made my way to the stage and Fred stuck out his hand to me and helped me up on the stage and even took the crown from Dumbledore and placed it carefully on my head.
"The King and Queen will have their first dance." Fred smiled at me and helped me off the stage and led me to the middle of the room.
"You look beautiful, Bella." He seemed sincere, but there was something in his eyes that told me that he was up to something. A slow song came on and Fred spun me around and pulled me into his arms. My breathing hitched. I wasn't expecting him to hold me so close to him. If people didn't know better, they would swear we looked like a real couple and not enemies. I even smiled a little when he twirled me out. He's an even better dancer than George, maybe even Edward. He pulled me close to him again and I looked up into his eyes and he was watching me intently. It made my heart beat faster. I wanted to think that everything was going to be fine, but it's Fred. He has to be planning something. I kept waiting for something to happen.
"Are you okay, Bella?" I looked into his eyes and there was something in his eyes that had me hooked. I couldn't look away. I couldn't breathe and I felt tears spring into my eyes. "Bella." Worry was evident in his voice as he watched me. "Please talk to me."
"I'm afraid." I whispered to him. His eyes got bigger.
"Are you afraid of me?" His heart looked like it was breaking, right along with mine.
"Yes." His face fell and he pulled me closer to him and he buried his face in my hair.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me." He whispered into my ear. His breathe sent chills down my spine, good chills.
"I can't help it." I said as I pulled back from him. "You have hurt me so many times, it's like you pull me in and then push me away." I said as I took a step out of his grip. His eyes were locked on mine; he looked panicked and took a step towards me. I really was afraid of him, because he had the power to hurt me in a way that only he can. I'm in love with him and he might either return those feelings or completely crush me. I felt tears slipping down my cheeks and I tried to make a break for it, but Fred caught my arm before I could get past him. He had me in his arms and before I could react, his lips were in mine. There was so much need and want behind the kiss. It was just like I remembered from the first time, but instead of him walking away… it was me.
I didn't just walk, I ran. I pushed past everyone, which of course they had just witnessed what happened. I was out the door and running towards the Gryffindor tower.
"Bella, wait!" Fred was calling after me? I felt my breathing hitch again. He was actually running after me? I couldn't believe it and I wanted to stop, but my legs kept going. "Please Bella, don't run away from me." I stopped and turned to face him, but before I could respond to Fred, Professor Snape was in front of him.
"Come with me, Mr. Weasley. Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to you." I saw Fred look over Snape's shoulder at me. He looked helpless and he wanted to run to me, but I turned and went down the next hall and never stopped running until I had flung myself on my bed. Several people had followed me in, but when they saw me crying… the slowly walked away. I needed space and my friends understood that. I guess Alice still doesn't understand about needing personal space.
"Bella." She called as she came in to sit on the bed with me. "I know this may not be the best time, but I should warn you… Edward's here."
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