Must Be Magic

Bobby was pacing.

He'd come to a decision. He was going to tell Kitty how he felt about her tonight. And depending on her response, it was either going to be the best night of his life or the worst.

But he was tired of it. He was tired of hearing all of James's jokes and remarks. He was tired of trying to just be Kitty's friend when she was so much more to him than that. One way or another, he had to get this weight off of his chest.

"You're making me dizzy," James muttered from where he was leaning against the wall near the staircase. "I don't know why you're so nervous. How hard is it to tell a girl you like her?"

Bobby narrowed his eyes at James, who didn't seem to notice. The other boy continued. "Then again, ithas taken you three years to ask her out. And even then you specified that it was 'as friends'. So maybe for you it is hard."

"Shut up, James."

His fellow Gryffindor offered him a grin. "It's going to be fine. She's going to feel the same way and the two of you are going to make the rest of us sick because of how disgustingly in love you are."

Bobby thought his friend had a lot of nerve to comment on that, given he and Clarice got detention nearly every other week for being discovered in some nook or other. He rolled his eyes.

James pushed off the wall with his foot and moved closer to Bobby so that none of the other students that were milling around the entry hall would hear what he had to say next. "If either of us should be nervous about tonight, it should be me," he muttered to Bobby.

The blond boy knew exactly what James was getting at, but it wasn't really something he wanted to think about. Bobby was pretty used to James's lack of a filter, but he was of the opinion some things should be kept private.

He didn't respond to James's plans, instead retreating back into his head. Even though Bobby was firm on tonight being the night, he still didn't know what approach he wanted to take. There were so many options…

Bobby was still mulling it over when James nudged him and pointed to the top of the staircase where Kitty and Clarice had just appeared. He stared, awestruck, as Kitty slowly descended.

She was dressed in sapphire blue satin dress robes. The color really suited her; she looked more elegant and grown up than Bobby could ever remember seeing her before. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders in soft curls, which only added to the effect.

"What, I look that bad?" she asked as she joined him. But her tone was light, airy, and Bobby knew she was only teasing.

"Blue is definitely not your color," Bobby answered seriously. He couldn't keep a straight face for very long, however. He swooped down to give her a peck on the cheek. "You're beautiful," Bobby told her sincerely. "Really."

A faint tinge of pink stained Kitty's cheeks. "You clean up nicely yourself," the younger girl complimented.

He grinned. "I try." Bobby offered his arm to Kitty and gestured towards the Great Hall. "Shall we?"

The Great Hall looked far more festive than Bobby could ever recall seeing it. There were Christmas trees all along the walls bordering the entire hall. Each tree was beautifully decorated with icicles and garlands and fairy lights in multiple colors. Instead of the normal house tables, there were about a hundred or so smaller round tables. These lined the hall similarly to the Christmas trees, leaving most of the floor empty for dancing.

"Prefects over here," Professor Grey called out, gesturing for them to join her.

They waved good-bye to James and Clarice and went to join the other prefects and the Head Girl and Boy. Bobby saw Kitty looking around, taking it all in. He noticed that the younger girl looked pretty nervous.

"Hey," the blond boy began, "I've done this before. I promise not to embarrass you."

"Like you could," she murmured, glancing up at him with a shy smile. "So you've done this before, huh?"

Bobby made a noise of agreement. "My parents," he sighed. "They live for the high society balls and galas and all that boring stuff. And before I started to be such an embarrassment to them, they used to make me take etiquette lessons," he explained.

The Ravenclaw looked at him sadly now. "I'm sure you're not an embarrassment," Kitty said. Bobby knew she meant it to be comforting, but in truth it really wasn't.

"It isn't a big deal." He grinned at her as Professors Grey and Summers circled the floor and moved the various couples around into position. "Ready?" he asked as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher gave the signal to the band to start the music.

"Guess I have to be," Kitty quipped as she placed her hand in his. He put her free hand on her waist as the music started up.

Bobby had never liked dancing before but, as with many things when it came to Kitty, it wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice, really. The content look on the younger girl's face told him she agreed.

The music came to an end a little too soon for Bobby's taste. The rest of the students and staff applauded for them. Bobby grinned at the Ravenclaw.

"See? I told you I wouldn't embarrass you," he said. The brunette rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove.

"Oh, Bobby, I knew you wouldn't," Kitty replied as they took their seats at the High Table.

The table was set as it typically was for feasts, with the usual golden plates and crystal goblets. However, instead of the food being laid out for them, there were sheets of parchment that appeared to be menus instead. Bobby studied his for a moment, not quite sure of what to do.

Before it got too awkward, he started hearing the other people at the table speaking directly to their plates. Bobby did the same.

"See, I knew you could figure it out," Kitty teased as she leaned over towards him. She put her hand on his arm, which he swatted away playfully.

"We can't all be Ravenclaws," Bobby muttered to her, which made her grin.

As he looked away from her, he noticed that Professor Xavier seemed to be watching them fondly, as if he approved. One of the rumors that surrounded the headmaster was that he had the ability to read minds. Of course, Bobby knew this wasn't really possible, but still. Sometimes he wondered. Either way, he supposed it was a good thing that someone approved.

As dinner went on, Bobby couldn't help but notice how much Kitty seemed to be enjoying herself. She seemed much more relaxed than normal, and was it his imagination or did her hand seem to be finding its way to his arm a lot? Not that he was complaining.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her, that was for sure. Even as she chatted with Alison Blair, the Ravenclaw prefect on her other side, he couldn't pay attention to anyone else. It was nice to see her so happy.

The feast came to an end. The Weird Sisters — a band Bobby couldn't believe was still together — started playing again. Most of the other students swarmed onto the floor.

Kitty, however, seemed content to watch, at least for the moment. She made no effort to move from her seat, instead turning in it to watch the other students. After a moment, she nudged him and pointed over to the middle of the floor, where James and Clarice were putting on quite the show.

"They are are something else," Kitty laughed, shaking her head.

"They do make quite a pair," Bobby agreed. He tried not to think about what he knew about James's plans for the night. Clearing these thoughts away, Bobby looked back over at his date for the evening. "Hey, Kit?" he asked.

She turned to him, still smiling. "Yes?"

The blond boy forced himself to breathe. "Would you like to dance?" He hoped desperately she didn't notice his nervousness.

"I'd like that," Kitty agreed softly. Bobby got to his feet and offered her his arm once more. Together they made their way to the dance floor.

Bobby couldn't help but notice that a lot of eyes seemed to be on Kitty. It didn't surprise him; he knew he couldn't have been the only one to be harboring a crush on the Ravenclaw girl. He had to admit he was a little smug at being the person who was here with her tonight.

After a few songs, Kitty suggested they go sit down. Bobby was more than happy to oblige. Being in the mob of people crowded together was making him uncomfortably hot. Kitty took him by the hand and led the way out.

They found James and Clarice seated at an otherwise empty table. Clarice immediately leaned forward to murmur something to her best friend, at which Kitty grinned. James shot him a look that clearly asked how it had gone. Bobby shook his head. The other boy rolled his eyes at this response.

The four of them fell into their usual pattern of chatting and teasing each other. Every once in a while they'd go back to dancing, usually at Clarice's insistence. At the end of one particularly fast song, Bobby and James volunteered to go get drinks. "I can't believe you still haven't told her," James muttered.

"Would you shut up?" Bobby growled. "I'll do it when it feels right."

James looked skeptical but thankfully didn't press the matter further. They finished collecting their goblets of pumpkin juice and returned to the table. Kitty and Clarice once again had their heads together and were giggling about something.

Kitty glanced up at him when he set the drink down in front of her. "Thank you," she murmured. Bobby nodded and took a sip of his own drink, suddenly nervous again.

A slow song started, one that was much slower than any of the others they'd been dancing to all night.

Before the Gryffindor boy really knew what he was doing, he had offered Kitty his hand. She accepted it with a shy smile.

It was nice to pull her close, Bobby thought. It was really more of a sway than a dance, but it was nice all the same. They were even closer now than they had been during the opening dance. 'Now might be a good time,' a little voice muttered in his head. But Bobby ignored it, choosing instead to focus on how snugly Kitty fit into his arms, how warm she was, how nice she smelled…

All too soon, the slow song ended and she pulled away from him. James and Clarice were conspicuously absent from the table when they returned. Kitty's expression twisted into a grimace.

"I guarantee I will know way, way more about them in the morning than I ever wanted to," the younger girl muttered.

"Probably," he agreed, "but at least we'll be in that boat together."

She smiled now. "That's oddly comforting," she replied, putting her hand on top of his. "What would I do without you?" This question was clearly meant in a joking way, but he still liked the way it sounded.

They went back to chatting about more pleasant things, their friends' activities forgotten for the moment. It was always so easy to talk to her. And her hand was still lingering on his…

The ball was decidedly coming to an end. Most of the other students had gone already. It was now or never…

Bobby got to his feet. "Ready?" he asked, reaching for her hand again. Kitty took it, her fingers lacing through his without any hesitation.

No one seemed to be out in the corridors, so they took their time heading up to Ravenclaw Tower. This time, unlike all the other times Bobby had escorted her back to her dorm, he followed her up the stone steps to a door. There was no handle or keyhole in this door; only a knocker in the shape of the signature Ravenclaw eagle. Kitty knocked on the door once and the eagle spoke, "When is a door not a door?"

This only served to confuse Bobby, but it seemed to make sense to Kitty. She rolled her eyes and looked up to him. "Such an easy one," Kitty said. Turning back to the door, she replied, "When it's ajar."

The door opened. Bobby caught a glimpse of the deserted Ravenclaw common room before Kitty stepped away from it.

She tilted her head back to look at him. That shy smile he'd always loved on her was spread across her features. Bobby remembered his promise to himself. He had enough of what he wanted to say to her planned out when Kitty piped up.

"I had a really nice time tonight, Bobby."

He returned Kitty's smile. "So did I," he agreed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

Kitty stepped closer to him, head still tilted back. And before Bobby really knew what was happening, she was standing on her tiptoes with her eyes closed. Her lips pressed against his.

Bobby froze. That little voice that had spoken to him before yelled at him, 'Kiss her back, you idiot!' But he was so completely shocked by this turn of events that he couldn't do much of anything.

All too soon Kitty drew away from him. There were tears sparkling in her eyes. "Oh," she mumbled, sounding absolutely devastated. She moved backwards towards the still open door, gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

"Kitty, wait," Bobby pleaded, stepping closer to her. "Please."

She didn't listen, instead retreating into her common room.

The last thing he saw before the door shut was a tear sliding down her face.