As Auden slowly opened her eyes and looked into Fred's eyes, her smile widened. She had just kissed Fred and it was everything she had imagined it would be. It was gentle and sweet, but at the same time it had made her head spin. It was kind of like Fred himself.
"Wow," Fred whispered, staring down at her with a slight smile. "I've wanted to know what that would feel like for months."
"And?" asked Auden. They were still holding hands and their faces were still inches apart. She could probably count every freckle on Fred's face if she wanted to. Besides that, she could still feel Fred's hand on her lower back and it was practically driving her insane with giddiness.
"It was amazing," Fred breathed.
Auden laughed. "I agree," she said. Suddenly, a song came on in the Great Hall. It was a Muggle song, but Auden and Fred both knew it well.
"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" Fred asked, jerking his head towards the Great Hall.
"You remember the song?" Auden asked.
"Of course I do. How could I forget? It was the song that was playing when I first started having feelings for you."
"That night in the Leaky Cauldron?" Auden blinked as she processed what Fred had said. He had liked her all that time? He had known it all that time? While Auden had been confused and believing it wasn't real, it had been for months.
"Yeah," Fred nodded. "When we were dancing and your mum took that picture of us."
Auden smiled. "Something definitely changed that night, but I had no idea what until recently. I was so stupid for not realizing it sooner, Fred."
"Maybe only a little stupid," Fred smirked.
Auden swatted him. He grinned and pulled away as he began to lead her back into the great hall.
"Wait," Auden said, pulling on his hand to stop him. "Let's dance right here."
"Are you sure? We're in the entrance hall, you know that right?" Fred gave her a look that was a mix of confusion and amusement.
"I know, and I don't care," she answered.
Fred smiled and stepped closer, putting his hands around Auden's waist again as she put her arms around his neck.
"I really just can't believe it took so long for me to realize I liked you," Auden said again. "I mean, I think I've always known it, but it took a while for me to actually realize it and now I kind of wish I had realized it sooner. Not that I hated being with Cedric, but everything feels so right with you and—," she had begun to talk faster and faster and then Fred cut her off.
"No offense, but you're babbling," Fred grinned.
"Sorry," Auden blushed.
"Don't be sorry. I agree with what you said. And for the record, I love when you babble."
Auden smiled and rested her head on Fred's chest. He pulled her closer to him, and her stomach was doing gymnastics as Fred started singing along to the song in a whisper in her ear.
As the song ended, Fred moved away from her slightly and bit his lip. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you," he whispered. "Some of the things I said once you and Cedric were dating...I've wished to be able to take them back every single day since. But I couldn't help myself. I'm not trying to make excuses...but I was just so jealous. And I really am sorry for how I acted."
Auden half smiled. "Your mother would be disappointed."
Fred immediately turned red. "I'm so, so sorry," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. "Forgive me?"
"I did...ages ago," Auden admitted.
Fred smiled and let out a laugh of utter relief before leaning in and kissing her again. Auden couldn't believe how good he was at it. They were already as close as they could get and Auden still wanted to be closer. She couldn't believe this had been what she had been missing all this time.
They had just pulled away from each other when Ron and Hermione ran into the entrance hall, arguing.
"…ask me before somebody else does, and not as a last resort!" Hermione was yelling. She didn't even notice Fred and Auden as she turned and ran upstairs.
Ron, however, turned and saw Auden and Fred holding hands. His eyes widened with surprise and glee. "Are you two…together?"
"Yep," answered Fred, holding up his and Auden's intertwined hands.
"Finally…it took you long enough," grinned Ron. He looked at Auden. "And as for you...well, I told you so."
Auden blushed and looked at the ground as she tried to hold back her smile. "Yes, you did," she said quietly. She looked up at Fred. "Even Ron knew something was going on between the two of us. How bad is that if he even picked up on it before we did?"
Fred groaned and let out a laugh. "I'm ashamed."
"You should be," Ron teased. He glanced at the stairs. "Anyway, I'm done here for the night. I'll see you both tomorrow."
Fred and Auden said goodnight as Ron disappeared up the stairs. Just as he disappeared, George and Katie came out of the great hall, holding hands as well.
"Are you…?" Fred and George began at the same time, looking at each other.
"Oh, Merlin," Auden breathed as she let out a laugh. "This is ridiculous."
"I may have wanted you two to get together," George said, "but not on the same night Katie and I did. It just steals our thunder."
"Shut up," Fred muttered, sending a smile his twin's way as another song came on in the great hall. It was the last song of the night seeing as the Yule ball was scheduled to end in a few minutes.
George led Katie to the dance floor and Fred led Auden. Cedric was across the room with Cho, who looked thrilled to be dancing with Cedric. "I almost feel like we cheated on each other," Auden whispered, glancing at the couple across the room.
Fred reached out and gently turned Auden's face so that she was looking at him. "Don't worry about him," he said quietly. "He's happy now and so are you." He paused. "You are happy now, aren't you?"
Auden smiled up at Fred. "Of course," she answered. "I wouldn't be dancing with you if I wasn't." As the song ended, they stopped dancing, and Auden's stomach flipped as Fred leaned in and gently kissed her again. Auden was only partially aware of George whooping from behind them. All she cared about at the moment was Fred.
The final notes of the song rang out through the room, and Auden felt kind of sad that the night was over, but on the other hand, she was exhausted. "My feet are killing me," she said, kicking off her shoes and picking them up so she could carry them upstairs.
"I can fix that," Fred told her.
"Wha-?" Auden gasped and then let out a giggle as Fred quickly scooped her up and began to carry her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to laugh all the way up to the common room, where Fred finally sat her down on the couch. She collapsed into the warm, squishy cushions and sighed contentedly as Fred sat next to her. They sat there for a few minutes, completely oblivious to the people filtering in after the ball. After a while of just staring into the fire and processing everything that had happened, Auden looked to her left and saw Fred gazing at her with a dreamy smile on his face. "What?" she asked, giggling.
"Nothing. I just can't believe we're finally together." Fred reached out and brushed his fingers along the side of her face. "I've wanted this for a while."
Auden shivered and stared back at him for a few seconds longer. "But what about Angelina? Is she mad that you aren't together anymore?" she asked suddenly.
"No," Fred leaned back into the cushions. "We broke up, as you already know, but she actually broke up with me. Apparently she could see how much I liked you."
"Wow, that's sweet of her," Auden said. "She must really like you for her to do that."
Fred shrugged. "But I like you, so…"
"Why'd you date her then? If you've liked me for so long, why'd you date her?"
"Why'd you date Cedric?" Fred retaliated.
"Because I did like him. A lot, actually. But I just never realized how I felt about you until recently and it took seeing you with Angelina to realize it. I also didn't want to like two people at once. I didn't want complications. I wanted to communicate with you and talk to you, but I didn't want to hear that you liked me because it would only confuse me."
Fred sighed. "I don't know why I dated Ange. It's horrible to say, I know, but I thought maybe I could get over you by dating her. It wasn't happening, though. I only fell harder for you every day. I was devastated when you started dating Diggory."
"I'm sorry."
"No, don't be…Like I said, I'm sorry. I was such a jerk to you. I'm supposed to be watching out for you and I did a horrible job."
"It's okay," Auden whispered.
"No, it's not," Fred insisted. "Cedric…he really is a nice guy. I just…I didn't know how to handle losing you."
"You didn't lose me," she said. "I'm right here."
Fred rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair. Auden giggled and swatted his hand away.
"George told me that some girls were giving you a hard time about dating Cedric," Fred whispered suddenly.
She looked up at him and blinked. "He told you that?"
"Yeah," Fred nodded. "I'm so sorry, Aud. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during all of it. I wish you would have told me. It happened before we argued."
"I know, but I felt like you were avoiding me and I didn't think you wanted to hear anything Cedric related anyway. I thought you would get mad."
Fred shook his head. "I would have-I am mad, actually, but not at you and not at Cedric. Not for this. I just don't think you should have been treated like that."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter," Auden muttered, "and I'll probably get more comments thrown at me about how I left Cedric and immedietely went running to you. It really doesn't matter, though. I just want to be happy and that's all that matters." She looked up at Fred and smiled. When he opened his mouth to protest, she leaned forward and kissed him before grabbing his hand and tracing the lines on his palm with her index finger.
"Why do I get the feeling that you were more upset about all of that than you're letting on?" Fred whispered after a moment.
"It's over now," she answered, continuing to trace the lines on his palm. "There's no use being upset over it anymore."
"You and Cedric...I may not have been happy about you two dating, but if you were happy dating him at any point at all, then you completely deserved it. You know that, right?"
Auden nodded. "And I think I deserve to be happy with you, too."
Fred smiled. "Exactly, so if those girls do give you more trouble, let me know, okay? I'll deal with them."
Auden laughed and shook her head. "So…do you want your Christmas gift now or later on?" She looked up and grinned at him.
"Hmm, now," Fred said anxiously.
Auden laughed and stood up to go to her dorm. "Okay, I'll go get it."
"I have to get yours too so how about we meet back down here in fifteen minutes," Fred suggested, standing up as well.
"Why fifteen minutes? Did you forget to wrap it or something?" Auden joked.
"No…I want to get out of this outfit. It's uncomfortable," Fred tugged at his tie to loosen it.
Auden laughed. "Alright, fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes later, Fred and Auden returned to the empty common room, both in their pajamas and carrying gift wrapped boxes. They sat back down on the couch. Auden turned sideways to face Fred and sat cross legged. "This is for you," she said, holding out the neatly wrapped box.
"And this is for you," Fred held out his box. "It's not the neatest wrapping job, but I tried," he smiled guiltily.
Auden took the box happily. "It's the thought that counts," she smiled.
"Open yours first," Fred told her.
Auden ripped open the paper and found a small black box. She opened the box and found a beautiful silver necklace. It had three hearts, all side by side and interlocked. "This is beautiful," she whispered. "Absolutely gorgeous…I love it! Thank you so much!" She leaned over and flung her arms around Fred. "Here, put it on for me," she said as she turned around and moved her hair to the side. She felt Fred's fingers brushing the back of her neck as he clasped the necklace. They seemed to linger there for a few extra seconds before he said "Okay, done."
Auden turned around and touched the necklace now dangling from her neck. "How does it look?"
"Beautiful," Fred smiled.
Auden smiled back. "Open your gift now," she told him.
Fred carefully opened the gift to reveal a dark wooden picture frame. When he saw the picture inside of it, his mouth dropped open. It was the picture Auden's mother had taken of them dancing in the Leaky Cauldron. Fred carefully moved his fingers over it and then brought it closer to his face. He watched as the picture version of himself spun the picture Auden out and then back in. They were both laughing. And then, there it was. That moment when they had been staring at each other so intently, falling for each other without entirely realizing it.
"Do you like it?" Auden's voice snapped him back to the present. "My mum got two copies of the picture developed and she bought two frames so that I could have one too. She just sent them over today. I almost laughed when you mentioned that day downstairs, but that's when I knew it was a good gift choice."
"Auden, I love it," Fred told her. He set the picture on the table and pulled Auden into a hug. "How were you planning on giving me this if we weren't speaking?" he asked when he pulled away.
"I was hoping we would be speaking by Christmas," Auden sighed. "And if not, I was either going to make things right or wait until we were okay again and just give you a belated Christmas gift."
Fred smiled. "Same. I didn't want to be the one to apologize, either, even though I was the only one who did something wrong. I just...I was so upsest that you had chosen Cedric that admitting I had been a jerk would be like..." He sighed and shook his head, unsure of what to say.
"Like kicking you when you were down," Auden finished. "I get it. I just wish we had talked about this sooner."
"I couldn't tell you how I felt after you were dating Cedric. You were so happy with him. At least at first anyway. And by the time your feelings changed, I was with Angelina, even though I still liked you. It was all just bad timing and miscommunication."
"Seeing you with Angelina on the day you asked her out," Auden said slowly, "practically broke my heart. I suddenly knew what I was feeling and it terrified me. I felt bad for wasting Cedric's time, but then again, I did have feelings for him at some point." She sighed and leaned back against the couch cushions. "You're right. It was just a ton of bad timing." She looked at him. "But it finally worked out, didn't it? So, that's really all that matters."
Fred smiled and reached out to run a thumb along her cheekbone. "Yeah, it is," he whispered.
"I really missed you," Auden told him with a half-smile.
"I missed you too, Aud," he answered.
Suddenly, Auden stifled a yawn. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now.
"You should get to bed," Fred told her.
"But I'm not tired," Auden lied, stifling yet another yawn. Even if she was tired, she wanted to stay up and talk to Fred and make up for all their lost time.
"Yes, you are," Fred insisted with a laugh. "I would carry you to your dorm but then there's the whole slide thing and, well, I'm guessing that wouldn't work out too well."
Auden laughed as Fred stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I'll see you in the morning?" she said, looking up at him almost shyly and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was still sort of amazed that he was her boyfriend now. And even though she had done the whole dating thing with Cedric, this was Fred. It was a completely new relationship and it still made her a little nervous.
Fred nodded and reached a hand out, running his fingertips down her arm until he got to her hand. He laced his fingers through hers before looking up to meet her eyes. "You looked so beautiful tonight. I hope you know that."
Auden blushed. "I'm glad you thought so."
"But if I'm being totally honest," Fred continued, "you look even prettier right now in your pajamas."
Auden blushed even more. "Maybe I should've worn them to the ball instead," she whispered.
Fred laughed. "You would've been the talk of the school."
"You know I'm such an attention hog," Auden giggled.
Fred smiled. "Anyway, yes, I will see you tomorrow. And thank you again for the picture. I love it. It's going on my nightstand."
"That's where mine is," Auden grinned. "And I'm glad you like it. I certainly love my necklace, that's for sure."
Fred grinned. "I'm glad," he whispered, stepping closer and sliding his hands around her waist.
"I'm never going to get to bed if you keep distracting me," Auden whispered.
"I'm not distracting you. I'm kissing you goodnight," Fred answered.
"Oh, well that's okay then," Auden replied. Her eyes fluttered shut as Fred leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers. She slid a hand to the back of his neck and up through his hair as she sighed contentedly.
"Merlin," Fred whispered against her lips before burying his face in her shoulder. "When did you become such a good kisser? I could've sworn we were both in high chairs yesterday."
Auden giggled. "I've been wondering the same thing about you," she answered.
Fred chuckled. "Goodnight," he whispered, pulling away and backing away towards the boy's dormitory.
"Goodnight," Auden answered, grinning and heading for the other set of stairs. When she reached her dorm, she collapsed on her bed and curled under her covers. She fell asleep almost instantly, despite the fact that her stomach was still flipping at the thought that Fred Weasley was now her boyfriend.
A/N: I decided on using I'll Be for the song that Auden and Fred dance to, and I also used a lyric in the title.
Thanks for reading!