It was hard to not fidget with her fingers, or the hem of her skirt, as they were all told to gather for Professor McGonagall. Why did the presence of a ball mean they had to have so many assemblies? Her stomach tingled as she saw a tall figure with red hair, in what she assumed was pure anger, and she watched as the Gryffindors huddled by themselves. And if they were to have them, why not by individual houses? She could sense her anxiety slowly rising as she felt a cool glare sent her way, but she swallowed it down, instead choosing to turn to Anne.
"What do you think is happening?"
She shrugged. "Beats me, but it gets us out of class doesn't it?"
"I guess," Mina said, as she watched in wonder.
Wonder until McGonagall had started talking, and dragged Ron Weasley to demonstrate how to dance with her. Why couldn't they just dance how they wanted to? She understood upholding traditions, but she doubted everyone was willing to learn. When she called for the boys and girls to pair up, it was evident that's how everyone felt. They all sat rooted to their seats, and MIna's eyes gazed rapidly for a familiar face. If she could just find Nikolai she would be good. But, as her gaze grew more frantic, she realized that only Hogwarts students were in the room. Her mind worked rapidly, looking for anyone on her Quidditch team she could team up with, someone who would help her turn this whole thing into a joke. But as her eyes touched Damien's, a voice picked up.
"Gentleman, the ladies will not bite you. Pair up now." Everyone sat still, although some hesitantly were starting to get up. "Really, now. C'mon." Her eyes ran over their faces until they hit Mina's, and all Mina could think was: No. "Miss Donnelly, will you please?" Having been called out, hesitantly she stood and made her way over to the professor. She gazed the room again. "And... Mr. Weasley." George stood to stand, and she was grateful for him, even though she knew it was probably something he was doing for his brother rather than her. But, McGonagall was not having it. "No, no. Not you." Her voice traveled, echoing inside Mina's mind. She pointed at Fred. "The other Mr. Weasley."
No.
Her mind was ringing as he made his way to her. Time seemed to slow down, and she wasn't sure if he was purposefully walking so slowly, or if it was all in her head. It's not like the prolonged walk would save them from this torture, yet Mina had a feeling it was a mix of both. As he finally made his way to her, Mina couldn't help but feeling small next to him. She had stood by him before, but the cold shoulder he wa giving her added another five feet to his height. She wanted to shrink in on herself, and she could feel her shoulders start to curl in, but she stopped herself. What was she saying about herself? She wouldn't give him something else to pick on her for. She stood to her full height as he came to a stop by her, and she raised her head high. Her emotions were a crown, and she would wear them proudly.
Their eyes bore into each others with several emotions, but all Mina could feel was the anger in her stomach already working its way up her chest.
They stood there for what felt like forever, when McGonagall clapped her hands. "Now everyone pair up, or I will do that for you." A wave of students filled in around them, as she started the music, but Mina's eyes snapped back to Fred's. Her jaw tightened when she saw he was still looking at her. McGonagall came over by them again, pushing them closer together, insisting they start dancing.
Mina stared at him, not wanting to be the first one to break. And she wasn't. Reluctantly, he put out his hand.
Reluctantly, she took it.
His other hand went around her waist, and hers on his shoulder and they were off. Silently, and with considerable distance between the two of them, they danced stiffly, going through the motions. The air between the two of them was cold, and stifling. Mina's stomach fluttered. She chalked it up to anger. There was a small voice in her head telling her that it's not what it was, but she told that voice to shut up. It had to be anger.
"How far away is the ball?" His voice, somewhat exasperated, startled her. She hadn't expected him to talk to her at all, as she hadn't had any intentions herself, but now it would be hard to avoid it.
"I don't know." She shook her head. "Not close enough."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're excited for it?" The surprise in his voice was evident, and it was heavy with meaning she didn't want to bother to figure out.
She snorted. "Excited to get it over with."
"Oh," he thought for a moment, before awkwardly continuing, "I would've thought you would be excited for it." Mina wasn't sure if that was supposed to be an insult or not, so she let it slide. "Do you have a date, yet?"
She felt herself tense for a moment, her guard coming back up. Of course he would just be asking to hurt her feelings somehow. Considering her answer, she finally answered. "I'm planning on going by myself." It was technically the truth, she thought to herself, thinking of how Nikolai had asked her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'll just hang out with friends. I'm not going to sit around hoping someone will ask me. I'm just tired with this whole ball." There. Now she had fully covered her bases. Nikolai and her were just friends, she really didn't want to sit around for anyone to ask her, and she was in fact, truly tired of everything to do with the ball and the Tournament.
Fred, however, had taken a different meaning from the message. Not that he would've told her, but he thought she might've been hinting to him to ask her. He mulled it over in his head, wondering what it all meant.
Ya'll I just finished a seven page paper and am mentally exhausted, so please don't expect anything spectacular this week. I've got to write a three page paper after this, and almost decided to skip this weeks update, but I know that's a slippery slope to abandoned fics, so I'll push through. Take this for what it is, because I am so very tired.
