Hi Vicki!
Things around here are pretty boring. There hasn't even been any juicy goss to share with you. However after Christmas holidays I'll hopefully have some interesting things to tell you.
Sounds like you're having a more interesting life at the moment! Sucks to hear that guy you like turned you down. I never thought I'd see the day you'd have a problem getting a guy, usually they're flocking all over you.
Lisa read your letter and she thinks going to your school formal with that guy's enemy is a bad idea. Apparently she tried the jealousy thing with her ex and it backfired, but that's probably because she's a bit desperate. I think giving that guy a run for his money is a good idea.
Anyway Happy Christmas and I expect another letter from you after your formal telling me how it goes. I am a bit disappointed I won't be seeing you this Christmas – but I'd stay at boarding school over Christmas too if my school had a dance with lush guys.
Talk soon
Sarah xo
Vicki had just finished reading the letter when a voice behind her gave her a fright.
"Can you believe Christmas is tomorrow? I can't believe it. It's a shame these holidays are going so quickly, before we know it term will start again." Fred whined as he approached the bench Vicki was sitting on and came up behind her suddenly.
Vicki felt Fred's head so close to her shoulder and felt his warm breath on her cheek. She scrambled to put the letter from her muggle best friend into her robe pocket before she registered just how close he was.
She was wishing he would put his head on her shoulder and hug her from behind but shook her head and snapped out of it.
"I've already done my holiday homework. I've been kind of avoiding people this week as everybody has been going crazy preparing for the ball. How pathetic can you get?" Vicki spoke up after Fred took the seat next to her.
"Who's pathetic? The ball people or you for doing homework?" Fred teased her with a poke on her side.
Vicki just gave him a mock glare and chose not to respond to his taunts.
"Bagman wrote to me last night. He said he's coming to the ball and asked me to save a dance for him. You've locked me out of your Bagman scheming lately but if you need me to lure him somewhere for you just let me know." Vicki weakly smiled.
Fred felt his stomach drop. He had purposely avoided getting Vicki involved with the Bagman scheming as both he and George thought it was beginning to get a little too risky. Bagman seemed to have a very strong and creepy obsession with her and it was no longer safe to use Vicki as bait. He also didn't like that he wasn't her date and thus couldn't protect her.
"How would Montague feel if you danced with Bagman?" Fred teased her as he gave her a light shove.
"I don't really give two hoots what Montague thinks. He's not the boss of me." Vicki immaturely stated as she crossed her arms in a huff.
This made Fred grin as he gained courage to ask her a question. He absolutely despised the fact Vicki was going to the ball with a Slytherin he detested but it was comments like that which made him feel a bit better about the situation.
"Do you have any plans for Christmas Day? Why don't you spend some of it with us Weasleys?" Fred asked his crush hopefully.
"Well, if Percy was still here I'd have to turn you down. But he's not. So that sounds great. I guess I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall before lunch and sit at the Gryffindor table with you?" Vicki accepted.
Fred beamed at Vicki's proposal before the two changed the topic and would go on to talk for the next hour before the curfew warning.
"How's your haul this year?" Stephanie Fawcett asked Vicki as she finished opening her last present and made the wrapping paper disappear with her wand.
Vicki, who had only just woken up and was still quite groggy only lazily pointed to the pile of presents at the end of her bed.
"My parents already told me what they're sending me – a muggle polaroid camera. I've always wanted one." Vicki sleepily responded.
Having no shame Steph scampered over and began reading the tags on the presents. She squealed when she read one of the names and threw it towards Vicki.
"Montague got you a present!" she clapped happily.
Vicki unwrapped the present and was greeted with a long jewellery box. She opened it up and cast her eyes upon its contents which was a necklace with a fine silver chain and a handsome gemstone as the centrepiece – although Vicki couldn't tell what the stone was made out of.
"That looks really expensive! Those Slytherin old families really have lots of money don't they? I wish Kyle got me a present like that." Steph pouted.
Vicki remained silent as she put the box to the side, planning to wear the necklace to the ball later. She felt guilty that she had only gotten him a few boxes of Bertie Botts.
She went to her pile to unwrap the next present and one in particular stood out to her as it had Fred's name on it. She eagerly opened it and found inside a bracelet. It was nowhere near as spectacular or shiny as the necklace that Montague had bought her. But that didn't matter to Vicki, this was more personalised.
On the bracelet was a single charm, a Ravenclaw Eagle. Wrapped around the bracelet was a note.
I was tempted to get a lion charm to annoy you haha, but if I bothered to get you a present I guess I should do it right.
Fred.
Vicki smirked at the note and Steph read it over Vicki's shoulder.
"That's cute. You can tell he really thought about your present as he knows how much you love this house. Wish I had two guys vying for my attention. I mean Montague is hotter, but-" Steph began to blab on but was cut off by Vicki interrupting her.
"What do you mean by that? Fred isn't vying for anything. He likes Angelina and he now has her." Vicki bluntly stated.
"Y-you didn't know? Merlin Victoria half of sixth year know it by now. You spend so much time with the guy and never picked up on it? Roger never said anything?" Steph asked Vicki with wide eyes.
"What on earth are you on about?" Vicki impatiently asked.
"Vicki. Fred Weasley is absolutely crazy for you. Most people in our year level can tell. Roger used to loudly complain about it. For a bright witch you sure can be incredibly clueless." Steph teased her.
Vicki was silent as she was lost in thought. Steph could see this on her best friend and told her she was going down to the Common Room and that Vicki could join her when ready. This left Vicki alone to collect her thoughts.
Vicki then began to replay thoughts in her head. There were some instances where Fred could have been showing interest or was just being friendly. But he had stated he was intending to ask Vicki to the ball first. Vicki assumed this was just his way of nicely letting her down – but maybe there was some truth to it?
She knew today wasn't a good day to ask him about it. It was Christmas and they were both going to the ball with other people. But Vicki was planning on seeing whether Fred continued to date Angelina after the Christmas period was over. If not, she knew it was fair game to finally discuss her feelings with Fred and see if he felt the same way.
Vicki opened the rest of her presents from her friends and family. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she did so. She eventually made her way down to the Common Room where her happiness would be taken off her.
"I'm surprised you ladies aren't already getting ready for the ball. Aren't girls meant to take hours to get ready?" Phillip Bridge teased the sixth year girls as he approached them, chocolate fudge in his hands.
For once it wasn't Vicki who took the bait from Phillip, it was Steph.
"Buzz off, Bridge. Just because you couldn't get a date to the ball." Steph bitterly retorted.
"Harsh." Phillip sarcastically responded.
"Well you can build a bridge and get over it, ha ha. Get it? Your last name is Bridge?" Vicki dryly joked, stealing a piece of fudge from Phillip as Steph was left gaping at the horrible joke.
"I must say that I like you a whole lot more than I used to, Victoria. Montague will be in for a fun night with you as his date." Phillip stated.
This seemed to bring Vicki back down to earth as Phillip's comment was a cruel reminder to her that she wasn't going to the ball with the person she really wanted to.
This caused Vicki to depart from the common room after telling her fellow six years that she was hungry and craved food. She slowly walked down to the Great Hall as she collected her thoughts. She felt absolutely happy that Steph had the opinion that Fred liked her. But it then raised a lot of anxious feelings inside her too. What if she made a move and once again felt his bitter rejection?
She had no time to mull over these thoughts as her vision went dark as she was making her way down. Before she could let out a scream her sight came back and she saw the grinning faces of the two Weasley twins.
"Why have you put a jumper on me?" Vicki asked in confusion.
"It came from our mum." George stated.
"What do you have against our dear old mother? Is her knitting not good enough? Are you saying she has poor taste in jumpers? That's incredibly rude." Fred joked, adding onto what George was saying.
Knowing it was a joke the twins were playing to try and make her uncomfortable Vicki knew better than to bite and give them the satisfaction of getting a reaction from her. Instead she continued with her line of questioning.
"Why'd your mum send me a Christmas jumper? Why not send it to me directly then?" Vicki asked the twins.
"She thinks very highly of you it seems. She's still very grateful that you helped us out at the World Cup. She sent it to us as she felt she didn't want to intrude on your Christmas morning, you know by receiving a present from someone who wasn't a friend or family." George responded.
"Apparently Ginny or Ron also mentioned in a letter that we spend lots of time together. She was wondering why my marks were improving and did some digging but won't reveal her source. She's convinced you can turn my life into academic bliss so you're basically my saviour to her. Or perhaps hers." Fred shrugged.
"Now come on. Less questions, more eating. For this is the one day a year the teachers will let a common Ravenclaw like you to sit at the best table in this place. You gotta make the most of it." George urged Vicki as he extended an arm out to her. She accepted it, and made a chain as she extended her own arm out to Fred.
Vicki sat with the Weasleys during Christmas lunch – with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger joining them. They ate to the heart's content and pulled apart many wizard crackers. Vicki had her polaroid camera with her and snapped many photos of them all looking goofy with their silly has and "Weasley jumpers" as Vicki had been informed they were called.
After they had finished their meals with stuffed bellies they still managed to waddle down to the outside grounds where they all participated in a vicious snowball fight. Vicki had joined Harry and Ron's team, whilst they were up against Ginny, Fred and George. Hermione had chosen to sit out and watch the snow fight unfold.
After a while it became noticeable to everyone that Fred and Vicki had abandoned the group fight and instead were wrapped up in their own little fight. Fred was throwing powerful snowballs at Vicki with lots of might, whilst she was using her wand and making them turn to water on impact, spraying all over Fred.
"Watch out Hartwell. I'm going to get you." Fred mischievously smirked as he threw a snowball at her.
"Ooh resorting to last names. Shaking in my boots." Vicki retorted as she mirrored his smirk.
With no warning he pounced on her, holding her tightly from behind and pushing a snowball under her collar causing the cool ice to contact her skin directly.
Rather than getting annoyed about it, Vicki went limp. Her back was turned to Fred so he couldn't see her shock but her eyes widened. Clarity washed over her and she finally could understand why the entire sixth year study body could see what she couldn't.
All of Fred's flirting attempts with her had been extremely subtle based on his usual nature. Vicki was used to his joking and pranking ways because that's who Fred was. All of his actual flirting had been lost on her because she didn't differentiate it from his normal self. Until right now.
As much as Vicki wanted to stay still and let him hold her from behind she had something she needed to do. It wasn't an appropriate time or date to spill her feelings and see if he felt the same, but she was open to some digging through her actions instead.
She turned around and grinned at Fred before slowly approaching him. She clung onto him as she let the wet melted snow transfer from her jumper to Fred's jumper.
"Payback! If you're going to make me wet and cold you're going down with me." Vicki giggled as she finished and took just a slight step back.
"Alright, fine. I'm ready to give up and call this one a draw." Fred laughed back.
They continued laughing for a few seconds but as the moment passed they both fell silent. They were both very aware of just how close they were to one another. Fred was studying Vicki's face to try and find clues of what she was thinking about. Not succeeding in his task he decided to take the plunge and ask her.
"A knut for your thoughts?" Fred asked, his arms still lightly around Vicki's torso.
"Do you actually have a knut? Because I don't work for make believe money." Vicki asked curiously.
She was attempting to avoid having to tell Fred what was actually running through her head. She wanted to badly tell him about the crush she had developed on him, and she wanted to tell him how much she wanted to kiss him right now. It was a feeling burning so brightly inside her that she almost didn't care that in a few hours time they were attending a ball with other people.
She did however fear rejection. She was crushed the first time he rejected her and she couldn't possibly take it a second time. Vicki was a strong girl and didn't believe it was always up to the boy to make the first move – but she'd need stronger signals from Fred should she pluck the courage to try again.
"Actually, I do. I've got several on me as those Canary Creams have been flying out the door," Fred stated as he dug through his pockets and pulled one out before handing it to her "Here ya go. I've just purchased your thoughts. Tell me!"
Vicki sighed and smiled a little as she ran a hand through her hair.
"I was wondering why on earth the Sorting Hat wanted me to be in Gryffindor over Ravenclaw before I argued for Ravenclaw. I'm not brave. I can't even gather the courage to ask someone this tiny thing." Vicki truthfully responded.
"Well if this thing is running through your mind as I'm holding you I'm guessing it involves me. What do you need to ask me?" Fred asked her curiously as he held his breath in anticipation.
Vicki cringed. He was a lot more intelligent than people gave him credit for and he had easily backed her into a corner. There was no avoiding this conversation now.
"I wanted to ask how you felt about me. No counter questions in response, no avoiding anything and no jokes to lighten the mood. Are you brave enough to answer?" Vicki asked Fred very seriously as she had finally become courageous enough to ask.
He blinked at how blunt her question was. Instead of feeling nervous he felt relief wash over him. He had harboured strong feelings for her since the beginning of the previous school year and hadn't acted upon them. But now he would finally put everything out there. Even if Vicki didn't feel the same way at least he would know and could finally move on with his life.
But based on recent interactions with her, he had a strong feeling she did return his feelings. He potentially was about to gain more from a single conversation over any other conversation he had ever had.
Before he could confess everything to Vicki a snowball came hurling towards them. As they were so wrapped up in each other they didn't see it coming and it hit both of them, splattering snow all over them.
Fred didn't hesitate in softly stroking the snow from Vicki's hair.
"T-thanks." She stuttered and blushed feeling very vulnerable.
Fred then turned to the direction the snowball came from expecting to see Ron who threw it. He was surprised when he saw a sheepish looking Ginny.
"Look, sorry to break this all up. But Vicki we need to start getting ready for the ball. You said we'd be meeting Stephanie on the fifth floor staircase at four thirty. It's twenty five past now." Ginny declared.
"Ah, damn. I need to go. Can we continue this conversation later? Maybe we can have a dance or something tonight?" Vicki asked as she finally stepped out of Fred's grip.
"I'll make it the dance of your life!" Fred teased her, but smiled widely to himself.
It was finally happening. He was now looking forward to the ball. He barely even felt guilty that it was Victoria Hartwell he was excited for and not his date.
I'm updating at work so I need to quickly post this and jump off but to my reviewers you know i love you and I'll bring back shoutouts next chapter - thanks for the support!
I do want to mention how excited I am to write the next chapter. The Yule Ball was the first thing i planned out when I started writing this story and I'm so glad it's finally here!
