(GoF) CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: The Yule Ball, Part 2

As soon as they had cleared out of the Great Hall and into the nearest, unpopulated hallway, Fred pressed her against the wall and kissed her so hard, she temporarily forgot pretty much everything in the world except the feeling of his lips on hers, hie hands in her hair, the taste of him, the—

"How touching," drawled a voice from behind them, and Fred yanked away from Ellie so fast, she stumbled and quite nearly fell. Fred caught her without so much as looking at her, eyes glued to the boy who had just spoken—Aleksander.

"You're done speaking to her," Fred growled at Aleks through clenched teeth. "You're done so much as looking at her."

"Am I, though?" chuckled Aleks, sounding no less pleased with himself than usual. "I'll admit she caught me in a bluff, but I'm still here, aren't I? That precious headmaster of yours know exactly what he can and can't say if he wants you, him, and Daddy saying out of Azkaban."

She hadn't expected Aleks to get locked up for his crimes against her; it would have meant revealing too much to his headmaster and the other outsiders involved in the Tournament. But his lingering confidence was more than a little disconcerting.

"I'll tell you a secret," Aleks said to Ellie as if Fred wasn't even there. She felt Fred's grip on her arm tighten instinctively. "It was never about Harry or Cedric."

Fred stiffened even more at that, but Ellie wasn't so sure she believed it. "I'm not even in the Tournament."

"No, indeed," chuckled Aleks. "Nor am I interested in it. It was you all along who captured my interest—the girl with the Perelli charm. And I'm not the only one."

Fred grabbed him by the throat so fast, Ellie couldn't help but gasp. "Who do you work for?" Fred nearly spit at Aleks as his fingers tightened around his throat. "Tell me!"

Even without access to air, Aleks was still laughing. "Enjoy your freedom while it lasts," he spat at Ellie through the limited airwaves. "Won't be long now."

Ellie had half a mind to let Fred squeeze the last of the air right out of him, or maybe even to snap his neck. But she couldn't let Fred become a murderer, so, reluctantly, she took hold of the arm that was strangling Aleks and pulled it away.

"Come on," she said softly to Fred, doing her best to coax the fury and mania from him. "Let's go outside."

It took several tugs of his hand to get him to walk away from Aleks, who had collapsed onto the floor, coughing and sputtering, but, finally he did. Not until they had exited the castle and were outside in the startlingly cold air did he seem to breathe again.

It was snowing, Ellie realized as she blinked up at the pretty, white flurries coming down around them. It was… beautiful.

"We shouldn't have been so rash," Fred said darkly as he followed Ellie to the bench by Hagrid's—the one that had been her parents' spot before it was theirs. Neither of them sat, though; they were both too on edge. "So reckless. We don't know who he works for. We don't—"

"I'm not afraid of him," she said firmly, looking him boldly in the eyes. "Not anymore."

Her words comforted him, she could tell. For so long, they had been all he wanted to hear. But they scared him, too.

"If he hurts you," he said, shaking his head—"if you did all this to be with me and it ended up getting you hurt—"

"It won't." She hated Aleks even more now—hated him for ruining what had been such an intensely perfect moment. Could they find their way back to it? "And even if he did try, wouldn't you rather we be together when it happened? So you could protect me?"

She meant it. Fred might not be the strongest wizard she knew, but he loved her more than everyone else combined, and she felt safe with him. Besides, he was talented; those Wizard Wheezes he and George had been working on proved it. Not to mention his new Animagus abilities.

He sighed, reaching a hand out to cup her face. His expression was, ever so slowly, softening. "You must be freezing. Here."

He started to wrangle himself out of his outermost dress cloak, but she put a hand out, stopping him. "I could think of a better way you could warm me up," she said in a small, husky voice.

His brown eyes flashed with desire, but he didn't kiss her quite as swiftly as she'd hoped. Instead, he looked down at her hands, which were still clasping his arms.

"I can't…" He swallowed, looking nervous. "I don't think I could handle it again, El. Being so close and… and…"

She knew what he meant. How many times now had they gotten so close, only to have things ripped away from them? Christmas last year; Halloween this year…

He wasn't rejecting her, though. She could tell the difference by now. He was just being… careful.

"I couldn't, either," she told him softly, squeezing his hands before lifting hers to wrap around his neck. "So let's just both of us make sure it doesn't happen again, eh?"

His gaze trailed hopefully back toward hers as a tiny, wary smile spread over that sweet, kind face that she'd grown to love so much over the years. "I think I can do that," he told her.

And with that, he kissed her again.

It was all that felt right to Ellie anymore—all that made sense—the way he kissed her. The way his hands trailed to her back—one on the small of her back; one on her shoulder blade, warming her and keeping her close to him—the way his fingertips felt against her bare, exposed skin—the way they stumbled backwards toward the bench, which he lay her down on as he trailed his kisses across her cheek, to her ear, her neck, hungrily—desperately—

A sudden, unexpected curse sounded from him, straight into the skin of her shoulder, followed by a laugh.

She blinked, sitting up in confusion as he did the same. "Something funny?"

He laughed again, this time shrugging off his cloak fully and placing it around her shoulders. "Only how little control I have over myself when it comes to you," he told her, eyes glowing with playful flirtation. "We'd better stop while I still can."

His words sent chills of pleasure and desire down her spine. She knew perfectly well, of course, that Fred would never really "lose control" when it came to her, and that, when the time came for them to take things to the next level, it would surely be her pushing him and not the other way around. Still, she couldn't help feeling flattered.

"I s'pose they are waiting for us to finish our set," she admitted with a frown. "Though I only have a few new originals left. Then what will we do?"

He grinned as he took her hand and guided her back toward the castle. "There are a few older originals I wouldn't mind hearing again."


When they returned to the stage, hand in hand, Ellie still in Fred's cloak, nearly everyone in the audience burst into cheers that were even louder than before they had taken their break. Ellie shrugged out of Fred's cloak and set it down in the wings before glancing at Ginny and George, who both looked absolutely elated.

"'Bout damn time," said Ginny happily as she lifted her bass strap over her head and readied herself to play. "Remind me what's next?"

"Don't You Dare," said Ellie, and they began to play.

She had intentionally saved this particular song for after the break. It operated off the assumption he would accept her serenade and agree to be with her—something she hadn't been entirely sure of at the time.

I could say that I don't care, but the truth is I'd follow you anywhere. We've been waiting such a long, long time—don't you dare change your mind.

The other songs were more of a blur. There was Your Eyes, all about his eyes holding up the sky; there was White Lines, all about how much she had missed him that summer; then there was Deeper, about how her relationship with Fred was stronger and different from anything else she had ever known. Then they switched back to the older songs, ending with My Sweet Time, which really had been about Fred all along.

And then, finally, the ball was over, and it was time for them to leave.

"I don't want to go back to the common room," Ellie whined as they strolled in that direction together, hand-in-hand. "Can we go back to our spot?"

He grinned at that, looking amused. "Which spot? The one we went to tonight, or the roof?"

The picnic table by Hagrid's would always hold sentimental value for her, but the little roof he'd taken her to during their one day of being together was different. It was a source of hope for them—the place they had planned to spend many more nights, if not for the Aleks of it all.

"Okay," he said when she explained this. "But I've got to get into something besides these awful dress robes."

She laughed at that, glancing at her own gown, which wasn't exactly made for nights outside in the snow. "I suppose I should change, too."

They had reached the portrait hole by then, but, to her surprise, he reached out a hand to grab the fabric of her dress just above her waist. She blinked down at the sight of his hand on her, both surprised and quite allured by the sight of it, as he asked with a small, devilish smile, "Will you be keeping the dress?"

She laughed. "S'pose so. Hermione got it for me, but—"

"Keep it," he said firmly, using his hold on the fabric to draw her in for another kiss. "You never know when another occasion might arise."


Seems to be sticking, ladies and gents! After four long years, the wait is over! But we still have years to go... And an Aleks and a Voldemort to deal with. Stay tuned and keep reviewing!