Marion walked to the Quidditch stadium feeling vaguely confused. What had just happened there? One minute she'd been screaming at the guy for a full refund, and the next, she was accepting an invitation to dinner. There was really no reason for her to have said yes to him, he'd just caught her off guard, right? Marion started to evaluate the situation a bit more objectively.

He was definitely good-looking, for one thing. THAT she'd noticed right away, it just hadn't registered through her anger. He had gorgeous red hair (she didn't like using that word for guys, it sounded too feminine, but there really was no other way to describe it) – it wasn't the pale, basically blond type or the dark nearly brown kind. No, his hair had been rich, fiery red. Marion had always thought that red hair could either look really good or VERY bad on guys. In this case, she thought a bit reluctantly, it was good. Ok fine. VERY good.

And those eyes. Why did he have to have green eyes? Just REMEMBERING them made Marion's stomach flip-flop; she LOVED green eyes. Ok, so that was two points in his favor. Red hair, green eyes. She almost groaned when another thought popped into her head. HE had asked HER to come out with him. She hadn't had to do a thing. Darn it, that makes point number three. He was fast moving up from annoying clerk to extremely dateable man.

A tickle in her nose warned her of an impending sneeze, and Marion dug through her pockets, looking for a tissue. She didn't find one, but she sniffled in surprise when her hand closed over the bottle of Dissolver. "Oh no! Off to work with a blue face," she muttered to herself, sitting down on the curb and pulling out her compact mirror. "He could have at least let me do this in the store!"

With a sigh, she started srubbing away at her face with the shimmering liquid. A few minutes into the process, Marion realized that the bottle could be just another joke, and she scrambled for the mirror to make sure her face hadn't gone green or purple. But sure enough, the blue was fading and her peach complexion was starting to show through again. Relieved, she finished up, her thought a little less angry towards the red headed joker.

Since she received no strange looks at work that day, Marion figured that the blue was safely gone. She was glad, because if the Dissolver hadn't worked she had been seriously considering standing Fred up. The arrogance of him, assuming that she'd say yes, just because she was confused. Ha.

But, in the midst of this mental outburst, Marion caught herself feeling uncomfortably anxious about the next day's plans.

By the following evening, Marion had forgiven Carrie for forgetting to get her money, and was helping her get ready for her much more traditional date with Oliver.

"Now, he's kind of a jock, so you don't want to look too dressy, so dressing down would be good. Then again... you don't know where he's taking you, so dressing too casually could be bad. First dates aren't usually too elegant, right? So maybe we should just go with... THIS!" Slighty breathless from her own stream of logic, Marion pulled a blue sleeveless dress out of Carrie's closet. (When going out, the girls always wore muggle clothes, they found them more flattering than robes.)

"Maybe..." Carrie sighed, snatching the dress out of Marion's hands and holding it up to herself. Tossing it onto the bed along with the other ten she'd already considered, she glanced at her friend. "And... maybe you should go get ready for YOUR big date with the mystery man." Marion threw a shoe at Carrie's head, and was almost to the door when Carrie stopped her, the blue dress back in her hands. "Do you think my velvet purse would go with this?"

Marion rolled her eyes and checked Carrie's clock. 5:47. Olive was picking Carrie up at 7:00, and Marion was supposed to meet Fred in the plaza downtown at 6:45. She yanked open her closet and stared at her clothes... none of which seemed quite right.

"CARRIE!" she wailed.

Nearly an hour later, Marion had managed to decide on a pale green knee-length dress and was fussing about the make-up that Carrie was trying to put on her.

"I looked better when I was BLUE, now let me go! I'm going to be late!" Marion grabbed her wrap, gave her friend a good luck hug, and trotted off trying not to look too eager.

~

Fred saw Marion before she saw him. He was sitting on one of the benches in the plaza gazebo and he recognized her right away, even though she wasn't blue anymore. His throat caught, and he casually smoothed his hair before standing up to greet her.

"Hi," he grinned as she eyed him a bit nervously. She looked great; he especially loved the fact that he was getting the full effect of her big brown eyes without having to dodge a death glare. If things went right tonight, he would avoid glares altogether this evening. Fred had worked very hard to make sure things would go right.

"Hello..." Marion smiled nervously. "So... where are we going?"

Fred offered his arm ceremoniously. "Allow me to show you." His eyes twinkled, and Fred could feel himself getting excited. He and Oliver had carefully planned out the night, since both were worried that going out in Puddlemere would be nothing compared to New York. So, while they couldn't really make the girls feel at home in their tiny little wizarding town, they COULD make this night special. Fred glanced sideways at Marion and noticed that she was chewing her lip nervously as they walked in silence. He really did like that dress she was wearing...

As they passed through a small alley to get to the dinner spot, Fred felt Marion's hand stiffen on his arm.

"All right there?" He looked down at her. Boy, she was a lot smaller than him...

"Oh, I'm fine. I've just..." She jumped as a bird flew overhead, casting a shadow on the ground. "I've never liked the dark," she said in a small voice.

It was such a vulnerable admission, and so different from the enraged customer he'd met the day before that it was all Fred could do to keep from smiling. Instead, he steadied his arm and drew her a bit closer to him.

~

Afraid of being late, Carrie was always ready too early. Oliver wouldn't be there for another half hour, but she was ready to go. Not known to dress up, this was one of the rare occasions that she did. Hardly. She wore a denim skirt that came up to her knees, with a baby blue sweater. Annoyed at her hair for being so darn straight and plain, she pulled it up into a half ponytail. She changed her green earrings for her silver ones, tied a necklace on, and dabbed on a little makeup; she was ready to go. Only it was much to early.

          Waiting felt like forever, and all she did was fret about the date. Finally, the doorbell rang. Making sure one more time that she was ready, Carrie went and opened the door. Oliver was there.

"Ready?" He asked.

She looked up at him to see glistening green eyes. She hadn't realized before how much taller he was then her. "If not now, then never!" She replied, grinning, and walked out the door. The two of them started walking down the street when she finally asked,

"Where are we going?"

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Now there wouldn't be much to the surprise if I told you, would there?"

"True." Carrie said, and they continued to walk, turning a corner or two every now and then. Even though Puddlemere was actually a small town, Carrie was still pretty new to it and had no idea where she was going. But somehow they must have gone through some fireplace grate or something, because before them stood a huge stadium. In the distance there was a huge castle, and the crowd seemed to be made up mostly of, well, students.

~

           Marion let out a small sigh of relief when they left the alley, although Fred's nearness had done much to distract her from her fears. She could hear water now, and wondered where they were heading. She looked up at Fred and smiled at his intent gaze which was directed ahead at some unseen point. As they walked on a dirt path, Marion took the opportunity to study him more closely.

          He was casually but tastefully dressed. He too had chosen to wear muggle clothing - Marion especially liked the classic black tee-shirt which was just tight enough to show off his powerful build. Not a body builder, she decided, but a quidditch player. She'd wager her life that he played beater.

         I wouldn't mind getting stuck in a dark alley with him, Marion grinned to herself. He looked down at her, his eyes shining.

         "Here we are!"

          Marion looked around. They were by a creek- that was the water that she'd heard earlier- and there was a white sheet spread on the ground, set with a delectable-looking (but not too elegant) dinner; complete with goblets and wine. It was dimly lit; not by lamps, Marion noticed, but hundreds of fireflies positioned in the surrounding trees.

         "Wow." she breathed.

         "You like it?" Fred grinned, looking eager. He took her by the hand and led her to the picnic area. "Now, Oliver and. Carrie. will be joining us later," he had to think a moment to remember Carrie's name. "Just for some music and such, but they've got their own plans for now, so it's just the two of us." Marion sat down, staring in awe at the scene, and felt Fred adjust her wrap around her shoulders.

         What a catch, she thought. I wonder if he's like this all the time.

         Marion was seriously considering grabbing Fred and running away with him forever when a loud BANG made her jump.

        "What was that?" she asked Fred, peering in the direction of the noise. It happened again, this time accompanied with a bright yellow flash of light, and a triumphant shout. She looked at Fred, and saw him tense.

        "Er. stay here," he commanded, and hurried off through the trees. ~

         Fred could not believe this was happening. He turned around and saw Marion hugging her knees as she was left alone in the dark.

        Damn it George! He swore to himself. What the hell do you think you're trying to pull here?

        "George!" Fred yelled as he burst into a clearing.

        "You called?" An identical grinning face appeared from behind a tree.

        "What the hell are you doing? "

        "Testing," George answered, with an innocent look that did not fool Fred. "Just testing some new prototypes for the store." Fred glared at him.

        "Just.keep it down, and don't play any dirty tricks. Or better yet- go somewhere else!"

        "Sure, no problem!" George cheerfully waved Fred off. "Just don't eat your food." he muttered, picking up his things and leaving; a mischievous glint in his eye.

        Fred froze. Don't eat your.

        "Nooo!" He took off at a dead run for the picnic spot where Marion was waiting. ~

         Marion, in the meantime, had gradually decided that the dark wasn't all that bad, and the fireflies made it better. She smoothed her hair and waited for Fred to come back. Then her hunger began to take hold. Not wanting to eat without Fred, she waited a little longer. As her stomach let out a loud rumble, she realized that she hadn't eaten lunch, for fear of bursting the seams on her dress. Finally she reached for her plate.

        "Oh, it's going to be eaten anyway," she told the disapproving fireflies, and popped one of the cream puffs into her mouth.

        "Nooo!" Just as she finished chewing, Fred came dashing back into the clearing.

        "Whad?" she asked, her mouth full. He grabbed her plate away from her and held it higher than she could reach. "Hey! I'm hungry!" She grabbed for her food. "FINE." Giving up and dodging around Fred, Marion snatched a cream puff off of his plate.

        And promptly turned into a bird.

 ~

        "Real games haven't started quite yet, but I thought a school game might be just as fun." Oliver explained, and led Carrie to a box where they were many students, all wearing scarlet robes with a lion on them.

      Carrie had a sudden realization. "Oliver, we're not, not at. Hogwarts, are we?" She asked, almost not believing that she had just said that.

      "I think so. Unless it's changed its name in four years."

      Carrie just looked out into the pitch. She had heard about this place before- but it was more beautiful then she imagined. It made her little school in the United States feel tiny compared to the magnificent castle and its surroundings.

      "Oliver! Oliver Wood!" He turned to see a red-haired girl walking towards him. That hair looked awfully familiar, Carrie thought. "Oliver! What on Earth are you doing here?"

      "Just watching some Quidditch, Ginny." He replied, and then introduced the two girls. She turned out to be Fred Weasley's sister. The Fred that Marion was on a date with right now.

      "We haven't had a good team since Fred and George left." Ginny explained to them. "Harry was still a great seeker, but he had to form almost a whole new team."

       The continued to watch the game, cheering, and rooted for Gryffindor the whole time. In the end, Gryffindor lost, but it was a fun game to watch.

       "Come on, let's get out of here before any of my old teachers see me." He said and started to walk down from the stands. "Besides, we're already late to meet Fred and Marion."

       He took her hand, and together they walked back through another grate (Carrie wasn't paying too much attention to anything except Oliver's hand.) and towards a forest. Once they got there, the trees overhead blocked out the moonlight, and the scene became slightly spooky. Tensing up, Carrie instinctively tightened her grip on his hand. Sensing her anxiety, Oliver let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, instead.

      When they finally reached their destination, Carrie was in shock. The trees had parted for a clearing, and the moon and stars sparkled above them. Although there were no lights, there were many fireflies in the trees, which made everything glow.

       Oliver looked around and saw Fred, but Marion wasn't with him. "Uh-oh" He said. Carrie looked at him and then at Fred. "What happened?" She asked, following him as he hurried over.

~

When she had regained her normal shape, Marion stared at Fred. He stared back at her, apparently in shock.

         "The Canary Creams." he breathed. Marion took a deep breath, her face turning red with anger.

         "The what? You know about these?" she brandished one of the cream puffs at him, her voice growing steadily louder. "You let me eat that?" She threw the cream at him. "How.DARE.you!" Marion grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a cup, and tried to throw that too, but it was stuck fast to the ground. "I should have KNOWN! Famous Weasley twins! Always having to SHOW.OFF!" Just then, the cup broke free in her hand, and she was propelled flat on her back with a loud band, and showered with glittering confetti. "What is this, some kind of stupid joke?" She sat up violently, knocking over the bottle of wine that was next to her. Marion looked down at her hands, which were covered in sticky red wine, which was getting all over her dress. "I've had it." If there was one thing she hated most in life, it was having sticky hands. Well, that and pompous idiots like Airhead over there. She turned on her heel and ran out of the clearing.

       Fred jolted back to reality. "Marion, wait!" he called after her. But she was already gone. "GEORGE!" he bellowed. "I'LL KILL YOU!" ~

      Marion was already showered and in bed by the time that Carrie got home. She heard her door creak open.

     "Marion?" Carrie whispered. "Oliver and I went to meet you two, but Fred said that plans had changed. Is everything alright?" Marion pretended to be asleep. Carrie hesitated. "Well. I'll be up for a little while if you need to come in and talk," she said, and quietly shut the door.

      Marion rolled over and sighed. What a terrible night. Here she was thinking that Fred was being really sweet and romantic, when all he was really doing was trying out his stupid backfiring tricks for his shop. Well. He'd be lucky if she ever talked to him again.

      Well, after tomorrow of course. She intended to march back there and demand her full refund again. And this time, she wouldn't leave until she got it.