My Dearest Ollie,
How do you like my new choice of salutations? I thought it sounded a bit cheap, reading it aloud and all, but I was simply giving you yet another update on how things a fairing up with me in this dreaded castle that I love so much. Tonight is the Yule Ball. It's only noon and already some of the girls are preparing for the ball. Just so you don't miss anything, I'm sure that the ball will be filled with only the stuffiest of people, wearing the drabbiest, but most expensive dress robes known to all wizarding kind. You would have hanging on your arm, the belle of the ball, and no that's not meant to be a joke saying I would be your date. After it would start, you, despite the fact that you had a date, would be asked by many girls, from every house, for at least a quarter of a dance. Angelina, Alicia and I would not ask though, because, well, we know you by now, and we know that you have very little to say about the decorations, the company or even of our beauty. Perhaps your mind would be trained on to a young lady that you had your eye on for quite some time, or perhaps old habits are kicking in and you're simply itching to say something about Quidditch, but only good manners prevent you from doing so. Anyway, after the night ends, you will find yourself quite pleased with the ball, and will dream of the occassion for nights to come, and even question why the school doesn't have more of the dances. In a single, yet somewhat long letter, I hope I have given you the tru Yule Ball expirence that you require to make it safely through life. I will see you at the final task, hopefully. Maybe we'll even be able to speak sensibly to one another, rather than through letters that take days to deliver, no offense to your owl or anything. I'm slowly running out of things to say, so I simply end the letter here.
Your Favorite Chaser in the Entire World Katie
Katie yelped loudly as Angelina poked her, rather roughly, in the side, demanding the blonde's attention. After the fifteenth consecutive poke, Katie whirled around on her friend, "Bloody hell, Angelina, what is it? What do you want?"
Angelina was quite for a moment, and became oddly silent, "I was wondering if you could fix me up for the Yule Ball, I don't know how to do all this--" she paused, just about to say 'girly stuff' but decided to change her choice of words, "--this kind of stuff. You know, hair and make-up and all that." She shifted and smiled innocently, hoping for a helping hand.
"Let me guess, Alicia either refused to help you, or you had some horrible experience with her in the past and you aren't going to chance it, because you really want to impress Fred tonight," Katie said, turning her attention to the mirror in the bathroom and carefully applying a protective gloss over her lipstick. She re-capped the product and set it down on the counter and turned around to face her rather tall friend. "Sure."
"Really? I mean, really?" Angelina smiled brightly. "Thank you, Katie! I'll do whatever it is you need me to do, you say the word and I'll do it. You say 'jump' and I'll say--"
Katie nodded her head grinning, "Yeah yeah, you'll say 'how high.' I get the picture. Just calm down and wait here while I get some stuff, alright"
Angelina jumped a little and smiled, "No problem. I'll be right here. I won't move a muscle, just right here. Yep, right here, not moving, waiting for you, Katie Bell, to help me, Angelina Johnson, with the whole hair and make-up process of life!"
With a small grin, Katie shook her head and headed for her trunk. Angelina never rambled unless she was nervous or hyper. Something told the small blonde that the girl was a little bit of both. "--Yep! Just waiting here! Not moving a muscle!"
Or a lot a bit of both.
Alicia was settled on her bed, magazine opened in front of her, wand pointing at her hair, "Why on earth did you agree to help Angelina get ready? She'll be like this until the ball is in full swing. And on top of that, you know you'll barely have enough time to get ready yourself. Don't you want to look dazzling for Lee?"
"I always look dazzling for Lee, and besides. Tonight could be the night that Fred and Angelina finally hook up!" Katie said, pulling out random make-up bags and hair styling magazines. "Five years and nothing has happened between them? I find that to be a little--"
"A little what?" Alicia asked, cocking her head to one side, and finally looking up at Katie, "A little comparable to you and Lee?" She looked back down at her magazine and shrugged, "Well anyway, if you need a bit of help with Angelina, I will be able to help you in about--" she squinted down at the magazine, "five to ten? Five to ten what?" She began to yell at the magazine for it's stupidty, but was unfortunately surprised when the magazine began to yell back.
Tonight, tension seemed to be a little high in the girls' dormitory. Every girl that would be attending the Yule Ball, was stuffed into their dorm, preparing hours in advance for the dance that they claimed, would make or break the rest of their year. Though Katie did feel the pre-ball jitters, she didn't let it get to her head.
Not until she discovered how time consuming helping Angelina was.
"No! Angie, don't touch the powder yet, I haven't even applied your-- Will you stop it, Angie, or I swear I will hex you into nest week!" Katie shrieked as the girl poked and prodded through the make-up bag. "Have you ever seen make-up before? I swear, you're driving me insane"
Angelina knocked over a tube of lipstick, and reached down to pick it up, causing Katie to smudge Angelina's eyeliner. The blonde let out a furious growl, "Angelina, just stop!"
"But I--"
"No! Just sit there and do nothing, unless I tell you otherwise!"
"Yes sir, Katie, sir."
"Ha ha ha, very funny."
Lee glared at the twins who were still laughing at him. So what if his robes were a bit on the-- He looked down at them with a dismayed expression. --tye-dyed. It didn't make him any less of a person, nor did it make statements aboutwho he ws and how much fashion sense, or the lack there of, he possesed. "I didn't pick them out," he growled to the howling twins.
"Yeah, right," Fred laughed, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "I'm assuming that you didn't even take a look at them before you packed up?"
"Didn't you know, Fred?" George said, still sniggering at his friend, "Lee doesn't pack his own things. His mother takes care of that for him!" They howled with laughter once more, unable to stop, actually. To see Lee there, standing in ankle high tye-dye robes had to be the funniest thing since seeing Snape's face.
Lee scowled at them, but the laughter in the common room ceased when the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, stepped out of his dorm, decked out in the frilliest clothes anyone had ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on. They paused for a moment, before exploding with laughter. "I think someone has me beat," Lee sputtered, clutching his sides.
Though the boys laughed at just about everything, they were pretty nervous about the night, though there was no reason to be. There would be dinner and dancing. What was so challenging about that? Even so, they adjusted their robes, ran fingers through their hair and shifted weight from one leg to another very very nervously. It seemed to take ages for the girls to come out, and when they did, the three young men were speechless.
Angelina was the first to descend the stairs in a terribly ungraceful manner, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Her hair was twisted and curled into near perfection. Her make-up seemed natural, but a bit unearthly at the same time. Her robes were a pale creame color with intricate, maroon designs that were barely visible upon a glance.
Alicia was next to come down the stairs. Slightly wobbly in her shoes, she carefully made her way down and stood next to Angelina, grinning like an idiot. She spun around so the boys could admire her dress robes audibly. "You're dress is very--" Fred searched for a word to describe it flatteringly, but not upset a certain red haired twin, "Uhm-- very plum-- ish." He smiled awkwardly and shifted, looking over at Lee and George, waiting for them to compliment her as well.
Lee spoke next, "Yeah! Yeah, and your uhm--" his eyes raked over her form, though very carefully, "I noticed you're wearing silver jewlery and tiara with uhm.. Plum gemstones! That's really creative, Alicia!" He laughed nervously. Now all eyes were on George, who remained perfectly silent.
When the boy did open his mouth to answer, Katie stepped out, dawning a two-toned dress robe. A midnight blue that, as you went down the dress, faded into a soft baby blue. She too wore silver jewlery, but lacked the tiara. "Well, the ball will begin without us if we don't get down there," she said, easing the tension in the room. "Let's be off then!" She whooped loudly and hopped down the rest of the stairs.
The other five stood where they were, shocked that she had done such an unlady like thing. Katie grinned at them, "I can do almost anything in a pair of good heals, plus it's easy to move in this dress. Now come on, or we'll miss everything!" She grabbed Lee's arm and dragged him away from the common room. Fred and Angelina walked side by side, awkwardly silent and avoiding eye contact. Alicia and George walked with enough space for three trolls to lie down between them.
Katie looked back at her friends as they drew closer to the Great Hall, "It's a bloody shame. Fred and Angelina act like they don't know each other. Alicia can't stand the sight of George right now, and George is walking around like he's going to Azkaban at any moment."
Looking back, Lee could see what she meant, "Well perhaps the ball will cure all that, you know? Change of scenary, something new and different and all that." He shrugged a little before turning his head back to the front. There was a great proccession of students outside the hall. Lee heaved a large sigh, "Well, here goes nothing."
"Everything will be fine, it's just a ball," Katie said, as if she had been to dozens of formal events, which she probably had.
"Well, George," Alicia said frostily, spotting that Mary Unibrow Coolidge, "I hope that you have fun with your date."
George stiffened somewhat, spotting Stewart Ackerly, just as dorky as ever, and waving to Alicia. George's narrowed slightly, but he nodded, "Likewise."
"I have a confession to make," Fred said silently. When Angelina looked at him, he grinned crookedly, "I don't really know how to dance"
Angelina smiled brightly, "I thought I was the only one!"
The dinner was magnificent and elegant in every way possible. A few sniggers escaped from the table Lee and Katie were at, because of Lee's interesting choice of robes, but no one had the curage to actually say something about it. Mary spoke animatedly with George, though she barely noticed her date was simply nodding his head at the appropriate moments. Alicia, much to George's dismay, was having a good time with Stewart Ackerly. They joked with one another and laughed together. Stewart looked rather pleased that he had been able to make Alicia laugh.
Fred and Angelina were their own story entirely. They snorted with laughter, trying to hide the bottle Tipsy Gypsy Juice Fred had managed to smuggle into the Great Hall. Once the dance began, they would more than likely wade over to a punch bowl and and spill their contents into the punch. And in no time at all, that's exactly what happened.
It was a comedic scene, watching Dumbledore dance with rather large Madam Maxime, but it was even funnier seeing how upset Professor McGonagall was at even being in attendance to this school function. Lee and Katie were at the center of the dance floor, bumping their hips together, turning around, and repeating the little dance. It was a little dance that picked up after a while, and seemed that everything got a bit crazy afterward.
Apparently, some people had gotten to Fred and Angelina's spiked punch, and were acting a bit unusually, even Fred and Angelina had a bit, forgetting what they had done to the punch exactly. The pair of them clung together and began to waltz across the hall, stepping on the other's foot and knocking into other dancing couples. The music was a slow, sad song, but they felt it absolutely necessary to waltz quickly in order to keep up with the music, or something along those ridiculous lines.
George didn't dance, he just sat there while Mary yapped his ear off. Perhaps he would have a bit of Fred's spiked punch in order get things a little bit more interesting. Once he did, (Mary detested faulty flavored beverages and resolved for water.) things definately became interesting. George had taken Angelina's place at Fred's dance partner, and the twins broke through couples dancing mindlessly, flailing their long legs and arms about as they moved spontaneously.
Katie stopped dancing to watch as the twins moved closer to Lee and herself, she frowned a little, "Lee, I think we should move a little bit so that--" Lee was still dancing. Katie had to lightly punch him in the arm before he even noticed that she had stopped dancing. "Lee!" She pointed to Fred and George, still dancing between couples and putting up a show in their slightly drunken state.
As the two moved further and further away from the twins, Fred and George drew nearer and nearer, until finally-
"We bloody though you were trying to get away from us!" Fred slurred, the stench of the gypsy drink on his breath. He slumped onto Katie, "Have you seen Angel anywhere? We were supposed to be dancing and then--" he pushed himself off of a Katie and flung his arms out, "Poof! She's gone!"
Katie narrowed her eyes at Fred, angry and confused. "Angel? You mean Angelina?" She'd never heard Fred call her 'Angel' before. She smirked to herself, So the drunken truth comes out. "She's over there somewhere," Katie said, keeping George from collapsing on the the ground, "And where's your date, George?"
The second twin shrugged, "Dunno.. Duncare.."
Lee had began to laugh, but stopped doing so when Katie gave him a reproachful glare. She turned back to George, "Why don't you go outside, and sober up a bit. You to Fred, the fresh air will do you both some good."
"We aren't drunk," George protested.
"You are," Fred said, rolling his eyes, "I'm not."
Lee shook his head and directed the twins out of the Great Hall and into the Entrance Hall, "You both are, you bloody gits. You should really follow Katie's advice and get some fresh air. It'll do the both of you some good."
The twins nodded, though they both had very different reactions. George continuously insisted that he was fine, while Fred found absolutely everything halarious, that was, until he got outside and saw a crying Angelina. This sight caused both twins to sober up immidiately.
They rushed over to her either side of her and began to comfort her the best they could. "Angelina?" Fred began carefully, "You alright? What's wrong?"
Angelina wiped a tear from her eye and turned away from the twins, "Nothing, I just--" she looked ahead at something, before quickly turning back to the twins and letting out a silent shriek. "I just hate him so much! And he's with her!"
There was no need to ask what she was talking about. Roger Davies had made his appearance with Fluer, and to top it all off, they were just across the garden, snogging each other's heads off. George made a go for it, to possibly teach Davies another lesson, but Fred pulled him back and went for the bloody prat himself.
Angelina's eyes went wide in shock, but she didn't try to stop him. Personally, she was all up for seeing a fight, but she didn't want Fred or George to get into trouble, but for some reason, she was unable to find her voice. Luckily she didn't need it.
"Fred, stop!" George pushed his twin back, then began in the direction of Davies, and so the tustle between the two twins continued until they finally decided that they both would give the little worm exactly what he deserved. Rolling their sleeves up, the two began to march over, but stopped upon feeling a tug from behind. It was Angelina.
They turned around and looked at her, "What?" They asked together.
"He isn't worth it, and I'm over it, promise." She arranged her face into a pleasant, but not cheesey smile. This seemed to be convincing enough, because Fred finally relaxed and offered Angelina his arm.
George crossed his arms, sulking slightly, he had been looking forward to making Davies' life a living hell while at this ball. Oh well, perhaps he could find other sources of entertainment, that didn't envolve thrashing someone thouroughly.
Back inside the dance, everyone was dancing, talking or doing whatever with such fun energy, even the professors were cutting down a little bit and enjoying themselves. A slow song drifted over the and around each and every person, either causing them to sit down, retreat to the gardens, or cuddle up next their snuggle bunny for a close, romantic dance. Katie and Lee had chosen the last option, as had Fred and Angelina, though they weren't exactly sure how to do this, so they would occassionally look around at others to make sure they weren't doing anything wrong.
Mary had drug George up to the dance floor to finally make him dance with her. She smiled at him sweetly and batted her eyes, "Oh, George! Isn't this romantic? Under the enchanted sky in December--" she went on to describe the perfect winter date of her dreams. George rolled his eyes, but stayed dancing with her.
Stewart and Alicia settled down and were talking.
"Thank you for such a lovely night, Stewart." Alicia was saying, smiling at the Ravenclaw boy, "I really appriciate your going with me"
Stewart shrugged and grinned, "It was no problem, Alicia, really. I wasn't even going to come to this thing. At least you got me out of my anti-social shell and everything."
Alicia laughed and looked out to the dance floor, as her laughter died down, her gaze finally fell on George and Mary. She sighed, but her smile remained, "He looks absolutely miserable with her." She shook her head, still gazing at the two, more George than Mary.
Glancing from the dancing couple to Alicia, Stewart formulated a plan. He stood and held his hand out to her, "Allow me to do my good deed for the night. Come on." He jerked his head toward the dance floor. Quirking an eyebrow at her date, Alicia took his hand and followed him up to the dance floor. Instead of dancing, which was what Alicia had been expecting, Stewart broke away from Alicia and headed over to George and Mary.
Mary was still going on about, Merlin know's what, when Stewart politely interrupted the dance. He winked at George and turned to Mary, who looked stunned. As George slowly made his get away, the red head backed away and made his way over to a very confused Alicia. "Would you grace me with a dance?" Stewart asked, smiling charmingly.
George and Alicia stood there for a moment, gazing at one another, unsure of who should speak first, or who should make the first move. They both started to speak at the same time, stopped and laughed awkwardly. It was apparent that words were not with them at the moment, so they made the silent agreement to simply dance with each other. At a safe distance of course.
Just as they got comfortable dancing with one other, the music changed dramatically, to a fast upbeat tune that most of the students jumped up and down to, throwning their hands in the air and bobbing their heads. When Fred bumped into George, pushing him closer to Alicia, the two teens smiled at each other, and picked up on the jumping and head bobbing.
All in all?
The Yule Ball was a success.
I hope you all enjoyed the Yule Ball as much as I did! And no the Tipsy Gypsy Juice was not actual alcohol, it can act as one, but fades off as soon as you get some clean air in your system.. Ha! I just made that up, like right now! HO HO HO!
Lia06- I'm glad you enjoyed all the Yule Ball tension, but I could barely stand it.. Not even twenty-four hours later and I have to put up the next chapter just so I can sleep at night. Heh.. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.
Lala- Old feelings rekindle? Ha! That would be WAY too easy! I have to put Katie through some more torture before I can resolve this! Hold on tight because this ride ain't over yet!
Goodybad- Oh! I love me some chocolate! -huggles- Thank you thank you thank you! You're great! Hope you're enjoying the fic, and look forward to more and more and more updates until we finally reach the end.
dreamy-crazygirl- Don't worry, you aren't dictating, you're simply stating your opinion and deeply appriciate it. -nod- And further more, the fact that I am making K/O such a hard pairing to get together, is one of two reasons: A.) I may not be getting them togther or B.) I just enjoy watching you guys cringe.. Heh.. heh.. heh.. You're gonna have keep reading to find out. Heh!
Eruaphadriel- That's so what I said! About the whole George and Alicia thing. As to Katie's silliness, she's still a child and exploring her options and all that. She'll make her fair share of mistakes, let me tell you now, she will definately be making her fair share of mistakes.
Now.. I would like to take this opporutnity to recognize a few people who kinda read without acknowledgement. Heh.. You know who you are.. Or maybe you don't.. But that's ok! I wanna recognize you all anyway!
Some I have recognized already, some I have not! But I wanna thank you for putting QTTA on your favorites list. It means the world to me. -bows- Thank you so much.
dreamy-crazygirl
Eruaphadriel
febgirl
fussyrussy
Golden Fighter
goodybad
IdUnNoXx
Juliette H
Karen Walker
lilikins
lilmistangel
Linda19
lulu5
Maxie Fonseca
Melissa Black13
Miss Lady Marauder
pinkhaze
Princess Danielley
speeds-sweetie
Stubby Boardman
TheBrassPotato
tinkerbell86
TooSweet4Words
(If I've royally screwed up your pen name, bash me if you want, just as long as I know. My computer does some pretty messed up stuff every now and then so I'm doubly sorry.)
Whoa! That's a lot! I would also like to recognize another group of people, though some may be the very same from the list above. This group has QTTA on story alert.. author alert.. whatever it's called. Anyway.. Here they are!
AllysonKat
armr4sleep16
FaerieDreamzGurl
goodie2shoes19
IdUnNoXx
Princess Danielley
TooSweet4Words
Again! Thank you so much guys, I really mean from the bottom of my heart, and just top let ya'll know, QTTA alone had 2,386 reviews and is in a C2 Community called: Three Chasers, Two Beaters and an Announcer where Eruaphadriel is the manager. I've read some of them, they are great, check 'em out, you'll love them. Peace out and I will update soon.
Oh! And wish me luck in USA Junior Nationals! Maybe if I'm lucky I won't have to pay much for college! YaY!
Later Days precious kiddies!
Richi Sama