Hello! Thank you again to all of you for the reviews/follows/favorites. It means a lot!
This chapter is shorter, but it introduces an event I think you are all waiting for... :)
Also, if I get 5 reviews on this one today, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow morning - or even maybe tonight.
Enjoy ! x
wildest dreams
VOLUME I
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Is this supposed to be your Hiccoughing Solution, miss Harlowe ?"
I lifted my eyes to see Snape staring at me – bugger.
"Er – I may have made a little mistake on the way, sir."
"A little mistake, you say ?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
I bit my lip.
"I think you might as well start over, miss Harlowe."
He flickered his wand at my cauldron – immediately, the mixture inside it disappeared, and Snape walked away. I groaned, pushing Fred who was trying to contain his laughter next to me.
"Shut it, you prat, and help me" I muttered.
I had never been good at Potions – unfortunately, for a reason that entirely escaped me, I needed to complete the course in order to be able to work at the Ministry. How being able to brew a Hiccoughing Solution would help me at the Wizengamot, I didn't know. Thursdays were always a pain to me – we had two hours of Potions in the morning, and Transfiguration in the afternoon. I liked McGonagall, but her lessons always felt horribly long.
It had been more than a week since the First Task, and as December arrived, it got colder and got colder. Hogwarts had gotten its first snowfall the day before – we had spent the day getting in snowball fights, and had been so absorbed that we nearly missed History of Magic – fortunately, Binns didn't even notice us arriving almost late, soaked to the bone by the snow.
I spent the remaining time of the class trying to make a good Hiccoughing Solution, but it was quite hard with Fred who kept messing up with my ingredients, by either stealing them or dropping them in my cauldron whenever he felt like it. I ended up making his own Potion burst into flames.
After lunch, we all went to Transfiguration, where I sat with Angelina. We spent the whole time trying out a spell to change the colour of eyebrows – George succeeded in the end, changing Fred's eyebrows from ginger to a bright blue, making the whole class laugh.
"Now, everyone – I need your attention for a few more minutes. I have an announcement to make" said McGonagall at the end of the hour.
I was trying really hard not to laugh at Fred's blue eyebrows – but I tried to focus on what McGonagall had to say.
"You may have heard that the Yule Ball is approaching – it is a traditional part of the Triwiard Tournament, and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests."
I raised an eyebrow at 'socialize'. Also, a ball ? What was that all about ? I heard a few girls from Ravenclaw giggle at the front of the class.
"Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above – but you may invite a younger student if you wish… although I wouldn't recommend it, as you are all at least sixteen."
I smiled, suddenly imagining a sixth year showing up with a first year.
"Dress robes will be worn, and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then – the Yule Ball is for everyone to enjoy. But that does NOT mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
I noticed how her eyes were fixed on Fred and George.
"Now, it is expected of students to come to the Yule Ball accompanied – so, we will all have to find a partner for the evening. Good luck."
As the bell rang, the whole class erupted in laughter, shrieking and annoyed sighs. I immediately turned to Angelina and Alicia – they looked quite excited.
"This is so exciting" said Angelina, grabbing her bag.
"It was until she mentioned the dates" I said.
"Oh, that's nothing, Addy" said Alicia. "Besides, the boys invite the girls, so all we have to do is buy our dresses and wait."
We got out of the room and started walking to the Gryffindor Tower.
"Waiting around and shopping. Sounds like fun…" I muttered.
"We should go to Hogsmeade this weekend – before all the good dresses are gone" said Alicia.
"Absolutely" said Angelina. "And Addy, you have to come."
"I will ! I may not like shopping but I still don't want to look like a troll" I said.
"Too late, Addy. You already look like a troll" said Fred behind me.
He, George and Lee had joined us.
"Thank you, Fred. I can always count on you for a nice compliment."
"It's an honour, truly. So, ladies, excited about the ball ?"
"Of course they are, Fred. Girls live for that sort of thing" said George.
"Ha - like you aren't excited" said Alicia.
"I bet you're all thinking about who you're going to ask" nodded Angelina.
George snickered.
"Like you aren't thinking about who you'd want to go with. 'Oh, I hope Krum notices me ! Do you think he will ask me ? I hope he –'"
He had been trying to imitate our voices, but I cut him short by throwing my Transfiguration book at him. When we sat down at the Great Hall, everyone was only talking about the ball. I was getting excited at the idea of dressing up and dancing – but the whole 'finding a partner' thing was making me nervous. Was I really supposed to just wait until someone asked me ? What if no one asked me ? I certainly knew who I wanted to be asking me – but I couldn't let myself hope that, not for one second.
The castle was buzzing with excitement once again, with everyone talking about what they would wear and who they would invite. That weekend, me and the girls went to Hogsmeade to buy our dresses – we hoped to be one of the early birds, but to our dismay, we weren't the only ones to think the same. The only dress shop was packed when we got there – Alicia managed to find something she liked, but Angelina couldn't choose, and I was just overwhelmed by the crowd, so we decided to just give up and come back another time.
The next Monday night, I came back from the library to find the twins working on another letter to Ludo Bagman.
"He still hasn't replied ?" I asked.
"Not a word" said George.
"We tried to get a hold of him at the First Task – but he avoided like us the plague" sighed Fred.
"You're going to send another letter ?"
"Yeah, and this time, it won't be as nice" nodded Fred.
I quickly read the parchment – it was very direct, but I knew there was no other solution.
"What do you think ?" asked George.
"Sounds good. When are you going to send it ?"
"Now, if we can. We just have to ask Ron for Pig."
They stood up and went to the table where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting – Ron had just blew up his cards, his eyebrows almost disappearing in the process. I chuckled at the sight, joining Angelina and Alicia who were talking by the fire.
"So, any news ?" I asked them, snacking on some Bertie Botts beans.
"Actually, yes – Alicia got asked by Andrew Lachlan."
"The Ravenclaw Prefect ?"
Alicia nodded, smiling shyly.
"That's great, Alicia ! He's really cute" I said with a smile.
"I know. And he was so nice about it, too. Brought flowers and everything" she said.
"You're joking !"
"I'm so jealous" muttered Angelina.
"Oh, your turn will come, don't worry about it" said Alicia.
"Fred hasn't asked you yet ?" I said, frowning.
"No. At this point I'm wondering if he ever will."
"Of course he –"
"Oi ! Angelina !" shouted a voice.
We all turned to see Fred, on the other side of the room.
"What ?"
"Want to come to the ball with me ?"
I gaped, staring at Angelina. She waited a second, like she was thinking about it.
"All right, then" she said, turning back to us.
She was grinning from ear to ear – me and Alicia shrieked with excitement.
"What did I tell you !" I exclaimed.
"Could've been more romantic" she said.
"Angie, don't forget it's Fred Weasley you're dealing with – he doesn't even know what 'romantic' means."
"Yeah, and besides, it actually could have been a lot worse" nodded Alicia.
Angelina had to admit at least that. We spent the rest of the evening talking about it – I was really happy for Alicia and Angelina, but I did feel a bit left out. I was the only one left without a date – well, with George, of course.
I hadn't talked to Nik since our disastrous date at Hogsmeade – I honestly didn't know what to say to him. I was secretly hoping that I had made such a horrible impression that he wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the year, but I still felt a little bad about the way I reacted. After all, he hadn't been rude or disrespectful in any way – he had just been a little too eager, and had acted on really bad timing. So when I saw him walk by the next Tuesday night in the park – we were just leaving Defence and enjoying the weather outside – I decided to go and apologize, hoping it take a weight off my shoulders.
"I'll be right back" I told the twins.
I turned on my heels and ran to meet Nik.
"Nik !" I called.
Fortunately, he had heard me, and turned around. I stopped in front of him, smiling softly.
"Hi" he said.
He didn't annoyed or angry, which I thought was a good sign – but then again, he wasn't smiling either. I took a deep breath, wrapping my scarf around my neck.
"Look – I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted. Back in Hogsmeade, I mean. It was rude to run away like I did."
"Why did you ? I didn't understand."
"Yeah – I should've explained myself a lot sooner. I just – I've been very confused about – er… About a lot of things, and I just took it out on you, and I'm sorry. I really am."
He was silent for a few seconds, observing me. Then, his lips broke into a smile.
"It's okay. I understand – I realize I got ahead of myself."
I smiled back, genuinely relieved.
"I couldn't help it – it was such a nice day, and you were so beautiful – well, you still are."
I laughed awkwardly.
"Well, I'm glad we settled that" I said. "I'll see you around."
I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.
"Wait !"
I faced him again, eyebrows raised.
"Can I ask you something ?" he said, still smiling.
"Sure" I muttered, anticipating his question.
"I want to make things right now."
I felt the blood drain out my face.
"Oh – that's not –" I blabbered.
"Addy, would you like to go to the ball with me ?"
It took all the strength I had in me not to let out a groan, or sigh. I just stared at him, paralyzed, while he stared back, his eyes full of hope.
"I – er –"
"Please" he insisted. "It would be a honor for me."
For a moment, I thought about saying yes – not because I wanted to go with him, but because it would be so much easier. I wouldn't have to wonder at every second if George was ever going to ask me, or to lie awake at night imagining what it would be like going to the ball by myself, or dreaming about George going with someone else, someone prettier, someone cleverer than me. But then, I imagined myself actually going with Nik – who probably didn't even care about me at all, who would leave at the end of the year leaving only his memory, who had kissed me when I was thinking about someone else. And it suddenly became clear to me – this was my decision, and I would take it for me. I took a deep breath, and straightened up.
"I'm sorry, Nik – but no. It's very nice of you to ask, but I have to say no."
He frowned – obviously, he hadn't expected me to say no. But I felt good about my decision.
"Can – can I ask why ? Are you going with someone else ?"
"It doesn't matter. I think you're a very good person, and I'm sure you'll find the perfect partner – but I'm afraid it won't be me."
It took a few seconds for him to react. I thought he might scream at me, as his neck turned into a bright shade of red, but he only nodded sharply.
"Very well."
And without another word, he turned on his heels and walked away. I closed my eyes, breathing out, enjoying the cold wind on my face. I felt like had just freed myself from something – and it felt good, so good. As I walked back to the others, I couldn't stop smiling. I didn't even care about going to the ball alone, now – at least, it would have been my own choice.
"What was that all about ?" asked Fred when I got back.
"Did he ask you to the ball ?" said Angelina.
"It doesn't matter. Now, I don't know for you, but I'm famished."
And, still smiling, I started walking back to the Great Hall.