"Guess who asked me to the Yule Ball?" I was practically bursting with the answer. Kim and Kelly were both in the middle of a very animated over-dinner discussion, complete with spitting of food and everything. I squeezed myself on the bench next to Kim, and waited for their excited guesses.
"George Weasley?" Kelly guessed correctly, her mouth in a tiny smirk. When I didn't disagree, she muttered, "About bloody time."
"Huh?" I thought I heard what she said, but wasn't sure. Kelly didn't repeat herself.
"That's great!" Kim exploded, and latched onto me. "You're going to have so much fun! We will have to reconvene halfway through to discuss how our dates are doing."
"I'm sure Billie will do fine," Kelly grinned suggestively. "It's going to be fun times all around."
"It's sort of weird that he asked me," I said abruptly, the thought pouring into my mind.
"No it's not," Kelly replied, her face serious. When I shot her a patronizing look, she repeated, "What? It's not."
"You're going to have fun," Kim drew out the last syllable, rocking me back and forth on the bench. "I'm so excited for you!"
I eyed Kelly, curious as to what she knew that I didn't know. We hardly kept secrets between the three of us. When she could feel my eyes burning a question mark into her temple, Kelly shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. Let's dress all slutty and have a good time."
"Maybe not slutty," Kim corrected her quickly. I peeked over at my shoulder during this moment of awkward conversation to try to find George, but he was lost in a mass of scarlet clad Gryffindors.
Kelly shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The words tumbled off of my tongue before I could stop them, "Who is Cedric taking to the ball?"
Neither of my friends replied right away. I spied a look down the end of the table, where Cedric was laughing uproariously at something one of his best friends had just said. I wished I had heard the joke.
"She's in Ravenclaw," Kim started, her voice quiet. "A fifth year, I think."
"Cho Chang," Kelly pointed behind her, where the very pretty Asian girl I had seen Cedric walking with before was sitting. "She's a snob. And has pretty much fucked every guy in Ravenclaw. I guess it was only a matter of time before she crossed into our house."
"You think they…" I had to stop myself from asking, because I could feel my newly consumed dinner creep back into my esophagus.
"Probably," Kelly said bitterly. When she saw my face swim with shock, she waved it off. "Don't even think about it. Fucking is just how she says hello."
"But he's not like that," I said indignantly, my cheeks turning red.
"I guess he is now," Kim sighed. "And don't even think about asking how to fuck him better. It won't get him back."
"Yeah, so not worth the herpes she's probably given him already. Besides, you have George now. And you'll have a lovely, herpes-free time at the ball," Kelly grinned.
If sex was the reason Cedric broke up with me, I was furious enough to beat him to his death. But I knew that it wasn't, and so I still couldn't muster a good enough reason for me to hate him.
On Christmas day, Hogwarts became a flurry of overexcited girls and under excited boys. Girls were squealing to each other on how to do their hair and what dress they bought and what about their nails. Boys were exchanging anxious eye rolls, already ready for the night to be over with.
I had only seen George in herbology, and even then I wouldn't say much of what we did was interaction. He would send me a sly wink periodically, and I felt my stomach flutter with excitement. My resentment towards Cedric and Cho had grown into an awful feeling of defeat every time I saw them pass me in the hallways holding hands. I was holding his hand almost a month ago. That was me…
I didn't talk to Kelly or Kim about Cedric anymore. I had stretched their sympathy too far thin. After the dinner conversation, I didn't mention Cedric again.
After dinner, all of the girls retreated to their houses to get changed and beautified. Kelly, Kim and I shared a room (with two other girls we could never remember the names of, despite our living together for six years). We had an hour before the ball began, and too much to do. Stage one, we each changed into our respective dresses. Kelly had bought a floor length black and white strapless gown. Kim had bought a shiny purple cocktail dress that nicely accentuated her chest (which made her turn redder than her hair and stomp her feet in disapproval, although she secretly loved the compliment). I had decided on a dark blue cocktail dress covered in black lace with a black bow on the back. Stage two, hair decoration. Since Kim's hair was too short to work with, we formed a train where Kim did Kelly's hair and Kelly did my hair. Stage three, make-up. Since each of us was super picky about how we liked to look, we were racing only the clock to get ready on time.
When I had finished getting ready, I examined my finished product in the mirror. Cedric would have liked how I looked. He would have kissed me on the cheek and told me I was beautiful. The thought roused a dull ache in my chest, but I had to bury it when Kim asked by yelling, "Are you ready, Michelle?"
I took a deep breath and faced my friends with a forced smile. No, don't do that… You'll have lots of fun.
"Let's go," Kim urged, and grabbed my hand. By her weak smile I could tell that she was anxious about meeting her date.
"You'll be fine," I told her, and she became so flustered by my confidence that she looked away.
The Great Hall had transformed into a winter wonderland. Icicles and snow dangled from the ceiling, Christmas trees perched in the corner, and all of the small round tables adorned in shimmering, silvery cloth. The room was sparkling. Kelly and Kim grasped my hands and together, we descended the staircase in front of the Great Hall. The foyer was swarming with people, which made it extremely difficult to locate each of our dates. Slowly, couples trickled into the Great Hall, leaving the foyer much less crowded.
Kelly's date came first, and he whisked her away in the Great Hall with a wide, anxious smile on her face. I never saw Kelly more nervous than on first dates, and she had been on plenty. Kim and I stood awkwardly in the foyer, holding each other's hands. It was like we were reassuring the other we wouldn't leave.
"I wonder where he is," Kim said breathily, her fear etched in her eyebrows. I squeezed her hand tighter for reassurance.
"George isn't here, either," I pointed out, and she nodded.
"We'll be okay."
But what if George didn't show up? What if he actually forgot about our date? That wasn't like him, but my faith in men had quickly declined after Cedric's tactless break up choice. I scanned the crowd for flaming red hair, but only found some on my best friend. I took to watching the shadows dance off of the walls like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
After a few agonizing minutes, Kim's date showed up. Relief swelled in face and she released it in one large breath. Kim squeezed my hand one last time before disappearing into the Great Hall. And now I was alone.
And then, I felt a warm hand scratch against my lace shoulder straps. His face came close to my ear, and crooned, "Waiting for someone, miss?"
I jumped in my skin, and turned around to see George wearing a toothy grin and smart black dress robes.
"It takes you longer to get ready than a girl!" I teased, and smacked his arm.
"Please, beauty like this doesn't take five minutes." He batted his eyelashes.
I smirked. "Right. More like days?"
George gaped at my humor. "You are a cruel woman."
"You should have known what you were getting yourself into."
"I like where this is going."
I inhaled, making a hissing sound. "Not there."
"Right, right. Just kidding. Come on, let's get inside. Don't want to get trampled by the champions."
I had almost forgotten–Cedric would be making his official debut with Cho tonight. My insides burned at the thought, so I tried not to think.
A/N: Thanks to the watchful eyes of one Miss Cecilia Ward, I did change one small (but important) detail in this chapter: Cedric and Michelle's sex life. I had originally written this story thinking that they had not. But after stewing on it, I realized that-after two long years and a castle full of horny teens-they probably would have. The detail was easy enough to alter, and now the continuity makes sense. Thanks again, Cecilia Ward! (This is why I love you, reviewers!)