When the night of the Yule Ball came, Ginny and many other girls began to panic and bustle things about at the last minute. Ginny was already dressed in her pale pink and green dress with her hair all done naturally and lovely, but she had not yet finished her make-up. She seemed to rush putting on her light layer of mascara and foundation to cover up the slight possible breakouts coming up in her pale freckly skin. You were sprawled across your scarlet bed with the curtains neatly pinned back in the dorm that you shared with Ginny, Hermione and Lavender. A book about difficult Charms and Transfigurations lay open beneath your nose and bright interested eyes that swam through each page, defeating one page after the other in the thick-paged green leathered hardback.
"Fiona, get your nose out of that book and get ready," Ginny said in a motherly sort of way as she slid in another pin into her hair.
"Hold on," you raised your hand as you tried to finish off the last page of the extra long chapter that intrigued you severely with a childish excited grin planted on your face as you read the exhilarating solution to how to reverse this spell. Ginny however was not taking any of it. She placed her hands firmly against the small curves of her hips and frowned down at you, tapping the tip of her foot impatiently against the dark old wooden floor of your dorm. You could see the dark shadow hovering over you draw nearer and nearer, stopping in a intimidating way that could put you off your morning porridge. You smiled awkwardly up at your best friend who pointed over to your long flowing purple dress and frowned a frown that scared you down right to the very tips of your toes to the last strand of hair that rested on your head.
"Dress, now."
"But-"
"No buts!" she scolded as she swiped away the hardback book in one fighting swoop and flopped it down onto her bed. "I want this evening to go right! Perfect, even!"
"Perfect?" You asked with an eyebrow raised in suspicion, curious to know what she meant by that. Ginny turned away to face the large mirror that reflected her pretty reflection gladly, deliberately trying to swivel the conversation in another direction.
"Do you think my make up is alright?"
"Ginny you look lovely, now tell me what you mean by 'perfect'." You demanded as you swivelled off of your bed and stood on your bare feet on the rough wood below, taking a few steps towards your elegant dress as you waited for an answer from her.
"If you get ready, then maybe I'll tell you." she pointed over her shoulder accurately at your dress which was now held lightly between your fingertips. You groaned and did what you had to do, get dressed, even though you still had a good hour before you had to meet Fred down at the common room. Just the thought of dancing and being in the presence of Fred all night made your stomach tie up in a small knot for some strange reason. The thought of him being smartly dressed, behaving in a gentleman manner, was somehow unbelievable from observing him those years that you've known him for. After several long minutes of thinking as you slowly slipped on your dress, Ginny pulled you over to sit down on the stool in front of the large table mirror to do your hair and make-up for you (since you don't really wear much at all). She thoroughly brushed your long dark brown hair in slow gentle sweeps to get rid of any annoying knots that decided to pop up. After a few minutes of gentle brushing, your hair was completely smooth and shining like freshly molten dark chocolate. She began to pin it up bit by bit using sparkling silver pins with an excited hum.
"Ginny, explain yourself, now?" you asked hopefully, although you didn't get them up too high. To your surprise, she did.
"I want this night to go perfect for you and Fred," she muttered as she tried to focus.
"Why?"
"Because he really likes you," she said as she gently pinned another silver pin into your hair to keep it in place. "But he is too shy to admit it."
"Fred? Shy? Yeah right." you snorted, amused with the fact that the troublesome prankster had some sort of shyness buried deep within him. Ginny nodded as she finished your hair so that it is flowing in natural waves, half up and half down.
"Honestly. He's my brother Fiona, I think I can tell when he is acting strangely."
"He is strange, what are you talking about?" you chuckled with the tall redhead in mind. Ginny smirked at the thoughtful look on your face that had just appeared. But as soon as it came, it disappeared once you noticed that look she held. "...what?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing." she giggled innocently which seemed dangerous to you.
"Ginny?" you asked as your afraid eyes ventured up to her glistening ones which kept the secret tightly locked up. After about ten more minutes of touch-ups and tellings off by Ginny you were finally ready and absolutely nervous. "Oh, Ginny, thank you!" you awed as you caught a last second glimpse of yourself in the large mirror that hung happily on one of the old walls of the room. Ginny grinned proudly from ear to ear as she quickly clipped in a loose piece of her hair back with another pin. And with that, you both set off down the stairs, carefully tiptoeing down each and every one of them without tearing or stepping on your dress. As you pass another concrete step with another faint clicking echo of your heels, the more the butterflies seemed to swoop around inside of you, fluttering their way across each and every inch they could find and swamp with such irritating and unexplainable nerves. You took a silent deep breath and exhaled a long shaky breath that seemed to empty out your lungs of air entirely, exchanging it with a sea of other emotions that now flow freely throughout your body.
The last few steps came into view; three... two... one...
"Blimey," awed Fred as he turned at the sound of clicks from your shining silver heels against the floor. He scrubbed up pretty well when he had to. His long fiery red hair looked like it had been fully brushed with actual effort, his smart dress robes and actual polished shoes looked so different on the tall joker. In fact, it looked a little odd, but in a good way. "All right, love?" Fred purred with a cheeky wink. "You look gorgeous, as always."
"What?"
"Nothing." He laughed as he quickly responded, not meaning to have said the last part.
"I see that the ageing potion wore off,"
"Didn't you like it? I thought that you had a taste for older men?" he joked and laughed when he received a thump from your fist straight into his arm. "Kidding!"
"You'd better be," you laughed. The brand new silver heels that you wore made you a few inches taller but it made no difference standing next to Fred, you were still miles shorter than he was. Although, it's nice to have someone taller than you are, isn't it? Fred grinned his signature cheeky grin and held out his arm for you to take, trying to behave like some sort of gentleman on this formal evening.
"Shall we, my dear?"
"Indeed," you responded in a jokey sort of manner, neither of you really taking much seriousness from the basket filled with possibilities.
"Oh, hold on," Fred interrupted. He halted the two of you and leant down a little before kissing you on the cheek lightly but sweetly, as if a rose petal had fallen softly across your skin. He smiled a little gingerly as he explained himself for his action. "It's what you should do when greeting a lady, isn't it?" All you could do was shrug after a long drawn out stare into his big chocolate brown eyes. A little squeaky voice inside of your head was cursing and stomping loudly around as you could feel the edges of your cheeks begin to burn up into a flame of shyness, caressing each and every layer with the shame of your burning secret that constantly roared inside of your mind. You could hear the silent sniggers coming from Ginny's voice in her own head. You could read the visibly clear smugness smeared across her pretty face, thickly written across her forehead as she gave you a look of girlish curiosity whilst she began to walk away with her date for the evening, Neville.
Fred smiled as he returned back to his normal tall posture, standing high and proud as he also began to lead you away out of the empty common room and down the corridors to the beginning of what could be the most beautiful desired night of your lives. Already you could feel your heart flutter into a faster speed as you walked graciously alongside the tall teenager you've had a huge crush on for almost a year now, even when you dated Oliver you couldn't feel the sense of guilt sluggishly creeping around inside of you each time you caught a miserable glimpse of the redhead. But now, you couldn't be happier. The thought of spending the entire night with Fred at your side excited you to the very bone but terrified you also. What if he found out that you had a crush on him? Would it ruin the great friendship that you two had together? Or would it actually lead you down to another path of dreams and secrets yet to unfold?
These exact same thoughts also rushed through the mind of the tall teenager beside you, glancing down at you once in a while to take in the marvellous sight of you dressed up so elegantly. You often dressed modestly, not finding the need to wear make-up all the time or trying to impress every boy that looks at you even for the briefest of seconds. That's another reason why you and Ginny get along so well together, you don't fuss over yourselves as much as that pug girl Pansy Parkinson does. It makes you cringe how much she likes that foul boy Draco Malfoy, the amount of make-up she wears is just repulsive some days, the clothes didn't really add to it either. Simplicity was a good factor because then it would show off your natural side which everyone seems to love, even Malfoy can't deny that he doesn't fully hate you.
Your thoughts were soon disturbed by the breathtaking sight of the hall that was showered with elegant decorations and filled with students who all looked as lovely as one another, except Pansy of course, the girl really needed some guidance when it comes to her appearance. But once again your thoughts were disturbed by a soft voice asking permission.
"Fi-Fi?" asked Fred in whisper so that you could hear him. "Would you... like to dance?" You couldn't help but mentally awe like mad at how cute he was being, he didn't have to whisper but that was just another addition to the cuteness rating. You nodded with a smile as he took your hand inside of his carefully, as if you were going to slip away when his hand touched yours. You two both emerged from the thick onlooking crowd that surrounded the dance floor and managed to slip past the front row and break out of their thick barrier. You two took a place on the dance floor and waited for the next song to begin.
As you both waited, Fred twirled you briefly right on cue when the music began. It was a slow song, one where couple can easily talk if they wanted to or just stand there awkwardly swaying. You couldn't help but giggle once the unexpected twirl had ended and you both started dancing slowly with each other with smiles that brightly reflected the clear happiness to be in each other's company. The feel of his hand connected with yours turned your heart upside down in twists and turns, growing more light when his other hand was then placed upon your waist to begin the dance. He did look very handsome this night, as if a whole new Fred had cracked open from its shell and yelled out 'different!' with bright different coloured lights flashing about around him, bragging.
"I'm thinking about getting my hair cut," Fred said randomly out of the blue.
"Oh," you chuckled, finding his random outburst amusing. "Why?" Fred shrugged as he guided you around the dance floor elegantly, surprisingly.
"It's getting a tad too long, George agrees too. But it is a good length for head banging." He joked, deciding not to embarrass the two of you by demonstrating.
"Aw, Ginny will be so disappointed. She loved plaiting your hair."
"Yeah, shame. Random question here, do you know who put my hair in bunches and tied them together with little raspberry pink ribbons?" He asked suspiciously with one eyebrow raised, as if he already knew the answer. You smiled sheepishly and pretended as if you didn't know.
"George, maybe?"
"Na, he would've most probably given me something to make me go bald."
"Ha, true." you giggled, thinking about the image of Fred actually being bald but then removed it from your mind, deciding that he looked better with his ginger locks.
"Was it you, perhaps?" He asked again with a curious grin.
"What, me?" you gaped, as if you had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
"Yes, you."
"I am utterly offended that you would suspect me, Fred Weasley."
"Oh, really? Then why did I receive a Christmas card from you with a picture of me on the front, asleep, with my hair tied up in bunches with pretty little ribbons and a title at the top saying 'Merry Christmas!'?"
"...Busted." you laughed at his little pouty face that had a grin of amusement hidden away beneath somewhere.
"I knew that it was you!"
"Then why did you ask?"
"I wanted to make conversation, I'm not very good at this formal stuff." He admitted a little shyly as his cheeks turned a little pink.
"What if you get married? What will happen then?" You asked with a chuckle. Fred thought for a moment with some sort of dreaminess painted onto his cheeky face as his eyes began to soften at the very thought.
"I would let my bride organise the whole thing if she wanted so that she will get the very special day she had dreamt of since she was a child." He said softly. You looked up at him in awe, finding him absolutely adorable at this moment.
"So, what if she wanted a big boring wedding that was incredibly dull and grey and said that it was 'traditional'. Also, she would force you to wear a neon pink wedding suit and made you dye your hair to a bright emerald green, you would oblige?" Fred nodded with a smile that could put candyfloss to shame by the lack of sweetness it possesses.
"If that is what she wanted, that is what I will go along with. Even if I have to dye my gorgeous hair." You giggled.
"Because you're worth it?"
"Hell yeah!" Fred laughed as he dramatically swished his hair with a posed pout which made him look utterly ridiculous. "That's if I am lucky enough to get married..."
"You will,"
"How can you be so sure, Fiona?" He asked with an eyebrow raised as he suspiciously examined your facial expression, as if annoying you into letting yourself spill a secret that you didn't want known. A bubbly laugh escaped your lips as Fred twirled you around during questioning, grinning cheekily as the night went on.
This continued for the whole boisterous night that was full of mischief, cheekiness and tons of dancing – slow and fast songs. You could see your best friend Ginny having the time of her life with Neville, although she truly wanted to go with Harry to the ball she is perfectly happy to have Neville's company. The minutes of time and space had seemed to decide to be rebellious and unfair as they soared by so quickly that you swore down to your own grave that you have only been present for at least an hour or so. 9:00pm, 10:00pm, 11:00pm. . . Past midnight, 12:15 to be exact. Fred checked the time and then checked the yawing girl beside him who rested her head against his shoulder due to the lack of energy inside her been drained out from dancing so much with him. He chuckled lightly as he barely moved his shoulder in a short sway to catch enough attention to hear what he is saying.
"Hey," He whispered next to your ear, his long glossy fiery red hair tickled the smooth skin of yours as he spoke. "You sleepy?"
"A little bit," You nodded with a yawn, shielding your mouth with your hand cupped over it whilst the yawn lasted. Fred smiled and thudded down his empty butterbeer glass down on the table behind you and smiled again.
"Shall we go then?" You nodded sluggishly in response as you yawned again. Reluctantly, you stood up onto your silver covered feet which were now slightly sore from how long you were wearing them for. Fred carefully wormed an arm around your waist as he slung his long jacket over his other shoulder, his bow tie had been loosened and was now just hanging freely below the collar of his clean white shirt. His care-free attitude shone brightly from him as he shrugged off a yawn that almost sounded from his lips. He guided you silently to the common room. It wasn't an awkward silence, more like a happy presence silence. The silent cold walk to the common room seemed endless as yet another yawn passed by your lips. Fred smirked. "I could carry you if you wanted," Your eyes seemed to snap open and had woken you up to a point of a dark blush settling on your cheeks at the idea.
"N-no, I'm fine, thanks!" A pout showed itself on your face as you heard Fred laugh at you, making the mood a tiny bit awkward. Thankfully, the common room was in sight and you two climbed into the empty dingy room that was barely lit by a few candles and the lazy fire crackling happily on its own. A warm rush of air gently brushed passed you as the portrait closed, blowing the warmth of the fire to thinly spread across the empty room. Fred walked beside you for the remainder of the walk to the bottom of the girl's dormitory staircase and smiled.
"Well, then,"
"M-hm." you hummed with a nod. Silence broke out again and this time it was a little more awkward, in fact, it was completely awkward seeing as you two were the only ones there in the common room and were unsure what to say or do next. Your eyes began to wonder, as did Fred's while you two desperately tried to think of something to say, even the simplest of words would do. You lifted your feet a little lazily to climb a couple of steps of the girl's dormitory stairs to look at Fred face-to-face, tiredly smiling towards him. You decided to break the silence. "Thank you, Fred. I had a wonderful time."
"Good," He nodded with a relieved smile, trying not to grin at the unusual sight of you being the exact same height as him, even if it was for only a short while. Annoyingly, another awkward silence had broken out, leaving the two of you standing there fishing around in your minds for something to say again.
But just as Fred was about to say something, a small dark green leaf slowly floated down between your faces innocently. Curious to know where this mysterious leaf came from, the two of you raised your heads in search of the position of which this tiny little leaf had fallen from. There, hanging above your heads was a small piece of mistletoe that very slowly grew the more you two looked at it. Hesitantly, both you and Fred slowly returned your gazes back to meet each other's eyes in a panicked questioning. He blinked hard when you looked at him and swallowed with a worried look on his face.
"Merry Christmas, Fiona." He whispered quietly as his eyes softened.
"Merry Christmas, Fred." You responded in an even quieter whisper towards the tall teenager that stood right in front of you. Fred swallowed yet again and cautiously edged forwards but hesitated a few inches away, fearful that you wouldn't return the feelings and would slap him right in the face for his action. But you remained still as your eyes flickered down to his soft looking lips that nervously twitched slightly while his eyes did the same. They looked down at your lips, then in your eyes, down to your lips, and then back to your eyes; uncertain as they eagerly decided what to do. Without further ado, Fred nervously closed the small gap between you with his tense fingernails digging into his palm.
The kiss was tense at first, as if uncertain that the other truly wanted this kiss to happen. But the tension quickly disappeared. Sparks instantly zapped as soon as your lips touch, sending the sparks into chills that shivered down your spines. The kiss was surprisingly gentle and softer than any type rose petal and sweeter than the warmest and frothiest butterbeer. Fireworks exploded everywhere inside of you the longer you kissed Fred. Small ones whizzed around in the pits and highest points of your stomach as huge explosions of butterflies burst through your heart, increasing its speed incredibly as your hand slowly raised to be placed behind Fred's neck. Time seemed to slowly cold over to a freeze at this point. Fred's hand shakily lifted to cup your reddening cheek, his hand a little clammy from the nerves he had swirling around inside of him. It strangely seemed as if your lips were made to be kissed by each other's as they moulded perfectly together, synchronised in every motion.
Unfortunately, you needed to take a breath of air, seeing as you both need it to survive. Reluctantly, Fred broke the kiss ever so slowly for he didn't want to lose any precious time of this sweet moment. His big brown eyes opened slowly to look into yours, which gradually looked into his once you had just absorbed what had just happened. Total silence was the only thing between you, except the very small gap between your faces. The two of you just soaked in this unexpected moment as you could still feel the light spark that remained electrified on your lips.
But before Fred could say anything next, the two of you could hear footsteps approaching, fast. The two of you were like glue, frozen completely as your eyes widened to think who it may be that'll catch you two together. Quickly, the two of you separated your faces and stood at a reasonable space away from each other so that there is no suspicion. Right then; Ginny, Neville, Dean and Seamus who was accompanied by a giggly Lavender and a bored looking George walked into the room with tired looks on their faces. The two of you made it look like you had just gotten there as well, acting like nothing had happened.
"Yes, well, goodnight, Fred. Thank you for a lovely evening."
"You're very welcome, my fair lady." Fred grinned a little but then shied away. His dark blush was still planted upon his pale face from the kiss you two shared together. He quickly covered up his mistake. "Goodnight, Fiona, sleep well!" And with an awkward nod from the two of you, speedy feet then fled up the two different staircases to escape further embarrassment. You ran up that staircase as fast as you could without falling over or hurting yourself, or to be questioned by your onlooking friends.
As soon as you reached your dormitory, you swung the door open and shut it with a loud thud right behind you before leaping onto your bed face-down. You hurriedly unbuckled the silver heels from your feet and threw them right to the ground once they had been removed. You sat there, stunned, shocked and confused. Your heart was racing as it beat uncontrollably against your chest, as if it was about to burst out at any moment. Your eyes were wide and your muscles were tense as you stared aimlessly at whatever was in front of you. Once you had relaxed a little and loosened down, you gradually came back to your senses. Your eyes gained movement again but your heart remained the same.
"Oh... my... God..." you whispered to yourself in disbelief and ran a slightly shaky hand through your hair slowly. "I fancy my best friend's brother!"