A Little Bit of Love and Laughter

The Yule Ball was rapidly approaching, with only one full day until the grandiose event, and I was still dateless. Roger had left me for Fleur, and Violet had found a date in a boy from Durmstrang named Edvard. That left me still searching for someone with whom to go.

"You can always ask someone yourself," Violet suggested as we sat in the Great Hall for dinner, "instead of waiting to be asked."

"Vi, you have far too much faith in me," I replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Perhaps you could ask around. I'm sure Fred and George would be willing to help set you up with someone."

The red hair became visible from across the Great Hall, and Violet continued with a smile, "Now would probably be a pretty good time."

"George," I called as I ran over to him, beaming at Violet from over my shoulder. Fred wasn't anywhere to be seen. "George!"

"Oh, hi, Em. What's up?"

This was the awkward part. This was the part where the sheer desperation of my situation caused my stomach to churn. This was where I took a deep breath, trying to make myself feel even the slightest bit less pathetic, and just got the question off my chest.

"Do you know of anybody who, um, doesn't have a date to the, uh, the ball?" My voice was shaking, and I was looking down at my feet.

"Well, there's Tom and Francis and myself, I guess. Why? You looking for a date?"

My fingers tangled in my hair as I nervously played with it. "Yeah. I mean, I had a date, but Roger is a prat, and—"

George cut me off. "Why don't you just go with me? Because I'll bloody damned if I help those buggers get dates when I don't have one, myself."

I grinned and asked, "Who's Fred going with? You know... just out of curiosity and all."

The words had completely slipped from my lips. I hadn't intended to ask at all.

"Angelina," he answered. "I'm pretty sure they've secretly fancied each other for ages. He just asked her this morning."

"Oh." I tried to hide my subconscious reactions – the clenched jaw, the furrowed brow, the shaky voice. Was it a feeling of disappointment? Regret? I couldn’t place it. "I'll catch you later, I guess."

~*~

The next night I met George near the entrance to the Great Hall.

I held the red, silk fabric of my strapless dress in my hand as I descended the staircase. I had never been one for walking in high-heeled shoes and therefore had a rather tight grip on the railing as I walked, almost losing my footing on several of the steps.

"You look lovely, Em," he said, grinning.

"Thanks, George," I replied once my feet hit flat ground. "You look rather dashing, yourself."

He gently took my arm and walked me into the Great Hall where the Yule Ball was being held. The room was decorated in a rather festive manner like a winter scene with light, icy blues and snowy whites. It was absolutely incredible.

The champions and their dates were introduced, and as Roger passed with Fleur on his arm, trotting around like he was some prized stallion, I could have sworn that he sneered at me.

"Don't worry about him," George whispered, taking my hand in his. "Don't let that git spoil your night."

I smiled again, shaking all thoughts of Roger from my head as George led me onto the dance floor in the middle of a waltz.

"You're really great for bringing me tonight, George."

"S'nothing, really. Not like I'd have had anybody else to go with anyway. Might as well take somebody I actually enjoy spending time with," he said.

"Well, I appreciate it anyway."

Something suddenly diverted George's attention from our conversation, and he muttered a quick, "Be right back," before running off. I meandered over to the center table to grab myself a drink when I overheard yelling in the corridor outside.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded a familiar voice.

"If you don't like it, then you damn well should've done something about it before now!"

"Like what?"

"You should've said something, anything."

"But I—"

"Why can't you just admit that you fancy her, you twit?" George's voice echoed from the corridor. "You're running out of time."

I couldn't help but wander slowly into the hall to further eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Because," replied Fred in argument, "I don't want anything to happen to our friendship. I don't want to ruin what we've got now. And if she doesn't feel the same way, that's exactly what will happen."

Angelina, I decided. He was talking about Angelina. I should've known. Like George had said, they've secretly liked each other for ages.

It was then that George caught sight of me.

"But..." he began hesitantly, "hypothetically speaking, if you were to tell her, what would you say?"

"I'd tell her... well, I'd tell her that I think about her every day. That my heart beats faster whenever she smiles. That her laughter is contagious. That she's, by far, the most brilliant and beautiful girl I've ever met and that she's everything I've ever dreamed of. Honestly, if I had the nerve, I'd walk up to her right now and say... Emily, I – I really, really like you."

My breath got caught in my throat as I realized that he had not, as I had expected, said Angelina's name but had instead said mine. "Fred, I—"

It came out as barely a whisper, and I could feel my hands shaking, my heart pounding in my chest.

Fred jerked around in a fit of surprise. Upon seeing me, he was speechless as well. George managed to slip away, unnoticed.

"Did you mean all of that, what you said before?" I asked, taking hold of his hand and lacing my fingers with his.

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Every word."

I bit my lip, trying to stop the tears that welled up in my eyes. Six years of friendship and pent-up romantic tension had been building up to this moment.

"I'm so stupid," he mumbled. "I should never have said anything. How could I have—?"

My lips hit his, and once he realized, he pulled me in closer, tangling his fingers in my hair, shivering as my arms moved around his neck.

When we broke apart, he smiled, whispering, "Emily..."

"You're an absolute fool, you know that?" I paused, moving my face closer to his again. I had figured out what I wanted. "Just shut up and kiss me, damn it."