Take Me Away

The day of the Yule Ball finally came. No one seemed to have their minds on anything else but the ball. Classes were to end early that day, making the students even more excited. Even the teachers seemed excited about it. Nothing would bring that day down in flames.

The girls that were waiting patiently in the fifth year Slytherin dormitory, bustled around the room trying to get ready for the big night. They helped each other, offering to do each other’s hair and makeup. Every single one of them looked absolutely stunning by the time 5:00 rolled around.

Meredith pulled her purple dress on nervously. She masked her hair, trying to keep it up before she poked her head out of the top. Looking in the mirror, she couldn’t help but smile at the fifteen year old girl that was staring back at her. She had gotten help from some of the other girls with her hair and makeup, which paid off in the end. She looked amazing.

She pulled on her silver shoes, with surprisingly no struggle, then proceeded down to the common room that was filled with the Slytherin boys. Meredith spotted her date off by a group of boys that were chatting it up. The lot didn’t seem too excited about the ball.

Hugo Green was a sixth year Slytherin who really didn’t care about school. In fact he didn’t seem to be interested in anything for that matter. So it was certainly a surprise when he had asked Meredith to accompany him to the ball. She said yes, although she was waiting for George to ask her.

Fred had told her that his twin was planning on asking her. But when it came down to the last day before the ball, she had no other option than to accept Hugo’s invitation.

“Hugo,” Meredith called with a small smile as she reached him, “Are you ready to go?”

Hugo looked away from his friends, but only giving Meredith a mere glance. He nodded while saying goodbye to his friends and escorting her up to the Great Hall. He kept her close as if someone would come by and take her away. It felt strange.

Meredith peered around students, trying to find that one red head that held all of her interest. Ever since she had admitted her feelings towards George, he began to consume her thoughts. They had been studying a lot more because the big test was drawing nearer and nearer. She looked forward to every session.

“Who are you looking for?” Hugo asked, “You’re really starting to annoy me.”

He flicked his hair out of his green eyes to give her a side glance, causing her to straighten her body and look forward. She mumbled an apology, keeping her eyes ahead of her. The two stood in the middle of the crowd, bumping shoulders with other students.

Soon, the Great Hall’s door opened to reveal the most gorgeous thing Meredith had every seen. The large windows were draped with gold, sheer curtains, letting the twinkling starry sky be seen. The four long table had been removed and replaced with much smaller round tables off to the sides of the rooms. A long table, that was draped in a white table cloth, stood in the back of the room. It held refreshments for the students. Straight ahead, a huge black stage with various instruments on it stood unaccompanied. Speakers were also hooked up on the sides.

“Wow,” Meredith breathed, “It’s beautiful.”

She felt Hugo shrug from beside her as they entered the hall. He obviously wasn’t impressed, and he was sure to show it. Meredith rolled her eyes in response. His ignorance was starting to seriously annoy her.

Hugo pulled her in the middle of a large group of people, resting his hand on her waist when they stopped. As the hall was filled with people, an opening was formed right at the center of the dance floor. The four champions and their dates strolled into the hall and placed themselves in the opening, preparing to dance.

Meredith heard some murmurs about Hermione Granger being with Victor Krum; it made her smile. Hermione looked gorgeous. She was wearing a long purple dress that gave her this look that no one could compare to. She looked absolutely stunning in it. She would make some girl definitely jealous.

“Do you want to dance?” Meredith asked her date after the fourth song of the night went off. They were sitting at a table with a bunch of Hugo’s friends and Meredith was starting to get bored. She came to dance. Not hang out with some greasy haired baboons.

Hugo shook his head no, then went back to talking with his friend. With one last eye roll, Meredith stalked off to find someone to dance with. She bumped her way through the crowd until she spotted Lucy dancing with Fred. A smile was perched on her lips as she got closer to them.

“Well, hello you two,” Meredith greeted with hands on her hips.

“Mere!” Lucy shouted over the music, throwing her arms around her neck.

Meredith giggled softly as she hugged her best friend. Once she pulled away a slight smirk was visible on Fred’s face. She gave him a questioning look, but got no hint as to why he was giving that face in return. She just shrugged and continued walking through the crowd.

She spotted Harry Potter and Ron Weasley sitting off in the back of the room with their dates. She shrugged again and made her way towards them. She waved slightly, quite awkwardly actually.

“Why aren’t you guys dancing?” She asked with a small smile.

One of the twins answered, “Why don’t you ask them?”

They both seemed annoyed already with their dates, just like Meredith was with Hugo. She gave the girls a smile apologetic smile before stalking off again. This time she didn’t see nor greet anyone else. Instead someone greeted her.

“George!” She gasped, clutching her chest.

George had snuck up behind her and attacked her. He was laughing, happy with himself that he scared her. She just rolled her eyes playfully and hit his arm softly. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to apologize. Which he did.

“I’m sorry, Meredith,” He said with much amusement still in his voice, “I just love seeing that scared face.”

She couldn’t help but grin at him and let out a small laugh. His eyes were twinkling in the fairy lights it seemed. They truly sparkled and that made her chest ache. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach, banging on the sides rather harshly.

“Where’s your date?” He asked suddenly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Her grin quickly dropped as she jabbed a finger over at the table she had left Hugo at. That caused George to throw his head back and laugh out loud.

“You’re here with Hugo Green?” He asked between laughs.

“Well, it’s not like anyone else asked me,” She snapped at him while her eyes started to glare.

George immediately stopped laughing and stared at her. He felt bad. He felt bad because he wanted to ask her, but he didn’t. He was too nervous and that scared him. Because he didn’t get nervous. George was a daredevil. People knew him for doing crazy, wild, and out of this world things. But with Meredith, it was all different. It was so foreign.

“Sorry,” He muttered looking away from her.

She also looked away from him, thinking that she was a bit too harsh on him. She then looked back up and noticed that he was singing along to the song that the band was playing.

“Your date wouldn’t mind if I stole you for a couple of dances, would she?” She asked taking his hands in hers and leading him towards the dance floor.

Now if you don’t believe that a smile could light up a room, then you are terribly mistaken. Because George Weasley’s smile could light up the whole galaxy. And that’s what Meredith liked about George. He was fun and exciting. He was daring and just an all around good guy. And she didn’t want any more than to be around his presence all the time.

“Actually, I didn’t bring anyone,” George said as a smile returned on his face.

Meredith stopped walking as they entered the crowd of students. The song that was playing was a rockish, upbeat song. She began to move around to the beat as she smiled shyly at him. If Fred were right, then that means that George wasn’t going to take anyone other than Meredith. Thinking that, heat gathered up at her cheeks, causing her to look down at her moving feet.

“Why not?” She asked bring her head back up to look at him.

He shrugged and began mimicking her movements. Meredith pushed aside that question and just decided to have a good time with him.

All throughout the night, Meredith and George had been together. They danced, talked, got drinks, even ate a little together. But the most important thing about that, is they were laughing the whole time. They made each other laugh until they were crying and holding on to each other for support. They enjoyed each other’s company and that was really rare to find.

As the two were dancing again, Meredith noticed Hugo glaring in her direction. She reached up towards George, her lips landing near his ear and spoke over the music. She said, “I’m going to go see if Hugo wants to dance. He did ask me after all.”

George looked down at her with a understanding smile and nodded before saying, “Alright. But I expect a slow dance sometime tonight.”

Meredith looked back at George. He turned away from her, but not before throwing a wink her way. She smiled then walked over to Hugo who was sitting by himself.

“Hey, Hugo,” Meredith said, taking a seat next to him, “Wanna dance?”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Why not go back to dancing with Weasley?”

“Look, I’m sorry but you didn’t want to dance before, so I went and found someone who would,” She threw back at him.

He scoffed before standing up and heading towards the exit. But he stopped and came back to her. He leaned in close to her face and smirked. She could smell the cheap body spray that he was wearing, along with his unwashed hair.

“I didn’t ask you here to dance, Meredith,” He said, his eyes trailing down her body, “I asked you to see if I could get lucky. That’s all you’ll ever be good for right? Everyone says that you’re really gullible and a hopeless romantic. I wanted to see how gullible you were, but I guess that Weasley already beat me to the punch. Tsk.”

Then with that, he left. Meredith sat dumbfounded. She felt as if she had been smacked in the face. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she forced them to stop by blinking a few times. She breathed in and out, calming herself before heading back over to George, who had been watching her.

“What was that about?” He asked holding out a glass of juice for her to take. Which she did. She didn’t answer; she just downed the drink. Then she pulled George over to the dance floor and started dancing again. She wanted him to cheer her up again.

Then a slow song came on. George hesitated at first, but then placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. She put her hands on his shoulders, but then ended up putting her head on his shoulder. She wanted to cry because of what Hugo said to her, but she knew that if she did, she would probably ruin the night. So she kept it in and tried to enjoy the moment she was having with George.

“Meredith,” George spoke lowly in her ear, “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t pull her head away from his shoulder, but she replied, “Hugo said some things. But I’m not gonna let it upset me.”

George nodded once after a moment. He knew that if he went off to beat up that prick, then he would just upset Meredith. No matter how badly he wanted to put him in his place.

Soon, the night was winding down. People started to leave for bed, but George nor Meredith wanted to leave. They walked out of the Great Hall and were just aimlessly walking around the castle. They were just chanting and laughing with each other.

“George,” She said happily as they reached the Slytherin common room, “I’ve had a great time tonight. And I owe it all to you.”

He smiled sheepish at her, looking at the floor. The truth was, he had the night of his life too. Even though he hadn’t asked her to the dance, they still managed to have a wonderful time.

Meredith gave him a smile and grabbed his hand and pulled him to her level and planted a kiss on his cheek. He looked at her in shock, but a goofy smile was plastered on his face. She told him goodnight and started off towards the common room door.

“Meredith,” He called, causing her to stop, “I was gonna ask you to the ball.”

She smirked slightly and said, “I know.”