Edge of Reality // Oliver Wood

✧˖* 6 *˖✧

I lay flat on my stomach as I look at the three girls cosied up with thick plaids around them. Hannah and I have been sneaking Dani and Nova into our dormitory for years now. Many students do it and most Prefects don't even mind it, as long as we don't mix boys and girls together.

Because we're in different houses, we don't get to see each other as much as we'd like to. So we thought of the next best thing to keep up with each other: girls nights! Everyone brings a snack, something to drink and the latest story to tell. We talk and laugh all night, sometimes when something bad has happened, we cry. But that's why these girls nights are the best, they cheer us up again.

I take another bite of the chocolate frog in my hand as I tune back into the conversation they're having.

"Have you thought about who you're taking to the New Years Eve ball?" Dani asks no one in specific with a slight blush apparent on her cheeks.

A smirk spreads across my face. I know who she's thinking of going with.

The dance is in two weeks already and I still don't have a date. Perhaps going alone isn't the worst thing. I'll have my friends with me anyway.

Nova has been incredibly busy with arranging everything for the dance, so I haven't really seen her much. Hermione is helping her with most of it, but they're both perfectionists, so it's taking them extra long. They both want to check every single detail and make sure everything is flawless.

We're not supposed to know yet, but the theme of the ball is 'fireworks'. I wonder why she chose that, definitely not because of Draco. The Weasley twins have been busting their arses off to make it the most spectacular they can, but that's all I know. They don't want to spill anything about what they've got planned exactly, so I'm really excited about what the night's going to look like.

"Neville kind of asked me to the dance earlier today?" Hannah pipes up softly, saying it more like a question.

"What?! Really?" Dani and I scream in unison. Neville has been shooting Hannah lovey-dovey eyes for months now. It's pretty obvious he likes her: he perks up any time he sees her, he gets flustered whenever she talks to him and she's always the first person he goes to when he has something exciting to tell. They'd honestly be perfect for each other.

"Tell us more," I push her for extra details.

"I'm not sure. It all happened so fast. One minute we were talking about this herb that was recently discovered. It's pretty cool actually-"

"Focus Hannah!" I yell, dying to know how he asked her.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry!" She throws her hands up in the air defensively, "So one minute we're walking to the gardens talking about the new herb and the next he halts me to a stop in front of these beautiful flowers that were sprawled out on the green grass. He outlined two boxes with the words "yes" and "no" underneath them in daisies and I was confused at first, because like, who put that there? But then I looked at Neville and he was holding my favourite flower, a Peony! And he asked me 'Do you want to go to the New Years Eve Ball with me?' and he handed me the rose and I laid it above the yes without even thinking about it!"

"Sweet baby Merlin!" Dani yelps out.

"That's the cutest thing I've ever heard!" I yell happily. Hannah smiles giddily at me. She's been hiding her feelings pretty well for Neville, but it's been clear to me that she likes him back. Next to Hannah sits Nova, and when my eyes land on her, my whole demeanour changes.

Nova's looks close to tears with sad eyes and her bottom lip trembling. "Nova? What's wrong?" I ask, suddenly worried about my friend.

"I don't even know if I'm going with Draco," she cries out. A tear escapes her eye, even though she's trying her hardest to fight it. She doesn't like being vulnerable. "We had another fight."