Fireworks for Yule (Fred Weasley x Reader)

Chapter 3: Forgive Me, Your Highness

If the week before Christmas had been exciting for everyone at Hogwarts, the day before hosted a literal buzz of it in the halls. After the little happy incident with Fred, your spirits were high and you took in everything about the school's holiday traditions.

The seven giant Christmas trees in the Great Hall illuminated the place so well there was almost no need for the floating candles, the house elves had exited the kitchens for the first time in a blue moon to hang up wreaths under every torch and banners, and every professor was more cheery than usual (even Snape, who by "cheery" meant he had stopped hitting everybody with books every minute he could, and silently looked forward to when he could enjoy a nice hot cuppa watching the snow fall).

You had plenty of fun seeing your friends get dates, too. Seamus and Roger took your advice and Lavender and Fleur had both said yes, so they thanked you profusely. You pretended to be some hugely popular matchmaker guru, but the catch was that your pairing off always seemed to work without as much as a trace of love potion.

You watched Harry and Ron finally muster up the courage to ask the Patil twins, knowing full well they would have a dull time but congratulating them nonetheless. You'd figure out something to let them have fun. The hope you had that somebody would ask you had dwindled away, but not negatively either. Rather the priority had disappeared as well.
You had a pretty deep blue dress for the event anyway, and you did love dancing and were a huge fan of the Weird Sisters.

Interestingly enough, the twins but more so Fred had been disappearing almost every day leading up to Christmas Eve.

"There he goes again," You shook your head, watching as Fred wiggled his way out of the bench next to you and sprinted out the Great Hall during Christmas Eve breakfast, not before giving you a thumbs up. "What do you suppose he's been doing these days?"

Ron, munching on a chicken leg, looked up uninterestedly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if him and George were planning some big prank at the dance. That's what they're always bloody doing when they disappear."

You shrugged in agreement. He was right. You were pretty used to it, in fact. The twins would look more cheery than usual (if that was possible), and would be extra nice to you, because some big prank plan was on their mind.

Most everyone had stayed at school this holiday because of the ball, so it was some people's first time seeing the Hogwarts trees, as well as the magical mistletoe, which would spawn grow over almost any pair of people walking together. You hated it, especially because you kept seeing students obviously trying to walk close with their crush in hopes some mistletoe would notice.

Also because of the more heavily populated school this year during the holidays, post was crazy. You felt bad for the owls. Tons of Christmas gifts of all sizes and colors were being flown in every morning, especially today. Most of them had stamped notes reading "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS MORNING" or included cute little moving pictures of students' families back home.

You didn't talk or think much about it, but it was well known your parents had died long before you began attending Hogwarts without having another kid, and you didn't have the best relationship with them either. It had always been an interchangeable rotation between the Burrow and your grandparent's nearby home in Devon during breaks.

One barn owl elegantly settled in front of you with a parcel, and you smiled with familiarity at the cute stamps your grandparents collected scattered on it. The handmade cards and treats Nan made were enough to make you smile.

"Why would anyone want to read for Christmas?" you heard Ron say, noticing that Hermione's neatly bundled gift very obviously resembled a stack of individually wrapped books.