Starlight// FW

Snow

**** 

Snow fell from the sky in thick flurries. It covered the school grounds, making it seem as if the castle was frosted from head to toe. It sparkled in a perfect mass, waiting to be ruined by students traipsing through it, building snowmen, and creating snow angels. This was exactly what we did. Hermione and I ducked out of the way as Fred, George, Harry, and Ron bombarded each other with thickly packed snow.

Hermione and I were perched by a tree, out of the line of fire. I had charmed a pile of snowballs to follow Fred around and pelt him at any given chance. He tried to escape them, but to no avail. "So", I let out, laughing as Fred slipped and fell, looking up at me and raising his middle finger at me. "I was wondering if you might want to come get ready with me and the rest of the girls in my dormitory".

I had noticed that Hermione wasn't the closest of friends with the girls in her year. I knew that I wouldn't want to get ready for the ball alone, so I figured I'd ask. "Oh", Hermione blushed, "I would love that. Do you think the others would mind?". I could tell that she was feeling insecure. I grinned, "They wouldn't mind at all". Hermione smiled, "Okay then, sure". She looked out at the boys who were now wrestling.

Fred was losing by a long shot, as he had to deal with the snowballs as well as the flinging arms of the rest of the boys. I waved my wand and the snowballs fell to the ground, puffing out in little clouds. Fred looked at me and scowled, "Thank you for that, Sawyer". His tone was mean but his eyes were bright and he winked.

He hadn't said anything about the ball since our awkward conversation about it in their dormitory. I wondered what Angelina's dress was going to look like. I shook my head. What was I doing? I hated thinking about this all the time. It was pointless, and unless I was going to have an actual conversation with Fred about the way I was feeling, there was no use in focusing on it.

I glanced at Hermione, who's eyes lingered on Ron. The boys were now attempting to build a snowman. Noticing it was leaning precariously to the side, Hermione flicked her wand, causing the snowman to straighten back up. I smiled to myself. "Oi!", George called, "Stop standing around and come help us". Hermione grinned, pulling me by the hand. "Duty calls, I guess", I giggled. I didn't know how many people it really took to construct a snowman. To be honest, it was the first snowman I had even made. My father hated the cold, he didn't like snow or rain. When the weather turned that way, he insisted we all stay in and within a 6 foot radius of a fireplace.

I would sit in the bay window of my room and look out at the snow falling, wondering what it would feel like on my face. I wanted to stick out my tongue and catch a flake, feeling it melt. As a child, I often wondered if my mom liked snow. I had once asked my dad this. He pretended that he didn't hear. However, all the curtains were closed that night, and I thought I might have heard him crying from his office.

"Oh!", Hermione let out, bringing me back from my thoughts, "Look at the time!". It was around 5pm, and the ball started at 8. "We have to start getting ready!", I let out. I knew my hair and makeup was going to take very long, plus trying to get all the other girls together and ready to go would take an insane amount of time. "It's so early", Fred snorted. "No it's not", I squinted at him, "We need time to get pretty".

"I really don't see how you could get any prettier than you already are", Fred said, at a volume only I could hear. My heart began to beat quickly, and memories of our stolen kiss in the library flooded my mind. I started to stutter, apparently still unable to respond to his flirtation with any form of dignity. Luckily for me, Ron and Hermione had begun to argue once more about the fact that she was still refusing to tell any of them who had asked her to the ball.

"Stop being stubborn!", Ron said, his ears red. "I'm not being stubborn, you're being impertinent!". Ron turned on his heel and stormed away from Hermione. Harry rolled his eyes, following after. Hermione let out a huff and started up to the castle.

"I guess I'll see you tonight", I laughed, looking at Fred. He was looking down at me, rubbing the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. "See you tonight, love", then he was gone.