stardust ⋮ george weasley

thirty-six :

T H I R T Y - S I X

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As much as she didn't want to admit it, Adeline had been practically giddy with excitement ever since George had asked her to the Yule Ball. Although Adeline tried her best not to let it show too much, her best friends could easily tell from how she laughed much more frequently – and much louder – and how there seemed to almost be a little skip in her step whenever she walked through the corridors.

Adeline especially tried to keep those feelings subdued around George, a little afraid he might find her weird if he knew how eager she was to spend the night with him. Little did she know, George was having that exact same problem. Every time the two spoke, even though they tried their best to act normal, both of them couldn't ignore the overhanging fact that in just under a week, the two were going to be each other's dates to the Yule Ball.

Needless to say, Adeline hadn't been this excited for a school event since – well, ever. Her dress finally arriving by Cecilia after being altered had only fueled her excitement for the upcoming dance.

Not even the Yule Ball, however, could distract Adeline enough from the Triwizard Tournament. Despite the Second Task not happening until the latter half of January, Adeline could feel a panicky feeling slowly building in the pit of her stomach. She had yet to figure out the Golden Egg clue. Adeline had been hesitant on opening the egg ever since that night after the First Task, when she had terrified nearly all of the Ravenclaw tower with the screeching sounds of the Egg.

As Adeline did her usual patrol with Cedric Diggory that night, she was so distracted with thoughts of the Yule Ball and the upcoming Task that she could barely register Cedric trying to get catch get attention.

"Adeline? Adeline?"

Adeline snapped out of her daze to see Cedric waving his hand in front of her face and laughing. "Considering we're supposed to be out on patrol, I should probably be a little more concerned."

"I'm sorry," Adeline chuckled embarrassedly. "I'm just a little distracted right now. What'd you want to talk to me about?"

There was a subtle change in Cedric's demeanor. The normally confident and easy-going Hufflepuff boy now seemed a little anxious. Cedric nervously wringed his hands back and forth before sticking them in his pockets. "Melanie. Is...is she going with anyone to the ball?"

Adeline shook her head, a smile beginning to creep onto her face as she realized why Cedric was asking her about this. "The last I heard, she hasn't got a date yet."

Cedric brightly grinned, but he still sounded nervous when he asked, "Do you think she'd say yes if I'd ask her?"

Adeline didn't want to spill to Cedric about how Melanie had harbored a small crush on him for months now, but she also didn't want to completely discourage Cedric from asking Melanie to be his date to the dance. "I can't be fully sure how she'll respond," Adeline eventually said. "But I really think she'd say yes."

"Really?" Cedric questioned in disbelief. "You're...you're serious?"

Adeline nodded, and Cedric practically beamed with excitement. "You're the best," Cedric said in a grateful voice. "Anyways...what's got you so distracted that you barely even noticed me trying to talk to you?"

"Just the Tournament..." Adeline confessed, gesturing her messenger bag that was swung around her shoulder, and the outline of a oval-shaped object could be seen through the fabric of the bag. "I've been carrying the Egg around everywhere with me for weeks. I think I'm just hoping that if I keep it around, an idea on how to figure it out will finally hit."