Harry Potter and The Ginger Snap

Chapter 29

The snow cascaded down the castle roof, covering the frozen grass in a new, and unbroken, layer of white frost that Christmas Eve, as the Yule Ball awaited them so soon. The windows were guarded with long icicles by the stained glass. Ava and Sid stood side by side in the Girl's Dormitory staring into the long mirror. The intricate design along the sides of the glass decorated the image of the two girls. Sid was slightly taller, they looked so familiar there in their long dresses.

It felt like just yesterday that they were on the train their first year, two strangers challenging an egotistical Draco Malfoy. And now here they were, best friends, so different and yet so alike. The products of a broken family and yet somewhere along the way they had become one. Sid looked at Ava in her blue satin dress, highlighting her blue eyes, "You look amazing, Ava."

Ava nodded and smiled at Sid's pearly white dress, "You do too. Just wait til Cedric sees you, let alone Fred."

Hermione entered the Dormitory in her pink dress, her hair thrown up in an updo she'd never done before but suited her well, "Are you guys almost ready? The Champions are going to dance any minute now."

Ava and Sid both nodded and made their way down to the Common Room with Hermione. Hogwart's corridors felt longer than normal, dragging on and on until they finally reached the Entrance Hall. Sid looked down to the bottom of the stairs and saw Fred's eyes look up from his conversation with Angelina, his eyes falling on hers as she made her way down in her white dress.

He was stunned. He could quite literally feel his heart in his throat as he saw her there. He watched as the girl he loved met Cedric instead of him at the bottom of the steps. Cedric looked just as dumbfounded as Fred. He heard him speak and felt his face turn red, "I've never seen anyone so beautiful."

She met him finally at the bottom of the long staircase and smiled, "What about those Veelas you seem so fond of?"

"Haven't I told you already? You have more of a pull on me than any Veela possibly could," he repeated in the same tone he had the day he'd asked her to be his girlfriend. He leaned in as he offered her his hand, "But don't worry I'll always be there to remind you."

Fred felt his heart sink to his feet, his throat finally loosened but still threatening to close shut. Cedric was a good guy, he told himself. And Sid deserved a good guy. He watched as they walked away, closer to the Great Hall, his hand in hers. It was time to let her go, he knew that now more than ever. He looked to Angelina beside him and extended his hand to her as he led her into the Great Hall, passing Sid and Cedric on his way in.

Ava walked down the steps slowly, her long blue dress falling behind her as she did so. Her eyes met George first and she started to smile, forgetting for a moment, and only a moment, that she wasn't his and that he most certainly wasn't hers. And then she remembered him with Alicia. The pictures in her head flashed of Alicia and him, and she suddenly felt sick. Her face fell as she realized she was next to him, staring up at her. His eyes never once left her but she had no choice but to remove hers from him. It hurt too much, to see what she'd let go of so difficultly, move on like it was easy.

Harry watched as she walked to him, her eyes glossing over as she pretended to be okay. He could see how broken she felt but he could've sworn she was the prettiest girl he would ever see. And here she was, with him, as his date to the Yule Ball. She grabbed his hand at the last stair and they walked past George's stunned face, his eyes never once leaving her. Harry smiled, "You look amazing."

She blushed, trying her hardest not to look back to George, "Thank you, Harry."

Hermione followed after, meeting Krum at the bottom of the staircase with a very shocked, and slightly disappointed, Ron Weasley. The rest of the school, excluding the Champions and their dates, enter the Great Hall with chattering excitement. The Champions lined up with their dates and entered the Great Hall one by one. The music hit their ears delicately as they all lined into position to dance.