The Gryffindor Royal - Year Four

Chapter Twelve

"Hey, Shelly? Have you got an outfit for the Ball yet? It's in, like, two weeks," (Y/N) called across the dormitory. It was only her, Shelena and Hermione in the dorm, since Lavender and Parvati were off somewhere hunting down cute boys. "I've asked Remus to mail me this cool dress I saw, with some money from Sirius' Gringotts vault. I expect it'll be coming soon." Shelena replied, finishing up an essay Flitwick had assigned. "Perfect! I've written to Bill too, and he said my outfit will be here in a day or two as well."

Hermione drew her curtains and peeked out at her friend. "Didn't Mrs. Weasley send you that really nice dress all those weeks back? It'd be a shame if you didn't wear it," she commented, remembering how pretty the dress had looked. "Oh, I'm wearing that, Hermy. But I mailed that to Bill along with my last letter and asked him to make some... adjustments. You'll see when the night itself comes."

Shelena and Hermione exchanged confused glances, but nevertheless let the matter drop. Ginny came up to their dorm a while later asking if they'd like to go on a walk around the grounds with her and Ron, which Shelena and (Y/N) agreed to. Hermione had homework, and declined. It was during that walk that Ron saw Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons champion, and yelled at her to go to the Ball with him. When he realised what he'd done, he went weak at the knees and crumpled to the floor. It took Ginny, (Y/N) and Shelena to haul Ron back to the Gryffindor common room, and they burst through the door, all five of them panting and heaving as they did. "What happened to you?" Harry asked. He was lying on a red couch with his golden egg in hand, but he got up to follow the group of girls and Ron over to a squashy armchair, where they sat the trembling redhead down. Hermione had just come down the stairs from the dormitory, and joined the small group.

"He's just asked Fleur Delacour out," Ginny explained, as (Y/N) rubbed Ron's back pitifully. "What? What'd she say?" Harry asked eagerly. "No, of course!" Hermione butted in. Ron groaned and shook his head. Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "She said yes?!" she asked shrilly. "Don't be silly," Ron said weakly, "there she was, walking by. You know how I like it when they walk. I couldn't help it. It just sort of slipped out."

Ginny couldn't help but snort a little at that. She straightened up and brushed her long hair away. "Actually, it was more like you screamed at her." Ginny corrected, and (Y/N) couldn't help but agree with a small grin. "Was a bit frightening." She said, as Ron went violently green at the memory. "And what did you do then?" Harry urged, wanting to know more. "What else?" Ron asked miserably, "I ran for it. I'm not cut out for it..." It was then that (Y/N) tuned her brother out. She'd been cringing from second-hand embarrassment ever since Ron had yelled at Fleur, and she watched as the Patil twins entered the common room. They greeted Harry with smiles but Harry didn't really acknowledge them. "Oh, she's never gonna forgive me," Ron said gloomily. "Ever."

It was then that Nigel, Ron's first-year assistant, came into the common room. "Parcel for you, Miss Weasley!" he said cheerfully, handing it to her. "Thanks, Nigel. Ooh, I hope Bill got what I asked for, it's for the Yule Ball!" And it was. (Y/N) saw his untidy handwriting on the edge of the box and immediately dashed up to her dormitory. "Well, she's pretty excited for someone who hasn't gotten a date for the Ball." Ron said weakly, as his face returned to its normal shade. "Sure, no date," Shelena whispered to Ginny, as the two girls fist-bumped.

                           •  •  •  •  •  •  •

The night of the Yule Ball finally came, and (Y/N) only let Shelena and Hermione see her outfit a couple hours before the dance, when Ginny came to their dorm to get everyone's makeup done. "Woah, (Y/N), the dress looks amazing! I didn't know they made dresses like that," Ginny commented, stroking the fabric and admiring the outfit. "Oh, wait till the boys see it! Harry's gonna wish he took me to the Ball instead of Parvati," (Y/N) said fiercely, holding her outfit against her body proudly. "Love the confidence, date," Shelena grinned, as (Y/N) laughed back, while rolling her eyes. "You're this close to losing your date to the Ball, Shelly." (Y/N) said, adjusting her outfit and sitting on the edge of her bed so that Ginny could do her makeup.