Defining Secrets // Ron Weasley

Chapter Fourteen: An Excellent Detective and A Moment Of Delusion

Elise's POV:

I don't think I ever realised just how many clothes I had until they were all across my room. Tops and socks fell from my open chest draw, jackets and scarves chucked across my bed, and every other semblance of clothing in semi-organised piles on the floor. The chaos made my hands itch. But I resisted the urge to clean it until after I'd made my decision.

Piecing together the final touches: necklace, rings, shoes... I went to present my final look to the only person's opinion I cared about right now. Ginny motioned for me to spin. I did.

She huffed, then hummed. "I don't know."

"What's wrong with this one?" I asked.

"What's wrong with this one?" Ginny repeated, aghast. "El, are you even aware you're planning for a date? In public?"

I made a face.

She grimaced. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "It's fine, Gin. But the thing is, I'm not even sure it is a date. So why should it matter?"

I reviewed myself in the mirror. Silently groaning, only admitting to myself that date or not, this wasn't my best outfit. But it was hard. Date, no date, date, no date... Even in the best of circumstances it was still the dead of winter and cute outfits were hard to come by.

Ginny waved a hand. "Just because Dean didn't say it in the letter doesn't mean it's not a date. Besides, it'll be a way for you two to get to know each other. Why aren't you more excited?"

Truthfully, I don't know why I wasn't more excited. No matter how much Ginny tried to drill it in me that he was dropping all kinds of hints, I just couldn't fathom the thought of Dean having an interest in me. Or of Dean and I together. Or even Dean asking me to be his girlfriend. Which Ginny was convinced would happen any day now. But he'd asked me to the ball - that was it. So that was all I believed.

Ginny chucked a different jumper at me but I ignored it, choosing one for myself. This time, she clicked her tongue.

"I'm sorry, El. But as much as I love you, I have to tell you that is not first date material."

"Oh, alright."

I gripped the ends of my jumper and sighed, pulling it over my head. I could feel the friction stick my hair up in odd angles. Great. Ginny riffled through my floor pile and flung a few at me. My eyes found my favourite green jumper that had been lost to the pile and smiled. I ran to the bathroom to go try it on.

I came out grinning, as was Ginny. She twirled her finger and I spun again. She clasped her hands together. "I love it."

My smile never faltered. "I do, too."

Ginny walked up and adjusted the jumper in places, seeing how it would look tucked in, then out. "Merlin, green is so your colour."

"So... this is a contender?"

Ginny shook her head, grinning. "No, El. It's it."

"You think?"

"I think."

She took a step back and admired her creation. "Ugh. Am I a genius or what?"

"Cocky, too."

She raised a brow. "Now, now, play nice."

With Ginny's outfit approval, I could finally start to clean up. While everything was being organised in piles, folded in certain ways and colour coordinated perfectly in place, Ginny watched me like I was hypnotic - running around organising everything. When I was finally done she stared at me like I was all kinds of loony.