Green is the Color || Ominis x OC || Hogwarts Legacy

Of Dresses and Dizziness

"Alright, Garreth," the redheaded boy was saying, furiously pressing his curls down. "You can do this."

The Weasley boy stood alone in the boy's bathroom, one hand holding a borrowed broom. "Imelda Reyes, will you do me the honor of being my date to the ball?" he asked his reflection. "Just one sentence. One question and you'll be alright." Garreth let out a nervous puff of breath. One sentence, a handful of words. Garreth pushed the door open. He made his way to the Quidditch pitch, muttering the words under his breath the entire way.

As usual, he found the object of his affections flying through the air. Her ink-black locks were streaming behind her as she performed a complicated set of weaves and turns through the rings set around the pitch. Garreth watched with admiration. He mounted his broom, speeding off after the Slytherin girl.

"Reyes!" he called. "A moment of your time?"

"Weasley!" she called back, slowing down and coming to a rest in front of him. She brushed a disheveled lock of hair away from her face. Oh, Merlin. Garreth nervously swallowed, trying to still his rapidly-beating heart. "Hello, Gryffindor. What do you need from me?"

"Do you know about the Yule Ball?" he asked.

Imelda gave him a long-suffering look. "The Yule Ball? The one everyone's been talking about? The same Yule Ball people have been going mad for, foaming at the mouth for a chance to squeeze into Gladrags?" She gave him a sweet, sarcastic smile. "No, Weasley. I have no idea."

"I was wondering," Garreth blurted, feeling his cheeks burn, "Imelda Reyes, would you do me the honor of being my date?"

The Slytherin girl gave him a surprised blink, lips parting slightly. She tightened her grip on her broom. Then she let out a sharp bark of laughter.

"Whatever would you want that for?" Imelda asked.

"Because you're brilliant," Garreth breathed. He clapped a hand to his mouth. Imelda snickered. "Sorry. No, I'm not sorry—you are brilliant, and I do want you to be my date." He cleared his throat. "Please."

She was silent for a moment. Then Imelda smiled, giving him a tantalizing smirk. "Race me for it."

Garreth blinked. "What?"

"Catch up, Weasley!" she said. In the next breath, Imelda flew a swift circle around him and sped off, rocketing into the distance. He gave a startled laugh. Then, grinning wildly, Garreth leaned forward on his broom and flew after her.

Imelda led him through Hogwarts' skies, performing dizzying spins around the castle spires. Garreth cheered as they raced. To his delight, Imelda gave him a gleeful laugh in response, ducking through the bridge that led to the school. They flew over the glittering Great Lake, threaded through the tight-laced trees of the Forbidden Forest, and made a long loop around the Scottish Highlands. Garreth never caught up. But when Imelda looked back at him, smiling and laughing and looking oh so perfect, he didn't think she really minded.

He could stare at her forever. Those eyes, her voice, that hair, the wicked way she awakened his competitive spirit. Oh, he was crushing hard.

But not as hard as the branch he slammed into, sending him flying off his broom. He yelped as he landed heavily on the grassy ground of the plains beneath them. Something in his ears began to ring.

"Garreth!" Imelda shrieked, stopping hard and coming to a stop beside him. She fell to her knees, anxiously looming above Garreth. "Oh, Merlin! That was a hard fall!"

In the sunlight, her hair was lit with a brilliant yellow glow. She looked fierce and beautiful and like everything Garreth had ever wanted. He reached up, feeling dizzier by the second, and threaded a lock of her hair around his fingers.