𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, fred weasley

˗ˋ 26

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH IT'S CHRISTMAS

. . .

The days passed quickly, and soon enough it was Christmas day. The Beauxbatons carriage seemed to resemble a frosted pumpkin at this point, constantly covered in a dusting of snow that shimmered like gems under a clear sky - if that ever happened. 

It had gotten to a point where if you weren't in the carriage by a certain time, you couldn't get there at all. And that had been the case on the night of Christmas Eve - Elodie having spent it watching Fred and George feed people canary creams.

She wasn't aware of how long she had been in the common room until she got up to leave, and had made is far as the exit out of the castle. The snow was falling thick and fast, and it was so dark you couldn't see two feet in front of you - just like Madame Maxime had warned. 

And as a result of this, Elodie had been forced to return to the Gryffindor Common Room, repeating the password she had heard the twins say on so many occasions. Neither of the twins had even questioned it, just glanced out of the window and asked if she would rather sleep in Fred or George's bed, one of them would go down to the kitchen and ask a house elf for a mattress. 

Fred had instantly given up his own bed when he saw Elodie hesitate on who to choose, disappearing down to the kitchen for a few minutes, reappearing a quarter of an hour later.

They had gone up to bed, the twins donating items of clothes that she could use for pajamas (George had given her a pair of pajama bottoms that she had to roll at least three times until she could walks, and Fred had given her the least ripped Quidditch jersey he could find). 

Elodie had fallen asleep on Fred, the boy having wanted to stay off of the floor mattress for as long as possible. And so, she woke up on Christmas day with a slightly heavy weight across her waist, and the feeling of warm breath on the back of her neck.

It took her a moment to figure that she was in the boys dorm room rather than her own room which she shared with Fleur - hoping that the French girl wasn't too worried about her whereabouts, and had assumed that she was with the twins all night - which is usually where she was most of the time at this point. 

"Good morning." Fred mumbled, as soon as he felt Elodie begin to move around. The girl froze as she heard his voice - which was deeper than she had ever heard it - and he moved around behind her. 

"I'm just gonna-" She said, and Fred said something she didn't quite catch, the boy frowning after she slipped out of his grasp, moving through into the small bathroom that was connected to the dorm.

It took her a moment to compose herself, and just by glancing in the mirror, she saw how much of a wreck she had looked. Smudged mascara was under her eyes, hair was a mess and she was pretty sure that she had drooled - as unattractive as it was. 

She cleaned her face with some cold water, and knowing that the twins wouldn't wake up for a while, she climbed up onto the windowsill above the toilet, somehow fitting into the gap that was there.

With her knees pulled up to her chest, her side pressed against the slightly misty window, Elodie balanced her chin on the top of her knees, staring down out of small glass pane. The world outside was a universe of white, everything absolutely covered in snow, the lake frozen over. 

"I thought you would be in here." Fred appeared in the doorway, Elodie glancing over to the doorway. "Slipped out whilst I was half-asleep, huh?" 

"Sorry, Freddie." Elodie smiled, and Fred moved to sit on the closed toilet below her, looking up at her like she was the eighth wonder of the world. She blushed, scratching her cheek to try and hide it. "Merry Christmas." She said. 

"Merry Christmas to you too." Fred replied. "Christmas kisses?" He said, making kissy faces at her and smiling when she laughed, the girl pushing his face away. 

"No Christmas kisses. Maybe if you're lucky there will be one-" She held up a single finger to reiterate her point, "single kiss tonight. At the ball."

"I forgot that was today. Looking forward to it? I suppose being a champion will get you special privileges." Fred said, smirking slightly as he blinked up at her.

"Not that I know of - they haven't told the champions anything other than the fact that we'll be dancing." Elodie shrugged. "Talking of the Ball, I need to go find Fleur. I think our dresses will have arrived by now." 

"I'll try and see if Angelina's awake, get you something other than pajamas to wear to breakfast." Fred said, getting up, Elodie sliding out of her position on the windowsill. 

"I might not have your present with me, but happy Christmas, Freddie." Elodie smiled, standing on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him on the cheek, the boy blushing and pulling his hand through his hair. 

"You wait here." He instructed, walking over to the door, exiting out of dorm and about to close the door behind him, before poking his head around it. 

"Merry Christmas, El."

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