What if another child was in the house that night in Godric's Hollow? A child who was then sent to be raised by muggles, completely oblivious to the world of magic until she turned 15, and her destiny changed. Brandi grew up with her mother, always...
The final week before the ball made for nervous energy throughout the castle. Mumbles and whispers about who was going with who, who would be stood up, who would look the best, and who would ruin it for everyone.
Fred had spent the week somewhat avoiding Brandi, or at least being a little more quiet towards her than he usually was. Brandi noticed and thought it was her own misconception, maybe she was being paranoid.
But the truth was, Fred just didn't have the energy to spare over being confused about the girl.
It was getting harder and harder to deny that he had feelings for her, and the more time he spent with her the more difficult it got. So after George had called him out, he distanced himself slightly in an attempt to let those feelings subside.
Was it working? Well, Fred believed it was.
Until one day when Brandi and her friends passed him, George and Oliver on the moving staircases as they were each hanging around the castle the day of the ball, and Oliver blew Brandi an extremely dramatic kiss for the purpose of making it known that he had 'won' her. Fred saw the girl blush and return the gesture, giggling at their silliness as she did, which sent the familiar feeling of anger through the Weasley boy.
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Oliver flashed his winning grin feeling overly proud that she wasn't nervous about displaying their affection like that in public. He had done it, he had gotten her.
"See you tonight, B," he called cheekily, hyping her up for the ball which she bit her lip and winked at, sending another pang of heat through Fred.
George, as always, was fully aware of what was going on but elected to remain silent as he saw Fred struggling to deal with his emotions. It wasn't often that the boy got so caught up in feelings and it affected him to this extent, so George wasn't going to do the classic brother thing and give him shit this time.
"You and Oliver are so cute, really," Hermione observed, supporting her friend.
Brandi shrugged with a chuckle. "He's really good to me," she admitted, remembering back to all the times he'd been there for her.
"Are you guys official or anything?" Harry interjected, wanting to ask what the situation was for some time now.
Another shrug from the girl. "Nah, nothing like that. We're just hanging out, enjoying it as it comes," she justified with a content smile.
"Well, we should probably all start getting ready, not long now until the ball," Hermione concluded.
"Nah, we don't need that long, I'm an expert in dressing for events at this point. Half an hour and we'll be good to go," Brandi protested, being well versed in formal dress.
Hermione's eyes widened. "No way! We're going now. If we have extra time, that's just a bonus. Chop chop!"
Brandi wasn't given a choice as Hermione dragged her away from the courtyard and left Harry and Ron on their own, eager to get changed for the big night.
