THE TWO WITNESSES | RON WEASLEY [BOOK TWO]

8. WHY DIDN'T YOU?

Gene had never worn makeup before tonight. She didn't know how and she was beginning to regret denying Aurelia of the chances to teach her back home. But Lorelai had quickly come to her rescue, even taking a few of Pansy Parkinson's tips. Gene needed as much help as she could get.

So, Lorelai went ahead and began to dab an assortment of powders onto Gene's face, her eyes darkened by black eyeshadow, with some glitter on the inner corners of her eyes, making her hazel eyes appear brighter. It was like magic. Lorelai finished the look off with some lipgloss and after Gene saw herself in the mirror, she decided that she quite liked wearing makeup.

Pansy helped with Gene's hair, having curled the ends and putting it into a sort of half up-half down look, with a few strands loose to frame her face. Gene's eyes widened once she saw her reflection, her finger twisting around a single curl that rested against her cheek, staring in utter shock. She had spent 14 years with dead straight hair, so it was a nice change.

They smiled at the sight of Gene once she'd finally put her dress on, only after having spent the last ten minutes convincing her not to back out at the last minute. Her hand gripped the fabric tight, lifting it a few centimetres from the floor so that she didn't trip over the length of it in her heels.

"Oh, Gene." Lorelai breathed out, her eyes widening.
The dress had thin straps, flowing in all the right places. It fit Gene perfectly, and she couldn't help but wonder what her mother felt like when she first wore this dress. As Lorelai gestured, Gene did a spin in place, the deep purple fabric only seeming to shine more under the candlelight, causing them to squeal in excitement.

"You look beautiful." Pansy smiled, nodding. Gene returned the smile gratefully, feeling her cheeks blush a rose colour.

Her final touch was returning her locket to her neck, keeping a piece of Sirius with her always. Gene's hand went to rest over it for a moment, smiling at her reflection before she was ready to leave.

"Wait- !" Lorelai stopped them suddenly and Gene waited, as she returned with her polaroid camera. "Pictures, remember?" Gene rolled her eyes before standing up straight and smiling as the flash went twice.

"Why did you take two?" Gene asked, confused as Lorelai left the pictures at Gene's bedside table.

"One for your aunt, the other for your dad." Lorelai smiled, looping her arm with Gene's and they were finally ready.

Gene had faced a lot in her time at Hogwarts. A basilisk, a giant, a werewolf, amongst many other things. She'd beaten them successfully, barely even breaking a sweat. (A lie, but still.) Even after all her difficult years at Hogwarts, the thought of walking through the school in a dress and heels had the others beat by miles.

She easily noticed the glances from students as she walked by, but tried her very best to ignore them. It only got worse as Pansy and Lorelai had already found their dates, leaving Gene on her own. How very typical of George to leave her stranded. She half-wondered if he was going to turn her face blue later on, with some stupid prank that the twins might have conjured up.

Gene peered around the corner, catching a glimpse of ginger, though it was only Ron. She found herself wondering who he was going to turn up with, if anyone.

"What are you doing?"

A whisper from behind Gene made her jump, nearly stumbling backwards as she spun on her heel, facing Fred and George.

"I'm- well, I was waiting for you." she said, and they both raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief, to which she sighed at, "I'm nervous." Gene's fingers were interlocked with each other, her heel tapping against the stone rhythmically as they simultaneously broke into smiles.