If I'm Lucky {Fred Weasley}

The Yule Ball Pt. 2

Can you,

Give me reasons we should be complete?

You should be with him, I can't compete.

Fred's P.O.V.

An hour passed, and many students were still dancing and bouncing to a band called The Weird Sisters. Thank Merlin, we ditched that orchestra after the first couple of songs. I was having a great time with Emily. She was a lot of fun and a sweet girl, but I couldn't stop myself from glancing continuously at Charlotte. She was just so...goregous. I can't believe in all the years that I've known her, I've never seen her dressed like...like this. It was driving me nuts how the gold dress radiated against her skin tone and how it draped from her shoulders and perfectly hugged her body. I kept having to shake my head to stop myself from studying every single one of her curves. And Godric, that slit...that fucking slit. It exposed parts of her leg that I'd never seen before, like her upper thigh. Images of snogging in my dorm room and getting to grip her soft skin flashed across my mind. Her skin had always been soft, but I bet it felt just as silky as her fabric tonight.

Emily's pretty too, but I can't deny the fact that I just don't see her the same way I used to. I tried to move on and get to know her romantically, but those feelings weren't there anymore. If tonight has done anything, it solidified that for me...and to be honest, I think it did the same for Emily as well. She seemed to be having a good time, but there were no more flirtatious smiles or subtle touches suggesting that she was still interested in exploring anything deeper. So somewhere down the line, we must have unspokenly decided to enjoy the festivities together as mere friends.

Returning to our table, I offered a drink to Emily and arched a brow, "Punch, M'lady?"

While fanning herself after a long string of dancing, she smiled up at me and took it, "Thank you."

"No problem," I grinned before sitting beside her and sipping from my cup. After lowering it, my eyes landed back on Charlotte again. She was still dancing with Cedric, and they looked like they were having the time of their lives. Their moves were goofy as he stood behind her, both shimmying from side to side in opposite directions. Each time they'd cross over each other, Cedric would sing the lyrics to her while making cheesy rockstar expressions that would cause Charlotte to throw her head back laughing. Every time it happened, that admiring twinkle in his eyes reminded me just how much Cedric truly loved her. The guy was absolutely and completely smitten; you could read it all over his face.

Emily leaned closer to pull me out of my trance, "They look really happy together, huh?"

She must have followed my line of sight because she nodded towards Cedric and Charlotte. Feeling instantly overcome with guilt, I looked down at the floor. For years I've been trying to win Emily over, and when she finally agreed to accompany me to what is supposed to be the most magical night of her youth, my attention was being spent on someone else. And all it took was one night, just one bloody night by the common room fire last year for all those feelings I thought I had for Emily to simply...disappear. Even when knowing this, I still asked her to the ball. And If I'm being honest with myself, I thought it would irritate Charlotte the most, which wasn't fair to Emily. Although part of me was happy that she said yes, that did little to nullify the other part of me that longed to be with someone else. I'm supposed to be making this night memorable for Emily, and instead, I'm letting her down.

My throat became dry as I looked at my drink and mumbled, "Yeah...They do."

I tried to turn my attention back to Emily and tried to make this night enjoyable for her by asking her questions about her family, but it was hard for me to listen. My mind just kept drifting back to Charlotte. Emily didn't notice, however, because we both became distracted by Hermione storming off from a table after talking to Ron.