Junoesque ✿George Weasley✿

18.

"How about blue? It's the only other thing you wear because of our house colours," Mina suggested.

Blair thought about it and had to admit that she preferred the Ravenclaw blue to any of the other houses' colours. It was a blue that was flattering and went well with her black hair and pale complexion. She hated the bright yellow that the Hufflepuffs wore and the burgundy that the Gryffindors wore (no offence to any of her Gryffindor friends). The Slytherin green just reminded her too much of the dark witches and wizards that her father got himself involved with. He too was a Slytherin, and she knew that if he was still alive, he would despise her for being sorted into any other house.

"Yeah alright. Blue's okay," Blair nodded and the three girls grinned. "But only a dark blue. No periwinkle or turquoise."

"And if George's vest is purple, then we have to get you a necklace of some sort to match," Nancy added.

After showing Blair countless dresses that ranged from bright blue to navy, the three girls were ready to give up. There was always something wrong with the shape, colour, design or the additions that they thought made it perfect. Blair hated to be so negative but nothing was catching her eye. She began to think that she'd never look good in anything other than black and refused to even try on any of the girls' suggestions.

"I'm sorry," Blair drew out. "I've just never worn anything like these before."

"It's fine," Poppy huffed with her hands on her hips. "You just have... a unique taste."

Blair was ready to walk out and give up on searching for a dress, when a patch of dark blue silk could be seen in between two white dresses. She walked forward and excused herself in front of Mina as she grabbed the hanger and pulled it out, seeing a silk blue off-the-shoulder dress. It was plain with a fitted top before flowing out into small waves that skimmed across the floor. The only 'accessory' on the dress was an even darker blue ribbon that wrapped around the middle, splitting the fitted top from the wavy bottom.

"I'll try this one on," she said and the three girls nodded their heads vigorously.

She stepped into the changing room and quickly charmed herself to stay warm as she changed from her winter clothes and into the dress. The mirror that hung on the wall allowed her to see herself and she felt a small smile grow on to her face. Her pale shoulders and collarbones were on full display and contrasted well with the dress's darkness. It was sleek and sophisticated, and Blair adored it.

"I'm getting it," she peeked her head out of the curtain and smiled at the three girls who whipped around at the sound of her voice.

"Really?! Can we see it?!" Mina grinned.

"No. You'll have to wait," Blair mused and the three threw their heads back in annoyance.

Blair changed back into her clothes and took the folded dress up to the counter, keeping a bright smile on her face. The woman behind the counter told her the price and Blair gave her the money, walking out with the garment wrapped up in brown paper. She was ready to head back to the castle when the girls pulled her into yet another shop, saying she needed something to match George's vest.

They walked into the shop and saw the familiar backs of the Weasely twins hunched over a glass cabinet. They were whispering to each other and Blair looked to her three friends with a confused look.

"Uh, George?" she called and the said twin jumped up straight, eyes wide from obviously not expecting to see her.

"Hey Blair!" he said loudly as he shuffled to be standing in front of the case, keeping one hand behind his back. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Fred stayed near the glass case and looked down to see George's hand waving and pointing towards a particular object. Fred looked to the case and saw the object he was pointing to, understanding his brother's suspicious and jittery behaviour. He glanced up to see George blocking the view of Blair and asking her pointless questions in order to keep her attention, before calling over the shop attendant and paying for his brother's purchase.

"Did you find your dress?" George asked with a nervous smile.

"Yeah," Blair looked down to the package in her hands.

"It was a tough job," Nancy butted in. "You better have your socks knocked off."

"But what are you doing in here?" Poppy narrowed her eyes at the boy. "This is a jewellery shop."

"Maybe we like jewellery," Fred appeared next to George, slipping the box into his brother's hands behind their backs. "What's wrong with a bit of bling?"

"Nothing," Mina said with a small shrug. "We were actually looking for something purple for Blair to match your vest."

"Don't worry about that," George shook his head, glancing to Fred next to him with an unreadable look. "I've got something in mind for you."

"You bought me something?" Blair questioned in surprise.

"Yep. It was a hefty price too. A price to which George WILL be paying me back for," Fred said through gritted teeth as he jammed his elbow into George's side. He made an 'oof' sound and glared at him, before turning back to Blair with an attempt to look unaffected.

"Can we see it?" Nancy asked and George scoffed.

"You'll have to wait for the ball."

---

Christmas Eve soon fell upon Hogwarts and it was finally time for the much awaited Yule Ball. The flurry to find dates had continued through to Christmas Eve morning. Some people had hoped that there were others that were desperate and would come to those who had left it to the last minute. Blair was relieved that she wasn't one of those people and felt proud to say that she had a date that she actually wanted to go to the ball with. She was surprised to find that some boys had even asked her in hopes that she'd have no date yet.

"I'm sorry. I've already got a date," she rejected another Durmstrang and gave him an apologetic look. She then walked away after giving him a small goodbye and jumped when she saw Nancy at her side in a matter of seconds.

"That's the third one today!" she cried. "You're attracting all the boys!"

"In desperation," Blair corrected. "They're only doing it because there's no one else left."

"That's not true," Nancy shook her head. "You've had Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons asking you ever since you said you'd go with George! Trust me; you are not a last choice."

"Whatever you say."

---

That night, George sat in his dormitory in front of the mirror. He stood in his black robes and dark purple vest, fiddling with his hair that didn't seem to sit right on top of his head. Fred was sitting behind him on his bed pulling on his dress shoes and tying and untying his ribbon around his neck. The two were due in the Great Hall in ten minutes and were in their last stages of leaving to meet their dates.

"I heard a few Durmstrangs asked Roiser to be their dates today," Fred mentioned and George looked at him through the mirror, his hair now parted to the side how he liked it.

"Can't you call her by her first name for once?" he sighed. "You know her well enough."

"Fine, Blair-" Fred rolled his eyes. "-was asked to the ball by a bunch of Durmstrangs today."

"Yeah, she told me," George replied. "She said no, though."

"You'd hope," Fred sniggered. "Maybe it's time to get ahead, Georgie. When are you two gonna snog?"

"I've told you, I'm waiting for the right time."

"What's a better time than now?!" Fred jumped up from his bed and stood to be in front of his brother. "You can swoop in during the waltz! I've seen you two during dance lessons. You're usually closer than Percy to kissing Crouch's ass!"

"Not a pleasant comparison," George cringed at the association. "We're talking about kissing a girl here, Freddie!"

"You're so boring," he rolled his eyes. "Do what you want. But remember, girls love it when you grab their bum doing a good snog."

"Gee thanks Freddie."