The following morning, you were all sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast when Ron suddenly spoke loudly from down the table from where you sat with your friends, "oh look! Mum's sent me something!" You all turned from your conversations and looked down the table as Ron eagerly tore open the wrapping of a large parcel. He pulled something made from a hideous velvet fabric with frills out from the packaging and stood up from the table with it, looking completely baffled.
Fred snickered from his seat beside you and you turned to him, "what is it he's got?"
"Just wait and see," he said to you, looking positively evil as he looked at Ron with his gift. George turned around with raised eyebrows and using some silent communication, Fred confirmed whatever George suspected, making the other twin laugh as well.
"Mum sent me a dress," Ron simply said, and you turned to Fred as you suddenly remembered the extra items on your school list for this year. "Those surely aren't..?" you asked him quietly, trying to suppress a smile.
"Oh they are, and pretty sure our great aunt died in those robes" Fred whispered to you. You turned to him with wide eyes but he laughed, "well probably not, but looking at them would you really be surprised if she had?" You stifled a laugh as Ron continued fretting over the outfit.
"Well it does match your eyes," Harry told Ron as he looked back into the box, "is there a bonnet? Aha!" He pulled a frilly lace cravat with a black bowtie and held it up to Ron's chest.
"Nose down, Harry," Ron huffed half heartedly as he told his friend to mind his business, and then he turned to Ginny who sat down the bench with her friends, "Ginny, these must be for you."
Ginny looked at her brother like he'd grown an extra head, "I'm not wearing that, it's ghastly." Hermione began laughing and Ron turned to her, "what are you on about?"
"They're not for Ginny," she laughed and shook her head, "they're for you!" You and the twins collapsed into a fit of hysterical laughter and Fred nearly choked on his orange juice.
"Dress robes," Hermione explained.
"Dress robes? For what?" Ron asked, completely dumbfounded.
---
"The Yule Ball," Professor McGonagall explained to the Gryffindors gathered in the hall, "has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the Yule Ball is first and foremost...a dance."
The girls who were sitting on one side of the room all whispered ecstatically while the boys on the opposite side grumbled in annoyance and shook their heads.
"Silence!" McGonagall commanded, quieting the chatter before she continued. "The House of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizard world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you, in the course of a single evening, besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons." You saw the twins turn to each other across the room, and you could just tell that they were jokingly repeating McGonagall's words over and over again to each other.
"To dance is to let the body breathe," McGonagall declared expressively, "inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forth and take flight." You saw Ron lean over to mutter something to Seamus, drawing the attention of McGonagall, "inside every boy, a lordly lion prepares to prance. Mr Weasley, will you join me?"
You had to suppress a giggle as you realised that McGonagall wasn't asking him to, she was ordering him, and his look of fright at her demand was priceless. You made eye contact with Fred who quirked his eyebrows at you in amusement, and you rolled your eyes good-naturedly.
McGonagall pulled Ron from his seat, with the help of Harry who eagerly pushed his friend off the bench.
"Now, place your right hand on my waist."
"Where?" Ron asked in fright.
"My waist," she responded coolly.
As soon as he did so, a wolf-whistle came from the boy's side, and you'd bet money that it was Seamus. Ron then panicked and pulled back but McGonagall put him back in place and instructed him on his arm positions. McGonagall signaled Filch, who was standing out like a sore thumb beside the large gramophone, and he began playing the music. McGonagall counted as she led Ron in a waltz. The twins were mimicking a dance and swaying dramatically where they stood which made you chuckle.
"Oi! You're never going to let him forget this are you?" Harry asked them loud enough for you to hear.
"Never," the twins confirmed in unison.
"Everybody come together!" McGonagall commanded, and the girls stood instantly. The boys didn't move and looked everywhere but at the girls and the professor who had demanded them to stand up, "boys! On your feet!"
Neville bravely stood up first. "Go on, Neville!" You, Hermione and a few other girls encouraged, and he smiled shyly at you all.
The girls all moved to partner up but you hung back slightly, suddenly nervous for reasons you didn't quite understand. You looked around for your friends and then felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. You turned around and Fred stood there smiling, he held out his hand to you, "Miss Y/L/N, would you do me the honour of dancing with me?"
"But I thought..." you quickly looked around and saw Angelina happily dancing with George, so you turned back to Fred, "why yes, Mr Weasley, it would be my pleasure."
You took hold of his outstretched hand and he pulled you in, you arranged your arms as McGonagall had instructed and you followed the steps that she had demonstrated. Everyone, now paired up, attempted to follow the one-two-three rhythm of the music, and you were pleasantly surprised by Fred's coordination.
"I didn't know you could dance, Freddie," you noted, impressed.
He chuckled as he led you in a well-timed turn, "we went to a relative's wedding when we were about eight, Mum insisted we learn to dance so she moved the kitchen table out of the way and taught us all."
You smiled at the image, "that's really sweet."
"It was actually fun until Dad came home from work and Mum pulled him into a dance, and then the rest of us just left them to it," he shook his head and feigned a shiver and you laughed at his expression.
"So, how are things with you and Diggory?" Fred asked suddenly, making you look at him in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"Well I assume he's asked you to the ball?" Fred said without looking at you, instead looking over your head. You chuckled and shook your head, "no he's going with Cho Chang, the fifth year Ravenclaw girl."
Fred looked down at you then, puzzled, "I thought you and he were...are you alright? If he hurt you-"
"Oh Fred, no. It was nothing like that. I actually encouraged him to ask her," you stated, trying to ease his protectiveness.
"Oh, I see," he answered thoughtfully, and then you swallowed your nerves and asked him a similar question, "why aren't you dancing with Angelina? I figured you'd be going to the Ball with her."
His brow furrowed at your comment, "no, I haven't asked Angelina to the ball." A strange silence followed but it was soon broken as you tripped over Fred's foot having lost focus, he caught you swiftly before you could hit the floor and then you both burst into laughter.
McGonagall walked up beside you and cleared her throat, "please at least attempt to move in time with the music, it would be easier to do so if you kept your personal conversations for the common room." And then she moved away to scold a student who held his hands out in the air and not on the girl he was dancing with.
Fred's arms found their positions again once he helped you regain your footing, his hand was warm where it rested lightly on your waist, and you looked back up at him and smiled, which he readily returned. He squeezed your waist slightly, pulling you in closer to him until your chest almost brushed his, and he continued to lead you in the correct steps around the floor. You momentarily forgot that you were in the middle of the Great Hall with your classmates as you felt his warmth around you and the moment felt similar to the one you shared in the common room after the First Task, like no one else in the world existed except for the two of you.
The moment was ended abruptly by another couple dancing straight into you, "sorry, lads!" Lee apologised as he clumsily pulled a bewildered fifth year away from you, and then Fred's face lit up, "follow my lead, okay?"
You nodded indulgently, and he looked over either shoulder before pulling you even closer, "lets go," he grinned at you before he pulled you into a much faster quickstep dance that involved skipping and turning around the perimeter of the room. Those around you slowly stopped and watched as you lapped the hall with your quick hops and skips, and even began gleefully clapping in time with your rhythm, finding this far more entertaining than the slow waltz everyone was awkwardly stumbling through before. You giggled as Fred spun you under his arm and then pulled you back to his chest, you were in complete hysterics and you didn't know when you'd last had this much fun.
"Hold on!" he warned you and you tighten your grip on the back of his neck as he lowered you into a quick dip, you shrieked with laughter and then he pulled you back up and the hall burst into applause. Once you realised that everyone was watching you you blushed deeply as he laughed and pumped a fist in the air, and then you both jokingly bowed to your fellow students.
McGonagall appeared at your side, "Mr Weasley, Miss Y/L/N, while I appreciate and encourage your enthusiasm for the art of dancing, may I remind you that this is a waltz, not a quickstep," you were certain you saw her fighting a smile before she turned back to the other students. "Everyone, back to your partners and start from the beginning," she instructed. You and Fred shared a grin, still out of breath from your display, and your heart fluttered in your chest as you looked at his happy face staring down at you.
---
Later in the week, you were back in the Great Hall but this time for a study period. You worked through your Charms homework with Bea as you sat with her at what was typically the Ravenclaw table. The table behind you was filled with your friends and a mixture of students from other houses, but you'd made the decision to sit elsewhere so you could actually get work done, and not get distracted and chat to the twins. That didn't stop you from glancing back every now and then to see what trouble they were getting up to whenever Snape, who was supervising the study period, was patrolling the other side of the hall.
At one point you heard heated whispers from the other table and you looked over your shoulder to see Fred throwing a piece of parchment across to Ron, who read it and leaned forward to ask him something. They were too far away for you to hear any of the conversation, but you could see Fred rolling up another piece of parchment and throwing it at Angelina, and just as you were about to see what happened next, Snape walked up behind you and cleared his throat loudly, instructing you to turn back to your work. Once he moved away, you peeked over again and saw Angelina nodding and grinning happily as she turned to whisper excitedly to Alicia who sat beside her. You started putting the pieces together in your head and frowned down at your books.
"You alright, Y/N?" Bea whispered as she saw your downcast expression, you were about to reply when you saw two younger Gryffindor students getting up from the table with their bags and books. As they walked down the aisle towards you, you leaned back on your bench to catch their attention, "psst! What was going on down there?" you whispered to the two boys.
"One of the Weasley twins just asked Angelina Johnson to the Yule Ball," one of them told you quietly and his friend nodded in confirmation, and you thanked them quietly as they continued on their way out of the hall. Bea was looking at you with concern then, "surely not Fred?" she queried as she looked over at your friends behind you. You just shrugged and swallowed the lump in your throat, "I don't know."
You immediately tried to focus your concentration back on your work but your mind kept wandering, making you assume the worst. You knew there was always a chance that Fred would ask Angelina to the ball, but you grew hopeful after he asked you to be his partner for the dance class that day. Just as you felt the tears gathering in your eyes as you looked down at your work, you heard commotion coming from where your friends were sitting in the middle of the hall.
"Oi, Y/N!!" A loud shout broke the complete silence of the study period, and you jumped in surprise at the sound of your name. You turned around to see Fred standing up on the bench in the middle of the quiet hall while Snape strode angrily towards him.
As you met his gaze he grinned wildly at you and you shook your head in disbelief, "um, yes?" you answered loudly, your voice echoing through the silence.
"WILL YOU- oh for fuc-" he scrambled over the table as Snape marched up behind him, and stepped down on the bench between Angelina and Alicia who were in stitches of laughter like the rest of your friends at their table. Fred stood up on the bench between the two girls and, still grinning mischievously, he looked up at you again.
"WILL YOU GO TO THE BALL WITH ME?" he yelled across the hall, and choruses of giggles and squeals of 'aww' echoed through the whole room that was now growing rowdier by the minute, much to the annoyance of Snape who was still trying to catch Fred.
You felt a huge grin splitting your face and you burst into a laugh of pure disbelief, you were just about to answer the boy when he turned around and spotted Snape coming down the aisle towards him. He hopped off the bench and ran down towards you, where you stood to meet him with a ridiculously blissed out smile on your face.
He skidded to a halt in front of you, "well, love? What do you say?"
You impulsively reached out and grabbed his hands in yours, "of course I'll go to the ball with you, Freddie." His face lit up like the sun and in that moment you wanted to kiss him right on the mouth, but of course you didn't.
"Brilliant," he said to you, and it looked like he was about to say something else when Snape's deep voice boomed across the aisle as he reached you, "WEASLEY!"
Fred winked at you, "so worth the detention I'm about to get." And then he turned on his heel and casually walked right back up to Snape, "good evening Professor, what can I do for you?"
He was in detention for two weeks but he didn't regret it one bit, especially not when he thought about the smile it put on your face.
---
The night before the Yule Ball, you were sitting up in bed reading when Angelina sat down on the bed beside you. You smiled at her and scooted over so she had more room, and she lay back against the headboard with you and rested her head on your shoulder.
"You alright, Ange?" you asked her as you turned back to your book.
"Fred never fancied me, you know," she said casually and you jerked in surprise. She sat up and smirked at you, "we haven't talked about this, but I think I need to get through to that stubborn head of yours," she playfully tapped her finger on your forehead.
You put your bookmark into your book and set it on your bedside table and then turned back to your friend. You didn't know what to say to that so you just looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say more, and she sighed dramatically at you.
"Apparently the person who overheard Fred saying he fancied me back in third year actually heard George saying it, they couldn't tell them apart," she chuckled and then looked up at your wide eyes, "I know you tried to encourage Fred to ask me out last summer."
"I didn't...I thought that-" you stuttered and your brain was trying to play catch up. Angelina shook her head fondly, "it was selfless of you Y/N, and I appreciate that you tried, but the truth is that I never really saw Fred like that. We're only mates. And we said just that to each other the night of the party, after we won the Quidditch Cup."
You took a sharp intake of breath, "you...didn't get with each other that night?"
Angelina faked a gagging noise, "no, we definitely did not. I snogged some seventh year by the door and I couldn't even tell you who it was," she chuckled at herself, "anyway, Fred and I were dancing, and then he tried to talk to me but the music was too loud so we went up to the hallway, we both made it clear that we didn't see each other that way, despite the rumours that were apparently going around."
Her face softened as she took in your slightly teary, bewildered look, "there was never anything there, Y/N. And I couldn't have done that to you anyway, you're one of my best friends."
You gaped at her words, "you couldn't have done what to me? What do you-"
She scowled, "Y/N, please. We're partners in Potions, and we did the Amortentia potion for Valentine's Day last year?" You stared at her blankly and she rolled her eyes, "you wrote on your parchment that you smelled, what was it..." she smirked mischievously at you, "cinnamon, fresh parchment and...fireworks?"
You gasped in mortification when you realised what she was talking about and you covered your face with your hands. Angelina laughed and wrapped her arms around you fondly.
"That is so embarrassing," you mumbled into your hands and then you looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. She hugged you properly then and you squeezed her back, "thanks Ange, you're honestly the best."
She beamed at you as she pulled back and got up from your bed, "I know I am. Oh and by the way, the night of the party? Fred pulled me aside to tell me that he didn't want me getting the wrong idea, which I wasn't by the way, but he said he liked someone else. Just to let you know." She looked at you meaningfully and went back to her own bed, leaving you in a state of shock and relief.
The bed covers moved on the other side of the room and Alicia stuck her head out of the blankets, "is now a good time to let you both know that I've been here this whole time and can hear everything? Congratulations by the way, Y/N."
She wiggled her eyebrows at you and you threw a cushion across the room at her head, and then the three of you fell into a fit of laughter and squeals, and spent the rest of the night talking about the upcoming Yule Ball.