A/N: New character introduction! Couldn't show his picture until now, but say hello to Ivan of Durmstrang!
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December quickly approached and the school grounds were blanketed in a thick layer of snow. Most students were spending their time indoors now, but Milena liked watching the snow fall. The peacefulness of the snowfall and the quiet of it all was nice to sit and watch. It gave her a place to be with her thoughts which she sometimes needed. She hadn't stopped thinking about what Fred had said to her while he was drunk, but she also never confronted him about it. The morning after, he seemed to have completely forgotten most of the night before so she chose to keep it to herself. He had been drunk and didn't know what he was saying, she had decided.
The Yule Ball had recently been announced as well and Milena couldn't help but wonder if he might possibly ask her to be his date. She did her best not to get her hopes up but she couldn't help it. While she had decided that what he had said to her, he didn't mean, a small part of her hoped that maybe he did mean it.
As she sat there with her thoughts, she realized that she had begun to shiver which meant it was time to go back inside. She made her way back inside from the cold, brushing some snowflakes off of her jacket and stomping the snow off her boots at the door.
Later that day, all of the Gryffindors were gathered back into the Great Hall because McGonagall was showing everyone the proper way to dance at the Yule Ball. All of the boys were sitting on one side of the room and all of the girls on the other. Milena had sat next to Angelina and Hermione and they whispered to each other about who people were rumoured to be going to the ball with as McGonagall showed proper steps with a very embarrassed and red Ron.
"Do either of you have dates yet?" Milena whispered.
"No, not yet," Angelina said. "Honestly, I'm kinda hoping George might ask me."
"George? Really?" Milena asked, now more intrigued.
"I don't know, I mean we're good friends and he's not bad looking, I wouldn't mind going with him." She explained. "What about you? Got a certain redhead in mind?"
"What? I- no... no..." Milena stuttered
"Aw you're blushing, Milly," Hermione cooed.
Milena shook her head trying to contain her smile at the thought of Fred taking her to the dance. She hadn't told anyone, but Lee about what Fred had said to her that night.
"Alright, everyone pick a partner, I want you to try this yourselves," McGonagall said.
All of the girls stood from their seats but the boys were a little hesitant. Neville, a fourth year Milena knew to be Harry and Ron's roommate, stood from his seat and made the first move, asking Ginny to dance. The rest of the boys took his lead and started to ask girls to dance with them.
"May I have this dance?" George asked, bowing to Angelina.
"Why of course," she said curtseying to him and taking his hand. Harry had asked Hermione to dance with him which was no surprise as Milena knew how good of friends they were. Fred waltzed his way towards Milena and held out his hand to her.
"Dance with me?" He asked.
"Sure, just don't step on my feet," Milena joked, taking his hand.
The two danced together to the traditional yule ball music and Milena was surprised at how well Fred could actually dance. He led her quite well, adding in little twirls here and there. He then spun her around so she was facing away from him, holding her in a hug for a moment before spinning her back around and leaning to dip her at the end of the song. Their faces were only inches apart from each other and she took the moment to take in his entire face. His freckles that dotted almost every inch of his face but seemed to cluster most around his nose, his brown eyes that were soft yet piercing all at once, his lips... she couldn't take her eyes off of his lips. She could feel him as it felt he was leaning in closer to her. Then suddenly, he jolted away from her, pulling her back up as McGonagall shouted out, "Alright that will be enough for today! Dinner will be starting soon! Off you go!"
Milena's heart was racing as Fred made sure she was steady before letting go of her.
"Fred... I-" Milena started but was cut off once again.
"Milena! Milena! You're not gonna believe this!" Angelina said, running for Milena. "Sorry Fred, I'm stealing her away!"
"Yeah... no that's fine... I have to catch up with George and Lee anyways," he said.
Angelina began to pull Milena away to tell her about her dance with George, but stopped as she could tell Milena was only half listening.
"And then a goblin jumped down from the rafters and stole my shoes."
"Huh... what?" Milena said, snapping back into the conversation.
"Did you hear anything I just said?" Angelina asked.
"Um... you were talking about dancing with George and... um... I don't know what you said," Milena admitted.
"Off in your own little world again, I see. What's going on in that head of yours?" she asked.
To be entirely honest, Milena wasn't even sure anymore. Was Fred going to kiss her or was she completely imagining it? It really seemed like he was leaning into her, but he could have just been trying to hold his balance. She couldn't stop replaying the moment in her head. First, him drunkenly admitting he thought she was pretty and now this? There had to be more going on.
"A lot's happening in here to be honest," she said.
"Why? What's going on?"
Milena took a deep breath.
"Promise me you won't tell a single soul about this."
"I promise."
"You swear?"
"Yes! What's going on?"
"...I think Fred was going to kiss me during the practice dance." Milena whispered.
"WHAT!" Angelina exclaimed, Milena hushing her. She quieted down to a whisper. "Why do you think he was going to kiss you?"
"Well at the end of the song, he pulled me into a dip and our faces were really close and I could have sworn he was leaning in before McGonagall interrupted," she explained.
"Oh my god! And I pulled you away from him, I'm so sorry!" Angelina said, getting a little loud again.
"It's alright, you didn't know," Milena assured. "Besides, it was probably for the best anyways. I'm not even entirely sure if he actually was or not."
"Either way, this is major! Do you think he's gonna ask you to the ball?"
"Honestly... I have no idea."
The pair continued to talk for a while, sitting by a window in the corridor. Angelina told her that George had asked her to the ball and that was what she originally wanted to tell her. Of course, Milena was happy for her friend and excited to see the two go together, but she couldn't keep her mind off of Fred. Eventually, Angelina decided she was going to head to dinner now that the Great Hall would be set again and Milena joined her for a little bit, but pretty soon chose to head back to the common room.
As she walked out of the Great Hall, she noticed a group of Durmstrang boys who were all talking to each other and seemed to be peering at her every so often. One of the boys started to push one of them towards her and he broke into a little jog to catch up with her. He was shorter than most of them, but still a little taller than Milena. His hair was curly and dark brown and swept to the side a little bit. He definitely was a good looking guy and Milena couldn't deny it.
"Hi there," the curly haired boy greeted.
"Hi," Milena greeted back.
"I am Ivan from Durmstrang," he said, taking her hand and giving it a soft kiss.
"I'm Milena... of Hogwarts, most people call me Milly," Milena said, trying not to blush and gently pulling her hand back.
"Milena... that's a beautiful name,"
"I... um... thanks..."
"Vell Milena, would you possibly have a date to the ball yet?"
Milena froze, unsure of what to say. She didn't have a date to the dance yet, but she was kind of starting to have hope that maybe Fred would ask her.
"Oh... um... that's really kind of you, but I'm actually kinda waiting for someone else to ask me..." She explained as nicely as she could.
"Oh, vell if he doesn't ask you, vould you consider my offer?" He asked.
"Yeah, I might," she said. "I have to get back to my common room now, but it was nice meeting you Ivan."
"You as vell," he said.
Milena began to walk away again, going back to her common room and leaving Ivan to head back to his group of friends. She pondered the thought of why Ivan had so suddenly asked her to the ball. She had seen him around before, but the two had never spoken until that point. It made her wonder if there were more people interested in her that she never noticed and while she was flattered by his offer, she knew there would really only be one person she'd want to say yes to.
She had become so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed she had reached the Gryffindor common room entrance. Shaking her head as she tried to snap back to reality, she spoke the password to the Fat Lady and was let inside. Fred, George and Lee were sprawled out on the couches by the fire, chatting with each other and laughing at a joke Lee had just told.
"Oh hey Milly," George greeted. "Come join us!"
Milena happily obliged and sat down in the only spot on the couch the boys hadn't taken over just across from Fred and next to Lee.
"I just had the strangest conversation," Milena started, "some Durmstrang boy I've never spoken to just asked me to the ball."
"Oh really," Lee smirked, nudging Milena with his foot. "And who would this Durmstrang boy be?"
"He said his name was Ivan, he was with a group of friends and they all kinda shoved him towards me. He's definitely suave and I mean, he's handsome." Milena said.
Fred grew quiet as she talked about the boy she had only just met. Usually by now he would have been teasing her and making her go all red, but he couldn't seem to look at Milena as she spoke.
"So what did you say to Mr. Handsome?" Lee asked.
"Well I said that it was a nice offer, but that I was... um... kinda waiting for someone else to ask me," Milena admitted now looking down at her knees. She glanced at Fred for a moment who, at her words, had looked back up again, seeming a little more like his confident self again.
"There's someone you're waiting for huh?" George said.
Milena looked up at him, standing from her spot on the couch, attempting to look more confident and hide all of the vulnerability she was feeling.
"Yes and that's all you boys get to know," she said with a grin. "Now I'm headed to my dorm for the night, I'll see you lot in the morning."
Milena left the boys to wonder who she may have been waiting for, but George and Lee both had a pretty good idea of who that would be. As soon as she was out of ear shot, George and Lee almost simultaneously sat up right and directed their attention to Fred.
"You know she was talking about you right?" Lee asked. "The person she's waiting for, I would bet my entire life savings that it's you."
"She clearly wants you to ask her, why haven't you done it yet," George asked.
"I don't know, I mean I want to, but what if I'm not the one she's waiting for? What if she's waiting for someone like... I don't know... Cedric to ask her?" Fred said.
"Why the bloody hell would she be waiting for Cedric? Do you see the way she looks at you? Of course it's you she wants to ask her!" George said, grabbing Fred's shoulder and shaking him a little.
Fred sighed. The confident look he had put on just for Milena began to vanish as he slumped into his seat. He threw his hands over his face and began rubbing his eyes.
"I almost kissed her today." Fred admitted, still covering his face with his hands.
"You what!?" Lee and George exclaimed in unison.
"I... almost kissed her... and I probably would have if McGonagall hadn't interrupted." He explained.
"Bloody hell, Fred! Why didn't you tell me?" George asked.
"Well you were excited about Angelina and it was an almost... I didn't actually kiss her," Fred said. "We were dancing together and having a lot of fun and at the end of the song I dipped her and when I looked into her eyes... I just... I imagined us together at the ball... and how beautiful she looked... and all I wanted to do was kiss her."
"So what I'm hearing is the bloody professor is a cockblock." Lee joked, dodging a cushion Fred threw at him. "Listen, all I'm saying is she's a beautiful girl and I would bet there's more than just Ivan who wants to ask her to the ball. So, I'd reckon you should get on asking her soon."
Fred leaned his head back on the couch, closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He knew Lee was right, there had to be other guys that were gonna ask Milena to the ball and if it really was him she was waiting for, who knows how long she'd be willing to wait before she'd say yes to someone else. Ivan was only just the start of guys throwing themselves at her. He just had to be the one she'd say yes to.