After her defence against the dark arts class the next day, Milena found herself bundled up and trekking through the snow to the owlery where her owl Fred had bought her was resting. She had chosen to name him Fidget as he liked to play with little trinkets and stationary of hers when they were at home.
She knew her parents were aware of the Yule Ball, but she still wanted to send them a letter home letting them know she wouldn't be home for Christmas this year, but she would still be sending them gifts as she always did. She knew even if she didn't have a date to the Yule Ball, she didn't want to miss it and would go either way.
Milena hadn't talked much at all to Fred since the Yule Ball practice. They said a few words here and there to each other throughout the day when they had their classes together, but Fred seemed more quiet and closed off, making her worry she might have said something or done something wrong.
Milena entered the owlery with her letter addressed to her parents in hand. No one was inside, but the sounds of cooing and hooting coming from the many birds made more than enough noise on its own.
"Fidget!" Milena called out for the bird. In a few seconds, the little barn owl swooped down from above. Milena held out her arm for him to perch on her and she handed the letter to him. "Can you take this to my parents please?"
The bird let out a little hoot and took the letter in its beak. She gave him a couple strokes on the head and he nuzzled into her hand before flying off of her arm and out the open window of the tower. Milena made her way back out of the owlery, passing a few people headed into the tower, and went back into the warmth of the school again. Stomping the snow off of her boots and brushing it off of her coat, she removed her hat and scarf and shook out her hair a little. She didn't have too much longer before she had to be to her last class of the day so she went back to her dorm to put away her winter attire and grab the books she would need for history of magic.
History of magic wasn't necessarily her favourite class of the week because of how slow it was. She found it interesting learning the history of the wizarding world, but Professor Binns talked in such a slow and monotone voice that it was sometimes hard to listen to him. The only thing that even kept her awake in the class was having Angelina, Katie and Alicia in it with her.
The four of them sat at two desks near the back together where they could turn to face each other and chat when they wanted to. Binns was never very strict about talking in his class, but Milena was sure it was just because he never noticed.
"So Lee told us that a Durmstrang boy asked you to the ball," Katie whispered.
"You got asked to the ball?" Angelina gasped.
"Yeah, just after dinner last night when I left the great hall. He stopped me and asked if I had a date yet." Milena explained yet again.
"Was he cute?" Alicia asked.
"I mean yeah he was," Milena said.
"So did you say yes to him? Do you have a date to the ball?" Katie pried.
"No, I didn't say yes to him," Milena said.
Katie looked at her a little disappointed.
"Well why didn't you? Unless..." Katie gasped. "You want Fred to ask you, don't you!?"
Milena shushed her, looking around the room to make sure no one was listening. Everyone was either asleep or zoned out, so she didn't think anyone was listening.
"Oh my god, you do want him to ask you!" Katie said. "I knew you liked him!"
Her three friends quietly squealed with each other as Milena's face continued to grow more red.
"Listen... I wouldn't mind if he asked me to the ball, I just don't know if he will... I kinda hinted in front of him that I was waiting for someone to ask me, but I don't know..." Milena said.
"Please, if that boy doesn't ask you to the dance I'll take you myself," Alicia said, making Milena laugh.
"Well I appreciate the support, but even if he doesn't ask me to the dance, I'm gonna go anyway, I don't wanna miss the ball for the world." Milena stated. "One problem though, I still need a dress... I was gonna look for one in Hogsmeade this weekend."
"I still need a dress too, we'll make a day out of it and we can all go look at dresses together!" Angelina said.
The girls discussed where they would go to look for dresses in Hogsmeade and Milena mentioned she remembered a little boutique near the centre of Hogsmeade that she wanted to visit. She was excited at the thought of getting to try on fancy gowns with her friends. Just talking about the dresses and the ball growing closer, she knew she would have a good time, but something was still missing or rather someone.
At the end of class, the girls gathered their books, handed in their work from today and left the classroom together. As they began to leave, Milena felt a hand on her arm stop her. She turned to face the person seeing an oddly nervous Fred standing behind her. The other girls stopped, noticing their friend had been pulled away and looked to see what was going on.
"Sorry ladies, I need to steal Mills away," Fred said, trying to act confidently.
The girls all gave Milena a knowing glance and turned away, all whispering to each other and giggling as they left Milena and Fred alone.
"Can we go somewhere to talk?" Fred asked.
"Yeah of course," Milena said, feeling the butterflies form in her stomach again.
The pair found an empty area down a corridor by a window that looked out on to the Black Lake. Milena placed her books down in the window sill and turned back to face Fred who was leaning against a pillar. He seemed to be watching her, taking in the girl standing in front of him.
"So... I thought about what you said last night... about the Durmstrang boy that asked you to the ball and how you said no because you were waiting for someone to ask you..." Fred explained.
This was it. He was finally going to ask her to the ball. Milena could feel the butterflies growing more intensely in her stomach. Everything in her wanted to look at the ground to hide her face that she could feel was getting red again, but she continued to look at Fred's face, watching as he nervously looked at his hands.
"And it made me realize that I hoped that the person you were waiting for was me... basically what I'm trying to say is-"
"Yes." She cut him off before he could finish what he was going to say.
"What?" He asked, his head springing up to look at her face again.
"Yes, I'll go to the ball with you." She smiled.
Fred smiled back at her, realizing what she had just said to him. She could see a wave of relief wash over him as his shoulders dropped and his smile grew bigger.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me?" Milena asked. He shook his head. "Pretty much since they announced the Yule Ball."
"Really?" He said, his smile turning into the smirk she recognized so well. "You wanted me that bad huh?"
"Don't ruin it, ya git," she said, moving towards him and pulling him into a hug. She smiled up at him again then rested her head on his chest and in that moment she felt the pure bliss she had been waiting for.
~~~
Saturday came by quickly and the girls were pulling their jackets on to leave for Hogsmeade. Milena's mother had written her a letter back about Christmas saying she would be sending presents for her too. Along with the letter was a little extra money from her to help her pay for her dress. It wasn't a lot, but it was still kind of her to help. The letter was addressed that it was from her dad because her mother still hadn't entirely gotten over her fear of the owls. Milena knew she was trying her best though. She was just glad she had let her keep Fidget.
"Everyone ready to go?" Angelina asked, a chorus of yeses following.
The girls left their dorm together, Fred, George and Lee having already gone ahead because it was only four to a carriage anyways and the girls had made it apparent that this would be a girls only day.
"Any idea what you guys are looking for?" Katie asked.
"No idea... I think my best bet is to just try everything on until I've worn the whole shop," Milena joked, making the girls laugh.
"I think I want something purple. Style wise, I don't know yet," Angelina said.
"Well we've got the whole afternoon, let's take our time and make sure we get the perfect dresses." Milena said.
The girls agreed as their carriage pulled into Hogsmeade. They stepped off one at a time and went straight for the centre of town where Milena had seen the shop before. It was a little shop painted an emerald green on the outside with silver letters spelling out "Boutique" over the door. In the window in the front there were two mannequins each wearing a gorgeous floor length ball gown, one red and one white, and they were bewitched to switch through three different poses to show off the dresses they were wearing. When they entered the store, a few other students were already browsing, looking for the dresses they would be wearing to the ball. Katie had already wandered off to look at a dress that had already caught her eye.
Milena looked through the racks for a while, being asked if she needed any help by the store clerk, but not really seeing anything she liked yet. Angelina had already found a beautiful mermaid style purple dress that fit her perfectly and she was beaming when she tried it on. Milena continued to look for a while before coming across a floor length, fiery red gown with off the shoulder sleeves that sat below her shoulders. She pulled it off the rack, finally having a dress she really wanted to try on and went to get a changing room. The others waited for her to come out to see her in the dress and when she stepped out, their jaws dropped.
"Milly... oh my god..." Angelina said.
"What? Do you guys like it?" Milena asked, doing a little turn. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror behind her and she knew this was the dress she wanted.
"Like it? You look gorgeous!" Angelina exclaimed.
"Completely stunning!" Katie added.
"Fred is going to die when he sees you," Alicia said.
"Yeah I think this is my dress." Milena smiled, still looking at herself in the mirror in awe.
After each finding their dresses and heels to go with them, they left the shop with their bags in hand and Milena decided she would do a little Christmas shopping while she had the chance. Then she stopped by the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeers with the others before they had to go back to the school. The twins and Lee were already in the pub, so the girls went to sit with them now that they were done their shopping.
"I see the shopping was a success," Lee said, eyeing all the bags the girls were carrying.
"Definitely," Milena said, placing her bag in her lap.
"Fred, you're going to lose it when you see Milena at the ball," Alicia said.
"I am, am I?" Fred said, looking over to Milena. Her face was going red again and she was trying her best to hold back her smile. "Well I can't wait to see."
Everyone ordered their butterbeers while they all talked about their days. Fred was telling everyone about a new idea for a product he had thought of when he was in Zonko's and while Milena was doing her best to listen, she couldn't help but stare at him again. She could only think about how incredibly happy she was at that moment. She had found the perfect dress, Fred was taking her to the ball, and everyone seemed to be in great spirits. She was content with everything. It felt like nothing could ruin this moment.