The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls, and the suits of armor had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear "O Come, All Ye Faithful" sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves from inside the armor, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.
Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays, Rubi was happier than ever. She was eagerly awaiting Christmas night.
Fred and George had had great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feathers all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center, and George confided to Rubi that he and Fred were now working on developing something else.
Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings.
Soon, December Twenty-fifth arrived. Rubi woke up, stretching before a huge smile broke onto her smile.
It was the day of the Yule Ball.
Rubi threw off her covers and took a seat in front of the pile at the foot of her bed. As she began to unwrap her first present from Lee, Hermione walked out of the bathroom, all dressed.
"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Rubi cheerfully wished.
"Happy Christmas, Rubi!"
Hermione began going through her presents.
Lee had bought Rubi loads of assorted chocolates, magical and muggle. She was already drooling over them, her mind not being able to pick just one to try. Harry had got her a Broomstick Servicing Kit like the one he had received once from Hermione. Ron had bought her sweets from Honeyduke's. Hermione had gifted Rubi silver heels that sparkled with tiny gems.
George had gotten the girl a package of Zonko's products. Sirius had sent his daughter a bracelet with a mix of charms on it. Apparently each had a different spell enchanted to it. Molly had knitted the iconic Weasley sweater, this time a purple with a green R on it and also sent homemade fudge.
Rubi felt as if she was in sweet heaven.
Fred had gifted Rubi a necklace, with an almond shaped gem to top it. Lastly, Rubi's mother had owled her daughter exactly what she was needing for tonight.
Happy Christmas sweetie,
I hope you enjoy the ball tonight and I know you are going to love this dress as much as me. It felt just perfect for you.
You're going to blow Fred away with this. He'll be watching you like a lost puppy. I know your dad had gone crazy when he had seen me in a similar dress at our first ball together.
Have fun tonight.
Love,
Mum
Rubi smiled before she carefully folded the letter and tucked it into her pocket. Rubi carefully unwrapped the red wrapping paper, and found a box underneath. Rubi pulled open the lid and it fell from her hands, as a gasp escaped her lips. This also caught Hermione's attention as she looked over and her jaw fell open.
The dress was bathed in a rose color, and all over sparkled small, silver dots that glittered like tiny stars. The dress was to sit off shoulder and had seemed to have some volume around the waist and down.
"Mum is the best, this dress is perfect." Rubi breathed out in awe.
Hermione squealed excitedly, "Oh it's beautiful! You're going to look amazing in it! Fred is going to fall head over heels for you." She winked making Rubi blush.
"Shut up." Rubi mumbled.
"You know your mother had asked me to get the heels for you but I had no clue what your dress was like. Oh, your mum has good taste."
Rubi smiled, "Aw, thanks Mione for the heels, they are so pretty. And well, who knows how many secrets Fiona Black has?"
That afternoon, Hermione and Rubi chose to watch Harry and the Weasleys' have a snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said they were going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.
"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at them incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle with Rubi.
***
"Hermione, stop worrying, your hair looks good! The potion you used helped." Rubi commented, watching as Hermione kept on fixing her hair. She was dressed in a periwinkle blue dress, that was a shimmery, flowing material and her hair was done up with a few curls falling out.
"Well, I've got to thank your grandfather for that." The Gryffindor replied, making Rubi stare at her with wide eyes.
"My... my grandfather?"
"Of course, Fleamont Potter, creator of the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion! I'm sure some, if not most, of the wealth the Potters have is due to that."
"Wow." Rubi murmured, "I did not know that, that's cool."
After Hermione had finished with her hair, she along with Ginny worked on styling Rubi's hair. Rubi's usual waves were now cascading down her back in curls. Her hair had changed from black to a mix of blonde and gold. Rubi's icy grey irises now reflected an oceanic blue. Silvery eyeshadow sat upon her eyelids, with eyeliner and mascara defining her orbs even more. Rubi's lips were coated in a deep red. Two stud earrings were in each ear. Around her neck was the necklace Fred had gifted. Finally to top it all, her feet were adorned with the heels Hermione had bought her.
"You look amazing!" Hermione commented. "Do a twirl please."
Rubi studied herself in the mirror, her eyes observing every detail and she felt beautiful. Rubi did as asked and spun, her dress fanning around her as if she was flying.
Rubina Aurora Black looked like a princess from a fairytale.
"Oooh! My brother is going to faint when he sees you!" Ginny gushed. She was dressed in a green dress with a mix of pink on it.
"Thank you girls so much for this, I love it so much."
They both nodded eagerly but then Hermione almost freaked out, realizing the ball was to commence soon and they needed to hurry. The three were chatting joyfully with each other. Ginny was going with Neville while Hermione had been asked by Viktor Krum.
Meanwhile, outside the Great Hall, Fred stood waiting for his date as Lee and George had already found their dates. Fred was dressed in a plain white shirt, with a yellowish vest over with a black bow tie, and a black cloak to top it all. His eyes jumped up from his shoes to glance up at the stairs again to see if she had arrived. Fred felt his throat go dry.
Rubi was elegantly gliding down the stairs, a smile cast on her ruby red lips. She caught Fred's eye as she looked away from Hermione and blushed. Fred was gazing at her with his mouth open, completely frozen. Fred had never seen anyone like Rubi.
It was as if she were from a dream, as if Rubi were too good to be true.
Fred felt his heart swell, his whole body go numb as the world faded away, only focusing on Rubi. Her dress hugged her perfectly and it flowed around her. Her hair and eyes were a whole other colour, something that just made Fred feel amazed by the girl and her abilities.
Rubina Aurora Black looked like a dream come true, like a goddess.
Rubi approached him, rubbing her arm nervously. She waved a hand in Fred's face when she stopped in front of him since the redhead didn't speak, as the ginger's eyes were transfixed on her. Fred shook his head, breaking out of his trance.
"Hi." Rubi shyly said.
"Hello." Fred breathed out, gulping. "You look amazing."
Rubi blushed. "You don't look half bad yourself, Weasley." She replied, nudging him gently.
Fred grinned, bowing, before he offered the girl his arm. Rubi smiled up at him before accepting his arm. The two headed into the now open Great Hall to go await the Champions who were to commence the dance.
Fred couldn't keep his eyes off Rubi. She had him enchanted. His eyes trailed down her figure, the dress hugging her perfectly, before his orbs went to look at her face and Fred felt himself melt, as he witnessed the big, beautiful smile on the young's black face as she glanced around the Great Hall.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, turning all heads towards the four champions who strode in with their partners.
Rubi clapped cheerfully, watching Harry look awkward as ever while Parvati looked excited. Rubi noticed Hermione looked nervous but happy nonetheless. However Rubi did not appreciate the reactions of some people. Krum's fan club from the library, threw Hermione looks of deepest loathing. Pansy Parkinson gaped at her holding onto Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her. Ron, however, narrowed his eyes on the pair.
The champions strutted in and came to a pause in the middle of the room, all eyes on them. Rubi could tell Harry was nervous and it had to be Parvati, who had to place his hand on her waist. The soft music began to play its tunes, signaling the champions to start.
Rubi stifled an amused laugh as she watched Harry struggle to dance. Not soon after, Dumbledore led McGonagall onto the dance floor and began to waltz with her. This acted as a sign to the others, and more people stepped forth.
Fred turned towards Rubi to find the girl already looking at him expectantly, her blue eyes twinkling.
Fred bowed down before offering his hand to the young Black. "Would you do me the greatest honour of allowing me to share a dance with you?"
Rubi laughed lightly, "You may, Mr. Weasley."
Rubi gently placed her hand in his and Fred softly pressed a kiss. Rubi's heart fluttered as she melted at the touch. Fred led her to where the others were slowly swaying to the music.
They paused, gazing at each other before Fred slid a hand around Rubi's waist. Rubi's breathing quickened, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She blinked a few times as she snapped back to reality, and placed her one hand on his shoulder.
The world dissolved away except for the beautiful yet gentle music. The two gazed into each other's eyes fondly, as Fred and Rubi swayed as one. Rubi felt over the moon, she had never felt happier than she did now. The same could be said for Fred, who adored the girl in his arms so much.
Fred twirled her before bringing Rubi back into his chest. The young Black let out a sweet laugh as she spun, before feeling her breath hitch at how close she was to Fred when she came back again.
Fred leaned down, pausing at the shell of her ear, "Want to ditch this place and go somewhere else?"
Rubi looked up at Fred in surprise but nodded nonetheless.
Fred dropped the hand from her waist, making Rubi miss his touch but lucky for her, he adjusted his other hand in hers before leading her out the Great Hall.
Hello!
I wasn't going to post today but due to Neville's/Harry's birthdays and all, decided to go a bit earlier than usual.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HARRY JAMES POTTER!! <33
Anyways, how do you like the Yule Ball part so far? Keep an eye out for the next one! ;)
Take care! <33
-Serina