"Well, we did it. We both have dates," George laughed, as the two of them adjusted their ties in the mirror, "Don't know how you got one with a face like that."
With a frown, Aubrey replied, "We have the same face though..."
A moment of awkward silence passed between them before George explained "I know, that's the joke ... never mind. You know, we don't scrub up half bad, better than Ron at least, poor sod."
When Aubrey didn't say anything, George continued, "Because of his robes ... they're more dress than dress robes. Don't know what Mum was thinking there, it's just plain cruel," His brow furrowed slightly as he rested his arm on his brother's shoulder, "Fred, everything okay?"
Quickly, she gave a laugh, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little nervous... got a lot riding on this, you know?"
George grinned, "More than you know, Fred."
For a brief moment, Aubrey had a minor panic attack that he somehow knew about her crush and the swap. Luckily she suddenly remembered Fred telling her that George was planning to interchange with his twin; she hoped that was what he was referring to at least.
"Well, come on, Freddie, to the dance we go," George said, walking off before darting back quickly to smooth his hair, "Can't leave the girls waiting by the doors too long. I can't believe Lee got a date with - "
As if summoned by his name, Lee burst into the dorm, an ecstatic grin on his face, "You two ready? You're taking ages, Angelina left with the girls already to see if Alicia's dream Durmstrang man is you know ... real."
"Yeah, we're on our way down," Aubrey replied, wringing her hands together subconsciously. The dance was making butterflies fly around her stomach every time she remembered that they would be forced to actually interact with Ludo Bagman. Other than that she felt surprisingly calm, despite some very small bit of irrational jealousy that her body was going with George but she wasn't.
Lee leant against the door frame, "Can you believe I got a date with Angelina?"
"She's your date for the dance, you're not on a date," George said as he strode through the door, ruffling up Lee's hair as he passed.
Quickly, Lee ran after him, the pair walking ahead whilst Aubrey lingered behind, "Well, that's good enough for me. Anyway, it's a slippery slope; one minute she's my reluctant date and next, we're on romantic picnics by the lake whilst she tells me Quidditch stories."
Rather than reply, George simply exchanged a look with Aubrey who returned his grin with a considerably less enthusiastic one. Downstairs in the lobby, there was only one way to describe the scene: chaos, people rushing around in all shades of the rainbow rather than the usual sea of black. She briefly noticed Harry and some other boys milling around awkwardly, a very pretty Indian girl beside him. Before she'd only really felt contempt for Harry, heightened this year when he'd stolen glory from Hufflepuff but walking past him now, she couldn't help but think how normal he looked.
Still, there was no time to ponder whether Harry was actually as annoying as she'd assumed as they had to hurry down to the entrance hall just in case Angelina changed her mind and went solo. The girls were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, engaged in conversation with Cho and Cedric who must have been passing by.
"Good thing Harry's not here," George sniggered as they walked down the stairs towards his dates. Lee darted off in the opposite direction towards a shocked Angelina, mainly because Alicia's dream date had turned out to be very real and very gorgeous.
"You ready, Fred?"
"Yeah," She replied flatly, looking a little concerned as George suddenly stopped.
"You sure you're okay? Is this about me going with Aubrey because I did say it's really just friends," George said, "Trust me, she made that more than clear."
Cho and Cedric had disappeared now, Lexy and Aubrey had taken to staring at the two boys instead, with confused expressions. Aubrey felt her cheeks going red, giving George a slight push on his back, "Yeah, I'm fine, just ... scared of being a bad dancer - "
"Being a bad dancer?" George repeated loudly a grin on his face, "Nobody's going to be a good dancer except for those smarmy purebloods who went to charm school and what not. Don't worry about it."
With that, the two continued down the stairs, greeting the girls with grins.
"You look ... dashing," Fred said after a pause. Yet again Aubrey was in awe of what he'd managed to do with her hair, pulling it up into a perfectly messy bun, braid hybrid, with several golden flowers around the bottom.
"Yeah, you look great - DUCK!" Lexy said suddenly, bobbing down to the floor.
"Great duck?" Fred repeated.
George looked around, putting his hand to his head to see, "Where? I don't see one,... Just kidding, what are you ducking for?"
"It's not a what, it's a who," Fred grinned.
Coming down the stairs with astonishing elegance, was Fleur, her arm delicately linked with the less elegant but still handsome Roger. To make matters worse, Roger was staring at her transfixed so that even if Lexy had been standing straight, he wouldn't have spotted her.
"Is he gone?" Lexy whispered, glaring at George as he tried to suppress a laugh.
"Yep," Aubrey replied, "Coast is clear."
Straightening her dress, Lexy stood up, "God, my life is so tragic, he didn't even look at me!"
"You were hiding on purpose though," Fred pointed out.
"Yes, Aubrey, I am aware but it would have been nice to be noticed!" Lexy said, her voice louder than anticipated.
Her shout attracted the attention of several people, who edged slightly closer to their dates; clearly seeing Roger had made her mood plummet. With that, the four decided it was best to head into the hall, looping arms with their dates and filing in.
"Sorry about that," Lexy murmured, looking down at her feet, "I'll try not to be as grumpy for the rest of it, I swear."
"No, don't be sorry," Aubrey replied, "Feel how you feel, it's alright, hon."
Lexy smiled, "Thanks, Fred. It's weird, you're not like any other guys I've met before ... must be Aubrey's influence."
"You know what, Lexy? You are spot on."
The House tables had been replaced by several smaller and Aubrey followed after Fred and George who steered them over to a table of Gryffindors, thankfully containing both her groups of friends. Aubrey took a seat right in the intersection, Lexy on one side and Fred on the other. Sadly, Lexy still looked a little glum as they sat down, resting her chin on her hands. Her expression seemed to intensify in sadness as the Great doors opened, Fleur and Roger leading the Champions procession towards the top table.
"Hey, Lexy, look at the menu," Aubrey said, giving her friend a shake as the Champions sat down, "It looks amazing although I don't see any waiters..."
Lexy didn't reply for a few moments before lifting up her head, "I wish I could bring my walkman to Hogwarts, I have an excellent heartbreak playlist and the Weird Sisters just ... well, to put it lightly, they suck compared to the trashy yet amazing songs I mope to at home. You know, what I should probably just go - "
She began to stand but was pushed gently back down by Angela who managed to do this without turning around.
"Come on, Lexy," Aubrey said cheerfully, "They have so much on the menu you can have anything! Look, they even have some weird stuff like ... " She leant closer to the menu, carefully pronouncing, " Canard à la Rouennaise - OH NO!"
As soon as the words had come out of her mouth, a lump of meat surrounded by a blood-red sauce appeared on her plate. It suddenly occurred to Aubrey why there was a lack of waiters, the food simply appeared the moment you said it, leaving her stuck with a rather grim meal.
George leant around Fred, grinning as he said, "Bloody hell, Fred, what is that?"
Angela's nose wrinkled as she read the description aloud, "A traditional gourmet French dish consisting of roasted duck served in a sauce of ... oh no, it's own blood and bone marrow."
This ignited laughter from the whole table, even Lexy. Although she was glad that her friend's mood had been lifted, she really wished she hadn't had to order a sickening dish to do it.
"Tough luck!" George laughed as she gave him a half-hearted smile.
If she'd wanted she could probably get something else but seeing as there were no waiters, she wasn't sure who to ask as Dumbledore looked far too engaged in conversation to be troubled by her (not to mention, she looked like Fred which would probably lead him to laughing it off). Although inside she wanted to throw the meal at everyone who had dared laugh, this wasn't her style and instead, she decided to grin and bear it. Sadly, the sauce was truly stomach curdling and by the end, she'd taken to jabbing it with her fork to avoid eating it.
"How's your blood duck?" Fred asked, nudging her.
"Delicious," She replied, with a smile, "Which is why I haven't eaten any of it. This reminds me when my older sisters used to give me the gross bits of the chicken and then laugh at me when I squirmed, knowing I couldn't snitch."
"You have sisters? I didn't know that."
"Three older half-sisters from my Dad but they only count as one and a half between them though as they're not full," She replied, "They're annoying, we're not that close... except maybe Dulcie. But she's the lesser of three evils."
Fred shrugged, pushing a few tendrils out of his face, "Oh, can't imagine what's that like except with Percy maybe. Anyway, George said he'll swap with you once we start dancing, so that's good right? Ludo's at the top table so we can ambush him when he gets up or something."
"Good plan," She stabbed the duck with surprising force, almost getting her fork stuck, "Even the duck is weird, that's the one bit which is meant to be good."
Fred's permanent grin disappeared, his brow furrowing instead due to the genuine misery etched on Aubrey's faces, "Hold on, I might have a way to get rid of it."
She looked up hopefully, her eyes resting on George as Fred stood up a little to whisper something in his ear. With a charming grin, George turned to Lee, "Hey Jordan, three knuts says you can't eat this gross duck thing on Fred's plate."
"Oh, Lee, don't." Angelina complained monotonously but Lee's eyes had lit up, leaning across the table as the two exchanged plates.
"Oh you're on, Weasley, easy money," Lee grinned, tucking into the meal. Although she felt a little bad about taking Lee's meal, Fred assured her it was okay and she started eating too.
Aubrey had never been very into food, even with Fred's bottomless stomach helping her out but even she had to admit she felt a lot better after eating a good meal. Everyone's moods had been lifted in fact, the whole table laughing as Lee stuck two duck bones in his mouth like walrus teeth. The plates cleared away and all eyes turned to the dance floor as the champions ascended. Surprisingly, Lexy managed to remain calm as Roger waltzed with Fleur, which was a good sign. Aubrey just hoped that George would be a decent dance partner for her, but not so good that they fell for each other.
Slowly, other people began to rise from the tables, taking to the dance floor to join the Champions. Kenny and Angela stood up, engaging Lexy in brief conversation, giving Aubrey and George the perfect chance to swap. She turned around before suddenly realising the problem; Fred had realised it too judging by the matching look of confusion on his face.
"Where's George gone?"