"Where are they meeting you again?" George asked as he and Blair made their way from the back of Honeydukes.
"Outside Dervish and Banges," Blair answered as they both waved to Ambrosius before exiting the store and into the cold outside.
It had started snowing heavily now that the month of December had rolled around, making the entire village of Hogsmeade covered in a blanket of white. Blair had her scarf covering her chin and her coat making her look puffy as she waddled through the carved path. George looked similar with his long coat and beanie covering his head. The two walked towards the shop where Blair would be meeting Poppy, Mina and Nancy in order to go dress shopping. Blair was excited to buy her first ever dress to which the girls insisted would be chosen by them (with her input as well of course).
"Mum's sent me some dress robes," George told her. "They're nothing like Ronald's, so don't worry."
"I wouldn't worry anyway."
"Aww that's commitment," George cooed and ruffled Blair's hair.
"Ah thank you for bringing our subject for today, Weasley!" Mina cheered once she spotted the two. Her and her two friends stood bundled in their coats shooting smug looks at George and Blair. They had been waiting anxiously to see the two and begin their quest of dolling up their new friend.
"How long do you think you guys will be? I need to get her back through the tunnel before Honeydukes closes," George added and the girls looked to each other. Blair had told her friends about her strategy to get into Hogsmeade, to which the girls were fine with. As long as Blair got into the village and willingly went shopping with them, they didn't care if her methods were allowed or not.
"Depends how difficult Blair's going to be," Poppy shrugged her shoulders and smiled at the small glare Blair sent her. "You'll just have to wait and see I'm afraid. Oh and what's the colour of your vest on your robes?"
"Purple," George answered while looking between Poppy and the other two. "Why?"
"No reason!" Nancy cheered before grabbing hold of Blair's wrist and pulling her with them as they moved off. "Thank you, Weasley!"
George watched confused as Blair was pulled off to Gladrags Wizardwear. But when she looked over shoulder and attempt to wave, he smiled widely and waved back. He then turned on his heels and started heading for Zonko's to meet up with Fred and Lee.
Blair let the girls pull her into the shop and watched them ask the lady behind the counter about dresses for the Yule Ball. The dance was obviously heard of by the whole of Hogsmeade as students rushed into the shops to buy their shoes, robes and dresses for the occasion. The woman took them to the dress section and the three girls immediately started rummaging through the bright colours that made Blair cringe inside.
"How do you feel about pink?" Poppy asked as she pulled out a pink dress.
"Yuck," Blair shook her head with a grimace and Poppy rolled her eyes, putting the dress back on the rack.
"What about green?" Nancy pulled out a emerald green slim dress.
"I'd look too much like Pansy Parkinson," Blair laughed and the three looked at her confused. She noticed these looks and cleared her throat to cover the small laugh she thought would carry. "She's a fourth year Slytherin I've heard about. We have similar hair."
They shrugged and put the dress back on the rack, searching some more. Blair rocked on her heels and looked around the shop out of interest. There were many colourful robes and dresses that had been brought in especially for the Yule Ball. But most were lined with silver diamonds and pink ribbons, making them too girly and far from Blair's preferred style. If she couldn't wear black, she would go for something that was at least dark and simple. That meant no pink, sparkles or eccentric designs.
"How about blue? It's the only other thing you wear because of our house colours," Mina suggested.
Blair thought about it and had to admit that she preferred the Ravenclaw blue to any of the other houses' colours. It was a blue that was flattering and went well with her black hair and pale complexion. She hated the bright yellow that the Hufflepuffs wore and the burgundy that the Gryffindors wore (no offence to any of her Gryffindor friends). The Slytherin green just reminded her too much of the dark witches and wizards that her father got himself involved with. He too was a Slytherin, and she knew that if he was still alive, he would despise her for being sorted into any other house.
"Yeah alright. Blue's okay," Blair nodded and the three girls grinned. "But only a dark blue. No periwinkle or turquoise."
"And if George's vest is purple, then we have to get you a necklace of some sort to match," Nancy added.
After showing Blair countless dresses that ranged from bright blue to navy, the three girls were ready to give up. There was always something wrong with the shape, colour, design or the additions that they thought made it perfect. Blair hated to be so negative but nothing was catching her eye. She began to think that she'd never look good in anything other than black and refused to even try on any of the girls' suggestions.
"I'm sorry," Blair drew out. "I've just never worn anything like these before."
"It's fine," Poppy huffed with her hands on her hips. "You just have... a unique taste."
Blair was ready to walk out and give up on searching for a dress, when a patch of dark blue silk could be seen in between two white dresses. She walked forward and excused herself in front of Mina as she grabbed the hanger and pulled it out, seeing a silk blue off-the-shoulder dress. It was plain with a fitted top before flowing out into small waves that skimmed across the floor. The only 'accessory' on the dress was an even darker blue ribbon that wrapped around the middle, splitting the fitted top from the wavy bottom.
"I'll try this one on," she said and the three girls nodded their heads vigorously.
She stepped into the changing room and quickly charmed herself to stay warm as she changed from her winter clothes and into the dress. The mirror that hung on the wall allowed her to see herself and she felt a small smile grow on to her face. Her pale shoulders and collarbones were on full display and contrasted well with the dress's darkness. It was sleek and sophisticated, and Blair adored it.
"I'm getting it," she peeked her head out of the curtain and smiled at the three girls who whipped around at the sound of her voice.
"Really?! Can we see it?!" Mina grinned.
"No. You'll have to wait," Blair mused and the three threw their heads back in annoyance.
Blair changed back into her clothes and took the folded dress up to the counter, keeping a bright smile on her face. The woman behind the counter told her the price and Blair gave her the money, walking out with the garment wrapped up in brown paper. She was ready to head back to the castle when the girls pulled her into yet another shop, saying she needed something to match George's vest.
They walked into the shop and saw the familiar backs of the Weasely twins hunched over a glass cabinet. They were whispering to each other and Blair looked to her three friends with a confused look.
"Uh, George?" she called and the said twin jumped up straight, eyes wide from obviously not expecting to see her.
"Hey Blair!" he said loudly as he shuffled to be standing in front of the case, keeping one hand behind his back. "Fancy seeing you here!"
Fred stayed near the glass case and looked down to see George's hand waving and pointing towards a particular object. Fred looked to the case and saw the object he was pointing to, understanding his brother's suspicious and jittery behaviour. He glanced up to see George blocking the view of Blair and asking her pointless questions in order to keep her attention, before calling over the shop attendant and paying for his brother's purchase.
"Did you find your dress?" George asked with a nervous smile.
"Yeah," Blair looked down to the package in her hands.
"It was a tough job," Nancy butted in. "You better have your socks knocked off."
"But what are you doing in here?" Poppy narrowed her eyes at the boy. "This is a jewellery shop."
"Maybe we like jewellery," Fred appeared next to George, slipping the box into his brother's hands behind their backs. "What's wrong with a bit of bling?"
"Nothing," Mina said with a small shrug. "We were actually looking for something purple for Blair to match your vest."
"Don't worry about that," George shook his head, glancing to Fred next to him with an unreadable look. "I've got something in mind for you."
"You bought me something?" Blair questioned in surprise.
"Yep. It was a hefty price too. A price to which George WILL be paying me back for," Fred said through gritted teeth as he jammed his elbow into George's side. He made an 'oof' sound and glared at him, before turning back to Blair with an attempt to look unaffected.
"Can we see it?" Nancy asked and George scoffed.
"You'll have to wait for the ball."
---
Christmas Eve soon fell upon Hogwarts and it was finally time for the much awaited Yule Ball. The flurry to find dates had continued through to Christmas Eve morning. Some people had hoped that there were others that were desperate and would come to those who had left it to the last minute. Blair was relieved that she wasn't one of those people and felt proud to say that she had a date that she actually wanted to go to the ball with. She was surprised to find that some boys had even asked her in hopes that she'd have no date yet.
"I'm sorry. I've already got a date," she rejected another Durmstrang and gave him an apologetic look. She then walked away after giving him a small goodbye and jumped when she saw Nancy at her side in a matter of seconds.
"That's the third one today!" she cried. "You're attracting all the boys!"
"In desperation," Blair corrected. "They're only doing it because there's no one else left."
"That's not true," Nancy shook her head. "You've had Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons asking you ever since you said you'd go with George! Trust me; you are not a last choice."
"Whatever you say."
---
That night, George sat in his dormitory in front of the mirror. He stood in his black robes and dark purple vest, fiddling with his hair that didn't seem to sit right on top of his head. Fred was sitting behind him on his bed pulling on his dress shoes and tying and untying his ribbon around his neck. The two were due in the Great Hall in ten minutes and were in their last stages of leaving to meet their dates.
"I heard a few Durmstrangs asked Roiser to be their dates today," Fred mentioned and George looked at him through the mirror, his hair now parted to the side how he liked it.
"Can't you call her by her first name for once?" he sighed. "You know her well enough."
"Fine, Blair-" Fred rolled his eyes. "-was asked to the ball by a bunch of Durmstrangs today."
"Yeah, she told me," George replied. "She said no, though."
"You'd hope," Fred sniggered. "Maybe it's time to get ahead, Georgie. When are you two gonna snog?"
"I've told you, I'm waiting for the right time."
"What's a better time than now?!" Fred jumped up from his bed and stood to be in front of his brother. "You can swoop in during the waltz! I've seen you two during dance lessons. You're usually closer than Percy to kissing Crouch's ass!"
"Not a pleasant comparison," George cringed at the association. "We're talking about kissing a girl here, Freddie!"
"You're so boring," he rolled his eyes. "Do what you want. But remember, girls love it when you grab their bum doing a good snog."
"Gee thanks Freddie."