✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

16 | H O G S M E A D E

   Ember all those passed weeks had thought the biggest task had been to get a date for the ball. Never would she have thought that this was just the beginning of a row of difficulties awaiting her. Step one included finding a dress. Fortunately there was no one better to solve this problem than Susan Bones. But Susan took this job really seriously.

   "We don't want you to look mediocre", Susan told Ember after spending already two hours in the change rooms of a small boutique in Hogsmeade. Ember had already been satisfied with the second dress she'd tried, and also was Hannah; but not Susan. "We want all those morons stare at you like what the fuck! They shall know that little Ember Potter has grown up to a gorgeous Fire Potter."

   "She didn't just say that, did she?", Ember snorted at Hannah, rolling her eyes. "Sue, I just want to survive this ball. And I for sure won't get out of this alive in shoes like these!" She held up a pair of murderous high heels. "And I still think the blue dress had been pretty."

   Susan shook her head bewildered. "We ain't going for pretty, we are going for wow."

   Several dresses and shoes later, Ember left the shop with a visibly exhausted Hannah, a more than satisfied grinning Susan, and a bag containing the most stunning piece of garment she would ever own.

   "Would you do me the favour and carry this for me?", Ember asked Hannah, handing her the bag as the blonde girl nodded. "I have to meet Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny at the Three Broomsticks, and I'm not ready to answer questions about this forsaken ball."

   Because fact was that Harry didn't know about Ember's date yet. Even though Fred again and again had assured her that they were just going as friends, Ember just wasn't ready to deal with Harry's reaction. She didn't want another fight; not after it hadn't even been a month since they had made up from their last dispute. To her great fortune, Harry and Ron both were too distracted by their own lack of a date, so they didn't really care for Ember most of the afternoon. Not until ...

   "Okay, that's just ridiculous", Ron groaned, watching a group of giggling Ravenclaw girls passing by. "We can't be the only ones to not have a date! Let's just have it the easy way then. Ginny, you're going with Harry, I'll go with Emmie."

   Ginny flushed pink from head to toe. "I — I have a date", she stammered.

   "What? Who?"

   "I'm going with Neville." And she didn't really seem happy about it. "He asked me, and I wouldn't have been able to go otherwise, so I said yes."

   "Great, just great", Ron muttered. "Okay, fine, I'll go with Emmie and Harry will —"

   "Is this a appropriate way to ask a girl out, Ickle Ronnykins?", a new, all too well known voice appeared behind Ember, and she sacked down in her chair, knowing that the time has come, as Fred and George took a seat by their table.

   "Well, for a boy it's a thing to show up to the ball alone", Ron said, shrugging. "For a girl it's a bit embarrassing."

   "Excuse me?", Ember snapped, before she could tell her mouth to keep closed. "I have date!" Ignoring Harry's emerald green eyes growing the size of Galleons, she watched Ron's ears turning red.

   "But last week you said —"

   "And why haven't you asked me last week then? What do you think I am? Your stopgap, Ronald Weasley?"

   "N—No, of course not, I —"

   "See, Ron thought he'd go with one of those beautiful French girls, didn't you, Ron?", Hermione snarled, looking amused at a startled Ron. "But oh, now all the good girls are gone! What do you think about Eloise Midgen now, huh?"

   "I didn't want to — you heard Harry — she's part of a Veela!", Ron fought back, but the triumphant grin wouldn't leave Hermione's face. "Really, I never intended to ask one of those french fries!"

   "Nevertheless, I'm not your last resort", Ember hissed, getting onto her feet. "What do you think, girls? Wanna go to Honeydukes and leave this gits here bathing in their misery?"

   She didn't have to tell them twice. Ginny and Hermione followed Ember out of the three Broomsticks after throwing a handful of Sickles onto the table. Ron's eyes remained on the door that had shut behind Ember's back, and the twins watched him with twitching corners of their mouths.

   "That's ridiculous!", Ron huffed after a moment of silence. "We can't be the only ones not having a date!"

   But Harry's mind was utterly busy with trying to figure out who it was his sister was going to the ball with. He was scanning every single male face in the room, as if Ember's date would have written her name on his forehead.

   "You better get your lazy arses up", said George, still smirking. "There aren't much of the good ones left. What do you think about Eloise now, Ron?"

   "Oh shut up, there's still plenty of time!", Ron barked, his eyebrows furrowed.

   "Five days?", Fred laughed. "I wouldn't wonder if you're the last ones without a girl."

   To be honest, it was time to finally find someone. Harry had to open the Yule Ball, he had to find someone to go with him.

   "Oh haha", Ron again interrupted Harry's thoughts. "So you have a date, yeah?"

   "Of course", the twins replied unison.

   He, Harry, just should have been going with this blonde Hufflepuff girl that asked him back then. He didn't even know why he said no. Then again, he was pretty sure that he did it because of this stupid daydream to dance with Cho ...

   "So who are you going with?"

   "Angelina", said George, winking at Ron, who bug-eyed in awe. "Quite a good catch, huh?"

   "But I thought Fred would —"

   "Yes, that was the rumour, because people are incapable to tell that I'm Gred and he's Forge", Fred snorted, and got out of his chair, followed by George. "Now excuse us, Lee's waiting for us at Zonko's. Business doesn't sleep, boys."

   "Wait!", Ron called after his brothers, as they were already halfway through the pub. "Who are you going with?"

   Fred turned around, a wide grin on his face that clearly showed every bit of mischief running through his veins.

   "Oh, I'm going with Ember."