| Inked | (George Weasley)

Chapter Sixty-One

The next few weeks at Hogwarts were filled with giddy, youthful excitement. The Yule Ball was all anyone could talk about, even if it was still a few weeks away. Gossip traveled fast about who had asked who, and many bets were placed on who people would most likely end up going with.

Said gossip had made its way into Ollie's friend group, more often than the Ravenclaw would like.

"Has Cedric asked you to the ball?" Olive asked Cho, pulling her scarf tighter around herself to keep the cold from getting under her clothes. They were walking down to Hogsmeade, close together with their arms linked to keep warm.

"We've talked about it." Cho nodded, though she seemed slightly disappointed, "But he hasn't officially asked me."

"Do you think he's going to?"

"I hope so." She chuckled, "It would be weird if he didn't ask me."

Olive nodded, brows furrowed. It was odd that her cousin hadn't asked Cho to the Yule Ball yet, considering he's been head over heals in love with her since his fourth year.

"I would offer you some advice, but frankly, I have none." The older Ravenclaw sighed, "Nat's usually good with that stuff."

"I can't believe she ditched us and didn't even say why." Cho blew a strand of hair from her eyes with a huff, "We're supposed to try on gowns today, remember? We rescheduled from last time because she said she had plans."

Olive bit her lip, "That... right. I remember."

Bumping the sixth year in the side, Cho shook her head with what appeared to be mostly fake disappointment.

"Ollie, you have to try on dresses with us. What about the deal you made with Nat? You could always return it."

"I know." She pulled Cho slightly to the side to avoid stepping into a large slush puddle that took up most of the path, "Doesn't mean I'll find something I actually like."

"Well what if you do? Are you just not going to go either way? What if somebody asks you?"

Olive let out an abrupt, dry laugh, "You think someone's going to ask me to the Yule Ball?"

She couldn't think of anyone who might want to take her as their date to the ball. No one liked her in that way as far as she could tell, unless she was being completely blind.

"Well, I don't know for sure." Cho furrowed her brows at her friend's sudden burst of laughter, "It could happen."

"I'm not going to get my hopes up." Ollie shrugged, "Besides, dances aren't my thing. I'll probably end up leaving after an hour or two anyways."

"Don't say that." Cho didn't want to pressure Olive into going, but also didn't want her to end up regretting it if she didn't go.

They walked in silence for a while, the beautiful snow-covered village of Hogsmeade getting closer and closer. While the two were mainly going to meet Nat so they could go looking for Yule Ball gowns, Olive was also looking forward to a nice mug of warm butter beer and perusing the shops for a new notebook, her current one with only a handful of blank pages left.

In the spirit of the Yule Ball coming up, the author of the two strolling Ravenclaws had decided to write a short story about it. Still experimenting with her knowledge of the muggle world by including non-magical characters, she found herself almost enjoying the idea of dressing up and walking onto the dance floor.

Of course, she knew not all dances were like the one she was currently writing about. Olive was well aware of the crowds and the socializing and the staring... it just wasn't her scene. She was better off waiting until her friends got back to live vicariously through their stories of the ball.