| Inked | (George Weasley)

Chapter Sixty-Three

For the first time since the Yule Ball was announced, the Great Hall wasn't chaotic or filled with excitement. Students weren't cattily gossiping, or working up the courage to ask their crushes out in front of everybody.

For once, it was peacefully quiet.

Olive relished the calm atmosphere, eating oatmeal and drinking her tea while she flipped through the pages of her notebook. She knew the serenity wouldn't last, so she was trying to soak in every drop of calm silence before somebody entered the hall and decided to ruin the peaceful breakfast many students were having.

The Yule Ball was only one week away. As much as her friends wanted her to consider whether she should go or not, Olive was still mostly on the fence, leaning towards staying in that Christmas evening with a good book and mug of cocoa. Maybe she'd even start a new writing project.

From all the fuss everyone had been making about the Ball these past few weeks, Olive was surprised there was a peaceful moment to spare in the Great Hall. It was obvious people were still scrambling for dates, for the proper attire, and even for the carriages that would give them two minute rides to the main courtyard.

It all seemed too dramatic, too overwhelming.

Ollie smiled to herself. She didn't have to go if she didn't want to, and she wasn't going to.

She looked up, eyes quickly flickering over to the Gryffindor table. From where she was sitting, she could see George huddled over his eggs and toast, saying something lazily over his shoulder to his sister Ginny as she walked by. Before he could look back over and notice her staring, the Ravenclaw hunched back over her notebook, her curls hiding the pink tinge in her cheeks.

"Ollie, thank Merlin you're here."

So much for peace and quiet...

Cho was practically squealing with excitement as she sat down, a rose tucked behind her ear. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes sparkling with both excitement and that good kind of embarrassment you get when something exciting happens to you in front of a lot of people.

"Cedric asked you, didn't he?" Olive asked, closing her notebook to give her friend her full attention.

"He stopped me in the hallway and said he needed to talk to me." She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe it had even happened, "By his tone I thought he was about to dump me... but then he pulled out this rose and asked me if I'd go to the Ball with him. Of course I said yes."

"That's great, Cho!" Ollie offered Cho a half-hug from across the table, "I'm so excited for you."

The fifth year smiled, "I knew it was coming... but you just get so excited about these things, you know?"

Olive, of course, didn't know. No one was rushing to ask her to the Ball, that she knew of. She hadn't spent the last month caught up in the excitement the vast majority of her classmates were. Sure, it would be nice to go with someone (if she even wanted to go), but Ollie didn't fancy herself getting involved in the same fuss that had annoyed her the last several weeks.

"Yeah." The raven-haired girl just simply agreed, "I sort of get it."

"I forgot that you weren't going." Cho offered an apologetic smile, "I know you don't want to go, but just know that it won't be the same without you there."

Ollie shrugged, "It's not like I'd be one to contribute much to the overall experience. You know these types of events aren't really my thing."

Cho quirked a brow at the shy girl, "I know... but haven't you thought about what it would be like to get all dressed up? To walk down the Grand Staircase like an absolute dream and wow the person you were going with?"