| Inked | (George Weasley)

Chapter Sixty-Six

She felt like she was dreaming.

Olive walked down the steps of the Yule Ball, dressed in her deep blue gown, her hair braided neatly down her back, eyes standing out through the makeup Natalie and Cho helped her put on. She walked just behind her friends, taking each step almost cautiously, not used to the heels on her feet.

Don't look. She told herself. Even though her eyes were trained on the steps below her, she could feel a few dozen pairs of eyes on her. If she looked, she knew she'd find herself spotting him.

"Ollie." Cho called behind her, her voice not standing out among the large crowd of students and staff, "I'm going to find Cedric. I'll catch up with you guys later?"

The youngest of the three was dressed in a silver traditional gown, her hair pulled up into a chignon. Cedric was no doubt matching with her in some way.

"Yeah." She descended the last step, "Go have fun. Tell Cedric I want a dance with him."

Natalie couldn't help but smile giddily as she glanced at the plethora of people around her, all dressed to the nines. She casually slipped her hands into the pockets of her fitted burgundy dress robes, turning to Olive with a small sparkle in her eye.

"You look amazing, Ollie." She said triumphantly, "Cho and I can pull off quite the makeover."

Olive quirked a brow, "Hey. I helped... a little."

The blonde chuckled lightly, "I'm only joking."

"Well, without you two I wouldn't have been ready on time." She smoothed the invisibly wrinkles in her skirt, "Are you sure I look okay? Maybe we should have tried concealer."

Her hand reached up, brushing the scars across her chest and neck. They were almost silver in the light, raised against pale skin.

Natalie grabbed her hand and brought it away from her neck, "Olive, look at me."

She did.

"You're stunning. As soon as you came down those stairs I'm sure half the school was looking at you." She gave the raven-haired girl a reassuring smile, "I promise."

Olive flushed only slightly at the compliment her friend had given her, a smile peaking through her worried frown. She stood up slightly straighter, keeping her hands at her sides instead of fidgeting around.

"Thank you." She reached over and gave Nat's hand a thankful squeeze. Her blue eyes scanned the corridor around them, students becoming more and more anxious the closer it came to the start of the Ball. Music had started to play from inside.

In her scan, she noticed two things.

Marjorie, wearing the very same shade of burgundy, was walking towards them.

George, though deep in conversation with Fred, Katie, Alicia, and Angelina, couldn't stop glancing over at her.

Olive found herself blushing as she quickly turned away, a quick twist of her chest startling her as their eyes briefly met. She kept her back to him, her hands clasped in front of her tightly.

Marjorie approached Nat and Ollie with a smile, her lips painted a deep red to match her gown. It was fitted and simple, high-necked and long sleeved. Her hair was sleeked to one side, tanned skin practically glowing in the dim lighting.

"Natalie." The Beauxbaton student greeted almost breathlessly, eyeing her up and down as if taking in the blonde's appearance. From her pocket she produced a rose, "You look beautiful."

"You took the words right from my mouth." Nat flushed as she approached, allowing Marjorie to pin the rose to her dress robes's lapel. The white petals stood out starkly against the vibrant red.