The Chaser : A Fred Weasley Fan Fic

Twenty Seven: Bitter

"The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triward Tournament since its inception" Professor McGonagall droned on.

We'd been gathered by our head of house in a large empty class room and split immediately into two groups. Girls sat on one side and the boys on the other.

I was barely listening to her as she spoke, I was transfixed on Fred across the room. He looked especially lovely today. His long hair framed his face giving him an almost angelic look and the way he leant idly against the wall beside George made me swoon even further.

"Pay attention" Hermione whispered, elbowing me hard my side. I scowled at her and switched my attention back to the professor.

She called Ron to his feet, making the twins wolf whistle and berate him quietly. It was all fun and games watching Ron being forced to waltz with Professor McGonagall until she halted and clapped her hands together.

"Partner up! Go find someone from the opposite side to practice with" she barked, motioning for us to stand from our seats.

Fred eyed me from across the room as we all began shuffling uncertainly towards the other side of room. I watched as he strode confidently towards me, unlike the majority of the boys, and held out his hand graciously for me to take.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, a playful tone to his voice. He was mucking about, being so polite, but I couldn't deny it excited me.

I nodded and took his hand as we began cautiously following out the movements that Professor McGonagall had shown us.

We stepped in time with one another, occasionally mis-treading and catching the other's toes, but once we got the hang of it, Fred added his own daring moves. He whirled me around and even tried to dip me in his arms, causing me to almost topple to the floor.

Couples around us were careful and considered, often watching their feet or doing anything to avoid eye contact with their dance partner.

Hermione and Ron had coupled up, not to my surprise, and Hermione was getting frustrated trying to get him to learn the correct moves. I hoped he would hurry up and ask her to ball before she got completely fed up.

As a slower song crackled over the gramophone, McGonagall then demonstrated a more graceful dance, this time on her own.

This meant Fred and I had to get dangerously closer together, with both of his hands now clasped around my waist and my arms wrapped around his neck.

With his tall frame, I had to crane up and my head was perfectly inline with his chest. I could hear his heart thump loudly at our close proximity and the way our bodies swayed slowly side to side.

"This is nice" I muttered, trying not to make it too obvious how much I was enjoying myself.

"Just wait until the night" he said, raising his eyebrows at me wickedly.

I couldn't wait. I'd never been one to lose my head over the frills of a dance but going with Fred made it all so exciting. I couldn't wait to get dressed up and spend all evening with him.

"Right! That should be enough for one day" Professor McGonagall called, eyeing a few couples that had become a little too handsy.

I wanted more time and I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the lesson had come to an end. I didn't know how on earth I was going to get through the rest of the day without daydreaming about the ball.

We filed out of the room and out into the brightly lit corridor, when Hermione caught up with me.

"How was your dance? You two looked very sweet together" she grinned.