𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 ; 𝑔.𝑜.𝒻

twenty-five

Zoya met up with the Weasley twins in front of the Great Hall. She should not have been surprised to see that Fred and her were most certainly not coordinated, but it didn't bother her much.

"Oi! You clean up well." He said to her when they stood in front of one another.

"I agree. Nice vest." She said.

He did a small bow and then held out his hand, "Shall we?"

"We shall."

They walked down the steps together and found Ron and Harry with the Patil sisters.

"Poor Ron." Zoya said as Padma looked at Ron horrifically.

"Not our problem." Fred said, nudging Ron as they passed the four.

From the above, Lorelei got out of the carriage nervously. She was already being stared at by students. She looked at the stairs leading down to where the ball was, and then turned back around.

She instantly saw Cedric standing across the room from her. His eyes were wide as he looked her up and down. He looked just as good as her. The long black coat was certainly a good choice.

He carefully approached her, "You look... stunning. Purple suits you." He said with a shy smile.

"You look equally as wonderful." She quietly replied, her nerves suddenly fading with the wind.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it, "I do need an escort when we walk in. Champions dance first." He quietly said, "If you don't–"

"I will."

"Really?"

She nodded, "You're right. Who cares what people think?"

Cedric held out his arm and she took it. When she linked her arm through his, she also took his hand and held it tightly.

"In all honesty, I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you said no." Cedric said to her quietly.

"I'm sorry I acted the way I did, truly."

"It's all over now." He softly said.

When the two walked down the stairs, Harry and Ron both shifted their attention to the two.

"No bloody way! Hermione wasn't lying!" Ron said as they walked down the stairs.

It was roughly 15 minutes before the Triwizard Champions lined up with their partners and prepared to walk into the room. Lorelei and Cedric were the third couple to walk in, and when everyone laid eyes on them, whispers erupted in the room.

Lorelei's grip on his hand tightened as they walked to the center of the room, preparing to dance. The two faced each other, bowed lightly, and came together to dance.

Despite the two knowing the dance, they had never danced together before. To their surprise, the two seemed to move perfectly in sync.

"Everyone is staring." Cedric commented with a smile as they spun around the group of people.

"Let's give them something to stare at." Lorelei said, leaning up to capture his lips.

Dumbledore chuckled while Snape's face scrunched up in disgust, "Ah, young love." The Headmaster said with a small smile.

Professor McGonagall joined the dance with Dumbledore, and eventually the students did.

Fred pulled Zoya into the dance, "Come on, Zoya. Let's show these people how to dance!"

"Fred, I swear if you try anything–"

To her surprise, Fred really did just want to dance like a normal human being. No jokes, no pranks, just the traditional dance. Despite Zoya wearing heels, Fred still had a foot of height on her and it felt like Zoya was reaching a cup on the top shelf of a cupboard.

"You still sad about Krum?" Fred asked her.

She shook her head, "I'm over it. Him and Hermione really do look wonderful together."

"You know, you don't dance so bad–"

Fred quickly took back his words when Zoya tripped over her feet. He helped steady her as they continued to dance, "Never mind."

Sayaka and Augustus were also dancing. Her black and crimson dress perfectly matched his all black suit, and the two were arguably the best dancers in the room.

"Lorelei looks quite nice." Sayaka commented as they waltz around the room.

"She does. You also look good."

She smirked, "I know I do, Cairo."

After the formal dance, a band came out and performed actual dancing music. All of the students danced crazily, and that's when Fred broke out the insane dance moves. The two danced like nobody was watching, even Lorelei let loose a little.

Zoya broke away from Fred to meet up with Hermione, "How is it going?" She asked, attempting to catch her breath.

"Wonderful! Viktor really is just... amazing." Hermione replied with a lovestruck grin. Zoya looked at Harry and Ron, who were lazily sitting down with their very bored-looking dates.

The two walked over to them. Hermione sat down next to Harry while Zoya took a seat across from them, "Hot isn't it? Viktor's gone to get drinks." Hermione said. Care to join us?"

"No, we'd not care to join you and Viktor." Ron snapped.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

Ron glared at Hermione, "He's a Durmstrang. You're fraternizing with the enemy."

Hermione scoffed, "The enemy? Who was it wanting his autograph? Besides, the whole point of the tournament is international magical cooperation, to make friends."

"Hrmph, I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind." Ron sneered.

Hermione stood up and stormed off. Zoya stared at him angrily, "What is your problem?"

"Oh, come off it! I can't believe you also went with my brother! I mean honestly, how desperate are you?"

"Maybe because him and George along with Hermione are the only friends of mine that have never been a complete dick to me on purpose! Maybe because Fred is fun to be around and doesn't make snide comments out of his own insecurity."

Ron stared up at her with a pout and his arms crossed, "Well why don't you just go make out with him and ruin a bunch of friendships to finish it all off! Let's just be honest here, without us you'd be all alone, because nobody really wants to be with a girl who constantly yells and fights and embarrasses her friends!"

Zoya stood up from her seat, "You are such an absolute wanker." She said, walking off.

a/n: i'm sure y'all can make out who's dress is who. i thought it would be nice to throw in a visual. :)