The Language of Flowers | Fred Weasley

20: F O R S Y T H I A-anticipation

"Merry Christmas!" Joanna screamed above me, except at first her words didn't register so I had no idea why she was in my face. I reacted quickly, my fist flying out to defend myself before I could think about it.

"Ow!" Joanna howled. I sat up, frantically rubbing my eyes to try and clear the sleep from my eyes. Joanna stood above me, clutching her bleeding nose and mumbing curses at me.

"Merlin's beard, Jo! Did I do that? Bloody hell, you know not to get in my face when you wake me up." I groaned, throwing my sheets off. I quickly grabbed a handkerchief and handed it to Joanna. I toed on my slippers as I stood up. Someone would have to take Jo to Madam Pomprey's room. Just what I wanted to do on Christmas morning.

I had warned Joanna never to wake up by yelling and she had never forgotten previously but here was the consquence. I winced watching her try to stop the bleeding. When I was younger up until around age ten, my aunt used to wake me up in the morning with her face close to mine, and my aunt didn't have a quiet voice so she would startle me awake every time. Finally at ten, my instincts began to kick in and I'd hit her in face almost every time. She learned to stop doing that pretty quickly.

"I know but it's Christmas. I didn't think you'd break my bloody nose." Joanna groaned, her voice adenoidal.

"Sleeping and waking habits don't change on Christmas for everyone Jo," Adhera said from her bed, "Just look at Katie."  Adhera gestured with her chin towards Katie's bed and I turned. Katie was tucked into a little ball, her soft snores filling the room. "We could all get murdered and Katie would've had no idea."

"She's about to sleep through Ellie's murder that for sure."

"I'm truly sorry Jo. I'll bring you to Madam Pomprey, we should go before anyone else wakes up. Merry Christmas to you all by the way." I said to Adhera and Maria, who was watching us half-asleep.

I grabbed Joanna, tugging her out of our room. Her nose was bleeding profusely but she was staunching the blood well enough. She was sort of an expert on this sort of thing, she broke her nose at least once a school year. Madam Pomprey always put it back in place pretty quickly, but it makes me wonder what Joanna did before she knew she was a witch. Surely, she didn't just start breaking her nose while she attended Hogwarts. I glanced over at her, trying to get a peek at her nose.

"Don't look at it, Ellie. I'm supposed to look pretty today. It is the Yule Ball today, eh?" She laughed. Merlin's beard, I had forgotten today was the ball. Here I was, walking down the hall in my pjyamas for all to see. I snorted, I had forgotten last night that today would be Christmas as well. I was just all over the place it seemed.

"I'm sure Fred's excited to see your dress" Joanna smirked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I tensed at her words but I forced myself to laugh. The laugh came out soft and weam. Merlin, I need to get myself together before I blew my cover. It was way too early for all of this, I couldn't pretend this early. I hadn't seen the clock before I shoved Joanna out the door but for all I knew, she woke me up at four in the morning.

"I've tried describing it to him," I began, racking my mind for an appropriate response, "but you know how boys are when it comes to that sort of thing. He'll just have to see me in it to understand the beauty." I said nonchalantly. Joanna had taken the most convincing of anyone about Fred and I's 'relationship' and I did not want to make her suspicious again just mere hours before the ball. Couldn't well ruin the prank before it came to a close.

"I'm sure he'd like to see you without that dress on too." Joanna said darkly. I went to nudge her with my arm, trying desperately to hide my blushing cheeks, but she danced out of my way before I could hit her. "I'm not kidding, Ellie. Merlin knows I have no idea how you and Fred even got to this point, but you should see the way he looks at you. Ugh, I hope that's the way Luke looks at me." Joanna sighed, readjusting her handkerchief as we arrived at the Hospital Wing.