𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐡 | 𝓱.𝓹. 𝓼𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻

𝙭𝙞𝙭.

𝚡𝚒𝚡. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚞𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚕

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

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·✲

"BELLA, DO NOT TELL ME you have a secret crush on my brother," Ginny narrowed her eyes as they walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, making Bella burst out laughing before she could help it. "Well, that's the only explanation I can think of for what just happened! Why in the world would you do that?"

"Why do you think? You don't appreciate my wing-manning?"

Ginny gaped at her then peered into the third-year dorms, making sure no one was in the room before they walked in, and she shut the door with a flourish, then made a show of locking it before walking over and sitting on Bella's bed with crossed arms. Bella raised her eyebrows at her friend's dramatics but didn't say anything about it.

"You've gone mad," Ginny finally sighed, shaking her head. "Absolutely insane. Weren't you just telling me how I needed to get over him?"

Bella leaned against the locked door, shrugging. "I also told you to keep all your options open."

"Don't tell me you're being cryptic with me, now, too – is this like your plot with Tori and Neville, too?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't call either of these situations a 'plot'... why are you angry at me right now, Gin?"

"Because you've forced Harry to go with me!" Ginny groaned, flopping backward onto the bed in a fashion that was now characteristic of the two girls. "Now, not only am I a weird, stupid fangirl, I'm a weird, stupid fangirl who he has to go to the ball with! I'd rather not go with him at all than be his last choice."

Bella sighed, leaving her post at the door to go sit next to Ginny. "Colin – and possibly Nigel – is a fangirl, Ginny, not you. And you're not his last choice; he's said 'no' to at least four girls already, and I'm sure there are a whole host of others he wouldn't even consider asking. Besides, I still maintain that he doesn't deserve so much of your attention, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to see that he's just a normal, if not really below average, person."

"But I get all weird when we talk," Ginny lamented. "I'm not myself, I'm really nervous and not funny at all and seem like a massive eejit."

"Well, just pretend he's me," Bella shrugged as if this explained everything away. "We're pretty similar, almost have the same hair and eye colour, have the same last name, same parents... we're practically the same person, really."

Ginny glared at her. "Imagine if I told you that Ron and I were–"

She was cut off by the door creaking open and a bushy-haired girl poking her head through in a way that she obviously thought was discreet. The two girls raised their eyebrows at the familiar newcomer, who grinned sheepishly and swung the door open fully.