Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

35.

The Yule Ball approached fast at Hogwarts, meaning that Christmas was just as close. Sophia had already bought presents for her Father as well as her friends, using up all the little savings she had. But she didn't mind and knew that everyone would appreciate their gifts. Not only had she bought Christmas presents, but she had also bought a dress for the ball. It was white with long sleeves that were made of a thin mesh as well as a fitted top that flowed into an elegant silk bottom. Hermione and Ginny had helped her decide while in Hogsmeade one weekend, forcing Fred to leave with George for a while so that he wouldn't see. They knew it would knock the socks off of him when it came around to the dance.

Sophia was sat in front of a mirror in her dormitory while Hermione was charming her hair behind her. It wrapped itself into a complex looking bun with some of her curled brown locks framing her face. Crookshanks had been forced to sit next to her on the floor in case of his fur flaking on to Sophia's white dress. This obviously irritated the feline as he continued to mewl with his tail swishing behind him, looking up pleadingly at Sophia for a pet and a cuddle.

"No Crookshanks! Stay there!" Hermione cried as he yet again went to jump up on to Sophia's lap. Sophia laughed as the cat growled at his owner and resulted to staring up at her with narrowed eyes.

"Are you going to tell me who asked you yet?" Sophia asked while looking at Hermione through the mirror.

"You'll find out soon," Hermione couldn't hide the smile that was growing on her face with the collaboration of a noticeable blush. She was dressed in an equally as pretty pink dress that had many ruffles that reached the floor. Her hair had been slicked back by a very impressive spell that Sophia had performed and twirled into a graceful style. The two girls looked beautiful in their minimal make-up and eye-catching dresses, not aware that they would be turning more heads than just the ones that belonged to their dates.

Once the two had finished getting ready and began to descend the stairs towards the common room, Parvati stopped them when she had emerged from her corner of the dormitory. She had dressed in a pretty traditional gown that highlighted her dark skin, no doubt matching her twin sister in Ravenclaw. The girl was holding an old-fashioned Polaroid camera in her hands, looking gleeful at the two other Gryffindors.

"We should take a picture! I want to send one to my parents," Parvati explained.

"That's a good idea", Sophia nodded. "I want to send one to my dad as well".

The three girls figured out where they'd be standing before Parvati set a manual timer on the camera. She placed it on top of one of their trunks and stood together, all smiling brightly in their beautiful dresses. In the last second, Sophia felt a sneeze coming on and couldn't hold it back no matter how much she tried. She let out a loud 'achoo!' and Parvati and Hermione burst out into laughter just as the camera flashed. The Polaroid immediately developed and spurted out from the bottom of the camera, displaying a moving picture of the three.

"I think your sneeze actually made it cuter Soph," Hermione stated as the three looked at the moving picture. It starts with the three smiling before Sophia's nose twitched and her face changed to show her eyes clenching shut with her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Hermione and Parvati broke out into laughs before the picture replayed over and over again of the scene.

Hermione used her wand to duplicate the picture into two more copies, letting each of them have their own. Putting these Polaroids in a safe place for later, the girls finally made their way out of their dormitory and out of the common room. They made their way to the Great Hall where the Yule Ball was taking place and passed many other students from all three schools. They spotted Fleur Delacour walking with the Ravenclaw Roger Davies, the Beauxbatons looking as beautiful as ever. They also spotted Ginny beside Neville, which was partially unexpected.