𝗗𝗜𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 ☼ 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆

↘︎ chapter thirty-nine

39 | Fred and Lina's obvious plan

The next day Marley Macmillan was in the Gryffindor common room with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. She had studied five minutes ago, but when the two girls showed up, she stopped. Still, she was tired enough and needed a break.

"How are you? Did you finally stopped studying?" friendly joked Alicia and both girls sat next to Marley on the sofa near the fireplace. The fifth-year girl spotted her brother Harry Potter with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on a sofa in the other side of the room talking.

"Yes, because of you two." Marley retorted. "Do you have a date for the Yule Ball?"

"Not yet." Angelina pressed her big lips in thin line nervously. "I don't think I will go with someone. Maybe we can go alone as friends and have fun, but McGonagall wouldn't be really satisfied with that."

"Lina, we're not guilty that we are ugly and no one will invite us to the ball." exclaimed Marley and the three girls burst out in laughter. "The joke aside. In fact, why not invite us? I don't think we're that bad, I was just messing a while ago."

"Yes, why not?" shrugged shoulders Alicia with a secret smirk under her blank face. "I know first someone has to invite us to the ball, but Marley, is there someone that you want to go with?"

"You pretty well know who I want to go with." Marley almost rolled her eyes. Yesterday, McGonagall had called every Gryffindor student for a quick dance lesson in the Great Hall. The professor made Marley and George Weasley dance in front of the whole house because they were laughing at how awkward Ron was feeling when McGonagall told him to dance with her. Her feelings for the prankster and charming red-haired boy had become stronger but she knew he'll only break her heart. "But he wouldn't ask me and you know why. Maybe he'll ask you Ali, or another girl. But it won't be me."

"Why?" questioned Lina with a frown but something was urging her best friend to laugh out loud. Marley saw how the Weasley twins had just entered the common room and sat on the sofa where Harry, Ron and Hermione were. "Maybe he likes you, M. Stop thinking that he doesn't."

"He's a prankster, alright? He jokes all the time. I would believe him if he asks me to the ball, because he doesn't like any girls but just needs a girl to go to the Yule Ball with and we'll go as friends. But I don't think I will believe him if he tells me he likes me."

"You're making it too complicated, Marley!" called desperately Alicia, raising up her voice. "He'll either ask you or not. Okay, but what if he doesn't ask you, but someone else? What would you say?"

Marley paused for a moment. If George don't invite her, what if there was another boy who looked good and had nice personality, but he wasn't the boy she wanted to go with, what would she do? Would she agree or refuse? She might have agreed, simply because no one would have invited her, at least the person she wanted to go to the ball.

"Hey Marley!" the girl heard Fred's voice, calling her from the other side of the common room.

"We'll understand now, Ali." smirked Angelina and Marley saw with the corner of her eyes how her friends crossed their fingers as they were praying and hoping something will happen. But what? She was convinced Lina was hiding something from her for a while, but had no idea what it was.

"Yes, Weasley?"

"Will you come of the Yule ball with me?" he shouted. Fred didn't like her that way, neither did she. But they would probably just go as friends. Marley hesitated for a moment, but then decided nothing would hurt her if she goes with Fred. And without that, he looked just like George, so it would be pretty much the same. Even so, she could get a little more out of her friend about what he was doing with Lina, because she obviously didn't want to tell Marley.