#boo bash

Your heart sunk upon reading the name that appeared on your parchment after tapping it once with your wand as instructed, the small segment of paper slowly revealing his name in beautiful calligraphy.

You'd locked eyes either him upon looking up after your discovery, seeing that he was already gazing at you from across the hall, a stupidly wide grin on his face which was ominous in itself. You averted your gaze and sighed loudly, unfazed whether he was watching or not and turned to search through the crowd for Tobias.

Your heart sunk even further when you spotted him smiling down at Loretta Cornhill, a pretty ravenclaw girl who he'd clearly been partnered with. Lucky bitch.

How was it fair that she got Tobias whilst you were stuck with the school's resident trouble maker, or at least one half of that title? Halloween would most certainly not be your favourite holiday that year, or any following if it reminded you of this debacle.

Though the Weasley twins were infamous at Hogwarts and often loud enough to be heard the other side of the castle, pinning them down was harder than domesticating a wild chupacabra. It was nearly impossible to schedule in a time that worked for both of you to discuss what you were going to do, as much as you didn't want to sit down with him at all. Between Quidditch, practices, homework, extracurriculars and his detentions, it was hard to find the time to get together.

"All costumes should avoid offensive, violent or objectionable content. Any attempt of mockery regarding imitation of teachers or students alike will not be tolerated.

All costumes should not promote discrimination nor hatred relating to race, religion or any other identity markers.

All costumes should be of an appropriate length and coverage with no sexually suggestive content.

Your creativity is encouraged and prize will be awarded to the couple showing the most creativity, cohesive planning and initiative.

Anyone acting not in accordance to these rules will be escorted out of the celebrations and disciplinary actions will be taken."

You'd read the page aloud, reacquainting yourself with the parameters of the brief. You'd managed to secure the divination classroom for an hour after classes had finished and you wouldn't waste a minute, hoping to be done and out of here as soon as possible. It was your second meeting with Fred, the first one being an unmitigated disaster. Fred, as before, seemed to have other plans and determined to drag out your sessions. He was fidgeting with everything in sight, seemingly not paying attention and doing everything in his power other than focusing on the task at hand. It should have been a simple task: go over the instructions, refer to the brief and choose something relating to your category. You'd take charge if you had to, you knew his family wasn't the most well off and you didn't care about fairness in that sense. But just as the time before, the only thing he'd bought to the table were silly jokes and unhelpful comments.

"I'm not going as a ghost this year, but you can still get under my sheets," he grinned, taking a seat beside you, a little close for comfort. You ignored his words, trying to think of options, though you were running a blank. Nothing seemed good enough for what you wanted, and the ones you did think about didn't exactly translate to a matching costume with Fred.

"If we can't decide on a costume tonight, I can just go as your boyfriend?"

"Can you please just work with me for once? No jokes, no fucking around. I need to look nice this time and I don't want any more stupid suggestions of owls and magical creatures when our assignment is Magical Artifacts!" The frustration was clear upon your face and in your voice. You were sick of Fred's silly jokes and him deflecting actual work. 

"Why is this so important to you?" He says, suddenly much more level headed than before. You're suddenly acutely aware of how close he's sat to you, your shoulders practically touching.

"I'm trying to get Tobias' attention. It's my last shot, but he'll never look at me," you say honestly, no longer caring about keeping your little secret. The very thought bothered you more than you'd care to admit and you couldn't even look at Fred for how pathetic you seemed.

"Then he's an idiot."

You look at Fred after hearing his quietly spoken words and he's looking directly back at you, a sincerity in his eyes that you'd hardly even seen before. You give him a thankful half-smile, your frown disappearing before your eyes drift away from his, butterflies suddenly fluttering in your stomach.

Much to your surprise, your meetings with Fred after that were actually enjoyable, so much so that you looked forward to them more than anything. After your little heart to heart, Fred had actually sat and worked out a plan with you on what you were going to do. What was supposed to be a quick task actually turned into a night of sneaking back to your common rooms after hours because you'd stayed there talking all night.

It was strange to admit but you'd seen Fred in a different light, his softness and sweetness coming through. A natural flit and a wit as sharp as a whip, he made you laugh constantly. Your blooming friendship didn't end the minute you walked out of the divination classroom, much to your surprise, but instead seemed to traverse all the usual inter-house issues. A glance and a smile across the great hall, notes thrown (usually at your head), jokes told in passing and the occasional arm thrown across your shoulder when he'd walk you to your next class. You found yourself seeking him out every time you stepped into the great hall or between classes, hoping to catch a glimpse of his vibrant hair amongst the crowds, or usually above them thanks to his height.

During your fourth meeting, a few weeks before the ball to finalise a few things, did you make the earth shattering realisation that you may have taken too much of a liking to Fred. It came after an off handed comment from him about dressing you in green, Slytherin colours to impress Tobias. You'd frowned, wandering who the hell he was talking about. It was then that you'd realised that it wasn't Tobias you were hoping to impress but instead the fire haired boy that had been grinning at you. You played it off well, pretending not to hear him the first time and then chuckled along with him when he's repeated his words. You barely slept that night, your brain overthinking everything.

Did Fred like you back? It was hard to tell. He was a natural jokester and flirt, his wicked grin and sparkling eyes hardly reserved just for you but he was affectionate and touchy, much more so than you'd noticed him be with others. Though your eyes sought him in the great hall multiple times a day, there was always a high chance that he was already looking your way. Did that mean he was trying to catch glimpses of you too?

"You know, I think we're actually going to win that prize," Fred says during your last meeting, the dress fitting if you will. You'd worked tirelessly on your costume, thoughts of it even intercepting your dreams now, much like something else in the room.

"Well of course we will, clearly the best pair," you say from behind a makeshift curtain as you hoist the rather large dress up over your body.

"How's George getting on with Averill Perregrine?"

"Bloody awful apparently, they've barely decided on anything yet," Fred says with a laugh, recounting his twin's struggles with a Hufflepuff girl in your year.

"But there's only a week to go!" You say with wide eyes, poking your head through the curtain, which Fred laughs at.

"I know, told him he'll be going as an enchanted black bin bag if they don't get a move on. Anyway, you ready?" He asks, gesturing with his head towards your dress.

"Uhh yeah, I may need a little help."

"Too many cauldron cakes?"

He swerved when you threw the nearest book at his head, laughing and commenting on your surprisingly good aim as you stepped out of the curtain.

You waited anxiously for him to say anything but he didn't, his eyes fixed upon your dress. You turned around, offering your bare back to him in the hopes that he would fix up your corset for you. After a few moments of blankness, he seemed to bounce back and with warm and shaky fingers that crept along the curve of your back, he eventually fastened your dress.

"What do you think?" You'd asked him nervously, suddenly acutely aware of the fact you were both alone in the empty classroom.

"I don't think I'm thinking right now," he'd said in a dazed fashion and when you called him out to stop joking, he'd fallen surprisingly silent with no regular comeback.

"So how's things going with the Weasley boy?" Zoe asked as you walked to your first class.

"Good, everything is pretty much sorted now," you say with a smile, thankful that there was very little left to do to finish your costumes.

"Oh tell the truth! It's been hell hasn't it? I don't know how you can work with him, he'd drive me insane! She laughed with a shake of her head but you didn't reciprocate. Only weeks ago you'd have agreed and laughed along but now you felt purely defensive of her words. Much to your constant surprise, Fred had been an amazing partner. He didn't always focus and jokes sprouted from him more often than a clock ticked but he was kind and surprisingly efficient in his work.

"Ladies," you heard a male voice say from beside you as you walked through the courtyard. You turned to see Tobias jogging to catch up with you.

"Ready for the Halloween bash tomorrow night?"

Zoe melts a little at his proximity, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and giggling girlishly. You however, felt no flutters or nervousness for the first time around him, noticing how little he affected you in general. Instead you noticed how spotty his face was, had it always been like this? He had little straggles of hair erupting from his chin and a single black hair protruding from the top of his nose. Fred didn't have that, his face was perfectly smooth except for the freckles dotted around his cheeks and over his nose, though not perfectly symmetrical as you'd found he had more freckles in his left side. You cringed as Zoe tried to get her words out around him, talking excitedly about the ball as her words jumbled and overlapped. You zoned out for just a moment, long enough for your eyes to wander across the courtyard until you spotted what you'd hoped to see. Fred. He was already looking in your direction but his piercing eyes weren't fixed on you but rather looking directly past you. He was frowning, brows pulled together and his eyes were squinting at whoever he was looking at, clearly displeased. You turned away, focusing your attention back onto Tobias and Zoe, only to tell them to excuse you.

You walked over to Fred and George who were sat at one of the benches, their briefcase open like a market stall for passers by to peruse.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, buskers usually sing or something for their money," you say cheekily, gesturing to the open briefcase in front of them. George mockingly glared at you before smiling whilst Fred beamed up at you, apparently having dropped his mood. You squealed as two strong arms suddenly pulled you down, landing on Fred's lap.

"No spaces left sorry," he shrugs, clearly not sorry.

"Could have just moved the briefcase," you mumble, fighting off the blush that was threatening to spill over your cheeks at being sat in Fred's lap.

"Sacrilege!"

"Blasphemy!" George added.

You shook your head, smiling to yourself as you peered into the briefcase to see what they had left, seeing an array of coins in the little pouch and very few products left except for a few skiving snack box bits.

"You've hardly got anything left! Everything's sold already? That's amazing!" You beam, so happy that their inventions were selling so well.

"Well you see, if a pretty little Slytherin didn't occupy most of my evenings, not to mention my dreams, I'd have time to restock."

"Shove off Weasley," you bit back, nudging him in the gut with your elbow, even though your smile showed your lack of actual annoyance.

"Won't your boyfriend be jealous you're sat on another bloke's lap?" George asks you, raising his eyebrow, a nod of his head in the direction you came. Tobias.

"Shove off other Weasley," you snark, trying to hide your true (recently discovered) feelings on the matter. "Not like I had a choice, this big brute came and swiped me out of thin air."

"Knocked you off your feet more like," Fred corrects with a smug look.

"I'm gonna be late for class," you say with a roll of your eyes whilst trying to stand, only to be firmly locked into place by Fred's arms.

"Ah, you'll have to pay a token to pass I'm afraid."

"Oh yeah and what would that be?"

He comically puckers his lips for a kiss and you scoff whilst George laughs. You nudge him again, harder this time and he sputters whilst you climb off him, reaching into your pocket to pull out a galleon before chucking it into their briefcase.

"Next time I expect a song."

The Great Hall looked absolutely mesmerising for the Halloween Boo Ball. The whole room had an eerie atmosphere illuminated only by candlelight and hundreds of glowing Jack O'Lanterns that levitated just below the ceiling. The magical ceiling had been enchanted to look like a dark forest, an endless abyss with ominous blue hues and eerie branches that swayed and furled and bats flying intermittently throughout the scene. The long tables had been moved aside now placed against the walls and replaced by a dance floor, the house tables covered in black tablecloths and decorated with more candles and large cauldrons overflowing with treats. From toffee apples to cauldron cakes and giant lollipops there were sweet treats everywhere. In the centre of the raised platform usually reserved for the teachers table sat a giant glass pumpkin filled to the brim with orange coloured punch that bubbled with effervescence, a giant ladle enchanted to stir and pour as students approached with empty goblets.

The large room smelled of fragrant pumpkin spice mixed with a sweet marshmallow-like scent. It was addictive, the perfect scent of Halloween memories that evoked warmth and coziness with a spooky undertone.

There was music pouring out but it was indecipherable where it was coming from exactly. Instrumental and somewhat eerily beautiful with a choral line behind it, as magical and ethereal as the room looked.

"Hey boo-tiful."

You twirled around towards the voice that had interrupted your wonder-filled gaze. Fred.

"It's scary how good you look tonight," he smirks, eyes sparkling both naturally and from the twinkling of the candle light around you. His red hair was glowing like a fire; bathed in the warm light, looking even more vibrant than usual.

"How long have you been working on that one?" You snark, smiling up at him. He simply winks, his eyes roaming your figure shamelessly just as you do the same to him.

"You look incredible," he says somewhat breathlessly, his cheeks heating up just a little.

"You too weasley," you smile, "you look practically eerie-sistable."

His laugh seems to echo through the hall, your own smile beaming at him as he laughs at your awful joke. You smile at each other, simply enjoying the moment. He really does look incredible, the intricate robes fitting like a glove and complimenting his hair so wonderfully. You're amazed that you actually pulled it off, your hard work clearly paying off.

You spot George in the distance with Averill, looking as miserable as sin in his black robes with a giant bat affixed to his hair. You nudge Fred, gesturing for him to look as well and he laughs both at his brother's obvious misery and awful costume.

"We've smoked the lot of them, first place for us baby."

Baby. That was new.

"Don't look now, your boyfriend's just arrived," he teases. You can't help but follow his line of sight, watching Tobias and Loretta arriving together arm in arm. They look great together, clearly very happy and in matching costumes that you can tell are crafted to look like two Phoenixes entwined. It's like the final nail in the coffin for wavering your feelings, seeing how happy they looked together. The surprising thing was that you felt nothing, no sadness and no jealously, you were genuinely happy for them.

"Eh, let her have him," you said with a shrug, turning back to Fred. His eyebrows shoot up, disappearing past his hairline in surprise, his eyes suddenly sparkling with an emotion you could hardly place.

"Thought you were mad on him?" He asks, his eyes fixed on yours. You shrug again, adjusting your dress slightly at the sudden intensity of his gaze.

"Guess I moved on," you say absently, the weight of your words not going unnoticed. "Plus, kind of a hard to fancy a boy dressed as a giant bird."

Fred snorts and throws his arm around your shoulder, more brazen than ever.

"Well luckily for you, I'll be your date for the night. Which reminds me... Trick or treat."

"What?" You ask with a frown.

"Save the candy, the sweetest treat would be a kiss," he grins, wiggling his eyebrows. You groan at another terrible line, shoving your face into his tone covered chest but find yourself chuckling regardless.

You can feel the movement of his chest as he laughs, briefly holding you tighter to him. 

"Well I don't know what the trick is but you look a treat," he grins goofily again once you re-emerge from his robes.

"Are you done Weasley?" You ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Never," he grins. "Come on gourd-geous." He takes you by the hand towards the giant pumpkin punch bowl and reaches for two empty goblets from the table, waiting for the ladle to fill the glasses before handing one to you. It's sweet pumpkin juice, tasty and perfect.

You look around at the scene before you, seeing the array of costumes and bodies you had begun to dance as the music picked up. You could see Zoe in the middle of the dance floor with her date and a few of your other friends who seemed to display the full spectrum of enjoyment with some looking utterly miserable whilst others looked like they were having a night they would never forget. You had to admit that the inter-house bonding had been an interesting test, to see so many people mixing that would never have thought to talk to each other beyond sharing class notes. You spotted Tobias and Loretta huddled together in the far corner, both sipping from the same goblet and clearly flirting, though it didn't bother you in the slightest. You caught sight of George once again, stumbling around on the dance floor looking like he'd been forced to be there, trying desperately to hold on to the flapping bat on his head that kept obstructing his view and causing him to stumble.

"Well you know," Fred says from beside you, making you jump slightly at the sudden noise. "That skeleton over there wanted to ask for your hand to dance, but he didn't have the guts, so I'm asking instead," he beams as he holds out his hand for you to take. You laugh at the awful joke, throwing your head back at how funny you'd found it and placed your hand in his expectantly.

You didn't know how long you were both on the dance floor, twirling and spinning through the songs and bouncing around like idiots when something really upbeat came on. You'd danced with your friends and giggled throughout it all. You'd even stolen George for a dance, laughing so hard that you'd had to bend at the waist thanks to the god awful bat on his head that seemed intent on suffocating or at least blinding him by the end of the night. Fred had stolen you back in style, wanting to keep you close at all times, swooping in and lighting you high up in the air as he spun around, making you squeal in delight.

A slow song followed and your eyes closed when Fred's hand wrapped around your waist, the sheer size of his large hands covering most of your waist to your hip. It was incredibly intimate, a sudden shift in atmosphere as most of the pairs decided against slow dancing together.

"You really do look incredible, no jokes this time," he says as you move in perfect synchronisation, your arms around his neck as his circle your waist, swaying gently to the music. You look up at him and give him a little shy smile, suddenly feeling the weight of your feelings and unspoken words. You'd been cowardly with Tobias, never having told him your feelings and you were thankful for that now. But you wouldn't repeat that with Fred.

"Fred," you begin to say, trying to gather up the courage to tell him how you feel but he cuts you off.

"I know, I'm just a Weasley and you're well- you, but I'd never be able to live with myself if I let you slip away at the end of the night without telling you how I feel. And since bird boy is out of the picture, perhaps there's hope for me."

It's strange seeing Fred shy, his full bottom lip being pulled in by his teeth, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Bird boy is most definitely out of the picture," you say, laughing again at the way you'd seen him dancing earlier, as if the giant feathers weren't enough of a turn off. "And I may have a confession."

"Go on," he says sounding somewhat nervous. You can hardly keep the smile off your face as you look at him, knowing what you were about to say.

"I finished the costumes two weeks ago, the last two fittings were just so I could spent more time with you."

His face is a picture and you wish more than anything that you could capture his expression in that moment.

"You little trickster!" He says whilst laughing, grabbing hold of your waist and pulling you even tighter to him, pausing the dancing completely. You giggle, attempting surrender but it's pointless.

"I knew your dress didn't look any different! And believe me, I'd memorised every inch of it."

"Idiot," you say, giving him a nudge with your elbow where you could reach. You bite your lip, unsure of how to go on, knowing that it was now or never.

"It's you Fred, I realised ages ago that my feeling for Tobias had gone and I knew it was because I'd fallen for you."

There's a brief silence that falls between you both as you simply stare at each other, your words repeating over and over in your mind. Though it lasts only a few seconds, it seems to drag on for ages, your anxiety increasing as you hope your words land as intended. Fred seems to snap out of his daze and his eyes begin wandering over your face before landing on your lips. It's like time stands still as he begins to lean down, your heart pounding as you raise your head, trying to meet in the middle.

His lips press gently against yours and you're certain that fireworks are erupting somewhere but everything else is drowned out. His lips are softer than you'd even imagined and you're weak to resist as you kiss him back with a growing intensity. He tastes like pumpkin juice and Fred, a delicious mix you hoped you'd be able to savour. His touch on your waist seems to tingle through the fabric of your dress and you're suddenly hyper aware of your hands on his shoulders. It's short but perfect as you both pull away slightly breathless, knowing that the teachers would be on to you if you lingered any longer.

The smile he flashes you as his eyes open will be forged into your memory forever, the adoration and the sweetness so plain to see. You'd bared your soul to him and he'd given you a soft place to land.

"Want to grab a drink?"

"Need to cool off Weasley?" You raise your eyebrow, goading him with a smirk. Now it was your turn to tease him. He clears his throat and sends you a warning glare before taking your hand in his and leading you over to the unoccupied corner, pressing a kiss to your forehead as he goes to fetch some drinks. You take a moment to compose yourself, feeling on top of the world in that moment. Had you really just been kissed by Fred Weasley? Your body hummed with the thought, your lips still tingling from his kiss. He returned with the drinks after only a few moments but instead of handing yours directly to you, he held it above your head out of reach.

"Ah, going to need a token again I'm afraid," he teases, calling back to your moment yesterday.

"Sorry I'm all out of galleons, gave my last one to two tramps yesterday." You can hardly get your words out from laughing so much, seeing that he was struggling not to laugh along with you, feigning outrage at your words.

"How about this?" You say, shifting closer to him and placing your hands on his chest as your body slides against his. Feeling emboldened, you lean in and capture his lips, kissing him feverishly as he scrambles to kiss back whilst still holding the two glasses above his head. You can tell he's annoyed at not being able to reach out and touch you but he's gotten himself in this predicament.

"Is that some candy in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" You turn your head to the side and smile seductively up at him, watching the way his eyes widen and his lips part at your words.

"Now who's playing games," he smirks, handing you your drink as he recovers, raising the goblet to his lips.

"I forgot my broom, can I ride you instead?"

He spits out his punch, thankfully spraying it in another direction from where you stand. He's coughing and spluttering but all you can do is laugh harder. You can hardly breathe for laughing so hard, enjoying out-joking the unsuspecting prankster.

"Oh you're trouble," he says, placing down his wasted goblet behind you as he leans over and whispers in your ear so only you could hear.

"I don't know... Will you let me Slyther-in?"

"Now I know you've been working on that one!" You say with an accusatory finger pointing at his chest. He laughs and nods, reaching out for you again.

As the night draws on, you realise that this might be the best night of your life. Who would have thought that the secret to all of this would have been Fred bloody Weasley.

Dumbledore takes to the podium to announce the Hogwarts ghosts yearly show in honour of St Nicholas' deathday celebration and you share a look with Fred which he mirrors.

"Do you want to slip away?" He asks, reaching to okay with the sash on your dress.

"Anything to avoid nearly headless nick's monologues."

"Or the bloody baron's rendition of 'ode to Helena."

"Lead the way weasley," you say without hesitation, wanting nothing more than to be alone with Fred.

"Wait! We'll miss the contest!" you say suddenly as he leads you out the main doors.

"Don't care, already got my prize."