Then, why was she so nervous to wear it? Because tomorrow could be the most important evening of my life, she thought, feeling her heart start to beat faster. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and shook her head, a bit exasperated by her grotesque attitude. She was acting like a girly teenager discovering that boys weren’t a species created only to torment girls. She was a woman now... but couldn’t help feeling anxious and excited at the same time.
Angelina Johnson was going to the event of the year, a winter ball held at the Potters’ house. The last one she had gone to was the Yule Ball at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament in her sixth year. She’d had a marvellous time, even though her partner wasn’t the one she had wanted to go with at first. She had accompanied Fred Weasley, because he had asked her to, and like pretty much every girl in the school, she didn’t want to go alone. But it was truly the twin brother of her date she had fancied back then. She had waited for him to ask her out, but Fred had been quicker. George had gone with a blonde Hufflepuff girl in their year who was wearing this awful fuchsia dress.
She grimaced at the thought. Fuchsia really was an ugly colour.
Anyway, there was no point to dwell on the past, because this time, several years later, her luck had finally turned; tomorrow night, she would be George Weasley’s date.
It was a week before Christmas, and she was, as always, a bit behind on her shopping. She had been strolling about through Diagon Alley since the beginning of the afternoon, searching for the perfect gifts for her mother and her sister. After a stop at the Magical Menagerie to buy owl treats, she decided to give her brain a break and let her feet lead her wherever they would. She found herself in front of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Honestly, it wasn’t a shock. Every time she came to London, that was where she ended up, staring at the shop and wondering if she should enter or not to say hello to George Weasley.
Most of the time, she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to see him and experience the rush of memories that was sure to follow. Memories of a time where they were friends and he used to tease her all the time. A time where she was secretly in love with the most impossible and immature boy walking on this Earth. So, she would just turn around and leave, trying to convince herself that it was for her own good.
The thing was, she wanted to believe this school crush was behind her now, but deep down, she knew it would all come back to the surface upon seeing him after all those years. She knew her behaviour was stupid and not like her at all (the most annoying part), but love never was a logical thing, was it not?
That day, there seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside the shop, so maybe she could just sneak in and get away without having to actually talk to him. Or maybe you could really start a conversation this time, silly girl, she said to herself, resting both hands on her hips. You won’t die.
She contemplated the idea for a minute, her eyes fixed on the door, and then walked towards it, half determined, half insecure. Once inside, she wandered through the numerous tables and shelves packed with tons of items more cranky than the others. She noticed a dozen pairs of the famous Extendable Ears on a rack and remembered her cousin had bought her some a few years ago for her birthday. Angelina thought she was too old to own such an item and had argued with her about its utility. “It’ll come in handy one day, you’ll see!” the latter had insisted; but funnily, she was still waiting for that day.
She had to admit though the twins’ ingenuity had always fascinated her. Not only were they incredible pranksters but they were also quite creative and hard-working wizards. And they had found the perfect recipe to become wealthy entrepreneurs.
She stopped in front of a huge metallic cage containing the cute and colourful little fluffy Pygmy Puffs. Maybe her sister would like to get one for Christmas? Unsure, she watched a purple one chasing a pink one around the cage for a while, their little laughs making her smile. Suddenly, a familiar voice made her turn her head to the right; before actually acknowledging his presence, she automatically knew it was George. After all, how could have she forgotten his voice?
The red head man was standing behind the cash register, speaking animatedly with two boys who seemed to be in their teenage years. They listened to him for about ten seconds before bursting out in laughter. George laughed with them, looking pretty proud of his little joke. Angelina smiled unconsciously at the sight, unable to stare away from him.
He then looked in her direction and his eyes widened as he seemed to recognise her. A big smile appeared on his lips and, ignoring the boys who were still talking to him, he gestured to wait for him.
Angelina weakly smiled back and turned to the cage once more, fidgeting. This was it; she could not hide from him anymore. In any minute he would be standing in front of her. The idea of running towards the exit travelled through her mind for a split second, but she chased it away with a slight shake of the head. She was not weak. She was not a coward. It would be, after all, a simple conversation with an old friend. Nothing scary about that.
She breathed in deeply, willing herself to be calm, and glanced at the counter to see if George had finished with his customers. He handed a huge cloth bag to one of the boys. The other saluted George before both departed in a hurry. He watched them go with a smile, and then crossed the room to where she was waiting.
“Well, well! It isn’t everyday that I have the honour to welcome such a lovely customer in my noble shop. How’ve you been, Miss Johnson?” He smiled broadly at her.
“Hi George,” she replied, hiding her hands behind her back so he could not see them trembling. “I’ve been good! Shall we say, long time no see?”
“We shall! When was it last time?” He paused for a second and looked to the ceiling, thinking. “Wasn’t it during an epic battle against evil?”
Angelina nodded. “Pretty much.”
“It’s a shame.”
“What?”
“That we haven’t seen each other since.”
“Yes... I guess we’ve been all too busy enjoying the victory and giving a new meaning to our lives... Business is looking good, by the way,” she said, gesturing the room.
“Thanks! I have to admit that Lee and I haven’t had the time to rest on our laurels too much...”
Angelina did not really hear the rest of his answer, as she could not help but thinking that his shop was not the only thing looking good around here. He hadn’t changed much. He looked like a real man now, a little more built than before, although, the hundreds of freckles sprinkling his face somehow softened him. His blue eyes, her favourite feature, still sparkled with life and eternal mischief. He had found time to laugh since they had last seen each other. Something about that made him even more attractive.
“Angelina!” She snapped back to reality, embarrassed he’d caught her.
“What?” she asked, unable to look him in the eye.
“Were you listening to me at all for the last two minutes?” An amused smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
She opened her mouth to deny, but couldn’t think of a single intelligent response. She needed a change of subject and fast!
“So?” she prompted, looking away from him. “Doing anything special for the Holidays?”
“Yeah, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Harry is hosting a ball on New Year’s Eve.”
“A ball? Wow. I didn’t know you were still in touch with Harry.”
“Don’t really have a choice; he’s married to my sister.”
“Oh! Oh, right...” Angelina blushed, amazed at her own stupidity. She knew that! Everyone knew who the famous Harry Potter was married to!
George must have been in an especially charitable mood, because he simply winked at her. She laughed a little, knowing he was doing it just to tease her, as he used to do back in school. She studied him for a moment, her mind racing through the implications of what he’d just told her. George was going to a ball. It looked to her like history was repeating itself. Did he have a date already? If not, could she be his special someone for the night? She knew that, if she did not want to let this slip through her hands like last time, she had to act fast, but how could she do that without sounding like she was desperate to go with him? Was she desperate?
“I’m guessing you already found someone to go with?” she enquired, faking her detachment.
“No, actually. But you just provided me the perfect opportunity to ask you if you’d like to accompany me to the evening.” His eyes were sparkling again.
This time, her surprise was not false at all. “Have I?”
He nodded energetically. Before she could refrain herself, a big grin appeared on her face. Was this even real or just an illusion created by her foul mind?
“So, does that mean you’re accepting my request?”
“Of course!” she let out, before correcting her range. “I mean, yes, I’d like to go with you.”
George was now the one smiling. “I’m already sensing we’re going to have a blast!”
“I’m sure we will,” she agreed, a huge smile spreading across her features. She had no doubt about it.
A tinkling laugh gave her an excuse to look away, to compose herself. She glanced into the cage on her left to see the same fluff ball she had watched earlier jumping up and down excitedly. Suddenly inspired, Angelina made another decision.
“You know what? I think I’ll take the purple Pygmy Puff over there for my sister.”
“Ah! An excellent choice!” George exclaimed before reaching for the cage door.
Apparently it was her second good choice of the day.
She sighed in pleasure at the thought of the scene, and turned from the mirror. She laid the dress across the duvet, absently smoothing a spot on the hem and then sat down on her bed. Things had turned out much better than she had expected when entering the shop that day. George had always been an unpredictable guy, which made it hard to interpret his real intentions. This little problem was doing nothing to help her already fragile nerves. He would not have invited her without having a purpose, right? There was no way of knowing. All she could do now was hope he would not disappoint her a second time.