The Yule Ball Fiasco (Part 2)
So, the main characters Mimi Johnson, she’s in the same year as Hermione, Harry and Ron but she also takes 5th year potions…. This fic starts when she’s in first year but it’s complicated and I’ve been writing it in bits and pieces so…this is a bit from the middle because I’m just too excited to share. Her and Fred have been secretly dating since…some time previous. I mean I’m not 100% sure on the time frame yet but it’ll get there. So they’re secretly dating but they haven’t actually been like “Hey be my girlfriend?” “Cool, wanna be my boyfriend?” so it’s kind of neither here nor there. I really wanted the characters to be good but I know people do stupid things when they’re teenagers and angry at people so here’s some people doing stupid things to the people they like. xxxx
There will be a part 3....but it’ll only be short. I’ll post it in a few :) xx
That weekend in Hogsmeade happened as they had planned. Mimi sat at the table behind the twins with some girls from one of her classes. They giggled about who was taking them to the ball and complained about all the homework Snape had given them this week. Mimi just nodded. Fred leaned over her, placing a bottle of butterbeer in front of her.
The girls around her looked surprised.
“Thanks.” She smirked, watching their faces drop.
When he sat down she was inundated with questions and comments.
“Oh my goodness, he definitely fancies you.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“There’s nothing guys.” She tried to think of an excuse that didn’t include breaking the silence they both had. “He owes me. I helped him get out of a detention the other week.”
The girls around her nodded like they didn’t quite believe it but they didn’t question anything else.
The day of the ball came quicker than anyone could’ve thought. Mimi was feeling better about her position with Fred. She was no longer worried about him liking Angelina, or that they weren’t going to the ball together. The whole matter kind of blew over a bit quicker than it should’ve but it blew over and that was what mattered.
On Christmas Eve Hermione and Mimi got ready in the dormitory along with the other girls and got more excited than they ever thought they would.
Mimi took Hermione’s hand down the stairs, still slightly unsure in her heels. When down in the hallway, the girls found their partners eventually as a lot of students were meeting up there. Mimi stood on the stairs trying to get a good enough view to spot Max, looking out across the entrance way. Her eyes caught Fred’s and he smirked up at her. She flicked her eyes away, not to linger too long, finding Max stood close to him. They met at the bottom of the stairs and made their way out onto the grounds where the ball had been set up. It was marvellous. The decorations were beautiful, the food was brilliant and the dancing was amazing.
After a couple of hours though, it began to become tiring. Mimi sat down at a table near the edge of the ball whilst Max went to get them drinks.
“So, Mimi. Where’s your ‘date’ gone?” Fred said leaning on the table behind Mimi.
“He’s gone to get drinks. He offered. He does things properly.” She joked.
“You’ve said.” Mimi looked down at her hands fidgeting with her skirt.
“You told him no funny business, right? He knows?”
“Strictly friends. He keeps telling me that his mum’s asking about how I am now she knows I’m here.” Fred looked at her questioningly but also a little hurt. “They used to live near us when I was little and she used to look after me. My mum had issues for a bit, single mother and everything.”
Mimi was tired, she was enjoying herself but she’d need to turn in soon.
“You look pretty.” Fred nudged her knee with his.
She blushed. “Stop. People are here.”
“So, I can’t tell you you look pretty?”
She shook her head with a smile on her face. “Nope. No, you can’t.”
“Drink for me-lady.” Max put the cup in front of her face, coming around to the front of her chair when she took it from him.
“Thank you.” She noticed Max looking at Fred awkwardly. “Erm, this is Fred. He’s in my potions class.”
“Yeah, I know. Everyone knows Fred and George Weasely.” Max chuckled.
“And I’m Fred, hi.” He placed his hand on Mimi’s knee to push himself up out of his seat. “Should probably get back to my date.” He laughed. “They’ll all be wondering where I got to. Missing my presence.” Max and Mimi smiled, waving him off.
Max sat down in the seat Fred had just got out of. He took a sip of his drink before he said anything.
Mimi shook her head. “No thanks. I think I’ll just head up to bed in a few. I’m kind of tired.”
“Sure.” Max nodded. He waited a second then, “You don’t mind if I stay do you?”
Mimi laughed. “Oh god no. You stay, yeah. Have fun. Don’t worry.” He smiled.
“Ta, Mi. We’ll have to do something one day. This has been fun.”
“It has.” She beamed, both leaving their seats and hugging. Max made his way back the main party and Mimi turned to leave past groups of older students having conversations around the edge of the party.
“How was Mimi then?” She overheard Angelina asking Fred. “I saw you. Bless you, you were so cute,” she mocked him pinching his cheeks like an overly loving aunt. “Bless Fred and his little girlfriend.”
“Stop it,” he said batting her hands away. “She’s my friend, can’t just let her sit on her own.”
Mimi didn’t stop walking. Friend…bloody friend. She was fed up of that word. As much as she said she didn’t care about the label, or the sneaking around, or that she liked the secret that they shared, she was fed up now. She’d felt stupid for telling him to stop saying nice things because people might hear. If he wanted to compliment her, he could and she didn’t want to stop him. She’d had enough. She decided silently that she would tell him, that she would have a conversation about it with him and they would sort it out like proper people. But now she wanted to sleep.
“Hey, Mimi!” She turned again finding herself with a little more than handsy boy she’d seen at dinner before.
“Hey?” she couldn’t quite remember his name right now, her mind not thinking straight but she knew she didn’t want to talk to him.
“How are you doing?” he said, coming closer and grabbing her by the waist. She quite easily removed his hand from her body and carried on walking up to the castle.
“Yeah I’m good I suppose.”
“Oh, going for a walk? Nice. I’ll come too.”
“I was going to bed actually. Bit tired.”
“No, I’m good thank you.”
“No, no. I insist.” He said, putting his hand around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. She attempted to pull away but couldn’t quite get enough momentum to do so. He wasn’t particularly threatening but she just wanted to go to bed. She wanted to be on her own to just sit and wallow again in her own teenage self-pity.
“Really I’m fine. I know my way.”
“And I just want to make sure your safe.”
Mimi managed to pull away, backing herself into a bush and tripping over a root causing a little squeal to leave her as she fell onto her bum.
“And I’m pretty sure she said she’s fine on her own.” Fred came up behind the boy, easily leering over him. He craned his neck to look up at Fred’s face, not angry but definitely annoyed. The boy rolled his eyes and made his way back to the lawn holding the ball and Fred offered his hand to Mimi, who took it and pulled herself up.
When she was standing, she backed away a little, trying not to fall again.
“Going so soon?” He smiled.
She instinctively pulled her hand, which seemingly had lingered, from his and stepped back again. She was thinking of something to say, something to say how she felt right now but she was interrupted.
“Freddie, why are you over here?”
Mimi looked over at a girl she recognised as a fifth year. She moved closer and grabbed hold of Fred’s arm. He didn’t move her, he didn’t even seem to notice her.
“I was just helping Mimi out. She fell.”
“Oh, funny and sweet.” She giggled. The girl flicked her eyes over to Mimi, and smiled sarcastically, “Are you alright, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” Mimi spat.
She stumbled past them, pushing past another student to get back to the path. On the stairs of the entrance way she began to remove her shoes. They hurt and she wasn’t in the mood to be making her way up all the stairs back to her dormitory in them. The doors were already open, ready for anyone to go to bed when they needed so just inside the door she placed her hand against the wall to remove her shoes properly ready to climb the stairs.
“Mi, wait a second.” Mimi sighed hearing Fred voice, and having already managed to get one shoe off, she pulled the second roughly to get it off quicker. She heard Fred enter the hallway and come behind her. “You ok?”
She put both shoes in one hand and continued to walk into the school without acknowledging him at all.
“Mi…Mimi.” He put his hand out, catching her shoulder and causing her to turn around angrily trying to get him off her.
“You, don’t touch me.” He took a step back, bringing his hand back to him. “Go back outside. I’m sure that girl is waiting for you.”
“Who, Ella? God, she’s a little batty to be honest…and creepily clingy.” He pulled a funny face that would normally make Mimi laugh but her stern face didn’t even break. Mimi could feel tears on her cheek.
She’d had enough. She suddenly burst with rage. “Do I look ok?”
She broke out into a quick walk, then into a run on the stairs leaving Fred stood in the entrance way confused.
“Why should it matter to you?” Mimi shouted from the top of the staircase. “I’m just your friend, I’m not your girlfriend!!” She ran down the nearest corridor and turned the corner at the end.
“Mi,” Fred launched himself up the staircase towards her, unable to catch up. “Stop.”
She stopped at the dead end of the next corridor, leaning against the wall, trying not to slide down it. She could hear Fred’s laboured breaths getting closer as she gave in and melted down the wall onto the floor, her dress pooling around her.
She scrabbled to get to her feet, knowing that now all she wanted was to get out of this damn dress and go to bed.
“Mi, - I- Mi, please don’t cry.” He sighed.
“You assume that we’re going to the ball together, you get stroppy when someone else asks me, then you ask Angelina right in front of me, then you get mad again when I say yes to Max even though you’ve got a date. Then you say you’re sorry, that you were just a massive knob. You apologised, and make things sort of ok so we’re back to normal, then you go and say that I’m your friend…then…then that girl just comes over and-“ Her voice broke in her throat and it shocked Fred.
He stepped forward, and held her shoulder to stop her pacing the dead end. She looked up at him, tears gushing from her eyes. She felt one of his hands leave her shoulder and reach down, removing the shoes from her hands and taking them in his own.
“I’m sorry. I said a stupid thing. I didn’t know you heard that.” He said softly.
“I wasn’t even mad about that I…its partly my fault. I jus- “
“You are not just my friend.“
“We keep faffing about and that girl just then made me so mad.” Mimi sniffled.
“No more faffing then. No more faffing anymore. And if that means that you want me to leave you alone…then I will.”
She looked down at the bottom of her dress, now dragging on the floor, and then at the shoes in his hand and shook her head.
“I can’t do it like this anymore. We need to know what’s going on and…” She thought for a second. “if this is going on, I want to be public. Well not public I suppose, but I want people to know. I want to be able to hold your hand when I want and…”
“And kiss me when you want?” He winked.
“You need to stop.” She whispered smacking his shoulder lightly in a jokey way. He laughed and feigned pain.
“I’m sorry again.” He said, taking her hand in his empty one. She smiled down at it. “Do you still want to go to bed?”
She nodded. They made their way up to the Gryffindor common room, climbed through the portrait hole and moved towards the stairways.
“This is where I leave you.” He almost whispered. “Sleep does seem pretty good now. I wasn’t tired downstairs, but them damn stairs.”
“Stop.” She covered his mouth with her hands, then reached down and took back her shoes. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We can talk.”
“We will talk. Talk properly and have a brilliant Christmas day with presents and everything.” He blurted. They both smirked before making their way up their own staircases and into bed.