PRETTY IN PINK

... NO, BLUE?

♡

the same time as Hermione. Fred walks Briar back to the carriage, even though it's only a five-minute walk away, but he holds onto her hand, looking happy with himself. Briar's cheeks are burning, and she isn't sure if it's how over the moon she feels, or how cold it is outside. He kisses her again, before she leaves to go into the carriage, and she wraps her arms around his neck, smiling up at him.

"I'll see you soon," she says, and she walks up the steps into the carriage. She has a massive smile across her face, as she walks to her dorm room, where Fleur's putting on her makeup, carefully applying gold eyeshadow to the center of her eyelid. She looks up at Briar, and quirks an eyebrow.

"You look happy," she says.

"We kissed," says Briar, and Fleur stands up, her mouth parting in surprise. Her mouth quickly moves and becomes a big smile, as she pulls Briar into a hug.

"Finally!" says Fleur.

Briar can't stop smiling. "Oh my God, Fleur, I love him," she tells her, and she puts her hand on her heart. Fleur lets out a laugh, and Briar hugs her again. "You know what? You can marry one of his brothers, and then we can be sisters, like, for real!"

Fleur shakes her head. "I don't need marriage to be your sister," she tells her, and she kisses Briar's forehead.

Briar starts to get ready for the ball, carefully resting her dress on her bed as she gets ready. It takes her an hour alone to just do her hair, this pretty style she's been practicing over the past few days. She finishes her makeup, carefully steps into the dress she and her dad picked out, and she looks across the room at Fleur, who's wearing a silky, silver dress that makes her silvery hair even more ethereal.

"You look amazing, Briar," says Fleur, smiling softly.

Briar grins back at her. "You do, too!"

She leaves a little later than Fleur, who has to go up to the castle early to find Roger and make sure everything's ready for when the champions dance, before everyone else does. Briar walks out of her dorm room, and she steps outside, where she sees Fred, who's jaw literally drops.

"Oh my God," says Fred.

Briar smiles. "So you like it?"

"I'm not stupid, of course I like it," says Fred. He keeps on looking at her in surprise, his eyes moving around, as if he's trying to take it all in.

The dress is a little extravagant, Briar knows that, but she loves it to pieces. The whole dress is powder blue, a change from what she normally wears, with a tight bodice and a skirt with countless different tulle layers. Tiny little crystals embellish the dress, making it glimmer in the moonlight. Her hair's half tied up, half curled, showing off the little diamond earrings her dad gave to her this morning, saying they used to be her mother's.

"You're so beautiful," says Fred.

Briar smiles warmly.

They walk up to the castle together, the house-elves (or at least she figures it was them) having made a large path for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students to get up to the castle. Fred holds onto Briar's hand, and she glances across at him. "This is so weird, isn't it?" she says. "Like, the two of us."

Fred shrugs. "I think everyone expected it."

"I didn't," says Briar.

"So when did you?" says Fred.

Briar eyes him. "When did you?"

Before Fred can say anything, they find George and Lee with their respective dates, Angelina and Alicia. Both of them look at Briar, gaping. "Bloody hell, Briar," says George.

"Maybe we should've fancied you instead," says Lee.

Briar smiles. "Thanks...!"

George gives Fred a look, before he walks away with Angelina. "Don't fucking mess this up, the next generation of Weasleys are at stake," he says, somewhat quietly, but Briar still hears. She rolls her eyes at him.

"This is one date," says Briar.

Fred grins at her, putting his hands on her waist. "You're just so fucking beautiful, Bri," he tells her, and she smiles back at him. "You know, it's a shame I didn't become champion, because I could've shown you off during the first dance."

Briar can't stop smiling. The thing is, she knows she loves being complimented, and she knows from the amount of times she's made this clear to her friends that they know this, too. In fourth year Cedric called her pretty and Briar didn't shut up about it for a full week, emphasising how much she loved compliments, how happy inside they made her. So now, with everything Fred is saying... God, she loves him so much.

"Hey, Briar!" says Cedric. "Wow, you look really pretty!"

Briar smiles at him. She holds onto Fred's hand, a little tighter, hoping he doesn't get jealous, but he isn't. He looks fine, she thinks, when she glances across at him. Maybe it's because they're together now... Either way, it's a relief.

"Oh, have you met Mia before?" says Cedric, and through the crowd appears a very pretty girl from the year below Briar. Her dark hair's been curled and sits on her back, brushing along the top of her white dress, one that glitters in the light, with the sort of top that's described as milkmaid. Mia's tanned skin and dark hair contrasts to the lightness of the dress. She smiles softly at Briar and Fred, as she moves to stand next to her best friend.

Mia Black, Sirius' daughter that Briar never really got to meet. She's the year below, and in Hufflepuff, so Briar's never really had the chance to speak to her before... But Briar thinks Mia's nice. She carries herself as if she's the stars, and no one can hurt her... She has this air of fearless hope about her, in the way she never truly looks worried, but instead this other expression, a look of everything's going to be OK. Briar wonders, then, what Cedric meant by take her mind off of things.

"Hi," says Mia, somewhat shyly. She looks at Briar mostly, and Briar remembers Fred mentioning last year, that when Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fell out over the Quidditch game Hufflepuff unfairly won, Mia was the first to argue with the twins, to stand up for her best friend, Cedric. "You look really pretty..."

"You do, too!" says Briar, smiling nicely.

George walks back over to them, to get Fred and Briar. He opens his mouth, to speak to his brother, but he sees Mia, and he stiffens. "Black," he says.

Mia rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. "Weasley."

Cedric smiles awkwardly at Briar. "See you around?"

Briar nods. "Yeah..."

As soon as Cedric and Mia walk away, Briar turns to the twins.

"The one person you should've been polite to—"

"We should've won that Quidditch match last year," says Fred.

George grimaces. "Just because her perfect best friend is the Hufflepuff captain..." he says, sounding irritated. "I don't like her..."

"You don't know her," says Briar.

George shakes his head. "I know her enough to know I don't like her."

Briar shakes her head, thinking it'll only make him worse, if he were to know that Briar had her usual prediction when she saw Mia, when she saw her talk to George...

♡

THERE AREN'T THAT MANY PEOPLE dancing, when the clock turns to eleven, one hour left of the ball. Briar saw Fleur and Roger slip off half an hour ago, Fleur giving Briar a little smirk before she disappeared to the grounds, where part of it's been decorated with fairy lights. Briar's got a feeling she won't see Fleur until the following morning.

Briar has her arms resting on Fred's shoulders, and his hands on his waist, only a handful of others still swaying in time to the music. The music's a lot slower now, most people having cleared off, back to their dorm rooms, or snuck off, in the same way Fleur's done. Mia and Cedric are still in the hall, cheerful smiles across both of their faces as they talk at one of the tables. Briar sees Mia laugh and she could've sworn she saw the candle in front of her glow a little brighter...

She looks up at Fred, and she smiles softly at him. All of this is surprising to her, even now, but then, another part of her isn't surprised, by any of it. She doesn't know how to describe her feelings towards all of this, other than the fact that, to her, this feels... right? Which, again, Briar's unsure. Part of her worries that she's getting too excited over this. Soon she'll be writing her name in the shower, in the condensation, adding Weasley after Briar.

"You know, Freddie, I can't thank you enough," says Briar, speaking quietly, so that no one can overhear. "I thought you were going to hate me when you found out the truth... But you've been so supportive, for all of this... And I can't even begin to describe to you, how thankful I am for that..."

Fred smiles softly. "I have my reasons."

Briar raises an eyebrow at him. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that I, you know, I care about you... a lot," says Fred, as he looks down at her. He doesn't look away from her, and Briar does the same. She can't help but think how pretty his eyes are. She might be biased, having brown eyes too, but she thinks they're the prettiest eye colour. "I fancy you, yeah, but beyond that — you're one of my best friends, obviously I want you to be happy."

"So when did you start fancying me?" says Briar.

Fred raises an eyebrow. Briar shrugs.

"I'm interested," she says. "Also it's one big compliment, sooo..."

"Oh, yeah?" says Fred.

Briar has visions of him shouting about how pretty she is, and quickly she lets out, "Wait—"

"Well, in that case," says Fred, and he holds her a little tighter, moving both of them around on the dancefloor. She lets out a laugh, as he kisses her quickly, leaning down, his mouth close to her ear. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, and I'm saying beautiful instead of pretty because I know you've made up your own hierarchy about that." Briar remembers the afternoon when Cedric called her pretty, and she added that if he had said beautiful, that would've been it, she would've married him on the spot. "What else? You're also a lot cleverer than you give yourself credit, and I think you should, because you're a lot more than the visions you have—"

Briar can feel her cheeks burning. "Freddie, stop it," she says, although she's beaming. "I'll want to marry you in a couple minutes if you keep on talking."

"Maybe that was my plan all along," says Fred, and he grins at her. Briar shakes her head at him, still smiling though. Merlin, she loves him.

Briar laughs. "Oh, was it?"

"Absolutely," says Fred. "You're gonna have to get used to this, Bri, I've got a good couple years' worth of compliments, right up here," and he taps his brain.

"A couple years?" says Briar, her eyes widening.

Fred nods. "I think, so, anyway," he says. "I don't remember when, but it's been a while... And it got a lot worse over the summer."

"That's when I started to fancy you," says Briar, and she winks. "Snap!"

He starts to laugh at her. "You're such a dork sometimes."

She pulls a face, an overexaggerated frown. "I miss the compliments."

"As I said, you're gonna get used to them, all of the time," says Fred. He looks around, thinking, and he looks back at her. "What else... You're the bravest person I know, for how you handle both full moons and visions... Also," and he smirks, which is never a good thing, in Briar's opinion. "I really like it when you speak French."

"Oh, really?" says Briar.

"What can I say, it's hot," says Fred.

Briar looks at him oddly. "It's a language, Freddie."

"Yeah, of love," he says. "What did you expect?"

She smirks at him, a mischievous look covering her face. "So, if I were to start speaking it, now...?"

"You know, you don't have to..."

In French, Briar says, "You're a fucking freak."

"And what—?"

She adds, still speaking in French, "I'm joking but you don't know a word what I'm saying and if anything it's super cute that this is what you're attracted to because it's the weirdest thing ever."

"Briar," says Fred.

She grins at him, and she kisses his cheek.

"If you didn't want me to tease you for this, you shouldn't have said," says Briar, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, what did you expect?" He shakes his head, unimpressed. "I won't tell anyone... But I'll know. And every single time I speak French I'll get to look over at you and you'll know but no one else will. It'll be super fun... For me, mostly, but you know what? I did learn a whole new language."

"And we come back to the fact that you're smarter than you think..."

"Stop it," says Briar, rolling her eyes. "I'm really not that smart."

"I think you are," says Fred.

Briar gives him a look. "OK, but you don't give yourself enough credit, neither," she tells him. "I'm not being funny, Freddie, but you literally invented something to talk to me... And, like, all of your joke products have been better quality than the actual shit in Zonko's, and what? You and George made them in your bedroom at the Burrow. That's amazing, Freddie."

A while passes, and it gets so late that barely anyone's around still. Briar sees Cedric and Mia walk off, the straps of Mia's heels hanging from her fingers. Madame Maxime is still in the hall, now speaking to Dumbledore.

"It's a shame, actually," says Fred. "I don't want this to end, to be honest..."

"Maxime's over there," says Briar. "I bet I could sneak you into the carriage."

Fred's face lights up. Of course it does, she thinks.

He lets go of her waist, and instead he extends his hand, for her to take. "Right, lead the way," he says to her. She grins at him, and she takes his hand, taking him through the hallways, through the grounds to the Beauxbatons carriage, the gold detailing shimmering gently in the moonlight.

He's never been in the carriage, Briar thinks, as he steps into their small common room. Panels cover the wall, showing an ongoing tale of famous French wizards from centuries ago, during their adventures. The fireplace is roaring, and next to it stands an ice sculpture that never melts. Fred looks taken aback.

"I get what you mean, when you say it's different to Hogwarts," says Fred, his eyes widening at the grandeur.

Briar grins, and she grabs onto his hand, walking him down the hall to her dorm room. She closes the door behind him. The whole carriage is empty. Gabrielle, who's far too young to go to the ball, was allowed to visit her parents overnight, which means that everyone else from Beauxbatons is somewhere outside, whether it be amongst the roses or in the hall.

"You're such an angel," says Fred, and he puts his hand on her cheek, about to kiss her again. She looks at him oddly.

"I just snuck you into my dorm room," says Briar. "How on earth—?"

"You'll always be an angel to me," he tells her.

He starts to kiss her, his hands holding onto her face.

Briar frowns, and she pulls away. "I don't wanna do anything like that, not yet," she tells him, and she smiles weakly. "I feel weird doing that in a dorm room. This is where I go to school, that's where my best friend sleeps, it's too weird."

"That's fine," says Fred, and he gives her a look. "So in the summer..."

Briar laughs, and she puts her arms around him. "Oh, absolutely..."

He ends up staying the night, Briar locking the dorm room and checking it's securely locked, in case her brother tries to walk in at some ungodly hour in the morning. She gets changed into her pyjamas in the bathroom, baby pink shorts and a white tank top, and she walks back out into her dorm room, where Fred's in his boxers, taking off his shirt.

Briar freezes. The thing is, he isn't super muscular or anything, just enough for Briar to gape.

Fred grins at her. "Oh, I see how it is..."

"Shut up," says Briar, and she wraps her arms around his chest, hugging him. He holds her, and she thinks to herself, I love every second of this. She gets into her bed, resting her head on the pillow. Fred lies next to her, a little cramped because the bed's only a single, and she remembers when they slept in the same bed, after the attack at the World Cup. This time, though, Fred rests his arm over her chest, without her having to make a point about how far away he was lying.

"It's nice to know I don't have cooties this time," says Briar.

His arm moves, holding onto her. "Prick."

Briar smiles.

♡

BRIAR DOESN'T WAKE UP WITH her inner eye screaming this time. Instead, she wakes up and rubs her eyes. Fred's still asleep, she can hear and feel his breath, and his arm's still around her, like it had been when they fell asleep last night. She moves, to try and sit up. She moves his arm off of her, which makes him stir, his arm instead moving to lie on top of her thighs. Briar gives him a look.

She looks across, at the letter still on the bedside table. To Briar Crouch... or is it Lupin, now? Her brows furrow, and carefully, she climbs over Fred, to get out of bed. Briar picks up the envelope, her stomach filling with dread, and she stops herself again. Sergeant looks up, his head rising upwards to look across at her. Briar frowns at her dog, as if hoping he can make this decision for her.