Time seems to pass twice as quickly as it usually does in the weeks coming up to Christmas, until the Yule Ball is virtually staring Marjorie in the face. Her usual tactic of simply ignoring everyone when they talking about dates or dresses or dancing was beginning to slowly fail as the ball becomes all anyone wanted to talk about. Even Neville, who she could always count on to cheer her up, was finding it increasingly difficult to talk about anything other than the ball ever since he had asked Ginny Weasley to go with him.

"Oh, why don't you ask someone out rather than waiting for someone to ask you?" Alicia asks reasonably, shuffling her Transfiguration essay around on the rug in front of the fire.

Angelina, who also doesn't have a date yet, scowls at her, irritated. "Easy for you to say! You don't have to worry about it anymore, do you?"

Alicia shrugs, a smug smile settling on her face. Lee Jordan had finally managed to pluck up the courage to ask her to the ball that morning, and she had been borderline insufferable about it all day. "I'm just saying-"

But whatever Alicia was saying was cut off by a shout of "Oi, Angelina!"

All three girls turned around to see Fred Weasley on the other side of the common room, standing with Harry and Ron. Angelina blinks at him, obviously a little surprised at the interruption. "What?" she calls back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?" Fred asks, a grin beginning to creep its way across his face. Other students sitting around the common room glance back and forth between the two groups, obviously eager to see this play out.

Angelina looks him up and down thoughtfully, a smile of her own beginning to grow on her face. "Alright, then." She calls back, then turns back to face Marjorie and Alicia with a little grin on her face. "Well. Guess that's that sorted."

Marjorie is still looking across the room at Fred, but she turns back to give a supportive sort of smile to her dorm mate. She can't help but feel a little disappointed, which is ridiculous because it's not as though Fred Weasley was ever realistically going to ask her.

Alicia squeals, looking nothing short of thrilled, but doesn't even get the chance to say anything before Katie is scurrying over, looking flushed with excitement. "Guess what just happened!" She hisses as she reaches the group.

"What?" Alicia sits up eagerly.

"I was in the library just now, and Kenneth Towler just came up to me and asked me to the Yule Ball!" Katie's grin is practically splitting her face as she delivers her news and throws herself down on the couch next to Marjorie, who feels her stomach sink dramatically.

"Nice one, Katie!" Angelina congratulates her, mirroring her excited smile.

"Fred's just asked Angelina!" Alicia says, keeping her voice low even as she practically vibrates on the spot. "Oh, this is so exciting! Looks like we're all sorted, then!"

"Wait, we have to sort Marjorie!" Angelina points out before Alicia gets too carried away.

"Oh, no." Marjorie says hurriedly as the girls turn to look at her, "No, don't worry about me!"

"Don't be silly, Marjorie, we'd love to help!" Katie beams, "I'm pretty sure Tolliver from Ravenclaw is still looking for someone to ask!"

"Or Jonathan Stebbins from Hufflepuff?" Alicia chimes in, but Angelina shakes her head.

"No, Stebbins is going with Serafina Fawcett."

"Really, it's fine!" Marjorie says again, embarrassed now. It's hard not to feel a little pathetic, listening to the girls try so hard to think of someone that might bring her. "I actually wasn't sure if I was going to go at all."

The looks the girls give her at that declaration are full of nothing short of unbridled horror. "What?" Alicia demands, aghast.

"Don't be silly, Marjorie." Angelina speaks over Alicia, "There hasn't been a Yule Ball at Hogwarts in years, you have to go! How could we go and have a good time without you there?"

Marjorie is rather surprised at this sweet sentiment from Angelina, and can't help but feel a little emotional at the thought that the girls might actually want her there. "Oh. Well. I suppose I'll think about it, then."

The ball is only a week away, and Marjorie still doesn't have a partner. It's not the end of the world -- she can go by herself, after all, it shouldn't be that big a deal, but it is a big deal when everyone all around her is partnering up. She wishes she had more confidence, so she could go to the ball with no date and simply own her decision rather than worry constantly that people were judging her because no one wanted to go with her.

"Are you alright?" Cedric murmurs to her, softly so that Flitwick can't overhear.

"Hm?" Marjorie jolts, startled. She had been utterly lost in her own thoughts, barely taking in a single word Flitwick had said the whole class. "Oh, yes, of course! I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Cedric says easily, still looking a little concerned. "You seem distracted today."

That's definitely an understatement -- they're supposed to be changing the colour of each other's robes, and so far Cedric has been doing a truly exemplary job of turning Marjorie's robes banana yellow while she stood there staring off into the distance.

"I suppose I am, a bit." She smiles apologetically. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's fine, really!" Cedric waves her apologies away. "Did you want to take a turn charming my robes?"

"Right, yes." Marjorie readies her wand, wishing she had paid more attention to Flitwick's instructions. "Er- what was the incantation again?"

"Colovaria." Cedric looks a little bemused, but smiles encouragingly at her all the same.

Marjorie looks down quickly, fighting back a blush at the sight of his smile. Why is he so nice?, she thinks, desperately trying not to look at his dimples. "Colovaria!" She flourishes her wand, but her hands are a little sweaty from nerves and her wand motion must have been too aggressive because her wand flies out of her hand and smacks Cedric right in the chest.

As soon as the wand hits Cedric it emits sparks, and one of the sparks catches on his robes. Cedric yelps as the front of his robes catch fire, and Marjorie echoes his yelp out of sheer horror. "I'm so sorry!" Marjorie cries, covering her mouth as Cedric curses and pulls his robes over his head, throws them on the ground, and stamps the flames out.

"It's okay, Marjorie." Cedric assures her, but his voice sounds a little strangled. Luckily, he had been wearing a Muggle jumper and trousers beneath his wizards robes, which he adjusts as he stares wide-eyed at his still-smoking school robes.

"Oh my!" Flitwick hurries over to survey the damage, looking worried. Over his head, Marjorie can see Fred and George clutching each other as they sink to the floor, howling with laughter. "What happened?"

Cedric and Marjorie share a look. "Er-" Marjorie begins guiltily, "I set Cedric on fire, sir. But it was an accident, I swear!"

"It really was just a simple mistake, Professor." Cedric chimes in, picking up his charred robes.

Flitwick sighs, and Marjorie can tell by the way he's looking at her that he's wondering what he should do with her. "Right... Longbottom, it's probably best if you practice the Colour Changing Charm on robes that are not being worn."

"Yes, Professor." She says meekly, mortified. As soon as Flitwick moves on, she whirls on Cedric. "Merlin's beard, I am so sorry, Cedric!"

"Don't worry about it, really." He says earnestly. "It was probably my fault, really -- I mean, you did tell me you were distracted."

Marjorie buries her face in her hands, genuinely quite upset. She was so busy being selfishly worried about something as trivial as a ball that she actually managed to set one of the most popular boys in school on fire, and on top of that he was somehow managing to blame himself for her own ineptitude? She thinks she would actually have preferred him to shout at her.

"Oh, shi- no, Marjorie, don't get upset." Cedric says hastily, moving forward to pat her awkwardly on the shoulder. "I mean it, it's not a big deal at all. Mistakes happen, yeah? And honestly, I've been meaning to buy some new school robes anyway. Those have been getting a bit small for me."

"Oi, Diggory, you making girls cry now?" One of the twins calls over to them, clearly amused.

Marjorie takes her face out of her hands just so she can glare at them, furious that they're making the situation worse. Cedric glances over at them too, but shakes his head and turns back to Marjorie. "Ignore them, they're just trying to wind us up."

"It's working." Marjorie grumbles, looking down with a sigh. "I really am sorry, Cedric. I don't know why I'm so rubbish at magic -- it just really doesn't come naturally to me."

The bell for lunch goes off right as Cedric stoops to pick up her wand and holds it out to her. "There are lots of different kinds of magic in the world." He says lightly, smiling when he meets her gaze, "There's always gonna be something out there for you, so long as you keep looking."

Marjorie takes a deep breath, then straightens the ribbon holding her hair back and smiles back at Cedric. "Yeah. Thank you, Cedric. And, um, I'll pay for new robes for you. I insist, actually."

Cedric just laughs and shakes his head. "Don't be silly. I'll see you later."

Marjorie waves him goodbye, and gathers up her own stuff as she prepares to follow him out. She can feel Fred and George's presences behind her even before she turns around, and without looking she says, "I'm really not in the mood to be made fun of, so please don't."

"Always so polite, Marjie." Fred says cheerfully. "We're not going to make fun of you -- we wanted to commend you, actually."

"Yeah," George butts in, "See, we've actually been wanting to set fire to Diggory ever since that Quidditch match last year -- you remember the one?"

Marjorie finally turns, and when they see the expression on her face their smiles slowly dim. "I didn't mean to set him on fire!" She says, clenching her jaw hard to try and stop herself from doing something really embarrassing, like bursting dramatically into tears. Shame is bubbling in her chest, thick and hot and stifling -- she just can't figure out why she's so awful at everything, especially when she sees her classmates complete the same tasks with ease. She knows that people see her as a bit of a joke, or worse, pity her, but there's just nothing she can do about it. "I really am trying, but nothing ever works out right!"

"Woah-" Fred sounds slightly panicked, and glances about the classroom as though looking for help -- he's out of luck, however, as the rest of the class has already filed out of the room. "Hey, don't cry-"

"I'm not crying!" Marjorie insists, but her voice is thick with unshed tears and her words come out sounding a little choked.

"Yeah, you're the picture of composure, you are." George jokes, but his voice has gotten significantly softer. "Hey come on, there's no need to cry-"

"I'm not crying!" Marjorie turns sharply and swipes at her face. "Stop saying that I'm crying or- or I'll- or I will cry!"

Even though she's not looking in their direction, she just knows that they're doing that stupid twin thing where they look at each other and seem to know exactly what each other is thinking. "Right." George says slowly. "Look, as far as I can see, there's nothing to be upset over. I mean, Diggory's robes were barely even charred."

"Yeah, I mean you did way more damage that time you blew those Quidditch robes up, remember that?"

Marjorie turns to stare at them, speechless. "That- that doesn't really help, actually."

"Does it not?" Fred looks to George, "I thought we were doing an alright job at the whole cheering up thing."

"How about hot chocolate?" George suggests, "Mum always makes hot chocolate when one of us has a breakdown at home."

"I'm not having a breakdown." Marjorie protests, though it's half-hearted at best. "Look, please just forget about it. I'm just- I'm overreacting-"

"Nope." Fred takes her bag and slings it over his shoulder, "It's decided -- come on, then."

Grinning, George links his arm through hers and tugs her after Fred. Marjorie's too tired and embarrassed to start protesting, so she just goes along quietly, trying to make herself small and unnoticeable as they make their way through the corridors to the Great Hall. They're a little later than usual, so the corridors are quiet since they've missed the lunch rush. By the time they reach the Great Hall and get to the Gryffindor table, almost everyone has already begun to tuck into their meals.

Neville looks up from his own lunch as Marjorie takes a seat next to him, and squints a little when he sees Fred and George right behind her. He watches as they sit next to her and begin fussing over finding hot chocolate, but apparently decides to just pretend that they aren't even there. "Gran sent you a package, Maggie. I left it in your dormitory."

"Oh, thank you, Nev." Marjorie says with a little smile. "What was it?"

"I think it's a dress. For the ball, you know."

Marjorie's smile slips a little -- she probably could have done without the reminder of the upcoming event, but that wasn't Neville's fault. Her cousin is already looking at her with an expression of faint concern (he can tell better than anyone when she's upset, after all) so she hitches her smile back up and says, "Ah, that's wonderful. Thanks, Neville."

"Oi, Marjie, get that into ya." Fred sets down a mug that's filled to the brim and damn near overflowing with whipped cream.

Marjorie takes it with a smile and a quiet 'thanks', but Neville glances between the mug to the twins to Marjorie with narrowed eyes. "You didn't put anything weird in it, did you?" He asks, uncharacteristically distrustful. Marjorie had lifted the mug to her mouth, but slowly lowers it as she turns to blink at the twins -- she hadn't even considered they might do something like that, but it did seem like their idea of a funny joke.

They looked identically offended at the accusation, and George put his hand to his chest in mock outrage. "Us? Now why would we do that, Longbottom?"

"Yeah, we're just trying to cheer the poor girl up." Fred adds, affecting an expression of grievous hurt, "It's not our fault she was crying all over us after Charms."

"Crying?" Neville asks, startled. Her turns to Marjorie immediately, wide-eyed. "Why were you crying, Maggie?"

"I-I wasn't!" Marjorie says quickly. The last thing she needs is for Neville to go into a righteous protective fury. "Really!"

"Might as well just tell him, Marjorie." George says rather unhelpfully, "I'm sure everyone will be talking about it in less than an hour, anyway."

Marjorie feels distinctly cornered -- Neville is staring at her with his big, concerned brown eyes, the twins are still grinning at the memory of her accidentally lighting Cedric on fire, and she can feel the eyes of other people in the Great Hall landing on her. George is right; with the speed of gossip in Hogwarts, it'll take no time at all for the story of her setting fire to Cedric's robes to travel around. Marjorie swallows hard. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Maggie-" Neville starts, reaching out a hand to her, but Marjorie has already jumped to her feet and made a beeline straight out of the Great Hall. She pauses in the Entrance Hall and leans against the stone wall, breathing deeply.

It's a little silly, really, how upset she's getting over this. She's not good at Charms, everyone knows that, and she's definitely had far worse mishaps in Potions. But even so, it's so much worse because it was Cedric Diggory, who she'd maybe had a bit of a crush on ever since first year, who was Hogwarts champion, and who was so stupidly nice about the whole thing that it only made her feel even guiltier. And it's because it's Cedric Diggory that the news is definitely going to spread twice as fast.

She's brought out of her slow descent into panic by the sound of a group of lads laughing together, and looks up to see a group of Durmstrang boys stride past her on their way to the Great Hall. She looks down quickly, not wanting to meet their eyes, but she becomes aware of the way several of them have begun nudging one of their friends in her direction.

Marjorie doesn't look up until she realises that one of the Durmstrang boys has come to a stop right in front of her. "Oh. Um. Hello?"

"Hello." The boy says, and glances back to his friends. His accent is very thick, but lovely in an exotic sort of way. "I am Kolya."

"Er- Marjorie." She says, blinking at him. She wonders if she should offer her hand for him to shake, but then decides that would be too awkward so she just smiles a little nervously at him instead.

"I wanted to ask you question."

"Ah. Alright." Marjorie knots her fingers together anxiously -- was he going to ask about the Charms incident? It couldn't have possibly spread to the students from the other schools already, could it?

"Will you go to ball with me?" He asks, rather unenthusiastically.

That was absolutely the last thing that Marjorie had expected to fall out of his mouth, and she finds herself staring dumbly at him with her mouth hanging open. "I- me?"

"Yes." Kolya nods, glancing back to his friends again, who are giving him encouraging thumbs up and grins. He is quite handsome, Marjorie thinks, looking at his long lashes and brown eyes and high cheekbones. His nose is a bit small for his face, perhaps, and his eyebrows sit strangely high on his forehead, but it's not as though Marjorie is in the position to be picky. "Most other girls have been asked already."

"Oh." Marjorie says. She thinks she probably should be a little offended that he had added that last bit in (it really was rather unnecessary), but it was true and it explained perfectly why he was asking her in the first place. At least she knew he was asking her out of desperation rather than as a joke. "Er- yes. Yes, I'd like that."

For the first time since coming over, Kolya smiles. It really is quite a nice smile, Marjorie is relieved to see, and she smiles back rather excitedly. "Very good. We meet here at 8pm on night of ball?"

"Yes. Yes, perfect." Marjorie nods, still smiling. She gives a little wave as Kolya goes back to his friends, and watches as they thump him on the back in a congratulatory manner as they all enter the Great Hall. She stands in the Entrance Hall for another minute, still somewhat in shock that someone had actually asked her to the ball!

All her previous worries abruptly forgotten, Marjorie returns to the Great Hall feeling rather like she had missed a step on a staircase. As soon as she reaches the Gryffindor table, Neville pulls at her sleeve, looking rather horrified. "You lit Cedric Diggory on fire?"

"Accidentally." Marjorie says absently, eyes roving the Slytherin table to see if she could spot where Kolya and his friends had gone to. "A boy just asked me to the ball."

Angelina, who had been chatting with Oliver Wood, turns so quickly she nearly upsets her bowl of soup. "What! Who! Marjorie!"

The news successfully distracts Neville, who begins peering around at every boy in their general vicinity as though he could guess just by the look of them which one had asked her. "What, just now?"

"Mhm. He's from Durmstrang." She aims this at Angelina, though Neville swings around to stare at the Durmstrang students at the Slytherin table. "Oh, Neville, stop that."

"Is he nice, at least?" Neville asks, frowning.

"Well- I suppose so. He seems nice enough." Marjorie shrugs, and finally picks up her hot chocolate to sip on, still smiling.

Beside her, Fred and George exchange a look then join Neville in peering over at the Slytherin table. Angelina just gives her a thumbs up, looking genuinely delighted for her. Marjorie basks in the feeling of excitement and support from Angelina, impossibly pleased that someone has actually asked her to the ball and that she has someone so happy to see her happy -- Marjorie thinks that she might even be able to tentatively call Angelina a friend, which is entirely new to her.

She sips on her hot chocolate, relishing the mountain of whipped cream and forgetting, if only temporarily, about all the things she had been worried about.