i could be enough [anna]

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The Yule Ball was a big deal. It was barely even November, and Oscar was already thinking about the ball, which was going to take place on Christmas Day. More specifically, he was thinking about who he was going to take to the ball. The obvious answer was to ask one of the Beauxbatons girls to go with him. Most of them didn't like him, but Oscar was good enough arm candy, and there was a chance that they could have their face in the paper because of Oscar's naturally photogenic face. The not so obvious answer, though, was to ask Anna Weasley. It wasn't an obvious answer because the two of them weren't together in any sense of the word, even though they had had a tendency to hold hands a lot lately. They were just friends. In any case, Anna was sure to be asked by quite a few people, since she was the Hogwarts Champion, and whoever went as her date was going to be in quite a big spotlight. There were going to be boys who wanted their ten minutes of fame, and the fact that they were willing to use Anna to get that made Oscar oddly angry. It was similar to what he was doing, really, since he had more or less demanded that Anna mention him in the papers every once in a while, but Anna was his friend. He had a right to demand that kind of thing from her, because that was what friends did for each other. But in any case, there was one way to make sure that Anna wasn't going to be used by any scumbag, and that was to make sure she was taken by someone who knew her, and knew how to treat her right. The obvious answer was that Oscar ought to take her. He had been thinking about it the whole time he was climbing the steps to the third floor, and when he reached the corridor where he was going to wait for Anna, Oscar had made his decision. He was going to ask Anna to the Yule Ball. (As friends?)

@annelise

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Anna was a planner. Well, not a very detailed one, and she didn't always stick to her plans. Even so, she liked to have a plan for major events in her life and realizing that she was a champion was making her realize that there were quite a few large events coming up in her life. The events. Anxiety and nerves ran through her every time she thought of what she would be doing, of the fact that she didn't even know what it was. There was only one thing happening in the next few months that she did know about for certain. The Yule Ball. 

Honestly, Anna wasn't really a dancer. She'd never learned, never really cared to and now she was going to be a ... well, basically a guest of honor. The biggest problem was that she had to go with someone and she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. Should she ask someone? Wait for someone to ask her? She wanted to go with Oscar, but she had no idea what he would think of the idea. After all, they were just friends. Just friends, but she felt something more for him. It wasn't really a surprise. Anna tended to crush on guys that never thought of her as more than a friend. That's what was bound to happen here, right? That's what she kept telling herself.

She made her way to the third floor, where she was supposed to meet Oscar. She was excited and nervous simultaneously. Ever since she realized that she felt more for him than just friendship, she didn't know how to act around him. It didn't help that they'd started holding hands. It was hard for Anna to really focus on much when her hand was in his. She knew it was cheesy, but it was also true.

"Oscar!" She called with a smile when she made it to the third floor and saw him there. "Did I make you wait long?" she asked. It seemed to her that one of them was always waiting for the other, so in her mind it was a running joke, which was a good thing because jokes made her feel more comfortable.

@oscar

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Seeing Anna approach had made Oscar feel a variety of things, but since the night she had been selected as Champion, those feelings had changed quite a bit for Oscar. They were confusing, confusing things, and he kind of wished they would stop. Except for he didn’t want the way he felt for Anna to stop, because it was so…nice. Like there was something warm in his stomach all the time, even when the castle or the carriage was cold. All he had to do was think of her, and it was like someone had turned on the heat. It was nice, and he didn’t want that to stop just because it was unfamiliar. When he looked up and saw Anna walking towards him, it was like the heat in Oscar’s stomach had been turned up a notch or two, and if he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that he was blushing when Anna asked him if he had waited long. “No, not at all.” He assured her. “We are getting much better at our…mental communication. There is a word for that.” Oscar couldn’t remember the word, but there was a word for what he was trying to describe. It would come to him later. Oscar brushed aside his vocabulary snafu, smiling at Anna. “I hope that the days have not been too hard for you.” This was the second day after she had been made Champion, and Oscar expected that it had been a bit of a whirlwind for her. He didn’t want to spring another big decision on her so suddenly, but Oscar was worried that if he didn’t ask her soon, he was going to lose his nerve, or worse, some other boy was going to ask Anna to the ball, and she was going to say yes to them instead of to him. “Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?” The question lacked finesse, but it got the job done, and that was all Oscar was asking for.

@annelise

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Anna smiled when he said that he hadn't been waiting long, that they were getting better. He might not like it, but Anna thought it was so cute when he was trying to figure out what to say in English. He didn't always get his grammar right, but she couldn't care less. The fact that he knew two languages was enough to impress her, especially since he was here using the one he was less comfortable with. That had to take courage. "Telepathy?" she suggested, not quite sure if that was the word he was looking for, but wanting to help out if she could. A few weeks ago she would have been nervous that he'd get offended over something like that, but not anymore. They'd spent so much time together that she didn't think there was much she could do that would offend him, unless she was doing it on purpose, which would never happen.

"I hope that the days have not been too hard for you." Probably one of the most considerate things someone had said to her lately, but it still cut at her. The days were fine, but the nights were torture. She hadn't been able to sleep more than two hours a night since Halloween. Anna wanted to talk to Oscar about it, but at the same she didn't. Her little problems were hard for her, but he went through so much more than she did. She just couldn't complain to him. No, she wouldn't. The now-familiar pain flashed in her eyes as her mind flew back to the moment everything went wrong. Lucy. It didn't matter what Anna did, she just couldn't seem to get her sister's words out of her mind, and now she had to deal with the doubts that came with them. She hoped Oscar couldn't see the struggle in her eyes as she forced herself to smile, "More like, different," she answered vaguely. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned her attention away from herself and to him. "What about you? Are you ... all right?" She wanted to use a different word, but none came to mind. Still, she hoped he was more honest with her than she'd been. She didn't want him to be hurting right now.

At his next question, Anna thought she must be imagining things. Was this all in her head? Was she still in her dormitory, having an extremely vivid dream? She stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open. She was completely frozen. "What?" she breathed softly. She watched his reaction closely and cleared her throat, "Sorry, what did you say?" Anna asked hopefully. Was he really asking her to the Yule Ball, or was she just hearing what she wanted to hear. She didn't want to ruin their friendship by assuming she heard something and have it really be her vivid imagination. Just because this was the one thing she wanted to happen more than almost anything else at the moment. "Oscar?" she made his name a question, nodding to hopefully encourage him to repeat the question. He probably thought she was an idiot, but what else was new?

@oscar

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Oscar’s face lit up in a smile when Anna suggested the word he had been looking for. The worst part about practicing English with other language learners was that when they came to a bump in the road, everyone else was just as confused as he was. Now, with Anna, who spoke English as her first (and he presumed, only) language, if he hit a block, she could help him find his way around it. “Yes, telepathy.” Oscar answered, carefully pronouncing the syllables so that the word would be burned into his brain. “We have telepathy with each other.” He enforced, just in case she had forgotten the context of the word in his original sentence. “Thank you.” Oscar added a little belatedly. He really did appreciate having an outlet with which to improve his English skills, and by the end of the school year, he was hoping that he would be more proficient than his classmates due to all of the extra practice he was getting with Anna.

Anna answered that the days hadn’t been difficult, just different, and Oscar nodded once to show that he understood. Everything had changed, but that didn’t mean that all changes were bad. When she asked about how he was, Oscar winced a little. “I still wish I could have been picked.” He answered honestly. There was no point in lying about something when he had made his intentions known from the day he had met. “But Emile is better than some others.” Oscar would have absolutely died if Margaux had been chosen as Champion; she would find a way to make it all about his incompetence, probably. Since she had that Durmstang girl wrapped around her finger, or something like that, it would make everything even worse. She would flaunt it at the Yule Ball, and…Well, it was good for all involved parties that Margaux hadn’t been chosen as the Champion for Beauxbatons.

The conversation rounded back to his question, and Oscar was taken aback by Anna’s obvious disbelief. Did she really believe that he was going to let some sleazy scumbag take her to the Yule Ball? Or had she actually not heard what he had asked? “I said,” Oscar announced, licking his lips and enunciating his words even more carefully than he normally did when speaking English. “Anna, would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?” He could only hope that she got the message the second time, and that her answer would be yes.

@annelise

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Anna grinned. "We must. There's really no other explanation." A part of her was teasing, but Anna was also serious as well. They always seemed to run into one another at just the right time. To her knowledge, he hadn't needed to wait a long time for her to show up, and she never waited too long either. It just seemed to fit. She shrugged at his thanks, "Glad I could help."

Anna gave him a sad sort of smile, "I know, but why is Emile better?" She really didn't know anything about the Beauxbatons students or the Durmstrang one. Other than Oscar, but he didn't count. He was ... different than the other students. She probably felt that way because they were actually friends with one another and now she was starting to develop a crush on him. Still, she was curious to know. Did he get along with the other students from Beauxbatons? It didn't seem like he spent very much time with them, but who was he to judge? She was just starting to realize how little she knew about him.

She bit her lip, nervously waiting to see if he would repeat his question ... if he'd ever asked it in the first place, that is. He spoke slowly and she felt her heartbeat increase as she waited to hear his question. He really did ask her! She grinned at him, trying to contain at least a little bit of her excitement. She felt like she was going to explode. Well, she failed. At containing herself, that was. Almost as soon as he asked her the second time, she jumped up and then threw her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. "Of course I'll go with you," she told him after she pulled away, not even trying to hide how excited she was. She liked him, after all. Why hide it when he was asking her to the Yule Ball? That was a big deal, wasn't it? "You have no idea how nervous I was about the whole thing," she confessed as she started to calm down. This was a good way to alleviate all her nerves about asking someone or waiting to be asked. He asked her and she couldn't be more delighted.

@oscar

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Anna agreed that the two of them had telepathy, and Oscar smiled at her. It was a strange way to say that they kept accidentally meeting, but he liked the implication that the way they kept falling together was a decision made by both of them together, instead of just the universe pushing them together out of spite or joy or whatever else it was that inspire the universe to do the crazy things that it did.

“Emile has always been a cocky bastard.” Ozzy smiled when Anna asked him why Emile was better than the others. “At least now he has a reason for being one.” And unlike many of the other Beauxbatons students, Emile wouldn’t try to hide that he was cocky as anything; he didn’t see it as a flaw, as many did. Oscar had thought that was particularly interesting, but, in his opinion, he and Emile were too alike for their own good. Any sort of friendship between the two of them would probably implode spectacularly when they argued about who was pretty, or something equally ridiculous. It was obvious that Oscar was the prettier of the two of them, but that was beside the point; if Oscar couldn’t be the Champion, at least someone similar to him could be. He had to stop there, otherwise he spiraled into why it couldn’t have been him instead of just someone like him.

Oscar was a bit taken aback when Anna threw her arms around his neck, but he accepted her hug nonetheless, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head on her shoulder. His nose was dangerously close to her hair, and Oscar had to stop himself from smelling her hair like the same kind of weirdo that he was trying to protect her from. When Anna pulled away from him, Ozzy smiled toothily at her. “I am glad you want to go with me.” He told her, trying to sound simultaneously excited and indifferent. He was failing at sounding indifferent, though, so Oscar just ended up speaking with the same wide-eyed glee that Anna had. “And I am glad you do not have to be nervous anymore.” Anna feeling anything bad – nerves, sadness, fear – was not something that Oscar wanted to happen. He was glad that he had made her experience as Champion at least a little easier and less stressful.

@annelise

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Anna was ... confused. Why was being cocky a good thing? And why did he want Emile to have a reason to be cocky? She was sure her face showed her bewilderment, but she couldn't accurately find a way to express that. Oscar was smiling, which was an interesting thing too. She thought that talking about Emile would make him upset or something. She was glad that it apparently didn't, but she didn't know how to respond to him.

Anna tried not to think about how much she liked it when he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. It was fabulous. She didn't know why he wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball, but she also didn't care. Now that she was going to go with him, she couldn't imagine going with anyone else. Anna knew herself. If someone else had asked her, she would have said yes, but she also would have spent time at the ball looking for Oscar to see where he was. And wishing that she could go to him. It was better this way. "I'm glad you asked me, just in case you couldn't tell," she said, making fun of herself a little bit. Still, she wanted to explain herself. "Well, I just didn't know what I was supposed to do. You know, like if I was supposed to ask someone or wait for someone to ask me? SO thanks for saving me from stressing over it for the next few months."

@oscar

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Oscar laughed when Anna said that she was glad that he had asked her to the Ball. It had been extremely obvious, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that, especially since she was smiling so big, almost as big as she had been when it was announced that she was going to be Hogwarts’s Champion. He made her happy, and that was a good feeling – Oscar couldn’t remember ever making anyone that happy before. “Many people would have asked you to the Ball, Anna.” Oscar told her when she explained her predicament and the cause of her worry. “Which is why I had to be the first. No one is good enough for you. Not even me.” For someone as self-centered as Oscar could often be, it was huge to admit that he wasn’t good enough for someone, especially someone who, from the outside, looked average. Oscar had made the mistake of assuming that Anna Weasley was average, though, and all that had gotten him so far as a lot of twisted feelings and confusion. “What color dress robes did you bring? I brought black, so perhaps when we visit the village I can buy a sash or something so we can be coordinated.” Even if they got separated on the dance floor (he was sure that the male Champions would be required to dance at least once with Anna), Oscar wanted to be sure that everyone knew that Anna Weasley was his date. No one could take her from him.

@annelise

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Anna didn't doubt that Oscar thought he was telling the truth, but he was wrong. She had plenty of friends at school, but none of her friendships were romantic (like she wanted theirs to be). She shook her head at him, "I don't think so, Oscar. No one's ever been interested in me before," she told him matter-of-factly in a bright voice, still smiling. She didn't want Oscar to think she was feeling sorry for herself, but she felt like he should know the truth. The real reason she was worried before was because she couldn't imagine who might have been interested in going with her and she was nervous that she'd be stuck going alone or something.

"What?" she was saying that way too much. She needed to come up with another thing to say, but he just kept on surprising her and she didn't know how to handle it. "I don't know what I think about that, but I'm glad you asked me first. I think you're great," she forced herself to answer him with something more than just a "what" and was pleased with the result. At least she said something nice back.

She grinned when he said he had black robes. "Mine are white," she told him. Naturally their robes would be opposite colors. She wasn't entirely surprised, but she found it funny at the same time. So what were they going to do about that?

@oscar

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Oscar frowned when Anna said that no one had ever been interested in her before. Hogwarts students had poor taste, it seemed. He still needed to tell her, though, that even if no one was interested, they would still probably ask. “Anna, you were not Champion before.” He stated bluntly. “It is magic, the love people discover for someone when that person becomes famous.” Which was why Oscar couldn’t believe that the strange mix of feelings he felt for Anna was love; he didn’t want to be just another person who loved her for what she could do for him. He needed to wait, he needed to be sure, because Anna didn’t deserve to have her heart broken by someone who didn’t deserve to have it in the first place.

“I am beginning to think you need to check your ears.” Oscar said with a smirk when Anna asked him to repeat himself for the second time in their conversation. Maybe Oscar just needed to stop saying things that sounded so ridiculous and love struck. Yes, that was definitely a good idea. Anna announced that her robes were white, and Oscar chuckled. “You are the swan, and I am but a humble crow.” He told her. Damn. The whole not saying ridiculous things wasn’t working out so well for him. “Maybe I can find you a black corsage? I do not know how well a white sash would look on black dress robes.” He would look ridiculous, Ozzy thought with a roll of his eyes, and Oscar Gauthier never looked ridiculous.

@annelise

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Anna's mouth fell open for a few seconds as Oscar explained why he didn't think she would have any problems getting asked. She hadn't thought of it like that. She looked away from him and her eyebrows furrowed as her mind continued to travel along that course. Great. So did that mean that all the friends she would be making this year were only interested in being her friend because of her status as a champion? She didn't like that idea at all. Actually, it really upset her. And then her thoughts turned to the boy in front of her. Oscar wasn't like that, was he? They started becoming friends before champions were chosen, they'd just became much closer since that night. She didn't know what to think and it depressed her. She knew she had strong feelings for him, but he just said that people develop stronger feelings for famous people. So the real question was: why did Oscar ask her to the Yule Ball? Was it for publicity or because he wanted to go with her? The thing was, she didn't want to ask. "You're probably right, I didn't think of that before. I don't like that idea," she told him honestly, finally looking back to him as she decided that she would think more about this later. Sometime when she wasn't around him. 

Anna rolled her eyes, ignoring the quip about her needing to check her ears. She was going to be more careful about that. No more wearing her heart on her sleeve, she decided. She didn't want to give Oscar more reason to tease her about that. "There is no way you are a crow," she told him, looking back at him thoughtfully. "Maybe a raven? Those are more majestic, aren't they?" She was teasing him, but also serious at the same time. She grinned, "I'm good with whatever you think would be best," she told him, referring to the whole corsage/sash thing. She really wasn't that much into fashion, so she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. 

@oscar

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Oscar grabbed for Anna’s hand when she paused to ponder the question of why someone would ask her to the Yule Ball. He brought her hand up to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “I do not like it, either.” He told her honestly. “Which is why I was the first.” He said, somewhat smugly. “Now, if someone asks you, you can just say that you have a date with a handsome Beauxbatons boy.” Oscar couldn’t help but preen a little at the thought of Anna telling someone that she already had a date to the Yule Ball. He squeezed her hand a little before letting it go, smiling slightly at her as he did so.

Anna said there was no way he was a crow, and Oscar felt himself blushing a little. He had just called himself handsome, but it was different when Anna said it. He hoped that the color didn’t show in his face when he smiled at her. “I did not think there was a difference.” He told her, chewing on his lip as he thought. “Perhaps it is just how our society views those things, no?” Crows were seen as dirty, and ravens were not, as much. “We should visit Hogsmeade together, then, so we can see how each looks on both of us. Is there a seamstress there?” Ozzy declared, though he wasn't entirely sure as to all the business in the village. “Are you free for the next visit?” Oscar paused, remembering that Anna was Champion now, and had many more people vying for her time and attention. “If not, that is alright, too.” He added as an afterthought. “I am sure there is much for you and your friends to be doing in the village now that you are famous.” Who knew, maybe she would get free food or something like that. The thought of Emile getting those same perks didn’t sit as well with Ozzy, but he didn’t particularly mind the idea of Anna getting free commodities because of her new Champion status. She deserved it.

@annelise

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Anna smiled when Oscar took hold of her hand. She liked how their relationship progressed, even though they weren't dating or anything. Well, she wanted to be but she didn't know what he thought. At least he didn't mind physical contact. She loved the way her hands tingled when he touched them. Her mouth fell open slightly when he kissed her hand gently and her heart started racing. It took all her mental strength to force herself to listen after that. It was a good thing that she did, too. Apparently he didn't like the idea of people treating her that way either. Which meant ... he wasn't doing that. Didn't it? She wanted to think he wasn't one of those people who only wanted to be close to her because she was champion. Anna smiled at him, choosing to believe that he wasn't like those people. "I could say that ... or I could just say I'm going with you." It wasn't that big of a distinction, but she would rather say his name over where he was from. It was more personal. Her hand felt strange when he released it and she wished he hadn't, but how was she supposed to say that?

He looked surprised, and maybe a little embarrassed when she said he wasn't a crow and Anna was proud of herself. He seemed to surprise her so often, now it was her turn to return the favor. She shrugged, "Maybe there isn't a difference. Raven sounds better to me though." Oscar seemed to get a little tongue-tied after that and Anna smiled at him, trying to make him feel more comfortable for once instead of teasing him. "We should go to Hogsmeade together, I don't have any other plans." She told him quickly. Then she frowned a little, concentrating. "I don't remember if there's a seamstress. I've never needed one. We can look together, if you'd like," she suggested, assuming he would agree with the idea. Anna laughed when he called her famous. "I don't have any more to do with my friends now than I did before," she told him honestly. Really, Irina would probably be busy with that boy from Durmstrang and Lily had a gift for always having something to do. Andy, well maybe Anna should spend some of that day with Andy. She'd talk to her, see if she wanted to do something. "Honestly, things haven't changed too much yet." Yet being the key word. Once the first task was over, who knew whether or not people would want to be seen with Anna, much less be called her friend. Things were definitely going to change then.

@oscar

[Deleted]

Oscar shook his head a little when Anna said she could just say that she was going with him to the Ball. “Not that many people know who I am, mamour.” Oscar said. He only realized after he had finished talking what he had said, and Oscar was extremely grateful that Anna didn’t know French, or she would probably be blushing. Oscar certainly felt his cheeks warm up again, though he hid it by clearing his throat. “It is easier to give a description than a name, so that even those who are not Beauxbatons will be able to pick me out of the crowd.” The Beauxbatons robes were easy to spot, and Oscar was indeed one of the more handsome boys – only really Emile could compete, and considering Emile’s name was now famous and his face was plastered everywhere, people would know he wasn’t Oscar Gauthier.

“If it makes you happy, I will be a raven.” He told her, wanting desperately to move onto a subject that wasn’t as strange and confusing as how he felt when Anna said that he couldn’t possibly be a crow. Oscar was relieved when Anna said that she didn’t have any Hogsmeade plans; going to the village for the first time with someone who had been there before sounded infinitely more preferable than going there alone, and he was also a lot less likely to get lost. “Excellent.” He said upon her agreement. “If there is no seamstress, then we can just find other things to do together.” Oscar added. He was sure that the village would have something enjoyable for the two of them, even if the utilitarian function of their visit was destroyed.

Ozzy was surprised to hear that nothing much had changed yet. It felt like forever and no time at all since Anna’s name had been picked out of the Goblet, and Oscar supposed that, for the rest of the world, it was closer to the ‘no time at all’ side of things. It only felt like forever to him because…Well, why did it? Probably because he had spent practically every waking moment between then and now thinking about Anna in some way, shape, or form. That made Oscar feel rather pathetic. “In time, it will probably be more.” After the first task the media attention was sure to ramp up, especially if Anna did especially well, which Oscar expected from her. “Has your advocate been helping you prepare?” He couldn’t help but ask. He knew it wasn’t traditional that a Champion be designated someone other than their headmaster to represent them in the Tournament, but the circumstances weren’t exactly normal, either. Oscar just wanted to make sure that whoever it was did a good job with helping Anna.

@annelise