star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

For the next few months leading up to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament, Arabella was to be found either in the library or the Gryffindor common room. At either location, she would be studying amongst her friends.

After completing her last exam of the year, Arabella along with Ron went to the Great Hall to attend lunch before the third task. When they sat down at the Gryffindor table, they were surprised to see their mother and oldest brother sitting by Harry.

"Mum - Bill! What're you doing here?" Ron asked them.

"Come to watch Harry in the last task!" Molly answered. Looking around at all of the food, she added, "I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook." She turned back to the twins. "How was your exam?"

The two of them had totally different things to tell her. Ron admitted that it was okay but that he couldn't remember the names of all of the goblin rebels so he had to make some up. Arabella proudly said that she suspected she had definitely gotten an O.

"Now, Bella, I have to ask," Molly started, her expression serious. "That article Rita Skeeter wrote about you-"

"None of it's true, Mum," Arabella interrupted her. "Harry and I aren't dating and never have."

"Hermione's not my girlfriend, either," Harry added.

"Well, all right. Are you sure you didn't attack her?" Molly asked Arabella, having witnessed her daughter's temper for herself on multiple occasions.

"No. Mione wouldn't let me," Arabella told her.

"I knew there was some truth to that part," Bill said. Arabella responded to that by throwing a roll at him which bounced off his forehead. "Hey!"

"That is quite enough," Molly scolded them.

At some point during the feast, Arabella caught Draco's eye and smiled at him. Bill saw it and looked around, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked his younger sister.

"Not you," she replied in a bitter tone. "Get a haircut."

"Bella, your hair is well over three feet long. I don't think you're in a place to be telling anyone to get a haircut."

"I'm not a grown man."

"Both of you could benefit from a haircut," Molly interjected, noting Bill's shoulder-length hair and how Arabella was practically sitting on hers. Then she looked around at the rest of her children. "Actually, you all could use one. Except you, Ginny, dear. Your hair is perfect."

Ginny kept a smug grin as her siblings scowled at her.

Later on, a woman Arabella didn't recognize sat down next to Olivia, who was sitting next to George as per usual. After conversing with her, the woman looked to Fred and George.

"Which one of you is George?" she asked them.

Immediately, both twins pointed to each other.

The rest of the Weasley siblings, who had been watching the exchange with interest, pointed to George and said, "That one."

George looked at his siblings. "What the hell, you guys?" he said.

"George!" Molly exclaimed.

"Oh - sorry, Mum."

Once the woman had gotten up and walked away, Molly turned to her eldest twins with an exasperated expression. "What did you two do to that poor woman?" she asked.

Fred held his hands up. "I wasn't involved this time, I swear," he said.

Molly gave him a disbelieving look.

"As unusual as it sounds, he actually wasn't, Mrs. Weasley. It was all those two," Angelina spoke up from her seat next to Fred, motioning to Olivia and George.

Molly looked at Angelina and gave her a kind smile. "Who are you, dear?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm Angelina, ma'am. I'm, uh..." She looked to Fred.

"Fred's girlfriend," Arabella finished her sentence.

"Ooh," the younger Weasley children and Harry and Hermione chorused. When they saw how red Angelina and Fred had turned, they laughed.

"G-Girlfriend?" Molly stammered, not believing her ears.

"She's not the only one dating a Weasley, either," Ginny said. Arabella's eyes widened as she hoped Ginny wasn't about to say what she thought she was going to say. She was able to let out a sigh of relief when Ginny asked, "George, aren't you going to introduce Olivia?"

George and Olivia nearly choked on their drinks, causing everyone around them to laugh again.

"Mum," George said once he had regained his composure, "this is Liv."

"Hi," Olivia said with an awkward laugh.

"Way to not make it awkward," Fred said.

"It's not our fault. They started it!" George defended, motioning to Arabella and Ginny.

"Might as well continue then, huh? Ginny," Arabella said, nudging her sister, "why don't you tell everyone about Michael?"

"Uh," Ginny blushed, "it's... really new."

"What about you and-" Ron started, looking at his twin, but was interrupted by Arabella kicking him under the table. Both she and Ginny shot him warning looks. "I forgot what I was gonna say."

"Damn right, you did," Arabella growled under her breath so quietly only Ron could hear her.

"So you two don't...?" Molly questioned her youngest set of twins.

"Don't rub it in, Mum," Ron said gloomily. Fred and George sniggered.

"No, I do not have a boyfriend. I am very lonely," Arabella said with a false smile.

"Yeah, you are," Ginny agreed to help keep the act going.

Molly looked around at all of her children, dumbfounded. "Good heavens," she sighed.

"When did you all become so weird?" Bill asked his siblings who were all still avoiding eye contact.

"When did you become so condescending?" Arabella retorted.

"All right, let's all just... calm down and finish our meal," Molly said to both her children and herself. Then, much more quietly: "Wait until I tell your father."

[word count: 964]
[written: 5/30/20]
[published: 6/22/20]