Obsidian & Bronze {Fred Weasley}

2. The attack

I nodded along with what he was saying absentmindedly as we made our way into the great hall, and holy shit did it live up to its name.

The room was enchanting. Hundreds, if not thousands of candles sprawled across the beautiful arched ceiling, although it didn't take long before my eyes broke past the candles and were fixated upon the gorgeous night sky above.

I followed Hermione to the Gryffindor table and sat myself down next to her, the boys seating themselves opposite, my gaze wandering from person to person as people packed their way into the hall. 

The limit of the rooms capacity was tested as the number of students piling in increased along with my heart rate, I scoured the space with my eyes desperately until they fell to the front of the room and my gaze locked with Remus's.

'Deep breaths, pup' he mouthed through the hussle of people making their way to their assigned tables. Instant relief washed over me as it often did in the presence of Remus's reassurance. I gave him a thankful nod and he flashed a sympathetic smile before resuming his conversation with the man to his left.

The crowd inevitably died down and the room fell eerily silent as Dumbledore stepped up to greet the room. He welcomed back the school before gesturing to an older looking witch who proceeded with the sorting ceremony.

It looked like social suicide, a kind of torture you would look back on in years to come and squirm at the thought of your younger self, faced with all those people, thousands of eyes fixated upon you. Thank fuck I got myself out of that, I really didn't need everybody knowing who I was before classes had even started.

The ceremony had since finished, relatively quickly I noticed, or maybe it just felt quick as I had spent the duration discreetly staring at Fred, who had sat himself next to me. His scent was intoxicating and overpowered my senses. Why did he have to sit so bloody close?

"And now for the announcement of the 4th year Prefects" Dumbledore's voice boomed through the hall and knocked me from my gaze, disrupting the vision of beauty before me.

Hermione was squirming beside me, looking visibly uncomfortable. I turned my head to Harry and raised my eyebrow at him questioningly, then gestured to Hermione.

"Hermione put her name in the ballot for prefect before we broke up from school in the summer. You become prefect from age sixteen and then next year she can go for head girl" Harry responded and before I could say a thing Hermione snapped her head in our direction.

"I can only go for head girl if I become prefect this year" She practically spat at him, clearly frustrated and overwhelmed with anxiety.

I responded to her increasing levels of frustration, in the only way I knew how, the way Remus responded to mine. I placed my hand on her shoulder and demonstrated a deep breath before encouraging her to replicate it, which she did, before smiling gratefully and then turning her attention back to Dumbledore.

"Thank you for all the candidates that applied, myself and Mcgonagall have sorted through all the applications and have chosen the four prefects that we believe will represent what Hogwarts best stands for" He spoke in a informative manner but buried beneath his stern facade, a softer and gentler man shone through.

"So please give a round of applause for the following students"

I could practically hear Hermione's heart beat from beside me. Her leg was bouncing furiously under the table with no intention of slowing down. Until suddenly, it did. I glanced down momentarily to see Ron's leg interlinked with Hermione's, seemingly calming her down. I flashed him a warm grin and my heart warmed slightly at the idea of the two of them, a possibility I hadn't considered until this small gesture, although once I did, their connection was painfully obvious.