The Chaser : A Fred Weasley Fan Fic

Twenty: Unbearable

Ignoring Fred felt impossible. He was everywhere. I'd been so good at it all those years before. I was able to float by, in every class, during every meal, unscathed by the Weasley twins, but now it was unbearable. Their absence from my everyday was becoming more noticeable and formed an anxious chasm in my stomach.

Days passed and Fred remained quiet. It seemed he'd taken Oliver's warning on board. Even during practice, we both played our positions and only communicated when absolutely necessary.

I was beginning to fear that this was it. That we were no longer waiting for the Slytherin match to end to rekindle. That it was over before it had even really started. Those were the thoughts that kept me up at night and left me exhausted in the morning.

The team carried on as though nothing had changed. Fred was still his normal jokey self with everyone but me. Only George and Hermione could see the difference.

"He's behaving like a child" Hermione huffed one evening in the common room. We sat across from each other on a table, our homework sprawled between us.

The twins, Angelina, Ron and Harry were sat in the cosy space by the fire, across sofas and armchairs. Fred and George were animatedly telling everyone a story about the time they'd transfigured Ron's teddy bear into a spider, sparking his gravest fear. Angelina curled at Fred's side laughing along and recounting the parts she'd heard before and jealousy struck like a hex straight to my chest.

Fred's eyes flicked up to mine for a fraction of a second and I scrambled to look as though I hadn't been watching, glancing down at the parchment in front of me. My face grew incredibly hot, as I could feel his continued stare.

"He's just being Fred, I suppose" I muttered, echoing Oliver's sentiment. Hermione laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

"But you still like him don't you?" Hermione whispered, craning her neck round to peer at him.

"Of course" I murmured, rolling my eyes at her. My feelings hadn't changed, it just hurt now to admit them. She gave a weak smile and strange sort of shrug, as if to say she understood but didn't have any further advice. "Anyway, I have a Defence Against the Dark Arts essay to get back to"

"What subject are you covering at the moment? We're doing Werewolves and-" Hermione began.

"Legilimancy" I cut her off.

"Fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'm so excited to give that a try, got very far with it?"

"No" I huffed, "I haven't had a chance to practice, there's a lot of theory that goes into it beforehand but we have a practical tomorrow"

My stomach churned at the thought of another lesson sat in silence beside Fred, when all I wanted him to do was make me laugh. It had been bearable when we were simply reading chapters and copying down text but now we had a practical coming up we would be forced to interact with one another.

The moment I stepped into Professor Lupin's class the next day, my mouth went dry. The chairs behind every desk of two had been turned to face each other, as opposed to their usual position beneath.

I'd arrived before Fred and sat myself down in my usual seat beside the window, now pointlessly staring across the classroom.

In my peripheral I saw their tall frames duck into the classroom, breaking apart so Fred sunk into the seat opposite me and George hurried up to the front. He shifted, trying to get comfortable. He suddenly looked oversized, as though he were too big for the chair and my body gave an involuntary shudder as I skimmed my eyes across him, avoiding his face.

"Alright, Wilde?" he chuckled quietly, tilting his head down so I was forced to look in his eyes. My chest fluttered and unbelievably my mouth grew drier.