To Hell ~ Fred Weasley

Chapter 53.

"I do? It's probably nothing. Just glad that you got through the first task, that's all!" she lied. "Well, nice to have met you Marietta and Cho. I guess I'll see you around, yeah? I have to go now, Ced."

Helena hugged Cedric and left the tent, her awkwardness tagging along. She then regretted not staying longer with the boy to talk in more detail about the task and how he felt, to check up on him, his bruises and cuts, to hug him and let him know she was proud of him for facing a dragon on his own. But her short encounter with her boyfriend left her feeling as if she had been talking to a random student and that she had only made small talk with him to be polite. Helena attributed that to the fact that Cedric was not alone.

The whole track back to Gryffindor Tower would have been joyful, sharing the same energy every student had as they all headed back to the castle, but her thoughts were consuming her, and she could not help feeling guilty for hiding several things from Cedric and then being surprised when her boyfriend did the same. The only thing is that Cedric had only been tutoring, herself on the other hand...

"You know the portrait doesn't read minds, do you?"

Helena was shaken from her thoughts. She was standing in front of the portrait that leads to the Gryffindor Common Room, with no recollections on how she had gotten to this point.

"You couldn't possibly had forgotten the password. I know you," Fred chuckled, making his way next to the girl while carrying two large boxes on his arms, using his chest to support them, his long hair grazing the top of the boxes. Still, Fred managed to nudge her with his elbow to greet her. When he didn't get an answer from Helena, he continued to talk. "On the other side of this portrait there is a lot of people, drinks, probably loud music if George and Lee set dad's record player correctly, and everyone waiting expectantly for Harry to arrive with the golden egg to throw one heck of a party... But what's the point if one of the people I care about the most is not enjoying it?"

Helena turned to look up at Fred, who was giving her a small smile over the boxes he had.

"We can skip this thing if you want, Nina," said Fred. "I do have the snacks," he mentioned teasingly, shaking the boxes he had been carrying with him.

"That won't be... Thanks, Fred," Helena sighed, her mind clearing up after the redhead spoke to her. "But I wouldn't miss a Weasley party!"

The two of them entered to the Common Room through the portrait of the Fat Lady and they were met with some loud pop music by a wizard group Helena did not know but she liked how everyone was sharing the same energetic vibe from the music. The usual gold and red colors the Gryffindor Common Room had were now even more noticible because it was decorated with gold balloons that covered the ceiling. There was a table set up next to the fireplace where you could find red cups and beverages; plates with sandwiches and delicious desserts, courtesy of the elfs in the kitchens; and the snacks Fred had brought with him, which Helena had helped layed on the table. There was also large banners celebrating Harry's win with "Gryffindor for the Triwizard Cup!", "Potter 4 the win!" and a small banner hanged next to the window, going unnoticed by everyone that said "Harry dragon slayer", but noticed by one...

"Hairy dragon slayer?" said Helena questioning the poor selection of words, chuckling.

"What? Oh, you're just saying it wrong!" Fred excused, standing next to her as they put away the now empty boxes he had been carrying before. "It sounded better in my head. Besides, it's George and Lee's fault for not making it cool and not adding the comma and the. I also specifically told them to add flames to the banner."

Helena couldn't help but to burst into laughs. She could just picture Fred making such request and George and Lee trying their best but forgetting to add those details to Fred's unique banner.