Dandelions

A REALIZATION AND A WEIRD CONVERSATION

Rory felt his eyes blink shut slowly in pure disbelief as he watched Katie hide a giggle behind her hand, following Angelina out into the corridors. His eyes darted over to see Fred in absolute shock, jaw hanging open as he stared where Angelina had stood.

"Pff," Lee hissed out silent laughter, just barely hidden behind the cover of his book. "Don't let her get to you, you've got great luck with the ladies...Freddie."

"Ugh," he groaned, a hand slapping against his forehead as he collapsed back on the rug. "I thought it had been nice when she called me that on our date, but to use it against me like this?"

Fred opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling as he hissed breath out between his teeth, "It's sort of...enticing."

"Blegh," George spat out immediately, shivering in disgust, "Don't use that word."

"Enticing," Fred sneered, "Enticing, enticing. Enticing."

"Ugh," he grunted, "Gross."

"Don't tell me you like it when she's...rude to you?" Lee scoffed, sitting up and completely discarding his loose attempt at studying for herbology. Rory felt his eyes move from George, looking toward Fred for his answer.

"Ah, well, when you say it like that," Fred sheepishly commented, his ears flushed red quickly. "I mean, I guess so. It's sort of like we match."

"George is right," Lee abruptly said, "You're gross."

"I'm a romantic," Fred corrected with a hefty eye roll, "And you know what? I like a good challenge."

"Calling your crush a challenge usually doesn't mean it's a good idea," George mumbled, his words falling on deaf ears.

Rory tried not to listen as Fred began a long-winded ramble about how he was planning a step by step, foolproof way to convince Angelina to pay him enough mind going on a second date; clearly, their first one had just gone so well.

Instead, what Fred had mentioned earlier popped back into his head. He was the only chaser that was a boy, how had he not noticed that? They'd been attending quidditch practice for a few sessions now, and it never occurred to him. Clearly it didn't bother neither Angelina nor Katie, so why did his brain immediately list out all the differences between the two of them and him?

Chasers tended to be smaller and more agile, they had to zip all over the field and aim for quaffle goals. Angelina and Katie definitely fit the bill for that, but there Rory was--nearing five foot eight and finally beginning to thicken up a bit. His shins continued to ache like he'd never stop growing, when he thought about how it felt to stand beside the girls, he couldn't help but get a sour feeling in his stomach.

The only thought that popped into his head as he glanced across the common area once more was this: Oliver had appointed him. If someone as passionate and determined as Oliver had still managed to pick Rory for his team, that had to mean something.

"Bollocks," Rory's attention was called to Ron, cursing loudly under his breath as he and Harry filed into the common room. "It's complete bollocks, rubbish even."

"What's bollocks, your intelligence level?" George snickered, the shaking of his shoulders reminding Rory how close the two of them were sitting.

"Ha ha," he dryly responded, "You're so funny."

"I know," the twin replied arrogantly, looking back at his list of runes with a satisfied look on his face--like he'd met his 'Bully Ron' quota for the day.

"What's bollocks?" Rory decided to take the bait next, eyes bouncing between Ron and Harry as the two clearly debated whether or not to actually tell him.