Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [6]

⚡️ Chapter 21 ⚡️

As Vega, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the castle, they spotted Cormac McLaggen entering the Great Hall. It took him two attempts to get through the doors; he ricocheted off the frame on the first attempt. Ron merely guffawed gloatingly and strode off into the Hall after him, but both Vega and Harry caught Hermione's arms and held her back.

"What?" Hermione asked defensively

"If you ask us," Harry said quietly. "McLaggen looks like he was Confunded this morning. And he was standing right in front of where you were sitting," Hermione blushed as she looked at them.

"Oh, all right then, I did it," Hermione whispered. "But you should have heard the way he was talking about Ron and Ginny! And Vega! Anyway, he's got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn't get in – you wouldn't have wanted someone like that on the team,"

"No," Harry responded. "No, I suppose that's true. But wasn't that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you're a prefect, aren't you?"

"Oh, be quiet," Hermione snapped, as Harry smirked.

"I'm starting to think that this isn't a good idea," Vega admitted. "I mean – I don't like McLaggen at all but it feels wrong to kick someone out with magic when we could ask him to leave if he continues with his unfriendly demeanour,"

"That would've taken a long time, Vega," Hermione pointed out. "And Ron wouldn't have tried for the team again after that – you know that,"

"But he's not going to be happy about this either," Vega replied. "You know he gets upset when we think that he can't do anything on his own,"

"Is that Aquila?" Harry asked.

Vega turned around to see outside the entrance doors and found Aquila flying over to them. She jogged to the entrance door and held out her arm to let him sit down, taking the letter that was attached to his leg, the writing giving away it was Fred.

"Thank you so much, Aquila," Vega said gratefully. "Do you want to come to dinner with me or do you want to head up to the Owlery?"

Aquila let her stroke his feathers before he flew off back into the air, and Vega waited until he had reached the Owlery tower before she turned to return into the Entrance Hall, looking down at the letter but deciding to leave it until later – she was sure that she wouldn't want to be all strange in front of her friends while she was reading the letter.

"What are you two doing?" Ron demanded, reappearing in the doorway to the Great Hall and looking suspicious, and Vega looked up to find Harry and Hermione waiting for her.

"Nothing," Harry and Hermione replied together, and as Vega joined them, the three of them hurried after Ron, who suddenly very interesting to Vega.

The smell of roast beef made Vega look very much forward to dinner, but the group of them had barely taken three steps toward the Gryffindor table when Professor Slughorn appeared in front of them, blocking their path, much to her dismay.

"Harry and Vega – just the two I was hoping to see!" Slughorn boomed genially, twiddling the ends of his walrus moustache and puffing out his enormous belly. "I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We're having a little party, just a few rising stars, I've got McLaggen coming and Zabini, the charming Melinda Bobbin – I don't know whether you know her? Her family owns a large chain of apothecaries – and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger will favour me by coming too,"

Slughorn made both the girls, Vega and Hermione, a little bow as he finished speaking. It was as though Ron was not present; Slughorn did not so much as look at him. Vega bit her lower lip, not having any dinner parties in any of her schedules.