Love Triangle

Dumbledore's Army

"Why?" Some Ravenclaw kid asked in a sharp tone.

Ron narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosser."

"Says him," The kid grumbled, throwing a look at Harry.

I rolled my eyes and sarcastically replied, "Yeah, why on earth should we trust the kid who saved your skin and all of Hogwarts three years ago by killing the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets."

"With the sword in Dumbledore's office," Ginny confirmed. "It's true."

"And he saved the Sorcerer's Stone first year!" Neville Longbottom added eagerly.

Ron said, "And in third year, he fought off a whole army of dementors with the Patronus Charm."

"Blimey, Harry!" Dean Thomas murmured in shock. "I didn't know you could produce a Patronus Charm."

"And last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who." Hermione finally said. Some students exchanged dubious looks, but others anxiously leaned forward, waiting to hear more.

"Wait!" Harry interrupted, "I mean, it all sounds great when you bunch it together like that, but the truth is that most of that was just luck... and I nearly always had help."

"He's just being modest," Hermione insisted.

Harry shook his head, "No, I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life isn't like school. In school, if you mess something up, you can try again tomorrow... but out there when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes..." Harry frowned. "You don't know what that's like."

Harry sat down, not looking up to meet the many pairs of eyes watching him.

"You're right Harry, we don't. That is exactly why we need your help." Hermione told him gently. "We need to know what it's really like if we're ever going to defeat him... V-Voldemort."

A few students winced at the name, but one younger child asked, "Is... is he really back?"

Harry nodded.

I felt the tension slowly ease out of the room and be replaced with eagerness. Even including the doubtful students, no one in that room liked Umbridge or wanted the You-Know-Who to rise again. So when Hermione asked everyone to sign their names to make it official, the students began to line up.

After George and I signed our names, we headed out the door. As we were walking back to the castle, a ball of snow suddenly smacked against George's head, causing him to stumble forward a few steps.When I turned around to see who hit him, I was faced with his twin.

"Bloody hell," Fred gasped, bending over as he put his hands on his knees. "I was chasing you two ever since you left the Hog's Head. Didn't you hear me shouting at you!"

"No," George grumbled back as he rubbed his head.

Fred shot his brother a dirty look, his eyes hard and angry. Honestly, I've never seen Fred look truly mad. His natural reactions to something that would anger a normal person ranged between sarcasm and revenge. However, the look on his face was more than annoyance.

"Well?" Fred demanded.

George stared at him, utterly confused, and asked, "Well what?"

"Where the bloody hell have you two been?" Fred asked, his voice colder than the chilly October air. "I mean, I haven't seen you in weeks! What? Did you two start dating and decide to ditch me?"

"We're not dating..." I muttered quietly.

Fred stared at me, "Then why have you been avoiding me like the plague?"

"I haven't—"

"Don't lie to me, Nix!" Fred retorted bitterly.

"We're allowed to have separate lives!" I hissed at him. "Or is it only you that's allowed to be with other people?" At this point, I had marched up to him, my hands curled into fists and just itching to smack him. This was the closet I'd been to Fred in weeks, and yet I'd never before felt further away from him. In all our years of friendship, we hadn't had one single fight that resulted in anything more deadly than a revenge prank. However, everything that we once were was burning to ashes; I could feel it. "Remember when you started dating your precious Angelina? We hardly saw you for a month!"

"Nixie..." He mumbled, taken back by my outburst.

I shook my head, "You're a git, Fred Weasley, a foolish, self-centered git!"

Before he could reply, I turned around and sprinted back to the castle, ignoring George's protests. I wouldn't let either of them see me cry.