Unreal

Chp 100.5 Through the Pages

I groaned, trying to tug my hand free, but he just laughed and kept walking with me toward the table like he owned the place.

Sure enough, Luna was already there, a dreamy smile in place as she greeted us. "Ah. You've brought your shadow along today, Aeris."

Fred looked like he might actually take that as a compliment. I snorted softly, shaking my head as I sat down beside her.

As I reached for a serving spoon, Fred was already loading his plate too. "So," he said casually, "where've you been? You've skipped class again."

"I was busy."

He gasped dramatically, clutching at his chest. "Busy? And you're not going to tell me? Unbelievable. Betrayal of the highest order."

"It's for the Task again," I said around a bite of roast potato, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal.

That shut him up for a second. He set down his fork, leaning in slightly. "You know I'll help you. Always."

My mind betrayed me instantly with a vivid memory: the two of us meant to be studying—him sprawled in my desk chair, me sitting cross-legged on my bed—and how the whole thing dissolved into a snogging session that had nothing to do with textbook chapters. Yeah... no. Not the best track record for productivity.

"It's fine," I said quickly, forcing a small smile. "I've got this."

He didn't look convinced. His eyes searched mine, his hand sliding to rest on my waist again in a quiet, grounding touch. Heat crept up my neck, and I focused far too intently on my plate.

We went back to eating, the rest of the Hall's noise wrapping around us like a blanket.

Luna had been quietly nibbling on a biscuit, reading The Quibbler upside down like that was the most normal thing in the world, when she suddenly looked up mid-chew.
"You know," she said dreamily, "pudding tastes better if you hum while eating it. It confuses the nargles."

Fred froze with a fork halfway to his mouth, eyebrows raised like she'd just revealed some top-secret Ministry intel.
"Humming? While eating pudding?" He turned to me with the most serious face imaginable. "Right. We're doing this at dessert. I need to know if I've been depriving myself of peak pudding flavor my entire life."

I gave him a look. "Fred, if you hum while eating, you're just going to choke."

"That's the risk you take for greatness," he said solemnly, pointing at me with his fork. "History favors the bold. And the pudding enthusiasts."

Luna nodded like he'd just said something deeply profound. "Exactly. People underestimate the magic in vibrations. I once hummed during breakfast and accidentally made my spoon float for three seconds."

Fred gasped—actually gasped—like she'd just admitted to saving a baby from a burning building. "And here I thought you were just an ordinary Ravenclaw. You're hiding world-changing skills."

I shook my head, spooning mashed potatoes onto my plate. "Yes, because floating cutlery is definitely going to save the world."

"Don't mock the cutlery," Fred said gravely, leaning in like this was a confidential briefing. "One day, when your fork stages a revolt, you'll wish you'd listened to Luna."

"I'll remember that," I deadpanned. "First the Goblet of Fire, then... the Great Fork Uprising."

Luna tilted her head, perfectly serious. "It wouldn't be all forks, just the rebellious ones. The salad forks are usually more patient."

Fred blinked, looking genuinely intrigued. "You think they've got factions?"

"Oh, absolutely," Luna replied. "Spoons are pacifists. Unless they're soup spoons—those can be quite aggressive."