Not Like You Planned

Chapter 19

*~*

“Well what now?” George asked, leaning back against the armchair. Merope, Lee, George, and Fred had just got finished playing their fifth game of Exploding Snap. Merope had lost all five games. She was a bit sulky, unable to get the gist of it. Finally, she changed her objective of the game. Her new goal? Beat George. She’d only done so a couple of times, both to George’s great annoyance as he believed himself to be a master at it. 

“Well I heard Hermione went to the party with McLaggen,” Lee said. Fred snorted. Merope looked at him in confusion.

“He’s a git,” Fred explained. Merope nodded. 

“Well Potter’s going with Lovegood,” George said. 

“She’s nice…just a big-“ Fred said. 

“Loony,” Fred and Geroge said together. 

“Ravenclaw right?” Meorpe asked, looking around the circle. 

“Yep,” Lee confirmed, playing with the smoking deck. “Really smart, just loony.”

“So where’s Ron?” Merope asked, leaning against Fred’s legs. 

“He and Lavender snuck out of here earlier. Good riddance too,” George snorted. 

“Darn right mate! I thought he as going to suck her face off from all the slurping sounds!” Lee said, miming a plunger being attached to his face. 

“Well have you heard these two?” George asked, pointing at Merope and Fred. Fred chuckled. 

“Well we’re going upstairs, so if you don’t want to listen then stay down here,” he said, grinning. Merope laughed at George and Lee’s disgusted looks. 

“Oh don’t look like that. If you two had girls you would do the same,” Merope chuckled. 

The two looked at each other and shrugged. 

“Right.”

“Touche.”

“Actually…I might go and see what Angelina’s up to,” George said, a sly smile on his face. The group laughed as he stood up and walked away. 

“So you guys going to leave me all alone?” Lee asked, sticking his bottom lip out and making puppy dog eyes. 

Fred laughed. “Hell yes. Unless you’d rather us get hot and heavy in front of you,” he teased. Lee stood up quickly. 

“Thanks for the offer but I got enough of that form the last time,” he said, walking away. The common room was fairly empty, save for a few people sitting and talking, a few reading. One lone couple kissed passionately by the fire. 

“I think they have the right idea,” Fred said, his knee shifting so Merope’s back slipped off. She righted herself and turned around, leaning against the side of the couch between his legs and looking up at him. 

His hair was perfectly shaggy, making Merope want to run her hands through it. His freckles were slightly visible in the firelight, eyes sparkling, making the blue look smokey. 

Merope licked her lips subtly to wet them and swallowed, wanting to get upstairs even faster than before. 

“My room,” she said, standing up. Fred stood up as well, his arm wrapping around her waist. 

“Yes ma’am,” Fred said quietly, walking with her up the stairs. Merope was glad they didn’t turn into a slide. Ginny had told her about it and Merope assumed it was because she was with the guy in question.