The Lost Daughter

Chapter Nine

Before they knew it, the night before they had to go back to school came. All of the students, except Percy who spent most of his time in his room, were sitting by the fire, working on their holiday homework assignments. As usual, Elle had finished her assignments early during the break and was fixing mistakes on Fred and George's essays.

Mrs. Weasley came downstairs to tell Ginny it was time for bed. Ginny muttered under her breath about how she always had to go to bed earlier than everyone else as she stomped up the stairs.

Elle finished editing George's essay and handed it back to him. "Honestly what would we do without you, Elle?" asked George.

"You'd probably try harder and do just fine on your own," teased Elle.

"You're probably right, but what's the fun in that when we have you?" George teased. Then he stood up and said, "I need to start packing."

George bounded up the stairs, and this was now Fred and Elle's first time alone together since their kiss on Christmas Eve. Pushing down the butterflies that began to form in her stomach, Elle picked up her quill and started fixing Fred's Transfiguration essay.

The only sounds to be heard were the scratching of Elle's quill on parchment and the crackling of the fire. Elle was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, using the coffee table as her table. From up on the couch, Fred watched her curiously. He noticed how she tucked her hair behind her ear when she finished each section of his essay and how she bit her lip when she was thinking really hard.

Fred thought back on the week and smiled and the funny memories he, George, and Elle had made. On the day after Christmas, they had pranked Percy by setting off instant darkness powder, a new product design, while he was in the middle of a shower. Percy shouted and came running out of the bathroom, saying he had gotten soap in his eyes. He chased them down the stairs and slipped on the kitchen floor, giving them time to escape outside. Elle, George, and Fred ran far into the yard to escape Percy's wrath, and collapsed in the snow, laughing until their sides hurt.

There was also the time when they were forced to help their mom make Christmas cookies and Elle smeared melted chocolate all over George's face. Her giggles soon turned to screams when George started chasing her around the kitchen with their mom screaming, "Be careful! Don't hurt her!"

George cornered Elle and caught her in his arms. Fred came over with the melted chocolate bowl and covered Elle's cheeks and nose in chocolate like she had done to George.

Fred was looking at Elle's eyelashes as she worked on his essay, remembering how he had to help her get the chocolate out of them. Soon, Elle finished editing Fred's assignment, and she sensed his eyes on her. She peeked up at him and found that she was right. He was staring at her.

Fred watched Elle make the cutest pout before saying, "Fixing both of your horrendous essays has given me a headache."

"One, they weren't horrendous. Just below average. And two, do you want something from the cabinet? We have potions to help with that." Fred offered.

"Yes please," Elle grinned. She liked being taken care of by Fred. It was a side of him she had never gotten to experience before this holiday break. First he carried her to bed, and now he was offering to get her a potion for her headache. What next?

Fred motioned for her to follow him to the kitchen. The kitchen was bathed in moonlight, which allowed Elle to admire Fred's muscles as he reached into an upper cabinet for a small mint-colored vial. He poured a small amount into a spoon for Elle to take and brought it to her. Elle took the spoon and drank the solution, surprised that it tasted like peppermint.

"I wanted to thank you for the tickets, Elle. I'm not sure how much they cost, but I know it wasn't cheap... Anyways I just wanted to make sure you knew George and I are really excited to go." Fred said.

"Don't worry about how much it cost, I was just happy to find tickets for you guys," Elle replied.

"Feel better?" Fred asked, realizing he was close enough to smell her perfume again.

Elle was very aware that she was in very close proximity to Fred. She felt her heart race as she replied, "Much." Then, to her dismay, he walked into the living room and grabbed his essay from the coffee table.

"Thanks for editing my essay, and thanks again for the tickets. I'll see you tomorrow!" said Fred before walking up the stairs and out of sight.

Elle heard him close his door and put her head in her hands. She wondered if everything she had thought was happening between them was a lie. "Was the only reason he kissed me because he had too much to drink?" Elle wondered.

Embarrassed for thinking Fred had feelings for her, she cleaned and put away the spoon, placed the potion bottle back in the cabinet, gathered her things, and went to her room. As she lay in bed, she shed a tear thinking about how ridiculous she was to have let herself catch feelings for her best friend.

Down the hall, Fred was sitting in bed running his hands roughly through his hair. He was upset with himself for leaving her like that. He knew he should have kissed her again, but he wasn't as sure of himself as he was the week before. He liked her so much but didn't think a girl like Elle would ever like someone like him. But as he sat in his bed, he was furious with himself and wished he could go back in time and do it all over.