First Love, Last Love (Fred Weasley)

Chapter 39 | June, Please Be Good

Friday, April 10
"Well, my owl is a bit sick, but he's fine. Mmm, the third task is happening sometime in June, I believe. What else is exciting about today?" You put a finger on your chin. Really nothing has been happening in your overly dramatic life.

Your mom just chuckled. "It's okay if you don't have anything to tell me. Life can get boring, I get it."

You were chatting with your mom about your day, which, obviously was a very short chat.

You had just bought graham crackers from the lounge. You saw Reuben again and talked to him for a long time, but other than that, this was the first time here that wasn't so intense.

It was nice actually. You could catch up with your mom without some sort of secret hanging over your head.

The visit lasted longer than you expected. When Dumbledore took you home it was past 6:30, but you were tired. And starving. Immediately, you headed to the Great Hall to eat.

The more visits you had, the more suspicious your friends were. Hermione, of course, already knew, but you could trust her. Fred didn't know, neither did George or anyone else.

As you got to the Gryffindor table, Fred was already almost done, but he stayed for you. "Howdy," you said when you took a seat next to him.

"Hey." He narrowed his eyes. "Where were you?"

"Detention," you responded, pretending to be bored.

"Mm." Why didn't he seem to believe you? Did you seem happy about it? Whatever it was, he didn't say anything else. Just looked at you.

"What did you do while I was gone?"

He put his thumb to his lips. "Enjoyed the peace and quiet."

"Oh, whatever." You grinned. "You act more like a child." You laid your head on his shoulder and yawned.

He smirked at the affectionate and tired gesture. "I'm a child and you're a baby. It's past your bedtime."

You stuck your bottom lip out and pouted. "No."

He patted your head gently. You continued to eat your dinner, which consisted of lamb stew and rolls. Yum.

After dinner, Fred walked you to the common room, correctly assuming you were too exhausted to go anywhere else. You lied down on the couch, enjoying it's warmth and comfort. Fred lifted up your head to sit down and put it on his lap.

Immediately, you curled up beside him and closed your eyes. Fred grinned, unbeknownst to you.

Several minutes later, you fell asleep for the whole night. Fred didn't dare move away, so he fell asleep there, too. Neither of you bothered to change into your pajamas.

~~~~
The next few weeks went by in a blur. Since there was no one there to sabotage you, you could forget about the whole situation... For now.

By the next visit to your Mom's, you were very relaxed. Most of your time was spent with Fred and Hermione, or with your homework. You still had an awful amount of homework, but somehow, it seemed more bearable.

Still, you couldn't ignore the tiny bad feeling you had about the end of the year. It was May now, and that meant the end was drawing near.

It seemed like everyone was quieting down for the third task. It was just a matter of time, and everyone anticipated it.

Also, there were the O.W.L's soon. Apparently, if you take them and get an excellent score on specific ones, you can get a specific profession. Hopefully all the summer schooling you'll have to do will allow you to take an O.W.L next year.

Honestly, your schooling was so whacked you weren't sure if you could take the O.W.L's. You hoped you could. The school can't possibly take that away from you.

While everyone else is doing their O.W.L's, you were required to stay in the same room as them. You didn't have to take the test, but you did have to work on some other test. It was just as intense, except it didn't provide you a job.

Your exceedingly increasing homework was dropped as students took their O.W.L's. You assumed it's because the teachers believed they had enough to worry about.

Fred envied your lack of participation. "You're lucky you don't have to take this test," he once told you.

"Yeah," George agreed. "It's truly a nightmare."

You rolled your eyes. "I wish I could take the test, you know, like a normal student." You wrinkled your nose. "I hear students whispering about 'the incompetent new girl who can't even take an O.W.L.'"

Fred and George just shrugged. "Forget them," George said.

"They're all nightmares themselves."

"Though, I'm sure McLaggen wouldn't dare say a word against you." George grinned.

"Oh, Merlin," you muttered.

"You really frightened him. But it's okay, we won't tell."

"Not a soul."

You rolled your eyes and, leaving the twins, you went upstairs to the girl's dormitory to tell Hermione of your feelings about the O.W.L.s.

Even though she made you feel better by assuring the school would let you take it eventually, you were still bothered. Not just by the test, but by the school year in general.

Was anyone else worried as well?

You asked Hermione and she said she didn't know. Fred, however, agreed with you. But then he said he felt that about every year (and then of course he muttered something about feeling that way when Ron joined the school).

Whatever the reason, the feeling wouldn't go away. You just had to deal with the apprehension until school was over.

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Published 5-1-20