May the Best Man Win |×| Fred Weasley | 1 |×|

×| TWENTY - SIX |×

"SILENCE!" Snape exploded, marching over to Roger's desk and pulling him down from the stool with His tie and clearing the mess of bubbles with a flick of his wand. Then, he stomped over to Where the boys were dying of laughter, and whacked each of them over the back of the head in turn, "Detention, all three of you." He spat before returning to the front of the class, his expression further soured, if that was even possible.

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"Bollocks" Evelyn cursed as she, Max and Nikki turned the corner from the potions classroom, padding at her pockets to check for something that wasn't there, "I've left my quill in the potions classroom."

"Shit," Max said, the three of them coming to a standstill at the side of the corridor.

"Want us to come and get it with you? So you don't have to face the wrath of Snape alone?" Nikki offered. Evelyn shook her head, grin returning to her face.

"No, it's alright. I'll meet you in the great hall for lunch afterwards." She told them. Max and Nikki nodded as Evelyn turned back towards the dungeons at a fast pace, eager to get to lunch before all the cheese and cucumber sandwiches were gone.

Most students had already passed through this part of the school in favour of the brighter, more friendly corridors and the great hall, so Evelyn didn't bother paying attention to where she was going as she skipped down to the potions rooms, still on an emotional high. All she needed was to quickly snatch up her missing eagle feather quill, give her apologies to professor Snape and then she'd be on her way back upstairs.

Lost in her idyllic, happy state of mind, she'd failed to notice that the corridor wasn't quite as clear as she originally thought.

One moment, she was skipping cheerfully through the dungeons.

The next, she had barrelled into something -or rather someone - and had ended up on the ground. Well, not really the ground. Whatever it was she had ran into was acting as a buffer between her body and the cold stone floor...

"Oh Evelyn, I know I'm irresistible but I never thought you'd actually fall for me." Evelyn could hear the grin in Fred's voice as she raised her head off of his chest, face burning in embarrassment.

"I- um- I'm sorry I was just-" she stuttered, determinedly looking anywhere but into Fred's eyes. Fred's chest was shaking with silent chuckles and Evelyn heard snickering behind her, undoubtedly that of George and Lee. She started to push herself off of him, intending to get away as soon as possible to avoid as much teasing as she could, when a hard something-or-other pressed into her thigh, causing her to stop in her tracks, "I- are you- is that- Fred I swear to Merlin-"

Fred started laughing harder.

"Relax," he told her between bursts of giggles, "it's just my knee."

Evelyn pressed her lips together and looked down, climbing off of him hastily and getting to her feet, mumbling apologies as she went. She cowered close to the wall, avoiding eye contact as  Fred jumped up from the ground easily and came to stand, grinning, in front of her. 

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Its just that I was going to lunch and I was just skipping along and the thought of a sandwich just sounded so good that I'd rushed out of the classroom without thinking about it and I was halfway to the great hall but then I remembered that I forgot-" Evelyn rambled, the words falling from her tongue clumsily until Fred interrupted her.

"Your quill. Yes, I know." he chuckled, reaching into his pocket and producing her missing eagle-feather, "Snape was growling at us and George saw it on your desk. Thought I'd bring it back to you so that Professor I-haven't-washed-my-hair-in-thirty-years didn't get on your case again."

He placed it in her hands and Evelyn mumbled an awkward thank you before making a weak attempt at excusing herself. she tried to slip away and head to lunch - those sandwiches were calling her name rather loudly now - but found her path blocked by George and Lee, both of whom smiled at her mischievously.

"what are you doing this Saturday, Evie?" George asked her, far too innocently for her liking. She narrowed her eyes as she replied.

"I have a date. It's valentines weekend in Hogsmead, or have you forgotten?"

"I'm perfectly aware of that fact. This is why, since you've clearly recovered from falling off your broomstick, I thought we'd meet for the next game whilst the castle is quieter."

"Guys, I've got a boyfriend who I'll be spending the day with." she told them with a shrug. Prior commitments had been made, she couldn't - wouldn't - be going back on that.

"aw come on!" Lee whined over-dramatically, "we already had to postpone because you fell off your broom."

"I'm sorry. We'll have to do it next week instead." Evelyn said. She watched as their faces fell - seemingly taken by genuine disappointment. George nodded, and Fred told her goodbye as Lee waved half-heartedly, then they started to walk away.

Evelyn stood still. Tuthfully, she'd been enjoying their games. It was a nice break from quidditch practices and studying for the O.W.L. exams. And the more that she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that surely she wouldn't spend the entire day on a date. She thought that might be rather tiring to anyone. There would almost certainly be time for she and Fred to do whatever it was the others had planned. Besides, she very much doubted Ethan would mind if she slipped away for an hour or two...

Making up her mind, Evelyn jogged down the corridor after them.

"Wait! Wait -" she called, coming up behind them and putting a hand on Fred's shoulder, pulling him round to face her. They smirked at her, all three of them, with raised eyebrows and widened eyes. Evelyn shook her head to clear it and looked back at them with a smile, "I'll do it."

Again, almost creepily and in a way Evelyn hadn't realised Lee could mirror, their faces split into grins.

"Excellent." Fred smiled at her.

"We'll come and find you when it's ready." George added.

"You'll love it." Lee finished, "see you later."

"Bye." The words had barely left her mouth, and then they had turned around, laughing and shoving each other playfully. Fred looked back over his shoulder once, and winked. Then he rejoined the tomfoolery without a second thought. Evelyn laughed and trailed on behind, craving that sandwich more than ever.