Monday morning Dolores Umbridge gave us all the cold shower we deserved. We had been far too happy this weekend, I thought. Something had to be coming. Ginny called me a pessimist but then Monday morning there was a sign, hanging on the notice board in the common. All groups and activities have been disbanded.
"Come on, let's find Harry," Ginny said rushing out of the portrait hole, the rest of us on her heels.
We spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione just as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Ginny and Neville rushed forward, and I rolled my eyes. Have these people never been part of a secret organization before?
"Did you see it?"
"D'you reckon she knows?"
"What are we going to do?"
I reached the group and hissed in a low voice. "Would you idiots act natural?! Sit down and eat breakfast. You look like you're up to something."
They all sat down around their friends then. I sat down beside George and started getting some breakfast onto both our plates as he stared at Harry.
"We're going to do it anyway, of course," Harry said quietly. I grinned.
"Knew you'd say that," George cheered.
"The prefects as well?" Fred eyed his brother and Hermione.
"Of course," Hermione said coolly. I sent her a smile and she winked at me.
"Here come Ernie and Hannah Abbott," Ron then announced. "And those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith... no one looks very spotty." I didn't understand what he meant with the last bit, but Hermione and I had the same fearful thought. I quickly jumped out of my seat and went over to the Hufflepuffs.
"Hey, Ernie, mind if I sit with you for breakfast?" I called sweetly, grabbing his and Hannah's arms before pulling them down to the Hufflepuff long table.
"Uh – Allie, right?" Ernie said looking at me with a confused look. I smiled brightly to him as Hannah looked around Ernie to me as well.
There were no Hufflepuffs seated close to us on the table, so it was relatively safe to talk.
"Hey sorry about that. Yeah, I'm Allie. Allie White."
"Ernie MacMillan."
"Hannah Abbott."
"Pleasure. Listen guys, that notice has everyone a little on edge, so best not to go up and talk to each other in big groups while teachers and others are present, all right?" I gestured my head slightly towards the staff table behind the two and they nodded.
"Great. So, we're still planning on meeting up. It's now officially become against school rules, so I understand if you –"
"No," Ernie interrupted me. "No, this is more important than some stupid rule she made up. We have to do this." Hannah nodded along, smiling at me.
"Okay great. So best course of action, don't approach anyone from the group. When we've decided on a meeting, we'll find you and inform you alright?"
"If someone asks you about the whereabouts of anyone from the group, you know nothing."
"Have you found a place for us to meet up yet?" Ernie whispered, leaning in a little too closely. I casually leaned my head a bit further away from him. "No, not yet, but Harry and them will inform us when they've got something, don't worry. As long as you're both still on board, that's all we need to know for now."
I reached for a satsuma from the fruit dish in front of me as they both nodded and went back to normal conversation. I joined in, chatting with them casually, when a throat cleared behind us.
We all turned around in alarm, but it was only Fred. He was glaring down at Ernie beside me. "Are you quite done here?" he asked gruffly.
"Yep, just wanted to catch up with my old friend Ernie here," I said back with a smile. His glare moved to me then.
"Good," he growled, yanking me off the bench by the arm. "Bye then, Ernie," he snarled, dragging me away with him. We passed George and the others at the Gryffindor table, all laughing at us. I rolled my eyes at Fred's caveman behaviour.
I tried to wriggle my arm free. Fred let go but tightly wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me away with him. I laughed at his antics.
"You know, you're cute when you're jealous, Sweet Pea," I chuckled, patting his chest.
"You are terrible at nicknames, Darling," he growled, leading me out of the Great Hall.
"Where exactly are we going?" I questioned him.
"Just somewhere a little more private so I can show you what you'd be missing out on if you flirt with the likes of Ernie again. You should know by now that I don't appreciate others flirting with my girl," he said his name in a disgusted manner. I faltered slightly at his words.
"Your - your girl?" He looked down at me then, a small smile replacing his hard expression.
"Well, just cause you're not my girlfriend yet doesn't mean you're not mine," he stated matter-of-factly. I grinned at his words. Yet. I'm glad he hasn't given up on me completely just because of my own commitment issues. I wrapped my arm around his waist as he started to head for the one-eyed witch statue.
"Lead the way, Sweet Pea."
★
I was sat, comforting Angelina with Alicia in the common room when Harry, Hermione and Ron entered. "No Quidditch practice," Angie said in a sorrowful tone as soon as they entered. Harry looked absolutely mortified.
"But I kept my temper!" he let out horrified. "I didn't say anything to her Angelina, I swear, I –"
"I know, I know," Angelina waved him off sadly. "She just said she needed a bit of time to consider." Her face became a scowl as she stared straight ahead.
"Consider what?" Ron barked, interrupting us. "She's given the Slytherins permission, why not us?"
I looked up at Harry then and it looked like he was having the same thought as me.
"Because now she has power over you," I explained.
"How d'you mean?" Alicia questioned.
"Now, all the Gryffindors who want a Quidditch team have to fall in line and be on their best behaviour, in hopes that she will reward you with what you desire. She's taken something from you so that you see it as a gift when she gives it back. Classic manipulation tactic."
"I'm not even going to ask where you got that sinister mind of yours," Angelina muttered, shaking her head.
I smiled to myself. Well, the deranged ex-Auror Mad-Eye Moody, of course, I thought to myself proudly.
"My life is over," Angie moaned.
"Aw... come here kitten," I opened my arms and she slumped against me for a hug. I patted her head, admiring her braid.
"You have amazing hair," I said out of the blue.
"Thanks, I grow it myself," she mumbled against my thigh where her face was currently buried, her voice monotone with a slight hint of sarcasm. I chuckled at her depressed state.
I could tell her that Quidditch wasn't everything, but I had a feeling that would do more damage than good.
To my face.
The twins appeared after a while accompanied by Lee and tried to help to lift her spirits.
"We have something that might cheer you up," George said knocking his leg against hers sitting beside her on the couch.
"Yeah, and what's that?" she mumbled.
"We finally perfected a sweet for our Skiving Snack-boxes," he cheered. She sat up and looked at him with a glum look.
"And why would that cheer me up?" she snarked, folding her arms across her chest.
I grinned and wrapped and arm around her shoulders. "Because you're about to get the satisfaction of watching Georgie boy and Freddie here projectile vomit," I told her.
"Okay, that does actually sound fun," she sent a smirk at George who glared at her, flicking her hair in her face.
The demonstration was in full swing as people cheered them on now. Even Angie had a smile on her face. I screwed my face up in disgust each time one of them vomited and wasn't enjoying the show as much as everyone else.
Fred came towards me with a smile after he had successfully swallowed the stop-the-vomit part of their sweet. He leaned down to my face, but I held up my hand to stop him.
"I don't think so, Puky McPukerson," I retorted. "Brush your teeth, maybe then we can talk."
He pouted at me, but it wasn't worth the effort. No way was he sticking his tongue in my mouth after he had just been throwing up. I went over to the other corner and joined Hermione, Harry and Ron as they sat trying to do their schoolwork.
Ginny quickly came out of the crowd, sat on her knees before me, and pulled out her ponytail.
I automatically split her hair into two parts as I started braiding her hair, making the split go down the middle of her head so I could make to equal ones on either side. We sat in silence with the others as they worked.
Hermione huffed and dropped her quill onto her parchment. "You know, if you told him to stop, he probably would," she told me eagerly.
I laughed. "Maybe he would. But he's making gold right now and I want diamonds for Christmas," I joked, making Ginny giggle in front of me.
Hermione let out another annoyed huff and started on her schoolwork again.
Fred came over after a while when the demonstration was over, placing a hand on each of the armrests of my chair boxing me in.
I ignored he and continued playing with Ginny's hair. He moved his face to my direct eyeline, pouting at me.
"Yes?" I questioned him.
"I've brushed my teeth now. No vomit residue whatsoever," he said smiling.
"Charming," I said flatly, letting Ginny move out of the way seeing as Fred was hovering over her.
She sat down in the chair beside Hermione, still watching us with a smile.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Hey Fred?" she called.
"Yeah?" he didn't turn to look at her, still staring at me with a hopeful look, wearing a playful grin. George and Lee came over now too, watching Ginny.
"So, who kissed who first?" she asked innocently. She had asked me this before, but I had refused to answer her then as well. She was up to something. Fred furrowed his brows and looked around at his sister.
"What? Why do you want to know that?" he asked confused. I narrowed my eyes at Ginny. Ron, Hermione and Harry had abandoned their homework now too and were watching Ginny.
"Just curious", she said with a smile. "Yeah," George chimed in. "I wanna know too. I couldn't tell when I caught the two of you," he said with a wide grin.
Fred now released the armrests of my chair and stood, facing his brother and sister. "Why do you want to know that?"
"Just curious," they repeated.
"Allie kissed Fred." Came a voice from across the room. We all turned to see Amelia painting Lucy's nails on a couch across the room.
Amelia turned to look at us with a smile. "Well, didn't you?" she asked me. "Well... Yeah, but that doesn't explain why they want to know," I gestured to the two miscreants before turning back to them.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight, though. Ginny was bouncing in her chair happily as George groaned beside her.
He then pulled two Sickles out of his pocket and placed them regrettably in Ginny's open hand.
"What's going on?" Fred asked, crossing his arms at the same time as me.
"I bet George two Sickles that you would be the one to grow a pair, but George had fate in his dear twin that he would confess that he liked you and finally kiss you."
We looked at each other, before looking back at the two. "Then he only owes you one Sickle," Fred announced.
"What?" Ginny looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"
"Because I did tell her how I felt and then she kissed me in response," he said proudly. "Uh... correction, you screamed how you felt", I glared at him. "Don't give me that look you screamed at me too, remember?" he defended.
I pursed my lips and looked at Ginny.
"I don't understand why people say, 'grow a pair'," Angelina chimed in from her chair. "Balls are weak and vulnerable. You should grow a vagina. Those can take a goddamn pounding."
I turned to her with a proud look. "Stop it. You're going to make me fall in love with you," Lucy exclaimed, pretending to swoon in her seat as she looked at Angie with a dopey smile. George was staring at Angelina in admiration too, completely awestruck. I smiled at him.
Well who would've thought. I turned to Fred and he had been watching his brother too. We both grinned at each other, coming to the same conclusion, before I turned back to Ginny.
"I think it's time for bed, Sweets. And I'll tell you a dangerous tale about how bad betting is for you."
She got up and walked to the dorms with me.
"But I didn't get my kiss!" Fred called after me.
"Oh no, I forgot," I said turning around with a shocked expression. This made a smile spread over his face as he stepped towards me.
"Oh well," I shrugged, heading up the stairs.
"You're a wicked woman, White!"
I stopped and turned around to look at him.
"Night Freddie," I whispered for only him to hear.
He grinned back at me. "Night, Darling," he responded with a wink.
★
It had been a long, grey, wet day. We were sitting at the long table for dinner, the enchanted ceiling above showing us what the sky outside looked like, and it wasn't a pleasant sight.
"Hey, Allie!" a cheerful voice called behind me. I turned to see Clara standing behind me.
"Oh, hey Clara. What's up?" I smiled. She sat down facing the wrong way on the bench beside me. "So, I noticed you're really good in Transfiguration and I was hoping you would want to study together some time. I feel like I'm falling behind a bit this year so some extra help would really be great. What do you say?"
I smiled politely. "Um... sure. Why not. Wanna meet up after classes tomorrow?" I don't know what she's up to, but I don't trust her. Well, I barely trust anyone. My new friends are part of a select few.
"Perfect! Library before dinner then?" "Yeah, sounds good."
Just then, Fred, George and Lee joined us. Clara turned around as Fred stepped behind me and shot him a dazzling smile. "Hi Fred! Hey guys," she said brightly, greeting them.
"Hey, Walker," he nodded back before bending down and kissing my cheek. "And hello to you, beautiful." I rolled my eyes at him. "Too cheesy to handle there, Weasley," I teased him.
I turned to Clara again and she was chatting with George and Lee, before turning back to me. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Allie." And she got up and went back to her table.
"Why will she see you tomorrow?" Fred questioned, taking her old place beside me.
"Allie's got a date with Walker tomorrow," Lucy teased from across the table making Fred look at me in horror. "Oh, Merlin, she's kidding. Relax," I shook my head at him. "She asked me if we could study together."
"Sounds like a date to me," George piled on. I shot him a glare. Not helping. He just winked back. Fred nodded vigorously, narrowing his eyes at me. "Are you seriously going to get jealous because I'm studying with a girl tomorrow?"
"All alone... in a dark corner in the library... anything could happen. Heck, I've done it," Lucy continued. I shot her a glare. "You're not helping." "Wasn't trying to," she shrugged. "What great friends I've got," I muttered to myself.
Fred went to protest again but Angelina interrupted him as she reached us.
"Seeing as I've cancelled Quidditch for the day, Harry's decided to have the first meeting tonight," she whispered as she down.
"What do you think he's going to teach us first?" Alicia said eagerly. They were all whispering about it when Lucy interrupted. "I don't trust her," she directed to me in a low voice, glaring past my shoulder at the Ravenclaw table. "You don't trust anyone, dear," Amelia giggled at her.
"Clara? She's harmless. What'd you mean?" George questioned her.
"I don't know. She's up to something. I can smell it," she said mysteriously. "You're worse than me," I laughed at her. I think this is why I got along with Lucy so well. We were incredibly similar.
"I agree with Lucy," Fred said. I stared blankly at him. "I'm gonna go snog a girl now just because you're pissing me off."
"Mommy, Daddy, stop it! Can't you see your fighting is tearing this family apart?" Lucy cried dramatically, making us all laugh.
"Lucy, you ever heard of 'keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer'?" I raised a mischievous brow at her. She shot me a proud smile. "I knew there was a reason I liked you," she winked back.
Angelina informed us that Harry told her to spread the word, so she asked us to tell the ones we saw along the way as well.
I grinned to myself and started getting up from the table. "I'll go inform the Hufflepuff's," I said casually.
Fred grabbed my arm and pulled me down to my seat again. "I think not," he said with a glare.
"But Freddie. They need to know when and where we're going to meet too, don't they?" I tried innocently.
"Yeah, so? Amelia can tell them. Hell, George can tell them for all I care." He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Why do you want to inform them? Miss your friend, Ernie, already?" I rolled my eyes at his childishness.
"Oh, honestly, you're too easy," I giggled, leaning in and giving him a proper kiss. When I pulled away, he just looked at me with a dopey grin as I went back to eating. He scooted a little closer to me on the bench, resting his hand on my thigh.
"What would you be saying if I was running around, chatting up girls?" he challenged in a whisper, making our conversation private from our friends now.
"I wouldn't say anything," I said coolly. I turned and smirked at him. "But neither would the girls you'd been talking to. Ever again."
He sent me a brilliant smile at that.
★
A/N:
Disclaimer: Every and all gifs I post are not at my property. I find most of them, if not all, on Pinterest. That being said, here is todays Gif, lol.
Also, most of the Gifs I find of Adelaide (AKA Allie) are from the shows Reign and Teen Wolf.
If you haven't watched either I HIGHLY recommend them both!
GIF: Allie rejecting Fred's kiss.
– ACE
♥