a/n
i'm so sorry for the inconsistent updates you guys :( school is kicking my ass rn
anyways, enjoy the chapter and thank you all so much for reading!! ily
~ Evelyn ~
Hogwarts is in a frenzy during the time leading up to winter break, each and every room filled with stressed-out students trying to study for all of their tests and finish all of their papers that just had to be due the Friday before break starts, but once it's time to go home, Evelyn finds that she doesn't mind having had to go through that week of hell to get there. Sure, Hogwarts' beauty has become even more apparent than usual when that gorgeous blanket of bright white snow took it over, but she's ready to go home.
The train ride had been mostly tame, 90% of the students sleeping inside of their carriages in order to make up for all of the sleep that they'd missed over the last week. Evelyn can't sleep though, much too antsy to finally return home for a bit, and is practically on the edge of her seat when the train pulls to a very loud stop at Kings Cross.
She runs -- as fast as she can with her luggage -- to her mom's car, the old, rusty, red thing bringing a sense of familiarity that only childhood things can bring. Her mom is looking at something outside of the window while Evelyn makes her way to the car, but when she sees her daughter, her face breaks out into an impossibly wide smile and she immediately climbs outside of the car.
"Hi honey," she says warmly, a bright smile still stretched across her face. She opens her arms for a hug when Evelyn sets her bags down.
Evelyn immediately tugs her mom into a tight embrace. "Hi, mom," she says into her hair. "No Dad?" she asks when she pulls back.
Her mom shakes her head. "He's stuck at work, but he should be home in a couple of hours."
Evelyn nods and picks up her things, lugging them around the car and into the trunk.
When they're both settled into the two front seats, her mom turns to her with an eager smile instead of starting the car. "You need to tell me absolutely everything about Hogwarts."
Evelyn laughs. "I'll tell you on the way back. Let's get going."
Her mom rolls her eyes but gives in, starting to drive the route home while Evelyn tells her all about the beginning of her year.
~~~~~~~~~~
It doesn't take long to get settled back in at home. Like Hogwarts, her hometown is covered in a layer of that light, fluffy snow that looks straight out of a Christmas movie. She would love to just look at the snow from a distance, her aversion to the biting, cold flakes that fall from the sky not a secret, but her mother has other ideas. Her mother has a lot of ideas, apparently, each centered around her dream of the 'family time' that she seems to want so much now that Evelyn and her brother are home. The family's days are filled to the brim with holiday spirit; there are Christmas cookie bakes, pictures containing far too many matching pajamas, and a terribly built snowman with a baby carrot for a nose.
Evelyn loves her family, don't get her wrong, but the extent to which her mom wants them all to hang out is a bit much. That's why she's a bit happy when the holiday finally passes, the morning outdoing every other single thing her mother had planned. She'd never think that she would be admitting happiness to Christmas being over, but she just wants to have some time to herself in her hometown.
She's enjoying said alone time in her bedroom on the 27th of December when her mom yells, "Evelyn!" up the stairs.
She rolls her eyes and tosses her book face down on her bed, inwardly groaning at the interruption. She hopes her mom hasn't come up with something else for them all to do together, some sort of New Years Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve celebration or something.
"Yeah?" she yells back down, not bothering to get off of her bed or open the door for her mother to hear her better.
"One of your friends from school is here!" her mother yells back up the stairs.
She frowns and sits up in her bed. Who would be visiting her? She had told Ginny that she thought they lived near each other (she knew that they did, really), but she'd never told her her address.
She leaves her room, frown ever-present on her face, and quickly jogs down the stairs to see who is at the front door. Her mom is holding open the door and standing in front of it, obstructing her view of the entryway, so she can't see anything other than her mother laughing at something they say.
She can't say that she's all that surprised when she walks up to see Fred on the other side of the door, but she still acts like she is. "Fred?" she asks while folding her arms over her chest. She's only dressed in pajama pants and a big t-shirt, so the wind from outside is cold against the skin of her bare arms.
Fred gives an awkward smile and waves. "Hey, Ev." He'd obviously dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of snow pants, a big jacket, and a beanie.
Her mom turns to her, a curious smile on her face. "Why haven't you told me about Fred, Evelyn? He tells me that you two are quite close."
Evelyn shoots Fred a look before giving her mom a fake smile. "I have. I told you that Ginny has older brothers, remember?"
Her mom rolls her eyes. "Well, yes, but you didn't tell me that you were friends with one of them. I told you to tell me everything," she says with a teasing wave of her finger.
Evelyn just laughs. She normally loves how open she can be with her mom. She loves that she can tell her everything, whether it's drinking at parties or hooking up with boys (which her mom bought her birth control for), but she doesn't appreciate it much in moments like these.
"You don't talk about me, Ev?" Fred asks with mock offense, holding a hand over his chest. "I'm wounded."
Her mom laughs, seemingly charmed by Fred. "Well, I'll let you kids catch up. I expect to be hearing more about you later," she tells Fred with a dramatic point of her finger.
Fred laughs that typical, adult-appeasing laugh that she's seen him use with his teachers one too many times. "I hope you do."
Evelyn waits until her mom leaves the room before she turns to Fred, a glare ready and loaded on her face. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hisses at him.
He is unphased. "I wanted to see if you want to hang out." He leans against the doorframe with one foot kicked behind the other, because of course he does.
She crosses her arms tighter around her chest and looks down to her feet, shaking her head with a frown still tense on her face. "No, Fred. I don't want to hang out," she says to the floor.
She can hear him sigh. "I thought you said that we could be friends. Friends hang out."
She doesn't uncross her arms from her chest when she looks up at him. He looks genuine, his face showing no signs of other motives, but she still doesn't fully trust him.
Maybe it's not that she doesn't trust him, but that she doesn't trust herself around him, but that doesn't matter much. She knows that if they spend time together in the place that they fell in love in the first place, something is bound to happen. She's confused enough about her feelings, she doesn't need to add anything more.
"I don't know, Fred," she says warily, shaking her head again. "I don't think it's a good idea."
"Why?" he asks, a genuine frown on his face. They hold eye contact for a long moment, Fred urging Evelyn to give him a reason and Evelyn urging Fred to give up. It's Fred who breaks eye contact first to speak, but he still doesn't give up. "I promise to keep my hands to myself and to keep the flirting to a minimum." He says it with a cheeky smile that sends involuntary butterflies down to her stomach.
She hesitates, but she already can feel the 'yes' on the tip of her tongue. She's been too bored to spend another day stuck in her house, and Fred brings up too many positive emotions in her to say no.
She makes a big show of giving in, rolling her eyes and sighing as if agreeing is the biggest inconvenience in the world. "Fine. Give me a minute to get ready."
Fred's fist pump of victory doesn't make her smile a wide, goofy smile. It doesn't.
Evelyn makes Fred wait outside while she gets ready. She doesn't need him bonding with her mom any more than he already has.
She changes out of her pajamas into some of her old white ski pants and a green jacket, throwing on a few layers underneath to keep her warm. She quickly puts her hair into some pigtail braids and throws a beanie over the top of it, sliding on some gloves to match. She hopes that it will be warm enough. She absolutely hates the cold.
Fred greets her with a smile when she steps out of the door, his hands deep inside his pockets. "Ready?" he asks, much too eager.
Evelyn grimaces and nods, walking out in front of him. It takes way too much effort to lift her feet out of the deep snow for every single one of her footsteps, compacting it down with a fresh footprint as she trails onward.
It is a beautiful day, she can admit it. It's not that she doesn't like looking at snow, she really does, she's just had too many experiences of her brother shoving snow down the front of her shirt for it to bring her any good memories.
The sky is bright blue, contrasting the blinding white of the snow, and the sun on her face actually helps the chill that had been constantly traveling down her spine. It's like one of those days that you only see on postcards, much too perfect to be seen in real life.
"Where are we going?" she asks, not turning to see if Fred is following her.
"Thought we could go to that spot by the pond, it'll be frozen over by now," Fred says, much too casually considering the fact that he's saying that he wants to go to their spot.
Your old spot, her brain reminds her.
She pauses her footsteps and turns to look at him, a blank look on her face. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
He hasn't stopped walking, and he doesn't stop until he's standing directly in front of her, much too close for comfort.
"Why?" he asks, his breath turning to fog in the cold air. "Do you have a better idea?"
She doesn't know if it's the close proximity fucking with her head or the fact that she really doesn't have a better idea that makes her shake her head no.
He smiles, appeased. "Great. Let's go, then."
They walk side by side silently, only the sounds of their feet squishing down the snow filling the cold air. She hates how much effort it takes to walk in the snow. Why can't it just be summer again?
"Why are you grumpy?" Fred eventually asks, bumping her elbow with his own while looking at her with a curious look on his face.
She huffs. "Don't like the snow," she mutters.
Fred stops walking and turns to her with an over-exaggerated look of shock on his face. She rolls her eyes at him when she stops walking with him. It's not that serious.
"You don't like snow?" he asks exasperatedly. "How the hell can you not like snow?"
She rolls her eyes again and shrugs. "I dunno. It's too cold."
He laughs loudly, so hard that he throws his head back and holds a hand on his stomach. She frowns at him while she does, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting a bit at the fact that he's laughing at her.
"'It's too cold,' she says," Fred says through a laugh. When he looks up to see her frown, he obviously tries to school his face, but the smile still peaks through. "I'm sorry," he says, still chuckling a little bit, stepping forward and reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "The snow is too cold sometimes."
She nods in approval and continues on, the walk to their spot still memorized. The silence continues on for a couple of minutes, but it's not uncomfortable. It's a bit awkward, sure, but it's not uncomfortable.
"So that's why you stopped coming to my quidditch games, then," he says, not asking a question. She frowns at him confusedly, unknowing as to what he's talking about. "The snow," he clarifies. "I thought that you didn't want to come watch me anymore."
She frowns up at him, but a touch of a smile peeks through it, revealing just how much of a lie her next statement is. "I go to the games for Ginny."
Fred laughs, shaking his head like he's just so amused by her. "Sure."
She shakes her head at him and decides not to argue. "So, how was your guy's Christmas?" she asks while shoving her gloved hands in her pockets -- her fingers still cold, even through the wool.
"Great," he says honestly. "It was really great to be with family. You?"
She smiles. "Same. I'm a bit family-d out now, though."
Fred laughs, and Evelyn finds herself subconsciously smiling at the bright sound that warms up the freezing air around them. "Same," he says, moving a bit closer to Evelyn so that their arms brush while they walk. Evelyn should probably take a step away from him, but she doesn't. "No Nick?" Fred asks after a moment of silence.
She looks up to him to see if he's being sarcastic, but she finds that he's just looking at the landscape around them, his face blank. No eye roll, no snide smirk, no scoff ready in the back of his throat. Weird.
"Uh, no. He went to Italy with his family."
Fred rolls his eyes and says, "Shame," with a snide smirk. There it is.
She rolls her eyes right back at him and 'accidentally' roughly steps on his foot.
"Ow!" he hisses and elbows her lightly in return. She would think that that would be the end of it, but he continues on. "What, he didn't want to take you to Italy with him?"
She glares at the ground and crosses her arms tightly against her chest, feeling defensive. "It's a family trip."
He scoffs and mutters something under his breath. She doesn't ask him to repeat himself. "I'll take you to Italy," he mutters, this time loud enough for her to hear it.
She shakes her head and refuses to look up at him. She shouldn't have come with him today. "Stop, Fred," she says, her voice sounding more defeated than she would like.
"What?" he asks, sounding genuinely curious as to why she sounds upset. "I'm just telling the truth."
She shakes her head at him again. She rarely knows what to do with him anymore other than shake her head. "Maybe I don't want to go to Italy," she says quietly.
"Yeah?" he asks, which, why does he sound so pleased about that? "Where do you want to go, then?"
She shrugs.
"Okay," he says, undeterred by her silence. "I'll guess." He takes a moment to think it over, the two of them continuing to walk in silence while he does. "Greece?"
She shakes her head no.
He hums. "Yeah, makes sense. That doesn't fit."
She chuckles, entertained by the fact that Fred thinks he'll be able to figure out what 'fits.'
"Spain?"
She shakes her head again.
"Hmmm," he hums with a frown, staying silent for another moment while he looks at the ground.
He's trying a bit too hard at this, she thinks to herself. She raises her eyebrows in amusement when he sticks his finger in the air like he's a cartoon character that just had a brilliant idea.
"I've got it," he says victoriously.
She laughs at him again. "Give it to me." She doesn't have to turn to look at him to know what face he must be making, to know the reason for his silence. She could have worded that differently. "Don't," she warns before he can point out the obvious innuendo.
He laughs loudly, his arm shaking against where it's pressed to hers. "Okay, okay. I think I actually have it." He takes a dramatic pause. "Japan."
She pauses in her footsteps. How the hell could he know that? She looks up at him, her jaw open and her brows pulled tightly together. He's looking down at her with a smug smirk as if he just knew that he would be right.
"Better yet," he adds on. "Muggle Japan."
Her jaw opens wider. "How the hell did you know that? Did I tell you that?"
He shakes his head. "No. 'S just a guess."
It takes her another moment before she can get her voice to work correctly. "That's weird."
He laughs. "Is it?"
"Yes," she says.
Luckily, they're just approaching the spot, so she doesn't have to be freaked out by whatever else Fred has apparently miraculously guessed about her. She takes an extra step in front of him while they walk up.
She hadn't thought it possible before, but the pond is even prettier in the dead of winter than it had been at the peak of summer. The lake is in fact frozen over, a light layer of frost dusted over the top of the ice, blending with the snow that surrounds the pond. Droplets of water on the willow tree's hanging branches have frozen solid as well, forming the tree into a chandelier of sorts with its sparkling, looming stems.
"Wow," she says as they close the final distance to their spot, her eyes wide while she takes in the scene in front of her.
"Yeah," Fred says, but he's not looking around in awe like she is; he's looking at her with a fond smile that hides absolutely nothing. "Wow."
She pretends not to notice his gaze and turns to him, an easy smile on her face. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
He nods, his eyes finally leaving her to look around. "It really is." He takes a few steps away from her and in the direction of the pond. "Do you think this is frozen solid?"
She shrugs, even though he can't see her. "Dunno, probably."
He turns around with a devious look on his face that immediately makes her apprehensive. It takes her a moment to figure out what the look means, but it's already too late. He's going to take a step onto the ice.
"No, Fred, stop!" she shouts out and lunges forward to stop him, but he's already taking a step forward. "We don't know if it's-" she pauses when nothing happens. He takes another step onto the ice, wobbling a bit when he does. "Frozen," she finishes.
He turns around to face her. "C'mon," he urges.
She walks up to the edge of the pond, but she doesn't step on. "No way. How do you know it's really frozen?"
He rolls his eyes, lifts one of his feet, and then stomps it right back down, sending a jolt of fear to her stomach. This boy is going to be the death of her.
The ice does sound solid, though.
"See?" he asks, a cocky smile on his face.
She tightens her crossed arms and shakes her head, scolding him with her body language. "Okay, so it's solid. You shouldn't have just stepped right on, though. What if it wasn't?"
He laughs. "Aww, were you worried about little old me?"
She frowns at him. "Of course I was."
He looks shocked by her admission, his cocky smirk leaving his face for a moment and replaced with something that she can't quite decipher. The smirk comes right back not even a second later, but it's softer this time. "I'm sorry, alright? I won't do it again." He holds out a hand to her. "Now c'mon."
She looks at his hand warily, but she doesn't say no. She doesn't take a step forward either, though.
"Ev, c'mon. It's solid, I promise," he says, waving his outstretched hand. "I also promise to catch you if you fall."
She reluctantly takes a deep breath and steps forward onto the ice, but she's not prepared for how slippery it is. She holds her arms out to try to keep herself balanced, but she can already feel that she's about to fall. She's accepted it. She tries to brace herself for the impact of the ice.
The ice doesn't come, though. She's instead propelled forward when Fred grips her arm, holding her steady and pulling her into his chest so that they both remain upright.
They both laugh while Evelyn tries to get her footing and stand up, and she can feel his laughter where her hand is pressed to his chest through the thick material of his jacket.
"I was not prepared for that," she says through her laugh as she plants her feet and stands up fully.
She looks up to him when she's fully upright, her hand still on his chest and his arm still looped around her waist. It's like time has frozen around them, the small snowflakes that fall through the air around them are the only evidence that time is still moving forward. She can count every single one of his dark red eyelashes, can feel his ragged breath against her hand and can see if coming out into the cold air in puffs. His eyes are dark while they look into her own, sending a shiver down her spine that, for the first time, isn't caused by the chill in the air.
Now would be the perfect time for him to kiss her.
It's that thought that shakes her out of it, that gets her mind back on track. The track that isn't fully centered around what Fred's lips feel like pressed against hers.
She sighs, maintaining their eye contact. "What are we doing, Fred," she says, not as a question.
He doesn't look confused by her question, but he still asks, "What do you mean?" His lips tilt up into a small smile. "We're standing on the ice."
She's not fooled. "Fred," she deadpans.
He rolls his eyes, but he gives in. "I don't know, Ev. We're hanging out. Isn't that what friends do?"
She sighs. "You know what I mean. We aren't-" she pauses to take a breath. "This isn't how friends act." She takes a step away from him so that they aren't touching anymore.
He waits a moment before he speaks. "I don't know what you want me to do, Ev. I just want you to be in my life. I want to be in your life. I want to know you. I can't just sit around and watch you from a distance."
She nods. "I know, I get that. I want you in my life. I want to know you, too."
"Then what's the problem?" he asks, raising his hands in frustration while he does. "I don't get why my feelings have to change anything. As long as you don't feel anything, it shouldn't matter, right?"
He's not asking because he thinks she doesn't feel anything for him. He's asking because he does. She knows it.
"Unless," he continues. She knew it was coming. "Unless you do have feelings for me."
She sighs and rubs a hand over her face. "Look, let's not do this right now. Regardless of feelings, you can't tell me that anything about this comes off as platonic. It's our old spot, Fred. Feelings don't matter. This isn't what friends would do."
He nods, giving in easier than she thought that he would. "Okay, fine. Yes, this isn't what friends would do. That was kind of the point of taking you here."
She looks up at him sadly, rejection written on her face.
Fred clears his throat. "Okay, so coming here was a bad idea. Let's get out of here and start over, yeah? As friends? We can talk about all the boring stuff that friends talk about."
She laughs and nods, giving him a warm and slightly sympathetic smile.
He reaches out a hand to her, and she takes it. They make their way off the ice together, Fred gently placing his hand on the small of her back as she steps back onto the fluffy, non-slippery snow.
"Can friends get hot chocolate?" he asks while they walk away from the pond.
She laughs a light, happy, laugh. "Of course."