Milena woke the next morning with the letter still in her hand and her clothes from yesterday still on. She looked around the room, seeing that her roommates were already gone and had probably left for breakfast quietly so as not to disturb her. She seemed to have a habit of going to bed much later than her friends, so it was routine at this point for them.
Pulling herself out of bed, she dropped the letter onto her nightstand next to the flowers and left to go take a quick shower and get changed. Once she was dressed, she left for the great hall to meet up with her friends, hoping she hadn't missed breakfast yet, but more than anything, hoping Fred was there so she could ask what had happened the night before. She had little bits and pieces of what had happened, but it still felt groggy to her. She knew she had been in the library working and someone came to talk to her, but after that, everything became blurry. Madam Pomfrey hadn't been much help filling her in on the details, but she was also a hurried sort of person, so Milena didn't expect to find out much from her.
When she entered the great hall, plenty of people were still sitting around tables, eating their breakfast and chatting amongst themselves. Milena spotted Angelina and Lee sitting near the end of the Gryffindor's table and so she walked up to them and sat down, joining them for breakfast.
"Good morning, night owl," Angelina greeted as Milena sat down next to her.
"Good morning, early bird," she greeted back, dropping some toast onto an empty plate.
"Have a fun night, did we?" Lee teased, shoveling some eggs into his mouth.
"I have no idea," Milena casually replied.
"You... have no idea...?" Angelina questioned.
"I have no idea," Milena repeated. "Last thing I remember, I was studying in the library and someone came to talk to me and then next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey hovering over me."
Angelina and Lee both looked at Milena like she had suddenly dropped dead and was now a ghost sitting with them at the table.
"Why were you in the hospital wing? Are you okay? Are you sick?" Angelina questioned with concern.
"Yeah, I feel fine," Milena replied, taking a bite of her toast. "I don't know why I was there, all Madam Pomfrey told me was someone liked me and didn't know how to tell me and Fred had carried me in looking really worried and as soon as he left me there, he went to go talk to Dumbledore."
Milena decided she would leave the part about the card and flowers out for now to save Fred the teasing from Lee. She would surely fill Angelina in on it later.
"It wasn't Fred who-" Angelina began to ask.
"No, Madam Pomfrey is certain he didn't do anything to me. I asked the same thing. She said he looked so worried she thought she was gonna have to put him into one of the hospital beds too, but he was insistent he had to talk to Dumbledore." Milena said to them. "I was hoping I would find Fred down here so I could ask him what had happened. I haven't the faintest idea."
"Ohhhh," Lee said. Milena raised an eyebrow at him. "He came in pretty late last night, he seemed pretty hurried, out of breath. He didn't tell me what was going on and to be fair, I was half asleep. He had told me earlier he was going off to find you after Angelina told him you went to the library."
"Well, I'm gonna have to find him sooner or later if I wanna know what the hell happened." Milena said, finishing her piece of toast. "Have either of you seen him today?"
"When I woke up this morning, he was still asleep," Lee explained. "So, if he's not here now, then he's probably either still in our room, in the common room, or on his way here now."
And just as Lee finished his sentence, Milena looked up at the door to see the identical pair of red heads enter into the great hall and begin to make their way towards the end of the table. As soon as she made eye contact with Fred, it seemed as though his pace grew just a little quicker as he walked towards them.
"Good morning, boys," Milena greeted as George sat down next to Lee, Fred sitting down next to Milena.
"Hey, love," Fred greeted with a soft smile. "Feeling alright then?"
"I feel just fine, why?" She asked, watching his eyes.
"Just checking," He said. "Did you get my present, Mills?"
"I did," she said. "Actually, Fred, could I talk to you for a second?"
"'Course." He said, the pair standing from the table together.
They walked back out of the great hall together and moved to a secluded corner of the corridor where Fred sat himself up on a large window ledge, Milena pulling herself up next to him. She could see there was a little concern in his eyes, but it didn't look like his usually guilty concerned look he had when he was caught pulling a prank. Instead, it looked like real concern, the same concerned look he had that night at the Quidditch World Cup.
"So, how are you actually feeling?" Fred asked.
"Like I said, I'm feeling just fine," Milena replied. "What I want to know is what happened last night?"
"Look, I'm sorry I punched Ivan but-"
"You punched Ivan!?" Milena interrupted, shocked at his words.
"Yeah, I- Do you not remember anything from last night?" Fred asked, a little confused and even more concerned now.
"No, that's why I wanted to talk to you, Madam Pomfrey said you were the one who brought me into the hospital wing, so I assumed you would be able to fill me in." Milena explained. "But wait, why did you punch Ivan?"
"Because he's a no-good, scummy, little twat that should have never been allowed to be near you." Fred exclaimed almost immediately as if he had been waiting his whole life to say it.
"I'm sorry?" Milena said.
"He's the reason I had to take you to the hospital wing," Fred started to explain. "I'm not sure how he convinced you, but you ate a chocolate he gave you that he had put a love potion into. I came to find you in the library after Angelina had told me you were down there so that I could give you that present for Valentine's day and when I got there, you were throwing yourself all over him."
Milena cringed at the thought of her throwing herself at Ivan and even more at the thought of him going as far as using a love potion on her so she would like him. She had always hated love potions, if there was one type of magic she thought anyone should never mess with, it was love.
"So, when I realized what he had done, I picked you up and started carrying you to the hospital wing, much to your dismay at the time." Fred continued. "And as I was carrying you away, he said somethings that just sent me over the edge and next thing I knew, I had put you down and swung on him. And then I picked you back up and brought you to Pomfrey and just left him there. Once you were safe with her, I went to Dumbledore to tell him what he did."
"Oh..." was all that Milena could say. She didn't know how she was feeling at his words. She knew she definitely believed him, but she was feeling so many conflicting emotions. She was incredibly happy that Fred went to find her to surprise her for Valentine's day, angry at Ivan for thinking he could get away with a love potion, upset that she had fallen for it, and annoyed that that Durmstrang boy couldn't seem to get the hint.
"Please don't be mad at me, Mills," Fred quietly pleaded, his eyes looking a little sad.
"'Course I'm not mad at you, Fred," Milena said, taking his hand. "If you hadn't been there, who knows what he would've done. Thank you, Freddie."
"I'll always be there for you, Mills." Fred said, putting his other hand under her chin and slightly lifting her face.
The two stared at each other for a moment, Milena couldn't help but to stare into his eyes which still looked as though they were pleading to her, but in a new way. They no longer looked worried or apologetic, but like there was something he wanted and she knew what it was because she wanted it too. Without another thought, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his and he quickly followed, leaning himself into her as well. His hands moved to hold her face as they melted into each other. Milena then pulled away just a little bit for a second.
"I read your letter," she whispered to him.
"So, why didn't you come find me then?" He whispered back.
"I almost did, but figured you'd find me first," she replied, "you always seem to."
"Mills?" Fred started.
"Mhm?" she replied.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, looking into her eyes again, their faces only inches apart.
"'Course, Freddie." She replied with a small smile. His eyes seemed to light up at her reply and his smile grew larger. Milena leaned in again, pulling him into another kiss which he happily fell into. The kiss continued to grow more and more heated as he pressed her back towards the wall, now slightly over top of her. He broke away from her lips only to start trailing some small kisses down her neck then back up to her lips again. They continued for a while, enjoying the moment together, completely forgetting about anything that had happened before, until they were startled apart.
"OI! Get a room, you two!" George yelled at them, making Milena jump back, hitting the wall.
Milena grew red in her face as she looked to see George, Lee, and Angelina all standing there, watching them and laughing. Fred hopped off the window ledge back down to where his brother and two friends were, a large grin plastered across his face. He turned back to Milena, holding out his hand to help her down and she walked up next to him, he wrapped his arm around her, looking more proud than ever.
"Don't be jealous just because I have a girlfriend, dear old brother," Fred exclaimed.
"Girlfriend?" George questioned. "So, you two are finally official now and we can stop pushing you both to admit you fancy each other?"
"I just asked Mills to be my girlfriend now," Fred replied, still beaming.
Milena was smiling too, but her face was still burning red. Angelina looked like she was about to burst with excitement and she knew she'd be telling her every single detail later tonight, but for once, she wanted to tell her absolutely everything.
"Well, I'm happy for you two and also definitely not jealous," George said, patting his brother on the back. Milena was almost sure she saw Lee wink at George who was now also a little red in the face.
The day of the second task had finally arrived and Fred and George had gone ahead so they could start collecting their bets for it. They had agreed to meet Milena, Lee and the other girls when the competition was about to start. No one really knew what the next task was going to be yet, but rumours had gone around that it would be involving the Black Lake and since it was late February, Milena made sure to dress warmly for the occasion.
Milena and Angelina started their walk down to the lake where people were getting into little boats to row them out to platforms standing tall in the middle of the lake. Lee, Alicia, and Katie were following close behind as they all arrived at the docks and entered some boats together. When they arrived at the platform, it was already pretty crowded with students trying to get a good view, but the group managed to find enough space that they thought they would be able to squeeze the twins in with them.
Just as Dumbledore loudly started to announce the beginning of the second task, Fred and George joined up with the group, looking particularly proud of their earnings. As they all stood together and listened to Dumbledore explain the second task, Fred stood behind Milena, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. He claimed it was to save room and his job to make sure Milena stayed warm, but she knew he just wanted to hold her because he could, but she didn't mind in the least bit. He really was keeping her warm and the familiar scent of fireworks and cinnamon gave her comfort.
At the sound of the cannon, the group watched as the four champions all dove into the icy water and disappeared into its depths. They had one hour to retrieve something that had been taken from them, but no one knew what it was, not even the champions.
"What do you think it is that they've got to retrieve?" Milena asked as they all tried to catch a glimpse of anyone in the water.
"I bet it's their knickers," Fred joked, still watching the water.
"Oh shut it," Milena laughed.
"You don't think its people down there, do you?" Angelina said.
Milena was about to disagree, but as she looked around she noticed that the two main people who'd be supporting Harry weren't around.
"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Milena asked, looking around.
"Haven't seen 'em since last night," George replied, now also looking around for them.
As they continued to look around, they heard a loud splash as Cedric broke the surface of the water, pulling Cho Chang up with him, the two both gasping for air and swimming towards the platforms. Everyone broke into cheers as they watched the pair swim back and get pulled onto the platforms by some teachers who were immediately wrapping them in towels. A few moments later, there was another splash as Krum broke the surface, pulling Hermione up with him and again the two gasped for air and began to swim back to the platforms where people were now wrapping them in towels. Not too far away, Milena noticed Fleur who was laying on one of the other platforms shivering and teary-eyed. She only looked away when she heard some more splashing and saw Harry, Ron, and a young girl, who closely resembled Fleur, all rise to the surface and swim back to the platform.
"Godric, they actually used students," Alicia said as they all watched Harry pull himself out of the water.
"I'm sure they had some sort of protective charms on them that they all agreed to," Milena reasoned. "I mean they had to have been down there for hours."
"I can't imagine how cold they all are," Alicia said.
When everyone was cleared from the water and firmly wrapped in a bunch of towels, Dumbledore started his announcements again, giving Cedric first place, Harry second since he stayed back to help the other girl, Krum third place, and Fleur in last for not completing the task. Milena couldn't really blame her for not being able to finish and felt a little sympathetic towards her for it. At least Harry had decided to grab her person when he realized she wasn't coming.
"Well that was definitely something, wasn't it?" Lee said as they all began their walk back from the docks up to the castle.
"Which do you think was worse, this or the dragons?" Milena asked.
"I mean the dragon's tough, but if I saw my best friend surrounded by sea creatures floating lifelessly underwater, I think I'd lose it," Angelina said, pulling Milena into a side hug.
"Well, I'd fight a dragon for you anyday," Milena laughed, hugging Angelina back.
"You know, I was worried I might lose you to another guy, but at this point I think I'm only worried I'll lose you to your best friend." Fred joked to the two girls.
Milena and Angelina laughed with their arms around each other's shoulders as they all continued into the castle together, joking around and enjoying the moment with all of their friends.