Spending time apart from Fred was more difficult than I ever imagined, and not just because we shared all of our classes together. It was like waking up one day without your arms and having to just try and get by. I was floundering around, but I didn't have any other option. The weeks that passed without Fred, the harder it got. I made excuses, I skipped dinners. Anything to ease the pain of my ever growing jealousy. I was so desperate for a distraction, I even started doing homework regularly.
George and I were in the library, the first time in years it felt like, and we had books spread across the table.
"This is miserable," George grumbled.
I dropped my quill and stared at the single sentence I wrote about the importance of horned slugs for my potions essay. Potions came naturally to me, I enjoyed doing it while not under Snape's judging eyes, but having to write about it bored me to death.
I sighed, "I know."
"Then why are we here?" George asked with raised brows. "I mean, I'm kind of ruining my reputation as a slacking prankster... and I've worked hard to achieve that title!"
"I'm sorry," I frowned. "I just... I want to get decent marks what with Umbridge constantly breathing down our necks."
George scoffed, "Her class is the easiest one! It's our last year, and she's got us reading from a bloody beginner's book."
Before I could respond, I saw Hermione scurrying over to our table. She looked anxious, her eyes wider than usual and her skin a little pale. "Nixie! Fred!" George shook his head. "Oh, George, sorry... Anyway, I thought I heard the two of you."
"Everything alright, Hermione?" I asked.
She nodded quickly, so quickly her head looked ready to snap off, "Yes, fine, thanks. I was just wondering if you could look over my homework."
George and I exchanged curious looks before laughing. "Hermione... are you sure you're not ill?" I mused with a small smile.
"Just take this," She insisted quickly, shoving a piece of folded parchment paper in my hand. "Er, it's um... due tomorrow."
"Uh..." I mumbled, watching her scurry away.
George came to sit by me as I slowly unfolded the paper. Inside, her neat handwriting read:
We're recruiting students to meet up and practice real defense. Tomorrow is the first meeting. Only tell people you trust.
Burn this parchment.
After reading the note, George and I looked up at each other with smirks on our faces.
"Finally, something interesting is happening." He grinned happily.
He then pulled out his wand, cast a fire spell, and watched the piece of parchment turn to ashes. However, the black ashes danced around to form the words Hog's Head. Once George and I both got a good look, I blew them onto the floor where they scattered.
"Hermione would be a terrifically deviant prankster," I mused, admiring her clever trick.
George nodded his head in agreement.
As I walked into the Hog's Head with George, I was surprised to see how many students were there. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor students were all sitting around on the dusty chairs of the Hog's Head. I spotted Angelina and Fred cozied up near the windows. There were two empty spots by Fred, but I chose to drag George in the opposite direction.
"Right, I think that's everyone..." Hermione murmured to herself after she saw George and I. "Um, so... hello. You all know why we're here..." She paused, and then continued, "We need a proper teacher. One who's had real experience fighting the dark arts."
"Why?" Some Ravenclaw kid asked in a sharp tone.
Ron narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosser."
"Says him," The kid grumbled, throwing a look at Harry.
I rolled my eyes and sarcastically replied, "Yeah, why on earth should we trust the kid who saved your skin and all of Hogwarts three years ago by killing the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets."
"With the sword in Dumbledore's office," Ginny confirmed. "It's true."
"And he saved the Sorcerer's Stone first year!" Neville Longbottom added eagerly.
Ron said, "And in third year, he fought off a whole army of dementors with the Patronus Charm."
"Blimey, Harry!" Dean Thomas murmured in shock. "I didn't know you could produce a Patronus Charm."
"And last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who." Hermione finally said. Some students exchanged dubious looks, but others anxiously leaned forward, waiting to hear more.
"Wait!" Harry interrupted, "I mean, it all sounds great when you bunch it together like that, but the truth is that most of that was just luck... and I nearly always had help."
"He's just being modest," Hermione insisted.
Harry shook his head, "No, I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life isn't like school. In school, if you mess something up, you can try again tomorrow... but out there when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes..." Harry frowned. "You don't know what that's like."
Harry sat down, not looking up to meet the many pairs of eyes watching him.
"You're right Harry, we don't. That is exactly why we need your help." Hermione told him gently. "We need to know what it's really like if we're ever going to defeat him... V-Voldemort."
A few students winced at the name, but one younger child asked, "Is... is he really back?"
Harry nodded.
I felt the tension slowly ease out of the room and be replaced with eagerness. Even including the doubtful students, no one in that room liked Umbridge or wanted the You-Know-Who to rise again. So when Hermione asked everyone to sign their names to make it official, the students began to line up.
After George and I signed our names, we headed out the door. As we were walking back to the castle, a ball of snow suddenly smacked against George's head, causing him to stumble forward a few steps.When I turned around to see who hit him, I was faced with his twin.
"Bloody hell," Fred gasped, bending over as he put his hands on his knees. "I was chasing you two ever since you left the Hog's Head. Didn't you hear me shouting at you!"
"No," George grumbled back as he rubbed his head.
Fred shot his brother a dirty look, his eyes hard and angry. Honestly, I've never seen Fred look truly mad. His natural reactions to something that would anger a normal person ranged between sarcasm and revenge. However, the look on his face was more than annoyance.
"Well?" Fred demanded.
George stared at him, utterly confused, and asked, "Well what?"
"Where the bloody hell have you two been?" Fred asked, his voice colder than the chilly October air. "I mean, I haven't seen you in weeks! What? Did you two start dating and decide to ditch me?"
"We're not dating..." I muttered quietly.
Fred stared at me, "Then why have you been avoiding me like the plague?"
"I haven't—"
"Don't lie to me, Nix!" Fred retorted bitterly.
"We're allowed to have separate lives!" I hissed at him. "Or is it only you that's allowed to be with other people?" At this point, I had marched up to him, my hands curled into fists and just itching to smack him. This was the closet I'd been to Fred in weeks, and yet I'd never before felt further away from him. In all our years of friendship, we hadn't had one single fight that resulted in anything more deadly than a revenge prank. However, everything that we once were was burning to ashes; I could feel it. "Remember when you started dating your precious Angelina? We hardly saw you for a month!"
"Nixie..." He mumbled, taken back by my outburst.
I shook my head, "You're a git, Fred Weasley, a foolish, self-centered git!"
Before he could reply, I turned around and sprinted back to the castle, ignoring George's protests. I wouldn't let either of them see me cry.