SONG OF THE CHAPTER -
attention • charlie puth
The grounds were lighted by the illuminating sun rays in the sky. The green grass was turning an earthly brown in patches. The warm September air was about to begin turning brutally cold. Outside within the premises of the front doors, Adalinda sat with her back against the brick of the building. A book laid open on her lap as she rested. She was trying her best to soak up the last bit of Vitamin D she could before the year succumbed to the winter months. She was alone for once. It was nice not to be crowded by the usual group she was caught up in. It had been weeks since they started their new year at Hogwarts. In the time being, Addy's parents were happy to receive notice that her and Adrian were now officially in a relationship.
She shifted in her position, letting her body stretch. She heart cracks of discomfort as she let her legs extend. The Saturday was calming. There wasn't much to do in their free time anymore. With quidditch being cancelled, they had nothing to do but wait for the arrival of the other schools. The pages of her novel tumbled in the wind. She kept a steady hand on the book to ensure she would keep her place. The angry purple fingerprints on her arm turned to a dull yellow, almost gone. The two had no more incidents since the common room. They were getting along fine. In the distance from her, if she looked up, she could spot the Weasley Twins shooting Whiz-Bangs back and fourth to each other. On her right, a couple of Hufflepuff girls were chattering away. Down by the lake, some young Slytherin's were watching the ripples in the water.
It was calming to her, seeing everybody go about their business. She felt a little more grounded when she was outside of the castle. Life wasn't as confusing and she could breathe without a weight on her shoulders. Sitting under the trees and the clouds made her feel small, in time with the earth. It made her realize that not everything was about who was the most powerful. She closed her book and looked off. As a silhouette against the tree line, she could see the almost identical sets of ginger hair. Almost, being the key word. She could tell the difference between the two. They didn't have much physical differences, but mentally they did. She found George Weasley more boyish, and Fred more girl-crazy. Fred was a little bit quieter, but when he spoke he always had something smart to say. His sarcasm was a prominent feature. George, although alike, was a bit louder and faster on the draw of his words. The boys may not have known, but she payed attention to them. She knew of them. She knew things about many students in their school, despite not speaking to them. Adalinda was an observer at heart. She watched everyone but gave away little about herself.
Little did she know, as she watched them, Fred had his eyes on her. As she looked down at her reading, he glanced past his brother to catch sight of her face. This caused him to miss a few of the fireworks his brother threw at him. When George finally got fed up with Fred's inaccuracy, he turned around to see what he was looking at. It took him by no surprise when he saw the Slytherin girl propped against the stone of the castle. He gave a sigh of exasperation at Fred's new found infatuation with the Malfoy girl.
"Fred, I told you! You have to give this up. Whatever these feelings you've gotten, get rid of them! She's a Malfoy, and girls like that don't go for guys like us." George chimed as he turned back to his brother. To add fuel to his fire, he realized Fred wasn't even paying attention to him. He was still drooling over her sitting in front of them. "You git." He shot a firework at his head and it nipped him on the forehead. Fred winced and gave a sound of surprise.
"Oi, you tosser!" Fred shouted back, erupting at his brothers actions. "What the hell's gotten into you!" At the sudden commotion, Fred noticed Addy lifting her eyes to meet them. She had a look of amusement dancing on her lips. Fred wished he was close enough to see the sparkle in her eye. "Hey, keep it up. She's watching us." Fred whispered to his brother. George rolled his eyes.
"You're an attention whore, that's what you are." His brother shot at him. Fred flung another firework his way, catching George off guard. He jumped out of the way just before it hit him off the nose. "Watch what you're doing, mate!" He yelled.
"The whole point was to hit you, you prat." The two shot insults back and fourth at each other. Despite the angry words, they didn't truly have meaning behind them. They were best friends no matter how much they got on each other's nerves. "Now keep it up, she's laughing now."
"D'you ever think she's laughing at you because you look like a bloody idiot?" George flicked another spark that caught Fred in the chest. "Cause you usually do." Fred caught George in his ear, cackling at him.
"If I look like an idiot, then you do, too!" Fred chimed. George laughed at the comment before they shared a look between themselves. It was if something clicked in their minds.
"Because we're identical!" The boys yelled in unison. Few feet away, Addy found herself in fits of laughter at the boys antics. Their last comment only worsened it, making her double over and set her book on the ground. She watched as they zapped each other with Whiz-Bangs. She could overhear snippets of their conversation. It didn't take long to piece together the fact Fred was trying to impress her. Fortunately for him, it was working. Though she'd never admit it, they were making her laugh harder than she had in months. She couldn't help but follow them with her eyes, as the two were so captivating. She understood his craving for attention. She too, felt it. Maybe not from boys or girls, but from any other perspective.
Fred Weasley wanted the attention of a girl who wasn't supposed to give it to him. He held her with his antics, his jokes, and even his looks. He held the attention of the most popular, and most beautiful girl at Hogwarts. He felt proud in saying that. He bragged about it to his twin brother. George did not love this so much, as he had a fear of her. He feared her name and her family. He knew his brother would get hurt by her, and in a chance of protecting him, he tried to talk Fred down from pursuing her. As a natural troublemaker who laughed at risk, he didn't care. All Fred cared about was the laughs he was making her expel.
He noticed her freeze. Her whole carefree attitude was blown away as she caught sight of green ties coming out the door. She opened her book and looked down at it, pretending to read. She did it so fast they didn't even notice her previous persona. Fred observed Pucey taking a seat in the ground beside her. His eyes held infatuation as he pulled her into his arm. Hers held fear. Fred stopped with the fireworks. He held a hand out to his brother, signalling him to play no more. The two came together.
"Look," he nodded his head towards the girl they were trying to impress. "Does she look scared of him to you?" George halted. His joking manor completely gone now. He looked at the group of them sitting together. The ghost of a laugh held her lips. The eyes that had been watching them no longer held carelessness. Now, they were hard. She resumed her post as the Slytherin Queen. George had to admit, if he looked deep enough into her face, he could see some kind of fear. Maybe fear wasn't a good word. Resentment? No. He couldn't quite place it. Unhappiness may have been a better word.
"She definitely doesn't look happy with that bloke." George commented. The boy with his arm slung around her shoulder turned to look at them. A scowl caught his lips. It wasn't directed at the both of them; just at Fred. The sixth year looked past George and straight to his brother. "And it looks like he doesn't like you." George pointed out, looking over to his twin. "Maybe she does fancy you, would explain why he's looking at you like that." A smile caught Fred's face. "Or, they're just pricks. The whole lot of them." He finished the conversation.
George set off, walking back to the castle. To get to the doors, he had to pass the group of his classmates. Fred caught up to him after he realized his brother left. The two travelled side by side, their steps in time with one another. As they grew nearer to the crowd, they heard the chatter between them. It was mostly snide and rude, holding topics of other students. George couldn't help but notice she wasn't talking, though. She usually didn't. She gave a comment every now and again, usually a mean one. Other than that, she listened. She kept her nose buried in the novel in front of her.
"What are you looking at, Weasley?" Marcus Flint chirped at Fred as he caught him glancing at them. Fred didn't answer.
"Keep walking," Adrian chimed in. His expression had disgust. "Theres nothing here for a couple of poor kids." He finished. Addy looked up at his words, between him and the set of gingers. Fred swore he saw a glint of apology in her eyes. For once, George couldn't argue against her. For he saw it, too.
"Shove a sock in it, guys. If you can't come up with good insults don't bother giving one. It's embarrassing." She ordered. The boys obeyed her words and spoke no more. Instead, they stared until the Gryffindor's passed. As they approached the doors, they heard the voices once more.
"Were you defending them?" The voice of Marcus Flint asked.
"No," the girl scoffed. "I meant that the two of you sounded like first years in a fight with their parents. When you insult someone, you don't just spit out the first thing that comes to your head. That makes you sound stupid." Fred bit back a grin as they disappeared back into the castle.