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"Now?" Elle gawped as the two of them began to stride down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room,
"No time like the present" George had been spurred in by his sudden realisation and wasn't sure how long it would take before it wore off. Therefore he decided that the best thing to do would be to act on it now.
"Ok" Elle muttered, she couldn't be annoyed after all this was all she'd wanted for months but now that it was actually happening with very little preparation, well she felt quite nervous.
George in the other hand no longer felt nervous. Which was a contrast to how he'd been feeling for the past few months. He had a new found confidence welling through him and his mind told him that Fred would take it well. How couldn't he.
As they approached the painting of the Fat Lady Elle couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Fred in fact did take the news badly. Would that be the end of whatever this was? After all she didn't expect George to place her ankhve Fred in his priorities. She wouldn't want him to.
George blurted the password and the portrait swung forward revealing the warmth of the common room,
"It'll be ok" Elle whispered not sure if she was talking to George of just addressing herself.
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They stepped in and saw their usual seats by the fire filled with their friends. Lauren was yet again painting her nails this time a shade of pale blue. Katie was reading a large book on Charms, Alicia and Angelina were giggling in the armchair while Lee and Fred seemed to be having an aggressive game of exploding snap.
"Fred" George's voice rang out in a quaver suggesting his new found courage had gone, everyone turned in surprise to look at the pair who were standing awkwardly facing them.
"You alright mate?" Lee looked up from his cards hastily.
"Fred I need to talk to you" he blurted out quickly,
"Yeah I'm a minute I just need to finish this-"
"Fred" George interrupted, the twin looked up to see the desperation in his brothers eyes and shrugged to Lee following them tentatively.
"We'll go in our room, it'll be quiet up there" George nodded,
"Elle can't come in there... she's a girl" he stated obviously,
"I don't have to come" Elle shrugged but George's eyes pleaded with her so eventually Fred gave in and allowed the brunette to follow them into the boys dorm.
She'd been in this room before of course. That night she'd had the nightmare about Harry and the mirror and the stone. She'd come in here running, not knowing where else to go. It all seemed so stupid now.
"Sit down" George muttered nervously and Fred sat slowly on the end of what Elle presumed was his bed.
"What's going on George, you haven't blown up a toilet without me have you, I won't be mad" he smirked sarcastically and seemed surprised when his brother didn't laugh.
Elle felt as though she was intruding, this this talk was about her but she'd always assumed she would be present when it actually happened.
"Ok" George took a deep breath in before looking to Elle for encouragement, she gave him a confident nod before he returned to a Fred who was now looking slightly concerned.
"Me and Elle" he paused thinking of the right way to phrase it, "well I really like her"
"Shhh" Fred hushed "don't expose yourself mate she's sitting right there" Elle laughed quietly,
"She already knows you git" George groaned.
"When I asked her to the Yule ball, it wasn't as friends" he continued as Fred had stopped laughing at his own joke. He raised his eyebrows at George,
"Ok so what?" He pointed between the two "you two fancy each other is that it"
"Well... yes" George stated blankly.
"Ah young love" Fred breathed dramatically "I can practically smell it in the air"
"It's been going on since December" George continued in confusion to his brothers light attitude,
"Yes you already said that" Fred frowned, "wait a second" he grinned "you didn't think I was going to be annoyed at you did you Georgie?"
George and Elle just stared at Fred in shock, completely taken aback by his reaction.
"Oh you did" he gasped. Fred placed a hand on his heart and fell back onto his bed dramatically,
"They lost all faith in my" he fake cried "my own twin brother"
"Alright shut it" George yelled as he lobbed a pillow across the room which hit Fred square in the face. He sat up looking rather disheveled still smirking.
"Have you seriously been nervous to tell me?"
It all seemed idiotic now. The months of worrying. The constant excuses. George just sat there looking completely dumbfounded. He thought he knew his brother like the back of his hand, maybe he didn't. Though this reaction did seem perfectly fitting for Fred so maybe he had just been overthinking it all.
"Well I'm glad you took it well" Elle jumped up and patted Fred jokingly on the shoulder "certainly saves us a lot of time stressing over what to do if you didn't"
"I'm ashamed that you thought so little of me" Fred sighed "I shall have to continue to remind you how brilliant I am, though I'm sure my constant presence is enough"
"Maybe not constant" George winked at Elle who just smirked hoping Fred wouldn't pick up on this,
"We can tell everyone now... well not everyone... and I'm not doing an announcement" Elle pondered to herself,
"I have an idea" Fred piped up and Elle immediately rolled her eyes at the prospect.
"Oi" Fred hit her arm in annoyance "why don't you just wait until they figure it out" he said this as though it were pure genius that no one else could have though of.
"How would they do that?"
"Well make it obvious... not too obvious though" Fred gulped "remember my eyes are still pure" he stared while clamping his hand over them,
"Oh shut it" Elle said while taking another swing at him with a pillow,
"Abusive I tell you, don't know what you see in her George" Fred jumped as Elle faked an angered move towards him.
"Did you really think I was going to be annoyed" Fred laughed again at the prospect "what did you think I was going to do" the pair shrugged "this?" Fred jested before pulling George into a headlock.
"George I forbid you to go out with Elle" he boomed in a low voice that resembled that of Dumbledore's
"Gerr off" George mumbled before shoving his twin off who was still laughing. George couldn't help but grin at his own miscalculations.
"As for the others" Fred continued "I think my plan is exceptional"
"I think if me and George make one small move in front of the girls they'll figure it out immediately" Elle frowned,
"Still it'll be fun to see their faces when they realise" George beamed wickedly.
"Yeah after all they do bore me when they talk about it" Fred sighed,
"When they talk about it?"
"Oh yes they made a prediction that you dear Elle were into one of us ages ago, they figured it was George a while ago as well but I don't remember when"
"Probably before I'd figured it out myself" Elle mused "it doesn't surprise me that that's what they gossip about, seems quite fitting"
"Want to place a bet on who figures it out first?" Fred grinned,
"You two need to stop betting, think about where it got you at the World Cup"
"We're not betting you are" They both spoke in unison and Elle was glad to see that they were back in sync. It seemed these few last months that something had been off. Now she knew that it was the fact that the most iconic duo hadn't been as tuned as they usually were.
Elle could hardly imagine a life where the two twins weren't together laughing, pranking and joking. More than anything she prayed she would never have to.
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