HI I JUST WANTED TO ET YOU KNOW> THE STORY WILL ALWAYS BE JAQUELINE'S POV UNLESS SAID OTHERWISE< OKAY YES THANK YOU<3
It took about 3 hours after everyone left before Madame Pomfrey released me from the infirmary.
She said I would have a scar on the back of my neck near my hairline from where I was hit, but other than that no lasting effects from anything else.
"If you get any headaches, or pains, or anything at all, do not hesitate to come see me."
Finally able to leave I made my way to the Gryffindor tower, as fast, but calmly as I could. It was only when I could see the Fat Lady portrait than I full-on sprinted to the door. I uttered the password that Angelina had given me earlier that day and stepped into the common room.
It was empty. There was nobody. I thought maybe at least the twins would be waiting for me. Disappointed I start towards the girl's dormitory when out of nowhere people pop up from behind the furniture, and the states that scatter the room.
"Suprise!"
Angelina COmes over and gives me a hug, along with Hermione.
"We wanted to give you a good day back. Granted we didn't have long to put anything together, but George and Fred did convince the house elves to make you a cake!" Hermione grabs the cake from Harry who has materialized beside her. Ron as well.
There are swirly letters that say Welcome Back Jaqueline! In maroon lettering atop the chocolate frosting.
I feel tears coming to my eyes but I don't dare let them out. "You guys are so sweet. Thank you, all of you."
I receive hugs, from a bunch of my friends as well as students I've never talked to before.
Someone comes up behind me and shields my eyes with their hands. "Guess who?" I slap their hands away from my face. "Oh stop it George you're being silly." He opens his arms for a hug with I gladly welcome.
He whispers "good luck" and before I can object someone is hoisting me into the air. I end up on someone's shoulders. I look down to see red hair and I realize it can be none other than Fred Weasley.
"Put me down, you idiot." He twirls around causing me to grip onto him with dear life.
"I cannot your majesty. You must be seated upon the highest throne, and that is my shoulders."
I giggle. "Fred Weasley if you don't put me down right now, I'm going to tickle you until you cry." Carefully he sits on the couch and I crawl off. There's a grin on his face, bigger than the sun. "Hey" I readjust my shirt so it isn't riding up on me.
"Hey."
I'm taken back to a few hours ago when he kissed my forehead. After he'd gone Madame Pomfrey, had said to me
"You've got yourself quite the boy right there."
"He's not mine Miss."
"He's as good as. That boy has been here every day since you came. Plus he was the one who brought you. He belongs to you in some sort of way. I guess the two of you just haven't figured that out yet."
I wanted to ask what she meant by that but chickened out.
And now here I was standing in front of the very same boy. All smiles, and mischievous eyes.
"Well if you two are done ogling each other I want some cake. Hermione won't let me have any until you have some Jaqueline" Lee interjects.
I give Fred one last look and head over to Hermione who is cutting up the cake.
" Piece for the lady herself." She hands me a rather large slice. "And for you Lee." His piece is much smaller than mine, and he voices so.
"Why does she get such a big piece?"
Hermione glares. "It's her cake you baffoon. If you don't like what you get, you don't have to have any at all."
Lee rushes away before Hermione can take the cake back.
I find my way back to the couch and join Fred handing him a fork. He just looks at me confused.
"Well I can't very well eat this whole piece by myself, and who better to share it with than you? Unless you'd rather me go share with George."
"No no," He takes a bite before I can get up and leave him. For a moment I just stare at him. When he smiles only half his mouth turns up. THere's a constellation of freckles by his right eye, and I want to trace with my finger.
"Why are you staring Jaq? Is there something on my face?" He looks slightly worried.
There's a smudge of chocolate right by the corner of his mouth and I smile. "Yeah actually." I pull my sleeve over my hand and wipe it away slowly.
Fred makes eye contact with me, and keep it. Like he's staring right through me. Before I get the chance to pull my hand away he grabs my wrist. "So you thought you could pull my own trick on me huh?"
His voice is barely just above a whisper, and it scares me. It scares me just how close we are. How I can feel every fingertip of his on my wrist. Like it's burning holes in my shirt. He's leaning forward and i think;
this is it. he's going to kiss me
it's happening
right now
Everything around us drops away. There's no noise, no other students, just Fred and I, and this moment.
And as we get closer and closer I feel my heart start to race
"Hey, are you gonna finish that?" A voice so rudely interrupts. Fred and i spring away from each other as if some outside force just pulled us back.
"Ron, you absolutely idiot" Hermione smacks him with a book. "You always have the worst timing." She pulls him away from us but the moment is gone.
Fred holds a finger up to me. "I'll be right back, I have something to take care of" And he takes off after Ron.
So I sit there rewinding through the events that just happened. Fred almost kissed me. kissed ME. The cake is still in my hand, but I'm too queasy to eat it. George plops himself on the couch next to me.
"Sopp are we gonna talk about what just happened? Or almost happened.?" His eyes are gleaming, and I can tell he's finding satisfaction in my unease.
"You are never going to let Fred or Ron live this down are you?"
George shakes his head. "Absolutely not. It's too good. Way too good. So you and Freddie?"
My face is red and I know it, but I try to hide the fact that I'm blushing. News flash, it doesn't work. "It's really not like that. It was just a fluke of the moment thing you know?"
He doesn't look convinced. "Uh-huh and I don't like Angelina." IT takes a moment for George to realize what he's done and his face turns to panic. "Wait no-i didn't"
"George I already knew. But since you've so graciously exposed yourself, I can blackmail you anytime. So if you dare speak about this to anyone, especially Fred, i have no guilt walking up to Angelina and tell her about your little crush."
"Aha, so you do like him."
I shove him. "OH shut it. Now, do we have a deal or no?"
George laughs. "Should we pinky swear on it?" He sticks out his pinky to me which I take in mine sealing the deal. "There we go. NOw if i mess up you get to break both of my pinkies."
There's a shrill scream from the boys' dormitory, followed by a 'No wait please, I promise, I promise." and another yell.
George and I look at each other before simultaneously saying "Ron."
I giggle. "Fred has murder in his eyes when he left. Can't imagine what's gonna be left of him."
Not a second later a purple-skinned Ron comes downstairs. He shuffles over not daring to look me in the eye. "Sorry for butting in when I wasn't invited." Then he walks away to a doubled over laughing Hermione and Harry.
For a while, we all sit around and chatter, just hanging out, but when Angelina suggests a game of Truth or Dare everyone settles around the fire. Fred who I haven't seen since he chased Ron into the Boys Dorms, comes down and finds a set across the room from me.
We play tag with our eyes, one of us staring until the other catches our eye and we look away.
"So here's what we'll do. I have everyone's name here in this hat, and when it's your turn you'll pull one out and ask that person the question."Angelina explains. "IF you don't want to do either you have to take a shot of this." She pulls out a bottle of FIrewhicskey from behind her. "I got it from my brother for my birthday and I've been saving it for a special occasion. This seemed like the perfect time as ever."
We pass around the hat dishing out the most atrocious and funny dares we can think of. Hardly anyone picks truth, making people do stupid things is much more enticing.
Lee ends up pulling my name out of the hat and looks me dead in the eye while saying. "I dare you to kiss a weasely." He smirks at me knowing exactly what he's doing.
"Fine, where's Ginny? I love you guys, but there is no way I'm kissing any three of you." George catches my eye for a moment, and winks which I just roll my eyes at.
"I think she's with Luna, they're studying or something."
Well fuck. "Alright well pass the bottle over here." I take a swig of the Firewhiskey and i can feel it burn all the way down to my stomach. "God this stuff is disgusting."
When the hat comes to me I pull out Fred's name and I know I'm screwed. I try my best to stay calm but i stare at the floor while telling him his dare. "Fred Weasley. I dare you to tell us your middle name."
HE opts out and takes a drink of the alcohol, but George sells him out. "It's Gideon."
A few of us laugh.
"Yeah well, it's better than Fabien. That sounds like a character from one of Jaq's muggle novels." Fred shoots back.
George swishes his hair trying to act all heroic. "Well, at least I save a damsel in distress. Your middle name sounds like an old man who smells bad."
The two go on bickering as the hat gets passed around more, and then it becomes the bottle of firewhiskey that gets passed around instead.
"Everyone switch spots, and find someone new to sit by," Angelina says very drunk at this point. Everyone wobbles around trying to find a new spot.
I find myself on the couch next to one of the twins, but I can't really tell who it is. I point my finger at them "I have no clue, which red-headed prankster you are, but I swear to Merlin if you aren't Fred, I'm going to be seriously pissed."
They laugh. "And why is that?"
"Well If you're George then who is gonna keep my hands warm? They're very cold." I press them onto their face to prove it. This earns a chuckle from him.
"Well it's good thing I am Fred." He takes my hand away from his face and holds them in his lap. "There, now they're warm."
Angelina practically falls down on the couch next to me and lays her head on my shoulder. "Everything is spinning Jaqueline, i am intoxicated to this feeling." She takes another drink and hands me the bottle.
I take a sip, and then another one. and after about, the third or fourth Fred takes the bottle away. "Okay I think that's is enough for you." He takes a swing himself and sets it on the table.
Angelina pushes herself off me and tries to stand up. "I - I think I'm gonna head to bed. No funny business you two. I'll be watching you."
After she's gone the only people left downstairs are Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and I.
Harry is staring off into the distance as if he's thinking hard about something, while Ron and George are bickering over something.
I look over at Fred who is dozing off, my hands still in his lap. I lean over to his ear and whisper. "Need a pillow?"
He smiles, eyes still closed. "Yeah that would be great right now."
I scoot over to the end of the couch and pat my legs. "You can lay here then until I go to bed. How does that sound?"
Fred rests his head on my lap and stretches his legs out. After a moment he reaches his arms out and grabs at the air. "Hands." is all he says.
Giggling I give him one of my hands and he smiles a dope grin, satisfied. HE interlocks our fingers and it's not long before he's snoring lightly. I run my fingers through his messy hair. Fred says he's growing it out so he can look good for the ladies.
"Girls love long hair right." He asked me at dinner one night. "Don't they? Me and George want to see how long we can grow it before mum makes us chop it off."
The memory brings a smile to my face.
"Well aren't you two just the cutest thing," George says from the chair across the room. "I'm really surprised Freddie hasn't noticed that you like him."
I throw him a panicked look. "Shh, he might hear you."
George just shakes his head. "Don't worry he's fast asleep I swear. Watch this."
HE comes over and tickles Fred's nose. Fred just mumbles something, rubs his nose, and then squirms a bit before going back to snoring.
"See, long gone.." George stands there a minute and then rubs his eyes. "I'm off to bed, but get some sleep okay?"
When he's gone I lean my head back on the couch.
Everything felt okay for once. NOt amazing, not horrific, just okay. And I was okay with that.