~Elodie's POV~
When I woke up, the clock next to Fred's bed indicated that it was half past four in the morning. I tried to close my eyes to go to sleep, but when I thought hours must have passed me by, the clock showed that it was only three minutes. Fred's snores indicated that he wouldn't be up for hours, and I didn't have the heart to wake him simply because I couldn't go back to sleep.
Instead I went to my dorm and collected my belongings to take an early shower, but instead of going to the washroom nearest our house I chose to sneak out to the fifth floor Prefect bathroom. The password hadn't been changed since last year which I was most grateful for. I thought about going into the oversized bathtub, but the last time I'd been in there was with Cedric. I wanted to keep it that way. Instead I went into the stall closest which also happened to be the largest with the view of the beautiful mermaid. I turned the water on as hot as it would go, which still didn't feel warm enough.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. An hour long you'll have to look. To recover what we took, But past an hour, the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back," I sang, remembering the song perfectly as I washed the soap out of my hair. I missed taking my walks to visit him every day like I had most of summer. I wondered if Minerva would be able to arrange for me to use the floo from Dumbledore's office so I could go for at least an hour.
I rang out my hair, dripping out the excess water. I gave up on trying to warm up after so long and shut the water off. When I exited the stall, the bathroom appeared to be open, but when I rounded the corner to leave, I nearly crashed into another body.
"What are you doing here Potter?" Angelina asked me aggressively.
"I could ask you the same question," I said sarcastically.
"Ron gave me the password. How did you even get in here?" She said once again aggressively.
"I've known my fair share of Prefects," I answered vaguely. We both stood there for a moment not sure of what to say to each other. "Headaches a bitch?" I said when she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Good thing you kicked the habit," She said. "Why did you?" She asked.
"You're not going to bombard me for the answer this time?" I said to remind her of what she'd just done last night.
"Look I— I know it's a shit excuse, but I was really drunk. And when you asked about George, it kind of just set me off," She said trying to explain herself to me. "Katie really ripped into us though. She reminded me that you would never have done anything," She said going on and on.
"You should drink some Fizzy bubbly water for the headache," I said before moving around her and heading for the door. I left before she could say anything else and made my way back to Gryffindor house. In my room, I left my belongings on my bed and quietly changed into my uniform before going back to lay with Fred for a bit. He stirred slightly when I put my weight on the bed, but then cured and leaned into me like a little spoon. It was absolutely adorable. Then I felt it again. Taking over all my senses. This feeling, is it love?
"Where'd you go?" He asked me in a groggy voice.
"Couldn't sleep. I went to take a shower," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his body.
"What time is it?" he asked, tucking his arm over mine.
"Early. Go back to sleep. I'll still be here," I told him and heard his breathing turn into a light snore. I was at the point where his snoring no longer bothered me, instead it worked to soothe me a bit. As I played with his fingers gently, I saw the vision of us playing in my head again. Still the same patchy flashes, but the same happy faces of the future of us. The part that drove me crazy about this was that it was more of an endpoint. I couldn't see the road that got us there. No matter, even with just this sight I knew more about my relationship than most had the privilege to.
"Freddie," I whispered into his hair. I was met with silence; he would definitely be out for another hour or two. "Are you awake?" I asked. There was more silence. "Did my heart love until now?" I said, and never have any words felt more natural as they escaped my lips. I closed my eyes and drifted slightly as I held him there. Every time he would stir it would wake me again, but I didn't mind.
"Are you really going to go to class with your nails painted like that?" I asked once he'd gotten ready. I'd messed up slightly but only realized it now that there were bits of polish missing. That could also be from the way he picks at his nails.
"Of course!" He said and turned around to face me as I sat up leaning on the headboard of his bed. "I need to show off your masterpiece."
"Yeah, cause I'm sure everyone wants to hear my name right now," I said in a grumpy voice. "I should go," I said.
"Don't do that, don't pay attention to what they think," He told me as he sat by my feet.
"It's kind of hard when one of them is my roommate and the other is your family," I told him feeling upset all over again. "Just, leave it. I'll figure something out," I told him not wanting to dwell on it any longer. I grabbed my bag from the floor and pecked his lips before heading out for the day.
~Fred's POV~
I had a free Period this morning, partly by mine and George's own doing but no one would know. I thought about what I'd missed last night, what Ginny said. I'd watched it as if I were standing in Elodie's shoes experiencing it for myself as if it were happening to me. I thought about writing to Mum and telling her, but then I thought, if anyone was going to say anything to Ginny, it was going to be me.
Even if it had been a misunderstanding the way Elodie said, Ginny shouldn't have done that. They had been friends for too long. Even so, no one deserved to be put on the spot like that. The more I thought about it, the madder I became. I had been trying to focus on plans for the shop, but I wasn't getting even a bit of it done due to my lack of focus. I left the common room to take a walk to try and calm myself. I hadn't realized that I was nearing the Great Hall until I heard the laugh coming from Lee. I saw George and everyone sitting together. Then I spotted Ginny. Part of me thought I should turn back, keep walking. Instead I approached calmly, not wanting to escalate an already messy situation.
"There you are Freddie!" George said with a huge grim for me.
I sat at the breakfast table next to him, and across from Ginny trying to think of what to say that would be right. Should I joke as if nothing had happened? "Hey, look you missed it, Katie just dared Lee to ask out that Parkinson girl," He said and laughed like he was about to cry.
"It was bloody heart breaking I'll tell you," Lee said.
"Yeah, not to mention hard to watch," Harry chimed in.
"Say what you will! I think it was worth it. Beautiful way to start the morning," Katie said laughing.
They were all laughing, enjoying themselves. I pressed my mouth into a hard line and folded my arms on the table. What I would usually find amusing I couldn't at this moment. Ginny met my gaze, but she didn't show any signs of regret, she was just sitting here and laughing as if she hadn't been so cruel to someone she claimed as her best friend.
"Blimey what's gotten into you?" Ginny asked me, still wearing a smug smile on her face before she took in a spoonful of oatmeal.
"You should know," I told her, not able to conceal the annoyance in my voice.
Everyone had stopped their jokes and had their eyes on the stare down I was giving her. Looking back and forth between us, I focused my attention on her. They all knew this sudden hard exterior wasn't my usual character, but this wasn't a joking matter to me.
"What do you mean?" She said. The way she was playing dumb was just adding fuel to my fire.
"Yeah Fred what's going on?" George asked me.
"Oh, don't act like you didn't know," I told her.
"Just spit it out then," Ron said.
I closed my eyes, breaking my gaze from Ginny and summoned all the patience I could. "So, you mean to tell me you've already forgotten about how you and Angelina sidelined my girlfriend in front of everyone?"
"I haven't forgotten," she told me and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest in a defensive manner. "And I wouldn't call it a sideline, I merely pointed out the truth."
Merely pointed out the truth? Godric was she so dimwitted to believe that. I chuckled a bit trying to hide the annoyance that had started to build once again. "And just what gives you the right to do that? From Angelina I could see this coming, but you sis? Blimey Ginny, have you forgotten that not that long ago you were calling her your best friend?" I spat at her.
"Look I don't know what version of the truth she told you but-" She started but I couldn't bear to listen to her nonsense.
"She told me the entire truth. That is after I pried it out of her. See that's the difference between the two of you. Even if you're not speaking, she still had the decency to treat you like a friend. Which is a lot more than what you did. God you sound like Aunt Muriel," I told her. Ginny was left speechless. She was looking down at the table no longer meeting my eyes.
"Fred, I think Ginny just had your best interest at heart," Hermione said in a softer tone. I stood from my seat and looked over to catch sight of a couple of people in surrounding tables now paying attention.
"Listen!" Ginny whispered, shouted at me. "All I'm saying is that for the last seven years you've followed her around like a lost puppy while she gives everyone more attention than she gives to you. Including your own brothers. What makes you think she's not just passing time until she thinks someone better comes along?" Ginny explained to me, but this was the same thing she had accused Elodie of. "What-" She began again but I couldn't anymore.
I slammed my hand on the table to make her stop talking, but it was loud enough to make the entirety of the great hall stop talking.
"I know her truth!" I said and then looked to see all eyes on us. "Just keep the hell out of it," I said and then made my way out of the great hall. I had half a mind to go and write mum anyway, but decided against it. There was no use in dragging this out any further.
As I stepped into the hall I felt George stop behind me. He was probably planning to be with me right now, my twin, always there for me. We stopped and watched as Filch nailed a decree to the walls. It was to inform everyone that Deloras Umbridge had been appointed the Hogwarts High Inquisitor.
Over the next several weeks, the change in the way everything at Hogwarts was being shifted was more than noticeable. Dress code was stricter. If couples were ever caught in the hallway a quick distance was placed between them. More and more detentions were being issued. And class time was spent as interrogation hours for teachers. This meant double the work that I'd barely do.
The only escape seemed to be Quidditch, and our houses where Umbridge couldn't be around. McGonagall told us all to keep our heads down since there seemed to be nothing she could do to untangle anyones mess. Even Elodie who'd become my little firecracker was reverting back to her charming ways of no longer acting up. She said that Umbridge was trying to put an end to her independent studies and she didn't want to give her a reason to keep her here another year.
"Have you spoken to your mum? Has she heard from Percy lately?" Elodie asked as she sat in the courtyard with me and George on a sunny day.
"Git," George answered. "Can you believe he still hasn't apologized to dad?"
"Promotions gone to his head is what it is. Think's he's so much better than everyone," I piggybacked on. "We should plant dungbombs all over his room at christmas."
"It's the Ministry. Everyone wants to believe that Fudge sees and hears all. Only a few are like your dad," Elodie said.
"That's precisely why we could never work for the Ministry. Isn't that right Georgie?" I said as I took a sparkler out of my bag.
"Absolutely. I can't wait till I'm the boss of the both of you," George said lighting it and throwing it into the air.
People began to gather just as we wanted them to. We weren't breaking any rules, and everyone could use a bit of boost in morale. It also worked to advertise the fireworks we would have for sale once the shop opened up. Harry had been gracious enough to give us the galleons he had won from the tournament. So as far as George and I saw it, If Harry or Elodie ever wanted anything from the shop, it was on the house. Then again Elodie would also be an employee so that worked in her favor.
Just as we'd expected, people loved the sparklers. The way they could be tossed back and forth without causing harm, the pretty colors that erupted off of it. A little crowd began to gather, even Elodie couldn't take her eyes off of it. George shot it up in the air so I could catch it, but with a quickness it went out and entered his pocket. When we looked over Umbridge had her wand pointed directly at us as she wore that smug smile on her face before turning around.
Everyday there were more and more rules, and it wasn't long before our products were banned. Though that didn't stop us from selling them to people that already knew of their existence.
"Should've seen how she grilled Professor sprout just for having a bit of dirt on her coat," I said to everyone as we sat in the common room.
"I mean seriously, it's herbology!" Lee said.
"I can't even imagine what she's going to say to Trelawney tomorrow," Elodie said next to me as she pulled her eyes away from her book.
"Okay, that one I understand," Alicia said.
"Oh stop," Elodie argued. "Sure she's a bit out there, but what psychic isn't. Professor Trelawney is an excellent professor. She's definitely one of my favorites."
"Yeah but that's because you're psychic," Ron said to her.
"Only sometimes," She answered and returned her attention back to her book. I reached over and placed my hand over it, requesting her attention. The look she gave me was enough to tell me not to disturb her as she was in thought.
I leaned in a whispered, "Darling I'm going to need at least a bit of your attention if not all of it."
She looked at me and took in a breath, "Would you like for me to study like this?" She said and crossed her eyes before laughing.
"That's perfect! Proceed," I said to her and then threw an arm over her shoulders. "So Umbridge is observing your Divinations lesson tomorrow?" I asked her.
"Unfortunately. I thought about skipping class, but knowing her she'll use it as a means to say I don't take my studies seriously," She told me.
"What if we do something this weekend to take your mind off of it? Seeing as your birthday is next tuesday, and the first quidditch match is next saturday. Let's spend Saturday together just the two of us. What do you say?" I asked her
I watched the way her eyes brightened and her pupils dilated as she looked at me. "That actually sounds rather perfect," She said and tilted her head to kiss me quickly. "You're not going to make me paint my face for your match are you?" She asked sarcastically as soon as she pulled away.
"If she doesn't, neither will I," Ginny said, approaching us.
"Then it's settled," Elodie said with a smile as she looked at Ginny and patted the seat next to her.
Ginny hadn't spoken too much to either of us, other than a word here or there. But she was always watching. I hadn't forgotten what she'd said, but I wasn't going to hold it against her either. I knew Elodie wasn't.
"I'm sorry," I heard Ginny whisper to her.
"Shh, I missed you too much to think about that now," Elodie told her as she set her book down in front of her. Well at least that was out of the way. "Have you heard the new Weird sister's record?" She asked, truly putting it behind them.