AN: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I am simply using it for a fic. Enjoy!
Seeker for the Montrose Magpies.
Prompt: F: Fred Weasley, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Fairy, Fruit cake
Late for a Date
Fred sprinted down the path to the ice cream parlour, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He'd woken up late this Hogsmeade weekend, so the pack of students had already left by the time he'd reached their designated meeting place. That hadn't stopped him from trying to catch up.
His stomach churned as he raced around the corner. The leftover fruit cake he had hastily stuffed down for breakfast was disagreeing with his sudden movements. He didn't have time to waste, though; Angelina would be waiting for him. The thought that she might not have bothered to stop in at the parlour after realising he wasn't present in the group of students passed through his mind, causing him to lurch forward a few more steps. Breathing heavily, he burst through the door of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
He spotted Angelina straight away. She wasn't hard to miss, sat there alone at a table for two, but somehow, her presence managed to take up both seats. She looked up at him the second he entered, and his heart fluttered — almost like bat wings. Well, according to Angelina, the more 'romantic' way to go about it would be to compare it to Fairy wings. Her mother, a Muggle, had oft read her bedtime stories of pretty, innocent little fairies. Fred grinned, remembering the way he and George had shattered her illusions of those particular creatures in Care of Magical Creatures the year before.
She hadn't spoken to either of them for a week.
"Hi," he said, still working to get his breathing under control.
Angelina smirked at him. "You look slightly… windswept."
Fred snorted. "You look immaculate yourself," he said dramatically, and he pulled out his chair to take a seat.
A gasp from across the table caused him to freeze. "What?" he asked.
Angelina had her hand over her mouth, looking almost distraught, but he could see the humour in her eyes. "Where are my manners?" she asked. "Allow me."
And with that, she stood and, moving behind his chair, pushed it in for him. He let his head drop backwards to look up at her, and said:
"Why, thank you, my lady. It's been an awful long time since I was treated like a gent."
Angelina snorted. "When was this 'last time'?"
Fred frowned, pulling the face he made when he was pretending to concentrate in a test as a professor walked by. It had served him well throughout the years. "I'd say around… when I was four years old, give or take."
Angelina laughed. "And here I was thinking you always got seated by your dates."
"Who said it wasn't a date?" he asked, deadpan.
"Stop being a muppet," she said, covering her grin with her hand. "No four-year-old has ever been on a date."
"I'll have you know I've been a charmer right from the very beginning."
Angelina rolled her eyes. "Sure you have. Now, what are you ordering? I've already decided."
Fred plucked the menu from Angelina's hands. "Thank you, since you've already decided."
She simply shook her head, but the smile never left her face.
Scanning the menu, Fred saw: honeycomb, jellybean, chili chocolate, caramel praline, black raspberry crunch, vanilla bean, mint chocolate, and rocky road, among others. Pondering for a moment, he went for his all time favourite — pumpkin spice. He already knew Angelina was going to laugh at its bright orange colour.
After going to order, they took their seats again. This time, Fred made sure to push in Angelina's seat. If his mother knew he'd made that mistake twice, she would have come over to Hogsmeade herself to correct him. As he took his own seat, Fred felt his stomach turn again. He'd managed to stave off the sweat from his earlier exercise with a quick Cooling Charm, but he didn't know any spells to suppress nausea. That was more his mum's area of expertise. Once the orders came, he would be fine, he tried telling himself. Cold ice cream made everyone feel better.
How wrong he was.
The orders arrived at the exact same time, and he smiled into his bright orange dish while Angelina let out a bark of laughter. However, when he looked up at hers, he felt his face lose its colour.
She had chosen the "Fruit Cake Fancy", and the two wafer thin slices that were folded over the top of her scoops were enough to make his stomach start turning with a vengeance. It felt like going through the Floo on a full stomach.
"Excuse me," Fred gasped out, and ran to the toilets, where he promptly emptied his meagre breakfast. Standing up with a groan, he cleansed himself with a Freshening Charm, hoping that Angelina wouldn't be able to tell what he had been doing.
But when he turned around, he was mortified to find Angelina right behind him, standing on the other side of the open cubicle door.
She laughed at his expression, and with her hands on her hips, said: "There's never a dull moment with you, is there?"
Fred only smirked, still feeling a bit weak. "Never, Angie, never."
Her smile turned to a scowl, and he ducked to avoid her swatting hand.
"You know I hate it when you call me that!" she said, exasperated.
"And that's exactly why I do it," he said with a bow.
Angelina only laughed and shoved him out of the toilets.