A/N: This is a companion story to my SS/OC story And They Lived Happily, about Victoria's friend Sophie. I liked the idea of her sooo much that I had to write her story. Hope you guys like it!
"I can't believe you just did that, Sophie," hissed Fred Weasley. "You're such a dirty little sneak sometimes, I could swear that you're secretly a Slytherin."
"What exactly did I do, Fred?" she sighed, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Toria doesn't seem to be upset with me."
"Toria doesn't rock the boat," growled George. "But you know perfectly well what you did, sweetheart, telling Umbridge that the Edgecombe girl was where to apply the pressure. Have you got any idea of what you've done?"
"Enlighten me," she sighed, pulling her silky black hair into a ponytail as she walked, the twins walking with her. She honestly hadn't cared. Umbridge had promised extra credit, and if she wanted to get into the Healer program at St. Mungo's, she needed someone on her side who could pull that Transfiguration grade to passing.
"Well, as your little Slytherin friends may have mentioned," said Fred.
"You've basically ended all resistance to Umbridge and her tyranny," said George.
"And," said Fred.
"You've also gotten Dumbledore kicked out," added George.
"She's in charge of the whole place now," the groaned together.
"Good," said Sophie. "I don't like the toad any more than either of you, but I need to pass Transfiguration, and she was my ticket to the Healer program. It's nothing personal."
"Nothing bloody personal?" cried Fred. "Godric, Sophie, don't you ever think about anyone but yourself? Why the hell are you in bloody Hufflepuff, anyway? It's obvious you're a Slytherin."
"Because," she hissed, "when someone messes with the ones I love I bring them down in a big way. But no one has. Toria stayed out of the mess you called the DA and Cora and Vi are Slytherins. They were too smart to get their noses bent out of joint."
"And Tien?" demanded George. "Just because she's not in our year doesn't mean you don't care about her. I know you two are close, Sophie. She nearly got detention, or worse. And you know how bad detention is these days."
"No, I don't," she said with a perky little smile. "At least, I don't know on a personal level. If you may remember, my record is as spotless as Toria's and I intend to keep it that way."
Sophie blew the boys a kiss goodbye and waltzed off to the Great Hall, ignoring their outraged expressions and hisses of protest at her abrupt dismissal of them. She knew they didn't really think much of her. She was used to that.
Since Sophie Kirby had been Sorted into Hufflepuff, people had held very low expectations of her. She really didn't mind as much as she ought that people viewed her as simple and easily impressionable. It simply made her adversaries more vulnerable. George, for example, had thought he could just ask her to the Yule Ball and have sex with her because he had been kind enough to ask her.
She didn't think he would have been stupid enough to underestimate her twice, but apparently they were even dumber as a pair.
"Sophie, dear!" cried Cora as she slid into the seat between her two Slytherin best friends. "How are you?"
"Oh, fine, I just have a pair of redheads I'd like to kill," Sophie drawled, "but that's really nothing new, is it?"
Vi Hampson laughed her sweet, musical laugh. Cora MacCarrick snorted.
"No, not really. Are they bitter that their dear Headmaster is gone? Or that they can't have their silly little club anymore?"
"Both," said Sophie through a mouthful of potatoes.
"You know," said Vi softly, "I may not be their biggest fan, but they are rather cute. How can you manage to be mad at them all the time?"
"Very easily," drawled Sophie. "If they're breathing, they're doing something stupid, and if they're doing something stupid, they're making me upset, and so by breathing, they upset me. It's not hard at all."
The truth was, it was very hard to be upset with the Weasley twins for too long, but she hated letting anyone else win an argument. Sophie had an awful lot of pride for a Hufflepuff. It had often served her well, as her friendship with Slytherins, though they be Slytherins like Vi and Cora, made her the enemy not only of much of her own House, but of many Ravenclaws and Gryffindors as well.
In fact, many people wondered where Sophie had gotten such friends, as the three had been close for as long as anyone could remember. The truth was that she had grown up with them. They had really been friends for as long as Sophie herself could remember. Vi and Cora had been the most stable part of her life growing up. Nobody, not even the Weasley brothers, could ever make her give up her friendship with them, Slytherin or no.
The next morning, Sophie settled in at the Hufflepuff table, knowing it was her turn to have her friends come to her. Vi and Cora sat down across from her. Victoria was meant to come sit beside her, but when Victoria Lane entered the Great Hall, she slid into place next to Fred, across from George. Sophie's jaw dropped. Victoria never rocked the boat, never chose a side, always played a fine balance between her Gryffindor friends and her little quartet of Healers-to-be. What was she doing, sitting with the Weasleys when she ought to have been with Sophie? Was she picking a side in this battle?
"Is Toria doing what I think she is?" Sophie whispered to her companions, and Vi and Cora looked over to where the Weasley twins sat, frowning ever-so-slightly.
"It certainly looks like it," Cora muttered, tension in her voice. "You don't think she's upset with us, do you?"
"Upset with me," Sophie corrected. "She's upset with me. Probably the twins told her to be upset with me, and you know how she is with Fred Weasley..."
Vi giggled a bit, and Sophie couldn't help but smile.
Victoria Lane was absolutely in love with Fred Weasley. Not that half of their year couldn't say the same, but Fred seemed to be genuinely interested in Victoria, which couldn't be said for most of the girls in their year. Sophie had been sleeping at Victoria's house one year and Victoria had even started talking in her sleep about how much she loved Fred. It was a bit adorable, even if he was a Weasley.
"I still can't believe she would do that," Cora muttered. "I mean, I'm thrilled Dumbledore's gone and amused about the rest of it, but if Toria's going to be siding against us..."
"She's not," Vi said in a soft voice. "Toria doesn't take sides. She can't be siding against us."
"I don't know," Sophie said thoughtfully, watching Fred lean in to whisper something in Victoria's ear. The redheaded girl blushed almost the same color as her hair. "I can think of one reason she'd take sides, at least temporarily."
"Do you really think he would date her just to get her to pick his side?" Vi whispered, eyes wide.
George rolled his eyes and Fred turned Victoria's face by the chin before pressing his lips gently and lingeringly to her lips.
"Looks like it," Sophie muttered, raising an eyebrow across the Great Hall at George, who had noticed she was watching them. His face stayed blank and he didn't turn away from her gaze.
"We can't prove that," Cora pointed out. "Maybe he actually wanted to date her anyway."
"The timing's suspicious," Sophie sighed. "But it doesn't matter. I'm going to handle this anyway."
"How exactly do you expect to do that?" Vi asked, curious.
"I don't know yet," Sophie admitted, tilting her head as she watched Fred and Victoria flirting and giggling. "But George doesn't look too happy about how things have turned out."
It was true. George looked sullen and none too pleased that his twin brother was basically hanging all over Victoria Lane. Sophie smiled to herself. It might be time to make a surprise alliance with George Weasley.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Cora demanded. "You're not thinking of using George to part Toria from the boy she's been mooning over since the first day of Hogwarts."
Sophie smirked, making sure that George saw her do so before turning to pour herself some pumpkin juice, just as Fred and Victoria's lips met once more.
"Maybe I am," Sophie said, still smirking as she lifted the pumpkin juice to her lips, looking back over George who was pointedly looking away from his brother, meeting Sophie's eyes once more.
Yes, it was a bit of a deal with the devil, but nobody could say Sophie hadn't made a few of those in the past.
/-/
Victoria being his girlfriend was, admittedly, an added bonus of the situation. If Sophie Kirby wanted to fight dirty, Fred Weasley could sink right down to her level.
At least, that was what he told himself as he let himself get completely lost in Victoria Lane's gorgeous green eyes and daydream about kissing every inch of her creamy, freckled ivory skin.
She was a pretty girl, he told himself. Wasn't he allowed to appreciate a pretty girl? Especially one he was 'dating'?
But Fred knew it was so much more than that, deep in his core, as he started mentally undressing the girl he'd harbored a secret crush for most of his time at Hogwarts. George hadn't liked when Fred suggested the way of getting back at Sophie, but George wasn't particularly fond of Victoria. He said she didn't have proper Gryffindor spirit, that she should have been in Hufflepuff.
Maybe if she had been Sorted into Hufflepuff George wouldn't have minded Fred's being crazy about her, but George seemed to think that her placement was some sort of personal insult, not to the Gryffindor House, but to George himself. Fred ignored George's petulance and enjoyed his excuses to kiss her perfect lips.
So she was good at avoiding confrontation. So what? Everyone was allowed to have their chance to stay out of fights and difficult decisions when they could. He could certainly envy her that. Fred had never really minded her way of not taking sides as much as George had.
They were in the common room and Victoria was sitting on his lap as the embers were dying down in the fireplace. He was starting to get tired, but he didn't want to go to sleep while she was still up, missing moments with her. He didn't know how long he could make this excuse last, how long he could keep her.
"You don't have to do this, Fred," she said softly.
What? Did have to do what? Stay awake holding her on his lap? Of course he did! He had to savor every moment with her.
"I know why you're doing it."
"What?" he said dumbly, still trying to understand what she was talking about. Victoria turned on his lap so she could face him and it stung that she looked sad and determined. It suddenly hit him what she was talking about.
"I know you're using me to get back at Sophie," she whispered. "I... I'm okay with it. I mean, I wanted to date you, and I guess I'll take what I can get and if it's revenge on Sophie, I'll take it. I know she'll be mad at me, but I can handle that, for a little while. She'll understand."
Fred blinked. She wanted to date him? Could it be possible that she wanted him as much as he wanted her? Maybe he hadn't had to use the excuse after all!
"Toria, I'm crazy about you," he admitted. "I was using this as an opportunity, because I figured George wouldn't let me even try otherwise."
Victoria blinked, her mouth not making noise as it worked. Finally she said, "Me? You like me?"
Fred couldn't help but grin as he pressed his lips to hers to show her how much he liked her. To his pleasure, she began kissing him back eagerly wrapping her arms around his neck as he focused on how much he loved the taste of her lips... Those plump, perfect lips...
And he wanted to take it farther, to taste her whole mouth, to taste the rest of her sweet, pale skin...
Trying to keep control over himself, he pulled out of the kiss reluctantly, feeling a thrill go through him as he realized that she was making a disappointed sound.
"So now what?" he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. "Would... would you mind being my girl? Like, for real?"
"Can I?" she said softly, and his heart swelled happily as he kissed her again, holding her tightly against him and wishing he never had to let go.
When he finally went up to bed that night, he lay awake staring at the ceiling, imagining a future with Victoria, where George finally was okay with it and Sophie wasn't trying to use Victoria for her own selfish purposes. It was a nice future, he decided.
"Fred?" George groaned. "Did she finally go to sleep?"
"I..." Fred debated with himself silently. "George, I love her. I mean... I think I do. I really, really like her."
There was silence for a moment and then he heard George shifting on his bed, then the soft, brief padding of feet on the floor before the bed hangings around Fred's bed were jerked open and George was looking down at him, frowning ominously in the near-darkness.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I know you're not exactly thrilled about any of this," Fred whispered, "and I know this confession is about to make it even worse, but you're my twin and I can't keep something like this from you. I hope you'll understand. But... but I'm crazy about her and as it turns out she really likes me and even without Sophie and all this... I want her to be my girl, George. You know what it's like out there. You know we might not have a lot of time. I don't want to waste it pretending anymore."
George's face was contorted with rage. Fred knew he was walking a thin line, his twin or Victoria. It was a choice he didn't want to make, but he knew if George calmed down a bit, he would continue to not be approving, but he wouldn't make him choose. And Fred didn't want to choose.
"This is what you want?" George demanded. "You're sure? A girl who barely belongs in Gryffindor? Well, at least she's a redhead or Mum would flip."
"I'm not marrying the girl," Fred said sheepishly, although he wasn't completely against the idea. "I just want to date her."
"That's how it starts," George sighed. "You know dating has only two possible outcomes, right?"
Fred nodded. Bill had told them before, when he determined they were old enough to start dating no matter what their mother said. Dating can only end in dumping or marriage.
It was something to keep in mind, but as Fred didn't exactly have a problem imagining himself marrying Victoria, didn't have a problem picturing their life together, he wasn't too concerned about the dumping or marrying options. He would never hurt her.
"So this is what you want," George sighed. "Victoria Lane? Freddie, you could have a lot of girls. What's so special about this one?"
Fred shrugged, looking down at his twin's cloth-covered kneecaps.
"I can't put my finger on it yet, George," he admitted. "She's beautiful."
"So's Angelina."
"She's smart."
"So's Alicia."
"She's sweet."
"So's Katie."
"She looks at me with those big green eyes and she makes my whole body just melt," he sighed, half embarrassed that he'd said it out loud, half pleased to get it off of his chest. "Nobody else does that, George. Nobody."
George frowned a bit deeper, contemplatively, biting the inside of his lip slightly, which Fred couldn't see but knew was happening because it was what George always did when he was thinking very hard about something important.
"I guess if you want to have a thing with Victoria Lane you can," George said slowly. "I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you've gone a bit loopy, but I couldn't stop you if I wanted, anyway."
"Really?" Fred snorted. "C'mon, George, you know that we're twins. We don't do things without clearing it with each other. I was worried you might side with Sophie Kirby on this one."
"Honestly?" George snorted back. "There's hardly anything that could make me side with that should-be Slytherin. Why do you think she isn't in Slytherin?"
It was something the pair had speculated about often, as though she deserved their time and attention. Fred just shrugged. His money had always been that there were certain people she wouldn't step on to get what she wanted, or maybe that she thought blood purity was a bunch of crap. She was, after all, 'best friends' in her way with Victoria, who was half-blood, but half wasn't Muggle-born, George had always argued back.
When George realized that Fred wasn't going to say any more on the topic, he told Fred goodnight and went back to sleep, back to his own bed, leaving Fred to ponder in silence exactly how he might find out of the rest of Victoria tasted as divinely intoxicating as her lips.
The thoughts that went through his mind as he contemplated his options were beautiful, Fred decided as sleep began to take over his mind, twisting the wishful thinking into delicious dreams full of her beautiful red hair, pale skin, and luscious green eyes. She tasted divine, even in his dreams.
