Hey Everyone. This is my first time writing something that is longer than just a few pages. I would really appriciate any feed back to help me as I keep working.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :-(
The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement. It was going to be the first time in years that the Triwizard tournament was going to take place, and it was actually being hosted by Hogwarts. The students were running up and down the tables, animatedly discussing the details with friends of all ages and houses, eager to find out everything possible. Professor McGonagall was standing before the tables, her lips pressed in a pencil thin line, having unwillingly accepted that there was no way for her to quiet the students throughout the sorting ceremony. Angelina couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle. Not that she wasn't excited about the upcoming year, because she certainly was, but these kids, especially the boys, were acting ridiculous. Half of the information they were going to get was wrong, and they would be hearing the actual story in about 10 minutes after the sorting was done and Dumbledore spoke.
As the last poor, trembling first year was escorted to the table of cheering Ravenclaws, Dumbledore stood to give his annual welcome speech. As she stared fixatedly at the amazing, if slightly insane, old man at the front of the room she couldn't help but hear the whispers of the surrounding students.
"Only one of us can be the Hogwarts champion, you both do realize that right?"
"Why is that? We are a package deal, isn't that right Freddie?"
"Exactly! Plus, since we both only have half a brain they will have to take us together."
Angelina couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. Although she was really trying to pay attention, those three boys always seemed to be distracting her. That was the problem with being best friends with the biggest troublemakers to grace the walls of Hogwarts since the "Maunderers", the group that the boys idolized like they were gods even though none of them knew who they actually were. It was right at that moment that Dumbledore uttered the most heartbreaking words that the majority of the school had ever heard.
"Due to the dangerous situations you will all be put in, the student must be of age in order to submit their name."
At this Angelina's quiet chuckle burst into full on hysterical laughing. Of course her laugh was covered by the cries of outrage throughout the hall, especially from the boys sitting directly next to her. She was lucky enough to have turned 17 just before returning to school, so she could still enter. However, being the oldest in her year, all of her friends didn't have the same luck. Her eyes started to tear up from laughing as she saw her group of best friends all staring at the front of the hall in absolute horror.
After slightly calming the students, Dumbledore finished his speech with the typical information about objects that were not allowed and a reminder that the Forbidden Forest was named thus for a reason, throwing a conspicuous look over at the middle of the Gryffindor table. It was easy to see the amusement behind his moon-shaped spectacles as he gave the boys a warning look. At that, the food appeared on the tables and the feast began.
For the first time since the beginning of the sorting Angelina allowed herself to turn her attention to the three boys sitting around her. They had dominated her life at Hogwarts since day one. They were loud, obnoxious, intelligent, and hands down the most amusing people probably to ever enter the doors of the school. Lee Jordan and the Weasley Twins were already famous within the walls of Hogwarts. Fred was undoubtedly the leader. His brother George had always been right next to him, his other half and the finisher of all of his sentences and ideas. Lee was their best friend, though it was obvious that he was often left slightly out of the loop. That has to be expected when two people are as close as the twins. Their own mother could hardly tell them apart. Sometimes Angelina didn't think even they could tell themselves apart.
She was able tell the difference between them, though. Not by looks of course. They were identical down to the last freckle and strand of bright red hair. No the difference was in their personalities. It was hard to notice due to how rare it was to find them apart, but she had seen deep down into both of them over the course of the past 5 years. Fred was funnier. George was hilarious as well, but Fred would do anything for a laugh, even hurt someone he loved. George was gentler, though more impressionable as well. Fred was more charismatic, George was more intelligent. Most people didn't see this though because they saw them as one entity. What was the point in working to see the difference between them when they were never apart anyways?
At one point during the feast George worked his way to sit next to Angelina, throwing his arm around her shoulders with a familiarity that only comes with years of friendship. Glancing down at her, he grinned and said, "So, my beautiful friend, how's about you put my name in the Goblet."
"Like hell I will," Angelina responded quickly, shooting an equally charming grin back at him. She couldn't help but feel her heart speed up a bit. This feeling had become increasingly more common over the past few years of being around George. She hadn't told anyone, not even Katie. Of course, if she had said anything to her she would have laughed and asked how in the world she could fancy one of them and not the other as well when they were the same person. But as sarcastic and sometimes harsh as Angelina was she knew she needed someone who had a slightly kinder continence while still being capable of keeping up with her wit. Both Fred and George would challenge her, but Fred's brutal personality would push her over the edge while George would keep her just balancing on the edge where she liked to be.
The boys, Angelina, and Katie dragged their feet as they made their way to the common room for the first time that year.
"Can you believe what complete bollocks this is?" Fred mused as he glanced furiously between his four friends.
"I don't know. It sounds kind of reasonable to me," Angelina smirked as she passed a sidelong glance at her friends. She knew it had to be killing all four of them that she would be the only one able to enter her name. Maybe she should have felt bad about it, but it was a tradition in their group to try to set all the others off, and she knew nothing would do it like this new rule.
"You don't get a vote in this. You are already 17. We are just going to have to find some way around this," Fred declared, grinning devilishly at his twin.
A few seconds passed with the four students desperately thinking and Angelina shaking her head before Fred and George shared the all too familiar looks that said they were sharing a silent conversation. "Aging Potion," The two boys declared in unison.
Angelina rolled her eyes, shocked that she was again to be the only voice of reason in the world of the Weasley twins. No one else was mental enough to tell them their plan was bollocks once they were scheming seeing as that typically made them turn on the speaker. "There is no way that something that simple is going to get past Dumbledore. Sorry mates."
Unsurprisingly, the twins just laughed her comment off. "Of course it will," Fred stated confidently.
"Dumbledore won't be expecting something so simple," George explained upon seeing the skeptical faces of his friends.
"Making us the most brilliant…"
"Or simplest two people at Hogwarts," George rationalized while finishing his twins thought with the same look of mischief in his eyes.
At this point the group was just making its way through the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. They could see the last stragglers making their way up the winding staircases to the comfortable beds they would inhabit for the entire year. Most people passed out the second they were released from the Great Hall. Angelina and her friends, however, liked to take a few hours to get reacquainted and hear the general plans for mischief that would be occurring due to the twins' constant and incredible schemes. One great advantage to being friends with the twins was avoiding most of their pranks. That is, unless they are getting her back for something as the case has often been. The more she thought about it, the more she decided that if anyone could find a way past the age barrier it would be Fred and George.
Over the course of the next hour the five friends talked about everything. They discussed how it sucked that there wasn't going to be Quidditch because of the Triwizard Tournament. They talked about their summers and how, as much fun as it was, they all agreed if they had spent one more week they would have lost it. A vast majority of the conversation seemed to be filled with bragging by the twins since they were the ones who got to go to the Quidditch World Cup. Finally, after all of them were exhausted, Fred decided to be the one to break up the reunion.
"Well mates this has been wonderful but you all aren't entertaining enough to keep me from the bed waiting for me upstairs," Fred teased as he stood and stretched. The rest of the group took that to mean that they were all going to bed. Angelina and Katie worked their way sluggishly up the staircase and to their dorm. Their roommates were already fast asleep, as was the vast majority of the castle. As they went to get ready for bed Angelina realized she left her wand downstairs.
"Bollocks, I forgot my wand. I'll be back," Angelina whispered to Katie as she tiptoed across the room. As she left she heard her best friend mutter, "You are a bloody witch. How do you forget your wand?"
Laughing at Katie's reaction, Angelina skipped down the stairs into what she presumed to be an empty common room. As she ran over to large comfortable chairs by the fire that they so often occupied she realized there was someone still sitting in one. He had the trademark fire red hair and freckles that always stopped her in her tracks.
"So much for bed, huh?" Angelina questioned the twin, still unaware until conversation started which one it was.
"Hah, yea Ange. Kinda sad right? I am going to die tomorrow in class if I can't get some bloody sleep tonight."
Angelina's heart skipped as she realized exactly which twin it was. She wouldn't let anyone else get away with calling her Ange, and Fred had learned that the hard way during second year. "Yea, George. And if you aren't awake to take notes Merlin knows there is no way that Fred will pass any of his classes this year," Angelina joked as she sat down opposite him.
"I still don't understand how you can tell the difference between the two of us." George said while throwing her a look of awe.
"Well I can't sometimes," Angelina explained while blushing under his glaze. "I just realize that you have different aspects of your personality. If everyone knew you too as well as I do they would be able to tell from talking to you too."
"But then people would have to talk to us," replied George with the trademark hint of humor in his eyes.
"Exactly why no one else can see the difference. You won't find anyone else that will put up with you. I just hope you realize that," she shot back, continuing their normal banter.
At this George leaned forward and looked her strait in the eye, causing her blush even harder. Making Angelina Johnson blush was no small feat. As a member of the Quidditch team she had build up a reputation as a hardarse. If she hadn't then the boys would not take her as serious as a player, even though she was undoubtedly one of the best players on the team. She was not willing to lose the reputation over any stupid git. She could only pray that the darkness of the room would make him unable to see. "Well, Ange, not everyone is as patient as you are. Or maybe there is another reason why you put up with us so much."
This made Angelina jump up from her seat, not willing to have George see her face after that comment. "Nope, I'm just wonderful like that," she stammered as she looked for a way to get out of the conversation. "Oh well, I just came down to grab my wand. Forgot it before. Strange, right? Well goodnight George. See you tomorrow." Grabbing her wand, Angelina made a mad dash for the staircase that lead to the girls' dorms.
"'Night Ange," she could hear George laughing as she ran up the stairs. So much for playing it smooth.