-Disclaimer: Do I really need to type one?
-A/N: As always, my enormous and endless gratitude for everyone that reviewed. You guys are the reason why I continue to post things.
As much as I love food, eating, and anything to do with the above, when you're engaged in a dangerously devious prank war with two of the most cunning girls in your year; it's pretty hard to get excited. I mean, why anyone would be delighted at the thought of consuming something that may or may not contain a potion that will make you go hairless as a shaved cat.
After Fred and I had preformed a quick cleaning spell on our robes, we hurried down to the Great Hall. Fortunately, the long and boring process of the Sorting Hat had just finished. Mcgonagall had picked up the three legged stool and tattered hat and was on her way to put them back. Lee had saved us seats, so we plopped down on either side of him and started piling on the food.
Katie was sitting across from Lee, Angelina and Alicia on either side of her. The girls had been conducting some sort of compelling discussion but once Fred and I sat down, they shut right up. Naturally, this was only a benefit to me because I was in no mood to be tortured by Alicia's obnoxious cackle of a laugh. All right, so maybe that was exaggerating the truth but c'mon, she's Alicia for Pete's sake. The girl practically revolves her life around how many times she can piss me off in a single day.
Fred and I had been talking on the way to the Great Hall and it was unanimous that we'd need something big, something spectacular; something that would really knock Angelina and Alicia out of the water. The problem was that we didn't know what that was.
I gazed upward and noticed that Alicia was studying me with a strange interest. Those cherry lips of hers were squished together in this sort of pout that I might have thought would be quite appealing, if she weren't one of my sworn enemies. When she realized I was looking at her, she instantly scowled, her cheeks painted with a thick, crimson hue.
"Did you guys put anything in this food?" I demanded, putting down my biscuit.
Alicia cocked an eyebrow, her blush fading away.
"What do you think we are? Amateurs?" she sneered.
I threw her a very strained smile and went against my better judgment. Despite the fact that I had eaten on the train, my stomach was grumbling like a volcano eruption. You see, in addition to being hormonally driven, teenage boys always are in brink of starvation. I haven't figured out exactly why, though. Must be those weird laws of physics or something.
As I greedily chomped into the biscuit, I was very relieved that it tasted exactly the way it was supposed to. Surprisingly, the girls hadn't poisoned or damaged our food and the tension sort of decreased. Angelina started talking to Katie and Alicia about her summer in France, so the two turned off their glares and turned to their friend with matching warm smiles.
Girls. They can be so two-faced sometimes. They're too emotional, if you ask me. They think everything needs to be a scene out of a sappy movie, as though they were directing a romantic comedy or what not. If you give them a compliment, they start to cry because it's just "so romantic."
If you do something nice for them, like save them the last piece of pie at dinner, they get teary-eyed because "that was so thoughtful and romantic." Jesus, everything is "so romantic!" I get sick of the word. I bet if you warned a girl that her fly was down, she'd snog you senseless because it was "so thoughtful and romantic."
I'm beginning to see why Fred embraces the whole "you're only young once" concept. Who wants to be romantic when you can be having fun?
After dinner, Lee, Fred and I paraded about the hallway, setting off some old Filbuster's Fireworks that Lee had found in the bottom of his trunk. I guess it was to "christen" the New Year, if you will. Filch, the ruddy git, nearly caught us, but luckily we're very skilled when it comes to dodging unwanted company.
Thankfully, he was MIA and failed to witness our misdemeanor. But I suspect we're at the top of his list. I mean, who else would pull something brilliant like that? The last time we saw him, he was crouched over, wheezing for oxygen and threatening to "catch whomever the hooligans were if it were the last thing he'd do."
I guess it WILL be the last thing he'll ever do. The old bird looks like he's getting too up there in the age department to go chasing after three, vital youths such as ourselves. Besides, he's rarely been able to capture us. We've memorized all the secret passageways. They've come in handy more times than I can remember.
My fellow juvenile delinquents roared with laughter as we sauntered back to the common room. I was the last one into the common room. As I was running through the portrait hole, I accidentally slammed into someone.
We both toppled to the ground, letting out a string of curse words, seeing as how we'd knocked heads. I was about to offer a hand to the unfortunate victim, but I instantly recoiled when I met her eyes.
"Watch where you're going, Weasley!" Alicia furiously advised.
I glared at her and quickly stood up. She sprung to her feet, dusting off her robes as though she'd been pushed in dust. A few people, such as my little brother, Ron, his best friend, Harry Potter and Ron's too obvious infatuation, Hermione Granger, were sitting around. At the sight of Alicia's red face and my icy glare, they lowered their voices and took a quick observation at the unfolding argument, though trying not to show it.
"Well, if you had moved out of the way, maybe it wouldn't have happened!" I snapped.
She really does look cute when she's mad. I don't know why. I don't even know why the hell I thought that. Maybe she really had put something into my food. I wouldn't put it past her.
"Well, if you weren't walking around with your head in the clouds, then we wouldn't be having this conversation!"
She placed her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing as vibrantly as the fireplace.
By now, even Fred and Lee had stopped playing their game of 'Exploding Snap' to eavesdrop on the verbal fiasco. What was I, some sort of soap opera? Eh, oh well. It wasn't like this sort of thing was out of the ordinary. In fact, if Alicia and I went a day without arguing, then I'd seriously think there had been some sort of invasion of the body snatchers.
"Aw, what's the matter, Alicia? Is it your time of the month?"
All right, all right, that was pretty low to pull out the whole "feminine problems" card. But I couldn't resist. It was quick and easy. A little below the belt (no pun intended) but she wasn't exactly courteous and considerate. I resisted the urge to grin as I heard just about all the males snicker, with the exception of that Neville Longbottom bloke, who was asking someone what "that time of the month" meant.
Alicia was absolutely beyond furious. It was more like a mixture of humiliation AND anger. Her eyes were wide as two full moons and I wouldn't have been surprised if steam started billowing out of her ears. Her jaw was clamped shut, her nostrils flaring with spite. I let out a chuckle. So maybe she isn't that cute when she's upset. Rather than an attractive fifth year girl, she was like a very attractive flamingo ready to peck my eyes out.
"I can't believe you'd say something like that, you inconsiderate wanker!" she screeched.
At this, most of the girls started applauding with approval. This made me realize how absurd this argument was. But it didn't make me want to quit. There was something so addicting and in a twisted way, entertaining, that came with fighting with Alicia. I don't know. We both liked to push each other's buttons.
I rolled my eyes, and then threw her a cocky grin. This sent her even more into a rage of fury. I dramatically placed both hands to my heart, clutching it as though it would fall out any minute.
"Merlin, that really hurt. I think I'm going to sit in my room and have a good cry," I teased, sticking my bottom lip out in a pout.
Alicia let out a huff of frustration.
"You are such an asshole! I don't even know WHY I put up with you!"
I winked at her.
"You know you can't resist the Weasley Charm!" I seductively stated.
Or at least, I tried to be.
All the guys started hollering their agreement at this comment, while many of the girls hissed their disapproval.
Alicia smirked at me, her scowl falling off her face like bacon on a greased frying pan. She strutted over to me, swaying her hips back and forth like a pendulum. I gulped. You remember what I said about teenage boys and their hormones, right? Well, they were starting to kick on just about now.
I pretended to embrace a nonchalant attitude and critically eyed her. She gave me this sickeningly sweet smile, peering up at me with false innocence. I had no idea what the bleeding hell she was going to do.
It kind of made me nervous, to tell you the truth. But I kept smirking at her and she kept smiling at me. Neither of us wanted to lose this bizarre concentration game we were playing. I guess the both of us do play a lot of mind games which each other. It's kind of becoming a bad habit.
"Wow, George. You're right. I just can't hide it anymore. Those strong arms and gorgeous blue eyes of yours are extremely sexy," she throatily drawled.
The guys let out wolf-whistles. I stared down at her, attempting to figure out what was going on in her mind. Maybe I could out-smart her. But she batted her eyelashes up at me, then took a thick piece of her golden locks and began to slowly twirl it around her finger. My smirk deepened, knowing that I couldn't let some girl get to me, especially some prat like Alicia Spinnet. My heart started to beat wildly. Damn you hormones!
"Good of you to finally notice," I apathetically muttered.
Her eyes sparkled, the space between us rapidly decreasing. She tilted her head upwards, her lips approaching closer and closer. As much as I should have, I couldn't and wouldn't move. I was frozen in place for some reason.
Had I had known the reason, I would have ran as fast I could. But due to the fact I had suddenly turned into a hypnotized wanker, I was only able to observe how deliciously shiny her lips were and how with each inch decreased, the scent of her peach lip-gloss grew stronger and stronger.
Everyone in the common room remained deathly silent.
"What kind of game are you playing at, Spinnet?" I growled.
Our noses were practically touching. Her breath was calm and collected, brushing against my face like the whisper of a summer's breeze.
"I'd watch your back if I were you, Weasley," she huskily suggested.
I rose an eyebrow.
"Why's that?"
Her lips moved closer but still did not touch mine.
It seemed like the entire world was standing still. Her sweet smile broadened into a sinister sneer.
"Because things can happen when you least expect it."
And before I could jump backwards, she had kneed me in the….well, let's say, "a land down under."
I let out an earsplitting groan of pain, along with all the other Gryffindor males that knew too well the catastrophic damage of the action. Alicia waltzed back to Angelina and Katie, her nose high in the air, once again swaying those hips of hers like she was a model on the runway. When Alicia was securely standing next to her mates, the entire group of girls faced her and started wildly cheering like raving Qudditich fans at the World Cup.
I shuffled over to Lee and Fred, still hunched over.
"Thank you, thank you!" Alicia proclaimed, taking an arrogant bow.
Ugh. That little git! Thinks she could pull a fast one on me, doesn't she? We'll see about that. Even more than ever, I felt like making her the victim of the most humiliating prank of all time.
What was I thinking, suddenly drifting off to La La Land and noting how pretty she was? Had I gone insane? This was war. That meant no flirting with the enemy! After a few moments, I caught my breath and rose to my full height, glowering at Alicia. She was too busy laughing it up with the group of girls that had gathered around her.
"Tough luck, mate," Lee sympathized.
I only nodded, boiling with fanatical rage.
"Yeah, tough break. But don't worry, we'll get them this year," Fred assured, lightly patting me on the back.
I let out a frustrated sigh. I was silent for a moment, letting my eyes stray away from my brother and best friend. Once again, they landed on Alicia. She met my gaze and threw me a sly smile, then gave a little wave.
I narrowed my eyes, my fists clenching and unclenching. Enough was enough. For too long had I been "George Weasley, Mr. Nice Guy." This year, I would break out the big guns. This year, I would do everything in my power to see that I would be the one having the last laugh.
"Spinnet is going down."