I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted a chapter! I've lost a bit of steam and I've been busy with school and the holidays, but I'm getting back on track! I'd like to make it to Christmas in the series by actual Christmas so I can have a bit of a "Christmas special." But, thanks for the patience you guys. Sorry if this chapter is a little rough, but I'm back, and this fic isn't going anywhere :)
I know I say this all the time, but I truly appreciate all the support you guys have shown me. It means the world to me, to know that you guys are enjoying what I write, and seeing your support helps me keep writing. Reviews really mean a lot, and I know everyone says that, but they do. Your reviews never fail to bring a smile to my face, so don't be afraid to drop one off, with a comment, question, or prediction. It's all welcome and I'd be happy to hear any of it from any of you :-)
Enjoy :D
"Why?"
It was the first word that escaped Amelia's mouth upon removing her mouth from Fred's, since they'd been snogging for quite a while. They'd been left alone in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, what was really expected from them?
"Why what?" Fred countered, slightly confused as his eyes scanned Amelia's still tear-dampened face.
"Why me, why any of this?" Amelia asked. She went to wipe the new tears from her cheeks, but Fred did it for her. "It's just….there's no….reasoning. You and me, I mean. We just happened."
"You're far too logic-needy to be a Hufflepuff," Fred chuckled. "You're reminding me of Hermione….it's a wonder the two of you didn't end up in Ravenclaw."
"Fred, I'm being serious!" Amelia stated, punching him in the chest. To his surprise, it actually hurt, and he rubbed the spot where her fist made contact. "Why? Why did we….er, fall….fall in….love? It just happened, and it was, and is so overwhelming, and what's the reasons? Where are the reasons?"
Once again, much to her annoyance, Fred simply chuckled at her. And, once again, she raised a fist to punch him in the chest, but this time, he was prepared, and he caught her fist, effectively blocking the punch, which only seemed to further annoy her. He smirked.
"Why do you need a reason?" he asked. "You're just terrified to admit you have feelings. Also of commitment, I believe….it's rather adorable, though, and keeps things interesting, to a point. Can't you stop being such a logical git for one moment and just accept something? You don't need a reason. Just know that I love you and accept it."
"Fine," she grumbled, seeming a bit hot and bothered.
He leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned her head, so that he instead kissed her cheek. Neither party seemed to mind. In turning her head, she glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already a few minutes past ten. She sighed.
"I've got to get going," Amelia told Fred. Even now, she still felt her stomach erupt in nargles, just knowing that he was looking at her like that, and he saw that she felt like she had nargles in her gut, and he tried to kiss her again, but again, only landed one on the cheek, as she said, "Really, Fred, c'mon. I've got to go."
With that, Amelia nodded, and just as she was about to exit the room, Fred told her, "I expect you to cheer up a bit and create some new pranks, alright?"
To herself, she smiled, pausing for a moment only to say, "Sure, Fred," before she disappeared out of the Gryffindor common rooms, leaving Fred more happy and confused than he'd been in a long time.
Amelia was careful on her way back to the Hufflepuff basement, taking the back route hallways, though she hoped that if she did get caught, she could think fast on her feet and come up with a Prefect-related reason to explain why she was out at such a time. But, she was lucky, and made it back to the common room without a problem, and found a group of students still up and playing Exploding Snap while drinking firewhiskey by the fireplace.
"Oi, Amelia, care to join us?" inquired Malcolm Preece, offering up the bottle of firewhiskey with a welcoming grin.
With her own smirk, Amelia grabbed the bottle from him and lightheartedly sighed in reply, "Disappointed in you, Preece. Drinking? No, no….I'll have to confiscate this…."
The others around the table laughed as she took a long-drawn sip from the bottle, as did Malcolm, though he then revealed another bottle with a wink.
"Sure you don't want to join?" Tasmin Applebee then asked. "We're about to start a new game."
"I'm good, but thanks for the offer, and thanks for the firewhiskey," Amelia repeated. "G'night."
A chorus of "g'nights" followed Amelia through the doors the the girls dormitory, as she continued to drink. She came to her own dorm, where she found Leanne snoring beneath a mountain of blankets, and Phoebe, looking rather dreamy, as she sat upright in her pajamas in her bed, rats crawling all over her.
"Have you been drinking too, Pheebs?" Amelia inquired with a slight smirk, knowing that Phoebe would probably be the last person to be drinking. Not having gotten an answer, Amelia plopped down on her bed, scooped Lucy into her arms, took another swig of firewhiskey, and then asked, "Ah, is it George? I heard him nearly almost call you his girlfriend earlier."
After a moment, Phoebe, almost in a daze, replied, "George? Oh, yes, I suppose. He is quite wonderful…."
"And your boyfriend?" Amelia teased, hoping to get a definitive answer out of Phoebe.
Though silent, Phoebe's blush told Amelia all she needed to know.
Amelia squealed in a way that she knew would annoy Phoebe, who then broke out of her dreamy state and rolled her eyes, hiding most of her face with her massive and wild hair.
"So you broke things off with Elliott and everything, then?" Amelia asked, as she transferred herself from her bed to Phoebe's. "Even though you were so in love and so in love with frogs?"
"Well….," Phoebe drawled, embarrassed, as she gulped and turned red again. "...No….not exactly…."
"Phoebe!" Amelia scolded, slapping her friend on the arm with more force than she had intended to. "You haven't broken up with him yet?"
"No!" Phoebe shrieked defensively. It was a shock that Leanne hadn't woken up with all the commotion. "No, I haven't."
"Phoebe, you can't do that!" Amelia continued. "You've got to….pick, y'know, or else its not fair to anyone."
"Why should I listen to you?" Phoebe asked sharply. "You're not a relationship expert or anything even close, you can't even admit that you and Fred - …."
Amelia cut her off, saying, "For your information, Fred and I just got back together."
"Oh," Phoebe drawled, her eyes widening and her expression dropping. She crossed her arms once again, and then haughtily said, "Well, it's just that I've never had one boy show an interest in me, let alone two. I would just like to enjoy it for a little while, now, good night, Amelia."
With that, she retreated beneath her covers with her rats, effectively hiding from Amelia, who sighed.
"Good night, Phoebe," she replied in a barely audible whisper, before retreating to her own bed, where she fell into a restless sleep.
The next morning, Sunday morning, Amelia decided to stop badgering Phoebe about her "boy issues," she she could try to make a decision on her own. Instead, she asked her wild-haired friend about something she'd somehow completely forgotten about the previous evening - the return of Hagrid.
"So, I….I forgot to ask you, about last night, that is," Amelia questioned, after the two girls found themselves the last ones in their dorm.
"Oh," Phoebe replied, brushing a rat off her shoulder. In a lower, hushed tone, she told Amelia, "Yes….he's been with the giants."
"Giants?" Amelia repeated, eyes widening.
"Yes," Phoebe whispered, pulling Amelia closer to her so there was less of a chance to be overheard. Amelia adjusted the compass that Phoebe had given her around her neck, as Phoebe continued, whispering, "Dumbledore sent Professor Hagrid and Madame Maxime - she is part giant, after all - to go find them and try to get their help, or at least, their alliance with the Order."
"Why?"
"So He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can't," Phoebe said, face darkening. "The last time….during the last war….he had all kinds of other creatures like the giants in his army….Dumbledore just wanted to prepare. He didn't want You-Know-Who to have the advantage again."
"So, did the giants make an alliance with the Order?" Amelia then asked.
"Not exactly," Phoebe informed her. "They gave the Gurg - er, that's the chief - gifts and things, but then that chief was killed and there were Death Eaters and a whole fiasco of things, so, no, it doesn't seem as if the giants have definitively decided who they're siding with….but at least Professor Hagrid and Madame Maxime have sweetened them up a bit."
Amelia raised her eyebrows, and let out a sigh. It wasn't great, but she supposed it was better than nothing.
To diffuse the slight tension, Amelia said, "Sounds as if the giants are just as decisive as you are."
Phoebe's cheeks went pink. "Shut up."
Amelia smirked, and said, "A hook's only meant to hold one fish."
"Stop being a arse," Phoebe said, though she couldn't suppress a hint of a grin as the two girls left the Hufflepuff basement.
"It's kind of my thing," Amelia winked, and the two sent off for breakfast.
The two girls came into the Great Hall, and took their seats with Malcolm, Herb, Heidi and Leanne at the table for breakfast. Amelia had just reached for the plate of scrambled eggs to get herself a serving, when she felt a wad of paper collide with the back of her head.
With a groan and a roll of her eyes, she turned, picking it up from the ground, and saw Fred and George grinning at her from the Gryffindor table. She only rolled her eyes again as George made kissy faces at her, which prompted Fred to start beating on him, only to be interrupted as a very unamused looking Snape smacked them both on the back of the head. Holding in her laughter, she whipped around to face Malcolm, not wanting to get Fred and George in any more trouble with Snape.
"Romantic," Leanne commented with an edge of sarcasm. "I take it you two have kissed and made up?"
"You could say that," Amelia said slyly with a wink, un-wadding the paper. "But a lady doesn't kiss and tell."
"Now you're a lady," Heidi said playfully. "I thought you hated that word."
Amelia merely rolled her eyes again as she read Fred's short note.
Firewhiskey tomorrow night?
Carefully, Amelia turned back around quickly, saw Snape had moved on, and shot Fred a thumbs-up and a wink. He winked back at her, and the exchange was over, and Amelia returned to face the Hufflepuffs with a familiar sense of a kind of excitement in the pit of her gut. However, this quickly faded as a great, and rather terrifying-looking black eagle owl swooped over the table, and nearly landed as it swiftly dropped a letter directly into Amelia's plate of eggs. Everyone around her was silent, as they watched her open her mail.
In a loopy, old-time kind of script, the letter said:
You're a Hathorne. Act like one. Be proud.
I'll be in touch.
- L.A.H.
Amelia could've thrown up, right then and there. She rose from the table in record speed.
"I've got to talk to my gran," she mumbled.
She sprinted from the Great Hall, Phoebe on her heels, and Fred not too far behind.
