Chapter Twenty-One: Veela Jesus
Fred Weasley woke up the next morning with a feeling of dread and a splitting headache. George did not ease his twin into the realization of what he had done. Upon noticing Fred waking up, George pounced. "You are a git, you know that?"
Fred was lying on his bed and blinked at his brother that was sitting across from him. He swallowed hard, tasting the residual hint of fire-whiskey on his breath. He raised himself onto his elbow and immediately grabbed his head in a wince, "Tell me it was all a horrible dream, Georgie."
"It wasn't. You're a git and you snogged Mallory right in front of Jamie. Is this part of your grand plan to get her to fall in love with you? If it is, it's a shit plan." Fred groaned loudly, grabbing his pillow and smothering his face in it, briefly hoping to suffocate to death. The flash of Jamie Devereaux's confused face at seeing Mallory with him on the couch last night flew into his mind. Then his fogged brain convincing him that seeing her jealous or upset would be vindicating and proof that her reaction to him wasn't just inside his brain. Fred Weasley was tired of not knowing for sure if the little blonde liked him or not and, under the influence of Fire Whiskey, he had believed that this was the best course of action.
The hungover red-head peaked out from under his pillow at George, "Did she look upset?"
"She looked bloody wrecked, Fred." George responded.
"Why does that make me feel good?" Fred asked, with a bit of a lighthearted jest.
George was not in the mood to joke after his twins mistake, "Because you're a cold hearted bastard, that's why. Congratulations, you proved that she would care if you snogged someone else. Now you're never going to get her back."
Fred groaned again, pure dread hitting him hard, "Can't get something back you never had in the first place." Was all he said before pulling his covers up over his head and hoping for a swift death and to never see Mallory Norden ever again.
During the month of November Jamie Devereaux Bruce split her time relatively evenly between two of the Triwizard Champions: Fleur Delacour and Cedric Diggory. The reasoning behind this was partly because of their company and partly because Jamie was doing all in her power to avoid being in the Gryffindor common room and seeing a certain red-head or one of her roommates. She often stayed out of her dorm until Curfew hit and then would immediately get under her covers and disassociate from the room she was in. Seeing Fred Weasley in a good amount of her classes daily was painful. The only thing that somewhat placated her was that he at least was no longer instigating conversations or fights with her. Had he have even spoken a word to her she feared what she would do. Her male-Veela half seemed more prominent than ever before. Jamie's anger was constantly right on the surface, and had Fred Weasley joked about Pureblood supremacy with her again there was a legitimate chance she would have clawed his eyes out. Or at the very least severely maimed the sixth-year boy.
Jamie knew she had no reason to be this angry, Fred had told her he hadn't liked her last term. But the snog with Mallory had felt intentionally directed toward Jamie. Like he was aware of her crush and had done it to spite her. It was incredibly out of character for Fred Weasley to truly do something so cruel, but maybe the months of fighting had been too much for him and he wanted a way to make sure Jamie stopped interacting with him completely.
That afternoon Jamie Devereaux and Fleur Delacour sat together in a pretty alcove that overlooked to Hogwarts grounds. It was too cold to be sitting outside, but both blonde witches wanted to appreciate the view. Jamie had confided in Fleur everything about Fred, grateful to have an older girls perspective. The quarter-Veela had truly become like a sister to Jamie in just a few weeks of knowing one another. While Fleur was a tad conceited in comparison to Jamie Devereaux, it didn't dampen their relationship at all. In fact, the small bursts of confidence that Fleur forced Jamie to have did wonders for her mood during that month. Often, Fleur would demand that the smaller witch recognize how beautiful she was out loud, and how it was—in and of itself—its own power.
They sat across from one another and Fleur gave her two cents, yet again, about what Jamie should do, "I think you find a new boy, snog him in front of this 'Fred' and then Fred will confess his true feelings and be sorry he ever kiss Mallory."
"Kissed." Jamie corrected fleur, having been trying to help the French girl with her English. "I don't want to snog another boy. I don't like any other boys."
An mischievous smile appeared on Fleur's face, "We could make him think you snogged another. Jean would be happy to help."
Jamie Devereaux let out a deep breath, "It's pointless. I don't want to play games with him. I don't want to talk to him. If he likes Mallory than I'm not going to stand in his way."
"You are too passive." Fleur stated. "You want him, you take him. This Mallory is not half-Veela."
"She isn't but that is a good thing." Jamie said.
Fleur huffed indignantly, "You should not hate what you are. That is silly."
The smaller blonde shrugged, wrapping her arms tight around her legs as she rested against the column. "Did you write to your mother about male Veelas?"
Fleur looked apprehensive to answer the question. The French girl looked at her new friend, who was so lost and dejected that there was nothing Fleur wanted more than to help her. "Yes. My mother said that male Veelas are taboo. Most Veelas refuse to speak about them. My grandmother told her that they are powerful and control emotion." Fleur Delacour knew that many people found her beautiful and thought it meant she was uncaring. Having known Jamie for a brief amount of time, the French girl had already opened up more toward her than many others. It was a relief to have someone to confide in besides just her little sister. However, the only reason Fleur told Jamie the following information was because she knew Jamie would be more upset at having not known than hearing. "There is a Tale. The Tale of Devereaux. My mother has it in French but I will ask for it to be translated."
"Devereaux my father?" Jamie asked, in shock.
Fleur shook her head, "It cannot be. The story has been passed for hundreds of years. It is possible your father was named after the Veela, or took their name."
"Why would he have taken a new name?"
"I did not know this, but the name Devereaux is…not good for Veelas. It is a name that carries weight." Fleur was trying to phrase her words as best she could with her limited vocabulary, "It is not a bad name or evil. It is a…sacré? Like a Christian naming themselves Jesus. It is not done."
Jamie's heart was racing in anticipation of reading this French story, "Will you please ask her for it? I would love to read anything I could about my name or just Veela in general."
Fleur touched Jamie's cheek fondly, "Of course, Jamie Devereaux."
Madame Pince watched suspiciously as the little blonde sixth-year sat at a table in the library. She was alone, hunched over a long piece of parchment and using a blasted muggle pen. The librarian was certain it was Jamie Devereaux Bruce who had defiled a book her second year with one of those pens. She had also been certain that the little muggleborn witch had brought food into her sacred library. Safe to say Jamie was not Madam Pince's favorite student, and the librarian often kept a close eye on the girl's every move.
Jamie Devereaux was writing a Transfiguration essay when Cedric Diggory sat across from her at her table. The Hufflepuff boy looked around to be sure no one was listening in and only saw the evil librarian glaring at his little friend. Cedric leaned closer to Jamie and whispered, "Dragons. That's the first task. Potter just told me."
The sixth-year Gryffindor's mouth opened wide in terror, "You're kidding? How does Harry know? Dragons? That can't be safe." The words tumbled out of her quickly. There was a kind of excited smile on her best friend's face that unnerved Jamie.
"I've never seen a Dragon before." He said, looking down at the table at Jamie's essay on transfiguration of objects into animals. "I've always wanted to see if they'd feel slimy."
"That was always my first instinct too," Jamie Devereaux deadpanned, "what it would feel like to pet a fire breathing animal." Cedric stuck his tongue out at her and Jamie glared in response, "You better not get lit on fire. I wonder if you can have a fire-proof potion to drink. Is dragon skin allowed?"
Cedric shook his head, "No, already checked the rules. I guess I'll just have to find some spells that will distract or defeat a dragon." He moved over her parchment, this time reading it through completely, "What on earth are you trying to say in this?" He asked, incredulously. Cedric read it over again, trying to understand what the blonde was putting on paper and none of it making sense.
Jamie groaned loudly and hit her head against the table, earning a loud 'hush' from Madame Pince. "I can't concentrate, Ced. I have no idea if I am even writing in English my life is falling apart."
"The drama." Cedric said, still looking at the parchment. "Well this sentence is salvageable, about objects of similar animal size being the best for transfiguring. But then you go on a tangent about muggle mass and physics. Blimey, Jamie, no one in the wizarding world would understand what you're talking about. What is making your mind this scattered."
"Veela Jesus." Jamie blurted out.
"Why is it you can't speak normally?" The Hufflepuff placed Jamie's parchment down on the table between them. "Does every bloody thing you say have to be something from a previous conversation of which I was not part of?" Cedric asked, exasperated.
"Yes." Jamie stated, and then proceeded to tell Cedric about what Fleur had told her. Jamie had not told Cedric about Mallory and Fred originally, because the Hufflepuff boy heard about it from Cho Chang first. Everyone at Hogwarts was aware of what had happened in the Gryffindor common room during a night of celebration. Lee Jordan had also taken care to spread the news that Jamie Devereaux had seen the snog between them. The Weasley twins best friend had dramatized the scene for everyone who would listen. Being Hogwarts, almost everyone did listen. Cho Chang had heard it from Lavender Brown, a fourth-year Gryffindor.
Cedric had spoken to Jamie Devereaux about it immediately and been shot down by the little blonde who simply stated, "Shut it or I'll hex you." And moved on to talk about other things. The Hufflepuff boy now digested the fact that soon the pair would have yet another book about Veela. He was excited and worried to read what the Tale of Devereaux would have in store for them. It could either have good news about what Jamie could do or more information that would send the little blonde Veela into even more of a state than she was currently in.
It was the day before the first task and Fred Weasley was walking quickly out of the common room, past a studying Mallory Norden as discretely as possible. Since the incident, Mallory had become surprisingly determined to get Fred Weasley alone. The sixth-year Gryffindor had even hinted at wanting to 'continue where they left off.' Fred was mortified and uncomfortable by the attention. He had not planned on leading the girl on, nor had he planned on kissing her. It was all a horrible mistake that replayed in his head. Fred wanted to talk to Jamie, but feared what she would say.
He knew he was a prat for snogging Mallory in front of Jamie, and had been told by everyone—especially Ginny. However, a good part of him felt vindicated in his action. Jamie had given him no indication of liking him. Yet, Fred liked Jamie and, regardless of the little blonde's feelings for him, the Weasley boy's emotions were not changing anytime soon. He had wanted to speak to her or start off at least a friendship again, but every time Jamie caught his eyes, he saw a sharp nose and pursed lips and knew better than to approach the witch, having been on the backend of enough of her hexes.
The red-head leapt out of the Fat Lady portrait and onto Jamie Devereaux Bruce, who had been standing outside the portrait waiting for it to open. The two collided and Fred took Jamie down with his weight on top of her. Jamie's head hit the floor only moments after her elbow, thankfully avoiding any major head damage. Fred's hands slammed down on the ground, but a majority of his weight crushed the small witch below him. Jamie Devereaux whimpered at the impact. "Ouch." She said, her voice tight with pain. Her head throbbed and she began to feel nauseous. Fred pulled himself off of her quickly and moved to her side to look at her.
"Jamie? Jamie are you okay? Bloody Hell I didn't see you, you're so short and I was rushing—" Fred started, his voice thick with worry for the blonde girl that still laid there on the stone floor. The books she was holding surrounded her, strewn about.
"—are you blaming my height for body tackling me to the ground?" Jamie asked in disbelief, her voice still laced with pain and her eyes squeezed shut.
Fred's mouth opened in disbelief, "Of course not." He wanted to start arguing with her, but seeing her eyes closed so tightly made him realize now was not the time, "Let me take you to the Hospital Wing."
"No." Jamie responded immediately.
"Are you kidding?" The Weasley boy asked, looking at her immobile body. The only thing she seemed to be moving was her mouth.
"I am fine right here. Go away." Jamie said, still lying there.
Fred glared down at her, not that she could see it with her eyes closed. "If you lift your head up by yourself, then I'll leave you alone." He offered, warningly.
Jamie tried to move her head up. The only thing she succeeded in doing was moving it to the side and wincing in pain. Fred collected Jamie's books, placing them in his own bag, before moving to lift the little witch. Jamie felt Fred Weasley's warm hands under her knees and shoulders and her body instantly felt like it was on fire, "Put me down, Weasley. I don't want your help."
"Too bad." Fred stated, already lifting her in the air and heading toward the Hospital Wing. He looked down at her pinched face and held her a little tighter into his chest. This was the closest he had been to her since the Quidditch World cup when he had been carrying her away from Death Eaters. The anger he had had at being rejected from Jamie Devereaux was now replaced with guilt over the entire scene he had created that night the champions were announced. All Fred Weasley wanted was to hear Jamie call him 'Fredward' again. Or to hex him, or let him pull her hair. He missed their play fighting. He missed her so much.
"Won't Mallory wonder where you've gone off to?" Jamie asked spitefully, her throbbing her head making her not think clearly. How saying this was probably dumb. Fred chuckled and the deep vibration shook Jamie and made it feel like she had been immersed in warmth.
"Don't tell me you're jealous, Jamie." Fred said in a teasing and hopeful tone.
His hopes were immediately squashed by Jamie, "Not anymore." Was all she said in her small, pained voice. In that moment, neither Gryffindor knew if Jamie's voice was pained because of her physical or emotional injuries.
When Madam Pomfrey saw Fred Weasley carrying Jamie Devereaux Bruce into the hospital wing she sighed loudly, "I really thought I had seen the last of you two. Apparently not." She gestured to an empty bed on the right and Fred placed the blonde there. "What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"He body-slammed me." Jamie's weak voice said. The nurse gasped and looked at Fred indignantly.
Fred Weasley's hand went up in the air, "It was an accident! I didn't see her."
Jamie's eyes finally opened enough to see the red-headed boy standing there. She glared, "Please stop yelling." She gave a fake lip quiver that made Madam Pomfrey glare at Fred even harder, "My head. It hurts." Jamie was in quite a lot of pain at the moment, but she was laying it on a little thick just so she could see Fred get kicked out of the Hospital Wing and bring her some semblance of joy.
The Hospital Wing door shut behind Fred Weasley with a whack. The red-head huffed in frustration. He had wanted Jamie to thank him for carrying her like the hero he was. But that was not Jamie's style. In fact, Jamie Devereaux would have found a way to take herself to the Hospital wing eventually. She did not need Fred. He just hoped that one day she might want him there. He briefly considered waiting outside the Hospital Wing for Jamie to get released. Instead, he retreated with his proverbial puppy-dog tale between his legs and back to the Gryffindor dorms.
'Not anymore' rang through Fred's head. His heart felt a bit lighter. The anymore meant that at one point she was jealous. He knew he had messed up spectacularly, but maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could get her back.