Magnolia's POV:
The courtyard was empty most of the time, aside from a few younger students here and there on occasion. But it was still emptier than the common room would've been and it wasn't going to integrate me with questions I wasn't ready to answer. I kind of liked sitting out here where I could watch the clouds shift around in the sky. The cold air was a good way to keep my mind off of everything that was stressing me out.
The only thing I understood for sure was that I found Fred attractive, and I clearly had a hard time controlling myself when it came to attraction. Exhibit A: Letting Cedric kiss me, despite being quite confused entirely on how I even felt, and Exhibit B: The most recent of my crushes, James, and kissing him under a crushed sprig of mistletoe, in a heated spur of the moment decision.
Everyone had noticed me avoiding Fred, but clearly, it hadn't bothered him much at all. He easily replaced his time with someone else. I had to keep watching it, I thanked the universe for putting me in a different house now. To share a common room with them just might've struck me dead. She almost always sat beside him, walking from their common room around the school, they walked together to Quidditch practices. Katie had taken over my role as Fred's main girl.
I found myself envying Katie, her long silky hair, and clear skin. She was in better shape than me from playing quidditch. I was starting to stare up at the ceiling most nights wondering what I could've done better. Staying up with that sickening feeling of not being good enough in my gut like a weight. I was useful for being a placeholder and nothing more. Fred was using our reunion as a way to trial his flirtation techniques.
I sat down at the edge of the fountain, it had filled higher with rainwater from the other night. The first real storm of the season, officially washing away all the summer sun. Not that there had been much sun lately with the Dementors. I opened up the first book of that series Elliot had told me about, I picked it up before I had left home. The Primrose School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Though this author's idea of magic had seemed just a little more far-fetched than I had originally thought, it was still amusing to read about her main character.
The cold, damp air felt pretty good against my skin. I couldn't be worried about stupid little things when I had the chill to focus on. I read the first few pages. Her idea of magic was a bit funny to me. The main character was called Henrietta Primrose, she was written to be a gangly, small girl, with pale skin, starkly opposite dark hair, and bright-toned eyes. Felt very called out in regards to my appearance, but I continued to the next page.
"Feels like ages since I've seen you," I barely lifted my eyes, I knew who it was, his voice had cracked at the end.
"Been busy," I shrugged. "I'm a hard woman to pin down,"
Even without looking directly at him, his fiery red hair stood out against the grey sky. I felt my stomach fluttering and fizzle up.
"I could've told you that," He chuckled, causing my heart to hiccup.
Fred sat down beside me looking over my shoulder at the print in between us, "Whatcha readin'?" He questioned.
I still hadn't actually looked at him. The memory of Katie reaching up to play with his hair during dinner last week flashed through my head making my stomach sink all over again. I wanted to see his eyes again and feel the way I did when he looked at mine. I felt so empty, with only one less person in my life. How could a boy have that much impact?
"Some new book Elliot ordered for the store," I replied flipping to the next page, I couldn't look at him, I wanted to, but he and Katie just kept flashing over my eyes.
I'd barely been gathering any substance of the actual story at this point. My mind had been focused on Fred's hand inching towards mine, and the heavy thud of my heart against my chest. His fingers danced across the stone like we hadn't lost any time, while my heart felt like heavy drums in my ears. I was fighting against myself at this point, forcing my eyes to stay to the pages in front of me. I didn't trust myself. Nevertheless, I missed him.
"Are we still on for Hogsmeade next weekend?" Fred finally asked, I hadn't even realized time was passing that quickly, or that he even wanted to go still.
"Didn't think you'd want to keep those plans now that you've got a girlfriend," I quipped, shit that came out quick, "I mean, I figured you'd wanna go with Katie now," Her name felt so wrong in my mouth.
None of this was her fault, she had nothing to do with the nagging feeling on my shoulder. I should've kissed Fred when I had the chance. Maybe that's what he was waiting for, what he was hoping for when I came back. Katie and I were in the same year and shared a few classes in the past but I guess I never paid all that much attention to her until now. She made good enough marks, I guess. I knew she was on the quidditch team with Fred and George but I guess I didn't think they'd been closer than that. Everyone had said she was so sweet, and I hated her for it.
"We had a date planned already," He replied, "And I'm not with Katie, so why would I ditch our plans?" He chuckled.
Not with Katie, I thought to myself. Then what the hell was it that I had to look at almost every day? Even if I was avoiding Fred, the school was only so big and I was bound to overlap somewhere. Katie was in my year, I saw her every single day. I still had to watch her fiddle with her uniform when she walked by trying to gloss over herself before slipping into the Common Room I didn't have access to. I had no idea what was going on behind the portrait. People looked at her and saw someone's wife and mother one day, people looked at me and saw a weirdo.
"What do you mean?" I finally looked up from my book, glancing at Fred. "You're not with Katie? You're together all the time, and she throws herself at you," I admitted.
That first look made my stomach drop, I hadn't even noticed how tired he looked in recent days. Truthfully I hadn't been this close to Fred since we got back, it felt like my life regained just a little bit of color. I missed seeing his red hair every day, and the honey tones that freckled his eyes, adding dimension against the brown. I missed the constellations scattering his cheeks making each of his freckles unique.
"I mean, Katie's not my girlfriend," His lips twisted into a smirk, "Wait, are you jealous?" He teased me.
My cheeks felt flush, that familiar blush spread across my face, my mouth gaped, I was caught. Guess I wasn't very good at hiding my real feelings like I thought I was. Fred grinned, leaning back on his hands, giving me a knowing look.
"What? Me? Jealous, ugh as if?" I forced a laugh dismissively, "What makes you say that?" I scoffed.
Looking back down at my book I hoped he'd just move on. So I had been looking too deep into Katie and Fred. Possibly exposing myself for having a crush on Fred at the same time as if he couldn't tell already. Now I was feeling embarrassed for being crazy. I sabotaged a nice girl over a misunderstanding, I was as bad as Fred and George, reacting first and facing the consequences later. They had to have felt embarrassed before for something stupid they'd done.
I felt his hand brush against mine. The small touch made my skin rippled with chills, I needed more. Roxy was right. I missed Fred. I wanted to feel the warmth of his smile again, I wanted to hold his hand, and take in the rich scent of fireworks. I think I had to admit that I wanted him.
"Katie is a lot of things. I guess she's my friend, my teammate, and my housemate. But she's not you," Fred spoke quieter, like there may have been someone else watching us, "No one will ever be you, Maggie," He smiled softly.
There was no hesitation as Fred hooked his pinky finger around mine, "I know you've been avoiding me, and I won't ask you why," He smirked knowingly, "But I wouldn't have asked you to Hogsmeade, and then abandon you for some girl I'm not all that interested in. You mean more to me than that," He confirmed.
"What's this all mean then?" I asked, glancing at his finger hooked around mine, "The hands thing," I clarified.
His hands were so much bigger than mine. The rough calluses on his hands were very different from the soft skin on my own hands. He scooted closer, his knee knocking against mine with the closeness. This unfamiliar feeling swirled around, thicker flutters than any butterflies would accomplish. This felt more like heavy rain, washing away dirt and everything else with it. Almost like a hurricane. It was intense but I kind of liked how awake I felt. In recent days everything felt tiring. I woke up, did the same things all day long, and went to bed to do it again.
"I don't know, what do you want it to mean?" He asked.
I had no clue what I wanted. I hadn't even realized how much I hated the way I had been feeling. How much I'd been waiting for peace of mind. But Fred never made the effort to even try and talk to me either. I wasn't the only one avoiding him, he wasn't doing anything about it either.
"If you knew I was avoiding you, why didn't you try to corner me or something to get answers sooner? It's not like you don't have a map that tells you where I'm always at," I looked up again, his brown eyes still having that spark in them.
He shrugged weakly, "The last time you went on avoiding me, you did it because I spied on you. Why would I want to do that again?" He looked at me with a sad look in his eyes.
"I just assumed you would, since you can," I replied with a shrug.
I figured if Fred was truly worried about our friendship he'd just spy on me and find me that way. I can't run away if he knows where I won't be able to escape. I had been the one who made the wrong call this time, I let jealousy tear at my head.
The sky seemed too thin for the first time but the wind held a steady breeze, teasing at my senses as I felt it grow colder. The flannel over my shoulders was barely doing anything to shield the cold. I should've put more layers on.
"I wouldn't ever want to break your trust again. Honestly, these last three weeks have kind of sucked. At least when I was gone this summer, it wasn't intentional and I didn't have to see you every day in the Great Hall," Fred cleared his throat, "But I know how you are, and I figured I fucked something up, so I ought to leave you alone. But it has sucked horribly, and I miss you," He admits, his hand weighed in mine.
"What about Katie then? She didn't entertain you in the slightest?" I asked, tucking my book away into my bag before the rain came.
"I already told you, she's not you," He replied simply, "I think she likes me. But things aren't the same as it is when you're around,"
Fred stood up, our pinky fingers were still connected as he tugged me to move to my feet. As I stood in front of him, I felt his hand slide up, catching along with mine.
"We should just start talking to each other when there's a misunderstanding," I suggested.
"I can make you that promise," He smiled with a nod.
"Wanna go to dinner?" Fred nodded towards the school, "You can probably sit with us if you'd like?"
The thought of facing Katie after this little confession felt embarrassing. Not to mention the fact I may have enlisted George's help with a little potion tinkering. It wasn't anything crazy aside from a few singed hairs. I'd noticed how Katie often complained about her hair getting in her way, and rather than pinning her hair back she insisted on wearing it down. I thought she could go for a little trim. I had to watch as she'd been throwing herself at Fred. It wasn't good of me but it was funny. With that being said, I was not going to be sitting at that table.
I shook my head, grabbing my bag from the edge of the fountain, "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I may have had something to do with Katie's potion mishap yesterday," I admitted, avoiding his eyes as Fred smirked, shaking his own head.
"Well I can't sit at your table either," Fred grinned smugly.
"Why not?" I asked, "We're not that bad, I mean Liam's always a little obnoxious but so is Juniper and she seems to sit with you guys all the time." I quickly argued. Juniper and Lee seemed to be together all the time, she reserved breakfast and lunch for Roxy and me, giving Lee her attention through dinner.
Fred chuckled, avoiding my eyes now, he gave me a brief shrug, "I might have done something to Liam, but I'm not sure you're gonna be happy about it."
I reached up to his chin, forcing Fred to meet my eyes, squinting mine at him, "What did you do?"
"I just gave him a little warning," Fred mumbled, "It wasn't anything too bad, I just told him to find someone else to bother after I saw him following you to class the other day." He replied casually.
I let go of his face, letting him stretch back up more comfortably, "I mean, that was until I heard him talking about how uh, fit, you had got over the summer,"
Fred's eyes scanned over my face, down my body for a brief second before zoning back on my eyes, "He was bragging about how you were all over him when he carried you to the infirmary the other day, then might have planted something in his soap under the same realm as Cedric, your first year..." He began trailing off and skipping over details of what exactly he'd done.
That explained why I watched Ernie and Cedric walking him out with a tight beanie tucked in Liam's hair. I was a little disappointed they had been prepared enough. I didn't get to see what color his hair ended up. It wasn't surprising that Liam would've added details to his rescue story either. I glazed over that fact, noticing a pattern. It was just that though a pattern, I didn't have proof Fred felt what I had for him, there was a pattern of him disliking the males in my life.
"So you were jealous, too?" I smirked, Fred scoffed, dropping my hand.
I laughed, watching as he turned away pouting. He was trying to get me to forfeit, he always played hurt to trick me, he was sly for that. I wasn't going to play the same anymore, I was going to get answers when I wanted them.
I reached up, pulling his shoulder back, "You were, weren't you?" I asked teasingly, just like he would've.
"Don't make me say it," He mumbled, avoiding my eyes.
"You have to," I requested, "I want to hear you say it so I don't feel so crazy about how I reacted about Katie," I said it out loud, the way I acted with Katie was a little crazy.
He sighed, turning around, "Fine, I was a little jealous. He shouldn't talk about any girl that way, calling you fit was the censored version. I thought I'd save you the details since you've still got to share a common room with him," Fred replied disgustedly, "And I saw you guys on your way down to the infirmary, and you looked uncomfortable,"
I moved closer, hooking my pinky finger with his,
"I want you to tell me one more thing," I said, as he nodded at me to continue, "Fred, do you like me?"
"Of course I like you!" He beamed, "You're my best friend, why wouldn't I like you?"
I sighed, that's not what I meant, "Never mind, let's just go eat, we can sit wherever we find a spot first," I chuckled.
Fred nodded followed beside me, we both did our best to move forward. I knew we were going to need to have a more serious talk about what everything meant. I was kidding myself to try and deny it but I had peace of mind knowing Fred had only seen Katie as a friend. I still had no idea what we were right now but I knew we were better, at least for now and that was enough for me.
"Do you think we could swing by the kitchen and go somewhere else?" I asked as we stepped inside.
I was thankful that the halls were generally empty, meaning no one else could see Fred and me.
"I don't see why not, it's not like breaking the rules has been out of the ordinary and I think Winky misses you," Fred shrugged, smiling down at me.
Two quick shortcuts later, Winky had clutched on me in a hug. It'd been such a long time since I had been in the kitchens. I missed baking in general with the few hours I'd picked up at the bookstore and all the time I had spent with James and Willow I hadn't done much baking. Elliot and Mum's cake was the biggest thing I did since last Christmas.
"Your hair ribbon is very pretty Miss. Lancaster," Winky complimented as she pulled away.
"Maybe I can find you one, too." I smiled down at her.
"When told us what happened last term, we tried to make your snickerdoodles for you when you woke up, but we don't know what you've done to make them so good, Miss. They said the attempt was there," Winky explained, nodding back at the other house-elves that worked beside her.
"I'll tell you my secret but can't you share it or else everyone will be making my cookies," I knelt, to be eye level with her, leaning forward to whisper into her large ear, "You've got to bake with your heart, and put all your love into each morsel,"
Winky grinned with a nod, turning around to grab a fully packed basket with sandwiches in replacement for tonight's warm supper. Fred and I figured it would be better to skip this one, to catch back upon each other's lives without George or the Girls to bother us.
I unlaced the ribbon from my hair, tying it to Winky's wrist in a bow. The sunflower yellow ribbon made her eyes light up, as she moved to hug me again before I could stand up.
"Thank you, Miss. Enjoy your dinner," She mumbled softly.
I nodded pulling back to join Fred's side. The picnic basket was much fuller than I was expecting and contained more than just a couple of napkins and sandwiches. His hand brushed along mine taking the basket from my hands. His expression shifted, feeling the weight of the basket, giving Winky a look of surprise.
The small house elf gave him a shrug, before waving him off. The twins talked to Winky with respect, she was justified just as much as anyone else. It was endearing to hear how they talked to her unlike how I'd overheard other people talk about house-elves.
I walked ahead leading the way to the astronomy tower. I had found it as another safe zone when I had gone about hiding out from Fred. At least every time I had gone up we had never crossed paths. Making it to the top of the tower, I walked up to the railing overlooking the grounds. My hair was spilling down my back without my ribbon.
"Are you going to push me off the edge for making you jealous?" Fred joked, joining me at the railing.
"That depends on if you're going to do the same," I replied, without a glance.
The sun had nearly set but I could still see just a sliver of orange tinting the sky. It was the first time in a long time that the sun had actually shown its face. It was refreshing, just like the breeze that blew through my hair. There was another change in the air, I felt Fred's hand move along with mine. My heart was working overtime.
"I like when we get to have these moments alone, I don't feel like I have to be all loud and out there," Fred chuckled, staring off at the swaying trees in the distance, "It can be sort of calm for a little while, you've got that effect on people. I could go without the ignoring though,"
"I'm sorry for acting crazy," I mumbled.
Fred smirked, glancing over at me, his fingers lace between mine, "Lucky for you, I still like a little crazy in my life."
He was quick to switch his gaze back off into the distance, "How have your classes been going? Since you've probably had your head in the books for the last few weeks,"
"They've been good enough," I shrugged, "Since I know talking about schoolwork is like pulling teeth we don't have to talk about it. What about quidditch?" I asked, he always listened to me stress about classes.
Fred shook his head, "All Katie ever wants to talk about is Quidditch, I love the game but I can't have another conversation about it right now. This is a one-time only invite for you to bore me with all the details of your fourth-year classes," He chuckled again.
How'd he just switch back into this so easily? It was so easy with Fred, he wanted me to fill the conversation. I got a chance to talk about the things I knew, and I didn't have to feel like a nerd for knowing so much. He felt like it was his turn to listen, he was used to sharing so much with the world already. That easy feeling washed over me again, the waves settled in my stomach and things felt right again.
So I went on. I told him about the normal things, we talked about Professor Lupin and whether or not Snape bought new black robes or enchanted them to stay that dark through every wash.
I turned my head, catching Fred already watching me, "Caught you staring," I mumbled teasing, hiding a small grin.
Fred smirked, turning his head, "Mistook you for the sunset," What a fucking corny ass line, yet it made my heart sputter.
God, I think I really like him. This was different from the other crushes I had, this felt like it kept getting harder to pass. If anyone else had tried to pass a line like that I'd burst from embarrassment. Yet here I was fighting a blush in front of Fred. With one conversation it felt like Fred and I had taken things off pause.
"Shut up, your lines aren't going to work," I rolled my eyes, biting at my lip hiding a smile.
Fred hooked his finger with mine. Neither of us said another word for a moment as the torches on the tower lit up, as the last of the sun disappeared on the horizon. The night fell around us and it was like we picked up right where we had left off.
••••••
The female brain was wired completely differently from the male brain. Things with Fred were even more different now, to say the least, since that night in the astronomy tower. Like all we were ever doing these past few days was trying to egg the other on to make the first move. It was like a childish game of tag. I'd already decided that if I was meant to kiss Fred, he'd have to kiss me first. I had already made that mistake once and made things awkward. But that didn't remove any ounce of temptation. Each minute we were alone I anticipated him making a move.
The first was when he walked me back to the common room that night, promising to meet me in the morning for breakfast. Which to my surprise as well as Juniper and Roxy as he ignored George's pleas and sat beside me at the Hufflepuff table, the next morning. And the following morning after that. I had to try and fabricate some half explanation of what was going on in the first place, something I hadn't really figured out myself.
The second was the hand-holding, every time we were alone, or he knew he could hold our hands somewhere he held along mine. It was like the tether on us was becoming physical. Fred made it feel like we hadn't lost any time. The pause was resumed as if no time had passed.
The final being the flirtation. I'd heard them use a line or two to cause girls to blush but this was the first time I'd been on the other side of it. It made my gut feel tsunami waves, and my skin felt covered in goosebumps all the time now. Yet it all came so easy to hear, I liked the feeling. I just had to play it off like it didn't make my stomach feel like they were doing somersaults.
I watched him from across the Great Hall as we all ate breakfast before the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. He laughed with his twin, making a few jokes of his own making the rest of the table laugh along. It was so interesting watching him capture almost any crowd. Sure, some people may have found him and George annoying but the general opinion was favorable for the class clown duo.
Fred had something planned and it was making my hands clammy just thinking about what it could be. Our current friendship was in a weird position and I wasn't entirely aware of how I was going to tackle this next obstacle.
It wasn't a secret anymore that I'd been jealous about Katie or that he'd been jealous of Liam. However, neither of us had admitted what that really meant to the other. I had come to the full conclusion at this point that I liked Fred, but I wasn't sure if I felt strong enough to completely toss out our friendship. I had to admit that it was probably the strongest crush I'd ever had but I couldn't decide now. It was still fresh in my head, and we'd just made up recently.
"Hello?" June waved her hand in front of my eyes. "Calling out to Maggie?"
I blink my focus back to her sitting in front of me, she glared back giving me a look of disappointment, "What?"
"Did you hear anything that I've just said about Lee?" She asked, crossing her arms.
I sighed, "I'm caught," I didn't mean to tune out of what she'd been saying, I just got so tangled in a thread of thoughts they got tangled so easily. June was always in Demi's shadow, Lee had been the first thing that was only hers to share about.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I will pay attention now, I'm just anxious for my date with Fred,"
"Is that what it's being called now?" She arched her brow, glancing over her shoulder, "Not that I'm surprised he's sat here every morning this week, except today."
I glanced up again, Fred's eyes catching mine, giving me a quick wink, accompanied by a nod of his head before turning back to his housemates. My stomach was doing somersaults, and I felt my cheeks warm up.
I responded with a weak shrug, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks, "I don't know what's going on anymore. What were you saying?"
"I said, do you think Lee's going to ask me to be his girlfriend today?" Juniper repeated.
"I mean it looks pretty convincing that he might, he asked me what your favorite flower was yesterday when I was walking back to the common room with Fred after dinner last night." I replied simply, "So I'd say it's a pretty good sign."
Juniper nodded with a hidden grin, "Godric I hope so."
Roxy sat down beside me with a huff, "Liam is worse than the twins when it comes to insistence on delivering notes, here," she handed me a folded piece of parchment that was covered in odd ink splatters, "He said this was yours or something,"
I unfolded the parchment,
Are you free to meet at Hogsmeade this afternoon?
Liam.
I audibly gagged, shoving the parchment into my jacket pocket, I wouldn't be caught dead with Liam. After Fred's confession, I turned my attention to avoiding Liam. Now that Fred and I had made up, he was around more often which sent a clearer message to leave me alone. Fred still hadn't told me what exactly he ended up doing to Liam but he steered clear when Fed was around. Juniper and Roxy gave me a look of concern. Along with a few other students around us.
"He wants to meet at Hogsmeade like I'm gonna do that." I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Someone can't take a hint, I guess." Roxy shrugged with a grin, "I told him you weren't interested,"
I looked down the table, to see Liam leaning forward watching me with hopeful eyes. I was flattered by his invite but I didn't have full details on what he said about me to his teammates. It wasn't like Cedric could have anything bad to say, things hadn't gone badly we just drifted apart. Plus, it appeared Cho Chang had stolen away his attention, but that didn't change that he had heard Liam talk about me. Liam had been smart enough not to say anything around Roxy either, knowing she'd tell me everything.
"What do you think he wants?" Juniper asked, picking at a piece of toast.
"Who cares? I'm not going, I've already got plans." I shrugged, standing up from the table, "And he's heading this way now," I smiled.
I looked across to Fred giving George a brief nod goodbye before leaving the Gryffindor table. He wore the same beanie my mum had made him and George. Fred's grin had barely faded all morning, not that I wasn't able to paint a good one myself. Despite the anxiety swirling around my stomach, this was the most excited I'd been in days for anything. Fred moved to sit beside me, squeezing between me and a first-year girl who turned to him with a distorted grin and wide eyes before scooting away. Turning to giggle with her friends, talking about Fred's looks, giving me a look of amazement as she glanced back at Fred.
Roxy wasn't kidding. Too cute for his own damn good.
His hand immediately found mine and tugged me back down to sit, "How'd you sleep last night?" Fred asked.
"Fine, how about you?" I asked awkwardly, this was different. There wasn't a lot that he and I had discussed when it came to us.
"I slept alright, I was a little nervous, but I'm feeling much better now," Fred admitted with an easy smile, "Are you ready to go, I think they're all about to start heading down soon." He asked, his thumb padded across the back of my hand, he leaned closer, "I figured we could go early and get a head start since I've got a pretty jam-packed day planned."
I nodded, "I'll catch up with you guys at dinner," I told Roxy and Juniper before Fred was pulling me back to my feet.
They smirked and let us depart without so much as a peep from either of them. We slipped out of the Great Hall unnoticeably. Fred crept around the corner, pulling me back the other way as I stepped towards the courtyard. He peered around to check for anyone walking by. Tucked in his side, it felt odd that this lookout didn't include a prank like something was missing but it was still early.
"Are we going some other way?" I questioned.
It wouldn't be the first time we'd taken the hidden passageway that led to the back room of Honeydukes. I didn't expect it to be the last but I figured he'd at least want to go with everyone else. Fred pulled the Marauders Map out from his pocket checking if anyone was walking nearby the one-eyed statue.
It was going to be cold, dark, and damp. Just perfect for the lack of warmth I had felt this entire term so far. It was so crazy how much warmth the building lost from a few fewer weeks of sun. Dementors looking for Sirius Black had taken that with them as they searched every space they could. I kind of hated going this way but it was so much quicker than the long way was. We were expected to sit back with the rest of the group and leave with them, it just wasn't worth it.
"It's just faster," He answered, pulling me along behind as we slipped across the hall, "It'll be fine, just get your wand ready,"
I nodded, going down there had gotten easier when I was in charge of the light myself. George and Lee had a habit of knocking the others wand away or covering the light completely leaving the rest of us in the dark for a laugh knowing how I felt.
Fred nudged at the statue, as it opened up for us.
I pulled my wand up, "Lumos," Fred waited as the statue moved back, closing off the opening behind us.
"What'd that note say?" He questioned as we walked hand in hand down to Honeydukes beneath the school.
"You saw that?" I groaned, "It was Liam, again,"
Fred huffed, "I'll take care of it, don't worry about him," He hugged around my shoulders pulling me closer.
"How chivalrous, beating up the other team isn't very sportsmanlike," I joked, "I'm not worried about him if you didn't notice before I'm really good at avoiding people when I want to,"
"I'm well aware," Fred's voice tightened, reeling his arm away from my shoulder.
Great, now I've got a big mouth, I thought to myself.
"Sorry," I mumbled, stuffing my free hand into my pocket.
Fred grabbed his wand, taking the map from his jacket pocket, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,"
The print flourished across the page, Fred squinted at the page, before pulling the hand that held my wand closer to the map so he could see better.
"I thought you knew the school like the back of your hand," I teased.
Since we'd caught back up, Fred bragged about him and George knew everything they could now about the map. I wondered where they found the time to memorize all the hiding places and hidden halls. The school was massive and there's already so many hiding spots, it was impressive if they had learned all of them.
Fred rolled his eyes, "Shut up, this place isn't in the school," He smirked.
He folded the map again, stuffing it away, pointing ahead, "Come on now, we're gonna fall behind schedule," He instructed.
"What have you got planned that's on a time crunch?" I questioned.
Fred began walking ahead, "Excuse me?" I echoed speed walking to catch back up.
"I told you a schedule," He repeated, "You can complain about it later, you're going to want to see this,"
I had to speed walk a bit to catch back up, Fred caught my hand as I made it back up to him, "Don't want you getting lost today either," He was trying to hide his smile but he was failing. I could hear it in his voice.
Fred laced his fingers between mine. I was thankful it was dark and there was a chill down here, I knew my cheeks were hot and covered in a bright blush. I tried to calm my nerves by focusing on keeping up with Fred's steady pace. He was in such a hurry to make these plans I was in the dark about. The curiosity was trickling in.
••••••
Meanwhile:
Roxy shook her head watching as Fred and Magnolia slipped from the Great Hall.
"I am winning this fucking bet," she told Juniper confidently with a grin.
"What makes you so sure?" Juniper questioned.
"I just am. Hurry up so we can leave. I wanna spy on them," Roxy waved her off, standing from the table.
Liam walked towards the two girls as they went to meet up with George and Lee. His hands were stuffed in his denim pockets.
"Did you give her my note?" He questioned.
Roxy rolled her eyes, "Yes."
"And?"
"And she's not interested in you like I told you, now bugger off. Couldn't you tell she was a little busy with someone else? Maybe you've heard of him?" Roxy teased, "About 6'1-6'2 red hair, twin brother, usually seen with the girl that doesn't want you?"
Liam gulped back, Lee's choked-up laughter could be heard behind them as he had come over to join Juniper.
"I love when Roxy gets mean," Lee chuckled, Juniper jabbed her elbow at his ribs causing him to wince, "Sorry,"
"Whatever," Liam groaned, turning around to join the rest of his friends.
Roxy rolled her eyes turning on her heel to spot the trio fighting grins, "What? He needs to get the message. I've put my money on this now, this is real business." She quickly defended herself.
George shook his head, "I knew you were competitive but yikes."
Roxy ignored him, walking past him, hooking Juniper's arm.
She stole Juniper from Lee's side, "Now that he will not be a problem today, I've got a couple to spy on," Roxy announced, "Let's go!"
She called for George and Lee to follow behind. The two begrudgingly followed the tall girl. The curiosity of Fred's plans was beginning to get to everyone. It was no secret to anyone but the pair what today meant for the other. Now that things had gotten better between everyone, the spark of competition had returned to George and Roxy in terms of their bet.
While Juniper and Lee found themselves being dragged along for the ride, enjoying their own puppy love under the radar. Which worked for them, they could slip away unnoticed and their friends hadn't even noticed.
Halloween also brought out the oddest behavior in people at Hogwarts, who knows what's going to happen this year.
A/N: Maggie and Fred got it back! Jealous Maggie and Fred aren't done yet, not even close. Anyways I hope y'all have enjoyed the chapter 3 I think these little meanwhile tidbits are fun to write, what are your thoughts on them? Thinking Fred might have a few thoughts…. Thank you as always for the love! See you in the next chapter!