Wait…What?
I just don't get it. I'm mean, cruel, and absolutely dreadful to him, yet he's still in love with me. How on Earth do I get rid of Fred Weasley?
I suppose it all started in our first year, when I made the mistake of introducing myself. I mean, what could have possibly gotten into me? I was simply walking through the train, minding my own business, when an explosion rocked the compartment next to me. A rat came flying through the air and landed on my head. A red head popped out into the corridor and grinned at me.
"Hey," he said. "I see you've found our rat. May I?" he asked, motioning to the ugly grey rodent on my head. I took the rat by the tail and held it out to the boy. He grinned again. "My name's Fred. Fred Weasley."
There was something about the mischievous glint in Fred's eyes that I didn't quite like, but like a bloody fool I told him my name. "Angelina Johnson."
"Want to come in and meet the guys?" Fred asked me. I shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" I replied. Stupidest thing I've ever done. I could have just kept walking, went about my life normally. But no. I just had to be all brave and courageous. Maybe that's what got me stuck with Fred in Gryffindor. Maybe if I had walked away, I would have seemed cowardly and been put in Hufflepuff. Would have saved me six years of wanting to tear my hair out.
Yes, I, Angelina Johnson, am a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and every single year I have had to put up with Fred Weasley. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he were more like his brother George. Oh, sure, they're identical twins, and to a lot of people it seems as if they share a brain. But I know better. Fred is one of those people who act before they think. An idea pops into his head and BOOM he's off. George is more level-headed and logical. Why couldn't those genes have been divided equally between the two? Would've made life easier for me.
"Hey Angelina!" Arrg! That voice! That voice…it drills into my skull like fingernails on a chalkboard. It makes me want to shoot myself.
"What?" I snapped, looking up just in time to see him dive straight at the ground, nearly breaking his neck. George and Harry went after him, whooping and hollering like a bunch of animals. He pulled out of the dive just in time, about three inches from the ground. He flew up next to me, grinning like a loon.
"Hey Angelina, did you see that?" he asked excitedly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It took all the self control I possessed. I mean, the boy was nearly wetting his pants in excitement for crying out loud. I'm not that cruel.
"What? You mean you almost killing yourself and putting me out of my misery?" I asked snidely. Okay, so maybe I am.Fred merely saluted me and took off again.
Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet flew up next to me, giving me sympathetic looks.
"I don't even know why I'm out here," I griped, motioning to the Quidditch pitch, complete with empty stands and undisturbed field. "I mean, we aren't even having matches this year because of the Triwizard Tournament."
"Yes, but isn't it great to be out here having fun with your teammates…minus Oliver, of course," Katie said. "Boy, I'm going to miss that overbearing captain and keeper of ours. We're going to have to have tryouts soon, for a new keeper…and there's going to be a new captain…anyways, this is great practice for when you're captain next year."
"You don't even know if I'm going to be captain next year," I reminded her. Alicia rolled her eyes.
"Who else is it going to be?" she asked.
"You two are in the same year as me," I said. "It could very well be either of you."
This time Katie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Angelina, you know you were always Oliver's favorite. He's bound to have requested you to McGonagall."
"Anyways, the only way we would be picked is if you and the twins all died," Alicia pointed out. "You three are better players than us. And just imagine Fred as Quidditch captain."
I suppressed a shudder. "Oh, don't even make me think about that. I don't want to have to spend any more time with him than I have to."
Katie smiled sympathetically. "I understand completely," she informed me.
I snorted. How could she possibly understand? She was dating George, the logical twin, the sweet twin, the understanding twin, the perfect boyfriend. She had no little red headed freak following her around everywhere, worshiping the ground she walked on. How could she possibly understand?
"Hey Angelina!" Fred called again. I turned my broom around to see him doing midair somersaults and front flips. I sighed.
"Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll scramble his brains so much that he forgets who I am," I said hopefully.
Katie laughed. "Don't count on it," she said as Fred flew by, his attention so focused on me that he flew straight into the goalpost.
"Score! And it's ten points for Angelina Johnson, zero points for Fred Weasley!" Lee Jordan called from the stands.
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"Did you hear? Did you hear?" Katie called excitedly as she shoved her way through the crowd of chattering Gryffindors. Alicia and I, who were sitting on the stairs leading up to our dorms, looked up at her.
"About what?" I practically shouted over the noise. Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Alicia cut her off.
"Why is everyone so loud?" she asked. "I can barely hear myself think! Did something happen?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Katie said impatiently. "There's going to be a ball!"
"A ball?" I repeated. "You mean, like a dance?"
"Yes!" Katie cried. "It's called a Yule Ball, and it's reserved specifically for the Triwizard Tournament. It's open for fourth year and above, unless a younger student is asked by an older one. And get this…the champions have to open the dance!"
Alicia and I laughed. That was going to be good.
"Wow!" Alicia said, excited as well.
"I'm going to find George. I wonder if he knows about this," Katie said, disappearing into the crowd.
I rolled my eyes. "That girl is so cheerful all the time. It's almost nauseating."
"I don't know," Alicia said thoughtfully. "This does sound like a lot of fun."
I snorted. "Easy for you to say. You don't have a red headed stalker."
Alicia laughed. "Well, how about this…if he asks you, say yes."
"What?" I yelped. She held up a hand.
"Let me finished. You go with him, then tell him you're going to the rest room and then meet up with one of those cute French guys from Beauxbatons. That way, you can go to the dance, Fred is happy, and you get a cute boy thrown into the mix."
I grinned at her. "You are evil. Plain and simple."
"It's a gift," she said airily.
"You really think I should though?" I asked. "What if he sees me with the other guy?"
She shrugged. "Maybe it'llfinallyshow him that you have no interest in him."
"Oi! Angelina!"
I leaned around Alicia and looked over to the fireplace. Fred was grinning at me while Harry and Ron looked over expectantly.
"What?" I called back, knowing and dreading the question he was going to ask.
"Want to go to the ball with me?"
I gave him an appraising sort of look as I weighed my options. On one hand, the plan Alicia came up with was incredibly mean, and as much as Fred irritated me to the point of jumping off the Astronomy tower, I really didn't want to hurt him that badly. On the other hand, the plan did allow me to meet some French guys, and I really couldn't turn Fred down with the whole common room watching.
"Alright then," I replied, turning back to Alicia with a small grin. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fred telling the others how easy it had been to ask me. My smile grew.
This was going to be fun.
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"Wow Angelina!" Katie marveled. "You look gorgeous!"
I spun around ballet-style, my long royal purple dress flowing out around me. Alicia had twisted my hair up into a curly sort of bun, a few strands falling in my face. I checked myself out in the mirror. I did look good.
"You too," I told her. Alicia smiled fondly at us. "Alicia, I really wish you would come," I pleaded with her. She just shook her head, smiling, and shooed us out.
Fred and George, who was of course taking Katie, were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. I have to admit, in his blood red dress robes,Fred did look pretty good. He grinned at me and bowed. I couldn't help but giggle as his too-small robes lifted up to reveal a pair of ratty sneakers. Katie rolled her eyes and linked her arm through George's.
"Shall we depart?" George asked. Katie nodded and they led the way to the Great Hall.
"Oh wow," I breathed as we opened the doors. "They've really overdone themselves with the decorating."
Instead of the usual house tables, there were dozens of smaller round tables. The champions were just moving onto the dance floor that had been set up. Harry nervously and rather awkwardly led Parvati Patil onto the floor. I really felt bad for the kid. I mean, as if it wasn't bad enough that You-Know-Who was constantly after him, but then his name pops out of the Goblet of Fire as well? Although I have to say, it's really not fair that there were people that actually put their name in the Goblet, but didn't get picked (couch, me, cough) and then Harry gets picked when he didn't put his name in.
I spotted Roger Davies dancing with that Veela girl…what was her name? Oh yeah. Fleur. Fleur Delacour. I wanted to laugh. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was almost disgusting. I mean, what did guys see in her? Long blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, perfect white teeth…okay, so she was gorgeous, but she was a stuck up, pompous little princess with an ego the size of Britain. Who would want that?
Viktor Krum was dancing with a girl I recognized as Hermione. I must admit, the pretty sleeked back hairstyle was a nice change from the usual bushiness we were all used to. Being the girl that I am, I figured that she must have used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to get it to look like that. She looked really nice. Although, and this may sound a bit mean, I couldn't understand what Krum could see in a girl like Hermione. Not only was she three years younger than him, but he is a famous Quidditch star, with thousands upon thousands of adoring fans, most of them beautiful women, and he could have any of them. Sure, he's not the best looking guy, but he is famous, and everyone wants that. Don't get me wrong, I love Hermione to death, but she's really not all that special.
I let my gaze linger on Cedric Diggory a little longer than the others. Cho Chang's eyes were lit up in happiness as Cedric spun her around gracefully. I couldn't help but envy her. Sure Cedric was a pretty boy, but he was good at Quidditch, an excellent student, and he was gorgeous.
The Weird Sisters, whom Dumbledore had somehow managed to book, struck up a fast, energetic song as others began to move onto the dance floor. Fred grabbed me by the hand and dragged me out into the middle of the floor. I figured I'd play along for a while and allowed him to place his hands on my waist.
Suddenly he began dancing so exuberantly that I jumped back in alarm. He flashed a grin at me before grabbing my hand and pulling me into his chest. He winked at me, and before I knew what was happening, he flung me out away from him, then spun me back in. Then he made a low growling noise in his throat and started a tango.
By this time the crowd had formed a circle around us and everyone was watching in amusement. I knew I should probablyhave beenembarrassed out of my mind, but I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, I knew Fred had a sense of humor, but I never knew the annoying little red head could be so much fun.
The song ended much too quickly for my liking. I was incredibly out of breath, so I led Fred to a small table in the corner. Katie and George soon joined us.
Katie gave me a meaningful look before smiling sweetly and saying, "Would you excuse us for a moment? We need to use the restroom." She pulled me out of the Great Hall without waiting for a response.
She whirled on me as soon as the doors closed behind us. "What are you doing?" she hissed.
"What do you mean?" I asked, bewildered.
"I mean, it looked like you were actually having a good time. With Fred Weasley."
"Well…maybe I was," I admitted uncomfortably.
"You're still going through with the plan, aren't you?" she asked anxiously. I hesitated for an agonizingly long moment before nodding.
"Yeah. I'll do it."
Katie smiled. "Good," she said, relieved. "I'll go back in there and tell him you're not feeling well. Then you can sneak back in there and turn on your charm for one of those French boys. Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Katie squealed, giving me a quick hug and disappearing back into the Great Hall.
"Great," I muttered as the doors swung shut. "Glad to know someone is."
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"So zen, when I was eight, I fell down ze stairs in my muzzer's house," Rhett droned on. We had been dancing together for the past three hours, and he had talked nonstop, filling me in on his life, starting with the day he was born. Full of yourself much? I couldn't help but think.
I hate to admit it, but I was actually beginning to miss Fred.
Whoa. Did that thought actually pass through my head?
Yes it did, and I know it only too well. I missed him. I could almost hear his voice calling out to me…
"Angelina?" Oh crap, I really could hear his voice. My head snapped up off Rhett's shoulder (where I was nearly falling asleep) and I looked right into Fred's hurt and angry eyes.
"Fred," I said apologetically. I felt like scum.
"Katie said you were sick. I hope you're not contagious, or your boyfriend here might throw up," he snapped, before turning and stalking out of the hall.
I'm not scum. I'm lower than scum. I'm the scum they scrape off of scum.
Without so much as a good bye to Rhett, I did something I never thought I would ever do. I ran after the red headed terror.
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I found him out by the lake, staring into the water. I approached him silently.
"You know," he said in hollow, monotone voice. "The moment you said yes to me, I was the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. The girl of my dreams, the one I have been head over heels in love with ever since the day my brother's rat landed in her hair, had finally said yes to me."
Every word he was saying was like a knife cutting into my heart. I just wanted to die, right then and there.
"I mean, I always felt so left out," he continued in the same tone of voice. "Dad has Mum. Bill and Charlie have all those foreign girls falling at their feet. Percy has Penelope. My own twin brother has Katie. Heck, even Ron has Hermione, although neither of them will admit it. And who do I have? I thought I had you, until about six minutes ago. But who am I kidding? I don't deserve anybody."
I felt tears coming to my eyes. How could I have done this to him? "Fred," I began, but he cut me off.
"No, let me finish. I deserve that at least," he said, finally getting angry. I was actually relieved. That emotionless thing was a lot scarier than the screaming he was sure to do. "I'm just a class clown. A prankster. The only thing I'm good at is jokes. I'm not very academic. I don't get good grades. I couldn't tell you how many teaspoons of dragon blood to put in a Sleeping Potion. Merlin, I don't even know if there is dragon blood in a Sleeping Potion. But if you asked me exactly how many different explosives are in Filibuster's No Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks, I could tell you in a heartbeat."
"Fred," I tried again, but he cut me off again.
"But who really cares about that? What woman wants a guy like me? I doubt anyone even cares about me," he finished, hanging his head, his voice breaking.
"I care!" I burst out. He looked up at me, shocked. I was surprised about it myself. "I care, Fred." I took his hands in mine and stared into his eyes. "Fred, I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but I'm head over heels in love with you too! I think I have been, ever since the day your rat—"
"My brother's rat," he corrected. I smiled, tears beginning to run down my cheeks.
"Your brother's rat landed in my hair." I moved my hands up to either side of his face. "I love you, Fred Weasley!" I stated loudly. I knew there were people out on the lawn to hear me, but I didn't care. Let them hear me. I wanted everyone to know.
He broke into a grin—a grin I used to think was incredibly irritating, but now I thought was incredibly sexy. He swooped down and captured my lips with his in a passionate, heated kiss I have been waiting for for six years. I eagerly returned the kiss, melting into an embrace that I fit perfectly into. I never wanted this moment to end.
As I think back on it, I remember wondering how on Earth I was supposed to get rid of Fred Weasley. I laugh about that now. Why would anyone want to get rid of him?
Because now that I've got him, I never want to let him go.
Fin.
A/N: Yes? No? Like it? Hate it? Let me know. This was just a fluffy little one shot that popped into my head and I wrote it down. It took me about three days to write and perfect it. I stayed up until about one in the morning for three nights in a row just to finish it. I thought it was pretty cute, but that's just my opinion. I also think little babies are cute when they drool all over me.
Well, please review and tell me what you think.
