Disclaimer: Though I wish they belonged to me, all the characters are the property of J.K Rowling. The song belongs to someone else too.
A/N: As I said last chapter I have included some of the words to 'Me and my Shadow'. I left out the parts that aren't relevant. I think it goes well with Fred and George.or at least how people see them anyway.
Nothin' else to say except thanks for the reviews and the Blues were robbed.
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Chapter 17
'Me and my Shadow.'- Robbie Williams and Jonathon Wilkes
Like the wallpaper sticks to the wall
Like the seashore clings to the sea
Like you'll never get rid of your shadow
You'll never get rid of me
Let all the others fight and fuss
Whatever happens, we've got us.
We're closer than pages that stick in a book
We're closer than ripples that flow in a brook
Wherever you find him, you'll find me, just look
Closer than a miser or the bloodhounds to Liza
Me and my shadow
We're closer than smog to all of L.A.
We're closer than Ricky to confessing he's gay
Not a soul can bust this team in two
We stick together like glue
And now to repeat what I said at the start
They'll need a large crowbar to break us apart
We're alone but far from blue
That Friday, Alicia, Fred and Katie were in Muggle Studies learning all about important inventions in Muggle history.
"Who created the telephone again?" Katie asked Alicia.
"Alexander Graham Bell."
Fred frowned and scratched his head. "I thought he invented the light bulb"
"That was Thomas Edison."
Katie threw her quill down in frustration. "This is stupid."
"Why did you even pick Muggle Studies?" Alicia asked.
"Well, Tristan told me that the Divination teacher is crazy."
"Crazy? I've heard she's a little eccentric but crazy seems a little harsh."
"I wonder how the others are doing anyway," Fred mused.
Up in the Divination room.
"It think it's a banana," Angelina said as she squinted at her teat leaves.
"There isn't even a banana in the book," Lee informed her.
"Perhaps it's a broomstick." She spun the saucer around a few times but it still looked like a big blob of nothing.
"Well, a broomstick means you'll have great misfortune."
"Right. It could always be a wand, too."
"A wand says you'll injure yourself severely," Lee said with a laugh.
"Bloody hell. Are none of them positive?" Angelina peered at the book.
Lee scanned the page. "Well, a flower means you'll fall in love soon."
"Good enough for me. A flower it is. Pass me your saucer then."
Over at the next table George was working with Meredith. She was trying to read his tea leaves but not having much success.
"It looks like an elephant to me," she sighed.
"But it can't be! I don't want to fail miserably!"
"Look, there's the trunk right there." Meredith pointed to an indistinguishable lump.
George stuck his finger in his wet leaves and left a big hole. "There we go. No more elephant."
"That's cheating!"
At that point Professor Trelawney came over to inspect their work. She peered at George's disfigured tealeaves and tutted.
"My dears, you must take this seriously. Just yesterday I used my divine gift to foresee the break in at Gringotts."
"Why didn't you tell anyone then?" Charlotte asked from a nearby table.
"We must not interfere with fate. If it is to happen then it will happen," Trelawney said mistily.
"Sounds like a load of bullocks to me," Lee whispered to Angelina.
"Maybe I should have picked Muggle Studies," she said.
Back in Muggle Studies.
"What's his name again?"
"Galileo Galilei," Alicia answered.
"What a stupid name," Katie complained.
"Look at him," Fred said, a scowl clouding his face.
"Look at who? Galileo?" Alicia questioned.
"No. Bloody Diggory."
"Should have known." Katie rolled her eyes then returned to her work.
"Look at him sitting there like the world revolves around him."
Alicia frowned. Cedric was just sitting with Meenal and working studiously. He wasn't even paying attention to anyone else in the class. Alicia didn't dare to say anything to Fred though.
"That's it for today students! I want you all to write a short essay for me on a Muggle person who made a significant contribution to Muggle life."
The class groaned then filed out of the classroom. Alicia, Fred and Katie headed for Gryffindor Tower.
"So who are you going to do your essay on?" Katie asked Alicia.
"Albert Einstein."
"Right. The guy who didn't own a hairbrush. So who do you think I should do, Leesh?"
"What about Sir Isaac Newton?" she suggested.
"What did he do that was so special?" Katie asked.
"An apple fell on his head."
"How did that help anyone?"
"He figured out gravity," Alicia explained.
"Oh, maybe I will do him then. What about you, Fred?"
He turned to them after a moment. "Huh?"
"Are you paying attention?" Alicia rolled her eyes.
"Not particularly," Fred admitted.
"Thinking about Angelina?" Katie grinned.
"No! Why would I think about her! She's obviously in love with Diggory. I don't see what he has that I don't though."
"He's tall, dark and handsome," Katie sighed.
"Don't forget smart and sweet," Alicia added.
"He's got a great butt too. Not to mention his eyes and-"
"All right! I get the bloody point!"
"He's perfect," both girls said with appreciative giggles.
"Perfection is over-rated," Fred snapped.
An hour later.
The majority of the third year students had gathered on the Quidditch pitch. They'd decided to celebrate their first week back with a nice game of Quidditch on their free Friday afternoon. Fred and George had elected themselves as captains and were picking their teams.
"I pick Alicia," George said immediately.
"Typical," Fred muttered. He surveyed his classmates carefully.
"Cedric!" someone giggled suddenly.
Angelina and Cedric were hanging at the back of the group whispering to each other. Cedric even had the nerve to put his arm around her shoulders. Fred glared at them.
"I pick Angelina."
Her head jerked up just as she was just about to kiss Cedric "Sorry?"
"Pay attention. I said that I pick you," Fred repeated through gritted teeth.
"All right, no need to get shirty with me."
She reluctantly left Cedric and went to stand beside Fred. George then picked Katie.
"Choose Cedric," Angelina whispered to Fred.
"I don't want losers on my team."
"He's not a loser! He's a great Seeker."
"He's a pretty-boy wuss. I pick Adam."
Fred refused to pick Cedric at all and George ended up choosing him as his last player.
"You're jealous," Angelina said matter-of-factly to Fred.
"I am not jealous! You just think of yourself too highly. You may have most guys in the palm of your hand but not me. I don't fancy you at all, therefore I am not jealous of Diggory. Now, Johnson, concentrate on the game." Without another word, Fred mounted his broom and took off.
"You don't fancy me?" Angelina raised her eyebrows skeptically. She took off and floated beside him for a second.
"No. Is that so hard for you to believe?"
"Not at all.I just thought-"
"Well you thought wrong," Fred snapped then sped away quickly.
Angelina hung in mid-air briefly as she tried to figure out what was going on. Perhaps she'd taken Fred's crush on her for granted. Not that it mattered. So what if he didn't like her anymore?
It's probably better that way anyhow, Angelina thought. She continued to try and convince herself as the balls were released and the game began.
The game was turning out to be quite even. The tension between Fred and Cedric was evident throughout the game though. At one point, towards the end of the game, Cedric was sitting on his broom calmly searching around for the Snitch when Fred hit a Bludger straight towards him.
"Cedric! Look out!" Angelina screamed.
Cedric turned around and spotted the black ball heading right for him. He managed to roll in mid-air and it narrowly missed him.
"Angelina!" Fred yelled in frustration. "You don't tell the opposition to 'look out'!"
"Shut up! You can't hit the Bludger directly at Cedric for no reason! Katie had the Quaffle, you should have been aiming for her!"
"So you'd rather I hit your friend? That's real nice!" Fred swung his bat at an approaching Bludger.
Their argument was interrupted when Cedric suddenly sped off across the pitch. The opposing Seeker, Meenal, took off after him but she was too slow. Cedric closed his fist around the tiny gold ball.
George's team cheered and whooped. Alicia exchanged high-fives with Katie and their fellow Chaser, Danny.
Everyone landed and shook hands and laughed. Except Fred, of course. He stomped off across the pitch. Angelina ran after him and grabbed his arm to stop him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.
"Nothing. Shouldn't you be off snogging Cedric or something?" Fred snapped.
"What is your problem with Cedric? If you're not jealous then what is it?" She tugged at his arm imploringly.
"I just don't like him! Now get the hell off me!"
"But why do you hate him? Please, tell me what he's done to make you hate him."
"I'm serious. Let go of me." Fred pushed her away and continued off across the pitch.
Tears stung at Angelina's eyes but she blinked them back. She went back to the others and tried not to think about Fred at all.
"Where's he going?" George asked.
"He's just pissed off because he lost," Angelina said.
"I guess I should go after him, see if I can calm him down or something," George sighed.
"Good luck with that," Angelina muttered darkly.
George left and the others stayed around for a second. Then slowly they all headed back towards the castle. When they reached the front steps they found George sitting by himself with his head in his hands.
"George? I thought you went after Fred?" Charlotte said peering at him curiously.
George looked up at the mention of his name. Blood was trickling from his lip.
"What happened?" everyone gasped.
"I tried to talk to Fred and he punched me. My own brother hit me." George shook his head a little dazedly, obviously still trying to come to terms with it himself.
"You should go see Madam Pomfrey. You don't look so good," Cordelia said.
George ignored her and continued his muttering to himself, "My own brother. Why?"
"He'll be fine. Come on, let's go see Madam Pomfrey," Alicia suggested as she pulled him to his feet.
"I can't go to Madam Pomfrey. She'll want to know who hit me and I can't get Fred in trouble," George said as he allowed Alicia to lead him through the oak doors.
"He hit you though! He deserves to be punished!" Angelina clenched her fists.
"Do you want Gryffindor to lose points?" George asked her.
"Of course not but-"
"No buts. None of you can mention it to the teachers."
Everyone agreed to keep their mouths shut about it. The Gryffindors split from everyone else and headed for their common room.
"I think Fred's gone too far this time," Alicia said as the portrait hole opened.
"Let's get him up to our room," Katie said as every head in the common room turned towards them.
A whisper spread through out the students. Alicia noticed a first year girl named Hermione shake her head in disapproval. The girls headed up to their room with George and Lee. Fred was nowhere to be seen and they assumed he was in his own room.
"Come in to the bathroom and I'll clean you up." Alicia dragged George with her before he could resist.
"Really, it's not that bad," George sighed as he sat on the edge of the tub.
"Your twin brother hit you for no reason. I think that constitutes bad," Alicia said evenly as she dabbed at his lip with a wet hand towel.
"Fred just lost his cool."
"Stop talking."
"Is he ok?" Lee poked his head around the door.
"I'm fine," George insisted as he rolled his eyes at his friend's concern.
Alicia pinched his cheek affectionately. "Yeah, he'll live."
"Thanks, Leesh," George rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"You're welcome. Are you sure you're all right though? I know you're fine physically but what about emotionally?" Alicia peered at him cautiously.
"I'm not gonna have a nervous breakdown if that's what you mean."
"I'm being serious here. I know Fred has never hit you on purpose before."
"Look, thanks for the concern but I'm really fine," George insisted once again.
Alicia hugged him quickly then rinsed out the hand towel. George ran his finger along his lip.
"This is going to swell," he groaned.
"I might be able to find a spell if you're lucky."
They emerged from the bathroom to find Katie and Lee standing alone in the middle of the room. Angelina was no where to be seen.
"She's gone to see Fred, hasn't she?" Alicia groaned.
"Yep."
"Let's just hope he's calmed down; for both their sakes." George ran a nervous hand through his ruffled hair.
Meanwhile, downstairs.
Angelina was marching purposefully towards Fred's room. She pushed the door open without knocking. Half expecting Fred to jump out at her, she peered around at the empty room. Fred wasn't in there but he obviously had been. His crumpled hand-knitted jumper had been carelessly thrown on his unmade bed.
Feeling her anger slip away, Angelina sighed then went and sat cross-legged on his bed. She picked up the discarded jumper and looked at it, shaking her head.
Slowly, Angelina brought the jumper up to her face. She took a deep breath and a scent filled her nostrils that was unmistakably Fred. She brushed the jumper against her cheek, it was soft and warm and strangely comforting.
"Oh, Fred, why'd you do it?" she asked no one.
"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, Johnson," an amused voice said.
Fred emerged from the adjoining bathroom. Angelina screamed and dropped the jumper quickly. She tried to clamber off his bed but her foot got caught in the sheet and she ended up falling off the bed and landing on the floor heavily.
Fred folded his arms and watched in amusement as Angelina struggled to her feet. Throwing the offending sheet back on the bed, she brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. She was fidgeting with her hands and looking fixedly at her feet.
"Going to tell me why you were smelling my clothes?"
"I wasn't smelling anything. Why were you hiding in the bathroom?" Angelina countered.
"I wasn't hiding. This is my room and last time I checked I was free to use the bathroom when I felt like it."
"Why'd you hit your brother?"
"I was wondering when you'd get around to that," Fred went and sat on Lee's bed.
"You going to answer me then?"
"I don't see what it has to do with you to be honest."
Angelina sat across from him on George's bed. "Well, you obviously have a problem with me and you're taking it out on your twin brother. That's not fair."
"I didn't want to hit him. I just lost control. You tend to have that effect on me. I don't know how you do it exactly but you drive me crazy."
"I drive you crazy?" Angelina raised her eyebrows.
"Completely insane. I try to hate you, I really do but it doesn't last very long. I like you Angelina. I like you a lot, actually."
Those simple words had an unexpected effect on Angelina. Before she knew what she was doing she had leapt up.
"That's all I needed to hear. You could have just said that in the first place and it would have made everything much easier."
"I know but its not the easiest thing in the world for me to say." Fred blushed slightly at her sudden closeness.
Angelina smiled at him affectionately then kissed him. Fred was startled at first but quickly recovered and put his hand on the back of her neck. He pushed her forward to deepen the kiss.
Alicia, George, Lee and Katie were coming up the boys' stairs. They were expecting to hear World War 3 in Fred's room but the door was open and there was not a sound from inside.
"Do you think she knocked him out?" Katie whispered as they approached the room.
Alicia poked her head inside first. When she saw the pair kissing she stumbled back in surprise.
"My foot!" Lee yelped.
"Eeew!" Alicia covered her eyes.
"What is it?" Katie pushed past the stunned boys to see what was going on.
Upon hearing the commotion at the door the pair pulled apart reluctantly. Angelina grinned sheepishly at Katie. Fred simply gave George and Lee the thumbs up.
"I so wish I hadn't seen that," Alicia moaned.
Fred rolled his eyes at her then turned back to Angelina. He gave her another soft kiss and pulled back and stared at her.
"What about Cedric?" he asked.
"Cedric who?" Angelina smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
Fred let out a sigh of relief and hugged her tightly. Burying his face in her hair, he could hardly believe his luck. He'd just snogged the prettiest girl in the year and this time he would be able to tell everyone about it.
They separated as their friends entered the room. Fred remembered that he had an apology to make. He stood up and opened his mouth but George held up his hand.
"It's all right. You don't have to say it, I know that you're sorry and you didn't mean it. Just do me a favour and don't do it again."
Fred smiled gratefully. He didn't like apologising. "Thanks and I won't do it again"
"What about Cedric?" Alicia asked Angelina.
"Yeah, he's perfect," Katie added.
"Perfection is over-rated," Fred and Angelina said in unison.
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A/N: I wasn't actually planning to keep the chapter going so long but I think Fred deserved some redemption. I didn't want flames from everyone because I made Fred such an asshole. It's not my best chapter but I've been deprived of fanfiction so please don't hate me. Review, please.