Disclaimer: I don't own anything…
P.S. thanks to all of you who reviewed 'Dynamite Honey' Oliver is part of the plot…
Kissing the Stars
Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson sat in the common room, finishing their Potion's essay. Or at least, Angelina was. Fred continued to doodle on a piece of parchment.
The red head looked up from his picture of Snape, which was dancing wildly across the parchment. "Angelina?"
"What?" she replied absent-mindedly, not looking up from her work.
"Can I borrow your Potion's book?"
"Do you ever need to? All you ever use it is for drawing funny pictures. And you have to make the paragraphs turn different colors. That drawing of Umbridge landed me in detention!"
Fred frowned in mock-outrage. "That was one of my best drawings!"
Angelina rolled her eyes. "All right then. This will be the last time if you fail to keep my margins clean!"
"Thanks," he said, taking the book. "When is Quidditch practice going to end tomorrow? I've got detention until five in Snape's office, washing his greasy hair!"
She laughed. "Around six. I have to cope with Sloper and Kirke, now you two have been banned. Not to mention Harry." Her expression turned sadder. "I don't know if there's any hope for the cup."
Fred quickly took out a canary cream from his pocket and ate it. Angelina watched as Fred became a canary, and transformed back into him again. He grinned.
"Better?"
"Definitely."
"I'll be waiting outside the Great Hall."
She smiled. "You are a great prankster, Fred Weasley." She gazed at him as he hastily began to actually write his essay. He looked up again.
"Hello? staring at me, Angelina?"
Angelina blushed. "Not in your dreams. I was thinking about…Roger Davies." She lied quickly.
"Davies? Yuck. Anyway, you like me better. You went to the ball with me."
"Because I didn't have anyone else to go with."
"I saw you turning quite a few people down. Let's see. A Hufflepuff, the clever Ravenclaw guy, two Durmstrang boys, and a Beauxbatons boy, all turned down by you. Not to mention Lee." He grinned slyly at her.
Her response began with a little cough. "How do you know all of this?"
"I think I know about you more than you know yourself." He yawned, and started gathering his belongings together. "Well, see you at breakfast. "
"Bye."
Angelina looked at him as he walked up the stairs to his dormitory. She was in love with him. She sighed. If only she could tell him. Things would be a lot easier.
Suddenly, her friend Alicia Spinnet turned up at her side. "Lovesick?" she asked, smiling.
Angelina glanced at her friend. "It's ok for you. You've got George."
"Why don't you just tell him?"
"I wish I could." She packed her books into her bag. "C'mon, I'm tired."
Alicia rolled her eyes and followed her friend to the girl's dormitory. "You're as good as a couple anyway. Why don't you -?"
"No!"
"All right then."
Up in the boy's dormitory, Fred groaned. Another day had passed without him telling Angelina that he was in love with her. George had gone and told Alicia – and succeeded. Good for him. What would Angelina think? She only thought of him as a friend. Angelina probably liked Oliver, or Davies, or…the possibilities were endless. She was very popular among the boys – and she was captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He would be leaving soon…when would he tell her?
Quidditch practice was a disaster for Angelina. Another practice had gone without the beaters actually hitting the bludgers in the right direction. She sighed as she changed into her school robes and went to Fred, who was waiting for her.
"I saw Sloper and Kirke," he said. "They are rubbish. They were so off-course that I could see them from Snape's office."
"I know, but they were the best at tryouts." She replied, shrugging off his arm, which he had put around her shoulder.
"That was one of the last practices that I'm going to see."
"Why?"
He turned around to face her. "George and I are going to leave Hogwarts soon."
Angelina's face fell, but she stayed silent. Fred grinned. "Missing me already?"
"Of course not! I'll get a boyfriend and bring him to watch practices!" she ran up the stairs to the tower. Fred's heart plummeted down to his stomach. She was going to find a new person, and he had missed another chance to tell her…
Angelina flung herself onto her bed. He was going to leave. She had known Fred before Hogwarts, from when she was five. Their mothers had met in Diagon Alley. He had promised that he would stay with her until Umbridge was gone from Hogwarts, but that promise was broken. Fred and George would bloom in business, and Fred would get a new girlfriend. Angelina wished she hadn't told him that she would find a new boyfriend. She was going to tell him that she loved him, but she had failed again…
That night, she dreamed about when she was six…
"C'mon, Angie, it'll be fun!"
"Fred! You know I hate heights.
Fred's face fell, but lit up again. "Okay, I'll hold your hand whilst you fly."
Angelina didn't smile. "Do you think that will work?"
Six-year-old Fred grinned. "Of course it will!"
They climbed onto their brooms; Fred holding Angelina's hand…the stars had seemed so beautiful against the night sky…
Alicia frowned, eating a piece of toast. "Fred is leaving with George to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley?"
"Yes."
"You better tell him quickly then."
"Do I have to? Why can't he tell me?"
Alicia's gaze was stern. "You're not very quick, are you? Even if Fred isn't going to leave, what will happen when we graduate? Do you think he'll stay put at the Burrow? Angelina, you think you'll get together because you've known each other since you were six. That's not going to happen. Friends aren't always going to be there. When you leave school, it's like leaving them forever." She stood up, and left the Great Hall, leaving Angelina to…think.
Angelina woke up, and looked at her clock. It was two in the morning. She snuggled up again.
"Angelina?" a strange tapping sound filled the room. She looked towards the window to see Fred grinning at her on his broom.
"Fred!"
"Fancy going out? You can see the stars really clearly tonight. Come onto my broom."
"Thanks." Angelina pulled on a coat and carefully climbed onto his broom.
Fred took her hand. "You're afraid of heights, aren't you?"
Angelina smiled. He had remembered. She was all right now; she was on the Quidditch team. But she still clasped his warm hand tightly.
The stars twinkled as Fred accelerated, shooting towards the Hogwarts Grounds. He stopped when they got to the Quidditch Pitch.
"The stars are beautiful tonight."
Angelina laughed. "No one in their right mind would think that Fred Weasley was this romantic. "
They stayed in silence for a while, until Fred turned his broom. "C'mon, it's getting cold."
He loved holding her hand. It was so small, silky, and warm. He didn't let go when he reached her dormitory.
"Angelina, why don't you ask your new boyfriend to take you on trips like this?" he sounded cold.
Angelina felt as though she had swallowed a box of ice cubes. "I will." She replied slowly. Her anger suddenly burst out.
"I will! And you – why don't you go and make a pretty girlfriend at your joke shop?" tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Angelina -" Fred reached out for her.
"You promised me! You promised that you would stay with me until we won the cup, until Dumbledore was back! Well, why don't you just go wherever you want? I hate you!" she turned around and slammed her window shut. Angelina leaned against the wall to cry. She wanted to be honest; she didn't want to shout at him…she had made another mistake…
Alicia ran up to Angelina at breakfast. "Angie! It's today, Fred's leaving today! Angelina -" she realized tear marks on her friend's cheeks. "You didn't have a row with him?" Angelina nodded, and Alicia sighed. "Go on. He's just gone out."
Angelina found Fred on a corridor of the third floor. "Fred!"
Fred looked back at her. "…Angelina."
She felt tears stinging in her eyes. "I've got to tell you something. I lied to you. I told you I hated it when you doodled in my books, but I loved your funny pictures. I told you that I would find a new boyfriend, but really I didn't want one. I pretended to hate you when you landed in detention, but it was great to find you helping me wash Snape's cauldrons. And when I told you I hated you yesterday…I was lying to you." She turned and ran in the direction she had come.
Fred gazed at her for a moment before quickly reaching out to pull her back by the arm. "Don't run away from me!" he said softly. He turned her around and gently put his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight. "I'll miss you too." He whispered into her ear. He let go of her. "I love you, Angelina."
Angelina felt tears of happiness roll down her cheeks. "I was going to tell you, but you told me first." She smiled up at Fred cheekily. "Let go of me, I've got lessons, unlike you."
"Not yet." Still holding her hand, he leaned in to kiss her fully, and softly on the lips.
He pulled back, and saw her smile. He glanced at his watch. "Oh No! It's time for my mission."
"Good luck."
"I'll come to see you at King's Cross."
"Thanks."
He pulled her into one last hug before disappearing down the corridor to freedom…