Disclaimer: Ok, this is FAN-fiction! You shouldn't even need to write one of these...right? Anyway...I don't own Harry Potter or any Harry Potter Characters...I'm just borrowing them.

Summary: When the gang returns to school after the summer holidays, they've changed. Oliver and Fred are finding themselves strangely drawn to Angelina...but she can't be more than a friend...to either of them...right?

Rating: PG.

Note: The character's thoughts will appear in Italics. Sorry if it's confusing. Also many thanks to Mandi, my cure for writers block! Happy reading!

Closest Thing to Heaven

© Angelface04

August 8, 2004

He couldn't sleep. He kicked off his covers. It was too hot...too stuffy. He needed to get out. He thrust the curtains surrounding his bed back, and then reminded himself that others were still asleep. He slipped out of his dormitory silently, not even bothering to put shoes on.

He didn't know how late it was...he didn't really care either. He wandered down his dormitory stairs, thinking. He'd been doing way too much of that lately. He wasn't used to it. He didn't like it.

He stopped in the common room and plopped down in one of the plush armchairs, sighing and putting his head in his hands. This wasn't right – he was never like this over a girl. Sure, he'd had crushes before...but...not like this.

He'd known her for so long, and it had never been like this. She had always been a buddy...a good friend. But now...?

Now...

"What are you doing up this late?" His head jerked up. It was Oliver.

"Oh...probably the same thing you are," He smiled faintly, not knowing how right he was Oliver chuckled slightly, taking the chair that was across from Fred. He gazed into the fire. The shadows from the dancing flames played across his face. He sighed.

Fred was more than a little suspicious as he watched Oliver out of the corner of his eye. When Angelina had come down from his dormitory earlier she had seemed normal...a little too normal. One look in her eyes and you could tell something had happened. Fred wasn't a nosy person. He wouldn't pry into it...but if Oliver was right here...

"So...Ange came up to see you earlier?" He casually asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah," Oliver didn't look away from the flames. He didn't continue. Fred didn't know what to say. He didn't think that: "So, did you do anything to Angelina?" sounded so great. "She's okay...right?" Fred looked up at Oliver.

"I think," He replied slowly. "She seemed a little...upset...I guess..." Oliver sighed, closing his eyes. He was mumbling something under his breath.

Then he stood, announced that he was going to bed, and turned away. Fred watched him as he climbed the stairs slowly.

What did you do to her?

The week dragged on. Quidditch hadn't started yet, though Oliver was feverishly preparing.

"Look, I've booked the pitch for Saturday morning at 6:00." Oliver told the group at breakfast. "We need to get in as much practice as we can before our first game."

Alicia looked over at Oliver. "So who do we play?"

"Slytherin," Fred exchanged a glance with George. They knew how important it was to Oliver to win the Quidditch cup this year...it was his last chance.

"Pass the marmalade," Lee managed around his mouthful of food.

"Chew. Swallow. Talk." Katie grasped the marmalade and put it in front of him.

"Thank God it's Friday!" Alicia moaned, nibbling at her toast. "I don't think I could take one more of Snape's lessons."

"You're telling me," George cut in. "I swear, if I have to sit and listen to him ramble on and on about the properties of Veritisum I'm going to die."

"I second that," Fred raised his fork in the air. "He's driving me crazy."

"Hey, where'd Oliver go?" It was Lee who noticed first, and Angelina was jerked back to reality when she saw the Great Hall's doors swing shut. He was angry...why shouldn't he be? She sighed, pain prickling her insides. She didn't want him to be mad. She liked him more than she let on...but she just hadn't been ready...Suddenly she wasn't so hungry.

After an all-too-exhausting day, Angelina was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Alicia was attacking her Charm's essay vehemently, and Katie was gazing into the mirror.

"I have a big nose."

"No you don't." Alicia and Angelina replied in unison, neither one of them even glancing at their friend. They were used to this...Katie was one of the prettiest girls in their year, and she had a problem with self-consciousness.

"Do too."

"You have a perfect nose," Angelina encouraged truthfully. Katie sighed.

"Then why doesn't George like me?" She moaned, flinging herself onto Alicia's bed. Alicia and Angelina both snapped up.

"What?" Alicia was smiling. "You like George again?" Katie's face was in a pillow, but she nodded pitifully.

"But I thought that you stopped liking him last year!" Angelina said.

Katie shook her head. "I lied." Came her muffled reply. The girls let out a little scream.

"This is so great!" Alicia squealed. "Now we all have somebody to crush on! Kate, you have George. I have Lee, and Ange you have Fred...or is it Oliver?" Angelina lay back down and looked up at the ceiling.

"I really don't know. I like both of them. How am I supposed to decide? It's so confusing!"

"Well, I think you should choose Fred. He's way cuter and funnier." Katie told her.

"Well, I think you should choose Oliver. He's cuter and much smarter." Alicia argued back.

"Whatever, you know Fred is way cuter and you should admit it." Kate spat.

Alicia argued back. "The only reason you think Fred is hotter is because he looks exactly like George, and you know it! So that's no reason why she should choose him. I will admit that Fred is funny, but Ol is smarter and he can be funny...sometimes."

Katie started hysterically laughing. "Olly! Be funny? Yeah right!"Alicia just rolled her eyes.

"Laugh if you want but you know what? It's not our choice anyway. It's Ange's." Both the girls looked at Angelina who was just staring at them.

"Well, I, umm...really appreciate your opinions. But to tell you the truth, they didn't help. I think the only thing you've decided is they're both great guys and that there is no way I am going to be able to chose one of them." The girls looked at her sympathetically.

"You could always go out with both of them. I've always wondered what that would be like." Alicia offered.

"Yeah, like Angie would do that." Katie was sitting up now, swinging her legs off of the bed. "You wouldn't..." She froze, her eyes widening in worry. "Would you?"

Angelina couldn't help but laugh. "No way," She said. "But it's not like they would ask me out anyway." She bit her lip. She wanted to tell them about Oliver...she really did...but it didn't seem right. They wouldn't understand why she had left him standing there that night. Especially when she couldn't even understand why.

"Oh, stop it Angie, you know that you're beautiful." Alicia reluctantly picked up her Charms essay again. Katie nodded, smiling like a jack-o-lantern.

"You're gorgeous,"

"Yeah, yeah," Angelina mumbled. She'd heard it all before, her friends insisting that she was beautiful.

She knew that she wasn't ugly. She did have nicely toned skin, and pretty eyes...but she wasn't striking. She'd been asked out a fair amount, but not seriously. She wasn't tall, and she wasn't short...just average. Her hair fell to just below her shoulders, and she guessed that it was pretty enough. But she wasn't anything compared to most of the other girls at Hogwarts...all of the other girls that Oliver and Fred had at their disposal. She sighed, tracing the pattern of her covers with her finger.

"I wonder what George is doing," Katie was cuddling Isis, who was purring happily.

"He's probably with Fred and Lee, thinking up another vile invention." Angelina assumed. She'd learned early in her years at Hogwarts not to accept any "gift" that the twins or Lee might give you before thoroughly inspecting it.

"They are so strange," Alicia was giggling. Angelina smiled half-heartedly.

"Whatever made them start doing that anyway?" Katie asked. "I mean, who does that?"

"Who knows?" Alicia flipped the page of her Charms book, writing some more on her parchment. "They're just weird."

"That's the truth," Angelina added, sitting up. "Let's go somewhere. I'm sick of sitting in here and moping."

"'Kay!" Katie hopped up. Alicia groaned.

"But I'm almost done!"

"Then finish it later!" Angelina grabbed Alicia's hand, pulling her up. Katie led the way out of their dormitory and down the steps.

George looked up from his game of Exploding Snap with Lee and Fred to see Alicia, Katie and Angelina walking down from their dormitory towards them. Angelina met Fred's gaze and smiled.

"Hey Fred."

He smiled back. "Hey Ange. What are you girls up to?" She looked over at the girls who were now talking to Lee and George.

"Well we came down here to find something to do but...it looks like they're occupied."

"We can walk down to the grounds and see what's going on if you want to."

She nodded quickly, happy to get some time alone with him. "Let's go. Anything to get out of this place." They headed for the door and as they were leaving Angelina noticed that Katie was whispering to Alicia and smiling. She couldn't help but grin herself...especially when Alicia shot her a quick thumbs-up.

"I can wait till we have practice tomorrow." Fred said. "Even though it's at bloody six in the morning.

"Yeah, me neither. I've been looking forward to it all summer." Came her reply. He shoved his hands in his pockets, grinning messily at her. She liked that grin. They were strolling through the corridors, chatting aimlessly. He liked the way her head tilted when she laughed. She was so real.

When they arrived out on the grounds they discovered that it was a beautiful day. There were several other strolling couples, hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm. Angelina looked down uncomfortably.

Fred seemed oblivious to his surroundings. He hooked his arm around her waist, pretending not to notice when she blushed and tensed up. They walked by the lake, watching as the sun sank slowly, casting a pinkish glow over the glittering water.

"This is so beautiful." Angelina breathed, her chocolate eyes roaming the grounds.

"Mmm-hmm..." Fred's hand caught hers, their fingers inter-twining. She sighed contentedly. They stopped near the large oak tree where he leaned against the trunk. She snuggled against him.

"Look...Ange..." He started, his fingers played absently with the hem of her shirt. He wouldn't look her in the eye. She didn't force him to. "Things have been a lot different lately." She licked her lips, nodding silently. She felt butterflies blossom in her stomach as he struggled with his words.

God he looks so cute...

"I'm not used to this..." He chuckled slightly, still avoiding her gaze. He wasn't used to this...he didn't like telling girls how he felt. She stepped back a step and he fidgeted, trying not to look too nervous and failing horribly.

"Fred..." Angelina started, but stopped as he closed the distance between them with a quick step.

"You're so confusing." He murmured as he wrapped his arms around her, nestling his face in her hair. She laughed lightly and as they stood there she knew that something between them had changed. She was standing on the edge of something much too deep, and every second that she spent with him brought her closer to stepping off.

Oliver gathered his parchment and headed for the grounds. Why waste a beautiful evening like this sitting inside? As soon as stepped outside he spotted her standing by the lake looking into the sky. She looked so content...so calm, so peaceful. He started walking toward her when he saw Fred walk over from a group of boys he was talking to and put his arm around her waist, whispering in her ear. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Fred and Angelina? No. It couldn't be.

What?

He should've known. Angelina would fall for Fred just like every other girl...and Fred would take advantage of that. He was just going to use her...he knew Fred, that's what Fred always did with girls like Angelina. Good girls...girls that didn't deserve to be hurt.

"Ol!" It was Fred's voice. He was still grasping Angelina possessively around the waist as he waved, a huge grin plastered on his face. Angelina's serenity seemed to have been shattered as she watched Oliver approach anxiously.

"Whatcha doing?" Fred inquired, still looking as if he'd won a new broomstick.

"I was, um, just going to go work on some homework." He held up his parchment, looking Angelina straight in the eye. He'd touched those lips...

"Wasting your time doing homework?!" Fred faked disbelief, and then smiled. "Well, have fun."

Oliver walked away to an area away from the lake in disbelief. He still couldn't believe it.

"Oliver! Wait up. I need to talk to you." He heard Angelina yelling after him. When Angelina caught up with him they sat there in silence for a minute. "Look Oliver, that's probably not exactly what you..." Wood cut her off.

"He's not what you think he is Angelina!" He was vivid with a mixture of anger and concern.

"What are you talking about?" She queried coolly, one of her eyebrows rising.

"Look, I know Fred Weasley, I've seen the way that he looks at girls like you. He's only coming onto you because he thinks you're easy!" He spat. Her mouth flew open, her face plainly displaying the hurt and anger she felt.

"And you're too good for him." His voice was a furious whisper, his face inches from hers. Before she could stop herself her hand flew up and smacked him across the cheek. He staggered back a step, the pain he felt flashing up quickly behind his eyes.

"You-" She hissed, her hands clenched at her sides and shaking slightly. "You are unbelievable. If you think that you can win me over like that than you're wrong." She made to turn around, than stopped herself. "You're nothing like I thought you were, Wood." Then she turned and stomped away before he could say another word.

She's still not back...

Fred was still waiting for Angelina near the lake. She had gone to talk to Oliver...that had been nearly half an hour ago. What did they have to talk about? He'd supposed that it was about quidditch...but maybe...

No...Angelina wouldn't do that...

He stood there for a few more minutes, waiting.

Why did she need to talk to him? She'd talked to him the other night...what did they do the other night anyway?

He couldn't stand it. He started to walk in the direction that Angelina and Oliver had gone. He didn't see either of them anywhere around and decided to head back up to the common room to see if Angelina was up there.

When he got to the common room he saw didn't see Angelina, but he did see Katie and Alicia working at a table.

"Hey, have you guys seen Angelina? She was with me but then she went to talk to Oliver and she never came back." The girls looked at each other but Fred could tell they knew more than they where letting on. "Please tell me." Katie looked at Alicia and gave her a nod. Alicia answered Fred.

"Okay, we'll tell you. She came in here about twenty minutes ago but she told us to tell you we didn't know where she was. We went up to talk to her but she wouldn't tell us anything. Just that she wanted us to leave her alone. So that's why were here."

Fred thanked them. What could she have talked about with Oliver that made her so upset that she didn't want to see him? Weren't they just happy, holding each other and teasing? What could've gone wrong?

He knew that it was pointless going to see her. Even if there was a way that he could get up the stairs that led to the girls dormitories, there was no way that she would talk to him...especially if she wouldn't even talk to her best friends.

So there was only one thing to do...

The urgent rap on the door made Oliver jump just as he was putting his quills away. He answered the door swiftly, hoping it was Angelina. Of course it wasn't.

"We need to talk," Fred was panting slightly, but his eyes held a distrusting, angry look. Oliver stepped back, motioning Fred in.

"What about?" Oliver did his best to sound innocent, though his insides were writhing.

What if he finds out...?

"You know exactly what about," Fred growled, not moving more than a few steps into the room. Oliver returned the suspicious glare, crossing his arms.

"I'm afraid I don't," He replied coolly, his eyes narrowing.

"I've had just about enough of you Oliver." Fred was obviously trying to control his voice, barely containing the rage that was sweeping over him, melting into the tone of his voice...the way he stood. "What's going on between you and Ange?"

"Nothing." Oliver answered truthfully, not wavering for a second.

"What did you do to her?" It took all of Fred's control not to leap at Oliver and tear his throat out.

"Nothing." Oliver lied, trying not to look guilty. It didn't work...Fred saw the quick movement of Oliver's eyes as they glanced down at his feet, and then back up to Fred's face.

"Then why the bloody hell is she acting like you ripped her bloody heart out?!" Fred yelled.

Maybe I did...

"Ask her," Oliver kept his voice even and cold, even though he felt as if he was slowly deteriorating inside. He had hurt her...he could've killed himself.

"She won't let me." Fred's shoulders sagged, and he looked defeated but still upset "She won't let anyone...not even Katie or Alicia."

Oliver groaned inwardly. He hadn't meant to hurt her...he had just wanted her to see that she was making a huge mistake.

"Well, if she won't tell you, I'm not going to either." Oliver answered. Fred glared at him then turned around and left. He was going to find out what happened, no matter what.

Fred didn't see Angelina until the next morning at quidditch practice. He made to go over to her, but she avoided him. He frowned. It was too early to think about it. Oliver's beginning-of-the-year pep talk was sad. It was obvious that he hadn't had much sleep. The rest of the group didn't complain about the time...they were all uneasy...the tension in the room was almost unbearable. Harry was confused and clueless, though sensible enough not to say anything. They got out on the pitch after a half-hearted speech by Oliver.

Practice was horrible. No one was concentrating...least of all their captain. Oliver never let anything get into the way of his quidditch game...but he was being sloppy, missing easy saves, dropping easy catches. He looked like a novice out there. Finally, after two hours of pitiful torture, Oliver landed on the ground, announcing that practice was over gruffly before stalking off towards the castle.

The group exchanged worried looks.

"Well, I'm not going after him," George exclaimed, shouldering his broom and glancing around the others. "Any other takers? Anyone want to volunteer to get ripped to shreds by his highness?"

"Shut up, George." Angelina mumbled before following in Oliver's footsteps back to the castle.

"What's up with her?" George grumbled, leading the way back to the castle. Alicia shrugged, Katie studied her feet as if she'd never seen them before, and Fred started straight ahead.

"Don't be too eager now, be dearie's and take turns talking." George rolled his eyes, deciding to talk to Harry instead.

When they arrived in the common room Alicia grabbed Katie by the arm.

"We have to go talk to her," She hissed. Katie threw a longing look over her shoulder at where George was sitting on the couch.

"But –"

"But nothing. Angelina's our best friend. We need to find out what's up." Alicia's brown eyes were snapping, a sign that she was determined. Katie sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Alright then, let's go." She said, following Alicia up their dormitory stairs.

Angelina was just standing there, staring out the window with her arms crossed.

Katie stepped forward. "Ange? What's wrong? We really want to help."

Angelina looked at her longingly "Guys, I really want to tell you but I can't...I just... can't."

The girls looked at each other. They weren't going to give up. "Ange, no matter what you say we are not leaving until you tell us what's wrong. Everybody's worried, especially Fred. We see the way he looks at you. He really likes you. And so does Oliver. They're really concerned, we all are."

Angelina looked down at her feet, then up at the two girls. "Okay, I'll tell you. But I don't think it will help." She sighed, sitting on the bed. She dived into everything that had happened. She didn't leave out any details, and didn't look up from her feet until she was finished and nearly hoarse. She hadn't noticed the tears that were falling down her cheeks until Katie was gently wiping them away. She wasn't aware that Alicia had put her arms around her. She sniffled slightly.

"Look at me," She broke free of their grasp, standing up quickly. "Crying over some stupid boys."

"They're not stupid, Angelina." Katie whispered.

"I know," Angelina whispered back, letting a few more tears roll down her nose.

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