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Chapter 12.

January.

Orgasmic-ly ginger and a barrel of fun

For the next few days, the atmosphere at Hogwarts was rather lethargic. Most of the upper years spent them in bed, and those who didn't lazed about in the common room eating sweets and not thinking about all the homework they had to do. Glenn Chan took to laying upside down on the armchair and letting out wistful sighs whenever the Yule Ball was mentioned.

Lara, except for meals, didn't leave her dormitory. She had mountains of homework to finish before school started and with McGonagall shouting, "N.E.W.T.S. ARE IN FIVE MONTHS," every time she got the chance, Lara felt the pressure to get good marks. Her DADA essay in particular was proving to be quite difficult, which meant for New Year's, Lara spent her evening on Erin's bed with DADA books and empty scrolls, staring at the window and wondering if she jumped out of it, would Moody give her an extension on the homework?

Lara was so stressed, so over the pressure of school, that by the time she headed for lunch, she wasn't ready for the drama waiting for her.

"Have you read the Prophet?" Stan asked the moment Lara sat down.

"Why would I have done that?" Lara sighed loudly, fighting with her bag strap and her books and her quills. With an annoyed huff, she dropped everything onto the floor and it landed with a thud. "I don't read anything that bloody newspaper says…"

"First of all; aggressive." Omar wiggled his finger with a smirk. "Second of all; Rita Seeker's wrote an article on Hagrid."

"Turns out he's half-giant," said Erin.

Lara blinked at her friends, who were all staring at her expectantly. "Ookay," she said slowly. "I mean, I feel like that was pretty obvious…"

"HA!" Stan yelled, slamming the table with his palm. "I told you."

"I said the same thing," Erin muttered. "I thought it was common knowledge."

"Of course it's not!" Amanda squeaked. She anxiously fiddled with her cutlery, her lunch sat in front of her uneaten. "If I'd have known…"

"You'd what?" spat Lara. "Why does it make a difference?"

"Giants are awful creatures. They're vicious. They kill each other and humans—"

"So? What does that have to do with Hagrid?" asked Omar.

"We've known him for seven years," Stan huffed and sent a glare towards Amanda. "I got homesick in my first year and he gave me a rock cake. He's a good guy. Judge him on that, rather than something that doesn't even matter."

Lara nodded and sent Stan a proud smile. "It just means Hagrid's a bit taller than most people."

"But what if he…what if he gets angry and his half-giant side comes out…"

"He's been here, what, twenty years or something?" Omar glanced around his friends for confirmation; they shrugged uncertainly. "Anyway, he's been here a while and he's never lost his temper, not even with Ferret Boy. You have nothing to worry about."

Amanda looked back down at her food, deep in thought, and said nothing else. Erin gave the rest of them pointed looks and Stan changed the subject to Quidditch, which made her roll her eyes. After a few minutes of, "The Bats are SO MUCH better than the Wasps," Erin was red in the face and looked close to exploding. Her mouth opened—probably to rant about the stupidity of the sport—when a distraction turned up in the form of David Brentford.

"Hey guys," David said with a smile, taking a seat beside Lara.

"Bats or Wasps?" questioned Stan instantly.

"I'm sorry?"

"They're Quidditch teams," Erin sighed.

"I don't really like Quidditch," David shrugged awkwardly. "Sorry."

Omar and Stan stared at him as if David had just admitted to fancying The Bloody Baron.

"Ignore them," said Lara, giving David a smile. "The correct answer is the Holyhead Harpies, anyway. How was your morning?"

"Handed in a few essays, so it's been productive. Yours?"

"About the same."

"So, eh…" David glanced at Lara's bickering friends (though Amanda, who was still sulking, stayed silent). "Hogsmeade is this weekend and…I was wondering if you wanted to go together?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Lara grinned. "So, yes, I do."

"Great!" for a moment he looked like he was going to kiss her, but then someone shouted his name. Looking down the table, Lara could see some of his friends waiting for him, their arms full of books. "I have to go…we're doing a lunch study thing in Herbology."

"I've never been happier that I didn't take it."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon."

"Bye!" she shouted after his quickly retreating figure.

"Awwwwwwwww." Erin cooed, putting her chin in her hands to smile dreamily at Lara. "That was so cute!"

"He only asked me to Hogsmeade—"

"But his little face," simpered Erin. "I think I'm starting to approve of this union, you know."

Amanda gave a half-hearted shrug. "I suppose. I still think Fred's the better choice, though."

"That's because he looks like Charlie," Lara teased.

"Speaking of—what's happened with George?" Erin asked.

"Nothing much. He's too sweet for me to take advantage of," Amanda's lips quirked, the light in her eyes returning. "It was a lot of fun, though. And I gave him a quick kiss at the end of the night, just as a thank you, you know."

"And what about…" Lara looked pointedly at Omar, who was still talking loudly with Stan.

Erin's eyes blew wide and she discreetly shook her head. "He said 'thanks for the night, mate' at the end," she whispered, leaning forward slightly. Amanda scoffed and rolled her eyes, which was exactly how Lara felt. "I know. He kept saying stuff like that all night, too, making sure I knew we were there just as friends—"

"What are you lot whispering about?" asked Stan, poking his head into the little female huddle. "Boys? We can talk about boys. Don't push us out. Doesn't Diggory have a nice arse?"

Erin sighed and pushed Stan back into his seat. "We were talking about Lara's date with David. Also, yes, he does. Good eye."

Stan looked proud of himself as Omar asked, "He asked you to Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," Lara couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "Crazy, huh?"

The group sat at the table until the bell rang, not wanting to brave the rain and sleet outside. However, for Lara's last lesson of the day—Care of Magical Creatures—she found herself in the wet anyway, staring at the new teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank, with narrowed eyes. When Lara asked where Hagrid was, she was blatantly ignored and pushed towards the unicorn with an instruction to befriend it.

After the lesson, damp-haired and soggy-clothed, Lara trudged up to the Gryffindor common room.

"What happened to you—"

"Has Hagrid been fired?" Lara interrupted Angelina's question, pushing wet hair from her face.

Alicia rushed over and urged Lara towards the roaring fire before she said, "What do you mean?"

"We've got a new Care of Magical Creatures teacher," answered Lara. "Professor Grubbly-Plank. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't fire Hagrid, right?"

"Word in the hallways is that he's hiding in his cabin," said Lee.

"Why?"

"Embarrassment, probably. Giants aren't known to be the most considerate types," George said, then glanced up and blanched under Lara's angered stare. "Not that I think that, obviously. I bloody love Hagrid. He always gives us the best detentions, doesn't he, Fred? Help me out here."

"He'll be back soon. I'm sure Harry will talk him round," Fred nodded. "Just give it a week or so."

"Poor Hagrid," Lara murmured, inching closer to the fire as her teeth began to chatter. "He was also s-so supportive of Walter…the w-whole reason he w-went into the Beast D-Department…"

Alicia worriedly started to rub Lara's upper arms to generate some warmth. Fred, after some awkward movements (in which he ended up looking like a deformed crab), pulled out his wand from his robes and pointed it at Lara. With a quick swish, she was dry and warm again, her skin tingling from the sudden change of temperature.

"Thanks, Freddy," she sighed, just as Erin and Stan turned up.

"What's going on?" Erin asked as she came to sit near the fire.

Lara quickly filled her friends in on Hagrid's absence. Erin pouted and said, "Poor Hagrid," and Stan agreed with Fred.

"He'll be back in a few weeks," he said confidently.

"And if not, we could ask our parents and siblings to write some letters saying how great they think Hagrid is," Fred said. "Maybe Hagrid will read them and stop being such a baby."

"That's a great idea, Fred!" Lara beamed. "Walter will write a whole essay if I ask. He and Hagrid still keep in touch now."

Fred gave a small smile but didn't look at her, instead turning to his brother and saying, "We'll send Charlie a letter tonight."

"And mum and dad," George agreed. "Probably Bill, too. Best not ask Percy. He'll probably agree with that Skeeter prat."

As the others joined the conversation, using each other to come up with names, Lara stared at Fred as he spoke with Lee and George. Outwardly he seemed the same…but she was getting a strange vibe from him. He'd barely looked at her since she'd come over, and he hadn't spoken to her directly. In fact, come to think of it, he hadn't really spoken to her at all since the Yule Ball.

The three boys suddenly stood up and began to head towards the dormitory stairs. Lara jumped to her feet and scurried over.

"Fred," she called out, reaching for his arm.

He turned and grinned at her…but it seemed strained, almost a grimace. "Alright, Culpepper? What's up?"

"I, eh…" she hesitated, panicking slightly. She didn't really have anything to say; she'd just panicked when he was walking away from her. Why, she wasn't really sure…she just wanted him to look at her. "I need some more food and stuff, if that's okay."

"Of course."

She dug into her pockets and pulled out two galleons. "Thanks."

"More chocolate than sweets?"

"Yeah, please—"

But he was already walking away, heading up the stairs without looking back. Lee absent-mindedly followed him and Lara stared after them, both hurt and angry, until she realised George had stayed behind.

"Sorry about him," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily. "Don't take it personally…he can be a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"Did…did I do something wrong?"

"No, course not, he's just, y'know…"

Lara nodded even though she had no idea what George was going on about. He was what? Angry? Upset? But about what exactly? And how did it relate to Lara? These questions, however, didn't seem the type to ask Fred's twin brother. The last thing she wanted to do was make it uncomfortable between her and George.

"Sorry," George said with a small smile, then patted Lara's shoulder and headed up the stairs after his brother and friend.

Lara turned towards Erin, but she was talking to Angelina and Alicia. Nothing much had been said about Fred and Angelina since the Yule Ball, though they seemed to be on friendly terms, so it must have gone well. For all Lara knew, they could have a Hogsmeade date this Saturday. So, with this in mind, Lara knew now wasn't the best time to bring up Fred's cold behaviour, and instead grabbed her things and went up to her dorm with the intention of a hot shower and an early night.

On the morning of her big Hogsmeade date, Lara was awoken by Erin, who was in much of the same mood as she had been weeks before, back when she planned to leave Fred and Lara together alone in the Three Broomsticks. She helped Lara with her hair, make-up and clothes, chatted excitedly about what David might have planned, and then shooed Lara towards the Entrance Hall with a chirpy, "Good luck!"

Lara appreciated the effort. After everything that had happened with Fred—and everyone's expectations around it—Lara had assumed Erin would be unsupportive of David, much like Amanda, Stan and Omar seemed to be. They would never say it, but Lara knew they thought she and David weren't a good match. Amanda had basically said it outright ("You're too…vibrant for him," she'd said, which was her way of calling Lara mad as a hatter), while Omar and Stan had hinted at it with sexual innuendos and not-so-subtle head tilts towards Fred.

("Stupid and utterly terrible—title of Brentford's sex tape," Stan had said after Amanda had described her Astronomy homework. In the background, Omar had been motioning wildly to Fred, who was a little ways down the table eating his dinner. Stan, noticing this, had continued, "Orgasmic-ly ginger and a barrel of fun—title of Fred's sex tape," and then gave Lara a very pointed look as if to say 'look what you're missing out on'. She'd hit them both in the face with a handful of grapes, though it had had little effect).

Lara sighed as she began to walk down the stairs. If Erin had been convinced about David, the rest of her friends would, too…eventually. Erin was the least stubborn of the group, so it was only natural for her to be the first one to change her mind. Stan would be the last; not only was he as stubborn as a mule, he was also a proud Gryffindor and loved to support his fellow housemates. He'd probably always think she should fancy Fred purely because he was a Gryffindor, too.

But he'd change his mind. One day. Once he realised how nice David was. Because he was so bloody nice, so sweet. And that was exactly what Lara liked most about him.

Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Lara looked up and saw David stood with some friends in the Entrance Hall. She walked over and slipped to his side, gently touching his wrist to let him know she was there.

"Oh, hey!" he beamed, lifting his arm to place it on her back. "Sorry I missed you. We were talking about the Transfiguration homework."

"It's a pain," one of David's friends sighed. "Describe and evaluate the properties of non-verbal spells —I barely understand the question, never mind the bloody answer."

"Fiona Gerald has that question already finished, if you want to ask her for help," Lara smiled politely. "It'll probably take some bribing, though. She loves toffee."

"Cheers, Culpepper," the friend grinned. "I'm Patrick Summers, by the way."

"Ah, the guy that tried to get over the Age Line."

"That's him," another laughed, thumping Patrick on the back. "I'm Anthony Rickett."

"He's a beater for the Hufflepuff team," David said quietly in her ear. "And that's Malcolm, Herb and Greg—but anyway, we best be off. See you guys when I get back!"

Lara gave the boys a friendly wave before departing with David. Once they'd given their names to the Head Girl, they walked towards Hogsmeade hand-in-hand. It was quiet for a while, so long that it began to get a little uncomfortable, and then David asked, "Shall we go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Oh…eh, sure." Lara replied, trying to sound excited, when in actual fact going to the tea shop made her feel slightly ill. She'd gone only once before, back in fourth year with Stan when they were trying to spy on Omar's first ever date, and among the cherubs and the confetti, they'd completely forgotten about embarrassing their friend and, horrified, ran out into the street.

Once at the tearoom, they grabbed a table in the back corner. Lara tried to ignore the copious amounts of pink and frills around the place as she took off her coat, throwing it onto the back of her chair. Madam Puddifoot hurried over to take their orders and, as Lara sat down, she returned with two empty china mugs and saucers, which she set in front of them quickly before hurrying to the next customer. As she rushed off, the little mug magically filled with perfectly brewed tea.

"Nifty." Lara murmured, lifting the cup to her lips to take a sip. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as she thought.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I just like the teacup," she smirked, placing it back onto the saucer. "I haven't been to this place for years."

"I came last year," David said, then his eyes widened slightly.

"On a date, I'm guessing," grinned Lara. "Who was it?"

"I'm not—"

"Oh, come on."

"Latisha Randle," David flushed red as he said the name. "It did not go well."

"What happened?"

"It was Valentine's weekend, so they had these cherub things throwing confetti everywhere. One landed in my drink and I didn't realise. I choked on it and spat my drink all over her…needless to say, she wasn't impressed."

Lara had to swallow a laugh. "Oh my."

"She still glares at me in the hallways," he looked serious as he said this, which only made Lara's desperation to laugh harder. "So do her friends, actually."

Lara had to take a drink of her tea to swallow her amusement. "That's awful," she said once she'd gathered herself. "For you and her."

"Yeah," David nodded and took a drink from his own cup.

The pause in conversation made Lara look to the rest of the tearoom, mostly to give herself something to do. It was filled with couples from all houses and ages, holding hands and kissing over the sugar bowls and tea-sets. Near the window she could see Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory bunched together. She was cuddled into his side, giggling as he whispered into her ear.

"Don't you think it's mad that we only have six months left at Hogwarts?"

Lara turned her attention back to David at the question. "Definitely. I can't even remember not being here, you know? It's going to be so weird."

"Weird, but good, too. I'm ready to leave this place, I think."

"Oh?" Lara picked up her tea and took a drink. "How so?"

"Don't you think we've outgrown it?" he leaned forward on the table, a smug sort of smile on his face. "The drama, the constant Quidditch bull-crap, the ghosts, Peeves, the pranks—it's all a bit tedious."

Lara continued to drink. Honestly, she couldn't have disagreed with him more. Maybe the drama was a bit much sometimes, but the rest of it was what she was going to miss most about Hogwarts. She would never get bored of Quidditch or Nearly Headless Nick (though the Bloody Baron left much to be desired), and just last week Peeves had made her week by throwing a water balloon filled with custard at some Slytherin's. Lara had laughed so much, she'd almost collapsed in the middle of the hallway and Stan had had to hold her up.

As for the pranking…a little part of her wondered if this was a dig at Fred and George. They'd caused havoc across the school for weeks now with their Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffees, and yesterday they'd given the Head Boy a screaming yo-yo and it had shrieked all the way through a mock Charms exam. Not to mention three days ago when Fred had used Sticky Trainers to hang upside down in the Entrance Hall and throw dungbombs at people.

"I'm just glad we're here for the Tournament," Lara decided to say. "I would've been upset if I missed it."

"Hmmm."

"So, eh…" Lara awkwardly cleared her throat. "Do you have any siblings…?"

"No, only child."

"Cool, cool," she pursed her lips, desperately racking her brain for something else to talk about. "Do you like—"

"Someone mentioned you the other day," David interrupted her swiftly. "And they said you're a pure-blood, is that right?"

"Oh, eh…yeah," Lara cleared her throat slightly.

"A proper pure-blood?"

"I don't—I don't really know what that means—"

"Your parents and both pairs of your grandparents were all pure-blood's."

"Well, yeah—"

"How?"

"What do you mean—"

"Just…describe your family to me. I want to know more about them."

Lara frowned slightly, leaning back in her chair and fiddling with the end of her top. Something felt sufficiently off about this, but she was so grateful for something to talk about that she dove in. "My mam's a Macmillan. Obviously, so was my maternal grandfather, and my maternal grandmother was an…Abbott, I think? My paternal grandfather was somehow related to the Black's, and my paternal grandmother was just a pure-blood by default, I think. Her family are originally from Norway."

"You're related to Ernie?"

"Second cousin, I think," Lara shrugged. "I'm not really sure. We're not a very close family."

"Your family is interesting."

"Is it?" Lara said dubiously. "The only thing I find cool is that I'm a quarter Norwegian."

"I think it shows you have strong magical blood," David grinned.

"I don't—"

"My parents always say being a pure-blood is better."

"Better?"

"For laws and stuff. With how biased they are," he hurried to add, licking his lips. "You know, if I had kids with a pure-blood, my kids would be considered pure-blood, too. My mum's mum was a half-blood, you see, which means my mum's a half-blood, too. No muggle-born's would be on either side of the tree if I married a pure-blood."

Lara just blinked at him. She had no idea what to say to that.

"I've never…I've never really thought about it," she murmured eventually, as David had continued to stare at her, waiting for her input. "My family aren't that fussed on the whole blood purity thing. We're just pure-blood by default. My parents happened to fall in love with each other at school and…that's it."

"Of course, of course. No big deal, right?"

But the atmosphere was more than uncomfortable after that. At least, for Lara it was. David chatted on about school and homework without a care in the world…but Lara had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, a one that wasn't going away. Every time she forced herself to smile at him, she got a sinking feeling in her chest, almost like a warning, though she couldn't figure out exactly what her body was trying to tell her.

Eventually they left Madame Puddifoot's and headed to the shops. After a while of trailing around the High Street, Lara tugged on David's hand. "Do you want to go to the Shrieking Shack?" she grinned wildly.

"Are you serious?" he asked, a smirk on his lips. "You still like to go there?"

"Oh, come on. It's just a bit of a laugh—"

"It was when I was twelve," he snorted. "Do you really want to go?"

Lara opened her mouth to say hell yeah she wanted to go, but then she saw David's face. He was looking down at her as if she was a rambunctious toddler who he was trying to stop from having a tantrum. Her chest aching, she said, "Eh…no, that's okay. Like you said…we're too old for it now, aren't we?"

He nodded and pulled her along the pathway again. Lara trailed behind slightly, her mind whirling and buzzing, when she saw two ginger heads step out of Zonko's. Fred, George and Lee were together, their hands and pockets full of pranks, their faces alight with glee. George's head was thrown back in reckless laughter, and Lee tripped over something in the street from lack of concentration. Fred caught him with a snigger, patting his friend on the back before they headed for the Three Broomsticks together.

Looking back at her and David's intertwined hands, Lara realised something:

Despite the fact that she was on a date with the guy of her dreams…she would have given anything to be right alongside Fred, George and Lee in that moment, childhood crushes be damned.

Annnd chapter 12 is out! Honestly this was such a difficult chapter to write because, well, David, but I got there in the end. As always, thanks for all the support! You guys are the best.

Also, I think I may have watched a little too much Brooklyn 99, but I digress...

Ps. Lara (in my head, obviously) is related to the Black's through Phineas Black, who was burnt off the Black family tree for being a muggle rights supporter. He'd be her great-grandfather, if he was still alive. Just a little fun fact for you there.