Sunday 31st October 1993

The Halloween feast that night was an especially jovial one. Liv found herself in higher spirits than usual – something Holly commented on knowingly. The two friends ate, drank, and laughed with their friends, and returned to their common room hoping to sleep in a blissful food coma all night.

Their hopes, however, were dashed when soon after nodding off, they were awoken by commotion in the corridor outside their door room. Peering out with dressing gowns wrapped around them, the Ravenclaw girls saw their housemates rushing towards the common room amidst nervous chatter. Prefects could be heard somewhere shouting "Everyone get to the Great Hall! Everyone to the Great Hall!" Following the crowd of students, Liv and Holly said nothing, trying to concentrate on the voices around them to find out what was happening. They were holding each other's hand so as to not lose one another in the moving crowd, when they both heard another student say the words "Sirius Black" and squeezed one another's hand.

Upon arriving at the Great Hall, the students – in their sleepwear but alert – were told that Sirius Black had been spotted inside the castle. The students were to sleep in the Hall tonight under guard from teachers and prefects. Liv noticed that a few heads, at mention of Black, had turned towards Harry Potter. Liv did the same, and couldn't help but feel sad for him – the famous Boy Who Lived, in pyjamas too big for him, looking so small, young, and skinny.

"What the fuck is going on?" Holly whispered in Liv's ear as students began choosing sleeping bags and places on the floor. Liv looked away from Potter to scan over the crowd of Gryffindors and spotted Fred and George. Holding Holly's hand again, she walked over to the redheads, bringing her friend with her. It was the first time she had ever seen Fred looking tense.

"Fred," she greeted him in a low voice. Without using words, Liv gestured with her expression and her free hand as if to personify a human question mark. Fred met her gaze and after a brief exchange of glance with his brother, nodded to Liv, picking up some sleeping bags and gesturing to a free space by the wall.

The four of them settled down together in a private huddle, and in low voices, the Gryffindor boys began to explain what they knew: that Black was connected to Potter in some way – they had eavesdropped on their parents conversations over the summer; that he had been in the castle that night and tried to gain entry to their common room; that he had attacked the Fat Lady. Liv and Holly listened raptly with glistening eyes.

"That poor kid," murmured Liv when the twins had finished speaking. She was looking over at the small figure of Potter who was, like all the students, pretending to sleep.

Saturday 20th November

The first Quidditch match of the season – Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff – had been eventful to say the least. Dementors had come to the match and had appeared to target – to almost no one's surprise at this point – Harry Potter. Liv thought the kid's back luck was almost comical if it wasn't so sad.

During the weeks that followed the mood of the Hogwarts students gradually lifted again, children being as resilient as they are, though a certain darkness had shadowed the collective consciousness of the school. On a rainy Saturday Liv found herself enjoying her own company in the library, doing some recreational study on magical marine life. However – much like the last time she tried to find peace and solace in the library – she was soon interrupted, though not by Wood this time.

A loud thump announced the arrival of Fred Weasley sitting opposite her with a mischievous grin.

Liv slowly looked up with an expression of feigned disappointment. "What you want now?"

Fred sat back, his arms resting on the chairs either side of him. Liv couldn't help but notice the slight definition of muscle in his biceps, no doubt a result of playing as a Beater for so many years.

"Why you gotta be so mean? I know you're happy to see me really."

He was right, of course. Liv kept her poker face though and said nothing.

"What you reading?" he asked, pulling the book Liv had open towards him and looking at the cover. Liv sat back in her own chair and crossed her arms, deciding she ought to resign to the fact she wasn't going to be getting much studying done now.

"It's marine biology."

"Marnie who now?"

"You know – fish and stuff."

"Ahh," Fred nodded solemnly handing the book back. "Yes, of course, the ancient study of fish-and-stuff." Liv took the book back and found the page she had been reading, preparing to resume studying.

"Anyway," Fred continued after a pause, a hint of attention vying in his tone, "you said you'd help me with my Muggle Studies work. Now," he pulled out some parchment and cleared his throat before reading from it, "Examine the cultural, technological, and economic factors behind the move from radio to television for Muggles."

Liv looked up at him, looking and feeling exasperated.

"Fredderick," she began, "I have no idea. I don't do Muggle Studies – I've no idea what the Professor wants you to write because I don't know the syllabus. I bet there's some specific things you've covered in class she wants you to go through."

"I like it when you call me Fredderick," he replied with a grin and a wink. "And, well, yeah – we've been learning about the culture of television, like, how every Muggle home near enough has one, and, like, how it's important for Muggle culture because everyone watches the same shows – and if you go to school or work or whatever and you haven't seen the show everyone's talking about, it can be socially isolating. Stuff like that."

Now it was Liv's turn to grin. "Fred," she spoke slowly, "I think we both know you clearly know what you're writing about. You can play dumb all you like; I know you're not. You don't need my help."

"Right, you know what?" Fred said, feigning anger, and Liv laughed at his sudden expulsion. "Fine - but if I fail, I'm blaming you, Jones!"

"Shhhhhh!"

Madam Pince stood behind Fred, staring daggers at the back of his head. Without turning round, Fred shrank into his seat, and waited until he heard her soft footsteps shuffle away before whispering to Liv sheepishly, "Keep me company while I do it, then?"

Liv stifled a giggle, shrugging and nodding in reply. They worked in silence together, Fred occasionally looking up from his parchment to ask things like, "What time is the television evening news on again?" and "What was the name of that drama that mums like?" Eventually, he seemed to think he had written enough, and stretched.

"Where's your fit mate anyway?" he asked through his prolonged yawn.

Liv felt her stomach pang with jealousy, and for split hair of a second thought she would suddenly vomit right on the table. As quickly as it came it went.

"You know her names Holly, and she's with Laurie." Liv's voice was a low murmur, betraying no sense of her sudden emotion.

The truth was, Holly was indeed attractive. She had always been prettier than Liv, and Liv had an objective awareness of this that had never bothered her. It's not that Liv thought herself ugly, she was fine looking. She just had never been particularly concerned with appearances, something she was grateful for. However, lately, she had been inclining slightly more towards vanity – spending a bit more time in the morning trying to get her wild curls to behave; getting Holly to tweeze her eyebrows into a tidier shape, even sometimes stealing a spray of perfume from one of her dormmates. Whenever she did one of these, she heard her mother's voice, chastising her for "trying to appeal to the male gaze, subjecting yourself to male standards of feminine beauty," and she couldn't help but smile.

Fred was looking around the library, it seemed not looking at or thinking of anything in particular. Liv looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak – then closed it again. Fred met her eye, and Liv again began to say something, but immediately stopped herself. In fact, this happened a few times, Fred meeting her gaze with growing bewilderment.

"Blimey, woman, spit it out already!" he said, seeming somewhat concerned.

"Well, it's just," Liv began hesitantly. She had been wanting to ask Fred this for a while, and now seemed the perfect chance. "It's just – you know Laurie, right?"

"Uh - yeah, I guess. A bit. Only from her being in my year and house, like." Fred's tone seemed hesitant too as though he wasn't sure where Liv was going.

"Yeah," Liv replied. "Well, I was just wondering – I know it's not really any of my business – any of anyone's business for that matter – but, well, I thought, if you know..."

"Bloody hell Liv just say it!" Fred's bewilderment had turned into frustration now.

Liv took a breath. Holly would kill her if she knew what she was about to ask. "Does she like girls?"

Fred paused a beat. "Oh," he thought a moment, "Like, is she gay?"

Liv nodded. "Well - or bi, or whatever, just – is she into girls?"

Fred shrugged, picking up his quill to fiddle with. Liv noticed it was the quill she had given him their first transfiguration lesson. "Dunno. I know she definitely likes boys though, dunno if she likes girls."

"How'd you know that?"

"Well, she fancied me for a start, and last I checked I was a bloke."

Pang.

"When?" Liv tried to keep her voice neutral.

"End of last year. She asked me out then wrote me a bunch of letters over summer. Maybe she still does," he added with a grin.

Pang.

Liv knew she was struggling to keep her expression and voice neutral now. Why she should feel jealous of another person having a crush on Fred, she couldn't figure out. She had accepted – reluctantly, finally, and only to herself – over the past week or so that yes, fine, she had developed something of a soft spot for the boy. A fleeting soft spot. But she also knew she wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last. The Weasley twins were both popular within the school, and while in their early years' students were keen to be their friends, as the children had grown into teenagers some of this popularity has translated into romantic yearning as well as platonic. Being honest with herself, Liv felt rather stupid about being one of these. Numerically, it was unlikely any feelings would be reciprocated – both twins had something of a reputation, even at their young age, for their non-committal nature. Plus, Liv was sure that this teenage crush she had would pass – she was bound to get one on someone eventually. She just had to wait it out.

Regaining a little composure, though some pink still remained in her cheeks, Liv dared speak again, keeping her eyes fixed on her book though she wasn't reading anything.

"I suppose that happens a lot for you." She heard the bitterness in her own tone.

Fred's eyes alighted and he leaned in suddenly, his face moving around hers in an attempt to look her in the eye. "Livvy - you're a little jealous, aren't you!" His tone was excited, and at that moment he reminded Liv of Peeves.

"Freddie," Liv sighed and looked up to meet his gaze, "you know I blush all the time. You could suggest I fancied Snape and I'd go red."