Chapter Three: Of Prettier Girls and Blast-Ended Skrewts

I have never been great at saying no. This has never been more obvious than with Lee Jordan.

"Walk with me to potions, yeah?" asked Lee after Transfiguration one morning. He could have asked me to walk with him to Honeydukes and I still would have felt resistance.

"Sure," I said despite my stomach churning at the thought. Fred had been standing by me but he didn't join us on our walk over. He didn't wait for me after Transfiguration, either. The more Lee stepped in, the more Fred stepped out.

One night while studying in the library with Fred and George (a rare occurrence), Lee plopped in the chair next to me and stuck out a bag of candy.

"Liv, you've got to try this. They're fudge flies, they're amazing."

"Okay," I said, scooping a few from the bag. I didn't want to eat fudge flies. I didn't want any candy from Lee Jordan because it seemed like the more I said yes to him, the more the twins said no to me.

"You know, I like fudge flies too," George chimed in.

"Yeah but you're not a pretty girl, are you?" Lee shoots me a wink as he opens

I want to die. The secondhand embarrassment I have for Lee uttering those words is almost as bad as the absolute mortification I feel for said words uttered in front of Fred and George. Considering that flobberworms were brought up on a weekly basis, I knew I would be hearing this one again.

"Seems like someone's got a bit of a crush on ole Liv here," It's George's turn to shoot me a wink.

"Okay," I said, slamming my book shut and sending it up to be shelved, "I am going to take my fudge flies, head on back to the common room and let you three chat about your love lives."

Lee lets out a laugh. I feel a sense of gratitude rush through me. Laughter is the ultimate tension breaker. I gather my parchments, give an awkward wave, and walk out of the library.

"Wait up, Olivia!" For the first, it's just Fred that follows.

He catches up to me in two strides. Instinctively, I admire him. He is broad shouldered and his red hair falls like a straight sheet on his head. He looks just a bit flushed from hustling over and the slight touch of pink on his face suits him well. It hits me all at once how handsome he is.

"The fudge flies weren't even that good," I said.

"I could have told you that! He thinks he's going to impress you with fudge flies? He should know that you're more of a peppermint frog kind of girl."

My heart does a flip.

"Look," he continues as we walk back towards the Common Room, "if you're into Lee, I'm going to need you mentally examined. We have all witnessed him rip his pants at Hogsmeade, that should discredit him from all romantic interest."

"You make an excellent point. One does not forget a ripping of the pants easily," I nod my head in agreement.

"Besides, he'll move on to some prettier girl in a few weeks time. You're better off just letting him down now and moving on."

Some prettier girl? I'm surprised by how much that slices through me. I feel my heartbeat in my ears; it seems so loud that I'm sure Fred can hear it. From my peripheral, I can see Fred watching me but I'm physically incapable of looking at him. Instead, I fixate my eyes on the ever changing staircases as we get closer and closer to the Fat Lady portrait.

"I didn't realize I was so ugly to look at. Whatever is happening between Lee and myself is honestly none of your business." Even I'm shocked by the coldness in my tone.

I managed to squeak out the password to the Fat Lady and outpace Fred as I headed to the girl's dormitories. I hear him call my name and I don't bother looking at him because I already know from the tone of his voice that he finds this funny. As hilarious as I often found the twins, their ability to joke about everything was tiring.

I do not realize until I laid down on my bed, blinking back the tears from his comment that still stung so terribly, just how tired I was.

The next day in Care of Magical Creatures - a class I only signed up for because of Fred and George's insistence - I am badly stung by a nasty batch of blast-ended skrewts. My entire arm is covered in both bites and stings and is resembling more of an eggplant with its purple coloring than an actual limb.

"Merlin's beard, Olivia!" Hagrid shouts across the class. "I cannot seem to leave you be for more than a second before you are attacked!"

"I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS, PROFESSOR. I DID NOT WANT THIS." Again, I find myself shouting in this class. Again, I am flinging creatures off of my limbs.

To my right, Lee appears and he is hastily removing the blast-ended skrewts from my arm. Once he's done, he tears at the bottom of his black shirt and wraps it tightly around my purple, swollen arm. It happens so quickly that Hagrid barely reaches us by the time my arm is wrapped up in his torn shirt.

"Professor, I wrapped up her arm. I can escort her to Madam Pomfreys."

"Best you go now and get it looked after," Hagrid shoots me a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you so much, Lee." My voice comes out in a whisper but the sincerity is not lost.

Lee smiles at me and then we walk in silence with him occasionally grabbing my arm to check it. I do not look back at the class outside Hagrid's Hut. I do not need to turn around to know that Fred and George are loving this latest animal attack. Thinking of the way Fred looks when he laughs makes the corners of my mouth lift in a smile.

"Really Lee, thank you for ripping your shirt and for escorting me."

"It's the least I can do for my girlfriend."

Ahhh, this is going to be a problem because despite the way my heart nearly dropped in my drawers, I can't seem to say no.