Enter for the Quidditch League Competition - Round 11 - Puddlemere United - Chaser 1
Prompt: You Can't Predict It All (S7)
Optional prompts used: 2. [dialogue] "You're the worst" / "But you love me anyway"; 9. [object] Board Game; 12. [dialogue] "This isn't a game."
Word count: 1,698
Warning: AU No Voldemort
Dedicated to the entire Puddlemere team (and Ana, our cheerleader) for being an amazing team through this season and for being such amazing people.
Submitted for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
House: Thunderbird
Subject: Defence Against the Dark Arts Category #Task 4 - Jinxes
Prompt: Write about someone who is mischievous.
Bonus prompts: 2. [dialogue] "It's not cheating if you don't get caught."; 4. [action] Laugh; 15. [characters] Fred and George Weasley
Word count: 1,698
Warning: AU No Voldemort
Dedicated to Ash: for being an amazing teammate and an even more awesome beta and soulcrux!
Board Game Delights
"Do you guys want to play a game?" Luna asked, walking up to Fred and George with a box in her hands. Luna usually didn't talk to the twins a lot, seeing that they were older and she hung out mostly with Ginny, but today she decided to risk it. They were sitting in the Great Hall huddled together, but they looked up when they heard the blonde speak to them.
"What kind of game are we talking about here?" George asked with a sweet smile directed at the blonde. George was always sweeter towards Luna, and Fred suspected that it meant that his twin had a crush.
"It's a game that my dad bought for me while we were travelling, trying to see some Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in India, but we couldn't find any, so my dad bought this to cheer me up. It's called Snakes and Ladders," Luna shrugged, showing them the box. "I thought that you guys would be interested in playing with me."
"This game has real snakes? Because that sounds very interesting," Fred said with a twinkle in his eyes that ninety-nine per cent of the time meant trouble.
"The game doesn't have real snakes, but it's a nice game to play… and a wizard told dad that maybe this could help him in our next expedition and maybe we can see a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, who knows?" Luna said with a radiant smile which made George smile more. "Do you want to play?"
"Sure! This sounds awesome! Who else is coming to play? Ginny?" George asked, standing up and coming to stand next to Luna which Fred found highly amusing.
"Ginny said that she was going to study with Draco, or maybe this was just an excuse for them to have time to themselves," Luna said, looking at the box in her hand, missing the grimace on their faces. "How about Hermione? Do you think she would want to play?"
"I will ask her while you two decide where we are going to play, alright?" Fred stood up with the wicked smile that the twins were infamous for. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do, children!"
Fred then left the two of them in the Great Hall and went to search for Hermione which in turn made George a little uneasy. It was true that the younger twin had a crush on the blonde girl, but every time that George went close to Luna, it was like his tongue got stuck to the roof of his mouth and he didn't know what to do.
"We could go near the lake, it is always nice to be out there when the weather is good," Luna said with a small smile, not looking at George's face. If she had looked, she would have seen the look of complete adoration in the redhead's eye.
"I think it's an amazing idea, Luna, let's go!" George said, grabbing her hand and dragging her outside, without thinking too much. But everyone who looked in their direction could see that both were blushing hard.
"I'm here, you can put me down already, you prat!" Hermione almost yelled at Fred, grabbing everyone's attention. George couldn't contain the laughter that he felt bubbling up inside him: Fred had thrown Hermione over his shoulder, hugging the brunette's legs.
"You said you didn't want to walk from the library to the lake, so here we are," Fred said, putting Hermione down. "See, you didn't walk."
"You're the worst," Hermione huffed, slapping Fred's arm, seeing the cheeky smile and the twinkle in his eyes.
"But you love me anyway," Fred replied with a cheeky grin and kissed her cheek, making Hermione giggle.
"I don't know why, but yeah, I do." Hermione kissed Fred lightly, which made Luna sigh. George heard her sigh, and he immediately intended to make the blonde his girlfriend before they finished their game. "So, what are we going to play?"
"It's called Snakes and Ladders, have you played it before?" Luna askede, while she started setting the board and pawns on the grass as the others sat around.
"I've never played, but this sounds interesting enough," Hermione said, looking at the board with the squares filled with ladders and snakes. "These snakes are moving?"
"I think Dad added something to make it more interesting," Luna shrugged, putting the box on her side. "Let's play!"
The game was pretty simple; as soon as everyone had chosen a pawn and put them on the "start here" square, they just needed to roll the dice to see who was going first.
But, George, being the mischievous twin that he was, couldn't stop jinxing the dice, making him always roll five or six; he was glad that no one seemed to see him doing this. Fred, on the other hand, was cheating more effectively: he jumped the squares when he thought that he was going to end on a snake, meaning that he was going to go back a few squares. Fred was quick to understand what his twin had done to the dice, but he wasn't going to let it stop him.
"I don't know why you are being so competitive, it's just a game," Hermione said with a frown on her face, seeing the twins glare at each other.
"This isn't a game," Fred said with a wicked smile, determined to beat his twin. "It means war!"
The game was going well until Hermione realized that the twins were cheating and only she and Luna were playing by the rules. Even with the cheating of the twins, Luna still was in the lead.
"I can't believe you two are cheating on a kids' board game!" Hermione couldn't stop herself and had to say something.
"It's not cheating if you don't get caught," George said with a cheeky smile which made Hermione roll her eyes. "C'mon, Hermione, don't be like this. Don't be a sore loser."
"I'm not a sore loser if you're cheating, you dork!" Hermione slapped George's head.
"Freddie… are you going to let your girlfriend treat me like this?" George said, turning his pout in his twin's direction.
"If you want someone to kiss your pout, Georgie, Luna is right next to you," Fred said with a sweet tone which made George blush harder.
"Let's finish the game," George murmured, embarrassed at being called out in front of his crush. He missed the way that Luna smiled at his obvious embarrassment.
They continued to play the game, with the twins no longer cheating since Hermione threatened them with a stinging hex, and to no one's surprise, Luna won since she was playing by the rules.
"Oh, I didn't know this was going to be so much fun. Thanks for playing with me and for letting me win," Luna said with a giggle, which did funny things to George's stomach.
"We didn't let you win, Luna, you won all by yourself," Hermione said with a smile in the direction of the blond.
"Oh… I think the Nargles helped me win then." Luna laughed more heartily and openly now and George couldn't stop himself. He grabbed Luna by her waist and kissed her with all his might. Fred and Hermione could only watch, not-so-secretly happy with George finally acting on his feelings; they had seen the way the redhead twin acted towards the little blonde and they were happy with how everything had turned out.
Meanwhile, George and Luna were lost in each other's embrace. George's lips were soft against Luna's, like he wanted to share a secret with her but didn't know how to besides kissing her. Luna had put her arms around George's neck and was running her hands through his hair, while George brought her closer by the waist.
They probably would have continued with this new development if George hadn't distanced himself from Luna like she was a dementor.
"Oh, my, Merlin, Luna! I'm so sorry! This wasn't supposed to happen like that, I was supposed to have your child first and then—" George started talking, messing up all that he had wanted to say, making Luna laugh even more and put a finger on his lips to stop his babbling.
"Breathe a little, George, and think about what you want to say," Luna said, still laughing a little.
"I wanted to, you know, ask you on… on… Merlin, why can't I remember the word?" George ran his hand through his hair, becoming more frustrated with himself by the second. Hermione and Fred had realized that maybe they need time alone and they discreetly give the couple space.
"What do you want to say, Georgie? You can tell me," Luna said, looking at him with those big, silvery eyes of hers, showing all the emotion that she was feeling.
"He wanted to ask you on a date but his brain melted!" Fred couldn't help himself as he yelled from where he was observing his twin, causing Hermione to elbow him. "Ouch, love, I just want to help my twin!"
"Fred is right?" Luna asked with a small smile on her lips.
"He could be a tactless prat, but he is right about it," George said, sighing and bracing himself for what he was going to say. "I had feelings for you for a while now, but I never thought that you were going to reciprocate, but now that I went and kissed you, I want to know: do you feel something for me, as well?"
"I always liked your jokes and thought that you were cute, but I also thought that you would never look in my direction, so I never thought much about you and me in this light, actually…" Luna said, looking at her shoes, but George put his hand on her chin, making her look at him.
"And now, after this amazing kiss?" George asked cheekily. "Do you think you can spare some time to go on a date with me?"
"I thought you would never ask," Luna said, kissing George a little more calmly than before. The new couple was so lost in themselves that they didn't hear Fred screaming in joy as he watched them.