I didn't talk to Fred for two weeks after the Hogsmeade trip. I could feel the tension amongst our friends since Fred was noticeably absent while I refused to make amends. I knew Fred regretted what he had done, George had told me as much, but I couldn't get over my anger. Cedric also hadn't talked to me much since our date, and I was beyond nervous about it. Aside from idle chatter whenever we bumped into each other, he hadn't brought up our date at all.

Angelina and I were walking alone, headed towards the library when I noticed someone coming towards us in a pointed manner. I looked up to see a very smug looking Cho Chang approaching with her friend Marietta in tow. I sighed audibly.

"Marietta wasn't I just saying how I was on my way to go ask out Cedric Diggory?" Cho said goadingly, stopping in front of Angelina and I with a smug expression.

I almost felt too exhausted to try and argue the point, but I didn't want Cho to think she could start walking all over me now. But before I could act Angelina came to my aid.

"Sod off Cho, Cedric would be a fool to go out with someone as tactless as you," Angelina retorted fiercely.

I could see the anger instantly cross over Cho's face with Marietta looking quite haughty herself.

"Well, Cedric smartened up enough to avoid an orange-eyed freak like her," Cho shot back maliciously.

I saw Angelina look like she was ready to pounce before we were thankfully interrupted. My hands still securely holding onto Angelina's arm bracingly to try and hold her back.

"Oi, it would be best if we kept this to the quidditch pitch don't you think Chang?" I heard Fred say as he came over to stand in between us and Cho.

This was the first time I had heard his voice in two weeks, and despite still being angry with him, I knew I missed him. It was more than nice to see and hear him again.

Cho and Marietta decidedly stormed off after Fred's intervention. Watching them leave, I was noticeably aware that Fred was awkwardly standing in front of me.

"I better leave you to it," Angelina said hurriedly before she too practically sprinted away.

I would have to be angry with her later.

"Well, thanks, I guess," I said awkwardly before Fred shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

"Are you talking to me now?" I asked, not knowing where this left us or even what was really going on anymore.

He shrugged again which tipped my short capacity for patience. I huffed before spinning around and heading to storm off after Angelina.

But his whisper stopped me in my tracks since it sounded almost like a whimpering sound. "Hare."

I allowed myself to take a deep breath before turning around.

"Yes Fred," I replied shortly.

"I'm sorry," he said before dropping his gaze again to the floor.

I stood there in consideration for a moment while I decided whether I wanted to forgive him yet. As far as I knew, whatever I had had with Cedric was over because of Fred, but on the other hand I missed my best friend.

I grumbled and expelled another audible sigh.

"I forgive you," I said quietly.

Fred couldn't believe his ears and almost thought he had misheard since she had spoken so softly. He also felt he didn't deserve her forgiveness, especially since all of his friends, including George and even Harry, had reamed him out for being a git. But he looked back up at her again and saw her small smile towards him. He didn't need any more time to consider her response before he was crossing the distance between them and bringing her into a tight embrace.

"I've missed you," she said as she almost fell into him.

Fred could tell how exhausted Marnie was since he felt he was almost holding her up. He then guiltily contemplated whether or not Marnie had been sleeping very well these past few weeks.

"Want to head down for dinner?" he asked, wanting to make sure Marnie was at last eating.

Despite her exhaustion she nodded and let Fred lead her down to the Great Hall. She noticed the automatic relief across her friends' faces when they noticed her and Fred's arrival together and despite it all she couldn't really help but smile back.

"Thank Merlin," George said as Fred came over to sit beside him.

I took the vacant seat beside Ange who just leaned supportively into me. I returned the gesture by resting my head onto hers. I decided I couldn't be angry with her for leaving me alone with Fred since it had led to our reconciliation and truth be told I really was exhausted. But the meal was livelier than it had been since Hogsmeade and I reveled in the normalcy of it all. The effortlessness of our group returned as if nothing had happened. But a dull ache remained in my chest as I thought of what I had potentially lost with Cedric.

"Erm, Marnie," I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

I turned to see a nervous looking Cedric standing behind me. I tried not to gape in surprise.

"Might I have a word?" he asked before I could even respond to his presence.

I simply nodded, and my friends somehow remained silent despite all of their blunt personalities while I stood up and went to join him in the entrance hall.

"I think I owe you an apology for my misunderstanding," he started as we took a seat on one of the benches in the nearly empty hallway.

Mostly everyone was inside the Great Hall eating supper by this point, so we remained undisturbed. I could only manage to look at him in confusion.

"Let me explain," he paused and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "I just heard about Cho and I feel terribly that you had to endure that tasteless confrontation," he scowled at the thought and I couldn't help but smile. "I needed to let you know that the reason I have been keeping my distance is because I thought you wanted it. After learning about Fred's lie, I didn't know if you had planned it or if you were even using it to think about what you wanted. But I started to notice that you weren't speaking to Fred and that also made me nervous about things since I didn't want to come in between the two of you…" I tried to process all of the information.

"What were you trying to tell me in The Three Broomstick?" I asked, instantly needing to know the answer in the midst of all this confusion.

He cleared his throat nervously before summoning a bout of confidence. I could see his shoulders straighten up and his gaze turn to look me in the eyes.

"Marnie, I wanted… I still want… to ask you if you would be my girlfriend?" he stuttered while still trying to keep his cool.

He smoothed his hand through his hair again before crossing both hands onto his lap. I could tell he was extremely nervous.

I was left speechless. My brain went into hyperdrive which ironically left my mind blank on what to say. I could see Cedric watching me with increasing apprehension before I summoned my will to answer.

"Yes," was all I could muster for my reply.

I saw the moment of surprise cross his eyes before he broke out into the biggest smile I had ever seen.

"Brilliant," he said, still sounding as nervous as I felt.

I could see his eyes were almost twinkling now before I noticed him inching closer. Before I could react, he bent down towards my face and gently placed his lips on my cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow then Marnie?" he asked gently, drawing his face back to look at me.

"Of course. I'll meet you outside the Great Hall to walk to class?" I asked, knowing we had Defense Against The Dark Arts together.

"I'll see you then," he replied before heading back into the Great Hall to finish dinner.

I knew my friends would be eagerly awaiting my return, but I wanted to figure out my own reaction first before they made a spectacle out of it. I knew they meant well and were really excited for me, but I still wanted to savour this moment of pure bliss for a little while longer.

Figuring I could head down and visit Posy later on, I started towards the Defense hallway to go and visit Remus. I had already noticed he hadn't been present at dinner.

"Come in," I heard his voice beckon after knocking on his office door.

I had already visited the office a few times in the last month, usually with Harry when we would meet with him on our days off.

"Marnie, this is a nice surprise," he said as he gestured for me to sit on the chair beside his small fireplace.

He sat across from me and was already offering me a chocolate frog from a small trinket box.

"To what do I owe this social call?" he asked kindly, with a hint of exaggeration in his voice.

Remus and I had a very close bond, especially since he had practically been raising me since I was three years old. Even before then, he was a big part of my life since I don't have any early memories without him in it. So, by this point, it felt like he could read me like a book without me actually having to say much. So, I assumed he could sense my current mood of excitement and apprehension as I took the chocolate frog and started to unwrap it.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Mr. Diggory now would it?" he asked slyly.

I was almost surprised that he had guessed it right away, but Remus had known about my friendship with Cedric over the past year and quite possibly knew about my crush. My face turning red was answer enough which caused him to lightly chuckle.

"Well, it seems you have surpassed everyone from my time in Hogwarts to find a proper date," he continued.

"Sorry?" I asked, confused by his remark.

"Well, James stalked Lily around for about five years before she finally agreed to go out with him, Peter and I were never very good at finding dates, and even your father took his time in asking your mother out," he explained with an amused look on his face. "But on a more serious note, I hope you know I will be keeping a watchful eye on this young man to make sure he is acceptable enough for you," he added wryly.

I was only half sure he was joking. I then spent the remainder of the evening with Remus before he dismissed me right before curfew.

"I expect you will find tomorrow's lesson most exciting," he said as he escorted me back to Gryffindor Tower.

"What is it?" I asked impatiently, wanting Remus to tell me what to expect.

"What fun is it if I ruin the surprise?" he returned my question with an amused look.

I sighed before realizing we had already made it back to the Fat Lady's Portrait.

"Have a good night Marnie," he said before he turned to leave.

I bid him good night before stepping through the portrait and immediately came face to face with Alicia and Katie.

"So?" they both asked excitedly.

"What?" I asked in return, feigning ignorance.

"Oh please, you know what we're asking," Katie responded impatiently before I sighed.

I noticed all of my friends were still up and eagerly awaiting my return.

I was escorted by Katie and Alicia who practically threw me down on the couch beside Angelina before they returned to sit across from us. Lee was sitting on Katie's other side while Fred and George sat on the floor in front of the fire.

"So, what did Cedric want to talk to you about?" Alicia asked more forwardly.

"Oh, just something about being his girlfriend," I answered nonchalantly as I tried to play it up for them.

Alicia and Katie both squealed loudly enough to make Lee jump in his seat. Angelina excitedly grabbed onto my arm as I tried to remain as collected as possible. I didn't want to give anything away.

"What did you say?" Alicia asked as she leaned over even closer towards me.

I gave a long pause as I tried to savour the moment of keeping them in suspense. I also took the moment to look over at George and Fred. George had a genuine smile which felt encouraging that he was actually happy for me. It had been strained between us lately since he felt the need to stay by both of our sides, which ended up dividing his time. I already knew he thought Fred had crossed the line and didn't actually have an issue with Cedric aside from being a quidditch rival. But he also hadn't explained to me why Fred was being such a prat, despite the many times I had asked him. I knew it must have been difficult for George to be the middleman in between Fred and I and I only hoped we wouldn't have to go back to that.

I then turned my attention to Fred who surprisingly had a smile on his face. I could see the pain in his eyes, but I knew he was actually happy for me, or at least the most he could be. I realized then that I had been holding my breath when I forcibly exhaled in relief.

I was brought back to face the others when Angelina, through her excitement, started to crush my arm under her fingers. Alicia and Katie looked as if they were about to burst while I noticed Lee leaning away from them so to avoid being startled by another outburst.

"I said yes, obviously," I answered simply which caused another round of squeals from the girls and for Lee to lean even further away.

The rest of the night was spent excitedly chatting by the fire. Fred had even commented he was happy enough if it meant Cho Chang would leave me alone. I couldn't help smiling at my friends' excitement for me and inwardly thanked whatever fate had brought me to them. As cheesy as it was, I wanted to make sure I never took my friends for granted and felt fortunate to have stopped at that particular train compartment five years ago.

By the time we got to bed I was overly exhausted. The girls had also tired themselves out which meant we were all pretty quiet as we got ready for bed. Once we had turned out the lights, I watched Aster sitting on their perch as my eyes became heavier with exhaustion. I noticed it was almost like they were glowing brighter tonight than they ever had before. But before I could ponder those implications anymore, I succumbed to my tiredness.

"Lena," I heard a familiar voice call from behind me.

I turned around to see a skinny boy with flat, brown hair and a pale complexion.

It was Remus.

"Hey Moony, what's up?" I asked, unfamiliar with the given nickname.

"Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about Padfoot," Remus explained while I felt a jolt from within my chest.

But my mother sighed, obviously frustrated.

"If Padfoot wants to talk to me that's his prerogative, he shouldn't send you as his owl," I replied in an annoyed tone.

"You know he has already tried," Remus answered more delicately.

"Well, then he shouldn't be such an insufferable toe rag!" I fumed.

Remus chuckled which caused my frustration to surge.

"Taking a page out of Lily's dictionary," he mused.

What are they talking about?

Regrettably, I knew, I felt myself start to smile. My mother was obviously trying to bury the rising excitement I could feel from inside her chest.

"He cares for you Lena," Remus started again, still in his delicate tone.

"I know," I muttered back, butterflies now entering my stomach.

The scene ended as the volume of my dream seemed to go mute and I watched my mother and Remus walk away, leaving me behind. Soon after I had been left in the darkness, I woke up.