"Rita, just- that's not what I meant-" he tried, before breaking off and tearing his hands away from me as if my cloak were on fire. He stood there for another few seconds before bolting down the hallway and around the corner.
It was silent until Hermione said, "Plot twist..."
"I'm confused." I said, turning away from where Fred had disappeared.
"Yeah, me too." George said, looking between Hermione and I. She nearly screamed in frustration.
"Are you serious right now?!" She yelled, causing people around us to while around and jump in surprise. If we didn't leave soon, we would be late for our first class.
"Hmm. No, neither of us look like my father. Good thing, too." I giggled, high fiving George.
"Rita! Stop being so childish for one minute, would you?" She yelled. "Fred obviously likes you! That's why he doesn't want you to go to the dance with someone who isn't him! Because he wants to go with you!"
I froze and looked at her, my eyes wide. George started laughing, before looking back at Hermione and realizing that she wasn't kidding.
"Wait, what?" He said, stopping short. "I thought you were kidding!" He said. I groaned and put my face in my hands.
"Oh no!"
"Yeah, and now he thinks that you like Percy! His own brother!" Hermione reprimanded.
"It was your idea!" I yelled back.
"What do you mean? What idea?" George said, but neither of us paid him attention.
"But you went along with it! And I didn't say to lie and pretend you liked Percy!" Hermione defended.
"Well it would have been stupid to pretend and like Ron!" I said back.
"Woah, woah, woah, what! You don't actually like Percy?" George exclaimed. "Then who do you like?!" Hermione and I stopped yelling and turned to look at George. My face burned.
"Well, not you." I grumbled. Hermione sighed.
"Oh give it up already, Rita. She likes Fred." George gasped dramatically.
"Oh my Merlin! I did not see that coming. So, what's the big problem then?" He asked.
"Boys!" Hermioen said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Now he thinks I fancy Percy, when I don't, and if I try to tell him I was only pulling a prank then he'll think that I'm only saying that to spare his feelings." I explained grumpily.
"Eh, I don't think so. He knows you're too mean to say something like that just to make him feel better." George said, earning him a smack upside the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"You deserved that." I said.
"Stop you two! We need to figure out how to fix this mess!" Hermione said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "The end of this week is when the competitors get picked from the goblet. I think we should fix it before then."
"Why? In case Fred gets picked?" George snickered. I frowned at him and hit him with my bag.
"Not old enough!" I yelled like an angry mother before stomping away.
Transfiguration was a mess. No matter how many times and ills tried to snap me back to the spell we were trying to do, I kept sliding back to La La Land.
"I'm sorry, Nev. what were you saying?" I said for what must have been the thirtieth time. He sighed.
"I asked what was wrong. And don't tell me nothing, because you didn't even blink an eye when I said that Slytherin was bound to win the first Quidditch match-"
"Shh!" I hissed. "You might jinx us!" He rolled his eyes and gave me a look.
"Ok, Fine." I caved, before proceeding to tell him all about the past two weeks. From telling Hermione that she could try to guess who I fancied to this morning, when Fred had run off.
He frowned and was silent for so long that I thought he was going to leave me alone with my problems. But that's not Neville.
"I think Hermione's right, but I would do it today. Tomorrow at the latest. Don't wait any longer than two days, otherwise your chances at fixing it will be none." He advised.
"But how? How do I make him let me talk to him in the first place, and then how do I convince him that I-" a pause. "That I like him too?"
He shrugged. "I gave you the advice I could. It's up to you now. But Rita?"
I frowned and turned away from the pincushion. "Yeah?"
"Don't give up, okay? Because you two would be good for each other, I think." I smiled.
"Thanks, Nev."
"Fred! Fred!" I yelled as I spotted a familiar red head in the crowd up ahead of me. Said red-head's face burned bright as he heard me call his name.
"Wrong twin!" He yelled, but he wasn't gunna get rid of me that easy.
"Lies!" I yelled back, pushing through the crowd but by the time I got to where he had been, he had disappeared.
"Damnit!" I muttered, looking around.
"Hey Rita." Somebody said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrieked and jumped about three feet in the air.
"Bloody Hell, Harry! You scared me!" I said.
"Oh really? Anyways, I just came to tell you that Quidditch tryouts are tonight. Wood finally put the posters up."
"Haha, yes!" I said, a plan forming in my head. "Thanks Harry!" I gave him a big hug before running off to find George.
"Wait, what? I'm confused." George said after I explained the plan to him.
"You're always confused!" I whisper yelled so Fred wouldn't overhear. We were waiting for Wood to come out and start the tryouts.
"Just explain it again." I groaned but did as he said.
"Ok, and all I have to do is..." the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Wood's whistle.
"Okay everybody! Beaters here, seekers there, chasers here!" He ordered, and everyone scattered. I stood in the group of chasers, jumping up and down nervously. A grin spread across my face as I thought about the plan for tomorrow.
"Do you have the stuff?" I asked suspiciously as I stood nonchalant next to George, leaning against the stone wall. He frowned and looked all around before turning back to me.
"Why are you acting all weird? And what's with the sunglasses? We're inside." He said, pulling out a red shirt from his bag.
I rolled my eyes. "Hermione made me Dad and I watch a lot of spy movies this summer. It just felt right for the situation." I said, switching the shirt he had for the one I had.
"Ok, so now what?" He said.
"Now you just gotta do your part of the plan, and make sure that he doesn't do his part (unkowngly) until dinner." I said, skipping away towards the dorms.
I walked down to the Great Hall with Hermioen an hour later, give or take. I had nervous twitchings in my stomach now, and I gulped.
"Hermione, what if it doesn't work?" I asked.
"It will work. Relax." She said, patting my back as we walked into the dinning hall. I put on a happy face and walked to my usual spot. Except, Fred and George were sitting down a ways from me. I sat down, my leg twitching under the table from nerves. What if this didn't even get Fred to talk to me?
I didn't have to worry long, because within the next few minutes he had gotten up and walked over to me.
He cleared his throat and held out my Gryffindor Jersey.
"George accidentally gave us the wrong jerseys when he picked them up from Wood today." He said.
"Oh. I didn't even notice. I'll give you yours after dinner." I said, taking my jersey from him and slipping it into my bag. He nodded awakrdly and started to walk away.
I grabbed his wrist. "Fred, Wait." I said.
"Rita, I'm sorry. Really, I am. You were right- it wasn't my place to say all that. You can go to the dance with whoever you want." He said, his face bright red.
"But, it was all just a prank." I countered. "I was mad that you and George tried to trick me into giving up which Weasley it was I had told Hermione I liked, so I wanted to trick you both, too. So Hermione gave me the idea, and I told George that I liked Percy." I explained, my face red too. He shook his head.
"Rita, you don't have to lie to make me feel better, okay?"
"I'm not lying though! Really, that's what happened! I shouldn't have done that, and Lord knows I've payed my time for the crime. Tell George for me that it was not funny when he locked Percy and I in a broom closet, would you? I would, but then I might claw his eyes out, too."
He was quite for a moment, not ever meeting my eyes.
"Well then who do you like?" He asked suddenly, seeming as if he was afraid of the answer. My ears burned red hot.
"Well, you were right when you thought it was you or George..." I said, but before I could finish my sentence he was pulling away and walking towards the doors.
"Yeah, I get it. George, wasn't it? That's why you're acting all guilty."
"No, Fred! Wait, that's not-"
"Just- Rita. It's fine. Okay?" He said, breaking free of my grip again and walking towards the doors. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists.
"Fine. Have it your way, you butt head." I said, before climbing up onto the table.
"Fred Gideon Weasley!" I yelled, and he stopped but didn't turn around. The chatter around us gradually diminished until it was silent.
"I think that you'rereallystupidsillyandfunnyandcute, and will you be mydatetotheYuleBall?" I said really fast and all in one breath. He didn't turn around at first, and I worried that I had just made everything worse.
But then he turned around and was climbing on top of the table too, and yelling, "Of course I'll be your date to the Yule Ball, there's no need to bow down and worship the ground I walk on. On second thought-"
"Okay, Okay. That's enough of that!" I said, laughing. Hermione clapped her hands and George wolf-whistled. I turned around to flip him off, but then caught site of the teachers watching and thought better of it.
Fred helped me down off the table, and I nearly tripped but regained my balance.
"Kiss her!" Ginny yelled, and I turned to hell back at her, my eyes wide, but Fred had other ideas.
He leaned down and placed his lips on mine, and I had to keep myself from melting into his arms.
Too bad I had to be so stubborn, this could have been a normal thing by now.