I do not own HP and gang. I do, however, own the character, Carrie, the conflicted little vixen who narrates this story, basically. I would like this to be read and reviewed so don't be shy to say it sucked or it was great. I'll like you just for reviewing. THANK YOU.

Chapter 5: locked inside

It's way too late
To be this locked inside ourselves.
The trouble is that
you're in love with someone else.
It should be me.
It should be me.
(Interpol – C'mere)

The first few weeks passed by without much incident, but it quickly became evident how much Carrie and Fred wanted each other. There were countless times Carrie found herself so restless and unable to sleep that she had to creep out into the boys' dormitory to rouse Fred in the middle of the night for comfort.

Constantly, it nagged at the back of her head; "What about Oliver?" Carrie's only contact with Oliver had been a letter sent using a school owl, claiming she missed him, but upon thinking, did she really?

Carrie loved the attention Fred gave her. She was hooked on the way he ran his fingers softly through her chestnut waves and she loved the way he teased her desire for him by kissing her lips slowly before finally giving her the fully on passion she craved.

Several times, she had to duck under his blankets, waiting with bated breath as George awoke and interrogated Fred.

"Who were you whispering to?" he would ask.

"No one, George. Go back to sleep," he would reply. A couple minutes later George could be heard snoring softly. It was only then that they could resume their tongue tango.

In the middle of October, merely weeks before Oliver would be returning to the castle, Carrie found herself, one late Saturday night, entangled with Fred on an old, squashy lounge chair in front of the fire.

His hands traced the skin beneath her nightshirt, touching her hipbones while her hands twirled the hairs at the nape of his neck. Deeply entranced by the electricity and warmth his kisses generated, their surroundings quickly became nothing as his lips met hers and their hands touched skin under their nightclothes. While everything from the outside disappeared for what seemed like forever, it was a creak on the stair that caused Carrie to pull back as her heart beat furiously against her chest.

"What?" Fred asked anxiously, his brown eyes searching her sapphire eyes for some hint as to what he had done wrong.

"Didn't you hear that?" she replied, panic ever-so present in her voice as she gazed wide-eyed and imploringly at Fred.

"No," he said honestly. "I didn't hear anything."

Carrie slid out from beneath him, landing lamely on the carpeted floor of the Gryffindor common room. "I think we should call it a night, Fred. I don't exactly intend to be caught before I've thought everything through." She paused. "I mean, you can't honestly think I've settled all this, do you?"

Fred lowered himself on the floor next to her. "Actually, I'd thought with all this snogging we'd been doing, you'd decided on me."

"Excuse me?" Carrie stared at the freckle-faced redhead beside her, whose face looked crestfallen. "How could you think such a thing could be easy for me? It isn't easy at all! My heart and head have been battling since that one kiss we shared in your sister's room and then again on the train. I am restless and tormented by the fact that no matter who I choose, I'm hurting someone I love if I don't choose them. It's an inner turmoil you would understand."

Fred stared at her for a moment in disbelief before he stood and disappeared up the staircase to the boys' dormitories.

"Fuck," she whispered as she realized she pissed of the one person she could talk to and feel comforted by. She herself began to walk up the girls' staircase when she saw, peeking from behind the corner was a head of busy brown curls.

"Oh, fuck me," she stated simply as she came upon Hermione Granger, who's face was covered in guilt.

"I'm so sorry!" Hermione cried in a whisper. "I had no idea anyone else would be up. I just wanted to review my History of Magic essay – you see, I felt I did sub par on it and I needed to fix it or else I wouldn't sleep – then I started to walk into the common room and I saw…well, I saw you and Fred and – I'm so sorry!" She melodramatically put her face into her hands.

The utter terror that shook the girl up made Carrie smile in spite of herself. Her hair may have been tied back, but it didn't stop a few strands from shaking with her body. Her tone cracked and her eyes were wide with mortification. She couldn't yell at her at all.

"I'm not mad at you, Hermione," Carrie said softly, patting the top of the fourth year's head. Hermione peered at Carrie through her thin, ink-stained fingers. "I mean, I knew someday, we would get caught, but I didn't think it would be so soon." Carrie plopped on the stairs next to Hermione, who finally took her hands away from her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked earnestly.

Carrie chuckled. "I can't believe I'm about to tell you this. I haven't even talked about this with my closest friends, but I guess this is only because I'm forced to, right?" She ran her fingers nervously through her tousled locks. "I'm in a mess, 'Mione. When I first came off the train, the first person I saw was Fred. The sight of him caused my heart to speed up but-" she sighed, "- I didn't want to listen to what my heart was saying. So, instead, I forced myself upon Oliver. Actually, I made myself face Oliver to push any thoughts of Fred out of my head. Well, it worked, up until Ginny pointed out that some nights, I wasn't there. I would disappear. And I would see Oliver, then. Fred asked me about it that same day. I couldn't hide it from him. He kissed me lightly. From then on, we couldn't look each other in the face.

"Finally, it was on the train ride he felt we needed to have it out, whether it be a row or just say what was on our minds. Well, we ended up confessing that we both felt something for each other. Since the train ride, we've been snogging in deserted classrooms and the common room late at night. We've even gone so far as in his dormitory with George and Lee sleeping so close by. I can't help it, but I have no idea what I should do," she confessed.

"Do you have a preference?" Hermione asked naively.

Carrie laughed bitterly. "Don't you think that if I did, I would've done something by now? Oliver comes in a week and I think I should break this cycle. I just need one thing from you, Hermione."

Hermione gazed curiously at Carrie, directly in the eyes.

"I need you to swear to me that you won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Not even Ginny and especially not Harry or Ron. It would be better to figure this out on my own without everyone knowing and wondering who the hell I'm going to be with because honestly, I haven't the fainted clue," she said to her.

Hermione nodded so vigorously that her hair came out of its tie. "Can I go revise my essay now?"

Carrie gave her a nod and with that, Hermione stood and walked the few steps to the common room. With some weight lifted off of her shoulders, Carrie stood and crept silently into her dormitory, aware of the steady breathing of her roommates.

Oh, great, one more person who knows the truth, she thought as she climbed into her bed. And it's someone I don't even know if I can really trust. She felt sorry for the girls in her dormitory, who were left in the dark as to what was happening. She fitfully turned over and fell asleep, wondering and hoping that Oliver's weekend stay would be pleasant and without incident.