Well, I wanted to finish this fanfic by the time school started BUT as it starts tomorrow, it doesn't seem to be happening. Many conflicts need to be resolved, but I am really satisfied with this chapter as something happens between Fred and Carrie, which apparently i handled tastefully and tacfully. Joy. REVIEWS and READING must ensue. PLEASE? I beg for reviews. i'll send you a nickel in the mail. i promise.
Also, I do not own any of the HP characters, though I wish i did. I do, however, own Carrie, my own little vixen-like creation. Sigh.

Chapter 6: Giving In
I could feel it go down
you left the sweetest taste in my mouth.
Silver line in the clouds
Oh and I wonder what it's all about.
(Coldplay – The Hardest Part)

The Friday preceding Oliver's weekend stay dawned bright and oddly warm, despite October. Carrie went to all of her morning classes and found herself staring at Fred in the middle of important lectures and instructions, but she couldn't help it. True to her silent vow, Carrie stopped seeing Fred in private, but frequently, she daydreamed about his lips on hers and his hands running delicately over her body.

Distantly, the bell rung to signal the end of Potions (and the end of her fantasy). Carrie had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize how hungry she was. Before she left the dungeon, where pungent smells punctuated the air, she slung her robes over her bag, suddenly aware of how hot she felt.

As she rose from the depths of the dungeons, the comforting noise of chattering students filled the hallway, into the entrance hall, where stragglers milled around as though they weren't sure if they should go to lunch. She continued on to the Great Hall, saying hi to familiar faces until she was seized and pulled into a broom closet just off the marble staircase.

"Lumos!" The wand light illuminated Fred's thin face. It registered in Carrie's brain that a coy grin curved his soft lips.

"Holy shit! I thought I was being kidnapped," Carrie laughed stupidly, setting her bag down and leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"Well, you weren't, now, were you?" he replied distractedly, tapping the doorknob with his wand. "I had to talk to you before Oliver came."

"I don't see what was so important that you felt the need to grab me like that," she said, unable to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Carrie, tell me what the fuck I'm supposed to do this weekend," he stated bluntly, closing the gap between them. "I don't think I'll be able to talk to you at all. It'd be so awkward and forced...I just can't do that. And Oliver would know something was weird. You haven't even let us be alone this week. Why can't you just choose?"

"You're not making this fair, Fred," she said carefully, well aware of how his eyes kept darting to her lips and the distance between them was so little that the fibers of his trousers tickled her bare legs. "I'm dating Oliver, not you. Or did you forget that?"

"No, I haven't forgotten that, but I think you did," he said scathingly. Carrie glared at him, but his smoldering eyes melted her anger. She felt as though she were denying not only Fred of something wonderful, but herself as well, something she desired more than anything.

"I can see it," he said suddenly, startling her.

"See what?"

"You want this, I know you do," he said desperately. "Why are you doing this?"

The pleading in his voice and the sadness in his eyes tugged at Carries heartstrings. Before she fully formulated any thought in her head, she placed her hands on the back of his neck and kissed him softly. He kissed her lips and her eyelids, and placed a whisper of a kiss on her collarbone before turning his attention back to her lips. Full-fledged passion caused warmth to travel through her body, from her toes to the tips of each strand of hair. Fleetingly, she was aware of his strong hand traveling up her thigh, but didn't even want to swat it away.

She welcomed the sensation his touch brought her; she felt that if in this moment, someone asked her name, she wouldn't be able to divulge it as she already forgot it. Both of his hands were working under her skirt and she never felt such a physical connection with Oliver. She always had to tell him what to do, but it felt so right with Fred. Her hands roved over his waistband until she finally unbuckled his belt. In such lust and passion, they didn't even realize where they were anymore, until the bell sounded to signal the end of lunch.

"Fuck," she groaned into the crook of his neck.

He laughed into her hair. "I have a free period."

"And I don't," she replied, moving his hands from under her skirt and smoothing out her uniform. "But meet me at eight in the Room of Requirement," she whispered hotly into his ear before grabbing her bag and dashing out of the broom closet.

At eight o'clock sharp, Carrie and Fred met outside the Room of Requirement. Before Fred arrived, Carrie paced in front of the wall, but it remained unmarred by a door. Her mind was just as the blank wall, taunting her that she couldn't get any thought into her head, much less a door into the wall. She was ready to kick the solid wall when Fred shuffled into the corridor.

Concentrating hard, he paced up and down the corridor. Upon his fourth try, an oaken door appeared in the stony wall.

"Brilliant," Carrie murmured, entering the room. Fred came up behind her and locked the door.

The room looked familiar to Carrie, from the queen-sized bed with turquoise sheets, to the lounge chair placed awkwardly in the opposing corner. Even the bookshelves, slightly askew with books missing or lain haphazardly to the side were familiar. It was-

"My room," Carrie said in amazement, throwing herself on top of the neatly made bed. "I couldn't have picked a better place!" she squealed to Fred as he sat cautiously on her bed.

"I wanted to make you comfortable for what I'm about to say." He delicately tilted her face towards his; she noted how his lean frame trembled as he lay next to her. "I don't think I can't not tell you this. I don't want to seem like an idiot and I'm putting myself out there by saying this." He glanced at his hands. "I love you."

For a second, Carrie's heart faltered and responded by pulling him on top of her. Her mind and tongue felt heavy with a number of things she could say from the incredibly hurtful to the incredibly gratifying. "I love you, too."

Though she expressed her words awkwardly, she felt definite and final. It was as though they were kissing for the first time; he placed his lips on hers, softly, as though questioning where he could go with this, but one look in her eyes told him that she wanted this more than anything. Their mouths opened, deepening their kiss and the passion that tussled between them caused a groan to escape her lips.

His lips left hers, trailing her torso to her bellybutton and back up again, where he lay expectant kisses on her collarbone. A shiver shook her spine and for a moment, her breath caught in her lungs. They unbuttoned their uniforms and for a moment, took in each other's nearly naked forms. Carrie's skirt and Fred's trousers were in a heap on the floor, along with his shirt. Her blouse was a clump under her as they rolled around on her bed.

Fred's mind was blown. Her body seemed to quake with every touch he placed on her soft, tan skin. Her body had no flaws, and whatever scar he came across, he regarded as something that made her even more perfect. He didn't want to mess it up, he didn't want her to say, "No," but if she did, he knew he would have to breathe in deeply and reply, "Okay," while he tried to keep his heart in his chest.

So many nights in his shared bedroom, he dreamt of this moment when their bodies conformed to fit each other's, but he never knew that it would ever become a reality. He loved her hands running through his hair and the way her hips lifted from the mattress to feel his skin on hers.

"Carrie," he whispered softly. "Do you want this?"

For a moment, she thought she had been brought out from being confunded, but she realized it was the effect Fred had on her. But he'd called her name and she heard it carried on a light and sweet breath. "Mmm?"

"Do you want to do this?" he asked, looking her in the eye. She nodded her head. His eyes smiled, but it didn't show on his lips. Within seconds, they were both naked; Carrie felt there was no going back, not that she wanted to in the first place. Never before had she felt so vulnerable, as naked as she was with every scar and freckle on display to this boy she had known since she was in diapers.

Under the blankets, Carrie felt calm come over her. His skin was smooth and his body gave off heat while tremors coursed through him. Carrie inhaled sharply as their bare hipbones touched and her body was filled with a pleasurable tingle. Her mind and heart felt as though they exploded into indistinguishable blobs in which she couldn't formulate any thought and the only thing she could feel was elation. Her heart was pounding so loud that she could swear Fred heard it, too, though he didn't show it. Her breath caught in her throat and for a moment, she felt as though she would have to force herself to breathe. It as though her lungs were failing her, but instead, in the pit of her stomach, she felt something electric that caused every inch of her to go numb, but it was a good sensation. After a moment it passed and Fred kissed her collarbone so sweetly that the hairs on the back of her neck stood.

While he laced his fingers in hers, her mind began to race with every question she had quelled until the moment was right, but this seemed like the exact wrong moment. When this tryst started, she swore she wouldn't have sex with Fred until she broke up with Oliver, if that's what she wanted, but there they were, their bodies laced in sweat, naked and speechless. Fred's slack hand and even breathing indicated he had fallen asleep. How can he sleep when there are all these questions to be answered? she thought angrily, but she couldn't be mad. She had a shrewd idea who she should pick. She never felt such loving emotion emanate from one person for her as they had while they gave in to their passion.

She felt it futile to even try to formulate logical answers at this point and time. She lay her head on his smooth chest as it rose and fell beneath her. For what had to have been hours, she stared at the numbers on her clock changing later and later as her eyes drooped more and more. But they couldn't fall asleep. They had to get back to their rooms before anyone noticed they were gone, but her limbs felt weak and so relaxed that it wouldn't hurt to take a cat nap just for a little while...