Once more, I have updated at a good time! Yaaay! haha
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We all took a deep breath.
Angelina turned around and put her hand on the doorknob again. With one last glance at Katie and I, she turned it. We stepped through onto the first step.
We slowly descended, accepting our mission.
The voices of Lee and the twins met our ears, though they weren't in our range of sight quite yet.
"It's already fifteen minutes past the usual time... What the bloody hell is taking them so long!?" Fred. Oh, the temper of an empty stomach. He always got like this, even when we weren't late.
"Maybe they overslept... I'm sure they have a good reason." Aww, Lee! You're actually standing up for us! Not to self: Be extra nice to him today.
"Well they need to hurry up before I'm forced to put Fred, here, out of his misery." George chuckled.
We finally got to the end of the stairs. Fred was standing with his back to us, his hair was unruly as always. It was obvious that he had been running his hand through it in frustration, due to our lateness. George stood near him angled towards the door. His hair was also unkempt, though not nearly as bad as Fred's. Lee was the only one with a direct view of us, and the moment he saw us, his jaw slackened immensely. Oh, yes. We had made quite an impression.
Angelina quickened her pace.
"Oh, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" She smirked coming up behind Fred, messing up his hair playfully. "Come on, let's get you to breakfast." That smirk never left her face as she took hold of his red and gold tie, sliding it out from under his sweater-vest, and continued to drag him towards the door.
Fred was, in short, shocked.
I quickly looked to George and Lee, who were staring at Katie and I appraisingly. I wondered what they thought. Could they see that we were trying to win them over? Did we look desperate? No, I knew we didn't look desperate. I knew we both looked gorgeous... Still, though, the prospect of George ogling me at the moment made me both nervous and excited. I felt my cheeks fill with color, hastily returning my gaze to Fred. I could still feel eyes on me, though.
"Yes, ma'am!" he said in response once the shock had worn off, smiling in amazement at his luck. She turned her head and sent him a flirty-yet-seductive look, only increasing his happiness.
The rest of us followed them close-by. Katie and I walked side by side, our confidence building simply by witnessing Angelina's own results. We exchanged a knowing glance. This could actually work.
Lee and George were trailing behind a bit. The odd part, though, was that they were relatively quiet, aside from some light conversation here and there. I'm not sure what to make of this...
Angelina and Fred began flirting even more, and proceeded to walk even faster. Before long, they were nowhere in sight, leaving the rest of us in the dust.
"Have you seen Oliver lately?" Katie raised her left hand and began inspecting her nails as if she had said nothing out of the ordinary.
"No, actually... I haven't seen the bloke ever since it was announced that there was no Quidditch this year. Oh, Merlin, I hope he didn't jump off the Astronomy tower!" Katie and I giggled.
She continued. "I was just wondering because I thought he could help me with runes. After all, you saw how badly I need the help. I'd rather get help from any of you guys, but since none of you could help me with that last one, I thought I might ask him to tutor me instead. That way, I wouldn't waste any more of your time..."
Ah, I see what she's doing. Striving for the help of the Little Green Monster in the realms of romance. Knowing Lee, it would probably work.
If only I could think of a distinct way to make George go for me. I had the makeover, I had the confidence... I just wish I had some direction! Ah, well. For now I'll just float around like I always do.
Katie babbled on and on until the four of us eventually reached the Great Hall. Angelina and Fred were already there, lost in flirting. Angelina had taken George's usual spot on the end, so our seating was a bit different.
It was now Angelina on the end of the table, followed by Fred in the middle, and then George. Sitting opposite of Angelina was Lee. Katie was next in line, and then me. No doubt, Angelina had planned for my dear George to end up across from me.
Seeing as I still hadn't worked out a plan of action, I resorted to absorbing myself in the food. I chose some bacon to begin.
The others carried on as always... Fred and Angelina were engaged in playful banter, and Katie and Lee were laughing throughout. George let out a chuckle once or twice, but he didn't seem to be truly into it.
My hand moved to grab a piece of toast, and my eyes looked up for the first time. Being that George was directly across from me, he was where my eyes traveled to. He was shoving his fork into a heap of scrambled eggs, half-listening to the others' conversation. I looked back onto the contents of the table to grab the butter and jam. Once more, my eyes wandered to the redhead in front of me.
He stuffed the fork-full into his mouth and glanced up at me once, then back to his eggs. A half second later, he looked up again, this time holding his gaze to mine.
After two and a half seconds of solid staring, I realized that I probably looked creepy. I sheepishly looked back to my plate. My muscles tensed with nervousness, and the feel of heat rising once more on my face told me I was blushing again. I engrossed myself into buttering my toast.
When I finally heard another clang of silverware from across from me, my muscles relaxed. I was no longer being watched, nor was I looking like an idiot. I was just eating my food. Peacefully. Oh, the serenity.
Katie gave me a nudge in the arm. "Alicia? I'm talking to you!"
"Huh? Oh... Sorry..." I put the butter back into the middle of the table and began to add the jam onto my toast. I looked up to see that all eyes were on me. Oh, joy. "What were you saying?"
"I was asking," Katie tipped her head sideways, "if you agreed that Viktor Krum is the hottest Quidditch player alive?"
So the table was in a discussion over hot Quidditch players. Oh, crap. This puts me in a delicate situation, that's for sure. I didn't want to make George jealous (though I doubt it would work if I tried) but at the same time, to avoid the question would be out of character. I love debating about random things!
"I'm not really into him, to be honest. He's so muscular that he looks stocky. Personally, I think that's gross. I'd rather have someone with barely any muscle than have someone like Viktor Krum." I shrugged, continuing to spread jam onto my toast.
"Then who do you propose is the most attractive player?" Angelina smartly inquired.
I looked up. Lee was sporting a vacant expression as he chewed on a strip of bacon. Angelina had her elbow propped on the table, her hand holding her chin up. Fred was watching me with a smirk, and Katie was loading a few sausages onto her plate. George was just keeping a watchful eye on me.
Oh man, this sucks. This royally sucks.
"Umm..." I started. I really had to think this one through before I said anything.
My eyes scanned the room as I thought. There was no doubt in my mind that this question from Angelina was supposed to result in me jokingly saying, "George!" but there was no way I was about to do that, even if it was true. I may have agreed to pursue him, but I did not agree to throw myself at him and act out-of-character.
But who else was there to say? My mind sifted through every known Quidditch player, but none really stuck out to me. Sure, there were some cute ones, but none of them were ideal.
"Fine, then. If you can't think of one particular player, then what position would you say was hottest?" Angelina said after my absence of speech. I guess I took longer than I thought trying to think of someone.
"Oh, well that's simple." I took a bite of my toast, slowly chewing it. I then reached for my pumpkin juice. "I don't mean to inflate any heads here, but it's got to be the beaters. It's a really cool position, plus they tend to acquire the best bodies." I gulped down my juice.
"Well, I'm glad Alicia has the right idea!" Fred directed this more to Katie than anyone else.
"Well, I still say it's the keepers." She defended, eating her sausage.
They continued on for another ten minutes. I was back in Food Land, and George hadn't spoken in a long time. He was simply listening to everyone else. I wonder if something is wrong with him... It just seemed strange.
"Oi! We've got to get going!" Lee stared at his watch as he picked up his bags from the floor of the hall. The rest of us followed suit.
Katie grabbed Lee's wrist, moved his sleeve aside, and studied the watch. "Oh, Merlin! I've got to run... Literally. McGonagall's going to kill me if I'm late again." And with that, she sprinted out of the Hall.
The rest of us began the trek to potions, a class the majority of the group dreaded. I, however, was not one of those people.
While Professor Snape was never one of my favorite teachers, he never bothered to go out of his way to humiliate me like he did to most of his students. Due to this lack of interruption, my group always managed to be one of the first done, and usually scraped one of the best grades in the class. Yes, potions was a fairly good class for me, aside from the dreadful essays we had to do on a regular basis. Those were not my forte.
"If I do recall correctly, I believe that I am blessed to have Ms. Spinnet as my partner today!" Fred put an arm around my shoulders in a friendly manner and smiled down at me.
Our group of friends always took turns being partners with each other. Unfortunately, there was an uneven number of us. Therefore, every time, one of us was left with a creepy Ravenclaw girl. She wasn't mean or anything, she could whip up a potion much better than Angelina, but there was something about her that was just off. At any rate, today I was with Fred.
"That you are!" I smiled up at him. He and George were both considerably taller than me... At least a six inch gap between us, probably more.
"Who am I with today?" Lee asked.
"Well, I'm with George, so you're with that Isabelle girl." Angelina's amusement was displayed quite strongly on her face. Lee had always hated working with the crazy Ravenclaw, now identified as 'Isabelle'.
"Ugh... Why couldn't Katie be in our year?" Though his question was rhetorical, his features drooped, begging for an answer. We never gave him one, though. We just flowed into Snape's classroom.
Fred sat down beside me. He resituated his chair, propping his feet in my lap. I rolled my eyes, but left it. After all, he did this every other time he was partnered with me, so I had reluctantly gotten used to it.
Snape barged in and began explaining our task. Today, it was the cure for dragonpox. He tapped his wand against the chalkboard, revealing the instructions. We were let loose.
I took a trip to the cupboards, gathering all the supplies. I slowly returned to where Fred sat, doodling on a piece of parchment. I arranged the ingredients neatly on the desk.
"Theranfox root?" he read from the blackboard. "Doesn't that cause hair loss typically?"
I slowly nodded, reading the board again. Thestral saliva, three owl wings, lemon juice... I was careful, making sure I hadn't missed anything. Starting a potion only later having to make a mad dash to the cupboards was never good... One too many stirs would drastically alter the outcome of a potion, so I was always careful. I checked the ingredients we had one last time.
Interesting enough, there was one missing. I had no doubt in my mind as to where the theranfox root in question had gone to. The little sneak must have nabbed it while I was distracted. I just smiled and shook my head as I made a second trip to the cupboards.
When I returned, I stood behind Fred and leaned over him to put the root on the table so that my mouth would be close to his ear.
"Rumor has it that theranfox root also has tendencies to be stolen by mischievous teens." I said quietly into his ear.
"Really? I must say, that is just fascinating!Wherever did you learn that?" he jokingly mocked. We smiled.
It took lots of time and effort, but Fred and I were the first group done. He filled the vial and placed it on his desk as I emptied our cauldron of the flawless dragonpox cure.
Fred soon returned and sat down next to me.
"So, what's up?" he casually folded his arms across his chest and propped his feet on my lap once more.
I laughed, "Oh, not much. How about you?"
"The same." His eyes veered in the direction of where Angelina and George were working. I allowed my eyes to wander there, as well. George was very good at potions, unlike Angelina. Angelina always got too impatient and put things in too early, only to have something go terribly wrong. She was a fun partner to have, though, because she always made it fun, regardless of her skill level.
"She's a fun girl." I said as she squealed across the room, having touched something slimy. Her laughter seconds later brought a smile to my face.
Fred just nodded, never tearing his eyes from her.
I searched the room for where Lee was, which didn't take as long as I thought. Lee and Isabelle were further back in a corner, their cauldron secreting a peculiar orange ooze. I nudged Fred.
"Fred..." No reply.
"Fred..." Still staring.
"FRED!" he jumped a little in his seat at my outburst.
"Huh? What?" Well, at least he was breaking his streak of silence...
"Look!" I pointed to the corner, where Lee had just thrown in another ingredient, causing it to bubble in a foreboding manner.
"Blimey! Do they honestly think the cure to dragonpox is toxic waste?" He eyed the oozing cauldron, horrified by the entire thing. I was, too. It was really quite disgusting...
We were not the only ones who noticed... Our very own Professor Snape soon was storming over, yelling at the two for their incompetence. As he was chastising them, the cauldron began emitting deep purple fumes, causing Isabelle to pass out.
Snape quickly drained the potion and ordered class dismissed.
"Just put a memory charm on your cauldrons... We can finish next lesson. Jordan, you can carry your partner to the hospital wing—alone and without the use of your wand. She's your responsibility. Oh, and you both will receive a detention, as well as a deduction of twenty house points each." He gave Lee one last icy glare before storming off. Lee picked Isabelle up and waited at the door for the rest of the class to leave before proceeding to the hospital wing.
"Tough luck, mate..." muttered Fred as he passed him.
The rest of us met outside of the door and began walking towards the Gryffindor common room.
"Talk about an eventful class..." Angelina sighed.
"I know. Poor Lee, I feel so bad for him." Isabelle wasn't fat or anything. On the contrary, she was more like a twig, but still. He would have to carry her up some stairs, and that's not good no matter how light a person is. It would be hard, but Snape said he had to do it alone as part of his punishment for being a bad potion brewer...
"Uh huh. Oi, George! Look what I snagged!" Fred discreetly brought the theranfox root out of his pocket.
"Is that...?" George quirked an eyebrow.
"Why, yes, it is!" Fred pocketed the item again, looking around to be sure nobody had seen him. He probably should have done that first, but oh well. Nobody was around.
"Great!" George pumped a fist in the air, but in a rushed voice, added, "Well, ladies, we've got to go... See you later Angelina... Alicia..." His eyes lingered on each of us for a moment, though not nearly long enough.
Fred and George turned and began walking down a random corridor. I had to do something... Everyone else had made so much leeway, and I had done nothing. Nothing whatsoever.
This was my chance. They had gotten a few strides in before I spoke up. "George... Wait..."
George turned around to face me, his twin taking more time to do so. I looked to the ground. I really need to work on my issues with eyecontact...
"I was just wondering if maybe we could hang out tonight... Like I said before, I haven't seen much of you." I returned my gaze in order to study his face for any sign of emotion, any kind of reaction. To my dismay, I found none. He just kind of looked at me. I bit my lip in anticipation. Please don't let this backfire...
He looked to Fred. They went through that typical yet scary telepathic communication that only the twins could ever do. Seconds turned to hours in during that time... My heart was racing... He shouldn't be able to have this effect on me.
His face finally turned back to me. "Sure. I'll meet you in the common room around seven, okay?" He gave me a lop-sided grin. It was so charming... I loved it when he smiled like that.
"Yeah! That'll be great!" my reply was probably too fast to be considered casual. All the same, I was in a state of euphoria... Finally! After all this time, I would have some alone time with George, just like we used to have on a regular basis. That was before the nightly scheming he had been so caught up in, along with Fred. I'll have to ask him about that, as well... Neither of them really said what they were doing.
They continued on their way down the corridor. I watched their backs retreating for a few seconds and then turned my gaze to Angelina. The girl was smiling like a lunatic who broke out of the asylum.
"Oh, shut up..." I shyly smiled, my face turning redder by the second.
I'm not going to lie, I felt absolutely ecstatic! I was on top of the world, and that world was currently full of daisies, rainbows, and unicorns... Only he could make me feel like this. Let's face it, I am so in love George Weasley...
...Oh, shit. Did I just think that?
TADA! haha
Hope you liked it...!
Just to let you know, school will be starting up very soon for me... However, I will try keep my updates as consistant as possible... Please bear with me...
Thanks to all who reviewed, as well... I really love them, keep 'em coming!!! They are VERY appreciated!