A/N: Well, I guess I'm supposed to say this. The Huflepuff character Crystal Powers is mine. Though I wish I was JKR and owned all the others. Well, happy reading I hope. Also, this story is going to the end of GOF so there are about three more little chappies.

"You have to talk to me eventually." Angelina said when she finally managed to get Fred alone. He'd spent two days avoiding her but with the help of Katie and George she managed to be catch up with him. They stood under a large tree overlooking the Black Lake.

"I don't have to do anything." Fred said his arms folded across his chest defensively.

Angelina just rolled her eyes. He was such a child sometimes. "Look Fred, I'm sorry about how my father and uncle-" his eyes sternly flashed to meet hers. "Um, Mr. Malfoy treated you. But, you can't be mad at me for how they behaved. This is why I asked Drake to take me to the Ball in the first place. I was trying to spare you that interaction."

"Drake?" Fred spat out. The last thing he wanted was to hear her pet names for Draco Malfoy.

"Look, Draco and I grew up together." Angelina began. "Our parents are best friends. He's always been like my little brother. They're my godparents."

"Well, your little brother is a right git"

Angelina took a breath considerably annoyed. "I know that my family—yes my family—is not perfect. I'm sorry that they have faults but, everyone is not as righteous as your family-"

"No," Fred yelled. "My poor family is not perfect Angelina. We can't afford it. Just like no one in my family could afford to buy their innocence like your condescending father and your Death Eater uncle Lucius Malfoy."

Angelina stood stunned. Did he just say that?

They both stood silent for a little while.

Even Fred was a bit surprised by his statement, but he wouldn't take it back. Uncle Luke? He tuned away from her and stood staring off into the Black Lake, clutching his body tight. The giant squid's tentacles intermittently popped out of the water. How could Angelina lie to him like that? Well, she never actually lied to him. She just forgot to mention that her father just happens to be mega-bleeding-galleonaire Angelus Johnson. Oh, don't forget the evil 'uncle' Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy? She grew up with the Malfoys!

Angelina was Griffindor's Princess. She was everything. She was smart, beautiful, and excellent Quiddich player and probably the only girl he and George would concede to. He was having difficulty accepting the fact that Griffindor's Princess was really a Pureblood, Slytherin, trust fund, sodding Princess. Fred knew the money thing should not bother him so much but he didn't even have time to learn she was rich before finding out that she was lower Gringott's vault rich. That's not a little rich. That is, like Mr. Malfoy said: a world he could not possibly understand. Here he was worried about the Thirty-seven Galleons, Fifteen Sickles and Three Knuts, that he and George bet Ludo Bagman. That was all the money he had in the world, and less than half of that was his own. What did he have to offer her? No wonder she didn't tell him about her family. No wonder she didn't tell her family about him. It didn't matter. They were from different worlds and the sooner the two of them accepted that the better off they would be. He was not going to set himself up only to be disappointed later. He couldn't get her presents from Transylvania Threads. He could barely get her presents from Zonkos.

"I guess-I guess that's it then?" Angelina said tentatively.

Fred turned back to see a look in her eyes he'd never seen before. She looked so sad and doe eyed. She looked like she was about to cry. Unlike most girls he knew, Angelina never cried. He couldn't do this if she was going to cry. He quickly turned away from her. "I guess." He said shrugging his shoulders. He kept his back to her and when he heard her gasp at his coldness, his fist clenched tight. He swallowed hard, determined.

Angelina took a breath. "Okay." She slowly turned away and headed back for the castle.

Fred turned to look at her. Damnit! Why didn't she say something? Why didn't she argue? Maybe he did want her to cry after all. At least if she cried he knew he wouldn't be able to stand it. He would apologize to her and take it all back. Maybe all they needed was to have a huge blowout argument like they used to and everything would be fine. Why was she walking away? Fine! Walk away. He didn't give a Troll's arse. She wasn't the only girl at Hogwarts. There were lots of girls that would willing to distract him if Angel face—stop calling her that—if Angelina didn't want the job.

Angelina sat beside Fred in Potions class. She mumbled a hello and he might have grumbled something in return. He soon got up and moved to talk to George and Lee. They had not accounted for all the classes they had together, and Alicia, George and Lee were being very uncooperative by not switching partners with them so far in Arithmancy, Herbology and now they had double Potions. Their friends thought or at least hoped that the forced acquaintance would lead to reconciliation as it always did.

"Hey Angie." Cedric walked past her and went to his station, directly behind hers and Fred's.

"Hey." Angelina whipped around quickly. "Hey Ced?"

"What's up?"

"Do you mind switching seats with me?"

"Switching seats?"

"Yeah, and um partners."

Cedric's partner Crystal Powers had just walked in. Angelina didn't want her interference. She couldn't stand her. She was so beastly and she always flirted with Fred. Not, that that mattered to Angelina. She could not care less who he flirted with. But, working with Crystal couldn't be as bad as working with Fred. There was nothing worse at this point.

"So it's true then?" Crystal said, a smile creeping to her face. "You and Fred Weasley broke up? Well, that was fast."

Trying to resist the urge to strangle her, Angelina repeated her mantra: nothing could be worse than having to work with Fred.

"I'll do it." Crystal said dropping her bag on the table before Angelina.

"Do what now?"

"I'll switch with you and work with Fred." She said too eagerly for Angelina's taste.

"Umm."

"You guys are broken up right?" She crossed her arms.

"Yes." Angelina said through gritted teeth.

"So, it shouldn't matter, right?" She said with that simpering fake smile. She had a smug look on her face as though she'd just won something.

Angelina wanted to pounce on her and start ripping her hair out. "I couldn't be bothered." She got up and grabbed her bag. As she began setting up beside Cedric, Fred came back.

"What are you doing?" He asked, uttering the first words in weeks that did not involve an assignment or passing him something. The latter he usually found a way around by asking someone else to ask her to do it.

"I just thought I'd work with Ced from now on." Angelina answered her eyes flickering to him.

Fred just narrowed his eyes and glared at her. She didn't know if it was that she was the one to switch partners or the fact that it was Cedric, or . . .

"It's not a problem right, mate?" Cedric said smiling.

Fred felt his fist clench when Cedric called him mate. Mate? Mate? I'm not your bleeding mate you smarmy duffer, he wanted to say. "Doesn't matter to me, Ced."

"Good, Fred now we get to work together." Crystal sat smiling as Fred dropped in his seat.

Angelina had to sit behind Fred while Crystal fawned all over him. Crystal kept flipping her hair, her long blond hair, which made Angelina want to pour Bobutuber Pus all over her. She soon began to reconsider the idea that nothing was worse than having to work with Fred.

"Don't worry." Cedric gave her a wink and that warm smile. "You two will make up as usual. Besides, what would Hogwarts be like if you two weren't fighting?"

Angelina couldn't but help return the smile. Her eyes trailed off into the distance and landed on Fred again. "This is different though." She said softly.

Cedric just looked up at her skeptically. He was with Cho now and he loved her and all. But, he couldn't forget how he felt about Angelina. He asked her to the Yule Ball first, even though he suspected she wouldn't go. No matter what, it was always Angelina and Fred. He was the—real—Hogwarts TriWizard Champion and still he didn't have a chance. No, one else had a chance with her—and not from lack of trying. And no bloke, not even Fred, was stupid enough to let a girl like Angelina get away for too long. "Well, I could always nick some toad's blood from old Snape and drop it in Fred's cauldron, if you like."

Angelina laughed for the first time in several weeks. "And ruin your reputation as Hogwarts' perfect student and all around good guy."

"You never know, I might surprise you." Cedric said with a raised eyebrow as Angelina laughed out loud. "I could have a dark side you know."

Angelina just laughed even more and Cedric folded his hands across his chest, in false indignation, before starting to laugh himself.

Fred turned around and glared at them. What did she mean by laughing like that and being so chummy with that duffer Cedric Diggory?