Ok so this story is officially over now. Although, I hold it in a very dear place in my heart, I haven't had the energy or motivation to write more chapters and many of my loyalist reviewers aren't even on fanfiction anymore.
HOWEVER after all the effort you all went through to vote, I would have felt extremely terrible if I had not given you what you had all asked for.
Without further delay, I give you the winner by a literal land-slide! :
After yet another sleepless night in my bed, I turned on my side and observed the room. Dotted along the cots were the shapes of my friends, each curled in their bed sheets, sound asleep. This night, as well the last few, had been awkward. It wasn't hard to see the concerned, aching looks from Hermione and Ginny as they prepared for bed or the longing glances from Ron and Seamus as they sat at the dinner table.
The Cullens too had lost their over-energetic aura. Alice: unusually quiet and Emmet, hardly ever around to lift our spirits.
Even Edward had become more distant. He was always by my side, quiet and stoic, but it was hardly the same as it had been a year before.
In fact, almost everything in my life had changed.
Supressing my groan- in fear it would wake my classmates- I silently climbed from my bed and made my way to the house common room, my feet tip-toeing on the cold stone floor.
Once I had arrived, I was surprised to see the fire still alight and a red head tilted against the sofa closest to it.
"Fred?" I asked, craning my neck to recognise him.
"Bella." He smiled absent-mindedly, "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" There was a tenderness in his voice that made my insides liquefy. I offered him back a sheepish smile, not answering and instead, sat next to him.
Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that drove me to resting my head of his shoulder. His body tensed for a moment and I got the impression he knew exactly where every hair on my body was touching his, before he relaxed and winded an arm around me. A sense of belongingness filled me. It should've always been like this, I should've always been with my friends and an anger at Harry surfaced. He shouldn't have kept them from me!
"Haven't seen much of you lately." I head the smile in Fred's voice, but it sounded strained, breaking off my internal monologue, "You sure do like that Edward guy, huh?"
I let out a miniscule sigh, "Yeah." I answered, not wanting to further the answer. I was afraid that I couldn't.
"I remember Jacob once told me something about how Edward made you abandon all your friends back in your old town. Guess, that's us now." I frowned, at his sudden change of topic. It was clear this had been on his mind for a while.
"No, Fred. Harry is the reason I'm not allowed to talk to you." I protested, pulling away so I could look him in the eye. He had to know it wasn't his fault I wasn't around him.
Fred laughed coldly, "You know it's more than that. It's that bloodsucker. Bella, can't you see how much he's changed you?"
"Edward's got nothing to do with this!" I exclaimed, taking a few steps off the couch and away from him.
"Bella, think about it. You haven't been yourself ever since he came back and now you aren't speaking to us?!" He stood up too, he ran a hand through his unruly hair in frustration, "I hate seeing you with him!"
"What?" I took another step back, "You don't even know him." I argued lamely.
"I know you." He said, nearing me inch by inch, "I know that you and he aren't right together."
I frowned, and was surprised at my incapability to step away from him, "And who is? Harry, the chosen one? Cedrick? He's dead-" I broke off, astounded by my own insensitivity.
"You can't honestly be that blind!" Fred cried. I felt my face crease in further confusion and I watched Fred carefully. His face so full of emotion gradually replaced by that of muted devastation, "Maybe, I was wrong. Maybe- maybe you two belong together."
It was as he turned away that I realised.
Somehow I had blocked the obvious looks, the blatant glares Cedrick had received, and the messages that he had tried so hard to voice.
"Wait," I said pulling Fred's arm before he could leave, "Fred!" I called, pulling him back towards me.
He faced me, his head bent, lips tilted downwards and a look of resignation painted his face.
"Fred." I hesitated, gathering the courage that I hadn't realised had been in my heart this entire time, "Fred, I love you too."
It took exactly three seconds for the words to sink in. Almost in slow motion, his fiery head popped up and cocked to the side as though trying to decide whether he had heard me correctly. It was one intake of breath later that his arms were around me.
"Bella." He barely breathed, his arms cradling me with a barely repressed ferocity, "I love you." He said simply before breaking into a grin, "I love you, I love you. Gods- I love you, Isabella Swan."
I laughed and his was quick to join mine, he spun me around in his arms as though I were the weight of a feather, "From the start?" I asked my lips tilted upwards. He finally placed my tip-toes on the ground, his head was bent over so that the tips of our noses grazed.
"From the goddamn beginning." He answered and our lips touched without an agonising second more of waiting.
That's it! I hope you've like this journey I've had with each and every one of you and I cannot honestly express how much love I harbour for you. Without you, I would never had gotten this far and discovered my love you writing
So thank you, thank you and thank you and in the words of Fred Weasley: "I love you. I love you, I love you, Gods- I love you"
(Haha, but if I do get enough positive reviews I might consider making a little epilogue of Fred and Bella together and explain in a more basic way how I had originally planned to tie all the loop holes in the plot)