Chapter 6
"So tell me, Red," I punched him, and he let out a whoosh of air. An apologetic glance later, he was talking again. "What is it you'd like to do for our next one?"
I blinked. "Next one?" I couldn't help but ask. He was being awfully pushy. The Fred Weasley I knew wouldn't give a damn about me. Why was he being so nice alluvasudden?
"Next date. What do you want to do? Where do you want to go?" Fred had doggedly followed me to Transfiguration. It wasn't like we were in the same class. Course not. That'd be too easy.
"Who says there will be one?" I returned, darker by far than I felt. But one must keep up appearances. We wouldn't want anyone to know that perhaps the great Ice Bitch herself was perhaps thawing around the thump-thump.
Fred laughed and held open the door for me – held open the door?! Who was this kid, and what had he done with Fred? "I do, of course. When and where, Red?"
My elbow found its way to his ribcage. He was a bit more prepared this time, but not by much. "You pick," I told him. Perhaps the second-worst decision I ever made. Being unprepared for McGonagall's major NEWT review quiz ran a close tie.
Not that I had any problems with transfiguration. Hell, I was transfiguration, in its purest form. But when a professor calls you out to demonstrate a spell you've never used with a wand you're completely unfamiliar with, one expects to go awry. Thank the gods it was transfiguration, or I'd have been royally fucked.
I whispered the correct incantation (I hoped), swished my rowan wand, and watched as the frozen spider changed before our eyes to a near-perfect nightstand. McGonagall had quite the sense of humor, I must say. The transformation back was less complex. I just convinced the table that it was better off a spider, albeit a frozen one, and it complied. Of course, add in the magical fireworks and hullabaloo first.
By the time class ended, Fred had managed to convince me that meeting him in the common room after everyone was asleep tonight was a good idea. I agreed, visibly reluctant but ecstatic inside. He wanted another date! From me!
Throughout the afternoon, I was alternately skipping and sulking, depending on whether anyone was around. Inside my room during breaks was one of the former. I'll leave you to figure out the rest. When evening swung round, I was fairly brimming over with excitement, and headed straight to my room after supper before I could reveal my happiness to anyone but Hermione and Ginny. Of course I could hide nothing from them – at least as far as boys were concerned, anyway.
Turns out, Fred had escaped the castle after supper and nicked some butterbeer from the Broomsticks, and snacks from the kitchens. How, I didn't have any clue, but he had, and we were currently lounging on the couches, drinking and munching and talking, and maybe a bit more touching than absolutely necessary for an as-of-yet unofficial couple.
"How's that cat of yours doing?" Fred asked after a while. He'd long ago turned his gaze from mine to the fire, but I figured he'd bring it back eventually.
"She's well. Loving the new living arrangements. She takes up nearly half the bed, the greedy bugger." My affectionate tone couldn't be helped. I adore cats, and if I had to be stuck in one form, it would without a doubt be that one.
Fred smirked. "Good. Then she won't have too much to complain about when I take over."
I laughed outright at that one. "You? She won't let anyone within ten feet of her 'space'."
"I have my ways."
"And she has hers. Good luck."
"Thank'ee, milady. I'll send my regards from your bedroom, then."
"Like hell you will."
"Why so serious?"
I just laughed. It felt good to laugh, and he pulled it out of me so easily.
"Whatcha wanna bet?"
"What, that you can get into my room, or that you can get Jem to give up her spot?"
"Both." He pondered a moment. "If I win, you kiss me."
"And if I win?"
"I kiss you?"
"You…you take care of Jem for the week. Including giving her half your bed."
"Deal." He held out his hand, and I shook it. Gods, I was an idiot.
Not only did Fred Weasley win the bet, but he won it that night. About ten minutes after I left for bed, I had to piss. Once back, Fred was sprawled on my bed, the cat nestled comfortably on one of his pillows on the floor. "Damn you." It spilled out, I swear!
"What, Red? You sure take a while to have to piss." His traditional smirk was sprawled as much across his face as he was on my bed. My. Bed. Dammit.
"Stop. Calling. Me. Red." I closed the door quietly, trying not to wake the neighbors. Not cool. How'd he gotten up the staircase? Or past my locks?
"Come here then. You owe me." He sat up and beckoned me closer. Only problem was, I was frozen to the door handle.
Kissing him would force me to admit my growing attraction, and my pride couldn't handle that well. It also couldn't handle being cheated on a bet, however he'd done it. My heart, though, knew he'd won, knew he could call in his price any time, and knew it would be much safer – and nicer – in my room than anywhere else in the castle.
The skirmish was all too brief. I dropped my grip on the door handle and made my stately way to his side of the bed. I couldn't help feeling a quiet kinship with the fellows destined for the hangman's noose. A dark chuckle almost escaped my lips. Couldn't have the boy think I was enjoying this, could we?
The kiss was every romantic's dream. He pulled me onto his lap and cradled my head in his hands. Full lips permanently quirked at the corners pressed against mine, and as my eyelids fluttered closed, I lost myself completely. There was no room, or cat, or detention if we were caught. Just this moment; this kiss. And then it was over, and he was dropping me unceremoniously to my bed, scaring the shit out of my cat, which upon further inspection, had never, in fact, left the bed. "Cheater," I mumbled, glaring at him. He merely grinned in reply and slipped out the door.
"He told me he was gonna try it, mum," Jem told me quietly as I flopped down beside her. "He didn't think I'd understand."
"That's my best girl," I murmured, giving her a scratch behind the ears, not one whit angry at her. "Thanks anyway for the help." And then I fell asleep.
~*~
The next few weeks literally flew by. When I wasn't studying or in class, I was with Fred. And when he wasn't demanding my time, I was out flying. I'd severely restricted my flight patterns, though he 'knew' where I was late at night, I still had to pretend I was 'just an owl'. Though sometimes I changed up a bit, Shifting delightedly between forms once inside the Forest, I couldn't stay out for long. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was carrying jesses, and only the truly Wild part of me minded.
Now that we were "officially" dating (apparently two dates constituted this), Fred would often sneak into my room. My spells had made it easy for him – though my 'mysterious' visitor still tried to force the window closed, she spent more time fabricating silly notes to scare me than actually attempting to get me stuck. I just hoped she and Fred didn't run into each other while in my room, or there'd be serious hell to pay on all sides.
Most of the time, Fred waited until I'd returned before coming to visit, either to torment me or to eke out another kiss. This time, though, he showed up before I did. I swore mentally, but there was nothing for it. Grateful to my paranoia that I'd left my wand in the waistband of my pajamas, I Shifted.
No-one, not even my beloved father, had seen my True Form. It was the Fey's secret refuge from the strains of the everyday, no matter which world we inhabited. Each of us has our own, just as we have a fatal flaw. Both are intertwined, and being human was definitely not on either list. My true form was at least humanoid, though nowhere near 'natural', according to either muggles or wizards.
I kept my raven hair, though the red was much more prominent, glistening almost as trails of blood would. Black feathers adorned my pointed ears, sprouting from lobe to tip, and on the back of my neck. Bright grey orbs filled with sunbursts shone brightly from a round, almost homely face. Fingers and toes possessed an extra joint, and my bones were hollow, though strong; the better for my hideaway wings to carry me through the sky. My magic, so dimmed from my long life in the human world, manifested itself back into my aura; the ethereal shine was too much for many the lesser creature to bear. I also grew from my usual 143cm to about 150cm, quite a jump for li'l ol' me. It took a mere heartbeat to accommodate, but that heartbeat could be my last in a battle. And I only took my TF when I had to – about once every three months to be safe, or I'd lose it.
Now, though, I chose to be human, though I would need, soon, to take the form again. The deadline was nearing. If I stayed away from my True Form for longer than six months, I would lose this particular form permanently. If I refused to find another (think AmerIndian spirit rituals) within the six months left in the year's cycle, I would die. This failsafe was only for us halfbreed Shifters in case of capture in the old days. Humanity had found ways of keeping us from disappearing, and though a year was a long time, it was nowhere near long enough to divulge all our peoples' secrets. I would gladly die if it would protect the rest of us – but now there were no 'rest of us' to be had, not on this world, anyway.
Fred sprawled silently, waiting for my approach. He didn't know much about animagi, or he'd have known that there was no instinct about them, just human thought. I'll give him credit, though, if he'd moved then, I would've pounced thinking him the shrew. There wouldn't have been anything left. After that heartbeat's recovery, from Owl and fright both, I was human once again, and grateful for his relaxed pose, though the rapture was easy enough for me to see.
"Can you teach me that?" he asked, patting the space beside him.
I shook my head. "Father taught me, before he left. It's a family thing." And besides, I was too unskilled in the teaching department to handle anything more than the rudimentary.
He sighed. "I've always wanted to be an animagus."
I'd never seen this part of him, and it scared me a bit, though I hid it quickly. "I could see you as one," I said with a small smile. "A fox." It came out on its own. I swear.
"A fox, huh?" He laughed. "I was thinking a weasel, but that works. A fox…"
I left him to his own thoughts. Instead of sitting down when invited, I pulled the chair up to my desk and started on my letters home. Jem sprang up on my lap and kneaded her claws a few times just to bug me, but I didn't care anymore. I gave her an absent scratch and dipped my quill in the ink, mind abuzz with things to tell Jenna and the rest.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing home." I scribbled out a greeting, my chicken scratch barely legible. But Jenna wouldn't have a problem with it. It was an exact replica of hers, after all. I figured she'd appreciate the gesture. "To Tintagel."
"Ah. What're you saying?"
"How much of a brown-noser you are." I tossed a smirk his way. "That I miss them, hope they're doing well, they're all still alive, that sort of thing."
"I thought you said your family was dead."
"Mother died in childbirth; Father disappeared when I was ten. My granddam's still alive out beyond the Curtain – she's Roma, as if it matters." It did, but he was a wizard. He wouldn't know about that sort of thing. Maybe. "Tintagel's full of orphans, most of whom are magical in their own right. It's basically a school for them, and has been for millennia."
"Really? I thought Hogwarts was the only one on the island." Ethno-centric little shit.
"No, it's not." At least he hadn't mentioned the orphans. Yet. "It's actually quite respectable. Dumbledore asked I stay there until I could come here this year."
"Why did you come at all, then?" That petulant stare was getting to me. I wanted him. Bad. Pride was the only thing getting in the way, and it wasn't budging without a proper struggle. Dammit.
"Dumbledore called. I was officially accepted when I was eleven, but he said it'd be best if I came now. He wasn't sure how well the students would react to a Roma in their midst." And that was all truth! Just because I hadn't mentioned my father's side didn't mean I was lying, did it? Hah. Who actually believed that 'lying by omission' thing anyway? I just wasn't telling the whole truth – it'd get us all killed if I did, anyway.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense. Though you really don't seem too…Roma...?"
"Gypsy, Weasley. My mother's family is all gypsies."
"Oh." I spared a glance and caught his crestfallen look, only partially hidden the next moment by his customary smirk. "And that matters how?"
"I won't steal your shit, Weasley, or anyone else's. Get out." And he did.
