Chapter 17:
A/N: Quidditch and the moment everyone's been waiting for! It was incredibly hard to write because I wanted it to be perfect. Anyways, ENJOY!
You've been on my mind
I grow fonder every day,
Lose myself in time
Just thinking of your face
God only knows
Why it's taken me so long
To let my doubts go
You're the only one that I want.
-Adele
Nora tossed and turned all night. She had been very grateful that the other girls were either sleeping or they snuck in later which meant that she would not have to talk about what had happened. She stared at the drapes and kept going over the night's events. She did not know who to be mad at, Fred, Angelina or herself. She kept glancing at her clock but time seemed to stand still.
Nora was woken up a few hours later by the overly loud sound of a hair dryer.
"Shut it off!" Nora groaned pulling the covers over her head.
"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed!" Aveline teased.
"Oh shove off." Nora answered emerging from the covers and pulling her curtains open.
"You look like hell. What time did you fall asleep?" Aveline laughed.
"Last time I looked at the clock it was 6:19." She sighed as she propped herself up on her elbows.
"What were you thinking? Did Cedric keep you up late?" Nataleigh teased.
"What are you even doing up this early?" Nora rolled her eyes.
"It's eight thirty and you're not answering the question." Nataleigh said making Aveline laugh.
"If you're asking me if I had sex and snuck in the answer is no. We broke up last night." Nora said as she sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"What?" Both girls shouted turning to Nora.
"We broke up." Nora repeated.
"We heard that!" Nataleigh rolled her eyes.
"What happened? Wait was it because of...who I think it is?" Aveline asked as she started to grin.
"Wait what am I missing?" Nataleigh asked.
"Well Fred broke up with Angelina two days ago and he told Nora yesterday. And they spent an awful amount of time together yesterday. But are you alright?" Aveline answered.
"Why am I the only one who doesn't know these things?" Nataleigh asked.
"Because you always tell everyone! And I thought I was fine. Cedric is amazing and told me that I looked happier around Fred and that he would let me go."
"He is freakishly perfect. And that's true. We've always said that you two were perfect for each other." Nataleigh said.
"Will you let her finish?" Aveline said as she went to sit on the bed next to Nora.
"Fine. So what's wrong then? It was a mutual break-up and now you can live happily ever after with Freddy!" Nataleigh said as she sat on the other side of the bed.
Nora rolled her eyes. "When I came back, I found Fred kissing Angelina."
"Oh Nora, I'm sorry." Aveline said as she scooted over next to her friend and hugged her.
"I'm fine." She sighed.
"No you're not. I might not be a crazy lie detector like Megg but I'm still your sister." Nataleigh said as she sat on her other side and rested her head on her sister's shoulder.
"I said I'm fine." Nora repeated attempting to convince herself as much as the others.
"You broke up with your perfect boyfriend for Fred who you found kissing his ex. You're not fine." Aveline said.
"I just feel so stupid." Nora sighed.
"You're not stupid. Just a hormonal teenager." Nataleigh teased.
"Thanks Nat." She laughed as Alicia came in.
"Hey! Why am I not included in this lovefest?" Alicia teased.
"We're comforting Nora. She broke up with Cedric and Fred kissed Angelina." Nataleigh said as Alicia came and sat down in front of her three friends.
"That's why Fred was pacing like a nutter in the common room." Alicia said. "He wants to talk to you."
"I don't want to talk to him." Nora sighed.
"What are you doing today?" Aveline asked.
"Going to see the Quidditch match, Megg, Neil and Ced are playing. And avoid Fred."
"Well he seems to be stalking the bottom of the staircase so you won't be able to get around him." Alicia said.
"He'll go eat eventually." Nora said.
"We can all be look-out if you want." Aveline laughed.
"Or you can just ignore him. You've been doing it for the past five years." Nataleigh teased.
"Nat!" Aveline shouted as Nora rolled her eyes at her sister's comment.
"What? Sorry! Radical honesty." She said raising her hands in defense.
"It's fine. I deserve it." Nora sighed.
"No you don't!"Aveline said.
"I'm going to get ready." Nora said trying to get away from the argument.
Nora came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. She had not bothered to put any make-up on and had simply gathered her hair into a messy bun.
"Are you ready to go?" Aveline asked.
"Yeah sure." Nora replied as the four girls headed downstairs.
The only person who was sitting in the common room was Oliver who was going over his Quidditch tactics for the following week. Nataleigh convinced him to stop for a while and they all headed to the great hall.
As they arrived, Nora stopped seeing Fred, who looked incredibly miserable sitting with George and Lee.
"Well at least he looks more miserable than you do." Nataleigh commented.
"What?" Oliver asked.
"Nora and Fred are..." Nataleigh started. "Complicated."
"Please tell me it won't be a problem next week. We really need to win this match." Oliver said
"Don't worry Oliver it won't be a problem." Nora rolled her eyes. "I'll see you guys later. I'll go see Megg and Neil or something." She added.
"Are you sure?" Aveline asked.
"Yeah I'm sure." She said as she headed to the Ravenclaw table.
"Hey Nora!" Neil called.
"So are you two excited?" Nora asked as she sat down next to her sister.
"More like extremely nervous. And why do you look so...not put together?" Megg said pushing around the food in her plate.
"Lack of sleep and you'll be brilliant. The both of you." Nora smiled at her younger siblings.
"Thanks Nora." Neil said.
"Why aren't you at your table?" Meggan asked looking curiously at Nora.
"I was just coming to wish you good luck." Nora said knowing she might be able to fool Neil but nothing would get passed Megg. Her sister looked at her and expecting Nora to change her answer. "Fine! I'm avoiding Fred." She sighed.
"See it wasn't that hard." Megg teased.
"I still don't get how you can tell she was lying." Neil said shaking his head.
"It's like reading people. I don't get how you can move object with you mind so we're fair." Megg laughed. "So who are you supporting today?"
"Hufflepuff." Said a voice from behind them.
"Oh really?" Nora laughed as she turned around to face Cedric who was sitting behind her at the Hufflepuff table.
"Yes really." He smiled.
"Alright then." She shrugged her shoulders. "How are you today?" She asked him.
"Not as bad as I thought. And a little anxious. I didn't sleep much." He said.
"I didn't either. That's why I look so 'not put together' as Megg so nicely pointed out." She laughed.
"You look fine." He smiled. She went over to sit at the Hufflepuff table as Cedric and her talked about the strong and weak points of the Ravelclaw Quidditch team.
The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. Hufflepuff beat Ravenclaw 240 to 70. Nora had managed to avoid Fred throughout the afternoon. She headed back to the common room after supper with Aveline and Alicia.
"So are you going to avoid Fred forever?" Alicia asked.
"No." Nora laughed. "It's stupid anyways. He doesn't owe me anything."
"I still get why you're pissed off." Aveline laughed as they entered the common room where Fred, George and Lee were sitting by the fire. Fred shot up when he saw the girls come in.
"Well good luck if you still want to avoid him." Alicia whispered as she and Aveline went to sit next to George and Lee.
"Nora please just let me talk to you for five minutes." Fred practically begged.
"Fine. But not here." Nora said before they went out the portrait hole.
"How long do you think it'll take them to get together?" Lee asked.
"Thirty minutes?" George laughed.
"Two weeks." Alicia said.
"Two days." Lee proposed.
"A week." Aveline said as they all laughed and shook on the bet.
Nora headed towards a deserted hallway to make sure they would not be disturbed or overheard.
"Look Nora..." Fred started.
"Fred. It's fine. I over reacted. It was stupid. I was just mad because of the irony of all of it." She sighed.
"I swear she came on to me. I was pushing her away when you came in." He said rubbing the back of his neck. "And what irony?" He asked.
"Well..." She sighed. "Cedric and I might have broken up just before I came and caught you with Angelina."
Fred looked at her with a shocked expression. "Y...You did?" He asked.
"And now you get why I feel like an idiot." She sighed.
"Nora I swear I have no interest in Angelina whatsoever." Fred said looking directly into her eyes. They stayed there for a moment before they heard footsteps.
"Oh Norabel! There you are!" Percy said out of breath. "Davis is sick and I need someone else to patrol."
"Now?" She asked.
"Yes." Percy said as Fred glared at him.
"Fine. Where do you need me?" She asked.
"Third floor with your brother." He answered which made Nora snort.
"Oh joy. See you tomorrow Fred." She said as she left with Percy.
The next week went by horribly fast. They had Quidditch practice every day and their teachers were making them do twice as much homework and studying seeing as their OWLs were coming up soon enough. Nora did not have much time to spend with Fred other than when they would study together or during Quidditch practice. They were finally at ease around each other which they had not been for the past few months. Friday night, Nora shared an armchair with Fred while everyone was talking about the following day's Quidditch match.
"Everyone on the Quidditch team is going to bed in thirty minutes." Wood warned.
"Of course Oliver." Erik laughed
"I'm not kidding guys. It's my last year and I need to win." He sighed.
"We know Oliver. We're going to win. We want to win as much as you do. " Nora smiled.
"Harry has a Firebolt and you couldn't have prepared us anymore." George said.
"If you had you would have killed us." Fred teased. Nora laughed and nudged him. Everyone was talking about how amazing it would be to finally beat Slytherin at Quidditch.
"You should go to bed Freckles." Fred said seeing Nora yawn.
"I still have ten minutes." She teased as she laid her head against his shoulder.
"That you do Freckles." He laughed as he absentmindedly played with her hair. "Will you come to Hogsmeade next week? On a date?" He asked blushing a light shade of pink.
Nora looked up at him and sighed.
"Are you sure it's a good idea? What if things don't work out? I can't lose you." She said looking at the floor.
"You won't ever lose me and things will work out." He smiled. "Everyone else thinks so, you're the only one who doesn't see it."
"Let me sleep on it." She said kissing him on the cheek before getting up and heading to bed.
Aveline came in a few minutes later with a large grin on her face.
"So what's going on between you and Fred?" She asked.
"He asked me out." Nora smiled.
"I'm so happy for the both of you!" She grinned.
"I didn't actually say yes." She sighed.
"You said no?" Aveline rolled her eyes.
"I said I'd sleep on it. I just got out of a relationship that didn't work out so I'm kind of freaking out about getting into another one. Especially with Fred. What if it isn't what he thought it would be and what if he gets tired of me after a week?" Nora asked.
"Nora. You're overly insecure right now and I have no idea why. You're gorgeous and smart and Fred loves you. He's been in love with you forever and he already knows you better than most so I truly doubt that anything you would do would turn him off." Aveline smiled.
"Really?" She asked with a shy smile.
"Yes really! Whenever you come into the room he lights up. And he doesn't look at any other girl whenever you're around and trust me quite a few girls throw themselves at him. He could pick any one of them but he loves you."
"Thanks Ava." She smiled.
"You're more than welcome. Now go to bed and win us the cup tomorrow." She grinned.
"Alright. Night Ava." Nora laughed.
"Night Nora."
The next morning everyone on the Gryffindor Quidditch team was extremely nervous and tense but Harry looked absolutely petrified. They had never experienced such a charged atmosphere leading upto a match. The teachers we're either taking it easy on the students or making sure they had extra work and the relationship between Gryffindors and Slytherins was worse than ever. At breakfast none of them actually talked, they only nodded to everyone who came to wish them good luck. As everyone sat down in the locker room Oliver came in seeming incredibly nervous.
"Alright everyone, this is our last shot. We've got the most amazing team that anyone could wish for and even if we've a complicated go, I wouldn't change any of it. We've got three amazing chasers, two fantastic beaters and a extraordinary seeker not to mention Harry has a firebolt."
"And not so bad either Wood." Erik teased.
"Thanks. Well, for the last time, good luck everyone, I have the upmost confidence in you and I wouldn't want anyone else by my side for my last Quidditch match at Hogwarts." He said getting emotional.
"Alright Wood, keep the tears for when we win." Fred teased.
"And Harry don't forget we need to be up by at least fifty point before you catch the snitch or else Slytherin will win the cup." Wood added.
"Let's go teach those Slytherin a lesson." George added as they were called out.
Everyone mounted their brooms and flew onto the field. Nora was between Alicia and Erik and facing her twin brother who was smirking at her. She smiled but quickly shifted her attention to Wood and Flint shaking hands which looked more like they were trying to break each other's hand.
As soon as Madam Hooch blew her whistle Nora caught the quaffle before passing it to Erik. After a moment, he sent it back to her and Nora scored a goal. Her happiness was quick lived as Flint crashed into her violently. She was barely able to hold onto her broom.
"Sorry I didn't see her." Flint grinned as the crowd booed him and Lee shouted in the megaphone. McGonagall did not seem sure if she was to reprimand Lee or yell at Flint so she simply moved the megaphone.
At that moment Fred tossed his bat at Flint's head. The slytherin's nose hit the handle of his broom and started to bleed.
"That will do!" Madam Hooch shouted as she separated them. "Penalty for Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on a chaser and penalty for Slytherin for a deliberate attack to a chaser."
Erik flew forward to take the penalty and scored. The crowd roared as Flint went to take his penalty which Wood managed to stop. As the quaffle went back into play, Gryffindor and Slytherin quickly exchanged possession of the quaffle.
"Leesh! Bludger." Nora yelled as she caught the quaffle from Alicia who had barely stayed onto her broom. Warrington quickly swerved in front of Nora and instead of seizing the quaffle he grabbed her head. After doing a few loops in the air, she managed to stay on her broom but had dropped the quaffle.
"Another penalty to Gryffindor for unprovoked attack on a chaser!" Madam Hooch yelled as Alicia went to take the shot which was not stopped by the Slytherin keeper making the score 30-0.
"TAKE THAT YOU DIRTY, CHEATING FILTH!" Lee yelled in the megaphone.
"Mr. Jordan!" McGonagall warned.
"Sorry professor just saying things as they are."
The quaffle went back into play and Niko managed to score a goal making the Slytherin side of the bleachers erupt with applause.
A few minutes later, Bole hit Alicia in the head with his bat claiming that he thought she was a bludger. George elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation which earned another two penalties. Nora scored the Gryffindor penalty and Oliver managed to make a save leaving Gryffindor leading 40-10. Harry seemed very anxious waiting for the score to be 50 in favor of Gryffindor. After a minute, Nora managed to score another point. Fred and George stayed around her in case any of the Slytherins tried anything violent. Bole and Derrick took the occasion to aim bludgers at Oliver who received both in the stomach.
"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" Madam Hooch yelled beside herself. "Another penalty for Gryffindor!" She yelled.
Erik took the penalty and scored making it 60-10. Everyone shot a glance at Harry letting him know that now was the time to catch the snitch before anyone was severely injured. A few moments later, Fred threw a bludger at Niko who dropped the quaffle and allowed Nora to score again. A while later they all heard a shout of anger from Harry. Malfoy had grabbed onto the end of the Firebolt to prevent him from catching the snitch. Nora felt like stealing one of the twins' bats and personally hitting Malfoy across the head with it.
"ANOTHER PENALTY FOR GRYFFINDOR! I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH TACTICS!" Madam Hooch yelled. The entire stadium was furious.
"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee howled into the megaphone. "FILTHY BASTRARDS!" Nora looked expecting to see McGonagall reprimand him but she was shouting at Malfoy as well.
Alicia took the penalty but was so frustrated she missed it by a meter. Nora took possession of the quaffle and headed towards the Slytherins posts. Every player except for Malfoy made a wall in front of her attempting to block her. Before she could think about what she was going to do, Harry zoomed by her and shot towards the Slytherins who quickly scattered leaving their goalposts unprotected which permitted Nora to score another point for Gryffindor. A moment later everyone in the stadium went silent. Harry and Malfoy were fighting to get a hold of the snitch Harry zoomed past him and caught the tiny golden ball. Everyone erupted into cheers and laughter.
Nora quickly landed and saw Fred a few feet away. He smiled at her and without even thinking, she ran into his arms and kissed him on the lips. It took him a moment to actually respond but she quickly felt him grin into the kiss.
"Is that a yes then?" Fred asked with a wide grin as he put her down while keeping his arms around her waist. Nora grinned and laughed before kissing him again this time a little bit longer.
"Yes." She smiled as they pulled away. He kept an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head as they headed towards the rest of the team. Oliver was crying and hugging Harry while Alicia, Erik and George were laughing and chanting. "We've won the cup. We've won the cup." Everyone was now coming down from the bleachers to congratulate them. McGonagall was in hysterics and congratulating all of them. Nora saw George who was now with Aveline. The couple headed towards her and Fred.
"I won the bet!" Aveline grinned.
"Well, it was about time!" George laughed seeing his twin and his friend finally together.
"It was wasn't it?" Nora laughed as Fred pulled her closer to him and grinned. She had never felt so elated at any other moment in her life. After a while of celebrating on the field, they all headed towards the locker rooms to get changed. After showering and getting dressed, the entire team headed back to the Gryffindor common room where the party kept going for hours.
Around one in the morning the party had started to die down seeing as all the younger students had headed off to bed. Nora and Fred sat together on a couch near the fire while Aveline, George, Lee and Alicia were joking about the fowls during the match.
Nora rested her head on Fred's chest as she started to yawn.
"Are you getting tired Freckles?" He asked looking down at her.
"Not too much. I just want to enjoy tonight." Nora smiled at him.
"I know what you mean. I wish we could freeze this moment right here and live in it forever." Fred said before kissing her softly. All of the fears she felt only a day before seemed to have flown away. At that moment, Nora knew that no matter what they went through, Fred would always be there for her and no matter what happened, he was clearly the one for her.
A/N: Yay! They're finally together! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I found it really hard to write but I'm kind of happy with the end result. I can't believe I finished it so quickly, your great reviews really motivated me. I should update in about a week but who knows if I get alot of reviews it might be sooner. Once more, thank you SO MUCH for all the support in the reviews and for favoriting and putting this story on alert! The other day I was looking through the stats for the story and I saw how many of you read it, it's truly amazing! Anyways I love you all Xoxo.
To ForeverTeamEdward13: You got it right :P Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the story and thank you so much for the reviews! Xoxo
To Ashley: I feel really old right now I actually had to google 8D. I laughed so hard and google had about a thousand dirrerent possibilities :P I hope you like the story and I really appreciate you taking the time to review!
To silverhime: I feel really bad for Cedric as well. But I love Fred and Nora. And I really really hate Angelina alot. I hope you're happy with this chapter Xoxo!
To KellyLupin: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I hope you liked this big moment in the story! And it really is hilarious how small this world is, my boyfriend has been working in Peds at 6b5 as well for the past months. Who knows you might have worked together. And I've been working at the delivery room for the past two years. I hope you keep enjoying the story Xoxo!