Chapter Twenty Four

A/N: No reviewers.

Selena waited all night in the Gryffindor common room, hoping that Fred would have to pass her to reach his dormitory and that she would finally give her a chance to speak to him. It was a better chance than wandering the hallways, although Teddy had offered to help her look. She waited as long as she possibly could, until the moon began to peek through the shutters. He was not coming back.

'All I wanted was to explain,' Selena thought to herself, trying to keep her emotions in check. 'To make him see that I'm not a monster. I don't think so, at least. He doesn't need to be afraid of me, I haven't hurt anyone. I don't want to hurt anyone.'

Even when night fell, Selena crouched by her door, a spare set of robes thrown over the shutters beside her bed to stop the light coming in. When her roommates had first questioned it, she had claimed the chinks of moonlight disturbed her sleep; whether they believed her or not, they had not asked again.

The girl's eyes were drifting shut when she heard a noise from the staircase below. For a little while, she thought it might have been her imagination. It was only on the fourth sound that she realised it was real.

Her legs were unsteady as she descended the stairs, pinpricks shooting through the limbs and making her shudder with each step. But she persevered, reaching the bottom of the staircase in a little more than a minute. True enough, there sat Fred Weasley, his head hunched over as he sunk into a plush sofa.

At first, Selena remained silent, observing her friend the way one might do a wild animal. Afraid to make the slightest move and scare him away. But even fear could not get in the way when Selena's curiosity peaked, and she could not bear to watch Fred sit there all alone.

The young girl cleared her throat, finally alerting the redhead boy to her presence. When he first turned around, his eyes were filled with fear. Then he realised who stood at the other end of the corridor, and the fear faded away. Selena would have rejoiced in that, had something, anything, taken its place.

"I wanted to talk to you." the brunette told him, her voice almost a whisper. "I've been looking for you ever since this morning."

"I know." Fred answered. The familiar bounce in his voice was long gone. "Why do you think you didn't find me?"

His words stung like lemon juice on a fresh cut, almost enough to make Selena wince in pain. This was not the Fred she had met on the first day in September. There was a cruelty to the boy before her that she never could have imagined him capable of.

"I need to explain." she persisted. This time, Fred did not turn to look at her, instead staring into the flames flickering in the fireplace.

"What's there to explain, Selena?" Fred's voice was bitter and cold. "You're a werewolf. I think that covers it."

"But you don't really know what that means!" Selena exclaimed. "I've never hurt anyone, Fred. I've never even transformed into a wolf. The only thing that's wrong with me is that I can't stand moonlight."

"And when did you figure that out?" Fred asked. There was something a little different in his voice this time, as he turned to face her, waiting for her answer.

"The first time it happened was Hallowe'en." Lena explained, her head lowered. She could feel the disappointment radiating from him.

"That was months ago, Lena!" Fred cried out. The girl had to fight the urge to shush him, in case they should wake the students in the dormitories. The last thing she needed was for more people to know about this. "You've known something was wrong for that long and you never told me!"

"I was worried you'd hate me." Lena sighed. Her calm was the opposite of his fire, the water to quench the flame. "I thought you'd be afraid of me."

"Lena, I don't care that you're a werewolf!" the boy exclaimed. This time, Selena was too shocked to try and quiet him. She watched him, her mouth open in shock, as he explained. "I'm not ignoring you because I'm scared, I'm upset that you kept it secret from me!"

It took another minute before the girl found her words again. "You don't care?"

"Lena, if you're a werewolf, you've been one your whole life." the redhead reasoned. "That makes you the same person, whether you knew it or not. You're still the girl I became friends with. No matter how furry you are."

In spite of her fears, Selena burst out laughing, the idea so absurd it became funny. Fred joined in her laughter, the dimples in his cheeks a comforting sight. It seemed like so long since they had laughed together.

"So, let me get this straight." the girl spoke, once they had calmed a little, the two lying against the back of the settee with their heads leant back, studying the small wisps of smoke that had risen from the fire. "I didn't tell you the truth because I thought you wouldn't talk to me, and for the last couple of weeks, you haven't talked to me because I didn't tell you the truth?"

"Yep, that sounds right." Fred nodded. He looked over at his best friend, his brow furrowing. "Actually, that was quite dumb, wasn't it?"

"Very dumb." Selena agreed. The two locked eyes, smiling. "So, after all that, we're friends again?"

The boy held out his hand and she took it, shaking like they were completing a business transaction. For such an official gesture, it seemed familiar, comforting. With Fred's hand in hers, Selena felt like she could conquer the world.

Fred sighed, smirking that familiar smirk of his. "Lena, we never weren't friends. I told you, it's you and me, against the world, no matter what. Forever."

A/N: Quite a short chapter, but I wanted them friends again so badly! Please review!