"What about pink? That's a popular colour!" Ginny began, her voice excited. "Or orange? Or blue? That would fit into the 'something blue' issue..."
"Ginny, I'm trying to revise." Your head was slanted against the palm of your hand, cupping it as your eyes attempted to browse through the large textbook, taking in notes. It was early evening at Hogwarts and most of the Gryffindors were huddled in the common room, chatting away amongst themselves whilst others tried to catch some quick revision time.
"Just try to ignore her." Hermione whispered. She also was sat beside you with her nose in a large book, happily reading through every page.
"I think everyone is trying to." Ron moaned, his head leaning back on the edge of the sofa, eyes closed.
"Shh, Ron," Ginny scowled at her brother.
"You are going on and on so much though! You'll put Fiona off marrying Fred at this rate." Ron mumbled. Harry tried not to laugh at Ron's response and flipped his attention back to his potions book, trying to revise, but keeps getting distracted.
It seemed less lively to you now since the twins have left. It was now your sixth year at Hogwarts and things weren't getting easier. Obviously.
Thinking about it saddened you a little but you had to think positive. They've finally achieved their dream! The shop is a great hit in Diagon Alley. Which is amazing, considering what's been happening lately. Because of this, you haven't seen Fred or George in months...so the wedding had to wait a little. Which Ginny wasn't too happy about.
"But they keep putting it off!"
"Look Ginny, it's been put on hold because of what's been happening with the Death Eaters and muggles, that and I don't have time for anything with all this pressure from Snape and other teachers who keep saying 'there is so much potential, have some extra work for a better profile' which is stressing me about because I can't say no and anything extra on top of that is too much so for once please just stop going on!" You slammed your book shut loudly, your voice raised and irritated. People around you were stunned at your outburst. You never acted this way.
You decided to go early to dinner without the others. You had to have some alone time right now...
Quite a few other students had arrived to the great hall by the time you got there, at least half of them. And Malfoy was here too, just your luck. Luckily though he didn't instantly come over and mock you for being involved with the Weasley's.
You sat down with a heavy sigh, pouring some pumpkin juice into the silver goblet. Seamus, Dean and Neville were sat not too far away, but they decided it was best to leave you alone. They did give you a smile when you sat down to be polite which you returned weakly.
The tips of your fork poked around the food on your plate, hardly anything eaten. You felt so alone without Fred here to crack a joke or annoy you until you give in to either forgiving him for some prank he did or just for the fun of annoying you because he knew you couldn't stay mad at him for long. The thought of the memories that passed through your mind created a curl at the corner of your lips. But it soon disappeared. You felt bad for yelling at Ginny. You didn't mean to... But all this pressure from some of the teachers was too much. Your Ravenclaw friends waved at you as they sat down at your table and you tried your best to put on a warm smile in reply. As real as it looked, it was a fraud.
"Alright, Fiona?" That snobbish voice that most people hated spoke behind you, their shadow lightly covering your own.
"What do you want Malfoy?" You exhaled irritably, not having the patience for his wise-cracks today. He smirked smugly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Just coming over to say hello is all." He then cautiously checked over his shoulder, his voice lowering into a whisper. "Also, I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your parents." Carefully, his hand lightly rested upon the back of your neck, the slight cold causing you to tense a little before relaxing again. Another heavy sigh escaped through your lips as you looked up at the teenager. For once, he looked genuine.
"Thank you."
"Best go. Don't want Potter seeing me being 'nice' to one of his friends." Malfoy smirked again before he turned on his heal, making his way back to the Slytherin table to re-join Crabbe and Goyle who were scoffing food down their throats. They seriously need to learn to chew their food.
Malfoy wasn't such a bad guy. Well, he was horrible to most people, but as you just saw, he can be genuinely nice when he chooses and wants to be. Your appetite returned slightly and you happily began to nibble on your food. The gravy that you had basically drowned your vegetables in was warm and delicious as it warmed your throat, the roast beef had changed to your meat preference and it was succulent and perfect. Your eyes admired the desserts that quietly sat amongst the dinner food. You could smell the alluring chocolate scent of the profiteroles and the sweetness of the rhubarb and custard crumble.
"Fiona?" A quiet voice spoke. Your eyes turned to the person who sat down next to you, their eyes apologetic. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to be pushy. I just...don't really know what else to do with everything that has been going on." You smiled at your best friend and elbowed her gently in a playful way.
"Ginny, it's ok. I overreacted a little anyway." She returned almost an identical smile to the one that you gave her, looking like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "And I have already chosen a colour for the wedding." Her eyes glistened with sudden excitement and curiosity.
"What colour?" She almost demanded, her voice in giggles.
"Purple."
"Purple? Any reason?" She asked curiously. You nodded, smiling to yourself contently.
"It was the colour I wore to the Yule Ball with Fred."