Hello my lovelies! i have missed you! I know these chapters are going fairly slow, but it will be worth it in the end! A friend is lending me her book and the movie for reference thankyou so much potterphilosopher for the review, it sorta kinda definitely made my night! Alright everyone, enough daudling, here is chapter 4 of there will always be grace! And be sure to review, I will update only when I get a review, and the sooner/more reviews I get, the faster I shall go! Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A sharp pain on my head pushed all memories away and with a shriek I flung myself from the bed and landed in a heap on the floor, the second time today that I was in this position. Rubbing my ear I looked up to see Barney sitting on my bed, eyes narrowed at me and eyes twitching.
"You damn fat cat! That hurt! I should hurl you out the window!" I yelled, collecting myself off the ground and giving the cat the most intense hateful glare I could manage.
He stared at me, green eyes narrowing even more into tiny slits, before looking at my trunk at the foot of my bed, then back up at me impatiently.
"You bit me just for some food? Don't the house elves feed you? Any more treats and this bed will collapse under the pressure." I grumbled angrily as I propped myself up with a groan and clumsily pulled myself over to the trunk, against my better judgment, to fetch the commander his salmon treats.
I opened the trunk and grabbed his treats, seeing a small package wrapped with a thin white bow on top of my neatly folded skirts. I immediately recognized the pale yellow paper as my mother's signature gift paper and smiled warmly to myself. First thing was first though and I grabbed some treats and threw them onto the bed, as Barney attacked. His thick fur prickling and hissing vehemently as I dropped down on the bed, as though I would honestly steal his food.
I opened the package to find some handmade white chocolate truffles, her absolute favorite thing to make and my favorite thing to eat. I popped the chocolate wonder into my mouth and felt the candy melt, an explosion of white chocolate and orange filling my mouth and I felt all the day's troubles slip away. A moment of peace at the end of a truly hectic day was exactly what I needed, and I relished the moment of serenity as I leaned back onto the messy bed, enjoying the old fashioned goose down mattresses.
"What do you have there?" I heard from the doorway.
I slowly opened my eyes which I hadn't even realized I had closed, and saw Angelina and Katy standing expectantly in the doorway. I grinned widely and revealed the box of deliciousness to them, as their eyes widened in excitement.
"Your mum is the best! Tell her I love her" Angelina exclaimed, walking over without any hesitation and grabbed a piece, savoring it just as I had, dramatically placing her hand over her chest and moaning happily.
"You can't just take one, she didn't even offer you any." Katy stated with mild amusement, eyeing Angelina who simply rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively.
"She shares her mums goodies every year, what was gonna change this year?" Angelina answered, crossing the room to her bed which was directly across from mine, smiling over at me as we laughed at her typical presumptuousness.
"It's just manners I suppose." Katy replied calmly, finally caving and taking a chocolate from the box I had set on my bed as I changed into some green flannel pajamas.
"I doubt I will ever know what boredom is now that I have you two to entertain me." I said, sitting on the bed smiling at my friends, who eagerly returned the gesture.
"So glad to know that you're amused." Katy countered sarcastically, walking back over to my bed and making herself comfortable as she pulled one of the covers around her shoulders. Barney growled as he had not found the very last treat, as Katy simply shoved him off the bed with barely a glance in his direction.
"Katy!" I yelled, looking over the edge of the bed to watch the fat cat roll over onto his stomach and prepare to launch himself back onto the bed.
"You have to show him who's boss. And he really should lose some weight, he can't be happy being so huge." She retorted, eyeing him as the whole bed creaked upon his arrival on the bed.
"I'm pretty sure he loves it. And we tried putting him on a diet. He then shredded the curtains, tore apart the couch and pooped in the closets. He just won't let it happen." I answered frankly, examining the cat with distaste, wondering why I ended up with the world's most conniving cat.
"Whatever you say. Now what's with you and Fred?" she demanded point blank, staring me dead on like a hound that caught the scent of a fox.
"What?" Angelina and I asked in unison, as she jumped up and climbed onto the bed, being very wary of Barney who she had never been too fond of since he bit her way back in first year.
"You've been staring at him all day, don't think I didn't notice last year either. You like him. Don't you." She said as more than a statement than a question, and I could feel my face heat up.
"You like him? Why didn't you tell me?" Angelina cried, poking me in the arm with an annoyed expression, voice much squeakier than usual.
"I never said that I liked him!" I protested with flushed cheeks, even though I was well aware that the end of this charade was near, Katy was a bloodhound, and she smelled a scent and I was not clever enough to hide it.
"Please don't insult my intelligence Grace." Katy sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me a knowing smile.
I sighed, and leaned back onto the bed. "Fine, I like him. Are you two happy?" I groaned as Angelina asked Katy for the details on how she figured it out with wide puppy dog eyes.
"Doesn't matter. What matters is, what are we all going to do about this now that we know?" Katy said, eyeing me questioningly.
"What do you mean?" I asked, actually clueless for once during this entire conversation.
She rolled her eyes, "what I mean is, are you going to tell him? Is one of us going to tell him? Or are you going to be a wuss and say nothing, hoping for the best?" she listed, Angelina nodding along, watching me with interest.
"I don't know, I just figured I'd keep it to myself, he's my best mate, and in case you haven't noticed, he's totally daft in the feelings department. He's never had a girlfriend or even dated anyone!' I protested, looking up at the two of them.
"There! The proof he likes you back!" Angelina shouted.
"What?" I asked.
"He's gone on plenty of dates, believe me, I walked in on him asking a girl to hogsmeade. If he didn't tell you, it's because he cares what you think, more importantly, doesn't want you to disapprove of him, and wants to be seen as available just in case he finds out somehow that you like him back!" she said happily.
"Plus, he's always offering to help you with things, and he never tries to test any pranks on you, in fact, he's never pranked you." Katy said thoughtfully.
I rolled my eyes, "he thinks I'm soft, I asked him once why he never pranked me and he said he thought I might actually cry." I said.
"But how did he say it? He was definitely lying." Angelina said hopefully.
"I don't remember, we talked about it a while ago. And as much as I'm loving this cute little interrogation, I'm tired and classes start tomorrow. Can you bother get off my bed and let me sleep?" I said, finally having enough. If I continued blushing at this rate I might set fire and end up burning Hogwarts to the ground.
"Fine fine, we are done for tonight. But don't think I'm finished." Katy said, sliding off the bed and heading over to her own.
Angelina was a little bit slower, and for a moment I thought something was off. She was excited as usual, but thinking about it, something seemed somewhat forced. I wanted to think about it some more, but I must have been much more tired than I thought, because almost immediately the world went dark.
The next morning, I managed to wake up before Barney, and saved myself from the claws. But even I knew, that while today I won a small battle, the war was still on.
I sighed and got out of the bed quickly as possible, knowing full well that if I didn't I would just fall right back to sleep. I stood up, and immediately regretted it, feeling a sharp pain in my head.
"Ugh, what the hell is this." I grumbled, stumbling to the bathroom, trying not to wake up the entire dormitory. I walked in and the candles lit up, I hissed and closed my eyes, trying to keep the lights from attacking me.
I slowly opened my eyes, and painfully adjusted to the light, and groaned in realization. Coffee. I hadn't had it a couple of days. I knew the stuff was addictive, but damn this was not enjoyable at all. I quickly thought to breakfast, and was painfully reminded that we were served pumpkin juice, not coffee. Pumpkin juice is delicious, don't get me wrong, I could drink that all day. But just not in the morning. I think there might be milk, but I don't recall the delectably enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee. That in and of itself should be a crime punishable by law.
I washed my face and combed out my hair, running some gel through it with my fingers, watching the frizzy curls turn shiny and manageable. I parted my hair on the side, swiped on some mascara and light pink lip gloss, and headed out of the bathroom to wake the other girls. As quietly as I could which actually worked today, didn't stumble over a single thing.
I instantly regretted waking them up, as they all began to make so much noise, and they opened the curtain so that god awful sunlight could come in. I slid into my uniform and found my shoes as quickly as I could and bolted from the room, needing to get as far away from the noise as I could.
I made a beeline to the great hall, hoping some food would fix my mood and hopefully my headache. I really wasn't in the mood to have to visit Madame Pomphrey and her stern gaze so early in the year.
I found a solitary bench and shielded my eyes from the light as I anxiously grabbed some oatmeal and began to eat in quiet peace.
"Well look who's up all bright eyed and bushy tailed!" I cringed as a loud voice nearly screamed into my ear, sending chills up my spine.
"Keep it down." I growled fiercely, looking up into a familiar set of smiling eyes.
"Why now, that's not a nice way to talk to your best mate." Fred answered with a grin, not paying any mind to my foul mood and sitting down beside me with his back against the table and holding himself upright with his elbows, watching me push around my oatmeal disinterestedly.
"Stop, talking." I stated, attempting to eat the oatmeal like I had originally planned, even though my typical morning meal was at the moment, the last thing I wanted to eat.
"What's wrong Gracey?" I looked up, hearing the genuine concern in Fred's voice.
"I have a major headache, I'm not in a good mood. Sorry for snapping." I grumbled, trying not to pop my own eardrums, and feeling bad for making Fred worry.
"Do you wanna see Madame Pomphrey?" he offered, standing up and ready to escort me.
"No, no, it's just from lack of coffee. I should be over it in about a day or two." I said, waving my hand in dismissal of the offer.
"Why didn't you just say so?" the happiness was back in his voice as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up, dragging me away from my food and out of the great hall.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked, wanting to yell but knowing it would be better for me if I just kept things quiet.
"I got into the habit of a daily cup of coffee myself last year, when I realized I would get headaches without it, I figured out a way to get my hands on it." He replied, not looking back and still holding on to my arm with a firm grip that gave me butterflies in my stomach. Stupid butterflies, it's too early for this.
"But where are we going?" I asked again, trying to keep up with his pace which was rather difficult considering my current state.
We stopped in front of a portrait of a fruit bowl that I had somehow never seen, as Fred gazed at it triumphantly. I looked at the painting expecting something to happen, yet after a few seconds nothing changed and my mood fell.
"Is this it?" I asked annoyed, having gotten my hopes up only to have them crumble.
"You'll see" he said with a wink as he reached up to the pear, and tickled it with his finger. The portrait then swung open to reveal a bustling kitchen filled with house elves.
"Dear merlin, why didn't you show me this before?" I asked, watching the little creatures rush around making delicious smelling food.
"Honestly? I forgot." He said sheepishly, winking again as I glared at him. This would have been so useful those long nights during that time of the month where all I wanted were some damn pickles and fudge.
A small house elf walked over, smiling up at Fred. "What can I help you with today?" it asked in a squeaky voice that made me melt. He was just too darn cute! At least, I'm pretty sure he's a he.
"Two big cups of coffee my good sir." Fred requested cheerfully, leading me over to a small place to sit.
"Thanks for showing me this." I said, genuinely happy, my mind focused completely on the thought of a warm cup of coffee in my hands, the hot bitter liquid warming me all over.
I awoke from my thoughts to see Fred smiling at me.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I hadn't been dosing off for that long.
"Nothing, you just look nice when you're thinking and relaxed." He said casually, looking up as the house elf brought over a tray with two mugs of coffee.
"Thank you." I managed to get out as I snatched the cup and brought it too my nose, taking a deep inhale as the earthy aroma filled my nostrils, with a slight trace of bitterness and a hint of sweet.
"Cream or sugar?" Fred asked, gesturing to the other things on the tray.
"No thanks, I like mine black." I said.
"Same here." Fred replied, smiling at me.
We sat there in silence, drinking our coffee, although I did notice that he kept stealing looks my way. Did he really like me back? Or was there something on my face? Maybe he was just lost in thought and happened to be looking in my direction, like I did sometimes to other people. That was actually what started mine and Oliver's brief "romance".
I just wished we could sit like this forever.
Here you go lovelies! I would write more, but my fingers ache and im out of Tylenol at the moment! And I want to get this up as fast as possible. Be sure to review review review! I love hearing from you guys, it means a lot and it doesn't take much time hope everyone is well ^_^
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