"Meet us after dinner".
She kept the note in her pocket the rest of the Hogsmeade trip after being smacked in the face by it while waiting for Cedric to come out of The Three Broomsticks. She glanced over at Cedric talking animatedly to his friends.
"Probably talking about the date", said Hermione with a smirk on her face. Tessa looked up at her with a glare and rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't a date, until he kissed me, I guess", replied Tessa. She felt the table vibrate as Hermione slammed her Astronomy book shut.
"Tessa—", said Hermione annoyed.
"—I know, I know", she replied waving off Hermione's advances. "It just kind of happened, but I think Fred saw". She had been admiring the back of Fred's head long enough to know which twin was spying on her that afternoon. "They asked me to meet with them later." Tessa shook her head nervously while looking down. "I haven't seen them outside of classes or practices in a week".
Hermione nodded her head understanding the issue at hand.
"Now's not the time to talk, later", finished Ginny sitting down next to Tessa as she moved towards the girls when Hermione slammed her book shut. Everyone probably heard and knew what happened with her and Cedric now. Of course the entire Hufflepuff table knew before Tessa even sat down. Even though Cedric was humble, his friends definitely were not as they were high-fiving their blushing Captain for scoring on and off the field.
"He won't be too happy when Fred gets a hold of him", said Ginny watching the Hufflepuff table with Tessa.
After saying goodbye to Hermione and Ginny, Tessa made her way to the study room. What Ginny said pulled her deep into her thoughts on what Fred had in plan for her new…friend. She imagined sickly products oozing out of filled candies or new love potions, less strong of course, that the twins were making while she was away.
With a slight shake of her head, Tessa began noticing that it was getting darker and darker to see as she wove through stairs and hallways to reach her destination. She rounded a corner and stopped immediately. With only the moonlight showing through the hall she was on, Tess could see complete darkness that would bestow upon her if she went around the corner of the hall to the right; which, coincidentally, was the hallway she needed to take to reach Fred and George. With only the sound of wind howling against the glass windows and making them shutter, Tessa creeped her way to the hall with her wand drawn.
Her heart pounded in her chest and ears, Tessa breathed slowly to keep her focused and ready for what could ensue. "This isn't normal", she thought to herself. "This hallway is never dark." She pushed herself up against the wall closest to the darkness and inched her way to the edge wand at the ready against her chest.
Before she could psych herself out, Tessa crouched and swung her left arm into the darkness. A bright fireball zoomed high into the hallway blinding anyone in its wake. She quickly lunged to the center of the hall for a better shot, and, with another flick of her wrist, she petrified a blinded Marcus Flint. The lamps immediately burst in flames once more as Flint fell to the ground lifting his spell off them.
"Merlin, you're stupid", said Tessa as she walked towards his body which began to levitate. She yanked on the hood of his jacket as she walked past and dragged him down the hall with her.
"I think it's ready", said George as he looked down at the remedy for.
"Great now we can move on", replied Fred. The door to the room swung open. The brothers looked up as Tessa walked in with a levitating body in tow. They noticed by the colors of the jacket and jet-black, overly gelled, hair that the body was Marcus Flint, even with the boy's arms shielding his face. Once fully in the room, Tessa stopped in front of the twins' cauldron situated on a table in the center of the room.
"So the potion is ready then?" asked Tessa to the perplexed twins.
"Yes," they both answered in unison.
"Good," said Tessa. The door swung shut at the same time Marcus Flint's body dropped to the floor with a thud. "Let's get started".
The twins did miss Tessa helping them with their projects. With only Lee helping them, the twins barely made it passed finishing their experiments from eating the all the sugary candies before placing the liquid filling of their potions in them.
"So, how are we going to do this", said Fred glancing disgustingly at Flint's still body.
"I have his wand so he can't really defend himself. Just let me know when you're ready", replied Tessa nonchalantly not looking away from her sketches that were smeared and splattered with liquid of potions that exploded from lack of precision and care. The twins smirked at each other and turned to the cauldron. Fred grabbed a cup while George stirred the potion with a ladle.
With a flick of Fred's wand the binding curse lifted. Marcus slowly began moving his sore body still blinded by the bright lights. He stood up and stumbled over to a nearby table to regain his footing.
"Obliviate," said Tessa barely flicking her wand in Marcus' direction. A flash of light hit Flint's head, and she walked over to the dreamy looking boy. "Drink this", she handed him the cup. "And go to your room. You had a great practice today. Go and get some rest." Marcus looked less dreamily at Tessa after downing the entire drink and walked out of the room after tossing the cup towards a bin filled with crumpled papers.
Fred gulped slightly at Tessa's skill and turned around towards the window. His stomach began to hurt thinking about earlier that day. "Ginny's right", thought Fred. He had so many ideas of getting back at Cedric for the game and date. Two hits in one week were definitely taking a toll on his work and he needed to let it go. "She'll lose interest soon".
He remembered Ginny saying that after he stormed into the Common Room and sat down by her on the couch by the fire place and told her what happened. "She better", he thought to himself as he could hear Tessa and George laughing at the story she was telling him.
"You never cease to amaze me", said George wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into an embrace.
"At least, you're okay", said Fred. He leaned off the wall and walked back towards the two. She pushed George away as all three began to laugh at outcome of their experiment.
"It was an enjoyable ride", said Tessa as the twins ushered her to a table where Snape's viles of ingredients lay.
All three grabbed a few vials with each hand and stuffed them in a box. They began cleaning up the study room as they all called it a day. Nothing was brought up about the date, and both Fred and Tessa were relieved to not talk about it.
"Alright Lee and I took Snape's things back yesterday, so it's your turn", said George shoving the box into Fred's stomach. Fred grunted from the weight of the box underneath his arms. "You too, Tessa."
Fred glared at his brother and began walking away with Tessa in tow. "So how was your week?" Asked Tessa with uncertainty at how the conversation would pan out.
"It was alright. Not as great with you being away." Fred thought the last part of his sentence to himself. Tessa should know they're okay now; he did send the letter and she came back.
They walked down the hall talking about random potions Tessa found from books in the library, until they heard footsteps across the hall. "Mrs. Norris!, they said in unison as they both ran into a hallway with massive windows along either side of them.
Tessa rounded the corner of the hall first when she Mrs. Norris sitting in the center on the hallway. "Raaaarrrr," screeched the cat as Tessa threw her into the air with a levitating spell. They ran underneath the falling cat who halted to a stop inches above the ground.
"How'd you do that!" bellowed Fred as he looked back at the cat scrambling down the hall to her beloved owner.
"Not the time", yelled Tessa as she opened a set of unfamiliar doors and stepped into a glorious room filled with books, records, a bed, a couch, and a lit fireplace. Small lanterns covered the roof that was in the shapes of constellations. Fred shut the door behind him.
"Well, we're going to be here for a while; lets enjoy it," said Fred as he walk down the two steps of the entrance and sprawled out on the couch. Fred looked down at the table in front of him and picked up a book.
"Sweet travels: Journey to the perfect candy," said Fred. He smiled and turned his head to Tessa.
"Looks like this place knows what you need." Tessa rolled her eyes and stood up.
She sat back down at the couch after picking up a Muggle book about ancient Europe and dark magic. She wanted to know more about her mother's work since she couldn't necessarily say it once she got back from her excursions.
"I'm sorry for all this," said Fred. He rarely said sorry especially in front of people he knew he had to say it to. It was mostly George saying sorry for them both.
"Comes with being the guinea pig," said Tessa opening to a chapter on Feline superstition. "I think I want a cat," said Tessa to Fred.
"She and Crookshanks would be great together," said Fred. She shoved their shoulders together in response. While leaning back she felt Fred's arm curl around her and pull her back into his body.
The fire crackled and nipped with sparks as it was aching for fresh kindling, but Fred wouldn't dare budge after this move pulled off. They were sitting here for at least thirty minutes; that wasn't long enough. Even the silence with occasional turning of a page was music to his ears. He felt a slight lift from his right side. Tessa stood up and walked over to casing filled with dry wood. She lifted two out and placed them neatly over the fire.
"Damn", he thought to himself. She walked back to the couch and sat down closer to Fred than earlier. He never tried to put his arm back around her and she turned her body slightly leaning on his shoulders.
Tessa to sat in the quiet long enough to fall asleep with her head resting on the back of the couch. She woke up to register that her stomach was growling. "I think it's safe to leave," said Tessa stretching. With no response she turned around to an empty place no longer filled with warmth. She whipped her head around the room as she got up quickly. She was alone. With a sigh she picked her book and placed it on the bookshelf. Walking back to the fire, she doused the coals that quickly emitted smoke into the chimney. She turned around to see Fred's fallen book, pages down, on the left side of the couch. "He seemed to have left in a hurry," Tessa thought sarcastically as she shook her head and made her way out of the cold dimly lit room to the Common Room.
"So, you left her in a room that anyone could get in", whispered George as he cornered his brother in the increasingly smaller Common Room, slowly, being filled by more classmates.
"Yeah, not cool", piped in Lee.
"Get off me", said Fred pushing his brother away who was trying to get him to say anything after Lee and George asked him about Tessa. "Look, she's safe I promise. I had to take the potions back before Snape did his daily inventory", said Fred still trying to process the situation he was in.
At that moment Ginny stormed into the Common Room and walked over to her brothers. She tipped toed to reach Fred's neck and yanked his sweater leading him back out of the room.
"Why did you leave her alone? What is wrong—," said Ginny. That was all Fred had to hear before seeing Tessa enter through the door after saying goodbye to Cedric.
"Damn", Fred thought to himself. He tried to let her sleep and be nice by taking the stuff back on his own, but even that ruined his chances. He briskly walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory with George and Lee in tow. They called it an early night but stayed up, until the early hours of morning, making plans for their new project that would be in effect next Hogsmeade trip.
Tessa's days went surprisingly well. Practice was rough and was slowly taking a toll, but being around Cedric made her feel better.
"I don't know it's something new, but I feel good about this", said Tessa to Angelina while walking back to the castle.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you happier", Angelina smiled at her friend knowing that the temporary out casting of the twins put Tessa in a slump last week.
"Hey, you", Angelina and Tessa looked over to see Cedric jogging up to the girls, still in school uniform.
"He still looks good even in uniform", whispered Angelina to Tessa. Tessa smiled and gave Cedric a hug as he walked up to them.
"See you", said Angelina giving the two some space.
"So I was thinking we could g oto Hogsmeade, tomorrow, for lunch?" Tessa's eyes widened. She was surprised at how quickly the week went by.
"Yeah that'd be nice", said Tessa.
"I would like to hang out with some friends too," thought Tessa to herself.
"You're more than welcome to parts ways, though, to spend time with your friends", said Cedric looking out to the Lake. Tessa smiled and looked out on the Lake with him.
"So, how was practice?" Cedric asked, he looked at Tessa waiting for a response after her face had fallen.
"It was alright. Wood has been hounding on us non-stop after your win", said Tessa she nudged Cedric with her shoulder. Cedric smiled and shook his head.
"Well you shouldn't be working that hard", said Cedric.
"What do you mean?" Tessa gazed at him extremely confused.
"Well you're a substitute right? Ours don't really do much except play in scrimmages and help us warm-up so—"
Tessa already made it to the Herbology building before Cedric even notice she left. She skipped every other step going as quickly as she could towards the slowly abandoned hallways.
"Why would he say that!", Tessa's mind was racing as she shut the door to the empty study room that didn't look quite as homey with the twins cauldron no longer in the center. "The hell?" Tessa shoved a book off the table across the room, and sat on the table with notes strewn across the floor trailing to the opened book next to the window.
"Shit", said Tessa out loud. The only word she could finally muster without resentment or anger. "It was fun while it lasted", said Tessa again while looking down at her freshly untied shoe lace.
"What was?"
George walked into a mess. Papers strewn about the room, and a teary eyed Tessa the moment she saw him. "Shit", thought George to himself as he immediately walked over and held his friend in his arms. He knew by now that's what a girl wanted in situations like this.
"Don't you dare tell anyone", said Tessa between gasps of air. George rolled his eyes and patiently waited for the sob-fest to be over.
Tessa finally began calming down to a few sniffles here and there. "So what happened?" George asked with a slight waiver in his voice. He hoped this wouldn't cause another fit of sadness and anger.
"Cedric said I was only a substitute and shouldn't be working that hard with the team as I probably wouldn't play that much." Tessa was slightly exaggerating of course. She honestly only heard him say that she was only a substitute and nothing more, but she knew what he meant and that's what hurt her most.
"You helped us win a game last semester during the Slytherin match, and Wood sees you as a part of this team like Angelina or even himself for that matter. He took up jogging for Merlin's sake", said George defensively.
Tessa smiled and leaned into George's shoulder. "I called it off I guess.—," said Tessa.
"—Very informally I might add," interrupted George. They both laughed and began talking about how funny Tessa looked when she cried until her cheeks turned to a normal flush of pink.
The next visit to Hogsmeade was spectacular. Fred and George bought Tessa lunch and treated her to a few more butter beers than she would've liked as Cedric looked on brooding in a corner with his friends.
"You guys are showing off now", said Angelina as the third round of Butter Beer began to flow across the table.
"Just cheering up a dear friend," replied George as he raised his glass to tap Lee's already half full glass.
The group of five walked out to the main street of Hogsmeade and meandered from shop to shop looking for school supplies and snacks.
"Let's leave early", whispered George in Tessa's ear.
"The new project must be ready to make", thought Tessa as she smiled and walked with the twins towards the castle.
"Hey, Tessa!" All three whipped around to see Cedric jogging up to them. A moan of annoyance escaped Fred's mouth.
"I was wondering if we could talk." Cedric said with hopefulness in his voice.
"Yeah. Meet you at the Lake, later this Afternoon. Before dinner", said Tessa.
"Okay see you then", said Cedric with a smile on his face and walked back to Hogsmeade.
"Don't assume I'm giving him another chance Weasleys", said Tessa to the twins before they could interject. "Just ending this on a good note." Fred smiled broadly and turned to walk back to the castle before Tessa could see it.
They made it to the Hall of Hexes just in time to hear Filch talking to Mrs. Norris a few hallways away. Tessa quietly shut the door behind her and used a spell to conceal sound inside the room.
"We should be okay", she said after hearing him walk passed yelling at two students making out at the end of the hallway.
"Alright me and George will go get the stuff after you guys failed last time," said Lee jokingly while pulling the box off the back table and shrinking it with a spell to fit in his pocket.
"Remember just guava gum from the Herbology building and remedy potions from Snape's storage," said Fred to Lee as he was heading out the door.
"We know", said the two boys in unison as the door shut closed.
This had been the first time Tessa and Fred were alone since a week ago. She looked up at Fred who went back to his cauldron. Fred rolled up his sleeves from his homemade sweater his mother made him, and began scrubbing his cauldron with soap and a steel sponge.
"Damn," thought Tessa watching his shoulder blades roll up and down from intense work.
"So what are you working on", said Fred after a long amount of silence with only his rhythmic scrubbing of the cauldron enveloped the room. Tessa shook her head slightly and quickly looked down.
"Uh just some sketched for boxes", said Tessa trying to remember which boxes she was looking at again.
"Which ones?"
"Shit", thought Tessa. "The chewables variety box where it—,"
"—Where it flips open with many storage compartments," said Fred interrupting her.
"Yes", said Tessa.
"Lemme see."
Tessa jumped slightly at how quickly Fred was at her side. Extremely close by Tessa's social standards, not that she was complaining about that anyway.
"Here," she hastily handed him the papers.
Fred laid the papers on the table between them and leaned in close to Tessa's right shoulder. Sure there was plenty of room on the table to give him and Tessa space, but now wasn't the time to be considerate. He wanted to be selfish and envelop himself in her scent. He missed the smell of coconut and aloe mixed together. That's what he thought of when he could smell Tessa anyway. She wasn't pulling away, so he figured it was good the keep on trying to see where he would end up in this situation with her. At least, it could become a reality now instead of only being in his thoughts.
Tessa began talking about her plans of altering this box to pull out like a drawer. Fred gave his own ideas for the box. Soon, they began talking to each other like they always used to with jokes and flirtatious banter between them as they playing off of each other's' ideas for future projects. It was nice going back to the way things were, and it was even better now that they were showing more physical contact towards one another.
Tessa grew more comfortable with his presence and leaned into his body.
"I think that would be a great idea, but we need colorful sketches. Could you somehow get those colored pencils that the children used at kings crossing?"
Tessa laughed and responded, "Sure. I'll send a letter to my dad tomorrow they should arrive by Thursday if he has time." Tessa looked up at Fred.
"Shit she's looking at me", thought Fred. He actually thought of a lot of things after she leaned into him, but he tried to keep those under control. "Cool," uttered Fred looking at Tessa flushed face and lips.
"Cool", Tessa replied. Fred slightly leaned down a little. Her face was getting progressively closer even when he wasn't moving anymore.
"Wicked", thought Fred as Tessa began to tiptoe slightly to meet his lips.
The doorknob shook wildly and Tessa jumped away from Fred and began blushing profusely. "WHO CARES?" Fred thought visibly frustrated.
Even if Lee and his brother walked in, Fred would've still made out with her, if, she hadn't moved away. Fred sighed and tried to cover his hips from view with the cauldron and began scrubbing it again with more force and at a faster pace. Fred couldn't tell if he was mad at himself for giving in so quickly or Tessa for not allowing his fantasies to become a reality.
"Hope you didn't miss us too much when we were away", bellowed George as he lugged a tub filled with Guava Gum into the room.
"Thankfully Snape was too busy to look into his room while on patrol in the dungeons. Almost, lost a few points," Lee happily still high from the adrenaline rush of sneaking past Snape.
"And a few helping hands", replied Tessa smiling.
"You okay Fred?" Lee asked the other twin as George waddled to the other side of the room and plopped the tub down with a soft thud.
"Oh yeah, perfectly fine now that you're here," said Fred sarcastically. Thankfully Lee was too invested about telling his journey to Tessa to notice Fred's sarcasm. Tessa blushed at the confirmation of what Ginny has been telling her all semester.
"I guess he does want the same thing", thought Tessa. "Maybe."
Tessa walked passed the Herbology building, after putting back the excess gum, and towards a figure she saw skipping rocks across the steamy lake. Cedric turned around to meet her gaze once he heard the crunching of rocks against Tessa's boots.
"I'm sorry," both said in unison. They laughed at how quickly they blurted it out.
"You go first," said Cedric.
"Okay," Tessa replied. "I'm sorry for walking away. What you said really offended me. I know I'm good a Quidditch, but I lack in control, and you stating that my hard work shouldn't mean as much to me and my team lit a fire in me and walking away was the only thing I could think of. I know I was wrong for doing that and not talking to you until you chased after me wasn't right either."
Cedric smiled at Tessa after she finished and walked a few steps forward. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have compared you to our team's substitutes like that. Wood obviously takes a liking towards you as a relief player. You have played in more games than any substitute I have ever seen, and I should've taken that into account. Before, I ruined it."
Cedric looked down and began kicking a rock back and forth with his feet.
"I think we should just be better off as friends," said Tessa.
"Yeah, I agree," replied Cedric who smiled up at her. "It would be better this way," thought Cedric to himself.
"We can still hang out of course. I loved walking with you through Hogsmeade." Cedric smiled and blushed while looking down at his shoes again.
"Yeah," he said. "We'll go again soon."
Tessa walked over to Cedric and linked arms with his. "Good," replied Tessa as they walked along the Lake. They decided to take the long way back to the castle talking about how their day went and how Cedric's next match with Ravenclaw would be that was coming up soon.
Fred and George made their way to Snape's storage room with no sight of any teachers in their midst. It was time for the weekly teachers meeting that happened every Saturday before dinner. This was the time Fred and George could get away with anything they needed to get done without haste.
"I saw what happened," said George.
"It was something," replied Fred sarcastically. George shook his head.
"Keep an eye out," said George.
"Oh, I'll make sure to watch for teachers that are completely across the castle", said Fred nudging his brother. George laughed as he unlocked Snape's storage room and used a spell to quickly place all of the potions they confiscated back into their appropriate places.
The potions landed on the correct shelves and swiveled to be in the appropriate placement that Snape had left them. Fred shrunk the boxes and placed them in his pocket as they walked down the hall towards the Slytherin dungeons.
Everyone was in the Common Room after dinner. Tessa was talking to Angelina and Wood about Quidditch tactics for the next game while Fred and George were talking to Ginny in the corner.
"So, when are you guys going to work on your next project," said Ginny as she began shuffling muggle cards with a smirk on her face.
"We can't get past you," said George.
"Of course there are many projects we are working on," said Fred grabbing the cards from his sister and distributing them amongst the three siblings and placing the rest of the cards in the middle.
"But the real question is," said George. "Which one are you talking about?" The twins smirk matching their sisters as they played a round of muggle poker.
The next few weeks for Tessa and the twins were dismal. Some of the girls frequently "shunned" Tessa still thinking she was with "their" man after seeing both at Hogsmeade together almost every weekend. Fred and George were too busy to notice anybody with the Holidays coming soon. This helped Tessa considerably, one day, when a very attractive Hufflepuff bared her soul, and body, to Fred in class and he only replied with nice to see you while walking over to George and Tessa, leaving behind a sea of doubt and utter shock that riddled the blonde girls face.
"Are you going to the match this weekend?" asked Tessa to Fred and George who were pouring a gooey potion over some freshly chewy slabs that they made to roll into a swirly treat. "Of course," said George.
"Wouldn't want to miss that badger lose to a couple of birds," finished Fred who looked up at Tessa and winked. Tessa blushed. Fred was giving her plenty of his attention lately, but she pushed it aside until he actually showed her something that he doesn't do to almost every girl in school.
Blue, Silver, Yellow and Black illuminated the room as the Quidditch match was today. The Great Hall gave a beautiful atmosphere with snow slowly falling down before disappearing above students' heads.
"It's beautiful," said Tessa looking up at the ceiling.
"So are you," Tessa blushed as Fred sat down next to her with a small box in his hand. Tessa blushed to a shade of red that matched the peppermint candy surrounding the table. Ginny winked at Tessa across the table.
"Me and Tessa are actually going to save same seats," said Ginny as she and Tessa gathered their things and left. She turned to see a small shade of pink color Fred's face before he composed himself.
"Better save a seat for us", bellowed the twins in unison.
"We'll see if we can scratch you in," said Tessa and winked at Fred before turning back to Ginny who looked like a proud teacher at her students' success.
"Ginny does know a thing or two," thought Tessa at the young witch.
The pitch was beautifully laid with a thick patch of snow that one could barely see the bordered white lines on the grass, or even the grass for that matter. Thankfully, Tessa and Ginny were able to get middle seats for almost everyone that requested it since Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the same section.
"It's good to know you sometimes Harry," said Tessa as they both laughed at the first years creating a path for seats that Harry requested to be open for his friends. Ginny blushed as Harry began talking to her about classes, and moved back to where his own seat was behind Tessa.
"So, when are you going to master that one," said Tessa jokingly at Ginny.
"Oh, shut it," mumbled Ginny elbowing Tessa away.
Tessa had a seat for Fred and George on either side of her and seats for everyone else in front of them. Ginny moved back to sit with Hermione as her brothers came into view.
"Brought you this," said Fred to Tessa before she said her hellos to Lee and a very annoyed Angelina as they filled the last seats that were open.
"Yeah sorry for the delay; Fred decided to go get HIS scarf and an extra hat for Tessa as it would be too cold for her," muttered George to the lot behind him.
"Oh, so he'll get Tessa something, but not for his own sister," said Ginny jokingly.
"Or for his own brother for that matter," mumbled Ron.
"Honestly Ron you can take care of yourself," said Hermione hoping to get off the subject before Fred heard them talking.
"At least he's making progress," whispered Ginny to Tessa before leaning back into her seat.
If the wind had not kept Tessa's face red from the bitter cold, it would have been for Fred touching her back constantly every time he spoke to her. Even in layers upon layers of clothes, Tessa could feel this tingly sensation of his hands that gave her chills.
"Finally," she thought to herself. "It just feels right."
Tessa was watching Fred as he excitedly talk to Wood about the chances of Ravenclaw winning and who would get the snitch first. His arm began slowly wrapping around her the more he talked until it was at her waist.
"It looks like we might be in the running for House Cup," said Wood with a smirk on his face. As turned to end his speech to the team in the stands.
"Practice tomorrow bright and early," said Wood as he dismissed the team. Everyone stood up and met the rest of the students waiting for them. The students paired off to their respective groups, once out of the pitch, and walked towards the castle. Tessa walked rather closely to Ginny who had a slight, yet firm, grip on her arm and dragging her towards the Herbology building.
"What are you doing Ginny? Ow! Let go", remarked Tessa after she, for the fourth time, tripped over a vine leaking out of the slight opening of the Herbology building.
"Finally," said Ginny as she looked over the side of the building. "We're alone. Now, I would like to invite you to visit us for the Holidays."
Tessa's face grew more and confused and Ginny rolled her eyes once Tessa's head tilted sideways slightly instead answering her question.
"Will. You. Go—." "Yes! Yes, I will go, but I always show up after Christmas day." Ginny shook her head.
"I mean the whole Holiday. I owled Mum last week, and she is very excited to have someone other than us for the Holidays. It'll be fun," said Ginny with a very obvious smirk on her face.
"Alright, sounds fun. I was actually going to stay here anyways since Mum and Dad are dealing with International work. Apparently, a tourist walked up onto a non-muggle historical site, and the Witches and wizards doing research there flipped out. Father has to put a new spell on the area so it won't happen again, and Mum has to deal with the Press. You know how that is," said Tessa shrugging.
"Excellent," said Ginny as she looped her arm through Tessa's and steered her towards the castle.
The Common Room calmed down as people started heading out to walk around the castle. Tessa could see Fred from the entrance of the doorway as he stood up to meet her.
"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do something interesting this evening," said Fred.
"You know I never pass up an interesting journey Weasley," said Tessa with a smirk on her face. Ginny said her Goodbyes to both as they walked out of the portrait.
"So, may I ask where we are going?" Tessa smiled up at Fred. She really only needed to tilt her head slightly, but it was nice to be with someone who was taller than her.
"To the Astronomy Tower," said Fred confidently.
Once they reached the tower, they could see everyone weaving and mingling through the windows of the illuminated towers and halls. Fred shuffled for the tiny objects he stowed away in his pocket quickly as Tessa jogged over to the railing and leaned over the side.
"It's beautiful," said Tessa gazing at the view that reached the mountains at the end of the lake. "If you rode this it would be even better."
Tessa whirled around to see her and Fred's broomstick in both of Fred's hands. "Seriously!" exclaimed Tessa as she yanked her broom from Fred's left hand and immediately straddled the broomstick. Fred smiled and did the same. Both brooms steadily rose high enough to where Tessa and Fred could raise their arms up and touch the ceiling. Fred zoomed out of the tower and into darkness. Tessa was right behind him. He spiraled around the tower and made it to the top.
Once at the top there was a nook that could fit, at the least, ten people facing toward the lake and full moon. "Hermione said that this balcony moves with the stars," said Fred as he pulled a tiny square out of his pocket. With a flick of his wrist the box expanded into a very large basket with a sealed lid over the top.
Fred placed the box on the ground against the wall and began pulling out a blanket and some pillows. For winter, it was actually a descent night. The storm passed through and gave a rare sight of clear sky that was illuminated by a very bright and big moon rising just above the peak of the mountains. Tessa turned around after looking at the view and helped Fred lay the blanket down.
"Thankfully it's not too windy," said Tessa as Fred sat down and patted on the blanket next to him. Once comfortable, Tessa notice how cushioned the blanket was while getting comfortable.
"Wood let me borrow it," said Fred smiling broadly.
"Perfect for sitting on while stargazing," replied Tessa nudging Fred. Thankfully it was only after dinner when Fred took her up; they would be able to stay longer before Professors decided to make their rounds for the night.
"Thank you," said Tessa after a long moment of silence.
"Finally," exclaimed Hermione as she pushed past to reach Tessa and Fred who thought they snuck in without anyone noticing. "It's nearly past curfew."
"Relax," said Fred. He smiled as Hermione's red face grew to a shade of purple. "
If a Professor had found you-,"
"We're fine, never again," said Tessa re-assuring the distraught witch. Hermione huffed and walked back to a table filled with books knowing that Tessa's statement was not going to be upheld. Once Hermione's head ducked under the stacks books, Fred and Tessa began to muffle each other's snickering and started walking over to Lee and George to discuss projects before they left for the Holidays.