Chapter Fifty One: Catastrophe
When Fred got back to the Common Room, his expression was stormy, his mood dark and angry, radiating off him in waves. He sat in a dark corner of the Common Room away from the rest of the Gryffindors. He was not in the mood for social interaction.
This did not go unnoticed by his friends who were sitting the other side of the room. They all looked at each other confused, but having known Fred for so long, they knew stay clear from him. They knew that when George came back, he would be able to find out what was wrong with him without enraging him further.
George, as it happened had just waltzed into the Common Room minutes after his brother stormed in. He had a broad happy smile on his face, stretching from ear to ear; but when he caught sight of his brother, it instantly disappeared.
'What's wrong?' he asked quietly as he sat down beside his brother. Fred's face was cast in shadow, as he sat silently, unmoving.
'Freddie?' said George, his voice coated with concern, as he moved to gain a better look at his brother. It was only when the light hit his face, that George could see the tear running down his cheek.
Fred hastily wiped it away as he silently shook his head at his brother. George just stared at him, what in the hell could have happened that caused him to break like this?
'Fred… come on mate, what's wrong?' he said gently, trying to convince him.
Fred just shook his head silently, refusing to answer. His eyes glistening with unshed tears and rage.
The portrait of the Common Room spun open, and in stumbled a few upset and disoriented looking Emalia. She paused for a second trying to catch her breath, her eyes scanning faces of the relatively empty Common Room. Her face instantly relaxed and a small smile began to unfurl when she saw Fred and George in the corner of the room.
She started to walk over towards them, the smile slipping from her face when she saw the rage in Fred's eyes and the worry and confusion on George's face. She hesitated slightly, stumbling over her feet, as that feeling of fear and dread began to twist in her stomach.
'What's the matter?' she asked when she reached them. George just shrugged in response, looking between Emalia and Fred.
'Fred?' said Emalia quietly. 'I need to talk to you.'
Fred laughed harshly. 'Of course, you do. Come to make up excuses? Or feed me some bullshit, right?'
Emalia and George stared at him, completely taken aback.
'Mate, come on…' started George, trying to placate his brother.
'Oh, shove off, George. You don't even know what's going on,' said Fred standing up, making to walk off. 'I don't want to talk to you right now, Emalia.'
'Fred, wait, please. This is important!' she exclaimed as he walked off towards the stairs to the dormitories.
'What about 'I don't want to talk to you right now' is hard for you to comprehend?' he said turning to face her suddenly.
'I – I – I just -' she stammered.
'Why don't you go tell Jack about it?' spat Fred venomously. 'That's if you can manage to get your tongue out of his mouth long enough to talk to him.'
Emalia stood, frozen to the ground, unable to process what was happening. The whole Common Room fell silent as they listened in to what was unfurling in front of them.
'That's not what happened -' began Emalia, fully prepared to share the truth with Fred.
'Oh yeah?' scoffed Fred angrily. 'And I supposed I hallucinated it, huh? That I didn't see you kissing him down near the dungeons?'
'That's not -'
'DON'T LIE TO COVER YOUR TRACKS!' roared Fred, his rage had been fully ignited by Emalia's constant attempts to refute what he had seen.
The Common Room was deathly quiet, everyone focused on Emalia and Fred, completely gripped with the drama. Emalia flinched slightly when he shouted.
Fred looked around, noticing that everyone was watching him. He took a step back, taking a breath to compose himself.
He leaned closer to Emalia, whispering. 'Don't come near me. I don't want to see you or hear you.'
Emalia stared up at him in shock, she couldn't believe she was hearing this, that Fred wouldn't let her explain what had actually happened.
'You cheated on me. I can't even bare to look at you,' he said, disgusted. He turned on his heel and quickly walked up the steps, two at a time, leaving Emalia standing there, broken, tears welling up in her eyes.
She turned to face George, who was looking at her, gobsmacked. 'What did you do?' he said, as he followed his brother.
'Nothing,' she whispered after him, as the tears began to fall silently from her eyes. She quickly turned and quickly walked out of the Common Room. The eyes of every student on her, and as soon as she stepped out into the corridor, the students there broke out in hushed, excited whispers as they gossiped about what had just happened.
Emalia wanted to disappear, so she made her way to the Prefects' bathroom, at least she could hide out there for a while and avoid the prying eyes of everyone else. She hoped this would be all over the school by dinner time.
George flung open the door of his dormitory and saw his brother lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
'What in the bloody hell is going on?' he asked, shaking Fred out of his constant replay of Jack and Emalia kissing.
Fred sighed before sitting up on his bed.
'You heard what I said downstairs, George. She kissed Jack. There's really nothing else to it.'
George sat down opposite Fred, a shocked look on his face. 'Blimey… Emalia kissed Jack?'
Fred nodded, 'I saw with my own eyes. Otherwise, I don't think I would have believed it.'
'Merlin…' breathed out George. 'How are you doing?'
Fred glanced over at his brother and for briefest of moments, his face portrayed the pain he felt in his heart.
'Hurt,' was all he said. It was all he could manage to say, for he was afraid that if he kept talking, he would start sobbing uncontrollably.
The two of them sat together in silence, Fred playing the scene in his mind over and over, George trying to figure out why Emalia would do something like this.
Emalia was sitting at the edge of the pool-like bath, her legs dangling in the water, her shoes and socks laid neatly beside her. She was playing everything over and over in her head, the kiss, the argument. Each time she replayed them in her head, more tears tumbled down her cheeks. She was sure if she went to look in the mirror, her eyes would be red and puffy, but she didn't want to leave.
In fact, all she wanted was for her brain to shut up. She slid down into the cold water, closing her eyes tightly as she sunk below the surface, sitting there listening to the steady beat of her heart thrumming through her ears, slowing as she felt the pressure in her lungs grow. She felt peaceful, that was until a hand yanked her to the surface once again.
'What the hell are you doing?' asked a concerned voice from above her.
Emalia wiped the water from her eyes before seeing Adrian standing above her, looking equal parts concerned and scared.
'Nothing' muttered Emalia as she looked up at him.
'Come on,' he said extending his hand, helping her out of the water.
She grabbed her wand and waved it, quickly drying out her clothes.
'Thanks,' she said. She looked up and saw the pity and concern on his face.
'So everyone knows...' she sighed, her eyes welling up once again.
'Yeah, it kind of became the topic of choice at dinner. When I noticed you weren't there, I decided to go looking for you,' he replied, smiling gently at her.
'Thanks Adrian, you're a good friend,' she sighed heavily. 'I suppose you want to know if it's true?'
'I know it's not. At least not the version I heard,' he replied quickly. 'I know who you are, Em. You wouldn't hurt the people you love, and everyone can clearly see how much you love Fred. I know there is a true version of the story, and if you want to share it with someone, I will listen, no judgement and no questions.'
Emalia was beyond touched at his words, they opened the floodgates, allowing her tears to stream down her face once again.
'What am I going to do Adrian?' she sobbed, her face crumpled, her heart aching. Adrian wrapped his arms around his friend hugging her tightly, her tears staining his jumper.
'You have to keep trying to tell Fred the truth, eventually he will listen. You don't give up on the people you love,' he soothed.
'H-h-he ju-ju-just gave up on m-m-me,' she sobbed.
'No, he didn't. He's just hurt, he needs some time to process what he saw,' replied Adrian. 'Come on, let's get out of here. Most people will still be down at dinner. I'll walk you back to your Common Room.'
Emalia nodded and wiped her face, splashing some water before putting her socks and shoes back on. The two of them left and made their way to Gryffindor Tower, passing a few whispering and pointing students along the way.
'Ignore them,' muttered Adrian to her when he noticed her tense. 'Just ignore all of them.'
Adrian left her outside the Fat Lady's portrait. Emalia took a deep breath before walking through the portrait and into the Common Room. The room was quite busy, it seemed a lot of people had left dinner early.
Everyone was busy talking and laughing, that no one noticed her walk in. She saw Fred sitting on the couch with the rest of their friends. When he looked over at her, his gaze held such anger and sadness that Emalia could not bear to look at him. She quickly averted her eyes, fixing them firmly to the ground, as she made her way straight up the stairs to her bed. She clambered into bed, and silently cried herself to sleep.
The next morning Emalia woke to shuffling beside her. She could hear Angelina and Alicia whispering to one another quietly, trying not to wake her. She lay in her bed, her back to them, watching the specks of dust falling slowly, glistening in the bright winter light.
'We should wake her, she'll miss breakfast if she sleeps any longer,' whispered Alicia.
'Leave her where she is,' scowled Angelina. 'You heard what she did to Fred. Let her be late, it's the least she deserves.'
'I don't think we should be taking sides, Angelina,' replied Alicia lowly, unimpressed with her friend's comment. 'We don't know what happened.'
'We know exactly what happened, Alicia. You just want to ignore it because you don't like confrontation. Now come on, everyone will be waiting for us.' snapped Angelina, as she hoisted her bag onto her back.
'I just think -'
'Oh, Alicia just drop it and come on.'
Emalia heard Alicia hesitate, but eventually she sighed and followed Angelina out of the dorm. When she was sure that the two of them wouldn't return, she got up. She picked up her uniform and pulled it on, magically smoothing out the creases.
She ran a brush through her hair, listening to the rumble of hunger in her stomach, choosing to ignore it. She couldn't face everyone all at once this morning, the whisperings and gossip, she just wasn't up for that this morning.
If she could get away with being invisible for the day, she would have cast a disillusionment charm and gone about her day. She pulled her hair back, quickly braiding it; she figured keeping her hair tied back might garner less attention from everyone.
She left the Common Room, and head straight down to the Greenhouses for Herbology. She was the first one there, which made her feel uneasy. Everyone would arrive after her, meaning they would see her.
She swallowed this fear, anxiety. 'You're braver than this' she coaxed herself, but her mind was telling her something else.
She could feel herself teetering over the edge, ready to fall into that deep abyss once again; only this time, she didn't have Fred to help pull her out.
The Hufflepuffs arrived first, they were all chattering happily amongst themselves that they did not notice Emalia. At least not at first, but eventually she was noticed, and the whispers and stares began.
Emalia swallowed and kept her eyes focused firmly on the Greenhouse doors, hoping that Professor Sprout would open the doors and usher them inside. Preferably before the rest of the Gryffindors arrived.
The Hufflepuffs stopped talking, looking beyond Emalia. Her stomach dropped, she found herself wishing Professor Sprout would hurry up and open the Greenhouse. She avoided looking at anyone, choosing the watch them approach in the muddled reflection in the glass.
She could feel Fred's eyes on her, and she wanted nothing more than to turn and look at him. To put her hands either side of his face and scream at him, explain what had actually happened. She would convince him, but not here, not now. She needed to give him some time to calm down, and she needed to find him alone, which would be hard done. His eyes were boring into the back of her head, she could feel it and it was starting to make her want to turn around to see his face.
At that moment, Professor Sprout opened the doors of Greenhouse Three, welcoming them in a joyful manner as usual. Emalia rushed forwards, hoping to escape the stares, but she could feel Fred's eyes following her.
She found herself a quiet corner, far removed from the rest of the class. Unfortunately, the place she chose was in direct eyeline of Fred. She managed to spend the entire class focused on the Snargaluff pods on the table in front of her; but as Professor Sprout was giving them homework, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Fred.
He was lazily poking the vines of the Snargaluff, the morning sun illuminating him, so he stood out from the others. She couldn't help but stare. As if feeling her eyes on him, Fred looked up. For a moment they locked eyes, and Emalia felt as if she was drowning in the hurt, anger and sadness in his eyes, that she had to look away. She felt her heart ache knowing she had caused him pain, she had to put this whole situation right.
When class ended, she pushed passed everyone trying to make her way to Fred. She needed to make things right, make him see her side, make him understand what had happened. She ran straight into George, blocking her from Fred.
'Leave it Em,' said George lowly. 'He's not ready to talk to you. Just … leave it.'
Emalia nodded mutely, her eyes watching Fred's back disappear inside the castle, with George following him. She followed closely after, making her way through the crowded halls, whispers following her as she walked. Not all of them were about her, some were about her cousin, which outraged her, but she just couldn't muster the energy to quiet them.
At dinner that evening she sat at the very end of the Gryffindor table, near the door so she could make a hasty exit if she needed to. She saw Jack walk into the Great Hall, his eye bearing the result of Emalia's punch. It was swollen shut and a deep shade of purple. He kept his head down trying to not draw any attention to himself.
Further up the Gryffindor table, Fred saw Jack enter. He gripped the edge of the table, his face contorted with rage; that was until he noticed the shiner that Jack was sporting. George had noticed it too, he leaned towards his brother and whispered,
'Did you do that?'
Fred shook his head, 'No.'
'Well, it's not like its undeserved,' said George grinning. 'Smarmy prick.'
'Yeah,' said Fred, glancing down to where he spotted Emalia sitting by herself, he caught her gently rubbing her hand before picking at her still very full bowl of stew.
Emalia spent the next three weeks avoiding the Common Room at busy times, the same went for the usual hangout spots, as they were teeming with students. She was sick of everyone staring at her, she spent mealtimes sitting with Harry and Hermione, which doubled the whispers as the two Potters presently were the centre of all the school gossip. She sat beside Adrian in the classes they had together, the rest of them she sat by herself at the back of the class. Most of the time she stayed in the library, hiding away from everyone.
Every time she tried to approach Fred, she was stopped by Angelina, Lee, or George. George tended to be more diplomatic about what he said to her, she even thought he felt sorry for her at times. Angelina and Lee, however, were not so subtle in letting Emalia know that they had taken Fred's side. Some of their comments veered on being outright nasty.
Fred was not doing any better than Emalia. The whispers were getting to him. Not that any of them were negative, the school seemed to support him; but he just wanted it all to stop.
He had caught sight of Emalia a few times over the past three weeks, and she looked terrible. He could see she was hurting, and he wanted nothing more than to go over, wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be ok. Except he couldn't do that, because he didn't know if they were going to be ok.
The weekend before the first task was a Hogsmeade weekend, and for once Emalia was looking forward to the castle being empty. Adrian had been plaguing her to go with him, but she refused. She was looking forward to being alone, without the whispers from the rest of their year.
Most of the other years had moved passed the drama between Fred and Emalia, preferring to focus on the Tournament; but Paisley Parkinson and others kept bringing it up at least once a day, ensuring that Emalia got no peace.
Saturday soon rolled around, and by mid-morning the castle was mostly empty of the older students. Emalia made her way down to the Great Hall shortly after everyone was due to leave, hoping to possibly get a late breakfast, but the tables were clear. She sighed in disappointment and made her way out of the Great Hall.
As she was walking out into the grounds, she spotted a head of blonde hair walking up towards her. Emalia broke out into a broad smile, her first genuine one in weeks.
'Fleur! Fleur! Where have you been hiding?' she called, waving as she ran up to her friend. Fleur smiled brightly at Emalia, before pulling her into a hug, kissing each cheek before speaking to her.
'I am sorry, I have been busy focusing on the Tournament. I have been training and studying most days,' she replied gently. Fleur took a step back and looked at Emalia.
'What is the matter? You are not yourself.'
Emalia looked at her friend, hesitation flashed across her eyes.
'Emi, you must tell me what is bothering you' said Fleur, her hands clasped around Emalia's, squeezing them tight.
'I don't know where to begin…'
Emalia trailed off, but soon found herself spilling everything to Fleur. How Jack had kissed her, how she punched him and how Fred had witnessed Jack kissing her and assumed the worst. By the time Emalia finished her story, Fleur was livid.
'I cannot believe he did that!' raged Fleur, she was pacing, her arms flailing in the air. 'Who does he think he is? Just because his mother is Minister for Magic back home. I will murder him; he will not get away with this without any repercussions.'
Emalia stood watching her friend stomp over and back in outrage. Watching her friend take her side, hear her story and decide to act upon her raw emotions; it caused tears to well and stream down her face. All the stress, worry and hurt she had kept to herself over the last few weeks overwhelmed her and she fell to ground and sobbed uncontrollably.
Fleur stopped her pacing, startled by her friend's sudden drop to the floor, but she quickly regained her senses, crouched down, and took her friend into her arms, hugging her tightly.
'It's ok, it will all be ok Emi,' soothed Fleur as she gentle smoothed the younger girl's hair, hoping to try and give her some comfort.
George had been coming back from the Quidditch pitch, he had pulled a prank earlier with Fred and Lee, and to avoid being caught by Professor Flitwick, they had all ran in different directions. George had kept running until he found himself outside the silent stadium. He took a few moments to catch his breath before he turned to head back towards the castle, walking up through the grounds.
He came to a swell in the grass area when he heard a shrill angry voice echoing down the grounds. Curiosity nipped at him; he quietly made his way up further so he could see what was happening. As he walked over the crest of the swell, he could see Emalia talking to another girl, who he recognised as the Beauxbatons champion. She was ranting and raving, it was mostly in French until Emalia called out in English.
'Fleur, stop. Hurting Jack won't change what happened. It won't change that he kissed me, it won't change Fred's reaction.' Her voice came out shaky, as if she was trying to stop tears from falling.
George shook his head; he just couldn't believe that Emalia was making this about her.
'No. He forced himself on you, he kissed you when you said no. You had to push him off you. Punch him in the face to get away from him.' Seethed Fleur, responding in English.
George was shocked, he had gotten so wrapped up in his brother's suffering that he never paused much to think of Emalia's side of the story. He was still contemplating this new information when he noticed Emalia fall to the ground, her loud heart-breaking sobs echoing through the air. It shocked him, he had seen Emalia withdraw into herself over the past few weeks, but he hadn't realised how much this was hurting her as well.
He was conflicted, a part of him wanted to run over to his best friend and tell her everything would be ok, he would talk to Fred and make it all right again. But he knew his brother, he was stubborn and hurt, no matter what he said to him, Fred wouldn't listen, he couldn't. Moving past the hurt that this Jack had caused was not possible for him right now.
George sighed as he took a detour passed the lake and made his way back to the castle. He was lost in his own thoughts; he didn't know how but he knew he had to try and fix things.
The first Triwizard task arrived, Emalia had spent a lot of time helping Harry prepare for the first task with Hermione. She found that she had a lot of free time outside of the classroom, and it meant she could temporarily escape the whispers.
Fred had been struggling with his rage the last few weeks, every time he saw Jack, he had to fight the urge to walk over and pummel him into the ground. He had been avoiding Emalia as well, his heart ached every time he saw her or thought of her; but he couldn't help looking for her in the crowd, because the emptiness he felt when she was not near was soul crushing.
He wanted to talk to her, but he also wanted to push her out of his mind and his heart without a second thought. Despite all this, he couldn't help but be drawn to her, but he wanted her to feel the pain she was feeling. He pushed it down, it was the day of the first Triwizard task and he was determined to enjoy the day off from the regular rigmarole of school.
The atmosphere was electric, the entire school, the delegates from the other school, other spectators, press and Ministry officials added to the buzzing atmosphere. Everyone was pushing and shoving, trying to get a seat as close to the action as possible.
There was a large wooden seating area, positioned over a cavernous pit filled full of large oval shaped boulders piled on top of each other, with a golden oval glittering amidst them in the cool winter sun.
Fred and George had managed to secure prime seats, and pulled Ginny, Ron, Lee, Angelina and Alicia along with them. He was watching the crowd, allowing the excitement in the air to filter through him. He was scanning the face of everyone in the crowd, his smile radiating out of him. This excitement in the air was infectious, and for the first time in weeks he felt like himself.
Emalia was a wreck, she was worried about Harry; herself and Hermione had spent the last few nights helping Harry prepare for the first task, and she hoped and prayed with every fibre of her being that Harry would make it through sat beside Hermione in the seats, and unlike everyone else, she was tense and full of worry. She was wringing her hands anxiously, staring into the pit. Hermione glanced over at her, before placing her hands over Emalia's.
'He'll be alright, I know he will,' murmured Hermione as she squeezed Emalia's hands. Emalia nodded stiffly, the pit in her stomach growing with each passing second.
They watched as Cedric, Fleur and Viktor all fought against their dragon, battling to collect the egg. Emalia could not join in the with roars of delight and disappointment of the crowd; she just sat there anxiously, waiting for Harry's turn.
When Harry came out all the Gryffindors burst into rapturous applause and shouts, echoing in the open space, almost drowning out Ludo Bagman's watched through her fingers as Harry dodged a rather angry and protective Hungarian Horntail who was out for Harry's blood. Time seemed to fly by, but simultaneously stood still. The roar of the crowd was deafening but it felt muffled in Emalia's ear. She felt as if she was present but also watching everything unfold in an outer body experience.
It took her a second to register Harry's dive down to get the golden egg and wrapping his arms around it. It was only when the crowd erupted into rapturous applause, was she shaken from her worry-filled state, and she finally let go of the breath she did not realise she was holding. Hermione pulled her into a hug, jumping and squealing with happiness. All the Gryffindors were stamping and hollering loudly as the dragonologists came to wrangle the Hungarian Horntail back into its enclosure.
Harry was awarded joint first place with Viktor Krum, closely followed by Cedric in second and Fleur in third. The crowd began to push forwards, desperate to be amongst the first people back up at the castle. Emalia watched as the crowd surged forwards, she sank back down onto the wooden seat of the podium, breathing deeply. She was the only one left, or so she thought. She could hear heavy footsteps on the wooden podium to her right. She looked towards the stocky red-headed man walking towards her.
'Alright, Emalia?' called Charlie as he grinned broadly at her.
'Hi Charlie,' she said smiling back, standing up as he arrived beside her. He wrapped one arm around her and gave her a quick hug before the two of them sat down.
'Harry did good today,' he began. 'I won't say I wasn't worried at the start, but I'm sure you were a nervous wreck. Mum was the same, she kept shrieking at me that Harry was too young. The way she was speaking to me, you'd swear I was personally forcing Harry to take part.'
He chuckled lowly. Emalia managed a small smile, she could imagine Mrs Weasley raging about how Harry shouldn't be allowed to compete, and it made her smile more when she visualised Mrs Weasley hounding Charlie about it.
'What are you doing here anyways?' asked Charlie, shaking Emalia out of her imaginings. 'Shouldn't you be joined to Fred's hip back in the Gryffindor Tower celebrating?'
Emalia stiffened, she could feel an immense wave of sadness wash over her, dragging her down to the depths of her sadness and loneliness. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, and before she could stop herself, they began to spill down her face. Charlie froze, he was not expecting this at all. Unsure of what to do, he sat there silently and gently pat Emalia's back. It took her a few moments to compose herself, and when she did she felt highly embarrassed that she had broken in front of Fred's older brother.
'I'm sorry, Charlie,' she sniffed, wiping her eyes in the sleeves of her jacket.
'Here,' he replied softly, handing her a polka dot handkerchief from his pocket. She took it and smiled,
'Thank you… I don't deserve your kindness.'
'I don't believe that for a second,' said Charlie gently. 'Whatever is going on with you and Fred, well you will fix it and come out stronger for it.'
Emalia shook her head, 'I don't know… I don't know if -'
'Hey, I don't need to know what happened, don't want to know either.' He said interrupting her. 'But what I do know is that I have never seen any two people more in love with each other than you and Fred. Crazy as it is to see the two of you wrapped up in that intense type of love so young, I know you two are meant to be.'
Emalia sat quietly not meeting Charlie's eye. She was afraid that if she did the tears would begin to fall once more.
'Whatever happened, don't give up on each other. You both deserve happiness, and I've never Fred happier than when he is with you.'
Charlie pat her on the back once more. 'Now go on. Get back to the Common Room, I'm sure Harry will want to celebrate with you.'
'Thank you Charlie,' she said rising out of her seat, handing him back his handkerchief.
'Don't worry Em, you will get through this, both of you.' He said, pulling her into a bear hug before she left.
She could hear the noise of the party in the Common Room as she approached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She managed to slink into the Common Room unnoticed and sat in a quiet corner, watching as everyone celebrated Harry's performance in the first task. Everyone was eating and drinking merrily. She wanted to go over and congratulate Harry, but he was in the centre of the room, surrounded by the Weasleys and the rest of the Quidditch team, and she did not want to make things awkward. She sighed and averted her eyes, keeping them trained on her feet as she quietly made her way to her dormitory. Fred had been aware of Emalia's presence as soon as she set foot in the Common Room.
He kept a watch for her out of the corner of his eye, watching her sit alone in the corner of the room, trying not to attract any attention. His heart ached, he wanted nothing more than to stride across the room and pull her into his arms and tell her how much he loved her. But, as he thought this, the image of Emalia and Jack kissing flooded his brain and filled him with sadness and rage. He turned his attention back to Harry and the rest of the Common Room, but after a few minutes he found himself scanning the room for her once again. Only this time she was not to be found. Fred sighed and ran his hand through his hair, before trying to focus on the party once more.
The party continued into the wee hours of the morning, Emalia was still lying awake in bed when Angelina and Alicia walked in, giggling quietly. She listened as they settled into bed and waited until she heard quiet permeate through the air once more, occasionally interrupted by Alicia's soft snores.
She listened to the snores, staring up at the canopy of her four-poster bed, trying to make out the grooves in the wood but it was pointless in the dark that cascaded around her. After what seemed like an age, sleep enveloped her too.
The following week brought the announcement of the Yule Ball. Towards the end of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall called for all the sixth years' attention.
'The Yule Ball is approaching – a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, and an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests.'
'Some of us have already gotten very close and personal with some of the Beauxbatons students,' said Paisley Parkinson in a loud whisper, turning around to look at Emalia with a vicious smile on her face.
Emalia clenched her fists underneath her desk but gave no other indication that she had heard the comment. Fred on the other hand glared at Paisley, watching as she took immense pleasure in humiliating Emalia in front of the class. He had made up his mind to find an opportunity to prank Paisley, when Professor McGonagall called for attention once more.
'Dress robes will be worn, and the ball will commence at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight, in the Great Hall.'
Professor McGonagall looked around the room. 'The Yule Ball is, of course, a chance for us all to – er – let out hair down,' she said in a disapproving voice. 'But that does NOT mean, that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way.'
The bell rang and Emalia pushed her chair out and quickly exited the classroom before everyone else. Fred felt like he should try and chase after her, he considered it for a minute before shaking his head and turning to follow his was watching his brother; he could see the struggle going on in his mind. He knew that he just needed a gentle nudge in the right direction. George could see how much Fred missed Emalia, how much he was longing to talk to her; but his rage and pride wouldn't let him.
As the rest of term drew on, George spent it trying to gently encourage his brother to talk to Emalia. Anytime George brought up the subject head on though, Fred would scowl and not answer.
'Have you thought about who you're going to ask to the Yule Ball?' asked George casually one morning on their way down to breakfast.
Fred shook his head, 'I have a few ideas on who I could ask, but nothing concrete yet.'
'Have you thought about maybe asking -'
'Don't George,' interrupted Fred. 'Just don't.'
They walked into the Great Hall, just in time to see Emalia throw the contents of her goblet straight into Jack's face. Before storming past them. George could swear he could see tears falling down Emalia's face as she pushed through them.
'Fred…' said George as he watched Emalia run off towards the Courtyard. Fred shrugged and walked down towards Alicia, Lee, and Angelina; all the while glaring at Jack.
George was torn, a huge part of him wanted to run after Emalia and see if she was ok, but he followed his brother to his seat, vowing to keep pushing him to talk to Emalia.
Emalia made it to the Courtyard, thankfully it was empty as most students were in the Great Hall for breakfast. Leaning back against the fountain, she took a deep breath in, the cold air stinging her nostrils as she inhaled. The tears that had fallen from her eyes, were beginning to solidify in the cold. She rubbed them from her face, before heading off to the last classes of term.
She had decided to spend the evening in the library, she knew that it would be very empty considering many people would be swarming their Common Rooms discussing the Yule Ball. It was something that Emalia was not looking forward to. She had a dress, according to Albus, but she had yet to see it. She had no interest in it, she had asked no one to the Ball, because she knew that the one and only person she wished to go with, wouldn't be asking her. The only comfort she took from the Yule Ball was that Fred still hadn't asked anyone to accompany him. It gave her hope. It was getting quite late, and she felt that she would be safe going back to the Common Room, so she could slip in unnoticed. When she arrived in the Common Room she saw Fred, George, Ron and Harry blocking her way to the girls' dormitories.
'So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?' Fred asked Ron and Harry.
'Nope,' said Ron.
'Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone,' said Fred.
'Who're you going with, then?' asked Ron.
For a brief moment, Emalia's hope began to rise, Fred still hadn't asked anyone, maybe it was her chance to ask him.
'Angelina,' said Fred promptly.
Emalia's heart shattered. George had turned slightly when Ron spoke next.
'What?' said Ron, taken aback. 'You've already asked her?'
'Oh, good point,' said Fred. He turned his head and called across the room. 'Oi! Angelina!'
George turned to face Emalia; his face full of pity.
'You should go, Em. You don't want to see this,' he said quietly.
She couldn't move, she was rooted to the spot, forced to watch the man she loved ask someone else to a ball they should be attending together.
'What?' called Angelina, looking over at him.
'Want to come to the ball with me?' he asked smiling.
The whole Common Room fell silent. Everyone was watching the scene in front of them, Fred had not noticed Emalia standing behind him. Alicia looked from Angelina to Fred, shaking her head at her friends, when she noticed Emalia and her eyes went wide with realisation.
'Sure,' she said smiling at Fred before turning to face a horrified looking Alicia.
'There you go,' said Fred turning back to Ron and Harry. 'Piece of cake.' He still hadn't noticed Emalia, at least he didn't until she dropped her bag on the floor, the contents spilling out in every direction.
He turned and finally saw her, the frozen look of hurt, confusion and heartache written clearly across her face. He watched as she slowly turned and walk out of the Common Room, a blank expression taking over her face, leaving her belongings all over the floor.
George turned and looked at him, shaking his head. 'I don't think I have ever been disappointed in you, Freddie… but now I think I might be.'
George whipped out his wand and quickly magicked Emalia's belongings back into her bag and left them on the nearest empty armchair. Angelina was looking rather uncomfortable and smiled weakly at Fred when she caught his eye.
'Come on,' he said to George. 'We have a letter to send. We better use a school owl.' George followed him and continued to push at him over what had just happened. Fred felt the pit growing in his stomach and his own heart ache as he drowned out his brother's comments and walked to the Owlery.
Emalia was on auto pilot. She didn't know where she was going, the only thing she did know was that she needed to get away from there. She walked out of the castle, deep into the grounds. She walked past the Beauxbatons golden carriage, which was illuminated by the last rays of sun. She took off walking around the lake, following the edge of the forest treeline as guidance. She kept walking and walking as the light disappeared from the sky and darkness enveloped her.
Tears were streaming down her face this time, as her heart felt as if it had exploded. She felt empty inside but at the same time was feeling every emotion in quick succession. A loud noise from the edge of the forest broke her out of her daze. She heard it again, heavy footfall, cracking fallen branches in the undergrowth.
'Hello?' she called, backing away slowly. She reached into her robes, searching for her wand but they were empty. A flash of memory reminded her that she had dropped it along with her bag in the Common Room.
The footsteps sounded closer now, and as she back away from the treeline, her robes caught underneath her feet, sending her falling backwards. The was the last thing she remembered until her world was plunged into darkness.
Fred felt awful, he didn't know what had come over him. He had entertained the idea of asking Angelina to the ball, but the more he thought about it the more wrong it felt. He had no idea what had urged him on to ask her. Maybe somewhere subconsciously he knew that Emalia had entered the Common Room. As much as he did not want to admit it to himself, there was a part of him that wanted to hurt Emalia the way she had hurt him. To shatter her heart and leave it in irreparable pieces, just like she had done to him.
He was lying in bed, restless, listening to the snores of the other boys. He couldn't take the noise anymore and swinging his legs out of the bed, stretched his feet out on the cold stone walked to the door, giving it a hard pull as it had a habit of getting stuck. He made his way down to the Common Room, the fire was still burning away, though not as brightly or as furiously as before. He sank down into the armchair, sending specks of dust flying up in the air, catching off the light coming from the fireplace.
'Quiet at last' he murmured to himself, as he leaned his head against the back of the chair. He sighed deeply, before looking around the empty room. His eyes lingered on an irregular black shape tucked in beside the armchair opposite him. He frowned, walking over to the lump and picked it up, recognising it as Emalia's schoolbag instantly.
His frown deepened; it was completely unlike Emalia to leave her belongings lying around the Common Room. He felt a pang of guilt, the look of heartbreak on Emalia's face flashed into his mind's eye. He sat back down, moving the bag to the side of his chair. Wracking his brain to try and come up with a way to use this to begin a conversation. He needed to talk to her again, even if it was just to clear the air between them. That was the reason his brain was giving him, but his heart was telling him that he needed to talk to her so he could breathe again. As much as he tried to run from his feelings, he loved her more than he disliked her, and he couldn't keep the space between them for much longer. Snow began to fall against the window, and soon enough the quiet of the Common Room lulled Fred to sleep.
Fred was awoken early the next morning, with the bright winter's light streaming in through the window. He yawned and stretched, before heading up to his dormitory. Everyone was still asleep; he decided to change and make his way down to the Great Hall. His stomach was rumbling loudly, hunger gnawing at him. When he arrived down in the Great Hall, it was fairly empty. A lot of seventh year students with their bags sitting beside them, fuelling up for a day spent in the library studying. There were a few Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students loitering around the place. He was just about to tuck into a steaming plate of sausages and scrambled egg when Jack approached him. A scowl covered his face when he saw Jack sit opposite him.
'What do you want?' he asked, his voice dripping with hostility.
'I need to talk to you… Explain and apologise,' began Jack, his voice low and sorrowful.
'Shove it, I don't want to listen to your excuses,' said Fred, suddenly standing up from the table.
'Wait!' said Jack, standing after him. 'You don't understand! You cannot blame Emalia for what I did. I kissed her, she pushed me away and punched me in the face. I was in the wrong. She loves you more than anything that she was willing to suffer silently, deal with whatever you dealt out to her before she came to explain.'
Fred was standing, his face unreadable, but the rage and loathing was radiating off him in waves. Jack had to fight the urge to flinch and cower under the other boy's rage, he needed to explain.
'I know there is nothing I can say about my behaviour… it was appalling... and I can't even apologise to Emalia because as soon as I get anywhere near her, she either confunds or hexes me… not that it isn't deserved.'
Fred was trembling with rage.
'Get out of my sight. It's taking everything I have right now to not punch you.' He said through grit teeth.
Jack nodded and walked off silently, his head down avoiding the few prying eyes that were looking in his direction. Fred had lost his appetite; his mind was swirling with a whole array of emotions. He walked back to the Common Room, deep in thought. When he arrived, he saw Angelina sitting in the corner of the Common Room, waiting for the others to join her.
'Hey, Ange…' he called softly walking up to her. 'Can we talk?'
Angelina looked up at him and sighed. 'Before you even say it, I have decided that I don't think we should go to the Yule Ball together.'
Fred looked at her taken aback. 'How?'
'Anyone can see that you are madly in love with Emalia… and a part of me wanted to help you hurt her the way she hurt you… but Alicia was right… I shouldn't have taken sides, and I shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place.' She said, a sad expression on her face. 'When you see Emalia… tell her I'm sorry… I've been a bad friend to both of you.'
'What do you mean? Is she not up in your dorm?' he asked confused.
Angelina shook her head, 'No, she must have left early this morning, although she wasn't in her bed when Alicia and I were going to sleep last night.'
Fred frowned; this was not like Emalia in the slightest. Alicia arrived down in the Common Room, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
'Morning' she yawned in Fred's direction, before Angelina grabbed her by the arm and led her down to breakfast.
Fred sat down, waiting for his brother, contemplating what Jack and Angelina had said to him. He was deep in thought when he heard his name being called from the other side of the room.
'Fred.'
He turned around, 'Pucey?' he said completely confused. 'What are you doing in here?' He could see the terror on Adrian's face.
'What's happened?' asked Fred urgently, his stomach dropping.
'It's Em… You need to come with me.'
Fred rose from his seat quickly as he took three long strides to get across the Common Room. The two boys sprinted out of the room, trying to outrun the fear and dread that had taken a hold of them both.