Ch. 39: Chrysanthemums

     Parchment rolls were scattered across the desk beside my four-poster bed. I sat, balancing on the stiff oak chair with my legs crossed over themselves as I drummed my fingers across the writing desk, staring out the window. 

     The winter was melting away now, with each sunny day unfreezing more and more frost. The Blake Lake, which had been frozen over for nearly two months, was now lazily lapping at the shore once more. I watched birds fly across the robin's egg horizon, but my mind was nowhere close to the Charms paper I was tasked with completing before noon. I was thinking about a certain Beater, despite my best willpower.

     The door to my dormitory room creaked open with a determined whoosh. Yet, I didn't turn to look. 

      "Elizabeth Granger. We need to have a talk." 

      I docked my quill and rolled out my shoulders, blinking my tired eyes slowly -- as if to pull myself from my melancholic thoughts. With a groan, I watched as Lana pushed my assignment roll forward, making room for her to sit on it. 

      "Go away," I whined as she smacked me upside the head. It didn't hurt, of course, but it did grab my attention. She looked concerned, a furrow set deep in her brown but the spark in her eyes never wavering. Loose strands of red hair framed her upturned chin, mouth set hard.

       She was completely serious. Something must be up.

      Groggily, I dropped my legs to the floor and rubbed my eyes. The clock on the wall above Hermione's desk read 7 am, though most of my roommates had already left a while ago for breakfast or class. "What's up, Lana? Can't you see I'm doing something super important?" I sarcastically said, flamboyantly pointing to the Charms paper. It was barely started and the longer I procrastinated on it, the worse my cram time would be.

      "Is that Flitwick's three-page paper?" Lana asked, gingerly picking up the roll with a tisk. "That you've only got two paragraphs on..."

       "Yeah," I groaned, running my hands through my mused curls. My eyes felt heavy and my head was pounding. "I'm screwed. I can't think straight."

     Lana sighed, shaking her head as she set the paper back down. "I know you are more of a procrastinator than Hermione," she giggled. "But, this isn't like you."

       "I'm just," I floundered for the words, eyes wandering out the window once more, "I don't know."

       "It's about Fred." She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me a small glare. "You can deny it all you want, but you miss him."

       "As if,--" I scoffed. My cheeks flushed pink, betraying my words.

      "Why are you being such a bitch?" Lana snickered. 

       My mouth fell open a little. "Woah woah woah, hold up - I'm the bitch? You know what happened, why am I --"

       She interrupted me, shaking her head. "Chill a sec. Not like a bitch, bitch. But, like a bitch to yourself, you know?" Lana shook her head, trying to find the right words with wicked humour in her eyes. "You're clearly making yourself miserable. Besides, Fred told me that he has been trying to talk to you, but you won't give him the time of day." 

           "He really hurt me, Lana," I growled, feeling the twisting sensation of guilt in the pit of my stomach. Deep down I knew she was right. I sighed and she just gave me the look, knowing she was right. 

     I cradled my cheek in my hand and lazily looked away from her devious eyes. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

      She sighed deeply, shaking her head, and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. There was a brief moment of silence, and it felt as if the shallow humour of the moment had drained. "I actually wanted to talk about Moody." 

     "Moody?" I frowned, leaning back in my chair. The name caused a shiver to crawl down my spine, like a spider under your shirt -- it was an icky sensation. "Ugh, did you find out anything else?"

       "Not a thing." Lana shook her head, eyes searching the room but still holding a far-off look. "I managed to get into his classroom office. I couldn't find anything to prove what you said, about him stealing from Snape. I thought that something may be in his bedroom, though. But, the Professors' Dormitories are totally off-limits and patroled by House Heads all the time." Lana rolled her eyes. "Probably worried about the Weasley twins setting off a Dung Bomb, or other obvious vandals." 

       Lana shook her head and continued. "Yeah, I mean, there was some paperwork on the desks, drawings of some sort. Some really dark stuff, actually, and one of the TwiWizard Cup, ..." her voice trailed off.

      I snickered at the thought she'd placed in my mind about the Twins. I could practically see McGonagall fuming and covered in blue paint, wheeling George and Fred out of the Professors' Wing by their ears. "Yeah, I bet they've tried."

              With a soft smile, my mind lingered on the thought of Fred. His rambunctious nature, his need to constantly create chaos; I wondered where his restlessness came from. My mind wandered to the stunt he'd pulled on the Girls Staircase, climbing the walls like some kind of vigilante on a mission. I flushed and bit back a laugh.

      Lana cleared her throat, pulling me back to this moment. "You're totally thinking about Fred right now," she teased.

       "OKAY!" I declared, feeling her all-knowing gaze slicing my skin. "Alright, you're right; I'll talk to him tomorrow..." I mumbled, feeling a twist in my stomach at the thought.

         Lana shook her head and hopped from my desk, landing delicately on the floor with feline air. "No, you are going to talk right now. He's waiting downstairs." She chuckled and grabbed something off her bed, placing it into my hand. 

      "Toothpaste?" I glared at her. "Are you insinuating I have horrid breath?" 

Lana snorted and nodded her head quickly and repeatedly. "Hell yeah - I don't know one person who doesn't have horrible morning breath! Now, go brush your teeth you nasty." 

      Rolling my eyes, I squeezed some blue gel onto my toothbrush and jammed it into my mouth, suddenly feeling very nervous about facing Fred. I didn't look very attractive, after all, I'd been up since before dawn working on my Charms assignment. Clad in old sweats with yesterday's eyeliner smeared across my face, I wasn't the shining example of romance. Plus, my hair was a frizzy mess. 

Scrubbing hard, I ran to the bathroom and spit, calling out to Lana. "I'm not presentable - you expect me to go down looking like this? I'm not some cliche romance character who looks like a goddess after just getting out of bed you know, I have prob-"

        "Yeah yeah yeah, shut up and just put on some deodorant and wash your face; you look fine." Lana sighed, exasperated and tossed me a stick of deodorant. 

        Slowly I gave her a protesting face but put it on without a word, then quickly rubbed my face raw with a soapy towel. "I don't know what to say to h--"

      She clasped a hand over my mouth and shook her head. "Shhh, you hear that?" I tried to pry her hand away from my mouth but she only kept it over my lips tighter.

I stopped making noises as she held a hand to her ear, looking as if she was trying really hard to pick up a sound. I shook my head, no - I couldn't hear anything but her breathing. "That's the sound of your years as a cat lady calling: 'Elllleee' 'Elllee'." She cried in an old, decrepit voice.

Angrily, I pulled away from her and gave her a huff. "Hardy har har, very funny - alright, I'll go talk to him, gez." Lana watched me with a half amused smile, but her eyes told me she was slightly scared. Frowning, I stopped walking towards the stairs and gave her a curious look. "What's the matter Lana?"

She tore her eyes away from mine and paled a little, clutching her arms around her slender frame. "Aha, nothing, nothing - now - go talk to Fred!" She pestered, plastering a smile onto her face and shoving me out the door.

Glowering at her, I pulled my pajama pants up higher and lowered my tank top, straightening myself out nervously. As I descended the stairs, the foyer opened up to the view of Fred standing by the fireplace, a bouquet of flowers in his arms, nervously glaring at the fireplace.

       My heart lurched as I stood there, watching him out of strange curiosity like a cat would watch a mouse pilfering through its things. It felt weird and slightly eerie. Gnawing on my bottom lip, I leaned over the guard rail towards him, clearing my throat and causing him to jump and look up at me in surprise. Some part of me didn't want to get any closer, and the other part wanted nothing more.

      Fred half smiled and lifted the flowers in a kind of 'apology' and 'please hear me out' gesture. Sighing, I ran a hand through my messy hair in a feeble attempt to tame it and mustered up the courage to walk over to him. I offered him a small smile and awkwardly took the flowers as he shoved them into my arms, probably trying to force them on me before I could refuse.

      "I didn't think you would come down." He mumbled awkwardly, glaring down at his shoes. 

        I shook my head slightly and smirked a little, trying to think of something smart to say. The flowers felt strange in my arms as I shuffled on my feet. "I mean, you've been trying pretty hard to get my attention," I said with a smirk though my heart was hammering a mile a minute, "so, here I am."

       "Here you are."

       "What do you want, Fred?" I pressed, watching as his face danced between an array of emotions as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. "If this is gonna be a whole thing about you and Angie and me, and how you don't know what you want, or whatever, then just don't start, okay? I've got a lot on my plate already. Besides, I've got two and a half more pages of a paper to write and you're kinda wasting my t--"

"Shut up Elizabeth." Fred sighed and pulled me into him, pressing his lips tightly onto mine so abruptly, I was caught off guard and slightly confused. 

     For a few seconds, I felt my body give in and I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning in close. He smelt good like wood and honey, slightly overwhelming my senses for a while. However, my mind suddenly went into a frenzy and I quickly shoved him away, creating much-needed space.

        "What the fuck?" I flushed, removing my hand from his chest as I blushed from embarrassment and confusion. "You can't just kiss me out of the blue like that! Who do you think you are, Patrick Swayze?"

     "Who?"

     "Forget it," I quipped, lips tingling.

"Sorry, it works in the movies - you know, the guy hurts the girl, then she vents, then he kisses her to show he's sorry and she forgives him." Fred chuckled and I glowered at him, throwing my hands up in the air. How could he be joking around right now?

       I fought the urge to grin, though deep down I already wanted to forgive him. I'd been called stubborn all my life, after all. Clutching the bouquet closer to me, I sighed and shook my head as his ears burned with the confession. 

       "We aren't a fairytale, Fred. You can't just hurt me, then kiss me and expect to be forgiven on the spot, you know." My words were stern, but the tone wavered with weak intention. 

       Fred ran a hand through his hair and pointed to his chest, all traces of joking washed away. "Look, I don't know how to deal with stuff like this, L. I don't know how to act, so I'm doing what I do best, messing around." Fred sighed and shifted on his feet. "I know we're not some fairytale, but we are Us. And, I like Us. I like us a lot."

       "Well, what about Angelina?"

       "I don't feel anything for Angelina; she's a friend. I was shocked when she kissed me, I swear." He furrowed his brow and mimicked me by crossing his arms over his chest. "I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened."

        I sighed and threw myself onto the couch, setting the flowers on the table. The Common Room was still empty except for us, and I was grateful. I played with the silky petals on the flowers and swallowed a humourless laugh. 

       Fred gingerly sat beside me, leaving a comfortable amount of space. "I'm sorry," he said softly, looking at his hands. "I'm sorry you got hurt. It's the last thing I wanted to happen." Fred smirked and sat up straight. "I like you, a lot ... most of the time," he teased, still trying to lighten the mood.

       I peered into his eyes and felt my cheeks flushed with colour. "Most?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes with a light-hearted chuckle. It broke through the tension like a breath of fresh air, and I could feel Fred soften beside me.  

     Fred laughed alongside me and nodded towards the flowers, ducking his head slightly. "Ginny said I needed to get you flowers. To apologize. I would get you sweets, but I ate them all and didn't have enough Sickles to buy more."

I chuckled dryly and felt my body start to drain of all hatred and just fill with a slight embarrassment towards how I'd treated Fred. I picked up the flowers and held them closer to my face. "Chrysanthemums." I stated deadly, giving him a look. "I hate chrysanthemums."

       Fred's face fell despite catching the humour in my tone, and he scratched the back of his neck. "Well... I wasn't entirely sure what you liked and they looked...cool. Look, I'm not a flower guy."

"Fake." I muttered. And he rose a brow, putting a hand over his chest.

      "I'm not a fake, I'm trying to show you I'm sorry." Fred flushed defensively, worried that he'd ruined it once again. "Bloody hell," he joked, "the least you could do is pretend you like them, Letter --"

 I snorted and let out a chuckle, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "No you dumb ass! Not you, the chrysanthemums - they aren't even real! You got me fake flowers!

       "Oi, no way?" He jumped up and grabbed the plastic bouquet with a frown, ripping a whole flower from it and trying to tear it apart, but failing. I chuckled from the couch and shook my head.

       "That flower lady lied to me." He muttered with a smile, shaking his head and handing me the flower back. "Well, you can give them away, or toss them if you'd like."

Looking at the awful flowers in my hands, I couldn't help but smile lightly and clutch them close to myself in happiness. "You such an idiot, Fred. I'll keep them - now they won't wilt." I grinned and tossed the flowers next to me on the couch and grabbed Fred by the collar, pulling him into me and planting a firm kiss on his lips, and ignoring the obnoxious snap of a camera to the right of me.

      Lana, it appeared, had come down the stairs after all.

✧

       The following day was a special one for all the Champions. Hogwarts was hosting the families of each contestant, celebrating their achievements thus far and encouraging them as they prepared for the daunting day ahead, which was sure to be a very difficult, final match for the Triwizard Champions. 

       It was fun to see Cedric and Viktor's families, their parents and close family relatives all arrived at breakfast to see the final match in the Tournament, and everyone was chattering with excitement over the coming end of term. Of course, I'd already met Fleur's family briefly, but the Delacour lot sure did know how to turn heads as the Veelas strode through the Hogwarts halls.

      Harry Potter, of course, had no one to invite. But, rather than have him be left out, the Weasleys had shown up to support him with welcoming arms and a few words of caution. And, a few biting words for Hermione and me, too.

"So, Elizabeth." Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and sipped her cup of tea while Mr. Weasley was busy cracking jokes with Cedric's father. "I hear you have been adjusting well?" She pointed her nose up in the air slightly and looked at me with a weary expression, giving me the sense that she was judging me over something.

        "Ehr, yeah I have actually Mrs. Weasley." 

      "Mhm..." She nodded, eyes travelling around, making me feel very uncomfortable in her presence. Ginny noticed this and leaned in towards me, whispering into my ear.

       "Mum reads Me, Myself, and I ... She thinks you and Hermione are currently 'teases' and that you have been doing nothing but fooling around with Fred and Diggory." Ginny snickered and sipped her orange juice with an amused smile. "So, how are the two of you anyway?" She said, hinting at Fred and me.

        "Good actually, better than ever thanks to you, Gin." I chuckled, turning away from Mrs Weasley and taking a bite of toast. I eyeballed Fred as he described the dragon challenge to his father, roaring and flapping his arms as if they were wings. "He told me that you told him to buy me flowers."

      "So he did, right? He's a bloody idiot, Elle. I don't know how you Grangers can stand my brothers - really." She rolled her eyes lovingly and I chuckled in agreement. My eyes trailed over to Mrs Weasley who was still giving me a smart look.

      Slowly, I set my fork down and sighed, facing her flat out. "Mrs Weasley, just so you know, I never dated Cedric, he and I are only friends. What you read in the article a few months ago were only rumours that Rita Skeeter had gathered, I swear. In fact, I'm friends with Cho Chang, she's Cedric's girlfriend."

        Her face softened a little and she cast a look at her son sitting next to me, shovelling eggs into his mouth while listening in to our conversation, unashamed of it. "Well Fred, is there anything you want to tell me?" She said in a motherly tone, slightly wondering if the rumours about me and him were true.

Fred gave me a weary look and then laughed loudly, drawing Hermione, Jenna, and Lana's attentions for a minute or two. "Yeah actually, Mum." He slung a hand over my shoulder and kissed me on the cheek, making my face burn. "I'd like you to officially meet my girlfriend, we may be bad for each other, but we work things out in the end."

Mrs. Weasley's mouth popped open in surprise and happiness while Hermione spat milk out at Ron, hitting him in the chest and causing her to blush madly but turn to glare at Fred. I gave Fred a glare of my own since this was news to me.

Fred rose a brow and snickered then turned over to me. "Sorry, hold on - Elle. You are my girlfriend."

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(Rewrite A/N: Lots of readers hated the camera shots. But, I thought they were funny. And, as such, we're leaving them in! Only 1 chapter left, ya'll)