♫ cherry

- harry styles

"don't you call him baby... we're not talking lately..."

✧

After what happened with Fred, Priscilla felt inclined to sit in the Slytherin common room for once, despite the looming threat of Draco and his lackeys. Vader sat comfortably on her shoulder as always, looking down at her book with wide little eyes; Priscilla had borrowed a book from the library on advanced dueling techniques. 

It seems she wasn't the only person who didn't care what the rest of the house thought. Cassius and Adrian were making out in the corner of the room as if they were completely alone. It made Priscilla chuckle to herself; her friends are badasses.

She looked up from her book when she noticed Draco and Pansy enter the common room. They narrowed their eyes at her and continued to the other side of the room, where they sat crowded in shadow. An alarm went off in the back of Cilla's head. Usually, those two insult her the moment they see her, and their silence today could mean nothing good was about to happen.

✧

Cedric was on a mission to find Nitara. After his conversation with Priscilla, he realized it was time to have her back in his life. The third task was vastly approaching, and he wanted Nitara on his side like she always was.

The first place he wanted to check since leaving the library was the Hufflepuff common room, so he rushed down to those familiar barrels with haste, starting to feel a little giddy. When he rounded the corner, he had to back into the shadows, his smile cracking just for a moment.

Nitara was standing in front of the entrance to the common room. Talking to Cho.

"Nini, please. I miss you so much," Cho pleaded, tears in her eyes.

Nitara was rubbing her temples, looking distressed. "Cho, I want to, I really do, but-"

"Then it should be easy! Meet me tonight-"

"But-"

Then Cho was pulling Nitara in for a kiss. It was rushed and desperate, and it made Cedric's heart fall to the floor. It was one thing to know about his now ex-girlfriend and his best friend's romance, it was a whole other ballpark to see it happen in front of him. For some reason, however, he couldn't leave.

He felt himself start to slip back into the mindset he was in for the past couple of weeks. Nitara could've grown devil horns out of her head and he'd believe it. But he was surprised to see Nitara break away at grab Cho's shoulders.

"I can't be with you, Cho. I just can't," Nitara said, looking torn.

Cho sniffled. "Is it because of Cedric? You two don't even talk anymore!"

"Did you forget why we don't talk anymore?" Nitara snapped. Cho flinched, and Nini relaxed a bit, likely feeling bad for being so harsh to the girl. "Cho, that night, you know I felt the same way. You know this is something I want just as much as you do, but I can't. Please understand."

She turned around and tapped the barrels, opening the entrance to the common room and slipping inside. Cho darted down the halls, palms over her eyes sobbing loudly, completely missing Cedric as she ran past him.

Cedric sighed, unsure of what to do. Then he noticed another familiar face walking by with tears in her eyes: Hermione Granger.

✧

Priscilla had a brilliant plan to get Fred to talk to her again. The kiss lit a fire under her and she was sure he would want to talk to her now. Maybe not get back together just yet, but a conversation was better than nothing.

She enlisted George's help. It was risky, George could easily just tell his brother and the whole thing would be off, but George seemed to agree with Cilla that the two should talk again. "Honestly, everyone's been acting so weird since you two... you know," George had said, too apprehensive to use the word 'breakup.' "If helping you with this means everyone will stop acting so bloody weird, then I'm game, Cilly."

Priscilla was waiting in the boathouse later that evening. The old wooden boats were creaking as they bumped against the dock from the waves. Perhaps it was a little risky for Cilla to be near the lake after temporarily blinding half its merpeople, but hey. What's life without a little risk?

She used a light charm Fred taught her to light the ceiling of the boathouse to make it twinkle. She even snagged some cushions from Trelawny's classroom to make for a comfy conversation spot, or if things went according to her plan... a you-know-what spot.

George was darting through the hallways minutes before curfew trying to find Fred. He checked all of his usual spots will no luck. Then, in a last-minute ditch effort, George headed down to the dungeons towards the Slytherin common room.

Fred was standing outside the door to the common room, talking with a very annoyed Pansy Parkinson.

"I don't want to go in, you daft woman, I'm asking you to go in and bring her outside!" Fred insisted.

She scoffed dramatically. "First you end things with me, then you ask me to help you rekindle a romance with another woman? You are a dog, Fred Weasley!"

Fred tilted his head up to the ceiling and bopped about like an impatient toddler. "We were never together, Pansy! Now go get Priscilla!"

"OI!" George called to his brother, waving him over. Fred shot a glare at Pansy before walking over. "Quit wasting your time, I know where she is," George said, and the two were off.

Pansy smirked as they left the hallway, and walked back into the common room with a spring in her step.

✧

Anxiety was beginning to riddle in Cilla's chest as she waited. She started fiddling with her fingers, her nails covered in chipped black nail polish. Before she realized it, she started pacing back and forth.

"Look at you."

She whipped her head around at the entrance of the boathouse. It was Fred, half-smirking down at her with his hands in his pockets. "Don't think I've ever seen you so nervous. What's the occasion?"

Cilla's mouth opened, speechless, and she started laughing nervously. "I just want to talk." 

She motioned at the cushions on the floor and Fred sat down with a sigh. "I should probably start, huh?" Fred offered.

Cilla shrugged. "I dunno," she admitted. "I hate how serious we're being right now. I hate all of this."

"Me too," Fred said, looking at her. His eyes flickered to the floor as he began explaining. "I... meant what I said that day. It's true, I don't know how to help you when your powers affect you like that. I don't know if I can be what you need."

"Why?"

"It's not that I don't want to be there for you. Fuck, we both know I do," Fred said, looking at her. He was smiling now, and to everyone else, he might've looked a little mad, but to Priscilla, he looked lost. "I just don't know... how."

"Am I a burden to you, then?" Priscilla said, a weight slowly lifted off her chest.

"No! God no-"

"You said it was exhausting being with me," Priscilla pointed out. Her voice sounded so small.

"It's exhausting not knowing how to help you... but I don't care anymore. These last few weeks have been-"

"Awful?"

"Bloody awful," he agreed, chuckling. "I'm so sorry, Priscilla."

She nodded, looking down in thought. Her nails were digging into the skin on her arms as she hugged her knees. "You always told me to be strong, Fred. I've gotten better at controlling it."

"I know, I felt your powers before I saw you in the hallway. Cheers for not fainting by the way," he added with a smile. "You're mad for kissing me, though. I didn't deserve it."

"Why were you hanging around Pansy?"

Fred shrugged. "Was gonna prank her when I felt like it."

Priscilla laughed. Of course, that was his plan. It clearly took inspiration from her previous prank plot with Draco.

A wood plank nearby creaked loudly.

"What was that, Weasley?"

The lights in the boathouse extinguished. Only Filch's lantern, illuminating the devilish smiles of Filch, Draco and Pansy could be seen now as they stood in the doorway, peering over at them. "We got you now," Filch snarled.

"Didn't plan on that," Priscilla whispered in defeat. This would explain Pansy and Draco.