- 9 - 

"Aw El, stop ignoring me!"

"I'm trying to pay attention to the lesson," I whisper.

"Watch, I reckon I can make it do a flip." He uses his hand as a springboard, he bounces the bouncing bulb higher and higher.

"Fred, knock it off or you'll get us in trouble." I laugh quietly, grabbing hold of the bouncing bulb that he had purposefully let go of, laughing as it went bouncing across our shared table. It had become a habit in the weeks since the Yule Ball. Every class Fred and I shared, I'd always find myself sitting next to him. It seemed to be working and meant I didn't feel bad for leaving one of my boys by themselves when there was an uneven number of us in the class.

"C'mon El, you and I both know Professor Sprout wouldn't dare discipline her sweet, innocent prefect." He teases, and I swat his arm.

"Just because I'm prefect doesn't mean I can't get in trouble you git," though he only laughs in response, mostly because as I finish the sentence the plant jumps out of my hands again.

"Now the bouncing bulb is a relatively easy plant to identify, it's root is purple," Professor Sprout gestures towards the root, "and a bunch of leaves growing out its top." She continues to ramble on about the plant but I'm yet again distracted by Fred.

He puts his hand in his palm, and leans his arm on the table, now looking at me instead of the lesson. "So I was thinking the other day."

"Be careful, you might hurt yourself," I muttered, trying to pay attention to Professor Sprout who was now demonstrating how to subdue the plant if it attacks. He turns his attention back to the bouncing bulb, making it jump between his hands. I watch him as he concentrates. It had been two or so weeks since his possible confession after the Yule ball. We hadn't mentioned it since, and I didn't know whether it was because he didn't mean anything by it. That his admittance to wanting to be my date to the Yule Ball had been because we had become friends, and that was all. Or he had feelings for me, the possibility of that being the reason had quickly become something I couldn't get out of my mind.

"Ouch my poor emotions," He fake gasps, "anyway George and I were remembering that you're quite skilled in the art of excuses, and we were thinking you could give us a hand with something later today.

"Fred I am not helping you and George prank someone."

"I wouldn't call it a prank... think of it as sacrificing the individual for the entertainment of the greater Hogwarts population." I send him a look but he just grins innocently. "Aw, c'mon it'll be f- oh shit." The bouncing bulb he was restraining in his hands suddenly escapes and turns on him. Professor Sprout sends a knockback jinx at the plant, and the plant quickly calms down.

"Mr. Weasley, if you gave the same level of attention you were giving Miss Black perhaps you would've known the correct jinx in order to subdue the plant." Professor Sprout gives him a pointed look as the rest of the class stifles laughs. My cheeks heat up and I facepalm myself.

"Elora was just helping me understand the uses of the Bouncing Plant, such as the role it plays in the pompion potion." Professor Sprout shakes her head at Fred's charming smile but continues on with the lesson.

"You're the actual worst." I scoff, astonished at the fact he didn't even get points taken off him.

"I'm a bloody delight thank you very much."

*

In all honesty, I don't know how I got myself into this mess. A little over an hour ago, I was innocently eating lunch when I got dragged into this anarchy. I could hear Fred and George's footsteps thundering on either side of me as we ran through the Hogwarts corridors. Fred grabbed my hand suddenly, pulling me left down one hallway instead of another, nearly pulling me off my feet. I couldn't help but miss Cedric's training sessions, I feel like I wouldn't be as out of breath as I am had I been training every week for quidditch. Suddenly I'm dreading my return to Quidditch next year. Cedric wouldn't hesitate to put me through absolute hell to get the team back up to our peaks.

"I think... we should... be... fine now..." George panted, coming to a stop in the corridor. I was glad I wasn't the only one who was out of shape. Fred stops as well, bending over with his hands on his knees attempting to catch his breath.

"Remind me again why we pranked them?"

"Insulted our canary creams -" Fred began, after finally regaining his breath.

"-couldn't let it slide." George finished.

"So your response to someone insulting your prank is to prank them?" I questioned.

"Hey, hey, there's no you in this." George joked, "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have come up with the idea of turning their head into a pumpkin. This was a 'we' situation." I laugh at them, still in disbelief that we had gotten away with it in the first place.

"I just can't believe we didn't get caught." Someone clears their throat from behind us, I winced as I turned and saw Professor McGonagall's disapproving face. I quickly recognized the corridor we had stopped in, if we turned left at the end we would reach McGonagall's office.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Black, Mr. Weasley, it seems filch is on the lookout for a group of three who used a pompion potion to turn another student's head into a pumpkin. You three wouldn't have any involvement in that, would you?" I did my best to put on an innocent smile, but part of me knew that Professor McGonagall would never believe it. Not with the Weasley twins on either of my sides.

"No idea what you're talking about Professor, Fred, George and I were just out for a run." I lied, knowing it was a terrible lie. "We're all Quidditch players, as you know, and we didn't want to be completely out of shape for the next season." The twins nodded eagerly, McGonagall eyed us suspiciously. Other than her own assumptions, she had no proof. I heard Fred shuffle beside me, and could tell something was quite right with him. I could only hope that whatever it was, he could get control over it while we stood in front of McGonagall.

"Well, I suppose there's no proof you thr-"

"Shit!" Fred cursed under his breath as a bouncing bulb jumped out of his pocket, his hand jutted forward, catching the plant and hiding it behind his back. I cringed, there was no way she wouldn't make the connection between the plant and the potion.

"Mr. Weasley, that wouldn't happen to be a bouncing bulb. The main ingredient of the pompion potion?" McGonagall asked she sent the three of us a stern look.

"No?" Fred replied though it came out as a question. If we weren't screwed before, we definitely were now.

"Detention, tomorrow night at 7." McGonagall stated, "It seems Miss Black, you've inherited some of your Uncles affinity for mischief." I don't think she realized what she said, until after she had said it. There seemed to be a saddened, yet reminiscent look on her face. I thought back to the stories Sirius and Remus had told me about their run-ins with Professor McGonagall. It seemed that maybe, even she held some fond memories of their time at Hogwarts. She walked past us and retreated into her office. Only once she had shut the door did I hear Fred and George's groans of annoyance. I could only find myself frowning, Professor McGonagall didn't know of Sirius' innocence, yet her comment made me feel like she chose to remember a different man to the one painted in the wanted posters.

*

I met up with the Weasley Twins in front of Professor McGonagall's office after a day filled with jokes from my boys about the fact I had pulled a prank and gotten detention. They were all quite disbelieving when I first told them. Just as I arrived, Professor McGonagall came out of her office.

"Follow me you three," She called, walking off down the hallway and expecting us to follow. Fred threw his arm around my shoulder as we walked.

"You excited for your first ever detention?" He smirked, I looked at him and laughed.

"And why do you think I've never had a detention before?"

"Oh, well I sorta just assumed."

"Well you're wrong, I've had my fair share over the years." Fred nods appreciatively. Professor McGonagall stopped in front of the Great Hall and pushed the doors open.

"Miss Black, you and one of the twins shall be scraping the gum from under the tables," she stated, and I sent her a confused look. She handed me two spatula-like tools. George and Fred looked between themselves.

"We're not all serving detention together?" I questioned

"I learnt in their first year that more mess is made, rather then cleaned if these two serve detention together." McGonagall sent a pointed look in their direction. "Now who will it be boys?"

"Fred can stay Professor," George stated and followed McGonagall as she curtly nodded and continued away from the hall.

"And no magic! I'll be back in an hour." The professor called over her shoulder. I threw one of the spatulas to Fred and looked into the Great Hall. The tables seemed longer than usual. I heard Fred groan from beside me.

"How do you wanna do this? Opposite ends or do you wanna just work alongside each other?" I asked him, and he thought for a minute.

"I mean, if we work alongside each other it'll probably be more entertaining?" He walked to the Gryffindor table and looked underneath. I didn't miss his sigh as he lowered himself to the floor in order to reach the gum that was scattered along the underside of the table. I sat on the ground about a meter away from him and began scraping. For approximately ten minutes we worked in silence, but that was quickly becoming tiresome.

"Alright," I sighed again, slamming the spatula on the ground. We'd barely gotten through a third of the table. Who knew Hogwarts students liked gum? "What can we do to kill the time better?" Fred laughed at me before placing his own spatula on the ground and pausing to think.

"We could play a game?" He suggested though he seemed unsure.

"We could play twenty questions, but keep asking until our hour's up?" I supplied, "I mean we've been friends for a while now and I feel like I barely know anything about you."

"Alright, what's your favourite colour?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Wow real personal Fred," I joke, "but I'd have to say my favourite colour is... blue."

"Hey, knowing a person's favourite colour is quite helpful!"

"Alright, alright," I laugh, "What's yours then?"

"Red, obviously." He smirked, he gestured down to the Gryffindor scarf then hung around his neck. "Favourite place at Hogwarts." He stumped me with that one.

"... maybe down by the lake. I've had nothing but good memories down there." I smiled fondly at the memories that rushed through my head of many moments spent down there in the sun with my boys. "Um, do you have plans for after Hogwarts?"

"Oh for sure, George and I are going to open a joke shop." I watched as his eyes lit up at the thought. "Desk jobs have never appealed to me, but opening a shop that's sole purpose is to spread joy would be incredible." He turns to me with a grin on his face, "That's why we've been developing the canary creams. We want to have as many original ideas in there as possible."

"That sounds incredible, in a few years I'll be telling people I was friends with the Weasley Twins, owners of the best joke shop in the world." I laugh.

"What about you, do you have plans yet?"

"Wow way to steal my question," I tease and he shoots me a playfully annoyed look, "I'm hoping to become a healer."

"That's pretty cool, isn't that what Christina does?"

"Yeah, I think that's why it appeals to me. I see the way she helps people, and I would just love to be able to do the same." We ask questions back and forth for the rest of the hour as we scraped away at the gum on the tables. The entire time, I had one question on my mind but I couldn't seem to work up the confidence to ask him. Which seemed so ridiculous, as I didn't even know what answer I wanted from him. As we reached the end of the Hufflepuff table, I forced myself to ask, not entirely sure how much longer we had to play our game. If my own concept of time was correct, it wouldn't be long before McGonagall would come to relieve us. It was now or never.

"What did you mean when you said you wanted to be my date to the Yule ball?" My question catches him off guard, and he pauses for a moment. He stares at me for what feels like an eternity.

"Well, I think you're incredible Elora and I've had f-" The door to the Great hall swang open with a loud bang. I suppress my groan. McGonagall and George enter.

"Well you two accomplished more than I thought you would, Miss Black you must be a good influence." I wanted to smile at her but I couldn't help but be disappointed at her interruption. Why was I disappointed? Why did I even care? Fred, who had gotten to his feet before me offered his hand to help me up. "I expect you to make your way back to your respective common rooms now." She left the three of us standing in front of the Great Hall.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but that royally sucked." George deadpanned, clapping his hands together. "Well, I guess Freddie and I will see you soon?"

"Sure, see you guys soon." Fred smiled at me, and I turned to walk in the direction of the common room. Merlin, why had I asked him that question? Fred and I had settled into a comfortable friendship as of late, and yet I almost ruined it by what? Assuming he had feelings for me? I just broke up with Anthony, why did I even care? And yet... "Fred, I..." I softly called out to him but he was already too far to hear me, conversing heatedly with George. I watched him run his hand over his face and through his hair. I sighed, shaking my head and turning back down the hallway to the common room.

I sat down on the couch next to Jamie who was reading over her Transfiguration notes. She looked up from her notes as I slumped next to her. "What's got you all huffy."

"In all honesty, I don't even know."

*

"Fred, hey!" I smile as I spot him walking towards the Hogwarts courtyard. He stops walking and smiles at me, I jog slightly to catch up with him. "Are you going down to Hogsmeade too?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting George and Angelina in the courtyard, and then we're walking together. What about you?"

"I'm just heading down by myself today, my boys decided to stay at the castle but I felt like getting away for the day." We fall into step beside each other as we round the corner into the courtyard.

"Well we can't let you wander around on your own," He teases, "I guess you have no choice but to tag along with us." George and Angelina wave us over as they spot us.

"Elora, hi! You joining us today?" Angelina greets me warmly, and I can't help but smile in return.

"I mean I was planning on spending the day alone, but I guess I can let you three kidnap me." I joke, I hear Fred scoff at my reply.

"Oh please, I wouldn't say I kidnapped you. You came up to me remember," he smirks. I make a face in his direction causing George and Angelina to laugh at me. The four of us keep joking and laughing as we make our way towards Hogsmeade, George leading us towards the three broomsticks. The pub is bustling with people, obviously the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had been made aware of the popularity of Madam Rosmerta's butterbeer. The absence of my boys and the sort of comfort zone I've created with them makes me pause, George and Angelina keep walking into the pub without noticing. Fred however, stops just before the doorway and looks back at me. "You okay?"

"I...I think I might spend the day alone actually." He frowns at me and glances towards the bustling pub.

"Give me one second, I just need to talk to George about something quickly and I'll join you." I went to protest, but he disappeared into the pub before I got the chance. Walking over to a park bench, I took a seat and pulled out the notebook Fred had given me at the World Cup. Nearly a third of it had been filled with scribbles of song ideas, reminders of homework, and things I had to do with my day. Subconsciously, I brought it with me in my bag wherever I went. As I pulled the book out of my bag, it caught on the strap and tumbled out of my hands. As it fell, the book fluttered open. A page in the back half of the book flicked past, and for a millisecond I noticed writing that I couldn't have done. I tended to make a point of always using notebooks from the front to the back, and not skipping pages yet whatever this was seemed to be in the back half of the book.

"Sorry about that," Fred interrupted before I could investigate the writing any further. He stands in front of me with his hands in his pocket and an easy smile on his face. "The Three broomsticks are pretty crazy right now, why don't we go somewhere else first?"

"Honeydukes? Jamie finished off the stash Irving sent me for Christmas last week." He nods and we start down the path on the way to the sweet shop, "You could've stayed with the others. I'm more than happy to spend the day alone."

"I see those two all the time, I'd much rather spend time with you." Fred shrugs. I feel the back of Fred's hand brush against mine, and for a second I wonder what he would do if I grabbed it. I feel my cheeks heating up at the thought. As my mind wanders, I think back to the time I spent at the burrow after the world cup.

"Hey Fred, why do you call me El?" His eyebrows furrow, "not that I mind! You're just the only person who does."

"I'm not actually sure, I guess it just slipped out the first time we spoke and I guess it stuck." He shrugs, he pushes open the door to Honeydukes and lets me enter first. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh well, when I stayed at your house over summer your Mum mentioned we knew each other before I went missing." We walk slowly around the shop, selecting our preferred candies carefully. "Apparently you would call me El because you couldn't say my name yet."

"I guess my subconscious still thought of you that way," He grins, throwing a packet of sugar quills in my direction. I catch them with my free hand and place them in the shopping basket on my arm. "You need anything else?"

"Uhm..." I look into my basket and make a mental tally of my favourites, Jamie's favourites and my boys' favourites. I'm fully aware that as soon as they find out I went to Honeydukes, they'll scab off me for sweets and complain if I haven't supplied them with their favourites. "I think I'm right. If not, pray I survive the wrath of my friends." He scoffs humorously at me and guides us to the counter.

We walk slowly down the street, back in the direction of the three broomsticks. The pub seemed quieter now, so Fred and I made our way