When I was eleven years old and in my first year at Ilvermorny, I had my first kiss. A Wampus boy who I didn't know ran up to me and kissed me hard on the lips before running away. Just like that, my first kiss was taken from me. I told myself it didn't count, and then moved on. It was short, abrupt, but sweet- kind of innocent.

Kissing Fred is nothing like that.

He closes the small space between us instantaneously, and he puts his hands on my cheeks and then our lips touch and it's like a rollercoaster and I'm going down, down, down. I'm drowning in Fred. The kiss is everything we've been denying since we met, and it's everything I want.

I must be drunk. That's the only reason why I'd be doing this. That has to be it. If it is, then it's wrong- but I can't seem to pull away.

Our lips move in sync as my hand snake around his waist and grip his back. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss, and all I can taste is peaches. We're pressed against each other so closely that I am touching every inch of his body, and I can't get enough. It's like he's a life raft, and I'm just clinging on.

Oh, God, the feeling of his lips on mine. I've kissed people before, but never like this. I've never felt something like this before. He backs me up until I'm pushed up against the wall, and one of his hands grips my jaw while the other trails down to rest on my waist. I let out an involuntary small moan as Fred moves down and kisses my neck, and I tilt my head back to give him more access. When he nips at my skin and pulls it between his teeth, I gasp and press myself tighter to him. He growls and does the same motion again, eliciting the same reaction from me. I moan again as Fred sucks hard on the spot just below my jaw, and then I grind a little against him, enjoying the reaction I get out of him. My hands tangle in his hair and I sigh loudly as he kisses the area again.

There's a loud knock on the door, and then vaguely I remember that there are people outside who have probably been listening to my short moans, despite my efforts to keep them quiet. Suddenly I am acutely aware of what Fred and I were just doing, and hastily I push him away as Lee's voice drifts through the crack in the door. "You have thirty seconds until we open the door," Lee says stiffly.

I stare wide eyed at Fred, who is still standing close to me despite being pushed away. His pupils are dilated, his lips are swollen, and his hair is a mess. I slip off his sweater and hand it back to him, and try desperately to look presentable. Without making eye contact with him, I fix his hair so it's a little more presentable, and then when George calls out with humour in his voice that we have ten seconds, Fred points with a grin to the spot on my neck that he was just kissing. "Did you give me a hickey?" I hiss.

"It's okay," he says, and then he swiftly reaches up and pulls out the pin holding my hair in place, making the curls tumble down my shoulders and cover the bruise just as the door swings open. With a smirk, Fred hands me my pin and then walks out of the closet, sitting down in the circle with the rest of our friends. Lee is still holding the door open and watches Fred walk past with a scowl. George immediately leans over to Fred and whispers something in his ear, but Fred just shrugs and turns back to everyone else, laughing at something Allie says.

"Uh, Vee?" Lee says hesitantly, and then I stop watching Fred and realize I'm still standing in the closet. I grab my wand from the shelf and I step past Lee, my face hot as he closes the door. He turns to me and gazes quizzically into my eyes. "What happened in there, Vee?"

I shrug. I'm drunk, it was an accident. Fred is acting like nothing happened, so I will too. Plus, if Lee found out, he'd kill Fred. "Nothing happened," I tell Lee, tilting my chin up to look at him. I will myself not to scratch my nose- I do it when I lie, and Lee knows that. "We just talked."

"Are you sure?" Lee says slowly, searching my eyes for a hint of dishonesty.

My face is a mask of paint. He can see nothing. "I'm sure."

Lee release my shoulders, and then we both go sit down. I sit in between Julian and Allie, and they both look at me strangely.

"I'll tell you guys later," I say to them quietly. I don't know if I can bring myself to lie to them. I know, I know. 'You lied to your twin, why can't you lie to two people you met mere weeks ago?' Well, I know lying to Lee for now is the right thing to do because if he found out, Fred would be in a coffin. And I'm going to tell him eventually, but first I have to talk to Fred about it. I've never really had friends before, either. Not friends like Julian and Allie, at least, and it's exciting for me.

Julian and Allie both gasp a little at my reply, but they mask it well, and join back into the conversation. "What happened in that closet?" Angelina says, wiggling her eyebrows at Fred and I.

Fred smirks, and Lee stiffens and leans forward, ready to pounce. Fred sees this and holds his hands up in surrender, laughing a little. "I'm kidding, we just talked," he says, and Lee lets out a breath.

"Well, that's boring," George says, rolling his eyes and standing up. "Angie, come over and pick a name."

Angelina stands up too and reaches a hand deep into the hat that George holds, and when she unfolds the piece of paper she blushes and grins. "George, you're up," she says, and George's eyes widen. He drops the hat, grabs Angie's hand, and rushes into the closet.

"Don't time us!" he calls as he slams the door behind them.

Fred laughs and shakes his head at his brother, but when he looks up and catches my eye, his smile fades and he hastily looks away.

He doesn't make eye contact with me for the rest of the night.

**

It's very hard to track Fred down. I spend three days after that night in the cupboard looking for him. Every time I see George, he's lacking his twin by his side, and he always refuses to tell me where he is. It's clear he knows what happened, though- of course Fred told his twin. Because I'm a shitty person, I didn't, and it's eating away at me. I just have to talk to Fred first- if I can find him, that is. Monday finally arrives, and I try and catch Fred leaving his dorm. Lee tells me that Fred literally got on his broom and hopped out of the window, and he also asks why I'm so intent on finding him, to which I reply that I need to copy his DADA homework. Fuck... why is he so desperate not to see me?

For the first time since I started at Hogwarts, I actually wish that we have early morning Quidditch practice, because I know the kind of shit Fred would get from Wood if he missed it. When I arrive in Transfiguration, there's an empty spot next to Allie as always. I explained to her and Julian what happened, and they've both helping me track Fred down- but it's proving to be difficult. "Any luck on operation Weasel?" she says as I sit down, my books making a loud noise on my desk.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Nope," I say. "why is he avoiding me?"

"Maybe you were a really bad kisser," Allie says.

I glare at her.

"Not helpful, sorry," she says apologetically. "Hey, what if you ask Angie? She's basically dating George now, so maybe she'd know."

"That's a good idea- I have Divination with her next."

"You could always ask Professor Trelawney for some helpful insight."

I roll my eyes, but then I stop. I turn to Allie with a grin on my face.

She shakes her head vigorously. "Vee, no. I was just kidding, you know she wouldn't be helpful-"

"Who knows, maybe she actually does know something!"

"Have you met her? She can't tell her ass from her face, Vee."

Professor McGonagall apparates into the classroom suddenly, making us all jump. "Quiet down, class," she says, patting her hair.

"Fine," I whisper. "but if Angie can't tell me anything, I'm going to ask her."

**

"Look, all I know is that I'm not supposed to tell you where Fred is," Angie says.

I scowl, about to protest, but then she continues. "-but that doesn't mean I'm not going to tell you. George definitely wasn't happy about keeping Fred's whereabouts a secret, so he won't be mad if I tell you. He spends lunch in the kitchens... something about Nammy leaving food?"

My face lights up. "Bless you, Angie, holy shit! Thank you!"

Angie winks. "No worries. I don't know what happened between you two, but I'd really like it if you made up. Maybe then you'd explain where that hickey on your neck the size of Texas came from," she replies nonchalantly.

My head snaps up, and my hand flies to my neck. "How-"

"Someone really needs to teach you how to use a concealer brush," she says, referring to my hasty application this morning. "And how to colour match."

"The concealer isn't mine."

"No shit. It's like white chocolate, and you're milk."

I clap a hand over my mouth, but my snort of laughter is still loud- enough to make Professor Trelawney look up from her teacup.

"My dear," she says, stumbling as she makes her way up the stairs to the back row where Angie and I sit. It suddenly strikes me how much she looks like a bug. "Your laughter is of something comical you saw in her tea leaves, is it not? You looked to be in the Beyond."

"Uh... yes. I was in the Beyond," I say hastily, and reach over the table to get Angie's cup. "I was actually wondering if you could provide some insight into what I saw in her cup."

I hand over the cup, and she peers down at it, before she bursts into laughter. I resist the urge to join her, because she sounds like a gasping seal, and I share a look with Angie. "My dear, I can see why you laughed. Your partner here is about to embark on a relationship with someone who will bring laughter into her life, and a lot of it."

Angie blushes, and I nudge her. "Geeeeeorge," I sing.

Professor Trelawney reaches over to get my cup, and when she looks into it, she lets out a high pitched scream. She spins around and throws my teacup at the far wall, making it shatter into a million pieces. With shaking hands, she grips my wrists and looks deep into my eyes, her own irises wide with fear. "My dear," she says quietly, in a rushed voice. "You have the Grim."

My stomach drops, but I'm not sure why. I've never heard of the Grim before, but from the gasps and whispers around the room, I'm guessing it's not good. "What's the Grim?" I ask hesitantly, not sure if I want to hear the answer.

"Vee," Allie says quietly from beside me, "The Grim is an omen of death, which is reputed to bring about the demise of the person who encounters it. The Grim takes the shape of a large, black dog."

Slowly, I look up at everyone's scared faces. This can't be true.

"You're the second person this school year that has the Grim," Professor Trelawney says thoughtfully, looking off into the distance.

"Who was the first person?" I ask urgently.

Professor Trelawney looks back at me, her eyes focusing. Slowly, she opens her mouth to speak, and everyone in the class leans forward to hear what she has to say. "Harry Potter..." she says breathily.

**

I am numb. I don't know when class ends, and I don't know how I end up sprinting up the moving staircases to the Gryffindor Common Room, but I do know that I have to find Harry.

"Oh, dear," the Fat Lady tuts, looking down scornfully as I screech to a stop in front of her, panting heavily.

"Fortuna Major," I breathe out, and the Fat Lady just sighs and lets me through.

When I get into the common room, I'm startled to see Fred curled up on the sofa reading a book. He looks up when I come in and makes a move to quietly slink away, but I glare at him and he instantly stops moving. "Fred Weasley!" I exclaim sternly, walking towards him with such a ferocity that he shrinks a little into the couch. "You listen to me. Quite frankly, I'm not completely sure why you're avoiding me, and I will track you down again and we will talk about that, but there are more important things right now. Where is Harry?"

Fred stares at me for a few moments too long, and then he stammers out, "u-uh, last I saw him, he was walking with Professor Lupin- the bridge, I think." He pauses for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry-"

"As much as I want to listen to your apology for being a dick, I really don't have time right now. Meet me here at midnight, okay?" I say, my voice softening a little at the end. I touch a hand to his shoulder for just a moment, and then I leave a dazed-looking Fred and sprint to the bridge.

I finally find them both talking amiably, watching the light rain from the shelter of the large roof that stretches over the bridge. They both look up when I arrive, and Remus smiles kindly at me. "I'm so sorry to interrupt," I say breathlessly, "but I actually need to talk to Harry. About tea leaves."

Harry furrows his brows, but his mouth sets in a thin line when he guesses what I'm referring to. Seeing this, Remus nods to me. "That's perfectly alright, Vee. I'll talk to you later, Harry," he says, and then he is strolling away.

"What is it, Vee? You look spooked?" Harry says, concerned.

"In one of your Divination classes, you received a dark omen in your tea leaves," I say hurriedly, "and I just got the same one."

Harry's mouth parts, and I can hear the sharp intake of breath. "You saw the Grim?"

I nod. "Trelawney told me you got it too, and she was really spooked."

"You know what it means, right?"

I nod again, and Harry says nothing for a moment, instead looking out to the Black lake and leaning over the wooden bridge. He looks... defeated. I know he'll fight, but right now all I see in his bright eyes is that he doesn't know what to do with himself. I know how that feels- more than anyone. "Harry, we can make it mean something different."

Harry looks at me, his brows furrowed. "You do know that the Grim means the receiver will die soon, right? The darkest omen of all time?"

I shake my head. "No, Harry. I always feel like if someone was to travel back in time and warn people of something coming, that they'd all do things to prevent it. As much as Trelawney wants us to believe it, the future isn't set in stone." I look out to the lake, and nudge Harry with my shoulder. I sigh with a sense of finality. "We know what's coming. And we know what the Grim means. It just means we fight harder." 

Sorry for the length of this chapter... only 2.7K words. :( I'm trying to get longer ones out, but this one just seemed perfect to end there. Very poetic. Right, let's get started with my ever-so-long author's note.

1) this chapter took a little while longer to write, because I had so much work to do and stuff at school. High school is beating the living shit outta me, but I guess I just gotta keep on grindin'. 

2) Supernatural Season 12 has begun, people. Spoilers everywhere, and I'm tryna dodge them because I'm rewatching season 11 before I start the new one. It's a struggle.

3) PSA: If I lose our streak on snapchat, perhaps it's because I don't religiously send 'streaks' twice every 24-hours. Maybe it's not because I don't like you or don't want a streak with you? Perhaps it's because THE NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS WE HAVE BEEN SENDING EACH OTHER A BLACK SCREEN TWICE A DAY ISN'T A MEASURE OF HOW MUCH I LIKE YOU AS A PERSON. MAYBE IT DOESN'T DEFINE YOUR WORTH TO ME?? HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

4) I really miss how simple middle school was. I'm just being honest.

5) That moment when you promised an exciting thing this chapter and then you don't write it... I promise (for real) that it'll come next chapter!!! It's time to switch things up... *winks*

6) I've jut realized how much I over-complicate story plots. Wow.

7) We start self-defense in gym on Tuesday and I'm so excited to punch this girl in the fucking throat I swear to god.

8) Okay so drama from my school: My friend was dating this guy who was like really popular and liked drama and had great hair and was a real fun time and they were really happy except then a few months ago they broke up and no one knew why. This morning she finally told me... it was because this guy cheated on her. With two guys. In a threesome. I feel so bad for her obviously because that would be kinda awks to know, but tbh I snorted. Like, he really did that!!!!!!!! My school is a rich-ass, snobby-ass, private school and everyone drives Lamborghini's and wears Rolex's and has money in off-shore accounts and there's so much drama!!!! so when I find out really interesting stuff, I'll let y'all know. Because obviously you all care so much.

9) Do people read these?

10) Okay so like I checked and I have 200+ reads already... I'm not gonna make some generic speech about how much I love every single one of you and how I honestly didn't think I'd ever get this far... but that's basically the entire speech so it's easier to just write that.

SONG: Mykonos by Fleet Foxes. It's like, my jam right now. It's amazing for fall- it's got guitar, soft vocals, and a soft kinda folky/mellow vibe that I'm loving right now. 

-Em

**

10.16.2016