If You've Got the Nerve

After the incident with Vinny in Divination class, I was determined to avoid the twins until I thought everything had been given a proper amount of time to blow over.

That didn’t happen.

But that wasn’t what had me on edge. What had my fingers twitching nervously all week was the fact that the time seemed unneeded. I knew the rumor was still floating around; people were staring at George, Fred, and me any time we passed them in the halls. Unable to resist my usual curiosity, I had mentioned this while we were walking to dinner one night. Fred’s only response was to give one passerby a nasty look; his way of saying he didn’t care. George had given me the same significant look he’d been giving me all year. I changed the subject before he could say anything.

Being my mature self, I was avoiding being alone with Fred. It was something I hadn’t really done since second year when I felt guilty for helping George steal all of the chocolate his brother was given for Easter. I thought all of that would go down the drain when I decided to take a risk and visit the abandoned classroom.

It was the morning of the third task. I was up early having gone to see Professor Trelawney again. I had received another letter from my mother. She had detailed our plans for the summer. I was to meet my grandmother just a few days into the summer break and spend a few weeks with her. After a small break back at home, I could decided whether or not I wanted to go back to her or if I just wanted to let things fade away. That letter was clutched in my hands as I climbed the last set of stairs to the familiar spot.

The old door was closed but not tightly. With its age, it could no longer be secured properly. I barely had to turn the knob in order to push the block of wood inwards. For the first time, I got a creepy feeling from entering the room. The shadows that the dozens of cages cast suddenly looked like threatening beasts, every scratch on the aged furniture looked like a vicious claw mark, and every fallen book was misplaced by a ravaging criminal. Closing my eyes, I counted to five very slowly – something that Professor Trelawney had suggested just that morning if I was ever visited by a fear educing vision. When I opened my eyes again, the shadows had shrunken back to a normal state and the books were no longer murder evidence, but the scratches still looked ominous.

The room was empty. Just to be sure, I scanned over the entire classroom a few times, taking small steps in, but leaving my hand on the door. There was a chill in the air that I just couldn’t rid myself of. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. After three more times of counting and another minute of searching the room with my eyes, I closed the door quietly and made my way back downstairs.

The halls were empty. Either everyone was already at breakfast or nobody was awake yet. I suddenly wished I had woken Fred to come with me. The cold feeling was still turning my stomach to ice.

“One…two…three…four…five…”

I was put at ease when I entered the Entrance Hall and the usual early morning bustle sounded from inside the Great Hall. It was strengthened by the excitement of the third task. I smiled. Folding my letter, I stuffed the piece of parchment in a pocket. The coil of fear in my stomach dissipated considerably when I spotted the familiar freckled face that I suddenly didn’t feel like avoiding.



The day was bright all around. At times, I felt separated from everyone else, trapped in my personal bubble of creeping fear. Fred was trying his best to push me out of my mood. It would work at times and we would spend an hour running about, wearing our energy thin. Then I would return to my storm cloud. It wasn’t until the evening feast that the feeling started to fade from memory.

“Bill!”

My shriek caught the attention of more than a few students, but the most important audience member was the long-haired Weasley that was currently seated next to his mother, brother, and the fourth Triwizard Champion. Bill responded with a beaming grin. I returned the smile and was hugging him within seconds.

“I thought you were joking when you said you were going to visit!” I exclaimed as he held me out at arm’s length. He continued to smile brightly. He gave me a once over then led me to take a seat next to him at the same table he had just stood up from.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it at first. It’s not exactly easy to get time off from my job,”

I nodded, a smile still splitting my face. “When did you get here?”

“This morning,” I nodded again. That made sense. Fred and George had dragged me from breakfast almost the moment I had taken a seat, claiming that they hadn’t seen me for weeks and wanted to spend time together before the end of the year. I still had a strong suspicion that they only wanted me to distract Filch while they sneaked into his office.

Both of the twins soon joined us at the table. Bill questioned me about the year and Harry about the tournament. I added my own thoughts on the tasks. “How was the ball?” I had almost forgotten about the Yule Ball until Bill asked the question. I swallowed my mouthful of food, glancing on instinct at Fred. He caught my gaze for a split second, winking before going back to his food. It was an odd move that I hadn’t expected from him. I could see George holding in his laughter. I sent him a glare before returning to his waiting brother.

“It was…fancy…nice…” Bill didn’t look satisfied with that answer at all.

“Who did you go with?”

“A Gryffindor boy in my Divination class,” I answered in a rush before George could give the answer that I could see him preparing for.

“Really? Do I know him?” I shook my head.

“Probably not. Vinny True,” There was no recognition on his face. I could see that he wanted to dig deeper into the subject, so I changed it before he could begin. “So are you just staying for today?”

The conversation continued to smooth out until we were given the five minute warning and the champions were needed. Harry stood from his seat. He looked like he wished he hadn’t eaten so much, but there was a certain level of confidence that definitely hadn’t been there during the first two tasks. That didn’t sedate the vicious serpent that suddenly reared its head in my gut.

“Harry, wait,” I stood from my seat when he had taken a few steps away from our group. I cleared the space between us and quickly kissed his cheek. “Listen, Harry,” I met his eyes, trying to relay everything in my mind through that one look, “whatever this task is about, be careful.” He gave me a reassuring smile, nodded, and turned to join the other departing champions. I watched him go, the feeling in my stomach not leaving me no matter how far I counted in my head. I jumped when a warm hand slipped into my own. Fred leaned his head on top of mine. I felt comforted by his warm presence and the fear started to fade to a dull, dark light in the back of my mind.

“What’s the worst that could happen?”