Gred and Forge

“Alright spill; how did you and Oliver’s date go yesterday? I want all the details,” Vanessa asked as soon as Rue and I sat down at the table early on a Monday morning. Smirking I looked over at Rue who was tying her hair into a ponytail.

The study ‘date’ went well in my opinion. I sat close by next to one of the library’s fireplaces; close enough to some-what eavesdrop but far enough away not to be questioned. It was a bit awkward at first but by the end they had ended up forgetting about studying for their pre-O.W.L. quizzes and had divulged into easy conversation. Turns out, Quidditch wasn’t the only thing they had in common, though it took up the majority of their conversation.

“Well at first we were both kind of shy, I think it was nerves you know? But after we got some review done we started talking about Quidditch and our favorite classes and plans after Hogwarts. He wants to either become a professional Quidditch player or a Quidditch broadcaster.

“Then we decided to go to dinner since it was getting late and all, so we walked down together and on the way he asked if I would like to study with him again this week!”

Vanessa clapped her hands together in excitement, “That’s good news! You said yes though right?!”

Rue smiled and nodded her head, “Yeah we’re meeting up on Wednesday after his Quidditch practice.”

“God forbid Oliver miss Quidditch practice,” I said sarcastically as I started to pile various foods onto my plate. Glancing up to the ceiling I noted the cloudy day, not really rainy, but light grey ones floating between peeks of blue.

“You know, I really don’t see why you all get so worked up about boys, they’re nothing special. For what it looks like all they do cause problems in your lives.” We all looked over at Luna who was peering over the top of the latest issue of The Quibbler. She was quiet in the mornings so it was a bit of a surprise that she was even talking.

Rue knitted her eyebrows together, “Well don’t you ever want to feel like you’re in love?”
“Oh well of course, but I don’t need a boy for that to happen you see. Humans fall in love with more than they realize, like how Oliver is in love with Quidditch and how you love to read. Emily loves polka dots and Vanessa loves the smell of coconuts; we all are in love and none of it requires boys.”

We all gazed at her, taking in what she said and how true that statement was. You didn’t need another human being to be in love, you could fall in love with anything. Acorns was, well, in love with acorns, Neville Longbottom was in love with plants, Hermione Granger was in love with knowledge, and Fred and George were in love with pranking. We were all in love.

“You know what Luna, you are exactly right. The hell with boys!” I stated proudly, banging my fist on the table.

Vanessa sighed, “I really do love the smell of coconuts…”

Laughing I looked up from our table and my eyes made contact with the Gryffindor table, instantly spotting Fred, Lee, George, Emily and another girl, one whom I’ve never really recognized. She had fair blonde hair and pale skin; surely she looked like a Beauxbaton student. She was sitting in between Fred and Lee, laughing at something they must have said. Instantly I felt jealousy and hurt rush through me as I notice his arm was around her shoulder.

Feeling my appetite escape from my stomach I pushed my plate away and picked up my bag, “I’m not really hungry this morning guys so I’m just going to head off to class. See you later.”

Vanessa looked at me confused, “Okay, I’ll see you in Charms.”

Quickly I exited the Great Hall and walked up the large staircase heading down the hallway to my first class. Once I was only a couple minutes away from it I sat down on a bench and looked at the old tiled floor.

He’s moved on already, there’s already somebody new and it’s only been two days. Maybe nothing we did really mattered to him; maybe I was just another girl to him and that every day we spent together, every plan and promise we made was nothing, just a bunch of words. There is no denying that he led me on though, from our first picnic to all the back massages I gave him. Was I really that vulnerable to believe that it was important to Fred as it was to me?

I heard the bell ring, signaling that classes were going to start in a few minutes. Hearing the voice roar from the Great Hall I picked up my bag once more and started off to class.
Later during my free period after lunch I decided to do something I haven’t in a while. I headed down to the green houses with my sketch pad and various pencils ready to draw some more plants.

I entered the main green house and spotted Professor Sprout feeding some bright red flowers with a peculiar looking watering can.

“Good afternoon Professor,” I greeted politely, pulling out a stool to sit on.

She turned around and set the watering can down, which looked like it was full of a purple smoking liquid. “Miss. Martens, I haven’t seen you here in a while, what brings you here today?” I held up my sketch book for her to see and she nodded in comprehension, “Ah, drawing is it? Just stay away from the Pretious Petunias; they haven’t been feed so they’re feeling a bit snappish.”

Smiling and nodded, “Okay.” Flipping open my book I got started right away, sketching the bright red flowers that had just been watered. I was about halfway through when the door slammed shut, causing me to lose focus and turn around.

“There you are! Listen, we need to talk.”

I raised my eyebrow in confusion, “George?”

“I know, I am probably the last person you expected to go looking for you,” He chuckled and pulled out a stool next to my own.

“So what is it that you need to tell me?”

George drew in a deep breath, “It’s Fred, he’s not acting like himself and it’s bothering me.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back down at my drawing, “Why are you asking me? Didn’t you know that we aren’t friends anymore?”

“But that’s the thing,” George said hastily, his tone catching my attention once more, “This all started after you guys de-friended each other or whatever. He hasn’t been acting like himself for the past two days, he hasn’t been eating, he stays up late at night, he barely talks to anyone.”

“Well he seemed pretty comfortable this morning with that Blonde at breakfast.” I set my drawing supplies aside and crossed my arms.

“Who, Delia? She fancies Lee and we were trying to get them together this morning.”

“Really? She was going for Lee?” I questioned, slightly impressed with Mr. Jordan.

“Yeah, we’re as surprised as you are,” George commented, looking surprised but then sinking back into his pervious manner, “But seriously, could you at least talk Fred so you two could sort things out? He’s my twin after all and with him being in such a bad mood it starts to wear off onto me.”

He looked almost desperate as he sat next to me, Georges brown eyes were deep with intense pleading. It was going to be impossible to say no.

“Sure, I’ll give it a shot.”