The Beginning of the End

Seamus gripped Effie's hand tightly as they walked through the halls of the castle. They made it to the 2nd floor and entered the library. Effie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I thought we were going to get a snack?" She was puzzled. She wasn't an expert but she was pretty sure that the kitchen wasn't in the library. She followed him anyway, curious as to what was going on.

Seamus pulled her to a portrait of a bowl of fruit, reached his hand up and tickled the fruit. Effie watched in amazement as part of the wall slid itself open. She had been attending this school for almost 6 years and it still amazed her. Seamus pulled her through the opening and down a couple of stairs.

They came to another wall and he pushed a little leaver down. That wall did the same thing as the other. It slid open and they walked through it. This time they were faced with a simple wooden door on the other side of the small room. Seamus dragged her towards the door and opened it. Inside was the kitchen.

House elves were bustling around the kitchen, preparing dinner for that night. Effie smiled as she looked around.

"How did you find out about this?" She asked, letting go of his hand and wondering about the room.

"Fred and George. I swear they do some kind of business with everybody." He said picking up an apple and taking a bite of it.

"Yeah I know it. They make excellent businessmen though." She said softly, as thoughts of Fred filled her mind. Everything was so screwed up. She was absolutely head over heels in love with Harry but since he was with Ginny or about to be anyway, why couldn't she be with someone else?

Seamus walked over and put his arm around her shoulder.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked, trying to get her mind elsewhere. Effie bit her lip in thought.

"I actually want some cookies." She said, a playful grin spreading across her face. Seamus chuckled and nodded his head.

"Cookies it is then." He left her side and walked over to a house elf. He bent down and whispered in her ear. In a flash, a plate of cookies appeared in front of Effie. Her eyes widened.

"I don't typically agree with using house elves but that could actually come in handy." She said with a giggle. Seamus sat down on the bar stool across from her and sighed. Effie looked at him, chewing her cookie slowly.

"Uh oh...what is it?" She asked cautiously. He licked over his lips and placed his hands on the counter top.

"Alright, Effie, look...I'm into you." Those three words caused Effie's heart to skip a beat. Her stomach dropped. This was the last thing she needed.

"But I'm a big boy, I can handle it. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything about it. It's one of those things that will pass right by. You're my friend and I don't want to add on to your stress." He said as he leaned forward to kiss the top of Effie's head.

Effie smiled and shook her head.

"What is it about me that seems to attract every boy in school?" She asked jokingly. Seamus snickered and stole a cookie.

"Not EVERY boy. You didn't get Draco Malfoy's attention."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong my friend. I got his attention at the beginning of school. I could see that it hurt his ego when I shot him down."

Seamus laughed and held out his hand. She took it and followed him out of the kitchen and back into the library where they saw Hermione running towards them.

"Effie, Harry's been looking for you!" She gasped, trying to catch her breath. Effie's eyes widened and she immediately let go of Seamus' hand. She turned to him with a pleading look.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" He pushed. Effie took off running back to the common room with Hermione. When they got back, Effie was out of breath and there was no Harry. She turned and glared at Hermione who looked nervous.

"Okay seriously, what the hell is going on?" She asked, feeling a little irritated.

"Well, obviously it wasn't Harry that was looking for you but it was-" Hermione was cut off by Fred walking into the room from the dormitories. Effie stared in complete shock as he walked towards her. So many questions ran through her head. What else is new?

Before she could ask any of them, she found herself quickly walking towards him. He wrapped her up in a tight hug and kissed her cheek.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

"I spoke to Dumbledore and he let me in here." He laughed at her silliness.

"Go get changed. We're going down to Hogsmeade, we need to talk about some things." He whispered in her ear. Effie bit her lip and nodded, heading up the stairs and into the dormitory. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans with a grey and black 3/4 sleeved shirt. She touched up her eyeliner and pulled on a pair of studded boots and a leather jacket.

She walked back down to the common room where Fred was waiting. He reached out his hand and she took it. She was still in shock, she didn't think she would see him again until the Summer. Her mind was racing the whole walk to the first floor. What did he want to talk about? Them getting together? Him saying never mind? Something worse?

When they got into Hogsmeade, Fred pulled her into the Three Broomsticks. Effie went to get a table while Fred got their drinks. Her fingers drummed on the table top nervously. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? She typically wasn't like that. It was a completely foreign thing to her.

"You're going to break that part of the table if you drum any harder." Fred laughed as he sat down. He put down a glass of fire whiskey in front of Effie. She inhaled its aroma and couldn't help but take a sip already. The burning in the back of her throat felt like sweet relief. And it somehow calmed her nerves.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked, taking another small sip. Fred chuckled and looked down at his hands.

"I was just gonna ask you how you were but that works too."

Effie grinned sheepishly, feeling her cheeks try to heat up but she fought it back.

"But I wanted to talk to you about everything." He said quietly. Effie furrowed her eyebrows.

"What would that be?"

"I don't want you to feel like you have to accept my...question. I would love it if you did but I know that you're truly in love with Harry and there's nothing you or I or anyone else can do about it. So, I'm leaving it completely up to you. If you want to give it a try, awesome. If you don't, I understand 100%." He said, leaving Effie completely speechless.

"Well, the thing is, I don't think I should do anything. I mean if I just left it alone wouldn't it figure itself out? Who says that I have to do anything at all?" She countered.

"Well played. What if things don't work themselves out? What if you completely waste your time waiting for it?"

"I'm sure they will but if they don't then I'll do something about it. But that's only a last resort. And as far as wasting my time, is there really such thing as wasted time? Isn't it really just another lesson learned in life?"

Fred smirked at Effie, knowing that she had just beaten him out. Would he admit it? Probably not. But he didn't need to, Effie knew she had won that one. She picked up her glass and finished the rest of her drink.