I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 10- A Brief Interlude on Why One Should NOT Trust Boys

There was also that time she lost control during her fifth year at Hogwarts. It was January of 1994 and the snow was piling up outside. There was a chill throughout the castle that confined most students to the warmth of the common rooms. Eleanor was studying in the library with Alicia Spinnet, who had been the one to suggest they study there rather than with everyone else in Gryffindor tower. She cited the twins' antics as her reasoning for wanting solitude, but Eleanor thought Alicia was trying to avoid Angelina. She wasn't sure what had happened between her two friends, but the pair hadn't spoken since winter break. It irritated Eleanor greatly, but she had long since given up on mending the girls' friendship, if only to maintain her own good relations with the two.

Alicia was pouring over a history of magic textbook, trying to find the key differences between several goblin revolts throughout the centuries. Their upcoming OWL examinations were giving Alicia a great deal of anxiety. She was trying to prepare extensive notes in advance to study from. Eleanor was attempting to work on a charms essay for Flitwick, but she hadn't written anything. She flicked her quill between her fingers listlessly, staring at a nearby table of Hufflepuff fifth years.

Cedric dumped Eleanor right before Christmas break, about a month prior. The girls in her dormitory were in an uproar over the event. They had taken to calling him 'Douchebag Diggory' and threw dirty looks in his direction anytime they passed him in the corridor. Angelina took her indignation at Eleanor's dumping to the next level by spreading a rumor regarding Cedric's lack of stamina in the bedroom. This led to the girls changing their nickname to 'Too Quick Cedric,' which Fred and George found highly amusing.

Eleanor appreciated her friends' animosity on her behalf, but she wasn't exactly heartbroken at the ending of her relationship. She tried to explain this one night while they sat around their dormitory comforting her.

"You don't have to put on a brave face with us, Ellie," Iris Webb, her fellow Gryffindor fifth year, had said, the rest of the girls nodding in agreement.

Eventually, Eleanor gave up on correcting their assertions regarding her breakup. She did try to put a stop to the rumor regarding Cedric's sex life, as she had never even slept with him over the course of their relationship. It was a fruitless effort, and by mid-January most of Gryffindor tower was referring to him as 'Too Quick Cedric.'

Eleanor severely hoped this rumor wouldn't make its way back to Cedric, but she wouldn't be surprised if it already had. All in all, Cedric was a good person, who hadn't done anything wrong in the entirety of their relationship. Their only real issue was that Eleanor constantly chose Fred and George over him. In the end, he couldn't stand it anymore and broke it off. She worried that if he thought she started the rumor he would retaliate by implying that she cheated on him with Fred, which he had in fact implied while dumping her. So far though, no such rumor had reached her ears.

It was thanks to Cedric that Eleanor had finally come to terms with the truth of the matter. She had feelings for Fred that were much different from those she held for George or Lee. She felt for Fred the way she supposed she ought to have felt for Cedric. It frightened her, the prospect of ruining one of the most important dynamics in her life by telling him something he had no desire to hear. It wouldn't only hurt her friendship with Fred but would most likely throw George into the middle of a very uncomfortable situation. The only thing Eleanor knew for sure was that George deserved much better than that.

And yet, a part of her wondered if Fred felt a similar way. There were moments when she was sure he must. So often he placed himself in the common room so that he could sit in a manner where they could touch. Sometimes it was simply their knees grazing against each other's, other times he would sit on the couch so that she could place her head in his lap as she read. When he was bored, he would sit behind her and braid her hair. He spoke to her differently than he spoke to most people, as though he was slightly more comfortable in her presence. But every moment she cherished might simply feel like friendship to him and she feared popping her bubble of bliss.