May the Best Man Win |×| Fred Weasley | 1 |×|

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EVELYN RECEIVED A LETTER FROM ETHAN THE DAY SHE RETURNED FROM THE WORLD CUP. She'd read it immediately of course, and then carefully penned her reply, but days later the brownish paper decorated with his sharp scribbles and the creamy parchment covered in her neatly rounded handwriting sat side by side on her desk. As the evening of the 31st of August arrived, the letter written by Evelyn was still yet to be sent.

She didn't exactly have a logical reason as to why she'd neglected to mail the letter. It wasn't a particularly lengthy message - it should be an easy load for even the smallest owl to carry overseas, and the family's two business owls Portia and Ferdinand were anything but small. There was definitely nothing to add to the letter either, something Evelyn was completely sure of after reading it over for what seemed to be one million times on the night she had written it. No, really she should have already sent it. It was simply one small thing that had prevented her from doing so: the letter itself.

Or, rather, it was the words she'd written in the letter. The words that, if he'd read them himself, would tell Ethan what had happened in the forest that night. As Evelyn sat down at the desk whilst the sun started to set on the last day of summer she still wasn't quite sure she wanted him to find out. The words on the page spoke in her own voice, quiet and honest in their meaning. For a while her gaze rested aimlessly on the letter as she contemplated its contents. Then, although she was sure that she'd be able to write an identical one from memory by now, Evelyn read it.

Ethan,
I was glad to receive your letter - I'm patiently awaiting the beginning of our next school year so that we can talk in person once more. When we get back to Hogwarts I'm sure there will be plenty of time to discuss all that happened over the holidays, but for now I've decided that I have to tell you about one particular thing through this letter. I feel that it's only really fair to you to tell you now and not risk you hearing of this through someone else's distaste.

I hope that you'll think through what I'm about to write without acting too impulsively. Part of me wishes I could have withheld my own impulses so that this wouldn't have happened.

Now, I'm not sure what the rules of real relationships are, but from every Muggle romance novel my grandmother has recommended to me in the past I've gathered a couple of things. In this case, the most applicable would be that you shouldn't go around kissing your friends in forests during the summer holidays. Even if it is very cold and scary and being close particular friend seems incredibly appealing in the moment. Even if he's rescued you when you've been separated from the others.

If you haven't already picked it up from the heavy implications in my previous paragraph, after the quidditch world cup I did exactly that. I kissed Fred Weasley in the woods at the quidditch world cup. I find it strange that I can write it as simply as that when really the situation is rather complicated.

I won't go into too much detail, just enough so that you don't go mad with questions (that's how I'd react.) There was an attack on the campsite and I ended up alone in the woods having tripped over something. At some point Fred found me and comforted me. We talked some, and then he kissed me. It was without warning really. And I kissed back.

The thought of telling you or not telling you has been eating me up from the inside. I hope I've done the right thing. Just please, when we get back to school, don't go after Fred. He's not the only one at fault, and you've done enough damage to him already. If you want to take it out any emotions on somebody, I think that person should be me.

We can speak more when school starts. I hope I haven't ruined everything by writing this. I assure you, I won't let something like this happen again.
Evie x