charmed//fred weasley x oc

three

ADELAIDE AND MAVIS REACHED PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL'S CLASS JUST IN TIME. Adelaide had never personally seen her upset, but she was one of those teachers who you just didn't want to cross. Besides, her infamous looks of disappointment were cutting enough. The girls slipped into their adjacent seats as the tabby cat sitting on Professor McGonagall's desk leaped into midair and transformed into the witch.

Professor McGonagall adjusted her robes slightly and walked briskly back behind her desk. "Good afternoon, children," she began. "I hope you're all well. I'm going to preface class by saying this. There is loads of excitement buzzing around Hogwarts as of late. I myself am susceptible to it. Hosting the Tournament is an honor. However, I expect all of you to put your lessons first." She glanced around the room, lips pursed, letting her words resonate. "Alright then," she sighed. "Today, you'll continue in your attempts to turn a mouse into a teacup. By the end of next week, all cups should be tailless and whiskerless."

As of a few lessons ago, Adelaide had finally succeeded in making sure her cup had no tail. However, from time to time, there were thin white whiskers protruding from the china sides, which was a bit unnerving. That wasn't unfixable, just annoying.

As Adelaide began to work on transfiguring the small white mouse in front of her, she noticed an abnormal lack of movement coming from her right. "Mavis, are you okay?" Adelaide asked. Mavis was resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly forward. "Mavis- oh." Adelaide followed her friend's gaze and saw the back of Cedric's head. She subsequently rolled her eyes. "Hey," she said, shaking Mavis' shoulder gently. No response. "Oi! Get a grip!" she barked, snapping her fingers in front of Mavis' face. Mavis jumped slightly, and shook her head, as if to clear it. "I'm sorry, I just-" "I know," Adelaide sighed, almost laughing. "But one of us has to be the academically stable one. And I'm not stepping up to that plate." Mavis smiled weakly. 

Adelaide's voice softened. She knew she was harsh sometimes. Her father had always told her that her personality "hard to swallow." Her mother would refute that feebly, not really trying to, but at least she said something. Adelaide sometimes forgot to soften herself, and the raw version of her was brash and rough. She was cold without meaning to be. "I'm sorry. I know I can be- I don't know. You know how I am. I don't mean to be."

Mavis looked down at her own white mouse, which had snuggled up onto her tea saucer and fallen asleep, it's chubby body curled up onto itself. "I know. I don't mind. Sometimes I need it. It's just...I wish you understood this part of me. It's hard. I mean, to love someone, deeply, and they don't know. And to not be able to tell them. It's like-I don't know. It's like there's something inside of me, trying to climb out of me every time I talk to him." Mavis looked up to see Adelaide's face, which was a mixture of shock and confusion. Mavis chuckled. "I know, it sounds nauseating saying that." She put her head in her hands again. "But it's true. I just wish I had more of you in myself. Enough of you to have the courage to say what I feel when I feel it, without thought."

Adelaide, for once, was at a loss for words. It was foreign to her, to hear that someone wanted to be like her, at least in one small aspect. She thought of herself as a medley of character flaws, jumbled up together to make a clumsy, thoughtless smart-ass. She wanted to tell Mavis that it wasn't as great as it sounded, being able to say what you thought when you thought it. Because once you started, it was almost impossible to stop.
•••
After Transfiguration, they had History of Magic. Binns, as usual, bored them half to death. Even Mavis, who was a major history buff. Her and Adelaide mostly drew comics and passed notes to pass the time.

As the bell rang for lunch, Mavis hurriedly put her books into her bag. "How can one person be so..." she trailed off, gesturing into the air, looking for the right word. "Bland? Dull? Lackluster?" Adelaide suggested.  "I was going to go with lifeless, but those work too." "Lifeless to describe a ghost," Adelaide pointed out. "How offensive." Mavis rolled her eyes and laughed.