charmed//fred weasley x oc

five

THE WALK BACK TO THE DORMITORIES THAT NIGHT WAS ONE FILLED WITH WHISPERS, SNATCHED HERE AND THERE BETWEEN FRIENDS. It was unheard of. Harry and his friends were two years below Adelaide and Mavis, which meant he was even further away from being of-age than Adelaide was. How did he do it? she wondered. The Weasleys had tried to trick the age line, and everyone saw how that worked out.

She was slightly jealous. If there was a way to trick that magic, she wished she would've figured it out first. She didn't understand how Potter did this; he was always attracting anomalies of this sort. On some level, Adelaide was glad that it wasn't her.

They passed the kitchens and entered into the common room. It smelled like laundry and fresh-baked cookies and rain. It soothed Adelaide, and she found herself relaxing. She sat down on one of the plush couches they had around the fire place, pulling a knit afghan around her shoulders. Mavis took a seat next to her.

"I just don't understand,"Mavis said, voicing Adelaide's earlier thoughts. "I don't either," Adelaide said quietly, closing her eyes. Dinner was excellent, despite the plot twist. She was full, and warm from sitting in front of the fire. All she wanted to do was stay here and go to sleep after today.

"Adelaide?" She heard Mavis say, but she had lost the function to speak. She burrowed deeper into the blanket, and it was easy to fall asleep.

•••

Adelaide woke up early the next morning for Quidditch practice. She was a Chaser on the Hufflepuff team, and if anything would wake her up, it's Quidditch. There was no real games this year because of the tournament, but she and the other players had decided it would be best to train as if there were; they didn't want to get out of practice.

She walked down to the pitch in her pajamas, pulling on a thick sweater over her t-shirt. Once she stepped out into the foggy morning, a layer of moisture settled on her face. The air was dewy and almost tangible. She couldn't wait to get on her broom.

Her broomstick was a gift from Mavis' parents. Mavis' father had been a Hufflepuff seeker at Hogwarts, and her mom was a Chaser for Gryffindor. "I see myself in you," her mom had said. "We want you to have this." It was a Nimbus 2000, and Adelaide wasn't sure if she had ever seen something as beautiful as that. She had been, for once, at a loss for words. Mavis joked that Adelaide was their favorite daughter, because Mavis had never been good at Quidditch. "Someone has to carry on the Talpin family legacy," Mavis would tease.

Adelaide made her way into the Hufflepuff locker room, where she saw Maxine O'Flaherty, one of the Beaters, pulling on her yellow practice robes. "Hey, Hendrix," she said gruffly, pulling on a pair of gloves. Maxine was a broad girl, with shoulders like a rugby player. She was stronger than probably anyone else on their team. "Hi," Adelaide replied.

Cedric came out of the boys' locker room, pushing his hair out of his face. "Well, if it isn't the Hogwarts champion!" Adelaide teased, and Cedric rolled his eyes. "Oh, please," he groaned. "I'm already sick of the looks." "I would be, too."

They walked out onto the pitch, grabbing their broomsticks on the way out. "Are you sure you should be practicing with us? Shouldn't you be resting up for the first task?" Cedric shrugged it off. "I don't even know what it'll be yet. And sitting around on my ass isn't gonna do me any good either." He squinted up at the clouds, checking for incoming rain. "Besides, I like being out here with the team. It helps to clear my head." "I know what you mean."

The rest of the team ambled out onto the pitch, looking exhausted. "Hurry up," Adelaide urged. "It's your own fault. I heard that celebration going on until one o'clock this morning." "So...much...butterbeer," one of the other Chasers, Tamsin Applebee, groaned, holding his stomach. The rest of the team laughed at his exaggerated gait as he limped to join the rest of them.

"Okay, so," Cedric began, once they were all in the middle of the pitch. "We're gonna run some drills, just to keep us in shape for next season." He smiled at them. "It's gonna be my last year, so I want it to be perfect. Hendrix, Macavoy, and Applebee, do some meter drills and work on your passes. Last year, it was on the verge of sloppy. Beaters, work on dodging. After McManus took that nasty hit to the head, he hasn't been right since. I don't want that to happen again." He cringed in remembrance. "I'll work on some drills with the Snitch, and I'll be looking around and helping out where I can. Let's go."

They broke up their loose huddle and hopped onto their brooms. The cool morning air felt amazing on Adelaide's face; she felt energized and ready for anything. This was her favorite way to start her day.

"Hendrix, take it easy after that head injury yesterday!" Cedric called from across the field. Adelaide scowled. She intentionally didn't tell him; she felt fine, and she didn't wanna be told to hold back during practice. She didn't even know how he found out. A feeling settling in her stomach told her that, in fact, she did know.

•••

"Good work today, guys," Cedric said, once they had all changed and showered. "I'll see you next week, same time?" They all nodded and split up as they walked back to the castle.

The wind was picking up, and Adelaide pulled her sweater tighter around herself. Her wet hair dripped onto her bare hands, making her shiver. It was November 1st, and she knew it would only get colder from here. She grew up in the rainiest place you could imagine, and she hated the cold.

When she reached the castle, it was still an hour or so until breakfast. The halls were peaceful, and she saw a few people already up and dressed, walking to places unknown. She couldn't wait to change into some other clothes; she had severely underestimated how cold it would be this morning, and she could hardly stand it.

"And that's when I said, 'Professor Trelawney, you truly do have a gift. How were you able to know I didn't do last night's reading without asking me first?'" a voice said from up ahead. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Please, not this again.

The person the voice belonged to rounded the corner leisurely and locked eyes with her. "Adelaide!" Fred said, his smile widening. "Hello," she replied dryly. Her hair was soaked, and she was freezing. She hoped this didn't take long.

"How are you?" Fred asked eagerly, earning a skeptical glance from his twin, who was at his side. "Fine." Fred looked her up and down. "You look like Moaning Myrtle got a hold of you," he laughed. "Just Quidditch practice," she explained shortly. She narrowed her eyes, remembering her and Cedric's previous conversation. "Why'd you blab to Diggory about my injury yesterday?" she accused.

Fred frowned. "I didn't," he said, and his voice sounded sincere. "Well, I didn't tell him," Adelaide said. "And he knows. So if I didn't, then it was you." Fred shook his head, amused. "Trust me, I have bigger things to worry about than telling the captain of your Quidditch team about every incident you have." Adelaide crossed her arms defensively. "I just want to know how he found out." "I can't help you there."

They stared each other down for another few seconds before Fred caught sight of something behind Adelaide. "Lee!" he exclaimed, as Lee Jordan hustled over to where Adelaide and the twins were standing. "Did you-" George started, stealing an apprehensive glance at Adelaide. "Did you...do it?" "Yep," Lee said. George gave Adelaide a pointed look, one that said, "Can you get out of here?"

"Bye," Adelaide said, not really to anyone but she felt awkward just leaving without saying anything. Fred turned from Lee and George and waved. Adelaide quickened her pace and rubbed her arms to try and warm herself up. She grumbled to herself interanally, Just because someone spends a few hours in the hospital wing with you doesn't mean you're friends. Or anything at all.