1: Trouble - Fred Weasley

19. locked out of heaven

can't i just stay here? spend the rest of my days here?

cause you make me feel like i've been locked out of heaven for too long

for too long

-

"Ooh, summer's come today, hasn't it?" Hetty said, fanning herself under the shade of the tree.

Imogen had a book in her lap, but found herself instead looking out at the crystal smooth surface of the lake. "It's ice lolly weather, for sure."

Hetty sighed. "They've probably got ice lollies up in the hall, but I could not move right now. Do you think if I just summoned one it would work?"

Imogen considered this. "It might take one out of someone's hand. You don't want a half eaten lolly."

Hetty nodded solemnly. "Good point."

"You should wait until you can get one from those funny muggle ice cream vans. The creepy ones, with the music." Imogen said, giving up on her book and placing it over her face, lying back in the grass. Her school jumper was balled up under her head.

"I love the ice cream man!" Hetty said happily. "There's this great one in my neighbourhood. You should come visit over summer. All of you actually, Angelina, the twins, Lee. It'd be good."

Imogen smiled a little underneath her book. She'd been dreading the thought of a summer without Mo's house to retreat to, but this prospect made the summer much more appealing. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great."

A peaceful silence fell for a few moments, until Hetty spoke again.

"I finished with Jeremy, by the way."

"Oh, really? How come?" Imogen asked.

"Just didn't like him much, I s'pose." Hetty said. Imogen couldn't see, but she imagined Hetty was shrugging.

"Oh," Imogen answered, "Right..... So. What about you and Lee?"

Hetty burst out laughing, and Imogen giggled along with her. "Well come on. You can't tell me there's nothing-"

"Of course there's not nothing! There's... yeah. I guess there's something. But... I don't know."

Imogen got excited. "You don't know what?"

But instead of Hetty's voice answering, a young boy's came instead.

"Err, are you Hetty and Imogen? I'm supposed to give you these."

Imogen sat upright abruptly, letting the book slide off her face and onto the grass. A boy who looked about second year was holding two letters. The girls exchanged a confused look and then took the letters, thanking the boy. Imogen read her own name on the front, and then, flipping it over, her heart skipped a beat. On the seal was the St Mungo's logo. One look at Hetty's face told her she'd realised the exact same thing.

"Good luck," she told her.

"Good luck, Imogen."

Imogen took a deep breath, trying to quell the storm raging in her belly. Hands trembling, she began to open it, not sure whether she was rushing or taking far too long. Her eyes scanned the words, not reading properly, but they widened upon seeing the words 'delighted', 'successful', and 'offer'. Just about restraining from screaming, she looked up at Hetty's face to find it plastered with a huge grin.

Imogen's heart lifted. "You got it?!"

"You too?!"

One nod was all it took for both girls to be on their feet, clutching eachother as they shouted and whooped, celebrating wildly. Imogen wasn't sure she'd ever smiled so hard in her life.  She'd gotten the placement. All that work, all that hoping, and she's gotten it.