charmed//fred weasley x oc

eight

ADELAIDE BIT THE END OF HER QUILL. It had been fifteen minutes since they should've started their tutoring session and Fred was a no-show. She wondered if he'd forgotten. A little seed of annoyance began to plant itself in her brain; she could practically feel it. How could he have forgotten? He'd been on her case about it for days. There was no way he really didn't remember. Maybe this was some sort of elaborate prank, and she had fallen right into the Weasley twins' trap. The thought made her squirm in her seat, hoping there was nothing malicious waiting above her head.

She had huffed and started to close her book when she heard a slight clamoring noise outside the library. It was accompanied by a groan and a guffawing laugh. She held still to listen.

Then, the door to the library flew open, causing Madame Pince to purse her lips in disdain. A blur of ginger hair and a red sweater hurried toward her and slumped down in the chair at her side. "I'm. Sorry. I'm. Late," Fred panted, his hair flopping up into the air every time he exhaled.

Adelaide raised her eyebrows, her previous emotions still lingering. "You look a mess. Where were you in such a rush from?" Fred looked away sheepishly, a sly smirk forming on his flushed face. "Possibly pranking a one Argus Filch and his demon feline." Adelaide slapped his arm with her notebook. "Weasley! Bad!" "Ow, blimey! Would you not hit me, you're reminding me of my mum!" They laughed heartily, and Fred caught his breath.

"Er, so let's get started," Adelaide began, fully opening her Potions book again as Fred pulled his out. "Did you understand the last lesson?" Fred wiggled his eyebrows jokingly. "The looove potion. I recall." Adelaide rolled her eyes. "Did you understand it?" she repeated. He nodded. "You still never told me what you smelled."

Adelaide stopped smiling. "I told you I didn't smell anything." "Right, but that was a lie, wasn't it?" Fred asked, seemingly innocent, but when she looked up, his brown eyes were searching hers intently. "It was."

Fred's breath visibly quickened, and Adelaide tried to remain calm. It wasn't as if she told him, he could do anything with the information. It was harmless. But something inside of her, something deep, was fighting with that logic. It was a subtle voice, but strong. She bit the inside of her cheek so hard she drew blood.

"So what was it then?" Fred asked softly. Adelaide let her gaze fall to her open Potions textbook, forgotten. "A bonfire," she started quietly. "Marshmallows, freshly cut grass." Fred was listening earnestly. There was a softness to his eyes that Adelaide hadn't yet seen. Except for when they'd initially met, when she'd cracked her head open.

"Interesting," he said finally, a small smile taking shape on his face. "But yes, I did understand it. Quite well, actually. But I credit that to my extremely academic partner." He nudged her arm and winked, apparently shaken out of his quiet reverie and back into his normal self.

"I am far from academic. You're just lucky I'm good at Potions. Anything else, and you'd be up a creek." She turned to her book, flipping to the first chapter. "I want to start with the basics. Common ingredients, most useful potions that you should know how to prepare on hand, things like that." Fred nodded; Adelaide could tell he was genuinely listening, and that made her feel odd. Not in a bad way. The only other person who ever looked like they were really listening to her was Mavis, but usually Mavis was doing the talking.

"Er," Adelaide stuttered, darting her eyes away from Fred's eager face. "Right. So. Open yours," she said tapping his book sharply with the end of her quill. "Yes, Professor," Fred said heartily, mock-saluting her. Adelaide shot him a look and he raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Sorry," he conceded. "Madame Hendrix." She rolled her eyes and laughed in exasperation. At this rate, they were both going to end up with horrible marks in Potions.