Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [6]

⚡️ Chapter 35 ⚡️

January flowed into February and just to avoid Vega and Harry, there was no Valentine party from Slughorn although Vega was very sure that he was itching all over to do it. However, Vega was happy that she at least didn't have to deal with that setting while waiting to get an answer out of Slughorn – and she was happier when she received flowers from Fred.

Even Hermione was in a good mood – but because the sight of gifts that Vega's boyfriend had sent her didn't please Lavender, given that Ron hadn't gotten the sense to do the same for his girlfriend. And the brunette had smirked as Lavender crossly left the room.

"Are you sure these are from Fred?" Hermione asked, eying one of the boxes – the one with chocolates – with apprehension. "I don't think you should just accept anything,"

"The spiked chocolates are there," Vega answered, pointing to the stack of chocolates burning in the heater that stood in the middle of their dormitory. "And Fred and I knew we were going to send stuff to each other so we arranged ways to ensure it was from each other,"

"And what is that?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, I can't tell you or it might get out," Vega replied, nodding over her head to where some of their other roommates were still lingering around.

On the other hand, Harry had – despite his determination to catch Malfoy out – no luck at all over the next couple of weeks. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious.

"You're going to fail your classes this year," Vega reminded him, eying the map in hands. "You do know that he wouldn't skip lessons and land detentions with teachers,"

But when Harry explained to her how he spotted Crabbe and Goyle moving around the castle on their own more often than usual, sometimes remaining stationary in deserted corridors, but at these times Malfoy was not only nowhere near them, but impossible to locate on the map at all. Vega was bewildered and almost thought he was bluffing.

"There's no way that he could doing that, Harry," Vega told him. "He can't leave the school, not with the extreme level of security deployed outside and operating even within the castle – there has to be another way, maybe he's being attempting things this map cannot cover. Or maybe he's just lost around within the gaggles of other Slytherins around him.

"You usually look for him with Crabbe and Goyle but although they've been inseparable in the past, things change when people grow up. I mean... you see how it is with Ron and Hermione, unfortunately. I'm not sure how and if they're going to get together,"

February moved towards March with no change in the weather except that it became windy as well as wet. To general indignation, a sign went up on all common-room noticeboards that the next trip into Hogsmeade had been cancelled.

Ron was furious.

"It was on my birthday!" Ron exclaimed as he turned to look at Vega and Harry, who were watching uncertainly. "I was looking forward to that!"

"Not a big surprise, though, is it?" Harry asked. "Not after what happened to Katie,"

Katie had still not returned from St. Mungo's. What was more, further disappearances had been reported in the Daily Prophet, including several relatives of students at Hogwarts. Vega and Harry shared a look at the mention of their teammate.

"But now all I've got to look forward to is stupid Apparition!" Ron grunted grumpily and Vega shook her head at him. "Big birthday treat..."

Three lessons on, Vega had been the only one of the students to have actively and continuously Apparated herself while there were quite a few more people had managed to Splinch themselves. Frustration was running high and there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards Wilkie Twycross and his three D's, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were Dog-breath and Dung-head.