Marooned - Fred Weasley

Chapter 29: The Second Task

"Walk me through it again," said Sarah, mouth agape, staring at Selena, absolutely overjoyed.

Selena smiled and rolled her eyes, "I was talking to Matthias, saying goodbye and George appeared around the corner, asking me if we could talk. So I said 'Check for sharp edges, and holes in the floor before approaching me, maybe there's a roam of bats just waiting for the opportunity.'"

"I absolutely adore this," gushed Sarah and asked her to keep going.

"So he laughed, and stepped forward. He said he was sorry about all of that, for not going about it the right way. And I said 'You didn't need to go about it the right way, just to do it' and he nodded, taking another step forward. And then he said 'What if I'm doing it now?' and Sarah when I tell you my heart exploded, but it seemed still a little enigmatic so I just waited to see what he was going to say. And then he walked until he was right in front of me and repeated it only more slowly, like 'What if I'm doing it now, Selena'" she used a deep, intense voice, "That's when I knew it was serious because he called me 'Selena' and he rarely does that. And I said, 'What might that be exactly?' and..."

Sarah's breath caught in anticipation, she screeched in excitement for a second before asking Selena to continue, "Then he cupped my face with a hand, whispered 'This' and he leaned in to kiss me. It was flawless, truly."

They both cheered and Sarah gushed, "I can't believe it's finally happened! I'm so happy for you, Selena!"

That was the conversation Sarah and Selena had the morning after the ball, before going to breakfast. And since that night, her best friends were finally together, after spending years circling around each other. It was absolutely splendid to see George and Selena happy, together, they were really sweet. Not much had changed when it came to their interactions, they had the same back and forth, sarcastic and witty, only now Selena would more often find herself with his arm around her as it happened. Sarah and Fred were thrilled and were teasing them occasionally, enjoying particularly that part.

_

With a ticking clock for the next task, Sarah and Hermione were with Harry on the bridge, discussing the clue of the golden egg.

"The task is tomorrow, Harry. Have you figured it out?" asked Sarah, leaning over the railing. Harry shook his head, "Tomorrow? Didn't know that, Sarah. Any other life altering information you're keeping from me?"

Hermione bit down a smile and Sarah scoffed at him, "Feeling sarcastic, now, are we?"

He didn't respond, he just looked down and clenched his jaw. She winced, "Sarcasm won't keep you alive in there. We're trying to help."

"Theses tasks are meant to test you, in a way they're almost cruel. We're scared for you Harry," said Hermione. Harry sighed and looked down again, he had no clue what to do.

"Hey, Harry!" they heard a voice behind them, it was Cedric. He waved at Sarah and Hermione and asked Harry to have a word.

While they talked, Sarah turned to Hermione, "Has Viktor figured it out?"

She raised her shoulders, "We don't really talk, he's more of a...physical being."

Sarah's eyes went wide but that made Hermione laugh nervously, shaking her head, "Not like that, I just mean he's not particularly loquacious. He mostly watches me study," she grimaces at Sarah.

Sarah nods, "So all those thoughts you have from reading and opinions, do they get their time to shine around him?"

Hermione shakes her head, "No, I voice them out to you, Harry, Ron and Ginny."

"All right," said Sarah, nodding again. She couldn't imagine not to have her boyfriend and best friend be the same person, but that was her. Hermione's life was hers only, Sarah was just glad to see her smile.