The Original Witch

Chapter 25

A week passes before Fred speaks a word to me since I pushed him out of the way from the tree trunk that could have ended his life.

"Alexia, wait up!" My feet stop in place on my way back to my common room to take a break before Potions later. Fred quickens up his pace to catch up with me since he was at the other end of the hall.

I stand still as I look at the redhead, waiting for him to say something, yet he doesn't initiate. "Yes?"

Fred looks around before wrapping my left wrist, pulling me towards an empty classroom. I have a feeling this may take a while, so I sit on a desk, crossing one leg over the other. He sits down on a desk across from mine.

His hands fidget as he stays quiet for a moment. He takes a deep breath, and I can hear how fast his heart is beating. He finally speaks up, "I've been trying to figure out for days now what to say to you..." My face remains neutral as he pauses before continuing, "Obviously I owe you a huge thank you for saving my life after I made a dumb decision."

My voice is nonchalant, "Of course, I'm glad I was at the lake." He doesn't need to know that I was there out of curiosity about him and Angelina.

He chuckles dryly, "Otherwise, I would have been a goner."

I shake away the thought of him dead since he is alive now, so there is no need to worry, "Thankfully that is not the case."

Fred's eyes lock with mine, searching for something, or anything, to explain why I would have helped him since we had it out for each other before.

I answer an unspoken question, "Fred, I don't hate you anymore and helped you because I wanted to."

His voice is quiet as his body finally relaxes, "I don't hate you anymore either." I smile a bit, content with our conversation. "Why did you hate me so much?"

I look incredulously at him, "You were an arse, but I thought you were trying to find out everything about me and expose me."

Fred asks jokingly, "You have something to hide?"

"Maybe."

"Like how you were able to run that fast in order to save me from my impending doom?"

My body tenses slightly but goes unnoticed by Fred. I smile as I shrug, "It's a gift."

"A gift I am more than grateful for. I'll do anything you want!" He jokingly praises me with a bow.

I pretend to think about it, "Hmm...I'll let you know."

We share a laugh, his personality uplifting my mood tremendously. This is much better than the cold glares and snarky comments. "You know, I much prefer this Fred."

"You're not too bad yourself."

I offer a challenging look, "You know I'm amazing!"

He holds his hand up to his chin, pretending to weigh the options. I roll my eyes at this but enjoy our playful interaction.

We go quiet for a moment after the laughter dies down. We make eyes contact, but the look makes me turn away and instead look out the nearby window.

"You make him really happy you know." His voice forces me to peel my eyes away from the forest to give Fred a questioning look. I know what he is talking about but am surprised we are talking about it. "George seems really happy, so don't worry about me getting in the way anymore."

I take in his words, unresponsive for a slight moment. For some reason, I hold doubt about the last part of his sentence. "I'm glad, and I think I'm happy as well."