✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

12 | D E S T R A C T I O N

   "But you have to admit that it suit you pretty well", Ron snorted while leaving the hospital wing on Ember's side, who's head regained a normal shape.

   "Still looking better than Parvati's awful glittering butterflies", Ember scoffed, waving her long, raven hair. "So tell me why you haven't helped Harry down in the hall, will you?"

   Ron's eyes narrowed. "I prefer not to. Just can't stand his stupid face right now", he growled in a mutter. "You're still not talking to him as well?"

   "It's him not talking to me", Ember reminded the ginger, furrowing her eyebrows. "But I guess it's just him being all messed up about that whole tournament thing, being nervous and stuff."

   "Not to forget he's all messed up by being a bloke", Ron mumbled.

   "Okay, Ronald, what's up?"

   "Nothing, nothing ..." They walked further down the corridor, Ember watching her friend with a raised eyebrow, until he finally gave in, his shoulders sacking down defeated. "Okay, fine. I was an idiot. I have been mad with him the night he got chosen. It was stupid. I was just pissed that he again got all the glory — I swear it was just — I was an idiot, let's leave it with that."

   Ember snorted a laughter. "And some still say girls are complicated ..." She looked at Ron. "Will you talk to him?"

   "Guess I should, but —" He abruptly stopped, staring forward. Harry had appeared in the hallway, his hair more messed up than usual, as if he'd run.

   "You alright?", he panted, looking at his sister with an expressionless face.

   "Of course. It was just a new hairstyle, nothing bad", she coolly replied. "How many points did you lose?"

   "Fifty. Nevermind", Harry muttered. "Have noticed now your ferret is a git, yeah?"

   Ember clenched her fist and furrowed her brows. "Really, Harry? Even now you want to bring this up?"

   "He attacked you!"

   "It could have been your spell as well hitting me", Ember snorted. "The both of you are gits. Just leave it, okay?"

   "Oh yeah, fine!", Harry hissed. "Shall I get you one of those hilarious bagdes then? You can were it when whatever I have to face during the first task is murdering me!"

   "Don't talk like that", Ember whispered, again feeling the sting in the corners of her eyes. "Don't you dare ..."

   Harry's eyebrows knitted to a line, emerald green eyes locking with Ember's hazel ones. "Don't I dare? What about you? Now acting like caring about me and stuff, but hanging out with Malfoy and him —" He wildly gesticulated in Ron's direction. "Don't even start crying, there's no way to make this authentic the way you act lately!"

   "What the hell is wrong with you?", Ron barked at his actually best friend, placing himself between Harry and Ember. "Don't you talk to her like that!"

   "That's none of your business!", Harry shot back with a death glare.

   Ron had already opened his mouth for a reply, but Ember quickly chimed in. "That's enough!", she snapped, before entirely turning to Harry. "I have enough of your bullshit! I get it, okay? You're all stressed out and nervous, I really get that. But I won't be the one you load your anger onto!"

   "Then have a nice time with Ron. I'm done!", Harry hissed, before turning on heel and stumping all the way back he'd came from, leaving Ember feeling even more terrible than before.

·

   Ember didn't really want to go to Hogsmeade. It was Ron persuading her to join him, Fred, George and Lee Jordan going to the Three Broomsticks to just have her think of something else than Harry and the tournament. But seeing Hermione sitting alone on a table nearby, muttering every now and then what seemed to herself, Ember knew that it was Harry under his Invisibility Cloak she was truly talking to. And Ember was sure that he was staring at her with narrowed eyes.

   "What is this you're writing there all the time", Ember asked Fred, just to give her something distract her.

   "That, my lovely little badger", Fred solemnly spoke, lifting the parchment up with two hands, "is called a letter."

   "People use it to communicate", George added with a wink.

   Ember rolled her eyes, but couldn't surpress a little snicker. "My whole education would be useless without the two of you", she chugged. "So who are you writing to? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be nosy. I'm just surprised you actually are able to write full words, not to mention sentences."

   "Careful, lovely, I have a bag full of Zonko's most brilliant products I'm dying to test on someone", Fred said, the well known mischievous smirk plastered on his lips.

   "We would probably tell you", George said, "but with Ronnykins here we unfortunately can't be sure that information would not somehow reach our dear mother's ears."

   "I would never —"

   "Oh, you would!", not only Fred and George exclaimed, but also Ember and Lee, and the four bursted out laughing, while Ron's eyebrows furrowed.

   "That's shitty! You trust her more than your own brother?!", Ron pouted at his two big brothers.

   "We'd trust Emmie our lives", Fred said, and Ember felt the heath creep up her cheeks, her hazel eyes meeting Fred's, which sparkled in amusement.

   "Isn't she just adorable", George chugged, and Ron gave a indefinable grunt, causing the twins to throw him a questioning look with squinted eyebrows.

   "So we don't want to be impolite, but there's business that won't finish itself", Fred then said after seconds of awkward silence, rolling up the parchment. "But I'm sure ickle Ronnykins will take care of our little sunshine here."

   Ron's ears turned as read as a beefsteak. "Just piss of, would you?"

   "Speaking like a drunken pirate", George snorted, following his twin brother and lifted from his seat. "Little Emmie has to be back to dinner, Ronald."

   And with a last wink at Ember, they headed of, leaving Ron and Ember in a new wave of awkward silence, until Ember threw a bunch of sickles on the table, getting up. She wrapped her small fingers around Ron's wrist, pulling him up as well. He threw her a dazzled look, and shyly she grinned at him.

   "Let's go to Honeydukes, I think what those two need are some acid pops in their pulled pork tonight."