chaos ~ fred weasley

38. here

The week passes by achingly slow. My days are filled with weird looks from Professor Moody, high-fives from other students, long and torturous classes with Snape, and more weird looks from Moody. Honestly, I couldn't care less about any of it—more than anything, what I want is to hang out with my friends where we're not talking about the tournament. Even Harry won't shut up about it, but I'm not mad because I know how much it means to him. I just want to see my boyfriend and my friends.

It's strange to think about—Fred and I have been dating for almost a year now, and it feels simultaneously like we just met and like we've been together forever. Time is weird, I guess. Maybe I'm just trying to latch onto that sense of normality I feel when I'm around him.

Not to mention my friends. As I get ready for the day, I stare at myself in the mirror. I definitely take my friends for granted, it's easy to see that. Not only do they literally defeat Voldemort or save a wrongfully imprisoned godfather, they're fucking hilarious and caring and they're all so smart.

Last, in a category of his own, Lee. He's the only family member I have left that I'm really close to, but more than that he's been there for me through everything. I can't really begin to describe how much I appreciate his existence, especially after our parents died. Sometimes, I suddenly remember that I'm an orphan—that they're gone, and they're not coming back. After that, though, Lee will come running in and tell me some story about a prank he pulled or the time he tried to 'take' Snape's nose.

After my trip down memory lane, I think briefly of Lupin. He helped me a lot at Ilvermorny—but he's gone, and there's not much I can do about that. He didn't even say goodbye.

Shaking my head free of those thoughts, I try to style my hair as best I can before finally surrendering and letting it run wild. After looking at my outfits and consulting Allie briefly, I decide on a rust coloured sweater and jeans that end right above my ankles. Grabbing my favourite pair of sneakers that Lee gave me two years ago, I jump down the stairs with Allie. In the common room we find George, fast asleep on the sofa and Fred who is lying upside down on the armchair facing the girls dorms—he jumps up when we arrive and kisses me on the cheek, making me blush. Grinning, he says, "you look beautiful, as always; Allie, same to you."

"What's new?" Allie says, rolling her eyes and laughing musically. "Come on, we have a busy day today and we have to have breakfast and sign out before the morning rush!"

Lee joins us and he and the twins quickly run off to find Sir Francis, who keeps mysteriously disappearing in different places around the castle. I think he's just hiding from Filch, who enjoys terrorizing the knight almost as much as he enjoys finding students out of bed. Fred tells me they have pranks to plan, and I feel a gentle twang in my heart. I miss pranking—I didn't do enough of it before, and now with the tournament... I don't know what to do. Noticing the look in my eyes, Fred promises he'll find time for the four of us to sit down and plan another ultimate attack. He tilts my chin up and gives me a soft kiss before bounding off like a puppy.

We stop by the kitchens and talk to Nimmy as we wait for Julian, but by the time he gets there we've been given so much food that there's not much point in going to the Great Hall for breakfast. Instead, the three of us head out into the courtyard, taking a seat under the large oak tree that looms over a corner. The leaves have turned the colours of flames and now they hang precariously to the branches, waiting for autumn to officially set in. I don't feel the frost on the grass as I sit down beside my two friends, grinning brightly at them both.