Just Say Yes || Fred Weasley

Chapter Seven

I silently sprinted along the corridor, pushing my way through the thick crowd heading to their last lesson of the day. Making sure to check around me, I ducked into a secret tunnel that lead out by the kitchens, and leant against the wall trying to act as nonchalantly as possible as she waited for Lee and the twins to meet her there. We had just carried out our first prank of the year, and I was proud to say it was probably our best one yet. We had rigged the doorways of multiple classrooms with several hexes (including one that would cover a student with permanent paint, the only way to remove it was to perform a highly skilled counter-curse) and we were sure to also rig Filch's office whilst we were at it. Not only that, but we had also stolen some Pompion potion from one of Filch's draws and were going to slip it into that evening's drinks.

"Emily?"
"Beth!" I yelled, pulling her into a hug. My smile instantly dropped as I pulled away and caught sight of red puffy eyes.
"Oh honey what's wrong" I asked softly, pulling her over to an alcove in the wall, sitting opposite from the portrait that leads into the kitchens.
"It's nothing I'm just being silly"
Her eyes screwed up, as if trying to shut off her tear ducts, and plastered a fake smile on her face.
"Beth I know you too well to think you're okay right now" I answered softly, holding her hand and comfortingly rubbing her hand.
"It's stupid"
"Nothing that makes you this upset is stupid"
"I - It's come back and I feel stupid asking Madam Pomfrey for more draught" she whispered, looking down at her hands.
"Nonsense. I'm coming with you, last time we left this is got worse. Come on, up! up!"
Beth refused to stand up, resisting the pull on her hand.
"Beth I'll stand here all night if I had to. Now get your sexy ass up and come on a nice walk with me" I teased, pulling her up. I could tell she was fighting a smile, but after a while it broke through and she allowed me to pull her up.

Deciding this was more important, I left before checking if my friends had made it back to the kitchens.

"Madam Pompfrey?" I called, opening the large doors to the infirmary, squeezing Beth's hand reassuringly as we walked (well, I was walking and half dragging Beth behind me) in. I could see the older lady fussing around a bed, the patient's arm had seemingly grown 5x larger than normal.
"I'll be there in just a moment" she replied "just sit on a bed if you need to"
Deciding to stand, i wiped the tears that were still falling from her eyes and gave her another reassuring smile.
"Can you talk please" she asked me quietly, looking extremely uncomfortable in our current environment. I smiled and nodded, interrupted by Madam Pompfrey appearing behind us.
"Ah hello Beth, Emily. What's going on?" She asked kindly, giving Beth a small smile - a rarity very few see.
"Beth's getting another bad bout, do you have any more draught?"
"Ah- the Dopa Draught? Miss Abbott I do encourage you to try therapy. These draughts can't cure depression, only keep the majority of the feelings away"
Beth gave a small nod, now very interested in her feet as she tried to avoid eye contact with the healer. As she returned with the draught, Beth muttered a quick thank you and started to pull me out of the room.
"Sorry for making you do that" Beth spoke, in a volume barely above a whisper.
"Hey it's okay. We've done this before, I'm just glad you didn't leave it too long this time" I answered reassuringly, pulling her into another hug "do you have any idea what set it off this time?"
She nodded but didn't answer so I decided it was best to leave the subject alone for now.
"Okay, I'll see you later, will you be alright finding Conor again?"
"I'll be fine"

"Where were you!?" Lee screamed as I entered the common room later that afternoon.
"I had to take Beth to Madam Pompfrey" I replied, smacking his arm to make him quieter.
"Oh. Is she okay?" Lee asked, seeing the concern flash across my face.
"Yeah she's fine now... where's Fred and George?"
"You didn't hear this from me, but Oliver Wood is being a real dick and making them practice again"
"Well the Slytherin v Gryffindor match is next month"
"Speaking of that. You still up for commentating?"
"Uh, duh"
"Okay okay just checking! Wanna watch the rest of practice or do you have homework?"
"I finished earlier, let's go" I smiled, running out of the portrait, Lee close behind me.

"Oh my god a dog!" I squealed, rushing over to the black dog that stood by the edge of the trees. Lee rolled his eyes behind me and carried on walking to the quidditch pitch. Sending him a middle finger behind his back, I turned back around, this time approaching the animal more carefully.
"Hey dog. How's life" I giggled, patting its head softly. The dog gave a bark, nuzzling into my hand causing me to smile.
"Jesus you're thinner than a twig. Hang on" I said, sticking my tongue out in concentration as I rooted around in my robe pockets.
"Here," I grinned, producing 2 sandwiches, "these were for Fred and George after practice but they can handle not getting a quick snack for once". I laid down the food and the dog immediately started to gulp down the food, clearing it up in less than a minute.
"Sorry doggo, if I knew I'd be meeting you I'd have come more prepared," I said thoughtfully, tilting my head "I need to give you a name. Can't keep calling you dog". A frown crossed my face as I tried to think of an appropriate name, when an idea came to me.
"I'm going to call you paddy. My friends and I use a map to do pranks and shit, and on the front one of the names say padfoot, perfect for a strong looking dog like you" I grinned. The dog, if possible, looked shocked. After standing completely still for a few moments, it started wagging its tail and barking madly, as if agreeing with my statement.
"Okay okay," I giggled "padfoot it is then"