Loved :||: Loved Series #6

21) Be Loud, Be Bold

Ft. Ginny Weasley

Lily's POV

The fallout from Dean and Seamus' prank continued throughout the rest of the week but it wasn't necessarily all bad. Whilst Dean was busy begging for Katie's forgiveness, it left time for Seamus and Parvati to spend together. Everyone had noticed, and we'd agreed once Seamus had left the common room that night, that something was brewing between the two.

You would see them seated on benches in the courtyard, books sitting forgotten between them as they laughed about something ridiculous Seamus said. Sometimes they would walk along one of the many trails bordering the Black Lake, talking and smiling and with every step moving a little closer together. Or in class, when Seamus sat with Dean and Parvati with Katie, separating their two feeding friends, sharing quiet glances and sly smiles. It was nice to see both of them smiling and happy, relaxed enough to allow themselves to feel this way about one another, especially after all that's happened.

As for the rest of us, apart from witnessing a blossoming romance, we devoted our time trying to figure out who was trying to pull this master prank. So far, no one had been able to pin down which one of the competitors who were left it could be. As Prankmester was nearing its last week, the number of pranks were expected to rise. Both Earnie and Hannah had come to breakfast Saturday morning with bright sparkly greasy hair and smelling strongly of baby oil, which the Ravenclaw had claimed for but revealed they'd only done it to Hannah's shampoo, revealing much more about their relationship beyond Hufflepuff prefects. 

Hermione had pointed out this ingenious prank could have been masterminded by the Ravenclaws and after their prank, it seemed likely to be them. Until they were wiped out by the Slytherin team after firecrackers disguised as rolled up bits of parchment were set off in the Ravenclaw common room fireplace by the unsuspecting Ravenclaws themselves, and yet, our shoes still didn't return.

No matter how much snooping and eavesdropping we did in the most unsuspicious way possible, we couldn't find any evidence for either the Slytherins or Micheal Corner about the missing shoes. And it wasn't like we could accuse the wrong person because the second we did that they'd won. So we were resigned to continue snooping on our friends and fellow peers, or accepting no matter how many pranks we pulled we'd been outpranked and would all lose. Of course, we weren't ready to give up that easily and so secretly, Ginny and I turned our attention towards Dean and Seamus. 

"Do you honestly think it could be them?" Ginny asked as we snooped through Dean's room, trying very hard not to break too many laws while we were at it and invade all of his privacy. "I mean, I love 'em, but this is a really good prank."

"And they've sort-of been focused on other things." I finished, placing down one of his Quidditch boots. 

We had tried to sneak into Seamus' room but had heard Parvati and Seamus chatting and laughing through the door which was open wide. Gin and I had snuck away quietly, trying to avoid disturbing them and being caught and having to lie about why we were both in the boy's dorms.

After a week of Katie ignoring him and realizing a whole weekend of him leaving her be hadn't made anything better by Monday, Dean finally sought me out that afternoon. 

Draco and I sat in our favourite round window in that quiet south-eastern corner of the castle on the second floor. He sat up whilst I leant against him, his fingers trailing through my hair, beautiful stormy eyes set out the window as I stared unabashedly up at him. He'd caught my gaze a few times and each time he'd me and each time he looked away again. I'm beginning to think he did it on purpose so he could keep kissing me. 

Inhaling sharply, he looked back down to me his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Stroking my cheek, he answered. "We only have two more weeks of school left, then move on to the rest of our lives. That's kind of scary."