In Between

You would have never guessed the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was going to involve dragons, but there you were in the stands, surrounded by peers from the entire school—the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students occupied their own sections—as dragons came and went, expelling flames wherever they pleased. Watching the first three champions compete was already hard enough as their figures looked miniscule, and frankly frail, compared to the hulking beasts who protected the prized golden egg below them, but it got all the harder to sit back and watch as young Harry faced the final dragon. Your hands seemed to cover your eyes the entire time only cracking apart briefly when the crowd cheered praises, but closing the second it sounded like it was turning south. In the end, Harry was able to capture his egg unscathed—mostly—and thus concluded the first task and setting the rankings for the next, which wouldn’t be for another few months.

You exited the stands with the rest of the crowd, heading towards Gryffindor Tower to join in celebration. When you arrived the room was in near-full celebration, still awaiting the arrival of Harry to commence the festivities—girls were gossiping in the corner about which of them should talk to him first when he arrived, a few second-years were reliving the events of the narrow escapes they witnessed, and the twins were entertaining a small crowd nearby, using the jubilant atmosphere to their advantage.

The crowd of joke-lovers dispersed as a familiar lightning-scarred face entered through the portrait hole, and you took this opportunity to weasel your way towards the twins who stood clapping vigorously for the Gryffindor champion. Standing next to them you joined in the cheering and goading, which quickly ended with the common room filled with screeches from the golden egg Harry had gained from the task, and all students in the vicinity covering their ears in protest.

Not much of a reward, you thought.

The sudden, jarring noise left the room less jovial than before but still lively enough with chatter, the topic of conversation had shifted however to the Christmas break and the recently announced Yule Ball, where you sat on the sofa and eavesdropped on your peers’ plans. Being of age, you were allowed to attend the Ball but didn’t desire to go stag, and there wasn’t anyone who came to mind who you wanted to go with. You knew you could always go with a group of girls, but you pushed that idea aside figuring most of them would prefer to go with dates—you settled, for now, on returning home for Christmas as you had done for the years prior.

The cushions on either side of you sunk, once more finding yourself between two familiar freckled faces. “How was that for a show?” Fred said stretching his legs out, feet offensively close to yours which rested under your legs.

“It was worse than I could’ve imagined.” You grimaced, thinking about all the times it could have turned deadly and how close in proximity you had been to it.

“Must’ve been what Charlie was hiding from us—” George piped up, sitting up against the armrest with his leg resting against the backing.

“—should’ve known it was dragon-related.” Said Fred.

“Charlie’s the brother you were talking about? The git?” Chiming in the conversation they seemed to be involving you in, you felt it was a good time to find out more about their family.

“No that’s Percy,” their hands waved dismissively in sync, “Charlie works with dragons. Should see the nasty scars he’s got.”

“Should’ve seen mum’s reaction—” teased George.

“I’d like to meet him, he sounds cool. Must be intimidating though, what with working around dragons all the time.” Your hands instinctively made their way to your face as if you’d see more action in the common room.

A pair of feet brushed against the side of your leg, Fred stretching himself out after the long, precarious day and relaxing into the plush red material. He was none the wiser to your sudden stiffness at the physical touch, or so you thought—it wasn’t significant in anyway, perhaps even impolite, but you had never been so close to either of them. The fire roared in response to the brisk November weather on the grounds, the three of you nestled into the sofa with both boys taking the ends of it, enjoying each other’s company—a stark contrast to how the atmosphere between the three of you was in September.

George pushed himself off the arm of the sofa bringing himself closer to you, resting his arm across the backing. In an effort to give him more room you ended up pushing Fred’s legs slightly over, increasing the pressure his feet had on your legs and the heat in your cheeks.

“I’m sure he’d be visiting for Christmas this year. He doesn’t come around often anymore.” George looked at you lazily, cheek in hand.

“Is that an invitation?” An excitement shot through you, ignoring the newly annoyed boy behind you, as the thought of meeting their family swirled in your mind. A new pressure was on your back—Fred’s foot was pushing you, lolling you forward and back as he glowered.

“Don’t get all worked up now, we’re staying here for break,” he removed his foot from your back, the lack of touch upsetting you more than you wanted, “unless you could convince Ronnie to bring you home.”

You turned slightly to face Fred, missing the disappointed look that crossed over George’s face. “You two aren’t going home? It’s not because you’re going to crash the Ball, right?”

Fred’s hand lazily clasped over his chest feigning offense, “Crash the Ball? Who would dare—”

“Not us surely—” George mocked.

“No, we are attending like civilized students.” Fred was now sitting up, the two brothers equally as close to you. For some reason you never imagined them having any interest in such a typical—daresay romantic—event, not if they were supposed to behave at least.

Oh.

“Oh.” You said accidentally, causing both boys to look at you more closely than before. The feeling in your chest was not unfamiliar, however it was not desired, not at this moment when you were enjoying a comfortable evening with your two friends.

“Why so glum?”

“It’s not a good look.”

“It’s just,” you paused, slightly embarrassed at your disappointment, “I didn’t plan to stay over break. I’ll miss you guys—” they reached for their chests once more as an act of flattery, “—even if you are pains.” Their hands fell, but they did not seem to be upset, instead looking intently at each other as you got up from the warm comfort of the common room. It was mostly deserted, except for a few stragglers who were still filled with adrenaline.

You started to bid them goodnight, making your way around the couch towards the girls’ dormitories before two voices suddenly rang out.

“Hey!”

Turning you could see Fred and George looking over the back of the couch, their figures drowned out by the orange light of the fireplace behind them though it was clear they were both looking at you intently.

“You should stay over break—” began Fred.

“—just think about it.” Ended George.

With that you headed to bed, their words dancing in your head for the rest of the night wondering with delight and terror why they wished for you to stay.

“Angelina?” Was all that left your mouth as you stared between the boys, your eyebrow raised in surprise at the news that Fred had gotten a date to the Yule Ball so quickly. It shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as it was, Fred was good looking—much like his twin—he had strong features the girls usually fawned over, and the freckles on his face only helped accentuate that, not to mention those brown eyes…

“Yeah, was showing Ron the ‘proper’ way to do it.” George stated, leaning over Fred’s shoulder. They caught you just before dinner began as you were heading to the Great Hall, eager to share the news of his success and to plead with you to stay over break citing their boredom after the Ball would be immeasurable.

“Of course it was a success,” Fred smirked toward you, “who could say no?” You rolled your eyes as you three made your way to the table of red and gold, ready to satiate the hunger that had been plaguing your stomach since the afternoon. The boys sat across from you as you loaded your plate, waiting patiently but for what you did not know— four eyes bore into you.

“Have you had any luck?” You asked with a half-full mouth, completely aware of your lack of manners but so hungry you couldn’t care. George’s ears shared a similar shade to that of his hair, leading you to believe he too had already found a partner.

“Not yet. But I haven’t tried much,” he began, “you hoping I’m still available?” The teasing coming from the two of lately was becoming quite routine, though you did not mind it—it was actually quite cute. However, the look on Fred’s face suggested something was off; he looked caught off guard, as if there was a discussion he missed.

“I still haven’t decided if I’m staying or not.” This knocked Fred back to the present, though you were sure the two of them would be holing themselves up in their dorm later for a secret discussion. More students entered the Great Hall for dinner, as large crowd came in all at once you noticed at the center was the original Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory. Girls from other houses turned their heads from where they were sat to get a look at him, you were aware he had a reputation as a favorite pick for the Yule Ball, it was obviously because everyone found him attractive, and as a Hufflepuff he must have a kind side once you get to know him. But he didn’t talk much, you weren’t sure you have ever seen him speak before, even now he was surrounded by people but only smiled and sat politely to eat.

“Don’t tell us, you have a thing for Diggory?” Fred said loudly, some heads nearby turned to glance your way.

“Diggory?” George said, turning to look at the boy in question, “That Hufflepuff bloke?”

You tried to bring them closer, to which they obliged before swatting them with a loose book from your bag. “No, I don’t have a thing for him, and next time don’t say such things that loudly!” You spoke in a sharp whisper. The eavesdropping heads had since turned away, the twins rubbing their temples dramatically. “You want the rumor mill to think I do?”

“What’s so bad about that?” George asked, barely picking at the food on his plate, his brother was just about as hungry as he was.

“It’s bad because it’s not true!” You weren’t sure why you were trying to explain the complexities of girls and the rumor mill, they were too thick to apologize for a mishap of their own making so why would they understand the repercussions of this? “Of course I don’t like Cedric, I—” you paused, unsure of what you were about to say, however the twins’ interests were piqued as their utensils lowered from their face, looking your way inquisitively.

“You what?” Fred leaned closer to you, eyes flicking between yours as if he could read your thoughts that very moment.

“Tell us.” Demanded George, who was also inching his way towards you over the table. With one glance at each other they seemed to have made up their mind.

“You like someone.” It came out in unison as you expected, and your ears burned to match the pink on your face. You didn’t agree with them, you didn’t like anyone truly—not even Cedric. Outside of class and the common room you had spent most of your time with the twins, helping them with their side projects and they kept you company while you worked. Of course, being around them was enjoyable for you, the banter you all shared and the laughs, the way they teased you endlessly, and how they have seemingly begun to venture closer into your space lately. But that was all friendly of course, even the way your chest tightened when they brushed past you, or how you suddenly burn up when they question your feelings.

Very friendly.

The sudden implicating thoughts left a feeling of urgency within you, causing you to flee dinner without a single word—the red on your face betraying you.

“You know what this means?” Fred asked to his brother, without taking his eyes off you.

“Yep.” George responded.

“This complicates things.”