Chapter 6
Which is exactly where she found her. Head shoved into her defense against the dark arts book as she worriedly bit at her fingernails. Helene rushed over and sat down in front of the Hufflepuff.
“Helene!” the girl shouted when she looked up, and as a result, the librarian shot her a nasty look.
“Fucking hell, I have been so worried. Tell me quickly so the band-aid can be ripped off and I can plan how to be expelled as well,” Helene laughed at her over dramatic friend.
“Unfortunately for you, my dear friend, we will both have to suffer the next few years until we graduate. Luckily, we are in it together.” Celia beamed at her words.
“No way! So, then what is your punishment? Unless you somehow managed to escape any type of punishment at all, which I would understand, because what kind of whack job teacher does that to a student? Whether it was Draco Malfoy, or not-” Helene cut her friend off with a glare.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew her cousin had a lot to handle, especially with how he treated people who weren’t considered part of their status. This, of course, meant people who were half-bloods, muggle-borns, and poor, basically anything that wasn’t pureblooded, or rich. Which is why Helene thought it was rather funny that Draco had grown a little crush on the half-blood muggle-raised boy named Harry Potter. He tended to be apart, and it had a lot to do with the fact that he was the sole heir to the Malfoy name, and they were held in a certain regard. Yes, she knew this wasn’t an excuse, especially since she was raised in the same home as Draco, and she didn’t share the same views as her cousin. However, she supposed it also could have to do with the fact that Draco acted like that because it was how his father acted, and he wanted to do nothing more but make him proud and follow in his footsteps. Where Helene, although raised by Lucius, felt no such commitment, seeing as her real father was in Azkaban for having those same viewpoints, and she’d be damned if she let that way of thinking cause her to go down that same path.
“Right, sorry,” Celia lifted her hands as if to signal not to take it out on her.
“Listen, I know Draco is a right git most of the time, but he is still my family and I will fight to the death for that boy, I’m just hoping that it won’t be too late before he gets himself into a predicament much worse than a Professor turning him into a ferret,” Helene told her best friend truthfully, her friend went to respond when the chairs that were between them were pulled out simultaneously and two figures sat down.
“Hello darling, happy to see us?” The boy to her right spoke, and the Lestrange girl turned her head to face him and squinted.
“Weasley,” Helene stated in a bored tone.
“Oh, don’t be like that. We can see you practically jumping for joy that we are gracing you with our presence,”
“Gracing?” Helene called out in a mock shock, “Gracing whom? Because surely you must have bonked your head a few times if you think your presence is gracing,”
“Whatever you say, Lestrange, I know you can’t get enough of me,” the girl felt her jaw drop open at his forwardness.
“Careful Fred, keep teasing her and she may just hold you at wand point like she did Moody,” His twin joked. Celia playfully slapped the boy’s arm.
“Ah, but that would be a dream, though. Wouldn’t it be Georgie boy?”
“Great, so everyone is talking about it already?” Helene turned to her friend, who shrugged.
“I mean, you did hold a Professor at wand point. What did you think was going to happen?” The light-haired girl remarked with a small smile.
“Yeah, news traveled fast, too. Sad we got to miss it though,” the redhead to her right spoke.
“Not helping,” Celia whispered again.
“Right, so what was your punishment, darling? We are dying to know,” Fred asked enthusiastically.
“Aren’t you a nosey bugger?” Helene whispered under her breath.
“Who? Me?” Fred smiled with his hand over his heart.
“But what did happen with McGonagall, Lennie?” Celia asked, concerned now.
“Lennie?” Fred asked.
“Jeez, Lia, air it all out. Why don’t you,” The Slytherin girl rolled her eyes at her friend, who was looking sheepish. “Anyway, I would rather not tell people who will most likely blab it to the whole bloody school, thank you very much,” she said, shooting a pointed look at the twins.
“We would never,” they answered at the same time.
“Please, you two gossip worse than two old witches,”
“Fine, how about we promise not to spill the beans, and if we do, we promise to do whatever you want for a week,” Fred stated right hand over his heart and his left held in the air, his twin mirroring his motion.
“Scout’s honor,” George added.
“Fine,” Helene looked to her best friend, who simply nodded, and she caved. “But, if I found out either of you opened your traps, that week belongs to me,” Helene smirked, her cunning little Slytherin brain already planning things just in case.
“Deal,” they both said, sticking out their hands. Helene looked down, then back up to them, eyes squinted before hesitantly shaking their hands. Noting that Fred held on just a smidge longer than his brother.
“All right, now spill,” The Hufflepuff said as she leaned in.
“Well, I lost 50 house points, and I got detention every night for the next month with McGonagall after classes,” Helene told them, the twin’s jaws dropping.
“That’s it?” Fred asked.
“That’s it,” Helene nodded.
“Well, that’s not too bad. We’ve had a lot worse, eh, Fred?” George laughed and nudged his brother’s arm.
“Right, you are George. In fact, I recall getting detention for almost a whole year one time,” Fred nodded.
“Minnie’s getting soft on us, then?”
“Doubt it, it’s probably because darling here is too precious to punish too bad,” Helene’s face scrunched up as she cringed. The next thing she knew, she felt a sharp kick to her calf.
“Ow!” she snapped and looked at her friend, who was grinning sheepishly.
“Oops, sorry, just a little tick,” the dark-eyed girl laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. George looked at her with a smile, then raised his brows at his twin.
“Well, is that all you two wanted?” Helene asked.
“What’s the rush?”
“Not trying to get rid of us already, are you, Lestrange?” George snickered.
“Well, what else could you possibly want?” She raised her brow.
“To spend time with you two, of course!”
“Right. What do you really want?”
“Lennie, come on, just let them stay. What’s the harm?”
“I despise you, Celia Crosswell,"
“Love you too,”
“Fine, if you stay, then keep your mouth shut. I have a paper to write and I don’t need any distraction,” Helene said as she was getting up to go pick the book for her potions paper.
Walking down the correct aisle, she quickly made her way over to the book she knew would have the potion ingredients in it and what they do. Of course, the book was on the top shelf, and of course, she left her bag with her wand at the table, sighing as she went to go get her wand when the book floated down to her. She didn’t even turn around. She knew who was there. It was the same boy who hadn’t left her alone these past few days.
“Thank you,” she responded as she grabbed the book in her hand.
“You’re welcome darling,”
“Must you insist on calling me that?” Helene sighed as she glanced at the other books, just in case she had seen another that would help with her schoolwork.
“I do insist, especially if it causes your face to turn that pretty shade of pink,” He chuckled. Helene glared at him over her shoulder.
“Yes, well, it’s rather annoying,”
“Hm, that’s too bad. I rather like it. How else am I supposed to get your attention?”
“Look Weasley, what is your aim?" She spoke as she turned around in irritation.
“My aim?” He asked, smirking.
“Yes, your aim.” Helene stood her ground, arms crossed.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” He stepped closer.
“Don’t play games with me, Weasley. Not once have you tried to communicate with me our whole six years at Hogwarts, and all of a sudden you are calling me darling, and you also seem to be everywhere I turn.” As she spoke, he got closer and closer. Small little steps that went unnoticed by the girl ranting.
“Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention?” The Weasley boy asked, smirking. Helene shot him a nasty glare.
“Oh please, this has to be some prank, isn’t it?” Helene snapped, looking him up and down, and finally acknowledged the fact he had indeed gotten closer. So, as a result, she turned back around and walked further down the book aisle, aware that he was following her.
“Come on darling, do give me some type of credit,” Fred called with a little bit of a laugh.
“Listen, if you are simply doing this to pull one over on me, I would greatly appreciate it if-” Helene stopped talking when she rounded the bookshelf, arm quickly stretched out so Fred wouldn't walk past her. Lucky for him, though, he was tall enough to see what she was looking at from over her head.
There, sitting at the table still, were Celia Crosswell and George Weasley looking at a piece of paper together. Celia was pointing to something in particular and seemed to be explaining it to the boy who, instead of looking at the paper, was staring the oblivious girl down.
“Right on, George,” the boy whispered in her ear.
The Slytherin turned her head, almost banging into Fred’s chest. Once turned fully, she started to shove at the boy so he would walk backward, just far enough where they were covered by the shelves again. Finally, she pulled back a hand and quickly pointed at him.
“Listen here Fred Weasley, if I find out you or your brother, especially your brother, is playing any type of game, I will personally hunt you down and hex you myself. I don’t know what your deal is, but Celia needs to be left out of it, she has been infatuated with your brother for Salazar knows how long, and if I find out-” The boy put his hand over her mouth, head leaning closer with his stupid little smile, not leaving his face.
“Merlin Lestrange take a moment to breathe,” Fred whispered, not letting his hand down, even as the girl shot him a murderous look. “No one is planning anything, and besides, did you see the way my brother looked at your Hufflepuff friend? Not a chance in hell he could fake that look, he’s been pining after her since third year,” Helene searched his face for any type of signal that proved he was lying, and either she found none, or he was good at hiding it. She wouldn't throw away the possibility of the second one just yet.
Finally, she ripped his hand from her face and quickly swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Fine,”
“Fine?” He asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yes, fine.” She scowled.
“So I’m guessing this means we’ll be seeing each other more, darling,”
“Unfortunately,”
“Don’t be like that, you continue to wound me,” He put his hands over his heart.
“To bad it wasn’t physically,”
“Feisty, I like it,”
“And on that note, I am going back to the table,” she said in disgust, turning about and rushing to the table, knowing her face was flushed and noticeable based on Celia’s teasing gaze when she had seen the boy trailing after her best friend.
The rest of the time spent in the library consisted of the two Gryffindors joking about, the Hufflepuff laughing while sometimes taking her time to explain something to the twins, and the Slytherin rolling her eyes at the twins' horrible flirting. All in all, neither of them could say they had a bad time with each other, and although Helene would never admit it, she enjoyed the time spent at the table with the three.