Chapter 8
After the task was over and everyone had made their way back to the school, most of the students rushed off to find out what the golden eggs did.
Helene was about to start making her way to the dungeons, her mind still fogged with what had just occurred, not even realizing that the group she was with had stopped.
“Uh, Helene?” Celia called after her. “Where are you going?”
“What?” The pale-skinned girl turned attempting to keep her face straight as if not to show that her mind was distracted. “I'm heading back to the Slytherin dorms, the match is over now,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Right well, we Gryffindors planned on throwing a little party in celebration,” George called out to her, she simply lifted her brows in response.
“Did you forget that I wasn't a Gryffindor?”
“Never,” both the twins answered.
“But since we were the ones who planned the party, you're more than welcome to join us!” George said again.
“In fact, we insist!” Fred said, eyes watching her with intensity.
“Well-” Helene started to object.
“Please Lennie,” Celia begged. “I don't want to be the only one that is not a Gryffindor celebrating,”
“Fine but I'm not staying out the whole night,” Helene said, and the three Hogwarts students cheered.
Upon making it back to the Gryffindor common room, Helene noticed everyone surrounding the Potter boy with excitement, the students were practically fighting to get a glance at the golden egg he clutched to his side. As a result, the twins broke off from the girls’ sides and immediately went to the young Gryffindor, lifting him in the air, and allowing him to rest on both their shoulders. Everyone was cheering and celebrating while also begging him to open the egg that he now had showcased in the air. Helene felt a small smile growing from the enthusiasm the House of Lions held for the fourteen-year-old who had just put his life on the line. The result was not very pleasant, the sound was high-pitched and horrid. Everyone immediately put their hands over their ears to block out the sound.
“What an ugly sound for such a beautiful egg,” Helene said after Harry had quickly closed the golden object.
Eventually, everyone became silent again when the youngest Weasley brother showed his face. The twins quickly announced to everybody in the common room to mind their own business because it was going to be awkward to listen to the two exchange words, and right they were.
Soon enough the younger years had scurried off to sleep, their excitement had died out and turned to exhaustion. Once they had finally disappeared the sixth years and up scurried to pull out bottles of what Helene could only assume was liquid that was definitely not pumpkin juice.
The atmosphere suddenly changed, and the twins’ passed drinks to everybody.
Throughout the night, drinks were distributed, and everyone drank their fair share while celebrating the day’s events, Helene, still trying to comprehend how she felt with the hug at the stadium, remained zoned out until she realized a seventh-year had put a bottle in the middle of the floor and people started to gather around. Celia grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her down onto a vacant couch. The twins sat on the floor on either side of their legs, George to Celia's right and Fred to Helene's left.
“Right, so I don't think any of us need to explain the rules of how to spin the bottle,” said the same seventh-year student who had placed the bottle down on the ground. “But just to be sure first the person spins the bottle, and whoever the bottle lands on the spinner has to kiss. However, we're going to change it up a bit, if deciding not to kiss the person the bottle landed on, said person gets to choose a dare for the spinner to do,” Some people ooh, and others just nodded their heads. “Who's first?”
The game started going and just about everybody had managed to spin. When it was Lee Jordans’ turn to spin, the bottle landed on Fred and of course, both decided that neither were wimps, and a quick peck didn't hurt anybody. Helene, who was tipsy at this point, chuckled as she leaned her head on Celia's shoulder. Eventually, it was Fred's turn to spin the bottle, and it landed on Angela Johnson, a girl Helene had seen quite a few times around the Weasley twins.
Fred turned his head and looked at Helene, who in turn looked the other way and took a sip of her drink, not quite liking the feeling of queasiness that appeared in her stomach after she imagined Fred and Angela kissing. And of course, Fred, who never backs down from a challenge, leaned forward and quickly pecked the Gryffindor girl on the lips. Helene watched as the brunette leaned forward like she was expecting the kiss to last longer. Helene's brows pulled together when suddenly her eyes met the brown shade of one Fred Weasley. He suddenly scrunched his face up and softly shook his head as if signaling to Helene that the kiss wasn't that great. She wasn't sure why that made her queasiness dissipate, but it did, and her tipsy mind eased.
“All right you're next,” said the seventh year, as they looked Helene dead in the face. Said girl cleared her throat and tilted forward reaching out to the bottle and giving it one hard twist. The bottle spun in a circle three times before it finally slowed down on its fourth. On the fourth trip around, the bottle came to a slow stop, directly in front of Fred Weasley. Helene felt her face burn bright, and she quickly turned her head to her best friend, who sat smirking behind the cup that she had just brought to her lips.
“What's it going to be Lestrange?” Somebody called out.
“Yeah, are you going to chicken out?” another shouted. Helene huffed, apparently, it seemed that she gained a little bit of Gryffindor in her tipsy state because after hearing the last person call out asking her if she was going to be a chicken, she quickly grabbed the front of the Weasley boy to her left shirt and yanked him forward.
She hadn't let her lips touch his just yet. However, they were close enough that if either of them was to talk, she was sure that their lips would gently graze each other, but neither spoke, they just sat there for a second staring at each other's face. Fred's chest was rising and falling due to the close proximity of the Slytherin girl. Eyes wide, as a result of the sudden tug on his sweater. And Helene whose eyes were still slightly cloudy from her emotional turmoil. They hadn’t kissed yet, so she had time to pull back and say dare, but she was unsure of what she wanted. On the one hand, there was this boy in front of her, who just a few weeks ago irritated her to no end. There were even moments she could recall that made her want to pull her hair out. And on the other, the same boy sat in front of her, his brown eyes wide, heart pounding so hard that she swore she could feel it against her balled-up fist, or perhaps, it was her own heart that thrummed through her body. She wasn’t sure whose heart it was and decided not to focus on that. Instead, she took in the boy’s appearance. He sat waiting for her to make the first move, his lips looked kissable at that very moment, they were a soft pink she acknowledged. With the fire that raged to the side of them burning brightly illuminating his face, Helene mapped out every small detail that she could take in at that moment. Finally making her decision, she took a deep breath and yanked the boy the rest of the way, slamming her lips down on his. It started slow and cautious, her hand gripping the front of his knitted sweater so tight that she could have sworn that it could have ripped at that moment. His hand was placed awkwardly in the middle of her back, and he seemed unsure of what to do with it. Slowly, he brought his right hand up and gently cupped her cheek. Next thing Helene knew one of their mouths had parted their lips and their tongue gently grazed over the bottom lip of the other. It was then that their kiss had gone from slow and cautious to fast and eager. Helene's head tilted to her right, and her left hand was brought up and found its way into Fred's hair, her right hand finally releasing its tight grip on his sweater and resting gently on his chest. Their tongues battled against each other’s, and Helene was sure her lips were bruised from how hard they were pressing together. But suddenly that heated moment ended when she heard wolf whistles and clapping filling the room. Quickly she pulled back, her tipsy mind no longer fogged, face blazing, eyes wide, with the deepest flush covering her face, and crawling its way down her neck.
Fred seemed unsure of how to react, so he sat frozen, his eyes wide but not leaving the flushed face of the dark-haired girl with the pretty hazel eyes. He was trying to process that he and Helene Lestrange had just had the most memorable kiss that he was sure to ever experience when his twin clapped him on the back with a wide grin.
“Right on Freddie boy,” Fred sat, eyes still not having left the girl as he continued to get claps on the backs and praise from the other boys. The girls, minus Helene, rolled their eyes at their house's childish ways but smiled nonetheless at the lost expression that filled his face.
The game continued until it became the turn of the first spinner again, it was then that everyone had decided to play a different game. Helene decided then, it would have been best to slip out while everyone remained entranced by the new game and made her way back to her own house common room.
The next day, Helene had purposely avoided the Weasley twins like they were the plague, as a result this also meant avoiding her best friend as well, which she didn't mind because she knew once the Crosswell girl managed to speak to her, it would be for details on the kiss and how she felt about it, and let's not forget the teasing that would also be added in.
However, avoiding the three was easier said than done. Everywhere she turned she swore they were there, at one point she even thought about just staying in the dorms for the whole day. Unfortunately, that was not an option due to the fact that Helene had things she needed to do. Her potions essay, for example, but in order to do it, she needed to head to the library to retrieve necessary books, as well as the other assignments that she hadn’t even given much thought to. So instead of cowering in her room, Helene chose to venture out and risk the probability of her running into one of the three. She just prayed to Merlin that if she was lucky, she wouldn't be spotted at all.
Of course, her prayers weren't answered, and Helene had been cornered by one Celia Crosswell while walking back to the dungeons from the library. A hand grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around.
"What the bloody-!" Helene's words were cut off by a hand that was quickly placed over her mouth. Celia's eyes glinted under the charmed candlelight that illuminated the otherwise dark hallway.
"Shhhh," her friend shushed her. "You're being too loud," Helene rolled her eyes and yanked the Hufflepuff's hand from her mouth.
"I really hope your hand was clean before you practically suffocated me with it." Helene grimaced as she wiped her face.
"Of course they are, but that's beside the point. Where the hell have you been?"
"Pardon? I've been busy," the Lestrange girl shrugged.
"Please, you've been avoiding me!" Celia pointed an accusing finger.
"I have not,"
"You have,"
"Have not,"
"Yes,"
"I refuse to admit something I have not done, as well as refuse to partake in the petty back-and-forth debacle that we will surely find ourselves in," Helene huffed in exasperation.
"Lennie, honestly you're quite lucky I've known you forever and have been the only one to catch onto the reason you have been so scarce today," Celia spoke.
"I have not been-"
"Honestly Helene, is it because of last night?" Celia crossed her arms. Helene quickly grabbed her arm and walked her toward the dorm room she was previously headed to before she was yanked to the side.
"Where are we going?"
"My dorm, where we can have this conversation in private," Helene spoke while continuing to tug her friend alongside her. "You should know that this is Slytherin territory, and Slytherins are nothing if not gossipers," the dark-haired girl sighed.
"Right, should have figured,"
Once finally making it past the portrait, and up the stairs to the girls’ room, she sat Celia down on the green-covered mattress. The Hufflepuff made herself comfortable almost immediately by kicking off her shoes and sat cross-legged in her bed. Helene followed suit before flicking the curtains shut to provide privacy, as well as casting a silencing charm that kept nosey little snakes out of their business.
"Helene, what is going on with you?" Celia asked in amusement.
"I kissed Fred Weasley," Helene let out a big sigh.
"Uhm yes, I'm aware," Celia nodded, her eyes still had a hint of excitement, but her face now showed a more confused look. "Are you well?" the girl asked, placing the back of her hand on her friend's forehead which was swatted away almost instantly.
"Let me finish," Helene took a deep breath. "I kissed Fred Weasley, and I bloody well liked it. What the devil is wrong with me? A Weasley? And one of the twins no less. Lucius would probably have a heart attack. I don't know what to do, I feel faint," Helene spewed out.
For a second it was quiet before a loud roar of laughter filled the space.
"Helene, you need to calm down. It wasn't that big of a deal," Helene cut her eyes to the now chuckling friend. "I mean everyone in that room practically kissed each other at some point during the game, it was the whole point of the game," Helene nodded her head at the reassurance.
"But! You two seemed to be a little caught up if I do say so myself. It was definitely more than just a peck," the Slytherin girl grabbed her pillow in a flash and slammed it into the side of her friend's head.
"Wha-! Ow! I was just being honest!"
"That is not making me feel any better you know!"
"Yes, well, I'm not sure I can be of much help in that department at the moment. You look properly stressed out mate,"
"What good are you as a best friend if you can't even help me?"
"Right, that hurt," Celia sniffed. "How about you tell me how you feel?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how did you feel about the kiss? Let's start with that. Was it good? Was it bad? Slobbery? Sweet? I need details" Helene simply looked exasperated.
"It was…" She had to think of the right words to describe it. "It was nice,"
"Nice?" Celia asked.
"Yes, nice," the girl nodded. "His lips were a bit chapped, but soft nonetheless, and it was quite awkward to start off if I'm being honest, but once he had put his hand on my face it was like all my thoughts flew out of my head. I didn't even know my lips parted until after I had felt a bit of his tongue-"
"Tongue?!"
"What?"
"You used your tongue?!" Celia squealed.
"Uhm well yes," Helene said after clearing her throat. “I thought that was obvious,”
"Well, I'll be bloody damned, excuse me for not staring you down while you swapped spit,"
"Can I finish?" The Lestrange girl made a disgusted face.
"Right, yes go on."
"Anyway, after we had started to deepen the kiss I kind of got lost in the sensation, and as cheesy as it may sound, I didn't even remember the people still in the room, it felt amazing, by far the best kiss I had experienced."
"Better than when you kissed that one boy in our third year? What was his name again?" Celia raked her mind.
"His name was Dante Guerra, that 5th year," Helene confirmed. She had completely forgotten all about the Italian boy who was a Slytherin like herself.
"Right," Celia snapped her finger. "Him!"
"And yes, much better than Guerra"
"Well, that's surprising he was the first one on your kiss ranks for ages,"
"Celia, we were thirteen when we made that list," Helene rolled her eyes.
"So?"
"Right, back to the subject at hand. I shouldn't have enjoyed that kiss as much as I did,"
"Please enlighten me,"
"It's Fred Weasley, the same boy who irritated me to no end at the beginning of the semester,"
"Helene, it's been about three months since we started the term, and almost two since we began hanging out with the twins. I think it is safe to say that whatever little feud you had with the boy is well over. Besides I think I speak for everyone when I say he definitely doesn't think of you in a bad way," The green-tied girl looked at her confused.
"What do you mean?" Celia just pursed her lips.
"For someone who thinks everyone is daft, you sure are daft yourself," that deserved another slap to the side of her head with a pillow. "Would you stop that? Anyway, practically everyone has noticed Fred Weasley following you around like a lost puppy,"
"Says you! George has been your personal guard dog and you haven't even noticed!"
"This is not about me!" Celia quipped.
"Well, that's just unfair!"
"Back to bloody topic Helene! That Weasley boy has been following you around since the night we walked to the infirmary with them, and his eyes seem to never leave you when you enter a room, he always asks about you when you aren't with me. The boy is smitten I tell you; he's got it bad." Celia expressed, her face deadly serious.
"What am I supposed to do about that?" She said with a hint of denial in her tone.
“Well first things first, do you fancy him?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Once we can establish your own feelings, is when we start to come up with some sort of plan I suppose,"
“Plan?” Helene asked in confusion. “What plan? Why are we planning?”
“Do you really want the opportunity to slip if you decide you are interested in him?” Her eyebrows raised.
“Lia, I'm sure it is something that will go away, nothing to get worked up about. Besides, it was just a silly little kiss,” The hazel-eyed girl hated to admit it to herself, but what if it wasn’t just a silly little kiss? What if she had the opportunity to allow herself to indulge in the idea of what it would be like to fancy Fred Weasley, where would that even take her?
“I can practically hear your thoughts, Lennie,” the warm brown eyes stared at her friend’s face. She looked at the girl not with pity but something close to it and the Slytherin found herself hating that look.
“Don’t look at me like that!” she glared.
“Well then stop being so bloody difficult!” Celia threw her hands up, voice building in volume yet again.
“What? I am not being difficult!” the Slytherin said back, voice also rising to match her companions.
“Right, sure you aren’t. Stop avoiding it and be honest with yourself that you have the hots for that particular bloody Weasley twin!” an accusing finger pointed at her face.
“Fine! I think Fred is a fit fellow, okay? Happy?” Helene threw her hands up in the air mocking her friend's movement.
“No! I need you to actually admit you fancy him!”
“Fucking hell Crosswell, I don’t even know if I do fancy him. I just know that he is tall, handsome, and devastatingly annoying. He has the best lips I have ever kissed and it aggravates me to no end that I can’t get the feeling of them out of my mind! And!” Her finger pointed out. “He has a rather pesky habit of always putting his arm around me, or sitting too close, or just being practically everywhere I am. It is even more annoying that it makes my heart hammer in my bloody chest, and my knees feel wobbly. I can’t stand his childish pranks but it seems like music to my ears to hear that stupid laugh of his and-!” Helene was cut off in the middle of her rather loud rant when she saw the grin that spread across her friend's face. When it hit her. Everything she just practically spewed out, was finally processed in her brain, hazel eyes were wide.
“Bloody hell, fuck me,” She groaned and ran her hand through her hair, shoulders sagged.
“Well, I think that just answered whether or not you like him then, didn’t it?” Celia tried to keep a serious tone but she failed miserably.
“I hate you,”
“Sure you do love, sure you do” she spoke as she patted the short girl's head.
“Well, this has been a very unfortunate discovery,”
“What? Why?” Celia called out in distress.
“Celia, you know better than I, we just wouldn't work out,”
“No I don’t know any better, I don’t understand at all. You like him, he likes you, that’s literally the simplest thing in the world!”
“No, it’s really not, we are from two very different families! He’s a Weasley, all free spirit and with nothing to lose,” Helene desperately wanted her friend to understand. “I am a Lestrange, the heir as a matter of fact, and let’s not forget who my father is. It’s practically a known fact that his parents and my parent fought for two very different sides!”
“Helene, you are not your father, just because he chose to follow after some sick demented wizard who had an unfathomable idea of the world does not mean you do,” Celia rasped. “Besides, you are in fact the heir, and with your father and uncle locked away, who's to stop you from declaring to be light?”
“Celia listen to me, I may not agree with the dark side but I don’t fully agree with the light either, you know this. Do I agree with the slaughtering of muggles? No. Nor do I agree with the hatred towards half-bloods. However, my family has embraced old magic for centuries, it is something I was raised on, and I’ve experienced its brilliancy, I’ve felt the old magic incase my home, but year after year I fear our world is losing itself to appease and accommodate those who would not appreciate our traditions and I can’t support that either,” she expressed.
Helene wasn’t sure how the topic went from her now recognized feelings for the twin, to trying to yet again explain to Celia what she couldn’t commit to fully being a light witch either, but she was slightly worried this would end badly.
“Okay fine, you aren’t a light witch I get it, but you can’t claim yourself as dark either Helene. Why not gray?” Celia tried to be understanding much to the other girl's relief.
“Gray?” Helene asked quizzically.
“Yes gray, meaning you don’t fully commit to either side. Besides, I highly doubt that Fred Weasley, who knows who your family is, and what they have stood for in the past, really gives a damn. Like I said he’s been nipping at your heels since you spared him a single glance, I doubt this is gonna shake him off now,” Celia shrugged again.
“I don’t know Lia,” Helene sighed once more.
“Just think about it, please. I heard we are hosting the Yule Ball as per tradition for the tournament, who knows maybe you can go with Fred?” A light lit up in the Hufflepuffs' dark eyes. “Oh, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Us both going with the twins, gorgeous gowns as we dance the night away?” Celia clapped her hands and Helene felt a small smile flitter onto her face at the idea.
It did sound rather nice.