Pranking hearts

Once, Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived it was almost time for the match. And so the rather large group set their course for the stadium. Fred and George had their faces painted on, and even Ron and Harry allowed Rhea to draw something on their cheeks. But Ron insisted they both were supporting Bulgaria, because of Ron's man-crush on Viktor Krum. Percy couldn't help but scoff at their newly decorated appearance. But wasn't allowed to say anything to it because Charlie started gushing at how amazing it was.

"I just don't understand I am not that hideous," Hermione stated as they were walking behind the group. The little trio of girls was talking with each other for most of the walk. Well, it was mainly just Hermione and Ginny talking and expecting Rhea to give them some advice as she was 'wiser' and 'more experienced' than they were. Neither of the two younger girls seemed to consider the fact that Rhea was probably as experienced as they were when it came to boys.

"You don't look ridiculous Mione. Right, Rhea?" Ginny said, assuring the brunette while relying on Rhea to be supportive as well. On the other hand, the blonde was still utterly confused as to why would these young witches be asking her for advice on boys and beauty tips. It appeared to her as totally ridiculous. Rhea didn't even know how to pick out her clothing properly. Only pairing up whatever came up in the wardrobe first. It never was a long process for her. Neither did it interest her that much. She actually saw herself as the second option girl.

When compared to Angelina or Alicia who were both tall and skinny or to Katie who had long legs, Rhea with her short height and wide thighs felt a bit short on the beauty element there. But what she lacked in the perfect Barbie look she always somehow got back on her personality. That was the golden tip on her.

"Um, what?" The blonde asked confused as if she were zoned out on the whole conversation, which she probably was. "I mean you are stunning Mione. But why is it even important?"

"Because boys find it important." Hermione reasoned, acting as if what the boys thought was the top priority. Rhea tilted her head to the side pulling a grimace at what Hermione said.

"Top importance I see." She murmured under her breath, shaking her head at the single-mindedness of the young girls. She actually thought Hermione was somewhat smart and wouldn't be thrown off guard by some boy. Just because boys her age were at that very special age when they liked to judge girls based on appearance. She had to suffer through that with the twins as well and it is true when they say that it is only a phase. At least for some boys, it is.

They won't remain judgemental of every single thing girls do, wear or say. Preferences change. Luckily even the characters of some people do undergo some sort of change. Otherwise, Fred and George would still be finding the Ravenclaw girls with their long legs the most beautiful goddesses that have ever walked the earth. And Lee would most definitely still be crushing on that one Hufflepuff who used to wear her skirt just below her bottom. Those years were torture as well as the time it was funny when the twins finally realised what was going on with them.

They were walking for mere minutes until they were stopped by someone. In the large group and from her position in the back of it, Rhea couldn't tell who it was that had stopped them in their track. But she was too tired of the absurd talks of the two younger girls so she decided to push her way to the front somehow.

"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" Rhea heard once she finally got focused on the conversation upfront while pushing past Charlie to get towards the twins. The sound of coins jiggling caught her attention. She looked up to see Ludo Bagman there, trying to get Mr Weasley to place a bet. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first, I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years, and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a weeklong match."

Rhea finally stopped next to Fred who looked down at her, his lip twitching at the corners into a small smile when he saw the girl next to him. His hand landed on her shoulder. None of them was sure whether it was because he wanted to keep her close in the large hoard of people or if he just did so automatically.

"Oh...go on then," said Mr Weasley. "Let's see...a Galleon on Ireland to win?" Rhea looked over at the ginger man who was offering the other man the galleon as his bet. It wasn't much but Mr Weasley wasn't exactly in a position to be wasting his money for some senseless betting when he had such a large group of kids with him.

"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed but recovered himself. "Very well, very well...any other takers?"

"They're a bit young to be gambling. Molly wouldn't like..." Mr Weasley went to say that it wasn't a good idea, but he failed to notice the quick look the twins sent each other.

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," Fred shouted quickly as he and George quickly pooled all their money from their pockets, "that Ireland wins..." He continued. "...but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch." Fred's statement made Rhea look up at both him and George. The younger twin sent her a wink, putting the last coin out of his pocket and onto the pile. "Oh, and we'll throw in a fake wand," Fred added when he pulled out a fake wand from the pocket of his jacket. Until now he wasn't even aware he had it there.

Rhea was still greatly stunned by the fact that Fred and George would be betting so much money on her made-up prophecy. She wasn't even sure how she was passing Divination and these two were hot to trot. Willing to give up all their money because they believed in what Rhea had said. She would be scolding them about their naivety if it weren't for the fact that there were other people around them and she didn't want to put the boys down with her disapproval.

"You don't want to go showing Mr Bagman rubbish like that," Percy hissed, annoyed by the inventions of his younger brothers. Talk about supportive siblings. But Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!" And while the ministry officer gave the twins the pricing idea, Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval. Even if Rhea was worried about the saving of the two gingers, she had to admit the look on Percy's face was priceless. She let out a quiet chuckle, which to Fred was a signal of approval as he got ready to seal the deal with Mr Bagman.

"Boys," Mr Weasley uttered under his breath, worried about his sons' reckless wasting of money, "I don't want you betting...That's all your savings...Your mother..." Rhea could only imagine what Mrs Weasley would say to this. She wouldn't be happy one bit. Good thing she wasn't there then.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly, ready for the next intake of money. "They're old enough to know what they want!" He said turning to the twins, who stood proudly ready to finish the deal. "You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance..." Chills run down Rhea's back at the happy tone he had when saying that. This bet was set to fail according to him, and now Rhea wasn't too sure if she should have shared her theory with them. "I'll give you excellent odds on that one...We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we...." Ludo Bagman said enthusiastically as he whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.

"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away into the front of his robes. Rhea chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. Not sure if this all was a good idea. Once the group parted way with Mr Bagman, Rhea grabbed the twins by their sleeves dragging them back behind the group to talk to them without others overhearing.

"Oi, princess, gonna rip my sleeve off," Fred whined while Rhea tugged him back. And just to show them she was serious she yanked on his sleeve extra hard, bringing him down to her height. George on her other side chuckled, just enjoying that he wasn't in for the torture.

"I should be ripping your arms off. What the bloody hell are you guys doing? Wasting your savings like that? Especially now when you should be saving every sickle." She hissed at the two. Fred wiggled from her grasp so he could straighten himself. Twins share a look both smirking similarly. "This is not funny you two." The blonde snapped, seeing the two sending each other smirks over her head.

"You were the one asking us how we plan on earning the money." Fred shrugged, getting back to walking to catch up with their group. "We just seized the opportunity love. No guts, no glory." The tall ginger called over his shoulder, still walking after their friends and family. Rhea was left there standing flabbergasted with George next to her, trying to contain his laughter.

"I didn't mean it like that," Rhea muttered under her breath, staring after the twin that had left them there before turning to the other one. "You do know I didn't mean it like that, right?" George chuckled at how distressed Rhea looked. It was all too funny.

"Well, I knew what you meant, but it was really naive of you to think Fred would be working his ass off just to scrape a silly amount of knuts and sickles for who knows how long. Especially if that is what we had been doing our whole life." George stated with a shrug and Rhea finally got a new perspective into all of it. The boys have been working every summer from their second year just to earn that little money that they placed as their bet earlier. It was hard work and wasn't paid as well as one would imagine. "You can't blame him for wanting it the easy way for once."

***

To everyone's big surprise, what Rhea said turned out to be true. The Irish were killing it out there on the pitch. But of course, Krum couldn't let himself and his team just give it up so he caught the snitch. Ending the match in favour of the Irish.

There could be no one happier about the outcome than the twins. Both Fred and George couldn't stop grinning and chanting the whole way to their tent. Both fantasise about what they were to do with the large amount of money that they won in a bet once they get it paid. Bill and Charlie found some old friends of theirs and went off to have some fun while Percy went to speak with their father and some other ministry officials outside. This left the group of school-attending kids alone in the tent. And that could only mean one thing. Party.

Rhea was laughing at Fred and George who were dancing around the tent crazily. No one is sure whether it was because of the money they won or if it was their natural behaviour. At this moment there were so many reasons for happiness that no one could be sure. And frankly, neither of the kids cared. They were just having a good time. Fred had this giant Ireland flag. Waving it around in every way almost hitting Harry in the head with it.

"There's no one like Krum." Ron hollered, stepping on the small stool as if he were announcing some big news. Rhea rolled her eyes at the way the twins glanced at each other, both simultaneously chanting Krum. "He's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's more than an athlete, he's an artist." By the time Ron was done with his daydreaming, the twins were circling around him. Imitating a bird flying in the wind. Fred throwing the flag at his brother's head.

"Someone's got a crush," Rhea muttered under her breath, only being heard by George who was passing by her. Sending her a grin in appreciation of her joke he continued shouting the name of the Bulgarian Quidditch player. Ginny who came over from the bathroom where she was washing the paint from her face stopped by her older brother. Gladly joining in on teasing him with her other siblings.

"Think you're in love, Ron?" She asked Ron teasingly getting a frown from the tall ginger.

"Oh shut up," Ron grumbled, annoyed by being teased. Of course, the twins quickly jumped onto the teasing train.

"Viktor I love you!" George started singing, jumping on Ron's left side. Fred was quick to move to the right sliding on his knee to dramatically sing the next part.

"Viktor I do!"

"When we're apart my heart beats only for youuu!" Fred, George and Harry finished together while the girls were laughing. George started hitting Ron with a pillow which turned into a bit of a fight as they threw pillows at each other. One of the pillows flew in Rhea's direction, flying just over her head. The sound of screaming and shouting was heard from outside.

Rhea looked over her shoulder, alarmed by the loud noises. It certainly didn't sound like normal celebrating. It was more terrifying, and agonizing even as if the people out there were frightened by something.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on." Fred chuckled, sending a grin Rhea's way when he noticed how uneasy she looked. The way he smiled at her somehow made her calm down. However, it was short-lived since Mr Weasley soon rushed inside the tent. Looking distraught.

"Stop! Stop it." The father of the majority of the kids ordered. Coming more inside the tent. Once he spotted Ginny he immediately grabbed onto her tightly. "It's not the Irish. We've gotta get out of here. Now." An uneasy feeling spread inside Rhea's stomach. She looked over at the twins, slightly alarmed.

The group made their way outside quickly. Once Rhea had sight of what was happening in front of her, she immediately wanted to go back inside the tent and pretend nothing was going on. But that would be contra-productive. The previous jolly sight of the campsite with many sports enthusiasts was now erupting in flames. People running around in panic. Some were even injured, but everyone was just desperately trying to get away from the danger. If Rhea learned something from her books it was that in scenarios like this people tend to die either a hideous death or the end of the world was nearing and she was not ready for either of those.

"Get back to the portkey everybody, and stick together." Mr Weasley shouted over the cries around them. Rhea didn't even see where the twins were. She just stood there watching everyone run around in terror. "Fred, George...Ginny is your responsibility." Arthur ordered his sons. George was quick to grab Ginny while waiting for Fred to lead the way towards the portkey. But the older twin was preoccupied with trying to find Rhea in the crowd of people.

Once his eyes finally landed on the girl, who was standing on the side of their tent, he quickly rushed over to her. Pushing her slightly to wake her from the trance. Rhea looked up at him in panic but didn't have time to say or do anything else because Fred grabbed onto her wrist pulling her with him. The two ran at the front of the group, leading the way.

***

"Rhea, we gotta go!" Fred yelled, tugging on Rhea's arm to get her to move. They were rushing through the forest, trying to get to the portkey as Mr Weasley told them to. That was until Rhea realised that Harry, Ron and Hermione were gone.

"No, we have to find them!" The blonde screamed back trying to get out of Fred's grasp. George and Ginny were in front of them. Leading the way. The twins were mainly trying to get Ginny to safety. Black was fully supporting the idea of getting the younger girl somewhere away from this mess but she needed to make sure the other three younger kids were all right.

"Listen, they are okay. We need to get you and Ginny to safety." The tall ginger argued. He was getting tired from constantly having to fight the girl. Also, the actual situation was putting a great deal of pressure on him. And the fact that Rhea was here next to him willing to risk her life somewhere to save the Golden trio was angering him on one hand and worrying him on the other. It was intense.

"How can you be so sure, they are just kids," Rhea stressed, tripping over the twigs on the ground. People rushed past her rapidly.

"So are you. We all are. You don't need to save everyone. Dad will find them." Fred tried to assure her, though his dismissive tone only sent a spark of worry through Rhea's mind. In a sudden jolt of determination and bravery, she tore away from Fred's grip, turning around and running against the flow of masses. "Rhea!" Fred shouted in desperation, no longer seeing her body in the sea of people.

Rhea was running through the forest. Many people bumped into her. It was crazy. Everyone was screaming, and rushing past in some sort of terrifying trance. Trying to find three people in the current situation was even worse than finding a needle in the hay. A group of men in dark clothes with pointed hats and masks over their faces appeared in the space, causing people to rush away even quicker than before. Spells and curses were fired in every direction.

Rhea didn't know what to do, this situation was far beyond what they had learned in school. She went to reach inside her boot to get her wand when something grabbed her from behind and pulled her inside the bush and from the sight of the masked men. While being pulled through the bush the twigs scratched her face, creating two thin scratch marks on her right cheek.

It was a matter of impulse how Rhea turned in the grip of the unknown person and punched them in the face. Quickly tearing away from them and pointing her wand straight at them she realised...

"Cedric?" She asked in disbelief seeing the Hufflepuff in front of her who was hiding his nose with his hand. He gave her a sheepish smile. Slightly groaning when he touched his nose.

"Yeah, um...I probably shouldn't have done that. I know. My bad, sorry." He said guiltily, pulling his hand from his face, and showing Rhea the thin stream of blood flowing from it. She gasped slightly, realising that she'd done that to him.

"Oh Merlin, did I do that to you? I'm so sorry." She said quickly, tucking her wand away and stepping towards the tall Hufflepuff to see how much damage she had done. Standing on her tiptoes to reach his face. Her soft hand touched his face, causing his breath to hitch. 

"It wasn't your fault really, I shouldn't have grabbed you like that." He explained once he got his words back. Slightly nervous by the close proximity between the two of them. He noticed the blood oozing from the scratches on her cheeks and immediately felt guilty for not coming up with a better plan of how to save her. "I just didn't want them to get you."

"Yeah, thank you." She breathed out gazing into his dark brown eyes. They weren't quite the same as Fred's. They were very different actually. They were still beautiful though and for a moment Rhea could understand what the girls of Hogwarts meant when they said that Cedric Diggory was a dreamy sight. He indeed had a dreamy look in his eyes and the looks to kill for. Good manners and strength only add to the list of qualities.

The situation was new to them both. Neither was this close to the other. For Cedric it was a life's achievement, for Rhea it was a new feeling of being close to any other boy that doesn't belong in her group of friends. It was new, not too comfortable but not bad either. It was just different from what she was used to. And Cedric wasn't exactly the boy she would imagine here in her dream, although many girls would die just to replace Rhea in this scenario.

"So...um...this is...ni..."

"New." Rhea cut Cedric off before he could say any more. The Hufflepuff blushed slightly, ashamed of what he was going to say. He was sure Rhea didn't feel the same about him, but a guy could hope.

"Yeah new..." He mumbled. To his dismay Rhea pushed away from him, giving him a small smile that she seemed to give everyone. Maybe that was so alluring, that she was just naturally trying to be nice to everyone.

"Oh good Godric, I completely forgot," Cedric looked up from the ground to stare at the girl who looked like she would take off running again. Headfirst into danger. That's what the Gryffindors seem to do a lot. From the point of view of a Hufflepuff, it seemed...stupid. But that was just how Gryffindors were. "I need to go. I need to find them." Rhea stressed, reaching inside her boot to get her wand out so she could get on the journey of getting the three kids.

"Oi, hey, wait. What...where are you going?" Cedric asked, reaching forward to stop her from jumping through the bushes that were providing them with a great hiding spot from what was going on at the campsite.

"To save Harry, Hermione and Ron. We lost them when we were getting away from the fire." Rhea explained quickly. Practically itching to get out there.

"Hold on just a moment. I saw Mr Weasley taking them to the forest before I found you." Cedric quickly said effectively stopping her from leaving.

"You mean that..."

"Yeah, they are probably searching for you now." The tall guy answered, trying not the laugh at the baffled facial expression Rhea wore. "Come on, I'll take you to them." He offered, nodding his head to the side and encouraging the girl to follow him. And she did. They made it through the trees, the forest seeming a lot calmer than before. The masses of people calmed down. Either getting to safety or...one would rather not think about the other options.

Along the way, Cedric decided the best way of moving through the dark forest and not losing the girl who was trying so hard to keep up was by holding her hand. Like that, the pair made their way through. From time to time, you could see people hiding under the bushes, scared, and trembling. With worry waiting for what was to come next. It was a truly terrible sight.

It wasn't long until they came to the place where Rhea last saw Fred. Where she parted from her group to go look for others. She could only think of how angry Fred would be. He wasn't appreciative of people defying him. That was one of his traits that could lead to serious arguments.

"The portkey is just a little ways from here," Cedric informed her with a kind smile. Rhea wasn't sure whether she was ready to face Fred she was sure to get some cold treatment when she returned. It was always like that whenever Rhea and Fred disagreed on something. Rhea had her own head and so did Fred and if Fred didn't agree with Rhea's ideas Rhea did it anyway and the other way around. It was an infinite circle between the two of them.

It took honestly only a few minutes of walk when there was a ginger-haired family in sight. Mr Weasley was talking with Amos Diggory, both of them looking around in worry. It was more than obvious who was searching for whom. Percy was standing a bit ways further, mending the blood streaming from his nose. Rhea also noticed Hermione hugging Ginny who was trembling in her arms, and Bill standing by them trying to calm down his sister with soothing words.

Harry and Ron were talking about something. Harry from time to time looked around him in hope but that faded quickly away when he saw nothing. It was such a relief for Rhea that he was all right. She wasn't ready to explain to her father or Uncle Remus how Harry got hurt at the Quidditch game because she lost him in the crowd. Charlie was asking twins questions, only getting answers from George who was more willing to cooperate with his older brother. Fred looked distressed. Pacing around, his head turned in every direction to stare at every single movement.

Cedric led the two of them down the hill to where the group of them were. The first one to notice them was Hermione who gasped slightly at the sight. Ginny lifted her head immediately mouth fell open. Her friend was holding hands with the school's heartthrob. That was a big deal. When they came closer everyone seemed to finally notice them.

"Cedric." Mr Diggory said with relief, glad to see his son was alright and in one piece. "Thank goodness, dear boy. I thought I lost you there for a moment."

"I'm alright Dad," Cedric assured his father with his kind smile that made the two girls squeal slightly. Rhea didn't have time to roll her eyes because she got attacked from the side by someone.

"Rhea." George had her engulfed in a giant hug. A giant pressure fell from his chest when he was sure she was alright. It was agonizing, to hear from Fred that Rhea disappeared. George was worried, very worried. And the fact his twin was muttering profanities under his breath was not helping at all. "I swear you do this again and I might go mad."

"We wouldn't want that." Rhea chuckled, but somehow she was missing the warmth of Cedric's hand since she was forced to let go when George hugged her. Once the hug-fest was done between the two best friends, Fred came over. A scowl on his face as he glared down at Rhea who however didn't cover away from his glare. She glared right back. Not ashamed of her decisions.

"You still alive?" The question was a bit awkward and tense. But this was Fred we were talking about, the boy didn't have to make sense and still have an impact on you.

"Disappointed?" Rhea fired back confidently, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Fred's mouth doing the same. It was the faintest of smiles that probably only the two of them could see while the rest thought they might jump at each other with fists any moment.

"Not at all." The weirdness of the situation was cut short when Mr Weasley announced that they should be getting home since the portkey would be leaving. Everyone thought it was all back to normal. They may have been shaken up a bit by the previous events, but it could be blamed on the late night or early morning hours and the fact that they were all tired. Rhea's hand got seized by Fred subtly before Cedric had time to even come near.

Even if everyone looked okay and unbothered, Fred treated Cedric with the nastiest of glares when they were both standing next to Rhea by the portkey. And Cedric surprisingly glared back equally as hard. The only one who seemed to notice the tension between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor was George who merely shook his head at the conflict of the two. It was a long night and he was in no mood to be breaking a fight between his brother and the Hufflepuff.