Chapter 5
|| Things were perfect until the levels started to progress ||
Fred P.O.V
It was the night of the Yule Ball and I was waiting for Y/N to come up the stairs. I stood with George, Angelina, Lee Jordan and his date.
I didn’t imagine that she would take this long to get ready and out here.
But sure enough there she was coming up the stairs in a floor-length dark, emerald green dress with the collarbone cut low without straps to hold it up.
Her H/C hair so pristine and perfectly piled on top of her head, she looked as though she was a princess, a dark princess sure, but nonetheless a princess.
“Wow…” Angelina whispered. “She looks so beautiful.”
I felt a certain fluttering in my stomach that I was trying to prevent from happening but seeing her make her way towards me with a small, humble smile on her face I couldn’t help it.
She was absolutely stunning, her e/c eyes sparkled against the icicle lights strung out through the corridors, it was almost like she was entirely glowing.
“Hey there Fred,” She said, stopping in front of us all. Our mouths were gaping as she stood there, I being the first to say something.
“Wow, beautiful I didn’t think you could pull it off,” I said grinning as I offered her my arm.
“Oh shut it,” She giggled playfully, smacking my chest as we began walking towards the Great Hall.
We began dancing once the champions had finished their beginning dance and it was almost like the other night at Georgies and I’s party except we were slow dancing.
The music began slow and controlled differently from when we were at our party, Y/N twirled gracefully like the quidditch player she is around and around to the music with a grin on her face.
Eventually the tone began to heat up and we danced the night away only stopping for refreshments and to talk to the others.
“Hey Freddie?” She asked me in a low undertone.
“Yeah?”
“D’you want to go to the astronomy tower?” Y/N asked me sweetly. Before I answered I glanced at George who was still dancing with Angelina.
“Yeah, let's go.”
She sat on the edge of the astronomy tower, her legs dangling over the side, her hands holding the railing as the winter breeze blew her carefully styled hair all over the place. It was weird the feeling that I’ve been getting from her lately, like I don’t not like her.
Like there was some part of me that wished that it wasn’t just a bet, just a game. But there was no way that I was going to try and pursue this after she fell in love with me.
“Do you ever think about what comes after Hogwarts?” She asked me softly.
I was startled by her question, I hadn’t expected it.
“A little bit, not a whole lot, what about you?” I asked.
“Yeah…probably too much,” She laughed. “I don’t know if it's a bad thing or a good thing…”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…when I get out of school I want to become a professional Quidditch player, actually this year the scouts were supposed to come from the Chudley Cannons and the Appleby Arrows, the Harpies wanted to have me over this summer for a training camp, but I’m focusing on the Arrows,” She spoke so easily about this, so casually, it surprised me.
“Really? Thats bloody amazing Y/N!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah…I agree,” She smiled sweetly.
“Why do you sound so…like doubtful?”
“Only about two percent of those they scout make it onto the teams and another half percent only stay more than a season, and with this bloody Triwizard thing it lessened my appeal to them, I was thinking about writing to the Arrows to ask them about a training camp but I dunno…”
“If you get onto the Arrows you’ll play against Wood again,” I nudged her elbow grinning.
“Yeah you’re right,” She nodded.
“I know I am, but I have a question,” I started. “About you and Wood.”
“What do you mean? What's your question?”
“Did something go on between you and him?”
Her face glowed red and she looked down at her lap, in that moment I realized something did happen.
“I had the biggest crush on Oliver, ever since first year, and before he really became dedicated to Quidditch he liked me too, we would train together over the summers and write to each other all the time, honestly I thought that we would have ended up together but…we didn’t we both became so dedicated to Quidditch and decided that we would be better as friends and opponents,” Y/N said.
“So is that why you never dated anyone? Because of Wood?” I felt hot, like I was almost jealous it was strange.
“Yeah, I still kind of hope one day that we will end up together, but I know that if I’m to make the Arrows then…it'd be a conflict of interest if we ever started dating, so it's kind of an impossible thought,” Y/N said sadly.
“Were you in love with him?” I asked softly.
“Yeah…I was, but I think that I’m beginning to finally move on from him as much as I wished I didn’t have to,” Y/N looked at me, her e/c eyes shining with the slightest tears begging to pour out onto her skin.
“Fred…I really like you,” She whispered, leaning closer to me.
“I really like you too there Y/L/N,” I said, closing the space between us.
I tasted the sweet citrus chapstick that she had on, it comforted me to be kissing her, it was a very weird feeling, I didn’t know if I loved it but I certainly liked it. Something about her made me want more, like a drug she was intoxicating and addicting.
She broke away first staring at me.
“So…after tonight are you just going to forget about me Weasley or are we going to make this into something more?” She asked teasingly.
I must have really thought about it because she smacked my arm playfully.
“I was joking,” She smiled.
“Oh…well I mean if you want to take it further I do…” I said, for the first time I realized I didn’t mean it as a part of the bet, instead I truly meant it, I wanted her to be my girlfriend.
“So then…what's the question you’re trying to ask me Fred?”
“Y/N Y/L/N, will you go out with me?” I asked her.
“Yes, I will Weasley,” She grinned leaning back in to kiss me yet again, this time I pulled her closer to me.
I didn’t know if I wanted this feeling to end.
This is bloody confusing.
“Wood?!” George exclaimed as I told him about what happened later on that evening.
“Yeah, apparently they were basically a thing but he was like too obsessed with Quidditch and that's why they didn’t date, but she was apparently always in love with him,” I told him.
“Bloody hell, so it wasn’t because she couldn’t get someone it was because she was hung up on Oliver, but it does sound like Oliver to be obsessed with Quidditch, but for him to even give her any time at all that is bloody amazing, he must have really liked her,” George sighed eyes wide as he sat on the couch in our dorm, Lee Jordan was laying on his bed listening to us talk shaking his head.
“But, I made some progress tonight,” I said, boasting slightly.
“Oh yeah?” George questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, she told me that she really liked me and that she wanted to take us further, so now she’s my girlfriend,” I grinned.
“So you managed to manipulate a girl, congrats, you know she's going to hate you when she finds out right?” A voice called from the door frame.
Kenneth Towler stood there leaning against our door, he shared our dorm room but he hardly was ever there, he hated us ever since he found out about the bet.
“What's your deal Towler? I mean it's not like you two know each other,” I growled.
“Actually, she's a really good person, Weasley,” He laughed with a disgusted undertone to his voice. “Yeah we know each other, very well actually, her parents know mine and are actually really good friends, and we’re in the same History of Magic class, so I wouldn’t be so sure about that Weasley.”
“None of that matters Towler.”
“You know nothing about her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was going to find out real soon about you and your stupid bloody bet,” He growled back at me. “She doesn’t deserve you and the way that you’re treating her, and if I’m any bit right you’re falling for her as well, don’t try and act like you’ve never pictured an actual relationship with Y/N.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said slowly because I knew that he was right.
“Look, I’m not going to tell her about the bet because she would get mad at me for knowing, but she’s going to figure it out, you all think that she’s so stupid, trust me she’s not.”
‘I know…’