You are your own person
It has been a few weeks since Fred and George Weasley asked Frieda to hang out with them. And they have been doing so almost everyday.
At first she was only helping them with their tasks. They were right, she was better than them even though they were downplaying her abilities when they noticed that as well. When they warmed up a little, the twins showed Frieda some of their inventions. She did not understand how they were so smart with those and still somehow managed to almost fail some of their classes.
This morning, the three were standing in front of the twins' first classroom. "I have to go now. Evie’s waiting for me and my Potions class starts soon," Frieda said. "I see. Can’t let the dictator wait." Fred was smirking. He was way more into teasing Evie than George. Over the last few weeks, Frieda found out that the master mind behind all of the pranks against her best friend was mostly him.
"Stop saying that about her! If you would actually meet her, you would see how cool she is." Even though she befriended the Weasleys now that did not mean she would betray her best friend like that. Never in a million years would Frieda treat her badly. Not after all what Evie did for her. She was her rock and that would never change.
George answered "Well, she isn’t exactly interested in getting to know us. If I recall correctly, she called us bloody wankers last week." "Yes, because you smuggled the wrong ingredients in her potion and it blew up. Thanks again for doing that through me."
"We couldn’t resist, really. We’re directly at the source now." "Oh, that’s why you asked me to hang out. Good to know." George looked irritated for a second before realizing that Frieda was not being serious. "Oh no, she got us, Fred. What ever will we do about that now?" "Nothing. She will stay either way because we’re so charming, intelligent and a pleasure to be around."
Frieda chuckled "You are thinking way too high of yourself there. But you’re right. Because it’s not only you who is directly at the source. You’re telling me everything without thinking about what I’m telling Evie." Fred fake gasped "You wouldn’t dare to do that, Frieda Anthemis." Even though Fred thought he was making a joke, he was absolutely correct.
Frieda would never betray neither the twins nor Evie. Whenever they told her about something they wanted to do, she would keep quiet. But she did exactly the same thing with Evie. When she planned her revenge Frieda did not tell the twins a thing, no matter how much they would bug her about it.
"By the way, we’re going to Hogsmeade this weekend. Do you wanna join us?" The answer was yes. But also no. Here came the tricky part. If Frieda spent the weekends with the twins, Evie would think that they were doing more than just homework (which she already despised) and then all hell would break loose.
How could she possibly explain that to her. The two people who tormented her during the last three years were now taking her best friend out for a fun weekend? That must hurt. But on the other hand, there were the twins and they were absolutely not as bad as Evie made them out to be. Frieda had so much fun with them over the last weeks. Of course they could never replace Ollie and Evie but she wanted to get to know them.
And then there was George. Despite that she would probably not admit it, she might have had a thing for him. Just the way he would look at her with his warm brown eyes was enough to make her happy for the day. So that was probably what led her to answer "Sure. That would be great!"
In her Potions class, Frieda could not concentrate. Why on earth did she agree to go to Hogsmeade and of all people with the twins. Evie noticed that something was off. "You seem a bit distracted. Do you wanna hang out after class? Maybe we can talk. Haven’t done that in a while." Frieda greatfully accepted. Perhaps it was really time to talk. She just had to tell her about George but she had to ease her into the topic.
"Yeah, I have to tell you something. Should we meet at the black lake at seven? Then I can finish my homework and we’ll have enough time to talk."
After classes were finished for the day and Frieda did all her assignments, she went to the black lake to meet up with Evie. She was not feeling too well about the situation since she knew how her best friend could get.
Arriving at the lake Frieda immediately spotted the brown haired Ravenclaw sitting by a tree. "Hey!" "Hi," she answered coldly. What was going on? Becoming a bit jittery Frieda still sat down next to her. "So, I heard you have plans this weekend,“ Evie continued. Frieda shifted a little to the side.
"Yes..." "Are you actually serious? The twins?" Now it was certain: Evie was mad. And not just as mad as she normally was. It was different, way colder. "We’re just going to Hogsmeade. Maybe you can come as well."
That was the wrong suggestion as Evie quickly reacted with a "Come as well? And why exactly would I do that? You’ve been hanging out with those assholes for the last three weeks, completely ignored me doing so and now you’re expecting me to just accept that. Have you gone mental?"
Frieda was a bit shocked. She knew that Evie was not happy about this whole situation but she did not know that she felt so strongly about it. "Okay fine. I’ll just tell them that I don’t have time this weekend. Maybe we can do something instead."
Judging from the look on Evie’s face, that also was not the right answer. "No thanks. I’m not your second choice, Frieda. And besides, I have to study. Maybe Ollie will help me. You seem to be quite busy these days." She got up and walked away.
Frieda could already feel her face heating up and tears starting to form. She could hear her heart beating and her blood flowing. Everything felt dull as the only thought going through her head was "I lost her."
When she calmed down a little, Frieda decided to get up and find the twins. She could not bring herself to go to Hogsmeade with them. As she wandered around the school, she saw Fred around the corner talking to Angelina Johnson. When he was finished, she went up to him.
"Frieda, what can I do for you?" She shuffled before finally answering "I just wanted to tell you that I can’t join you this weekend. And it also would be better if we didn’t hang out as much anymore." Those words stung and she was glad that she did not have to say them to George.
"Okay...Why’s that? Did we do something wrong?" "Maybe our lives don’t really collide. You know, with you guys and Evie not exactly being friends. I just don’t want to make things harder than they already are for her." "Did she tell you to stop talking to us? Because you do know that you are your own person, right?" Even though Evie technically did not tell her to do that, Frieda still felt like that she was obligated to do so.
"Yes, I know. But I don’t want to cause anymore trouble than I already did." "If you say so. But maybe think about it again. We won’t be mad if you change your mind."
Frieda felt absolutely bummed. Not only was her best friend mad at her, she also had to give up her friendship with Fred and George. But perhaps it was for the better. She could feel herself catching feelings for George and that would never work out.
Not only because of the pressure from her friends but also because there was no chance that he would like her back. He was a popular, good looking guy, so way out of her league. When she thought about the crushes she already had, there was not one happy memory.
Back in her second year, she really liked Oliver Wood. That was just straight up unrealistic. Every girl was after him and he was way older than her.
Then there was that one Slytherin boy her brother used to hang out with. When he found out about it, he just called her ugly (that gained him the beating of his life by Emil though).
So whenever she liked someone, she just left it alone until the feeling was gone. But this time it was different. George was different. He was kind, funny, caring and he actually wanted to have something to do with her. Perhaps that was the problem. Yes, he wanted to spend time with her, but only as friends. And the more it seemed like he liked her, the more she got
her hopes up.
Those were the thoughts running through her head as she laid on the sofa in her greenhouse. Maybe staying here for a while would help her. She could not possibly go to her dorm room. The girls there were all super nice, but they mostly kept to themselves and stopped including Frieda a long time ago.
Somebody knocked at the door. "Emil, whatever it is, can it maybe wait until tomorrow? I’m really not in the mood for talking right now." When nobody answered, she looked up. To her surprise, it was not Emil standing there but George.
In awe he looked at the chamomile plants and the cozy interior. "Did you do all of this? This is amazing." "Thanks. But how did you find it?" "That is my little secret," he said with a grin, "May I sit down?" "Sure," Frieda answered moving all the way to the other side of the couch to give him space.
"You don’t have to move to the other side of the world. I’m not poisonous," the red head chuckled. Frieda only smiled a bit. "What is all this for? I mean it’s very cool and all but does it have a purpose?" She blankly looked in her lap before answering "I‘m telling you under two conditions. You can’t tell anyone, not even Fred. And you can’t make fun of me. It’s a little embarrassing to be honest." "Okay deal. Now tell me," George said hastily.
"Remember the tea I gave you? That’s the plants I’m using for it." The Gryffindor looked disappointed. "That’s it? But how does it calm one down without putting a spell on it or something?"
"It’s a Muggle thing. My father taught it to me. Whenever I get nervous, which is about always, I drink the tea. It’s homeopathic." "Homeo what?" She laughed, "Homeopathic. It means that it’s like natural medicine. You don’t need magic or chemistry for it to work." "Fascinating. My father would love this. He is obsessed with everything that Muggles do. I have to tell him about..." He cut himself off after realizing that that would break the deal he just made.
Instead, he changed the topic. "So, Fred told me that you don’t want to spend time with us anymore. Why’s that?" She felt like she could trust him with the truth so she answered "Evie isn’t too happy with the situation. And as much as I like you two, Evie is my best friend and I can’t let her down like that. Besides me, she only has Ollie and I can’t just leave her alone with him."
"You’re such a Hufflepuff." "Excuse me?" "No, I mean that in a good way. You’re loyal, I like that. When you feel that that’s the right thing to do, then that’s fine. Just don’t stop talking to us, okay? We would miss you too much." They what now? Frieda could not believe her ears when George said those words.
She felt herself blushing. "Okay. Maybe I can find a solution. But we should take a little break just to cool down the whole situation. Thanks for listening George. I really needed that." "No big deal. Come here," he said as he came closer to pull her into a firm hug. Frieda practically melted into his arms. Feeling his warmth and care immediately made her feel at ease. And that was the moment she realized that it was way too late already. She fell for him.