Flame || F. WEASLEY

Chapter 13 - The Astronomy Tower

**Author's note: Listen to the song I Found by Amber Run during this chapter**

The afterparty the Gryffindor's throw for Harry Potter after he ties with Krum for first is heard throughout the castle. No one from any of the other houses is allowed in. I worry that Fred will forget about our meeting and Malein does her best to keep me distracted until then.

"Can you believe Potter pulled that off?" She says, her head hanging off the side of her bed. Her hijab is a bright grey and flows down the bed almost like hair.

"Not really," I say.

I'm standing in front of my wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear for tonight. I have no idea what Fred has planned but it's better to be prepared.

"What should I wear?"

"Something short and scandalous," Malein grins as I groan at her.

"It's too cold for that."

"Aha! So you would do that."

"Shut up and help me decide."

She rolls onto her stomach not so gracefully slithers off the bed. Soon she's standing next to me, rummaging through my day clothes. It's mostly cream and brown jumpers, stuff that's easy to wear and match. She digs around a bit before pulling a jumper I honestly forgot about from the depths of my wardrobe.

It's a deep emerald color, darker than the green Slytherin wears. She nods to herself before shoving it into my arms.

"This is the one."

"Are you sure?" The cable knit jumper is soft under my hands. It used to be one of my favorites until I got teased for dressing like a Slytherin wanna-be too many times. At this point, I'd rather be called that over Prophet.

"These too." Malein tosses me a pair of brown pants before pretending to dust off her hands. "You better get ready. You only have an hour now."

...

The astronomy tower is deserted when I get there.

There's no candlelight dinner like Malein and Mini had teased or really anything set up. My heart starts to sink as I realize that Fred probably forgot about what he'd said earlier. The Gryffindor afterparty was still raging and I heard it on my walk here.

I turn to leave, fighting the urge to scream when someone pokes their head into the tower interior from the balcony.

"Amelia!" It's Fred. "I was worried you wouldn't show."

My lips form a small O. His hair is mused and he wears a thick striped jumper. The starlight paints his hair silver as I quickly cross the room to join him on the balcony.

There's a blanket spread out on the floor with a bottle of something sitting atop it. I look at Fred, who's running a hand through his hair and looking almost sheepish.

"I know how much you love astronomy, so I thought we could stargaze."

Heat spreads in my chest. He remembered that, about how I'd stay up for hours filling out star charts for astronomy and how I talked almost non-stop about constellations our third year.

"Thank you," I whisper.

He smiles at me and I smile back. He gestures to the blanket, which I sit on and Fred drops down beside me. He picks up the bottle and takes a swig of it. His face tilts up to the sky, which is surprisingly clear, and he passes me the bottle.

"Want some?"

"Depends on what it is," I reply, taking it from him. I bring it up to my lips and catch a whiff of it before I steel myself and take a quick swig. Firewhiskey. It burns a little on the way down before hitting my stomach. I set it down between us.

"I snagged it from the party," Fred says. His face remains tilted to the sky but I can see him watching me from the corner of his eye. With a sigh, he leans back and places his hands behind his head. I follow his lead, except I rest my hands on top of my stomach.

Our bodies lay mere inches apart as we stare up at the stars. I can see the big dipper and little dipper. Ursa Major and minor are there as well. My eyes trace the invisible lines of the constellations, forming the pictures I've known for three years now.

"What do you see?" His voice is soft and when I turn to look at him, I find his face only an inch from mine.

I don't know where the confidence comes from but I gently take his arm, lining up our hands so that mine is on top. Slowly, I trace out the constellations, naming them in a whisper. He repeats them as we trace the lines and sometimes I swear I can see the figures, formed of sparkling silver lines.

We lower our hands, letting them fall to our sides though our fingers still lay slightly overlapped. Heat rushes from the places we touch and I find my body burning, like firewhiskey running through my veins. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fred turn to look at me again. I keep my own face trained up at the stars, hoping that I don't look too dumb.

I lean up a little and grab the bottle, taking a long drink from it. Fred chuckles.

"Need a little liquid courage?" He jokes. The normal teasing tone isn't there though. I don't think I've ever heard his voice this soft.

"I could ask you the same thing."

I lay back down and turn to face him. Despite him being so close, the darkness still makes it hard to see. The moonlight gilds his cheekbones and hair. He reaches up and I hold my breath. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he hesitates. His eyes search my face, looking for something. For a brief moment, I think he's going to kiss me. Then he pulls his hand away and takes the firewhiskey bottle.

He sits up, resting his arms across his knees. I follow his lead, leaning back on my hands while my legs stretch out in front of me. Fred sets the bottle down and I take another drink from it. It's starting to make my head feel fuzzy. I've been drunk plenty of times before; I've never taken straight firewhiskey.

"What would you have done if you were chosen for the Tournament?" I"m not sure why the question slips past my lips. Maybe to break the heavy silence wrapping around us.

"I would've won." He smiles, but not the usual grin he wears. It's a soft smile.

"And used the money to open your joke shop?"

I bump my shoulder against his. His smile widens.

"Yeah." He trails off.

"Hey." I reach up to his face and turn it towards mine. I continually shock myself with every move I make. "What's wrong?"

His brown eyes are sad as he looks at me. He leans slightly into my palm, his cheek rough against it.

"Nothing, Amelia."

I frown. I open my mouth to ask again when Fred leans in and presses his lips to mine. If I'd hadn't already been sitting down I would've fallen. It's somehow better than what I'd ever imagined. His lips are soft on mine and my hand is still cupping his cheek.

We pull apart a few seconds later, our foreheads almost touching.

"I'm --"

I don't let Fred finish as I lean in to kiss him again.