𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, fred weasley

˗ˋ 92

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
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-: seventh year :-

── IN WHICH SHE MISSES
BEAUXBATONS

. . .

Elodie couldn't sleep. 

It had been the very same on her first night at Hogwarts the previous year. Except that time, she had nowhere to escape to. She had been sleeping in the massive Beauxbaton's carriage then, with her best friend of five years in the bed near to her. The room had been swathed in lengths upon lengths of pale blue fabric, decorated in pearls and swirled gold and looked exactly like the Beauxbatons chateau.

But now, she was in a circular tower room of red, a magical fire burning in the central fireplace. Above her was a canopy of red material, a golden griffin etched into the quilt covering her legs. She had been in the boys dorm before, but never the girls, but Angelina had been so welcoming and introduced her to the four other girls quickly. 

First there was Alicia Spinnet, who was the other remaining Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Patricia Simpson was a rather pretty, plump blonde girl with some of the brightest blue eyes and had her section of the room completely covered in Astronomy themed decorations, from posters to a pillow with the taurus constellation on it.

Angelina had made sure to bag Elodie the bed beside her, but on the other side was Charlotte Harmer, a muggleborn who had dyed her hair pink over the summer and happily showed off her newest moving tattoo of a hippogriff on the small of her back. 

Quite frankly, Elodie seemed to be surrounded with some of the most interesting girls in Gryffindor. She was a Triwizard Champion with the scars to prove it, Angelina was captain of the Quidditch team, Patricia was incredibly smart, Charlotte just seemed - with no better word for it - cool and Alicia was one of the nicest and prettiest people that Elodie had met outside of Beauxbatons. 

Fleur was still the top-runner in that category and there was no way anyone could knock her off of that position. 

Elodie did miss Fleur. She had known her for a number of years, and it was always the first night of term that they stayed up for hours and hours talking about the summer - even though half of it had been spent together between their family homes in the countryside and Paris. 

But the four girls around her were all sound asleep, and she wasn't close enough with any of them to wake them up and talk through her obvious homesickness and the onset of insomnia that was clearly connected to it.

And with all the thoughts of her first visit to the school that sat upon a cliffside in the Scottish Highlands, Elodie's memories pushed forward the last time she felt homesick at Hogwarts. She had gone on a walk - the castle was absolutely massive and had even ended up with her bumping into her now boyfriend.

As it turned out, that occasion paralled the scene Elodie found herself upon now.

She had pulled a jumper over the champagne-coloured silk pajamas that had Patricia by her side admiring the fabric for at least twenty minutes after, pulling her shoes on and carefully exiting the dorm, making her way slowly down the stairs into the Common Room.

To her surprise, it wasn't empty, and a head of red hair glowed against the orange flames that cast a soft amber light around the room. "George?" She called out, the head turning back to her.

"Sorry to get your hopes up." It was obvious it was Fred now. "But considering I am your boyfriend-"

"I didn't want to be a little disappointed." Elodie smiled at him, features lit up in the dim, flickering flames. She made her way over to the sofa in a few short steps.

"Meaning?"

"I didn't want to hoppe it to be you and instead it was George." A little confused, Elodie slid into the space beside him, right where the cushions began to dip. "If I remember correctly, last time this sort of thing happened you cornered me in the Owlery."

"Clever girl." Fred's gaze turned away from the fire, words echoing the very same that he had said to her on that night. "If you really wanted me to.. recreate that moment I can. But right now I'm tired."

His arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her even closer, chin resting over her forehead. "What are you doing up, anyway."

"Couldn't sleep." Elodie replied in a murmur, eyes watching the dancing licks of fire that turned in the hearth. "It's not as easy as I found it at Grimmauld Place."

"I should've invited you to stay overnight more last year." Fred mused. "Then you could've gotten used to it. I should've introduced you to the girls as well.. although that might have confused you because last year Patricia and Charlotte had swapped hairstyles."

"Pat had pink hair?" Elodie echoed, looking up at him.

"Well look at you with the nicknames." Fred met her gaze. "You'll fit right in. Want to come up to my dorm to try and get some sleep."

"I'm perfectly fine here." Elodie tilted her chin back down, cuddling into the curve of his neck. "Why do I get the feeling that the rest of the year is going to be nowhere near as peaceful as this."

"Because of that Umbridge woman. And what Harry saw after the Third Task." Fred swallowed; she could feel his adam's apple bob. "But it'll be fine. We'll graduate and then start of Weasley Wizard Wheezes properly. And you'll be helping as well."

"Of course." Elodie nodded, feeling him squeeze his arms around her tighter and letting her eyes close. But even if she felt so at peace there in his arms, falling asleep right in that position, somehow she knew it wasn't going to be just as simple as graduating.

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