Untouchable: a Fred Weasley fanfiction

Aftershocks

I wake up the following morning feeling utterly exhausted... but still utterly satisfied.

I can't describe the feeling. The gig was good. Great. The gig was fucking awesome.

I thought, for some reason, that something would go wrong. I was waiting for something to go wrong. I always think that if I'm involved, somehow, there will be a turn for the worse. I thought I'd forget a tempo. Someone would throw something onstage. We'd get booed. Something. Anything.

But we got nothing. Actually, we got everything. Cheers, hollers, dancing, pleads for encores, laughter, whistles, whoops, eager tugs to the side of the Hall after we stumbled offstage with huge smiles and sweaty faces.

"It's because no one's done this before," Ginny had declared with a giant grin after the show, setting her bass back on the stand in the music center. "We had the balls to do it... and we nailed it."

"Yeah, plus the music," Seamus added. "New stuff. American stuff. Good, good music. We provided it."

"Basically, all around, we ruled," Lee claimed, crossing his arms and smirking proudly. "We fucking ruled."

I remember smiling at them, still feeling chills. "We kind of did, didn't we?"

"Not to mention your unbelievable solo!" Ginny laughed, bumping my arm. "Jo, I can't even- I really- I mean- wow. I have no words anymore. I've said them all."

"You've got guts, Jo," Seamus praised me. "And a hell of a voice."

"You should show it more often," Luna said.

I had just looked away, fiddling with my drumsticks, still blushing and smiling awkwardly.

Now, this morning, I'm rolling out of bed, yawning and running a hand through my birdnest hair. I'm the only one left in the dorm room; the other girls have already gone down to breakfast. Thank god it's a Saturday- I'd have no energy for classes after last night's shenanigans.

I eventually throw on some clothes and make my way down to the Hall, hungry as ever. While my stomach is grumbling for breakfast, my brain is pondering the question, will anyone really pay much attention to me after last night, or was it just some in-the-moment thing?

I assume it was a one-night thing. Everyone was hyped up on Halloween-dance-energy. I was just the drummer. But whatever- I had a lot of fun. I'm glad it happened.

When I walk into the Hall, I suddenly discover that maybe that assumption is all too accurate, and I don't know how to react to that.

Right as I step in, there are a couple of groups of girls on either side table as me leaning in to whisper and "subtly" point with little smiles, and I can't tell if they are good smiles or poking-fun smiles, but I just keep walking with a hard swallow.

A couple of boys dressed in Gryffindor Quidditch practice wear walking by me on either side catch my eye and nod, smirking. I then hear one of them mumble something like, "that's the drummer bird, right?" And the other I can hear chuckles, "wicked".

And then I'm smiling for some reason. Just a little. It feels dumb, but I can't help it.

I'm about to sit down next to Angelina, who's dressed in her own Quidditch wear and scarfing down a bowl of cereal, when I'm stopped by a hand on my shoulder. I turn around.

Two giddy girls are facing me- they look to be Hufflepuffs if I'm remembering correctly... I think fifth years?

I blink. "Hello...?"

"Hi," one of them giggles. "Erm... we just wanted to say, that, well- you were brilliant last night."

"At the dance," the other adds. "It was absolutely wicked. We loved your band's music!"