Except For You ~ {Fred Weasley}

Chapter 8

"Come on, it's Quidditch!" I plead with Del a couple weeks later.

"Fine, fine, soon. I'll just finish the chapter." Del laughs.

"Yes! Okay, I'll see you soon." I say, standing up and walking away.

"Don't get petrified!"

"You either!" I call behind me.

But the match never starts. McGonagall calls it off, and calls for me, Ron and Harry. I quickly run from the bleachers and up to Professor McGonagall. She's solemn. The first thought that comes to my head is shattering. Del's dead. We all hurry from the pitch and to the hospital wing. There are three new patients. Penelope Clearwater, Ravenclaw prefect, Hermione Granger, Harry and Ron's best friend and... Del. My best friend. I run up to her bed.

"No, no don't do this to me. Come on, it's okay, don't worry you'll be... you'll be okay... I told you, I told you not to get petrified. But what do you do? You don't listen. You never listen." I whisper, my voice cracking. Tears are stinging my eyes but I try to laugh them away. "You'll... I'll... we'll be fine. We'll be fine." I whisper again. I rub my eyes to get rid of the tears and I stand up. I look at Professor McGonagall. "A heads up would have been nice." I spit. Del would have laughed and joked about it. But she couldn't. She was practically dead. I ran out of the Hospital wing and to our spot. I couldn't stay there. So I ran to the Astronomy tower.

And I cried. I'd never cried at Hogwarts. But this was Del. My best friend. I cried for what seemed like a lifetime until someone came up and opened the door. It was Mr Trouble. He didn't say anything. He just sat down next to me, and knowing I would have punched him so hard in the nose if he did, he didn't hug me. But instead he gave me a packet of biscuits he grabbed from the Kitchen. I rip it open and grab one. I curl up and nibble on it while tears drop down my cheeks. I push the packet over and Mr Trouble grabs one too.

"I've never seen you cry before." He says quietly after a while, handing me another biscuit.

"Yeah, well I've had nothing to cry about. Great, now I look like shit."

"Not nearly as much as me." He laughs.

"Why would you look like shit?"

"Because that's just what I look like. Mind you, I'm still the hotter twin."

"You do always look like shit, I agree. But neither of you are hot."

"I'm not hot, just hotter. There's a difference."

"True." I agree. He produces some tissues and I rub my eyes. After a bit I get up, grab the biscuits and tissues and head towards my dorm. I do my usual elegant wave and disappear. I walk slowly to my dorm, eating only biscuits.

"You're not allowed to eat in here." One of the girls in my dorm sings.

"Piss off." I say.

"Don't speak to me like that!" She snaps.

"I'll speak to you however I want!" I yell at her. She looks at me with hate in her eyes.

"This is why nobody talks to you." She whispers harshly.

"What?"

"You're just so crabby, all of the time!"

"I'm closed off. Can't remember the last time you tried to talk to me. Oh yeah, you never have!" I spit.

"That's because you don't want to be talked to!"

"I want to be talked to! I want to have friends! I don't want to be an outcast, and the only person who makes me feel like I'm not has been petrified so don't talk about things you don't know!" She looks stunned.

"What?"

"Not that you care but Del, my best friend  has been petrified so I would watch your  mouth." I growl, tucking myself underneath my doona and grabbing another biscuit.

A couple hours later someone produces a plate of lasagna at my night stand. Somebody, some people, sit at the end of my bed. I sit up and look at the four other girls on my bed. I sniff, rub my eyes and grab the lasagna. I stab it with my fork, completely disregarding the knife.

"Next time, try and talk to us." The girl from earlier says with a small smile.

I nod. "Thanks Amelia."

"What?"

"Your name? It's Amelia isn't it?" She nods, confused. "What? You didn't think I'd lived here for years and not pick up on anything?" I ask. She laughs.

"You're just never here." Grace answered.

"Never thought you'd notice I wasn't." I whisper.

"Sorry if this makes you feel like shit, but, we didn't know you, so we didn't really... well, care." Alice says shyly. Lilly whacked her arm.

"It's not that we didn't care, we just didn't think too much about it. We always noticed you at breakfast the other day, so we always knew you were safe." Lilly explains.

"But you have to stop now!" Grace added. "There was a triple attack, you could get seriously hurt!"

"We already lost Penelope. Everyone's devastated. Even that other Weasley prefect."

"Percy?" I ask, laughing. "Yeah, pretty sure they're dating."

"Yeah, we thought that too." Alice laughed.

"Point is, no matter how invisible you think you are, if you're hurt, people are going to be sad, heartbroken even." Amelia said firmly.

"Yeah, my younger sister's in Gryffindor, and she's best friends with that Creevy kid. I was heartbroken when he was attacked because she was. Even though I hate that kid." Lilly added. I smile, stabbing my lasagna again.

"Thanks guys." They smile, and get off my bed to get changed. I ate my lasagna in a warm silence, instead of a cold, harsh, lonely silence. I still would have preferred to be eating with Del, but I still ate my food. Eating only biscuits all day does not help fill you up.