The Foreigner {Fred Weasley x OC}

9.

 I sneak out of the girls' dorm and down into the common room. I adjust my robes and I almost make it out of the portrait hole when a voice stops me, "Going somewhere?"

I turn around and make eye contact with Fred's brown eyes, "Bathroom."

"You got dressed up like that to go to the bathroom?"

"I wouldn't want to seem underdressed." I almost wince at how bad my excuse is. Fred crosses his arms over his chest dramatically, "Are you going to tell me where you are really going or am I going to have to follow you when you leave?"

I sigh in defeat, "I'm meeting with Professor Lupin so he can help me with my spellcasting."

Fred steps closer to me, "I thought I was going to be your tutor?"

"To be fair, Lupin did offer first." I answer, "You can still help me too. I need all the help I can get."

"Fine." Fred smirks, "Don't stay out too late." He says in a motherly tone that makes me laugh, "Thanks, Mom. I won't."

I open the portrait door and carefully make my way to the classroom where Lupin said to meet.

"Professor Lupin?" I peek into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, closing the door swiftly behind me.

"Oh, good. Charlotte you came."

"Why wouldn't I?" I put my bag down on a random desk, "I'm desperate to learn some magic at my level so I can stop looking like such an idiot."

"It's not your fault that you don't these spells. Unfortunately, it is your responsibility to learn them. Even if it is a bit later than most."

I pull my wand out from my robes, "So... What's first?"

Lupin pauses for a moment, "I'm not a charms teacher, but if I'm not wrong, the first spell they learn is the levitation charm - wingardium leviosa."

"Levitation? Am I going to float?"

"No." Lupin chuckles, "The levitation of objects. Like this." He waves his wand, "Wingardium leviosa." My bag that I had placed down begins to float.

I grip my wand tightly in my hand and utter the spell at a small box sitting on one of the many shelves in the room. The box doesn't move an inch.

"Your grip is too stiff." Lupin gestures with his wand, "Swish and flick I believe they say."

I practice the movement a couple of times before repeating the spell, "Wingardium leviosa." The box momentarily levitates an inch above the shelf before crashing back down. Despite it not being a complete success, it still makes me excited, "I did it!" I exclaim.

"Good. Now you need to sustain it."

"Wingardium leviosa." I cast the spell again, focusing all of my energy on holding it. This time, instead of dropping back down, the box blasts itself upwards, breaking through the shelves above it. I snap my wand back and the box comes flying toward me. It stops centimetres from my face and I can see Lupin holding up his wand out of the corner of my eye.

"I've never seen that happen before." He floats the box into his hand and looks it over, "You have very explosive magical abilities. I would say we're lucky that you aren't attempting more high-level spells."

"I guess so."

I tiptoe my way back into the Gryffindor common and am surprised to find the curled-up body of Fred Weasley sleeping on the couch. I gently move around the sofa and crouch down to be at eye level with Fred. I shake his shoulder lightly and when I expect him to calmly wake up, he jumps up, nearly slapping me in the face. I fall backward onto the coffee table and he looks around the room frantically.