Just A Bet ● Fred Weasley × Reader ●

42 - So I Have A Boyfriend?

Walking back into the school felt like a fever dream. I could have sworn that I truly was dreaming if it weren't for Fred walking beside me less than a foot away. We were dating. Fred Weasley was my boyfriend. It made my head reel and my heart race, knowing that I didn't have to act like I despised him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. 

Now, I felt... Whole. Complete. Satisfied. 

"Ready to face Umbridge?" Fred bent to speak to me, drowning out the miscellaneous conversation of everyone else. 

I let out a groany huff. "Don't get me started."

"Don't worry about her." He took his hand in mine, the one with the scars written into it. His thumb grazed over them, yet he paid no mind to the texture. I, on the other hand, stiffened like a frozen slinky. "We only have to put up with her for a few more months."

Right. This is our last year at Hogwarts... That did little to soothe me because of the way he was touching me.

"I've known for a while, y/n." 

I stared at him, not watching where I was going, but trusting that he would guide me. "How?"

"Katie is really bad at staying quiet."

I took my hand out of his to stare at the words etched into my skin, scarred there for the rest of forever. "Neither am I, apparently..." 

'I must stay silent.' 

Somehow, since that first detention, I've held true to the words in my skin.

I jolted when his finger hooked under my chin and dragged my eyes to his as he said, "You don't have to stay quiet around me."

A small smile was all I chose to manage as we sat down at the Gryffindor table. He gave a kiss to my head, which left me redder than a cherry in the face. He revelled in it, grinning like he just won the lottery. I wouldn't call me the lottery. Maybe a traumatized, depressed, kind of mentally unstable witch. But definitely not a lottery.

Cho passed Harry on the way to the Raven claw, but the twins and I don't pretend to not notice the way her hand lingered on his shoulder for just a moment too long.

Fred and I shared a look, then immedietly attacked Harry with questions. 

"Why'd she touch you like that, mate?" Fred asked.

"Yeah. Got yourself Cho for a girlfriend?" I leaned back on the bench as far as I could before I would fall backward. I almost would have if it weren't for the way Fred's hand rested protectively on the small of my back. 

"Uh..." Harry began. "I... dunno what it is, exactly. The day before Christmas break, we- uh... kissed. But she never sent me any letters..." 

They kissed?! Now I understood why Ginny was upset on New Year's Eve. She tried shooting her shot and missed... Go figure. Personally, I didn't like Cho. A, for what she did to me and Hermione with Roger. And B, how she just sort of... moved on after him. 

Cedric. 

I still missed him, but I think I've learned I accept that he's not coming back. Maybe he's somewhere else. Somewhere that's a representation of him. Pine trees, fog, wet roads, old logging trucks... You know. 

"You kissed Cho?" Fred cackled. "What was it like?" 

Harry shifted nervously in his seat. "...Wet. I guess." 

At that, every thought about Cedric and whatever impending doom Umbridge might bring vanished, replaced by joyous laughter. 

-

Much to my shock, everything was going smoothly when it came to educational side of things. Personal things, however, not so much. Turns out, I have no idea how to be a girlfriend. 

"George?" I walk up to him when I know Fred is dead asleep in the dorm having a mid-Saturday nap.

"Ah-, my future sister-in-law. What can I do for you?" He slung an arm around my shoulder, ditching the prank product he had been working on. 

I kept my voice low. Though the chances of Fred hearing us - let alone waking up to us - were slim to none, I didn't want to risk anything. "I don't understand this dating stuff..." Alright, I admit it... Sheepishly. Like a coward. But it's not my fault! Kind of. I mean, I've had guys try to ask me out before, like library studying or a trip to Hogsmeade, but I always turned them down because 'they weren't my type.' Turns out, they weren't my type because my type is a tall, lanky, crooked-smiled, ginger, boy. Everything wrapped up in one human being.

"Oh, yes. The dating stuff... Me neither, really. But I can see why you'd come to me for help, seeing as I'm his twin, blah, blah, blah..." He made vague gestures with his free hand.

"Right... Well, I know about Fred, but I don't know him when it comes to... romance, I guess-" 

George interrupted. "He gets clingy when he's happy."

"Wha- okay?" 

"Yeah. And don't get worried if he goes distant for a day. Chances are, he's just in one of his moods. Chocolate usually helps with that, I find. Also, he will (already has) gain a liking to what you like. You want to read, he wants to read with you. And by that, I mean he likes being read to. Weirdo. And if you want to win an argument, just kiss his cheek. Saw a girl he had a crush on do it when we were about five. He folded."

I try to keep up with the rapid-firing of information. What? He folds with a simple kiss on the cheek? 

"OH! And, by the way, be prepared for random notes left for you everywhere. I. Mean. Everywhere." 

"Alright... How do you know all of this?" 

He grins that cocky grin like when he knows a million secrets. "I read his journal once." 

Shocked. Everyone knows that you never touch someone else's journal or diary unless you want your hands chopped off. I never had a diary or journal, but when I was still in muggle elementary, everyone knew not to touch anyone else's private notes. 

"Why?" 

All George did was reply with a shrug. 

"I think that's everything you need to know for now... I'll get going-"

I grabbed his wrist before he could stand up fully. "Wait-"

He turned to me with an expectant look on his face.

"How... How can I be better?" 

His expectancy melted into something softer. "You don't need to be better, Munchkin. You're all my brother has ever wanted, pigtails or not."

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A/N - Helloooooo! Sorry for the scare in the special thanks, teehee. (Not really sorry though) Here's some minor fluff with even more fluff soon to come! 

Until next time, Darlings! Xxx