Not A Coincidence (Fred Weasley)

Ch 31: The Girl Who Ran Away

"Four months, geez." Fred says, after dinner the gang gathered in the common room overcome with delight to see our friends back to normal... Where did that come from? I sounded... English sort of I guess, weird.

"Must've felt longer for you guys then it did for us." Erin says sadly.

"You have no idea what those two went through." George points to Gideon and I.

"What was it like being petrified?" Aradia blurts out.

"Way to go with being subtle Aradia." Heather whacks her arm. ".. But she has caught my curiosity, what was it like?"

"...Like a long sleep I guess." Fred says.

"Yeah, like a blackout." Erin explains.

"Four months... what were you lot doing in that time?"Fred asks, his eyes trailing around the room, falling on me.

"We... we- I'll be back." I jump up and walk out the portrait hole.

What if he finds out? What if he doesn't speak to me again? What if I... lose him? I had so much trouble in just those four months, barely ate or slept for the first three. I can't lose him.. not again.

**George's POV**

"I'll go." I say, jumping up before Fred, running after the girl who ran away.

Ahhhh, there she i-... where'd she go?

Turning the corner she disappears. "Chelsea." I call out. "Chelsea, where'd you go?"

From a distance I hear soft sniffles... There she is.

"Hey." I sit down next to the sobbing human bundle. Her knees up to her chest, her face buried in her knees.

"Just leave me alone." She says quietly.

"Now why would I do that?" I ask, peeking under her arms, to a tear-stained face. "Come on, spill."

"I can't." She sobs, looking up at me. "What if he doesn't speak to me again?"

What? Who? "Fred?" She nods. "Why would Fred not speak to you again?"

She goes silent, only the muffled sniffles filling the sleeping hallway.

"Chelsea."

Would it have anything to do with Gideon? Why was she blushing after she saw hi-

"What?" She asks.

"What?"

"You gasped."

"Pfft.. No I didn't."

"George!" She looks at me.

"Did you kiss Gideon?" I say hastily, preparing for a smack up the back of the head.

Opening my eyes, I find hers wide open. "How... did you know?"

"You did!" I gasp. Wait, why am I gasping again? "I mean... I knew that. But why would you kiss him?"

"I didn't. He kissed me."

"Why would he kiss you?"

"I don't know, he just did!" She yells frustrated, jumping up and running off.

"He's gonna deal with me for kissing my brother's girl and my bestfriend." I push myself off the wall, Gideon can have a piece of my mind. She has a boyfriend, whether he was conscious or not!

**Fred's POV**

"Where did they go?" I say to myself as I pass the rooms along the east of the fourth floor of the Castle.

"You did!" Someone gasps. I glance around the corner to find Chelsea and George sitting on the ground, talking about something... but what? And why is Chelsea crying?

"I mean...you kiss..."

"... kissed me."

Kissed? What? I can't hear what's going on.

Someone's run off.

"... me... kissing....... bestfriend."

What? Kissing... George and ...and Chelsea? Wha-

Someone's coming!

"Whoa- Fred?" George jumps back startled. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Only just got here." I play it off, I need to figure out what's going on first. " Did you find Chelsea, where'd she go?"

"I did-nt find her." George looks away. Why is he acting so suspicious? What's going on!?

"She'll be back, I know she doesn't like being alone for too long."

"She's changed." George says as we walk back to the Common Room.

Changed?

"What?"

"She's changed. Since you ... were petrified- how were you unpetrified anyway? Sprout said it would take several months- years even for the mandrake's to mature."

"Dumbledore helped, some sort of speed-up magic." I think about it, it was a very brief conversation between Professor Sprout and I before she fetched Gideon and... Chelsea. "You changed the subject, how has she changed?"

"She spent most of the four months keeping to herself at home, barely any letters were sent out. She'd always be up in her room when I visited with Ginny, her parents were very worried. She kept to herself, barely ate anything. But then she brightened up a bit before school, not sure why the sudden change in her mood. But she doesn't talk much, not as enthusiastic and hasn't pulled a prank since."

No pranks? What's going on?