✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

12 | C O W A R D

•••
and there's no room in this hell.
there's no room in the next.
•••

   "Freddie, if you won't stop staring at her like that, you'll get some serious problems."

   "Don't know what you mean", Fred muttered his reply to his twin without taking his eyes of Lynnea for even a the blink of an eye. It was Saturday and he watched her with wistfulness. Of course Lynnea was a beautiful girl, but today she was a shining star on a dark sky. Only problem with this was the reason why she was looking like that exactly today.

   "Mate, Angelina will kill you if she again will catch you staring at her."

   "To be honest", Fred slowly said, and managed just under the biggest effort to look at his brother. "I don't think that the thing with Ange is for the long run. She's kind of a -" 

   "Priss", George ended his sentence. "Yeah, we already noticed that for a while now. But that's not the only reason, is it?"

   "Where does that lead to?", Fred said, leaning back in his chair.

   "Oh c'mon, Freddie", George laughed. "A girl we all know you can hardly take your eyes off. Think her name was Lynnea, wasn't it? I'm not stupid, Fred. You like her."

   "She's dating O'Riley", Fred growled, his eyebrows furrowed. "And I don't like her like that."

   "She's dating O'Riley, because you're dating Angelina", Ginny's voice appeared next to him, as his little sister sat down, starting to put some pancakes on her plate. "She likes you. And you like her, too. Give me the marple syrup, would you, George?"

   "I don't like her like that", Fred scoffed, while George was handing Ginny the bottle with the sticky sweet fluid. "And I highly doubt she does even like me in any way."

   "Your stupidity hurts, huh?", Ginny replied, taking a bite of the pancakes. "Haven't you ever noticed the way she's looking at you all the time? Or the way she's blushing everytime you look at her? Even though you currently don't speak to one another, tell me, Fred, how many times did you have those creepy sugary eye contact across this whole damn hall lately? And for sure it's meaningless that her stupid Slytherin friends start giggling like crazy everytime you come close to her or even just look at her."

   Fred didn't say a thing. Instead he looked over to Lynnea, just to catch her looking at him already. She blushed as cute as ever, before she hastily turned her eyes back on her plate. A smile curled his lips before he could even try to hide it. It was true; whenever he looked at the girl, she was either already staring at him, or her eyes flickered to him short after. So maybe ... Could there be a chance she'd really more for him than this contempt she was showing?

   But his smile dropped slowly from his face, when O'Riley appeared right behind her, and she presented him her brightest wonderful smile.

   "Obviously he's enjoying being with prince charming", he muttered, throwing his fork and knife on his still half filled plate.

   "Already talking about Lynn and Aiden?", Ron said, as he, Harry and Hermione also took seats next to the twins and Ginny.

   "Fine", Harry said, as George and Ginny nodded, while Fred was just grimmly staring at O'Riley. "Someone else here a bit suspicious, that she's dating the son of a Death Eater?"

   Fred janked his neck around, watching Harry bug-eyed. "What?", he snapped. "O'Riley's parents are Death Eaters?"

   Harry nodded. "We suggest so. They're befriended with the Malfoys, and with the parents of Crabbe and Goyle, and we know what they are."

   "She even thinks, that they have something to do with her parents' death", Ron added, shaking his head in disbelief.

   "But why on earth would she date him then?"

   "Guess that's the reason the Hat didn't put her into Ravenclaw", George snorted.

   "We planned to follow them", Harry said. "Just to ... well, make sure he's not up to something, you know."

   "Great idea", George replied. "We're in." Fred nodded frantically.

   "Only problem is, that I have Ange glued to my ass", he groaned. "But she won't even notice, I think. What about you, Ginny?"

   "I have a date with Michael", his sister said. "And I'm sure he won't notice. So well, I'm in. Lynn told me, they were up to go to the Three Broomsticks, it'll be easy to have an eye on them there."

   "Perfect", Ron grimmly nodded, but Hermione sighed, saying: "She won't be that stupid, you know that, don't you? She'll for sure notice."

   "We'll see."

•••

   It was a funny, but awkward date. Lynnea quickly was reminded why it was so easy to fall for Aiden back then. He was the perfect gentleman, holding doors, paying for drinks, making her laugh. The awkward part was that Lynnea felt like she was been observed by her friends. Surrounded by them, she and Aiden were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, and Lynnea could have sworn, that they stared at her every now and then, until Aiden finally recommended to go for a walk around the village.

   "I like it around here", he said, when they reached the Shrieking Shack, Great Britain's most haunted building, as he told her. "It's so calm and peaceful, don't you think?"

   "Yeah, and with the snow around here, it does look more than a winter wonderland, than a creepy old hut", Lynnea laughed, but she stopped abruptly. All along the afternoon there was something on her mind, not leaving her alone. "Aiden, I need to ask you something", she sternly said.

   "Whatever you want, love", he replied with a soft smile, taking her hand.

   "What have your parents told you about me, that made you stop writing me?", she quietly asked, holding her breath.

   Aiden's smile dropped. "I already told you", he replied, running the fingers of his free hand through his hair.

   "See, I don't think that was all of the whole truth. The Aiden I knew wouldn't have done that just because his father would be angry with him."

   "Seems like someone doesn't know my father", Aiden growled, before he sighed. "Lynn, please don't. I can't. I shouldn't be the one to tell you - see, you've been through so much, and this is neither the right time, nor the right place for this ..."

   "Is there something as a right time for bad news?", she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Immediately she missed his warm touch in the cold December air, but she wouldn't give in. Aiden knew more, and she needed the truth now. "I deserve the truth, don't you think?", she pushed him.

   "Don't  compel me, Lynn, please", he begged. But she kept looking at him out of her big green eyes, until he again let out a deep sigh. "Fine. You'll hate me after this, be warned. This is ... not easy. So at least let's go back into our common room, your strange Gryffindor friends are following us around since we left the Great Hall, and it's not for their ears until you'll decide to tell them."

   Lynnea nodded. The walk back up to Hogwarts was awfully long, but finally they reached the empty common room.

   "Please don't think all to bad of me, Lynn, I swear I didn't know what would be happening", he whispered, before he took a deep breath and started his story.