A Mermaid's Tears | Fred Weasley

Chapter 8

The first task was set to take place at the end of November, and it seemed that's all anyone could talk about up until then. People were trying to guess what the task would be, but Marceline knew that none of them really knew.

When the date of the first task finally arrive, everyone was excited, except for Marceline. She was extremely nervous now that one of her friends had entered, and could barely eat breakfast that morning.

"Come on, Marcy, you aren't going to do Cedric any good if you don't eat!" Aliyah had told her. But Marceline truly couldn't bring herself to eat.

As the school went up to watch the first task, Fred and George made their way over to her and Aliyah. The four of them sat together, and Marcelines leg was continuously bouncing, waiting for it to start.

Fred held her hand, hoping it would calm her down.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Fred said, squeezing her hand.

Finally, the first task began, and Marceline almost fainted.

"Dragons?" She screeched, looking horrified. Cedric was the first champion out, and Marceline truly couldn't bring herself to watch, burying her face into Fred's side. He wrapped an arm around her, comforting Marceline for a moment.

It would've been better if she was able to block out all noise as well, for the crowd kept screaming and gasping every five seconds, making her anxiety soar. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was surprised her heart hadn't fallen out. Finally the crowd broke into applause, and Marceline allowed herself to look up.

"Is it over?" She asked.

"It's over," Fred assured her, and Marceline allowed herself to relax.

"That was the most stressful moment of my life," Marceline muttered.

"You'll only have to go through it two more times!" Aliyah told her friend, with a smile.

"You really know who to make me feel better, Aliyah," Marceline mumbled to her friend, realizing that her stress level was going to be soaring two more times throughout the school year.

A few days later, Professor Sprout informed the Hufflepuffs about the Yule Ball, which would be taking place over the Christmas Holidays. Most students wrote home and told their parents that they would be staying at school, but Marceline didn't bother writing to her grandparents, knowing they wouldn't care. She never went to their house for Christmas anyways.

They usually sent her an okay Christmas present, nothing special, just some candy, but she was glad they didn't just skip out completely.

"Do you think Fred will ask you to go to the ball with him?" Aliyah asked her later with a smile.

"I don't know, I hope so," Marceline said, with a trace of a smile herself.

That morning, the students woke up to snow on the ground, the first snow fall of the school year. The students were excited, and many spent the day outside playing in it, including Marceline, Aliyah, and Cedric, Lola, Artemisia, and Lance. They were in the middle of a huge snowball fight when Fred approached her.

"Hey, Marcelina, can I talk to you?" He asked her, looking slightly nervous.

"Okay," Marcelina said, calling timeout to her friends. She starting walking with Fred.

"So, er, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me?" He asked her, looking at his feet.

"Yeah, okay," Marceline said, trying not to smile too big.

Fred looked up at her, his smile equally as large as hers, and gently rested his arms on her face. He leaned in for a kiss, and Marceline thought her chest might explode.

When his lips met hers, they were and soft and warm, and they were also all she could focus on. She didn't care if anyone was staring, and suddenly the cold, snowy air around them disappeared and she felt as though she had never been warmer. She felt as though the butterflies in her stomach were holding a party, and she swore she could hear her heart pounding in her chest. When they broke away, they were both looking embarrassed but extremely happy.

"I better get back to my snowball fight," She said, her voice at a whisper.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to miss out on that," Fred replied; he was also whispering. Marceline walked away blushing and smiling and trying to refrain from skipping over to her friends.

"Aliyah!" Marceline said excitedly, walking quickly over to her friend before being pelted with a snowball. "Aliyah!" She said again, but this time with a tone of disbelief. "I have important and fantastic news and all you do is attack me?"

"This is war, Marcy! We don't have time for important and fantastic news!" She said, bending over and preparing another snowball.

"Fine! I guess I won't tell you about the kiss Fred and I shared," Marceline said, crossing her arms, sticking her nose up, and walking away from her best friend, all in a joking manner to gain the attention of her friend. 

"WHAT?" She heard her screech and Aliyah abandoned her attempt to make another snowball. "Now there's only two more steps!! Marriage and beautiful babies!" She squealed, completely forgetting about the snowball fight, as her and Marceline walked off, leaving the rest of their friends to look after them in confusion before resuming the snowball fight.

"I need all the details right now," Aliyah demanded. Marceline repeated the story to Aliyah, and by the time she finished, the girl was jumping up and down, and Marceline had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't alert the whole castle with her squeals.

"Oh this is so amazing," She said, skipping down the corridor. "You should name your first child, Aliyah, after me."

"I am not naming my child after you. One Aliyah is enough," Marceline told her friend, laughing.

"But two Aliyah's are better!" She said in a sing-song voice. Marceline continued to laugh at her friend as she became more and more excited about Marceline having a baby.

"Aliyah, you do realize that I'm not pregnant, right?" Marceline said, raising her eyebrows as her friend began to talk about learning how to knit so she could knit baby clothes.

"It's never too early to start preparing!"