Finding Yourself : Fred Weasley

41

      I look around as I stand in the doorway next to George. He is also looking around. I spot Angelina with Katie Bell and a group of other Gryffindor girls. I look around some more. Cedric is standing with Cho near the punch bowl. Reno is dancing with his date, Ludovic. I keep looking. 
     I see Harry and Ron sitting at one of the tables with Fred. None of them seems to be having very much fun. George and I walk over. George sits next to Ron. I sit next to Fred. I can't help but look at Harry, my younger brother. 
    It is weird how fast some things can change. How fast your feelings for people can change. How you see them. Three hours ago when I watched Harry dance I saw him as just a good friend. The other day when I was teaching him how to dance I just saw him as a good friend. Now I look at him and I feel more than just good friends. It's like when I look at Mazy. 
      I look over when I feel someone put their hand on my arm. Fred is looking at me. "Are you okay?" He asks, sounding a little worried. I look around at the others. They are looking at me. I look back at Fred. "Yea, why?"   "We were talking to you and you didn't seem to notice." 
     "Oh, yea sorry. I was just thinking," I answer honestly. "I thought you were only going to be here for the first 30 minutes," Harry says sounding both confused and irritated. "Yea, I was. I had to go. I um... I went to try and figure out who my real family is. I got back a lot sooner than I thought I would," I explain. There is no point in trying to lie, not to this lot at least. 
       "Did you find them?" Fred asks me. I turn and look at him and lightly nod. "Yea, kind of. I know who they are now." He smiles. "Well that's great," he says while sounding genuinely happy for me. He slowly stops smiling when he sees I don't smile or anything. "I'm sorry," he says while gently placing his hand on my back. 
       "It's fine. I don't really want to talk about any of this right now," I look down at my hands then over at George. He gives me a look then looks at Fred and then back at me. I know exactly what he means. I slightly roll my eyes and look over at Cedric and Reno as they both talk. 
      They look over an see me. I raise my hand and wave at them softly. They say something to each other than walk over. I notice Harry shift uncomfortably so that he has his back turned to Cedric. My two Hufflepuff friends have smiles on their faces. I can't help but smile back. 
     "So?" They ask at the same time. "I found out who they are. I really don't want to talk about it right now though. We will talk about it in the common room later," I say the last part quickly before they start bombarding me with questions. 
     I look over at George and he is giving me the 'Are you going to do it?!' look. I take a deep breath and look around at everyone. Harry is looking over at what seems to be Cho who is now also talking with Angelina, Ron is looking at I think Hermione and Krum. I look over at Cedric who is also looking at Cho. 
     "You don't have to sit with me, it's fine," I say while not wanting to take away from their fun. He looks at me and smiles then stands and holds out his hand. "I don't believe you got to dance at all." I smile at him and takes his hand then stand. We walk out where there are other people still dancing. 
     "So are you at least happy you found out who they are?" He asks as we dance. I nod. "Of course I am." He smiles at me, I smile back. He spins me and I can't help but laugh. "Have you had fun tonight?"  "I have had a lot of fun. So has Reno and his date. Have you met him?"  "Ludovic? I did. He seemed nice."  "He is. Reno seems happy around him."  I smile a bit more. "Good. He deserves to be."
       Cedric looks behind me then back at me. "Fred is watching us," he says with a smirk. I can feel my face heating up. And in the brightly lit room, I know Cedric can see. "George said he is just here with Angelina as friends and I should ask him to dance," I whisper, even though I know he can't hear me. 
       "You should. He would say yes."   "Just like when he said yes to going to the ball with me?" I say sarcastically. Cedric gives me a look. "You know he only said no because he had already asked someone because he thought you weren't going." He is right, as usual. 
      "Reno wants to dance with you too though. Just a warning he has been talking about Ludovic the entire night," he says with a light laugh. I lightly laugh. Speaking of Reno wanting to dance he walks over with a smile on his face. 
      "My turn!" he says while pushing away Cedric. We both laugh. "Fine. Cho looks lonely anyway," Cedric says in an amused tone before walking away. I smile at Reno and start to dance with him. "George said that you have had quite a shocking night."  "What else did he say?" I ask a little worried. 
       Nothing. He said it isn't his business to tell so he isn't going to." That's a relief to hear. "Since when do you talk to George? And since when do you call him George and know which one he is?"
     "Woah there. I only talked to him to ask how everything went. Since I have realized there is too many Weasley's to just call him that. And since I know he isn't the one who keeps looking at you because he wants to dance but is too scared to ask." 
      I blush again. Man, that seems to be way too easy to get me to do. I need to get more confident and less easily embarrassed. He smiles more at me. "I did such a good job with your hair and makeup and you had to ruin it. Well, not your makeup, that still looks perfect. Your hair is a little messy though." 
      I lightly laugh. "You should have known that it wasn't going to stay. It never does. That's why I don't fuss over it."   "Yea, I know. I just had hope. So. Do you have any siblings?" He asks curiously. "Yes, I have two. Von and Mazy," I answer even though I know that isn't who he meant. 
      "I don't mean them. I mean blood siblings."   "I really don't want to talk about this here."  "Just the one question. Then I will drop it until we get back to the common room." I sigh. "Yes. I have a brother."  "Do you know anything about him?"  "You said only the one question." He lightly laughs. "Fine." 
       I look around and see Ludovic looking over while smiling. "I think your date wants you back," I say with a light laugh. Reno looks over at him and smiles and turns pink. "I think so too. He can wait until we are done though."   "It's okay Reno. Go ahead. I don't mind." He smiles more. "I will see you later." He kisses my hand then walks over to Ludovic. 
       I stand there alone on the dancefloor for a few seconds before looking at Fred. He looks at me and for a few seconds, we make eye contact. I start to walk over while I gather all the confidence I can find inside of me. 
      He stands, still looking at me too. I stop when suddenly Angelina walks over and takes his arm, drawing his attention away from me and to herself. She is laughing about something. They walk away together. All the confidence that I just had gathered slips away and more anger and resentment to her adds up. I sigh and walk over and sit next to Harry again. He is still looking at Cedric and Cho. Ron is still looking at Hermione and Krum. George is nowhere to be found.
     I look over at Fred. He and Angelina are both laughing now. I look at Ron and Harry. "Ron. Do you know how to dance?" I ask while looking over at him. He glances at me for a second. "Kinda."   "Do you want to dance?"   "Not really," he answers shortly. He sounds pretty irritated and upset too. I sigh and lean back in the chair.
      I over at Fred for a few more seconds before I stand. "Harry, I can try to teach you how to dance some more if you like," I offer with a small smile. He looks over at me. "Um... Okay," he says sounding unsure. I smile a bit more. 
     He stands and we walk a few feet away from the table. He looks as if he is unsure how to even start. I take his hands and put them where they should be, then do the same with my own. I lead and explain little things that might help him, he listens and they help slightly. 
      "Where did you learn to dance?" Harry asks after a few minutes. "My dad taught me. He said that every proper young lady needs to know the basics at least. He tried to teach my brother, but he refused. Said it was stupid and a waste of time," I explain while looking at him.  
      "Your brother sounds like a git," he says bitterly. I lightly laugh. "Yea, he kind of is." The song ends. We walk over to the table and sit back down. "So you went to go find your family? How did you do that?" He asks curiously. 
      I bring my voice down to a whisper. "I snuck out of the castle with George. We had some help from his brother Bill, Lupin and Sirius." His expression changes to shock. "You saw Sirius?!" he yells in a whisper. I lightly nod, maybe that would have been better to wait to tell him as well. 
     "Charlie," someone says softly. I look up and see Fred. He is a light pink colour. "Do you maybe want to dance for a bit?" He asks sounding nervous. I can't help but smile as I also turn pink. I look back at Harry. "We can talk later Harry. I have some really important things I need to tell you," I say before standing. 
      I walk out to the dancefloor as The Weird Sisters start to play a slow song. He puts his hands on my waist and I nervously put my hands on his shoulders. I look up at him. He is looking at me. I blush and look away, unsure where I should focus on. 
      "Are you okay?" He asks softly. I look at him, he is still looking at me. I lightly nod. "Yea. Are you?" He smiles slightly. "Yes. You just seemed to have been uneasy. Even before you left."  "I was just nervous," I partly lie. I was nervous, but I was also thinking too much about him. 
     "You seem to be having a fun time with Angelina," I say while trying to hide my dislikement. "I have been." He looks at me for a few long seconds, his face still a light shade of pink. He smiles and lightly laughs, I can't help but smile. "What?" I ask curiously. " "You do look really pretty," He says quietly. My face burns what feels like a deep scarlet. 
      I push him lightly in a playful way, mostly out of embarrassment I think. He lightly laughs. "I'm serious Char. You are."   "Well, you look pretty good yourself," I say nervously. His face turns redder. The band stops playing and everyone around us claps. It must be midnight. I look over and see Cedric standing with Cho. 
     Fred and I let go of each other and take an awkward step back. We look at each other and share an awkward laugh. "I would like to challenge you and George to a rematch tomorrow," I say with a smile.  
     "A rematch to what?" He asks a smile also on his face. "To a snowball fight. Seeing how you and he cheated the last time and teamed up against me." He laughs. "Sure, you're on."  "Feel free to bring new opponents too. I will be." I wink at him before walking over to Cedric. My face burning red. What the hell Charlie? Why do you keep winking at him?
      Cedric smiles at me. "I saw you danc-"  "Nevermind that right now, you should tell Harry about the egg," I cut him off. A look of confusion covers his face. "Why?"   "Because he told you about the dragons, so it is the right thing to do," I point out. 
       "Charlie I really don't-"    "Cedric. It is the right thing to do. He told you about the dragons, it would make you even."  He sighs and nods. "Okay. I will. I'll meet you and Reno in the common room," he says before glancing between Cho. I smile at her. "I hope you two have a good night," I say before walking back over to the table that I sat at before. Harry and Ron are standing there now, Hermione is there too. 
      She and Ron are arguing pretty hard while walking away. Harry is just kind of awkwardly following behind. Fred walks over to me. "He's upset because she went with Krum," he says as we watch Ron and Hermione. 
     I lightly nod in understanding. "I'm going to go ahead and go to bed. Goodnight Fred," I say while giving him a smile. "Goodnight, Char," he says with a smile before I walk out and to the Hufflepuff common room. Wow, what a night.