Friendless » Fred Weasley

xxxii. electives

Tori sighed, relaxing herself a bit as she felt the warm water hit her head. The team had just gotten out of a very tough practice. Charlie had officially announced he had to drop quidditch, and that Mae would become the new captain.

To Tori and everyone's surprise, Mae didn't seem exactly happy with the idea of it. Tori even heard them arguing about it after.

She squeezed her hair out, letting some of the water hit the floor. Her thoughts surrounded her head like bludgers, attacking her brain all at once.

Ever since Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor's match, Tori's friends had hardly left her side. If someone had even looked at Tori the wrong way, at least one of them, mainly Fred and George, would get upset at them.

Tori appreciated it, she really did. It only seemed like a problem when they were constantly making sure she was okay or glaring at basically anyone who even bumped into her in the hallway.

Tori turned off the water, squeezing her hair once more. She got dressed once again, leaving the shower room. Angelina sat waiting for her. "Come on, Alicia wants us to run notes or something."

The two girls made their way back towards the school, both doing small races in between. "I think I'm the fastest." Angelina teased the struggling Tori. "Shut it, why do you think I'm one of the last during quidditch runs?"

Alicia met them by the great hall. She was frowning, watching the two girls appear out of breath. "You can't sing being out of breath!" She sighed, shaking her head. "Sheesh, Alicia. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is the fact that I really, really want this solo! I have to practice hard so I can get it by next week!"

"While Alicia, that sounds very fun, Lee has a fantastic voice, so you should practice with him." Fred appeared, putting his arm around Tori's shoulder. Lee began to sing pointing at the two twins, "Double, double, toil, and trouble!"

Tori expected Alicia to roll her eyes, but she seemed to be taking this into consideration. "Alright. Fine, but come on!" She pulled him away, and Lee looked back like he was regretting his choice.

Tori gave him a little wave before pushing Fred's arm away from her. "What did you two want?" Tori asked. They shrugged, leading the two girls away from the great hall. "Just wanted to check up on you."

"Well? I'm fine." Fred narrowed his eyes as Tori has to assure him again. "You don't have to keep asking." She told him, trying her best to not look annoyed.

Again, she loved her friends and understood what they were trying to do. Just she wished they wouldn't treat her like such a child.

"I know," Fred replied. "Have you guys thought about electives yet?" George asked the group. To be honest, Tori hadn't thought about it much. She considered taking Ancient Runes but then realized how complicated the work was, so she dropped the idea almost immediately.

Tori didn't know what she wanted to be when she graduated either. Sure, she was only twelve, but your electives were the classes that opened and closed doors for jobs. As her friends continued to talk, Tori thought more into what she wanted to do.

She had thought about being a curse-breaker after Bill had told her about his job, especially since she was pretty good when it came to charms. She had even thought about trying to be a professional quidditch player if she was good enough. Or maybe even an Auror, that was a job that Tori thought was pretty cool. She didn't know why her father didn't like them...

"Hello? Earth to Tori? We asked you what electives you think your taking." George waved his hand in front of the spaced-out girl. Tori blinked, quickly shrugging. "I dunno... Maybe Divination and Care of Magical Creatures..."

"I heard Divination's pretty weird. Most of the kids don't do well." Angelina noted. "Maybe Muggle Studies... Seems like an easy class." Tori shrugged, still unsure.

They all walked in silence, each of them in their own thoughts. Tori didn't know what hers were about though. She felt exhausted, climbing up the stairs to see the Fat Lady. She felt so tired she didn't even remember the password.

She bidded a small goodnight to her friends, who watched her go with concern written on their faces. Tori climbed another flight of stairs to make it to her bed. She collapsed in it immediately, not even having the energy to change her clothes.

✧ ✦ ✧

"Bishop to B four," Tori muttered, watching the bishop do as told. She glanced up to watch Lee ponder his next moves carefully. It was a rainy Saturday, and the Gryffindor quidditch team has no practice. So all the students were stuck inside. Tori was lucky to have finished all her homework early, Lee was putting his off like usual but they both stared at the checkered board intensely.

"Knight to C seven," Lee commanded. Tori furrowed her eyebrows, trying to understand is strategy. At the same time, she wasn't sure he had one. George was laying his head on the table as Angelina was trying to explain the Potions homework to him for the seventh time. He wasn't listening. Instead, watching the slow game of Wizard's chess.

Tori watched as Lee's pawns destroyed on of her own. The common room door opened, and Tori only noticed the voice behind it.

"It's absolute rubbish!" Morrison.

Tori kept her head down, hoping to avoid any and all contact with him. Fred and George both started death staring him at once. He didn't seem to notice and took a spot at one of the chairs while talking to some girl.

Tori felt a wave of relief blow over her. She didn't want any more drama or trouble for the next couple of months. For her, was that too much to ask?

i was really stuck with this chapter
i almost just want to skip to year three