Read My Mind

Devil's Roses

She stepped outside for some air. It's chill outside, cold air is always refreshing. When all the motion was happening inside the castle, the outside looked oddly peaceful. She paced slowly along the narrow road, taking her time to finally admire the devil's roses. She bet Dumbledore paid a decent amount to get them from France.

TOO BAD THAT NO ONE IS HERE WHEN THEY FINALLY BLOSSOM.

Devil's roses squirt their petals and project them out 5 minutes after they have bloomed. They only bloom at night, and it was described as a rare, exquisite beauty that only those who took the time to wait until the mid-night could witness.

Dark red petals showered her like the most gentle and aromatic rain. A few stuck onto her silk, hunter green dress. She was going to brush them off, then changed her mind and decided to leave them there. They look quite nice.

"Now that looks nice."

The voice startled her, she really shouldn't have drunk that dose of Custodia tonight. She couldn't stand being snuck up by people from the behind.

She turned around and was surprised to see Fred.

"Oh, thanks." She reached to brush the petals off, not sure why she did it.

"Oh, you have one more on you...right here." He reached to take out a petal from her hair. He noticed her usual long wavy hair had been braided elegantly, and as he reached for her hair he could see small, hidden gems resting on her braid.

"Thanks." Ria took a step back, creating distance. He is so tall, even in heels, she could only reach his neck. She didn't like the feeling of being looked down upon.

"Why are you outside?" He asked.

"Why are you outside?" She threw back the question.

"Well, George finally showed up, and Angelina ditched me for him" He smiled.

"Oh...sorry about that." She said.

"Oh no, no no. I was glad he finally decided to make the move."

Ria raised an eyebrow.

"Well, okay, between you and me," Fred gestured for her to lean forward, even though Ria doubted anyone else would be around to hear the secret, "George likes Angelina. For a long time, actually. Ever since our first Quidditch practice."

"Oh really?" Ria pretended to be surprised. She was partially actually surprised by how long George had had a crush on Angelina though.

"Oh yeah. We came back to the dorm after practice, it was such a hard day, everyone was drenched in mud and rain. George even got planted in the dirt face down one time."

"And he said, that girl is going to be a captain one day."

"Let me guess, was Angelina the one who knocked George off the broomstick?" Ria asked, she liked the story.

"Bingo." Fred had a huge smirk on his face.

"Well...that's an...interesting reason...for liking a person. Solid though. Angelina is pretty, confident, aggressive on the pitch..."

"Indeed." Fred nodded in agreement.

There was a moment of silence in their conversation, and eventually Ria decided to ask, knowing it will be a mistake anyway.

"Then why did you..." She stopped mid-sentence and started biting her lip again.

"Asking her to the ball?" Fred crossed his arm.