Everlasting ⁂ Harry Potter [1]

Chapter Thirty Nine

Fred found himself moving through the halls of the castle alone, however, he did not mind it that much. Coming back from having a good laugh at George's expense as he watched him scrub and polish all of the Quidditch cups and displays with only a toothbrush (courtesy of Filch), Fred was relieved not to be stuck in that day's detention with his twin.

With curfew nearing, Fred supposed he should be heading back to the Gryffindor Tower, but when was he ever one to do what he was supposed to? Instead, his feet subconsciously carried him elsewhere and soon enough he found himself pushing open the closed door of the Hospital Wing. He hadn't given much thought as to who he might find in there, but still, he did not find it surprising to see Cedric sitting in the chair beside Olivia's bed.

Whatever the Hufflepuff had been saying ended once he noticed someone come into the room. And while he hadn't heard it, Fred could only assume what Cedric had been doing as his eyes caught sight of the book he closed and put aside once he noticed his presence.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Fred said, unsure of whether Cedric minded his arrival. Although, he did not offer to leave, as he too wanted to see both Oliver and Liv, even though he'd been here less than twenty four hours ago as well.

"It's alright." Cedric reassured him before a small silence fell over them. While they had mutual friends, the two never spoke much, and now finding themselves alone, both felt slightly awkward as they debated whether they should say anything. In the end, Cedric chose to be the one to break the silence as he pointed to the book once he spoke up again. "She wanted to borrow this book when she returned after Christmas, so Gwen and I have been reading it to her." He explained, the words making a small smile appear on Fred's face.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it. Unless it's actually a boring book, in which case, don't worry Liv, I can tell you stories about George cleaning the Slytherin's Quidditch cup with a toothbrush. I know you'll love that one Oli." Fred spoke in a joking tone, believing that too would have made both of them laugh too, well, at least once Olivia finished scolding both George and him.

"What did you two do now?" And it seemed to be a Hufflepuff tradition to do so as Cedric asked, however, he couldn't resist a small smile of amusement, expecting nothing less from the Weasley twins after knowing them for almost four years.

"Oh, nothing too bad." Fred waved his hand dismissively. In truth, he didn't really want to talk about the fact that in Oli's absence, the plans he and George would come up with weren't the best when it came to the part when they needed to escape before getting caught. It was always the third member of their group that made the best plans in regards to that.

The more time that passed, the more it became obvious how much the Petrified students were missed amongst their friends. Fred and George continued their pranking ways, but all within the castle had noticed their string of bad luck. Gwen's grades had started slipping as she spent the majority of her time in the Hospital Wing instead of the library, or studying and doing her homework. Harry, Hermione and Ron had become even more secretive than before as they hunted for answers. Everyone just wanted their friends back.

"We should start getting back to our common rooms, curfew will be soon." Cedric said after a couple of more moments passed in silence. In turn, Fred sent him an odd look, one that confused Cedric at least until the Weasley spoke.

"Trust Golden Boy Diggory to know when curfew is close without even looking at a clock." Fred joked, making Cedric shake his head. Not at the nickname which by now he was more than aware of, but instead at Fred's assumption.

"There's one behind you, Fred." Cedric pointed out, making the ginger turn around, his moth forming an 'O' shape as he realized that there truly was one. He'd been here plenty of times in the last weeks, and yet he'd never noticed any clocks in the Hospital Wing. Not that he had much reason to look for them. After all, he never planned his visits to a certain time. He stayed as long as he wanted to.

"Well, you can go if you want to. I'm going to stay a bit longer." Fred announced, moving past the clock topic as he turned towards the Hufflepuff once again.

"And what when you're caught?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just George coming back from my detention." Fred said with ease, it wouldn't be the first time they'd used their identical appearance to get out of trouble or trick teachers into sparing them, and he doubted they'd stop that any time soon.

"The Hospital Wing is nowhere along the way from the Quidditch Displays to Gryffindor Tower." Cedric tried again. He hoped if he pointed out the flaws in Fred's plans he'd forgo the rule breaking. It was what Oliver would do as far as Fred knew.

"Oh Professor, I'm so sorry. I'm really tired after my detention and I just wandered off down the wrong hall." Fred put on the act of being tired and exhausted, and quite well. Cedric then realized he had probably planned on everything as soon as he set off towards the Hospital Wing so close to curfew.

"Alright then, I don't think I should be hearing any more. Plausible deniability and all that." Cedric finally gave in, knowing that he himself could get caught if he continued on debating with Fred, and unlike him, he didn't have a twin in detention he could use for his escape. "I'll be back tomorrow Liv." He leaned down, placing a light kiss to the top of her head as he said his goodbye for the day, before leaving the Hospital Wing and giving Fred some alone time with both Oliver and Olivia.

"Let's see if this is any good? If it's not I can prank him for boring you if you want Liv. I'm sure you'll be on board Oli." Fred spoke up once Cedric was gone, moving to the other side of the bed so he could pick up the book Cedric had sent down atop of Hermione's notes which only kept piling up higher and higher. Reading through the description on the back, he couldn't help but voice his questions out loud. "How the bloody hell does One Ring manage to do all of that?!"

Published: 16th July, 2020