Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 20 | Moody

For the majority of the first term, Sarah's Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons had been insightful, but never as memorable as the one she was to have today. She woke up in the morning as she usually did, got ready as she normally would have and headed down to breakfast, which was when things began to get interesting.

Sat beside Angelina, Alicia and Patricia, Sarah was sipping on pumpkin juice when Fred, George and lee sat down.

"Hi. Guess who found Mad-eye today!" Fred greeted Sarah with a grin. He looks cute today, Sarah thought.

"What - as in Mad-eye the professor or Mad-eye the skrewt?" Sarah replied, looking amused.

"The skrewt. The little guy was getting a proper beating from the whomping willow," George told her, laughing.

"Oh, that's not funny! It's probably hurt!" Alicia scolded, hitting George in the arm.

"You haven't met a blast-ended skrewt, have you?" George asked her, rubbing his arm.

"Wait - a what?" Alicia asked, as River sat down at the table.

"A blast-ended skrewt. They're like a cross between a scorpion and crab and blow up sometimes," Lee told her thickly, his mouth stuffed with his breakfast.

"Aren't they those things Hagrid has been looking after? They're massive, they are!" River shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, they are. Got another burn from saving it and taking it back to Hagrid. So ungrateful," Fred chimed, staring at the large burn on his arm with intrigue.

"Fortunately, I am unscathed!" George added, glancing at Sarah laughingly.

"Fortunately?" Angelina chortled, which probably bruised George's ego.

"Meanie!" George stuck his tongue out at her.

"All that's besides the point, what were you three doing at the whomping willow at this time in the morning?" Sarah asked them, a sharp brow raised.

"That's - " Lee began, taking a croissant from the middle of the table, " - none of your business, Sarah."

"No. She's allowed to know. She has...privileges," Fred told Lee.

"Oh, in that case, my deepest apologies, Sarah," Lee said to Sarah, giving her a curt nod.

"It's okay, Lee," Sarah replied distractedly. She was thinking about what Fred had said moments ago. Sarah knew the word 'girlfriend' had been on the line when he was talking about her privileges. Sarah's eyes met Alicia's and knew she was thinking the same thing.

Fred and herself hadn't discussed what they were. They definitely weren't friends, but they weren't exactly dating either. For that matter, only their close group of friends knew something was going on between them, the rest of the school was oblivious. They weren't fond of PDA, so it was too easy to keep the kissing and hand-holding private. Sarah wanted Fred to be her boyfriend, but they were in such a good stage at the moment that she wondered whether he would even ask. The stage they were in could only be described as comfortable and if it stayed like this for longer, Sarah wouldn't be too fussed, but at the same time, Sarah yearned for more. She'd missed the ethereal feeling of calling someone hers and someone calling her his.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Fred asked Sarah, shaking her out of her own head.

"Oh. I was just daydreaming - " Sarah invented wildly. She was then saved by the school bell, which rung for first lesson. For her, that was music.

"Oh, see you later!" Sarah called to her friends, as herself and River headed towards the auditorium.
    
  
   
After music, Sarah met up with Angelina, Alicia and Patricia to go to Defence Against the Dark Arts. At the classroom, they met up with Fred, George and Lee. The three of them had previously been whispering together, but abruptly stopped when the girls approached.