𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, fred weasley

˗ˋ 08

CHAPTER EIGHT
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH SHE TAKES A MIDNIGHT WALK

. . .

Elodie had tossed and turned for nights on end, stressing about how exactly she would pass - and win - the first task. She had seen Cedric, Harry and Viktor on various occasions, and none of them seemed to be as worried as she was.

But in the back of her mind, she was sure that they were just as good as she was at hiding it. But once again, Elodie had woken up in the midle of the early morning, and was finding it practically impossible to return to that state of peace and rest. 

And so, she decided to take a walk. It was a risky idea - there was 100% going to be people patrolling the corridors of the castle, whether it was teachers of either schools, prefects from any of the four houses or possibly even Ministry staff (Fred and George had informed her that the castle was practically infested by them, most hours of the day).

However, it being in the midst of turning from three to four o'clock in the morning, Elodie hoped that many of those who would patrol the castle will have returned to their rooms to sleep, assuming that nobody would be out of their beds so late. 

It seemed that Elodie's hopes and wishes for those patrolling to now be asleep had come true. The castle's corridors appeared to be completely empty, and if anyone was awake, they were nowhere near Elodie. 

She stayed in the shadows anyways, her hand occasionally brushing against the cold stone walls as she walked close to them, her face hiding behind the dark cast lines and curls of her dark hair. 

Hogwarts was so different in the night time. It seemed a different sort of magical - not just your average sort. But a mysterious, dark yet comforting sort of magic. Elodie was so sure that any spell she cast - even something as simple as Lumos - would have some sort of different appearance or effect then it did during the day time.

Hogwarts at night made Hogwarts during the day seem boring. It just was so much more appealing at night time. Though, Elodie guessed her being a visitor there only added to that midnight allure that the castle gave off. 

The empty corridors, bathed in the pale moonlight were so strange compared to the ones filled with students - usually covered in the golden sun or the dust that rose from the constant movement, or the books they had taken out of the library.

"Are you just planning on standing there until you get caught?" A voice rang, as clear as day, down the passage that Elodie had just exited out of, and was stood in front of another, eyes focused on the streams of moonlight.

She turned around quicker than Fleur finding out that Raphael was asking her out once again, and almost side in relief when she saw a familiar head of long-ish red hair. 

"You scared me, Weasley." Elodie's voice echoed down the hallway, and Fred walked towards her, taking her arm and pulling her down the corridor the French girl was admiring, sitting them down at a bench underneath one of the windows.

"You don't strike me as the type who wanders around places in the dead of night, especially when you're somewhere you don't know?" Fred said, and Elodie turned to look at him, a smile beginning to blossom.

"Well, thanks to you and George, I got a pretty good tour of this place." Elodie shrugged. "Where is your twin, anyways." 

"Whilst most of the time were do come as a package deal - this time it's not. People would be surprised at how much we're actually apart." Fred replied, and Elodie frowned, before regaining her composure.

"I know, it's not like you're glued to each other - you are your own people. I just assumed that at this time of night, if one of you were out, so would the other - doing some prank or something." Elodie said, and Fred nodded, seemingly approving of her word.

"I'm guessing your talk with Angelina went well?" He commented, and for some reason, Elodie felt a blush spreading across her cheeks. She stared determinedly out of the window, trying to calm the heat she felt on her face.

"We did, yes." Elodie eventually looked back at the ginger haired boy. "You know, she did have some interesting stories to tell, after I mentioned you took me on a tour."

"And what were they?" Fred asked, tilting his head. He seemed so different when they were alone, in the middle of the night. He didn't blush or stumble over his words - in fact it was Elodie who felt as if she would end up doing it.

"I might mention them later. But seeing as it is rather late, I need to go back to the carriage." Elodie stood up, looking back down at Fred. "Walk me there?"

"Of course." Fred jumped to his feet, and hesitated for a moment, before falling into step next to the dark haired girl. "I don't suppose you chose to be awake at three am?"

"No, unsuprisingly I'm not one who would usually be up and about at this time. I do have a lot to think about, and I guess this is my body's way of telling me to stop procrastinating thinking about what I'm going to do. I assume you have your reasons for being up at this time?" Elodie looked up at the boy, who nodded. 

"You're thinking about the first task?" Fred didn't say anything about the reasons why he was out - the French girl didn't push any further, guessing that he probably didn't want to tell her.

"How did you know?" Elodie smiled up at him, and he shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "But yes, unfortunately. Loss of sleep might be my problem now, but I can't help but worry that it's going to turn into loss of a limb."

"Well, we can't have that." Fred exclaimed, wobbling slightly as he gestured enthusiastically with his hands, and Elodie instinctively grabbed onto him, the pair falling down anything but gracefully, a tangle of limbs and a hushed giggling from the both of them. 

"Can't help falling for me, Beaumont?" Fred said dramatically, and Elodie had to stop herself from dissolving into a fit of giggles as the boy tried to fix his already messy hair. 

"Here." Fred reached over their legs, Elodie deciding to ignore the fact that she could feel an embarrased flush that spread through her body. They were silent as Fred carefully placed each thick curl of hair in the place it belonged, and with one final lock, he tucked it behind her ear, meeting her eyes and seeing the burning blush on her cheeks.

Then, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and the pair scrambled to their feet, Fred grabbing Elodie by the wrist and pulling her behind a tapestry. Almost touching, they heard the footsteps past them, and Elodie begged for the blush to disappear.

"Don't worry about the first task." Fred whispered, and Elodie looked up at him, although she could barely see his face. "Me and George are going to help you." He promised.

And with that, he tugged Elodie out from behind the tapestry, walking with her back to the carriage in almost ceiling. 

Elodie wouldn't get to sleep for a while that night, mind too busy going over the occurences of her night walk in the castle. 

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