LOVE ISN'T EASY (but it sure is hard enough)

SEPTEMBER 17TH, 1994

There were very few times that the students of Hogwarts could find Olivia Danes alone after meeting Juno Lennox- either asleep in the Hufflepuff dormitories, in some classes, and at breakfast. It was safe to say that her best friend was not a morning person, unlike herself, so these quiet mornings felt like a blessing. She loved Juno, but she also loved being able to read a couple of pages uninterrupted by her incredibly loud voice and laughter. Upon finishing a sentence of Romeo and Juliet, the clicking of heeled boots tore her eyes away from the page.

"I've been up all night thinking about what you told me."

Juno took the seat across from her, pulling the book out of Olivia's hands and ignoring the girl's protests.

"Hey, give that back! The lovers are about to meet for the first time!" She whined, wincing in pain as Juno folded the corner of the page in order not to lose her place. 

"Shut up Liv, I need answers!"

"To what? I thought I told you all you needed to know last night." Raising the mug to her lips and blowing the steam gently off the top, she shot her friend a curious glance.

"Why do you fancy Ron so much? I mean he's nice and all but..."

Tea flew across the table, Olivia coughing and spluttering on the liquid that previously filled her mug. She looked around the hall to see if anyone had noticed Juno's comment, that seemed to have thankfully gone unnoticed.

"Ron? I don't fancy Ron! Why do you think I fancy Ron?" She whispered, leaning in to avoid anyone hearing her conversation.

"You said you fancied Ginny's brother- he's Ginny's brother!"

"Ginny has SIX brothers June, it could have been any of them and you chose RON?"

"I don't know any of her other brothers!" 

"Well that's not my fault you mug! RON?"

"So who then?"

Pouring herself another tea, the silence between the pair felt so thick you could slice through it with a knife. She picked up a warm muffin and glanced over at the Gryffindor table, spotting four redheads sitting within close distance of one another, alongside Harry and Hermione.

"Who are they?" Juno asked, pulling Olivia's attention back to her.

"Who?"

"Those twins, the gingers beside Ginny and Ron?"

"Are you stupid June?" Liv questioned, the taller girl turning to her offended.

"What are you on about? I'm not stupid, you're stupid!"

"That's Fred and George." Juno's face was blank with a lack of understanding, as Liv rolled her eyes.

"Fred and George Weasley. Ginny and Ron's older brothers."

Her mouth formed an O shape as it finally clicked in her mind, a twinkle appearing in her eyes as she began to realise that Olivia was never really on about Ron.

"What year are they in?"

"Ours. Have you really never noticed them before? They're practically the only people in this building Peeves respects!"  

Juno noticed how Liv refused to look her in the eyes, instead focusing on the tiny drops of cold tea that still remained spilled on the table and picking at the top of her muffin.

"So which one of them is it?"

She stayed silent, pulling on the sleeves of her jumper and inspecting the hems very closely. Her smirking friend stood up, strutting over to their table and ignoring Olivia's protests. She sat for a moment, wondering whether or not to go over and join her, before dragging herself up and leaving her blueberry muffin on the table, following her far more confident friend.