Switching Sides | Cedric Diggory vs. Fred Weasley

Chapter 2: the Proposition

The first week of Millie's sixth year was odd. Her classes weren't giving her as much work as she had expected, but the material was hard. She had noticed Cedric was struggling in Transfiguration a lot which made her quite relieved. Finally, she thought, the boy has a flaw. 

While she enjoyed seeing him having a difficult time with the work, she suddenly felt herself beginning to feel bad as he got more and more frustrated. There was something about him that really baffled her when she saw him aggravated; he had this essence, this fear of failure. She found herself assisting him on little things and giving him small tips, but refusing to admit she was helping him for she knew he didn't need it. Transfiguration was just one of the classes she did best in.

Things were also gradually becoming more and more tense with Fred. They usually couldn't keep their hands of each other, but since they'd arrived at school, she couldn't seem to get him alone. For the past two years, it was never difficult for the two to sneak off. Fred had also always been comfortable with public displays of affection, but now it was like he didn't want people to know they were still together. He went from showing her off and being playful and spontaneous to seemingly avoiding her and acting as though they were just friends. Of course, their spark didn't go away completely. He still sat next to her and would wrap his arm around her, but it was as if he was never really there.

He would disappear for hours as a time, saying he was "in the library" or "with George", and Millie had believed him until the Friday of their first week. Fred was off somewhere, so Lee and Millie did their charms homework while George sat and mindlessly levatated things around the room with his wand. After a while, George got bored and went up to his dorm to "do stuff". About five minutes later, Fred returned.

"Hey Freddie," Millie called, getting his attention. "I haven't seen you all day, where were you?"

"Oh, I was just with George working on some things for the shop," he stated.

Without another word, he kissed Millie's forehead, said goodnight to both her and Lee, and went upstairs to his dorm.

"That was...odd," Lee stated, looking up at Millie who had a concerned and perplexed look across her face.

"Why would Fred lie like that?" she asked. "That's not like him at all,"

The two put the thought in the back of their heads as they finished their homework, but when Millie went to bed, she couldn't get the fact that Fred had lied straight to her face out of her mind. 

-

Fred had become very distant the next few days after that. Millie could never find him, and when she could he was in a horrible mood. In all of their years of being best friends, she had never seen him as aggravated with her as he was now. She couldn't remember doing anything, but she desperately wanted to fix their relationship. She loved him too much to just wait and see if this would wash over.

Sunday night after dinner, she walked into the common room and saw Fred enter with George soon after her. She walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

"Stop avoiding me," she pleaded. "Can we please just talk?"

He looked to George who just nodded and walked away towards their dormitories. 

"Come with me," Fred stated with a sigh, grabbing Millie's hand and exiting the common room.

He had a sense of urgency as he pulled her through the castle, and she was beginning to get very nervous since Fred had never acted this way with her before. They soon reached an exit and snuck down to the black lake. Once they were there, they began walking slower across the edge of the lake. Fred had removed his hand from Millie's and was now staring at the ground with his fists shoved in his pockets. He hadn't said a thing since they left the common room.