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Song For This Chapter: Over & Over - Smallpools (song in trailer)
Ch. 7: Make It An Extra Large
"Elle?" A voice called me out of my blank staring into the flames of the Common Room. I find I have been doing that a lot. Staring.
It seems that the whole crazy work load has been cramming my brain too much to function - and it has only been a week. I don't think I can take this torture for much longer. My head is going to implode. Is imploding a side-effect of time travel? I think so.
"Elle!" The voice called again, making me realize that I never answered it. Rubbing my tired eyes, I tore my attention away from the blazing fire and onto the blazing red head. Ginny was watching me curiously, holding a small purse under her arm. "Are you alright?"
"Me?" I croaked, stretching myself out and yawning. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I gave her a small smile. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now - it's been a long day, you know?"
Ginny's pretty face scrunched up with concern as she stepped closer to me. "Bed? Have you been out here all night?"
"All night?" I questioned, feeling my stomach drop to my intestines. "W-wait. What time is it?!" I paused and panicked, jumping off of the couch and latching onto Ginny's arms. "What day is it?!"
She chuckled a little, pushing my hands away from her and sending me a concerned look. "Uh, Elle - you okay? It's Saturday - and it is eight in the morning? We are going to Hogsmeade today. Remember?" She looked down into my eyes, wondering if I was truly okay. "Have you... Have you been sitting there all night?"
Blinking a few times to clear the film that had gathered over my relentless hours of staring, I furrowed my brow. "Well, I guess I did. I'm just cramming so much into my days I must have zoned out..." I trailed off, giving her a small smirk. "All night."
There was the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs, followed by Ron and Harry coming out of the boys' dormitory. Harry was clutching his scalp, groaning and rubbing a hand roughly over his lightning bolt scar.
"You okay, Harry?" I cocked a brow at him while trying to tame my second-day hair. "You look even worse than I do." Pausing, I spared him an apologetic smile. "No offence."
Harry frowned a little, while giving me a small smile. "I don't know - it's gotten worse every day since Voldemort came back. I just know it's a bad sign." He dropped his hand turned to Ron who was nervously running his hands down his thick sweater.
Rolling out my shoulders, I tossed my limp hair up into a messy ponytail and trudged to the bathroom to clean myself up before everyone headed out for Hogsmeade without me. Glaring at myself in the mirror, I fixed my smudged make-up and tidied up my disheveled clothes. I can't believe I'd been up all night just watching the flames. That's something crazy people do.
Hermione poked her frizzy head into the background and gave me a nervous smile, juggling a roll of parchment and a ink quill. "Hey - so there will be a meeting at the Hog's Head for all those interested in..." She paused and looked around mysteriously. "You-know-what. It will be around three o'clock."
I gave her a shrug and contemplated it for a moment, walking out of the bathroom and towards the portrait hole with her following closely. "Oh, I don't know, 'Mione. I didn't get any sleep last night - I think I am going to sit this one out. You know?"
There was the sound of a throaty objection and suddenly Fred and George were standing in front of us with curious looks on their faces. Faintly reminding me of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. "Nuh-uh, Elle." Fred shook his head. "We've got a date - remember?"
I squinted at him, slightly threateningly, and was about to tell him exactly where he could shove his date, but before I could protest Fred pulled a bundle of familiar flowers out from behind his back - presenting them to me with a small, sarcastic bow. "For you."
Snorting, I grabbed the fake chrysanthemums and smirked down at them; inside I felt a weird sensation of both awe and irritation. "I hate Chrysanthemums." I grumbled as George snickered. Fred nodded a little, but I backtracked, slow smile spreading across my face. "I hate chrysanthemums - but I love these." Getting up on my tip-toes, I wrapped my arms around Fred's body, hugging him close.
"Well you'd better - I tried really hard on those." Hermione huffed, earning a curious look from me. Scratching the back of her neck, Hermione smiled a little. "I put a charm on them - so they would smell like the actual flower - and not plastic. Ginny was dying for weeks when she found out he'd bought you fake flowers."
Fred extended a playful arm towards me. "Shall we be off, M'lady?"
"Well, you know how much I love my coffee." I nodded, pulling my arm through his with a light smile while setting the flowers on the wooden table, they would be there when I got back. "Make it an extra large." I gave him a wicked grin, which he mirrored in a millisecond.
There was a disturbed groan from Hermione as she watched the two of us looking as maniacs would, but the real humor was from Ron. "Bloody creeps." He muttered before sliding out the portrait hole behind Harry.
Hermione followed, chuckling slightly and giving us one small glance. "Hog's Head - three o'clock."
It was a peaceful sort of quiet as Fred and I walked towards the carriages leaving to Hogsmeade, something that I really hadn't quite had in some time between another person. It felt nice to be alone with my thoughts. We'd reached a slightly vacant transport when there was a sharp clearing of someone's throat from behind us. Cocking a brow, I turned around, removing my arm from Fred's.
"Excuse me, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley - perhaps you were not aware of the new policy." A furry pink pile of cloth glared at us. It took me a few moments to realize that the cloth was none other than Professor Umbridge all wrapped up to protect herself from the cold. "But, boys and girls must obey a two foot rule."
I grinned down at her, since she was slightly small than I. "Oh, I was unaware. You are right though. Leave room for Jesus, and all that." I nodded and took a good step away from Fred who was watching me with a raised brow.
Umbridge stared me down for a few seconds which slowly passed onto a minute, then she took a deep breath - forcing a sickly sweet smile onto her face and glancing at me in curiosity. "Are you poking fun at the school rules, Miss Granger?" Her eyes flashed madly, making my stomach flip a little.
"Of course not, Professor."
Her lips twitched a little, just a flutter of a smile but it was quickly put out. "Very well then, Miss Granger - but keep in mind, I will not tolerate any form of shenanigans protruding from your class. Have I made myself clear?"
Her voice made me want to throw up - it was so sweet. "Crystal." I hissed behind grinning teeth that more than likely represented a frightening grimace. Umbridge glared at me slightly before nodding and waddling off, hopping into a fancy carriage to take her to Hogsmeade.
Once she was gone I groaned and shook myself out, as if I had a cold gust of sudden chills down my back. "God - I can't stand her!" Fred belted out a low chuckle, one he had no doubt been keeping inside the whole time. "Come on, Letter - let's go."
George caught up with us, Blake and him holding hands as they hopped into our car. Cramming inside as well was Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I don't really think the carriage can take this many." Hermione frowned a little, sizing up how full we were.
Ron waved her off with a lazy smile. "Awe - don't worry about it, Herman. It's fine." He rummaged through his coat pocket and pulled out a packet of Muggle candy. "Bill sent me a gift when he was visiting a Muggle city, they are actually really good." He nodded and offered one to Hermione. "Red-vine?"
Hermione glared a little at him, not accepting the candy. "Don't call me Herman - I'm not a boy Ronald. And I don't want one." She huffed and crossed her arms, looking around the packed carriage.
Chuckling, I glanced around the space as well - noticing a silvery haired girl crammed into the back corner with a magazine in front of her face; reading it upside down. "Uh, hello?" I called, but the girl made no attempt to respond.
Hermione gave me a sympathetic smile and nodded. "That's Luna Lovegood - she is a Ravenclaw." Speaking up, Hermione waved towards her as if to get her attention. "How are you Luna?"
Luna folded up the magazine, placing it in her lap and gave all of us a lucid smile, one that made me wonder if she was half asleep. That would explain why she had been reading the paper upside down. "Hello everyone. I'm fine, I guess you could say. It's been a rather uneventful week. But, I get the feeling things are about to get more interesting, don't you think so?"
Raising a brow, I caught Ron shooting me a look. Once I made eye contact with him, he motioned a finger in circles beside his scalp - motioning that she was crazy. Rolling my eyes at him, I turned back to her with a grin. "I think I get what you mean." I nodded while her eyes lit up slightly.
"Oh! You're American!" Her whimsical voice floated around, making me force a smile down to be polite. "Tell me, do Nargles flock there during the winter?"
There was a moment of silence as I looked around, sending glances to anyone who may know what she was referring to. "Uh, Nargles?"
"Oh, yes." She nodded slowly and looked out towards the approaching town. "Nargles are promiscuous little creatures that hive around mistletoe and steal your things. Quite annoying, really." She nodded and motioned towards her necklace that had multiple corks tied into it. "My Butterbeer necklace helps protect me from them." Her eyes lit up as she looked at me. "Would you like me to make you one?"
I smiled at her a little, biting my tongue so I couldn't let out a confused chuckle and come off sounding like a complete jerk. "Oh, no - that's quite alright. Thank you though." The carriage pulled to a stop almost exactly when needed and everyone slid out - heading for different sections in town.
"So..." I trailed off, swishing my arms around to keep my blood flowing in this freezing town. It was mid-November and snow was already piling up, covering the landscape in a blanket of soft, crunchy downy. "Where are we going to go?" I turned my head, looking up at Fred as he glanced around, eyes flickering from place to place.
"Let's head out to The Three Broomsticks. They have Butterbeer there," He spared me a smirk. "And coffee." The way his eyes bore into mine made my stomach churn; a feeling of a tween-age girl just liking someone for the first time.
Walking together down the street, Fred would crack a few jokes while I would chuckle and side swipe them with sarcastic remarks. Abruptly, Fred turned to me - eyes alight with some big dream shining through them. "Just wait until the holidays, Elle. I'll take you to see the shop!"
I paused and watched his face light up with such admiration that the mere fact he was so excited about something influenced me to feel excited as well. "The shop?" I questioned, smile growing on my lips.
Fred nodded and opened the door to The Three Broomsticks for me, like a gentleman. We grabbed a small table near a frosted window and sat down, Fred turning towards me with that gleam in his eyes and continued where he'd left off after ordering himself a tall Butterbeer for himself and the biggest mug of coffee for me.
"George and I, we are thinking about buying this old beaten down place in Diagon Alley - building number ninety three." He paused, wondering if I would know which one he was referring to, but I wasn't sure - so he continued. "We currently have a deposit down on it - but it is a slow process. We are making extra cash through the mail-order, so by next year - the shop's all ours."
I grinned. "Wow, you and George must be so proud. I'm happy for you both, but where did you get the money for a deposit? I would think Diagon Alley is expensive for such a well visited place." I frowned, giving him a look that I was sure matched the way Hermione looked at me.
"Awe, don't look at me like that." Fred chuckled as I dropped the face. "The money was a gift - from Harry, actually."
I rose a brow and waited for the waitress who was dropping off our drinks to leave before I spoke up once more. "Harry? As in Harry Potter." I took a sip from the scolding coffee and winced as it scorched my throat on the way down, making my eyes prick. "Where would he get all that money?"
Fred frowned and sipped his Butterbeer. "Well - you know the prize money for the Triwizard Tournament?"
"He gave you all that money?" My eyes widened in surprise, recalling that it was a very large sum of Galleons. "That's crazy, Fred." I smirked a little and chuckled under my breath. "Well, I'm very happy for you both."
Fred rolled his eyes and smirked. "Thanks, Mum, but in reality I wasn't looking for approval. I was hoping you would hop on the bandwagon with us." He grinned, swirling around his glass happily. "Maybe have your own line of Weasley products."
"You mean Granger products." I stuck my tongue out at him before sipping the now cool mug of coffee.
Fred rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, actually I mean 'WonderWitch' products." He corrected the both of us. Sitting up, I perked up by the sound of the name.
"Oh? WonderWitch? How long did that take you to make up, Weasley?" I cocked a brow, biting my lip in amusement. Fred frowned a little, mimicking me by sticking out his tongue.
There was a moment of comfortable silence before a rude cough sounded to the right of us. "Well, well, a mudblood and a blood traitor on a date." I glared up at the sneering voice to see none other than Draco Malfoy hovering by us, hands in his coat pockets, Crabbe and Goyle hovering on his flanks. "Isn't this just a romantic sight?"
My back stiffened and I flipped him my middle finger. "Get lost, wanker. It is a romantic sight, and you are interrupting." I hissed slightly, causing Draco's face to pale angrily. An idea popped into my mind, as I considered ways to get him to leave quickly and quietly. "Fred - have you seen Blake anywhere? I think she could get rid of this problem."
Malfoy grumbled under his breath, but instead of taking off as I had thought he would, there was a pause before he slammed his fist down on the table and shot me a deadly glare, grey eyes freezing over in a threatening way. "I'm not Hall's little lap dog, you filthy -" He took a sharp breath, sizing me up. "Slut."
I felt a small pang in my chest do to that, but couldn't help laughing out loud, despite the fact that Fred jumped out of his chair, poised for a fight. "It's alright, Fred." I waved him down, then turned back to Malfoy with an arched brow. "You are learning, Draco." I nodded, referring to the fact that 'mudblood' didn't annoy me as much as Hermione. "But, I'm not a slut."
Draco straightened himself out, fixing his jacket to ignore the intense stares that he was now receiving from the people in the Three Broomsticks with us. Flexing his jaw as if he was swallowing something disgusting, most likely his pride, Malfoy gave me a tight nod before spitting out a forced sentence. "Glad you're not dead, mudblood." Then, he stiffly shoved himself out of the place - pushing himself through anyone who stood in his way.
"I hate that douche bag." Fred clenched his jaw tightly, glaring daggers out the window at Malfoy as he walked across the street. "If he ever gives you trouble - just tell me. George and I'll kick his arse for you."
Smirking a little, I took a joyful sip from my coffee and gave Fred a reassuring smile. "If he ever could get under my skin - I'll be sure to kick his ass myself."
Once the atmosphere in the pub had cooled down a little and my mug of coffee was practically gone, there was the tiny tinkling sound of the front door opening. "Elle, Fred - it's almost three. You coming?" I turned to look at Ron, Harry, and Hermione all standing patiently in the doorway.
~~~
So - there was a little Frelle moment! And, what's up Draco's arse? Except... you know... the usual stuff jammed up there.
This chapter is dedicated to Chocolov3r for the BEAUTIFUL cover - I freaking love it so much!! In it - Elle is portrayed by Lana Del Rey (which is how Elle looks in my mind). I wanted it to be the cover sooo bad - it's beautiful (did I already say that?)