THIRTY FIVE

"SO, RORY..." Angelina smirked, "What did you get Fred for his birthday? You never told us."

"I can think of something he really wanted," Cleo joked. The three girls were headed back from the Prefect bathroom — which they all had access too with Angelina being Quidditch captain. The trio liked to get unready for their day there because sometimes the common room toilets were just too plain for them. Marina usually tagged along but hadn't in weeks. The girl had completely distanced herself from the group, Rory didn't even have a chance to confront her because she rarely saw her around anymore.

Rory rolled her eyes, "You two are the worst. I didn't give him that. Where the bloody hell are we supposed to do it anyways?"

"I'm a good friend, Ror." Angelina nodded, "I'll leave the dormitory for as long as you need."

"Absolutely not," Rory shook her head, wet strands of hair softly hitting her cheek, "If it's all planned and scheduled like that it's not going to be special. Also, I feel weird doing it in the castle. We've done other stuff here, sure. But... it doesn't sit right with me knowing some poor unsuspecting girl is going to eventually sleep on that very mattress one day when I'm gone."

Cleo chuckled as they stepped on to a moving staircase, "Yes, please give us all the details of what you do on that couch in the common room, Rory. I'm incredibly enthusiastic to do my potions homework right where you gave Fred a —"

"CLEO!" Rory gasped, "Oh my goodness!" The girl could feel the heat radiating off her face that she knew was now covered in blush. She shook her head and kept walking, not humoring Cleo any further.

"Bowtruckle," Angelina spoke when the girls approached the portrait, still giggling slightly.

"What's so funny?" Fred asked as they entered, sitting on the couch.

"Nothing!" The girls said in unison. Fred rolled his eyes. Rory took a seat next to him by the fire and propped her feet up on the table in front of them. She was wearing her pajamas and a pair of especially warm socks despite it being nearly May.

"Want to work on the Herbology essay tonight?" He asked.

Rory raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were done with school?"

"Yeah, exactly. I am," he winked. Cleo and Angelina burst out laughing and Rory gave them a look whilst trying to contain her own giggles.

"Have you three been drugged?" Fred asked.

Cleo shrugged and laughed her way up the the dormitory. "Feel free to kick me out if you need to," Angelina said to Rory before heading off to bed as well.

Fred sighed and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, "You going off to bed too then, honey?"

The brunette shook her head, "I'm staying up to hang out with my boyfriend."

"Who, me?" He joked. Rory rolled her eyes and kissed him. There were still a few people lingering in the common room, George had gone to bed already as it appeared so did Lee. Those left in the room were a few younger students Rory recognized slightly from surveying the grounds as Head Girl.

"Can you read to me?" Fred asked suddenly, "That muggle book? I see you smile when you read it and I want to hear what's making you so happy."

Rory cracked a smile and ran a hand through Fred's soft hair. His brown eyes seemed so genuine Rory couldn't help but blush. She got her book off the end table where she left it and opened to where she left off. She flipped to where her book mark lay and smiled, "I'm on act five scene two, so try and keep up."

He shrugged and laid down on the couch, his head in her lap. He looked up at her and smiled, "I don't mind, love."

Rory cleared her throat and started reading, "'Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible is thy wit. But I must tell thee plainly, Claudio undergoes my challenge, and either I must shortly hear from him, or I will subscribe him a coward. And I pray thee now tell me, for which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?' That was Benedick, then Beatrice says, 'For them all together, which maintained so politic a state of evil that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with them. But for which of my good parts did you first suffer love for me?'"

She looked down at the boy, who was smiling, and continued, "Benedick responds, 'Suffer love! A good epithet! I do suffer love indeed, for I love thee against my will.'"

"Romantic," he mumbled, "Can I ask you Rory, which of my bad parts made you fall in love with me?"

"You have no bad parts, Freddie." She answered, placing a hand on his face and rubbing her thumb softly over his cheek.

"Sure I do," he shrugged.

"Do I?" She asked.

He sighed, "Of course not."

Rory scoffed, "You're lying!" She could just tell, he was a horrible liar and she could see it in his eyes.

He sat up and ran his palms down his thighs. Without saying anything, he opened his arms and indicated for Rory to get on his lap. The girl gave in and took her favorite position on top of the boy.

"All your qualities are good, to me. I know it's the same for you. I've got tons of bad traits but you love me despite them. Like, I love that you're independent and a bit snippy and you sing to yourself... all the time."

Rory smiled and kissed him softly, "Just how I love how impulsive, childish, and intimidating you are."

"I'm intimidating?" He said with a smirk, "And you like it?" She nodded and he looked ahead, running his tongue over his teeth. She could tell she accidentally boosted his ego or somehow... turned him on.

However, there were still some poor unsuspecting first years in the common room and therefore nothing could proceed. The girl decided to grab her book and continue as they waited to be alone.

"'In spite of your heart, I think. Alas, poor heart, if you spite it for my sake, I will spite it for yours, for I will never love that which my friend hates.' Beatrice says, then Benedick responds, 'Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.'"

"I don't know why," he interrupted, "But you reading... I just really... I like it."

Rory smirked and turned her head to face the stragglers still in the room, "Hey! It's past your bedtime. Get off to bed. Head Girl's orders." The kids scurried off to their dormitories and Fred grinned at his girlfriend.

"Fuck, I love you so much."

[][][][][]

THE EVER SO JOYUS MONTH of April left them quietly and May was here. April showers truly did bring May flowers. The Hogwarts grounds were much more colorful than it had been all year, with fresh flowers sprouting out of the earth and shades of green covering the trees once again.

It was perfect weather for Rory to sit by the Black Lake with her friends. The group didn't eat lunch that day, instead packed their food in a small basket and left the castle to go spend an afternoon on the grounds.

Marina watched as they did this from the Slytherin table (because she could – not even Umbridge would make a rule so silly that students couldn't eat informal meals with students in other houses), she felt very sad seeing them giggle about and make plans.

"Stop looking over there," Graham said.

"Sorry. I just miss them," Marina murmured, looking down.

"Well they don't miss you, do they?" He sneered.

The girl nodded in agreement, believing his words and sipped her coffee, black.

It was a beautiful day. Rory couldn't remember the last time she went outside for something besides Herbology class or Quidditch practice.

There were trees by the Black Lake that provided perfect shade as well as a perfect spot for a hammock. Rory set up her large cloth hammock between the trees before sitting on the blanket placed on the grass and joining her friends for lunch.

Rory sat next to Fred and placed a hand on his knee as she reached over to grab a sandwich.

He smiled and picked up a bundle of grapes.

"Want one?" He offered. She nodded and held out her hand. However, Fred thought it would be more productive to throw one at her.

"Fred!" She shrieked. He laughed and then she joined him, it was rather funny.

"Joking, love," he smiled, "Here." He fed her a grape with a wink which caused Lee to gag.

"Please get a room or I'm going to drown myself in the Lake." The boy groaned. Rory teasingly stuck her tongue out at him and took a bite of her sandwich. The sun wasn't too bright, but the rays that peaked our reflected on the Black Lake making the terrifying body of water look like a work of art. The girl (for obvious reasons) was not particularly fond of the Lake. However, in that moment, it looked so welcoming.

"I have a strange feeling," Angelina blurted, "That this is going to be our last lunch together."

Fred and George exchanged a look. Rory didn't want to come to terms with it, but they were going to leave school. They discussed the planning of their final prank, which had been in the works since they were just first years. It was an idea that came to them as they sat by that very Lake, just six years prior.

"Yeah," George nodded, "How did you guess?"

Angelina sighed, "We've all been friends for ages. I could tell. So, tomorrow then?"

The twins nodded. A twinge of sadness rushed over Rory. She was going to miss seeing them at school every day. Although it was only be a few weeks until they were reunited, she didn't want to image her days without them in it. Especially with Umbridge as Headmistresses and N.E.W.Ts approaching, it was going to be the longest month of her life.

"Want to get out of here before we're in too deep with N.E.W.Ts." Fred nodded, "Its getting pretty hard pretending to pay attention to everything if there's no use in taking the information in."

"Don't worry though," George smiled, "We won't leave without saying goodbye."

The rest of the afternoon was spent by the Lake. Rory and Fred sat in the hammock while Angelina read a book and Lee and George played exploding snap. The girl felt so content but couldn't help but think something was off. It was the absence of Marina that seemed to upset her. It seemed every time the girl wanted to confront her or try and understand the situation, something else came up and she couldn't or Marina would somehow find a way out of (usually by saying she was going to be late to meet Graham and he hated when she was late).

However Rory tried not to let her thoughts of sadness and missing her friend ruin the rest of her day. As she sat in the shade of the trees so close to Fred, hearing his heart beat, she took a mental image of her in that moment. She of course, took plenty of real pictures that day but she never wanted to forget how she felt by the Black Lake with her friends.