Chapter 12: The green eyed monster

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"Ow! What the bloody hell was that?" Cedric exclaimed rather loudly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Gwen was confused. "What happened?" Gwen asked, looking around the pub. Cedric shrugged, still violently rubbing his head. "I don't know. Something just hit me in the head."

Gwen looked at the floor and spotted something glistening under the table. She quickly grabbed it, noticing that it was actually a teaspoon.

Gwen sat back in her seat and showed the utensil to the boy.

"I guess you've got hit by this, but it could have been worse," Gwen said dropping it on the oak table.

Cedric raised his eyebrows and Gwen gave him a weak smile and continued. "It could have been a tablespoon instead." Cedric started laughing while Gwen reached out to touch the back of his head.

"There's nothing there. You may wake up with a small bump but you'd hardly have to go to the Hospital Wing because of it. Are you okay?"

"It hurts a little. I mean seriously, it came at me as if it was shot out of a canon."

Gwen rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, don't exaggerate. I think it's best if we leave." Cedric nodded in agreement, still a bit dazed.

"Yeah, that's for the best. Wouldn't want to be hit by a tablespoon, would I?" Cedric said as he stood up and grabbed their stuff.

"Of course not," Gwen replied with a small smirk and followed suit. Cedric offered his hand to her despite the pain and the two made their way out of the pub.

Regardless of being hit on the head by a teaspoon, the date was a success.

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The twins and Lee had been waiting for Alicia and Angelina for only a little while, but the three of them had a severe lack of patience.

They decided to empty their bags that they bought from their favourite shop in the world, Zonko's.

So when the two girls returned to the table, they were in for quite the shock. Fred was stuffing a piece of metal into one of Lee's nostril while George took notes.

"We leave them for five minutes and this happens," Angelina stated to Alicia as she placed two glasses on the little space on the table. She pulled the stick out of Lee's nostril and pushed it into the twin's hand.

Fred and George pouted. "Give it back! We paid for it!" George exclaimed after dropping his stack of parchment on top of the stink pellets.

Fred nodded his head while wiping the end of the stick with a tissue.

"Yeah! This stick is supposed to make anyone's nose fill with snot." Fred replied, putting the stick back in a bag. Angelina and Alicia shared a look of utter disgust.

"What do you need snot for?" Alicia asked. Fred and George both shared identical grins.

"See we are trying to make our own stink bombs," George started to explain.

"And we thought that one of the ingredients should be snot. You know, since it would give it a greenish colour and help the mixture be stickier so that it would be harder to rub it off." Fred finished.

Angelina grimaced. "I would ask what else is in this mixture, but I'm afraid to find out."

"Actually-" Lee started but Angelina stopped him. "I said that I don't want to know. Just put everything back into the bags, like now."

The three Gryffindor boys sighed simultaneously but obeyed the scary female nonetheless.

"We ran into Gwen just a few seconds ago," Alicia stated as she took a sip of her Butterbeer.

Lee, who was already drinking his, spat the contents all over the table.

Everyone looked at him and George, who sat across him, got a full splash of Butterbeer in the face.

Lee didn't tell the twins about Gwen and her date with Cedric as he knew Fred wouldn't take it well. He was also certain that if he told George, he would have certainly told his twin. Instead, he told them that she had decided to stay in as she felt sick that morning.

"I thought you said that she felt sick," George said as he, with the help of Alicia, tried to wipe Butterbeer off his clothing.

Alicia suddenly stopped and turned to look at the now sweating boy. Angelina raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"What? No, she isn't. She was and still is fine. Gwen and Cedric are on the date right now."

Lee looked up at the wooden beams of the ceiling and silently prayed to Merlin. Fred turned to look at the girls who were both glaring at Lee.

"Wait, she is here? With Pretty Boy Diggory? Are you serious Lee, why did you lie to us?" Fred asked, getting angrier by the minute.

Everyone was looking at Lee.

Lee felt as if he was being interrogated like those people in the muggle police movies that his mother loved.

"I just didn't want to see you upset. We know how jealous you get!" Lee exclaimed as he gulped down his Butterbeer quickly. He ran out of the pub before they could ask any more questions.

"Where are they?" Fred asked and George could swear that his twin's eyes were about to pop out of his skull. "They're right there." Angelina pointed out to a corner where the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were sitting.

The first thing the jealous twin noticed was that the girl was smiling widely at the boy. Then he noticed the touching and the fact that they were moving closer.

Fred knew that the two were about to kiss. Another thing that Fred knew was that he couldn't bear watching the love of his life kiss an idiot in front of him.

So, Fred did a thing he never thought he would do. He grabbed the first thing he touched which was the teaspoon in the glass of the Butterbeer. Fred threw it at Cedric, hitting him straight in the back of his head.

He was very pleased with himself for such an epic throw especially when he heard Cedric yelp out in pain.

"Are you crazy?" George exclaimed, hitting his twin on the back of the head. Fred just smirked.

"No, I'm Fred." Fred then finally started to drink the Butterbeer.

It tasted like victory.

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When Fred returned to the Common Room, he entered to see Gwen seated on the couch with her legs crossed and a book in her hands. He smiled at Gwen who was oblivious to his arrival as he took his jacket off.

"Hey, heard you were on a date. How'd it go?" He asked as he sat next to her. Gwen didn't look up from her book which Fred noticed was their Transfiguration book from the year before.

"Great, actually. Apart from the part where Cedric got hit with a teaspoon."

Fred smirked to himself.

"Do I even want to know?" He asked her, playing the oblivious card. Gwen closed her book and placed it on the table in front of them.

"Trust me, you don't. Going to the feast tonight?" Gwen asked. "Of course I am! Wouldn't miss it! Why? You're not going?" Fred asked Gwen. Gwen sighed and rubbed her temple. "I want to, it's just that I'm tired."

"Oh, come on! Please come! Halloween is my favourite holiday except for April first. It's a tradition for us to go. Please!" Fred begged on his knees in front of Gwen.

Gwen let out a laugh and pushed Fred out of the way with her leg.

"Sure, let's go," Gwen said standing up and smoothed out her clothes. "I want to spend some time with you boys anyway." Fred and Gwen linked their arms together made their way towards the Great Hall for the Halloween feast.

The corridors were dead silent as most of the students were already going all out in the Great Hall. The Great Hall on Halloween was truly a magnificent sight, the ambience matching perfectly with the castle's aesthetic.

"Do you remember our first Halloween?" Fred asked and Gwen felt embarrassed at the thought of it.

"You know for a fact that I do. You don't need to bring it up, the story has been told for the past three Halloweens."

Fred cleared his throat. "It was the first Halloween ever in the magical castle for the First years of class 1989," Gwen groaned and continued to turn red.

"Gwendolyn Hamilton was sitting with her friends, Angelina and Alicia and much to the girl's dismay, the Weasley twins were seated right in front of her."

"She didn't like them at all, she thought that they were loud, obnoxious, handsome attention seekers-"

"Pff, handsome? Never. Loud and obnoxious? Definitely."

Fred pushed a hand across Gwen's mouth the shut her up. "Shh, I'm telling the story. Anyway, Fred and George were being their usual selves: creative and expressive of their thoughts-"

"More like annoying and irritating."

"AS I WAS SAYING! They were their usual selves. And then Gwen snapped like a twig. Gwen grabbed her spoon filled with mashed potatoes and catapulted the contents on George Weasley's face. And George retaliated by throwing his pumpkin juice. The look on your face was hilarious by the way."

Gwen rolled her eyes playfully at the comment. Fred's retelling got longer every time he told it and he always made sure to add more dramatics.

"But while hitting Gwen, he also hit Alicia and Angelina. Angelina grabbed a bottle of sauce, squeezed it and sprayed the twins while also hitting the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Oliver Wood threw a piece of bread and hit Candice White, the girl didn't know who hit her so she threw her chocolate pudding at a random guy. In only a matter of seconds, chaos struck the teachers and students.

"Carrot sticks, water, treacle tarts and all food imaginable were in the air. And that's how an innocent-looking, first year Gryffindor managed to start the Food Fight of 1989."

Gwen felt very hot in the face but laughed anyway. "Yeah and then McGonagall, whose robes were covered in five different stains, threatened to give whoever started it detention."

They both snickered at the memory of the usually meticulously kept Professor looking dishevelled.

"And me being the idiot that I was, took the blame for you. I had to clean the whole Hall because of you." Fred said smirking at the girl.

"That may be true but then I felt so guilty and thankful, that I sneaked out so that I could help you clean."

"And as the two eleven-year-olds were scrubbing the bench to rid it of gravy stains, they both knew that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Fred finished.

"You know, even though I always feel very embarrassed by the fact that I started a food fight, it still is one of my favourite stories ever," Gwen admitted as they neared their destination.

Fred grinned. "Of course it is. You met me."

Gwen snorted but nodded her head. "That's partially true. I met you, George and Lee. The greatest friends I could ask for." Fred responded with a big tight-lippedile as his heart ached slightly.

"Right, best friends. Come on they're there." Fred pointed out to where the rest of their fellow Gryffindors were seated.

"Hey, guys and gals," Gwen stated as she and Fred sat down next to George. An echo of 'Hey' and 'Hello' was heard from all of them as they stuffed their faces with delicious food.

Angelina wiped her chin from the gravy that was dripping from it. "How did it go?" She asked Gwen who was loading her plate with baked potatoes. Gwen immediately looked up.

"Oh, the date. It went well enough." She tried to continue eating but Alicia stopped her. Honestly, Gwen knew to expect this but she at least thought that they would let her eat first.

"But are you going on another one?" Alicia asked curiously. Gwen's face went scarlet in only a matter of seconds. She felt weird talking about it all her friends present.

"Yes, I suppose so." Angelina and Alicia both let out identical squeals.

"Did he kiss you?" Lee said with his mouth full of mashed-up pumpkin pie. The three chasers grimaced at the sight of him.

Fred kept eating, pretending that it was no big deal. Secretly, his ears were all intended on listening. He may have stopped the kiss in the pub but who knows what they did after.

"Well... He was about to but a teaspoon hit his head-" The entire table let out gasps, pretending to only be hearing about it.

"I know, right? Who would throw a teaspoon at someone? Anyhow, we didn't do anything since the mood was over after that."

"Oh, that's a shame." Fred sarcastically said while playing with his pudding. Gwen didn't seem to hear the tone of his voice.

"Holy Headless Ghosts!" Lee exclaimed, referring to Nearly Headless Nick who appeared from the centre of the table.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas! Happy Halloween!" Gwen said, smiling at the look of fright on Lee's face.

The semi-transparent ghost smiled at the girl. "Same to you, Miss Hamilton. Say, did I ever tell you all the story of my beheading?"

The group of Gryffindor fifth years shook their heads. They were really excited to hear the story of the Gryffindor house ghost and Sir Nicholas didn't disappoint. He gave them a retelling so detailed and dramatic that it rivalled Fred's food fight story.

The group were all chatting animatedly as they walked up the moving staircase to the Gryffindor tower after the feast.

But their chatter died down when they saw a bunch of students from all years waiting outside the portrait.

"What's going on?" George asked one of the students just in time to see Percy passing through with a frantic look on his face.

"Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

Gwen's eyes opened wide. It must be a very serious problem if Percy thinks that the school headmaster should be present.

"Can you see what's wrong?" Gwen asked Fred and George who could see better due to their height. They shook their heads in unison.

It didn't take long for Professor Dumbledore to arrive at the scene and all of the Gryffindor students squeezed against the bannister to let the old wizard pass.

"Oh my goodness," Alicia exclaimed as she grabbed Gwen's arm tightly when she saw what was wrong. Gwen finally saw it too.

The Fat Lady wasn't in her usual portrait.

The portrait guarding the Gryffindor tower was so viciously slashed that great chunks of it were torn away and strips of the painted canvas were scattered all over the floor.

"We need to find her," said Dumbledore to the Professors who hurried over to the commotion. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" Exclaimed a voice from above and all heads turned to see Peeves the Poltergeist. "Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging in between the trees. Crying something dreadful."

"Said that he got angry when she wouldn't let him in. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black." Peeves finished with a grin. Whispers were heard from all over the staircase in an instant.

Gwen could feel Alicia grip tighter on her arm and she and Angelina shared a terrified look.

"Merlin's saggy balls!"

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