Orli felt herself freeze completely. Fred was a dear friend—one of her very best. He and George had been among the first at Hogwarts to help her brew potions... The thought of things becoming awkward between them was unbearable. But she had to refuse him—that was what a true friend would do.
"I'm sorry," Orli said quietly but with absolute certainty.
"Oh... I knew it. I'm too late, aren't I?" Fred looked crestfallen. "Who beat me to it?"
"Actually, I'm not attending the Ball," Orli replied.
"Why not? Don't fancy dancing, or don't know how? I could teach you," Fred said quickly. "If you really don't want to go to the Ball, we could do something else entirely. Remember the humpbacked witch statue? We could slip through the secret passage to Hogsmeade—just the two of us."
"No, Fred," Orli bit her lip. What she had to say would be blunt, hurtful, and utterly without tact, but she couldn't avoid it any longer. "I already have feelings for someone else."
The light in Fred's eyes died instantly, as if someone had pressed an invisible Deluminator.
"Ah... that's rather sudden... I was planning to ask you out a few more times after the Ball before having this conversation," he managed another smile, but it looked painfully forced. "Who is it then? Let me guess—Harry after all? Surely not Ron or George?"
"It's none of them," Orli lowered her head, unable to bear looking at Fred's wounded expression any longer.
"You heartless little deceiver, you've absolutely shattered my heart~" Fred said in an exaggerated, theatrical tone. He made a ridiculous show of pulling an invisible dagger from thin air and stabbing himself in the chest, as if trying to make her laugh. But his eyes held no mirth whatsoever. "Even if you didn't fancy anyone, that would be fine—I wouldn't pester you. Just... don't sentence me to death quite so quickly, Your Honor Judge Waters..."
"No, Fred... I truly do care for someone. And that person... isn't one of your brothers or any of our friends," Orli had to be firm once more. "I need to be completely honest with you—my heart and mind are already entirely occupied by someone else. You mean a great deal to me, but only as a friend. I can't give you false hope."
"Perhaps I'd rather have a bit of false hope?" Fred closed his eyes, speaking almost dreamlike.
"I'm sorry," Orli felt guilt threatening to consume her entirely.
"Oh, enough now. That's your third apology today," Fred opened his eyes again, struggling to make his expression appear lighter. "Whatever happens, we're still mates, aren't we?"
"...I certainly hope we can remain friends, but I can't hide behind friendship while accepting special treatment from you..." She reflected on the past and suddenly realized Fred's feelings had been evident all along. She'd simply been too preoccupied with someone else to notice the signs.
"You're not planning to cut me off completely over this, are you?" Fred smiled ruefully. "Relax, Orli, it's not the end of the world. From now on we'll just be ordinary friends—I won't overstep, and I won't pine away like some tragic romantic hero from the gossip pages of Witch Weekly that Mum reads..."
He attempted a disgusted expression but overdid it so dramatically that he nearly made himself sick, choking and coughing. This time Orli genuinely laughed.
"Cough... cough cough... Let's consider today's conversation finished—we'll both pretend we cast Obliviate on each other," Fred finally caught his breath. "Now I'm rather regretting sending George to ask Angelina. Perhaps Katie or Alicia haven't been invited yet."
They left the empty classroom one after the other, but whether it was Orli in front or Fred behind, both appeared to be forcing their smiles.
――――――――
Mini Theater
"After Receiving the Christmas Ball Announcement"
Fred:
Send George to invite Angelina, while keeping a close eye on Harry and Orli's movements at all times.
Malfoy:
If Waters comes to invite me and apologizes for that red ink incident, I might graciously accept.
Snape:
Perform Legilimency on dozens of students from various Houses to discover who's invited Orli, preparing excuses to dock points from anyone who has. Upon discovering no one has asked her, becomes absolutely furious: Are they all bloody blind?
――――――――
Author's Note:
Honestly, Fred would be my ideal first love in the Harry Potter universe. I've been laying groundwork for his storyline for years, though it was always destined to be unrequited. He'll have more scenes later, but not many—and I won't subject him to a melodramatic, suffering second-male-lead script. This plotline isn't meant to showcase the heroine as irresistibly charming, but rather to alter Fred's fate... (Yes, I'm spoiling things. I'm guilty as charged.)
Malfoy doesn't truly harbor romantic feelings for the heroine. His storyline stems from a misunderstanding, and they've had precious little interaction. He still doesn't understand her—just look at his attitude toward Hermione, her close friend. Even if he pays her some attention, it's purely superficial. For our current proud young master, Orli is like a Firebolt in a shop window—merely something that catches the eye.
As for Snape... well, that road is long and fraught with obstacles indeed.
――――――――
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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