That Way

Chapter Seventeen Lestrange Glare

"Said that it was just never gonna happen."

"Dabria, Dabria, look!" George and Fred run up to me like children showing their mum their school work on the first day. I'm in the courtyard, as I was talking to Draco before his gits he calls friends dragged him away.

I laugh, and their cheeks are tinted pink from the cold air and their excitement.

"Hold out your hand." Fred insists, and I roll my eyes playfully and stick my palm out. "Careful, Ria." He warns, as he presses something into my palm. It's warm, but also kind of fizzily, like drinking firewhisky, but with no burn.

"What is it?" I close my hand around the object, scared of what the twins gave me.

"Just trust us." George winks, and I smirk and open my palm. A little orange spark leaps from my hand and into the air. In my surprise, I step back and slam into George, who catches the spark and tosses it to Fred, who trick shots it behind his back to me.

I laugh and catch it, spinning it into the air as students gather around to watch.

The twins and I pass the magical spark back and forth, our smiles growing wider with each toss. Fred winks and tosses it towards me, and I reach out my hand to grab it...

Only for it to be suctioned by a pink toad's wand.

Umbridge does a little sugar-coated cough and walks on, and I knit my eyebrows together.

"I hate her." I growl.

The twins move in on either side, wrapping their arms around me. "I know." They say in unison as we watch her walk away, and the crowd dissipates.

~~~~

"C'mon, Harry's making some sort of group so we can fight back." The twins drag me from our seats in the Three Broomsticks as I'm still sipping my butterbeer.

"Merlin, give it a rest you two," I laugh. "Isn't the meeting here?"

"No, it's in the Hogshead." Fred says sensibly, hooking his arm into mine.

"Very funny." I continue sitting, used to their sarcastic remarks.

"Seriously Ria, we'll be late." George pleads, and I sigh and hook onto his arm as well.

"Okay, but I swear if it's a prank..." I tease as we leave the busy area of Hogsmeade and enter an area I've never been to. Sure enough, a steady flow of familiar faces trickles into the seemingly abandoned pub, and the twins and I join the flow, bumping into Lee who was on a date with Angelina.

"Kiss under the mistletoe yet?" I tease, and Lee shoves me with his side.

"Stop, Ria." He smirks, and I laugh.

"Oh, so you did snog her?"

"Ria!" I hear Angelina's voice behind me and the twins and I burst into laughter as we take seats.

"What is she doing here?" The boy I noticed had been hanging around Ginny a lot recently caused the twins and I to turn around. Fred wraps an arm around me and moves me to sit between him and George.

"What are you doing here?" George snaps back, and Ginny glares at the boy. She smiles at me, and I give her a small smile in return. I understand why people still don't trust me, but have I seriously done anything in my six years of Hogwarts besides have a last name to cause this?