Mara's Magic

ii - best friend level up

When I woke up, I was still extremely tired. I had passed out at about three in the morning after a long and tiring day of quidditch, so needless to say, I needed more sleep.

I had a random heart palpitation as I sat up and my hand flew to my chest, but it quickly went away, so I shrugged it off.

But, it was already noon and Diana had somehow entered my dorm and was shaking me awake.

"It's Hogsmeade!" She exclaimed. "Now, get up and get dressed. I'll be at the carriages with Ced."

I cast a quick drying charm over my hair and pulled half of it into a bun on the top of my head. After applying a bit of mascara, eyeliner, and concealer to conceal my undereye bags, I checked the mirror.

I analyzed my light blonde hair and deep blue eyes carefully, like I always did. It was a wonder that I was a Weasley and had blonde hair. The freckles that dotted my face reminded me that I was, in fact, a Weasley though, along with my eyes. I got my eyes from Dad, and so did Charlie and Bill. The rest of the lot had brown eyes, like Mum, but we all had freckles. And I had loads dotting my cheeks, nose, and arms. It was crazy that they were still there given the tan that I got every year during the summer and during quidditch season. I guess that was the perk of not being a redhead - I didn't sunburn as easily.

After checking my appearance again, I quickly ran to meet Diana and Cedric at the carriages.

I jogged down the steps and walked into the common room. Suddenly, a lot of eyes were on me and someone suddenly shouted,

"I knew it!"

My eyes flicked to where the noise had come from and spotted my annoying little brother George grinning mischievously at me. Fred soon popped up behind him, a tad confused at first, but once he saw me his face morphed to match his twin's.

"What?" I asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs. The boys shrugged.

"Nothing," George responded.

"It does seem to you as it isn't a big deal," Fred continued.

"So, we won't make it a big deal," George concluded. The two stood to leave, but I rushed in front of them, my arms crossed over my chest.

"What?" I asked again, far more forcefully this time. They simply smiled and nodded at my jumper before heading out of the portrait hole. I looked down.

It's just my quidditch jumper from last year. I analyzed the patterns and checked to see if I had stains or anything on it. A line of gold lined the cuff of the sleeve, outlining the number 1, just like it did at the chest. I frowned as I spotted a thread that was pulled loose from it; I hadn't noticed that before. In the corner of the torso was the Gryffindor crest, also encasing the number. I quickly turned my head, trying to see as much of the back as I could.

Yes, just like normal the large number sat in the middle with my last name on the back. I worried for a second that I had accidently grabbed one of the other girls' jumpers, or maybe even one of my brothers', but I caught sight of a printed W and sighed in relief. Those boys could seriously mess with one's head.

I heard a loud cackle coming from the corner and I spun around. Ronald and Harry snickered as they stared at me, half-heartedly hiding themselves from my view.

"What is it?!" I cried exasperatedly. Ron laughed harder and Harry just raised his eyebrows with a sneaky grin.

"Oh, nothing Mars," he said with an exaggerated shake of his head. I resisted the urge to strangle the boy at that moment.

"Ha! I like your jumper, sis!" Ronald called from his spot, still giggling. I narrowed my eyes at the boys and wondered where Hermione was; she would have told me what was going on.

"Thank you," I muttered, rolling my eyes and ducking out of the portrait hole quickly, running off to meet my friends at the carriages. Then, with an annoyed roll of my eyes and a huff of impatience, I turned back and peeked through the hole.

"Are you two alright? Do you have plans?" I asked.

They shrugged and Ron responded: "Not really. We'll just be here."

"Well, if you need anything go see Minnie and she'll get me. Or just see her. Or any of the teachers, really. But, I'll be back at the end of the day. Please, please, please don't get into any trouble and don't do anything stupid. Oh, and get your transfiguration essays finished, they're due by-"

"Tuesday, yes we know, Mara," Ron finished with a roll of his eyes. Harry nodded, mimicking Ron's ruffled frown.

"We'll be fine," he insisted, both boys gesturing for me to leave. I sighed and turned back out the portrait hole.

After a quick journey across campus, I hopped into their carriage breathless.

"Finally," Diana said with a smile. "We've only been waiting for an eternity."

"It was only a couple minutes," Cedric assured.

"But they were the longest couple minutes of my life," Diana drawled, earning chuckles from the rest of us. 

The ride to Hogsmeade was short and when we arrived, I jumped out first. As soon as my feet hit the snow, I heard the snickers of my friends behind me. I spun around quickly, my brows furrowed.

"What?" I yelled with a sigh, intensely annoyed. I was done with being teased today. They continued to giggle as they exited the carriage. Diana walked passed me with a shrug, looking at me over her shoulder as she walked into the small village.

"I see someone's decided to keep their boyfriend a secret. Well, you didn't do too good of a job," she told me with a knowing smirk. Boyfriend?! What are they on about? Has someone decided that it was officially the day to mess with Mara or something? Nothing about this made sense!

Until it did.

I spotted Oliver walking out of the Three Broomsticks that sat near where the carriages dropped off the students and when he saw me his eyebrows shot up in surprise. His eyes widened and the tips of his ears flushed red as he rubbed the back of his neck. But, that all quickly wiped away as a smirk etched its way onto his lips and he waved slowly. I looked around, confused and ushered him over to me, jogging to meet him half way.

"Will you tell me what's going on? Why is everyone teasing me today - and why do you look like you have some part in it?" I demanded, my hands on my hips. The lopsided grin on his lips didn't help my case as he chuckled.

"I believe it has something to do with your jumper, love," he told me, pulling at the fabric lightly. I glanced down at it again and saw the loose string. I tugged at it.

"No," Oliver laughed. "Not that." His fingers traced down my arm to the printed 1 one the corner of the sleeve. It took me a moment to realize that, even though the number was special to me and I saw it all the time, that wasn't my number. My number was 6.

I gasped. "Am I wearing your jumper?"

"That you are," he laughed. "And what're your thoughts on that?"

His smug expression dimmed a little when he asked, waiting on me patiently and I could see a small bout of nerves swimming in his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.

"Well," I said, dragging out the word. "Might as well give the people what they want. I'm already wearing the jumper."

I grabbed his hand and laced his fingers with mine. I played with them as I waited for his response quietly.

"I think that's a splendid idea," he said after a moment, agreeing with me. I looked up and grinned, and he grinned back.

I turned back to my friends. "Hey, I'll see you lot later!"

"We were right?!" Diana exclaimed, bursting with excitement. I laughed.

"You were right!" Oliver called back, a smug grin wiped across his face. 

"Take care of her!" Cedric yelled. "No naughtiness!"

"No guarantees!" I shouted with a laugh. Oliver rolled his eyes at me and shot an annoyed eyeroll towards Cedric. He promptly turned me away from them and, taking my hand in his again, we headed into Hogsmeade.