I wrote this for Quizilla using one of my old Harry Potter OCs (who I have since tweaked a bit). This was my first OC story ever because I'm usually highly against them. I only did it because I hate George/Angelina. George deserves better than Fred's sloppy seconds.
(Thanks to Ronnichu@DA for the signature)
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Cadence Collins is a witch. That’s the most important thing you need to know about her. Some would argue that her imperative trait is the fact that she’s Muggle Born, but we disagree. Cadence Collins is a witch, and that’s all that matters. In this particular story, she finds herself on a train headed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As a witch, which I believe we’ve established that she is, Cadence will spend the next several years learning magic at this highly acclaimed institution under only the best tutelage. So. Cadence Collins is on the train.
She casually waved to her parents from the windows as she made her way towards an empty compartment. The Hogwarts Express was quickly filling with other young witches and wizards, and Cadence wanted to be sure she was alone, at least for the first part of the trip, so that she could peruse a few more of her books. You see, Cadence was a very bright witch. In spite of the fact that she grew up with zero knowledge of the Wizarding World, she intended to start her first school year at Hogwarts knowing just as much, if not more, than her fellow students. As such, Cadence spent the majority of her summer reading all of her school books, cover to cover. Now she just wanted to check one section of Hogwarts, A History again to be sure not to embarrass herself in front of any potential new friends.
The thought of new friends made her slightly queasy, and Cadence began to fervently regret that heavy breakfast she’d eaten. She also couldn’t help but notice that she stuck out a little bit, and a few kids were staring at her. While she was wearing her very best jeans, boots, and a new grey sweater, everyone else was wearing old fashioned clothes that didn’t quite match. She immediately cursed her luck for not being exact in her research. With a deep breath, she pushed her way to the very back of the car and managed to find an empty partition where she could read.
Cadence struggled with her bag, standing on the very tips of her toes, trying to push it onto the overhead bin. After several minutes and a lot of effort, she relented and sat down with her luggage beside her. She brushed her long black hair behind her ears and pulled her book from her back pocket. Finding the page she was looking for, Cadence kicked off her shoes, curled one leg underneath her and started to read. Cadence immediately forgot any reservations she was harvesting about her new school, and cared only about the wondrous things she was now learning (again) from her textbook.
It was the loud BANG that brought Cadence’s attentions away from her studies. Her heart jumped, almost choking her, causing her to cough. She quickly looked around to check that she was still alone. Once she was quite sure the small room was clear, she returned to her book. Barely a sentence into her reading, she heard a commotion from outside the door once again. She was afraid that maybe the bang had been a problem with the train, so she decided that it would probably be best to go investigate the situation. Cadence slid her shoes back on and made her way into the narrow hall. No one seemed to be panicking. As she was deciding to forget about it and turn around, she hear very loud noises from the compartment directly adjacent to hers. This was undoubtedly the source of the bang, and now the young witch was more curious than ever.
She slowly peeked behind the doors and saw two identical faces with identical smiles, covered in soot.
They didn’t seem to notice Cadence, but burst into a fit of laughter as if “charred eyebrows” was the effect they were going for with whatever it was they were doing. Cadence was thoroughly confused by the redheaded boys, but thought it was probably best not to get involved. She quietly turned towards the door to return to her seat. As she was leaving, Cadence Collins heard a yell.
“Hey! Don’t go!”
Cadence started as she felt a very warm, grimy hand touch her own. She reluctantly twisted around to stare at one of the twins, and against her better judgment, she giggled. Behind the ruffled hair and singed skin she saw dark amber eyes and too many freckles. He was kind of cute.
If either boy noticed anything strange in her reaction, they ignored it. “You aren’t going to tell anyone, are you? We’re not supposed to have these, you see.” The little wizard dropped the girl’s hand and held up a sparking trick item for her to see.”If our Mum finds out, she’ll freak. She thinks she confiscated them all.”
Cadence stood frozen, looking from one boy to the other. She couldn’t speak, as if she was entranced by the pair, but she shook her head in response. Cadence could tell that twin-on-the-left seemed unsure he could trust her, and she half expected him to grab her hand again if she tried to leave.
Twin-on-the-right gave her a small uninterested smile as he moved towards a bench seat and a large cardboard box. “George, just let her go. I don’t think she’s going to tell anyone and we still have to check and make sure these work, too.” He said, brandishing a new contraption.
The one called George looked questioningly at Cadence for a moment more before ultimately deciding that she was, in any case, harmless. Her blank stare was enough to tell him that she was much too shy and embarrassed to involve herself with them any further, and it was just as well. “Yeah, all right Fred.” He said, with one last glance at the girl before joining his brother over the giant box.
Cadence Collins didn’t move. She stood, facing the brothers, her face maintaining the same dumb expression it had since she entered their private laboratory. She just watched as the one called George hit his twin for some sarcastic comment, and then as Fred retorted. They seemed to have completely forgotten, or maybe ignored, that Cadence was still there. She was starting to feel rather self-conscious, but still she didn’t move. Several minutes passed before she was finally able to shift uncomfortably on her heels. Whatever spell those two had undoubtedly cast on her was finally breaking. Yet she continued to watch. For identical twins whom she’d only just met, they were pretty predictable and she was already finding it very easy to tell them apart. This was her best, and maybe only, opportunity to make friends before arriving at the school. I think I’m going to say ‘hi.’ She thought.
It was the hollow Clunk that jerked Cadence’s attention away from her thoughts about the twins. She absentmindedly followed the noise to her feet, and noticed for the first time that she still had her copy of Hogwarts, A History with her. It was now on the floor. She bent forward to pick it up, but stopped mid-gesture as a filthy hand closed its fingers around the binding.
“Thank you.” She managed, as she met the face of who she believed was George, although now that he was looking at her, she was much less confident in her twin-guessing abilities.
“Nah, that’s ok.” The young boy just scratched the back of his messy head as he looked down to the hardback in his hands. “Wait a second. Is this a…school book?” He seemed so utterly offended by the book. He held it at arm’s length and just between his index finger and thumb, as if it harbored some catching disease.
Fred, hearing his brother’s comment, ran to take a look at the ‘abomination’. “No way! Please tell me that’s not homework. We don’t even have classes yet.” Their matching expressions made Cadence giggle very unnaturally for the second time since their meeting. Cadence Collins was beginning to feel very silly.
“I just want to know as much as I can about Hogwarts. That’s all.” Cadence said, with a smile to them both, secretly hoping they’d leave well enough alone.
“That still sounds an awful lot like homework to me,” George countered, but handed Cadence back her book nonetheless.
Cadence stared at the two boys for a moment, unsure of how to respond, when she started laughing despite herself. Cadence Collins was nervous. A weird silence followed which made Cadence more than a bit uncomfortable and that’s when a new worry struck her.
“I hope they don’t give us homework in our first week.” The truth was Cadence was very sure that if she was assigned homework, she’d definitely fail. After all, most of the students grew up around magic and probably knew loads more than she did. “If we do get a lot of work, I don’t think I’ll do it.”
The twins seemed to perk up at this remark and both smiled as one turned to Cadence and put out his hand. “I was wrong about you. We’re going to get along just fine after all. I’m George Weasley, and this is my brother Fred.”
Cadence shook his hand, completely beaming. She had made friends, she was sure of it. Surely she was nervous for nothing. “I’m Cadence Collins. I’m a witch.” Her smile immediately vanished as she realized what she had done. Her total shock at making new friends so quickly and her lingering nervousness made that last bit slip out. All she could do now was bite her tongue and hope that neither of the boys had noticed.
Fred and George Weasley laughed.
Fred and George Weasley laughed a lot.
Finally, Fred spoke first. “Your parents are Muggles, aren’t they?” The twins looked at each other curiously for a while and then at Cadence. She couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like they would start laughing again at any minute. Cadence Collins failed to see the humor.
She was embarrassed and didn’t understand if it was an appropriate feeling or not. Should witches be embarrassed if their parents were Muggles? From what she had read, she assumed not, but those two had most definitely laughed at her.
“Yes, they’re Muggles. Are yours?” She asked already knowing the answer. She was certain they were not.
George sat down before answering. The gesture reminded Cadence that she was still standing awkwardly by the door. She moved to sit next to him as Fred followed suit. “No, but my dad’s in love with them.”
“Yeah, I think he’d marry one if he wasn’t so afraid of Mum.” Fred added, with a snort. “We’re all a bit afraid of Mum.” He continued, with a more pained look on his face.
Now it was Cadence’s turn to laugh. The three glanced around at each other, wondering what to do next.
“So you’re a witch, huh?” George smirked and lightly bumped her shoulder.
“Yes. I am. I have a wand, and I can do magic. Look. Rictusempra.” Before Cadence even realized what she was doing, she turned to face Fred and pointed her wand, performing the tickling jinx.
“HAHAHA…St---stop it…ha…stop!”
Cadence and George joined Fred in his laughter before Cadence reluctantly reversed the spell. “All right, don’t get so bothered!” George tried to say more, but couldn’t stop laughing at Fred’s contorted body and obvious humiliation.
“Where’d you learn that?” Fred managed to ask, once the tinglies stopped.
“You mean you don’t know it? I read it somewhere. That’s the first time I’ve ever tried it though. I’m glad it worked.” Cadence couldn’t help but feel impressed that she performed a spell the matching redheads didn’t know.
The trio continued to laugh and talk. They discussed all the types of spells they hoped to learn, and potions they wanted to brew, and secrets of the castle they wanted to uncover. The conversations carried until the lunch trolley passed.
“Yes! I’m starving” said Fred, as he rummaged through his pockets for some money. “Darn. Nothing. What do you have, George?”
“I’ll get us some stuff. My parents still don’t quite understand the whole Muggle money/Wizard money conversion so I have loads of galleons.” Cadence walked to the cart and purchased a few things. She wasn’t quite sure what to get, so she grabbed the most colorful and interesting packages she could find.
“Brilliant! Thanks so much Cadence, we really owe you.” Fred said, as he snatched a parcel that read ‘Fizzing Whisbees’.
George quietly grabbed a bag of jelly beans and returned to his seat. Cadence stared at the remainder of the goodies, but didn’t know what she wanted to try. Her stomach was rumbling but neither Chocolate Frogs nor Sugar Quills sounded very appetizing. George leaned forward and held his open bag of jelly beans for her to try one. She checked the package: ‘Bertie Botts’ Every Flavour Beans’. Sounds good, she thought, as she stuck her hand in the plastic bag and pulled out a sunny yellow bean.
Fred and George watched her face curiously as she carefully placed the bean in her mouth. She was hesitant at first, since the pair insisted on making such a spectacle. She wondered what could possibly be so interesting about a lemon flavored jelly bean.
“So what flavor is it?” asked Fred, admiring a huge pile of Droobles’ Best Blowing Bubble Gum that lay nearby.
“I think it’s…mustard.” Cadence replied with a slightly confused expression. What strange candy.
“Gross! Here, let me try one.” George stuck his dirty hand into the bag as Cadence finished (and secretly enjoyed) the mustard bean. George pulled out a funny green one, quickly popped it into his mouth and started to chew.
His face screwed up almost instantly and the sight caused Cadence to burst into laughter. Fred looked up from where he was picking at the upholstery and laughed himself. “Wow that must have been really bad. I never want to see our face look like that again.” He said, through his giggles and snorts. “What was it?”
“Bogey! That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten.” George used his shirt to wipe his tongue, “And that’s saying a lot. Fred once dared me to chew his sock.”
Cadence smiled as George passed the bag of tricky little candies to her. She decided not to press her luck with another one, and instead turned her attention to conversation with the twins. After just a few minutes of talking the twins finally decided that Cadence was, in fact, ok to hang out with and they ‘allowed’ her to stay in their compartment. The group laughed and talked and no one noticed how late it was getting until they heard the conductor give his five minutes until arrival warning.
“We better get our robes on. Hey, meet us by the train once we stop, ok?” Fred and George moved to open their luggage and remove their robes, so Cadence excused herself. As she walked the few steps to her original compartment, she couldn’t help but smile at how enjoyable the last few hours had been. She was going to like Hogwarts. And most of all, she could tell that she was going to like Fred and George.
The train finally arrived at Hogwarts and Cadence met with Fred and George as promised. They made their way to the castle with the other first years and then patiently waited to be sorted into their houses. A professor named McGonagall explained to the new students that their house would be like their family for their entire stay at Hogwarts, so it was a very important ceremony. As she spoke, so did Fred.
“Ok, you want to be in Gryffindor, all right?” He leaned close to Cadence to insure that she could hear him. “That’s where George and I are going to be. Our whole family’s been in Gryffindor.”
The nerves Cadence had experienced at the beginning of this journey all came cascading down on her again. She didn’t feel one bit like a Gryffindor at this very moment, and she just knew that she was going to be separated from her new friends.
George turned to face her and then stared at her, concerned. “You ok? You look sick.”
Cadence just nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically because George didn’t seem convinced. He smiled gently at Cadence, which calmed her down a bit just because it looked so unnatural on his mischievous face. “It’s ok if you’re not in Gryffindor. We’ll still hang out, ok? We’ll have classes together and stuff and we’ll be friends no matter which house you’re in, right Fred?”
“Unless it’s Slytherin.” Fred stated, matter-of-factly.
George hit him in the back of the head, but laughed. “No, even if it’s Slytherin,” He leaned close to Cadence so that there was a Weasley on either side of her and whispered, “Don’t worry. You won’t be in Slytherin.”
Cadence Collins exhaled.
Professor McGonagall grabbed a worn out hat, sat it on a stool, and then stood in front of the line of first years. She began naming students one by one, in alphabetical order, to be sorted by the hat. Finally, after what felt like hours, Cadence heard her name. She walked very slowly towards the stool. When she thought about how sure Fred and George had been that they would be sorted into Gryffindor, she paused and turned to look painfully at them. Fred gave a thumbs-up and George just smiled. Something about the way he smiled gave her reassurance and the boost she needed to continued the rest of the way with a skip in her step. She sat on the stool and glanced at Fred and George as she waited for the hat to be placed on her head. Before she could deduce what had happened, the Great Hall erupted with cheers and Cadence watched as her friends’ faces fell. The fated word now reverberated in her ears as her heart sank.
Hufflepuff.
She stared at Fred and George and didn’t bother to mask the tears in her eyes. Sure, there were worst things that could happen and they had promised to still be friends, but she had really been looking forward to spending time getting to know her first friends. Cadence waited for one of them to show some kind of reaction. Fred just shrugged while George stared at his feet.
As Cadence made her way to her welcoming House Table, she passed back through the first years, hoping to get a chance to talk to Fred and George. She got tangled in a throng of eager students and somehow managed to pass right by two. As she moved away, she could hear Fred speak. She pretended not to listen.
“Well, so much for that. Looks like we’ll just have to make a new friend, George! It shouldn’t be too hard.” His casual smile and untroubled tone hurt Cadence as much as it angered George, who turned to his brother, shocked.
“No! We promised her that no matter what house she’s in we’d be her friend. We’ll still have classes together, and free time. And she wants to help us learn prank spells. I like her, Fred, and so do you! Look at her, she’s scared to death. We can’t just ditch her!” George watched as Cadence sat between a plump young boy and an even plumper ghost that seemed to appear out of nowhere and made her jump.
Fred looked injured. It was very rare that his brother raised his voice against him, and he didn’t much care for the experience, but he just nodded. He didn’t like being scolded by his brother, but he also knew he was right. Cadence Collins was their friend.
Cadence sat with mixed emotions as the remainder of the new students was sorted to their houses. She was pleased when a recently appointed Hufflepuff girl sat in the seat to her right, replacing the ghost who had been there before. The girl was friendly and nice, which was all well and good.
Cadence watched as a small boy with blonde hair was sorted into Ravenclaw and a rather handsome boy named Lee Jordan made his way to the Gryffindor table. As the list neared its end, Cadence held her breath in hopes that the twins were somehow mistaken about their definite placement. As one took either seat next to the handsome boy named Lee, Cadence sighed.
Cadence’s years at Hogwarts passed with never-ending escapades and tireless adventures. True to their word, the Weasley twins would meet with her whenever possible (which proved to be a lot, when you factored in detentions). By the end of her third year, the entire school was convinced that no Hufflepuff in the history of the establishment had ever landed as much detention as Cadence Collins. As a first year, Cadence never imagined that she would spend out her days of education scraping bat eyes from the bottom of potion jars after class, but she really didn’t mind.
There was something about her time with Fred and George that seemed more important than following the rules. They were having fun and they were a part of something. And who’s to say they weren’t learning in the process?
Cadence did not regret her detentions, although if she had just learned to swallow her pride and leave matters up to George she’d never have to serve them in the first place. Throughout the years he was constantly taking the blame for things Cadence did; like when she put ashwinders in the Caretaker’s office or when she Spellotaped said Caretaker’s cat Mrs. Norris to the ceiling. At first she thought George just wanted the credit for all her ideas, but she soon realized that he was trying to protect her. Even though she admired his attempts, she could never let him take her punishment so Cadence and the twins always seemed to have detention together.
It wasn’t until the beginning of fourth year that Cadence started feeling a little funny. Since the sensation was so new to her, she decided to ask someone about it. Her instinct was to go to George, but that idea made her tummy hurt. Her next thought was of Hermione. Surely there was no one better to ask a question of than the smartest girl in school.
Cadence found Hermione in the library. She quickly told her the symptoms and then asked if maybe she needed to visit the Hospital Wing.
Hermione sighed and then took a deep breath before answering. “Cadence, when exactly do you have these feelings?” Her tone made Cadence feel like there was something important she was missing.
“I don’t know. Mostly right before I go to bed at night, and then again when I first wake up in the morning. Also when I try to eat or when I think too much. And pretty much every time I’m with Fred and George. Sounds pretty serious, right? Do you think I’m allergic to something?” Cadence was now entirely confused why Hermione was smiling so much.
“It’s serious all right. Cadence you’re in love. Have been for a while. I was kind of hoping you’d figure it out on your own, but you’re completely hopeless. There’s a reason why those feelings happen when you’re with the twins and it has nothing to do with allergies.” Hermione looked relieved, like she’d been waiting to say this for a long time.
“But that’s ridiculous; I can’t be in love with Fred! First of all, I think I’d notice something like that Hermione, I’m not a complete idiot. Second, I know very well that he likes Angelina and I’m not the least bit jealous!” Cadence was proud of her logic, despite the fact that it still didn’t give her any answers to what was really going on, and also the fact that it contained very little logic at all.
“You really are an idiot”, Hermione sounded very exasperated, “It’s not—“
Cadence waited for her to finish. Hermione was now wearing an expression that said ‘Ah ha!’ and Cadence wanted to know why. “It’s not what? It’s not what, Hermione?”
“You know, George likes Angelina too.” Hermione tried to keep her voice very casual, believable.
Cadence’s eyes got really wide, for some reason. She opened her mouth to speak and squeaked, but surely there was an explanation for that. “George likes Angelina? Are you sure? But—“ Cadence looked at Hermione who was smiling, apparently proud of herself. “Oh. Oh! Oh my god.”
Cadence Collins was in love with George Weasley.
So it is after five-something years, new friends, a little magic and 579 detentions that we meet with the trio again. Many things have happened, but the most important thing you need to know is that Cadence Collins is a sixth year. Some would argue and say that the most pertinent fact is that Cadence has matured into a very interesting and exciting young lady, but for some reason we disagree with the level of significance. Cadence Collins is a sixth year, and that’s all you need to know.
Lately we find that Fred has been occupied with a seemingly hopeless romantic endeavor. He is trying desperately to convince Angelina Johnson that he isn’t a pus-filled git, while she is just as passionate in her belief that he is. Due to the fact that most of the ‘group meetings’ initiated by Cadence and the twins are interrupted with claims such as ‘If you just try it once, Angelina, I promise you will like it’, and ‘You have until the count of one to get off of me before I take your bat and—‘, Cadence and George often find themselves alone with each other.
Cadence has long since learned to live with her crush, and while these alone times should be incredibly awkward, they were not. In fact, they were Cadence’s favorite times. Sometimes she would be so entranced by her company with George that she’d revert back to like the time they met on the train and just stare dumbly into space, unable to think of something intelligent to say.
It was evening in the Great Hall when she started experiencing one of those moments again. George was sitting at the Gryffindor table when his brother Ron and the famous Tri-Wizard Champion Harry Potter walked up. They were just talking to each other; no doubt about the tournament or about Quidditch, and Cadence couldn’t help watching the conversation from her seat at the Hufflepuff table. Occasionally George would look in her direction, just for a second, and Cadence would quickly pretend to be busy with something else. Things were never awkward when they were together, but it was the times when they were apart that Cadence felt like a stranger looking in. And she hated that feeling.
“Hello? Are you listening? I said do you want to go to the ball with me?”
Cadence saw a flash of hand waving in front of her face. Without any visible effort she cleared her mind of George thoughts and looked up to address the speaker. It was Fred.
“Sorry. I’m listening. Umm, yeah, I thought you’ve been working on Angelina this whole time. She doesn’t want to go?” Cadence thought it would be a lot of fun to go to the Yule Ball with Fred. He would definitely make the night entertaining. But it was no secret to herself or to Hermione that ever since they heard about the formal dance from Professor McGonagall, Cadence had imagined going with George.
“Well, yeah, you see I was going to ask her. But I thought maybe you might want to go so I thought I’d give that a shot first. Save myself the embarrassment, as it were.”
Cadence was annoyingly distracted. She was no longer listening to Fred, as George was approaching the table. She thought briefly to herself that the frustrating tinglies she felt in her stomach every time she thought of George really needed to stop. As did the way she irritatingly forgot everything else when he entered a room. How silly.
Cadence half-noticed that Fred was still standing there, expecting an answer to whatever it was he asked her. She absentmindedly responded: “Yeah, sure, sounds great.”
Fred looked very pleased with himself and smiled at his brother before skipping off to his common room. George waved goodbye as he plopped down in the seat next to Cadence. “What was that about?” He asked, snickering at how cheery has twin had been.
“Not sure really, wasn’t exactly liste—oh no.” Cadence felt a tinge of guilt as she realized exactly what she had said to Fred. She dropped her head in the table, feeling completely ashamed of herself.
“What is it?” George asked, concerned as per usual, “Are you all right? Did Fred put laxatives in your tea again?”
Cadence shot her head up quickly to glare at George. She hated when he brought that up, but she decided to spare him the grief and just keep the conversation going. “Umm, George? Are you taking anyone to the Yule Ball?” Despite the current circumstances and her own reservations, she was hoping with everything in her that he wasn’t asking anyone.
“Actually, that’s why I came over here. I thought maybe you might want to go with me.” Cadence was so relieved she didn’t even care if it showed in her face. George laughed. “By your expression I think it’s safe to assume that you do. You always worry so easily. It’s still really early; I know someone else would have asked you if I didn’t.”
Cadence dropped her smile. She chose to ignore the fact that George thought she was excited to go with him because she was worried about not finding another date. Instead she focused on the other problem, which was telling Fred. “I really want to go with you; I just need to take care of something first. I have to tell Fred that I can’t go with him. I accidentally said yes when he asked me just now, but it shouldn’t be a problem. He was planning on asking Angelina anyway.”
Cadence was confused why George looked so hurt. She hoped he’d be at least a little happy. Even Fred skipped a little.
“Fred asked you? And you said yes?” He didn’t say this accusingly, but Cadence could still tell that he was really upset. She just wasn’t fully sure she understood why. Her first reaction was horrible. She was sardonically excited by the fact that George was upset. It meant he didn’t want to think about her and Fred together. Her second reaction was much more understanding. “No, George, I wasn’t listening, really, when he was asking. To be perfectly honest I was thinking about you when he asked and I just said yes without realizing.” Cadence hoped this explanation was more than enough to get him to stop looking at her like that.
“That’s even worse!” He said, raising his voice. Cadence actually cowered. “You didn’t even think about his feelings. He obviously asked you instead of Angelina because he thought you might want to go with him. He probably even likes you. You can’t just go back and tell him now that you’d rather go with me. Do you not understand what that will do to his pride?”
Cadence couldn’t care less about his pride, and frankly didn’t appreciate the tone George was using with her. She intended to tell him so, too, except he got up and stormed off before she could even try to stop him.
Weeks passed and George and Cadence said scarcely a word to each other. As far as Cadence could tell, Fred knew nothing about the fight. He didn’t seem to notice that every time the three of them were together, he was always the main one speaking. Weeks passed, and Cadence’s anger was festering.
The night of the Yule Ball approached, and after spending as much time getting ready as Cadence was willing to allow, she walked with her good friend Hermione to the Great Hall to meet her date. The two were nearly there when they passed George, arm and arm with his date, Angelina.
Cadence didn’t try to hide how hurt she was. She stared at George, who looked at her and then down at his feet. Cadence immediately recognized the guilt, and hoped he choked on it. She felt he definitely deserved it after avoiding her apologies for weeks and for changing the subject every time she’d try to mention it to Fred. Asking Angelina to the ball was just the icing.
After a few silent consolations from Hermione the pair reached the hall. Fred was already waiting at the entrance and he smiled and held his hand out to his date. Cadence smiled back, but fought inwardly with feelings of anger and dejection. She thought for a second that maybe Fred noticed something was wrong, but if he did he ignored it. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the dance floor. She managed to give a small wave to Hermione as her date offered his hand, too.
After almost hours of dancing, Cadence began to lighten up. She knew that going to the ball with Fred would be fun, and he seemed to be going out of his way to keep her happy. The thought made her really glad to have such a good friend. She was starting to really enjoy herself when she made the mistake of looking at the dinner tables. There was George and Angelina, all slumped up and looking depressed at a table with Ron and Harry. They all looked completely miserable, and George was scowling at Cadence. Really scowling.
Cadence Collins was very angry.
“Fred, could you just hang on a second? I really need to get something to drink.” She wasn’t sure why she was lying to her friend and date, but all she knew was that if she didn’t get a few key words off of her chest soon, she would explode.
“Yeah, you should talk to him. He keeps twitching his eye at me and it’s starting to creep me out a bit.” Fred winked and pushed Cadence towards the tables.
Cadence wasn’t sure how he knew, but she was glad that Fred didn’t ask too many questions. She would explain everything to him later. Cadence passed the table where George was sitting and hissed at him to follow her. They were barely away from the noise of the party before she started in on him.
“Exactly what are you getting at by ignoring me for weeks, forcing me to come with Fred, and then glowering at me from across the room all night when I’m trying to have a good time? I don’t understand.” She took a breath and George made to speak. She quickly threw up her hand to stop him. “And you bring Angelina and you just sit there? You were mad at me for wanting to tell Fred about you and yet you do practically the same thing. How is that any better than what I did? You don’t even care anything about Angelina!” Cadence crossed her arms to let him know that she was finished and waited for George to argue back.
He looked as if he was considering doing just that, but slowly closed his lips. He looked slightly less angry and more serious. “You’re right. I wasn’t even thinking. I just couldn’t come alone and see you with Fred, but I couldn’t stay in my dorm all night wondering if you were having fun or not so I asked Angelina. I feel really bad about that now. I was just worried that you were going to have a good time and then something would…happen.”
Cadence was still so angry that she was on the verge of exploding again. And yet she couldn’t yell. She didn’t want to. George stood there looking so pitiful and upset that all she really wanted to do was give him a giant hug and forget the whole thing. George had a gift, it was certain. Cadence decided at that moment that it was a “now or never” deal.
“Nothing could happen between me and Fred. I was having a good time, but just because Fred’s fun to be around doesn’t mean I’m in love with him—“ She paused momentarily, instantly regretting her choice of words and hoping that ‘in love’ wouldn’t trigger any unwanted reactions from George. She stared at him for a second, waiting, but he didn’t seem in any position to make her stop talking. He looked back at her, almost eagerly, wanting her to finish.
Cadence Collins knew exactly what she wanted to say.
“Do you remember…that day…our first day at Hogwarts? It was right after my sorting and you told Fred not to give up on me. You told him that it would be your job to protect me and be my friend? I heard everything you said, George, and I’ve never forgotten it. You’ve always stood up for me against Filch and every other obstacle I’ve faced here. Sure, Fred has been great too, but not like you. Not unconditionally. There’s this smile you give me, this reassuring smile. Fred could never do that. Do you remember?”
George stared, wide-eyed at his confessor. Cadence wasn’t sure if he wanted her to keep going or not, and she couldn’t really think of anything else to say, but as he continued to stare she opened her mouth...
It was instant, and it was forceful, and it was loving. Cadence felt shaky as his lips collided with hers and his hands went one around her waist and the other in her long, black hair. Nothing else mattered to her as he pulled her closer and then kissed again before releasing her.
“Course I remember.” George spoke and it took Cadence several seconds to recall her question. “I hate admitting it to you now, but I expected you to be like a sister to me. I wanted to protect you the same way I want to protect Ginny. But you became so much more than that. It didn’t take long before every action I took I thought ‘Would this make her happy?’ Or ‘I bet she’d laugh if I did this’. I love you, Cadence Collins.”
Cadence smiled. She very much intended to say ‘I love you’ back, but she was frozen. George had a gift, after all. George smiled back at her and brushed away a loose strand of hair from her eyes. Cadence was still very conscious of how close they were to each other, and she could feel his breath on her face as he continued speaking “But, hey, we can’t make it official or anything until I talk to Fred. I’m almost positive he has feelings for you too, and until I’ve talked to him we’ll just have to…wait…to do that again.”
Cadence didn’t mind the waiting. George loved her, and some time very soon he would officially be hers, and her his. George Weasley loved her and nothing else mattered. Some would argue that lots of other things in Cadence’s life mattered more than that, but we disagree. George Weasley loved her and that’s the most important thing.
George held out his arm to walk with Cadence back to the dance hall. Cadence thought she’d like nothing more than to skip the rest of the dance, but she knew Fred would be worried if they never came back. Plus, George still needed to talk with him. Cadence smiled at George, for she was always smiling at George, and then she scanned the hall for her date.
It was the loud HA that brought Cadence’s attention to the table on her right. George had noticed first, and now it took everything in his and Cadence’s power not to scream out in surprise and amusement. There, in a dark corner of the hall, they could distinguish two violent silhouettes and a river of black and ginger hair. Fred and Angelina were snogging.
George looked at Cadence through a smirk. “Forget what I said about Fred. I forgot he is an idiot. Let’s go officially make up.” And with a wink reminiscent of his brother’s, George grabbed Cadence by the arm, and they went.
(Thanks to Ronnichu@DA for the signature)
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Cadence Collins is a witch. That’s the most important thing you need to know about her. Some would argue that her imperative trait is the fact that she’s Muggle Born, but we disagree. Cadence Collins is a witch, and that’s all that matters. In this particular story, she finds herself on a train headed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As a witch, which I believe we’ve established that she is, Cadence will spend the next several years learning magic at this highly acclaimed institution under only the best tutelage. So. Cadence Collins is on the train.
She casually waved to her parents from the windows as she made her way towards an empty compartment. The Hogwarts Express was quickly filling with other young witches and wizards, and Cadence wanted to be sure she was alone, at least for the first part of the trip, so that she could peruse a few more of her books. You see, Cadence was a very bright witch. In spite of the fact that she grew up with zero knowledge of the Wizarding World, she intended to start her first school year at Hogwarts knowing just as much, if not more, than her fellow students. As such, Cadence spent the majority of her summer reading all of her school books, cover to cover. Now she just wanted to check one section of Hogwarts, A History again to be sure not to embarrass herself in front of any potential new friends.
The thought of new friends made her slightly queasy, and Cadence began to fervently regret that heavy breakfast she’d eaten. She also couldn’t help but notice that she stuck out a little bit, and a few kids were staring at her. While she was wearing her very best jeans, boots, and a new grey sweater, everyone else was wearing old fashioned clothes that didn’t quite match. She immediately cursed her luck for not being exact in her research. With a deep breath, she pushed her way to the very back of the car and managed to find an empty partition where she could read.
Cadence struggled with her bag, standing on the very tips of her toes, trying to push it onto the overhead bin. After several minutes and a lot of effort, she relented and sat down with her luggage beside her. She brushed her long black hair behind her ears and pulled her book from her back pocket. Finding the page she was looking for, Cadence kicked off her shoes, curled one leg underneath her and started to read. Cadence immediately forgot any reservations she was harvesting about her new school, and cared only about the wondrous things she was now learning (again) from her textbook.
It was the loud BANG that brought Cadence’s attentions away from her studies. Her heart jumped, almost choking her, causing her to cough. She quickly looked around to check that she was still alone. Once she was quite sure the small room was clear, she returned to her book. Barely a sentence into her reading, she heard a commotion from outside the door once again. She was afraid that maybe the bang had been a problem with the train, so she decided that it would probably be best to go investigate the situation. Cadence slid her shoes back on and made her way into the narrow hall. No one seemed to be panicking. As she was deciding to forget about it and turn around, she hear very loud noises from the compartment directly adjacent to hers. This was undoubtedly the source of the bang, and now the young witch was more curious than ever.
She slowly peeked behind the doors and saw two identical faces with identical smiles, covered in soot.
They didn’t seem to notice Cadence, but burst into a fit of laughter as if “charred eyebrows” was the effect they were going for with whatever it was they were doing. Cadence was thoroughly confused by the redheaded boys, but thought it was probably best not to get involved. She quietly turned towards the door to return to her seat. As she was leaving, Cadence Collins heard a yell.
“Hey! Don’t go!”
Cadence started as she felt a very warm, grimy hand touch her own. She reluctantly twisted around to stare at one of the twins, and against her better judgment, she giggled. Behind the ruffled hair and singed skin she saw dark amber eyes and too many freckles. He was kind of cute.
If either boy noticed anything strange in her reaction, they ignored it. “You aren’t going to tell anyone, are you? We’re not supposed to have these, you see.” The little wizard dropped the girl’s hand and held up a sparking trick item for her to see.”If our Mum finds out, she’ll freak. She thinks she confiscated them all.”
Cadence stood frozen, looking from one boy to the other. She couldn’t speak, as if she was entranced by the pair, but she shook her head in response. Cadence could tell that twin-on-the-left seemed unsure he could trust her, and she half expected him to grab her hand again if she tried to leave.
Twin-on-the-right gave her a small uninterested smile as he moved towards a bench seat and a large cardboard box. “George, just let her go. I don’t think she’s going to tell anyone and we still have to check and make sure these work, too.” He said, brandishing a new contraption.
The one called George looked questioningly at Cadence for a moment more before ultimately deciding that she was, in any case, harmless. Her blank stare was enough to tell him that she was much too shy and embarrassed to involve herself with them any further, and it was just as well. “Yeah, all right Fred.” He said, with one last glance at the girl before joining his brother over the giant box.
Cadence Collins didn’t move. She stood, facing the brothers, her face maintaining the same dumb expression it had since she entered their private laboratory. She just watched as the one called George hit his twin for some sarcastic comment, and then as Fred retorted. They seemed to have completely forgotten, or maybe ignored, that Cadence was still there. She was starting to feel rather self-conscious, but still she didn’t move. Several minutes passed before she was finally able to shift uncomfortably on her heels. Whatever spell those two had undoubtedly cast on her was finally breaking. Yet she continued to watch. For identical twins whom she’d only just met, they were pretty predictable and she was already finding it very easy to tell them apart. This was her best, and maybe only, opportunity to make friends before arriving at the school. I think I’m going to say ‘hi.’ She thought.
It was the hollow Clunk that jerked Cadence’s attention away from her thoughts about the twins. She absentmindedly followed the noise to her feet, and noticed for the first time that she still had her copy of Hogwarts, A History with her. It was now on the floor. She bent forward to pick it up, but stopped mid-gesture as a filthy hand closed its fingers around the binding.
“Thank you.” She managed, as she met the face of who she believed was George, although now that he was looking at her, she was much less confident in her twin-guessing abilities.
“Nah, that’s ok.” The young boy just scratched the back of his messy head as he looked down to the hardback in his hands. “Wait a second. Is this a…school book?” He seemed so utterly offended by the book. He held it at arm’s length and just between his index finger and thumb, as if it harbored some catching disease.
Fred, hearing his brother’s comment, ran to take a look at the ‘abomination’. “No way! Please tell me that’s not homework. We don’t even have classes yet.” Their matching expressions made Cadence giggle very unnaturally for the second time since their meeting. Cadence Collins was beginning to feel very silly.
“I just want to know as much as I can about Hogwarts. That’s all.” Cadence said, with a smile to them both, secretly hoping they’d leave well enough alone.
“That still sounds an awful lot like homework to me,” George countered, but handed Cadence back her book nonetheless.
Cadence stared at the two boys for a moment, unsure of how to respond, when she started laughing despite herself. Cadence Collins was nervous. A weird silence followed which made Cadence more than a bit uncomfortable and that’s when a new worry struck her.
“I hope they don’t give us homework in our first week.” The truth was Cadence was very sure that if she was assigned homework, she’d definitely fail. After all, most of the students grew up around magic and probably knew loads more than she did. “If we do get a lot of work, I don’t think I’ll do it.”
The twins seemed to perk up at this remark and both smiled as one turned to Cadence and put out his hand. “I was wrong about you. We’re going to get along just fine after all. I’m George Weasley, and this is my brother Fred.”
Cadence shook his hand, completely beaming. She had made friends, she was sure of it. Surely she was nervous for nothing. “I’m Cadence Collins. I’m a witch.” Her smile immediately vanished as she realized what she had done. Her total shock at making new friends so quickly and her lingering nervousness made that last bit slip out. All she could do now was bite her tongue and hope that neither of the boys had noticed.
Fred and George Weasley laughed.
Fred and George Weasley laughed a lot.
Finally, Fred spoke first. “Your parents are Muggles, aren’t they?” The twins looked at each other curiously for a while and then at Cadence. She couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like they would start laughing again at any minute. Cadence Collins failed to see the humor.
She was embarrassed and didn’t understand if it was an appropriate feeling or not. Should witches be embarrassed if their parents were Muggles? From what she had read, she assumed not, but those two had most definitely laughed at her.
“Yes, they’re Muggles. Are yours?” She asked already knowing the answer. She was certain they were not.
George sat down before answering. The gesture reminded Cadence that she was still standing awkwardly by the door. She moved to sit next to him as Fred followed suit. “No, but my dad’s in love with them.”
“Yeah, I think he’d marry one if he wasn’t so afraid of Mum.” Fred added, with a snort. “We’re all a bit afraid of Mum.” He continued, with a more pained look on his face.
Now it was Cadence’s turn to laugh. The three glanced around at each other, wondering what to do next.
“So you’re a witch, huh?” George smirked and lightly bumped her shoulder.
“Yes. I am. I have a wand, and I can do magic. Look. Rictusempra.” Before Cadence even realized what she was doing, she turned to face Fred and pointed her wand, performing the tickling jinx.
“HAHAHA…St---stop it…ha…stop!”
Cadence and George joined Fred in his laughter before Cadence reluctantly reversed the spell. “All right, don’t get so bothered!” George tried to say more, but couldn’t stop laughing at Fred’s contorted body and obvious humiliation.
“Where’d you learn that?” Fred managed to ask, once the tinglies stopped.
“You mean you don’t know it? I read it somewhere. That’s the first time I’ve ever tried it though. I’m glad it worked.” Cadence couldn’t help but feel impressed that she performed a spell the matching redheads didn’t know.
The trio continued to laugh and talk. They discussed all the types of spells they hoped to learn, and potions they wanted to brew, and secrets of the castle they wanted to uncover. The conversations carried until the lunch trolley passed.
“Yes! I’m starving” said Fred, as he rummaged through his pockets for some money. “Darn. Nothing. What do you have, George?”
“I’ll get us some stuff. My parents still don’t quite understand the whole Muggle money/Wizard money conversion so I have loads of galleons.” Cadence walked to the cart and purchased a few things. She wasn’t quite sure what to get, so she grabbed the most colorful and interesting packages she could find.
“Brilliant! Thanks so much Cadence, we really owe you.” Fred said, as he snatched a parcel that read ‘Fizzing Whisbees’.
George quietly grabbed a bag of jelly beans and returned to his seat. Cadence stared at the remainder of the goodies, but didn’t know what she wanted to try. Her stomach was rumbling but neither Chocolate Frogs nor Sugar Quills sounded very appetizing. George leaned forward and held his open bag of jelly beans for her to try one. She checked the package: ‘Bertie Botts’ Every Flavour Beans’. Sounds good, she thought, as she stuck her hand in the plastic bag and pulled out a sunny yellow bean.
Fred and George watched her face curiously as she carefully placed the bean in her mouth. She was hesitant at first, since the pair insisted on making such a spectacle. She wondered what could possibly be so interesting about a lemon flavored jelly bean.
“So what flavor is it?” asked Fred, admiring a huge pile of Droobles’ Best Blowing Bubble Gum that lay nearby.
“I think it’s…mustard.” Cadence replied with a slightly confused expression. What strange candy.
“Gross! Here, let me try one.” George stuck his dirty hand into the bag as Cadence finished (and secretly enjoyed) the mustard bean. George pulled out a funny green one, quickly popped it into his mouth and started to chew.
His face screwed up almost instantly and the sight caused Cadence to burst into laughter. Fred looked up from where he was picking at the upholstery and laughed himself. “Wow that must have been really bad. I never want to see our face look like that again.” He said, through his giggles and snorts. “What was it?”
“Bogey! That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten.” George used his shirt to wipe his tongue, “And that’s saying a lot. Fred once dared me to chew his sock.”
Cadence smiled as George passed the bag of tricky little candies to her. She decided not to press her luck with another one, and instead turned her attention to conversation with the twins. After just a few minutes of talking the twins finally decided that Cadence was, in fact, ok to hang out with and they ‘allowed’ her to stay in their compartment. The group laughed and talked and no one noticed how late it was getting until they heard the conductor give his five minutes until arrival warning.
“We better get our robes on. Hey, meet us by the train once we stop, ok?” Fred and George moved to open their luggage and remove their robes, so Cadence excused herself. As she walked the few steps to her original compartment, she couldn’t help but smile at how enjoyable the last few hours had been. She was going to like Hogwarts. And most of all, she could tell that she was going to like Fred and George.
The train finally arrived at Hogwarts and Cadence met with Fred and George as promised. They made their way to the castle with the other first years and then patiently waited to be sorted into their houses. A professor named McGonagall explained to the new students that their house would be like their family for their entire stay at Hogwarts, so it was a very important ceremony. As she spoke, so did Fred.
“Ok, you want to be in Gryffindor, all right?” He leaned close to Cadence to insure that she could hear him. “That’s where George and I are going to be. Our whole family’s been in Gryffindor.”
The nerves Cadence had experienced at the beginning of this journey all came cascading down on her again. She didn’t feel one bit like a Gryffindor at this very moment, and she just knew that she was going to be separated from her new friends.
George turned to face her and then stared at her, concerned. “You ok? You look sick.”
Cadence just nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically because George didn’t seem convinced. He smiled gently at Cadence, which calmed her down a bit just because it looked so unnatural on his mischievous face. “It’s ok if you’re not in Gryffindor. We’ll still hang out, ok? We’ll have classes together and stuff and we’ll be friends no matter which house you’re in, right Fred?”
“Unless it’s Slytherin.” Fred stated, matter-of-factly.
George hit him in the back of the head, but laughed. “No, even if it’s Slytherin,” He leaned close to Cadence so that there was a Weasley on either side of her and whispered, “Don’t worry. You won’t be in Slytherin.”
Cadence Collins exhaled.
Professor McGonagall grabbed a worn out hat, sat it on a stool, and then stood in front of the line of first years. She began naming students one by one, in alphabetical order, to be sorted by the hat. Finally, after what felt like hours, Cadence heard her name. She walked very slowly towards the stool. When she thought about how sure Fred and George had been that they would be sorted into Gryffindor, she paused and turned to look painfully at them. Fred gave a thumbs-up and George just smiled. Something about the way he smiled gave her reassurance and the boost she needed to continued the rest of the way with a skip in her step. She sat on the stool and glanced at Fred and George as she waited for the hat to be placed on her head. Before she could deduce what had happened, the Great Hall erupted with cheers and Cadence watched as her friends’ faces fell. The fated word now reverberated in her ears as her heart sank.
Hufflepuff.
She stared at Fred and George and didn’t bother to mask the tears in her eyes. Sure, there were worst things that could happen and they had promised to still be friends, but she had really been looking forward to spending time getting to know her first friends. Cadence waited for one of them to show some kind of reaction. Fred just shrugged while George stared at his feet.
As Cadence made her way to her welcoming House Table, she passed back through the first years, hoping to get a chance to talk to Fred and George. She got tangled in a throng of eager students and somehow managed to pass right by two. As she moved away, she could hear Fred speak. She pretended not to listen.
“Well, so much for that. Looks like we’ll just have to make a new friend, George! It shouldn’t be too hard.” His casual smile and untroubled tone hurt Cadence as much as it angered George, who turned to his brother, shocked.
“No! We promised her that no matter what house she’s in we’d be her friend. We’ll still have classes together, and free time. And she wants to help us learn prank spells. I like her, Fred, and so do you! Look at her, she’s scared to death. We can’t just ditch her!” George watched as Cadence sat between a plump young boy and an even plumper ghost that seemed to appear out of nowhere and made her jump.
Fred looked injured. It was very rare that his brother raised his voice against him, and he didn’t much care for the experience, but he just nodded. He didn’t like being scolded by his brother, but he also knew he was right. Cadence Collins was their friend.
Cadence sat with mixed emotions as the remainder of the new students was sorted to their houses. She was pleased when a recently appointed Hufflepuff girl sat in the seat to her right, replacing the ghost who had been there before. The girl was friendly and nice, which was all well and good.
Cadence watched as a small boy with blonde hair was sorted into Ravenclaw and a rather handsome boy named Lee Jordan made his way to the Gryffindor table. As the list neared its end, Cadence held her breath in hopes that the twins were somehow mistaken about their definite placement. As one took either seat next to the handsome boy named Lee, Cadence sighed.
Cadence’s years at Hogwarts passed with never-ending escapades and tireless adventures. True to their word, the Weasley twins would meet with her whenever possible (which proved to be a lot, when you factored in detentions). By the end of her third year, the entire school was convinced that no Hufflepuff in the history of the establishment had ever landed as much detention as Cadence Collins. As a first year, Cadence never imagined that she would spend out her days of education scraping bat eyes from the bottom of potion jars after class, but she really didn’t mind.
There was something about her time with Fred and George that seemed more important than following the rules. They were having fun and they were a part of something. And who’s to say they weren’t learning in the process?
Cadence did not regret her detentions, although if she had just learned to swallow her pride and leave matters up to George she’d never have to serve them in the first place. Throughout the years he was constantly taking the blame for things Cadence did; like when she put ashwinders in the Caretaker’s office or when she Spellotaped said Caretaker’s cat Mrs. Norris to the ceiling. At first she thought George just wanted the credit for all her ideas, but she soon realized that he was trying to protect her. Even though she admired his attempts, she could never let him take her punishment so Cadence and the twins always seemed to have detention together.
It wasn’t until the beginning of fourth year that Cadence started feeling a little funny. Since the sensation was so new to her, she decided to ask someone about it. Her instinct was to go to George, but that idea made her tummy hurt. Her next thought was of Hermione. Surely there was no one better to ask a question of than the smartest girl in school.
Cadence found Hermione in the library. She quickly told her the symptoms and then asked if maybe she needed to visit the Hospital Wing.
Hermione sighed and then took a deep breath before answering. “Cadence, when exactly do you have these feelings?” Her tone made Cadence feel like there was something important she was missing.
“I don’t know. Mostly right before I go to bed at night, and then again when I first wake up in the morning. Also when I try to eat or when I think too much. And pretty much every time I’m with Fred and George. Sounds pretty serious, right? Do you think I’m allergic to something?” Cadence was now entirely confused why Hermione was smiling so much.
“It’s serious all right. Cadence you’re in love. Have been for a while. I was kind of hoping you’d figure it out on your own, but you’re completely hopeless. There’s a reason why those feelings happen when you’re with the twins and it has nothing to do with allergies.” Hermione looked relieved, like she’d been waiting to say this for a long time.
“But that’s ridiculous; I can’t be in love with Fred! First of all, I think I’d notice something like that Hermione, I’m not a complete idiot. Second, I know very well that he likes Angelina and I’m not the least bit jealous!” Cadence was proud of her logic, despite the fact that it still didn’t give her any answers to what was really going on, and also the fact that it contained very little logic at all.
“You really are an idiot”, Hermione sounded very exasperated, “It’s not—“
Cadence waited for her to finish. Hermione was now wearing an expression that said ‘Ah ha!’ and Cadence wanted to know why. “It’s not what? It’s not what, Hermione?”
“You know, George likes Angelina too.” Hermione tried to keep her voice very casual, believable.
Cadence’s eyes got really wide, for some reason. She opened her mouth to speak and squeaked, but surely there was an explanation for that. “George likes Angelina? Are you sure? But—“ Cadence looked at Hermione who was smiling, apparently proud of herself. “Oh. Oh! Oh my god.”
Cadence Collins was in love with George Weasley.
So it is after five-something years, new friends, a little magic and 579 detentions that we meet with the trio again. Many things have happened, but the most important thing you need to know is that Cadence Collins is a sixth year. Some would argue and say that the most pertinent fact is that Cadence has matured into a very interesting and exciting young lady, but for some reason we disagree with the level of significance. Cadence Collins is a sixth year, and that’s all you need to know.
Lately we find that Fred has been occupied with a seemingly hopeless romantic endeavor. He is trying desperately to convince Angelina Johnson that he isn’t a pus-filled git, while she is just as passionate in her belief that he is. Due to the fact that most of the ‘group meetings’ initiated by Cadence and the twins are interrupted with claims such as ‘If you just try it once, Angelina, I promise you will like it’, and ‘You have until the count of one to get off of me before I take your bat and—‘, Cadence and George often find themselves alone with each other.
Cadence has long since learned to live with her crush, and while these alone times should be incredibly awkward, they were not. In fact, they were Cadence’s favorite times. Sometimes she would be so entranced by her company with George that she’d revert back to like the time they met on the train and just stare dumbly into space, unable to think of something intelligent to say.
It was evening in the Great Hall when she started experiencing one of those moments again. George was sitting at the Gryffindor table when his brother Ron and the famous Tri-Wizard Champion Harry Potter walked up. They were just talking to each other; no doubt about the tournament or about Quidditch, and Cadence couldn’t help watching the conversation from her seat at the Hufflepuff table. Occasionally George would look in her direction, just for a second, and Cadence would quickly pretend to be busy with something else. Things were never awkward when they were together, but it was the times when they were apart that Cadence felt like a stranger looking in. And she hated that feeling.
“Hello? Are you listening? I said do you want to go to the ball with me?”
Cadence saw a flash of hand waving in front of her face. Without any visible effort she cleared her mind of George thoughts and looked up to address the speaker. It was Fred.
“Sorry. I’m listening. Umm, yeah, I thought you’ve been working on Angelina this whole time. She doesn’t want to go?” Cadence thought it would be a lot of fun to go to the Yule Ball with Fred. He would definitely make the night entertaining. But it was no secret to herself or to Hermione that ever since they heard about the formal dance from Professor McGonagall, Cadence had imagined going with George.
“Well, yeah, you see I was going to ask her. But I thought maybe you might want to go so I thought I’d give that a shot first. Save myself the embarrassment, as it were.”
Cadence was annoyingly distracted. She was no longer listening to Fred, as George was approaching the table. She thought briefly to herself that the frustrating tinglies she felt in her stomach every time she thought of George really needed to stop. As did the way she irritatingly forgot everything else when he entered a room. How silly.
Cadence half-noticed that Fred was still standing there, expecting an answer to whatever it was he asked her. She absentmindedly responded: “Yeah, sure, sounds great.”
Fred looked very pleased with himself and smiled at his brother before skipping off to his common room. George waved goodbye as he plopped down in the seat next to Cadence. “What was that about?” He asked, snickering at how cheery has twin had been.
“Not sure really, wasn’t exactly liste—oh no.” Cadence felt a tinge of guilt as she realized exactly what she had said to Fred. She dropped her head in the table, feeling completely ashamed of herself.
“What is it?” George asked, concerned as per usual, “Are you all right? Did Fred put laxatives in your tea again?”
Cadence shot her head up quickly to glare at George. She hated when he brought that up, but she decided to spare him the grief and just keep the conversation going. “Umm, George? Are you taking anyone to the Yule Ball?” Despite the current circumstances and her own reservations, she was hoping with everything in her that he wasn’t asking anyone.
“Actually, that’s why I came over here. I thought maybe you might want to go with me.” Cadence was so relieved she didn’t even care if it showed in her face. George laughed. “By your expression I think it’s safe to assume that you do. You always worry so easily. It’s still really early; I know someone else would have asked you if I didn’t.”
Cadence dropped her smile. She chose to ignore the fact that George thought she was excited to go with him because she was worried about not finding another date. Instead she focused on the other problem, which was telling Fred. “I really want to go with you; I just need to take care of something first. I have to tell Fred that I can’t go with him. I accidentally said yes when he asked me just now, but it shouldn’t be a problem. He was planning on asking Angelina anyway.”
Cadence was confused why George looked so hurt. She hoped he’d be at least a little happy. Even Fred skipped a little.
“Fred asked you? And you said yes?” He didn’t say this accusingly, but Cadence could still tell that he was really upset. She just wasn’t fully sure she understood why. Her first reaction was horrible. She was sardonically excited by the fact that George was upset. It meant he didn’t want to think about her and Fred together. Her second reaction was much more understanding. “No, George, I wasn’t listening, really, when he was asking. To be perfectly honest I was thinking about you when he asked and I just said yes without realizing.” Cadence hoped this explanation was more than enough to get him to stop looking at her like that.
“That’s even worse!” He said, raising his voice. Cadence actually cowered. “You didn’t even think about his feelings. He obviously asked you instead of Angelina because he thought you might want to go with him. He probably even likes you. You can’t just go back and tell him now that you’d rather go with me. Do you not understand what that will do to his pride?”
Cadence couldn’t care less about his pride, and frankly didn’t appreciate the tone George was using with her. She intended to tell him so, too, except he got up and stormed off before she could even try to stop him.
Weeks passed and George and Cadence said scarcely a word to each other. As far as Cadence could tell, Fred knew nothing about the fight. He didn’t seem to notice that every time the three of them were together, he was always the main one speaking. Weeks passed, and Cadence’s anger was festering.
The night of the Yule Ball approached, and after spending as much time getting ready as Cadence was willing to allow, she walked with her good friend Hermione to the Great Hall to meet her date. The two were nearly there when they passed George, arm and arm with his date, Angelina.
Cadence didn’t try to hide how hurt she was. She stared at George, who looked at her and then down at his feet. Cadence immediately recognized the guilt, and hoped he choked on it. She felt he definitely deserved it after avoiding her apologies for weeks and for changing the subject every time she’d try to mention it to Fred. Asking Angelina to the ball was just the icing.
After a few silent consolations from Hermione the pair reached the hall. Fred was already waiting at the entrance and he smiled and held his hand out to his date. Cadence smiled back, but fought inwardly with feelings of anger and dejection. She thought for a second that maybe Fred noticed something was wrong, but if he did he ignored it. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the dance floor. She managed to give a small wave to Hermione as her date offered his hand, too.
After almost hours of dancing, Cadence began to lighten up. She knew that going to the ball with Fred would be fun, and he seemed to be going out of his way to keep her happy. The thought made her really glad to have such a good friend. She was starting to really enjoy herself when she made the mistake of looking at the dinner tables. There was George and Angelina, all slumped up and looking depressed at a table with Ron and Harry. They all looked completely miserable, and George was scowling at Cadence. Really scowling.
Cadence Collins was very angry.
“Fred, could you just hang on a second? I really need to get something to drink.” She wasn’t sure why she was lying to her friend and date, but all she knew was that if she didn’t get a few key words off of her chest soon, she would explode.
“Yeah, you should talk to him. He keeps twitching his eye at me and it’s starting to creep me out a bit.” Fred winked and pushed Cadence towards the tables.
Cadence wasn’t sure how he knew, but she was glad that Fred didn’t ask too many questions. She would explain everything to him later. Cadence passed the table where George was sitting and hissed at him to follow her. They were barely away from the noise of the party before she started in on him.
“Exactly what are you getting at by ignoring me for weeks, forcing me to come with Fred, and then glowering at me from across the room all night when I’m trying to have a good time? I don’t understand.” She took a breath and George made to speak. She quickly threw up her hand to stop him. “And you bring Angelina and you just sit there? You were mad at me for wanting to tell Fred about you and yet you do practically the same thing. How is that any better than what I did? You don’t even care anything about Angelina!” Cadence crossed her arms to let him know that she was finished and waited for George to argue back.
He looked as if he was considering doing just that, but slowly closed his lips. He looked slightly less angry and more serious. “You’re right. I wasn’t even thinking. I just couldn’t come alone and see you with Fred, but I couldn’t stay in my dorm all night wondering if you were having fun or not so I asked Angelina. I feel really bad about that now. I was just worried that you were going to have a good time and then something would…happen.”
Cadence was still so angry that she was on the verge of exploding again. And yet she couldn’t yell. She didn’t want to. George stood there looking so pitiful and upset that all she really wanted to do was give him a giant hug and forget the whole thing. George had a gift, it was certain. Cadence decided at that moment that it was a “now or never” deal.
“Nothing could happen between me and Fred. I was having a good time, but just because Fred’s fun to be around doesn’t mean I’m in love with him—“ She paused momentarily, instantly regretting her choice of words and hoping that ‘in love’ wouldn’t trigger any unwanted reactions from George. She stared at him for a second, waiting, but he didn’t seem in any position to make her stop talking. He looked back at her, almost eagerly, wanting her to finish.
Cadence Collins knew exactly what she wanted to say.
“Do you remember…that day…our first day at Hogwarts? It was right after my sorting and you told Fred not to give up on me. You told him that it would be your job to protect me and be my friend? I heard everything you said, George, and I’ve never forgotten it. You’ve always stood up for me against Filch and every other obstacle I’ve faced here. Sure, Fred has been great too, but not like you. Not unconditionally. There’s this smile you give me, this reassuring smile. Fred could never do that. Do you remember?”
George stared, wide-eyed at his confessor. Cadence wasn’t sure if he wanted her to keep going or not, and she couldn’t really think of anything else to say, but as he continued to stare she opened her mouth...
It was instant, and it was forceful, and it was loving. Cadence felt shaky as his lips collided with hers and his hands went one around her waist and the other in her long, black hair. Nothing else mattered to her as he pulled her closer and then kissed again before releasing her.
“Course I remember.” George spoke and it took Cadence several seconds to recall her question. “I hate admitting it to you now, but I expected you to be like a sister to me. I wanted to protect you the same way I want to protect Ginny. But you became so much more than that. It didn’t take long before every action I took I thought ‘Would this make her happy?’ Or ‘I bet she’d laugh if I did this’. I love you, Cadence Collins.”
Cadence smiled. She very much intended to say ‘I love you’ back, but she was frozen. George had a gift, after all. George smiled back at her and brushed away a loose strand of hair from her eyes. Cadence was still very conscious of how close they were to each other, and she could feel his breath on her face as he continued speaking “But, hey, we can’t make it official or anything until I talk to Fred. I’m almost positive he has feelings for you too, and until I’ve talked to him we’ll just have to…wait…to do that again.”
Cadence didn’t mind the waiting. George loved her, and some time very soon he would officially be hers, and her his. George Weasley loved her and nothing else mattered. Some would argue that lots of other things in Cadence’s life mattered more than that, but we disagree. George Weasley loved her and that’s the most important thing.
George held out his arm to walk with Cadence back to the dance hall. Cadence thought she’d like nothing more than to skip the rest of the dance, but she knew Fred would be worried if they never came back. Plus, George still needed to talk with him. Cadence smiled at George, for she was always smiling at George, and then she scanned the hall for her date.
It was the loud HA that brought Cadence’s attention to the table on her right. George had noticed first, and now it took everything in his and Cadence’s power not to scream out in surprise and amusement. There, in a dark corner of the hall, they could distinguish two violent silhouettes and a river of black and ginger hair. Fred and Angelina were snogging.
George looked at Cadence through a smirk. “Forget what I said about Fred. I forgot he is an idiot. Let’s go officially make up.” And with a wink reminiscent of his brother’s, George grabbed Cadence by the arm, and they went.