Chapter 38: Strange Behaviour I

Sharon tried her best to hold her usual smile but her lips were unwilling to curl upwards as she stared at her rankings in the Ravenclaw common room.

After all the work she put in she was only in the middle of the pack. Even when she got everything right for homework, she would always choke in the practical aspects in class. Simon Li's name was perched at the very top of the list, with a special frame highlighting his name for all to see. She was certain her name would be even lower if they took into account the high achievers in other houses like Cedric, Fred and Phoebe.

But somehow, the pain of seeing her name in its position on the list was nothing compared to what she felt when interacting with others in her year. Simon and George seemed to actively avoid her. At first she thought she was overthinking but over time it became clear they chose to study in the library to avoid her presence in the common room. Cedric seemed to only give her curt nods when passing her by in the hallway, rarely stopping for a real conversation. Even her roommates, Julia and Patricia, have grown close and she felt like an outsider when she was around them. The only person she had spoken to more often was Percy Weasley, but he was only willing to engage her in conversation if the topic was purely academic. She thought she was working very hard to get to know people but nobody seemed to want to be friends with her.

All she could do whenever she felt down during these times was to go for a walk alone on the Hogwarts grounds. While it was April already, the grounds were still surprisingly chilly but she actually liked it that way. Maybe it was silly but she felt like the wind could blow away her worries and make her feel better. Looking around and noticing there was not really anyone on the grounds during this hour close to dinner time, she closed her eyes and opened her arms wide to embrace the cool breeze.

"Hmmm, that felt nice," she thought as she opened her eyes to see a familiar redhead rushing onto the grounds.

"What is he doing…?"

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"How is Professor Wiblin like when giving detentions?" George asked with his mouth full, while curiously eyeing the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Honestly, they were quite relaxing," Roger replied, poking at his mashed potatoes, "He would just make you copy texts or something but never requires you to finish any specific number of pages. If it is an hour detention, you leave at an hour sharp."

"Maybe Professor Wiblin enjoys Fred's splendid company," Jake suggested, "Or Fred blew up the DADA classroom. Anyways, why are you so concerned he is not at dinner yet?"

While Simon also felt like Fred was likely just being late as usual, he did not dare to voice his opinion. Twin magic was something that existed in this world according to Lord Lian and he did not want to casually brush aside George's concern. He really hoped Fred did not get into any additional trouble. It was kind of their fault that Fred had detention to begin with, as they were unable to sneak him out quickly like they did with George.

The dinner continued with no sign of Fred. Other students started filing out of the Great Hall but George continued to stay in his seat, looking around for any sign of his doppelgänger. Simon stayed behind after Jake, Fahim and Roger all headed back to the dormitories first. Phoebe seemed to have noticed the odd behaviour of George so she came over to join them after finishing her meal with Row, dragging Cedric with her.

After what felt like another 15 or so minutes, Simon finally said, "Maybe we should go to the Gryffindor common room? Maybe Fred just went back from detention without going to dinner? He probably asked Mitty to fix up something for him instead."

George sighed and nodded, following the others out of the now almost empty Great Hall. However, the four of them did not even make it to the stairs when they were accosted by a drenched figure.

"We need to talk about Fred. Now."