"CRUSH"

CRUSH: infatuation; "LORELEI, HONEY YOU'RE STRESSING TOO MUCH" Birdie told Lorelei as she crouched down next to her on the floor, she didn't understand why it was so important for El to get it right — it was only a spell, one they would probably not have to use unless they willingly go hunting for dementors which is highly unlikely, but Lorelei had always been that way — when she didn't get something right the first time she either gave up or didn't stop until she got it right. It was often harmful for her health as she'd stay up all night trying to figure it out but Birdie couldn't say anything — she had problems herself.

"Well, I should!" Lorelei told her as she got back up to her feet, her hair was tied up in a desperate attempt of a bun because she'd broken her hair tie and she couldn't find anything else to hold up her hair besides her tie, "I want to get it right"

Birdie sighed, Hope and her passed each other a look — they might be here all night.

It was no surprise that Lorelei had been bottling her feelings about the Cedric situation, and then recently she'd been on bad terms with her mother and the daddy issues from her past she still hasn't worked on — it was obviously going to be tough, and she very obviously needed to work things out, but Lorelei was also stubborn and the two girls knew she wouldn't deal with her emotions until she wanted to no matter how much they tried.

Birdie sighed, and Hope slumped down on the ground with a blanket in hand, "I'm just gonna take a nap, don't mind me" she said.

"On the ground...?" asked Lorelei.

"Yeah." Hope responded before she pulled the blanket up to her face and almost as soon as she closed her eyes she fell asleep, it was a full moon day just the day before yesterday and so Hope was still drained, and Lorelei appreciated Hope coming here in this room just so she could help her out.

Birdie looked at Lorelei for a moment, she then crouched down to her level, "Come on, I'm braiding your hair" she told the brunette.

"What?"

"You heard me" Birdie said she then sat down on the floor with her legs crossed as she pat the space in front of her, "Get your miserable arse up here"

"What are you trying to—"

"No questions allowed, El" Birdie told her and after giving the Potter girl a weird look Lorelei sat down on the space in front of her, Lorelei immediately took her makeshift bun down and ran her fingers through her hair.

That's when El remembered — that's exactly what little Birdie and little El would do with each other whenever they met, Birdie loved playing with people's hair and El loved it when people played with hers, it was a win-win for both of them until one day El ended up with a head full of knots and racing car stuck to a strand of her hair, it had been a nightmare getting that car out.

Birdie expertly untied all the knots with her hair, Lorelei wasn't going to lie — she was feeling calmer already.

"How'd you know it would help me calm down?" asked El as she closed her eyes, she heard Birdie chuckle from behind her.

"Child, I've been using this method to calm you down for ages" she told the brunette, "I remember you'd freak out about little things as kids and I'd just sit down and do your hair and you'd just stop thinking"

"Well, it's working" Lorelei chuckled, "I do wish we could go back to that time, you know, as old as it makes me sound I miss being a kid — all we did was eat, sleep and play and we had practically no worries"

"No worries would be stretching it since you did spend most of your birthdays waiting for you dad and I spent most my childhood running between your house and mine, but yes," Birdie sighed, "Things were better back then than they are now, I miss those days"

"Merlin, we sound so old"

"I feel old, I already have so much back pain!"

Lorelei and Birdie fell into simultaneous laughter that they quickly silenced when Hope stirred in her sleep, and when Lorelei got back up on her feet she had a perfectly braided dutch braid and a lighter head, Birdie squeezed her shoulders, "How about this — you imagine yourself back in that time? Just us kids playing our stupid house game, you and George complaining about it being boring, Hope wanting to be a cat just so she could sleep and Fred and I wreaking havoc on the whole house by setting our play house on fire"

Lorelei thought about it, it didn't hurt to try so she closed her eyes and imagined herself back at that place, the stupid happiness she got from a simple muffin or playing with her friends — no war.

"Expecto patronum!" Lorelei exclaimed, and this time from the end of her wand came out a completely corporeal fox, it looked around before it started running and Lorelei felt herself smile.

Of course Birdie knew how to get her out of her slump, she always knows.

🫐

GEORGE WEASLEY WAS SCREWED. He was hopeless. He was whipped. He was so screwed. You want to know how he came to this realization? Well, he's been staring at Lorelei for almost all night instead of eating his food — it's just that she seems so careless and free sitting with Harley and joking about Merlin knows what, with her hair braided and a few pieces framing her face and her grey eyes shining — she had to be the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

Yeah, he'll admit it. He was whipped.

"You ok, Georgie?" asked Fred as he stole something from Birdie's plate who was sitting next to him, she slapped his arm and he pouted, "You've been staring off into the distance for almost an hour, dinner is about to end"

"Don't interrupt him, Freddie" Birdie said with a lighthearted tone, "He's busy staring at a certain Ravenclaw" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Finally!" George looked over to see Hope smiling widely, he was confused, she looked like her face might break with that smile of hers, "He notices, you owe me five galleons, Birdie"

"Damn it" Birdie groaned, she then turned to the redhead, "Couldn't you have waited until after the session was over to have your revelation?"

"I don't understand" Fred and George said together.

"Your crush on Lorelei" Hope said as if it was the most obvious thing ever, Fred's jaw dropped on the floor and so did George's, "Fred, what are you so surprised about? Shouldn't you have known? He's literally your twin!"

"Yeah, what the hell?" Birdie asked as she passed Fred a disappointed look, "You've been my boyfriend for a year, you should know when someone's crushing on someone because of how much I talk about it!"

"I'm sorry, can we go back to the part where you think I have a crush on Lorelei?" George asked, his voice pitchy, "Because I do not, I absolutely don't have a crush on—"

"You have a crush?" George heard the familiar voice and almost fell out of hs seat, Merlin, he hopes she didn't hear much. Lorelei raised her eyebrows at the redhead who swallowed, "And you didn't tell me? Here I thought we were the bestest of friends"

Hope started choking on her drink as she laughed, George passed her a glare and Birdie simply sipped on her water — Fred still looked confused.

"Yeah..." George said as his voice cracked, he cleared his throat, "It's not a crush—"

"Oh?" Lorelei said as she grinned deviously, her eyebrows raised and a small smirk stretched on her lips.

Her lips — they had to be the best shaped lips ever. George shook that thought out of his head and continued to shove chicken in his mouth.

"No one's gonna tell me?" asked Lorelei as she looked around at the table, she got no response, "Fine, at least tell me if I know them"

"Oh, you do!" Hope said cheekily, George glared at her, "You know them very well"

"Oh my Merlin" Lorelei said, she leaned forward on the table, "Is it Lee? I always thought you tw—"

"What? No!" George told her, she was oblivious as hell for not getting this one — even her father knew, what was not clicking in her brain? Maybe he should just tell her, but then again maybe he hasn't been all that clear about his crush on her, "Why would it be Lee? I love him, but I've seen too much, and he sometimes grosses me out, he's like another Fred"

"Excuse me?" Fred asked his brother, "I gross you out? Says the guy who literally pu—"

"Uh uh, no need to live in the past, Freddie" George interrupted, Fred took the hint and shut up — he could embarrass his brother in front of his alleged crush some other time, right now the chicken on his plate was more important.

"Fine, don't tell me" Lorelei said with a shrug, "But just know that I'll do everything that I possibly can to get that information from you, sleep with one eye open, Ginger" she told him. She then looked at Harleen who motioned for her to come back to the table, and so with one last mock threatening look to George she walked back to the blonde.

"Always such a delight, isn't she?" asked Birdie as she pat George's shoulder, "Good luck getting her to admit her feelings."

"You think she has feelings for me?" George asked eagerly and Birdie nodded.

"It's obvious" she said, "Not to her maybe, but to us it is, she's just super oblivious — runs in the family, did you know aunt Sirene literally took almost two years to ask uncle Andrew out? And it wasn't even planned she just blurted it out and—"

George could only hope Lorelei reciprocated his feelings for her because if she didn't then he was going to get more hurt than he could ever think to be.

ah the classic black family obliviousness