Reason for Celebration
Perplexed, Leigh watched as Fred stepped out of the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes shop after her, closing the door firmly behind him. He had for some reason offered to walk her back towards the Hogwarts grounds, and she had no clue why. She did have to admit it made her moderately nervous.
The two walked in silence for a second before Fred spoke up, gaze remaining in front of him. He didn't seem as joyful and teasing as usual, but a rather serious expression clad his face.
"I don't know how to say this without it sounding very clumsy," he started, glancing at her slightly with soft eyes. "But I'm sorry for your loss. George is too. We heard about your friend Evan."
Out of all the things Leigh had expected to come out of the ginger's mouth, this was not one of them. She wasn't prepared for his words, nor to be reminded of Evan at his very moment. For some reason she wasn't used to hearing his name anymore. So far it had felt like her struggles surrounding his death was dealt with by her alone, and with everyone else being unaware. Even Nova, who was her closest friend, hadn't spoken his name, but simply referred to him as him the few times he was spoken about nowadays. And now, when his name was spoken by someone she was sorely unprepared to hear it from, it felt like a punch right to the stomach.
She forced air into her lungs after a few painful moments. Her mouth felt dry. "How did you know?" She asked quietly, trying to keep her mind from the mention of his name. Just thinking about him made tears threaten to well up in her eyes, and she looked down at the path in front of her as she tried to push them back.
"Talked to Ron and he told us," Fred said honestly. His voice was soft, and she nodded slightly at his words. It felt weird to know that people were speaking about her without her knowing, but at the same time she understood. They were brothers after all, and they were bound to share things like that.
She nodded slightly to herself again, clearing her throat and facing him. "Thanks," she said genuinely, watching him as he delivered a sad smile her way, his eyes remaining on her as she quickly looked away and tried to push the memories from her mind. He probably waited for her to say something else, and she truly appreciated his words, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Just thinking, yet alone talking about him, hurt so goddamn much.
She cleared her throat again, hoping she didn't do so too loudly and obviously, before raising her gaze from the ground and instead looking ahead of her. She blinked away the tears in her eyes and started raking her brain trying to figure out how to divert this conversation to another topic. If she had noticed anything recently it was that she wasn't good with feelings.
"Wait..," She trailed off, looking at Fred, confused. "You talked with Ron after the spiders?"
Fred looked back at her, equally confused by her line of questioning. "Yeah. How else would we know if they did what they were supposed to? We couldn't really ask you, even if you witnessed it all. I have a feeling you wouldn't be too useful on that front, being as opposed to the shop as you are."
Leigh's mouth opened, ready to protest. "I'm not- !" Fred gave her a challenging gaze and she stopped mid-sentence, rolling her eyes with a huff. "Okay, okay, maybe I am. But I'm surprised he wanted to talk to you so soon after that. He was petrified. Truly. Even blamed me!"
Fred laughed, "Yeah, he said. Hilarious. As if anyone could ever envision you of all people to pull any prank of any sort."
Harsh words. Her eyes narrowed, whether playfully or seriously, she didn't know. "I can prank." She defended, and Fred raised an eyebrow with an amused look in his eye. "I just chose not to."
"Riiight. Well, tell you what. Send me an owl when the mere thought of pranking enters your mind. Wouldn't want to miss something so unique and improbable."
"Shut up," Leigh mumbled. Again, she didn't know what to reply, and it was driving her nuts.
"Ron liked the spider product, you know," He started, as if rubbing it in her face. "Thought it was clever. Seems like you're the only one who disapproves." He looked at her smugly.
"That's cause he's your little brother! Of course he would say that - he looks up to you."
Fred hummed. "And that, my dear Conway, is the value of testing products on family. They just have to get over it. And Ron's impressed with whatever we do anyway."
"Yeah he is, isn't he," Leigh sighed. "God knows why..," she trailed off sneakily.
"Oi, watch it!" Fred erupted beside her and nudged her shoulder playfully with his arm. She laughed, for once enjoying that sparkle that appeared in his eyes as he looked at her.
A few moments of silence ensued before either of them spoke again, the only sound accompanying them being the sound of their shoes thumping across the ground. Leigh was the first to break the silence.
"They are quite smart actually, some of your stuff," she admitted quietly, yet honestly. She had spent some time going over the previous products list before their meeting, and had unexpectedly realised that a lot of the items hinged on quite complex magic. She hated to say it, but she, like Ron, found herself being impressed more times than she could count as she went over the products and their descriptions on the paper.
Fred furrowed his brows, leaning towards her slightly as he cupped a hand behind his ear. "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you," he said dramatically, and Leigh chuckled, rolling her eyes as a blush started to spread across her cheeks at the idea of having to deliver the half-way compliment again.
"They're quite clever," she said with a smile. "Even if I don't favour seeing them in the corridors."
A grin appeared on Fred's face as he looked back at her. "I knew you'd warm up eventually."
"Well, I couldn't help to," she shrugged. "George offered me a normal toffee earlier. How could I resist warming up then?"
A look of realisation spread on Fred's face. "Oh, so that's why you were blue earlier when I joined," he said, and Leigh stopped abruptly in her tracks, smile dropping from her face.
"What- No I wasn't. Was I?" She stuttered, a look of concern taking over her features. Her hands flew to her face, touching it nervously as if that would solve the mystery. She looked up at Fred with wide eyes.
It was first then that she took note of his expression. His smile was wide, and his nose scrunched up as he laughed freely, observing as she was stressfully trying to check if she was blue.
"You little-," she started, although little was perhaps the wrong word to describe him. "You prick!" She burst out, slapping him on the arm, although a small smile appeared on her lips. He jumped back, seeming to laugh even harder at her reaction. "I was just starting to like you!"
"Oh, were you?" He asked with a cheeky grin, raising an eyebrow and receiving another slap in result.
"Well, not anymore!" She said in an obvious tone.
His laughter continued, and he seemed to enjoy the sullen look he received from Leigh as they neared the Hogwarts grounds. It was as clear as day that Leigh was fighting hard to suppress a smile.
Soon enough they were there, at the beginning of the Hogwarts grounds. "Don't want to rouse any suspicions now, do we?" Fred said cheekily, looking at her through the darkness. She knew the twins didn't want the students to see them on Hogwarts grounds too often and become suspicious they were talking with the Headmistress or any of the staff.
"No..," Leigh trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Tonight's conversation had been different than the ones they'd had before, and Leigh wasn't sure how to end it. The atmosphere was...different. She wasn't sure she wanted to admit it to herself, but she had really enjoyed it. She opted for a safe bet. "Uhm, I'll see you around?"
Fred nodded in front of her, his red hair flowing around his ears and framing his face. "Yeah," he replied, looking at her with kind eyes. "I'll see you. Sooner rather than later, I believe." And with that he gave her a last look before turning on his heel, making his way back.
Leigh was left with a puzzled look on her face as she pondered his last few words.
-
Once she arrived back in the Gryffindor common room a few moments later, she was met with a rowdy, celebratory atmosphere, and for once she decided to approach the situation with an air of optimism. They had all gotten the news that they would be going to Hogsmeade soon, and that was absolutely a reason for celebration.
Her eyes scanned the room after entering. The trio, inseparable as always, sat on one side of the couch in front of the fireplace, some 6th years on the other side. Neville stood by the window with a drink in his hand, chatting with someone Leigh recognised from herbology. Over by a table, made into a makeshift bar, Nova stood, waiting for the 7th year behind the table to finish pouring her drink. Beside her was a 6th year Leigh couldn't quite place.
Not even thinking about sneaking up the dorms unseen, Leigh made her way to her friend, surprising her with a tap to the shoulder. She whipped around and immediately smiled. "It's you!"
"It's me!" Leigh responded, hugging her friend quickly. She nodded towards the guy behind the bar, who immediately started concocting something firewhisky-related.
"How long have the festivities been going on?" She asked with a quizzical smile.
Nova, obviously at least a bit intoxicated, shook her head at the question. "You haven't missed out too much," she replied, quickly scooping up a cup from the table in front of her to hand to her friend.
Just as she took the cup, preparing to take her first (probably excruciating) sip, Neville came forward to get another drink.
"Hi you guys," he said with a polite smile, not wanting to intrude on the conversation.
"Had a dance yet, Neville?" Leigh asked teasingly, earning a chuckle and a shake of the head from the boy.
"No, not yet. I can feel it coming though," he said with a smile. "Another drink and I'll be up there." Everyone knew Neville could dance since the ball in 4th year. And more often than not, after a few drinks, he had been known to take a few steps when cheered on by his housemates.
Leigh delivered a grin before taking a sip of her drink, immediately holding back a gag. "Merlin, this is disgusting." She muttered, and Nova agreed.
"Absolutely barbaric. Can't say it's the best drink I've ever had, but oh well." She shrugged, taking a big gulp from the cup before shivering visibly. "So Neville," she started, seemingly trying to distract herself from the horrid taste, "Who's the girl?" She nodded towards the girl Leigh had previously remembered from herbology.
He followed her gaze. "Oh, that's my herbology partner, Louise. We were talking about something she read earlier today that might be useful for the class tomorrow." A small grin clad his lips as he discussed his favourite subject. Leigh didn't even remember she had herbology the next day.
"Oh," Nova said, loosing interest as her eyes starting scanning the room. Either trying to find somewhere else to go, or trying to find out something new to say.
"She's pretty," Leigh noted, and softly nudged Neville, who chuckled at her insinuation.
"She is, yeah," he admitted, and Leigh wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not, but she could swear she saw a tinge of pink swirling across his cheeks.
Soon enough, another drink and some more conversation in, they found themselves moving towards the fireplace. Leigh quickly leant down to give Hermione a hug, who embraced her back.
"You look happy!" she said excitedly, her gleaming eyes proving she had absolutely had a few drinks. Leigh laughed in response, not really sure what to say. Hermione pulled her down onto the couch beside her before continuing. "That's good," she hummed with a drunken smile.
For a the first time in a long time, Leigh found herself having fun. Maybe the firewhisky played a part, but Leigh couldn't help but give credit to tonight's company.