Inventory & Guilt
The sun was still out and the air was still warm when Fred made his way back to the shop in Hogsmeade, and he was almost reluctant to leave the late summer behind and go inside. He left the broom on the outside, and slipped into the building.
The entry bell rang as he entered, and with long steps he made his way up the stairs and into the office-area of the space, where George sat scribbling at some papers. The shop and building was quite small from the outside, but with the help of an extension charm both the shop area downstairs and the living area upstairs had plenty of room. So far they had two separate bedrooms and a combined kitchen, working and living area, complete with a desk, storage, and couch and table for some relaxation; plenty of space for the two of them. Not that they were both planning to be here at the same time too often.
George's eyes met Fred, and he immediately looked back down into his documents.
"Why, hello to you too brother." Fred threw himself down on the couch, planning to do something helpful after a moment.
George looked up again. "Had a nice walk? Or rather, had a nice flying session?" He raised his eyebrow dramatically, going for a 'strict boss' kind of look. "Your broom randomly shot through the main window downstairs and shattered the glass everywhere so I assume that was your doing."
Fred replied effortlessly. "Good. Saw the famous top grade student."
George threw his hands up in feigned annoyance. "You're welcome for repairing the window by the way! Ungrateful git." He playfully muttered the last words and stood up before going towards the kitchen area, stretching his legs after a long time of work and getting a drink as he did so. "Conway?" He asked after a second, not expecting any further words from Fred.
"Yeah, got her on a broom."
"How in the world did you manage that? Tell her you had a grade-changing jinx or something?"
Fred chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows. She was surprisingly decent."
Fred considered telling him about Leigh faking being hurt only to shove her middle finger in his face, all while he was worried and envisioning the ways McGonagall would chop his head off, but decided against it. He knew that he would never hear the end of it if George knew about it.
His brother plopped down in front of the desk again, taking a sip of his drink before resuming his previous action of looking through the papers. A moment of silence passed before he spoke again.
"You enjoy spending time with her then?" George's eyes were still focused on the papers in front of him as he spoke.
"Yeah," Fred shrugged. "She's alright."
George hummed in response, scribbling down something before turning to another page. "Be careful with her, will you?"
The words left his lips, and Fred looked up at him only to see him still facing the paper, scribbling away. He frowned, straightening up slightly in his spot on the couch.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
George glanced up at him briefly, registering his expression. "Nothing, just...Ron said she's been through a lot recently. You read his letter."
Fred scrunched his eyebrows together even more. He had a hard time connecting the dots, and studied his brother's face. After a prolonged pause he spoke again.
"So what?"
George rolled his eyes, trying to select his next words. "So just...don't toy with her, that's all."
Fred's eyebrows shot up, and George realised those were in fact not the best words he could've used. "Toy with her?" A defensive tone seeped through Fred's voice. "I get her laughing, is that so horrible?" He felt annoyance rise within him.
George sighed. "Come on, don't be dramatic, you know what I mean, and you haven't been in a proper relationship in ages." He put the quill down and scratched the side of his neck. "I'm just saying - it's Ron's friend and you don't want to...add more to her plate."
"I'm– what? I'm making her laugh that's all, and my relationship history is hardly relevant." Fred said. George opened his mouth, starting to but in but Fred beat him to it. "And secondly, I know she's Ron's friend but he's obviously being a shit one." George looked at him quizzically, and Fred continued. "The girl barely sleeps or eats."
"You don't know that," George mumbled.
"Anyone can see that! She got thinner even from the last time we saw her for Merlin's sake, and those massive bags under her eyes." Fred exclaimed. "We've all been through hell, it leaves marks on everyone." He stood up, huffing as he made his way to the sink, pouring himself a glass of water and leaning against the counter afterwards. "We talk when I see her and I've made her laugh a few times, that hardly makes me a criminal."
George held his hands up in the air, signalling he was backing off. "Alright, alright, fine. Just keep that in mind then. Be careful with her."
"I am careful." Fred mumbled, taking a sip from his glass while happy the conversation was over.
It had been a tough few years for everyone, keeping an eye out for people, especially people who seemed to be struggling, wasn't a crime. Besides, he had increasingly started to like the girl. She was more fun than what first met the eye.
"She's coming over to see the shop on Thursday," he admitted before taking another gulp from his glass, watching as George looked up at him.
"All for the sake of the project of course," George mumbled, and Fred narrowed his eyes at him in return.
"Yes, obviously. God, you're annoying today."
George sighed. "I know," he whined, throwing the papers down in front of him. "Why do I have to do the inventory?!"
Fred shrugged. "You were always the smartest one." He took yet another sip from his glass, observing his twin with an amused gaze. "Who's being dramatic now?"
-
After her flying adventure with Fred, Leigh got back to the castle to attend her last two classes of the day. After her final one, charms, she stayed late to ask Flitwick some questions and soon realised it was taking longer than expected when they both started enthusing about protection charms. At last she bid goodbye to Flitwick, later than everyone else, before trudging up towards the common room.
Most students had already left the common room at this point to get some well-needed dinner, and the space was now empty. Except for one person.
Leigh laid her eyes on Hermione, who sat at a table already working on homework despite just getting out of her last class. She wore her uniform, with her hair, which was once big and fluffy, now flowing gracefully down past her shoulders. She looked as focused as ever, her eyes set steadily on the words in the textbook in front of her.
"Oh, are you still working?" The sound of Leigh's voice snapped Hermione out of her trance, and she looked up to see the girl smile at her. Hermione's expression soon grew into a grin.
"Oh, hey, it's you. How was your day?" She looked at Leigh attentively.
"Good," Leigh replied, tight-lipped. She found herself not wanting to spill too much about her encounter with a specific Weasley. With a few steps she reached a sofa chair close to where Hermione was seated, and sank into it with a sigh of relief.
"Good?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
Leigh shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose. Classes were good."
Hermione nodded before a faint frown appeared on her face. "I didn't see you during lunch."
"Yeah, I ended up getting some stuff from the kitchen and did some studying." Leigh lied. She had ended up not doing either of those things, but instead zooming around on a broom.
Hermione hummed, although she didn't seem quite convinced. Her eyes ran up and down Leigh, who frowned uneasily. "What?"
"Studying while rolling around in the grass?" She nodded towards the sleeve of Leigh's robe. The girl followed her gaze and was faced with the view of green marks from when she had thrown herself onto the grass, pretending to hurt her wrist.
"I didn't roll, I–," she started, but was at a loss for words and soon realised she would have to come clean. Besides, it wasn't really anything worthy to keep a secret. She sighed. "I was studying and then one of the Weasley twins came to annoy me– I ended up on a broom– anyway, I–"
"Wait, you rolled around with one of the twins on the grass?" Her eyes were wide.
Immediately, Leigh started to blush profusely. "I didn't roll– we didn't roll. There was no rolling!"
Hermione ignored her. "Which one was it?"
Realizing she couldn't get away from the interrogation she slumped her shoulders, scratching her neck with her hand. "Fred," she replied rather sheepishly.
Hermione looked at her, face unreadable. "Fred Weasley."
"Yes, Fred Weasley," Leigh answered.
Silence. Hermione's expression was still impossible to interpret.
"Do you think it's the wrong Weasley?" Leigh asked in a comedic manner. At first Hermione's face remained neutral, but soon she gave Leigh a small smile and accompanying giggle, although not answering her question.
"So you had fun then?"
Leigh felt herself relax slightly – she thought she was going to be made fun of and pushed more, but realised she was speaking with Hermione, and not one particular other person.
She considered the question for a second, thinking back to the wind in her hair and the sun setting itself like a warm protective blanket across her skin. The way she had enjoyed Fred's company. It had been a good day. A very good day. And it scared her slightly.
She nodded in response to the question. "Yeah, I suppose I did."
Hermione smiled warmly, finally closing her book and leaning across the table slightly. "Thats great. Thats all that matters."
Leigh nodded, looking down at her hands. She thought back to her many laughs during lunch, remembering the feeling of flying, seeing Fred's scared expression, and the feeling of victory as his expression changed once he laid his eyes on her middle finger pointing at him. Remembering how much she liked doing something new and adventurous.
Hermione seemed to notice both her being deep in her thoughts and the slight smile that stretched across her lips.
Carefully, she spoke. "Look I know you don't want to hear this but it's fine if you fancy him you know." She looked at Leigh with a comforting smile and a certain painfully understanding look in her eyes.
Leigh wanted to say 'I know' but truthfully she wasn't sure she did. The thought of liking someone, anyone, at the minute felt incredibly strange and improbable to her.
"I dont fancy him," she spoke honestly. "He's just a friend– not even that really. We just...get along somehow. I guess."
Hermione nodded. "Alright, that makes sense." She let her words hang in the air for a bit, looking at Leigh for a moment before speaking again. "But if you end up fancying him, or anyone else for that matter, that's completely fine. You're not doing anything wrong."
Leigh's eyes glued themselves to the table and she bit her lip slightly. "I know that..." She trailed off, shrugging slightly. "He just– he just makes me laugh sometimes, I guess." She murmured, looked up at Hermione, who looked back with loving eyes, furrowing her brows in that comforting way she could do; as if saying that's also okay with every fiber of her being.
In that moment guilt which she had attempted to push down started to rise in Leigh's chest. Guilt for laughing and smiling as if everything was okay. As if she had moved on. Guilt for allowing herself to forget the pain, even just for a moment. It had been going so well since lunch, but now sitting here, looking into Hermione's big, understanding eyes, the wall she had built suddenly crumbled and she felt her eyes welling up with tears. She cursed herself for not being able to keep it together.
"I'm sorry, I-" she started as she sniffled, bringing her hand up to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Oh." Hermione said warmly, reaching her hand out to place it over Leigh's on the table. "It's okay."
Leigh shook her head slightly, feeling the new tears run down her cheeks. "It's not, it's– it's just so...difficult."
"I know." Hermione said, frown taking over her expression. "It's so unfair." She said quietly, squeezing Leigh's hand. "So unfair."
Leigh nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut, the scorching pain clawing through her chest. God it hurt.
Hermione noticed her friend fighting against it, but soon crying even harder. "Oh, Leigh," she cooed, and the sound of wood scraping against the floor was heard as Hermione stood up, walking towards her friend. Quickly her arms engulfed her on the sofa chair, hugging her tightly as sobs escaped her body. "You're alright."
Nothing but sobs were heard as Leigh once again shook her head, yet accepting the hug as she was squeezed between Hermione's arms, a feeling she hadn't felt for months. Hermione held her tight, rubbing her back as she let the girl cry in her arms. "You don't have to go through all this alone," she said quietly. Leigh was happy no one else was in the common room.
That's when the sound of the painting opening occurred, and Leigh felt Hermione's head snap in the direction of the sound. Leigh was too overwhelmed to listen or even care that someone looked at the scene in front of them.
"Get out." Hermione quickly said in a strict tone, and a minute of silence was beard before shuffling, and the sound of the painting closing again.
They sat like that for at least ten more minutes, and no one else attempted to enter the common room.
Finally, after what felt like hours of trying to control her breathing, Leigh felt herself starting to calm down, and she slowly pulled herself from Hermione, who looked at her warmly, hand still positioned on her friend's arm.
"I'm a– alright now...I think" she sniffled, her voice coarse. She wiped her eyes several times, finally resorting to pushing her sleeve up against her eye. "Fuck," she muttered to herself, starting to feel embarrassed that she had just sat there crying for an eternity. "I– I'm really–" she started to apologise, but Hermione quickly waved her aside, giving her arm a squeeze as she did so.
"How about we change, take a few minutes, and then head down to dinner together?"
Leigh nodded. "Yeah." She sniffled, taking a deep breath before standing up, heading off to her dorm, and then heading down to dinner with her friend.