Pygmy Puffs
She kept her word, and came over to visit the shop without waiting another month, and he kept his word; he made her hot chocolate.
She was moderately nervous the first time she decided to pop over, but soon realised there was nothing to be nervous about. Taking up the offer to study there, she had brought her notes and a pile of books, and subsequently received an amused look from Fred once she entered through the door. George was still in Diagon Alley for business, and Fred seemed content enough that he finally had some company.
Leigh had sat down downstairs by the couches they had sat in before, surrounded by that magical light created by the sun hitting the countless number of colourful bottles of liquid. Except there was no sun this time, and the colours were bleaker, darker, but beautiful nonetheless.
She had to admit that it was nice to have a separate, quiet space. Even though the library had become her safe haven across the years, even that was filled with sounds: echoing chatter from students in the corners of the space, books accidentally being dropped, and the sound of wandering footsteps of students trying to find that one specific book they were searching for. Here it was just her.
Well, and Fred. Although thankfully it seemed like he had one of his less annoying days today.
He had quickly taken the hint, and avoided annoying her, at least this time, instead letting her sink down onto the couch, watching her plop the pile of books down beside her.
Despite the chilly temperature outside, the inside of the shop was pleasant. Still, Leigh was grateful once a cup of hot chocolate was delivered to her, and she reddened profusely as she thanked Fred, who gave her nothing but a small smile in return.
Immediately, that smell of the hot chocolate, the warmth of the cup, and the smoothness of the drink when it touched her lips made her feel like she had really made the right decision coming here after all.
After delivering her hot drink, Fred had stood himself by the counter, closing up and sorting out some paperwork after the last customers had left.
Once that was completed he had gone upstairs, only to come down moments later with a stack of papers and his own cup of hot chocolate, sitting down on the other couch by Leigh and starting to work through whichever documents he had brought with him. The night darkened outside the windows.
Leigh had bit her lip to force back a smile, looking at Fred discreetly across from her from beneath her eyelashes. His gaze was set on the papers in front of him, and his quill worked diligently.
He had moved down from the office space to here just to have some company. It was sweet. She had attempted to focus back on the essay in front of her, but her gaze kept flickering over to him as he sat completing his work. His eyebrows furrowed in focus, his hand's firm grasp of the quill, his hair. Once she left that evening she had gotten quite a bit of work done after all.
The second time she visited the shop, a few days later, was not as calm and peaceful as the first one. Partly because the amount of twins in the shop had doubled, and partly because of the predicament she found herself stepping into the second she stepped through the job door.
"Close the door!"
The sound of two voices yelling in unison caught her off guard, and she jumped at the ambush, quickly shutting the door behind her once she was inside. Her wide eyes searched around the room for answers, and she registered the two brothers in two ends of the shop, their ginger hair and alarmed faces popping up behind the pieces of furniture in front of them.
Just as quickly as they popped up into her vision, they once again disappeared behind the shelves, and she was left staring confusedly into thin air.
"I– ...what," Leigh all but whispered to herself, perplexed. She walked into the room, placing her books down onto the counter before warily walking further into the shop, as if afraid something might jump her.
"What is going on–," she started, but was quickly interrupted.
"Shh!"
A frown of annoyance overtook her face at the shushing, and she stepped forward to look around one of the shelves with the aim of getting to the bottom of what in the world they were doing.
She peered around the shelf and almost burst out laughing at the view. George was down on the floor peeking under a piece of furniture, appearing to be looking for something. Upon sensing her presence, he looked up, delivering a cheerful smile her way.
"Oh, hi," he whispered. "Long time no see."
She couldn't help but place a hand on her hip as she looked down at him, sprawled out on the floor. "What are you–"
"Sh! Don't want them to run away!"
Her initial annoyance faded and was replaced by curiosity. "Them?" She asked, this time quieter. "Who's them?"
"The pygmy puffs."
"The pygmy puffs?"
"Yes. Someone wanted to hold one and accidentally let all of them out. We managed to catch most, but we have a few left," George stated, nodding towards the table at his side where a cage of pygmy puffs were placed.
"They're quicker than you expect!" Fred defended a bit further away, and George rolled his eyes before meeting Leigh's gaze.
"See? That's what I have to deal with. You should babysit him more often."
"Shut up and keep looking, George," Fred huffed, and some shuffling was heard in the distance.
George suddenly registered movement underneath the piece of furniture in front of him, and immediately leapt out of place to rush deeper into the shop. Leigh was stuck in place, watching him disappear from her view with a frown.
She looked back towards her books before sighing to herself. She knew she wouldn't get anything done with the two of them darting around the shop, so she finally made her decision and started searching the floor for the fluffy, small creatures.
They were indeed small, and she soon found that it was more difficult than she first expected to spot the little guys. Contrary to the twins, she decided to stay on her feet, and slowly made her way between the shelves.
Finally, she spotted one, its colourful and fluffy fur sticking out like a sore thumb on the floor. The neared it, quietly, and was glad to see that it didn't seem to be paying attention to her.
She extended her arms towards it, and, after a moment of focus, trying to be as quiet as possible, swiftly scooped it up into her palm. She gazed at the small creature with contentment.
Suddenly a body dived down onto the floor in front of her with a thud, shocking both her and the little pygmy puff currently residing in her palm.
"You caught it!" Fred's voice erupted happily from the floor, him apparently also trying to catch it.
"I have a feeling you guys' American football-esque technique really doesn't work," she said and looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Muggle sport," she quickly added once she saw his confused expression.
"I'll have you know that it has been incredibly successful so far. I've caught three of them already."
She hummed. "Right. And how long did that take you?"
Instead of answering, he grumbled slightly under his breath before standing up beside her. His gaze moved from her face down to the small pygmy puff in her hands, and the corners of his lips tipped upwards slightly.
He took a step closer and reached out to scratch the animal, who wiggled happily. "Look at the little guy." He looked at the creature with adoration before catching her gaze once more. "Can you blame me for wanting to hold one for a bit?"
"I kind of can't," she replied with a small smile. The pygmy puff seemed to enjoy the attention.
"Hey by the way." Fred's grin was big and his eyes twinkling as he met her gaze, his cheeks moderately rosy from rushing around the shop on the hunt for pygmy puffs.
"Hi Fred."
She petted the small creature in her hands slightly.
"No 'Weasley' today?" Fred asked teasingly.
She shook her head, still looking at the fluffy little animal. "I feel nice today. Besides, there's currently two Weasleys in my midst so using the last name would be confusing."
He grinned cheekily at her. "Right. I just think you like me."
She huffed under her breath, walking over towards the cage to drop off the creature. "Impossible. I'm neutral at best."
He followed after her. "I gave you hot chocolate last week," he mentioned, raising an eyebrow towards her expectantly.
"I know. That's what pushed you up to neutral."
"Hm, harsh," he started, a slight smirk forming at his lips.
Leigh shrugged, closing the hatch on the cage. She changed the topic. "How many do you think are left?"
He scratched his head, looking as if he was counting in his mind. "Probably about....five?"
She couldn't help but let out a sigh. Seemed like she wouldn't be able to study for a while.
As if reading her mind, Fred spoke. "You could go upstairs to study if you want. While we catch the rest. It's our problem after all."
She considered it for a moment before shaking her head, walking in between the shelves on the hunt for yet another pygmy puff. He followed after her. "It's alright."
"Maybe it's good for you. Shouldn't overwork yourself."
She smiled slightly at his words. "You're one to talk. Every time I'm here you're working." She shot a glance back towards him in emphasis before continuing to walk away, her steps quiet as she was on the lookout for the small creatures.
"It's just the price of success, dear."
Suddenly, she caught a movement in the corner of her eye and immediately stopped in her tracks. As if predicting the future, she reached her arm out to her side to catch a certain someone almost diving nose first into the floor.
"No american football!" She whisper shouted, looking to the left to see Fred standing closely beside her. He met her gaze.
"What do you propose then?" He replied in an equally hushed voice. He looked at her expectantly.
"Move slowly," she stated. However, she didn't get the opportunity to carry out her plan as she froze in her tracks, her gaze slowly starting to move down from Fred's eyes, across his face, to her own hand's location upon his chest. She gulped, and she felt the moment hanging in the air.
Then, quickly, abnormally quickly, she retracted her hand, bringing it to her side as she tore her gaze away from him. In desperate need of finding something else to focus on, her gaze searched the floor for the pygmy puff previously spotted, which still sat in place.
She heard Fred chuckle breathily beside her, a hint of a rasp reaching her ear, and felt him leaning slightly closer. "You're funny, Conway, you know that?"
He delivered a cheeky smile her way, and she pushed her tongue to the inside of her cheek to keep herself from returning it.
He turned towards the pygmy puff and took Leigh's advice - approaching it slowly. Much to his own astonishment, he was successful, and soon enough all the pygmy puffs were safely back where they belonged.
"Good job team!" George held his hands up to high-five them both. Leigh let out a laugh before doing what was asked, Fred following suit with a dramatic, seemingly practised high five and accompanying handshake with his brother.
George sighed to himself. "I need a drink after this." His eyes travelled over to Leigh. "You want one?"