Do you want me to smack him for you?
"Didn't think you were the drinking type." Fred's voice spoke some 30 minutes later when the three of them held identical drinks of some beverage George had brought with him from his latest visit in London. They were seated in the couches as usual, Leigh having a book and notebook open in front of her, with a bowl of snacks placed on the table.
The twins had been in conversation about something shop-related for the last half hour, not paying Leigh much attention as she scribbled away, but it seemed she was once again noticed in their presence.
She huffed under her breath at Fred's statement, temporarily interrupting her own note-taking to look up at him across the table. "What, I care about my grades and you automatically think I do nothing else?"
"That's not what I meant," he started, but was interrupted by George snickering beside Leigh, leaning against the arm of the couch and holding his glass in front of him. Fred gave him a look. "Shut up George."
"Do you want me to smack him for you?" George asked, glancing to his left at her.
She smiled behind the curtains of her hair. "It's alright. Although I think I'd enjoy seeing him smacked at some point."
"Just give me the sign," George giggled before taking a gulp from his glass.
Leigh looked up from her book to gaze at Fred, who was still looking at his snickering brother with a scowl. Fred bit his lip slightly in thought before he looked over at Leigh, who gave him a soft look before she looked away.
"I'm impressed you're still intent on studying even two drinks in," George added.
"Just have to catch up," Leigh responded with a shrug, finishing her sentence and contemplating whether to start on a new one or not.
"In no world are you behind on studying," Fred chipped in with an obvious tone. "Genius."
"Alright, alright. Just have to get ahead," Leigh amended her statement with a chuckle, glancing at him in the process and accidentally meeting his gaze. The sound of George putting his empty glass down on the table prompted Fred to look away.
The bottle stood closest to him, and George pointed towards it slightly. "Pour me some more, will you?"
Fred complied, grasping the bottle in one hand and unscrewing the cap with the other. For some reason Leigh couldn't help but let her gaze follow his movements; the way he tilted the bottle with precision, how he held the glass in a firm grasp.
She focused her eyes back down on her notes.
She was outlining an essay for potions. Her initial success in the subject seemed to slowly subside, and she found herself on the verge of struggling. Hopefully it wouldn't get to that. After a few final changes she put her quill down and moved to close her notebook. The second the closed book met the table in front of her both Fred and George erupted in cheers, and Leigh rolled her eyes at their reaction.
"You two are ridiculous," she spoke with a suppressed grin, reaching forward to get the bowl of popcorn in front of her on the table, planting it in her lap and taking a handful.
"I never thought I'd see the day you put that notebook of yours down," George said dramatically.
"A rare occurrence indeed," Fred added with a grin before reaching a hand out towards Leigh and motioning for her to pass over the snacks.
She playfully scowled. "Really? The bowl's been standing there untouched for 40 minutes and all of a sudden you want some the moment I have it?"
Fred replied by wiggling his fingers even more, a smirk growing on his face. "What? Maybe they just look better when you eat them."
Leigh huffed to herself before scooping up some more popcorn into her hand and reluctantly passing the bowl over to Fred across the table.
There was a sparkle in his eye as he received it, and he looked at her with a teasing expression. "Thank youuu." He immediately threw a popcorn into his mouth, as if in emphasis.
"I reckon I could've been proper good at potions if I tried," George's thoughtful voice spoke, and Leigh looked towards him to see him mindlessly turning the pages in her notebook, which was no longer lying on the table.
"What's with the two of you stealing my things?" She asked and reached out towards him, but soon gave up as he moved the notebook out of her reach. There really was no winning when it came to anything involving the height or arm length of the twins.
"'The ethical discussion surrounding stewed mandrake usage'?" George's voice seeped with confusion as he read the contents of the notebook, his eyes repeatedly travelling across the page. Several seconds passed.
Leigh couldn't help but smile, and Fred was heard snickering across from her. "Seems like you could not have been 'proper good' at potions after all."
George shrugged in response, turning the page in the notebook. "At least I'd be better than you, wouldn't I?"
The expression on Fred's face showed he silently agreed, but instead of replying he immediately sent a popcorn flying in George's direction. Despite trying to catch it in his mouth, it hit George above the eye, and before long the two of them were heavily invested in the activity of throwing and catching popcorn to each other.
Leigh leaned back on the couch, trying to avoid the flying snacks, but also letting a soft, almost unintelligible smile trace her lips.
Minutes later the notebook was safely returned to the table in front of Leigh, and George, now full of popcorn, rose from his seat to shake himself off the crumbles and go to the loo.
Fred leaned back in his seat, throwing another snack in his mouth before placing the bowl back on the table once more. He glanced over at Leigh, who met his gaze but immediately started picking at her nails instead.
"Look at you," he started with a chuckle, and Leigh looked up in surprise, seeing his raised eyebrows and his giddy demeanour. "You're covered with– wait, give me a second."
She watched as he stood up and moved around the table to stand in front of her, her gaze following his every move. He reached a hand out towards her and immediately removed a piece of popcorn from her hair.
"Aw, sorry," he started, sitting down beside her and continuing to remove some snacks which were still scattered between her strands. Even sitting down, the height difference was clear, and Leigh glanced up at him every now and then. She felt the touch of his fingertips against her hair, and saw the focused expression cladding his face. "There you go," he finally said, leaning back after letting a finger guide a strand into its correct place.
Leigh fought to keep the warmth from spreading across her face, meanwhile Fred seemed to sit oblivious beside her, taking a final look across her hair before nodding to himself, pleased with his work. He delivered a cheerful smile.
George's voice from another room shot through the silence. "Ask her about the boxes!"
Leigh's brows furrowed together as she looked towards the sound of his voice, Fred doing the same. "Boxes?" She looked at the twin beside her, awaiting an explanation.
"Ah right, boxes," Fred started, turning towards her again and giving her a sheepish grin. If Leigh wasn't so curious about what they were talking about she might have noticed the close distance between the two of them.
Fred continued his explanation. "We're getting a big delivery this weekend which was delayed to Sunday, and we need all the help we can get to sort it all out before opening on Monday. So if you want to lend a hand that would be very appreciated. We promise food and drinks after, and you can get some products with you home if you want, as thanks." He finished his sentence with a pushed together smile.
"Oh." No other words escaped her lips, and she seemed to go over something in her mind.
"So...what do you say?" Fred nudged her shoulder beside him, looking down at her by his side. She peeked up briefly.
"How come you haven't asked Ron and those? It's your brother after all, wouldn't he help?"
George once again entered the room, quickly butting into the conversation he had overheard on his way back. "There's your answer. He's our brother, why would we ever want him around?" He plopped down onto the couch to the right of Leigh again, scooping a bunch of popcorn into his hand and starting to munch on them.
"And wittle Ronniekins couldn't be helpful even if he tried. Dumb and clumsy is never a good combination," Fred added with a raised brow.
"So? What do you say?–"
"–Carrying boxes? Doing work without getting paid?"
She chuckled at the two of them, leaning back in the couch and letting her gaze jump from George on her right to Fred on her left, both looking at her in anticipation. They were nice company. And she had no plans for Sunday anyway. She caved. "Alright, fine, I'll carry some boxes."
-
"You're doing what?" Nova's voice shot through the space of their shared dorm an hour or so later, when Leigh was safe and sound back at Hogwarts. Leigh sat on her bed with a book while Nova sat on the floor, rummaging through her trunk in search for a top she swore should be in there.
"I'm helping them with some boxes."
"Helping them with some boxes. I swear, you're becoming Santa's apprentice if Santa was two ginger twins."
Leigh thought of Nova's words for a second, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "That's...one way to look at it."
"You know it's more than the project at this point, don't you?"
Leigh rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm hanging there every now and then. And they wanted my help."
"You're so biased nowadays too. When's the last time you notified McGonagall of any 'incidents involving the products' or whatever it is you call it? Have you even let her know about the dementor thing?"
"No," Leigh mumbled. "But half the school knows so I'm sure there's no point in me letting her know now."
Nova nodded dramatically. "Riiight. Not at all because you have a soft spot for the two of them."
Leigh grumbled under her breath, turning a page in her book despite not having read it through completely. "They're fine."
A giggle reached her ears. "Oh believe me, I know."
Leigh paused before the words sank in, and she immediately threw a pillow at her friend. Nova chuckled, just about dodging the pillow which crashed down on the floor beside her.
"Come on. I have hands - I'll lift boxes. You sure they don't want any extra help?"
Leigh shrugged. "Don't know. I can ask."
Nova's eyes lit up. "Oh my god, please do. I was kind of joking but that would be– yeah!"
Seeing her excited demeanour, Leigh spoke again. "I can't guarantee anything, but I mean, if they want help, I suppose why not?"
"That would be so cool!" Nova exclaimed, and Leigh smiled slightly at her friend's reaction. "And once Terry hears about it I bet he'd be so jealous!"