Are You Blushing?
The sharp and cold winds immediately ripped into Leigh the second they stepped outside, and she tightened the scarf around her neck. The summer air had long abandoned them, and all that was left now was the chilly and dark last months of the year.
The two of them naturally walked closer due to the cold, and Fred glanced at her, all packaged into her coat.
"I should've brought a scarf," he said in feigned sulkiness, one hand grasping his jacket beneath his chin to keep the cold from his skin.
"Is this your way of asking for mine?" She raised an eyebrow.
"No, I could never," he immediately responded with a smile. "It suits you too well."
With it nearing December, Fred couldn't help but bring up the holiday decorations which were soon to be strewn across Hogsmeade. Trees with lights and creative Christmas displays in all the shops' windows. This, of course, included Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Fred delved into the type of lights and decorations they would have both on the shop in Hogsmeade and the one in Diagon Alley, and Leigh couldn't help but just listen and smile. Some of the notable ideas he brought up was dressing the mechanical Weasley in front of the shop up like Santa Claus, and putting a permanent snowing charm over the shop entrance.
Once he'd explained the type of decorations Zonko's, and other shops, had had in the past he seemed to run out of words and a comfortable silence surrounded them.
They were walking down the street between the buildings, no specific destination in mind.
Surprising both herself and Fred, Leigh spoke up. The curiosity got the better of her.
"So," she glanced up at Fred, "How did it go with the girl?"
She could see him suppressing a smirk, yet he replied: "Which girl?"
She rolled her eyes with a grin and looked at him with a gaze which screamed 'I'm not blind'. "The girl you were stood flirting with."
He laughed, kicking a pebble on the path before him. "First of all, I wasn't flirting."
"Really?" She didn't buy it.
"Yeah, really," Fred mimicked her, looking down at her mischievously. "She was flirting with me."
Leigh nodded. "Mhm, right," she said, unconvinced.
Fred looked down at her with playfully narrowed eyes, tilting his head to the side slightly as if to tell her not to challenge him on it. "Second of all," he continued, "it didn't go anywhere because I didn't want it to go anywhere. If I wanted to I totally could've," he shrugged.
"Is that so?" She teased, raising her eyebrows. She found herself really enjoying their back and forths.
"Yeah, it is exactly as so," he replied childishly, pointing his nose up in the air.
Leigh pushed her hands further into the pockets of her coat. "I don't know, maybe you're just not as charming as you think." She shrugged, peeking up to see Fred biting his lip and shaking his head slightly.
"I'm very charming," he said self-assuredly. "You'll see. And if I don't have the charm, then what else have I got going for me? Surely you'll can give me this one victory."
She chuckled before considering his words. "I don't think you'd have nothing." She bit her cheek in thought. "You are quite smart. With all the inventions and concoctions you're up to."
She turned her gaze up at him at her side. Expecting a playful remark, or an arrogant comeback, she was surprised to see a rosy colour spreading across his cheeks and nose.
He glanced at her quickly. "Thank you," he finally murmured.
Her smile grew as her gaze was set on Fred's reddening face. "Are you blushing?"
He hastily looked away, shielding his face from view. "Am not."
His denial only made Leigh's grin widen even more. "Yes you are, you're all pink."
"I'm not! It's the cold."
"Right," Leigh giggled, having a hard time looking away from his cheeks. Fred Weasley blushing at a compliment. Who would've thought?
He said nothing in response, merely meeting her gaze for a brief moment, giving her a full view of his still reddening face and gleaming eyes before he once again looked away with a faint smile.
The weather was refreshing, yet cold and uncomfortable, and the two of them didn't spend as much time out as they might've planned. Instead, they hopped from one shop to another, one of them being Gladrags Wizardwear, where they popped in to look at, and snicker at, fancy wizard attire. Much to Leigh's delight, they also did a stop at Tomes and Scrolls, the specialist bookstore, and Fred observed Leigh with a small smile as she scowered through the books, reading the backs of them excitedly. He made a mental note of which ones she seemed to like.
Their final stop was Honeydukes, and Fred politely greeted Mrs Flume at the till as he paid for his and Leigh's products. Leigh had insisted she didn't need anything at all, but Fred knew better. He'd convinced her to try some Fudge Flies, which she did end up enjoying, despite her initial disgust with their appearance. Fred had ended up getting some Nougat Chunks and some Cockroach Clusters, the latter which he said he would try to trick Ron to eat when he came over next.
Leigh did momentarily feel bad about the prospect of that happening, but her disapproval strangely seemed to slowly evaporate as she witnessed the excited grin on Fred's face.
They entered the joke shop a few minutes later, shivering and rubbing their arms to get warmer. She glanced up at the clock, only to immediately have her eyes widen at the view.
"Shit." She immediately started collecting her things. "I have transfiguration."
Fred's eyes followed her as she rushed around the space.
"McGonagall?"
"Yeah." She cursed under her breath, scrambling to fill her arms with the items.
Fred, who was in no rush, slowly removed his jacket and grinned mischievously her way. "Does she know you've joined the dark side yet?" He playfully asked, and she attempted to conceal her small grin.
"No. And I haven't joined the dark side. I'd still call you two out if something was dangerous."
"Would you though?" He asked, tilting his head to the side with playfully narrowed eyes. "I think you've grown soft."
She shook her head with a smile. "You wish." Hurriedly she made her way towards the exit.
Fred looked on. "You want to borrow a broom?" He asked, thinking it might gain at least a few minutes.
Leigh laughed, glancing back. "I think it's better if I make it there alive, but thanks for the offer."
"Can't argue with that. Although you still got that quidditch celebrity title, remember that." He winked, and Leigh was reminded of that day they spent together on the quidditch pitch. He added: "I'll see you soon."
She nodded, smiled back. "See you soon,"
-
She got to the transfiguration classroom out of breath, but at the last second before the class started. McGonagall bid her welcome at the front of the classroom, and Leigh mumbled a quiet 'hello professor' before she sank into a desk. She scrambled through her stuff, soon realizing that she had left her quill in the shop.
Biting her lip, she realized she'd have to borrow one from someone.
Hermione sat down beside her. The top layers of her hair were placed in a hairclip, while the bottom layers hung like a curtain across her shoulders.
"How are you doing, Leigh? Did you have a gap in your schedule–"
"Yeah. Hey, I'm sorry for this but can I borrow your–" Leigh's rushed words were interrupted by a bang, and she was not the only one who jumped in their seat.
McGonagall, who was just about to start the lesson, looked towards the sound, a window in the front of the classroom. Outside, a small owl was huffing, trying desperately to clamber onto the small windowsill outside the glass. McGonagall frowned as she approached the creature. She opened the window, and the owl seemed pleased to finally be able to stand upright. It cooed happily and let McGonagall take the small package and note from its leg.
The class sat quiet, interested in whatever the attached note would disclose. Minerva studied it for a second, eyes running across the words, before she looked up, directly at Leigh, with a strict yet knowing look.
She raised her eyebrows. "Miss Conway, I believe this is yours?"
The class immediately turned to look at her, and after an awkward moment of silence Leigh scrambled up from her desk to approach McGonagall. She received the note and the small package, and immediately felt the weight of her quill.
She looked down at the note, still feeling the burning stares of everyone in the room. The messy handwriting stared right back at her.
You forgot this! See you soon ;)
Fred
Leigh's ears immediately burned red. She didn't dare to meet McGonagall's observing gaze, and instead hurried back to her desk to avoid any more attention on her. Hermione looked on with interest.
"What was that about?" Hermione whispered quietly once attention was once again turned back to McGonagall. The class had given up on the idea of receiving any more information about what had just happened.
Leigh pushed the note towards her friend cautiously. Hermione let out a soft 'oh' beside her as she read it.
"It's not too bad," she said with a faint shrug. "It could be worse."
Leigh grumbled beside her, but shrugged her shoulders slightly in agreement. "I guess." But truth was that McGonagall, of all people, read the note from Fred. Fred. The idea immediately stressed her out and she pushed it from her mind, instead turning her focus to the lesson starting in front of her.
Hermione looked at the note again before looking back up at Leigh. Hesitantly, she spoke: "Are you two–"
"No!" Leigh immediately replied, louder than expected, and immediately quietened down as McGonagall stopped in her teaching to shoot a look her way.
"Surely you don't wish to interrupt the class more than you already have, Miss Conway?" She said strictly, eyes not leaving her form. It was long since Leigh had been under McGonagall's scrutinising gaze.
"Uhm, n– no. No, of course not, Professor," she stumbled on her words, the redness returning to her face.
Of course the first time she had gotten in anything remotely resembling trouble this year would be somehow related to Fred Weasley.