"George Weasley I'm going to bloody KILL you!" shrieked a petite blonde girl. Her heavy braids knocked against her back as she ran frantically behind, or rather was dragged forcefully by, George Weasley.
"Not if Filch kills us first Alicia!" the red head hollered back at her. The gangly, freckle-faced boy whisked her around a corner, through an archway and behind a large, gilded portrait faster than she could scream "you're going to break my wrist." Alicia had no idea how a first year could have such intimate knowledge of the castle; the twins seemed to know it better than some professors. She assumed having three older siblings must be a useful thing.
Both Alicia and George were breathing heavily. George had his ear pressed against the back of the portrait they had climbed behind while Alicia regarded the small space they were now confined it.
"There's got to be a way to hear what's going on in another room without anyone knowing you're listening…" he muttered in frustration. Alicia rolled her eyes. Of course a Weasley would want a creation that let you snoop on other people. Her eyes scanned their enclosing and she was utterly unimpressed. Fred and George had already proved they knew how to get food after hours from the Hogwarts kitchens, yet he had her hiding in an abandoned broom closet? The space was quite small and only furnished by one shabby and broken desk squished into the corner. A few old brooms were piled in the other corner (the kind for cleaning, not for riding) beside a stack of cobweb covered buckets. Due to the lack of free space Alicia found herself uncomfortably close to George.
"Why on Earth would someone go to the trouble of hiding a broom closet behind a portrait?" Alicia asked. There was something just creepy about a hidden room with no real purpose.
"I expect they hid it for a bit of fun." Answered George. "Tell the new caretaker to grab the mops from the fourth floor broom closet—and they'll never find it! Brilliant." Again, Alicia rolled her eyes. She had been wrong; the room wasn't creepy it was simply stupid.
"Besides," continued George, "It's bloody useful. I've hidden out here loads of times."
Alicia sighed impatiently. George looked at her inquisitively. "We wouldn't need to be hiding out here if SOMEONE hadn't tried to turn Mrs. Norris green!" Alicia cried.
"Shh!" George responded with a finger to his lips. "If you hadn't of screamed the damned cat wouldn't have noticed at all!" he whispered.
"I did not scream!"
"Yes you did!"
"No I didn't!"
"Yes you did!"
"No I didn't!" she shouted. George looked satisfied, as though her current volume was proof enough that the entire ordeal had in fact been her fault. Alicia's eyes narrowed. For a moment the closet was silent save for their still rapid breaths.
A minute later George cracked a grin. "I think the coast is clear." He slowly pushed the portrait forward and peered out into the corridor. His smile spread to the rest of his face and he beckoned her out behind him.
"Thank Merlin," Alicia sighed, "If I never get stuck in a broom closet with you again it will be too soon Weasley."
"Be careful what you wish for Spinnet." He replied.