DISCLAIMER: I don't have any rights to the characters other than the ones that are quite obviously not canon. And the song is Fearless by Taylor Swift, I wish I had written it though, it's lovely.
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Chapter 14: Wonder Witch
Jamming her arms through the sleeves of her, now dry, red coat, Verity pulled her boots on and ran out of the front door before anyone else was up. She had no intention of facing her Father that morning, she just couldn't, especially in front of everyone else and in such confined quarters there would be no way to avoid them. Instead, she had grabbed the next best option, getting the hell out of there. That was the reason why she was now traipsing through the snowy London streets with no destination and certainly no clue as to where she was. Each gloomy street opened onto another with identical parks and cast iron railings, there was no end to the monotony. Eventually, it had to end. She turned a corner and found herself in a park, a small one but there was a playground in the centre underneath a copse of bare trees. Brushing the snow off one of the swings, she sat down, letting the fat snowflakes fall on her bare head without caring.
That was how George Weasley found her forty minutes later, casually scuffing her feet in the snow while letting the swing sway her lethargically in the air. He sighed and walked up behind her, taking the chains in his hands and pulling them back, letting her go a moment later to rush through the air. She registered no shock at his arrival, merely allowing him push her on the swing for a minute or a two until he grabbed the chains again and stopped her. Only then did she look over her shoulder.
"Blue really isn't your colour." He told her quietly and began to unwrap the long scarf from around his neck.
"I didn't think...I just needed to get out of there before anyone else started asking questions..." She whispered, her voice harsh from crying herself to sleep and then enduring the blistering cold.
The scarf was in his hands and he soon wound it around her neck instead, still standing behind her as he did so. The cold bit into his skin but he shook it off, knowing that he could handle it a lot better than the girl before him, her violet tinged lips were testament to that. If they stayed out here any longer she was going to fall asleep and he did not want that. Walking around to stand in front of her, he held out a hand and dragged her to her feet. Verity did not protest, too numb to argue, both mentally and physically.
"You're freezing Very." He muttered, wrapping his arms tightly around her as they apparated into Diagon Alley.
She would have shrugged her shoulders but couldn't find the strength, the chill had sapped it from her. Instead, she let the boy pull her into a small café, following him to an alcove at the back, far from prying eyes. Without asking, George picked her up and sat her in his lap, enfolding her in his arms once more as he rubbed his hands over her pale cheeks, trying to warm them up. She was like ice under his touch, her honey brown eyes looking up to meet his concerned gaze with a hurt shadow in their depths. There was nothing he could do to help that hurt, she would have to get over it herself, but he could be there for her, and that was what he intended to do.
"Two hot chocolates please." He told the waitress when she came over, pushing three sickles and a knut over the table for her.
The witch nodded with a smile and fetched the drinks within minutes, tall, steaming glasses of hot cocoa with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Normally Verity would have dived right into hers and end up pinching George's topping but she just stared at it, not really in the mood. She shook her head and tucked herself against his chest, one arm tightening around her as the other went to pick up his drink. He had never seen his friend like this before, she had always been so strong. As he let his eyes wander over her shivering form he stopped drinking and placed the glass back on the table, picking up her right hand instead. She had forgotten to put gloves on that morning in her haste to escape and the cold had made her scar stand out in pale violet against white skin.
"It wasn't this bad before." He said in a low voice, running his thumb over the words. "How many detentions have you had since the Quidditch match?"
"Two the first week, two hours each. Three the next week for answering back in class, plus another for defiling her cat plates." She mused, ticking them off mentally. "Then two yesterday and the day before because I wouldn't tell her where you had gone, those were four hour sessions."
George's eyes turned hard when she read the list off, his fingers wrapping around hers in a tight grip. The scar would never fade, even with vanishing cream, he knew that much. Damn the woman, they were going to have to do something about this before one of their hands was slashed to the bone.
"Four hours? I bet you looked a pretty picture. Did Lee fix you up with the Murtlap afterwards?" He asked quietly, watching as she finally took the cherry off the cream and popped it in her mouth.
"Mhm, I wouldn't have looked out of place in a Halloween party, let's put it that way." She gave him a small smile and snarfed the cherry from his glass too. "She was really annoyed when you lot vanished, threw a fit in the common room and threatened McGonagall."
"I bet, she's one power-hungry bint. Listen, I really appreciate you not telling her about Dad, we all do...I'm just sorry you got into so much trouble."
She looked up at him, her eyes large as she nibbled on the cherry like a mouse. He couldn't help but think she looked rather cute in that moment, but knew that beneath that exterior lurked a prankster of the highest calibre, very dangerous. Verity smiled again, feeling much warmer than she had in a while and squeezed his fingers.
"George, I would get into far more trouble for you and Fred. I don't care if she starts on other body parts next, I'd give an ear for you." She grinned and winked at him.
"A whole ear? I'm honoured." He laughed and ruffled her wind-swept hair. "What was the other thing you mentioned? Defiling her cat plates?"
"Oh that." She laughed loudly, other people in the café looking their way with their own smiles, glad that someone was having fun in this darker time. "She left her office during one detention because Mr Filch said someone had set off Dungbombs in the Slytherin corridor?"
"That was us." He grinned but indicated for her to continue.
"Well, thanks for that, it gave me the time I needed to grab a paintbrush and some everlasting ink." She had to stop talking for a moment while she got her chuckles under control. "I painted catnip in half the plates before she came back and caught me. Those kittens are now so wired that they constantly yowl and run around the plates, it drives her mad!"
The two of them burst out laughing, holding onto each other to try and stem the hilarity but failing utterly. It was a few minutes before either of them calmed down enough to wipe away the tears which ran down their faces, their sides aching so much that it was hard to breathe. Verity reached up and kissed George's cheek with a smile, then lay her head on his shoulder.
"Thanks for taking my mind off things, don't know what I'd do without you George."
"Be miserable?" He asked, smiling back down at her. "Think nothing of it. Any time you feel you can't smile, you just come to me, okay?"
She nodded and finally started on her drink, letting herself warm up from the inside as well as their body heat thawing her frozen limbs. George watched as she started to sip from the glass, he had begun to think he was going to have to force her to drink it if she waited much longer. Instead, he took a gulp of his own, his eyes still on the girl in his lap. He had never noticed how small her hands were before, his dwarfed her slender fingers, each of which ended in a perfect crescent shaped nail. If anything, Verity was vain about her nails, and her hair, though she would rather die than admit she had anything in common with her former classmates at Beauxbatons. Silently, George thought it was a good thing, her hair a mass of long, thick curls the colour of dark chocolate, and he wanted to run his fingers through it, so he made sure he grabbed his glass tightly to avoid the temptation.
"Oye! Starting without me are you? Bloody traitors!" A voice cried from above them.
"Fred!" Verity grinned and motioned for him to sit down, pushing her glass toward him. "Have some chocolate!"
"Don't mind if I do." He quickly drained the glass and plonked himself down on the padded bench. "So? You two on a date? A really early date?"
George choked on his hot chocolate as Verity turned bright red and began to splutter her denial. Fred grinned even wider and leaned over to thump his twin's back, winking at Verity in the process, letting her know he was just pulling their legs. The girl immediately punched his outstretched arm and huffed when Fred merely shrugged. She was utterly useless in hand to hand combat.
"Fred, you do realise the whole twin thing ends if you kill your twin?" George managed to tell him while coughing.
"It was worth it just to see the looks on your faces. You two are the last people I would expect to get together." His brother told them, leaning back in his seat again.
"Why's that? Are you saying I'm not good enough for your brother, Mr Weasley?" Verity asked in mock annoyance, her eyes twinkling.
"Nope, he's not good enough for you. You're way out of Georgie's league. Now come on, we need more pipistrelle wings for the Extendibles!" He laughed, dodging a punch from George this time as he got to his feet and ran out of the café.
They found him in the apothecary's, as promised, looking through tubs of bat wings and already arguing with the shopkeeper about the price. Verity shook her head and wandered over to the barrel of Fireflower heads, picking one up with the tongs provided. This was just what she needed for her latest potion, but they were certainly pricey too, five for a galleon. Nevertheless, she needed them, nothing else would draw out infection as well as these beauties, they would work a treat on minor skin complaints. Placing twenty into a canvas bag, spelled against heat, she walked to the counter and handed over her coins, picking up an aloe plant and a vial of Doxy venom as she did so. Perfect, all done before lunchtime. The twins came back over with several bags flung over their shoulders, Fred nicking hers and putting it in one of his own much to her annoyance. They had walked the entire length of the street, only metres from the Leaky Cauldron entrance, when she spotted it in the window of a very dusty and old shop. It was beautiful. Dark, mahogany wood and delicate gold inlay for the swirling markings on the body, the most amazing thing she had ever seen. She ducked into the shop immediately, the twins turning around to find nothing but air where she had been standing mere moments before. An old wizard jerked his head up from the counter as she came in, having been roused from his snooze and now very surprised to see anyone in his shop.
"The guitar in the window...how much is it?" She asked breathlessly.
"That old thing? It's useless, the auto-tuning charm has gone and you'd need to perform Sonorous on it to make it amplify these days. Five galleons and it's yours, I don't want to see it any more." He told her, obviously annoyed with the instrument's limited abilities.
Verity's eyes lit up and she practically threw the money on the counter, plus another sickle for the guitar case beside it. Fred stared in amazement as she walked out with the case slung over her back, her face beaming with happiness. She just grinned back and looped her arm through George's with a skip in her step.
"Ready to go home?" She asked nonchalantly.
"What the bloody hell is in that?" George blinked, looking at the large case.
"A surprise. Home?" She tugged him further down the street, Fred coming up beside her to grab her free hand. "I'll show you later, I promise. But we need to get back before my Fireflowers wilt."
"And what possessed you to buy those? They're extortionate!" Fred gasped.
"They're for my experiment. Very dangerous, top secret...no Weasleys allowed." She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows at her two friends who took the bait and began to badger her for information.
The jovial mood evaporated the moment they walked back into number twelve Grimmauld Place and came face to face with the owner of the building. Sirius walked up to them and was about to say something when he noticed the case on his daughter's back.
"A guitar? I thought you had one of those already...three in fact." He asked, confused.
"...I had to sell them..." She said quietly, shrinking into Fred's grasp. "Had to run quickly before Mum's murderer found out he hadn't killed me after all..."
"Smart move, exactly what your Mother would have told you to do. She was a very sharp woman as well, I'm glad you turned out so like her." His voice was wistful, almost as though he were wishing time to rewind. "Fred, George, thanks for going after her...I realise I'm not much use when she decides to do that."
The tiny smile forming on Verity's lips disappeared again as though someone had flicked off a switch, a shadow passing over her face. Pushing passed her Father, she ran up the stairs and into the small room that she had been given with not enough room to swing a Kneazle. The Fireflowers were forgotten as she punched ten bells out of her pillow, imagining it to be her Father's face, though she knew this was the closest she would ever get to hitting him, she would really have to learn how to throw a decent right hook. After about ten minutes of beating the offending cushion into a lumpy, well, cushion thing, she looked back to the guitar case and clicked it open. The instrument was just as perfect as when it was in the shop window, just waiting for her to pluck the strings. So she did and immediately winced. It was horribly out of tune, and seeing as the auto-tuning charm was defunct it meant she would have to do it manually, but that was no problem. She had it working within five minutes, clear notes reverberating around the room as her fingers traced the strings. Just bliss.
"Can we come in?" Asked Fred from the other side of the door, his hand gently tapping on the wood.
"Yeah, you can come in, just shut the door behind you." She called out, sitting down on the windowsill with one leg propped up on the end of the single bed which took up most of the box room.
Fred walked in, followed by George, the latter leaning against the wall while his twin flopped down on the bed. She had to smile, their grins were just too infectious not to. Damn them both. Luckily, they had both brought a roll of parchment each and started to confer on the right recipe for their latest invention, Extendible Ears. It was really quite brilliant, flesh coloured strings which reached exactly where you wanted and delivered the sound back to you, like those Muggle telephone things. While they argued about the use of Dragonfly scales in comparison to moonstone powder, she closed her eyes and let her fingers wander over the strings, picking out a song from memory. For some reason her songs always came out a little bit country; raw and easy on the ears with enough heart to tame a giant. She forgot about the others in the room and started to sing the words that she had written to accompany the melody in a quiet voice, her eyes still shut but a smile spreading over her lips.
"...Cause I don't know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me head first, fearless..." The lyrics spilled from her tongue in a silver stream, clear as crystal and perfect.
"...Someone has been holding out on us Fred..."
Her eyes snapped open, a blush appearing over her cheeks in embarrassment as she slapped her hand down on the strings to stop them from humming. Both boys were looking at her with astonished expressions, Fred slightly more amused than George who appeared to be amazed. Just what she needed.
"Umm...told you it was a surprise?" She tried, attempting to diffuse the tension.
"A surprise? Very, a present is a surprise, or a Dungbomb to the head...that was a revelation." Fred laughed from the bed, throwing a cushion at her which she dodged.
"Well, keep it to yourselves. I have a reputation to uphold." She said in a sniffy voice, tilting her nose up in the air.
George shook his head with a grin and pushed himself off the wall, walking over to her. When he reached her side two steps later, he leaned down to her level and took the guitar from her grasp, laying it back in the case. She wondered what on earth he was doing. The wicked twinkle came back to his eyes as he pulled a piece of parchment from his back pocket, flourishing it in her face.
"We have a surprise too. Know what this is Very?" He asked as recognition dawned on her face.
"That's mine! Give it back!" She cried, lunging for him only to be grabbed by Fred who yanked her onto the bed.
"Wrong, it's brilliant." George told her, sitting down beside the squirming girl who suddenly ceased her wriggling.
"It's just a recipe for a spot cream, Mum and I invented it last year." She was curious now, how was it brilliant?
"Yeah, nice name too; Wonder Witch. We think that it would go well with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, what do you think?" Fred asked, blowing on her ear.
Verity stared at George, and then up at Fred who grinned back at her. Be a part of their idea? A proper place in the shop, not just an assistant but with her own invention being sold beside theirs. It was everything she had ever wanted since hearing about their venture, to be part of something amazing and have her opinions matter. She would be no good as a Healer, or Auror, nor did she have the temperament to work in the Ministry. But a shopkeeper?
"You mean it? You want me to be in the shop too? All because of a jar of spot cream?" She breathed.
"Very, we see your Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher being huge. And naturally we want it in our shop. And anyway, who else would we trust with the merchandise? We need a female perspective despite Fred's feminine outlook." George told her, handing back the parchment. "Is that a yes?"
"Count me in! I love you two!" She yelled and grabbed George to drag him into a three-way hug, accidentally bashing their heads together. "Oops!"
"VERY!" They cried and started to tickle her, the girl's screams echoing through the house, a sure sign that all was well again.
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A/N: Okay, bad me. Feel free to slap me on the wrist. I tried to write another chapter after this one but had to take everything out of my living room again so the parents can lay the floor tomorrow. I'm utterly drained. Oh, and if you're wondering, the song that Verity was singing is Fearless by Taylor Swift, huge fan of hers plus I have Verity in my head as a country kind of girl. Having her heart on her sleeve but still hiding it, you know?
Also, an update on the whole...update issue. Turns out the soonest I can get my flat connected to the net is January . Well peeved with that one! I'll update when I can but that will only be when and if I can get to my parents, weather permitting. Please don't hate me!
Coming up! Christmas Day and a reconciliation of sorts.
REVIEWS! I love, love, love, love, love your reviews! Makes me all mushy XD Please keep writing them, I want to know what you think and whether or not I'm making any sense. Also, let me know if there are any scenes from the original you think ought to be in the story, I want to make it as tied in as possible but still retain some personal flair. Thanks!
A thousand thanks to my best mate Conny who is editing these chapters for me now, I shall update the story with the improved text when I get time. -x-