An early update because I wanted to celebrate my birthday with you all :)

Chapter 9 – Teleportation/Orbing/Floo... Whatever

FW

Fred and Leah arrived at the Leaky Cauldron at a quarter to ten, the shabby tavern almost empty. She took a seat at the bar, Fred sitting down next to her as Tom walked over.

"What can I get you, miss Leah?" He asked as she looked over the menu.

"You should order a butterbeer." He whispered as he leaned closer.

"A butterbeer please." She said handing the menu to the older man. Tom waved his wand and a butterbeer flew over, pouring itself in a glass, before it landed with a soft thud in front of her. She looked at Fred, who nodded excitingly, before grabbing the glass and took a small sip. "Wow." Her eyes getting wide. "This is really good!"

"I know! You should try fire whiskey next."

"At ten in the morning? Maybe later." She snickered. She saw Tom watching her from where he was washing glasses. She pretended to take another sip from her glass and whispered. "I'm being watched."

Fred frowned at her before his eyes fell on Tom, who was indeed watching her, with a slight frown. "Tom is a – little off. He won't say anything, he doesn't dare to defy George."

"What kind of reputation do you guys have?" She looked away from Tom to Fred.

"The best one." An almost identical voice from the man in front of her, came from behind her. She turned and saw a grinning George, sitting next to her other side. "How do you like the butterbeer?"

"It's great, we should really have some too."

"When you're done, we'll head up to the flat. I don't want anyone here to know where we are going." George said looking around the tavern. "Is he here?"

"Yes, you're sitting on him." George immediately jumped up, muttering sorry, sorry. Leah fell into a fit of laughter. Fred looked at her in awe, before laughing himself. "I'm joking. He is sitting here."

George pursed his lips at her, before letting out a full-blown belly laugh. "You got me! You're funny." He said with a twinkle in his eye. When Leah drank the last of her butterbeer, Fred saw George looking 'at' him, giving him a knowing wink.

"How much is it?" She asked Tom.

"Don't worry about it." George waved her off and dragged her out the bar.

"GEORGE, ugh, never mind." She whispered the next part. "We need to show you something."

"Alright. Minnie isn't expecting us until 11. We've got time."

"Great." She said looking from Fred to the shops. "One day one of you will show me around this place."

"I'll leave the honours to dear old Freddie."

"A tour with a ghost in a magic community. I think if they hear me talking to myself, I would be put away in an asylum, even here." She chuckled.

"What's an asylum?" The twins asked.

"Never mind." She waved them off with a smile "Is Hermione working?"

"No, why?"

"Well, if she sees me again, what will be your excuse then?"

"Oh right. But she thinks we are working on a business deal. And you told her you and Fred were friends, so with association, me. Now that she knows that it definitely wasn't a date, we're good."

"So, you told her how you feel?"

George pretended he didn't hear her and opened the door to the shop. Fred and Leah looked at each other, before rolling their eyes.

FW

"So, what did you want to show me?" George asked as he closed the door to the flat.

"Sit down." She instructed. George did as he was told and sat down on the couch, Leah sat down next to him and put her notebook on the table. "Fred, you ready?" She asked looking at the man who was crouched down on the other side of the table. He nodded and reached over. "Pay attention, George."

George fixed his eyes on the notebook and watched the cover fly open, followed by page after page. George gasped as he saw the pages flip. "F-Fred."

Fred closed the book and looked up at his twin. He stepped over the table and sat down, a few inches in front of them.

"He is sitting right in front of us." Leah said pointing at Fred's chest. Fred reached his hand over to Leah and concentrated as he neared her hair. With all of his concentration, he put a thin lock of hair behind her ear. Leah's eyes went wide as she felt her hair being pulled back. "Fred." She gasped the same way as George. "You didn't –"

"I didn't want to scare you." He whispered.

"After everything that happened… you really think you can scare me off?" She let out a breathless chuckle.

"Guess not." He retreated his hand, that was still hovering at her ear and turned to George. George was looking at Leah, at the hair that was tucked behind her ear, in his eyes, on its own. When he suddenly felt his own hair shift. Fred had run his fingers through the tips of his hair, making George shiver.

"How?" He asked looking at Leah.

"I left my book on Hogwarts open and Fred read it when I went to bed-"

"Fred, reading?" George snickered. Fred huffed and put his hand through his face. "What?" He asked as Leah started to laugh.

"Fred just put his hand through your face."

"Merlin, Fred!" George called out, pulling his head back.

"So, he was reading." She continued as nothing happened. "And he got frustrated he couldn't turn the page. So, he focussed on it, like he had seen in a ghost movie, and then he just flipped it. But up to now, he can only touch very light things, we tried all night."

"This is great!" George said excitingly. "Fred, touch my hair again." He asked like a giddy schoolboy. Fred grinned as he put his fingers through.

Leah looked around before making a high pitch whistle sound. Fred and George covered their ears as they looked at her confused. The next moment Stella came flying in and landed on her shoulder.

"Hey, Stella." She stroked her head before looking back at George. "You remember what I wrote you?" George nodded dumbly as he watched her stand up. Fred rose from his seat and stood in front of her. Fred cocked his head from left to right. Stella's eyes fixed on Fred, as he mimicked his movements. "He's copying Fred."

George too, slowly rose from his seat as he watched the owl. "That's –" George started but didn't really know what to say at this.

"She can hear him too." She walked away from the twins and turned the owl around, so she faced the wall and nodded at Fred. When he called her name, Stella's head turned immediately, fixing her eyes again on Fred.

"I don't get it. Why can you and a ruddy owl see him." Stella screeched in return. "Sorry, Stella. But his own flesh and blood, his own twin can't."

"I don't know George. I wish it was you, you don't know how guilty I feel because I can see him, and you can't." She called out frustrated.

That surprised the twins as they both looked up at her, eyes wide. She looked down at the floor when the owl flew off her shoulder. George and Fred simultaneously ran over to her, and George wrapped his arms around her, letting her head rest on his chest. Fred standing behind her, his hands hovering over her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled in his chest.

"No, I'm sorry. I never meant for you to feel guilty." He muttered on top of her head before he gently pushed her shoulders, so he could look at her. Her eyes were red, but she bit away tears that started to form. She doesn't – will not cry. She hasn't really cried since Addie. "I'm happy you can see him. I'm happy he has you and I'm sorry you have to put up with him."

"Oi!" Fred called from behind her, making her chuckle.

"Even though it's frustrating that I can't see him. I'm forever grateful I have a lifeline to him, for Godric knows how long."

She cleared her throat, shaking away the tremble in her hands. "We better go find that out now, don't we?"

"Right you are." George grinned as he walked to the fireplace.

"Uhm..." Leah started as George grabbed powder from a tin.

"Fred explained, right?"

Fred looked down at his feet as he shuffled around. "With everything going on, it didn't come up." Leah explained.

"Okay, so you step inside the fireplace, and you just call out where you want to go and at the same time throw the floo powder at your feet. We'll do it together; the first time can be…"

"Nauseating." Fred finished.

"Nauseating?" She asked, eyebrows high.

"Just a bit." George said, holding his fingers close in front of him.

"And it brings us from here to Hogwarts in seconds?" She looked sceptical at the fireplace.

"Yes, Minnie opened up her fireplace for us."

"Like orbing but with a fireplace." She cocked her head.

"Orbing?"

"It's from a TV show about witches, but they don't use sticks." She teased.

"I'll show you what my stick can do." George grinned, pulling out his wand.

"That sounds very ambiguous, don't you think?" Leah laughed. Fred cackled as George's ear turned red. "What about Fred? Is he able to teleport with us?" She glanced over to the cackling twin.

"Teleport? Floo, darling, floo. I haven't thought about it, but I assume if he's connected to you and he steps in with us, it should work, I think.

"Should? You think? Maybe this wasn't the best idea." She wringed her hands nervously. Fred had stopped cackling and walked over to her.

"It will be okay, I'm right here with you." They locked eyes with each other. He gave her a reassuring smile before she nodded.

"Alright, let's go before I change my mind."

"Ladies, first." The twins dramatically bowed.

"What gentlemen you two are." She shook her head, chuckling. George looked around the room for a moment, grinning at what he hoped was Fred, before stepping in next to her. "Fred, coming?"

"I'll try not to go through you." He grinned stepping in on the other side of her.

"How thoughtful." She grinned up at him. She looked down and held out her hand for him to 'take'. He wrapped his hand around hers just enough to not go through.

"Ready?"

"No, but let's go."

"Headmistress McGonagall's office." George called out.

FW

Leah didn't know how to describe it, her stomach twisted together as different fireplaces flashed before her. What shocked her the most was that she could feel Fred's hand in hers. She looked down and up at him and he had the same shocked face. When he was about to reach over with his other hand, George pushed her out the fireplace, Fred following through. She stumbled and the hand in hers was gone. She looked around frightened to have lost him but there he lay, spread out on the floor.

"Is he still here?" George whispered as a stern looking woman walked closer.

"Yeah, he just fell to the ground." She said looking away from Fred, who had clambered up and looked to George.

"Mister Weasley, welcome."

"Good morning, Minnie." George smiled. The headmistress pursed her lips, but the corners of her lips twitched, indicating she was hiding a smile.

"Hello,-" She turned to Leah. "I am Minerva McGonagall."

"Leah Derijker."

"Derijker? Is that a Dutch name?"

"Yes, my grandfather was from Belgium." She said nervously, looking up at the tall witch.

"It doesn't happen very much that a muggle, like yourself steps foot in the castle." She said as she looked at Leah, inspecting her. "I don't know why Mr. Weasley needs your help, but you're welcome, of course. If either of you need any help…" She said looking from George, to Leah, to Fred. Fred's beath hitched as she looked him straight in the eyes, Leah saw the exchange happen and quickly intervened.

"Thank you, Mrs. McGonagall."

The witch tore her eyes away from Fred and offered her a smile. "Minerva is fine, dear."

"We better get going, now that the students are away." George said, already steering Leah to the door behind them. "Thank you, Minnie." He called over his shoulder. Leah felt Minerva's stare on them before the door closed.