Author's Note: I have to go back to school tomorrow, but I wanted to get this chapter up before then. I'll probably be really busy with homework and the like from now on, so I don't know when I'll be able to update again. I'm going to try and do it at least once a week, but I can't make any promises just yet. If you want something else to read in the mean time, check out my other fic "A Place in Your Heart". It's a song fic, and I'd really like to get some more feedback on it! Also, check out my list of favorites.
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them.
Chapter 2: The Last Place Anyone Would Think to Look
Less than an hour later, Fred, George, and Lee walked down the sunny streets of London, examining a map they'd gotten at Gringotts as they went.
"We could go to a museum," suggested George, pointing out one on the map, but Fred shook his head.
"Nah, remember last time? Took us forever to dry off," he pointed out.
"Oh yeah..."
"What about this park here?" said Lee, jabbing at a green spot on the map. George looked over at it and grinned slightly.
"I wouldn't; that's where we met dear old Lingsworth, remember?" he said.
"How could I forget?" said Lee, sighing. "We had to hide in that dumpster that smelled worse than Snape's office."
"What about that place?" said George, looking not at the map, but across the street. Fred and Lee followed his gaze.
"You mean that place, mate?" said Lee incredulously, pointing across the street as though he was certain that he had misheard George. George nodded.
"Uh-huh," he said. Fred turned to his twin with a slightly questioning look on his face.
"What about it?" he asked.
"Let's have a look," replied George. Fred looked as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"George, let me remind you that the only time we ever set foot in one of those was when we hid in the one at Hogwarts from Filch that one time," said Fred in a slow, clear tone that one might use with a two year old.
"Yeah, the one place he never thought to look for us," said Lee with a slight smirk before he became serious and said, "But honestly, George, why would you want to go in this one?"
"Well, Hermione sure seemed to like the one at Hogwarts, so I want to see how it's so different from that one," said George with a shrug. "Who knows," he added with a grin twitching at his lips, "Maybe we'll even be able to add a few...improvements."
Fred arched an eyebrow in approval. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," he said. And so the three of them set off across the street toward the very last place Filch, and indeed anyone, would think to look for them: the public library.
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"Blimey," whispered Fred as they stepped inside.
"Well, from what I remember about the Hogwart's library, I'd say this one has to be almost as big," commented Lee.
"C'mon, let's look around," said George. "Hm...that corner could do with a Portable Swamp."
They made their way further into the library. Though in size it seemed to resemble the Hogwarts library, it became apparent the moment they looked at the books on the shelves that there wasn't likely to be much in the way of spellbooks.
Their footsteps echoed slightly on the hard wood floor, and there was an overall atmosphere of gloom and boredom about, especially since the only windows were located near the ceiling, and since the room itself seemed almost as tall as it was long, that was saying something.
"Hey, look over--" began Lee, but was cut off by an irritable "Shhhh!" from a grumpy-looking librarian who was arranging books nearby.
"Er...sorry, Miss!" he whispered. The woman gave him a severe look before heading off to finish with her books and no doubt find someone else who dared to speak in her library.
"Miserable old bat; reminds me of Madam Pince," muttered Lee once she was out of earshot. "Anyway, look there!" he said, careful to keep his voice down as he pointed at an area devoted to comic books.
"I didn't know Muggle's had these too!" said Fred in an excited whisper as they looked at the different comics on display.
"Yes, but it doesn't look as though they have The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle," said George in a disappointed tone. Fred shrugged and pulled the nearest comic off the shelf, leaning against another shelf to read it.
"You know, this is okay, but it'd be better if the pictures--" he began, but at that moment, the shelf behind him began to tilt due to his leaning against it. Fred sprang away from it faster than a student exiting Potions, but it was too late. With an ominous groan, the shelf fell over onto the next shelf, which in turn set off a chain reaction of falling shelves as shelves continued to fall into each other. The librarian hurried toward the falling shelves, a panicked look on her face.
"No! Stop, stop, STOP!" she screeched, but the shelves, contrary to what the woman may have hoped would happen if she shouted loud enough, did not stop until every last shelf in the row and been knocked over and hundreds of books littered the floor. Realizing that about half of her precious library had just been ruined in a matter of seconds, she furiously scanned the library for the unfortunate soul who had done such a thing. Not surprisingly, her gaze halted abruptly on Fred, George, and Lee, who were trying to smile innocently at her while edging cautiously toward the door.
"You three," she growled, seeming to swell to twice her size with anger as she began to march furiously toward them. "JUST LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
"Ah, now, now, Miss, don't forget, this is a library," said Fred uneasily.
"Yes, do keep your voice down," added George, his hands held before him like a shield. The woman picked up her pace.
"When I get a hold of you three, I'll--"
"RUN!" said Lee, cutting her off and dashing toward the exit, Fred and George hot on his heels.
"COME BACK HERE!" yelled the librarian, running as fast as she could after them.
"You know, my dad did say once that running away from your problems never solves anything," said Lee as they sprinted for the doors.
"Yeah, well he's never been chased by a dotty old librarian who wanted to kill him, has he?" ground out George through clenched teeth as they burst through the doors.
Lee glanced over his shoulder and saw the librarian (who suddenly looked more like a vicious, bloodthirsty tiger) and said, "True!"
They ran down the front steps and onto the sidewalk, not halting until they were well away from the library and, more importantly, the librarian, who had stopped at the front doors to the library and gone back inside, muttering about corrupted youth nowadays. Meanwhile, the three members of "corrupted youth" that had just destroyed her library collapsed onto a bench on the sidewalk.
"Well, we definitely...redecorated a bit," said George, trying to catch his breath.
"I'd hate...to see what she...does to someone...if they're late returning...returning a book!" gasped Lee, amid vigorous nods from Fred and George.
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Response to reviewers:
MarauderLuver4-ever: You weren't kidding when you said they were going to destroy the place! *chuckles* Poor librarian. Just think about how long it'll take her to pick up all the pretty little books. !-)
S.D. Chesko: Hm...I'm guessing you're happy about the fact that I made a sequel? Just a wild guess. What's this? Threatening me with Vector now, are you? Be nice, or I might just send two certain redheads and their friend over to your house to give you a little wake-up call on your first day of school! Anyway, a certain stepsister of mine was lucky enough to get Vector as her volleyball coach! How he got the job of coaching girl's volleyball, I'll never know...
lightyearsaway: Don't worry, it gets funnier; chapter one was just a bit of an intro. !-)
I picked my brain for a long time, but I only have enough ideas to make this story about six chapters long, and I'd like to make it a bit longer than that, so if you have any ideas, let me know! I'll try to work them into the story, but I probably won't be able to use every idea I get. Also, keep it in mind that they're in London, so any ideas should try and contain things that they'd be able to do there.
On a different yet sadly familiar note, this will probably be my last update for at least a week because unless homework is declared unconstitutional within the next twenty-four hours, it's more likely than not that I'll be up to my eyebrows in it (and since I'm quite tall for my age, that's saying something)!
Don't forget to review! I accept anonymous reviews, so you don't even have to log in or anything. Even a "nice story" and nothing more is fine! Also, please be honest when you review. If you see anything at all that you disagree with, (even spelling or grammar) let me know so that I can make it better. Don't worry about sounding critical; I'll probably thank you for it if it helps me improve! :-)