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"Where is Fred? I need to ask about his dueling club."
George looked up from the register. He jerked a thumb toward the corner of the shop. "Restocking. If he's not out here he's in the basement getting more products. Some club for new mums came through and wiped some of the defensive and WonderWitch products out."
"And the Pygmy Puffs too? I saw the cage was empty." She loved petting them when she visited the shop. They made her wish her flat didn't have a no pets policy.
"Yeah. Every month I think the Pygmy Puffs sales are going to slow down and every month proves me wrong. I dread the day when everyone's finally gotten enough of them and we get stuck with twenty of them."
"There have been worse, less cuddly things to happen."
He leaned across the counter and lowered his voice. "I already have a plan for when that day comes. Right now they are pink and purple, but if we can make them blue I think we can get them to appeal more to boys too. A whole new base of customers then!"
"Clever. Always thinking ahead, aren't you?" The longer they were together the more she understood how he'd managed to be so successful with the shop. He might not like to spend as much time socializing as Fred, but his mind never quit. She'd already learned not to ask what he was thinking about or she risked getting some sort of answer about his current research that made no sense to her.
A customer approached and George rang the woman up. Ada waited for the lady to look down while she searched through her purse before blowing George a kiss. His face lit up as he pretended to catch and pocket it. Such a cheesy move, but it made her smile.
Her gaze roved the store until she spotted Fred in the back restocking shelves. After the comedy show the previous night George walked her home, postponing her plan to ask Fred about his club. She didn't want to wait a week longer. She'd decided it was today or never to motivate herself to get down to the shop before Fred disappeared off to…well wherever he went after work. For all she knew he could be off taking more balloon animal classes or visiting strip clubs. Both seemed equally likely.
She marched across the floor. "I want to go to your dueling club today." She bounced on her heels as she spoke.
Fred slid a little box into place on a high shelf before turning toward her. "My dueling club?"
"Yeah. I want to take dueling lessons."
He frowned. "You don't need to do that at my club. Other places offer lessons too."
She rolled her eyes. "I promise I won't embarrass you."
"I'm not worried about being embarrassed." He grabbed another armload of boxes and shoved them into their places. "It's just the club is my place. George doesn't even go to it. That place is like my own private bubble of a life."
"But you took Clara!" She threw her hands out in exasperation.
"Not exactly. I never invited her she just kind of showed up on her own one day. Luckily for me she decided she wasn't a fan."
"Then tell me where it is and I'll just show up on my own."
"But it's my place." His brow wrinkled. "You can find your own dueling club."
"You invaded my tea shop and continue to do so."
"Fair point." He shooed her backward several steps then slid the box down with his right foot and got to work on the next set of shelves. "I'd rather you invade my jogging route or my favorite pizza place."
"Look, I'm not looking to invade your little bubble of Fredness. We don't even need to talk once we get there. I want beginner lessons and I'm sure you are in the advanced group or whatever you call the guys who just want an excuse to beat on each other. All these sightings of Death Eaters make me nervous. If something happens I just want to be ready, you know? Besides if you go, then wherever it is you go it must be good."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Now I can't say no without being a total arsehole. How is that fair?"
She met his gaze. "Are you going to be one?"
He sighed. "Fine, you can come as long as it earns me best brother points with George, but no stealing my jogging route."
"I can't make that promise when I don't even know what your route is."
"Good, let's keep it that way. And you have to agree to have a duel with me to make up for the one where you stole my wand. If you don't agree then I'm not telling you anything."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll duel you. Just tell me where the place is."
"Hold out your palm." He pulled a quill out from behind his ear. One of the store's products. He scribbled an address on her palm, the quick writing almost unreadable. "You have an hour before the ink disappears and I won't give you the address a second time. You can ask your questions about lessons at the front desk." Leave it to him to find a way to try to be difficult. "See you there. No skipping out on our duel allowed!" he said in a sing-song voice as he shoved the quill back behind his ear.
His sudden enthusiasm made her feel like she'd made a mistake. "Um, is that a B or a D?" She waved her hand at him. "And is it an N or an M?" She was glad she wasn't one of his schoolteachers. Trying to read one of his essays must have been headache inducing.
He shrugged. "That's up to you to figure out. Gotta work for those lessons." His mouth twisted into an evil little grin. "Think of it as a treasure hunt."
Lucy watched Fred duel through the window to the room, squinting against the constant flash of colors as he and his opponent cast spells so quickly she couldn't follow. A blue flash was followed by green, then red and blue. Inside the practice room padding covered every inch of the room. A chain hung by the door to summon an instructor, all of them trained medics. She didn't know if that fact should make her feel safer or more worried.
And to think she'd felt like she won when she stole his wand. If what she was seeing in front of her was any indication, unless she'd taken him by surprise she never should have been able to get his wand. Her nerves made her hands shake. The confidence she'd felt after completing her beginner class was nowhere to be found. She closed her eyes. No way could she win against Fred. If she wasn't afraid of how annoying he'd become is she left before he finished his duel, she'd walk out of the club and pretend she'd forgotten her promise.
The door to the dueling room opened and laughter echoed out. Fred appeared, his arm slung over a shorter man. From the way they both grinned and chattered she couldn't tell which of them had won.
"See you next week," the man said as he broke away and headed down the hall.
Lucy pressed herself against the wall as if she could disappear into it.
"And here's my next victim on my "to defeat" list," Fred said as his gaze landed on her.
"I think it's pretty obvious you'll win so what's the point?"
"It's the principle of the matter. You owe me a reduel fair and square. Now come in here and taste defeat." He disappeared back into the room and she followed, grumbling under her breath the whole way. Walking into the room gave her stomach the same pit of dread grocery shopping sometimes gave her. She'd rather be sitting in the park reading a book or jogging. Not waiting to get her ass handed to her by Fred. She hated the idea of him winning. She took her place and gave her arms and shoulders a quick stretch.
Fred got into position and started a count down. She sent the first spell and he not only blocked it but sent the spell hurdling back at her. The blue light connected with her chest, sending her flying into the padded wall behind her. The padding caved in beneath her before spitting her back out. A dull ache thrummed through her chest, be she was otherwise fine, albeit her temper climbing.
"Are you okay?" Fred asked.
"Fine," she spat.
"Are you ready to declare defeat yet?"
His smile enraged her and her competiveness flared to life. "No! We'll go again. Best out of three."
"If you say so." He got back into position, his smile too bright for her tastes.
She took a deep breath and climbed back onto her feet and got back into position. The duel started and this time she got all of two spells in, all blocked by Fred, before he used expelliarmus on her, sending her wand flying out of her hand. "Really?" He was too fast for her. If he was anyone else she'd be impressed. She lacked the muscle memory he'd clearly already honed from weekly practice.
The grin on his face was all she needed to know he was having the time of his life. Shit, maybe he had some sort of secret vendetta against her after all. Frustration swirled inside her as she fetched her wand. Had he given Clara the same treatment to drive her away from coming back? There was no hope in her winning, but like hell if she was going to go down easy without giving him a good fight.
This time she was able to deflect his starting expelliarmus. Then she couldn't resist. She pulled out stupefy but Fred deflected it with practiced ease. Then he pulled out levicorpus and she was too slow to stop it and her panicked mind couldn't remember the counter jinx. The spell dragged her into the air, flipping her upside down while she hung in the air by her ankle. One hand clung to her wand and the other grabbed the bottom of her shirt to keep from flashing her bra. She shrieked his name.
Fred chuckled and then dropped her to the ground. "You have a lot of practicing to do if you want to give me a challenge."
She sat up and glared at him. "Then I guess I'm coming back next week."
He raised an eyebrow. "That eager for more?"
"That's right," she said, anger driving her boldness. "I won't let you scare me away. I'll keep coming back until I beat you and when I do I'll have no mercy. I'll steal your wand and leaving you hanging in the air while you beg me to let you go." Just imagining it made glee snake through her.
Fred let out a low whistle. "Look at you, pulling your claws out on me. I don't have much faith in you defeating me, but I can't wait to watch you try again." His grin was back again. "If you are done losing, it's time for me to get out of here." He pocketed his wand and rolled his shoulders to stretch them out. "I have a date with some research waiting for me at home. If I'm really lucky George may have made a breakthrough already." He started for the door, whistling a cheer tune as he went.
"Wait." Lucy scrambled onto her feet. Fred waited with one hand on the doorknob, his head tilted toward her. "Can you walk me home? There was a recent sighting not far away." Her gaze turned to her feet in embarrassment. She hated how the Death Eaters left her on edge. Left her scared. But that's why she was here, wasn't it? To quit being scared. To wrench more control back to her life. She'd made so many strides by coming to England, which meant there was no better time to keep her momentum going by getting rid of her fear. She wanted to go out and meet George places without that tickle of fear stalking her
"Sure. I have something to show you anyway."
"What do you need to show me? The next jinx you are going to use against me?"
He left, ignoring her sarcasm and giving her no choice but to follow. As they passed by the front desk he said goodbye to the bored woman painting her nails. Once outside he reached into his pocket and took out a balloon. As they walked he inflated it into a long tube. Then he pulled out a second and got to work. She watched in fascination as he twisted them together into some sort of animal she couldn't identify. Or make it was a dick. Yep, it definitely looked like a dick. "For you."
"Oh, thanks for the, uh, animal."
He chuckled. "It's a sword."
"I thought you were learning to make animals, not weapons."
"I did. I'll show you the best dog you've ever seen next time, so you'd better start figuring out how to tell George about the love thing." He pulled out more balloons and got to work on making himself an identical sword.
"Don't think I've forgiven you for that jab yesterday."
He quit puffing to grab the next balloon and gave her an expression of mock innocence. "He's my brother and I'm allowed to tell him I love him whenever I want to. You being nervous and angry is simply extra motivation."
"Wow, you really do sound like an older brother right now."
"As an older brother it is my solemn duty to embarrass. Except not Ginny because she'd kick me in the bollocks. Now Ron on the other hand, he was always easy to embarrass. George can give just as good."
"I might kick you in the bollocks yet."
"Doubtful. You are easy to rile up. I know I'm doing a good job when you either squint at me or your cheeks puff up like a squirrel's." Fred finished his sword and held it up in triumph. "I shall name it Excalibur." He pointed it at Lucy. "I challenge you to a duel of swords." He shifted his stance, holding one arm out while he kept his sword trained on her.
"Duel happy today, aren't you?" She stepped back to make room to aim her own sword at him.
"This way you might actually stand a chance."
"Well in that case I accept. Prepare to be vanquished!" She waved her sword about in a way she hoped looked menacing.
His face lit up in delight. "You will never defeat me. Once I'm done with you I'll make off with your fair, erm, lad. George and I will feast and play cards to celebrate my victory."
"Never!" She jabbed her sword at him and he blocked. He shoved her sword to the side and jabbed at her middle. She dodged. They continued for several minutes, both of them dodging and blocking so well neither could get a killing blow in. Then Fred swiped at her side and the handle of his balloon popped, both of them jumping at the unexpected noise. "Aha! I have you now." She stabbed at his chest, the balloon's tip bouncing off with a squeak.
Fred clutched at the spot where she'd jabbed him and stumbled toward a low stone wall surrounding a garden in his best imitation of dying. He collapsed onto the wall and leaned back against the bush. "Come closer," he croaked, holding out a hand toward her. She obliged. "Tell George—" He added a dramatic wheeze for effect. "Tell George I was always the handsome one but he gave it a good try."
"Ugh, insulting my boyfriend? I won't stand for it." She sliced across his neck and he went limp. She grinned. Satisfaction slid through her at the sight of Fred's defeat. "I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to regret killing my boyfriend's brother but…nope I'm not feeling anything other than sweet victory."
He opened his eyes and gave her a look of offense. "How could you not regret killing such a handsome devil like me? You only won because of a sword malfunction. A most undeserved victory if you ask me." He stood and brushed himself down and plucked a stray leaf from the bush out of his hair. "You better have enjoyed the only duel you'll ever win against me."
"Hmm, I don't know about that. Give me time and I might take you by surprise. I already signed up for next week's lesson."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're going back to the club?"
"Duh. As awful as being in the same building as you is I don't know of anywhere else that gives good lessons. And not going back means never being able to beat you."
"You weren't supposed to take it as a true challenge! I expected you to give up in frustration."
She clucked her tongue at him. "You are only afraid of me beating you. Don't worry I'll only brag a lot when I win."
He scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it and George owes me a favor for letting his girlfriend into the dueling club."
"Do you even take classes there?"
"No. A few of us took all the offerings and meet the same time every week to duel to keep in practice." They resumed walking and he pulled yet more balloons out of his pocket. How many did he have stuffed in there? A whole bag? Lucy wondered how many he could blow up before his lungs got too tired.
By the time they reached her front door he was hard at work putting the finishing touches on his yellow animal. "There," he said as he presented it to her. "A balloon dog. The only balloon animal I know how to make."
"Cute. I'll name him Blue."
Fred's brow crinkled. "Are you color blind by any chance? The dog is yellow." The question came out free of sarcasm and sounding completely innocent.
"I know its yellow, and Blue is upset with how critical you are being of her. It's what's on the inside that counts. Besides, Yellow would be a terrible name."
His look told her he wasn't convinced. "Or you're color blind and embarrassed to admit it. There's a doctor at St. Mungo's that can fix color blindness."
She made a note of his annoyance at the color mix up, filing it away in case it ever came in handy. "Blue and I think you for walking us home. I would apologize for killing you but that would be a lie."
"No problem. And I'm impervious to your weak attempts at keeping me dead so all is forgiven. I'll tell George you send all your love his way." He gave her an impish smile.
"Stop bringing that up." She groaned as she unlocked her door.
"Not until you tell him."
"I will! On my own terms."
"Well you'd better do it soon. He has a thing for the pastries and fritters from the bakery down the street from our shop. The baker is a total babe too. If you don't confess he might decide to run away with his true love instead."
She gaped at him. "Are you trying to tell me you think George would leave me for a baker?"
"Yes, but the pastries, not the baker. He doesn't have eyes for anything else when he's eating one of his favorites."
She shook her head. "I can't say I'm afraid he will leave me for a pastry. See you next week at the club."
His smile disappeared. "You're really going back, aren't you?"
She patted his cheek and then stepped inside. "Tell George I said he's the handsome one."
"Yeah, yeah, I can pretend for George's sake that he's the handsome one." Fred shoved his hands in his pockets and headed away.
Before she bothered turning any lights on she crept toward the living room window to watch him go. At the corner of the street in the darkness of a broken streetlight Fred apparated away. She stood there a moment, staring out the window. Was this the Fred George knew? She slid onto the sofa. She was beginning to think there was more to Fred opening up to her for George's sake. Maybe deep down he was lonely or at least wanted someone who understood. She knew from experience she could spend her time with others and still feel lonely. Therapy wasn't easy and he'd already admitted to his weaknesses and mistakes. She admired that. If she was slowly learning the real Fred then he wasn't so bad. So why couldn't women like Clara be content with him?
As an only child she couldn't fathom being a twin. She needed to find out more about the whole twin thing. Understand it better. She stood and her back creaked in protest. Ugh, dueling hurt more than expected.