Hello faithful readers! A great big Thank You to everyone that's bothered to review or put me on some kind of favorite/alerts list! Updates will be slower while I have work, but this story will be completed, and steadily. Anyway, usual Disclaimers apply, and here's Chapter 7.
The Charms classroom was completely packed with students by the time they arrived, with barely enough desks to sit them all. George, Fred, Izzy, and Shawn hurried over to the back left corner and collapsed into the last four open desks. Hermione turned to shoot them a disapproving glare at their near-tardiness. Fred playfully stuck his tongue out at her.
George, who had completely forgotten that they would now be in the same classes as Ron and his friends, couldn't repress a groan. The last thing he needed was little miss bushy-haired goody-two-shoes, the girl his brother was so whipped by cracking sounds followed wherever he went (ok, he and Fred had been making them but still!), sitting there in all his classes, asking questions, glaring disapprovingly at troublemakers, and all in all ruining whatever good time he usually gleaned from an hour's worth of being stuck inside a classroom.
Not that he didn't like Hermione, he did. She was clever and brave and brilliant, but she was also tended to be a stick in the mud that reveled in docking points from anyone that was engaged in a bit of fun, especially him and Fred. And she could be just plain bloody irritating. Actually being in classes with her was going to be an absolute punishment all of itself, he just knew it.
With a nearly inaudible growl, he lazily turned his attention to Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice as he finished up his annual welcome speech. Fred stopped sending balls of paper down the back of Lee Jordan's shirt with flicks of his wand.
"Now then," Flitwick said, perched on the pile of books that tottered on his chair seat. "For this first class we're going to be starting off nice and easy- can anyone tell me what the incantation is for a Deconstruction Charm?"
George gaped at the tiny professor as he leaned back and balanced his chair on its back legs. That was supposed to be nice and easy? Alright, he knew what it was and he knew Fred knew what it was, but that was only because they'd found it amazingly useful in making their products, being able to instantly disassemble things to see how they worked. However, he did not raise his hand to answer, and neither did Fred, as he'd known he wouldn't.
They didn't answer questions in class, unless directly addressed, on a matter of principle- if the teachers started to realize how smart they were, the more would be expected of them, which only meant even more schoolwork. And George and Fred Weasley were positively allergic to schoolwork.
Only one person would know the answer to that question and actually answer it, and yup- as if on cue Hermione Granger's small hand shot above her bushy hair. Then he almost fell off his chair, as it returned to all fours with a thunk, amazed when the two brightly nailed hands of Izzy and Shawn shot straight up in the air as well, not a millisecond later.
Flitwick seemed very pleased at having so many unexpected options to choose from.
"Yes, Miss Lyon" he finally said, pointing at her. As one, the entire class's heads swiveled in surprise to where Izzy sat between George and Shawn. Hermione looked positively shocked, fully turned around in her seat up front to see who had taken her glory.
"The incantation for deconstruction is distribuo, from the Latin for 'divide', and is used to divide material things into their individual parts." she said effortlessly, completely unconcerned with being the center of everyone's attention. She flipped her flame-streaked hair over her shoulder with a flick of her wrist.
Professor Flitwick gave a little clap, "Well done, Miss Lyon, very well done. 15 points to Gryffindor."
He turned to the blackboard set up behind his desk and waved his wand at it- the instructions on how to perform the deconstruction charm appeared instantly.
As they broke up into pairs and waited for Flitwick to float them the clock they were going to be practicing dismantling, Hermione shot Izzy a poisonous look. It seemed that just because two witches were crazy about academics and books they were not destined to be best mates. In fact, it was turning out to be a positive recipe for enemies.
'Granger never did share the spotlight well when it comes to academics' thought George with a smirk. 'And it looks like she's not the only star in town anymore.' (He was rather fond of those Muggle sayings).
Well, well, well, there may be some hope for some in-class fun and entertainment this year after all. Fred shot him a look, gleeful eyes wide with anticipation as he followed the same thought process.
Unfazed by the heat in Hermione's gaze, Izzy just gave her a smug smirk and a playful wink, which Hermione did not seem to appreciate at all as she sat up straight and sent George a glare as if this were all his fault.
He shot Hermione a mocking grin and a little one shouldered shrug and she turned to her clock with a huff, clearly off balance as she waved her wand and bits of clock went flying all over the room, Ron, Harry, and Ginny ducking in alarm as bits of spring and cog missed their heads by centimeters.
Wow, she really didn't take well to competition.
"How did you know that?" asked George as they filed out of Charms class, all of them pleased with their Deconstruction Charms but grumbling about the foot long essay they had been assigned on them. It looked as if their N.E.W.T. year was going to be as hard as their O.W.L. year after all.
George and Fred had taken their clocks apart effortlessly, having done the charm so many times before. Izzy and Shawn each managed a perfect one on their second tries. Hermione had been furious- it was the first time in living memory that she had been bested in a Hogwarts' classroom when the students in question hadn't been cheating by reading from a tampered book.
Izzy's smile brought the term 'the cat who ate the canary' to mind.
"I memorized the Standard Book of Spells Grade 7 months ago," she said smugly. "Well, me and Shawn both did" she amended, throwing an arm around Shawn's shoulders, being careful to avoid pulling on any of her dreads. Shawn nodded, still buzzed off her first class being such a success, and smiled happily.
"Why didn't you answer the question when you knew the answer?" Izzy retorted, a shrewd look on both her and Shawn's faces.
George blinked at her in surprise. How did she know that he knew- oh right, her whole studying people (especially him) thing. She was kind of spooky when she just popped out with things like that; things that most people never looked for or noticed about him. That was gonna take some getting used to, that was.
Her lips curled in a knowing smile, as though she could read his thoughts as they flew across his mind; he almost wouldn't put it passed her.
"Because if they knew exactly how brilliant and talented we were" he explained, his deep voice matter-of-fact, "we'd never get a moment's rest to indulge in what really matters in life."
"Like fun and parties" said Fred, picking up the conversation effortlessly. "And pulling pranks and making mischief." He gave a gentle tug on one of Shawn's dreads. She swatted his hand away, but the smile on her face said she was flattered by the attention.
"Sneaking around" George piped up.
"Nicking food from the kitchens" said Fred with a wistful sigh, visualizing a parade of Hogwarts' house elves brandishing platters of pies and custards, butterbeers and teacakes, under his nose literally begging for him to take them.
"You know, the important things." the twins finished together, the rumble of their voices perfectly in sync.
Izzy and Shawn laughed appreciatively as they reached the courtyard, crossing it to get to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Everyone was on tenterhooks to see who'd be teaching it this year- there had been no announcement at the Welcome Feast.
They were partially across the flagstones when George caught sight of a familiar little yellow custard pie being handed to an unsuspecting Hufflepuff. He gave an internal whoop- watching people fall victim to their Weasley Wizard Wheezes never lost its charm and Fred had promised the girls a first-hand demonstration.
He stopped abruptly, and hauled on Izzy's arm to halt her as well. In his excitement he ended up pulling her a bit too hard.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she thudded into his chest, inhaling sharply in surprise. The woodsy scent of deep forest, the sharp tang of something like gunpowder, and an indefinable deliciousness she could only describe as 'masculine' hit her nose. Hot sparks shot their way through her veins, overwhelming her senses, and a tingling warmth ignited in her belly. She tried desperately to put the rumble of George's voice into words.
"Sorry, didn't mean to pull so hard" he was saying apologetically, his breathing a touch more labored than it had been a minute ago.
Izzy's curves fit against him perfectly and the vague scent of apples and cinnamon was wafting to his nose. It was the most wonderful smell, and brought with it memories of sunlight and warm, happy winter days at the Burrow. Without another thought he bent it a fraction closer to the top of her head, inhaling deeply, almost groaning when the delicious scent hit him again. It was her hair then.
Izzy shook her head to clear it, the sunlight bouncing off her curls and broke George out of his trance with a start.
"Are you alright?" he asked, staring at her with such sincere concern that Izzy couldn't help but smile up into his deep cerulean eyes reassuringly.
"Yeah, I'm fine" she said. "Bit…startled is all."
He noticed her voice was a little breathy and the pulse in her porcelain neck was pounding ferociously, but he did not call her on it, feeling it would be way too easy for her to call him on his own noticeable reactions. However, he was endlessly pleased that he wasn't alone in this…whatever this thing between them was.
He also did not spare a look for Fred and Shawn where they were standing together with their arms crossed, their eyes flittering between George and Izzy as though they were watching a very riveting tennis match, knowing smirks on both their faces.
George flashed Izzy a sunny smile. "Good, 'cause your about to catch your first glimpse of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." he said, the excitement evident in his voice. Izzy's gaze followed curiously in the direction his hand had swept up to point to.
A tiny little boy was eating a bright yellow custard pie and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. Her brows furrowed in confusion and her head tilted a fraction to the right.
"You bake sweets?" she asked, her voice flat and deadpan.
Fred threw her an insulted scoff. "Bake sweets?" he asked incredulously. "Are you daft? Just wait and see."
And sure enough, as the boy finished the last bite of pie with a flourish and began to lick his fingers. Izzy was about to ask if there was a point to all this when he suddenly burst into a bright yellow canary. Izzy gaped at the little bird hovering in midair for a split second then broke into peals of delighted laughter.
George and Fred burst into laughter right behind her and slapped themselves on the back a few times as if in congratulations.
Shawn was giggling behind her hand, as though she felt just a bit guilty for finding the prank so funny, but when she finally stopped to draw a long breath and her hand dropped, there was a huge smile on her face and she seemed completely relaxed for the first time.
"He's gonna be ok, right?" she asked, biting a little on her lower lip.
Fred's smile was fond and reassuring. "Course he is." he said bracingly.
And again, as if on cue there was a great outward explosion of feathers and the little boy was sitting there once again, already laughing himself.
"That was brilliant!" Izzy exclaimed, an impressed eyebrow quirked at the twins. "And a damn fine piece of magic too."
They shrugged nonchalantly with modest grins but she could tell they were pleased at the praise and her and Shawn's enjoyment.
"That was a Canary Cream." said Fred.
"New and improved, actually. Takes a little longer for the change to happen so you get that extra moment of anticipation and the charm lasts a little longer too" added George, his voice laced with pride.
Izzy thought he had every right to be proud- if all their stuff was this good, they were bloody geniuses and she told them so.
George blushed a little and Izzy got the feeling their creativity wasn't always that appreciated. And indeed, George had been imagining one of the high-volume rants his mother was so fond of giving when he and Fred had first opened the shop.
Although, he had to concede, she'd been much more accepting when she'd seen how successful they were and how much their products helped in the war and all. Still, a bit of appreciation was always welcome and he grinned at Izzy, giving her a little wink; she instantly smirked at him.
"Oh no!" said Shawn suddenly, worry lacing her voice as she stared at her watch. "We're going to be late!"
Izzy laughed at her fondly as she said, "Calm down Shawnee. We've survived the first night and our first class, rather brilliantly I might add." Her voice turned playful. "And to top it all off I can't get us lost with these handsome blokes as guides." Her head jerked a little towards the twins and it was her turn to flash George a playful wink.
Shawn laughed. "Good point" she acceded.
But it was time to get moving if they were going to get across the castle in time to grab some good seats and they were all looking forward to this class.
As proper guides, the twins raised their elbows, offering each girl an arm. Izzy laced hers through George's as Shawn laced hers through Fred's and together they marched happily off to their next class, chatting as easily as if they'd been friends for years.