Farewell till then. I will go lose myself, and wander up and down to view the city-William Shakespeare

I was depressed. Not only had my wonderful plan blown up in my face last night, but I also had to endure hours of teasing from George on account of it. Now, to top it all off, it was Friday, and Hermione had not come in. She always came in during her lunch break to pick up Arnold's treats, and today she hadn't. I was sure it was all my fault, and couldn't think of anyway to fix it. So, now I was dateless, listless, and scratched up.

Apparently Crookshanks, the cat kneazle hybrid, had magical claws that made it where his scratches couldn't be fixed magically, so I was having to walk around looking like someone had used me as a knife sharpener.

Well, at least we had tomorrow off, granted, thanks to last night I didn't have a date, but at least I wouldn't have to make any potions.

"It's your turn for a lunch break." George called from the break room. I looked up from the register to the clock hanging over the door. It was one thirty, my lunch break.

"Want to relieve me?" I called to him, leaning my head back and yelling into the back room. I heard a crash, a shuffle, and then a door slam. George appeared out of the back a moment later, covered in feathers and wearing a sheepish grin.

"Sure."

"Do I even want to know?"

"No, you really don't."

"Sure?" I asked, fighting a smile. "Because it looks like it was really funny."

"Your lunch hour is ticking away."

"I haven't even clocked out yet." I replied, laughing as he picked a feather out of his hair.

"I clocked you out."

"Fine, I can take a hint." I said, still smiling. "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"You're not going to eat?" George asked, dropping his hands from his hair and looking at me in shock. Weasley men never skipped a meal, it was unheard of.

"No, I'm not really hungry." It was true, ever since last night I'd been anything but hungry. "I really just want to get some fresh air."

"Yeah right. Okay, go for a walk then." George said, stepping up beside me and taking my place at the register. "Just try and stay away from crazy cats."

I stuck my tongue out at him as I left the shop. It was a nice day, just warm enough that you didn't need a jacket, but cool enough that you wanted to wear long sleeves. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I'm sure birds were even chirping somewhere. I set off down the alley, burying my hands deep in my robe pockets as I walked. I let myself get loss in the hustle and bustle of the afternoon crowd, listening to the crazy conversations swirling around me and staring at the bright goods for sale. I wasn't watching where I was going, just letting my feet take me where they wanted. So, as you can imagine, I was a little surprised when I found myself outside of Flourish and Blotts.

Well, since I'd made the trip over here, I might as well check it out, right? I took a step forward and went into the shop I frequently visited (I really did, they had a great selection of potion and charm books, they may have had a few joke books as well. Not that I ever looked at those.) I let my eyes drift around the shop, not looking for anything, or anyone in particular, and stopped looking when my eyes caught sight of a bushy haired sales assistant.

A grin lit up my face and I stepped forward, grabbing some random books off the first shelf I reached and stepping into her checkout line. The witch in front of me paid for her books and I stepped up, laying the books down on her counter.

"Hey, Hermione."

"Fred, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, her eye growing wide as she looked at me. Her eyes shot to my forehead and then my neck, the places her berserker cat had attacked me. Don't think I had forgotten about him, I had my revenge all planned out. I just needed some radishes, pudding, and a lot of magic.

"I'm just buying some books." I said, giving her my best winning smile. "I'm sorry about last night, I really didn't mean to hurt Crookshanks." Next time I saw him though, it would be on purpose. I'd wipe that smirk off his furry face.

"No, it wasn't really your fault, I have no idea what made him attack you last night. He's usually really friendly." Crookshanks? Friendly? Ha, that was like saying dragons were cuddly. Crookshanks hated anyone but Hermione.

"Maybe he was just feeling purrsnickety." I said, smiling, even though it was an awful joke. She looked up at me, rolling her eyes, but a small smile lifted her perfect lips.

"Are you going to chat or check him out?" A wizard asked behind me, his voice angry. I looked over my shoulder and shot him a pointed glare. I was finally getting Hermione to talk to me, and this bloody bloke was trying to break it up.

"Sorry." Hermione said, flushing a bright pink. She picked up the first book and for the first time I saw it's title. "How to Train Your House-Elf." Merlin's beard, how the bloody hell had I picked that book out of all the books in this building? That was probably the only one that would make her mad, my only hope was that she wouldn't read the title. She opened the cover and read the price tag before shutting it and looking at the front cover. Her eyes narrowed and she set the book aside with a fierce frown.

Merlin, why me?

She picked up the next book and scanned its title, her face softened slightly. My eyes shot to the title and I felt myself let out a puff of air. It was better, "How to Clean Your Cauldron's Professionally." Thankfully, I'd only grabbed two books. Maybe I could still save this. She thrust the books in a bag and handed it to me.

"I hope you don't mind, I put it on your tab, Mr. Weasley."

Mr. Weasley?

I tripped the wizard on my way out.