And now it's time for a Crossroads Special!
*clap, clap, clap*
This is dedicated to the Weasley Twins in celebration for their birthday!
Though this is a day late...
At least I uploaded it :P
Enjoy!
MOMENTS LIKE THESE
Zoey bit her lips as she walked around Hogsmeade. In her pocket was a bag of coins while in her hand was nothing. That's not what she wanted. She wanted her pocket to be empty while her hands full. She looked at window after window and still could not find what she wanted. It was the day before April first and she still hasn't found a gift for Fred and George. Zoey passed by Zonko's Joke Shop for the tenth time that day and looked through it once more but she still could not find anything that she wanted to give the twins. She entered Honeydukes for the twelfth time and could not find any candies she wanted to wrap. She was stumped.
She sighed when she sat on one of the benches and placed her head in her hands. She had absolutely no idea what to give the twins. Sure, they would have liked anything from Zonko's or Honeydukes but Zoey wanted to give them something special. She thought of getting them something for Quidditch but she realized she did not have the first clue as what to give since she never played Quidditch in the first place. She thought maybe a book would suffice but then remembered she had no idea what kinds of books the twins read or if they read in the first place. Zoey shook her head. Of course they knew how to read, the question was did they like reading.
Zoey stood back up from the bench and continued to walk around, she was just about to give up and come back another day when she passed by Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. She looked through the window and saw a wide variety of magical instruments from telescopes to hour glasses. She felt the money bag in her pocket and opened the door with a small jingle from the bell. She looked around and became curious from what she saw.
"May I help you Madam?" said the shop owner when Zoey approached a pile of telescopes. Zoey picked one up and studied it a bit. She looked through it and smiled a bit.
"Yes," Zoey said, "I would like to purchase this"
The shop owner smiled and took it away from her and headed to the counter. Zoey had found a gift for George. The shop owner entered the price of the telescope into the cash register and asked if there was anything else Zoey wanted to buy. Zoey shook her head and took the telescope. She left the shop with a smile and walked down Hogsmeade once more. As she was walking she brought the telescope back out from the bag and looked into it. As she was walking she did not know that she was going to run into something until it actually made contact with her, painfully. Zoey groaned and dropped the telescope to the ground and placed a hand over her eye. It throbbed with pain. She kept her eye close and picked up the telescope to examine it. It was still as good as new. She carefully placed it back in the bag and looked at one of the shop's windows to see her reflection.
"Dang it," she said when she saw a purplish color surrounding her eye. She covered her injured eye and looked up at the shop's sign. "Tomes and Scrolls" it read. Zoey bit her lip and tried to ignore the throbbing feeling in her eye. "Might as well," she said to herself and pushed open the door. She looked around and went to a random section. She wondered if she would be able to find anything that would interest Fred and George. A pranking book was not on her list since they were already good with that. She wanted something that would be able to help them in the future. A study planner? Nope, that wouldn't help them one bit.
Zoey looked at every book in every aisle until she reached something that caught her eye. She looked at the spine and the cover and saw no title, this confused her. She opened the book and scanned the pages. She saw different pictures of magic and potions and descriptions on each. It looked really interesting. She went back to the beginning of the book and thoroughly read the chapter. After each passing sentence the smile on her lips grew bigger and brighter. She had found the perfect gift. She snapped the book shut and ran towards the cash register, slightly scaring him when she slammed the book down and brought out her bag of coins. No less than two seconds she was out of the bookstore with the gifts in her hands.
She felt the feeling of accomplishment and even though her eye throbbed like there was no tomorrow and she should have probably went back to the castle to get it checked she still felt like there was one last thing to buy. Zoey readjusted the gifts and ran to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to buy two new quills, various colors of ink and two thick notebooks. She quickly purchased them and went to Potage's Cauldron shop and bought a reasonable sized cauldron which she dunked the other gifts inside. She then ran out of the shop with a smile on her face and headed back into Hogwarts.
Zoey quickly went to the Ravenclaw Tower and bit her lip. She shuffled at her feet and readjusted her things. She waited for the riddle.
"The Twins divulging deep things inside,
A part, no doubt of Billionaire one's pride.
Crucial moments of time or ways to prospects better,
Building necessities, extras to what hold your letters."
Was the riddle.
Zoey held the gifts in one hand and scratched the back of her head with the other. She thought long and hard for the answer. Several times she was about to answer but stopped herself knowing if she got it wrong she would have to wait for someone to come and get it right. That's how she'll learn. The truth was she had no time to learn at the moment. Zoey looked around and tried to find the answer within the objects surrounding her. Minutes passed and Zoey felt like there was no hope. Might as well say what are guess was.
"Windows," Zoey said with uncertainty. She waited a couple of seconds until the statue said: "Nicely answered" and opened up to reveal the Ravenclaw Common Room. Zoey gave a sigh of relief and stepped it. She looked around and noted that Echo was the only one sitting in the Common Room with two boxes and gift wrap at her sides.
"You found gifts for the twins, I suppose?" Echo spoke, while fastening the fold in front of a translucent box and started folding the sides. She looked up at Zoey. "And what kind of wuss would punch a girl such as yourself?" Echo commented, nodding her head to Zoey's black eye.
"Wuss?" Zoey raised an eyebrow and sat by Echo. She, Zoey, placed her gifts on the floor and began to separate them. She placed one quill, notebook and the telescope in one side while she placed another quill, notebook and the book on another side; she then placed the cauldron with the various ink bottles inside in the middle of the two separated gifts.
Echo silently fastened the sides to the front and used some kind of adhesive to make it stick while cross-wrapping them with a black ribbon. Zoey silently watched and wondered vaguely why Echo did not just use magic to wrap the gift. She shook the question out of her head. "What did you get them?" she instead asked.
"Clothing. Dark Green trench coat for George and Ochre Yellow for Fred," Echo spoke before humming to a strange made-up melody.
Zoey made a motion towards the gift wrap. "That's nice. Where'd you find it?" she began to wrap her gifts as well.
"Not in Hogsmeade, obviously. Found them somewhere in London," Echo smirked.
"Obviously," Zoey laughed. She then paused and looked down at her gifts. Fred's was still half wrapped. "Time sure passes by…doesn't it?"
"I don't see time. I only feel it passing by, so yes," Echo went to wrapping George's gift next.
Zoey stayed quiet as she finished Fred's gift and proceeded to George's. "Soon it would be my birthday… I'm starting to feel old," she gave a laugh.
"You mean mature. If you feel old, you would surely hear your own joints crack without forcing them to"
Zoey then moved towards the twins' combined gifts. While she was wrapping it she began to roll her shoulders. She moaned in agony. "You hear that? My joints! I can hear them. It's like those muggle gears. I have to get them oiled or something! The pain!" Zoey then made the sound of a withering old man, "I – cough – can see the light! Double sided rainbow!"
Echo chortled. "And yet Dumbledore seems to be more fit than you"
"Shut it," Zoey threw a throw pillow at her, "He has things to do, places to be, magic to cast. He's always doing something. You can't expect him to be those couch potatoes."
"I haven't asked, but why did you buy the twins school materials?" Echo looked up from wrapping George's gift.
Zoey raised her eyebrow and waved her wand causing ribbons to weave around the gifts and cards being pasted on each of them. She then flicked her wand and neat, cursive writing appeared on the cards wishing the twins a happy birthday. Zoey would have written it herself but she had no quill with her. She then blinked her eyes.
"Well… these aren't for school since obviously they won't use it. This is for their Joke Shop dream thing. You know, write down ideas, getting ideas and inspiration. Making potions and experimentations etcetera," Zoey made a hand motion indicating 'etcetera'.
"What's with the telescope?" Echo mused.
"I – err – found it interesting and well…," Zoey paused and her eyes widened, though the injured one throbbed at the action, "I think I've got an idea for one of their products!"
"I shouldn't have asked," Echo laughed.
Zoey joined in and quickly took the gifts in her hands and stood up. "I'm sorry, Echo, but I must be going now," she made her way to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow for the twins' birthday. Bye!"
And she was out the door.
"Happy Birthday!" Zoey greeted as she handed Fred and George their presents. They were near the Black Lake and were once again seated under the beach tree. Fred and George happily accepted their gifts while wearing their new trench coats courtesy of Echo. Fred and George opened their separate presents in unison but opened their combined gift together. George had an excited look on his face when he found the telescope and immediately looked through it. He placed the notebook and quill at his side. Fred, on the other hand, looked at the book curiously.
"I found it interesting," Zoey blushed, "It had a bunch of spells that did a whole lot of interesting things like making people grow antlers out of their heads and what not… I just thought you'd like it…"
Fred opened the book and flipped through the pages. With every flip his lips seemed to form into a bigger and more mischievous smile than before. Zoey just merely smiled at the sight. At least he liked it. Fred then placed the book near his notebook and quill and looked into the cauldron pulling out the ink bottles. George looked at it as well.
"You wanted to own a Joke Shop right? So, you can use the notebooks to store your ideas and the different ink colors so you know… your plans are more colorful? Cauldron for experimenting and what not," Zoey explained each gift.
"Wow, you seem way ahead of us, Zoe," Fred breathed out.
"Thanks a bunch," George added.
"No problem," Zoey grinned but then covered her black eye and winced.
"And no 'thank you' to the vela who gave you those coats?" Echo pouted, but it soon turned on to a smile.
The twins playfully stuck their tongue out at her but George gave her a one-armed hug and thanked her. Zoey softly laughed. Echo had an elated look on her face while the twins laughed as well. Soon, after a few minutes, the laughter died and George released Echo from the hug. He then looked at Zoey.
"Blimey," he breathed out, "What happened to your eye?"
Zoey raised an eyebrow and her eyes widened with realization. She then quickly covered her eye but it was to no use. They already saw it. Fred reached over to her and pulled back her arm and took a good look at her black eye. Zoey's eyes kept shifting and did not want to look at any body.
"Who am I cursing?" Fred instantly asked.
"W – What?" Zoey gasped.
"Who did this to you?" George asked with a serious face.
"We're going to show him a piece of our mind," Fred continued.
"You two are overreacting. Just like every time you find something out of place from Zwei and I," Echo sighed
Fred looked slightly outraged, "Overreacting? Why wouldn't we overreact about that?" he pointed at Zoey's eye, "It's a freaking black for crying out loud!"
"For all we could have known, it must've been an accident," Echo grunted.
George looked at Zoey, "What did happen?"
Zoey blushed at her own embarrassment and bit her lip. "Let's head back to the castle… Lee and the other Gryffindor's must be waiting for you guys to come back. You know have their own chance to give you're their presents," she slowly began to stand up but Fred pulled her back down.
"That can wait," Fred said not removing his hold on her, "What happened?"
"It looks like someone punched you in the eye," George said.
"Telescope," Zoey muttered.
"Poked her in the eye, then," Echo crossed her legs on the ground and leaned her back on a smooth slab of rock that was sitting behind her.
The twins stayed silent for a while but then they both wore grins and quickly grabbed hold of their new notebooks, quills and ink bottles. The pried their notebooks open, dabbed their quills and began to write and sketch out their plans on the notebooks. Zoey watched with slight curiosity and knowing when George pulled out the telescope she gave him. The twins began to talk in a fast manner and began to flip through the past pages and looked at their ready made plans they just jotted down not more than two minutes ago.
"Instead of the poking telescope," George quickly said to Fred.
"But the punching telescope," Fred said with a grin, "It's brilliant"
"And with a bruise that won't be able to be removed," George added.
"Unless with a special cream," Fred continued.
"Do we even need to put a cream?" George sniggered, "Imagine all those poor blokes walking around with permanent black eyes"
Fred laughed. "It's a laugh but we might get sued. Might as well put in the cream," he paused, "But if they lose it it's their problem"
"Brilliant. Bloody brilliant," George said.
"Poor telescope," Echo muffled a laugh, "It isn't meant to be brutal"
Zoey nodded in amused agreement.
It was night time and Zoey wandered the halls away from Gryffindor Tower. She had just escaped the party the Gryffindors held for the twins, a party she, a Hufflepuff, was invited to, and walked the halls in hope to get some fresh air. She would be lying if she said she did not have fun, she had the most fun in years but it overwhelmed her. She was not used to being in a room filled with happy-go-lucky people, people who actually knew her and wanted to be friends with her. It was a new feeling for Zoey and odd as it is she would rather be outside than in a room with them. It was not like she did not appreciate it, it was just that she was about to be suffocated by the group of people who wanted her to dance. In fact, her escape was a narrow one.
Zoey looked out from one of the many windows and gave small sigh and wrapped her arms around herself. She watched the stars twinkle in the sky and counted how long she had till she would be locked back in her house, never to see her friends again. She felt a painful pang in her heart. Her friends, the people in the very room she just left. How long did she have to be with them? Zoey felt guilty. She should run back to them. Spend as much time as she can with them until it was all gone. She quickly turned around but ended up ramming her face into a rather soft surface.
She rubbed her nose and looked up. It was Fred.
"Hey," she smiled, "Happy Birthday"
Fred laughed, "Thanks". He then looked out the same window Zoey was looking out of a few seconds ago. "Anything eye-catching out there?" he asked.
Zoey laughed, "None that I know off," she paused, "You should be back at the Gryffindor Common Room"
"So should you"
"You're a Gryffindor," she paused again, "And it's your birthday. Hence, you are required to be there"
"Well if it is my birthday I order you to come back to the part then," Fred grinned and grabbed hold of Zoey's hand. He began to drag her back to Gryffindor Tower.
When they reached the Fat Lady's portrait she didn't seem to see them. The Fat Lady was busy chatting with her friend, Violet, and in her hand seemed to be a glass of wine. Zoey looked down at the portrait and saw that there were several bottles of wine, some empty and some yet to drink. She looked back at the Fat Lady and noted that she was most likely drunk.
"Let's not disturb her yet," Fred said as he grabbed hold of Zoey's hand once more and pulled her to another direction.
"Since when did you not want to disturb anybody?" Zoey joked but complied in following Fred.
"Since I wanted to ask you something in peace and quiet," Fred grinned at her before walking towards a random direction. It seemed that he had no definite destination. He just wanted to walk.
When Zoey finally got to match her pace with his she asked, "So what was your question?"
Fred pursed his lips as bit and brought her towards the stairs. He waited for them to stop moving before continuing towards a random direction once more. "What do you want for your birthday?"
"Hey, hey, her, you're not allowed to ask that," Zoey laughed, "You can't ask that during your own birthday. That's against the rules."
"What rules?" Fred gave her an amused look.
"The rules I made up just now," she then paused, "I don't want anything"
"Come on, Zoe, everyone says that. Can't you make my job a little easier?" Fred whined.
"You didn't make mine easier," Zoey said.
Fred raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I did. I just said anything from Zonko's or Honeydukes would be fine and for your information I received nothing for both," he joked.
Zoey swatted his arm. "I think my gift were better than anything from those places"
"Better than Zonko's and Honeydukes?" Fred gasped and acted as if he were offended by that mere statement. That earned him another swat on the arm. "But you're right," Fred laughed and rubbed his arm, "I like your gifts much better"
"Thank you," Zoey paused, "Or is it you're welcome? Whichever," She laughed.
Fred gave a laugh as well and made a turn at a corner and it revealed a bench. He took a seat and Zoey followed. They sat in silence for a while and Zoey's eyes began to drop. She leaned her head on his shoulder and noted that their hands were still entwined. She listened to the quiet sounds of crickets and breathing and said not words to ruin the moment. She closed her eyes. How long will this moment last? How long did she have left? Would she truly never see Fred or her other friends again? Would she be taken away before telling him how she really felt? Zoey did not want to think about but could not help it. She wondered if they would have more moments like this, moments that she would remember when she was locked in, away from the rest of the world. Zoey felt her eyes moistened from under her lids and prayed that they would not fall when she opened her eyes.
She felt Fred squeeze her hand.
"Thanks," he said in a soft tone.
Zoey made a small questioning hum.
"For everything," he continued, "I'm not good at these sort of things… but… err… thanks for everything."
Zoey looked up at him and blushed to see his face so close to hers. "You're welcome," she breathed out.
"You know… there's such a thing as a birthday wish," Fred said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I know," Zoey whispered.
"You know what mine is?" he paused and continued when Zoey made a small indication of 'no', "I wish for a birthday kiss."
Zoey felt her blush intensify and the beat of her heart become rapid. Was this really happening? Was she dreaming? If this was a dream it was a sick joke. She bit her lip hard and decided it was not a dream. This was really happening. Zoey made a small gulp and tried to take control of her heart beat. "Okay," she said in a quiet tone.
"Okay?" Fred asked as he pulled away from her.
"It's okay," Zoey paused, "I'll grant your wish"
Fred gave a smile and leaned down to her while Zoey straightened up a bit. Fred moved his other hand to the back her neck and guided her towards him. He then paused for a couple of seconds before slowly catching her lips with his own. Zoey could not believe this was happening to her. Fred was kissing her and she knew for a fact that she was slowly kissing him back.
His lips were soft and tasted sweet. Zoey thought that he had eaten a chocolate frog before coming out of the party to talk with her. Her blush deepened, if it were possible, when she wondered how long it's been. She then decided she did not care about time.
It was just him and her.
That was it.
Nothing else mattered.
Everything felt right.
Everything just is right during moments like these.
Happy Birthday (though now belated) Fred and George!
And here we have a ZED moment!
If this event actually happened during the timeline of Crossroads and not just a special chapter... that's a secret :P
Sorry if the kissing scene wasn't that good... I don't know the first thing about kissing and frankly I have no experience what so ever so yeah...
Hope it was good enough.
Thanks HayleyParadox for helping me out.
Thank you all for your reviews and the like and your congratulations on my graduation!
Oh and for those of you who wanted to see what happened with Bridgit and Echo during their little "episode" in the Forbidden Forest please be patient.
I won't leave that out of the story because I know it is needed. I would put it in the story when I feel it is right so please don't think I would leave it out.
I take all your suggestions into account and some of you wanted to know what happened and I will show you when I can fit it inside the story.
I'm sorry that my updating wasn't as frequent as before. Though it is now my summer i find myself rather busy so please be patient with me. I'm a very scatter-brained girl.
Get better soon wHaT's In A pEn-NaMe! :D
Don't forget to review and the like!
I only own what I own!
