AN: A few notes before we begin. This chapter was more difficult than the past few. It is difficult to take a story written in the past and reshape it. And even harder when you pick up a story rewrite after not adding to it for a period of time. The story is evolving drastically as I write it. Hopefully, the quality of writing and cohesiveness of the plot don't suffer for it. I am working on developing my abilities in character development, as well as adding character flaws and juggling more characters in a single scene. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as well as any questions. They help to inspire me and improve the story's quality. Thank you for your continued patience. I hope you enjoy.
"Looks a little better" George's observation was lackluster. After a safe span of time had passed, and they were sure they wouldn't run into the girls, the twins had resumed their quest to check on the shop. Fred cupped his hands to peer more deeply through the windows. The formerly thick, billowing smoke had finally faded to a wispy pink.
"It'll be weeks still until we can reopen though," Fred sighed. They were able to take mailed in orders and fill them at home, something Mrs. Weasley was blissfully unaware of. So at least their funds weren't taking too big of a hit. Simultaneously, they raised the heads to look at their apartment above the shop. Fred sighed again, "Don't suppose it's much better up there," false hope in his voice.
"Smoke rises mate," George hardly missed a beat in mercilessly slaying that hope. "Do wish we could get some clothing though," he admitted. They'd left in such a rush when their experiment literally blew up in their faces, they only had the clothing and supplies from their emergency go-bags. With only a few changes of clothing available, they'd resigned themselves to wearing old, barely fitting clothes whenever laundry day came along.
"Time to bite the bullet," Fred clapped George on the shoulder, using the muggle phrase they'd heard Harry use in the past. "We can't keep wearing pajamas two sizes too small."
With matching grimaces, they turned from the shop and made their way to the other end of the town to pick up a new wardrobe.
Hermione gasped and fell into giggles. She struggled in vain to catch her breath, falling to her side on the bench as Ginny and Luna shamelessly modeled matching dresses. Specifically, neon pink, herringbone, fleece lined dressing gowns from a shop boasting the latest Muggle haute couture. Somewhere (Merlin only knows where) Ginny had picked up a massive peacock feathered boa. Now she wore it draped dramatically over her shoulders. She sensually rolled them before flapping one end of the feathered monstrosity with just a touch too much energy, sending a few of the feathers flying. "Oh dear officer," she exclaimed shrilly, her voice a gratingly bad rendition of a southern accent from the U.S. "You mean to tell me my third wealthy… I mean my wealthy third husband has died mysteriously? Goodness me!" She play swooned into what she thought was Luna's waiting arms. Unfortunately, Luna was in the process of tilting a purple, checkered tea hat just so on her head and thus missed the masterful swoon. Instead, Ginny crashed heavily into her, sending the hat flying with the girls quickly following it to the floor, effectively crushing it.
Fred and George continued down the street, their heads tilted together as they quietly plotted ways to bring back some of the lost revenue with the temporary loss of their storefront. They were mindlessly making their way to the further outskirts of town, toward one of the only local shops that held clothes large enough to fit their tall frames. A sudden thump followed by a set of familiar cackles drew them to a sudden stop outside a popular thrift shop. Wordlessly they stepped closer to peer through the propped open door and watched as Ginny and Luna struggled to untangle themselves.
Seated near the front window Hermione's clear laughter cut through the twin cackling hens, drawing Fred's attention. His smirk faded. His lips unconsciously left parted; his eyes dilated.
Unseen next to him, George noticed the shift in Fred's energy and turned to see what was wrong. The stunned look on Fred's face as he stared at the young brunette made him want to both roll his eyes and thank the Gods the oblivious man was finally catching on. His low laughter joined in the group when Hermione slid from the chair to the floor, hugging her stomach against the rolling giggles. Quickly, three pairs of eyes darted up to him in surprise.
"George!" Ginny grinned up at him and waved a hand for help. Somehow she and Luna had become so entangled it looked like a strange version of the game Twister. He shook his head and crossed his arms leaning against the doorway. He grinned at the dirty look she shot at him as they struggled to disentangle themselves from each other and the hideous material of the gowns overflowing everywhere.
"You alright there 'Mione?" Fred was suddenly kneeling in front of her. His voice was amused but muted, aimed only for her ears with a strangely hesitant smile playing across his lips. He had appeared so suddenly, and was leaning so close… her laughter faded to a soft giggle and eventually faded away as she took in his sudden appearance. The gentle smile seemed to soften the ever-present mischievous glint in his eye, turning it to a more playful twinkle. But there was something there too. Something unfamiliar. The overall effect was pleasing, leaving her fighting down a sudden blush, though she wasn't quite sure why.
"Of course," she answered softly.
George watched out of the corner of his eye when Fred drifted from his side over to the laughing witch. He had to admit - the unabashed laughter, with its broad unencumbered smile, suited her. Gave her a sort of glow.
"You should get that dress Gin, the colors work wonders for you," he teased lightly. Ginny tried to flip him off, nearly to her feet when Luna tugged her own hem from under her with just a little too much vigor, nearly pulling her to the ground again.
"Sorry Ginny," Luna smiled easily at the glaring redhead.
George neglected to move from the doorway to help the girls, his attention still on the couple by the window. For all his worries about what to do about Hermione, Fred seemed to be doing just fine through instinct alone. George could easily read the mixture of affection and flirtation on his face, though the couple themselves seemed to be unaware of it. Nonetheless, it was promising to see the little blush on Hermione's face and the way she seemed to mirror him.
"Fat lot of help you are," Ginny's growl, followed by the tea hat hitting him, broke Fred's unwavering gaze. He whirled around, grasping the offending hat in his fist.
"You're going to pay for that brat," he waved the hat at her as she rolled her eyes. Hermione let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The look he'd given her had caught her curiosity, locking them in a shared gaze that had her heart beating just a little too fast for comfort.
"I'm pretty sure he's right," George nodded at the ruined hat, "you break it you buy it." Fred took his cue and lightly tossed the hat back at her.
"Prat," She slunk off to the dressing rooms to change and take the hat up to the register. Her soft grumblings easing his annoyance at having the moment with Hermione ruined. Luna followed close behind her smiling serenely as she offered to pay half the cost.
Two hands appeared in front of Hermione. She looked up to see both Fred and George waiting. "Thank you," she let them both help her up, shooting them a quick little smile. She hesitated. She wanted to put some space between her and the twins after the unsettling episode earlier. But couldn't find a polite excuse with both her friends still hidden in the changing rooms.
Unfortunately for her, her thoughts projected far too clearly on her face. And George wasn't against using her hesitance against her.
"Have you been Flourish and Bott's yet Hermione?" He asked quickly. "Fred and I were just talking about taking a look for some new reference material," he continued, not giving her a chance to respond, subtlety flying out the window. "Although… we did need to pop into the store for some clothes as well," he stared hard at Fred, hoping he'd catch on. The couple just stared at him like he was the fool. It took a conscious effort to not roll his eyes. "We could divide and conquer Freddie," George really did deserve a medal. Best Wingman to a Hopeless Idiot. It'd be a minor miracle if Hermione didn't catch on before him and run for the hills. "Why don't you two head over to the bookstore while I nip on over and pick up a few outfits for us. We can all rendezvous there before going home."
"I should wait for Ginny and Luna," Hermione's response was slow. She was obviously tempted but hesitant. It wasn't hard to see why. Whether she'd realized it or not, she'd angled herself a little closer to him than Fred.
'For the brightest witch her age, she's a little slow,' George couldn't help thinking. She wouldn't have been so tempted if she'd caught on to his plan. If there was any doubt that she'd never been properly kissed before, it was gone now. No one who'd been properly seduced before would have been so thrown off balance with the slightly intimate flirting he'd seen before.
Finally Fred caught on, "They should be out soon. George can take care of them before he goes," he looked at George. George nodded, "Then we can get back early and help Mum with dinner."
George couldn't decide if he should applaud his twin, or smack some sense into him later. Probably both. It wasn't very fair using Hermione's insecurity against her like that. Actually, it was pretty low.
"Great idea," Hermione agreed quickly, however, brightening at the idea. She grabbed her bag intent on hurrying out the door, Fred close behind her.
"We'll talk about the research later," George called after them. The underlying message clear. Fred had messed up, and he wasn't going to let it go.
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