The Queen of Vipers || Fred Weasley

I.IV

Electra laughed.

"A partnership?" She laughed again, this time coming out more like a bark than a laugh. They'd done a good job disarming her, she had to admit, but this proposition was moronic.

Other people either wanted to be them or snog them, or befriend them at the least, but most were only able to laugh with them. Clever, funny, charming. Despite their lack of work ethic, they excelled in class. Electra was better, but no one cared. The twins were good at everything. But they were... well them. Why would Electra ever agree to a partnership with the Weasley twins?

"Please be a guise for one of your pranks."

George smiled; genuinely. "You can laugh." He made a quick glance at his brother over his shoulder, an eyebrow cocked. Electra's eyes followed. The exact expression on Fred's face was indiscernible, but he was enjoying himself, that much was obvious. She quickly turned her grin back down into a scowl.

Fred's lips quirked. "No guise," he said, shifting his feet and settling his gaze back on her again. "We want a partnership."

"With you," finished George. He had a stupid kind of grin on his face.

Electra's brow furrowed, all humour dissolved. "And why on earth would you want that?"

"You're a powerful ally," said George with a nonchalant shrug.

"Turns out pretty boy Diggory may be smarter than we thought." Fred sniggered at his comment and nudged George, who was hiding a smile. Electra shot Fred a deadly glare.

"Talk like that again and you can forget any partnerships," she snapped.

A crooked smile played on his lips. Electra had played right into his hands. She wanted to punch the smirk off his face. "Diggory a touchy subject, is he?"

George was better at reading the room than his twin and cleared his throat. "I see we're not going to get very far like this," he said, sending his brother a reproachful look. "So we'll leave you with this; Octavia and Drusilla are planning something big for you."

"Stop it before it happens," advised Fred as he crossed his arms over his chest. She didn't like the sound of that.

Electra's eyes narrowed as her brain whirred. "Why do you care what happens to me?"

Fred's haughty face fell. He stepped forward. "Don't you care that they're planning to take you down?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I care," said Electra with a lazy flourish of her hand. "I'm asking why you care."

"For the sake of our partnership," said George as he leaned against the railing of the tower's balcony, stretching out his long legs.

"Why?"

"We have our reasons," Fred clarified.

"Illuminating," grumbled Electra after a spectacular eye roll.

"As we said before—," began George.

"You're a powerful person to have as an ally," finished Fred, if not a bit begrudgingly.

But Electra's eyes narrowed. They had ulterior motives, she'd be an idiot not to see that, but were they going to reveal themselves just yet? She didn't think so.

"Take our warning as a sign of appeasement," said George. He pushed off the railing as his brother turned his back on her.

"Take it or leave it, Black," added Fred with a casual wave as they began heading for the stairs.

So it was between putting her trust in the pranksters hands or putting up with whatever the Rowles had in store for her. What had her life come to?

"Do me one better," Electra called to them. Feet stopped shuffling. "Take them down with me."