Thick and Thin • a Fred Weasley Story •

Learning, Not Learning

Almost a month later, Lydia has become close to the Weasley twins as the school year gradually picks up speed.

Their playful dynamic of goofing around and finding the fun in everything, cracking sarcastic jokes, and finding classes to be rather boring results in Lydia realizing her time spent with them, especially Fred, becomes the girl's favorite pastime.

She hadn't been talking to Harry much, but still some... having lunch with the twins, Lee, Ron, Hermione and him was still fun. And she had gotten closer with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in general, but it seemed that Harry's mind was constantly somewhere else, always distracted...

Lydia sits across from Taylor in the common room at a small table, the evening setting in as students around them chat with one another and reluctantly finish homework.

Lydia looks up, past Taylor's shoulder to see Fred and George seated among a few second years, passing a box of unknown candies around and talking to the kids with grinning faces. She smiles, shaking her head.

"Fred, what are you two doing to those poor kids?" she calls, grinning. Taylor twists around to follow her gaze to see the twins.

"Don't worry about it, Lyds!" Fred calls back, smirking.

"I'm worried!"

"Just stay concerned with your... quadratic geometry or whatever it's called!" George calls, grinning at the girl.

"That's not a thing," Lydia snorts back.

Fred and George exchange a laugh before turning back to the kids, resuming their busywork as Lydia giggles. Taylor twists back around to face Lydia with a small smile.

"So..." Taylor starts, "you three have gotten pretty close, huh?"

"'Spose we have," Lydia yawns, leaning back in her chair. "They're pretty cool. Total dorks, but cool."

"I can see that," Taylor replies with a grin. Lydia chuckles before her friend adds, "Honestly, I wasn't really able to tell them apart before, but I started seeing that you talk to one a bit more than the other and that helped..."

"You mean Fred?" Lydia asks nonchalantly. "Yeah, I guess..."

Lydia looks up to see Taylor smirking at her, slowly crossing her arms.

"What are you playing at...?" Lydia asks slowly, a skeptical look on her face.

Taylor sighs. "How can you be both a genius and an idiot at the same time?"

Lydia leans over to slap Taylor's leg with her notebook, Taylor giggling as she scrunches up in her chair to try and dodge it. The two of them chat a bit longer before Lydia then notices Ron, Harry, and Hermione enter the common room behind Taylor, Ron looking like he's asking Hermione something as they make their way in.

As Taylor continues to braid a friendship bracelet on the table and hum to herself, Lydia watches the three friends settle onto the couch only a few paces away from where she's seated. Harry yet again looks distressed, Lydia's eyes catching Hermione looking down at the boy's hand and seeming to ask him something. She watches as the girl grabs his hand suddenly, Harry looking frustrated.

Her curiosity is peaked at the sight of all three of their concerned faces, as if something is terribly wrong... she rises from her seat.

"One second, Tay, I'll be right back," she mumbles. Taylor nods absent-mindedly while keeping her eyes on the thread between her fingers.

Lydia slips her hands in her pockets and walks over towards the couch where Harry, Hermione, and Ron are seated, arriving at the wall across from them beside the fireplace.