the muggle next door | f.w. golden trio era

↳ 4.25

when war starts to feel like war pt. 1

June 7th, 1996

"SUCH A FINE day," Fred sighed, looking at the peaceful scenery through the window.

Grimmauld Place was very quiet that morning, with George still cooped up in the flat and Sirius deep in discussion with Remus over a hearty breakfast.

"So glad I'm not wasting it, sitting in a boring classroom, taking my N.E.W.T.."

Daisy snuggled deeper into Fred's side. Her tea and his coffee were kept warm by magic.

"It starts today, doesn't it? O.W.L.s, too."

"Yeah, supposedly. Have you heard more from Ginny?"

"No. Not since last month."

"She did say she'd only write in emergencies," Fred mumbled, "Oh, her tips worked wonders. Not only did Mum's letters got through, George's for Alicia was also delivered. He was rolling around in his bed, giggling all night. It was disturbing."

Daisy giggled, "He's in love."

"I'm in love!" Fred exclaimed defensively, "I don't act that way, though, do I?"

"You do. I often find myself on the verge of puking these days."

The two teenagers whipped their heads back and beamed when they saw the visitor. "Bill!"

"Just dropping by on my way to Gringotts, Mum's order," he swept his loose, long hair back with his hand and shuffled in. "Sirius told me you're punishing him to stay away from the library, Dee?"

"Oh," Daisy shrugged, "He lost on our last game, so I asked him to kindly provide some privacy for me in this room for a week."

"Huh," Fred furrowed his eyebrows, "I thought it was because of our talk."

It was a mixture of both annoying and endearing that Sirius found himself entitled to disapprove of Daisy and Fred's blooming love. They didn't exactly tell him that they were dating, but he was sharp. He could sniff something was up between the two youngsters.

Fred finally plucked up the courage to talk with him privately yesterday, to remind him that he once rooted for him, when the Weasleys first moved in to Grimmauld place. That Sirius was wise enough to make a fair and objective assessment of Fred's quality. Also that he should imagine if Daisy decided to date thugs or criminals or Slytherins instead of a guy like him.

All in all, he was an okay guy, right?

"Interesting. I wonder how good you are to win against the mischievous Sirius Black four weeks in a row."

"She won because of the Protego-watch," Fred said in a really proud tone, "Dee, let Bill see it and try it on."

The device looked like a metallic bracelet. The main machine was a two-inches-long cylinder, which was tied around Bill's wrist using leather-like semiconductor fabric. When he pressed both ends of the cylinder, per Daisy's instruction, Bill could feel something light pressing onto his ear drums. Like he was underwater, but not quite.

Then he noticed the nearly invisible force field enveloping him like a dome.

"Fred gave it a try," Daisy said. Weird, he could hear her very clearly. "The energy protects its user completely from common spells and significantly decreases the impact of powerful ones. However, if you cast a spell from within, it's not as obstructed as it is from the outside. Heavy liquid and solid matters aren't affected, but I see some alteration when it comes to gaseous substances. What do you think?"