[1] Lemons into Lemonade ✓ | FRED WEASLEY

Chapter Forty Six

"You STUNNED the healers?"

Fred shrugged, "Lightly stunned! ... I told you weren't going to like the plan and you said you were fine with it!"

"Well ... how was I meant to know you were going to do this?!" Aubrey pushed herself up from the bed towards the two healers who were still standing but swaying a little with scarily vacant eyes.

"I ... I thought when people were stunned they slumped to the floor..." Aubrey whispered, a shiver going down her spine.

"Yeah, when they're stunned, this is actually a different spell, someone in Charlie's year made it and he passed it on to us which is why he's my second favourite brother - " 

"I'm assuming George is the first?"

"What? Of course not: Percy!" Fred replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "This lasts for less time so they'll just kind of ... awaken like nothing's happened, it's actually quite nice. Now come on, everything we do is ethically questionable so we can talk about this after we've gone through Dumbledore's office."

Aubrey did feel a little bad leaving the two healers alone but if this helped them switch back, then it was worth it ... probably. As the two walked, Aubrey should have been scared, they were raiding their Headmaster's office after all, yet with Fred by her side, she felt completely at ease. He'd managed to get the password, randomly bulk buying Exploding Bonbons for his brother to get it and if anyone could make it go right, it was him.

Dumbledore's office was exactly how she'd imagined it, majestic and well organised at first glance yet within seconds, cracks in the neat facade already became apparent, revealing that their Headmaster was just as messy as anyone else. The walls were lined with paintings and Aubrey wondered how Dumbledore managed to get anything done with so many eyes watching him; still, they were peaceful today, watching (or sleeping) rather than saying anything. There were also many cupboards, each one fills with hastily written parchment and yellowing documents.

"Oh Merlin's Beard, this will take forever," Fred grimaced, running his hands through his hair.

Aubrey, however, was not as displeased, instead, her eyes were gleaming, "I know ... so much organising ..."

Fred turned to her with a grin, "I have a lot of faith in you but this is too much for - "

"You're so wrong, girl, nothing is too much for me," She replied, making a beeline for his desk in the hopes that's where important stuff was kept, "I'll go here, you look in those golden shelves. They're half filled and the parchment's still white, it looks recent"

As he obliged, a smile came across his face, "Miss Jackson, I believe this is your time to shine."

She wasted no time, instantly giving him instructions on the proper way to skim read: the trick was buzzwords if you found them in a document the rest was likely related. Their task felt oddly similar to the library, the two working in silence at opposite corners of the room for several minutes. However unlike last time, talking had become the norm leading to both of them attempting to start a conversation at once.

"How - "

"Are you - "

They both trailed off as Aubrey said, "Oh, you go first, hon."

"Okay," Fred replied, "I was just going to check up on you and see how you were doing about George. We didn't talk about it before and I was wondering if you ... wanted to. Also you ... um, looked like you'd maybe been crying but ... couldn't ... if you know what I mean?"

She stopped filing, turning around to give him a kind smile, "Yeah, sadly, I had been. I don't even really know what I was crying for, I felt more numb than sad. Like I was crying more for the end of an era rather than George itself."