✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

29 | N I G H T

   "Holy mother of Merlin! What are you doing here?" Clutched one hand over her chest, the other wrapped around her wand, Ember twirled around, feeling release wash over her like an ocean wave. Nevertheless, her heart was still racing like crazy under his curious glare.

   "I asked first, did I?", he scoffed, curiosity being replaced by amusement, his splendid white teeth seeming to glow in the moonlight falling through the window as he revealed his typical cheshire cat grin.

   "I sent a letter."

   "In the dead of the night?", Fred scoffed, crossing the room to the nearest owl, fixating a thick envelope on its leg.

   "Crazy, huh?", Ember snorted, voice drenched in sarcasm as she gave her eyes a roll. "Didn't even know you can write."

   "Feisty", he dryly replied, carrying the owl to the window where Ember stood. The bird didn't waste time and vanished into the night. Fred turned his head towards Ember. "Maybe I'll forget how to write during the next summer break, lady. How do you feel about that?"

   "Oh, you wouldn't dare!"

   "Would you bet on it?"

   "Of course I would!", she retorted in a defiant voice. "You couldn't cope with making me unhappy, I know you love me." Fred tilted his head, and Ember felt her cheeks flushing pink, begging for the night to hide it. "I mean - uhm. You know what I mean ..."

   "Do I, little Ember girl?" Yes, he was indeed enjoying her embarrassment, she didn't need to read it from his face hidden in the shadows, his voice was singing a serenade about it. "I'm not sure about it, as I'm obviously not smart enough to write letters according to you, I don't think I'm that brilliant to follow the complexities of your thoughts."

   Face burning so intense that she feared it would glow in the dark, Ember gave an angry snort. "Stop teasing, you git."

   His body shook in a silent chuckle, Fred slowly leaned forward, until their faces were on the same level. Ember's breath hitched in her throat, realising how close he was. "You know I can't", he whispered, his breath tickling against her skin. "So, Emmie, who are you writing in these late hours, huh? A boy? Is it a lover? Or", his voice got raspy and deeper, "a boyfriend?"

   "N-no." Pull yourself together, Ember, her brain was snapping at her. It's just Fred doing what he always does! She swollowed heavily. "I wrote Remus. Didn't want to wait til tomorrow to send it." She scrapped every piece of bravery out of the corners of her consciousness, moving even closer to him until the tips of their noses touched. "Your turn."

   Suddenly he stood up straight, the space between them back to normal.

   "Bagman", he then plainly spoke.

   "Ludo Bagman? Why would you write Ludo Bagman?"

   "Hey, I didn't ask you why you would write our ex-teacher at two in the morning", Fred replied, chugging. "But as I trust you ... You remember the bet at the World Cup? George and I bet all our savings?"

   "How could I forget? That was amazing!", Ember said, thinking of how precisely the twins predicted the match's end, still wondering how this was possible.

   "It was, yes." Suddenly his voice sounded bitter. "At least it would have been." He turned away from Ember, leaning out of the window. "It was Leprechaun gold." Ember didn't reply, not knowing where this was leading to. "It vanished an hour after the end of the match."

   "What?!"

   "So since then we try to get at Bagman", Fred explained, "and he's trying to avoid us at any cost."

   Ember didn't know what to say. Fred and George for as long as Ember knew them tried to save money for their big dream of their own joke shop. Having loads of brilliant ideas, it would become nothing but success. Unfortunately their lack of money was constantly standing in the way. Ember wouldn't have done anything with more pleasure than giving the Weasleys all of her money, but they didn't even take a Knut from her. And now Bagman had stolen even the tiny bit they had carved over the last years. She felt her hands trembling in anger, remaining quiet.

   "Professor Lupin - Remus had been a friend of my parents", she said after minutes to break the silence. Feeling useless not knowing anything helpful to say to Fred, she decided that she at least could repay his trust in her by trusting him as well. "I need - I need an advice. Well, an advice from an adult." She gulped, before admitting in a whisper, "From a parent." Fred looked down at her, and now it was him saying nothing, but even in the semi-darkness she could read the question written all over his face; why on earth would Ember ask Remus Lupin for an parental advice? She barely knew him, she didn't know where he was, she hadn't seen him in months. Yes, it was a valid, unspoken question.

   "Erm, Remus -", Ember started in an attempt to explain, "See, you know he has this - furry problem. My parents wanted him as my godfather, but he declined because - okay, that would be a long story ... My real godfather is a slimy rat. So I choose to turn my questions to my parents' first choice as my godfather and wrote Remus."

   "See, we have all the night", said Fred, sliding down the wall and sat down leaned against the cold stone. "I'm not really tired, and I think a long story is pretty perfect for a night like this."

   "Oh - Oh Fred, you don't have to, you can go to bed and we -"

   But he patted on that piece of floor next to him, an encouraging smile on his lips, that was more than irresistible, so with a sigh Ember sat down as well, taking a deep breath.

   "Fine. It all started when my parents found out they were a target ..."

-