Weasley Charm | Fred Weasley

Chapter 3-8: The Bookstore

"Are you sure you don't want to go to Hogsmeade?" Delaney asked, begging her friends to accompany her.

"I'm sure. I'm going to stay here with Harry and Ron to finish schoolwork. Now go, have fun. We'll see you later," Hermione with a grin, lifting her heft stack of textbooks.

"Oh alright," Delaney sighed as she turned around and began to walk out of the common room.

"If you go to the bookstore can you see if they have the book I was talking about earlier?" Hermione called after her.

"You got it," Delaney shouted back in return.

Delaney hurried out of the castle. The cold February air hitting her face as she stepped outside, caused her to wrap her jacket around herself even more. She was thankful for the knitted hat she had on to cover her ears.

Delaney continued to Hogsmeade by herself. She first went into Zonko's Joke Shop, where she looked at Sugar Quills and Hiccough Sweets. Delaney was quite surprised to not find Fred or George in the joke shop. The shop was a must for them every Hogsmeade visit. Nonetheless, she made her way out of Zonko's and into Honeydukes. There she bought four chocolate frogs, one for each of her friends and one for herself. Just as Delaney was about to leave she remembered she wanted to go look for a book in the bookstore that sat on the corner of Hogsmeade. She walked into the quaint bookstore only to find very few students inside. That wasn't particularly surprising. Most students only read the required amount for classes. She scanned the shelves, looking for any new books that caught her eye. She'd already finished two of the books Lupin had gotten her for Christmas. She wanted to save one of them for the spring because it seemed to fit that season better. She had just picked up a book that caught her eye, after finding the book Hermione wanted, when a voice made her jump.

"Fancy seeing you here," Fred said, peering around the bookshelf.

"I'll say," Delaney said, tucking the books under her arm as her heart slowly went back to its normal pace. "What are you even doing in a bookstore? I never took you like the reading type."

"Well, we were wondering why you were walking around Hogsmeade by yourself without our dearest brother?" George asked, walking around the other side of the bookshelf.

"They all stayed behind to do schoolwork," Delaney said, placing a book she'd pulled from the shelf neatly back in its spot.

"And you didn't want to stay as well?" Fred asked, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Well, I already finished my schoolwork and I wanted to find a new book to read. Oh, and I wanted to get some chocolate frogs," she said, holding up the chocolate frogs from Honeydukes.

"Interesting..." Fred paused. "Well, would you like to come with us? We're probably going to go to Zonko's then get a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks."

"I don't know. I've already been to Zonko's and I want to get back to read this book," said Delaney, holding up the book she had just picked out before he scared her.

"Oh come on. It will be fun. And you can read it when you get back. I'm sure Ron and Harry will be working all night. Maybe not Hermione but Harry and Ron," Fred smiled. He had a point. Harry and Ron always put their work off until the last minute

"Oh alright, I'll go," Delaney said as she walked to the counter to buy her books.

"That didn't take much convincing," George laughed.

After paying for her books, Delaney followed Fred and George to Zonko's, for the second time that day. They somehow convinced her to buy a Sugar Quill even though she had already decided not to buy one earlier that day. After Fred and George searched every square inch of the shop, the three made their way to The Three Broomsticks to have what was supposed to be a quick butterbeer. But a quick chat turned into an hours-long conversation.

"Oh dear, it's time for dinner," Delaney said as she got out of the booth in which they sat. She hurried to put her winter coat back on, wrapping her scarf around her neck with the same agility.

"Is it?" George asked, looking out at the dark sky through the window.

"Yes, come on before we're late," Delaney said, walking out of the pub as she hugged her arms to her body in the hopes of maintaining some body heat.

The three quickly made their way back to the castle, eager to meet its warmth compared to the frigid night air. Delaney went straight to the great hall where she found Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table. She ran over to where they sat, feeling her nose run from the cold she'd previously escaped. She tucked her bags beneath her feet before grabbing a plate.

"There you are. What took you so long? We thought you were only going to a few stores," Ron questioned between bites.

"Well, I was. I did. But then I ran into Fred and George," Delaney paused. "Oh and before I forget, I got this for you, Hermione," she said, handing her the book Hermione had been on about for days.

"Delaney you didn't have to get it for me. I just wanted to know if it was still there. I could have bought it next time there's a Hogsmeade visit. Thank you," Hermione smiled, putting the book next to her.

"Don't mention it, besides, I got myself a book as well," Delaney said, eager to start it later after a warm shower.

"Hold on a second, can we go back to the part where you said you ran into Fred and George?" Ron said, pulling Delaney from her thoughts about throwing on a comfy jumper and curling under her covers with her new book, getting lost in the world it held within its pages.

"Oh yeah, I ran into them in the bookstore. They asked if I wanted to go to Zonko's and The Three Broomsticks with them," Delaney shrugged.

"So you went?" Ron asked, something lining his voice that Delaney couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Well I wasn't going to at first but then they kept asking me. So I finally agreed to go. That's what took so long, we ended up talking at The Three Broomsticks for longer than expected. Besides, it was better than going to the village alone," Delaney said, brushing off the subject as if it wasn't a big deal. Though she didn't mind her alone time, the twins' presence was a welcome addition to her day.

"Well, which one asked you to go with them?" Hermione asked.

"Fred. Why do you ask?" Delaney asked, not sure where Hermione was going with this whole thing.

"No reason," Hermione smiled after looking at Delaney.

"Why were they in the bookstore?" Ron asked, positively confused.

"Now that I couldn't tell you," Delaney laughed. "I was just standing there in the store, looking at this book and they just appeared from the other side of the bookshelf. I even asked them what they were doing in the bookstore."

"Weird," Ron said in his typical bewildered tone.

"You got that right," Delaney smiled as Fred and George entered the great hall, bringing her goblet to her lips before continuing a lighthearted dinner with her friends.