Twin Fall ↠ A Fred Weasley story

32. Behind closed doors

When the next memory fell into focus, Jess was sat in her pyjamas and dressing robe in the Common Room. It was dark, and warm, with the only light coming from the fireplace and the flames that were still dancing away.

It was late, and she was alone, leaning over a bit of parchment and scribbling away at a short note. When she was done, she folded it in half, and then in half again. She stood up and took off silently up the stone steps towards the dormitories.

At the top of the stairs, instead of turning towards the girls bedrooms, Jess opened the door to the boys side and started to creep up. She tread carefully being sure to not wake anyone, although there were less people around with the Christmas holidays, so she felt sure that she wouldn't be caught.

There was a chattering coming from the door reading 'second years'; Ron and Harry must've still been awake, no doubt discussing the day's events. Jess took extra care to make no noise as she passed that particular door.

Finally, she came to the door with the plaque reading 'fourth years'. She crouched down and placed the piece of paper on the floor near the crack at the bottom of the door. From behind it, there was a gentle snoring that she hoped was from George. She pulled out her wand and tapped the paper. With a small mutter, it flew under the door and into the bedroom.

Despite calling on Fred, the last thing she wanted was to be caught lurking on the boys dormitory stairs in the dark. She turned and fled as quietly as she could manage, pulling the door shut with a 'click' as she got to the bottom.

Jess doubted that Fred would find the note until the morning, but with the excitement of the day, she was desperate to divulge the things they'd discovered. She reassured herself that Fred had wanted to know what happened with Malfoy; he'd asked her to tell him, so therefore she was only doing as he'd asked.

She perched herself on the bench next to the windowsill with a book. However, instead of opening the pages, she looked out into the swirling abyss of snow falling down on the castle. She could just about make out the shapes outside, darkened by the late night sky, but equally illuminated by the glistening snow against the moonlight. Even after a year and a half, the beauty of Hogwarts never stopped amazing her.

A distant bang knocked her out of her thoughts. She turned her head and realised it was coming from the dormitory she'd just left. Crossing her fingers behind the book, she hoped that she would see a tall ginger boy poke his head around the door.

She flicked to any random page and suddenly became engrossed in it. If it was Fred coming, she wouldn't seem too eager, and if it was anyone else, she wouldn't come across suspicious.

Her heart sped up as the pattering of footsteps came down the stone stairs; her eyes darted across the page but didn't take in any of the words. Her hands suddenly felt very numb holding onto the book, and as the voice spoke, her lungs expanded.

"You called?"

Jess looked up from her book and over to the entrance to the stairs. Wrapped in a maroon dressing gown with his chequered pyjama bottoms poking underneath, Fred was leaning against the wall smiling warmly at Jess. She leant back and pretended she hadn't been waiting in such high anticipation.

"That was quick," she said.

"Yes, it was," he grinned, walking over to her.

"Anyone would think you were eager to see me," Jess teased.

Fred sat opposite her on the bench and entwined his legs around her. "Maybe I am eager to see you, but I'm also not the one sending secret notes at gone midnight."

Jess shrugged, "if you'd rather it wait until morning..."

"No," Fred said abruptly.

A small giggle escaped Jess's mouth, and Fred chuckled.