keeper → g. weasley [EDITING]

↝two

MALLIE SCRAPED THE LAST BITS of caramel from the bottom of her ice cream cup as they walked through Diagon Alley.

Charlie was talking about wanting to stop by Honeydukes (he'd promised his little sister some Peppermint Toads), and Mallie agreed that some good old Honeydukes chocolate wouldn't do her any harm.

Not long after, the two reached the front doors of the colorful candy shop, Charlie babbling about how Annie couldn't get enough of the Toads as they stepped in.

The smell was sweet, as it should be, and there were small children galloping around her legs in fits of laughter.

"I'll be right back."

Mallie nodded as she wondered around the shop watching in awe at the rows and rows of brightly colored sweets, all the kinds she could think of.

Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Pepper Imps, Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Whizzbees, Droobles Best Blowing Bubblegum and more.

After popping one of the tasters into her mouth, in the corner of her eyes Mallie noticed a pop of red in the otherwise green and blue store.

She recognized them as the two Weasley twins in the grade above her, they were in conversation over a box of what seemed to be Nougat.

Mallie realised she'd been looking too long when one of them caught her eye and smiled, he offered her a small wave. She blushed a deep red and sent a shy wave back.

Even though it was still a bit awkward, they didn't break eye contact until Mallie felt a hand on her shoulder.

It was Charlie, he noticed Mallie's gaze and sent a strange stare in the boys direction before looking back to her.

"Ready to go?"

Completely forgetting about the chocolate she had been hoping to buy, Mallie looked back to the corner of the store to see the twins had left.

"Yeah, let's go."

××××

It was growing dark and puffs of cold air were forming whenever either of the two friends began to talk.

"Remember that time one of Scar's boyfriends had a thing for large bugs?"

Mallie pulled her coat tighter around her as she laughed, "Yeah, yeah! I remember that night, she came screaming blue murder out the Slytherin common room."

Charlie chuckled as he splashed a puddle with the tip of his shoe and Mallie continued, "She even made me go into her room and triple check that there weren't any of them lurking in her bed sheets."

As they made their way down the empty and darkening street, a grey owl flying overhead notices them and swoops down towards Mallie, crash landing on her shoulder and nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Shark!" She shouts, startled. The owl nips her cheek affectionatley while a white envelope is stuck in his beak.

Charlie pulls it from him as Mallie attempted to calm down from the sudden attack, scolding the bird, who simply blinked at her.

"It's your mom, she says it is late. Oh, and that we must take the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron home."

Mallie nodded, "Yeah it is. School tomorrow, remember?"

And so the two made there way back to the warmth of the Leaky Cauldron, Mallie let Shark fly off but told him that he had to be home before she went to bed.

Weaving between tables of drunken warlocks and chatty wizards, they made it to the fireplace. Mallie hugged Charlie one last time, he insisted that she goes first to make sure she is okay.

Mallie stands a moment before giving him a quick wink and throwing the Floo Powder to the ground, shouting her address.

Before she knows it, she's faced with her mother standing right outside the fireplace.

Katherine ushers Mallie to the kitchen table to have a plate of food before urging her to bed.

Mallie opens her bedroom door to find Ashton rolling around on her bed with their cat, Alaska. He freezes and looks at Mallie guiltily.

"I was just ..." He started, rising from the bed and putting his hands up playfully.

"Trespassing?" She offered.

Ashton grinned, "Perhaps.."

He stood barely another minute before leaping onto Mallie's bed again and pulling Alaska into his chest: he didn't look pleased.

She laughed at them, "When are you going back to work, Ash? You're becoming a menace around here."

"Never!"

Mallie crosses her arms, giving him a false stern look.

"Okay, I go back on Tuesday." He cracked, "Happy?"

It took a while to usher him out, but Mallie finally managed to get Ash back to his own room.

She gazed at the packed trunk in the corner of her room next to the Firebolt she got last Christmas and excitement bubbled in her stomach.

After a long enough wait, she was finally going home. Back to her friends, back to Quidditch, back to Hogwarts. She climbed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth and lay on the made bed staring at the ceiling.

She has those glow-in-the-dark plastic stars stuck on the roof above her bed, Mallie remembers her dad bought them for her from a Muggle store years ago. More than she can remember.

Just as her eyes are about to flutter closed, in the state between awake and asleep, Mallie is startled by a ruffling of feathers and a soft clucking by the window. She sits up quickly, eyes already adjusted to the darkness, and walks over to Shark.

She places him in his cage quietly, offering him a small kiss on his feathered head before climbing under her covers. Mallie takes one last glimpse at the plastic stars, shining falsely in the dark of the room.

Her green eyes reflect the streetlight flowing through the open window before they shut and her head is filled with only one color: red.

××××

ola friends!

so this is the second chap, we're slowly going to get into the main plot.

if things go to plan, i want to update once a week:)

much love,
-mel