shattered | f.w, d.m

thirty

Keziah.

May, 1998.

—

She slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the laugh from escaping.

Fred gawked at her, taken aback. "Do not tell me you're actually finding this amusing, Kez," he drawled.

She erupted into a loud laugh. Her head even tipped back and it turned into a hysterical cackle.

He stared at her, startled. It took her a good five minutes to get her laughs to subside.

"Hermione was the person found dead outside—" Fred began.

She burst out laughing again. He sealed his lips and nodded, waiting for her to gain control over herself.

When she stopped and was heaving for air, he stared as he sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you done?" he asked patiently, bouncing his leg.

"Yes." She nodded and shifted up her bed. "You were saying?"

Her roommates weren't there since they were with whoever they were having sex with nowadays. Fred had spent the night with her and he'd woken up to get dressed in his dorm and grab a copy of the Daily Prophet before coming back to her dorm.

"Right." He glanced back at the copy of the paper in his hands. "Hermione was the person found and now she's... uhm, dead. It doesn't say how she died, but she was found right outside of the courtyard."

"Who found her?" she asked in wonder, and leaned against the headboard.

"Some Fourth Year and her date," he answered, and flipped through the paper. "They took their statements with the Ministry and it's an official homicide. Detective Obi is on the investigation again. Dumbledore contacted him after the body was found."

"I bet the Fourth Year and her date were trying to sneak out to shag in the woods," she said amusedly. "Sex in the woods sounds unhygienic, but very enticing."

"That is what you gathered from what I just said?"

"I mean, how can you not?" She blinked. "Imagine their explanations about why they were roaming around in the courtyard together in the dark."

"A walk?" He blinked back. "A simple walk to get fresh air?"

Signing through a smile, she appraised him. "You and your innocent mind, Fred Weasley."

"So my mind should go to something obscene in every scenario?"

"If you're sane, yes."

"Says the psychopath."

"Hey." The spot between her brows creased. "That has nothing to do with my sanity."

He released a short chuckle. "It kind of does, to be honest."

She decided to ignore his comment. "Are we on lockdown?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Or can we still roam freely?"

"Well, Keziah," he said obviously as he cleared his throat. "We would know if you actually, you know... got out of bed and got ready for the day."

"Good idea." She tossed the blankets off her legs.

As soon as she was ready for the day, they both walked out of their house and down to the Great Hall. Prom was on a Friday, so it was now a Saturday. A brilliant start to the weekend. A spine-tingling plot twist, Keziah thought. Everyone would be on their toes now.

There were whispers and talk about Hermione being found dead. Nothing that wasn't expected. It was the second homicide at Hogwarts in less than two months.