As the Second Wizarding War ended, many students decided to go back to Hogwarts to finish their studies. Anne-Leigh Conway was one of them.
While she attempts to come to terms with what's happened, she gets entangled in an effort set forth by Headmi...
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Chapter 16: Inventory & Guilt
The sun was still out and the air was still warm when Fred made his way back to the shop in Hogsmeade, and he was almost reluctant to leave the late summer behind and go inside. He left the broom on the outside, and slipped into the building.
The entry bell rang as he entered, and with long steps he made his way up the stairs and into the office-area of the space, where George sat scribbling at some papers. The shop and building was quite small from the outside, but with the help of an extension charm both the shop area downstairs and the living area upstairs had plenty of room. So far they had two separate bedrooms and a combined kitchen, working and living area, complete with a desk, storage, and couch and table for some relaxation; plenty of space for the two of them. Not that they were both planning to be here at the same time too often.
George's eyes met Fred, and he immediately looked back down into his documents.
"Why, hello to you too brother." Fred threw himself down on the couch, planning to do something helpful after a moment.
George looked up again. "Had a nice walk? Or rather, had a nice flying session?" He raised his eyebrow dramatically, going for a 'strict boss' kind of look. "Your broom randomly shot through the main window downstairs and shattered the glass everywhere so I assume that was your doing."
Fred replied effortlessly. "Good. Saw the famous top grade student."
George threw his hands up in feigned annoyance. "You're welcome for repairing the window by the way! Ungrateful git." He playfully muttered the last words and stood up before going towards the kitchen area, stretching his legs after a long time of work and getting a drink as he did so. "Conway?" He asked after a second, not expecting any further words from Fred.
"Yeah, got her on a broom."
"How in the world did you manage that? Tell her you had a grade-changing jinx or something?"
Fred chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows. She was surprisingly decent."
Fred considered telling him about Leigh faking being hurt only to shove her middle finger in his face, all while he was worried and envisioning the ways McGonagall would chop his head off, but decided against it. He knew that he would never hear the end of it if George knew about it.
His brother plopped down in front of the desk again, taking a sip of his drink before resuming his previous action of looking through the papers. A moment of silence passed before he spoke again.
"You enjoy spending time with her then?" George's eyes were still focused on the papers in front of him as he spoke.
"Yeah," Fred shrugged. "She's alright."
George hummed in response, scribbling down something before turning to another page. "Be careful with her, will you?"
The words left his lips, and Fred looked up at him only to see him still facing the paper, scribbling away. He frowned, straightening up slightly in his spot on the couch.
