𝗗𝗜𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 ☼ 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆

↘︎ chapter five

5 | Weasleys are suspicious

It had been one month and a half since the start of the school year for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everything was monnotonous for Marley Macmillan and her friends - breakfast, classes, studying, dinner, little chatting and then going to bed. Nothing interesting was happening except that Marley had lost a few times in the corridors of the massive castle, but at least tried to remember where her classes were. The school was enormous and the staircases, changing their positions, weren't making the girl feel better.

Marley was having breakfast with Angelina Johnson at the Great Hall. For once she was confused Fred and George weren't after her, because the two ginger twins got really attached to her. She liked them and they liked her. But now they weren't here and Marley was getting suspicious. It was passing 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Do you know where Fred and George are?" asked Marley, diluting her hot chocolate with a stirrеr and her eyes staring at the double doors of the hall. Angelina, who was sitting opposite her and with her Charm textbook, just shrugged her arms.

"I don't know. Aren't they always with you?" she joking and let out a faint smile, Marley smiled too and drank from her hot chocolate.

"Well, they are. But I have no idea where are they right now." she pressed her lips in thin line, then took her textbook for Potions and again checked what they had done in class last time, because today Snape wanted from the students to make some important and stupid potion Marley had no idea how she would do it. Now her opinion for Snape was different. He was strange and creepy teacher, giving a lot of homework. He was really strict, but that was a good quality. That meant the students will learn more about the potions.

Suddenly, the Great Hall's double doors opened and two ginger twins entered with 'thunder and crash'. Their faces were red like their hairs, but big grins were touching their lips as they were making their way to the place where Marley and Angelina were sitting.

George slid in the long wooden bench, sitting next to Marley and Fred next to him. The boys just grinned like nothing strange had happened. They were late for breakfast and probably had went somewhere. Marley thought it was time for her long-waited investigation.

"Where have you been?" she questioned.

"Outside," Fred replied, breathing heavily. Somethins is wrong, thought Marley. It was time detective Marley Macmillan to go in action and understand what was happening with the boys. But she decided to pretend everything was normal and just nodded with her head. Fortunately, the twins didn't notice her dark plans.

                              ***

Later that day, Marley shared her observations with Angelina. She was her closest girl friend in Hogwarts and otherwise, she had known them for almost two years while Marley knew the twins for a month. Angelina had experience how to deal with them.

"You want to sneak in their dormitory? That sounds totally insane. They are probably up to their next prank, Marley." said Angelina, the two girls were walking towards the Study Hall. It was time for their homework and Marley hoped when they arrive, the twins won't be there so she can discuss her plan with Angelina.

"Well, they were strange the whole day, Lina." blurted out Marley and snuggled her textbooks closer to her chest. Recently the girl was spending so much time with Angelina.

"No, it's not a good idea. Look, soon there will be Quidditch tryouts. All of our group are trying to get in the Gryffindor team. I advise you to try, but I'm not sure you'll pass this year." said Angelina. Marley didn't understand what was the common thing between the national wizarding sport and the gingers boys. "You're only eleven and the team hardly allow so young children. But that's not the point. Fred and George want to be Beaters and they're gonna try this year. Maybe that's why they are acting strange."

"Oh, maybe you're right." Marley reconciled. She thought about her words and actually they sounded logical. Maybe they were training for the Quidditch tryouts and were nervous. But her instincts were whispering there was something else was going on with them. But Marley suppressed this feeling and the two girls entered the Study Hall, not surprised to find the ginger twins and Lee Jordan, sitting on their table.

"Hi, Marley." Lee Jordan, the nice black boy from Gryffindor, first noticed the girls and greeted them. "Hi, Angelina. What's up?"

Marley dropped her textbooks on the wooden table, next to one of the twins but she didn't know who was it. She still had problems with recognizing the boys. They looked so identical to her. The girl sat on the chair and took her quill and inkwell, the boys were already doing their homework. They were writing in silence about half an hour, when curiosity took peak over Marley. She bent next to the ginger twin and whispered: "I heard you and your brother are planning to go to the Quidditch tryouts for Beaters? Is that true?"

"Yes. Fred and I are training really hard for the tryouts. How do you know?" asked George Weasley. Marley had no idea she was sitting next to him this time, neither she recognized something that was different from his brother Fred who was opposite them.

"I have my ways," smirked Marley and George's eyes sprakled in playful brown shade. The girl again focused on her homework but she was sure Fred and George wouldn't lie to her if they were that close with Marley. But if they dare to lie, she was going to beat them up.

When they finished their homework, the group headed for the Great Hall for dinner. Marley didn't have many friends from her year - she knew the Hufflepuff Finn Hudson and the girl Quinn Fabray which she didn't remember in which house she was sorted in. But her friends were second-year students. Some wizards would say it was strange to hang out with people who are older than you, but Marley didn't mind. She even liked it.

The Great Hall was filled with students, speaking on high voice impatiently. Dumbledore, the headmaster and the other teachers were sitting on the High Table. The dinner will start in a couple of minutes and the situation looked like any other day - smell of delicious food in the air, laughter and jokes, nice atmosphere.

The group of friends sat on the table, close to Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, a girl in Marley's year. The table was ladened with food - roast chicken with garnish and it smelt more than delicious. Marley and her friends were ready to attack the food, when Dumbledore stood up fro his chair and hit the teaspoon in his goblet. Suddenly the hall fell silent, and everyone turned to the respected headmaster.

"A message to all the students who wants to try this year for the Quidditch teams." announced Dumbledore, his voice echoing in the walls of the hall. Marley felt how the twins next to her strained. "The tryouts will take place in the Quidditch pitch this Saturday from 9am to 12pm. You'll receive timetables from the captains of each team. And now I wish you a nice dinner."

He sat back on his table and the students again started talking about... what they were talking. Fred and George were really excited. The tryouts were in two days and the boys didn't have much time to train. Marley wasn't going to try this year. Angelina herself told her she was too young and not many eleven-year-olds have been accepted in the Quidditch team for so long. In her classes where she was trying to fly with a broom, she wasn't from the best ones so she will be a supporter during the matches.

"Will you watch us, Marley?" asked Fred Weasley with hope in his voice. He had put some roast chicken in his plate and grabbed the cutlery from the table.

"I wouldn't miss it." she replied with a smile. "I think I'll try next year to get in the team. What do you think?"

"Yes, it'll be good." said George with full mouth. "But if you want to enter, I'm sure you'll need to have good skills and you should be good at flying with brooms. But don't worry, if we enter this year, we'll learn you."

"From guides to teachers? Hmm, interesting development, Weasley." Marley retorted and stabbed with her fork the roast chicken. When she saw the sparkle in George's eyes while he was talking about Quidditch, she realized it was really important for him. So she hoped he and his brother would get in the team.