Fireworks! (Fred and George Weasley)

The next Saturday was when the Wins and I actually got all the furniture for the flat and started to get everything in order for the shop (naturally, I had to pick out most of the furniture because the twins, being boys, have absolutely no sense of style). We spent the next couple of weeks sprucing up and fixing the downstairs, and Fred and George were very excited to open the shop, however far away that would be.

I had decided to use most of the money in my vault for the shop. Fred and George protested, but what else am I supposed to use it for? Shopping? Well, I had gone shopping in London when I had first visited to my vault, but what was I supposed to do? Gold was practically falling from the ceiling, and I was a girl after all!

Of course, I told Fred and George that that money was as much theirs as it was mine.

We were getting anxious, though. It was already the middle of May and we weren’t nearly ready to open the shop. Trying to open this shop really showed us how unorganized we all were…

As for Sirius… he hadn’t told anyone. Thank the lord. And it wasn’t like I was stopping—or even try to, for that matter—so he really would have to take it to the grave.

“So Sam, tell me,” Fred said as we all sat at the small kitchen table we had, and had our nutritious meal of leftovers from Molly’s cooking. It had become a regular dish for us. “What’s going on between you and Davies now that you’re gone.”

I bit my lip and glared at Fred. “We broke up,” I mumbled, while loudly clanging my fork onto my plate.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that?” George said, grinning.

“I said…” I told them, pronouncing ever letter. “We broke up!”

The twins looked at me with identical smirks. “Why didn’t you tell us about Davies?” Fred asked.

“I was hoping it would have slipped your mind,” I mumbled as I looked at my food. Damn. They won. I can’t hold down a boyfriend. “And now you are going to mock me blah blah blah. I’m going to ignore you for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t be such a baby,” George said. The nerve.

“George Weasley, you are the biggest baby I have ever met, so you are not allowed to call anyone else a baby!” I quickly stood from the table and walked out of the room. I was headed for the bathroom, but I stopped halfway down the hallway.

What was I going to do? Make myself throw up again? Sirius’s voice was ringing in my ears. ‘It’s a serious problem.’ ‘You’re hurting yourself, Samantha!’ ‘You must stop it at once!’ He was absolutely right.

I couldn’t keep doing this. It wasn’t healthy. It was just a stupid thing my mother made me do. Well, she can go to hell.

I turned and walked into my bedroom and quietly shut the door.

I awoke to the smell of eggs and pancakes—WHAT?!

I jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen, where George stood, cooking. Cooking! COOKING?!

“George, set the cooking utensils down, and back away from the stove,” I said, quickly.

“Very funny, Samantha,” George said sarcastically. “I’m finished anyways.”

He levitated a whole plate of pancakes and another plate of eggs to the table. I sat down and eyed the food suspiciously. “Where’s Fred?” I asked.

“He went out,” He dished himself some food, and I hesitantly followed suit.

“Where?”

“I don’t know.” George took a bite. I followed suit, again. “Probably just wanted to explore or something.”

I wasn’t listening, however. I was lost in the little bit of heaven that was in my mouth. “George Weasley! I’m impressed!”

“Er… thanks?” George watched me as I practically inhaled the rest of the food. I washed it down with a glass of orange juice, and smiled at George as I took the plate to the sink. I flicked my wand and they started to wash themselves.

“Huh! That’s the first time that’s ever worked for me!” I said grinning. George grinned back. I sat back down at the table. George kept looking at me. I tried not to let it bother me. He was looking at me oddly, though. “What?! Do I have syrup on my face or something?”

“No!” George laughed. “No, there’s nothing on your face.”

And then he went right on looking at me. WHAT A FREAK. Well, I guess best friends look at each other… he did have very nice eyes. A warm hazel color, and there was a certain warmness and reassurance in them. Not to mention that mischievous twinkle. Ah, George.

“Morning all!” Fred called as he walked into the flat. I jumped and quickly looked away, as if I had been doing something I shouldn’t have. “Whatcha been doing while I was away?”

“Nothing!” I said standing. “I’m getting changed.” I walked into my room to get changed.

I was rather awkward around George for the rest of the day as we brought in boxes of materials to manufacture products, really for no reason. I would only laugh forcedly at his jokes, and avoided his eyes at all costs. Like he was going to shoot lasers out of them at any second. Freaky stuff.

“Sam!” Fred called, waving his hands in front of my face.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been standing next to the window for about five minutes!” Fred exclaimed.

“Oh… right… sorry. I was just…. Feeling the sun on my back…” I said, awkwardly.

“What is it with you today?” he laughed. “You seem rather… distant…”

I forced a laugh. “Yeah…”

Fred shook his head at me as he brought another box to the back room.

“Fred!” I called. “Don’t put that box on the top shelf! There are explosives in there, and if it falls—“

“There are no explosives in that box,” Fred called to me, slightly annoyed.

“Don’t be silly. There are!”

“No, Sam. There’re not,” Fred and George said at the same time.

“You two are ridiculous! Bring that box back out! I will prove to you that there are firework materials in there!” I said angrily.

“And if they’re not?” Fred said, bringing out the box.

“Then I will eat a raw egg,” I said.

“No,” Fred said shaking his head. “If you’re so sure… you wouldn’t mind saying that you would get a tattoo of my name if you were wrong.”

“My name, too!” George added. “And you’ll get it Muggle Style.”

I pursed my lips. There was no way there were not fireworks in that box! What a stupid thing to argue over… but I won’t back down from a bet. “Fine.” I walked over to the box. “And If I’m right, you both have to get my name tattooed.”

The twins nodded. Fred walked up to the box and kicked it as hard as he could. It flew to the other side of the room and hit the wall. All three of us ducked to the floor, expecting the worst to happen.

Nothing did.

I walked over to the box and hesitantly opened it. It was a box of boxes. BOXES.

I looked to Fred and George. I lost. I lost the bet. “Fred, you idiot! What if there WERE explosives in there? The whole shop would have been destroyed!”

“Ah, but Samantha… my darling, sweet Samantha,” Fred said, smirking. “There weren’t. Now, I say we make our way down to Muggle London to get that tattoo!”

My mouth dropped. “You aren’t seriously going to make me get it are you? Over a box of fireworks?!”

“You made the bet!” George said accusingly. “You were SO sure… “

F—S–G

“You are such a cheater!”

“We said our names, not out initials!”

“And who said you could put YOUR initial?”

“I got the damn tattoo didn’t I? And I got it muggle style—however painful it was—so quit complaining.” I glared at the twins as I examined the tattoo on my left hip. “I mean, it’s going to be there forever, isn’t it? I might as well get something symbolic.”

“Why is your initial bigger than ours?” Fred whined.

“Because, I was tougher than the both of you and actually GOT the tattoo,” I explained. We were walking through the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley to go back to the joke shop from London. “Plus, it’s my body it’s on.” I shifted my mouth from side to side as I thought. “I can’t believe I got a tattoo because of some fireworks.”

“Non-existent fireworks,” George corrected. I glared at him.

“Fine. Non-existent fireworks.” We reached the shop and I waited patiently as George unlocked it. Once it was open, I walked through the doorway, and up to the flat. “Do we have any food?” I asked.

“No,” Fred and George said at the same time.

“Who’s going to go beg Molly for food?”

“Not I!” George and I said at the same time. We looked at Fred, triumphantly

“Fine,” he said, slightly annoyed. He turned and apparated with a pop, leaving George and me alone.

I still felt awkward around him, but the feeling had somewhat subsided since earlier, thank Merlin. I smiled slightly at him and sat down on the couch. He sat down next to me and sighed. I sighed inwardly and sat up straight and uncomfortably—a habit my parents had taught me to do when around company. George, however, leaned back comfortable. He rested his arm on the back of the couch as he yawned.

I noticed a book on the small table next to the couch. Pride and Prejudice. The book Hermione lent me ages ago—the one I never finished. I chuckled slightly as I opened the book absent-mindedly. Hermione was probably looking for it.

“I can’t believe you got a tattoo…” George chuckled. I folded my sweats—George’s sweats—and examined the tattoo again.

“Me neither.”

I didn’t look at him, but I knew he staring at me. Oh great. Not this game again!

“Are you alright, Sam?” George asked.

“Yes, why?”

“You seem a little off today,” he explained. “Is something bothering you?”

I stood and leaned against the opposite wall. I couldn’t very well tell him that he was making me feel awkward because it just wouldn’t make any sense at all. He would think I’m nuts, if he didn’t already. George stood and walked over to me.

“Nothing is bothering me, George.”

George heaved a sigh, chuckling a bit. “I know when you are lying, Sam.”

He took a step forward. We were now only inches apart, and though I had been this close to him before, today it felt different. It felt awkward and comforting at the same time. I couldn’t describe the feeling.

We made eye contact and I could practically feel him looking into my soul. I felt like I had no privacy, like the lock on my door had been broken off and now everything was available for the world to see—not exactly a comforting feeling. But I felt comforted by George’s presence and I was being quite content with the situation.

“Nothing’s wrong…” I said quietly.

I don’t know what happened, but something did, causing George to press his lips down on to mine, his arm on the nape of my neck, and my hand holding his arm.

Suddenly, a thousand fireworks shot through my body. At least, that’s how it felt. It was something I had never experienced—felt—before. Not with Cedric or Davies. It was something completely new to me. The feeling wasn’t a pleasant one, but I loved every second of it. It warmed my entire body, yet gave me Goosebumps. It was awfully wonderful—wonderfully awful—and it terrified me.

I didn’t even realize I was kissing my best friend.

I broke away and quickly sidestepped him, walking to the other side of the room, nearly in the kitchen. I was breathing heavily and shaking slightly. Neither of us said a word for what seemed like hours.

“Sam—“ George whispered.

“I’m back with food!!” Fred called as he apparated into the kitchen, making me jump. “Who’s hungry?”

Neither George nor me responded.

“Did I miss something…?” Fred asked.

You have no idea…I thought, somewhat bitterly. “No, nothing. I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

We all dished ourselves some food, and sat at the table. “So, I get another sickle. Mum told me how skinny I was,” Fred chuckled

“Hmm,” was George’s and my response. Fred narrowed his eyes at us.

I picked around at my food. What would he do that for?! Does he like me, or was it just a spur of the moment thing, or something he just had to try? A thousand thoughts rushed through my heads. I never wanted to feel those things again. But I longed to have that sensation flowing through me. I needed it.

It’s quite funny, really… there are things out there that you’ve never even heard of, but once you have it once, you can’t get enough… like chocolate or ice cream or Bertie Bott’s.

“So, Sam, George,” Fred tried to make conversation again, “I think we are getting close to the grand opening!” George and I only grunted in response.

“Okay, what’s up with you guys?” Fred said, setting down his fork. “You were fine before I left to get food… what happened while I was gone?!”

“Nothing,” we muttered in unison.

Fred shook his head and chuckled “And they call Lockhart crazy….”