Chapter Twenty Seven

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As she expected, Gwen didn't get much sleep during the night

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As she expected, Gwen didn't get much sleep during the night. And not only because she was worried about Olivia, although that was the primary reason, but also because she ended up being worried about herself. It was the price to pay for sneaking around the castle well past curfew and bedtime. By the time the four of them had explored every possible location where Liv, Hermione, Ron and Harry might be hiding, it was much too late for her to go back to the Hufflepuff basements.

And so she ended up using the extra bed in her brother's dorm room, giving her two things to fear. The possibility of someone pranking her while she slept (as Lee warned her they might) or the possibility of McGonagall catching her. Merlin knows, it wouldn't be the first time she'd come to the boys' room to scold them for whatever trouble they'd caused throughout the day, or simply to check they weren't up to something in that moment.

Luckily enough, nobody ever caught them, and Gwen even managed to get some sleep for the last couple of hours before dawn broke, the first rays of sun managing to wake her up once again. To her surprise, Fred too was already awake, keeping true to his reputation as an early bird.

"Good morning." He greeted with a large smile, definitely not used to someone being up at this time of the day with him. And to think, he'd already been debating jumping up and down on each of their beds so at least one would wake up and keep him company.

"Morning, how are you already so awake?" Gwen couldn't help but question in surprise, taking in his appearance. He was already dressed, all tiredness gone from his appearance despite their late night, and he seemed to be writing down something in a notebook.

"Well, since your highly talented brother managed to lose our secret paper, I have to write it all down again. It's an important plan." Fred said vaguely, making Gwen raise an eyebrow at him. "Hey, do you by any chance know how to delay the Engorgement Charm?"

"Are you seriously asking me for help with your hell causing products?" Gwen arched an eyebrow at him, wondering what could have possessed him. Maybe he was sleepier than he looked.

"Well, you're smart. And if it makes you feel better, it's for candy." Fred tried to get her to help, not really revealing what kind of candy. It made Gwen a bit more lenient, believing it to be some type of fun product. She could definitely imagine the trio coming up with a candy that seems small when bought but then grows in size; perfect way to fool parents into buying it for their children.

"The delay charm should definitely be a part of it, Tardius Operandi." Gwen said thoughtfully, standing up and approaching his bed, sitting down at the bottom so she could continue to speak quietly without waking anyone up. She brought her pillow along, propping it up on the pole so she could lean against it comfortably.

"We know that, but how do we get it to act up at a specific time?" Fred wondered on. Gwen didn't really know the answer to that without the knowledge of what specific time it would have to be. So, in a slightly impulsive moment, she reached forward, snatching the notebook out of Fred's hands before he could stop her. She just managed to read the exact use of the candy before he took it back.

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