Rebel Rebel (A Fred Weasley fanfic)

15

"It's not that," he shakes his head, "My head is killing me. It feels like I've been hit with my own club."

Stevie wordlessly reaches for her bag and Kaye sits up to allow her room to dig through it.

"Here we go," Ribh rolls her eyes with a smile as Stevie pulls a vial filled with a rather pleasant-looking pink potion.

"What is that?" Fred asks as she hands it over to him.

"It's for your headache."

"You just carry those around in your bag, do you?" George asks and she nods.

"Of course she does. She is a healing protégé after all." Kaye grins.

"I've also got one for nerves and anxiety if anyone wants it."

Fred shakes his head but does take the potion, one that surprisingly tasted like strawberries, "You made that?"

"I did." she nods as George reaches out a hand to inspect the second vial she'd produced.

"Er, boys?" Angelina is pointing up to the sky, "I think that's your owl."

It was indeed Errol and the twins could do nothing but watch as he made his crash landing; right into the box of Bertie Bott's Beans.

"Bloody hell, Errol," George frowns as the bird stands itself up, ruffling his feathers as he drops the letter that's in his beak on the grass.

"Who's it from?" Fred asks, digging around in his own bag to find his potions book - he may as well look over some of the recipes.

"It's from Amy!" his brother grins, practically ripping the envelope open.
"Silver?" Angelina asks, "How is she?"

"Who's Amy Silver?" Ribh whispers in Kaye's ear and Stevie, being the nosey girl that she is, leans in closer so she can hear too.

"One of Fred and George's best friends. She was here through years first to third but she's Muggleborn and her parents wanted to travel so they pulled her out to take her with them."

"She's coming back next year!" George says excitedly and Stevie can't help but frowns at the way Fred immediately perks up.

"She is?"

His brother nods, "Her parents decided that they've had enough for now and so they're coming back home."

Fred plucks the letter from his hands, reading her words for himself and he grins when he reads what she's written at the bottom.

For the love of Merlin, please let poor Errol rest before you reply or better yet, use a school owl. I can't wait to see you two idiots.

"I'm going to go reply before we have to go back in," George immediately stands, shoving the letter into the pocket of his robes, "I'll see you guys at lunch."

"I'll come with you," Lee gets up to follow him.

With his headache now fading, Fred relaxes back onto the grass, watching as the girls -except Stevie- go down to the lake's edge to see if the giant squid will make an appearance and he makes to tell Errol to head up to the owlery, surprised to see that the owl is hooting away happily while she feeds him treats.

"I think he deserves a well-earned rest," she murmurs, stroking a finger down his soft feathers.

Fred nods and with a final hoot, Errol takes flight once more, heading in the direction of the owlery.

"He's well-traveled," Stevie notes, pocketing the remaining treats.

"He is," Fred murmurs, watching the owl get smaller and smaller, "We've had him for a long as I can remember."

"How are you feeling about the exam?" she asks, looking around him to the clock tower to check the time, "Do You reckon you'll be alright?"

He shrugs, "I'll be fine once I get in there. I won't get an Outstanding like someone but I think I can scrape at least an Acceptable."

Stevie nods but honestly, she thinks that he's better at potions than he lets on.

"I just can't wait for them to be over," Fred says as he lays back down on the grass, tucking his hands under his head, "Once these exams are out of the way, we have two months where we don't have to worry about homework, about detentions... we don't have to worry about anything really."

"Did your dad manage to get the tickets to the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Not yet," he shakes his head, "But he says he'll get them soon."

"But it's something to look forward to."

He can't argue with her there, "And how about you Miss Nicholson? What are your big summer plans?"

Stevie pulls at a few blades of grass, "Honestly? My summer will probably consist of me being in my family's manor on my own while my parents go off traveling."

Fred's brow furrows, "They'd take you with them, surely?"

"Disappointment to the family, remember?" she gives him a weak smile.

"They leave you alone all summer?"

"It's not that bad, really," she shrugs, "I mean, it can get lonely but I have our house-elf, Copsey. She keeps me company."

"Stevie," Fred whispers but she shakes her head, repeating the words that she said to him back before the Christmas holidays.

"It's alright, Fred. I'm used to it."