The Unbreakable Vow: wisps of Black | Fred Weasley [1] ✔

18

Sirius Black had broken into the castle once again, and the freedom of attention and glaring that Beth had grown to like was all gone a mere day later. He had gone for Gryffindor once again and was standing over Ron Weasley with a knife, so the boy had been saying. Beth wasn't even as worried by the glares and sneers than she was by the thought of Fred distancing himself from her. 

Beth was walking through the courtyard to get to the opposite corridor when a scoff came from behind her. 

"Gryffindor -- again?! Why, Black? Why is he so obsessed with Gryffindor?" 

It was Patricia Stimpson and Kenneth Towler. Patricia wore a sneer while Kenneth wore a mean scowl, his face so squished up that it worried Beth. They were both Gryffindors and Beth tried understanding that they were just frightened by the idea of her criminal uncle trying to break into their House, twice, and actually succeeding this time. But she also reminded herself that no matter how scared they were, they should know that Beth was innocent in her uncle's wrongdoings. 

"How should I know?" said Beth monotonously. She was quite used to the stupid questions and stares that she just lost care in getting offended, and instead grew tired of repeating herself. "No, really. Why would I know?"

"Well...because--"

"Because? Because I'm a Black? You think because I'm a Black that I know what my insane uncle is up to? Just piss off, will you," Beth rolled her eyes, turning around and bumping right into a chest. She bounced back and looked into the eyes of Fred and George Weasley. 

"Hello, love! These two bothering you?" was the only thing that let Beth know which Weasley twin was which. 

"No, we're not bothering her," Kenneth rolled his eyes, straightening up and holding tighter onto his bag strap...like he was nervous of how the conversation had ended up going. "We're simply wanting to understand why her dad--"

"My uncle, you moronic shrimp--"

"--whatever-- wants to get in Gryffindor. How are you -- how are you not even annoyed by this, Weasley? Black tried to kill your brother! He was standing over him with a knife!" Kenneth exclaimed, eyes wide. "He was going to stab him!"

Beth felt the anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Not just because of a few students picking on her or blaming her for what had happened, and what had happened before, but she was also feeling more and more angry at her stupid, crazy uncle. Not only did she not know why he was desperate to get into Gryffindor (it surely wasn't just to go after Ron Weasley of all people) but it was driving her mad. 

"Okay..." George said slowly with an amused scoff, exchanging a look with his twin. "Tell me something, Towler, you little troll you. Is Beth Black, Sirius Black? Are they the same people?"

"What?" Patricia scoffed. "Kenneth didn't say that, we just want to know why. We thought Beth might have a clue, that's all."

"Well I don't, you baboon. Bugger off."

Fred grinned. "Always lovely chatting with Beth, isn't it?"

Kenneth and Patricia shook their heads and turned back from where they came, whispering to each other. Feeling rather awkward, Beth watched the two idiot Gryffindors walking away for a long moment before she slowly turned to face the Weasley twins. 

"Hogsmeade next weekend," said Fred, wagging his eyebrows. "And I don't believe I've properly introduced you to my brother George. This is George."

"I know, you just said that. Do I need to remind you that we've all been in the same classes for five years?" Beth huffed, reaching up to tuck stray black hair behind her ear. 

"Hey, George, you wanna know something Beth first said to me?" Fred said, already starting to laugh. "She said don't twins ever think about how one of them was originally unplanned."

George jerked his head back, staring at his twin, then looking at Beth. "Well, hey, maybe both of us were unplanned!"

Beth shook her head and walked around them, only to have them trailing at her heels. She spotted Ron Weasley and Harry Potter at the end of the corridor, with a group of what looked like second-years surrounding them. 

"...I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draught...I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down...I rolled over...and I saw him standing over me...like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair...holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches...and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled and he scarpered."

The second-years all exchanged looks and whispered to each other as they caught sight of Beth and wandered away. Beth moved around Ron and Harry with Fred and George still at her feet -- George whacked Ron at the back of the head as they passed -- and she turned towards the dungeon stairs. 

She turned around quickly. 

"Is there a reason you two are following me?" she said, annoyed. Although she was glad that Fred wasn't completely bonkers about what had happened the night before. 

"Well I was going to talk to you about Hogsmeade next weekend, if you wanted to come again with me -- well, us," Fred said quickly. 

Beth blinked at Fred, and she felt stupid for what flew out of her mouth without a thought. "You...you really don't hate me?"

Fred opened his mouth to speak but George beat him to it. 

"Hate? Oh, he's crazy about you."

"Shut up," Fred hissed, elbowing his twin in the side. George snickered. "Of course I don't hate you. It's not like you ordered Sirius Black to stand at Ron's bed and scare the living daylights out of him and have him running 'round in his knickers, yelling. Besides, he'll live, he's unharmed, and there's more security now. They've even got trolls patrolling the outside of our tower by the portrait. It's...disturbing really."

"Yeah, and Ron's probably just exaggerating, you know, about Black looking like a skeleton with gross, greasy, Snape hair," George smiled widely. 

Beth frowned for a moment at the boys' feet, pondering. "Towler did have valid questions though. I'm starting to wonder myself why Sirius keeps coming after Gryffindor."

Fred and George exchanged a look, then shrugged at Beth. 

"Sooo...Hogsmeade?" the twins said together.

Beth raised an eyebrow at them. "As long as you promise not to do that ever again."

"No promises," they said again with smirks on their faces.