[3] SCAPEGOAT ━ Fred Weasley

04. Rapunzel

FOUR RAPUNZEL

     Bram was going to blame glaring homosexuality for the reason he was posted up outside Severus Snape's office just after curfew, keeping an eye out for any passerby. Not only were they students out of bed, but they were also actively breaking into a teacher's supply closet which was just bad news all around. This wasn't the worst thing Bram had ever done for Fred, but it was certainly on the riskier side considering Snape had it out for anything that resembled a Weasley. Really any student that wasn't a Slytherin was fair game for Snape, which Bram thought was kind of an asshole attitude, but whatever. He could hear the twins rustling around inside the office and his heart beat faster with each passing moment. The longer they were there, the more chances they had to get caught.

"I've got it!" he heard one of them exclaim before the twins were by his side once again. Fred had a handful of items in his hand and was putting the bottles inside of his school bag with a few disguising charms just in case they were caught on their way back to the common room -- that had been Bram's idea, of course.

"Anyone coming?" Fred asked as they looked around the hallway. In the distance, Filch's footsteps could hardly be heard, but they were definitely getting closer by the moment. In order to not draw attention, they took off at a brisk walk instead of a run, neglecting to light their wands as not to wake the portraits and get themselves caught.

"You guys got everything you need?" Bram asked in a whisper as they walked away, "It better be because I'm not coming back here to do this again for you."

"Got it," George answered with a cheeky grin, "This is gonna be awesome, I just know it."

Bram chuckled lightly, shaking his head, "All for you guys to even get a chance at entering this stupid competition. Is it really that worth it?"

"It's a thousand bloody galleons!" Fred exclaimed as he egged the boy on, trying to get them to move faster. His hand was around Bram's arm as they picked up their pace, pushing the boy along. Bram's heart fluttered at the touch.

"We're gonna open a joke shop if we win it," George explained further, "Like we've been planning all summer, but our mum threw away all our order forms! Bloody ridiculous if you ask me."

The blond laughed at this, shaking his head at the twins, "You two are ridiculous. I mean, this tournament could be dangerous, you know. You're gonna risk your lives for a thousand galleons?"

"That's more money than we'd probably see in our lifetime if ya think about it," Fred scoffed, "Weasleys' aren't exactly bloody rich."

Bram took this into consideration for a moment, considering money had never been a huge problem for them. They weren't rich enough to the point where they had house-elves and giant unnecessary manors, but they lived comfortably. He couldn't imagine his parents having their current salary and seven kids to care for, though, so he supposed Fred's comments were fair enough.