Marlee's POV
"You really think this is gonna work?" I whispered to Angelina as we peered into the common room.
"As long as you get George to chew that some way. They're pranksters so they're not just going to do anything you tell them to. I'm going to try kissing Fred but considering you probably don't want to do that with George, offer him some candy. He never says no to candy," informed Angelina.
I quickly nodded, tapping my wand at our creation and it turned into two pieces of candy wrapped in a shiny red wrapper. We hurried down the stairs and Angelina approached her boyfriend while I sat next to George on the couch.
"Candy?" I offered him, holding one out in my hand. He took it without hesitation and I popped the other one in my mouth so he wouldn't get suspicious but I still made sure that I didn't chew on it.
"Angie! What the fuck was that, t-h-a-t?" we heard Fred yell and spell as Angelina giggled in front of him.
"Wait a minute," George spoke, examining the candy in his hand.
I widened my eyes and quickly grabbed his face to pull him in for a kiss before he could think any further. I immediately shoved my tongue into his mouth, transferring the candy and felt him kissing me back for a moment.
Although the candy was already in his mouth, I didn't want to remove my lips from his just yet. I teasingly traced my finger down his sharp jawline and when I finally pulled away, I pushed his chin up so his teeth would break the candy. He immediately spit it out but it was too late.
"Hey, that's not fair, f-a-i-r!" George exclaimed and shot up from his seat while I stifled a laugh.
"Georgie, look at what they did to us, this is your fault, f-a-u-l-t!" Fred groaned and walked over to us while Angelina trailed behind.
"My fault?! How is this my bloody fault? If anything it was probably your girlfriend's idea, i-d-e-a." George scoffed and narrowed his eyes at his brother.
Fred slightly shoved his brother as he shot back, "It was probably your girlfriend's idea, i-d-e-a."
"Shove off, o-f-f," George muttered as he shoved his brother back.
"Damnit, we sound like bloody Ravenclaws, r-a-v-e-n-c-l-a-w-s," Fred scowled as he crossed his arms.
"Hold up," Angelina interrupted. "Are we not gonna talk about how Marlee and George literally just made out on the couch right now?" I pursed my lips as I hoped nobody would have brought that up.
"Well it's not like they haven't before, b-e-f-o-r-e," Fred hissed and went back to the topic at hand, "so whose brilliant idea was it to prank the biggest pranksters at Hogwarts, h-o-g-w-a-r-t-s."
The two tall redheads started walking towards Ang and I, intimidatingly and I looked at her through the corner of my eye as we telepathically shared the thought to run away.
We sprinted out through the portrait, laughing to ourselves and heard George yell, "You can run, r-u-n."
"But you can't hide, h-i-d-e!" Fred added.
And they were right. Starting a prank war with the Weasley twins was the worst mistake we could've made.
The next day I was getting ready and immediately fell on my butt after putting my shoes on. I knew exactly who was behind this and shouldn't have suspected anything less. I had brought this upon myself, after all.
I tried on all of my pairs of shoes just in case they forgot one but of course they didn't. Then that's when it hit me. Who said I had to wear shoes? I'd probably get detention but who cares, I wouldn't be falling on my arse every five seconds.
I trotted down to the Great Hall, happily in my purple socks. George looked instantly concerned when he saw me walking normally, then focused down at my feet and realized why I was able to walk.
"I told you she was going to figure it out!" George yelled at Fred as he stood up from the bench. "Go put your shoes back on," he ordered me as I shot him an innocent smile.
Fred held up his hands in defense as he said, "Angie didn't figure it out so I didn't think she would either!" I looked over at Angelina who sat next to Ginny, eating her breakfast. I wondered how she got here.
"Miss Chang?" I heard a nasaly voice call me. I turned to see McGonagall standing behind me as she looked down at my feet then up again. "Might I ask where your shoes are, Miss Chang?"
I sighed and gestured towards George and Fred, "I think you could figure it out." They both ate their food, trying to act innocent but she knew them better than that.
McGonagall shifted her gaze to the boys as she crossed her arms. "I thought you promised Miss Granger no pranks," she said.
Fred spoke in a soft, high voice, "We did Professor, but then these evil girls, Angelina and Marlee, decided it would be hilarious to give us something that made us sound absolutely dumb—so we had to do something, Professor." George nodded his head in agreement.
"Yes but look at what they've done to us," Angelina said and stood up. She barely took one step before falling on her bum. She muttered a curse word under her breath as the boys tried their best to not laugh but it was quite obvious.
"So you see Professor, that is why I'm not wearing any shoes," I explained and she seemed to understand our side of the story.
Out of the blue, Snape appeared behind McGonagall. "Everything alright over here?" he spoke in his slow way.
"Yes Professor Snape, I was just curious about Miss Chang's footwear," McGonagall explained. Snape looked down at my feet, not changing his blank expression.
"Miss Chang, go put on some shoes," he demanded in a calm tone.
"But—"
"I don't care what the situation is. I will not have you representing Slytherin house, walking around like that," he ordered once more, "go!"
I tried my best not to roll my eyes and slowly walked out of the Great Hall to put on a pair of my charmed shoes. I took a look at the boys who were sniggering under their breaths and stuck up my middle finger as I grimaced.
"Put it away Miss Chang," Snape called and I scowled while I walked back to Slytherin Dungeon.
—
I slowly slid my way to Gryffindor Tower, holding onto walls and moving my feet an inch at a time. I was this close to getting my Apparition license but we were waiting for everyone to get back from the Holiday to be certified. How fortunate for me.
I tried thousands of spells to make it easier to walk but none of them worked obviously because Fred and George thought through everything. I finally arrived at the Fat Lady portrait and she raised an eyebrow at my interesting arrival as I shuffled my feet into the common room.
"Look who finally decided to show up!" George taunted right as he saw me. "Took you long enough."
"Took you long enough," I mocked and slowly sat down on the couch, next to Angelina, while he grinned in satisfaction.
Angelina immediately started whispering the plan into my ear and the twins barely noticed because Ron began going on and on about the Chudley Cannons.
Luckily, we stayed put for most of the day but then just before dinner Hermione wanted to go down to the Black Lake and everyone agreed. Angelina and I both temporarily forgot about our darned shoes and fell on our bums immediately after standing up to walk.
"Fucking hell," she muttered. "You're definitely going to pay for this one. Godric my arse hurts." She slowly stood up, bracing herself on the couch, while I did the same. Fred and George laughed loudly as they held their stomachs.
The most effective way to travel was to crawl but I definitely did not want to do that all the way to the Black Lake and the shoes were far too slippery to treat like ice skates so the only other option was how I got to Gryffindor Tower in the first place. But that took me almost an hour and my body was very sore from being so tense.
"You coming Marlin?" George teased as the group made their way out, Angelina moving her feet as if she were a sloth.
Fred was about to disappear out of the portrait but I saw him do a double take at Angelina as he looked her up and down. She was groaning in pain but I knew what she was actually trying to do and it worked. Fred swooped her off of her feet and ran up the stairs in a flash. I looked back at George and we both burst out in giggles. After seeing Fred scamper away so quickly, it gave me an idea.
I held my hands out and gave him my best pout. "Carry me, will you?"
George rolled his tongue on the inside of his cheek as he rolled his eyes. "No way," he scoffed. "You're going to have to figure it out on your own."
"Pleeeease," I pleaded once more and made grabby hands at him.
He gave in and sighed loudly as he made his way over. He threw me over his shoulder despite my protests to get a piggyback ride instead, then plopped me right back down on the couch and ran out of the common room, cackling.
I couldn't say I was surprised so I simply made myself comfortable and stayed there for the rest of the day. When the group came back for dinner, I refused to go with them. George was not very happy about this but I reminded him it was his fault.
He finally gave up and left with the others but came back not minutes later with a basket of food for the both of us. Angelina and Fred hadn't come down yet and I assumed they fell asleep so it was only George and I in the common room.
I flashed him a smirk. "You're not a very good prankster, you know that?" I teased.
He flicked his wand and a blanket that was previously on the couch, sprawled on the floor before he sat down. "And why's that?" he played along, laying out the food for us to eat.
"You're too nice," I said. "You're gonna have to step up your game." I slid my body off of the couch and onto the floor, making sure not to let my feet touch the ground.
He chuckled and handed me a plate, "Just you wait...just you wait."
In all honesty, that made me a bit nervous. I'd seen many of their pranks but was lucky enough to not be on the receiving end. It would all be worth it for the pranks Ang and I had planned, though.
"Did you bring any Pumpkin Pasties?" I asked, scanning the food he brought. He quickly reached into the basket and pulled out two. I took them from him, setting them down for later.
"You have at least one everyday, I think it's an obsession," he teased.
"I think it's an obsession that doesn't hurt anyone," I shot back and chomped a roasted potato off of my fork. "Besides, you're obsessed with the apple pie."
"Because it's so good!" he exclaimed and pulled out a slice he'd brought for himself. I couldn't help but laugh as he dramatically sighed after taking a bite.
"We don't mean to interrupt your date." I turned my head to see Fred and Angelina grinning as they came down the stairs, Angelina on his back.
"About time you two finished up," I joked, ignoring Fred's dumb remark.
"Shove off, we just took a nap," Angelina confirmed my assumption from earlier.
George chuckled, "Right. A nap." I poked George's side with my elbow, stifling a laugh myself.
At this point the teasing completely went over our heads and we were able to just laugh it off. I looked at George who was eating his apple pie and couldn't believe that just weeks ago I was head over heels for him.
—
Angelina and I made sure to get to breakfast early the next day. The five of us girls (Hermione did not want to be involved) waited anxiously for the boys' arrival. It seemed like forever until we saw the six of them walk into the Great Hall.
Fred and George came from nowhere stomping up to the table. My eyes immediately went to the dark mop of hair that sat where their usual flaming red hair was. They slammed their hands on the table while the rest of us stifled laughs.
"Black hair? Black hair?! You took away our best feature," Fred exclaimed.
"Your only good feature," Ginny muttered and I let out a giggle.
In the midst of my giggling, I caught George's eye. He had a familiar smirk on his face as he narrowed his eyes toward me. I felt my cheeks go hot when I noticed how different he looked with his new hair.
We put hair dye in their shampoo so their eyebrows were still red, making them look absolutely ridiculous. Somehow, they were still able to pull it off though.
"I think you look amazing, my love," Angelina teased and stood up to peck her boyfriend on the lips. Fred looked unamused as he kept a straight face when she sat back down.
There was a long silence among the group until Fred's lips curled up into a smirk. Simultaneously, the two stood up and crossed their arms.
"The Pumpkin Juice tastes great this morning, doesn't it, Freddie?" George asked in a painfully obvious tone. I glanced at my cup of juice that I'd just taken a sip from. "It kind of tastes like the shower we took this morning."
Groans of disgust erupted from the group. "Why did you have to bring us into this?" Alicia muttered.
"Is everyone drinking your shit?" Ginny interrogated while she gagged.
Angelina smacked Fred's arm. "That's gross Fred, what the fuck." Fred and George simply giggled to themselves.
"You've probably swallowed worse things, Angie. I don't think you should be disgusted." I teased.
She shot me a glare and hissed, "You're one to talk." She pointed her eyes towards George and looked me up and down.
Shit. I forgot about that.
"She's not wrong," George smirked and it was my turn to smack his arm, as I now felt embarrassed.
Angelina and I later decided that this would be the end of the prank war because it would only get worse from here. However, we were still able to spend the rest of the day cracking jokes about their ridiculous hair and I'd occasionally ruffle George's hair when he was at the height for me to do so.
Angelina's POV
Marlee, Alicia, Katie and I were in our dorm room chatting about what not. We'd spent the day with the whole group down at the Black Lake and convened after washing up for the night.
"I'm really craving some Pumpkin Pasties right now," Marlee groaned and held her stomach as she plopped her back onto my bed.
A knock at the door interrupted us and before we knew it, Fred, George, Lee and Oliver poured into the room with stolen food from the kitchen.
Marlee gasped when she saw George carrying a couple of Pumpkin Pasties. She immediately shot up to take them from him mumbling, "I love you so much." Although I wasn't sure if she was talking to George or the pasties. George seemed to have no reaction to this however.
We gobbled down our late night snack and settled into positions around the dormitory. Fred laying in my lap, Alicia and Katie sitting on Katie's bed with Lee and Oliver leaning their backs against it and George and Marlee on the floor next to them.
"George, what's that on your wrist?" Lee asked. I shifted my gaze to see what he was referring to. On George's right wrist sat a black hair tie.
"It's a bobble," George replied like it was no big deal. "So I can do this..." He grabbed half of his hair and pulled it into a ponytail with the elastic.
The boys cheered and whistled while Marlee rolled her eyes, explaining, "It's mine. He refuses to give it back."
"I'm holding it for you!" George exclaimed. "Besides it keeps my wrist warm," he joked with a mocking grin.
"Well what if I need to use it?" Marlee pointed out.
George carried on with the witty banter, "Why would you need to put your hair up?" George immediately turned red once he realized what he said. Oliver and Lee wolf-whistled and George chucked a pillow at them.
It was times like this when I didn't understand Marlee and George. They got so flustered anytime someone brought up that night but they were fine with any other teasing. Fred and I came to the conclusion that George told him everything, so if he said he didn't like Marlee, then he doesn't.
But still, it all seemed too good to be true. At the end of every night when it was starting to get late, George would offer to walk her to Slytherin Dungeon and wouldn't come back for an hour or so. He would just say that they took a long route or that they got caught up in conversation—it was always very vague.
Today, the same thing happened. We invited her to sleepover but she politely declined and got up to leave, George following with an "I'll walk you". Almost two hours later, George came back to the room with his hair freshly braided by none other than Marlee. The rest of us shared smirks as he sat down.
"Mate, do you guys shag every night?" Oliver teased even though we were all thinking it.
"No," George spoke in a stern tone, "these jokes are getting old, we're seriously just friends." Our smirks disappeared and an uncomfortable silence fell over the group.
"Sorry mate, we're just joking around," apologized Fred. "We didn't know you were this bothered by it."
George stayed silent, looking at his hands until he suddenly stood to his feet. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. I'm kind of tired," he said and quickly left the room, leaving us bewildered.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Lee blurted once George was gone.
"Maybe they aren't shagging and that's exactly the issue," Oliver chuckled.
"Quit being a git. George just asked you to stop," Fred asserted, being protective of his brother.
The night had taken an awkward turn and Alicia announced that she was going to bed and the boys got up to leave. I kissed Freddie goodnight but ended up sneaking into his room to sleep with him later.
Marlee's POV
Harry stormed into the common room looking disconcerted. Hermione stood up, concerned. "Harry, are you alright?" she asked.
Harry blinked a couple of times before responding, "I'm fine." The rest of us listened with furrowed brows as we were worried about Harry's recent behavior. "I've just come from my Occlumency lessons..."
"And?" Hermione prompted. Harry stared off into space, not answering.
My gaze accidentally shifted to catch George's. He also had a troubled expression plastered across his face but somehow we simultaneously smiled at each other. I involuntarily let out an audible chuckle that caught everyone's attention.
"Is this funny to you Marlee?" Harry snapped and I immediately felt guilt creep into my body.
I spoke in a soft tone, "No, Harry I'm—"
I was interrupted by an annoyed scoff from Harry. "You're no better than Cho," he mumbled.
I clenched my jaw and my regret turned to anger. I'd been feeling a bit guilty about the Marietta situation as they'd all seem to have a grudge against Cho as well but they always acted fine around me so I thought nothing of it. I guess I was wrong.
"Mate, calm down. I just made her laugh that's all," George spoke up. I gave George a thankful smile but Harry seemed to be unamused and left the room in a flash.
"Don't take it personally. He's been acting weird all year," Hermione comforted me and patted my back.
Although I was bothered by his comment, Hermione was right. We all knew there was something deeper that had been bothering Harry, so I decided to let it go. Plus, he was probably feeling sour about his "break up" with Cho anyway.
Hermione suddenly scooted away from me and before I could see why, George sat down in between us.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry about that," he apologized with his brows knitted together and I could tell he really did feel bad.
I broke eye contact with him and looked down at his veiny, large hands. My hair tie sat comfortably around his wrist and his left pinky fingernail was black from when I painted it the day before.
I gave him a tight lipped smile as I let out a deep breath. "Don't worry about it...I'm a tough woman, nothing hurts me," I quoted him from so long ago, garnering a relieved chuckle from him.
That day felt like ages ago. So much had happened since. But then again the school year was quickly coming to an end. What had I been doing all year?
The break was almost over and I'd have to get back to reality. My friends, Serena, Zane and whatever was going on with my father, but mainly my friends. Every night, I'd try to think of ways that I could show them that I was sorry but nothing good ever came to me. Nothing that would truly show how much I valued our friendship.
•••
sorry it's been so long since my last update!!! this chapter is shorter than others but i'm really excited for the stuff i have coming up!
it feels weird to say but this story is more than halfway done however don't fret because there will be two other installments to complete the trilogy :) stay tuned