It wasn't home where she was sleeping now, not her home anyway. After dinner at the twins flat, she easily fell asleep on their couch. Her head rested on a pillow and her knees curled up high, she slept soundly. Fred was sitting in the corner of the couch watching her sleep as George cleared the dishes.
"Fred?" George asked looking around.
Fred tore his gaze away from the sleeping girl and looked to George. He flicked the pen on the table making it spin, telling George he's here. George nodded and sat on the armchair next to him.
"Do you think we can find a way to bring you back?" George whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping young woman.
Between the four of us, it's our best chance. He wrote down.
"I can't believe we can communicate!" George grinned. "I know we didn't find out a lot today, but we're getting a step closer to answers."
Dumbledore should have some.
"Yeah, I reckon too."
I just wish I know how we got the scars.
"Have you asked her about it? I know you both don't know how you got it, but we know when. When did she get hers?"
I don't know, I only know she had it for years.
George looked over at Leah before looking at the pen that floated in the air. "You like her, don't you?"
Fred wasn't startled by the question, even in this state, George knew him too well. He looked back to Leah, who snorted in her sleep, making him smile.
"Fred?" George asked as he didn't get an answer. "Yeah, it's a complicated situation but don't let that stop you. You deserve to be happy; I know you never found someone who matched your pace..."
Burn this after, alright? Yeah, I like her. I'm crazy about her, it feels like I've known her for years. But... what if I'm a ghost forever? I can't do that to her.
" We'll get you back, Freddie. I'll do – she will do anything to get you back. Back to us, to her."
You think so?
"Have you seen the way she looks at you? I know so!" George said a matter of fact. "What I found out about her is, she's pretty straight forward. If you would ask, she would just tell you."
Fred smiled at George, before his eyes found her again. Always finding her, again and again.
"I should put her in bed." George said standing up. Fred nodded, even though he knew George couldn't see and watched his twin pick her up.
"Fred." Leah mumbled as she snuggled her head in George's chest. George's eyes went comically wide, before he winked in Fred's direction. Fred turning red once again due to a certain strawberry blonde girl as he followed his twin to his room. George carefully put her down on Fred's bed and covered her under the freshly washed blankets. George transfigured her jeans and sweater into red flannel pyjamas, to make her more comfortable.
When they got back to the living room, George grin grew. "I told you."
Fred chucked his pen at him, hitting him straight between the eyes. Fred smirked as he flopped down on the couch.
"Great aim, for a ghost." George chuckled, placing the pen back next to the paper.
Be careful, Georgie. Or I'll write Hermione a love note from you.
George face paled at that before falling in a fit of laughter. "Great to have you back, twin-o-mine."
They talked and wrote to each other into well of the night. Catching up on the events of the past year, of his family and friends. When George started to yawn, Fred had to threaten him, for him to go to sleep, George finally conceded. Fred made his way to his old room where Leah was snoring slightly. She was lying flat on her stomach, her arms stretched above her head, shoved under the pillow. Her flannel shirt was crept up a bit, showing of a tattoo on her hip. Fred laid down next to her and studied the tattoo. It was the letter A with under it two different years, 1989 & 1998. The years her sister and grandmother died, he figured. He frowned as he calculated the years. They never asked or told each other their age but Leah was a year older than him, maybe with him now in between life and death, two years. He looked back up to her face as he reached over and shifted the lock of hair from her face, making her shiver. He traced lines over her face; from her eyebrows to her nose, to down her lips. He sighed as he dropped his hand and focused on her breathing, trying to get in his trance-like state. It didn't take long, and his mind filled with images that he was holding her close.
It was two days later that an unknown owl was tapping on the window at Leah's flat. The owl flew in the moment Leah opened the window, sitting itself on the bar. Leah untied the letter and gave the owl a treat and he flew off. Fred had made his way over from the couch and sat on his favourite barstool as she opened the letter.
Leah
I've found a way to see if you truly have magic in you. It's a potion you must take on the night of the new moon, it will show you if there is any magic in you and what kind. It takes me two weeks to brew, the next new moon will be about three days after I'm finished. I'll owl you the moment I finished the potion.
I'm still waiting on Sybil; she had completely forgotten about it. She is writing everything down as we speak. Maybe you and George could visit your grandparents house in the meantime, see what you can find out there. I've sent George an owl too.
If you find anything out, owl me as soon as possible.
Minerva
"That's great news!" Fred said excitingly. "Isn't it?" He asked when he saw her looking worried.
"Hm, yeah. Great news." She said distracted.
"Leah?"
"It's just... is it safe?"
"Minnie wouldn't let you take it if it wasn't." Fred said determent. When Fred saw that she still looked worried down at the letter, he stood up and rounded the bar, coming to a stop next to her. "Leah."
"What if I'm witch? What if I am not? What is going to happen?" She looked up in his eyes, searching for an answer.
"In both cases, things will be different." He said, placing his hand against her cheek. "Things are different already. And I'll be by your side, as long as you want me to."
Leah closed her eyes and pretended she could feel his hand against her skin. "And when your back and I'm not a witch, if I don't have magic?"
"I'll still be here." He whispered. She opened her eyes and found his piercing blue eyes scanning her. He leaned down and placed his lips over hers, both standing as still as possible, closing their eyes as they let their imagination take over.
Neither of them knew how long they stood there like that, but they were jerked apart when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other for another moment, until the bell rang again. "George." They said simultaneously, grinning. Leah walked over to the intercom to let him in. She pushed the button to open the door, but George didn't come up.
"Push the door, George." Leah snickered as she pushed the button to talk to him and pressed the door button again. A few seconds later, a grinning George appeared at the door.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I thought Minerva said you have a muggle studies class?"
"According to Hermione it is seriously outdated. And the class was optional." He shrugged with a grin.
"Well, as much I have to learn about your world, you have a lot to learn about mine." She grinned as she closed the door behind him. "Welcome, did you find it easily?"
"Yes, sorry I'm late. I went through Regent's Park. I wanted to see where Fred had been stuck for the last year."
"It's okay, we kept busy." She bit her lip as she glanced over to a flustered Fred. "We got a letter from Minerva." She bended the truth a little as she saw George's questioned face. "Did you get yours?"
"No, when did you get it?"
"Not an hour ago."
"Probably arrived at the flat while I was on my way here. What did it say?" He asked shrugging off his coat.
"Brilliant!" He said as he lowered the letter. "When do you want to stop by your grandparents place?" He asked sitting at the bar.
"The place has been locked since a few years before my gran died. When she was diagnosed with dementia they moved her here, to London. So, I have to get the keys at my parents' house. They'll be back next week from Spain."
"Just let me know, and I'll come with you if you want. But for now..." He said rubbing his hands. "Fred told me about a play-computer-thingy." He said looking around.
"The PlayStation." Leah laughed, walking to the couch. She sat down and the twins flopped down on either side of her. "Here, take this." She handed him the controller before taking one herself. She turned on the TV and PS, letting it start up. "I'll show you how to play first and then you can try it out while I make dinner."
"Excellent." He said looking excitingly at the TV. "We should really have some muggle things in the wizarding world, Freddie."
Leah pushed a notepad and a pen in front of him, he gave her a grateful smile before writing down his reply. Right you are, Georgie.
" Okay, now pay attention."
Leah was standing in the kitchen, stirring in the pot of pasta sauce, looking at the twins on the couch. Holding back her laughter as the two bickered.
"Fred, stop writing things down! You're distracting me!" George cried out as his character was killed once again.
I told you that would happen.
" Can't you hold the controller yet? Then we'll see how good you really are."
I think I could toss it to your head!
" Try it." George challenged. Fred never backed down from a challenge and reached for Leah's controller. Leah turned the fire off and leaned on the bar, looking at Fred. Fred pursed his lips as he slipped through the controller. His eyes found Leah's, she gave him a wink and he tried again. And much to George's surprise, it hovered in front of him. Fred laughed triumphantly before chucking the controller at his twin's head.
"Dinner's ready." Leah called over, before things escalated. She knew George couldn't hurt or touch Fred, but she didn't want her flat in ruins. The boys got up and sat across from her on the barstools, George eagerly digging in her pasta.
"This is amazing!"
"Thanks, my nan's recipe. She taught me."
George looked around the room before he whispered. "It's better than mums.
"Are you afraid she's going to hear you?" Leah laughed as she twisted her fork.
"You don't know my mum." George said, pointing his fork at her.
I want to see them. Fred slid the note to the middle of the surface.
"Mum?"
Everyone.
" I can take Leah to the family dinner this Sunday."
"You want me to meet the whole family?" Leah asked surprised as she swallowed her pasta.
"Yeah, we bring over friends all the time."
"What about Hermione and Charlie?"
"What about them?"
"You told Hermione I was an investor. Don't you think she would find it weird to bring me to a family dinner?"
She also knows you knew me. So, that could be an excuse to see the family.
"I don't know. I don't think that will be enough."
"I could tell her that you and Fred were a thing."
"What?" Leah and Fred called out.
George laughed at the outburst. "I'm guessing Fred had the same reaction?"
"Yeah." Leah grinned. "Now I think of it, it could set Hermione's mind at ease. But won't they ask why no one knew about it?"
George can say he knew and that it only started to get serious just before...
"Okay, what about Charlie? Back at the shop, I told her I went to Hogwarts, the same year as Charlie."
"Oh, but that won't be a problem. Charlie is in Romania for the next three weeks."
No more excuses. Fred wrote down and said it out loud to her, smirking.
"One more." She teased back. "I'm not a witch. I don't have a wand; I don't know half of the things about your world."
"First of all, you know more than you think. You're living with Fred for almost two weeks! And we can give you a crash course about subjects that might come up. They will probably just ask about your days at Hogwarts, and your relationship with Fred."
We have fake wands at the shop.
"Fred's right." George said pointing at the note. "We can give you one of our fakes, just in case."
"What about your sister? She's a quidditch player, right?"
"She's being scouted at the moment. But yeah, we should prepare you for all things quidditch. And besides you have back-up. Fred can whisper things if it's something you don't know."
"Yeah, like that's going to be easy. How many of you were there? It's going to be very crowded and then this one is going to whisper into my ear? I think I'll bring some painkillers."
"I'm not going to lie, it's going to be crowded, loud. So, be prepared. I think there will be -" He started to count his fingers. "Eleven of us, twelve if you want to include Fred." George grinned at the space next to him.
Jeez, thanks brother
"Okay, we have six days. Better get started."