The days went by swiftly and she really enjoyed her time at Hogwarts, but now she was really excited by another part of her life. Her game, she had finally finished it and was ready to find the right buyer. She was promoting her game through the connections she had with her previous job, and it paid off. She had a meeting with a couple of CEOs from several companies in her own house in a few days and she was making sure everything was muggle proof. She put another charm on the goalposts, Minerva had thought her. She put everything away that might look weird for the muggle eye. It wasn't easy with George and Fred around, taking home stuff from the shop. But thank Merlin, Hermione had officially moved in after Valentine's! Every time the boys walked in with their arms full, she ushered them back into the floo and told them to wait a few days.
The day of the meeting, the twins were busy in the shop and weren't allowed to come home until she contacted them, while Hermione had classes the whole day. Leah closed her floo and put anti-apparition on the house, just to be sure. She had put the everything ready in the dining room, together with drinks and snacks. She was nervously pacing back and forward when the doorbell rang. She swallowed thickly and wiped her hands on her jeans before she went to open the door.
"Welcome." She greeted the first to arrive with a wide smile. "Come in. I'm Leah Derijker." She offered her hand.
"Michael Russo." He shook her hand. "You have beautiful house." He said looking around.
"Thank you, it was my grandmother's." She walked him to the dining room and poured him a glass of water.
Ten minutes later she was standing in front of ten CEOs from ten different companies. She took in a deep breath as she started showing the game she had made. It was a recording of the twins and Harry playing it. It took over an hour before she finished telling every detail. They all asked questions during the presentation, which she answered without a second thought. When she finally stopped talking, she looked around the room, all of the men had a serious impression plastered on their faces, not revealing if they liked it or not. She lowered herself on the seat at the head of the table and intertwined her hands together as she faced them, not letting them show how fucking nervous she was. She heard the clock on the wall tick slowly, that was the only sound that was heard in the room. It even looked like nobody was breathing.
"That was quite the presentation. You made the game by yourself?" An older man asked a bit accusatory.
"I did." Her eyes narrowed slightly at the man. "I didn't have any help from a man, if that is what you're implying."
The man looked taken aback by her directness, but more than one snickered at that and the tension flowed away.
"I really like it." The man who arrived first smiled, Michael. "Do you have copy of the game? I would like to show it to my partner."
"Yes, I have." She smiled as she handed him on. Then all the others asked to get once too, making her heart jump slightly in excitement. "And if you have any other questions, my information is on the back of the cases."
The men all looked at the back of the case before putting it in their briefcases. They all stood up and came to shake her hand before they went to their cars and drove away. The last one in her house was Michael. He put his papers with notes in his briefcase and walked towards her, hand outstretched.
"You did an amazing job, Leah." He gave her a firm handshake. "The game is great, and you presented with much more confident and grace I possible could've when I was your age."
"Oh, thank you." She smiled.
"You'll be hearing from us soon." He smiled and with a wave of the cd-case walked out of the house. Leah dropped down relieved in her chair and let of a deep breath. When she saw that all the cars were gone, she squealed happily and with a wave of her wand, blasted up the music as she danced. She lifted the wards on the house and opened the floo, all while she danced around the room.
An hour later she was still dancing, but now in her kitchen as she made dinner when the floo roared a few times back-to-back. A few minutes later four heads popped up in the kitchen looking at her sway on the music, with her back to them. Fred had a goofy smile on his lips as he rounded the counter and pulled her flush against him.
"Hi, love." He whispered.
"Hi, Georgie." She said seductively and Fred stumbled back. Leah turned around with a wide grin and look at Harry, Hermione and George on the other side of the kitchen island. "Gets him every time." She laughed as she lowered the music.
"You're evil." Fred pouted, leaning against the counter his arms crossed.
"Sometimes." She shrugged and kissed him. "Harry, want to stay for dinner?"
"Yeah, I would love to. Ginny has practice anyway. But how did it go?" He asked impatiently.
"It went well, they all wanted a copy of the presentation so that's a good sign, should be at least a week or two before I know more." She saw the worried look of the boys. "It's normal, they don't just make such decisions on a whim. They need to calculate the cost of making it, how much profit they can make, and so on a so on." She turned to Hermione. "There was one man, who thought that a man must've helped me."
"No way?" Hermione's brows gather. "Asshat." She grumbled, making the others laugh.
"Even if he is the one who's going to bid on the game, I'll never sell to him."
"Men." The girls mumbled. The three boys looked at them with raised eyebrows. "Okay, not all men." The girls rolled their eyes playfully.
"Wow, you two sound just like the twins." Harry laughed.
"They are continually stealing our twin speech." The twins pouted.
"What do you expect?" Leah laughed. "We live together-"
"We work together-" Hermione continued with a grin.
"We have to put up with these two." Leah sighed dramatically.
"That's...eerie." Harry said slowly. Hermione started to laugh at that and clapped her best friend's back.
"After everything we've seen, you think this is eerie?"
"Well, yeah." Harry shrugged. "You never really had female friends besides Ginny."
"Things change."
"I never had many female friends either, mostly guys."
"Have you met them, her friends?" Harry turned to Fred. Fred grumbled something while Leah laughed. "What?"
"He went with me to meet two of them at a pub, it didn't end well."
"They were undressing you with their eyes." Fred let his hands fly up in the air.
"They were not!" Leah rolled her eyes. "I've known them since we were kids." She turned back to Harry. "That's why I don't take him with me when I go out."
"And Fred than sits at home, moping until she's back." George laughed, receiving a glare from his twin, but he didn't care; he knew it was true. Fred mumbled something under his breath and Leah wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Why don't you help me with the last things for dinner." She asked sweetly looking up at him. Fred gave her a lopsided smile and the others went to the living room. "You know..." She started once the others were at a safe distance. "I only have eyes for you."
"Awww!" She heard the others and her head snapped to the living room and saw an extendable ear not far from her. She pointed her wand at it, making the ear shiver and honked loudly on the other side, making the three of them curse and put their hands over their ears.
"You're amazing." Fred chuckled and put his hands on her cheeks, closing the distance without hesitation.
It took only a week before she heard from different CEOs about her game, she had six offers and went to their offices to see what company fits best for her and the game. She had tossed the card of the old man in the garbage bin the moment she saw his name on it. It was Michael who had convinced her to sign with him, so they made a plan to work on the promotion and sales for the games this summer.
She was so excited for the next step, that she was too distracted when she practiced for potions in the castle. Because of the distraction, she made a mistake, and the potion blew up. She fell back with a force and when she landed, she blacked out.
The next time she woke, she was lying on a bed in the hospital wing. The twins, Hermione and Harry by her side, by the sound of it, because she couldn't see anything.
"Hey, hey. I'm here love, relax." Fred soothing voice came next to her, his hand stroking his head. "You scared the shit out of us."
"Mister Weasley."
"Sorry, Minnie."
"I can't see." She started to feel at her head, thinking there was a bandage over her eyes. The room went dead silent before she heard Minerva shuffle to Pomfrey's office. Fred's arm around her tightened for reassurance.
"I'm here, Leah." Poppy's voice came on the other side of her. "Is it alright with you that I cast a few diagnostic spells on you."
She nodded her head as she started forward, or what she thought was forward. Fred held her tight against him, trying to reassure them both. She felt the magic of the healer prodding her gently.
"Drink this, sweety." She said as she placed a vial in her hands. She downed it without questioning it. "You'll be able to see by morning." The healer squeezed her arm softly.
"Thank you, Poppy." She heard Poppy and Minerva talk amongst themselves as they shuffled away. "How long was I out?"
"About two hours." Hermione answered.
"Oh, no. I have meetings with the seventh years all day." She tried to scrabble out of bed, but Fred pushed her back.
"Minerva already informed them that they will be contacted to come by when you're better."
"Oh, okay." Her shoulder deflated and she rested her head against the pillow. "I've been in the hospital more times in the last year, than I have in the rest of my life." She let out a dry chuckle.
"I'm sorry." Fred murmured against her hair and placed a kiss on her head.
"It's not your fault."
"It kind of is..." His voice quiet. Even without her sight, she knew exactly how he was looking, so she reached for his face and pulled him in a deep kiss. "You know we have an audience."
"I don't see anyone." She joked at her own temporary blindness. "Besides they are used to it and are equally worse."
"Oi!" She heard George yell. She just grinned and leaned back against the bed. The next morning her sight had fully returned. Hermione had a hard time dragging George home, but he finally caved and now it was only Fred, who had made himself comfortable in the small hospital bed. On the edge of her bed on a table full of sweets, flowers and cards. From the students, teachers and George. She could recognize their products in an instant.
It was the end of April when Leah tried to contact someone again, using her sight. She was sitting in the living room with Harry on one side, and Fred on the other. When the familiar words left her lips, she saw Lilly, James and what she presumed was Sirius from the picture she saw. They smiled at her, already knowing who she was, and like she expected Sirius send her a flirty wink. She pursed her lips as a grin appeared before she reached over for Harry. She saw Harry swallow nervously before he let her take his hand in hers. He appeared shocked as he looked at the three of them.
"Hi, sweety." Harry's mum smiled.
"Hi." Harry said weakly as he looked at the three.
"And who's the gorgeous girl next to you, Harry?"
"This is Leah, my cousin."
"Are you single by any chance?" Sirius wiggled his eyebrows.
Harry answered, "She's taken, Sirius." While Lilly said. "Like you don't know."
Leah laughed and her eyes found James, who laughed with her. She saw Fred crease his brows, as he only heard half of the conversation. She gave him a quick smile before turning back to the others.
"Too bad I'm dead." He smiled, a smile that probably dropped a lot of panties back in the day.
"Too bad Fred is the one for me." She grinned back and Sirius clutched his heart in mock hurt. While Fred looked down with a silly grin on his face.
"That boy got it bad." Sirius said as he watched Fred. They all turned to look at the red head whose ears turned red when Harry and Leah looked at him.
"Oh, leave him be." Lilly chastised.
"Harry, how are you, son." His father asked his son, redirecting the conversation.
They talked for at least an hour, Fred even went to get tea for her and Harry, and they talked about all things Harry. And when the connection broke, she didn't feel drained. She felt a little tired, but not to any extreme. She smiled as Fred offered her a cookie and some sugared tea.
It's then, she decided she wouldn't use her sight more than once a month and try not to see the same people close to each other. Because it might give them the feeling they were back alive. That year she contacted Molly's brothers, Lupin, Tonks, and a few others. But she was still afraid to contact Addie again, afraid she will get stuck once more, or maybe not come out of it at all.