When Judith stepped out of the shower, she was thankful that Fred had decided to remain true to his word and not barge in. She quickly got dressed while allowing her hair to dry wrapped up in a towel. Stepping out, she found Fred walking down the hallway of her flat, looking at all the photos she had up.
"Family?" he asked pointing to the people in the photograph.
"No, the photo actually came with the picture frame." she answered as she walked over.
Fred looked to her with a grin. "Oooh, so you have a sense of humor?"
"I try. Actually, those are my grandparents and that's my older brother, Nathaniel."
"I recognize him...Ravenclaw?"
"Yeah, he was two years above ours."
"I definitely remember him, always had this serious look on his face, like this..."
Fred's face mocked her brother's normally stern look making Judith chuckle.
"Okay, I'll admit that's pretty accurate but don't make fun of my brother. Only I'm allowed to do that, it's one of my privileges of being the younger sister."
"Fine. Nice hat by the way."
Judith went to question what Fred was talking about, until she realized she had left the towel on her head.
"Oh." she pulled it off. "Hush."
Pulling on her boots, Judith grabbed her bag and stood by the front door.
"Finally, we're going to work." Fred said.
"I'm sorry, but did you say we?"
"Yes."
"Ooooh no! You are not going with me to work!"
"Why not!?"
"Because...I said so." Judith argued.
"Well, I don't want to stay around here. No offense but your flat is dreadfully boring, have you thought of adding some color to this place?"
"Did you become an interior decorator when you crossed over? I'm sorry my flat is not up to your standards but decorating is not a priority in my life."
She threw the bag over her shoulder and opened the door.
"I'm going to work. I'll...see you later, I guess." she said over her shoulder to Fred before leaving.
Fred was left alone in the living room area, glancing around.
"I'm not saying you have to go crazy, but some color would be nice." he muttered to himself.
Judith entered the tea shop, letting the small bell ring, alerting Alma who appeared from the backroom.
"Hey, you're late." Alma said surprised, normally Judith was always on time.
"I know...I just got caught up with things at home."
"Oh, is it your grandparents? Are they alright?"
"No," Judith shook her head, " it's not my grandparents. They're fine. I just...um...ran into someone I haven't seen in awhile and it...it was just weird. That's all."
"I know how you feel, Judy. I feel the same exact way whenever I run into one of my exes in the streets. It's always so awkward because they show up in the oddest places."
"Yeah well...it wasn't an ex, but anyways, it doesn't matter. Has it been busy today?"
"No, actually, today it's been surprisingly slow. Which is great, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this stuff.
Judith smiled. "That's great! I'm glad." She said as she went to collect her apron from the back.
"We did get a shipment in, I have no idea where it goes, so I left in the back." Alma called to her.
"That's fine, I'll check into it."
Noting the several boxes, Judith knelt down to open one to see what teas they had gotten in, when she caught something moving out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head but saw nothing. She sighed believing the dim lighting of the back room was playing tricks on her.
Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her wand.
"Lumos."
The room lit up with the added light as she glanced over the box's contents.
"Oh good," she said to herself, " we were just running low on the Chai."
"Blech!"
Judith screeched at the sound of disgust made behind her. She whipped around with her wand directed, illuminating the face of Fred.
"Dammit, Fred! What are you doing here?!" she whispered in a harsh tone.
"I told you it was boring back at your place, I decided to come see where you worked and boy, you just enjoy being boring, don't you Judith?
"Listen you, I-"
"Judy!" Alma's voice rang out. "You okay back there? I heard a scream."
"Um..yeah!" Judith called back to her. "I'm fine. I thought I saw a mouse, it was just an old tea bag."
She turned back to Fred when Alma didn't respond.
"An old tea bag? Since when does an old tea bag resemble a mouse?" Fred questioned.
Judith thought of how stupid it did actually sound.
"Never you mind." she said with a shake of her head. "You shouldn't be here."
"Why not?"
"I don't want you here, I thought I was making that obvious."
"Perhaps you were being too subtle."
Bending over and lifting one of the boxes into her arms, she turned to Fred.
"Look, hang about or whatever, but don't bother me. I really need to work."
Pulling out the boxes, one by one, Judith stocked the shelves, while occasionally helping a customer throughout the shop. While she had told Fred not to bother her, the Weasley twin took it upon himself to follow her like a shadow.
"You are really starting to get on my nerves, Weasley." she muttered under her breath.
"I'm not doing anything, I'm casually standing here."
"Casually standing?!"
"Uh, Judy?"
Judith turned her head to see Alma standing behind her, staring at her with a puzzled expression.
"Who are you talking to, Judy?"
"O-oh, n-no...I um...smashed my finger on one of the shelves."
"Smooth." Fred said.
"Shut up." Judith huffed.
"I didn't say anything." Alma told her.
Judith's body tensed as she looked at her co-worker.
"I'm going to head out back for a minute. I think the heat in here is getting to me."
Heading out the back door, Judith pushed her hair out of her face and leaned against the brick wall.
"Must be stressful work, working with tea all day." Fred said appearing.
"What do you want from me, Fred?"
"I already told you."
"Alright! I'll help you...I'll do it. But not right now, okay? Right now, I'd really like to focus on my work and not have my co-worker think I'm crazy because of you."
"You know, she might have thought that long before I came around."
Wiping down one of the small tables after a couple left, Judith let out a slight yawn as the day wore on. She heard the bell go off and went to greet the customer, when her eyes widened.
At first, she thought somehow Fred had gotten the bell to go off as he entered, but taking in the missing ear, Judith realized it was George Weasley that had entered the shop. She dropped the rag and quickly made her way to the back, allowing Alma to handle the counter.
"Why does it look like you've seen a ghost?" Fred joked.
"Look out there." she pointed to the doorway.
Fred gave her an odd look and peeked his head out.
"George."