A.N: the time line might be a little off here, but that's alright.
Audra doesn't like quidditch.
She never really got the point of it, why someone would want to waste hours every day flying around and throwing things at each other, searching for one tiny speck of gold in the great open sky and dodging. Why the twins would be willing to practice late into the night, even if they came back dripping with sweat and so sunburned they have to see Madame Pomfrey, or soaked to the bone and covered head to toe in mud, or so frozen they couldn't even bend their fingers to fasten the bludgers back into their boxes. She would much rather stay inside than try to remember what was worth what amount of points, and who had to win by how much to take the lead in the house tournament.
Hermione, thankfully, felt much in the same way, which is why it was perfect for them to sit beside each other when watching the try outs for Keeper. (Hermione was there for Ron, Audra was there as an excuse to watch Fred and George. Mostly Fred. She can admit that now.)
"Is he doing okay?" Hermione asked fretfully after the third time the group flew around the pitch. They were tossing the quaffle back and forth to each other. "Are they going to pick him?"
"Well he hasn't dropped it yet, so I guess he's doing okay." Truthfully, there wasn't much to watch at the moment. It seemed like the team was just trying to weed out the ones who showed up thinking that they were much better than they were, or too inexperienced to expect to join the team as a full time player. They'd already gotten rid of a group of fourth grade girls who had tripped all over themselves to get onto their brooms and could barely even fly in a straight line, and were now sitting in the bleachers with Audra and Hermione. From their conversation, it was clear that they had only shown up for the chance to talk to the twins. Audra could sympathize.
It didn't take long for the two girls to get bored, considering they knew nothing of quidditch and didn't really care to pay attention if it wasn't Ron. Even the twins must not have thought the try outs worth watching, since they were now playing an incredibly dangerous version of monkey in the middle with a bludger, with Colin Creevey as a monkey. So maybe it wasn't that much of surprise when they turned to abusing Umbridge, which is quickly becoming the schools favorite topic. "We're not even learning anything! We're just reading that stupid book, which is entry level at best. Who's she kidding about the dark arts not posing a danger to us thing? Even if she doesn't believe that the Dark Lord is back -which I doubt, I just don't think she cares- she must know that there are still bad things out there, ancient curses and vampires and magical creatures. It's not like we're going to be in the middle of a grindylow attack and it's going to say, whoops, dearie me, it's an underage wizard here, better let go!"
Hermione's voice had gotten louder as her rant went on, causing a few of the students trying out to turn up towards them and stare. Audra could see Ron shrugging his shoulders in a half fond gesture of exasperation, probably accompanied with an eye roll. "So teach yourself. Aren't you already doing NEWT level magic? It's not like you won't be able to learn a basic shield charm."
"But what about everyone else?" Hermione fretted, twisting her hands around in her lap. "They're in so much danger, and they don't even know it. They just sit here and worry about.. about boys and homework and quidditch."
"Then teach them, too. Teach the ones who want to be taught. Isn't that what Hogwarts is about?" It was, really. There was always room at Hogwarts for those who need help finding some sort of knowledge, whether it can be taught in the classroom or found somewhere else. "They'll come."
"I don't know. I'm not sure people would listen to me." She was still twisting her hands around, but now there was that look on her face that meant she was just dying to run off to the library. It was her problem solving face. "I don't think I can do all that."
"For what it's worth?" Audra pointed down at the field, where Ron was waving up at them and motioning for them to come down. "I don't think you'll be doing it alone."
"How'd he do?" Audra was lurking outside of the locker room, where the twins were changing. "Was it okay?"
"Well, it wasn't awful." Fred's voice came to her over the sound of running water, a little muffled. "He did make all his saves, even if they were a little awkward, and he throws like a maniac, farther than George or I could get, but- you can come in Audra, we're dressed, come on- but he's too nervous and hesitant. But he cares more than the other two who could play worth anything, and its not like he has any clubs or anything that might conflict with it."
"You mean besides periodically going off to save the world with Harry?"
"Besides that." Fred grinned over at her, teeth a blinding white. "You doing anything tonight?"
Audra stared over at him, startled enough that she almost slid off the counter she was balancing on. "No. Why?"
"Hagrid asked me to run an errand." Fred grabbed his bag and walked out, propping the door open behind him for her. He didn't look back to see if Audra was following him, she always is.
Dimly, she knew that they were leaving George behind, something that doesn't happen often. But she also knows that this thing between the two of them is shifting into a territory that George won't be able to follow. But since she couldn't quite bring herself to care as much as she should, Audra just jogs to catch up and falls into step beside him. "A dangerous errand?"
"Are they ever really not dangerous when it comes to Hagrid?" Fred held the door open for her again. Chivalry. "He isn't expecting it to be, but then again, he's half giant, ain't he? He doesn't remember that some people are afraid of things like giant spiders or accidently enlarged bats. Or exploding skrewts and giant slugs."
"Okay, okay." Audra shuddered from the memory, trying to push it out of her head. There had been other favors had asked of them, things that they couldn't turn down because he was smiling in his friendly, happy way and telling them how grateful he always is for all their help. And then she and the twins dive off into the forests, or wrestle slightly illegal creatures into cages, or become intimately familiar with feelings like leathery wings brushing shoulders or slime splattering onto faces. "I got it. I'm in."
"It's a date." Fred rocked back on his heels and backed away from her down the hallway. "I'll pick you up at seven."
He did pick her up at seven, but Audra was beginning to think she wasn't really here for a date. Mostly because they were battling cobwebs as they walked deeper into the forest, both of them fighting through the thorny brambles and keeping their eyes open for the giant spiders that Hagrid still maintained as friendly. But also because Fred had barely said more than a few words to her since they entered the forest, and he didn't stop to help when she stumbled, and his jokes aren't funny. Fred is never not funny.
"Alright, stop. I want to stop." He turned back to her almost immediately, arms already out to help her climb over the log he had stepped over. She took his hand and practically tripped into him, staying in his arms for a few seconds longer than was absolutely necessary.
"I'm sorry." She couldn't see his face in the dark, but his voice really was apologetic. "We weren't supposed to have to go this far in. Hagrid said we'd find it right on the outskirts, not after an hour and a half walk. I can come back tomorrow if you want to turn around."
"And let you walk around this stupid forest by yourself? No way. And that's not what this is about anyways." She dragged him over the to tree and sat down. "We're not moving until you tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong."
"Something's wrong." She stared up at him, stubborn as ever. "Tell me or we turn around."
"Percy wrote Ron a letter." Fred spun away from him, kicking out at a tree hard enough to make him walk away with a limp. "He wrote him a letter, the pompous arse he is, saying how thankful he was that Ron was paying attention to his studies and not following the path of me and George. That he should cut ties with Harry, because he's a dangerous nut and the minister doesn't approve. Cut ties with us."
He stared at her, chest heaving, then turned and slammed his fist into a tree branch before sinking to the ground in front of her. The moonlight cut through the trees then, and she could see what he was really feeling, because he never tries to hide it from her- miserable and confused and wishing they would have found whatever Hagrid wanted found an hour ago. "Percy's just confused. He's trying to find his own way. People get lost sometimes, when they have to do that."
"And that means that he gets to turn his back on us?" Fred pounded his fist into the ground again. "I get it if he's lost, or cracking under the weight of his own ambition, or whatever excuse you want to name. But family is forever. And he's been given no reason to forget that."
"I'm sorry." And she was. Not everyone was as loyal as Fred, or could care as deeply, or have such a strong moral compass. "I've told you before, not everyone is like you. Not everyone's such a good man, or has the ability to be so sure of himself, or to know who he loves and be certain that they love him back."
"Percy knows we love him."
"Sometimes, Fred," She felt him fall back against the tree trunk, his side against her leg, one hand curling around her leg like it might anchor him there. "That's just not enough."
"There." Fred's face split into a smile and he pointed ahead, a relieved laugh that he was trying to keep quiet bubbling out of his throat. "That's what I've been trying to find all night."
After the fiasco on the pathway and Audra had given Fred time to calm down, they kept walking. And walking, and walking, to the point where Fred was jumping to defend her at every sound and they had to make a detour to avoid the spiders. But finally they had reached the clearing, and now they were crouching down behind a bush, staring at a baby unicorn. "It's so cute." It was still speckled with light blue and pink spots. "Can we get nearer?"
"You can." Fred pushed her forward, gently, then crouched back down. "Hagrid wants us to lead it back. It should follow you, if I stay far enough ahead."
It did follow her back, after she had stood in the clearing and petted it for a while, after she slipped the makeshift leash over its neck and led it forward. It took them twice as long to make it back as it did to get here, and Audra and the unicorn made it back to Hagrid's hut around dawn, where Fred was waiting with a steaming mug of coffee.
"Thank you for that." Audra accepted the coffee he handed her, laying her head on his shoulder. "It was nice."
"I didn't mean for it to take so long." It was entirely cliché of them, sitting there watching the sun rise. "You're going to sleep through all your classes."
"It was nice." She squeezed her hand, trying to convey exactly how much she had liked last night, even if most of it did involve walking through spiderwebs. Fred had, admittedly, walked through all the spiderwebs first, like a true gentlemen. "I mean it."