seventeen cool girl
✨
THE HOLIDAYS ARE OFF TO A GOOD start, Mia thinks, as the next day rolls around and Mia wakes up, George holding her, still. She doesn't think he's awake yet, and she knows she needs to start getting ready soon, but she doesn't want to move just yet. She feels like such a dork, enjoying this feeling, but she can't help it.
Or, at least, that's until she hears footsteps on the staircase, and without a moment's hesitation, she knows they belong to her dad.
"Fuck," she says out-loud.
George had been holding her fairly tightly, but the force she uses, to sit up, breaks that grip, waking him up. He frowns, lazily rubbing his eyes as he sits up. "Um... What's the prob—?"
"Mia," her dad calls out, on the other side of the door.
Mia looks across at George, who's eyes have widened.
"One minute, Dad!" says Mia, and as she jumps out of bed, wrapping herself in her massive cardigan, she sees George grabbing the clothes he left on the floor the night before, and Apparating out of the room; Mia slams the bathroom door just as he Apparates, to try and muffle the noise.
She opens the bedroom door, to find her dad, oblivious.
"Morning, M," he says. "I know it's late, but I was thinking we could maybe go shopping, to get your Christmas presents... I've spoken to Remus and I'll use Polyjuice Potion, so everyone thinks you're out with your godfather. It'll be completely safe, no one will suspect a thing..."
Mia frowns. "I mean, that would be really nice," she says. "But... I don't think I've ever spent any time with him, surely that would look a little strange...?"
Sirius pulls a face, seeming to agree, but not wanting to admit it. "We'll go tomorrow, and I'll have a think about what to do," he tells her. "But I really want to get your Christmas presents with you."
She feels bad, because she wants to, but she doesn't want to get him into trouble. The more she thinks about it, though the more problems she sees in the idea.
Example:
A. There is no way on earth she could pass as Remus' daughter.
B. And, if muggles are stupid and don't care about that, what if she comes across any wizards? She doesn't know everyone at Hogwarts, what if there are some muggleborn teenagers that have gone shopping, and they recognise her, and recognise Remus Lupin? It would look weird, albeit a little dodgy.
Those are the main two problems, but still. She wishes there was a way it could work out, but she really doesn't know...
She gets changed into jeans and a jumper, and opens her bedroom door again, to go downstairs. Briar's walking up them, just as Mia steps out onto the landing, and the second Mia sees Briar, the golden girl starts to grin.
"I have an idea," says Briar, in the way Briar does, apparently.
Mia frowns. "... For... what?"
"For the shopping trip!" says Briar, and she taps her temple with her finger. "I know you're gonna spend ages later on trying to figure what to do, so, I have an idea! Take Polyjuice Potion, and go as me!"
For a minute Mia frowns...
... And then she considers it.
"That's actually perfect?" says Mia.
Thing is, when Mia saw Briar on the stairs, she figured Briar was on her way to see Fred — but, as Briar starts talking to Mia about giving her an outfit to borrow, so she looks like her, and excitedly talking about Mia like she was Briar's personal Barbie doll, Mia realises that Briar was trying to find Mia. She's well and truly taken by surprise, by the idea that Briar Crouch, resident it-girl of Beauxbatons and Hogwarts (still!), was going out of her way, to help Mia.
And it's bizarre, because when the two girls walk downstairs, to speak to their dads about it, Briar leads the conversation, and somehow, it works. Mia, honestly, was expecting her dad to think it was dangerous, or it would get Mia intro trouble, but Sirius exchanges a glance with Remus, and clasps his hands together. "That's brilliant!" he says. "If you're fine with that, Mia — and if you're OK, Briar—"
Briar's beaming. Mia didn't realise she could look anymore golden.
"That's fine!" she says.
Their dads had been in the kitchen, and as Briar walks Mia upstairs, holding her hand, George appears in front of them, confused.
"Uh," says George, and Mia sees him look at Briar, and she's waiting for him to address Briar first, but instead he turns to Mia. "I didn't realise you'd get along that easily...?"
"Dad wants to take me Christmas shopping," says Mia. "So we're going to use Polyjuice Potion."
It doesn't surprise her that George doesn't ask anymore questions; instead, he shrugs, and starts to grin. "Cool," he tells her.
Briar's beaming. "You're so cute!"
Mia starts to frown, but before Briar or George can explain, Fred Apparates onto the landing. He starts to smirk at his twin. "Fancy seeing you here, Georgie," says Fred.
"Prat," says George, his cheeks going red.
"Mia," says Briar, excited to play dress up. "Let's head back upstairs — I wanna see your room—"
Fred snorts. "Think George beat you—"
"Don't be a dick," says Briar, rolling her eyes.
Mia knows Briar's telling him off, but truly, she can't help but feel they're the same person, sometimes. Like they're joined at the hip. Fred is George's twin, sure, but Fred and Briar are, like, connected, somehow.
Fast forward to twenty minutes later, and Briar's since Apparated home, to grab some clothes for Mia to have a look at. Apparently she was going to bring the clothes with her, this morning, but then decided it was just as easy, to Apparate home once the plan was allowed. Mia knows this, of course, because Briar was talking everything through, half to Mia, half to herself. Mia keeps on glancing across at Briar, as she lays out the different clothes on the bed, talking to herself, and thinks, how is she real?
Thing is, that's always been the case. Back when Briar wore a Gryffindor tie, and spent every waking second helping the twins with their pranks, everyone always viewed her as perfect. As golden. Whether it was the golden-blonde hair that did it, or the brightest smile imaginable, but everyone thought it. Briar Crouch was the golden girl.
Even when she left, and rumours started to spread about why — it didn't take long for gossip to realise that the new professor at the time, Remus Lupin, was her dad — everyone still thought she was perfect. And when she returned, for the Triwizard Tournament, it was heralded as this brilliant thing, that at long last, Hogwarts had its golden girl back. But the thing is, it would sound crazy, describing a girl with obvious problems as completely perfect, but everything bad was forgotten when you saw her. The pink outfits and pretty smile washed away any speculations about a long-lost dad.
Briar finishes spreading out the outfits, and looks back at Mia, pleased with herself. Obviously the clothes are nothing Mia would wear — as nice as they are, Mia isn't a fan of cream-only outfits — but they're pretty. Mia bets they're expensive. Barty Crouch Sr., Briar's grandfather and old guardian, must've dropped a pretty penny making his granddaughter even more perfect.
"I tried to think of what I would wear, so, this is the best I could come up with," says Briar. "But obviously if you don't like it, I can grab some more stuff and we can figure something out, as long as you feel comfortable in what you wear—"
"It's fine," says Mia.
She looks down, at the assortment. Briar's paired a baby blue-and-white plaid blazer with a turtleneck and skirt, both white. Briar explains she'd wear longer socks with it, to make up for the skirt, with boots. She goes through the other outfits, the tweed two-set that looks like Chanel, the black turtleneck (a big contrast to the others) and plaid skirt, with a jacket to match. There's a fur coat and fleece coat, both white, that she says can be switched with any of the outfits, if Mia wants.
"I like the first one," says Mia, eyeing the long blazer. It reminds her of her dad's jacket, and if Briar said the best thing is for her to feel comfortable, so be it.
"I thought you'd like it," says Briar with a smile.
Mia raises an eyebrow. "Oh, did you have a vision?"
"No," says Briar. "I started to have a feeling now, sure, but when I was picking it out, it felt like something you'd like."
"Oh," says Mia, and she didn't know Briar thought that way about her. Like, they really aren't close, but the idea that Briar can look at clothes and decide it's something Mia would like... It surprises her. "It's gonna feel strange, being you."
Briar snorts. "It's nothing special."
Mia's dumbfounded. "Um... Yeah, it is? You're—You're Briar!"
"Well, uh, I know my name," says Briar, looking at Mia oddly.
"You're, like, perfect," says Mia, and Briar raises her eyebrows.
"You think I'm perfect?"
"Well..." says Mia. "You are."
Briar goes quiet for a minute. She sits down on the edge of Mia's bed, and she looks lost in thought. Mia starts to worry that she's said too much, but before she can think about saying anything, and apologising, Briar looks up at her.
"I'm really not," says Briar. "I know people think that — and it's not a bad thing that you do, it is flattering — but, like, it isn't... true." She pauses again. "My grandpa, for so long, treated me like I wasn't human, like I was just a nice... prop, or whatever, to make him look better — not in a weird way, but like, he fucked up with my mum and her brothers, so he used me and my brother as an example, as like, oh, look, I did this right — and I dunno, for so long, I carried that with me. And then, um, when I moved schools, something happened, and again, I didn't tell anyone...
"I'm not saying this to load everything onto you. I'm just saying... I'm better now, but I went through a lot of shit a couple years back. I genuinely thought I was better off dead, or whatever. And no one knew I was so unhappy because I didn't want to tell anyone... But I... I don't know. I'm not perfect. That's all."
Mia doesn't know what to say.
"You're not gonna believe me, but when I was at Hogwarts, I thought the same about you," says Briar. "You're the cool girl."
"No, I'm not," says Mia, and she laughs awkwardly.
"Yeah, you are," says Briar, and she smiles at her. "I'm not being funny, Mia, but you were rocking about, the daughter of this famous murderer, and you were like, and what about it? And you'd show up on the weekends in your cool as fuck outfits and I can assure you, everyone thinks you're the fucking coolest."
Mia really doesn't know what to think.
She starts to think, But I'm not, and then she thinks about what she's just said about Briar, and it starts to click into place.
"Oh," says Mia, the rose-tinted glasses finally coming off.
Briar smiles. "It's chill," she says. "I'm only aware of it because of—" And then she stops herself, and looks across at Mia. "I'll tell you later."
It's mid-afternoon when Mia and Sirius left, disguised as Briar and Remus. It's a little bizarre, when Mia gets changed into Briar's clothes and her reflection is Briar, but that's beside the point. Mia tries to remember that this is all to do something nice with her dad, because they can't do these things normally, and this is the only way they can. She reminds herself that she looks like Briar, yeah, and her dad doesn't look like her dad, but they're both themselves.
She avoids looking at her dad, so she can pretend he still looks like himself. His voice is the same, just like hers, which makes it feel a little less weird. At least she can hear her dad, talking to her.
But it's nice, being able to spend time with him. Mia starts to imagine an alternate timeline, where her dad never went to prison, and this was the norm, that they'd have a tradition of going Christmas shopping together, every single year. She imagines a life where she never lost him, a life where she never felt the relief of getting him back because he was always there.
Like, she loves the fact that this can happen now. But as nice as it is, it makes her sad, because she knows she's missed out on so much with him. He didn't see her off to Hogwarts, first year, he didn't see her ride a broom for the first time, he didn't see her grow up. He was sent away when she was a toddler, and when he came back, she was a teenager; she grew into a person he didn't know. It's bittersweet.
At least he's here now, she supposes.
✨
IT'S THE TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER when Mia finds herself in George's bedroom, legs crossed as he tries to organise things for Wheezes. Fred's there, too, of course, alongside Briar, who's lazily lying on top of Fred's bed, her legs pressed against the wall. She's playing with her scrunchie with her hands, and apparently, she's leaving soon to go home, but for now, she's here. Mia knows Briar isn't completely perfect, but she can't help but admire Briar's pure... confidence, to act like herself.
"I say if we sort out order-forms in the back of the Prophet again, we'll be set," says George, to Fred. Mia has no idea what they're talking about; they keep on mentioning something, without saying what — all we'll be set and it'll be ready, every single vague description under the sun.
"Brilliant," says Fred, with a grin.
Mia looks across at Briar, who's unbothered completely — or, at least, Mia figured Briar had zoned out of the conversation completely, up until Briar turns her head slightly, to look at the two boys.
"Give me a stack of the order forms, too," says Briar. "And I'll sell the stuff at Beauxbatons..." And, then, she turns to Mia, and smiles, explaining, "There's no competition in France for this stuff, it's bizarre..." Briar stretches out one arm, to put her hand on Fred's head. "You guys'll have the money in no time."
"Well," says Fred. "The sooner, the better."
It's at this moment where Briar realises she's got to go home; she jumps off of the bed, and walks to the door, Fred following suit.
As the door closes, Mia sits down on the floor, next to George. She had been sitting on the edge of his bed, but as she sits down beside him, she frowns.
"Why'd you need the money soon?" she asks.
George turns to her. "OK, Mia, this is a big secret," he tells her, but the seriousness in his voice feels cancelled out by the grin across his face.
Her brows are furrowed, still, as she rolls her eyes, bringing up her little finger. "I promise I won't tell anyone," she says, starting to smile.
He locks his little finger with hers for a second; quickly he lets go, smiling still.
"We're opening a shop," he says.
"Really?"
George nods. He looks proud of himself — as he should, she thinks.
"By the ways things have been going recently, we'll have more than enough money to rent a place on Diagon Alley—"
"Shit, George!" she exclaims. "I didn't realise you were making that much!"
"This time next year, I'll be rich rich," says George. He places his hand on her knee, and she doesn't think he knows he's done it, because he continues talking, without addressing it. "It'll be like we were born into a fancy family."
Mia pulls a face. "Or, you could, like, not compare yourself with others, and instead, be proud of yourself...?"
"Just because you are rich," says George, shaking his head.
"I'm not rich," says Mia, with a frown.
George scoffs. "OK."
"I'm not!" says Mia. The thing is, she understands the hypocrisy of her saying this, in this massive house that belongs to her, but it isn't like that. "My mum bought our house because her entire family was killed so she was left with a massive inheritance... We're not rich, though... If I need someone, she can afford it, but we're not, like, the sort of rich my dad was, growing up."
"You're rich to me," says George.
"OK," says Mia, making a face. "Gold-digger."
George snorts. "Oh, you caught me. I'm only interested in your fortune — in getting my hands on this very dusty house..."
Mia starts to laugh.
"I forget this place'll belong to me, one day," says Mia, and she looks up at the ceiling. She doesn't know who this room belonged to — she knows her dad's and uncle's rooms are locked away, upstairs — but someone's scribbled 'Grindelwald is a cunt' in-between the moulding. She wishes she met that ancestor. They sound cool.
"And you say you're not rich," says George, shaking his head jokingly.
Mia gives him a look. "Stop it, oh my God," she says. "Maybe I grew up with, like, a little bit of money, but I never had the sort of money my parents had, growing up." George shrugs. She knows he doesn't mean anything bad by saying this. In fact, she knows he isn't trying to be nasty, he's just making a point. "But, like, even if I grew up with more than you... My dad went to prison when I was two. And I was the only kid in the house... I sound like a prat, but, like, at least you had a big family around you."
"I suppose," he says, and he turns away for a minute, before adding, "It's fine anyway, because even if the rest of them go nowhere, me and Fred are gonna get so rich we'll be able to look after all of them..."
Mia starts to smile. "Definitely."
He keeps on looking back down at the budgeting books, and then back to her. But, as he looks up again, he smiles at her. His eyes light up when he smiles, too, his entire face coming alive. It's pretty.
"You can't tell anyone, though," he says. "Mum still doesn't know we're selling stuff still... And I'd rather just wait until everything's set up and successful, to surprise her with it."
"That's sweet," says Mia.
George winks at her. "You know me."
Mia laughs.
"Your necklace is pretty, by the way," he says.
"Oh, thanks," she says, picking it up with her fingers. "I made it."
George looks at her oddly. "How...?"
"Well, there's a ton of jewellery here that my grandma left behind, and most of it is kinda ugly, but, they've all got nice little parts of it," says Mia, glancing down at her necklace again, at the flower charm, the petals made out of diamonds. "So this was attached to some other stuff, but it was really bulky, so I, um, used a spell to cut it off and put it on a different chain..."
"Shit, Mia," he says. "That's cool."
Mia shrugs. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Yeah, it is!" he says. "It looks really good, Mia... You could sell those, if you wanted to."
She's never thought of that before.
"I don't know..."
"It's just an idea," he says. He sets the book down on the carpet next to him, as he turns back to her, his full attention of her now. He starts to grin. "But if you ever need any help... I'm the best businessman out there, I'd be more than happy to help... I'd need some compensation, 'course."
Mia laughs. "Oh, really?"
George starts to laugh, too. He leans closer to her, one hand cupping her cheek. He kisses her, and she moves closer to him on the floor. Their first kiss had been the softest kiss in her life, and Mia doesn't know if George needed to feel more confident in himself, or what, but now, when he kisses her, there's a hunger to it.
They break apart for a moment. Her forehead's almost pressed again his, as she looks up, almost looking through her eyelashes, as she says, "I guess we can figure that out another time."
And George grins.
😏😏
side note lol im not writing smut in this fic at all and like.... mia and george wont be having sex any time soon..... but also theyre seventeen and moving towards a relationship it would be weird if they didnt talk about sex lol
this chapter was also a lot longer but i split it in half so i could have that little conversation about wheezes/mia in the future!!! i know ive written like two fred fics now but like i find it bizarre i didnt think to add briar and fred talking about the twins getting a shop or whatever bc like.... obviously briar would know. so same goes for mia lol. i want the whole plot with the twins leaving school early to make a little more sense and not come out of nowhere lol
buuuuuut i hope u enjoyed!! let me know what you thought!! <3