𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗲, harry potter

˗ˋ 88

CHAPTER EIGHTY EIGHT
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH FRED CONVINCES

. . .

"I was never a prefect myself." Tonks was always prepared to clear the tension that created in any nearby conversation. She appeared with her sunny deposition and her daily-hair (which, today, was tomato-red and waist length, looking quite like Ginny and Jane's older sister) and ready to spark up some sort of humorous edge to misfortunes. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities." She added.

Jane followed the others as they took the opportunity to gorge themselves on the wonderful feast prepared by Mrs Weasley for that evening, selecting one of the neatly cut sandwiches from a wooden chopping board. "Like what?" She asked, eyes flickering back up to Tonks.

The older girl looked somewhat pleased that she had been asked. "Like the ability to behave myself." Both Ginny and Jane laughed, the likeliness between them becoming more and more apparent. Hermione looked as though she didn't know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of butterbeer and choking on it. 

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermioneon the back.

 Sirius, who was suddenly right beside Harry and leaning over his head for a baked potato with muttered excuses for using his fingers, let out his usual bark-like laugh. "No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."  

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends." Remus replied. Memories of his past shone in his eyes. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally.... Jane?"

"Yes?" She blinked, forcing herself away from whatever magical item of object had caught her eye. That time, it was something floating along the table of food ensuring that everything remained warm. 

"What about you?" Remus asked. "Your mother was the Ravenclaw prefect. Your dad not so much, seeing as he was in Gryffindor at the time and usually in detention with Sirius and James."

"I... er..." Jane took a sip of her butterbeer, avoiding Harry's gaze. "I was.. um.. at my last school when I was at the Home, I was... prefect for the year."

Harry turned towards her. "What?" He asked. Behind him, Sirius and Remus burst into laughter. "Why didn't you tell me that you were?"

Jane bit her lip, glancing up at him. There was a smile budding on the corner of her lips as she nudged his shoulder. "Didn't want to tell you.. in case..." She didn't finish her sentence but Harry knew exactly what he meant, and her kind intentions couldn't quite thaw the bittter feeling that had risen in his stomach. Did she think he would be upset? Or jealous? He hated that she might be able to think of him that way.

Sirius and Remus were laughing about something. "I don't." Jane quickly whispered in his ear. Harry stared, confused. "I don't think you're anything like that. I just didn't want to make it about me when you were feeling upset."

Harry didn't quite manage too get another word in edgeways, Fred and George appearing beside them with plates filled of their own choice in foods - which was mostly just the sweet things Mrs Weasley had put out to be saved for dessert - and dragging them away into a more shadowed corner.

"Which one are you taking?" George asked, his arm around Jane's forearm. 

"Dunno - which would you prefer?" Fred had the same grasp on Harry, and both were pretending like the younger couple weren't even there. 

"Swap? You take the girlfriend I get the brooding, bespectacled boyfriend?" George rose an eyebrow, watching as Fred thought things through before nodding and all of a suddenly Jane and Harry were being swapped in place and pulled off to seperate corners. Harry found himself stood with Mundungus talking about some kind of seed, with absolutely no idea what Fred was saying to Jane. 

The Everleigh girl's eyes were fixated on the palm of Fred's hand, where her eyes landed on a slightly damp cork and a thin gleam of silver. "You want me to pierce your ears." Jane said slowly, her gaze flickering up to Fred before closing his hand and looking around the room. Mrs Weasley was too busy trying to convince Bill to cut his hair and Sirius, who had watched the ordeal take place, caught her eye and tapped the side of his nose, turning away.

"We want you to pierce our ears. We can easily make more needles if you need." Fred nodded earnestly. "It's perfect timing - we go back to school tomorrow, not that you need reminding considering Harry's far-too-serious attachment to you - and because everything is so busy with the party I don't think Mum will notice until it's too late."

"Too late?"

"Meaning the very moment she hugs us goodbye  and sends us off onto the train." Fred looked over at her shoulder, sharing a nod with George across the room. "So, you in?"

"I guess. I have hoops for you both if you want. The little ones. Or I have studs." Jane nodded her agreement quickly. "I'll pierce your ears. But you have to promise to take care of them and don't you dare blame me if they get infected. You provided the materials, you deal with the consequences of where they came from."

"You are harsh, Jane, so very harsh." Fred pretended to think about it for a moment. "But deal. Me and Georgie are particuarly good at dealling with the consequences. Now, come and help your hopeless boyfriend try to convince the biggest skeeve on the wizarding side of London to give us a better deal on these bloody Venomous Tentacula seeds. I swear that man thinks we're made of money - only what Harry provided us with of course, and the shit we've brought in when our mum wasn't looking - but hey, it's not a lot until we can get a better business through and then we can..."

And nodding to everything he was saying like the ins and out of wizard pranks business made any sense to her, Jane followed him towards Mundungus Fletcher, George, and Harry.

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a/n
i have two more books now out
with the summery style that came 
from this book - seeing as i love writing
it so much - one is a regulus fic set in italy
called crocodile creek, and the other is a bill
weasley best friend fic set in the summer
after their seventh year at the burrow and
is called forget-me-not falls