It's Better If You Do
Soixante-Seize.
There was a long pause before the sound of the toilet flushing resonated in the small bathroom. A hoarse groan came from within the confines and the door opened just a bit, a very pale, clammy looking Bellamy permitted her sister entrance. Tying her hair back in a hasty, messy bun, she said naught a word as she frantically unbuttoned her shirt and nearly ripped it, trying to get it off. She thrust in at her sister, turning her head in the opposite direction.
“Do something with this, please,” she said in a hollow, tired sounding voice. Rose sent a withering look in Bellamy’s direction before taking the shirt, mindful not to touch the handprints on it, and walked it over to her trunk. She set it down on top of it in a way that Bellamy wouldn’t see it. Rose made a mental note to wash it later on, since it was one of Bellamy’s favorite tops. By the time she had turned around, Bellamy was rummaging through her trunk for her toothbrush and toothpaste.
“Are you feeling alright?” Rose asked softly, stepping over to her sister, who nodded in response to her question. “Well…whenever you get done, I have to talk to you about something,” she added, as she watched her sister pick out another outfit and a pair of silvery looking flats. Bellamy shot Rose a haggard look before disappearing into the bathroom with a soft click of the door.
“I don’t believe it,” George commented softly, holding the flesh-colored ear in his hand as he sat at the table once more. Fred was standing over at the curtain, making sure none of the children pocketed any of their products without paying before hand.
“What don’t you believe?” Fred asked, only setting part of his attention on his brother as he kept a watchful eye on the shop.
“They aren’t speaking in French,” he said, shaking his head a bit. Fred only offered him an impartial shrug.
George sat there, listening eagerly in to the silence. He knew that if Bellamy and Rose ever found out about this, it would probably make them extremely mad, but he couldn’t help it if he had a healthy curiosity.
There was a soft click and George hushed Fred, even though he hadn’t made as much as a peep from his spot by the curtain. “George seemed pretty sorry about that, you know,” Rose said softly, yet with a certain degree of severity in her tone. There was a short hum that sounded distinctly like Bellamy.
“If he had just listened to me-” The older sister started.
“If you had just let him borrow the bird, he wouldn’t have been bitten,” Rose cut in, maintaining a certain amount of calm, yet forceful quality to her tone. There was a long silence on the other end before Bellamy began to speak again.
“I can’t control what D’Artagnan does, Rose,” she started in a stubborn voice, “maybe if George hadn’t-”
“No,” Rose said, causing both Fred and George to look at the Extendable Ear at how loud the normally quiet girl had gotten, “you know that if you had just been nice and let him use D’Artagnan, he wouldn’t have gotten bitten and you wouldn’t have gotten sick.” There was another long silence and George could only imagine the look that Bellamy was sending Rose at the moment and he didn’t envy the girl one bit.
“Maybe you should lie down until you need to get ready for your blind date-” That was all George managed to hear before he let out a loud “WHAT?!” that stopped whatever conversation the sisters were having and footsteps suddenly echoed down the staircase. Fred had turned his attention away from the shop, staring at George. He frantically looked from the staircase to the Extendable Ear in his hand and tossed it quickly over his shoulder into the boxes of the store room.
Rose and Bellamy, who still looked very pale, stopped at the foot of the stairs and the brothers noticed that they were the same height now that Bellamy was not in heels. George glanced between the two of them before looking over at Fred, who was staring intently at Rose.
“Is everything alright down here?” Rose finally asked, looking from George to Fred and doing a double take when she noticed the near frantic look on Fred’s face. Fred’s mind jumpstarted suddenly and he shook his head a bit.
“George here just over heard some disappointing news about the Holyhead Harpies, that’s all,” he said with a wobbling smile. Neither Bellamy nor Rose looked entirely convinced, but they didn’t say anything. George desperately tried catching Bellamy’s eye, despite the fact both Fred and Rose warned him to steer clear of the brunette for the rest of the day. She had her honey-brown gaze directed at her feet, almost bashfully, before she ducked out of the room, surprisingly eager to get back out into the shop.
“George, why don’t you go out and help Bellamy with the shop? Rose and I need to have a talk,” Fred said, not taking his eyes from the blonde. George reluctantly stood from the table and shot them both a very dark, downhearted look before stepping out of the room.
Fred paused for a moment, staring eagerly at the curtain that divided the shop from the backroom before turning to Rose. He didn’t look any less frantic than he did before.
“He knows about Bellamy’s ‘blind date’,” he said softly. Rose suddenly looked very surprised as she stared up at Fred.
“Wha-How did he find out?” Rose asked quietly. Fred quickly glanced up the stairs, making a split second decision not to rat his brother out.
“The door was open and I guess a breeze carried your voice down,” he said and Rose must have believed him since she nodded in return.
“Is he upset?” Rose asked hesitantly. But before Fred could reply, she asked him another quick question. “Do you think he’ll still show up to the Leaky Cauldron?” Her eyes were wide, holding an almost scared look in the blue facets of them.
“Well…he doesn’t know where the date is…and if he thinks he’s going for business…”Fred let his voice trail off when he noticed the look of near relief on Rose’s face.
“I’d hate to think how upset Bellamy would be if he didn’t show up,” she said softly, shaking her head. Fred smiled slightly and took a step toward the petite girl and gathered her into his arms, pulling her into a warm hug which she gladly returned.
“Since it means that much to you, I’ll drag him there if I have to,” Fred said, earning a small laugh from Rose. “But I have to ask…is your sister normally this high-maintenance or is it just for me and George?” Rose pulled away from him slightly to look up at him with a cheeky grin.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Fred Weasley,” she cooed playfully as they turned and began to walk back into the shop.
“Do something with this, please,” she said in a hollow, tired sounding voice. Rose sent a withering look in Bellamy’s direction before taking the shirt, mindful not to touch the handprints on it, and walked it over to her trunk. She set it down on top of it in a way that Bellamy wouldn’t see it. Rose made a mental note to wash it later on, since it was one of Bellamy’s favorite tops. By the time she had turned around, Bellamy was rummaging through her trunk for her toothbrush and toothpaste.
“Are you feeling alright?” Rose asked softly, stepping over to her sister, who nodded in response to her question. “Well…whenever you get done, I have to talk to you about something,” she added, as she watched her sister pick out another outfit and a pair of silvery looking flats. Bellamy shot Rose a haggard look before disappearing into the bathroom with a soft click of the door.
“I don’t believe it,” George commented softly, holding the flesh-colored ear in his hand as he sat at the table once more. Fred was standing over at the curtain, making sure none of the children pocketed any of their products without paying before hand.
“What don’t you believe?” Fred asked, only setting part of his attention on his brother as he kept a watchful eye on the shop.
“They aren’t speaking in French,” he said, shaking his head a bit. Fred only offered him an impartial shrug.
George sat there, listening eagerly in to the silence. He knew that if Bellamy and Rose ever found out about this, it would probably make them extremely mad, but he couldn’t help it if he had a healthy curiosity.
There was a soft click and George hushed Fred, even though he hadn’t made as much as a peep from his spot by the curtain. “George seemed pretty sorry about that, you know,” Rose said softly, yet with a certain degree of severity in her tone. There was a short hum that sounded distinctly like Bellamy.
“If he had just listened to me-” The older sister started.
“If you had just let him borrow the bird, he wouldn’t have been bitten,” Rose cut in, maintaining a certain amount of calm, yet forceful quality to her tone. There was a long silence on the other end before Bellamy began to speak again.
“I can’t control what D’Artagnan does, Rose,” she started in a stubborn voice, “maybe if George hadn’t-”
“No,” Rose said, causing both Fred and George to look at the Extendable Ear at how loud the normally quiet girl had gotten, “you know that if you had just been nice and let him use D’Artagnan, he wouldn’t have gotten bitten and you wouldn’t have gotten sick.” There was another long silence and George could only imagine the look that Bellamy was sending Rose at the moment and he didn’t envy the girl one bit.
“Maybe you should lie down until you need to get ready for your blind date-” That was all George managed to hear before he let out a loud “WHAT?!” that stopped whatever conversation the sisters were having and footsteps suddenly echoed down the staircase. Fred had turned his attention away from the shop, staring at George. He frantically looked from the staircase to the Extendable Ear in his hand and tossed it quickly over his shoulder into the boxes of the store room.
Rose and Bellamy, who still looked very pale, stopped at the foot of the stairs and the brothers noticed that they were the same height now that Bellamy was not in heels. George glanced between the two of them before looking over at Fred, who was staring intently at Rose.
“Is everything alright down here?” Rose finally asked, looking from George to Fred and doing a double take when she noticed the near frantic look on Fred’s face. Fred’s mind jumpstarted suddenly and he shook his head a bit.
“George here just over heard some disappointing news about the Holyhead Harpies, that’s all,” he said with a wobbling smile. Neither Bellamy nor Rose looked entirely convinced, but they didn’t say anything. George desperately tried catching Bellamy’s eye, despite the fact both Fred and Rose warned him to steer clear of the brunette for the rest of the day. She had her honey-brown gaze directed at her feet, almost bashfully, before she ducked out of the room, surprisingly eager to get back out into the shop.
“George, why don’t you go out and help Bellamy with the shop? Rose and I need to have a talk,” Fred said, not taking his eyes from the blonde. George reluctantly stood from the table and shot them both a very dark, downhearted look before stepping out of the room.
Fred paused for a moment, staring eagerly at the curtain that divided the shop from the backroom before turning to Rose. He didn’t look any less frantic than he did before.
“He knows about Bellamy’s ‘blind date’,” he said softly. Rose suddenly looked very surprised as she stared up at Fred.
“Wha-How did he find out?” Rose asked quietly. Fred quickly glanced up the stairs, making a split second decision not to rat his brother out.
“The door was open and I guess a breeze carried your voice down,” he said and Rose must have believed him since she nodded in return.
“Is he upset?” Rose asked hesitantly. But before Fred could reply, she asked him another quick question. “Do you think he’ll still show up to the Leaky Cauldron?” Her eyes were wide, holding an almost scared look in the blue facets of them.
“Well…he doesn’t know where the date is…and if he thinks he’s going for business…”Fred let his voice trail off when he noticed the look of near relief on Rose’s face.
“I’d hate to think how upset Bellamy would be if he didn’t show up,” she said softly, shaking her head. Fred smiled slightly and took a step toward the petite girl and gathered her into his arms, pulling her into a warm hug which she gladly returned.
“Since it means that much to you, I’ll drag him there if I have to,” Fred said, earning a small laugh from Rose. “But I have to ask…is your sister normally this high-maintenance or is it just for me and George?” Rose pulled away from him slightly to look up at him with a cheeky grin.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Fred Weasley,” she cooed playfully as they turned and began to walk back into the shop.