It's Better If You Do

"I'm sure they're very sorry!" a woman told Rose, each hand gripping the back of her children's shirts tightly. They were almost lifted off the ground by it and had lost the smug sense of superiority that Rose had seen on their faces when they had been tormenting Bellamy. The girl had tears streaming down her cheeks, but the instant her mother looked away, she gave a vicious glare at Rose, and the blonde merely raised an eyebrow coolly.

"I'm sure they are, ma'am, but do you realize that they stole two employers wands and used them against one of them? That's not only underaged magic abuse, but that's highly unacceptable, by any standards," she said firmly, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Fred grinning at her. Fighting to not smile back, she shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. The woman didn't noticed and was glowering at her son and daughter.

"They will be punished severely, I assure you. I did not raise them to act like heathens and miscreants, did I, Wilhemina? Did I, William?" she asked loudly, and the children immediately shook their heads. It was obvious they were used to this.

"No, mother," they said in unison, and when their mother looked away, they rolled their eyes. That decided it for Rose, and she nodded to herself. These children were spoiled brats who needed to be taught a lesson and she would be the one to do so.

"I'm sure you didn't, ma'am, but all the same. I think they should have a three month ban-" At the words three month ban, the children's mouths dropped. She contined on without smiling, though she sincerely wanted to. "-on coming into the store. They can't be trusted to be in here-" but Rose was cut off by a cheerful voice from behind her.

"That won't be neccessary, Rosie. It was all just a bit of fun and games, eh, kids?" Fred winked at them and they grinned back, obviously recognizing a comrade in arms. Rose cut her eyes at Fred in disbelief and raised an eyebrow, but he merely smiled back at her calmly.

"All the same, Freddie, they need to be taught a lesson. You can't just let children do whatever they plea-" and once again, she was cut off.

"There was no permenant damage, and it isn't as if they broke anything. Their mother'll give them something to cry about and it'll all be okay. Right kids?" Fred asked. The two immediately agreed and he began to talk to their mother about the best products around the shop for them to have around the house that wouldn't break anything. Not a minute later, he led the three off without so much as a backward glance towards Rose. She stood there for a minute, purely shocked, before striding off in the direction of the back part of the shop. Well, fine, she thought angrily. If he didn't need her help, she'd make herself useful somewhere else.

Throwing back the curtain, she immediately pulled out her sister's tan briefcase and cauldron, deciding to make a potion that would immediately become a success among the teenagers. She was surprised Bellamy hadn't thought of it, but she shrugged it off, pulling out the desired amounts of hellebore. She tapped underneath the cauldron, and it immediately became lit. With a decisive nod, Rose began sprinkling various ingredients inside. Slowly her anger began to fade away, her concentration being entirely on the potion. It wasn't something you could make lightly; it had been on her final exams just a month or two before. Her hair was beginning to frizz and become rather fiesty in the fumes, but she didn't notice. The entire room was filling with a sickening sort of perfume that made her cough loudly and for long periods of time.

"Just a pinch of belladonna," she murmured to herself a little over an hour later, trying to stay her shaky hand over the dark, boiling liquid. Sweat was beading on her forehead and she knew if she added any more or less, the potion could quite possibly blow up, or worse, she'd get a taste of it and that would not be good for anyone in the shop, or for herself. Daring not to close her eyes even for a second, she sprinkled it in and winced, watching the cauldron carefully, but all was calm. The potion had turned a violent shade of orange, like it was supposed to. With a triumphant smile, she pulled out a bottle of leech juice and measured out two teaspoons accordingly. Just as she was about to pour it in, she heard an exceedingly familiar voice from behind her.

"What're you doing? I thought you and I were supposed to run the shop," Fred said, sounding very put out and slightly confused. Immediately Rose's calm dissipated and she sighed huffily.

"From how you acted earlier, I assumed you didn't need my help," she said coolly, dropping in the two teaspoons. Turning a bright, bloody red color, the potion gave off a sort of stench that was foul and appealing all at the same time. By the second, Rose grew more and more angry and her hands clenched involunatarily into tight fists. Fred was feeling the same effects: his face was contorted into a sneer and he glared down at Rose with a look that would rival Draco Malfoy's any day.

"I was trying to get you not to drop a few of our best customers by being a killjoy. They're in here every day and they're bloody rich. A three month ban would not be good for business," he spat and Rose turned away from the cauldron, scowling mightily at the tall boy in front of her.

"So if they're rich you'll accept their service, will you? That's a pathetic way to run the business, but a great show of character," she snarled and Fred gave off a scornful laugh that sent chill bumps down her arms, though she didn't realize it; all was lost to her except for how angry she was with him.

"Oh, but of course! If that's the way my character is then that's the only reason I'm with you!" he yelled loudly, and Rose took a step forward, her blue eyes narrowed into slits. Everything had faded away but the two of them, and it was almost addictive to be so angry at each other.

"Vous êtes un enfant, idiot, prat! Vous ne savez pas grave si elle vous a frappé dans le visage!*" she yelled back, swinging forward and clipping him hard on the chest with her fist. Now Fred laughed tauntingly, and grabbed her wrist hard, twisting it. He continued to twist it, even as Rose cried out in pain. Pulling her closer, he leaned down and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Speak in English, love. Otherwise I can't understand you when you're calling me names," he said, and she began to hit him with her other hand until he caught that one too. "But you wouldn't, would you? Because you don't even have a spine! You can't stand up to yourself against your sister, or anyone else for that matter!"

And just as Rose opened her mouth to yell something equally hurtful, they were blown apart. Fred shot to one side of the room and Rose to the other, hitting the walls with resounding thuds. When they tried to move, they realized they were stuck to the wall, so they settled on immediately hurling insults at each other when a voice bellowed, "ENOUGH!"

George would have looked stern, except he had a rag over his face and his hair was still missing in bald patches. Bellamy, however, did not have a rag over her face, and she went over and put the lid on the cauldron with a loud clang. Almost instantaneously, Fred and Rose's expressions turned into one of utmost horror. Tears began to leak down Rose's cheeks as she clutched her wrrist, and it was a horrible thing for Fred to watch. His cheeks burned in shame, and his head hung low. Bellamy and George exchanged dark looks, and went over to their respective siblings, each letting up the Sticking Charms so they could move again.

Kissing her sister gently on the forehead and examining her wrists, the brunette murmured, "Mon chérie, tu ne savais pas mieux couvrir le chaudron? Vous savez comment fonctionne la potion de la haine.**"

"J'ai oublié***," Rose whispered miserably, and Bellamy tenderly wiped the tears from her sister's face. On the other side of the room, Fred was inconsolable. George was trying his hardest, but Fred only continued to shake his head, his eyes looking down at his hands in disgust.

"You weren't in your right mind!" insisted George, shaking his brother's shoulders. "Bellamy told me all about that potion before we came down here, otherwise I would have hated her, too. That was an awkward moment, I'll tell you," he said with a laugh, expecting his brother to atleast crack a smile: he didn't. "It wasn't your fault, Fred-"

"I hurt her, George," he whispered in a broken sort of voice. He jerked his head over to the pair of girls. George looked over and grimaced; Rose's wrist was a violent shade of red. It didn't help that Fred's handprint was imprinted in her skin; it was sure to be a bruise later on.

"It still wasn't-" but Fred jerked away and walked quickly out of the back shop. Running his hands through his hair, George walked over to Rose and Bellamy, who was apparently having the same sort of problem with her own sister.

"This is all my fault," choked out Rose through tears, shaking her head frantically. "I've- I've got to go talk to him! I'll make him listen to me!"

"Rose, he probably wouldn't listen to you right about now," George said in a gentle voice, but she shook her head all the harder. Sighing, Bellamy looked at George and gestured a few feet away from Rose. He followed her, looking down at her expectantly.

"Would you mind if we started lunch hour a little early today? One of us has to find him, and we can't leave her alone like this," she said in a strained sort of voice, brushing her now clean hair away from her face. He nodded, his normally cheerful expression solemn.

"Not to mention she's got to go get her wand checked out by Ollivander," he murmured, and Bellamy sighed, sparing a glance to her distraught sister. In the back of his mind, George realized that he and Bellamy were actually having another decent conversation, but then he chastisted himself for thinking of such menial things when there were more important things to think about.

"Look," she said quietly, and he snapped out of his reverie. She was looking at the clock on the wall with a stoic expression. "I'll go find Fred, and you stay with Rose and close up the shop for lunchtime. We'll meet you in the wand shop in about an hour. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Go ahead and go. I'll take care of things here," assured George and Bellamy actually gave him a smile, albeit a strained and small one. She gently touched his cheek and it sent an almost electric shock through his system.

"Merci," she said, and then she was off, already past the curtain which was swinging back and forth wearily. With a small sigh, he walked towards the small blonde, a sad sort of smile on his face. Gently taking her hand, he led her over to the staircase and sat down. Rose threw herself into his arms and began sobbing, while he gently stroked her hair, letting her cry herself out.