InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'll always be your queer son."

Fred Weasley (fireheadjester) wrote in strugglewithin,
@ 2008-11-26 01:43:00

Entry tags:

august 1997, fred weasley, george weasley, verity de luca

RP: And then there was resisting
Date: 24 August 1997
Characters: Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Verity De Luca
Location: Weasley Wizard Weezes
Status: Private
Summary: There is a new tone to the Ministry and most of the WWW's staff don't find it, for once, amusing.
Completion: Incomplete

Fred ran his fingers through his already unruly hair and scratched his nose, looking around the shop from behind the counter. It wasn’t very busy right now, but it was early afternoon so that could be expected, but there was though a couple of snot-nosed little brats around the sweet shelf, their mothers not seeming to pay too much attention to anything but the hurried discussion they were having amongst themselves, something about the morning’s Prophet. His eyes wandered to and from the children, as they didn’t seem to be putting anything in their pockets but poked at everything in a manner that meant someone was going to have to rearrange the shelf. The thought made him groan involuntarily.

It had been a rather long day, as he had woken up early, blown a couple of half-finished products up - the backroom was still looking more like a bombsite than something even moderately presentable, but he reckoned it was alright, as it was more like a test site for weapons of mass demolition than somewhere you drank coffee, though they did drink coffee there, you just had to check that the bag you pulled the stuff from was actually labelled “coffee” and not “Highly Explosive, but Mostly Harmless Korean Firepowder”. Not that he had ever confused them or anything. For real! It had been fully intentional.

“Oi! Does anyone want coffee? Won’t blow it up, promise!” Fred didn’t really want anything to drink, but it was a good enough excuse to go rifling through the bomb site, as he wanted to pull out the days Prophet and look over it again. He thought the front page had been nearly entirely covered by the gruesome picture of the Ministry’s new statue and he kind of wished the picture had changed during the day.

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veritas_amor
2008-11-25 06:12 pm UTC (link)

Verity was bored. It had gotten slow all of a sudden, and there wasn't really anything for her to do, and she was bored. She didn't really like being bored, because it made her mind wander. To places that it definitely did not need to be wandering to.

Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair, drumming her fingers on the countertop.

"Ooh. Coffee." Verity immediately perked up. "Yes please. I want a mocha. Um, unless you meant that you're making it. Then I guess regular is fine."

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fireheadjester
2008-11-25 06:37 pm UTC (link)

"Doubting my abilities in coffee making, are we? Ya know I’d brew you a cup out of purest elf gold if you asked, right, sweetie?" Fred grinned at Verity as he walked around her, bowing a little closer as he spoke. He winked an eye at her, as he pushed his hand against the backroom's entrance.

"Though I might've to disappoint you on the mocha today, I'm afraid. We don't have any milk and I reckon that's what you need for one, yeah?" he called from inside the office, as he had neglected to close the door behind him. He rifled through the only cabinet not overflowing with package upon package of mysterious, mildly hazardous things, getting out a pretty little metal box that was supposed to house their coffee beans, peeking into it and then turning towards the coffee maker. He looked it up and down a second, before casting the doorway a sidelong glance, mouth twisting into a smirk. ”Oi, Verity, how was it you were supposed to do this, again? Mind showing me?”

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veritas_amor
2008-11-25 07:04 pm UTC (link)

Verity grinned, smacking his shoulder as he walked past. "Fred Weasley, you are such a charmer. I don't know how your mother ever managed to punish you and George." There were reasons they were two of her favorite people to be around.

"Sadly, yes, milk is quite necessary." She gave a brief pout, but then chuckled when Fred called for help. "Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming."

Nearly skipping into the office, she bumped him out of the way with her hip. "All right, here's what you do. Filter. This is important, yeah?"

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fireheadjester
2008-11-25 07:30 pm UTC (link)

“Blimey, woman!” Fred laughed as he was pushed out of the way, staggering back to balance for a couple seconds, gripping the countertop so he wouldn’t fall over. He honestly hadn’t seen that one coming and it felt a bit stupid that such a tiny little bird could bump him out of balance. He needed to start standing more securely on the ground, didn’t he? Alright, maybe she wasn’t such a teeny thing, being rather tall and all, but still. He had his manly pride, hadn’t he? (He was almost sure he had, but then again, maybe he’d just eluded himself into thinking he had? Whatever.)

Fred stepped back to Verity’s side, standing pretty close again, peering nearly over her shoulder. “Filter. Right. I knew that!” he sounded quite the opposite, but let it slide as he reached over to get one of them, twirling it in his hands as he got it down.
“So, filter. Now we’ve got one. What happens next? Oh, by the way, your hair smells nice,” he gave Verity a crooked grin as he spoke, but seriously - she did smell nice and he was most definitely near enough to smell it.

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veritas_amor
2008-11-25 07:40 pm UTC (link)

Verity grinned as she managed to nearly knock Fred off of his feet. "You are such a wuss. I barely nudged you," she teased, rolling her eyes at him. Really, she hadn't bumped him that hard.

She stilled slightly as he complimented her hair, turning her head just enough to smile at him. "Thanks. Um, now. Filter. You put it in here," and here she gestured to where the filter went, "and scoop the amount of coffee grounds that you want. Then you just- slide in it, right there, and tap it with your wand." She did. Then realized something. "But make sure that the coffeepot is under there first!"

That was so something her boys would do. Really. Sometimes she wondered if they'd be able to run this shop without her at all.

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fireheadjester
2008-11-25 07:58 pm UTC (link)

“I may be a wimp, but ain’t it good then that we have such a strong, independent woman to keep things on their tracks around here, yeah? So I can faint and bawl all I like,” Fred wasn’t making fun of her, not really. He was… um, expressing his gratitude for having someone around, who was as handy as Verity, in very subtle, euphemistic manner. Yes, that was it.

Fred pushed the filter in its place and laughed as she hurriedly corrected herself about the pot. He had almost cooked up a plan brewing the coffee without it, just so he could call her back in and ask why it wasn’t working, in a completely baffled tone. He made himself into a fool rather often just pretending to not comprehend things that were in fact rather clear to him, like the coffee maker for instance. It was just so nice to have Verity explain it to him again and again, and he hoped she didn’t mind too much - at least she acted like she didn’t, but then again - you couldn’t really tell with birds, could you? “You don’t mind having to explain this again, do ya, sweetie? It’s just so bloody difficult,” Fred said, hoping the way his lips had twitched into a smile hadn’t completely given him away.

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veritas_amor
2008-11-26 11:18 pm UTC (link)

"Fred Weasley, I am about to, as the Muggles say, knock your block off." She really wasn't, though. Not yet, anyway. His teasing was more fun than mean.

At his tone, however, her eyebrow lifted. And he was smiling. "Oh, Freddie-boy. If I didn't know any better I would think that you had 'forgotten' on purpose. Only question is, what could your motive for that possibly be?"

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fireheadjester
2008-11-27 04:01 pm UTC (link)

"Oh no, not that, anything but that!" he exclaimed in mock-horror, throwing his hands to his face to play it up even a notch more. He couldn't fight the grin for too long, though, so that kind of spoiled the feeling of it.

"Of course I'm doing it on purpose, Verity dear, what did you expect? That a bloke like me, who can make a hat with an inbuilt Shield Charm couldn't possibly work a coffee brewer? Well, isn't it obvious that I so cunningly lured you in here so I could watch prepare a delicious hot beverage whilst making awkward, sexual advances towards ya, eh?" The trademark Weasley twin smirk had emerged from somewhere around the corner as Fred spoke, making it a bit more difficult to tell if he was actually telling the truth or just messing with her. To be honest, he wasn't actually lying, but she needn't know that, did she? He stared quietly at her a while before laughing out loud, and turning to get some water for the maker. "Just kiddin', just kiddin'. Ya should've seen your face though."

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	veritas_amor 2008-11-27 09:41 pm UTC (link)
	His smile was infectious, and Verity grinned, waving the little scoop-y thing from the coffee grounds at him threateningly. "One of these days, Freddie." At his words, and his smirk, though, her eyebrows lifted in almost an expectant manner. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen a single sexual advance, awkward or otherwise." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fireheadjester
2008-11-30 05:24 pm UTC (link)

"Tha's because you caught me before I got so far," Fred said after being absolutely quiet for almost half a minute and looked over his shoulder, sizing Verity up rather obvious manner, his too wide grin not so much dimming as reforming itself into something that suited the mood better. He left the water gathering half-finished, instead opting to walk over to her, halting maybe a little bit too close for comfort. The redhead was nearly leering as he carefully pushed some of Verity's hair behind her ear.

"I could of course do that now, yeah?" he murmured, absolutely too quiet for a Weasley twin. After a few seconds of what seemed to be a thinking pause (his eyes drifted a bit from Verity's, to the left) Fred's smirk started to stretch itself into a grin again, and he was no longer whispering. "Though, there's the thing that I'm your superior and it'd be harassing an employee, yeah? Reckon tha can't be too good a thing to do, innit?" he chocked his head to the side, eyes twinkling, not moving an inch further away, though.

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veritas_amor
2008-11-30 05:35 pm UTC (link)

Verity watched him very carefully as he approached, leering at her. She shivered involuntarily when he reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

And then her jaw dropped in a grin, and she was laughing her arse off. "Fred, Fred, Fred. You make an excellent point. I would hardly file any sort of complaint, though," she managed through her giggles, not entirely sure what set her off- other than the look on his face.

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fireheadjester
2008-11-30 06:07 pm UTC (link)

"That isn't some kind of get-out-of-Azkaban free card for hitting on ya at work, is it?" Fred laughed, not completely sure why he was doing it, probably just because Verity's was so contagious. Then again, why was she laughing? Had she thought the pass-on was hilarious, or was it what he'd said after it that sparked the amusement? Ugh, birds - they were all mental and even so, you couldn't live without them. It was sad, really.

After a final too-near look at the girl, Fred went back to fetch the water jug he had left for earlier, pouring its content into the coffee brewer like it was no problem at all. As his brother hollered something from the main-room he grabbed the pretty tin can with the beans from the counter where he had haphazardly put it when Verity came in and measured two scoops out of it, then adding a third just for good measure, grinning to the blond as he tapped the thing into function.

"Ya are such a good teacher, Ver, you know that, right? Never would've figured it out without ya. ...Also, now that that's in motion, wanna go check out what my dear little bro is crying about?" he offered her his arm to her with a comically large, bowing gesture.

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	veritas_amor 2008-11-30 06:11 pm UTC (link)
	Still giggling, she shook her head. "You are one of the most irreverent men I have ever met. Your brother is the other." Verity grinned impishly up at him. "Have I ever told you just how much I love working for the two of you?" Taking his arm, she nodded decisively. "Let's go see what Georgie is up to." (Reply to this) (Parent)

saint_gred
2008-11-27 05:33 pm UTC (link)

George wasn't particularly cheerful at the moment. The fact that he had spend a good two hours in the storage had actually a little to do with it. Even the various attacks from Snapping Sunglasses that had somehow managed to escape from their boxes would've been tolerable, he was able to deal with them easily enough. It was just that some people deserved to be hexed with something incredibly nasty that caused at least as much of pain as they did to the poor, innocent customer servants who were trying to help them.
Not that George was the type to get all grumpy over minor things like changing your mind just sixteen times (yes, George had counted them all), making him go to the storage each time (to assure you that no, we don't have that in a different shade of pink or yes, those really were the only patterns we have to offer) and then end up buying, well, nothing. Good thing was that people like her seemed to avoid rush hours, but still, he couldn't help but feeling the tiniest bit irritated as he returned back to his position behind the counter, leaning over it lazily.

"Ya two are having a blast there, aren't ya?" George called out matter-of-factly and glanced towards the somewhat backroom.

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fireheadjester
2008-11-30 06:36 pm UTC (link)

Fred grinned down at Verity as she asked if she had told them how much she liked to work for them, while escorting her out of the backroom. "Ya know, I don't mind if you told me about it again, yeah?" he wasn't completely joking when he said that, but then again, who didn't like to listen to praise?

He detached himself from her once they were securely behind the counter and giving her another animated bow, this time clasping Verity's left hand and brushing his lips quickly over her knuckles, eyes shining with mischief all the while. He was grinning even wider as he straightened up and turned to his brother; "Our little princess here just promised she won't sue us if I hit on her during job hours, brill ain't it? Though, I'm a bit sorry, but I'm not entirely sure she included ya on the deal, mate. Or did you, Verity?"

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veritas_amor
2008-12-01 04:50 pm UTC (link)

Verity shook her head, chuckling and nudging Fred with her hip again. And then the charmer kissed her hand. Honestly. Twirling away from him a bit, she sent him a grin as she moved to the other side of the counter to stand in front of George.

"Having fun, Georgie-boy? And don't worry, you're definitely included on the deal. Made it for you," she said in a stage whisper, nodding, though the twinkle in her eye made it obvious that she was kidding around. He looked a little frowny, so she raised an eyebrow at him. "You ok?"

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saint_gred
2008-12-01 05:38 pm UTC (link)

"Oh did she? Brill indeed," George said before lowering his head and turning to Verity like she was his secret ally. "Of course. I know ya wouldn't make it for someone like him, would ya?" he whispered back and looked up to Fred suspiciously, as if making sure his brother wasn't overhearing their conversation, and eventually ending up grinning, unable to keep his poker face.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, at least now that ya are here, sweetie," George said with a smile lingering on his lips and put his arm out to tuck some of Verity's hair behind her ear. For no particular reason really, unless wanting an excuse to touch her hair counted as a particular reason. It probably did. "Just had one darling of a customer. She did waste my time for several hours and managed to be as annoying as a pack of spoiled kids, but otherwise, the best customer I've ever had the pleasure to serve, honestly."

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fireheadjester
2008-12-07 10:12 am UTC (link)

Fred grinned back at Verity, following her with his eyes as the bird danced away, measuring her up and down without bothering to cover it up. They were bloody lucky to have her, that was for certain - they would've probably ended up torching the shop sooner or later if it was just the twins. Not necessarily because they couldn't handle it on their own, but having a bit of fire every now and then made things interesting, right? Having someone even remotely sane balanced things out nicely and kept them from doing something absolutely ludicrous.

"Oi mate, cut it out, I saw her first," he laughed when his body double came onto their favourite little blonde shopkeeper, not really meaning it, since it was rather possible that George had actually been the one that had seen Verity first back in the day. Well, he couldn't remember anyhow, so he got the stock-list out from under the counter, swatting playfully at the back of George's head when he reached past the bloke. "You say that 'bout all the fine people that come into our humble little abode, don't ya? Also, I think someone should check up on those precious little snot-noses over there, I think some of the Edible Darkmarks've taken off somewhere on their own," he cast a suspicious glance at the still-lingering group of children as he pushed the heavy catalogue onto the counter top and opened it at some coincidental page.

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veritas_amor
2008-12-09 12:01 pm UTC (link)

Verity laughed, shaking her head ruefully. "Honestly, you two are lucky that I work here. Not only do you get to ogle me all you want without getting smacked- by me at least- but you have someone who keeps this place running while you get to goof off and make things explode."

She raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder at the kids. "I'll take care of that. Be right back."

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