And now, back to "The Power of Two"...
Working on "The Power of Two", my post-OotP Weasley Twin story, in the two hours I have left at work. Posting as I write, since I am bored and haven't had so much as an e-mail all day. This story has stopped being grim and started being kind of funny, but that's the Weasley twins for you....
They stumbled onto soot-streaked brick, into the dim and comforting interior of London's most famous wizarding pub, breathing in the heady scent of beer, stew and magic. They peered around the pub, searching for Remus, but as the leading operative of the Order's spies, he could not, of course, appear in public as himself, especially when meeting for mysterious reasons with other members of the Order. So they were looking around for Someone Inconspicuous displaying the Order's sign: Right hand resting on left knee, wand in left hand.
The twins blinked in surprise when they saw her. A mousy-haired witch, sitting alone in a corner. She rose when they approached, holding out her arms and saying, in Remus's clipped accent, just loud enough for the people at the tables nearest them to hear, "Darling! I'm so glad you're feeling better!" They were a bit stunned when the witch embraced them and kissed them affectionately on the cheek.
"Interesting disguise," Fred said under his breath as they sat down.
"Polyjuice," muttered Remus, making a face. "It's foul stuff, and I have to be careful when I take it, but apparently werewolf metabolism makes it last longer, so it's invaluable to my ... studies. I've been looking for something more bearable, but ..."
"We may be able to help you with that, whispered George, then raised his voice slightly to say, "you look very nice this afternoon, Dearest." He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, well ... I just thought it would look less odd for you to make a rare appearance if you had a -- a date." A faint blush stained the witch's cheeks.
Fred and George smiled gleefully. "Oh, so it's like that is it?" They took one of the witch's slender hands in theirs. "Fancy a threesome, do you Darling?"
"Stop that!" said Remus, blushing less faintly and trying to pull his hand away. "I'm old enough to be your father! Mother."
The twins let go and sat back with a sigh. "He's toying with our affections, Fred. Coming in here with a body like that, offering us the first date we've had in a long time ..."
"Did you have something you wanted to discuss, or did you leave your house for the first time in months merely to make my life difficult?" said Remus impatiently.
"Oh, we've much to tell," Fred smiled mysteriously and raised an eyebrow. "We were just so distracted by your beauty that we forgot ourselves for a moment."
"See," said George quickly when Remus began to look annoyed, "we think we've got an idea that will ... fix things. For everyone."
"I see," Remus nodded slowly. "Then we'll need to talk privately. Tom!" he raised his voice and waved for the publican's attention. "Mr Weasley and I will require a room. The Phoenix Suite if it's available?" He quirked an elegantly plucked eyebrow.
"That's right!" said Fred, putting an arm around the witch's waist. "We just can't keep our hands off one another. It's been a wicked long time since either of us had a shag."
As they followed Tom up the narrow wooden stairs, George asked under his breath, "Phoenix Suite?"
"It's a little more ... private," Remus replied in a whisper. "Special wards to keep ... certain people from accidentally overhearing anything ... embarrassing."
"Great," Fred teased. "We'll be able to have really loud sex without bothering anyone."
"Indeed," said Remus coldly. "And they won't hear me giving you a slap if you get fresh me with, young man."
The Phoenix Suite, it turned out, was a rather small room, and badly lit, but clean. It had enough room for a small group of people, perhaps four or so, to sit in relative comfort. Remus and Tom locked the door to the room by inserting keys and turning the lock from the inside and the outside of the room at the same time.
Before sitting down, Remus tapped every corner of the room with his wand to strengthen the silencing charm. He had to stand on his toes to get the corners around the ceiling, and hop a bit as well, which Fred and George found immensely funny, considering that Remus was quite a tall man.
At last he sat down across the table from the twins. "If you've quite finished having a laugh at my expense, would you like to tell me what this is all about?" He arched a brow inquiringly.
"You tell him, Fred; it was your idea."
"No, you. You can explain it better."
"Alright. We think we've come up with something that will bring down Voldemort once and for all," his eyes glinted with bearly-suppressed excitement.
Remus looked dubious. "I'm sure you boys are sincere, since I don't think you would have called me here for nothing. But really, your specialty is pranks and jokes. If Dumbledore, with all his power and wisdom hasn't yet come up with anything big enough to bring down Voldemort, how can you hope to?"
"We don't need something big or powerful. We need something small," Fred said smugly. He reached into his pocket and took out a wand, setting it on the table.
"Whose wand is this? One of yours?" asked Remus, puzzled.
"It's not a wand," George grinned. "It's just something small."
Remus frowned at the stick. The power coming from it felt like a wand. "Alright, I'm listening. What's your plan?"
They stumbled onto soot-streaked brick, into the dim and comforting interior of London's most famous wizarding pub, breathing in the heady scent of beer, stew and magic. They peered around the pub, searching for Remus, but as the leading operative of the Order's spies, he could not, of course, appear in public as himself, especially when meeting for mysterious reasons with other members of the Order. So they were looking around for Someone Inconspicuous displaying the Order's sign: Right hand resting on left knee, wand in left hand.
The twins blinked in surprise when they saw her. A mousy-haired witch, sitting alone in a corner. She rose when they approached, holding out her arms and saying, in Remus's clipped accent, just loud enough for the people at the tables nearest them to hear, "Darling! I'm so glad you're feeling better!" They were a bit stunned when the witch embraced them and kissed them affectionately on the cheek.
"Interesting disguise," Fred said under his breath as they sat down.
"Polyjuice," muttered Remus, making a face. "It's foul stuff, and I have to be careful when I take it, but apparently werewolf metabolism makes it last longer, so it's invaluable to my ... studies. I've been looking for something more bearable, but ..."
"We may be able to help you with that, whispered George, then raised his voice slightly to say, "you look very nice this afternoon, Dearest." He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, well ... I just thought it would look less odd for you to make a rare appearance if you had a -- a date." A faint blush stained the witch's cheeks.
Fred and George smiled gleefully. "Oh, so it's like that is it?" They took one of the witch's slender hands in theirs. "Fancy a threesome, do you Darling?"
"Stop that!" said Remus, blushing less faintly and trying to pull his hand away. "I'm old enough to be your father! Mother."
The twins let go and sat back with a sigh. "He's toying with our affections, Fred. Coming in here with a body like that, offering us the first date we've had in a long time ..."
"Did you have something you wanted to discuss, or did you leave your house for the first time in months merely to make my life difficult?" said Remus impatiently.
"Oh, we've much to tell," Fred smiled mysteriously and raised an eyebrow. "We were just so distracted by your beauty that we forgot ourselves for a moment."
"See," said George quickly when Remus began to look annoyed, "we think we've got an idea that will ... fix things. For everyone."
"I see," Remus nodded slowly. "Then we'll need to talk privately. Tom!" he raised his voice and waved for the publican's attention. "Mr Weasley and I will require a room. The Phoenix Suite if it's available?" He quirked an elegantly plucked eyebrow.
"That's right!" said Fred, putting an arm around the witch's waist. "We just can't keep our hands off one another. It's been a wicked long time since either of us had a shag."
As they followed Tom up the narrow wooden stairs, George asked under his breath, "Phoenix Suite?"
"It's a little more ... private," Remus replied in a whisper. "Special wards to keep ... certain people from accidentally overhearing anything ... embarrassing."
"Great," Fred teased. "We'll be able to have really loud sex without bothering anyone."
"Indeed," said Remus coldly. "And they won't hear me giving you a slap if you get fresh me with, young man."
The Phoenix Suite, it turned out, was a rather small room, and badly lit, but clean. It had enough room for a small group of people, perhaps four or so, to sit in relative comfort. Remus and Tom locked the door to the room by inserting keys and turning the lock from the inside and the outside of the room at the same time.
Before sitting down, Remus tapped every corner of the room with his wand to strengthen the silencing charm. He had to stand on his toes to get the corners around the ceiling, and hop a bit as well, which Fred and George found immensely funny, considering that Remus was quite a tall man.
At last he sat down across the table from the twins. "If you've quite finished having a laugh at my expense, would you like to tell me what this is all about?" He arched a brow inquiringly.
"You tell him, Fred; it was your idea."
"No, you. You can explain it better."
"Alright. We think we've come up with something that will bring down Voldemort once and for all," his eyes glinted with bearly-suppressed excitement.
Remus looked dubious. "I'm sure you boys are sincere, since I don't think you would have called me here for nothing. But really, your specialty is pranks and jokes. If Dumbledore, with all his power and wisdom hasn't yet come up with anything big enough to bring down Voldemort, how can you hope to?"
"We don't need something big or powerful. We need something small," Fred said smugly. He reached into his pocket and took out a wand, setting it on the table.
"Whose wand is this? One of yours?" asked Remus, puzzled.
"It's not a wand," George grinned. "It's just something small."
Remus frowned at the stick. The power coming from it felt like a wand. "Alright, I'm listening. What's your plan?"