the baby project — act one
" almost like a pregnancy "
﹙ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦. ﹚

     ADELAIDE SWEENEY clutched onto the tatted, leather strap of her mother's old haversack, as she stood staring at the crimson caravan, emitting clouds of steam that floated to her nose and clogged her breathing pipes.

     She tried not to cough.

     "I really don't need you to hold my hand, you know, Laurie," Reid Sweeney whined, as he tugged his hand away from his older sister, Laurence, still drastically worried for her baby brother's wellbeing when it came to September first. "I am 12. It's not my first year anymore." he reiterated his feelings regarding how clingy and overly-worried Laurie gets when it comes to Reid.

     Laurie sighed, "That's not the point," she argued, letting her hand drop to her side, scuffing up his hair before he could escape her grasp completely.

     "He's right, Laurie," Addie chimed in, passing her bag to the kind man, so it could be safely stowed in the train's storage, before facing her siblings once again, "You need to let go," she said dramatically, causing a short snort to escape Reid's nose.

     Laurence was only older than Addie by ten months but still claimed to be the mother of the trio of Sweeney children. Last year, the year of 1994, Laurie could barely let Reid out of her sight. It was her natural mothering tendencies that overtook her persona of being the "cool older sister" that day when Reid was finally starting Wizarding school. Laurie was practically terrified something could go wrong. Addie amused herself with the crazed possibilities that Laurie had come up with. Laurie had even thought Reid being sorted into Slytherin would be a catastrophe. He wasn't, and Laurie was put to ease when the sorting hat yelled "Hufflepuff!".

     Laurie tutted, "Oh come on." she lurched forward and grasped onto Reid's hand, causing the boy to rock back suddenly, his eyes widening. "We've lost mum and dad," she sighed exasperatedly as she ushered Addie and Reid to follow her back from the bag drop and over to where Lennon and Shelby Sweeney were peacefully waiting.

     Addie knew the word "lost" was a bit of a stretch, because, her parents hadn't even moved since where the three of them had left the couple, but Addie knew her sister well enough to know that there is no need for irritated Laurence Sweeney on the stressful day of September first.

     Now with only their three separate pet holders — Reid's dusty barn owl, Laurie's scruffy excuse of a cat, and Addie's little toad Preston, of whom she was a little too proud of — and the absence of clattering trollies, the three Sweeney siblings ventured through the crowds and over to their parents, who were absentmindedly stood, lost in a train of thought.

     Lennon was the first to notice their arrival. He unfolded his arms, and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans — the pair that Addie thought were too tight for a man in his forties. She decided not to mention her opinions of her dad in denim, partly because she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, and partly because he seemed to like them so much.

     "Alright, kiddywinks?" he sang, flashing his teeth.

     Addie rolled her eyes, as her mother Shelby finally acknowledged the return of her three kids, "I thought we agreed that you'd never call us that again in public, Lennon?" she smiled sarcastically.

     It wasn't a rare occurrence for Addie to refer to her father by his first name. She would rarely ever do it to her mother, but Addie liked to think that she and her father had reached that point in their relationship when it was naturally funny to remove the title "dad" after all of her sentences.

     Lennon inclined his head, staring down at his daughter, who was trying to stifle her smirk, "Now, now," he waggled a finger, "don't get arsey with me just because it's your last year."

     Ah, her last year. Addie was so ready to leave Hogwarts. She was so ready to graduate and never look back — even if that meant leaving her closest friends. Unlike a lot of students, now going into their seventh year, Addie knew exactly what she wanted to do. Addie was set on becoming a Healer. Addie has always loved the idea of saving people — cringe and cliche, she knows, but how else would she describe her reason behind going into medicine to Professor Sprout at those useless "career meetings" the school held for sixth years. Sprout knew Addie well enough to know that if anyone didn't need advice on how to live life outside of school, it was Adelaide Sweeney.

     "Your father's right you know," Shelby grazed her husband's shoulder as she joined in the conversation. "Don't take this last year lightly. It's important. You too, Laurie. No slacking off just because you have the title of "seventh years", okay?"

     Shelby, like Pomona Sprout, head of Hufflepuff house, hadn't any doubts about Addie leaving Hogwarts. Addie was doing extremely well in school and hadn't seen the light of detention for all of six years. She had even been offered the role of Prefect during her fifth year but decided against taking the position, seeing no need for getting on students' bad sides, just because they wanted to have fun. She never did like telling people off. She hated punishments enough herself, but giving them to other people? Not her cup of tea.

     Despite the age gap, Laurie wasn't so sure. Heck, Reid probably had a better idea concerning his future than Laurence did. Even if Laurie was the mother of the three, her constant selflessness and putting others before herself was about the only mature aspect of Laurie's persona. The rest was: live while she's still young.

     Laurie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we get it. No drinking, don't party too hard, behave, blah blah blah," she drawled, quite clearly over the annual pep-talk Shelby delivers to her children before they board the Hogwarts Express. Laurie felt as though she had had seven too many.

     Shelby tilted her head with a smile that told the three siblings that she was either amused that Laurie had learned her little sentimental chitchat by heart, or that she was saddened by the fact that her two eldest children were growing up way too fast.

     Addie believed it was the second one. She knows all of her mum's tales from when she was at Hogwarts. Shelby Sweeney had savoured those memories of walking the Wizarding School's halls till the day she left. She said that those were the best days of her life — the ones spent falling in love with her High School sweetheart, and wreaking havoc with her sister before the disasters of the First Wizarding War. Shelby just hoped that her three children would find their years at Hogwarts just as enjoyable as she had.

     Lennon sucked in a breath of air through his nose, and his eyes widened a little, ears pricking up as if he had just remembered something of severe importance. Apparently, he had. "Oh and make sure to write us. We didn't get one single letter last year, and to say we were disappointed is an understatement."

     All three of them felt a sting of guilt, as they continued to stare up at their parents. Reid had an excuse that he had quickly brewed up in his little redhead brain — the two sisters were still puzzled by the boy's end result in hair colour — that he could ramble to his parents to excuse the guilt he felt for not writing to his parents at all the previous year. It was of course his first year; he'd just say he was too caught up with first-year jitters and making new friends and taking new classes that it just slipped his mind. Addie and Laurie had no plausible excuse, and stood silently — Addie fumbling with the nails that tipped her fingers, and Laurie tugging at her hair.

     Shelby pursed her lips as she waited for her children to respond. Nothing came, but instead, a dark-haired Gryffindor had pushed past the crowds of crying mothers and young children with wavering breaths and was now in view.

     Saved by the lioness, Addie's mind said to herself, as she internally let a deep breath out. Her parents weren't intimidating, whatsoever, but Addie had tendencies to try and please everyone to the best of her abilities, which, by not writing one, simple, and even short letter to either of her parents for ten months, was not the most heartwarming sentiment.

     With Gia now in view, any signs of disappointment, or hurt from Shelby and Lennon's faces were distinguished, and Addie could finally genuinely smile. Addie could have sworn that even Preston the toad was glad to see Gia Meadowes.

     "Hiya Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney," the tall girl beamed, with a short, punctuated wave, as she hovered beside the family.

      Lennon wrapped an arm around his wife's waist as they greeted the girl, "Hello, Gia," they said, almost simultaneously.

     Gia Meadowes was no stranger to the Sweeney family. Since their first year, despite the difference in house, Addie and Gia had been attached at the hip. Best buds, two peas in a pod. It was hard for Addie to see her Hogwarts journey without Gia.

     Gia was like the opposite of a Gryffindor. She had a very Hufflepuff-y persona and a smile that beamed no matter the circumstances. She had a bit of a nack for Herbology, and Addie wondered what on earth the Sorting Hat was thinking that evening of September first 1989. Gia is as Hufflepuff as one gets. And yet her robes were red, and Addie's were yellow.

     Gia turned to two of the Sweeney children, "Hi Laurie," she grinned, before lowering her eye line to the smaller, youngest child, "Hi Reid."

Reid gave an enthusiastic wave that waggled profusely, as his face reddened slightly, "Hi, Gee." he said.

     It was no hidden secret or riddle to figure out that Reid Sweeney was in love with Gia Meadows. In fact, Addie was convinced that her twelve-year-old brother had a thing for every one of her seventeen-year-old friends. It was sort of adorable from the outside of the family's inner circle, but Addie had become rather irritated by the fact, let alone embarrassed. Reid had even claimed that he preferred Gia over Addie. Gia has obviously told Addie how insanely sweet she found her brother, but of course, Addie had rolled her eyes, because Gia Meadowes hadn't experience half of the shit Reid puts her through on a daily basis.

     Addie playfully gave her brother a light push out of the way, as she stepped forward, "How come I'm the last one you say hello to?" she asked incredulously.

     Gia's shoulders sagged when her closest friend had caught her attention; a limp smile planted on her face before she pulled Addie into a tight hug. After a few rocks from side to side and the occasional bone-crunching squeeze from Gia's end, the two came apart, when Shelby placed a gentle hand on Gia's arm.

     "Where are your parents, Gia?" she asked tentatively.

     "Oh, I've already said my goodbyes. Pretty sure they've left by now." Gia replied, with another flash of her teeth.

     Mr. and Mrs. Sweeny were Gia's favourite set of parents out of her friend's. According to Gia, "they give out the best vibe" and Addie couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was clear that Gia had been spending far too much time with Clayton Schafer — a boy whose vocabulary was purely based on words such as "vibe" and "aura" and all of the numerous zodiac signs that he constantly mentioned.

     "Okay, well we should probably leave you too then?" Lennon asked his three children. Reid gave an encouraging nod in his mother's direction, with high hopes that she would agree to let the three kids finally board the train. Reid loved school. A lot. Something about Hogwarts made him awfully proud. Another adorable aspect that Addie admired about her brother.

     As Reid stood still, waiting for his turn, Lennon pulled his eldest daughter in for a tight hug, and Shelby the same with Addie. Preston jumped a little in his cage, as he was swung around the back of Shelby, following Addie's arm into the hug. "Stay safe. We love you," she said into the middle child's ear, as she stroked the long blonde locks that flowed past Adelaide's neck and shoulders.

     Addie loved school. Just as much as her brother. But there was always something a little saddening about saying goodbye to your parents before leaving for an eleven-hour train journey, and not returning for four months — maybe even longer if you boarded over Christmas.

     "Love you too, mum," Addie replied, before switching with her sister, hugging her father this time — Reid now in a secure embrace with his mother, Laurie now stood on the sidelines, and Gia simply waiting for all the cutesy farewells to be over.

      Addie wrapped her arms around her father, pulling him a little closer with every passing second, "Love you too, dad."

     "Bye munchkin," Lennon muttered, slightly too loud for Addie's liking. She heard Gia chuckle from beside her. God how Addie hated those nicknames.

     Addie loosed her grip, pulling away just so she could stare at her father's eyes, whilst her hands still rested on his back. She grimaced, "Eugh. Goodbye, dad." she said with an agitated tut.

     Once all the children had said their goodbyes with feeble waves and hugged their parents until bones could have clicked, Laurie, Reid, and Addie parted ways. Much to Laurie's stress, she had to watch Reid board by himself and only sighed once he was out of sight, having hurried onto the train, scrambling to find his friends.

     Addie waved her sister a temporary goodbye, before she and Gia clambered onto the train, instantly searching for an empty carriage for five of them.

     After passing by numerous doors, all of which shut closed and containing at least one Hogwarts Student, the two girls had located one and were soon settled on the patchy cushions.

     Gia flicked her copy of Witch Weekly back and then forth so it sat comfortably on her lap, as she scanned the black ink, her eyes puppying at one particular article. "Do you think Cedric's going to be more unobtainable now he's Triwizard Champion and all?" she asked sullenly.

     It's hard nowadays to have a genuine conversation with Gia Meadowes that won't result in a mention of Hogwarts Pretty Boy, Cedric Diggory. Her infatuation had only started up during their fifth year, but something about his name being selected from the Goblet of Fire made him utterly irresistible to Gia. She says it's his eyes.

     Addie's lips parted, before she hummed, her eyes trailing out of the window and landing on the still very busy platform, just outside of the glass. "Hmm, hard to say," she said sarcastically. "It's almost like he has a girlfriend." Addie made her brows knit together, as she stared at Gia once more.

     Before Gia gave her usual "it's not my fault he's hot" look, the sound of the compartment door sliding open caught their attention, and another Hufflepuff had appeared at the door. "Who has a girlfriend?"

     Clayton Schafer — the youngest of the quintet of friends. Hufflepuff, of course. Now that is one choice the Sorting Hat made in the year 1989 that was rather perfect. All of his friends and housemates could see him in no other colour besides yellow and black. If Helga Hufflepuff could see, she'd be proud.

     Clayton was the most childish teen — besides Fred and George Weasley, of course. Who could forget the infamous redheaded twins when talking about a lack of matureness? — that Addie ever knew. He was the kind of kid to laugh at anything, fantasize about star signs, and enjoy nothing more than a box of sweets and a Disney film. Muggleborn, he may be, but Addie had to grant him the recognition of his ability in subjects such as Charms and Transfiguration and Divination — who could forget Divination? The kid was Sybil Trelawney's biggest fan. Clayton says it's the "Leo in him".

     The two girls followed the noise with their eyes, where a short boy stood, leaned up against the door frame, already clad in robes. Clayton stepped into the compartment and threw himself to sit beside Addie, disturbing Preston as he nestled further into his cage.

     Clayton turned to Addie, "Oh wait, Diggory?" he asked for the confirmation that he technically didn't need. "Yeah, just saw him. Loved-up and all," he said, finally turning his attention to a clearly perturbed Gia, the article about the boy and his triumph still moving about on the page in front of her. He faked a look of sympathy.

     At this point, the entire group had become sick of Gia and her crush. Cedric and Cho were happy. Addie thinks that Gia chooses to ignore the fact they are a tight couple — denial is the worst part of crushing on someone who is very much unavailable.

     Gia dramatically let the paper fall flat onto her lap, the sheet crinkling as she did so. She stared straight into Clayton, ignoring that since he had just arrived, this period of time is usually one for greetings. "I really think that you should consider thinking before you chose to speak, Schafer because I didn't think that was necessary to point out," she grunted.

     Clayton sighed exaggeratedly, "How long have you been sat down?" he asked Addie after a second.

     Addie tried not to laugh, "Five minutes."

     "And how long did it take for her to mention Cedric?"

     Pause. Addie looked over at a still agitated Gia, then back to Clayton, who could already predict the small number Adelaide was about to give him. "Three." she said finally.

     Gia looked as though she wanted to bash Addie over the head with the newspaper, but Clayton resumed his point-making before any petty violence broke out. "My point exactly, Gia. Now, I really think that you should consider thinking before you chose to speak. Because, Gee, no one really cares that much."

     A Hufflepuff yes, but Clayton was too sick of the talk about Cedric Diggory ever since he won the Triwizard Tournament, over someone as praised as Viktor Krum, that sometimes, the niceness just slips.

     "Oh go and cry about it!" A voice yelled suddenly, the accent flowing down the train's corridor, vibrating off the walls. A figure strode past the door of their compartment, the blue accented robes flowing behind them.

     Addie, Gia, and Clayton had already averted their attention to the door, waiting for it to slide open, once the figure of the boy was long gone.

     A loud sigh was heard before the girl showed herself. "I swear to God, if he doesn't die on a broom first, I'll be ready with the arsonic."

     Next up in the tightly-knit fivesome friendship group is Quinn Erwin. Smart-ass. Goody-goody. Angel — yes, angel. Ignore the poison comment; she's not usually like that.

     Addie did well in school, but Quinn excelled. Addie wasn't quite so sure how much time Quinn spent with her head in a book, but it sure was paying off. The girl had lost only ten marks total across the entirety of the O.W.Ls. It was technically insanity, but everyone else kept their mouth shut because they hadn't any amazing scores to compare her amazing marks to.

     However, Quinn's angelic perfect personality, faltered when it came to her twin brother, Lance. It was very natural for siblings to form a competition revolving around everyday life. Addie and Laurie had their fair share of test scores comparisons, laughing at each other when one did better than the other. But Lance and Quinn were different.

     Their parents are the kind to stand over their children and watch them study until their hands fell off from writing so much. They were a very competitive family as a whole; Mrs. Erwin having played as Keeper for the Holyhead Harpies, going down in history. And Mr. Erwin landing one of the most prominent jobs in the Ministry of Magic. They thrived off of success.

     Lance Erwin must have been carved from above, because, heck that kid can do anything. Fly a broom — he now plays as Keeper for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and yep, you guessed it, he is good. Got it from his mother, one can assume. Addie never particularly took an interest in the sport, but when watching him play, it was hard not to admire how flawlessly that kid managed to fly.

Oh and he can master every charm. Make a perfectly baked batch of cookies, with just enough chips. Respect women — a difficult one, apparently. And all whilst looking like God's favourite. The kid was perfect in Mr. and Mrs. Erwin's eyes. So Quinn wanted to do better. She was pretty much there, just not quite on the Quidditch front.

     Quinn heaved her bag onto the overhead locker, sitting down beside Gia with a deep groan, letting her head fall back onto the cushion behind her dark hair.

     The three of them let her sighs completely dissolve, before Addie opened her mouth, "Why hello, Quinn. How are you? Nice summer?" Addie joked as the grunts kept coming, and the frustration was still ripe on Quinn's face.

     A dull "Hello," was all she could manage.

     "Is Lance still a sweetheart?" Gia teased, turning fully to face the girl, tucking her legs up to meet her chest. One can assume that the same figure that stormed past their compartment door, in Ravenclaw robes, was Lance. The one also making Quinn's blood boil.

     It was now Quinn that wanted to tug Gia's copy of Witches Weekly out of her hands, roll it up in seconds, and hit the Gryffindor right over the head.

     It was a common occurrence for all of them to torment Quinn with how attractive they all thought Lance was. It goes without saying that Quinn was obviously stunning herself, but they always enjoyed finding a way to josh her every so often.

     The new girl went unnoticed at first. She stood still, peering into the compartment, eyeing out and identifying who was there and who wasn't before she finally spoke. "Is your brother not going to grace us with his presence then, Quinny?"

     And last but not least, Jasmine Sanderson. Flirt. Bitch. Snake. No literally, she's a Slytherin. The only Serpent that Addie can tolerate actually. And despite her unnecessarily rude inclination, Addie believes Jazz to be one of her favourite people in the world.

     Like Gia did with Cedric, Jazz was slightly obsessed with Lance. Not in the same way as Gia exactly, because Jasmine has always tended to speak of the Ravenclaw boy in a way that sounded like a flirtatious joke. Addie secretly believes that deep down, in that blackening heart of Jasmine Sanderson, she had a real sweet spot for Lance.

     Addie gave a startled, inaudible yelp, her shoulders hunching when Jazz's voice echoed through the compartment.

     Jazz was smirking, as always — it was sort of her signature — dressed in tight fitted jeans, cuffed high at her angle, and a large flannel, that fell to her thighs. Her hair dark and slightly wavy, and she looked just like Addie had remembered. Just with an extra hole in her left ear this time.

     Quinn was first to react. All of them could practically hear her eyes rolling, as she sucked her teeth, and pressed her lips up against the other. "He's gone off to sit with his own friends, Jasmine."

     Jazz quickly got comfortable on the seat closest to the door, briefly greeting Addie, Clayton, and Gia before glaring at Quinn. "Ooh, the full name. Someone's not happy that her twin brother's hotter than her." She sneered, stretching her feet out so that they rested on the bench in front of her, inches away from where Quinn was perched.

     Quinn's once angered expression shifted to one that told the entire compartment, that she was just too fed up to come up with some snide comment in response. "Will you stop drooling over Lance?" she pleaded.

     Jazz shrugged, innocently, batting her eyelids. "When he loses his hunkiness, I'll consider it, babycakes."

     Quinn eyed Jazz's boots, resting too comfortably beside her, "Okay, pedophile," she said, giving Jazz's feet a harsh enough nudge for them to plummet onto the floor of the train with a loud thud. Quinn looked slightly too proud considering all she did was make Jazz temporarily pissed off.

     Jasmine gasped, seemingly for dramatic effect, "Okay, less hot Erwin sibling. He and I could totally happen if he didn't have such a stuck-up, fun sponge of a sister to hold us back. There are only a few months between us, anyway."

     Addie's eyes were darting from one girl to the next, until she decided to intervene before it all became too much, "Moving swiftly on, did we all enjoy our summers?"

     The train was moving now. A jolt came from below, and with a screeching of the train against the tracks, and Clayton waving goodbye to his parents, Platform 9 and ¾ soon disappeared. Addie's parents had apparently left, Gia's were long gone having hurried off to work, Jazz wasn't particularly that bothered waving for a second time to her father, and Quinn was too irked about perfect, pretty Lance to even want to look at her parents' narrow eyes again.

     Quinn sucked on her tongue in one harsh movement, "The best it could be with Lance sleeping around the house like some useless slug." she said.

     Jazz tutted, "You know, you really shouldn't complain that I talk about your brother so much because you're always the one to bring him up first, Q."

༺༻

     "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE brainwashing us with all that crystal ball, astrology bull crap that Trelawney has been feeding you this year, are you Clay?"

     Jasmine was always the one that became so spiritless when Clayton opened his mouth up about Divination. She hated the subject and had always had that unchangeable, non-negotiable attitude towards the art of reading the future. Addie didn't despise it, but she sure found it interesting.

     But nope, Jazz was always the Quidditch crazed, Potions kind of gal. It's definitely the Gemini in her — as Clayton says. Addie thinks it's all that time listening to Severus greasy-haired Snape.

     Clayton scoffed, "Professor Trelawney makes some great points — you're all just too dense to see it," he folded his arms across his chest, but his content grin was wiped off of his face when he caught a glimpse of all four of the girls' questionable expressions. They weren't convinced that Sybil Trelawney was the brightest of people, but they wouldn't say that they were thick.

     Gia hummed, nodding her head at a slow, patronizing pace, "Hmm, I'm sure about that. But, talking about crazed teachers, what loon do you think will be gracing us with their presence in the Defence Against the Dark Arts position this year then children?" Her newspaper was stowed away beside her now, and she subtly clapped her hands against each other.

     Jazz sat forward, resting her elbows on her knees, "Whoever it is, I hope he or she is hot. I'm so sick of being let down by unattractive Professors and seen as it's our last year, I think I deserve at least a semi-good looking teacher to stare at for an hour at a time."

     "Didn't you think Lockhart was fit?" Quinn asked with a hint of distaste. She couldn't think of anything viler than being attracted to a Professor. Sometimes, Addie wonders why Quinn and Jazz are friends.

     Jazz shrugged, nonchalantly, "He wasn't too bad when you put him up against the rest of the staff board, but we can still do better ladies and gent. Besides, he always creeped me out just a little bit."

     Addie could agree with that. He was cute, she guessed, but too self-involved to teach them anything. But that was years ago, since then, they've had some creeps. Up against Mad-eye Moody, Gilderoy Lockhart was anything but disturbing. And that's saying something.

     "I heard he's gone insane," Addie chuckled, referring to something she read a while ago about Lockhart's current state.

     "Gone?" Gia laughed. "As in past tense? Please, Addie, that guy was mad from the beginning."

༺༻

     SEVEN HOURS is far too long, was the thought that ran through Addie's thoughts, as the countryside whizzed by, and the pages of her book turned, so much so, she could feel the ink seeping into her skin.

     The faint sound of metal clattering along a path sounded throughout the train's centered hallway, and almost all of their ears pricked up.

     "Ah," Clayton sang, "Food."

     The noise became louder, and the five of them knew that the trolley stacked high with all sorts of confectionery and beverages was not far away.

     "Anything from the trolley dears?" A voice came. It was familiar, but not in the way that any of them expected it to be.

     Addie's eyes trailed to Gia as she was sat directly opposite. The Gryffindor was holding a puzzled expression too. "Why was that voice awfully familiar and far too masculine to be a sweet old lady?" Addie asked although she knew exactly why.

     "That's because it's us." It was a similar accent to the last, but not exactly the same.

     "Lucky for you." The same voice as the first words spoken finished the sentence.

     Fred and George. Or George and Fred — Addie still wasn't one hundred percent sure how you are supposed to tell them apart exactly. The Weasley Twins. Notorious for pranks, determined to start their own business one day, and two pains in the ass. Not to mention the bright red, in-your-face heads of hair.

     The two of them were stood by the now open door, adorned in two identical maroon suits, with pink checkered shirts underneath, and ridiculously poker-dotted bowties, acting as some kind of uniform, as they pushed a multi-leveled trolley that was storage to what looked like hundreds of brightly coated sweets and a few bottles of God knows what.    

     Addie tilted her head, staring at Fred — or George for that matter, "What happened to the woman that is actually supposed to do that?" she asked.

     They both shrugged, simultaneously, "Sick." Fred said — yes, Fred. Addie was pretty sure it was Fred.

     George faked a look of disappointment, "Shame really."

     "Except it's totally not," Fred chimed in to juxtapose.

     George shook his head fervently, "Definitely not," he agreed.

     "Because we get to do it for her," Fred said, as they continued to finish the other's sentence, motioning to the stacks of sugar-loaded candy.

     Addie frowned, as she and Quinn made uneasy eye contact.

     The Weasley Twins had a track record. And not a very good one. Eat something they give you, and you'll probably spend the night heaving your guts into a toilet, whilst your friends are given the unfortunate duty to hold your hair back — unless, of course, they've been pranked too. In which case, you're all in for a long night.

      Gia heaved an exasperated sigh, "So what have you laced these sweets with then, boys?"

     Fred's smirk seemed to drastically grow, "Not any kind of love potion, I can assure you, Meadowes," he replied, adding a wink as a flourish.

     Jazz smirked in Gia's direction, enjoying a visit from the two relatively good-looking brothers a little more than she should. Maybe she finally forgot about Lance. For just a second. "Not sure whether I would have complained if I were you, Gee." she grinned. Addie was confident that Jazz would happily eat something given to her by Fred or George even if she knew it was drugged with a love potion and she would therefore have to live out the consequences of crushing on a Weasley twin.

     Clayton wondered whether anyone else would actually end up buying anything. But he was hungry so he stood up and approached the two boys, "I'll have a pumpkin pasty please." He passed over his money, with a little twinkle from the coins as they bashed into each other, before George fished out his treat, and handed it to him.

     Gia was next, uncrossing her legs, and shimmying past Quinn's newspaper until she reached the edge of the compartment. "I'll take some beans," she said and Fred was quick to pull them off of a shelf. "Quinn? Anything?"

     Quinn looked slightly concerned about the whole visit, but she met Gia's wandering eyes, "A cauldron cake would be nice, please."

     Addie was slightly baffled at her response. "But I thought you were smart? You're all actually trusting these two gingered loons just because they put a uniform on and are pushing a trolley?"

     Gia took her Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Fred's hand, and passed Quinn her little cake, "We're Hungry, Addie," she chuckled, returning to her seat.

     Fred shrugged, "They said it themselves." he said, his words oozing with confidence.

     George's eyebrows faltered, "And what does our hair colour have to do with it, hmm?" he queried.

     Nothing, actually, Addie thought. But she felt as though the fact that their hair is furiously red, is an important fact to state.

     "Isn't your brother one of us, Sweeney?" George asked, raising his eyebrows as he and Addie held a very dramatized moment of eye contact. It was true, Reid was a redhead. But she liked her brother. Addie hadn't fully decided her opinions on the Weasley twins, even after knowing them for six years.

     Addie broke the gaze as she browsed over the two of them, "My point was is that just because you two said you didn't poison this garbage, doesn't mean I actually believe it."

     Fred looked astonished, although it was clearly forced. "Not very Hufflepuff-y of you," he stated.

     Hufflepuffs were supposed to be loyal, dedicated, and patient. Hardworking too. Addie wanted to retaliate, but she decided against causing any kind of commotion.

     George exhaled quite loudly, "Well, then ignoring Sweeney's attempts to ruin our mood, will that be all?" He scanned the whole carriage, and only Jazz reacted.

     "If Addie's being a stubborn bitch," she stood up and walked all but a step to the door. Addie frowned. "I'll just have a licorice wand please boys."

     Once Jazz was already tucked into her stick of black sugar, half of Quinn's cake already consumed, and not much of Clayton's pasty remaining, the boys were ready to slide the trolley onto the next compartment.

     "Sure we can't tempt you, Sweeney?" George smirked. Addie wondered why the pair were so persistent.

     She shook her head, smugly, proud she didn't let her growling stomach get the better of her, and allowed herself to give in to their sweet scents and pops of colour that looked way too appetizing than they should. Addie was glad she didn't cave to Fred and George Weasley.

     "Right," Fred beamed, "good day then."

     And that was that. Addie wondered why Hogwarts had hired the Weasley twins of all people to act as substitutes to the lady who usually served them. It was a crisis waiting to happen. It was like giving a baby a bomb. And you know how babies get.

༺༻

     IT WAS BUT MINUTES later that another visitor arrived. The group had lapsed into a subtle absence of constant talk, when only but a few words were spoken, between Jazz sucking on her wand, and Quinn reciting an article to Clayton that only she found interesting.

     But it was only minutes after the exit of the Weasley twins that another visitor arrived. The words came like an unexpected arrow firing at each individual giving them no time to react.

     The familiar quaint voice that greeted them every September first.

     "Anything from the trolley dears?"

     The five of them looked as though they had just seen a ghost, as they all stared blankly at the short, stumpy women, pushing a very similar trolley as to one they all saw not ten minutes ago. The only difference was, this women's hair was greying, and fraying at the edges. Not flashy, infamous Weasley Twins orange.

     No words were spoken at first. Just the repetitive sound of the train rocking against the iron tracks, and the faint sound of the crumpling newspaper between Quinn's fingers. It now fell onto her lap, and her grip loosened around the sheet-like she had gone weak.

     Jazz narrowed her eyes at the nice lady, almost as if it was her that Jazz was annoyed at. She then looked over to her group of friends, "Sick my ass." she growled.

     Clayton blinked. Addie laughed. Gia's mouth fell open. Jazz stopped sucking her licorice wand. She wrapped it back up.

     Quinn cleared her throat, "Did we all just get robbed?"

     Addie stifled her urge to laugh as best she could, "Screw robbed, did you all just get doped?"

𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗘'𝗦 𝗧𝗜𝗣 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬 ━━

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