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FRED WAS IN GOOD SPIRITS when the girls made their way over to him in the Hospital Wing. Most of the beds were occupied, though Albany supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. The cold seemed to run rampant around the end of term, and stress headaches and the like due to exams landed a decent number of students under Madam Pomfrey's care.

The redhead's face wasn't half as puffy or red as it had been earlier. He waved enthusiastically over at Albany and Carly as he spotted them, donning what seemed to be a bubbling pale green paste as a face mask. He was sitting up on his bed, George and Lee on either side of him, and judging by the cheesy grins the three wore, there was only one thing they could have been discussing.

"If I have to hear so much as one injury or spell related pun, I will turn around and leave," Albany threatened as she approached.

"What Albany means is she was worried about you, Fred," Carly chimed in with a bright smile.

"Of course she was!" Fred agreed cheerfully, shooting the Slytherin a mischievous wink. "And Allie, it's time to face the music—"

"Because you're injured," Albany interrupted, face-palming, "because you're injured I'll give you one pun. But now you've used it, so no more."

"Don't jinx yourself—"

"And I'm going," Albany said, turning and pretending to head back toward the door.

"No! Come back, I'm sorry!" Fred called, laughing, and she sighed, reluctantly returning.

"You are impossible," she groaned.

"On the contrary, I'd say we're very much possible," George teased, grinning like a shark.

"There's very little we can't do," Fred agreed.

"Except get past Dumbledore's Age Line," Lee added helpfully, and the twins shot him playfully unamused stares. "Just kidding! Well... not really."

"How are you?" Carly asked Fred suddenly, bringing an end — however brief it would be — to the jokes.

Fred closed his eyes and smiled as he massaged the sticky paste into his swollen face. "Pretty hot," he said contentedly, opening his eyes again. "It was a Stinging Jinx that hit me, apparently, and it hurt like hell — but this stuff is numbing so I'm all good."

Carly giggled at his cheesy smile and thumbs up. "I am happy you are okay," she said cheerfully.

The doors of the Hospital Wing slammed open.

The group jumped, as did several other students, at the disturbance. Madam Pomfrey glared in the direction of the perpetrators. Angelina Johnson stood fuming in the doorway, her resemblance to an angry bull uncanny as her eyes locked onto the injured Weasley twin. Alicia was behind her, smiling a little sheepishly as she scratched at the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Fred Weasley," the former growled, slowly approaching in an extremely threatening manner.

Albany swallowed, glancing to the twins; George looked a little nervous, but Fred was absolutely beaming under his face mask.

"Hey Angie," he greeted the girl cheerfully. "Come to visit me?"

"Duelling in the corridors? Are you mad?" Angelina snapped at him, stopping at his bedside.

"Hey, we had good cause," Fred pointed out, grinning at Carly.

Angelina wasn't listening. "And you got hit, you idiot!"

"It was just a Stinging Jinx, could've been worse," Fred said with a shrug.

"Exactly!" Angelina exclaimed. "You're lucky it was just a simple jinx! Merlin, must you be so irresponsible?"

Fred's grin was only growing by the second. "I'd nearly say you were worried about me, Angie."

Angelina pinched the bridge of her nose with a painfully long sigh. When she spoke again, the angry edge to her words had softened, though she still didn't seem too happy. "Of course I was worried, you dumbass."

"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," Fred assured her cheerfully, despite the fact that his face was still quite bloated under the paste. "I didn't even get detention."

Albany rolled her eyes. "Lucky git."

George elbowed her, and winked as she glanced his way. "Come on, it won't be that bad. It's only one night, anyway."

"Yeah, George is really looking forward to it," Lee teased with a smug smile. "Him and Albany, all alone for a whole night—"

"Shut it, Jordan!" George interrupted him, tackling the shorter boy to the bed and giving him a noogie.

Albany couldn't help the colour that rose in her cheeks as she looked away, trying to hide her smile. Truth be told, she wasn't awfully dreading tomorrow night's detention either. She dared to say she had actually enjoyed the last detention she'd spent with the twins.

"Who gave you the detention anyway?" Alicia asked curiously.

"McGonagall," Albany replied.

"Wonder what she'll have you do," Angelina pondered aloud. "Write lines, maybe?"

Albany scrunched up her nose at the thought. "Ew, I hope not."

"It's Minnie, she might be kind and give you something fun," Fred suggested with a shrug. "She's not the worst to serve detention under."

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Fred wasn't completely incorrect in his predictions. The following night, Albany and George stayed a little later in the Great Hall after dinner while the rest of the group headed away to the dormitories. Fred's injury had healed with speed under Madam Pomfrey's care, though Angelina had been hanging out with him noticeably more since. Albany was sure he wasn't complaining about this in the slightest; the two had become quite close.

She and George were discussing the pair when McGonagall approached them from the staff table. There were few people left in the Great Hall by the time she did, and the prefects were beginning the evening sweep to send the stragglers to bed.

"I see you two haven't forgotten about your detention," the woman noted, and Albany was sure she was trying not to smile.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Professor," George assured her with a cheeky grin. "What's on the agenda?"

McGonagall gestured for them to follow her, so they climbed out of the benches and did so.

"I'm glad you asked, Mr Weasley," the older witch replied, moving briskly from the hall. "And I do hope you enjoyed cleaning without magic, because Filch is busy with — certain preparations — and has provided me with a list of other jobs that need tending to."

Albany and George exchanged glances, wondering what exactly the Gryffindor Head meant by preparations.

"Probably a cell for whipping students," George whispered with a grin.

"Kinky," Albany deadpanned.

George made an odd strangled noise in attempt to stifle his laughter. McGonagall glanced over her shoulder at the two, eyebrow raised in mild concern.

"Where are we going?" George asked innocently, blinking up at her. Albany snorted.

"The Astronomy Tower is in dire need of cleaning," McGonagall explained, and she led them up a narrow spiral staircase. "Some owls have taken to nesting there instead of the owlery, and they've been making quite a mess. They've since been evicted, but we have received numerous complaints of the state of the place."

"Splendid," Albany sighed.

As they reached the top of the tower, it certainly was in a state. The Astronomy Tower was easily one of the castle's more impressive structures and highest viewpoints of the school grounds. Albany hadn't taken a class there since third year, though she had always admired its magnificence and view of the skies; it didn't quite line up with her memories of it now, however, the main open floor littered with feathers, twigs, mud and owl droppings.

McGonagall wordlessly summoned the pair cleaning supplies, and lit the torches around the tower, bringing more light to the mess. The sky was a dull orange where the sun had disappeared behind the mountains; the faintest stars were beginning to appear as the cloud cover cleared.

"I will be checking in periodically, and you may go to bed when you are finished," the emerald-clad witch instructed with a tight smile. "I will see you shortly."

George nodded, waving a cheery goodbye as McGonagall took her leave. He turned around to face their duties with his hands on his hips.

"Looks like fun, eh?"

Albany rolled her eyes in amusement. "Best get started then, Gred," she suggested, poking him in the ribs. "There's a lot to do and I'm already struggling to get up in the mornings as it is."

George raised an eyebrow as he reached for a broom. "Not a morning person?"

Albany faltered; she'd actually been referring to how the stress of the tournament had royally fucked up her sleep schedule, though didn't exactly want to admit that. "Er, yeah," she agreed awkwardly. It wasn't completely false, at least; she never had been a morning person.

George stared at her a little more closely, smile fading. "Is it something else?" he asked, and the genuine concern in his tone brought her to sigh in defeat.

"Must you tune into the most subtle things?" Albany groaned, and grabbed another broom.

"I'm the more observant twin, it's my job," he joked lightly, already working on piling up the feathers. "But if you can't sleep, I wouldn't be surprised. You were very... stressed about the first task."

Albany bit her cheek, pushing feathers around with her broom. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I was having trouble sleeping. Even now, I said I'd forget about the second task until after Christmas, but...."

George glanced at her as she trailed off, and pushed his pile towards hers. "Still having trouble?" he finished for her.

Albany nodded, pulling her scarf further up her face. "It's dumb, I don't know why—"

"Of course it's not dumb," George interrupted her. "You've been worried about the tournament since day one. Now that you're competing in it, it's only natural you'd be stressed, even when you're not consciously thinking about it."

Albany met his gaze; it was striking in the last fading light of day, the hazel a welcoming honey colour. His eyes were truly a window, his emotions, genuine and true, swirling freely in the depths of his irises.

"You know, bravery isn't the absence of fear," George continued, dropping his gaze again to continue sweeping. He pushed the large pile off the edge of the tower, the feathers floating away on the breeze until they were out of sight. "It's acknowledging that fear, and carrying on despite it. That's why I called you Lionheart — you are brave."

Albany felt a warmth in her cheeks, and it wasn't from the scarf. "You think so?"

"I know so," George assured her with a smile. "When I saw you in the medical tent after the first task — I had been so worried, watching you, and then seeing your shoulder, and the burns and scratches...."

Albany glanced at him, surprised by how soft his words had become. He was smiling as he stood at the edge of the tower, watching the sky turn dark. He turned around to her, having felt her gaze on his back, and grinned.

"But you were just sitting there smiling, despite everything, and I didn't feel worried anymore," he continued, warmth radiating from his cheerful expression. "That's when I knew for sure. You're brave, Albany Bronwen."

Albany stared at him, and she felt mesmerised in his gaze. "I... I couldn't have done it without you, though," she murmured. I believe in you, he had said to her. "Thank you."

George laughed lightly. "It's the least I could have done."

Albany smiled. "It means the most."

George grinned at her. "Still though, I'll see if we can do anything about your sleep. I'm sure if me and Fred mess with one of our recipes, we could come up with something—"

"You don't have to do that for me," Albany laughed. She set down her broom, picking up a mop instead to begin scrubbing the floor.

"I want to," George argued, grinning. "Besides, it's fun to experiment with our stuff."

"Fine," Albany relented, sighing dramatically before giggling. "Maybe we can experiment with my egg then, too. Get it to stop screaming."

"Oh good, Carly's been dying for the chance to tinker with it," George laughed. "But only after Christmas, right?"

Albany nodded firmly. "I need a breather from it for a while."

"That's fair," George agreed, and exchanged his broom for a mop too. "You know, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come down to the Burrow for Christmas, but Mum and Dad said we'll be staying in school for the break."

Albany perked up, surprised by the offer. "You would have me over?"

"Of course!" George replied enthusiastically. "Carly too, I'd feel bad if she was left out. Unless she wanted to go back to France for the break."

"Yeah, she might," Albany agreed. "It can't be easy, staying in a whole other country for the school year."

George shrugged. "But hey, me and Fred won't be going home, so if you aren't, we'll be spending Christmas together after all. No pressure, of course."

Albany nodded quietly. She had been writing more often to her parents since the first task, and she was sure they would be eager to have her home for the two weeks. She didn't particularly look forward to it, though. While opening up to them in her letters had smoothed out their relationship somewhat, spending time with them in person was an entirely different experience she was happy to put off until summer.

"I'll probably stay," she said, after a moment.

George beamed at her. "Your choice, obviously, but we'll have loads of fun if you do."

Albany raised an eyebrow as she scrubbed at the floor. "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah," George repeated confidently. "A Weasley Christmas is one to remember."

Albany grinned. "It better be."

The night seemed to progress with speed as the two cleaned away at the tower, chatting casually the whole time. The work didn't feel laborious or tiring in company of each other, and each time McGonagall would pop her head in the door, George would attempt fruitlessly to engage the older witch in conversation too. She seemed amused by his attempts, though never stayed for too long. Albany was surprised by how easy she had let them off with this detention, as she didn't appear to mind in the slightest that the two students were clearly enjoying themselves. Hopefully she had spoken to the Beauxbatons Headmistress about the whole Carly incident.

The sky was a solid ebony by the time George declared their work finished. They sat on the edge of the tower as they waited for McGonagall to return and relieve them from duty, heads leaned back as they took in the expanse of stars overhead. They were like tiny diamonds studded into a blanket of black velvet, twinkling and shining from above.

"Do you know the constellations?" George asked her softly.

"Hardly," Albany laughed. "I haven't taken an Astronomy class in years."

She shivered as a particularly strong breeze stung at her cheeks, and tentatively shuffled closer to George for shelter and warmth. He smiled at her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders; she stiffened, eyes wide and resolutely staring straight ahead. The action certainly warmed her face, at least.

"I never took that class," George said, and pointed out at the sky with his free arm. "But Bill taught me a few once. That one's the big dipper, right?"

Albany was struggling to focus on any stars at all, frozen in place. She followed his finger vaguely, and managed to pick out the bright and boxy constellation. "Uh, yeah," she squeaked.

"Knew it," George announced triumphantly, and grinned at her. "So you do know some."

"Some," Albany argued with a small smile.

She stared up at the boundless sky and its endless stars, and smiled a little wider, slowly relaxing under the weight of the redhead's arm. She wasn't sure if she had changed, or if her new friends had simply brought out a new side of her, but things felt different this year. The butterflies in her stomach weren't nauseating, but pleasant, and the heat in her cheeks felt like home.

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❃ a/n:

my predictive text without having typed anything is now "albany sighed" and i think that says a lot lmaoo

also my number one typo with her name is "albaby" i love that so much

a nice fluffy chapter for y'all before we begin the return to the angst >:)

- A x