Ficlet: Thinking 5/13 (George/Lee)
Oct. 22nd, 2008 12:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seedeeTitle: Thinking
Pairing: George/Lee
Prompt: 5/13: laughter
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 1250
Summary: Fred, George and Lee are starting a little project.
Author's Notes: N/A
Link to Prompt Table: here
previous: 4. er... um...
Winter and early spring were uneventful. Lee worked, had fun with the twins and dated halfheartedly. He broke it off when the bloke in question became too clingy. In March, Ron was nearly killed. In June, they attended the funeral of Dumbledore. When summer came, people were scared. Many had believed that Dumbledore would be the one to lead the fight, had relied on him to know what must be done. Lee wasn't scared, but he was concerned, especially because he'd read and learned so much about media being used as an instrument to influence people. And now he saw the signs every day at work, heard his father tell him stories from the Ministry. But there were hardly any alternatives in the wizarding world. They had the WWN, the Daily Prophet, the Quibbler and basically, that was it. Only one of those was independent - it was sad, really. Lee started to think.
***
And then, one day, Fred apparated directly into Lee's bedroom.
"s'up?" Lee asked sleepily. He was still lying in bed, had been sound asleep a minute earlier. He opened his eyes tentatively. Fred looked tired, his hair rumpled. Lee didn't think his friend had slept at all. The wooden clock on his wall, a present from Lee's grandfather, told him it was only six o'clock.
"Couldn't floo or owl, it's not safe," Fred explained and his face said that he was dead serious.
Something must have happened. Lee shook his head, forced himself to get up. The only thing he wore were black boxers with golden snitches on them, and the fact that Fred didn't tease him, worried Lee more than anything else.
"George was hurt."
Lee had just been buttoning his jeans and looked up slowly. All of a sudden he felt cold. "What happened? How is he?" Lee's voice sounded strange, even to himself. "Fred?"
"He's alright, I think. Sleeping now." Fred was facing the wall, both hands on either side of his head, balled into fists. "Mum didn't want us to go home, none of them did, but George wanted to. I told them it would look suspicious if none of us was home. They let us go, eventually. George did a damn good job of pretending it didn't hurt. Can you...?" Fred was talking rapidly and had turned around. He ran his hand through his hair. "I was awake the whole night, but I'm getting tired. Should go down to the shop, eventually, show my face. Don't want to leave him alone, though. Wouldn't stay alone, anyway. Bit of a pain in the arse. Could you?"
Lee didn't know what exactly Fred was asking. It didn't matter, though, he'd find out soon enough. "'Course I can." Lee had pulled on a t-shirt and was looking for his wand and socks. "How was he hurt, what happened?" Lee asked again.
"I'll tell you later, yeah? Bit of a long story. Just..., let's go."
Fred told him everything after they had arrived and asked Lee to keep an eye on George. Lee made coffee for himself and told Fred to go to bed already. It was strange, sitting down next to George's bed and reading a magazine. Or pretending to read a magazine. Lee couldn't take his eyes off George and ever so often he touched him, brushed his hair back (gently, his head was probably hurting), touched his forehead (in case he got a fever), held his hand (no, he couldn't justify that, but did it anyway). George woke up around noon. Until then, Lee'd had a lot of time to think.
***
Then there was the wedding, a few days later. Lee ate Mrs. Weasley's food, danced with a few girls, drank more spiked punch than was reasonable and snogged one of George's distant relatives. The bloke was 10 years older but looked a bit like George - from behind, when one squinted. It was fun until the Death Eaters crashed the party.
Lee never returned to the WWN. The evening news after the wedding made it painfully clear who was running the radio station now. There was no place for him there, the radio was dead, so was the Daily Prophet. And now Lee had even more time to think and plan.
***
Three weeks after the wedding Lee had figured out exactly what he would need, had started to get in contact with people who were willing to discreetly sell him some equipment and had a plan what exactly he wanted to do. He wouldn't be able to do it alone, though. It was just too big for only one person. Lee needed help, and he knew where to find it. It didn't feel right, dragging his best friends even deeper into this war. But knowing them, they'd never forgive him for asking someone else.
"Listen," he told them after some half-arsed attempts at small talk. The twins' sofa was comfortable, but Lee was squirming - inside and outside. "I need your help." Lee ran his hands through his braids and studied the floor intently. There was a bright green stain and he'd always wondered where it had come from.
"So you're finally letting us in on your evil plan?" There was amusement in George's voice. "What do you need?"
Fred hadn't said a word so far, which was entirely against his nature. He just stood up and walked out of the room, only to return a minute later with three glasses and a bottle of Ogden's.
"What?" Fred asked defensively when he saw that George and Lee were both looking at him. "Either something bad has happened and we're getting pissed or we're starting something tonight and need a celebration. I'd vote for the latter but I wouldn't bet my balls on it."
"Why would anyone want your balls?" Lee asked out of habit.
"Excellent question," George replied. "Let's save that discussion for later. So what's going on?"
Lee told them everything about the little project he'd started to call 'Potterwatch' in his head. He told them that without any neutral media, people would lose hope. They needed to get information out there, because from now on, with the Ministry in Death Eater hands, it would only get worse. Lee told them about his plan, and that the three of them could make it work.
When he was finished, Lee saw the wheels turning in his friends' heads.
"A guerrilla radio station. Safe houses, passwords, secret names, information sources." George seemed to like the idea.
"We need some more information about wards and coding. One of the main problems will be that they mustn't be able to locate us." With a quick spell Fred summoned parchment and quill.
For more than an hour they wrote down what they'd need, ideas, whatever they could think of. They were a good team, Lee thought, not for the first time. Finally they were done, at least for this evening. George and Lee were sitting on the sofa, Fred on the floor with his head on an armchair and his legs under the table.
They were silent for a while, each of them lost in his own thoughts.
"Brilliant," George finally said. There was a long pause and they all took another drink. "And I'm kind of relieved that Fred is keeping his balls."
It was the first time in weeks that the tension left Lee completely, and he was just someone who laughed at a friends' joke.
next: 6. rolling on the floor
Pairing: George/Lee
Prompt: 5/13: laughter
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 1250
Summary: Fred, George and Lee are starting a little project.
Author's Notes: N/A
Link to Prompt Table: here
previous: 4. er... um...
Winter and early spring were uneventful. Lee worked, had fun with the twins and dated halfheartedly. He broke it off when the bloke in question became too clingy. In March, Ron was nearly killed. In June, they attended the funeral of Dumbledore. When summer came, people were scared. Many had believed that Dumbledore would be the one to lead the fight, had relied on him to know what must be done. Lee wasn't scared, but he was concerned, especially because he'd read and learned so much about media being used as an instrument to influence people. And now he saw the signs every day at work, heard his father tell him stories from the Ministry. But there were hardly any alternatives in the wizarding world. They had the WWN, the Daily Prophet, the Quibbler and basically, that was it. Only one of those was independent - it was sad, really. Lee started to think.
And then, one day, Fred apparated directly into Lee's bedroom.
"s'up?" Lee asked sleepily. He was still lying in bed, had been sound asleep a minute earlier. He opened his eyes tentatively. Fred looked tired, his hair rumpled. Lee didn't think his friend had slept at all. The wooden clock on his wall, a present from Lee's grandfather, told him it was only six o'clock.
"Couldn't floo or owl, it's not safe," Fred explained and his face said that he was dead serious.
Something must have happened. Lee shook his head, forced himself to get up. The only thing he wore were black boxers with golden snitches on them, and the fact that Fred didn't tease him, worried Lee more than anything else.
"George was hurt."
Lee had just been buttoning his jeans and looked up slowly. All of a sudden he felt cold. "What happened? How is he?" Lee's voice sounded strange, even to himself. "Fred?"
"He's alright, I think. Sleeping now." Fred was facing the wall, both hands on either side of his head, balled into fists. "Mum didn't want us to go home, none of them did, but George wanted to. I told them it would look suspicious if none of us was home. They let us go, eventually. George did a damn good job of pretending it didn't hurt. Can you...?" Fred was talking rapidly and had turned around. He ran his hand through his hair. "I was awake the whole night, but I'm getting tired. Should go down to the shop, eventually, show my face. Don't want to leave him alone, though. Wouldn't stay alone, anyway. Bit of a pain in the arse. Could you?"
Lee didn't know what exactly Fred was asking. It didn't matter, though, he'd find out soon enough. "'Course I can." Lee had pulled on a t-shirt and was looking for his wand and socks. "How was he hurt, what happened?" Lee asked again.
"I'll tell you later, yeah? Bit of a long story. Just..., let's go."
Fred told him everything after they had arrived and asked Lee to keep an eye on George. Lee made coffee for himself and told Fred to go to bed already. It was strange, sitting down next to George's bed and reading a magazine. Or pretending to read a magazine. Lee couldn't take his eyes off George and ever so often he touched him, brushed his hair back (gently, his head was probably hurting), touched his forehead (in case he got a fever), held his hand (no, he couldn't justify that, but did it anyway). George woke up around noon. Until then, Lee'd had a lot of time to think.
Then there was the wedding, a few days later. Lee ate Mrs. Weasley's food, danced with a few girls, drank more spiked punch than was reasonable and snogged one of George's distant relatives. The bloke was 10 years older but looked a bit like George - from behind, when one squinted. It was fun until the Death Eaters crashed the party.
Lee never returned to the WWN. The evening news after the wedding made it painfully clear who was running the radio station now. There was no place for him there, the radio was dead, so was the Daily Prophet. And now Lee had even more time to think and plan.
Three weeks after the wedding Lee had figured out exactly what he would need, had started to get in contact with people who were willing to discreetly sell him some equipment and had a plan what exactly he wanted to do. He wouldn't be able to do it alone, though. It was just too big for only one person. Lee needed help, and he knew where to find it. It didn't feel right, dragging his best friends even deeper into this war. But knowing them, they'd never forgive him for asking someone else.
"Listen," he told them after some half-arsed attempts at small talk. The twins' sofa was comfortable, but Lee was squirming - inside and outside. "I need your help." Lee ran his hands through his braids and studied the floor intently. There was a bright green stain and he'd always wondered where it had come from.
"So you're finally letting us in on your evil plan?" There was amusement in George's voice. "What do you need?"
Fred hadn't said a word so far, which was entirely against his nature. He just stood up and walked out of the room, only to return a minute later with three glasses and a bottle of Ogden's.
"What?" Fred asked defensively when he saw that George and Lee were both looking at him. "Either something bad has happened and we're getting pissed or we're starting something tonight and need a celebration. I'd vote for the latter but I wouldn't bet my balls on it."
"Why would anyone want your balls?" Lee asked out of habit.
"Excellent question," George replied. "Let's save that discussion for later. So what's going on?"
Lee told them everything about the little project he'd started to call 'Potterwatch' in his head. He told them that without any neutral media, people would lose hope. They needed to get information out there, because from now on, with the Ministry in Death Eater hands, it would only get worse. Lee told them about his plan, and that the three of them could make it work.
When he was finished, Lee saw the wheels turning in his friends' heads.
"A guerrilla radio station. Safe houses, passwords, secret names, information sources." George seemed to like the idea.
"We need some more information about wards and coding. One of the main problems will be that they mustn't be able to locate us." With a quick spell Fred summoned parchment and quill.
For more than an hour they wrote down what they'd need, ideas, whatever they could think of. They were a good team, Lee thought, not for the first time. Finally they were done, at least for this evening. George and Lee were sitting on the sofa, Fred on the floor with his head on an armchair and his legs under the table.
They were silent for a while, each of them lost in his own thoughts.
"Brilliant," George finally said. There was a long pause and they all took another drink. "And I'm kind of relieved that Fred is keeping his balls."
It was the first time in weeks that the tension left Lee completely, and he was just someone who laughed at a friends' joke.
next: 6. rolling on the floor
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on 2010-04-02 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-04-05 04:09 pm (UTC)