▬▬▬▬

THE WEEKEND COULDN'T COME FAST ENOUGH. Albany's first week back had been an interesting few days, to say the least, but she had her fingers crossed that the remainder of the year could only improve from here on out. In fact, she had more than her fingers crossed - she had plans. Plans that were going to turn her luck around, make her day just a little bit better and let Fred and George Weasley know that she wasn't somebody to be messed with. Maybe it wouldn't make the voices in her head go away, but ignoring them seemed to get her by just fine.

"Don't you think you're a little bit obsessed?" Faith asked her Saturday morning, a frown on the girl's pale face. She was sat on the edge of her bed, watching Albany use her cork pin board for the first time to polish off her master plan. "I mean, it wasn't like they were discriminating against you specifically. They prank everybody."

Albany was too engrossed in her work to pay her friend's concerns much heed. "I'm not obsessed," she said, waving away Faith's accusations. Her dark, frizzy hair had been pulled into a messy bun, loose curls hanging out everywhere. Her wand was pushed through it, barely keeping it together and out of her face. She sat criss-cross on the floor in front of the board, surrounded by parchment, pins and yarn. "I'm just seeing justice. They've had it coming for years."

Faith stuck out her bottom lip. "I've never seen you like this before," she said. "You got up at seven this morning! Like, are you feeling okay?"

"Everyone else gets up at seven," Albany pointed out, pinning a scrap of parchment to her collection of notes.

"Not on a Saturday," Faith argued. "And you don't even get up at seven during the week."

"New school year, new me."

Faith's frown deepened as she observed Albany's newfound ambition. The girl was scribbling things here, crumpling up paper there, oddly enthusiastic about her revenge prank. The dark-haired girl spun around on the carpet, looking up at her friend curiously.

"You were all for this revenge thing a few days ago," Albany said, face falling slightly as she paused her activities. "What changed?"

Faith examined her nails carefully. "I don't know," she said after a moment. "I guess I thought we were going to have fun and spend some time together this weekend. We were so busy all week that we still haven't caught up properly after summer."

"We can still do that," Albany said hopefully. She picked up a new scrap of parchment, waving it at her playfully. "I can multitask!"

Faith didn't seem so sure. She swung her feet quietly, and then glanced up to note Albany's falling expression. "Sorry," she said. "I don't want to put you in a bad mood. I guess the excitement of being back and the tournament and everything is starting to wear off."

Albany smiled at her, and set down everything. "It's okay. I know we haven't properly caught up yet. This can wait, if you want."

Faith beamed at her, evidently happy with that compromise. She hopped off of her bed, and straightened the emerald green quilt. "If you're sure," she added, smiling.

Albany nodded, returning the girl's enthusiasm. It felt nice to have a break from all her classwork for a day, and she was in a good mood for once. She grabbed her bag from the end of her bed and shoved her notes into it for later; the plan wasn't quite ready for action, but with the limited spare time she had, she figured she could work on it bit by bit throughout the day.

The two girls left the Slytherin common room at a casual walk, giggling to themselves as they passed a pompous blond boy sat in a plush green armchair, ranting endlessly to two of his classmates about Harry Potter, of all things. The two boys were broad-shouldered and tall for their year, but the blank expressions on their faces suggested that their minds hadn't quite kept up with their bodies.

The castle had a particularly cheerful atmosphere to it as students milled about freely. Albany had to admit, it felt great to be out of her uniform and into her own, more comfortable clothes. She held the strap of her bag that went over her shoulder as she and Faith strolled down the corridors at ease; and she had to say that she was glad she'd taken the time to catch up with her friend. Close ones were especially hard to come by for Albany, who couldn't help her hostility towards strangers, and she probably didn't show the girl enough appreciation for putting up with her.

"It's such a pity they cancelled the Quidditch Cup this year," Faith remarked as they walked through the courtyard. The sun was shining and provided a decent amount of warmth despite the chill in the air. "I get that they had to because of the tournament and all, but it's a great day for Quidditch practice."

"You don't play Quidditch," Albany pointed out.

"I know, but Graham Montague does, and Merlin's beard, can he do wonders on that broomstick of his."

"We have to get you a proper hobby."

"Ogling boys is a hobby I'm quite happy to keep up."

Albany laughed, unsurprised. She adjusted her scarf so it covered a little more of her face, though the cold air was kind of refreshing. "It's nice to be able to walk around outside without the Dementors here," she said. Last year had been a write-off when it came to strolls outdoors. The castle grounds had been as good as off-limits with the Azkaban guards stationed everywhere; they really did suck the life out of the place.

"Oooh, the Dementors are gonna get you!" Faith teased, throwing up the hood to her baby pink hoodie and wiggling her fingers at the girl.

"Stop!" Albany laughed, smacking her hands away. "You know what I mean."

Faith grinned. "Yeah, they've got about as much personality as my step-dad."

Albany raised an eyebrow. "How was he this summer?"

"Same old, same old," Faith said with an eye roll. "Merlin, you'd think he'd just come back from a funeral if you met him, but he's like that every day."

"I have to get you over to mine again this Christmas, we'd have a blast in the woods behind the house."

Faith grinned at the suggestion. "Yes please! You'd be doing me a huge favour. Remember the time after first year when I went over for a week? I dared you to sleep out in the forest-"

"While you stayed in the house!" Albany added, laughing at the memory. "I certainly wasn't going to stay out there all by myself."

She had met Faith in first year, when they'd been seated next to each other in History of Magic class. Albany had threatened to jinx her after Faith spilled ink on her parchment, but they had left the class in hysterics over an old picture of a man in their textbook who unfortunately hadn't been blessed with charming good looks in the slightest. Albany had essentially latched onto the girl ever since, struggling to make any other friends.

"Good times," Faith said with a bright smile. "I haven't seen your house in ages."

"Yeah, it's been a hot minute," Albany admitted. "Nothing's changed, though. Same tiny old cottage in the middle of nowhere.... Same parents."

"I'd love for you to meet my family," Faith said. "Mum's never home, my step-dad is a sad sack and Zack is just an ass. You'd be able to set them straight."

Albany quirked an eyebrow, amused. "How so?"

"You know," Faith said, gesturing wildly with her hands, without getting her point across in the slightest. "Just... do your thing."

"My... thing?"

"Sure, you get me, the I'm Albany and I say what I want and nobody messes with me- ARGH!"

Albany whipped around to see that Faith had stumbled back a few steps, doubled over with her hands over her face. Eyes wide, she approached gingerly.

"Faith?"

Faith straightened up, a look of absolute horror on her face - a look that was mostly hidden by the enormous bushy red moustache that had sprouted right beneath her nose. Its length was decent enough to be considered a wingspan, and it had volume to be jealous of.

Albany laughed so hard she struggled to find air for her lungs.

"Al! It's not funny, help me!"

Albany was busy wiping a tear from her eye, wheezing in amusement at the sight.

"That," she managed to get out between gasps of laughter, "is the most impressive facial hair I've ever seen, Faith."

Faith looked about ready to cry. "Are you kidding?! I look hideous!"

She glared around the courtyard, shooting a fiery stare at the students present, who were trying to stifle their own giggles. Albany burst into another fit as she watched the moustache bounce fabulously with each head turn Faith made.

The suffering girl clenched her fists, seething with anger. "WEASLEYS!"

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Fred nudged his brother as they watched the scene from behind a wall, grinning mischievously from ear to ear.

"I think it's safe to say the Magical Moustache is a success," he said cheerfully. "And her face? Priceless!"

George grinned at his twin, patting the case he held at his side. It was filled with all sorts of jokes and gags that were still works in progress - testing them out was the best part of the inventions. "That one should sell well," he added happily. "And what better advertising than for all this crowd to see?"

"It seems she's found herself in a... hairy situation."

"Personally, I find it hairlarious."

"I could nearly dye laughing."

"With your bad aim, it nearly missed her. That was a close shave."

Fred glanced at his twin, offended. "Hey, no need to attack my aim. I hit her just fine! More than I can say for you half the time."

George raised an eyebrow. "You really think you're... a cut above the rest, don't you?"

The two snickered to each other, all too pleased with themselves. Business would be booming in no time - they just had to find the funding to really kick start things.

Fred poked his brother in the ribs, jerking his head towards the main castle. "Come on, then, let's not hang around. We've got the whole day to test these things."

"And maybe throw in a few golden oldies," George added with a grin. Dungbombs never got boring. The thought of them, though, did distract him from Fred, as his twin got up and began to head back towards the main buildings. Curiously, he glanced out into the courtyard again, and smiled as he saw their victim's friend doubled over in laughter. She seemed a different person to the moody Slytherin that he'd bumped into in the Owlery.

"Huh... she laughs."

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

"You know what? Disregard everything I said this morning. I'll help you get revenge," Faith growled, as the two found themselves back in their dormitory.

Her moustache had shrunk somewhat after Albany had spent time flicking through her copy of Curses and Counter-Curses and trying different spells on it. It was a hardy bit of facial hair, however, and was still wider than her head, thick red hairs refusing to go away.

"I don't know if I want to get revenge anymore," Albany teased her with a grin. "Your lion's mane is quite luscious."

"I swear to Merlin, Al, you better get this off of me or I'm going to climb Gryffindor tower just to throw myself off."

"I'm trying, I'm trying,"Albany appeased the girl with a smirk. She flipped to another page, and decided to attempt Calvorio, which only emitted a sad little spark from the tip of her wand. She was nearly glad that it hadn't worked, as she hadn't mentioned anything to Faith about it being a hair loss charm not quite intended for facial hair. "We might have to go to the library and find some other books. That, or admit defeat and bring you to the Hospital Wing."

"Oh, neither of those options suit," Faith informed her hastily. "I am not leaving this dorm room until I have my dignity restored. Far too many people have seen me already, I'm going to be known as moustache-girl until I graduate." She groaned. "Those Weasley twins are bastards."

Albany laughed. She wasn't about to let go of the fact that they had pranked her horribly as well, but Faith's incident had brought a smile to her face that she hadn't felt in ages. It had truly been a long summer at home.

"I guess we're stuck here, then," she informed her friend with a grin. "It'll surely go away on its own eventually; I doubt their inventions are that good quality."

Faith pouted, though it was hard to tell behind the fabulous moustache.

"Are you really giving up on revenge?" she asked after a moment.

"No way," Albany reassured her. "I'm too dead set on it. They better watch out, because now I'm gonna get them for both of us."

Faith smiled weakly. "You better."