Kim Shimmers and the Veil of Death
A Harry Potter fanfic by me (and the 4th instalment in the Kim Shimmers series)
This Harry Potter fan fiction (as long as all goes according to plan) will be posted at the beginning of every week. The pictures above are not mine, though I edited some.
Chapter 1
Make it Double
The sounds of laughter and whizzing, wiring, clacking filtered in through the syrupy distance of sleep. Kim opened her eyes to see the foggy light of morning spilling through the half draped windows. Fred really needs to get thicker curtains, she groaned internally, rolling over and stuffing her face in the pillow. But the damage was already done; she was awake and, judging by the cool sheets and the lack of depression in the mattress beside her, Fred had already gotten up.
She pulled herself upright after morning the end of sleep and stretched. She scanned the small room with its minimal floor space and lush, bright chartreuse carpet that didn’t match a thing. There were still a few boxes from where Fred had yet to fully unpack, clothes most likely, and odds and ends. But the majority of his things were fairly organized already, for having only been moved into the space for a month and a half.
Kim padded to the door, the sounds from the joke shop beneath still audible through the thin floor. There was an explosion of laughter and the sound of something tearing. She opened the door a creek to peek out into the shared kitchen and living room area. It was empty, thankfully, because lying at the foot of the couch was her trunk with all her clothes. She scurried across the linoleum and onto the carpet of the living room, opening her trunk hurriedly. She was only wearing Fred’s T-shirt at the moment, and a pair of underwear. She got changed hastily and went into the ice box, digging around for something to eat. There wasn’t much, and if she was lousy cook, she was even worse when dealing with magical appliances. She was waiting for the day that wizard’s caught on to the invention of the microwave.
Deciding nothing was going to materialize itself in the kitchen she turned to face the empty living room with a sigh. It was a simple and small abode. The living room was open and rectangular, with orangey wooden paneling along the back wall, meeting with a faded yellow paint on the other walls. The furniture was plain, except for the throw pillows which George had found in a thrift store somewhere in Diagon Ally. They were knitted and made of a brilliant array of purples, greens, and yellows, forming a knotted pattern that was mostly indistinguishable. The curtains were the same thin ones that let all the light in, though now that she was awake, she quite appreciated how sunny they made everything.
With another sigh she headed out the door to the left side of the living room. It led into a short hallway with nothing but a storage closet and a broom stand. The stairs led down to the ample noise of the shop. Kim stepped into the large first floor, decked from top to bottom with joke supplies. Fred and George had made fast work of the place, not wasting any time to move in. Each corner of the shop was filled with odds and ends of a light hearted nature. Though, they did sometimes tend to go too far with some of their products, like the Belching Blood Burners that made the victim vomit blood for twenty minutes strait which would then ignite the moment it had left one’s mouth, starting a chemical fire that was near to impossible to put out. Luckily they had her to tell them when their ‘joke’ items were more likely to land them in a law suit then pulling in laughs and cash.
“Awake, sleepy head,” came Fred’s familiar, chiding voice as he hopped up the stairs to the balcony where she stood.
She smiled and kissed him, saying, “Busy for this hour.” The shop was pocked with gaggles of young shoppers testing out new products, laughing and pointing at the many odd displays.
“Bus load of vacationers,” Fred said, nodding. “They’re on their way to the Slimy Nickers concert.”
Kim made a face, unaware of this musical group, and not all that interested in finding out what they sang about. He sighed and looked her up and down.
“You’re already dressed,” he said. “You’re not leaving now are you?”
“Not now now. But I have to leave today.”
“You only just got here!”
Kim had arrived at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes only two days ago, and she couldn’t deny that leaving already was torture. Being there with Fred and George, with nothing to fill their days but lounging around, jokes in the joke shop, pranking customers with products they would later buy after seeing them demonstrated so expertly. They ate out on Diagon Ally and walked the streets at evening, seeing the sights and just enjoying one another’s company. It was better than Kim ever could have imagined. But she had to see her mother and sister. She couldn’t just ignore them forever, and she’d feel guilty if she said she wanted to, no matter how tempting the offer might be.
“I know,” Kim said, wrapping her arms around Fred’s neck and peering at him where he stood, at eye level due to his lower position on the stars. “And I don’t want to leave, but you know I have to.”
“I know, I know,” he was already saying, looking away from her and over the shop.
“And…” She was hoping he would finish her sentence for him, but he didn’t seem eager. “And you need to come and meet my mother.”
“Okay, let’s do it!” he said, but Kim could already tell from the high tenor in his voice that there was more he wanted to add on. “I just… well I feel bad leaving George behind,” he added matter-of-factly, but he was faking it.
“Oh, uh-hu,” she taunted with a smile. “You just don’t want to be stuck with me and my family all by yourself.”
“What? No, look, it’s not like I wouldn’t love to be with you alone,” he said, stepping up the stair so they were on level ground, lifting his eye level to well above hers. “But-…”
“But you don’t want to be alone with me without George,” she added, still mocking him with a smile as his negotiation face cracked and turned slightly guilty. She laughed and said, “Look, I don’t care. Bring him. Just, who’s going to watch the shop?”
Fred shrugged. “Verity can watch it,” he said, referring to their only employee that they’d hired a few weeks ago. She graduated in Fred and George’s year, though they hadn’t known her at all until she’d applied for their job opening at the beginning to the summer.
“Isn’t it a bit soon?” Kim said, and then George bounded up behind her suddenly.
“Too soon? Don’t tell me you’re getting married,” he said jokingly. Kim turned blankly to face him, and Fred didn’t say anything either, though Kim was sure it was quite by accident. George didn’t know this, of course, so his eyes widened with terror, taking their silence as confirmation. “Oh, great Merlin’s- you’re not—”
Kim’s snickering cut him off, Fred’s smile simultaneously hinting to him that he’d gotten the wrong idea.
“No,” Kim finally said. “We were talking about leaving Verity behind to watch the shop while you two come with me to meet my Mom.”
“Oh,” George said with a relief. “Well… I’m always up for an adventure, when do we leave?”
