thecitydreamgrls

The sound intrigued him, and he quickly snatched his robe off the armchair, pressing his ear up to the door.

Draco could hear his parents talking to one another, their words muffled, but their voices concerned.

The boy turned the handle, wincing at the slight squeaking noise it made, and pulled his door open ever so slightly. Just enough that he could hear the pair below clearly. 

“I had no choice-” Lucius explained breathily 

“You did the right thing. This is the safest place for her now.” Narcissa usually hid her emotions well, with a stony expression. But this time her son could sense an undertone of panic.

“It’s not, she’s unstable. We have no idea what she’s capable of.” 

Draco wanted more than anything to take a peek at who the hell his father had brought into their home. But the squeak of slightly raised floorboards would give him away instantly. 

Instead he listened, waiting until either one of them gave up more information. 

“She will be scared,” His mother insisted, after the initial back and forth. “I can help her.” 

It was then that they hurried into the basement, the creak of the hinges as the metal door closed serving as a sobering moment for Draco.

He pulled away from the door frame, a shaky breath coming out like the tension had been drowning him.

It was then, as he moved to his balcony, shivering in the cool night's breeze; that he found himself void of any thought.

When he finally found his way back to his brain, the moon casting shadows into his room behind him, Draco began to smirk to himself.

Maybe this summer didn't need to be so depressing after all.

It was in the week that followed, that the stranger was moved into the guest room at the end of the hallway. Past his parents bedroom and beyond the trophy case that commemorated Lucius’ long-served time at the Ministry.

The door remained locked at all times like a prison cell. 

Draco spent days speculating on who could be inside, and why they wouldn’t be trying to leave. He had dreamt of escaping the Manor many times before, and it was his own family’s home, so why was this person so willing to remain locked up?

Who was so weak that they wouldn't even try?

The boy kept quiet, hoping that his silence on the matter might help him in discovering more about the girl who had been brought there.

But as days passed, he found himself none the wiser for being cautious. He knew he had to do something different.

On the third day, while his father was gone and his mother was busy in the gardens; Draco had stolen a glance through the keyhole. Though it was beyond midday, the room was in total darkness, so much so that he couldn’t point out a single piece of furniture inside. 

He waited as long as possible, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement. But the room just appeared empty to him from the outside.

With a defeated grunt, he went to find his mother to demand answers once and for all.

Narcissa’s voice carried through a nearby open window from the garden, as she tried to explain to the groundsmen exactly how she wanted her violas placed in the flowerbeds. 

He’d met her as she was coming back inside, the sun glowing behind her.

Since he was a child, Draco had always seen his mother in a perfect light; but it was clearer than ever that her shadows were starting to show.

“Darling,” Narcissa’s sickly-sweet tone was telling that she was keeping a secret. “Why- it’s still morning, I wasn’t sure you rose this early.” 

“Funny Mother.” 

The woman brushed past him, busying herself with the stack of herbology books that had been laid out on the coffee table. She’d been studying them all morning, searching for information that was quickly snatched out of her son’s prying eyes. 

“What’s going on?” Draco asked sharply. 

“Why I’m organising the flower beds dear, poor Martin has had the joy of hearing me drone on for the last hour so I figured I would leave him be… will you join me for some tea?” 

“I’m not interested in tea, mother.” 

“Fine. Something stronger? Your father has a lovely scotch hidden away in the library, I’m sure he won’t notice one glass missing.” She smirked, clicking for the house elf to appear. 

“That scotch is no secret- no, that’s not the point." He folded his arms. "Who did father bring here? Who is being kept in the guest bedroom?"

“Proof is in the name , darling, they’re a guest.” She simply sighed, refusing to meet the boys' eyes.

“Who?” 

“Ask your father dear, it’s truly not my place to gossip.” 

“Cut the high and mighty act, we all know you’re the biggest gossip there is. Now spill.” Draco had been victim to his mother’s gossiping rants before, and knew more than anyone that she loved to share a secret. 

However, there was a look in her eye as she contemplated what to tell him; one that Draco thought could have been pity. 

“I cannot tell you much, that is your father’s decision. But she was in danger, and for some ungodly reason this house is the safest place for her.” 

Narcissa ran her fingers over her dress, irritated by the feeling that seeped through her as she was reminded of that night when Lucius had sent his patronus to her in a desperate attempt to wake her. 

The way he’d stumbled into the house, a body in arms, his own covered in someone else's blood. How he had looked up at her, eyes pleading for help, exhaustion all over his face. She had swallowed back a gasp at the time and helped him, but the sight would continue to keep her awake for nights on end, as she replayed that initial horrifying thought.

What had he done…

“Mother.” Her son’s voice startled her. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing. Now, don’t let your father know I told you a thing.” 

“Well, you barely let anything slip. Who are they?” 

“She is a girl who needed help. That is all.” 

Narcissa walked further into the house, leaving her son in a stunned state. He was in too much shock to follow her, or even utter a single word that would make his mother come back. 

His mind only ran rampant with more questions, and all he could do was stand in the conservatory, listening as the first drops of summer rain pattered onto the glass above him. 

He kept out of his parents' way that night, hiding out in his bedroom as thoughts of the stranger kept him company for hours on end. Even as night fell, he found himself lying awake, staring at the ceiling. 

Maybe he could ignore it; do as his father would want, and keep his nose out for once.

The moon’s glare kept Draco's dark room alight, and the curtains fluttered in the wind that blew in through the open doors. 

The boy reached into his bedside drawer, uttering the password that unlocked its charm, and dug out a packet of cigarettes. He rarely bothered smoking when he was home, the few minutes of bliss was never seemingly worth the lecture he’d get if he was caught. 

But this summer had been different. He’d gone through 2 packs in the first week, bored of being left to his own devices. He'd found himself quite lonely without the familiar closeness of his friends. All of which were off exploring different countries, no doubt full of stories to tell him when they returned.

The Malfoys had opted to stay close to home, on his father’s instruction no doubt; and Draco despised him for it.

Every day spent waking within his childhood bedroom was slowly turning the boy brain dead.

As he sloped onto the balcony, a lit cigarette between his lips, he shivered at the feeling of the cold stone on his bare feet. The world beyond Malfoy Manor seemed so far away when he was confined within the grounds.

As he let out a single puff of smoke; the boy thought about running away.

He knew that neither one of his parents would feel the need to follow him, that was if he left a note for his mother of course. 

Perhaps he could placate her with promises of safety, that he was with people she trusted. 

Then again, Narcissa could be just as relentless as he was when she wanted to be. Not to mention that Draco had no idea where he would go. Crashing his friend’s holidays seemed tacky, and he avoided his extended family like the plague at the best of times. 

The boy took another deep drag, holding it in a little, feeling the tightness in his lungs for a few blissful more seconds.

Something glinted at the corner of his eye, catching his attention. He turned, seeing the guest room’s windows, their curtains drawn. 

He let go, the smoke billowing across his eyes as he just watched the matching balcony for movement.

In the whole time that the stranger had remained in Malfoy Manor, never once had he seen those curtains open. Always shut, always hiding whoever was holed up in there. 

Draco wondered for a second if what his mother had told him was the truth, if maybe the person in there was actually in danger after all.

But history told him differently; that the Malfoy’s do not simply help someone who needs it. 

There was no way in hell that Lucius Malfoy was hiding someone in his own home, and risking his own safety, for the sake of generosity.

"I want to live somewhere like this one day."

Hermione was laying down, the sun in her eyes, her sweet voice echoing around her. She turned her head to her left, why was she always on her left?

"Somewhere peaceful?" The girl found herself asking, her conscious being no match against the memory as it played out before her.

"Yeah. Fields and streams and trees... and maybe a pond too."

"If you're lucky."

"I want to be there with you." She felt her hand being squeezed, and the sun slipped away, leaving her cold.

The hand was no longer a pulsing show of affection, but now cold and grasping her for help. She breathed deep, pushing back against the nightmare.

"You said you wouldn't go." She screamed, the wind whipping around her as Bellatrix's curse spread over her chest. "You promised me."

"I'm sorry." Hermione clenched her eyes shut still, knowing exactly what would show in front of her when the hand finally slipped away.

She was always too weak though, and as her love fell from the balcony's edge, she always opened her eyes.

Desperation was a crime in her eyes, worse than the guilt she lived with. That need to see her one last time, even as she screamed for help and choked on the air around her, hurt more than any curse she'd been hit with.

They would never get their house in the country, with the fields and the streams and the trees. Her love, wherever she may be, could have it all, even the pond.

But they couldn't be together again, living how she'd wanted.

-

Molly Weasley was nursing a hangover in her kitchen, enjoying the peaceful morning and the sun which beamed onto her skin through an open window. Arthur was in his armchair, skimming over the business section of that day’s prophet and cursing the way that Ginny stomped around in her room above him, making him restart the paragraph numerous times.

The girl in question sloped down to her mother, a scowl on her face when she saw a list of chores written on the chalkboard. Ones that she was no doubt expected to do, regardless of the fact that she would be leaving that afternoon.

“Drink this Ginny darling, you’ll feel much better.” Molly held out a beaker to her daughter, filled with some strange blue liquid. It looked like a hangover cure and certainly smelt like one too, but when Ginny tasted the drink, it was hard to hide her disgust. So she held her breath and chugged it down fast, hoping the other two glasses that sat on the counter weren’t also for her.

“See to it that Harry and Ron take them too will you, they’re still asleep I presume?” Molly questioned.

“Nope, both headed out for a fly early this morning, probably stopped by the lake to watch the sunrise, like the pair of pansies they are.” She scoffed, biting back the urge to hurl at the blue liquid’s aftertaste.

“Well then they’ll be fine without these!”

“If I had to suffer through it then so should they.” Ginny argued, seeing a small wince on her mother's face when she slightly raised her voice. “Sorry, I’ll make sure they take it, okay?”

The older woman nodded, mumbling something about laundry before heading off to the garden. Ginny was about to make some coffee, the one thing she praised Hermione for teaching her about, when there was a flash from the family’s floo line, followed by a concoction of panicked shouts.

“What - what is it?” She asked, careering into the hallway to see Fred steaming through the house in search of familiar faces.

“Ginny!” He looked relieved to see her, something that was out of the ordinary for the man. “Where is everyone?” His eyes were wild, scanning around her like he was expecting a ghost to jump him.

“Dad’s in the living room, mum’s outside- hey what’s going on?” She followed him as he went in search of his parent’s, Arthur looked up from his paper when his son walked in.

“Hello Fred my boy, how come you’re here?” The man checked his watch with a frown, only noticing Freddie now that he had shown himself. Arthur had perfected the art of blocking out loud noises in his own home, given the amount of children he had, it was something he had no choice over.

“I need everyone at the leaky cauldron … now!” He announced, pacing about to try and find the rest.

“Tell us what’s going on.” Ginny grabbed his shoulders, pushing him onto the nearby sofa with a grunt. The girl always was stronger than she looked.

“It’s y/n, she’s been taken.” “She’s been WHAT!” Molly screeched, having only heard the end of their exchange as she came back into the burrow with a pile of clean clothes in hand. They fell to the floor in shock.

“Mum! You and dad go to the leaky, Fred will explain more-” Ginny started, seeing that no one in the room was in a right state of mind. “-I’ll go get the boys from the lake.” The two parents nodded, gathering their jackets and heading to the floo.

“I need to get Bill, will he be at work already?” Fred asked his sister.

“He should just be getting in now.” She told him, not wasting a single second before grabbing her broom to fetch Ron and Harry from their lake. “Now GO!”

Fred jumped into action, apparating back to diagon alley and weaving through the hoards of people walking into their bank to start their day. He managed to get into the first open lift, looking very out of place amongst the group of serious businessmen.

“Bill!” He didn’t dare knock on the door to his brother’s office, instead opted that forcing his way inside would express the severity a bit better instead. The man inside jumped at the intrusion, knocking the cup of coffee all over his desk in momentary shock.

“What the hell Fred, what are you doing here?” He frowned, mopping up the mess with silent curses.

“We need to go now, y/n’s been taken… Neville tried to stop it but the guys had a knife.” It took no more than that to get Bill to his feet, following his younger brother silently as he explained more on their way back down to the alley.

“Does anyone know where she could be?” He asked.

“Not for certain, but I have some ideas.” Fred huffed, out of breath from all the running he had done that morning. Still, he kept a fast pace to make it to the leaky before anything worse happened.

The inn was quiet, barely anyone around at that hour of the morning. Everyone was gathered inside, gathering as much information as they could from Hannah and Neville as they waited for Fred to return with his older brother.

“Are we all here?” George asked, letting everyone take a seat before speaking directly to the small ground of their friends and family. “Good. Now Neville was the only one to see the guy who took y/n, he was tall, hooded and held a knife up to his throat.”

Neville sat in Hannah’s arms, obviously still shaken up from being left out in the cold all night. His wife nodded along to George’s words with empty eyes, trying to rack her brain for anyone who took a strange liking to the girl when she still worked for them. Then again, that was the majority of men who came in, it would take months to whittle it down.

“Once he had y/n, the man knocked him out- so that’s all we know. Whoever he was he didn’t want anyone else knowing about it till morning, that’s why he tied Neville up.” Everyone was silent, unsure if they knew anything at all that could help. Still, they wanted to be there to do something to save the girl.

“Has y/n said anything recently that would suggest she was being followed, or did you notice her acting strange?” Arthur spoke up, all of his children shaking their heads.

Fred felt the most useless out of them all. If y/n had known anything, or noticed something was off, she would have told him right? Or was he overestimating how much the girl trusted him, after all, he hadn’t been there to stop those guys from breaking in.

“I don’t think this was a random attack, he knew what he was doing.” Neville’s voice was quiet, even amongst the shared silence.

“How do you mean?” George asked, leaning against the bar in desperate defeat, wracking his brain for where she could be.

“Whoever he was, he knew where to find her- who she was.” “So he was looking for her?” Fred spun round, his neck clicking in the process, even his body hadn’t woken up yet.

“I think he only took me because I saw him outside the shop, and knew I would be suspicious of it.”

The group nodded in agreement. This couldn’t be the same men from the break-in, they were locked up now under Kingsley’s demand. This was a targeted kidnapping, someone had sent this man after y/n. But, who would want her back that badly?

“Her parents.” Fred said, a murmur of understanding waving over the others as it clicked in their minds. “It has to be them, who else would go to such lengths.” “But how do we find them?” Ginny asked. “I mean, no one knows where they live right?”

Everyone shook their heads, murmuring ideas on how they could track her family home down, that was where she had to be.

“Actually,” Hannah stood up, making sure Neville was stable enough before letting go of him. “I might have some old paperwork in my office, I can’t remember for sure if there’s anything on it- but it’s worth a look right?” George nodded, giving Fred a sympathetic look as it was obvious he was struggling to come to terms with the situation. He had just gotten his life back, he was happy, they were happy and they were finally together. And now there was a chance she could be gone for good. It was a lot to deal with.

“Thanks Han,” He mumbled, when the lady passed him, stopping to squeeze his shoulder in meek support.

“Right, can you guys go find Hermione?” George asked Ginny and Ron. “See if she can find any records about the girl, or her parents.” The duo stood quickly, sending a patronas to the girl in question to get her up to speeds before they arrived.

But before they even had a chance to reach the door a flash of blue light fluttered in through the open window, freezing everyone in their steps. The little dove flew over to Fred, who eyes it curiously, no one seemed to recognise it. That was until it started screaming out it’s message in a disturbingly recognisable voice.

“Fred I’m sorry, I tried to fight him-” The voice lowered, as if someone was nearby her. “Come to crag hall,” She was out of breath and shaky as she spoke, all the while the dove floated through the air calmly. “Please be quick, they’re going to- no… no!” She screamed out, the message cut off just as she pleaded with whoever was in the room with her.

There was a tense silence throughout those inside the inn once her voice stopped, no one wanting to speak in case they missed something. But the dove disappeared into thin air, and she was gone again.

“They’ll have taken her wand.” Bill said, mostly to himself, trying to piece together what they knew in an attempt to help.

“Crag hall.” Fred whispered. “She said go to Crag hall… w-where is that?” He searched the room, praying that someone would recognise the name.

“It’s far.” Molly said, all eyes on her. “About three hours from london.”

“But we can apparate, yes?” George pushed her, suddenly more optimistic now that they had a chance to get her.

“Not all together of course, that would be dangerous.” She explained.

“Then we’ll go in pairs, signal back for the next group to come when we know it’s safe to do so.” George announced.

“I’ll go first, scout for any wards.” Fred told his brother, seeing the look of hesitation that George pushed away, knowing there was no convincing him otherwise.

“I’m coming with you.” Ginny said.

“No, it’s too dangerous. You stay back with Bill.”

“She’s my best friend. I'm not arguing about this.” The girl, unfortunately, was just as determined and stubborn as the rest of them.

“Fine, but you stay close- and you listen to what I tell you okay? We don’t know these people, they could be armed.” He took a deep breath, trying to fight away the feeling of impending doom that came along with all the uncertainty.

“Right. Bill, you’ll come with me, then Harry and Ron- mum, dad you’ll be the last okay?” The parents nodded and Molly silently thanked her son for letting her make sure they all got there okay before heading in herself.

Suddenly the inn’s door burst open and a very smartly dressed Hermione stumbled into the group, catching her breath with a small wheeze.

“I’m coming too.” She told them, holding her hand up when Ron tried to protest it. “Ginny?”

“Best friend card and all, you can’t stop her.” She told her brother and he shook his head in defeat, knowing the girl’s were both fiery enough to handle themselves if need be.

“You can come with me and Bill, the second group.” The girl nodded, stripping off her stiff suit jacket and transfiguring her pencil skirt into a pair of jeans. “If anything goes wrong with the trip- if any of you get hurt at all, then you hide.” Fred told them all, taking all the confidence he had within him and spewing it into the small speech. “It would be too risky to try and get back alone, so just stay hidden and we can get you when it’s over.” Everyone nodded, hoping that they wouldn’t need to utilise the advice given.

Fred stood, holding Ginny’s hand and looked over the room.

“Let us know as soon as you see anything,” George told them. The pair nodded in unison, ignoring Molly’s worried gaze as she watched them disapparate from the room with a loud crack.

-

Ginny felt like someone was crushing her lungs when they landed amongst the wall of trees just outside the grounds of Crag hall. The girl had tried to cough out, reaching around desperately for her brother who was struggling to find his feet.

The sheer distance they had travelled was dangerous, especially when it was two of them, but Fred knew as he held a hand over his sister’s mouth that the pain would eventually subside.

“Shhh, Gin.” The girl writhed beneath him as he watched the clearing ahead, where the house stood surrounded by walled gardens. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, not daring to draw any attention to themselves, just in case there were guards patrolling. “It’ll pass… I promise.”

Once she could breath without hacking her throat away, Ginny surveyed the sight before them, trying to plan out how they could approach unnoticed.

“Do you think there will be wards set up?” She asked her brother who crouched beside her, always watching behind them in case someone wanted to sneak up.

“Hard to tell. Chances are they presumed no one knew about this place, so they didn’t bother.” “But the patronus-” “Exactly, with any luck we can try and get through before they’re set up.” He explained.

There was a group of three men stationed at the front gates to the property, unknowing of the Weasleys’ presence.

“No one’s patrolling this side, send a message to George- tell him that it’s clear now- but to watch out for anymore guards.” “What about that lot?” “We have to take them ourselves.” He looked down, seeing a look of apprehension on the girl’s face. It had been a very long time since he had seen her intimidated.

“Hey, if we don’t do it then it’s risking the others- we got lucky.” Ginny nodded along, knowing that they had no other choice but to take them out, and quietly too.

The man took her hand, running a little further along the tree line before heading to the closest side of the walled garden. He boosted the girl up over it, watching carefully as she balanced herself and crouched low above it.

“I’ll take them from up here, catch them off guard- you get them from behind.” She told the man, before sneaking along the high wall.

Fred propelled himself into the neatly arranged flowerbed, suppressing his groan when he landed on his back, hoping that no one had heard the thud his body had made. There wasn’t enough time to think it through though, when there was a surprised shout and the sound of hexes flying through the air.

The noises silenced quickly as the man raced through the shrubbery towards the front gates, but the flashes of coloured light still appeared above the bushes that blocked his view of the fight.

Ginny, however, was someone Fred didn’t need to worry about. She had petrified one of the guards upon sight, before cutting the other two’s shouts with a silencing charm. That had given her an upper hand as she jumped down from the wall to avoid a hex being thrown her way.

Despite using her head, these men were twice her size, and wanted to use that against her. One of them lunged forward, trying to seize her as the other dodged around him with his wand outstretched.

But because of the guard tackling Ginny, it meant he couldn’t risk casting anything towards them in case he hit the wrong one. But it kept them busy long enough for Fred to stun the man from behind, before ripping the other off his little sister with a suppressed growl.

Once he had been stunned and tied up, along with the other two, Ginny sent her patronus to the others, warning them of other possible guards. The two kept to the edges of the walled garden, with the hopes that they could sneak up on the hall without causing anymore commotion.

The building was tall, with a very open courtyard preceding it.

“Through there,” Fred whispered, pointing to the nearest door on the left side of the house. “We should avoid being out in the open.” He told her.

-

Y/n watched out of her bedroom window, wandless and alone, in a room that felt like it had belonged to a ghost. She felt like a ghost, just waiting for the worst to happen. The night had gone by with her knocked out, only to be woken up by her mother’s serpent-like eyes watching over her.

Little words were exchanged, knowing that whatever she said would only hurt her case even more. So the girl opted for silence whenever someone would sit in, only to watch her mope around by the window like a forgotten lover.

Fred. He was all she could think about. She wondered whether he knew the truth, if Neville was okay, if he had been able to tell them what happened. One of her parent’s henchmen had come in while she was casting her patronus, cutting it off when he wrenched the wand from her hands. All the girl could hope was that it actually made it to them.

One of the head maids came into the room, her eyes sunken like she had aged several years in the space of a few months.

“Madam has requested you in the ballroom.” The woman hung a long black dress bag, sealed up, on the back of her door. She stayed firmly in her spot, all the while watching the floor, as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at the poor girl.

“What is it?” The girl rasped out, her throat raw from all the sobbing she had already done. Now it felt like she couldn’t cry again, regardless of what happened.

“Madam would like you to change into this, I must assist.”

The girl frowned, not one for confrontation, especially not with someone who so obviously didn’t deserve it. But it was frustrating how little the maid was telling her. So instead of lashing out, y/n walked over to the bag and pulled on its zipper.

Her breath held in her throat, lodged. Before her was a long, white dress. Hung lifeless before her. Something inside her felt like this was a joke, but then she remembered where she was and her heart crumbled.

“I-I don’t understand?” She turned to the woman beside her, her hands clutching shakily against the silk fabric that draped like curtains.

“This is all I can say mistress.” “Please.” She begged. “Help me… please don’t let this happen.” The girl turned hysterical, her knees failing as she crashed to the floor with a wail of desperation.

It shouldn’t be like this. It should be later, it should be when she wants it, with who she wants it with.

With Fred.

-

The group followed Fred and Ginny’s warnings, watching out for extra guards and taking them down as quietly as they could. One by one they joined each other inside the grounds, in a secluded spot away from the windows.

Fred was adamant to get inside but Ginny had stopped him, reminding the man that what they were walking into was unknown. For all they knew y/n’s parents could have a whole army waiting for them.

“What are you and your wand gonna do against a whole house of people eh?” She had hissed to him, which finally hit home that he couldn’t just rush in and save the girl that easily.

So they waited, and snuck in together, keeping Mr and Mrs Weasley in the rear to watch out for anyone who could follow them.

“I don’t like this.” George had whispered, catching up with his brother at the front of the group. “It’s too quiet.” Admittedly they were walking through what looked to be an old service entrance, the dust and cobwebs indicating that no one had used it in a good few years. But still, houses like these echoed, and yet there wasn’t a single sound coming from anywhere else above them.

-

The girl begged and begged, but she couldn’t escape her fate. The maid had tried to coax her into the wedding dress kindly, warning her that if she didn’t do as her parents said then there would be consequences.

In the end, one of the men who had been keeping watch outside her bedroom ended up coming inside. He had heard the desperate commotion and told the girl to keep quiet. When she, yet again, refused to change the man had stunned her.

When she came to the room was spinning like a carousel, the lights of the chandelier blurring into one on the ceiling. That was when the girl realised she was no longer in the moderate safety of her bedroom anymore.

The silk burnt her skin. It shouldn’t have, but it did and it flared across every inch of her body like a raging forest fire. She tried to move, but someone had her tied again, bound at the wrists and ankles. What a sight she must have been, curled up in a wedding dress and left on the floor of her family’s ballroom.

Her murmurs of confusion alerted two other men in the room, dressed the same as the one who had knocked her out and the one who had taken her from diagon alley.

“Come come sweetie, why don’t we get you on your feet.” His voice sickened her from across the room, he looked at her with a smug sense of pride. It was like he was a hunter and she was his prize catch of the day all dressed in white.

“Where’s Neville?” Her voice was still scratchy, it sounded pathetic against the deep acoustics of the room.

“The quivering mess of a man?” The beast holding her spat, his teeth bared at her cheeks. “I’d barely call him a man-” Another one of them scoffed.

“Now now, we’re graced enough to see a beautiful ceremony today boys, let’s be respectful.” The kidnapper smiled, demanding the attention of everyone who dared speak against him.

“I don’t understand,” She tried to force herself away from the two men’s grip, but they held tight, keeping her as still as they could.

“Well… that’s not for me to explain pretty lady.” He laughed, pacing up and down the room.

“Who will?” The double doors opened behind them, making everyone turn to see. Y/n stumbled slightly, her feet still bound together.

“Let her go, I will not have my daughter married off in shackles.” His voice boomed, louder than anyone else's as he commanded the henchmen to free her. Still they held onto her, making sure she would not run off.

“Father- please!” The girl begged, dropping to her knees, “You can’t do this to me!” “This marriage is happening young lady, whether you’re happy about it or not.” The shrill tone was easy to guess, without her even coming into sight for another few seconds.

“Mother, I’m begging- just let me go… I-I won’t bother either of you ever again!”

“Stand up.” She commanded, her presence daunting even to those watching over her like a prisoner. “You should have considered that before you ran off and tarnished our family name… it is too late for you to redeem yourself- this is our only option.” The woman explained curtly, before taking her place at the side of the girl’s father.

“Besides-” The kidnapper neared her as she wriggled beneath the two men’s arms, lifting her back to her feet. “I’ve heard your groom-to-be  is quite the catch.” He winked.

-

Harry and Ron took down two more guards while George and Fred tried to find their way through the complex labyrinth which was Crag hall, stunning any staff who got in their way.

“Try through there?” George suggested, but it took them to yet another dead end.

“We’re never gonna find her like this, and who knows how the others are getting on.” Fred complained, not wasting a single second before retracing their steps and trying a different direction.

Bill and Hermione came careering round a corner, the older man just managing to get out of the way of a stray hex when the girl pulled him into an empty room.

“What are you doing here?” He asked the two men, but George was already running after whoever had attacked them.

“It’s a dead end, half of this place is empty- George was right, something’s wrong.” Fred huffed, out of breath from bursting through multiple locked doors.

“Maybe they’re all in one place.” Hermione offered up, which was the first good idea anyone had suggested all day. “You know, if they need y/n for something- then everyone would be with her.”

The two men nodded, hearing George’s whistle which signalled that it was clear to come out. He knelt beside the stunned guard, trying to find anything on him that could help. A set of keys jingled against his belt.

“These might work for the rooms upstairs?” He suggested to the small group.

“Bill you go with him, I think me and Fred need to try something different.” Hermione stated, sending the other men off with a quick nod.

“Here,” She handed Fred the unconscious man’s wand. “Don’t want him coming round too quickly and hexing our heads off.” “Not really, if we can help it that is.” He shoved it inside his coat pocket, unbothered by whether it snapped in the process of another fight. “So what’s the plan?” The man asked.

Hermione watched the halls tentatively as she led him back to the first floor.

“If you needed somewhere to hide your daughter, then it wouldn’t be in sight, right?” The girl asked, as if it was a common situation to find yourself in.

“Well… no, so you think there’s a secret room?”

“I’m sure of it.”

The two of them stood under the doorway to the library and Fred wanted to groan, knowing that whenever a plan was involved Hermione would want to do her research before rushing into things.

-

The girl’s sobs were like a moaning ghost, echoing over the large ballroom which held only a small group of people. The man before her was older, she could tell, but that was about all she knew about him. His face was unrecognisable to the friends her parents would have over for big parties, which meant all of this was just a business deal for them.

A knife was placed against her back, the point slicing through the silk dress whenever she tried to move. So she didn’t dare. Her parents had silenced her, bored of hearing the begs for them to let her go.

“It is obvious that none of this needs to be dragged out.” Her father stated, smiling politely at the smartly dressed man who stood before her. “So we won’t dawdle.”

“Of course sir.”

Behind the charm, y/n screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that the sheer volume of it could break through and alert someone. Not that anyone would come, they were out in the middle of nowhere with a household of people fulfilling her twisted parents’ wishes.

“Mr Nott-” Who the hell was this man? “Do you take my daughter, Miss y/l/n to be your lawful wedded wife?”

“I do.” He smirked, obviously quite pleased to have bagged himself a young, unwilling, bride. The girl was sobbing, her eyes blurred as her father turned to her.

“Do you Miss y/l/n, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?”

She choked on her words, shaking her head as best she could with the grief running through her body. Whoever was holding the knife behind her stepped closer, sliding the blade slowly across her exposed back, just to remind her of what would happen if she disobeyed.

“You will agree.” Her mother’s voice sounded out, as she lifted her wand to remove the silencing charm with a deep breath. The girl nodded, racking her brain for any way that she could escape this hell.

Her throat untightened, the noise reaching them all as she sighed out in sudden relief. But it was short lived. Here laid her future, presented in the form of this cruel man who wanted a woman to listen to his every need and keep quiet. Never had she missed diagon alley more than in that moment, she begged to be back in the loft with the twins, in Fred’s arms, watching George guzzle down glass after glass of wine until he passed out. That was the life she chose. Not this.

Maybe the knife’s fate was sweeter than this. A sharp, short price to pay for running away. One that would be better than a lifetime of regret. The silver metal was cold against her skin, a constant reminder.

As Mr Nott’s eyes fixated on her, like he had just won her at a fair, the girl decided what was to be. The blade could finish this pain, once and for all.

“I will never marry this man.” The girl spat out, a sudden rush of happiness in herself that she had managed to finally speak out against her parents wishes. The confidence glowed all over her in that moment, the shine on her cheeks as she smiled in the confused face of her, no longer, husband to be.

There was a loud crash from the double doors.

-

“We don’t have time to read over these books Hermione, y/n could be in danger!” Fred reminded her, watching the girl scan over the surrounding shelves.

“I’m not reading Freddie, I’m looking for a way in.” “Huh?”

“All these books, there was something strange about them.” She explained, not stopping to look at the man who stood behind her.

“I thought I noticed something when we first checked in here, but we left too quickly for me to figure it out.”

“What? Hermione what’s in here?”

“These books, every single one of them are their most recent additions. In fact, they’re all brand new, not a single one looks as though it’s been picked up.”

“So, people don’t read books- you do know that isn’t a crime right?” Fred scoffed, but the girl just ignored him.

“Why would anyone fill up a library with new books?” “Because it’s a new library?”

“An old house like this has rooms that date back centuries, none of them look renovated, yet this one has obviously been done up on purpose.”

“Why in here then?” “Because in here, they are hiding something.” “Like a secret room!” “And you’ve got it, finally.”

Hermione found a crank between two of the bookcases, hidden by a large armchair.

“Here help me out.” Between them they managed to use the crank to push the bookshelves away, two double doors hidden perfectly behind it.

“Find anythin- woah!” Ginny said from the library’s doorway, having spotted them on her way past.

“Get the others, quick!” Fred ordered, sending the redheaded girl into a frenzy through the rest of the house.

He reached out for the handles, grunting when they didn’t budge under his weight.

“It’s been locked from the inside.” He huffed.

“Step back, let me try.” The girl beside him offered.

When the rest of the group arrived, both of them were throwing hexes at the unmoving doors. Both exhausted by the amount of shouting and fighting they’d already been through.

“I think we all need to do it, it shifted a little when I started helping.” Fred explained, stepping aside to let his brothers get a better stance. They all held their wands up high, pointed towards the locks.

With one almighty scene of hexes, the two doors flew off their hinges with a deafening crash. The clouds of smoke kept them in the dark for a few seconds, until Fred couldn’t hold himself back much longer and burst through it to get a better look at what was hidden inside.

“Freddie!” The girl screamed. She was on her knees, the white dress pooled around her as she hit the ground. Above her a man was holding her back, doing all he could to stop her from getting away to the safety of Fred.

The man was someone the twins knew, someone that the whole group was unfortunately familiar with. Someone whom Freddie wished he had killed during the war, when he had that chance.

Although Theodore Nott wrestled with her, he still managed to keep a smug look about him when he saw the Weasley’s and their friends stood amongst the ballroom’s debris.

“Let her go!” Fred boomed, ignoring the threatening stances he was faced with.

“I’m afraid there’s already been arrangements made, Weasley, seems you’ll have to find yourself another silly girlfriend.” He scoffed, yanking the whimpering girl to her feet.

Y/n thrashed with more furiosity than anyone had seen her possess in their time knowing her, spitting harsh words to the man holding her captive. Fred was joined by the rest of his group, who fought the other guards viciously, as well as the girl’s parents who weren’t ones to take the sidelines in any fight.

“I’d be more careful if I were you.” Theo hissed in her ear, low enough that no one could hear over the commotion. He held her there for a moment, so she could watch the guards hurl themselves upon Harry and Ginny. She screamed out for them to stop, but it was useless.

The twins made a run for her, everyone else too busy fighting to get the chance, but Theo was quicker. He whipped out his wand before they even had a chance to react, tossing two sharp hexes their way and knocking them to the ground.

Fred tried to get up but it was useless, only his head could move ever so slightly. He turned to her, seeing the fear on her face at the sight of his nearly lifeless body. The sound of her screams were the worst he’d heard, worse than the night of the break-in. Because she wasn’t bothered about her life this time. Now she was screaming out for Freddie, begging him to be okay.

His face moved, his eyes flickered at the last glimpse of her and the girl gasped with relief. There was a small smile on her face, before it was dragged away from the man. A last glimmer of hope, he saw it as, she was his last hope at happiness.

-

When the twins came around they were relieved to see that the guards, along with y/n’s parents, were knocked out and tied up against the far wall.

“Where is she!” Ginny was yelling at them, uncaring of the fact that they were just slipping back into consciousness. Molly was trying to stop her, but it was a futile attempt.

“Theo has her.” George groaned, getting to his feet with the help of Bill and Arthur. Hermione held out a hand for Fred, seeing the way his eyes glassed over at the thought of her.

“She has to be here somewhere.” He whispered, mostly to himself, but the girl beside him heard it still.

“Why do you say that?” She asked.

“If they were going to apparate, they would have done it the second we got here.” He explained, barely waiting a second before heading out of the ballroom in the direction that Nott took the girl away.

“You think he needs her here?” “I think the wards that have been set up are keeping her here, if Nott thinks her parents are still alive then he won’t know that they’ve been broken, right?” “Very clever.” She commended him. “But I think there could be something-” “I know. I saw the dress, I’m not that oblivious- but still, he needs her here to have her parent’s blessing if they’re to marry. He hasn’t got that, so he’ll be hiding.”

The man was pacing the halls quicker than he’d walked in his entire life, scanning each room as he passed it in case they were inside.

“Hermione!” Ron called from back down the hallway.

“What?” She barked, noticing how Fred didn’t even stop his search.

“We need to obliviate them, could buy us some time.” “Then do it!” “You’re the best at it, come on.” Ron raced back into the ballroom, hearing his fiance groan behind him.

“Hey, Fred?” “I’ll be fine, just go!” He called back, leaving her little choice as she went to obliviate the minds of their captives.

-

The girl had sat in silence ever since Mr Nott had thrown her into one of the guest bedroom’s, keeping his wand pointed at the door. He didn’t want to lock it. He found great joy in telling y/n how he would hex the first person to come through it, laughing over the thought of their lifeless face.

It was blatant to see how the man played around with lives like they were his toys. But all she could think about was how Freddie was laying on the ballroom floor, his eyes full of helpless tears as she was dragged away.

As much as she wanted him to be okay, she begged that he wouldn’t be the one to open that door and face whatever jinx her captor was going to throw.

“Why?” Her voice was dull, void of any hope or joy.

“Speak up, you’re mumbling.” He spat, barely glancing her way as she lay crumpled against the far side of the room, as far from him as she could get within those four walls.

“Why!” Now she was just angry.

She wanted to see her parents suffer, she wanted to see those awful creeps in pain… but most of all she wanted to see Mr Nott writhing in a pool of his own blood. Fred deserved to see that, she deserved to do it.

“Why what?” The man chuckled, amused by the way she scowled at the back of his head.

“Why bother fighting this hard? What have they promised you?”

“A pretty bride of course.” He laughed, his wand outstretched at the sound of some nearby noise down the hallway. His tone was gut wrenching, making the girl want to vomit on his newly polished dress shoes.

“Cut the shit.” She spat, her bones weak from the hours of being tied up and left to starve.

“Your mummy and daddy never told me they had a feisty one,” He turned, losing interest in the door, and approached her. She had nowhere to go, the balcony door was locked and all the furniture was too heavy to try and break the glass.

“Stop it…” She whispered, sick of fighting him off every few minutes, but his hands still reached up to her face. The man grabbed her jaw, rendering her gaze stuck on his.

“You’ve been promised to me… and that’s all I wanted- now be good and do what I say.” He laughed at the way she gulped beneath his harsh grip, digging deeper with each passing second. The pain was a happy sight to the sick man.

“All you want is to own me.” She almost laughed at this small revelation, a weak and airy one at that.

“Now she’s got it.” Theodore hissed, his hand unmoving from her now marked skin.

There was another noise, reminding the man that he was being followed. So he stood again, leaving her slumped in slight relief to watch the door as the footsteps grew slowly closer. They were hesitant, yet heavy. It was him, it had to be.

“Have you ever been in love?” The girl asked, desperately trying to distract him once again. It could buy some time for Freddie, if Mr Nott wasn’t waiting to throw his hex immediately.

The man’s back stiffened a little.

“Hasn’t everyone been in love once, little girl.” He chuckled, dismissing her question.

“But you haven’t?” She pushed.

There was no answer, he just remained with his wand pointed at the door. Except it shook slightly as he reminisced, unbeknownst to the girl.

“Was she pretty?” Y/n knew she was pushing her luck, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

“She... “ He breathed heavily, most likely contemplating why he was even entertaining her curiosity. “Well, it’s me- of course she had to be pretty. I would never settle for less.” His arrogance returned from the sidelines with one deep breath.

“What happened?” “It’s none of your business, now keep quiet.” He could hear whoever was in the hallway getting closer, and the girl’s voice was becoming more and more off putting.

“Mr Nott-” It was the first time she had addressed him all day. “I’m sorry for however you fell out of love, I can’t imagine it was pleasant in the slightest.” He made no reaction, so she kept going.

“Then again, I haven’t been in love before… not before Freddie.” She could see the way his chest heaved more than before as his eyes bored into the wooden doorframe. “So, I wouldn’t know what it is like to lose that love… but I suppose that is a threat as of today.”

Theodore tried to block her out, really he tried, knowing that any second that door before him would fly open and one of the Weasley clan would charge inside to claim his bride as their own.

But all he could think about was her. The one woman he had truly loved, after years of damning the feeling to death, was no longer his to be with. As his hand shook furiously before him, flashes of her perfect smile and devious ways washed through his mind.

She was married to another, by arrangement, his own offer cast aside when the whole ordeal became a business plan. Her father had never seen him suitable from the start, yet he had kept up the naive hope that the woman would see him as perfect enough to disobey her father’s requests.

He wasn’t, however, suitable for anyone it seemed.

“Who was she Mr Nott?” “Shut up!” The man snapped, still unable to concentrate as he had been doing so.

“It will help to talk,” “I do not need to talk to you bitch, now be quiet.”

The footsteps were gone. Or maybe he couldn’t hear them over the sound of his thudding heart. But it panicked him, made him scramble over to the girl in white who cowered at his advance.

He picked her up from the floor and whispered a spell on the french doors behind them, hearing the locks open. The girl whimpered once again in his arms, shivering as the wind rushed inside the room behind them, the threat of the balcony nearing.

“Please,” Y/n whispered, maybe to him, maybe to herself. But it made the man holding her jump slightly, looking down to see her staring at the door with hopeful intent.

For a split second she held such a look of determination that he was reminded of another, suddenly seeing the girl as someone he had loved in the past. It enthralled him how, even faced against a doomed future, she held onto the idea that Fred would save her. He knew the bastard Weasley would do all he could, too. Theodore knew she was loved, something he had never been.

“Pansy…” Mr Nott said airily, watching the girl and recognising her.

“What?”

“Pansy... Zabini.”

The door flew open, shocking them both. Fred was exhausted, his face pale and his body hunched over in pain as he all but fell into the room. There was no time for the girl’s captor to react when he heard the words expelliarmus fall from her lover’s lips.

Nott’s wand flew across the room, despite his attempts to catch it back.

“That was a very bad idea Weasley.” He laughed, remembering why he deserved this. Why he deserved the girl as his own, she was his to show off. To remind everyone that Theodore Nott wasn’t a lovesick fool for anyone.

The man produced a blade, bigger than the one previously pressed into the girl’s back. Now it prodded her side, making her torso tense up once again, yet her eyes softened at the sight of Freddie. Even if he did look like hell.

“Don’t hurt her, you bastard!” Fred spat, holding his hands in the air to show he meant no harm. Anything to protect her, he told himself, as long as nothing happens to y/n.

“Wand down.” Theo spat, chuckling at how easily he’d gained control of the situation.

“Fine, just let her go.”

“No can do, she’s been promised- my prize.” He cooed, feeling the way the girl beside him gulped when he got closer.

All the while, as the Slytherin bragged about his bride to be, Freddie’s eyes remained on the girl. They begged him to save her, to help her, to take her far away and stay with her forever. But she didn’t say a word, just watched him.

“The thing is, Weasley, that your little play thing here- she is just like all the other girls out there… so very disposable.” The knife in Nott’s hands ran up her body, grazing the dress with a light scratching sound. It grated in her mind as she held her breath.

“Please Theo, don’t.” Freddie begged, watching how the blade rested upon her neck. Every shaky breath she took knocked it about, her eyes widening every time.

“All this time she’s been crying and begging and whimpering, don’t you start too.” He sneered, holding the girl’s left arm tighter. “Weak little thing, don’t you agree?”

Fred tried to shake his head, the words not coming out even as he tried.

“Shame. I think she’s purely useless- worthless little y/n?” Theo turned to the girl, her scornful gaze somewhat a shock to him. Still, it gave him a chuckle. “Even her parents didn’t care about her… I see why.”

“Mr Nott?” She asked, her voice like an angel’s to Freddie.

“Yes darling.” Theodore teased, turning back to the redhead with a smug look.

Only to face the girl with shameful horror when she whispered “legilimens”.

He had no chance to fight it, no way to block her from seeing it all. The endless days spent with Pansy at Hogwarts, so in love with one another that it disgusted their friends to no end. She saw how they fought through the war together, side by side, only to be ushered away by their parents when it was clear they were to lose. The girl watched over his memories of the trials, his pleads of being under the imperius curse, his testimony to Pansy’s innocence. Only for the girl to announce her engagement to Blaise Zabini once they were pardoned and allowed to live freely. The girl felt the way his heart broke, over and over, time again. She could feel how little he valued himself, she could see the mask he wore.

“You bitch!”

The knife plunged deep into her side, a ricochet of shouts from Freddie as she stumbled away from Theodore. He ripped it out, the gash in the dress draping open to show off the bloody slit that was now in her skin.

It was a blur, as Fred grabbed his wand and advanced towards the man who held a look of regret over his face. But it wasn’t enough to save him.

“Stupefy”

He slumped onto the balcony railing, his eyes trained on her as she found her footing against the french doors. They were welling up now, covered in hazed tears. With all the pent up adrenaline left inside her she lunged for the man, grabbing his collar and holding his upper body over the edge, threatening to let him fall onto the cobblestones below.

“You remember. I know it all.” She whispered. “Find someone who loves you.” It was a stern plea. Y/n knew that without it, Theodore Nott would only descend into madness.

Fred came to her side when she fell, matching the way the stunned man’s body fell against the railings. The girl’s eyes closed every few seconds, her head misting over as the twin tried desperately to keep her awake.

“Please… y/n…. Wake up…. I need you awake…. I need you.” He begged, fading into nothing as she fell slowly forward into his arms.

Her lips parted as she tried to speak, slowly, but with her last drags of determination.

“Theodore? If you try this again…. With me… or anyone else…” Her breath got heavy as she struggled to push away the pain much longer, the searing sting piercing her side as if she’d been struck a second time. “Then… I’ll push you over.”

With that final warning her eyes closed for good and her body collapsed lifelessly against Fred who couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word as he scrambled around the room for his wand. It took another look at Theo, frozen in his fear to realise what the girl had seen inside his head must have meant something to her. Or else he would have been in a pool of his own blood, on the courtyard below.

“Y/n…” He finally managed. “I’m sorry, this is going to hurt.” Freddie closed his eyes, holding onto her for dear life and ignored the way he wanted to crumble into a string of sobs just at the sight of her. Then they disappeared, leaving Theodore to be found on the balcony…. Alone.

taglist:

@hufflrpuffforfred​

@a--1--1--3​ 

-

“I’m not that late am I?” She joked, taking a seat at their little table before ordering another round for them all.

“Oh no, Gin was just very excited to get started.” Y/n giggled, the alcohol only rouging her cheeks slightly.

“I can tell, your laugh was echoing down the alley,” ‘Mione smirked, leaning back and taking a sip of her own with a relieved sigh. “It feels good to have a break.”

“I haven’t stopped practising in months, this feels like an early christmas.” Ginny mused, reminding them all of why they were gathering in the first place.

Upon learning that y/n had the afternoon free, Ginny had raced over to the loft to take her own, sending an owl to Hermione telling her to sack off work so they could go for drinks. The desk maniac had grumbled, not one to walk out on a whim, but gave in when she thought back to how long it had been since she had seen the girls.

“Perks of being the head of your own department,” She grinned, eyeing up the girl beside her. “And how did you convince tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee to free you?”. Y/n ignored Weasley's look of confusion and giggled.

“I already had the afternoon off, luckily.”

“And Fred loves you.” Ginny slurred, calling the waiter over yet again.

“What!” Hermione squealed, having not been caught up since the girl and Bill decided not to pursue things. “When did this happen?”

“He doesn’t love me, Ginny, you minx.” Y/n slapped her friends wrist lightly.

“Oh he so does!”

Hermione frowned, remembering the conversation she and Fred had shared back at the burrow, how devastated he’d been just at the sight of the girl with Bill. If only she could reveal all that he’d told her, then y/n would know the truth. But Hermione knew all she could do to help was urge her into seeing what was obviously already there.

“He’s been looking after me, since the incident- then there was this thing on the roof the other night.” She explained to her friends.

“Not to mention you guys kissed!” Ginny piped up, and the look of shock on Hermione’s face was purely comical.

“Oh come on it wasn’t like that!” The girl defended, not wanting to rush into the idea that her feelings for Fred were reciprocated. “I kissed him.”

Hermione pulled her work blazer off and rested it on the back of the chair, preparing for what could only be an intense afternoon of grilling their new friend for details. That was as long as Ginny had anything to do with it, and Hermione would never say it, but she too lived for the same kind of gossip.

“Did he kiss you back?” She sipped on her wine politely, all the while watching her over the glass.

“Well- yeah but-” “Then he likes you!” Ginny squealed, positively ecstatic at the situation, her nose wrinkling up as she couldn’t stop smiling. Y/n admired how fearless the girl was as she gazed upon her hopeful sister-in-law.

“Oh will you just drop it,” The girl jokingly whined, rolling her eyes.

“Not until I see you in a wedding dress my girl!” She announced.

-

The three girls spent the rest of the day sharing stories and gossip, most of their time was used up discussing whether Hermione’s new secretary was pregnant or just ate really weird food. In the end they never came to a conclusion, Ginny having gotten side tracked when the other two had tried explaining what a Jaffa cake was to her.

By the time they paid the poor waiter, who seemed traumatised in their drunken company; the sun was just setting and they stumbled through the alley to drop y/n off at the twins’ front door.

“S-see home safe…” She giggled, leaning against the door and falling a little when the last customer tried to leave. “Oh sorry!” She tried to call out, but the three women were already in an unstoppable roar of laughter.

“You’re no safer in their company than ours!” Hermione tried to argue, gesturing to the two men inside, who had stopped what they were doing to try and comprehend what on earth was going on outside.

“And we’re sober!” Ginny cried. “Oh no- we’re not sober- they are.” She corrected herself, propping her head onto ‘Mione’s shoulder with a sweet giggle. The redhead’s eyes closed momentarily, before opening when her crutch decided to move off.

“See you soon y/n!” Hermione waved, dragging Ginny behind her, who tried to give her best goodbye given the state she was in.

“Better retrieve little miss clumsy before she breaks a bone.” George scoffed, seeing the way the girl struggled to open the front door. Fred could only smile, glad that she had agreed to go out with Ginny, not that their sister would have let her decide regardless.

“Come here you!” He laughed and helped her inside, she slumped against his side slightly with a giggle.

“Missed you twooo…” She drawled, sprawling her body against the counter once she was let down by the man at her side.

Fred kept a subtle, watchful eye on her, noticing the way she swayed back and forth and was in danger of smacking her head against a nearby shelf if she chose to fall backwards.

“Our sister is a bad influence on you.” George grinned, ruffling her hair as he counted up the cash from the day’s earnings.

“She’s gr-reat.” The girl blushed, turning her head to smile at Fred, even if her eyes were tightly closed.

“Did you know that Ron still sleeps with a teddy?” She blurted out, catching both men's attention as they plonked her down on a stool. Her drunken body was more of a caution than they cared to admit, so decided to keep her out of the way as they cleared up.

“He does?” George laughed, dumbstruck by this new and incredibly embarrassing piece of information about his youngest brother.

“Yeah. Hermione told me all about it- ssays that he throws a ffit whenever she tries to hide it from him.” The girl couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she slurred her words.

“That’s brilliant! He’s never gonna hear the end of this.” Fred shook his head in disbelief as he swept the floor around the girl’s feet. Her laugh was like music, sounding out in between small rambles of her time with the two girl’s. It seemed to make time pass faster.

“All done?” She asked, cocking her head like a puppy when Fred stopped in front of her.

“Yes darling, all done. Come on, let’s get some food in you, you must be starving-” The girl nodded silently, like a peaceful child, as he gave her a piggyback up to the loft, basking in her tiny squeals of excitement.

-

As y/n sobered up over multiple slices of pizza, Fred enjoyed the moment of blissful solitude he felt from the rest of the world. Curled up on their sofa, the girl was the only thing important to him. She would look up every few minutes to check that he was still there, despite the fact that he had a permanent arm sloped around her shoulders. He didn’t mind, she was cute.

George was just happy for things to be back to how they were. The three of them all getting along, with an endless supply of boozy evenings in the kitchen and dance parties late into the night whenever they felt like it.

Y/n had brought more life into their lonely loft, and for that the twins would be eternally grateful. In fact, as George peered over the other two he longed for her to stay with them forever, fearful of a future where she wasn’t giggling on their sofa, or watching the lights with stars in her eyes, or dancing in the kitchen, or helping little kids play pranks on their parents.

Things were finally… normal.

-

“He’s always the first to crash.” Fred scoffed, hearing his brother’s snores from down the hall. The girl in his loose arms laughed, the feeling flowing through her body onto his own.

“At least he was polite enough to do it in his own bed this time.” “That’s true, I have back pain from the amount of times I’ve had to carry him from the sofa.”

Since the night on the roof, both Fred and the girl had become much more relaxed around one another. The man finding comfort in holding her, in one way or another whenever they were together. It made things easier that she visibly brightened up whenever he did so, her little cheeks warming as she would play with her sleeves to distract herself.

As it was they were laying back on the sofa, Fred propped up against the arm to serve as her chair so she could see the stars better.

“I did say we could go onto the roof, they’d be easier to see from there.” He reminded her, his face rested on her shoulder.

“I like it here,” The girl smiled, sinking even deeper into his chest with a happy sigh.

After some time the pair fell asleep, their faces still positioned up to the living room’s windows as they breathed lightly against each other. Fred’s body wrapped around the girl’s, as she rested beneath the blanket she’d grabbed about an hour earlier.

The man’s body twitched, a small grumble leaving his parted lips when he felt a sharp twinge in his lower back, one that woke him from his slumber. The girl followed suit, mumbling something about heading to bed, but making no move to do so.

“Come on,” Fred sighed, giving in to the pain the sofa was causing him, and stood up to hold out a hand for the girl.

He gave her a long hug as they stood alone in the dark room, only the light from the kitchen giving them some clue of the nearby obstacles. The girl’s arms stayed around Fred, unwilling to let go, almost as if she could tell that he too didn’t want her to go.

“Y-you could sleep up here if you want?” He asked quietly and cautiously, not wanting to spook her with anything too serious. The girl looked up, into his nervous eyes, and nodded.

“Yeah… but n-not because I’m scared or anything-” “Oh yeah of course not.” Fred nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“I just want you to know that I want to stay because I want to, no other reason- you know?”

Fred laughed at how she rambled before him.

“I think so… but you lost me somewhere in there.” “Shut up.” She grumbled, hiding her smile badly.

The two of them went up to Fred’s room, resting in one anothers hold just as easily as they’d done on the sofa so many nights before. Y/n pushed past the memories of his bed, not wanting to remember the circumstances under which she was last in there.

Instead she focused on the man beside her who, despite his tired nature, couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep until she did in case she needed him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” He whispered, her face appearing better as his eyes adjusted to the pitch black room. “I’m glad I stayed.”

A large hand rested upon the girl’s face, the skin smooth and warm as she closed her eyes beneath his touch. She couldn’t help but hold her breath, feeling the intensity between them growing as he ran his fingertips slowly over her face and onto her jaw.

Fred’s lips felt even better as he pressed them against her neck with restrained passion, the short gasps from the girl only urging him to finally give in to his desires with every passing second.

When the man leant up, pulling away from her skin, he saw the way her eyes shined as they locked into his. She greeted him with a small smile, still in awe of the moment.

“You okay?” He whispered, worried that she was having second thoughts.

“I’m great.”

The girl took his face in her hands, holding tight so she could keep him as close as possible while she kissed him, properly this time. With no regrets, no second thoughts, and not even a glimpse of hesitation, she finally let her body take over.

-

George sat at the kitchen table, his mug of coffee hovering over his mouth as he watched the clock on the wall; wondering when either one of the missing pair were going to turn up before the shop opened. His question was answered when the sound of Fred’s door closing echoed throughout the loft, followed by a quiet curse.

“Ah! Caught you!” He shouted, making the girl jump out of her skin as she attempted to creep through the living room.

“Oh… Georgie- I-uh I didn’t realise you were awake.” She stuttered, halting at the door when she remembered she was covered in Fred’s old quidditch jersey.

“Well, we do open in twenty minutes.” He smirked, nodding at her appearance.

She looked down at herself with a nervous laugh.

“I-I was just borrowing this for… um… for-” “Cut the crap. I already know.” George laughed, deciding that he’d teased the poor girl enough for one morning.

Y/n just rolled her eyes and sat down across from him, stealing his toast from the plate.

“How did you know?” She asked, crumbs falling onto her lap as she curled up in the wooden chair with bleary eyes.

“Well first off you two aren’t exactly subtle with the lovey-dovey gazes at one another.” He scoffed.

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” She argued playfully, taking his coffee too and taking a large, well-needed, gulp.

“No, I suppose it’s not-” He gave in, the smirk still painfully strong however. “But the sound of you two going at it all night, that kind of gave it away.”

The girl choked on her mouthful of toast, close to spitting it out at George’s blunt words.

“Oh god.” She sputtered out, grabbing his drink once again to settle her surprised coughs.

“I mean- really! Did you both forget that magic exists?” “Was it that loud?” She seemed to be surprised, even at her own capabilities.

“Please- don’t make me relive it.” George groaned, dodging the girl’s light slap as she leant over the table to strike him.

“What are you shouting about-” Fred froze in the doorway when he noticed y/n was still wearing his clothes, even after she’d told him she was sneaking down to change before his brother noticed.

“Gig’s up freddie boy! You’ve been caught!” George announced, throwing his hands in the air like he was at an actual quidditch game, which was very fitting.

“Oh y/n! Come on! He saw you?”

The girl scoffed along with George.

“Do not blame me, he knew well before I came down.” The girl defended herself with a smile, hiding her face behind the coffee cup which she had now claimed as her own.

“What? How?” Fred asked, seeing his brother’s face drop slightly.

“Please- not again.” He begged, this time blind to the girl’s smack on the back of his head as she moved to the sink.

“Right drama queens,” She teased, “Long day ahead of us, huh?” The girl winked at Fred, making his brother groan out in playful disgust.

“I have to live with this now- OW!” Fred was much better at hitting his brother, knowing where it would hurt most.

-

“So, where are you two gonna go on a date?” Ginny asked, leaning against a shelf of electric shock shakes that the girl was stacking up.

“It’s not like that Gin- we’re taking things slow.” She told her friend, making sure they were out of earshot of the man in question.

“Boring!” The youngest Weasley wasn’t one for subtly, especially when she had more free-time on her hands while on break from quidditch practices.

“Ooh what about somewhere really romantic- like paris!” The redhead exclaimed, startling some passing customers.

“What’s in paris?” Y/n laughed, passing it off as a joke.

“Umm- what’s not in paris more like.”

“I’m not in Paris.” George stuck his head between the two girls, making them jump in shock. Ginny shoved him away slightly.

“Get lost, no one wants you to third wheel their date.” She complained.

“You and Freddie are dating? I thought this was purely casual.” He frowned.

The girl whipped round.

“It is casual, but Ginny’s got it in her head that we’re on the road to marriage or something.”

“Well duh, eventually you will be.” Her friend scoffed, acting as though she was the only one in their right minds. “We should go shopping, I saw this perfect dress down at Madam Malkins’ the other day- I could get it for you.” “No, you’ve done enough for me-” The girl tried to protest, but Ginny was too lost in the idea to stop rambling on about Paris and new dresses and romantic restaurants.

“I’ve seen her like this before,” George whispered, seeing the look of fear on the girl’s face as she saw no way out. “Sometimes, if you back away very slowly, she doesn’t even notice that you’re gone.” He explained, grabbing her wrist and taking her away very slowly.

It turned out George was very experienced with Ginny taming, and they managed to get away unscathed.

“That’ll keep her busy for at least twenty minutes.” He laughed, from the safety of the counter, where he could pretend to be busy if she tried to hassle him.

“What? The sound of her own voice.” “Honestly, it’s a strange sight- but she can entertain herself like no one else.” He laughed, reminiscing on times when he’d find a six year old Ginny Weasley interviewing herself in the bathroom mirror like she was writing an article for the prophet.

“You’re a lifesaver Georgie.”

“What are we hiding from?” Fred whispered, poking his head between the two just as George had done earlier. It garnered a similar reaction, with both jumping at the sound of his voice.

“Little miss chatterbox over there.” George sighed, slumping into the stool that laid behind the till.

“Oh yeah, it’s best to let her wear herself out when she’s like this.” Fred nodded, putting down the boxes he’d been carrying. “Has she mentioned paris yet?” He asked.

“How did you know?” Y/n gasped, eyeing him up suspiciously.

“Oh she cornered me earlier, honestly I thought I’d never get away-” He huffed at the memory, “I ended up knocking over a lamp just so I could have a reason to get away.”

Freddie handed a dustpan and brush to his brother.

“That reminds me, cleanup on aisle two.” He teased, giving George a playful smack on the back as he sloped off to reluctantly do Fred’s dirty work.

“You’re cruel,” The girl grinned, leaning into his side like it was second nature to them.

“Don’t deny it- you love it.”

She looked up at the man with a wide smile, one that he would have to dream of every night if it hadn’t been there beside him when he woke up that morning.

“I know we said casual-” The girl started, instilling a little fear in them both. “-so this isn’t me asking for a date, don’t worry. But there is somewhere we could go. She offered up with a hopeful look. “If you wanted to watch the stars, that is.”

Fred leant up against the back wall, his body about a head taller than the girl’s as he smirked down at her.

“Are you telling me that my beautiful roof isn’t enough for you?” He teased, clutching his heart like it had been stabbed by her words. “I’m hurt!” “Well- if you come with me then we can decide which is better, yeah?” She smirked and Freddie couldn’t help but give in to her perfect little face.

“Of course darling, oh- watch out, Ginny’s clocked us.”

Fred scurried away, ducking his head, and leaving the girl to fend for herschel against his sister’s constant stream of date ideas.

“Traitor!” She called after him, huffing in defeat when Ginny whipped out a dress catalogue, flicking through to show her all the pages she had marked. Where had she got that from?

-

Once the shop served it’s last customer, and the twins forcibly removed their little sister from y/n’s side, all three of them settled in for the night. George, being the secret granddad he truly was, went off to bed early with complaints of back pain. That only made the teasing easier.

“I was the one doing heavy lifting too!” Fred called after him from the kitchen, cleaning up their dirty plates.

“We are all painfully aware- given how often you mention it.” The girl laughed, rolling her eyes as he bared his teeth to her. “Play nice.” She sneered, jumping out of the way while the man tried to flick water onto her with his wand.

Once their miniature water fight ended with a truce, the girl wrapped her arms around Fred’s waist, nuzzling her head into his back with a comfortable hum. The man smiled to himself, one hand conducting the dishes before him and the other rubbing gently over her fingers.

“So,” He started, his voice rumbling through his body. “You gonna tell me where we’re going later?” “Nope, it’s a surprise.” She giggled.

“Or a kidnapping- it sounds like a kidnapping.” He insisted, teasing the girl as she spoke.

“I promise that I won’t kidnap you, especially since you and Georgie were kind enough to not be creeps when I moved in.”

“I wouldn’t speak too soon darling.” Fred warned, finally setting down his wand and grabbing her body to hold her properly.

She wrapped her legs around him, leaning back to get a good look at the man’s face.

“What?” He asked her.

“Nothing. I’m just looking.”

“Well, I don’t blame you.” He scoffed, planting soft kisses onto her cheeks and all over her face, basking in the squeaks of happiness that she made with each one.

-

It was well past midnight when the girl finally convinced Fred to leave the loft, their make out session having gotten a little heated once they moved it to the bedroom. At least this time one of them remembered to cast a silencing spell, the fear of another lecture from George becoming a real threat to the couple.

“I’m coming- chill out,” Fred laughed, seeing the girl waiting in the middle of the living room with a nervous tap in her feet. “Let me just grab a jacket.”

“I’m getting impatient Freddie,” She whined out, excited to show him her favourite spot.

The man chuckled as he took her hand, giving her one last look of pride before they disappeared from the loft with a flash of air. Y/n had never apparated before she left home, but the twins had been eager to teach her how, seeing as she had enjoyed it much more than the floo line.

“Where the hell is this place?” Freddie frowned when they landed in the middle of a wooded clearing, only the sound of rustling leaves to be heard around them. The man spun round, taking in the serenity of this place compared to the bustling city.

“This is Godstone cove,” The girl explained, taking his hand again and leading him through the woods, closer to where they could see the moon shining through the trees.

“This is a forest y/n.”

“I know this isn’t the cove, but there is one- come on!” She pulled him, still just as impatient as when she had been waiting for him to leave.

As the moon’s light became brighter, the trees began to dwindle away, revealing a small patch of patch in front of them. The water licked across it gently, barely making a sound. Fred stood watching the sky’s light ripple over the waves.

“Here we are.” She announced, taking a seat on the sand with a happy sigh. Fred followed suit, his eyes locked on the stars above them. She was right, it was a perfect place to watch them.

“How did you find this place?” He asked her, an arms fixed round her waist as they laid back on the sand.

“My aunt took me here when I was younger, it was the closest thing to a beach that I’d ever see.” “You never mentioned an aunt.” The man’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, as if they didn’t want to disturb the peace all around them.

“I only knew her for a short time. She was my father’s sister and she was great, she’d always bring me presents and play with me- but she travelled a lot.” “Why did she leave?” It was like he already knew, he knew something had gone wrong.

“I don’t remember much about it-” She started, hesitantly, but still with a welcome smile on her face. Just the memory of her aunt, even the unpleasant ones, still filled her with warmth. “But she and my father got into an argument, a bad one, and she said something about leaving the country for good.”

“And your father didn’t like that?” “I think he hated the idea of being away from her, not being able to look after her when she needed it. Except it came out as hatred… which only pushed her away even more.” “I’m sorry y/n,” He held her closer, knowing that talking about her family had never come easy to the girl.

“She brought me here the day before she left, our last adventure, that’s what she’d told me.” Her little chuckle still sounded sad. “Then that was it, my parents never spoke of her again- even if I tried to bring her up, they would just tell me to forget her.”

The water sloshed against the small wooden pier beside them as they laid in each other’s arms.

“You know my family loves you.” Fred said, out of the blue.

“They’re all brilliant,” She beamed, thankful that they had brought her such kindness.

“Well then you don’t need anyone else, as long as you have us… and you always will.”

When the girl looked at him her eyes sparkled, maybe because of the stars, or maybe because of the threatening tears. But she didn’t care, she no longer wanted a family that outed her for being curious or one that planned her life to the day.

She had Fred, and that was all the girl could ever ask for.

“I love you.” The man blurted out, still staring deep into her soul. The girl went to respond, a few seconds later, to which he just interrupted. “-No, you don’t need to say it back, I don’t expect you to, I just wanted you to know- that’s all.”

“Freddie?” She asked with a grin, loving the way he rambled when he was nervous.

“Yes darling?” “I love you.”

-

The pair laid together for hours, watching the sun rise and drifting off  to the sound of rippling water. Freddie watched her sleep for a while, the orange glow of the waking sky lighting up her cheeks as he stroked them.

When they finally awoke together it was early enough for them to head back to the loft and still get some rest before the day began. Freddie held her, still drowsy, in his arms and apparated them back to his room, vowing to return to Godstone cove with her again when they next got the chance.

George had woken them both at 8 o’clock, with a less than lovely song about them shagging. Despite the fact that by the time Fred and y/n had made it back, neither of them would have been conscious enough to do so. Still it worked to get them out of bed, even if it was to hit him into silence.

“Ron said he’s gonna drop by today, something about dinner at the burrow.” He explained, rubbing his messy hair from his face, ignoring the scowl’s that Freddie was sending him.

“Oh yeah Hermione wrote a couple days ago to tell me, said Ron keeps forgetting to let you guys know.” The girl explained, watching the toaster with hopeful eyes.

“So you knew as well?” Fred asked.

“And didn’t tell us either?” George finished.

Y/n just laughed and leant against the counter.

“Well then what would be the point of Ron?” She proposed, to which both men amazingly agreed. “Your poor siblings.”

“Hey, you’re practically part of the family, remember- don’t think you’re excused from our teasing.” Fred scoffed.

“God don’t I know it.” She groaned.

“Ahh y/n as part of the family,” George dramatically stated, “does that mean you’re sleeping with your sister now?” He asked his brother.

“Fucking hell Georgie-”

“What’s wrong with you!” “Disgusting!” They cried out, the girl barely needing to move in order to place a good whack on the back of his head.

The man grimaced but basked in the chaos his off handed comment had created.

“Don’t even say that, she’s my girlfriend for merlin’s sake!” Fred chimed, unknowing of what he’d just announced in front of the other two.

All of them froze, George holding his mug still in the air, the girl with her hand ready on the fridge door and Freddie gripping the cereal box in one hand. All the while contemplating asking Hermione if she could help him find another time turner, just so he could avoid this tense silence.

The toaster popped up, jump-starting all three of them again, as if they had been reset.

“I am?” The girl finally spoke up.

“W-well… unless you have a problem with that?” Freddie joked, half cursing himself for not being a little more serious.

“You can run now, it’s not too late.” George whispered, but to whom it was unclear.

“Shut up George!” Both of them responded regardless, making it very clear how the girl felt.

“I don’t have a problem with that, I love you… remember?” She smiled, a little glint in her eye as she did.

George groaned, throwing his head onto the table with a thud.

“I can’t take you two!” He cried out.

“Then get laid!” The girl said sweetly, catching them all off guard. “Come on you two, stop gawking and get downstairs, we’re gonna be late opening.”

-

The night that everyone gathered at the burrow had been a celebratory one of sorts. Molly Weasley had been over the moon to see Fred so happy with the girl, after the confirmation that Bill wasn’t upset about it of course, and Ginny was using up her last evening of getting drunk before she was back to practising for the quidditch world cup.

Everyone else humoured the occasion, which had ended with a pile of empty firewhiskey bottles and some pitchy karaoke from Arthur and George. It hadn’t been a surprise that they ended up back at the loft in a pile of limbs, none of them anywhere near sober enough to stay standing while they apparated home.

“Leave him!” Fred wheezed, seeing how his brother hadn’t waited a single second before falling asleep on the hard wooden floor of the living room. “You know he’s impossible to wake when he’s like this.” The girl giggled, but agreed, letting his leg hit the floor after trying to drag him to his room.

“Come on, I’m exhausted.” The man groaned, taking her hand.

“Yes well that’s because you and Harry insisted on having a race around the house.” “Which I won, I’ll have you know!”

“Only because you jelly-legsed Harry- that’s right, I saw you do it!” She accused, with a smug grin on her face.

“Let me have it, just this once?” He pleaded.

“Fine… I’ll be up in a minute, I wanna get some clean pyjamas from downstairs.” The man nodded at her words, silently stumbling up the set of stairs to his room.

Y/n chuckled to herself, giving George another nudge as she passed him and lit her wand to shine the way down through the shop. Her room was untouched, given that she barely spent any time in it now that she slept with Freddie most nights. A part of her felt bad, but it was sad being away from her boyfriend when he was just a short walk from her.

Once the lamp was switched on she saw the unfamiliar owl at the window, its little beak too quiet to be heard as it tried to tap on the glass. Hurriedly she opened it up, taking the letter from between its beak and frowning.

The hand in which the letter was written made the girl’s stomach drop immediately, a feeling of impending doom washing over her as she slipped the parchment from the envelope with shaky hands.

Y/n, this nonsense has gone on far too long. Your Father and I have spent months tracking you down, and if this letter EVER finds you then just know that we are extremely disappointed. Though I’m sure that is a fact you must be aware of already. We request you return home immediately, from wherever it is you are holed up. You are too young to be alone in this world, there are all sorts of people who wish to pray on you.

As if it is bad enough that you have run away like some sort of delinquent, you have put a stain on our family name. Forever more will we have the reputation that our daughter cannot be controlled, however do you wish to find a husband that way? Who would want you when you’ve already been exposed to the smog of a spinster’s life, absolutely no one respectable, that’s who.

Now you will come home at once or else we will have no choice but to take more forceful measures to make sure you’re returned to our care. This is non negotiable, you will be punished, I will see to it.

Mother.

Why hadn’t it been a howler? The girl wondered, peering over the words with her eyes unwilling to blink between each letter written down. She had heard about the punishment from the twins, of course, and presumed that she hadn’t received one because she was always home. Maybe her mother was trying to lull her into a sense of security, hoping she would take her advice and just go back home to be punished like it seemed to be her parent’s wishes. The twins could help her understand it better, the girl thought, well Freddie at least, seeing as he was the only one alive.

She grabbed a change of clothes, and held onto the letter, lighting the way once again with her wand when there was a knock on the shop’s front door. The girl turned, pointing her wand to a figure who stood outside, in the alley.

“Neville?” She asked, frowning at the man, who had a look of worry on her face. She neared the door, a polite smile on her face, despite the fact that it was the early hours of the morning and all she wanted was to sleep. “What are you doing here?” She asked as she opened the door.

“Oh god y/n… I’m- I’m so sorry.” He stuttered shakily, turning his head a little to reveal the man crouching down at the edge of the building.

The alley was dark and it was a struggle to see much, but y/n couldn’t miss the glint of silver that reflected the moon. It had been a quick flash of light, enough to draw her eyes down, where the man held a blade threateningly towards them both.

“Now now, don’t make a scene sweetie.”

“Really?” Fred was genuinely caught off guard by this, thinking back to how happy the girl and Bill had seemed together. The way both of them just clicked, it had to have worked out, right?

“Don’t get me wrong he’s lovely, and a true gentleman, but it was just that-” The man watched her face as she spoke, her eyes never leaving the lights. The girl knew if she looked over at him that she would break.

“Bill’s always been the perfect one,” Fred laughed lightly, taking a sip of his tea and offering it out to the girl. Her fingertips burnt against the heat of it as she took it, but it wasn’t even noticeable over the thoughts rushing through her head. “I’m surprised, I thought you two were really gonna work.”

Y/n wanted to scream out in frustration, hating the way that she played around with how she felt all because Bill was there and willing when Fred didn’t seem to be.

“So did I, but he just- he… he wasn’t…” Fred “It doesn’t matter.” She finished.

“He wasn’t what?” The man asked.

“It wasn’t what I expected… that’s all.” She lied.

In fact, her date with the older Weasley brother had gone exactly as she had expected it to do so after the break-in. When she finally realised that there was only one person who would risk everything for her, and he had been the one to look after her all day, selflessly.

She went on the date out of courtesy, knowing that it wouldn’t give her the kind of butterflies she got when Fred looked her in the eyes. Nothing else would, that was one thing she knew for certain. She also knew that she wanted to look at him more than anything, but held herself back a little longer.

“He feels the same,” That was true.

“Really? He does?” Fred cursed himself for sounding so excited, but the girl looked none the wiser. She nodded.

“We get on, that’s obvious, but I don’t think it’s anything more than simple attraction.”

The mug got passed between them until it ran dry, the man retreating back to the kitchen to make them another. He knew she had only said yes to stall them a bit longer, there was no way she wanted to go back into her room alone. So if she wanted to stay awake and chat with him a little longer, he would do so, it wasn’t like he was going to drift off anytime soon.

When he brought her a tea of her own she was stood up, facing the window and breathing slow, deep breaths. Not even the sound of the porcelain against the coffee table stirred her.

“Y/n?” He called to her, hushed, but she didn’t move. Fred frowned, walking over carefully as not to spook her. “You okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, waiting for a small squeal or a jump. But she was frozen on the spot. “You’re freezing.” He exclaimed, not having felt the way her skin had chilled from the rain.

“Freddie?” She asked, stopping him as he went to fetch her a blanket to warm up in. He stopped, moving closer again, seeing her face glowing orange against the lights once again.

“Yes?”

“Thank you…” It sounded like she was deep in thought, like her words were coming out before her head could even comprehend it.

“What for?” The man was confused, never having seen her zone out this way before.

Her head turned slightly, her glassy eyes meeting his after what felt like years. Fred felt his heart pause for a moment, without his doing, the sight before him was one that he wished to frame in a gallery for all to see. Yet it was just them in this silent moment, one that he longed to last forever.

“Everything…” It was a little more than a whisper, like a gentle plea. Her face leant closer, titing to fit perfectly against his. The man’s breath was stolen away in one brief second, as her lips locked onto his. It felt like seeing the sun after years of being in darkness, in fact, she felt like the warmth of sunlight against his skin as they touched.

Her cool hands reached for his neck, fingertips playing over him like they were dancing. The man sighed out in content, his own body finally kicking in and holding her waist with an intense grip. She felt like heaven, like his angel.

Freddie wanted it to last forever, he wanted her to last forever. But she jumped away, like the man’s lips had shocked her. The girl looked down at her feet, breathing heavily from the lack of air and staring at the floorboards as if they were bearing a message.

“I’m so sorry.” She groaned out. “It’s okay.” He tried to reassure her, but she backed away from him like she didn’t trust herself. That beautiful moment, those stolen moments that he had longed for, looked to be her biggest regret.

“I’m an idiot, god, you must-” “Y/n stop.” He reached out and rubbed the side of her arm carefully, bowing his head to look at her properly. But she didn’t dare look into his eyes again. She couldn’t risk it.

“It’s j-just been a long day,” She sighed, falling back onto the sofa and out of his reach.

She wavered as she spoke, her voice threatening to break into a string of sobs.

“Hey, hey, let’s get you to bed huh?” Fred’s voice was soothing, his smile comforting as he offered out a hand for her to take.

She went with him like a child who needed caring for, her footsteps slow and unbalanced as Fred took her up the small set of stairs to his room. He watched her get into his bed, still dressed in the outfit she’d left the loft in, and bury herself beneath the covers.

“I’ll be on the sofa if you need me,” He told her quietly, waiting by the door. The bedside lamp was still on, but it seemed like the girl wasn’t going to make any moves to change that, so he left it alone.

She nodded in response, her head facing the small window as the rain continued to fall down against it.

“That way if anyone tries to get in, they’ll need to fight me off first.” He joked, a small giggle sounding from the mass amounts of duvet around the girl’s head. Fred went to leave, a small voice stopping him.

“Freddie?”

“What is it darling?” The girl froze again, somewhat amazed that he wasn’t back to his unusually cold ways once again.

“Thanks, again… I won’t kiss you this time though- I promise.” She chuckled, her cheeks a little red as she sat up to face him in the doorway, a brave smile on her face even as while she felt like crying.

“You’re dangerous you know,” He scoffed, smiling sweetly. “Goodnight y/n.”

-

Fred thought it best that the girl rested up while he worked in the shop, leaving her to sleep in while George opened up. She had been confused, for a number of reasons, when she woke up in Fred’s bed still wearing her white dress.

It all came back to her. The unfulfilling date with Bill, the rain that she’d stood beneath as she saw a figure walk around in the loft above, the lights from the living room window, the kiss with fred.

“Oh you idiot!” She groaned again, reliving the moment that she’d realised how stupid she was being. He had spent the past week being a mute around her, and now she was dropping to her knees after one day of kindness. After all that, she had still thought there was a chance he liked her back.

She stumbled back to her room, still half-asleep, ignoring the way George frowned at her appearance as he served a customer on the tills. The room was still cluttered from the break-in, glass on the floor and a shattered lamp by the bed.

It had felt like a cage at the time, trapped in those stranger’s arms, but as she waved her wand and watched the mess disappear before her eyes, the memories didn’t seem all that constant anymore.

The girl looked into the small wardrobe, her collection of clothes barely filling it half-way, and picked out a black skirt and white shirt to pull on.

“Damn.” She looked in the mirror, her only bra’s black fabric showing through the button up. “Suppose I was too cold anyway.” The girl shrugged, grabbing a sweater vest and pulling it over the top.

“Scourgify.” She whispered, too behind on the day to waste time with a shower.

She was sitting on the small chair at her desk, pulling on a pair of boots so that she could leave the room and finally face the day with what little respect she had left for herself. But as her head lifted she spotted her pile of blank parchment stacked on the table before her.

The twins wouldn’t even notice her absence a few minutes more as she scratched out a quick letter, the girl decided, dipping her quill into the golden ink pot her father had gifted her one childhood birthday. It was one of the only things they had given her that she felt important enough to run away with.

Her thoughts felt rushed as she wrote, but all the same she didn’t hesitate to make her point very clear. Dear Bill, had felt appropriate, given that she praised him so highly in her mind. He was the perfect match, handsome and kind, and an all-round gentleman. But he wasn’t her perfect match, a fact that she was certain he already knew.

The final signature of her name was shaky, and full of nerves as it finally hit her that she was back to square one. Still confused, still wondering, and still somewhat alone.

-

George smiled widely when the girl reappeared from her bedroom, wearing a fresh set of clothes, and looking a bit more aware of everything as she approached him.

“Morning,” He grinned, leaning against the counter like he was expecting something from her. “Did you just get in?” He asked, regarding her previous outfit.

“No, I slept in Fred’s bed- where’s your owl I need to send a letter.”

The man almost choked on his sip of coffee, struggling to find the right words as she looked around for the bird that often perched on the higher shelves.

“You slept with Fred?” He gasped, but the girl wasn’t concentrating on him as she walked off, the envelope gripped between her two fingers.

Fred was busy looking over some invoices, and didn’t spot her pass by, so George dragged him over to the counter, where they were free of customers for the moment.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He hissed, pulling his brother closer as the girl wandered around nearby.

“Jesus George, what are you on about- let go of me.” He swatted the man’s hand away, taking a few hesitant steps away.

“You slept with y/n?” He accused him.

“No-” “Well she said she slept in your bed.”

“Yeah, I was on the sofa though. Just figured she wouldn’t want to be in her room after the other night, you know.”

George nodded slowly, choosing to believe his brother. After all, he would have been able to tell if the two of them actually had slept together, because fred would be jumping around the shop instead of walking.

“Is she okay?” Fred asked his brother, finally seeing her for the first time that morning, as she watched their owl fly out the open window.

“Not sure, she seemed a bit distracted this morning, how was she last night? Did she mention how the date went?” George wanted to know every detail, preferably from the girl herself, but it was obvious that would be harder than expected given that she had barely acknowledged their previous conversation.

“She said it was nice.” Fred told him. “Then she kissed me.”

“She what!” George’s voice was nothing shy of a yell, catching the attention of a small group of kids browsing their newest stock of screaming yo-yos.

“Keep it down will you?” His brother dragged him further behind the counter, out of sight of the girl, who hadn’t moved from her spot since her letter had been taken off into the sky.

“What about Bill- does he- oh god he’s gonna kill you!” George rambled, seemingly going through all stages of grief. If he had thought things were complicated for his twin before, this new information was sure to rock the boat.

“She’s not sure about Bill, I don’t think she had the best time on their date - and besides,” He peeked around the corner, making sure no one was going to walk into the middle of their hushed conversation. “-I don’t think the kiss meant much to her.” George’s face dropped. He hadn’t thought about Fred, or how it would bother him. His twin didn’t seem visibly annoyed by any of it, but he knew it would crush him to be toyed with by the girl he was so obviously infatuated with.

“So she doesn’t like Bill, and she doesn’t want you either?” “It’s not that simple Georgie.” Fred sighed, backing away and leaning up against the cool wall behind them. “It was pretty sudden, she probably wasn’t even thinking straight.”

“But-” “People are allowed to make mistakes, we can’t be annoyed because she messed up one time.” He explained, turning to leave.

“Freddie, you’re not the-” “I know.” He lied. He was the mistake.

-

For the rest of the day all three of the workers kept to themselves, finding solitary jobs to do to pass the time whenever the stream of customers died down. George knew he couldn’t say anything to the girl, presuming that she too had enough to deal with, but part of him resented her for putting Freddie through so much pain. Not that she even knew it.

It was dark when they finally closed up, the autumn season bringing with it shorter days of sunlight. Fred was busy in their office sorting out orders and George was counting up the day’s earnings, while y/n tidied shelves all around her.

The redhead could see how her eyes drifted to the same window she had watched out of earlier that morning, most likely expecting a response from whoever it was she had written to.

“I’ll meet you upstairs,” He came up behind her, the sound of his voice a surprise to the girl as she tensed up slightly. The man gave her a sympathetic smile as she nodded. “I’m cooking dinner tonight by the way, so um- bring the fire extinguisher will you?” He chuckled, a pang in his chest when she smiled weakly.

He had no real reason to hate her, especially since Freddie was forgiving of her moment of weakness. If he could be okay with it, then George would be to. It was as simple as that.

The man had been cooking for all of five minutes when his twin came to join him, offering to help out given that the girl would most likely not be up until the owl returned. They worked away in shared silence, the faint radio doing wonders to break the possible tension in the air.

George was pouring out a bottle of wine into three glasses when the girl padded into the kitchen, her big boots forgotten and a thick cardigan wrapped around her sunken frame. The two men stopped in their tracks at the sight of a piece of parchment between her fingers.

“I thought I should let you both know- because he’s your brother- and well, you deserve to know. But, there’s nothing between Bill and I anymore.” She croaked out, making it obvious that she had been crying.

“Oh- darling,” George whispered, reaching out on instinct for her to sink into his arms. It was strange, hearing it from Fred had filled him with so much anger, but then seeing how upset she was about it changed everything. Her body felt small against him, like she had sunk into the ground with every step up to the loft.

There was a small sob from the girl, almost incoherent, before she leant back and wiped her eyes dry, putting on her best smile and sighing.

“It’s okay, everything’s fine- it’s for the best.” She told them, laughing lightly at the way Fred held out the wine to her, unsure what else would help in that moment with his brother already comforting the girl.

-

The subject of Bill was avoided for most of the night, as they ate dinner together and finished off another couple bottles of wine between them as if things were normal again. George, of course, acted like the true older brother he was and did all he could to make sure y/n was cared for.

Fred took the backseat, letting her be doted on like a child with scraped knees, in fact it was a similar scene to when their own mother could comfort them when they were younger. That must have been where George got it from.

After a while Fred’s other half passed out on the back of the sofa, half-empty glass of wine still in hand. The girl chuckled, her mind still on other things as they kept quiet as not to wake the sleeping man.

“You tired?” Fred whispered, his legs slumped onto the coffee table. The girl just shook her head, the smile on her face fading as she realised that was the first time he’d spoken to her directly all evening.

The man stood up, taking an unopened bottle from the table and nodded towards the door.

“What?” She asked, hesitant to follow.

“I wanna show you something.” He smiled sweetly, slipping a pair of shoes on and heading for the loft door.

He disappeared into the darkness, the faint sound of the girl’s questioning tone following him out to the shop landing.

“Where are you going?” She asked, seeing him push back the curtain that turned left at the top of the stairs, instead of right into the loft. “I thought there wasn’t anything back here.”

“There isn’t, just a load of junk.” He told her, talking normally now that george was out of earshot. “But at the end of this hallway,” He flicked his wand, letting the small ball of light show the way, “-there’s a ladder.” “Fred, can you just tell me what’s going on.” “No freddie?” He frowned childishly, his face cast into a shadow.

“Huh?” “You always call me freddie, why not now?” The girl blushed at the way he picked up on a habit even she had failed to notice all this time, shoving his shoulder in an attempt to distract him.

“Because you’re leading me down a creepy hallway, possibly to kill me, in the middle of the night.”

Fred scoffed, ignoring her to climb a few rungs up the ladder.

“Well if I took you in the daytime,” He stopped climbing. “Then the view wouldn’t be so good now would it?” The man smirked.

“What view?”

One hand reached up above his head, the small bit of light from his wand revealing a trap door. Fred pushed it open, the stars above them shining down as he stuck his head out the top.

“This view!” He announced, jumped out of the trap door and onto the roof, leaning down to offer a hand for the girl below. Her jaw hung open in awe as she caught her footing on the top of the building, the sight of the city even further below taking her breath away.

“I knew you’d like it,” Freddie laughed, sitting at the edge and pulling open the wine bottle. Behind him, the girl’s eyes shone.

“Why haven’t you ever mentioned this place?” She was still in shock, the roof couldn’t even be seen from the alley below them, it was so high up.

“It’s sort of my secret, even from George.” “You haven’t told him? Surely he must know about it?” She laughed, taking a seat beside him and drinking from the bottle he offered out to her.

“Well I stumbled across it the day we moved in, we had no use for that weird hallway so neither of us bothered to do anything with it. We only found out about it when we got a leak, and George made me go up here and fix it.”

“Still, he knows the roof is here.” She scoffed, leaning into his side as the sight before her became hypnotising against his words.

“Of course, except he thinks it’s smashed to pieces and basically too dangerous to venture onto.” Fred explained.

“Why would he think that?” “Because that’s what I told him, duh.” He shook her one shoulder, leaving an outstretched arm around her as she rested against him so naturally.

“You really are cruel Fred Weasley.” She laughed.

Fred looked down, not trying to catch her eye, but just to take her all in as they basked in this beautiful moment. He had missed her laughter, even if it had only been a short amount of time, and hearing it again felt like a wave of calm washing over him.

-

The pair of them stayed up on that roof all night, their legs swinging off the side of the building until y/n fell asleep slumped against Fred. The man decided it was best to let her lay down away from the edge, just in case she slumped too far forward and fell.

He watched her sleep for a few moments, then laid on his back beside her and watched the stars as they twinkled above them. The girl beside him murmured in her sleep, something he had noticed when she had slept under his watch after the break-in.

At the time he had assumed it was just because she was having nightmares, but now he was close enough to catch passing words as they fell from her dainty lips.

Sorry… I can’t …. Please d-don’t

“Y/n,” He whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly. “Come on, let’s go inside.” “Not yet.” She mumbled back, rolling onto her back and breathing a few heavy breaths.

He let her watch the sky in silence, fearful that he would break her moment of solace with any stupid statement.

“I wrote to Bill.” She said, her gaze unmoving.

“Oh- right…” “It was his reply that I had earlier, that’s why I was - you know.”

“Of course, I’m sorry about all that.” Fred didn’t want to pry any further, but the girl wanted him to know.

“I don’t think either of us really expected things to be so- just okay-” “I get that,” The man nodded.

“He wasn’t right for me, and I wasn’t right for him either- it’s just hard to admit it.”

The skin on her hand was cold as she reached for fred’s, slipping their fingers together gently as she spoke.

“It’s funny really- he said something in his letter about you.” She chuckled, finally looking over at the man who couldn’t take his own eyes off of her.

“Oh god, I can’t imagine it was anything good.” He scoffed, smiling at her rosy cheeks.

“Actually… he said he thinks we might be a good match.”

“Did you-” “No, I didn’t tell him a-about the kiss.” She seemed ashamed again, the same way she had the night it had happened.

“So he just has this feeling about us?” Fred asked, an air of disbelief in his words.

The girl laid her head back again, nestling into the man’s side and looking up again as they hid out on the highest point of the alleyway. Bill had to be right about them.

Y/n hadn’t met many people in her lonely life but she knew that, as Fred held her close, no one else compared to the way he made her feel. She would give up everything if it meant just one more night of staring up at the stars with him at her side.