"For a little while, they remembered what safety felt like. The hardest part was choosing to leave it behind."
____________________________
Fred tightened his grip around Katherine's hand.
"Hold on."
Before she had time to say anything else, the familiar crushing sensation returned.
The cellar disappeared.
Darkness twisted into light.
Cold damp stone gave way to fresh sea air.
A sharp gust of wind hit Katherine square in the face.
She stumbled slightly as her boots found solid ground again.
This apparition felt far smoother than her own had.
Less violent.
More controlled.
She barely had time to steady herself before the sound reached her.
The sea.
Powerful waves crashed rhythmically against nearby rocks, the roar almost deafening as they rolled onto the shore.
The salty scent of the ocean instantly filled her lungs, so fresh and clean that it almost hurt after weeks spent hiding in forests, damp tents and, most recently, the suffocating darkness beneath Malfoy Manor.
For several long seconds...
Katherine simply stared.
The cottage sitting before them looked as though it had been pulled from the pages of a storybook.
Small.
Whitewashed.
Its slate roof weathered by years of sea air.
Warm golden light spilled from the windows despite the late hour, making the entire place seem impossibly welcoming.
Wildflowers bloomed in colourful patches beside the white picket fence despite the fierce coastal wind, dancing wildly with every gust.
Beyond the cottage stretched nothing but endless ocean.
Grey waves.
White foam.
An open horizon disappearing into the evening mist.
It was beautiful.
Painfully beautiful.
After months of sleeping in tents, hiding beneath trees and constantly looking over her shoulder...
The sight almost overwhelmed her.
"Oh..."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Fred looked sideways at her.
"You like it?"
Katherine didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Her eyes wandered slowly across every tiny detail.
The climbing ivy wrapping itself around one corner of the cottage.
The flower boxes overflowing beneath each window.
The tiny stone pathway leading towards the front door.
It looked...
Peaceful.
Safe.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Katherine could almost imagine what normal life looked like again.
YOU ARE READING
We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley
Fanfiction________________________________________ Currently rewriting 23/04/2026 - will be changing the current chapters daily It's always been the two of them. No one else. In fact, they had never expected to need anyone else. Hogwarts changed that. Schoo...
