Long Lost Home • Fred Weasley

1.

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Being George Weasley's best friend was something Emilia Jackson always had been quite proud of. She managed to get the most popular boy of her year to get close to her and their friendship never really stopped. Even after school, when George and his twin brother Fred were opening their shop, she got offered a job there until she figured out what she wanted to study.
It was amazing to still spend her days with George.

And she had to admit that Fred had opened up to her a little more too. For some reason the two always had been stubborn towards eachother. Maybe Fred didn't want to open up to Emilia, since she was taking all his time with George from him. He had always seemed so annoyed when she was around. And she was around a lot.

But when she accepted the job at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, he realised he didn't really have a choice but to get along with her.

In that time, Emilia started to realise something felt so right between the both of them. The bad tension, turned into a good kind.

Whenever George wasn't looking, Fred was staring at her. He quite often smirked at her, making her blush scarlet red. She never understood why he suddenly acted like that. But she had found herself to like it so much. The winks she catched from him. The laughing behind George's back when he was in the office. The soft smiles he sometimes shot at her.
It made her feel some type of way.

But as shy as Emilia had always been, she never acted on it.

After a year of working for the boys, Emilia decided to go study Magizoology. She had always loved the magical creatures she had worked with in school and she decided to start the study after she couldn't come up with anything better. She already had spend a lot of time around the Pygmy Puffs in the shop and she fell in love with the little creatures.

She had thanked the boys when she finally left and for the first time, she had hugged Fred goodbye. His eyes stayed glued on her back when she walked to the door. And even though she knew he was looking at her, she wasn't gonna turn around and give in.

In those five years after she left, George and Emilia often spoke. They met up for dinners and still were as close as ever, even though they were both a bit busier now. But she never saw Fred again. And it stung. She thought they had something, but apparently that had all been a lie.

She never asked George about it, since she didn't want to ruin their friendship. She never knew how George would feel if something were to happen between her and his twin brother.

When she graduated the study with A+ grades, she was already long done with the whole subject. And for some reason she didn't want to do anything with it anymore. So, after five years, she was back were she began.

Right in front Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

She looked at the giant statue and sighed. She didn't want to go in. George knew about her doubts of her study, but she never told him that she didn't want anything to do with it anymore.
And apart from the worrying looks George would give her, she knew she was gonna have to face Fred again. Who she hadn't seen in so, so long.

"C'mon Em, you can do this." she spoke to herself and opened the door.

It was early in the morning and eventhough the shop had been open for about twenty minutes, nobody was around. She looked around and saw Fred holding one of the Pygmy Puffs on the second floor of the building.

He was talking softly to the pink creature and smiled slightly. He was wearing a purple outfit Emilia recgonised from far away. It was her favorite outfit on him.

Only it seemed like it was now even tighter than it was five years ago. And she could tell that he grown even more mature over the years.

A soft smile formed on her lips as she cleared her throat.
Fred immediately looked down, a confused look falling over his face.

"Emilia." he breathed, coming downstairs with the Pygmy Puff still in his hand. "I haven't seen you in..."
"Forever. Yeah." she laughed and came closer to give him a hug. The second hug they ever shared. And as she pulled away, she saw his eyes resting on her face.

"How are you?" he asked, while he had sat down the Pygmy Puff in his cage.
"I'm okay. Life is life." she sighed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and following Fred to the cash desk.
"Same here, I guess." he laughed, leaning on the desk, as he mimicked her position.

They didn't speak for a few seconds before he smiled and looked up at the office.
"Are you here for George?" he then asked.

Emilia hoped George would come along soon, but she guessed he was busy doing paperwork.
"I actually came for the both of you." she confessed, biting her lip. She just remembered what she was here for and the nerves immediately came back.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Alright, one second." he replied, holding up a finger before yelling George's name through the shop.
George came out of his office within seconds and looked down to see Emilia and Fred standing in front of him.

"Emi." he called out happily and came downstairs to hug her. "I didn't expect you here."
He looked at her and took a step back.
"I-I came to ask you guys something." she faltered, putting her hands in her pockets.

The fact the both of them were now towering over her made it even more difficult.
They always had been tall, but it felt like they grew even more. Or she just felt really small.

"Well, go ahead." Fred laughed, not taking it all seriously. He looked her up and down and Emilia noticed, making her stomach turn around.
"I wanna come back." she let out, breathing quickly.
"You wanna do what?" Fred asked, confused. "I thought you graduated and all?"
"I don't wanna do anything with it, I guess." she shrugged. It sounded so stupid and she knew it.
She looked at George, who looked at her with worry in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I've thought about it. And maybe someday I'll do something with it again. Luna Lovegood always talked about opening a shop for magical creatures. Maybe when she is done with school, I can join her. But for now, yeah, I'm sure."

George nodded slowly and looked at Fred. He shrugged and licked his lips, before he walked away.
A numb feeling came over Emilia as she watched Fred leave.
  
"Let's go to the office for a minute." George offered, so Emilia followed him upstairs and when she entered the office, he closed the door behind her.

"Listen, if you don't want me to come back. Just say so." she huffed, not being entirely happy with the way both Fred and George were acting.
"I do want you to come back. I'm just not sure about Fred." George admitted, as he sat down in one of the big chairs behind the desk.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, now totally insecure about the fact Fred maybe won't want her back in the shop. She didn't want to care so much, but she did.
"No, I guess you did far too many things right when you worked here last time." George sighed. "And I think he was disappointed when you left. Don't tell him I said this, but he missed you."
Emilia smiled slightly, looking at the ground as she did.

"Don't tell me you got the hots for my brother." George snorted, acting like he had to throw up.
"No!" she said quickly, because she wasn't even sure what she felt for Fred anyway. She never understood it.

George seemed to think about what he could do to make her come back. He personally would love to have Emilia back, eventhough he worried for her future. But he couldn't say no to his best friend. And she was so much fun to work with anyway.

"I'll talk to my brother, okay?" he assured, standing up and opening the door for her. "I'll make sure you can come back."
Emilia smiled happily and nodded.
"Oh, George!" she exclaimed, totally forgetting the elephant that has been taking up her mind.
"Yeah, Emi?" he asked, looking out at the shop. When he looked back, she sighed.
"I'm afraid I have nowhere to go."
"What do you mean?" George asked, confused.
"I...I got kicked out of my house."

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