Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Chapter 46

Olivia marched up to the door of her apartment and knocked sharply. Crashes sounded from behind it, then footsteps, before it swung open to reveal a grinning Aiko.

"You're late," Olivia growled when she noticed the state of the place. "You were supposed to finish cleaning up a week ago." It had been the deal they made when Olivia went to see Fred. Aiko would clean up her mess while Olivia spent time with her boyfriend.

Aiko sighed as Olivia stepped inside and surveyed the chaotic explosion of junk inside their tiny apartment. The place was in disarray. Metal scraps were thrown here and there, shrapnel scattered like glitter. "I did clean it up. But then I walked by this junkyard and the guy said I could take it so..."

"So don't take it," Olivia said, putting a hand to her forehead, exasperated. "I thought you said you were a good roommate." Those had been the words Aiko had told her five months ago when she'd offered to stay with Olivia. Time had passed all too quickly. Just a couple of years younger, Aiko had quit school as it "suppressed her genius". Olivia had graduated from Hogwarts and wanted to keep herself as far from the wizarding world as possible. Fred had offered that she could live with him, but Olivia had refused, knowing that he needed the space to learn and grow on his own.

Thus, Olivia had decided to room with the young tinkerer. However, she was quickly discovering that Aiko was messy, messier even than Fred. She groaned as she hauled her trunk inside, "Just please clean it up will you?"

Aiko nodded, "It'll be crystal clear in a jiffy!"

-

Olivia's time was spent planning. But mostly, she spied on Rookwood. It was a difficult task, but not an impossible one. The Death Eaters were smart, every transaction was done in secret in the dark, mysterious alleys of London. Now that the threat of Voldemort's return was accepted, the places once occupied by the magical community felt deserted, dead.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was an oasis, a star in the darkness. The shop very literally glowed in the murky light, making the shiny products lined up in the windows look all the more enticing. Olivia had always known the twins were geniuses, but this was a marvel that her visions hadn't done justice. It made her fear that perhaps Fred's death would be much more painful than in her visions.

And Olivia wasn't the only one who was afraid. The entire magical community was, too. They shut their eyes and windows, locked their lives up tight. Because Voldemort was back. He who must not be named was back again. It was different seeing the fear with her own eyes instead of through a vision. It was like she could feel the hesitation, sense the danger in the air. Perhaps magic itself sensed it.

One night, in the shadows of Knockturn Alley, Olivia overheard voices. She ducked behind a corner, barely breathing as she tried to make out what they were saying. She only caught a few words.

"...those Traitors. I'd.... burn... Spar... we must eliminate... threat."

A second voice added. "... that Potter boy?"

"...and..... Handled."

She waited until the voices faded, heart thumping like a marching army. One of those voices... it was Rookwood, she was sure of it. The other? Perhaps Lestrange, but she could never be too sure. This was the most she'd gotten in weeks. It was not much information, but it was something.

Olivia heard a whisper here, a whisper there. Yet, she could never push herself close enough to get the information she needed. All she knew was that Rookwood was somewhere in the city and that he was most definitely planning something with the Death Eaters.

-

In February, news arrived that Dumbledore had died. Along with the news, Olivia told Aiko her secret. Olivia gave herself away with her reaction. She wasn't surprised to hear the news and had been too tired to pretend. She was so tired of pretending. Before, it had only been hypothetical scenarios with Aiko, but now it was all out there. Aiko wasn't surprised, she'd expected it, though the news still shocked her.

"It never really was hypothetical, was it?" she'd asked Olivia.

Olivia only gave a small smile in return. "No, it never was."