sapphire || fred weasley

nineteen

Beatrice woke up once again in Fred's arms, and the heavy feeling of guilt she had been trying to shrug off for two days straight, was still very much present in her chest.

There was nothing more that she wanted than to tell him the truth about what had happened with Aster, but every time she tried, the words never managed to leave her mouth. She felt almost as if her vocal cords were being ripped from her throat, preventing her to do so.

Fred had noticed that Beatrice was colder and more distant, which had significantly changed the night of the masquerade ball. Her demeanor switched from warm as the sun when alone with him, to cold as a winter night in the span of one night, and he was desperate to know what had caused said drastic change.

Beatrice was sitting on the window sill in Fred's flat, slowly drinking her bitter black coffee as she pensively stared out the window. She had always hated the spring season and that year was no exception.

Fred was catching up with mail while observing her in silence. George had stayed at Lee's, leaving the place to himself and Beatrice, but in all honesty it didn't even feel as if she was even there.

He came across a pink magazine, addressed to G. WEASLEY. It wasn't the first time that Ginny's subscription to Witch Weekly and The Quibbler, ended up with his and George's mail but something in the gossip magazine's cover caught his eye. He now understood what was behind Bea's distance. 

"Love, are you alright?" he cleared his throat and took a seat next to her on the bench, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm fine," she said quietly and tensed up when he placed his hand on her thigh.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?" Fred asked.

"Not that I know of," she replied, well knowing that the shakiness in her voice was giving her away. He knew.

"You know you can tell me anything right?" he raised his brows.

"Mhm," she nodded.

"You may wanna read this then," he mumbled and handed her the copy of the magazine.

"Fred you know that I don't read Witch Weekly-"

"Maybe you should just this once," he grumbled and stood up, not sparing her a glance as he took his work jacket from the coat rack and made his way down the stairs.

Beatrice closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, turning the magazine around to look at one of the cover's issues. Instantly flipping the pages until her eyes settled on the right one.

"Fuck."

WITCH WEEKLY
MALFOY HEIR SPOTTED ENGAGING IN PASSIONATE SNOG WITH NOTT-OLLIVANDER HEIR.
Witness states that after a heated argument, both heirs engaged in passionate activities after deciding to leave their families, fortune and legacy behind together. According to close sources of the couple, Aster Malfoy and Beatrice Nott have been involved in a private affair since the age of seventeen. Said affair, has been kept to the shadows to protect the Malfoy family reputation. Despite of being engaged to Ms Emmeline Yaxley, the source states that the eldest Malfoy has never had a problem in falling into Nott's seductive advances.
Nott on the other hand, is said to be no stranger to romantic affairs, according to more sources. The wand-maker is said to have had maintained plenty of intimate relationships, earning her the status of renowned man-eater.
It is no secret that the sudden death of her father, Theodore Nott Sr. and disappearance of her mother, Genevieve Nott-Ollivander, have impacted the young woman's idea of romance, hence why she's been keen in keeping said forbbiden relationships, the source states.
And if the witness statement is not credible enough, the anonym source has sent us proof!