Songbird ; Fred Weasley

Forty-four

I didn't go home.

It was ten o'clock at night, but I didn't go home.

Instead, I stood here, looking out at the water from a bridge my uncle used to take me to when I was little.

While knowing he was my biological dad.

I had been here so many times, watching the lake and trying to look for fish in the water with him by my side.

He had been my favourite uncle. The one I had the closest bond to. Mum had always tried to get me to spend some time with my other uncles as well, but I never wanted to.

I always wanted to spend time with Eric.

And he knew.

He knew and mum knew.

All of these years.

My entire life. Was this why Eric always asked me to babysit for him and Luna? Was this why he always trusted me with things? With responsibility?

His kids weren't my cousins. They were my siblings.

And the siblings I had known my entire life were both my siblings but also my cousins.

Oh god.

"Fuck!" I screamed, kicking the railing of the bridge. I kept kicking it while screaming all of my frustrations out.

"Mavis..."

I froze before spinning around as Eric walked onto the bridge, hands in his pockets.

"Why can't you leave me be?!" I yelled at him. "You've ruined everything!"

He looked at me, full of pity in his eyes as he stopped walking when he was a few feet away from me.

"Let me explain—"

"How could you do it?!" I cried. "How could you do that to him! He's never done anything but love my mum! He's my dad. He's my dad."

"I'm so sorry, Mavis. I didn't mean for you to find out like that."

I scoffed.

"As if I was ever going to find out. Were you ever going to tell me?"

Slowly, he shook his head, and a sob broke out of my throat.

"Your mum—"

"My mum is a cheater and a fucking deceitful bitch!"

"Hey." He raised his voice just slightly but it was still soft as he talked to me. "Don't talk about your mother like that. What happened was a mistake, okay? She only did what she thought was right when she let Christopher think he was the father—"

"Don't talk about it like it's something that's far away from us, when I'm the baby she let him think was his!" I screamed. "And now I'm supposed to bring a baby into this world when I don't even know who the hell I am!"

When he didn't respond, I continued to cry, running hands over my face, tugging at my hair, punching at the railing over and over again, because I was so damn angry and miserable.

"He used to comment on how I look more like my uncle than my dad, but we decided that I simply just took after my uncle." I shrugged. "What am I supposed to tell him, Eric? It's going to break him."

"I don't know." He said honestly. "He deserves to know, but you don't have to be the one to tell him."

"It'll ruin their marriage." I said in a whisper, frowning. "I can't do that. What about Spencer, Flora, Eliza and Toby? I'll be the reason they'll have two homes."