𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝'𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 ||𝐅.𝐖. 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧||

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🏠The Burrow🏠
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For the next few weeks, Fred went about his business at the new store. Just as he predicted, Harry and Ginny announced the date of their wedding which was set to be held in six months' time. Great, just another wedding to bump into relatives like Aunt Muriel. They were like pesky mosquitoes, poking into his business and interrogating him on his marriage plans like his siblings. Charlie always managed to escape such conversations though — he was too occupied with his work and seamlessly veered away from these topics, which was how Fred planned to go about the wedding as well.

His parents came to his defence, but it would leave him feeling even more humiliated. As someone who saw himself settling down with a family of his own, seeing all his younger siblings tying the knot before him was already ignominious enough, and no one understood that he only saw a future with the one he had lost.

On the other hand, Heather had been sitting in the back of his mind, just a smidgen behind Freya. He was curious about her familiarity with him, and her identity in general.

They went to the same school, and so did their siblings. He should have encountered her at least once throughout their overlapping years of education at Hogwarts, or, in the very least, heard of her through any mutual friends. He may not have known the entire student population, but he heard a vast array of names across different Years from his siblings.

Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, from Ginny's Year.

Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Cho Chang, the Patil twins, Susan Bones from Ron's Year.

Nymphadora Tonks from Charlie's Year.

Those were just the few examples that he could cite off the top of his head. Besides, the students banded together to fight in the war. Why was Heather someone who appeared from thin air, in particular? Perhaps she really was just was not close to Ginny to be mentioned in his presence.

He had never known a Collins either. Even among the Half-Bloods, he was aware of their lineages through the wizard folk. She was possibly a muggleborn.

"Why didn't she join Dumbledore's Army when Voldemort was on the rise?" He wondered aloud to himself as he skimmed through photo albums, in search of her face, as he sat in his office.

He yearned to learn more about her, but the opportunity never returned for weeks. She probably had no reason to return to his shop, and who knew if she would ever return? He was beginning to question had he given her a defect (not that he had any), would her return have given an opportunity for his investigation over her identity?

"Hey Freddie," George stepped into his office without any announcement, obviously teleported right from Diagon Alley, "it's pretty quiet when school's in session, Mum's holding a family dinner, care to join us?"

Fred glanced at the wall clock, noting the closing hours.

"Not really, I'm working late."

"What're you up to anyway?" George peered over his desk, taking a brief glance at their group photos in Fred's hands. "Are those photos of Dumbledore's Army? And the Order of The Phoenix?"

"Nothing," he stashed the photos away in his drawers, "just wanted to check on something."

George was silent, uncertain what to make of his actions.