DOROTHEA {fred weasley}

thirty one

Ezra seemed nervous when Dorothea arrived at his house. Barnaby had escorted her as far as the gate, before apparating on the spot. She knew that Ezra lived a very similar life to hers. As the eldest Nott heir, he had a lot on his back, just as she did. Barnaby had the same expectations of strength and greatness that Clementine had, and indeed, Dorothea supposed that he too would probably not choose to get married at eighteen, though she knew that he was not too displeased about his father's choice of a wife for him. 

Three elves picked up Dorothea's bags and scurried into the main house with them. The witch sighed and accepted Ezra's hesitant arm, allowing him to lead her into the dark foyer of his house. Theo and Draco were lounging on chairs in the main room, lazily pushing chess pieces across a board, both with cigars hanging out of their mouths. Dorothea raised an eyebrow, "boys."

Draco jumped at the sound of her voice, sitting up and straightening his shirt, running a hand through his hair, "Dorothea. Hi."

Theo laughed and puffed on his cigar, waving a lazy hand in the girl's direction, "hey, Thea. Or should I say, sis?"

The witch didn't smile, and rolled her eyes at the boy, directing her glare in Ezra's direction.

"Want to unpack?" He asked politely.

"Fine," she snapped, leading the way up the familiar staircase, turning left at the top and rattling the door handle of the room that had been hers for as long as she could remember staying in the Nott household.

Ezra visibly cringed and gestured to his room, "I'm sorry, Dad insisted."

"What?"

"Thea, it's not like you've never slept there before," he said awkwardly.

"I want the other spare room," she demanded.

"Draco is staying."

"He can stay with Theo."

"Dorothea," Ezra said more firmly, "you're staying with me."

The witch narrowed her eyes at the wizard, pushing her bag aggressively into his chest, "you're on the floor."

"Fine," he sighed. 

"Why's Draco staying?" Dorothea asked later, her sat in Ezra's bed, him on the floor, propped up against his wardrobe with a pillow. "I thought Theo usually goes to Malfoy Manor?"

"There's meetings at Malfoy Manor for the next couple of weeks, apparently."

"Is that where our parents are?"

Ezra hesitated, "I-I'm not sure."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Yeah, fine. I think that's where they are."

"Wonder what they're planning next," she muttered under her breath.

Ezra sat up, moving towards the edge of the bed and leaning on it with his elbows, looking up at the witch.

"Thea, Harry Potter is a liar. You know this. You can't really believe a word of it. Our parents are ministry officials."

"So they're having ministry meetings?"

"Yes!" He exclaimed, reaching for her hand, "you can't let what he's said get to you."

"Our parents are death eaters, Ezra," Dorothea said harshly, pulling her hand in so he was face to face with her. "Either you're a fucking liar or a fucking idiot."

"They used to be, Dorothea. Not anymore."

The witch cocked her head, she knew he was lying. She'd overheard whispers with Marcus and Adrian and was able to gauge that their parents had not changed as much as Ezra would have her believe.