DOROTHEA {fred weasley}

thirty seven

When Fred Weasley emerged downstairs the next morning, clutching his head and groaning, he was surprised to see Dorothea Rosier sat at the dining room table, parchment in front of her and quill in hand, looking noticeably better than she had been the day before.

"You look worse than me," she remarked, looking at him trudging into the dining room.

"Feel fucking shit."

"Not surprised," she laughed, standing up and gesturing to the parchment in her hand, "I need to send this."

"Your mum?" He asked.

The girl nodded and headed to the windowsill where an owl sat, she muttered "Clementine Rosier," to it and sighed as she watched it go.

"Just telling her I've been away for a couple nights, just in case. I'm going to go back before the weekend, though."

Fred shook his head, "it's a bad idea. Genuinely."

"Well, can I stay here?"

"Just come, it'll be fun. Good for Ron's confidence too, to have someone as shit as him playing in the quidditch match."

Dorothea stifled a laugh at that, "your parents hate me, you've never shied away from telling me that."

"They hate your mother, not you."

"I wasn't aware the two of us could be separated."

"Neither was I until recently. My dad realised the same the other night. Us Weasleys are all pretty reasonable," he grinned.

"And Harry? Elvira said it's his birthday, he's only away for a day, he didn't want me at the funeral so-"

"Rosier," Fred said, interrupting her. "George and I are going to go home today, a day early. Talk to the family about it. Who's hated you the most of all?"

"You," she replied seriously, making him laugh slightly.

"Yeah, and I got over it."

"Have you?"

"Nearly," he admitted. "You could have gone two ways, Dorothea, and at the moment it seems like you're heading in the right direction."

"Thanks for the approval, Weasley," she said sarcastically. "But in that letter I wrote that I'd be coming home today, I'm sorry."

"Rosier-"

"If she finds out," Dorothea said, her voice shaking a little as she spoke, "if she knew that you knew. That your dad knows. Or if she finds out where I've stayed, it would just be a target on your backs."

"If there is a war, Rosier, you can bet that there'll be a target on my back anyway, because I'll be fighting for the correct side."

"Okay then, selfishly, if she finds out where I've stayed, and who I've told, I'd be fearful of what she'd do to me."

"Then why go back?" He asked, exasperated.

"Because I have to at some point," she snapped back.

"You're a fucking idiot," he said dryly.

"And you don't understand," she replied, turning on her heel to find Elvira outside where she sat on the grass, laughing with Oliver.

"I'll leave you two to it," the Scottish wizard said, pushing himself off the ground as soon as he saw Dorothea approaching.

"Oh no," Elvira said, looking up at Dorothea, "you don't look happy."

"Weasley is just annoying," she said dismissively. "I'm going home today."