DOROTHEA {fred weasley}

eighty seven

Dorothea was hesitant to leave the shop, the safety of the water and the warmth of the night. Fred was right, though. It wouldn't have been safe for her to apparate, but nor could she have stayed anywhere but home. Ezra, although usually ambivalent to her whereabouts, would get too suspicious.

Fred locked the door behind them and watched as Dorothea pulled the hood tightly over her face again.

"Do you want me to heal that?" Fred asked her gently, gesturing to her cheek and eye, which were still swollen.

The witch contemplated it for a few seconds, and then shook her head, "no, let him see what he did."

"And Clementine? If she sees?"

Dorothea shrugged and said nothing, not wanting to talk about her mother. She looked to Fred slightly as they walked down the empty, cobbled street. The pair didn't speak for a while, Dorothea paused and looked at Ollivanders, frowning.

"It's impressive that you've managed to stay open," she said, breaking their silence.

"I reckon people need a laugh, with everything that's happening."

Before Dorothea could speak a group of men walked past them, they shouted to Fred, "Weasley! Come on, come out-"

"Not tonight, Davies," he said politely.

"Who's this?" The drunken voice asked again, and Dorothea recognised it as Stefan, Leila's brother.

"No one," Fred said, quickly putting an arm around Dorothea and pushing her faster down the street.

"Don't worry, we won't tell Ange!" Another voice shouted as they faded away.

Fred let his arm linger around the witch's shoulders until they reached the end of the street, she was frowning a little and shrugged him off as soon as they reached the passageway.

"You ought to cast a glamour," Fred said, "before we get into the muggle parts, your face being like that will draw attention."

Dorothea huffed but knew he was right, she silently cast a wandless glamour spell before looking up at Fred.

"So?"

"Better than ever," he winked.

"Should you be flirting?" She asked curtly, following him through the passageway onto a street in muggle London. "What about Ange?"

Fred laughed, "ah, Dorothea, I'm glad that with everyone you've got going on you still have room to be jealous. You're incredibly emotionally complex."

The witch glared, "I'm not jealous, just surprised. She was never the nicest to me, or you, by the end."

"Well, I'm not with her. I was, for a little while. Bumped into her in Diagon Alley and liked how normal it felt, nice and refreshing after the abnormality that was us."

Dorothea hummed, "when did you break up?"

"Dunno really, few months ago. Our first date was on your wedding day. Safe to say I was pretty distracted."

The witch sighed, her ring suddenly feeling much heavier on her finger

"Funny to think, really, that I used to think Nott was alright. Should have pushed him off his bloody broom when I had the chance."

She didn't reply to that, and instead walked a few steps behind Fred, letting him lead the way through various streets before taking her hand silently, and pulling her down into an underground station.

He looked back at her and grinned, "deja vu?"

She nodded, still silent.

Fred glanced at a board and nodded, "yeah, we're all good. Ones running. Then we'll get a bus."