Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 125 | Application

Sarah buried her hands in Moose's soft fur, soothing it as she hummed. They were curled up on the sofa, as they had been since Fred left for work. Rather than joining him, Sarah occupied herself with creating five perfect applications for record labels. Each one featured a letter describing her interest in joining their company and a copy of her album. These packages were spread out on the coffee table now, judging her with their non-existent eyes.

Moose did plenty to distract her from that simply by being the sweetest dog alive. He laid his head on her lap, and let out soft grunting sounds as she pet his silky fur. Naturally, her eyes were dragged back to the packages every so often, but on the whole, Sarah reckoned she was doing a great job at procrastinating.

It wasn't that she didn't want to send them off; she did! But she worried, a feeling that she was sick of experiencing. Perhaps she was a bit naive for thinking that all her worry would die away once the war was over. Yes, she was definitely naive for thinking that.

But what if her applications weren't good enough? She feared that in a few weeks time, she would find herself staring at five rejection letters. That would certainly be the nail in the coffin for her singing career. She would spend the rest of her days making potions for the shop, bitter about her short-lived career and crushed dreams.

"Am I being dramatic, Moose?" Sarah asked the dog, scratching behind his ear.

Moose didn't respond, but he did continue to pant happily at all the attention. Sarah managed a smile at that. At least her dog was happy, free from worry, unlike her and Fred.

The thought of Fred gave Sarah some conviction. He would be disappointed if she didn't send off these applications, the reason she had denied joining him in the shop today. He would sprout something about stepping into the unknown, taking unimaginable risks...

Sarah huffed, rising to her feet. Moose whined unhappily, and she consoled him with a pat on the head. "I'll be back in a bit."

Since the shop was in the process of being reopened fully, all the shop owls were back to residing in Diagon Alley. This meant that Wisteria Cottage lacked an owl to deliver their letters and parcels. So, Sarah peeled off her pajamas, pulling on a t-shirt, jeans and trainers.

Once presentable, she returned downstairs, sliding the five parcels into her handbag. She enticed Moose from his nest in the sofa by waving his leash in front of his face. In no time, Sarah and Moose were out of the house, stomping across the winding path towards the road.

A blue sky, streaked with white clouds, stretched across the landscape. Their home was on an incline to the town, giving Sarah an unobstructed view of the towering church, and tbe green, tarp roofs of the market stalls. The church bell chimed distantly as Sarah and Moose padded along, signalling that it was midday.

After a ten minute stride on the tree-lined main road, Sarah reached the town centre. She skirted around the bustling market, filled with the blaring calls of sellers to attract customers. Sarah decided to wander through once her handbag was emptier.

She headed around the square to the cherry red post office. The glass windows were plastered with posters advertising insurance companies, holidays and a new drink at the local fast food restaurant. Sarah's eyes darted across these posters with interest as she stepped into the building, the bell above the door jingling upon her arrival.

One the left was an electronic shelf crafted to keep the drinks and sandwiches cool. Sarah reached for a muggle soft drink, a chartreuse can of something, as she headed past. She navigated the shelves offering stationary and postal accessories before joining the queue for the staff desks.

Despite it outward muggle appearance, the post office also served wizards. Sarah specifically slid into the queue closest to the wall. The man in front wore a gold-studded cloak, and it didn't take a genius to infer that he was, too, magical. A couple customers in the muggle queues glanced at him, their eyebrows scrunched.