Scratches (Fred Weasley)

(165) Oddly Suspicious

Julien had given Florence the day off the next day, much to her surprise. She had gotten up early for work, only to receive an owl from her cousin, telling her to stay home for the day. Having her plans cancelled, she decided to seize the opportunity and make breakfast for the people in the apartment. She was in the middle of making her third successful pancake when Fred had roused from his sleep, making a beeline towards the kitchen, setting up the plates wordlessly, planting a kiss on Florence's cheek after he did so.

"No work today?" he asked, sitting on the kitchen counter as he watched her flip a pancake, "Apparently not. Julien gave me the day off."

"Hmm. Having your cousin as your boss must be nice." He joked, before taking some chocolate chips from a small bowl and popping it in to his mouth, "Sounds like nepotism to me."

"Hey," she said defensively, "I got in to the Auror program before he even got his position." Florence picked up the bowl of chocolate chips and transferred it to the other side, "Your hands are dirty."

"No, they're not."

"Sure," she chuckled, before putting the pancake in the stack of already finished ones, "I'm almost done. You can wake up George in a few so we can eat breakfast together. We should let Nic sleep for a bit more though."

"Speaking of Nic, do you think she's okay there? The couch isn't too comfy. She should've taken the bed." Fred asked concernedly, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"I'm surprised she even slept at all. She was pretty out of it last night." she whispered back, "I think I heard her crying last night before I went to bed."

"I'm glad she sees our home as a safe space," Fred smiled, taking Florence's hand and planting a soft kiss on it, "You should tell her she's welcome to crash here any time she wants."

"I've told her already. And thank you."

"Of course. She means as much to me as she does to you."

They heard a door open and close shut, to be followed by a pair of footsteps padding towards the kitchen, George coming in to view, his hair a mess. He looked slightly startled at the sight of Florence, "I knew it couldn't have been Fred cooking those delicious smelling pancakes, but I thought you had work?"

"Julien gave me the day off."

"Huh," George said, "Sounds like Nepotism to me."

This made Fred chuckle, Florence rolling her eyes, "I don't think you two know what that word means."

Nicolai had woken up a few minutes later, just in time for breakfast. She was quiet most of the time, only speaking when she needed someone to pass her some plates that were beyond her reach.

"So I was thinking of helping around the store this morning, before I go over to the Devereuxs', I mean. As a thank you, for letting me stay over."

"You don't have to," George said promptly, "Verity is taking care of the store today. You need to be there with the Devereux now more than ever." he told her, "I'll come with you, if you'd like."

"We're coming too," Florence smiled, putting her hand over Nicolai's hand, to show her support, "Now come on," she said, reaching to plop another pancake on her plate, "Eat up. I know you barely ate anything last night."

By the time breakfast was finished, Nicolai had volunteered to do the dishes, said it was the least she could do. Florence did not object, knowing that Nicolai hated being treated with kid gloves, and knew that doing something around the house would calm her nerves.

They left for the Devereux house around ten o'clock in the morning. There was still a large crowd of people in the house, despite the fact that it was the second day of the wake. Heath expected the number of people to decrease, which is why he had not made much food. Nicolai stepped in to the kitchen to help, though, while Florence watched over Karen's children, using sock puppets to entertain them while their uncle was busy.