We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- It's Always Been You -

"For so long, I let fear decide for me—fear of hurting people, fear of losing them—but for the first time, I finally chose what I wanted... and who my heart had been reaching for all along."

_______________________________

Katherine had been standing in front of her wardrobe for so long that the room around her had begun to blur into background noise.

The soft golden light from the lamps lining the Slytherin girls' dormitory cast warm shadows across the green silk curtains and scattered makeup palettes abandoned across Veronica's bed, while somewhere behind her Pansy was complaining loudly about somebody borrowing her perfume without asking. Normally, Katherine would have answered with some sarcastic comment just to irritate her.

Tonight, she barely heard any of it.

Her eyes remained fixed blankly on the dresses hanging in front of her, though she wasn't truly looking at any of them.

All she could think about was Fred's voice earlier.

You deserve the freedom to figure this out properly.

And Draco's.

I meant what I said, I'm not going anywhere.

Her chest tightened painfully all over again.

"You're spiralling," Veronica announced from behind her.

Katherine didn't turn around.

"I'm thinking."

"No," Pansy corrected immediately from where she sat curled elegantly at the end of her bed painting her nails black, "you're being self-destructive. There's a difference."

Katherine finally glanced over her shoulder with a tired look.

"I don't want to go tonight."

The honesty in her voice softened both girls instantly.

Veronica set down the necklace she'd been untangling and looked at her carefully now, all traces of teasing disappearing.

"Oh, Kat."

Katherine looked away quickly, jaw tightening.

Because it wasn't just nerves.

It was grief too, somehow.

Grief for the version of things she was inevitably about to lose.

For years she had existed in this strange in-between space where she could love Fred quietly while still pretending it wasn't real enough to destroy her, while Draco remained this constant unwavering presence at her side — familiar, complicated, permanent.

But now everything had been dragged painfully into the open.

Nothing felt safe anymore.

Not her friendship with Fred.

Not her relationship with Draco.

Not even herself.

"I feel sick," she admitted quietly.

Pansy's expression softened in that rare, almost startling way it only ever did for the people she truly loved.

"That's because you know this matters."

Katherine laughed weakly under her breath.

"I know. It matters so much."

"Yes," Pansy agreed calmly. "But they've given you time."

Veronica climbed off her bed and crossed the room until she was standing directly beside Katherine in front of the wardrobe mirror. Her reflection looked just as overwhelmed as she felt — hair half done, expression exhausted, fear written all over her face no matter how hard she tried to hide it.