Pinky-Promise (Fred Weasley Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: The Maze

The prospect of the joke shop was becoming more attainable to the twins by the day. We often stayed up late in the common room, Fred and George dreaming their plans out loud. "It'll be easy, Fred. We work a few odd jobs until we have enough, then we get a spot in Diagon Alley. There's a prime spot that's been vacant for years, the price should be decent, and we could haggle it down more."

"Odd jobs? You're joking! What we do is we sell our experimental products, build a reputation, a clientele, that way when we open we've already got loyal customers."

I had to hand it to them, for being barely average students, they had a surprisingly good handle on business. I knew they could be very successful, but their biggest hurdle was Molly. She had been cleaning around the house recently, and found some order papers George had sworn he'd hidden well. Errol surprised the twins with a scarlet howler not long after she must've found them. Fred, ever the proud person, had snatched it quickly and ran off with George and I, not wanting to be humiliated in front of the whole school.

Normally I adored Molly, she was the biggest sweetheart, and I thought of her as a second mother, but this howler had revealed a side to her I didn't want to be on. She was livid, splitting their with her screeching of disappointment. She didn't think they could be successful, and would prefer they focus on their NEWTS and get decent jobs at the Ministry with Arthur.

The howler really hurt the twins. Fred put on an arrogant manner, acting as if he didn't care what she said. But I know deep down, his mother's disapproval affected him deeply. He had grown up surrounded by love and family, and thrived off his support system. He tried to storm off, ripping the letter as he went. I gave George a quick hug, "I'm sorry," I said, before running after Fred.

George gave me a sad smile and a shrug before skulking off the other way. "Fred! Wait up!" I called after him.

He didn't slow down, and with his long legs I couldn't catch up. So I followed him to the common room. I walked in to see him standing in front of the fireplace, back towards me, his fists clenched at his sides. The last bits of Molly's howler were aflame, casting a warm red glow on Fred. I approached him calmly, putting a hand on his shoulder when I was close enough. "You okay, Freddie?"

Wordlessly, he spun and clasped me in a tight hug, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I held him tightly, gently combing what I could reach of his hair. "I'm sorry, love." I sighed.

"It's not bloody fair." Fred sniffed, I realized he had been crying. "Charlie's fine to go ride dragons in Romania, Percy's allowed to be an awful git, Ginny gets a brand new dress for a ball she shouldn't even be at, but George and I can't do what we want. We're the disappointments. We're the idiots that don't know what we're doing."

He let go of me, turning away so I wouldn't see the tears on his face. He wiped them away quickly. "She'll see. They'll all see. George and I are gonna open that joke shop. We're gonna prove to her that we're not a couple of fuck ups."

"I know you will, and you're gonna be bloody good at it." I replied.

Fred laughed bitterly. "Bloody right we will."

He was silent for a few moments, fighting the emotions brimming inside him. And I knew just the thing to cheer him up. "I'm in the mood to wreck some havoc, fancy making our dear Severus' life miserable?"

He turned quickly. A broad, goofy grin stretched across his face. "You're bloody brilliant."

*****

The Triwizard Tournament had finally reached its grand finale, and it was one that would be remembered forever. Cedric Diggory emerged from the maze alongside Harry Potter, dead. Fanfare had swelled as the victors emerged, only to be brought to a halt by the screams of anguish from his father.