"Sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing you can do about it, so why worry?"

-Simba (The Lion King)

Scarlett appeared in Diagon Alley seconds after leaving Justin's house. More specifically, she appeared right in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She felt as if she was doing something she shouldn't by going to see Fred, but he was the only person that she could think of to talk to right now considering Erica was away for the night. And she needed to talk to someone. Her head was practically spinning with everything she had learned from Justin.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the building in front of her. All the lights in the shop were off, which made sense. It was obviously closed. But Scarlett couldn't see any lights on upstairs in the flat either. She chewed on her lip. Were the twins out? She highly doubted they were already sleeping.

Just as she was beginning to think it was completely stupid of her to have come, a light turned on upstairs and Fred appeared in the window. He stood in the middle of the room facing away from the window as he pulled off his magenta work robes and tossed them on the bed before beginning to loosen his tie.

Making a split second decision, Scarlett looked around and found a small pebble on the ground. Taking aim, she flung it with all her might at Fred's window. She saw him jump and stare straight through the glass. He wasn't even thinking of looking down. Smirking slightly, Scarlett found another pebble and threw it. This time, Fred picked up his wand and held it in front of him before throwing open the window.

"Going to hex me?" Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fred looked down and blinked a few times. "Scarlett?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Did you just finish working at this hour?"

"Sort of," Fred sighed. "We closed three hours ago, but we've been working on creating a new product, so that's what we were doing up until now."

"Oh," Scarlett said. "You know what? I should go. You're probably tired. It was stupid of me to come here. I-,"

"No, Scarlett, what's wrong?" Fred asked. "I can hear it in your voice that something's bothering you."

Scarlett didn't answer right away. "Can you come down here?" she asked quietly after a moment.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Fred said. He began to pull his head back inside the window, but then paused and stuck it back out again. "Unless you'd like me to let down my long, luscious locks of hair for you to climb up."

A tiny smile flickered across Scarlett's face. "Something tells me that plan wouldn't work out too well."

Fred smiled. "I have to agree. Okay, hold on, I'll be right down."

Scarlett nodded as he pulled his head back inside and disappeared from view. Once he was gone, Scarlett sat down on a nearby bench facing Diagon Alley and stared absentmindedly at Ollivanders, which was across the street and a few shops down. It was deserted and almost completely trashed. A few seconds later, she heard Fred come outside, but she kept her gaze on the deserted wand shop.

"Hey," Fred said, walking around the bench. He blinked a few times when he noticed what Scarlett was wearing. "What are you all dressed up for?"

Scarlett sighed. "Justin bought me this. I went to dinner at his house tonight and met his parents."

"Ah," Fred said. He was quiet for a few seconds. "Well, come on, stand up and let's see if Finchy did a good job picking something out for you."

"Fred," Scarlett said, looking up at him warily.

"No, come on, I'm serious," Fred insisted. He held out his hand.

Scarlett stared at him, not amused in the least, until she finally sighed, placed her hand in his and stood up.

"Hmm," Fred said, smirking as he stepped back, holding her hand at arm's length. "Turn around."

"Fred, I'm really not in the mood."

Fred smiled and casually twirled his finger in a circle.

Sighing again, Scarlett let go of his hand and slowly spun around, staring up at the sky in annoyance as she did so. "Are you happy now? Are we done?"

Fred nodded. "I approve. The Finch actually did a great job."

"Don't be too impressed. His mother helped him pick it out." Scarlett half smiled before plopping back down on the bench again.

"Ah," Fred said, sitting down next to her. "You know," he added a moment later, "it's not really all that safe out here anymore."

Scarlett shrugged. "I suppose I shouldn't worry, though, since you're here, right?" she said with a wry smile.

"What does that matter?"

Scarlett looked at him. "Aren't we safe as long as you're around? The boy who never gets caught?"

Fred smiled. "This isn't Hogwarts," he said quietly. "It's different out here."

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Scarlett sighed, looking away.

"But I am flattered that you feel safe with me," Fred added.

A tiny smile flickered across Scarlett's face, but she didn't say anything.

"So," Fred said, "how did dinner go?"

Scarlett groaned and buried her head in her hands. "I don't know. It was great to meet Justin's parents, but I think they hate me. If they don't already, they will eventually."

"What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure they don't hate you."

"Justin's mother," Scarlett began, lifting her head and looking blankly across the cobblestoned alley, "well, she….If I tell you, promise you won't say anything to anyone else?"

Fred nodded. "Promise."

"I was talking about how my dad's death was the reason I wanted to be a Healer and it kind of upset her. Then we were talking about how Justin and I met, which, in a nutshell, turned into his mother saying Dumbledore and Harry are nutters and that she doesn't trust Dumbledore after what happened when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. I tried to tell her as politely as I could that I disagreed. Then, Justin said she was too overprotective, and she left the room very upset."

"How was that your fault?" Fred asked.

"I was rude. I argued with her."

"You just said you politely disagreed with her. There's nothing wrong with that. You are entitled to your own opinion, you know."

"I know I am, but I was being insensitive. After dinner, Justin told me that her sister died when they were younger, which is why Mrs. Finch-Fletchley wanted to become a doctor. Then, eight years ago, Justin's sister died. She was in a coma and there wasn't anything anybody could do. It makes sense for Mrs. Finch-Fletchley to be the way she is. It makes sense for her to be overprotective of Justin and even a little worried about You-Know-Who."

"Yeah, but it doesn't make sense for her to be an idiot."

"Fred!" Scarlett scolded.

"Worrying about You-Know-Who is different from outright denying he's back, Scar. From what you've said, she doesn't believe he's back and if she's going around refusing to believe it and refusing to take any necessary precautions, then she's not protecting anyone."

"I know," Scarlett sighed.

"I still don't think you did anything wrong. She'll come around eventually and maybe you two can just agree to disagree. She was probably just overcome with memories of when her daughter died, which, by the way, you didn't know about until later, so, again, you did nothing wrong."

"I think I was sort of involved," Scarlett whispered. "I think I was sort of involved with the death of Justin's sister."

"What?" Fred asked. He clearly hadn't been expecting that at all.

Scarlett continued to stare straight ahead. "She was in a car accident on January 12th, the same day I was in the accident with my dad. The accident happened in the same spot. Justin said his sister was the same age as me and died when she was nine. He also said they never knew much about the car that hit them except a man was driving, fell asleep, died, and there was a child in the car. Me, of course."

"Do you know for sure?" Fred asked as he tried to process it all. "Did you talk to your mother?"

"No, I came straight here. I'm almost afraid to ask and find out for sure. Although, I think I'm pretty sure already. It all fits."

"And the Finch hasn't pieced any of this together?" Fred asked.

"No," Scarlett answered. "I didn't tell him anything about my dad except that he died on impact in a car accident. For once, keeping everything inside helped me. I am going to tell him, though. I have to. It's just another huge secret I'm keeping from him. I can't keep doing this."

"Scar," Fred said, "this—the accident, his sister—wasn't your fault either."

"I know it's not, but it's just…weird. And scary, too. I mean, the car I was in hit Justin's mother's car and it's the reason his sister's dead. I just don't know what to feel."

"Were you driving the car?" Fred asked.

"No, my dad was, but this isn't his fault either!"

"No, it's not. That's not what I was getting at. He fell asleep. He was overtired. Was he drunk? No. Was he speeding? No. Was he being reckless? No. And all you were doing was sitting in the backseat. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"My dad shouldn't have been driving if he was overtired. I convinced him."

"Your dad was a grown man who could make his own decisions," Fred said. "Clearly, he thought he was fine or else he wouldn't have gotten in the car. If he suspected he would fall asleep, do you think he would have agreed to bring you to lunch? I don't think he would have. Especially with you there."

Scarlett was quiet. "Even still," she finally whispered, "I feel like I ruined Justin's family."

"Scarlett," Fred said sternly, "I want you to listen to me. It wasn't your fault or your dad's that this happened. Sometimes bad things just happen and it's out of anyone's control. You have no reason to feel bad. What will it take for you to believe me?"

Scarlett shrugged. "I don't think there's anything you can do. Eventually, I'll feel better about it, but right now it's just too much to process."

"I can imagine," Fred said gently.

"I'm afraid I'll get nightmares again."

Fred stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"When the accident happened, I had horrible nightmares for a while. Really, really horrible. I would wake up screaming my head off. My mother would wake up and run into my room. The first time it happened, she thought I was hurt or something was happening. She always stayed up with me until I fell asleep, though. Every single time. Eventually, the nightmares stopped, but I'm afraid that what I found out tonight will make them come back. I'm afraid to go through that again."

Fred stared at her. "Do you really think they will? Come back, I mean."

Scarlett shrugged. "I'm really scared they will. Just from how I'm feeling about what Justin told me. It's terrifying. It was their car that was involved in the accident. There's an emotional connection to the other people involved. I'm afraid all the memories are going to resurface and it's going to be different knowing that the people in the other car were Justin's mother and sister."

"But you don't know for sure if it was them you hit," Fred reasoned.

"There's a strong possibility," Scarlett said. "And all of it scares me."

"Can I show you something?" Fred asked after a moment.

Scarlett looked over at him and nodded. "Sure."

Fred stood up and held out a hand to her. She hesitated briefly before taking it.

"Remember when you came to visit a few weeks ago and I said I wanted you to come back so I could show you something?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied slowly as Fred led her to the front door and opened it.

"Well, I think now is a good time to show you," he said.

"Why?"

"Why not? You're here, aren't you? And personally, I think you'll like what I have to show you."

Fred led Scarlett to the back of the shop, up the stairs, and into the flat.

"So," Scarlett said, taking in her surroundings, "this is where you live now."

"Yeah, this is the living room, as you can see. The kitchen's over there, and my room and George's room are down the hall."

"You don't share anymore?" Scarlett asked with a tiny smirk.

"No, we decided that having our own rooms would be best."

"Yeah, now you can have Angelina over whenever you want without having to worry about it."

"Shut up," Fred muttered. "Anyway, come on." He led her down the hall to a door at the very end. He pushed it open to reveal a set of stairs. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing for Scarlett to go up ahead of him.

Scarlett slowly turned her gaze from his face to the stairs. "Where do they lead?" she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and hesitation.

"To the room where I keep my pet dragon," Fred snorted.

"Very funny, you jerk."

"Yeah, it's feeding time and I'm running low on food. I was planning on feeding you to him," Fred smirked.

"You can't. I die, you die. Remember?"

"What a pity," Fred said, pretending to look disappointed. "I was really looking forward to feeding you to that dragon."

Scarlett rolled her eyes before ascending the stairs. When she reached the top and pushed open a second door, she couldn't help but smile.

"You like it?" Fred asked from behind her.

"Yeah," she replied, stepping out on to the roof, quite similar to the one at Grimmauld Place. "It's great."

"It's one of the things that initially drew me to this building," Fred said, sticking his hands in his pockets and wandering to the far side of the roof, looking out across the tops of the buildings.

"Yeah?" Scarlett asked, joining him.

Fred nodded. "It reminded me of Grimmauld Place."

"So, let me get this straight. Something that reminded you of that dingy old house drew you to this place?" Scarlett asked.

Fred laughed. "The rest of the house might have been a little dingy, but the roof wasn't all that bad."

"You're right, it wasn't."

"You can see all of Diagon Alley from up here. Not that there's much to see anymore, but I expect if things get better, it'll be great," Fred shrugged.

Scarlett nodded. "I agree. You know, this would be a great place to bring Angelina. If you haven't already, of course."

Fred shook his head. "I haven't. She's only been here once, anyway and she couldn't stay long. I had time to show her around the shop and that was pretty much it."

"Really?" Scarlett asked.

"She's busy, I'm busy," Fred shrugged.

"I've been busy as well and I've been here twice. And you made room in your schedule both times to talk to me. If you and Angelina wanted to see each other, you'd make time."

"Well, Angie's been travelling. She's been trying out for all these different Quidditch teams all over the place and then she has to decide which one she wants to play for."

"Is she trying to secure a spot on a team that's close by?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah, but there's no guarantee." He chewed on the inside of his cheek and looked out at the sky. "I think our relationship's falling apart," he confessed.

Scarlett was quiet for a moment. "What makes you think that?"

"We aren't talking all that much anymore. We've only been writing letters, which haven't been all that detailed."

"Well, didn't you just say you've both been busy?"

"Yeah…."

"Doesn't that explain it, then?"

"Maybe," Fred said. "I thought about it and I know her excuse is that she's busy and out of town a lot, but as for me…like you said, I could make time to see her. I'm just scared that I'm not trying anymore. I mean, sometimes I think that I can't see a relationship like this working where I'm here, committed to the shop, and Angelina's gone all the time. Even if she does sign with a team close by, there's going to be away games and interviews and a ton of media attention. I'm not sure if I can handle that so maybe I've given up."

"The shop gets media attention. And practically every witch and wizard knows about it," Scarlett reasoned.

"Yeah, but it's different. We don't get all that much media attention. Only when we first opened, really. It'll be different for Angelina once she makes it as a famous Quidditch player."

"I would tell you that you should try to fix this, but then-,"

"You know it's not worth it," Fred finished. "Yeah, I get it."

"I'm really sorry, Fred."

Fred shook his head. "This has nothing to do with you or the vow, so don't apologize. It would have happened with or without the vow."

"But without the vow, you could be fixing your relationship. You'd be more motivated."

"Is this another thing you're going to blame yourself for?" Fred sighed.

"No," Scarlett replied quietly. "It's just that I know how much you like her."

Fred was silent for a moment. "Yeah," he said, almost half-heartedly.

"Do you think you'll break up with Angelina or are you just going to let things fizzle out?" Scarlett asked.

Fred shrugged. "I don't know yet. What about you with Justin?"

"Things aren't bad enough between us where they're about to fizzle out, despite what happened tonight at dinner. I'm just going to break up with him. Probably next weekend. Like I said earlier, I can't keep hiding all of this stuff from him. It's going to be difficult, but," she sighed, "it has to be done."

"You love him, don't you?" Fred whispered.

Scarlett looked up. "What makes you think that?"

"Just from how you're acting," Fred said, shrugging one shoulder.

"Erica didn't tell you?"

"No, why would she tell me?" Fred asked, letting out a breath of laughter.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied, shaking her head. "I just didn't expect you to figure it out. Anyway, yeah, I do love Justin, but it's almost complicated. I don't think my feelings for him are as deep as his are for me, and that scares me."

"Why?"

"Firstly, I don't' know if it's how I really feel or if I'm holding back because of the vow. Secondly, the more he feels for me, the more upset he'll be when I sit down, tell him the truth, and break up with him."

Fred sighed. "What are we doing to ourselves?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Scarlett answered. "But it has to get better, right?"

Fred nodded. "Right."

The two of them were quiet for a moment. "I should go," Scarlett finally said. "It's getting late."

"It's only a little before eleven," Fred said. "It's not that late."

Scarlett sighed. "It feels so much later. Anyway, even still, I've wasted enough of your time being ridiculous and I really should-,"

"Are you still afraid?"

Scarlett gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

"About having nightmares," Fred prompted.

Scarlett shrugged. "A bit."

"What if you…stay here for the night?" Fred asked slowly.

"Fred, I can't do that. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"You're scared, though," Fred said.

"Well, yeah, but-,"

"Are you worried Erica will interrogate you tomorrow if you don't come home tonight?" Fred smirked.

Scarlett shook her head. "She's staying at her cousin's tonight and she won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

"So you don't even have to worry about her," Fred said. "Excellent. It's all the more reason you should stay here. You'll have some company and you won't have to be alone all night."

"How would that look after I just came from Justin's house?"

"He doesn't have to know you were here. Besides, we're not going to actually do anything, of course."

"I don't really think it's necessary," Scarlett said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Come on," Fred said. He grabbed her arm and led her back downstairs. When they opened the door to the flat, George stuck his head around the corner from the kitchen. "Hey, Scar, I figured Fred had brought you up to see the roof."

"Yeah, it's lovely," she said with a tiny smile.

"Fred loves it," George continued. "I think he should just move all his stuff up there and make it his own personal space."

Scarlett smiled as Fred rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," George said, "I'm making a midnight snack. Do either of you want anything?"

Scarlett shook her head. "No, thanks."

"It's not midnight yet, George," Fred teased. "It's too early for a midnight snack."

"Close enough," George shrugged. "Do you want anything or not?"

"No, I'm fine," Fred said. He glanced at Scarlett. "Uh, Scar's going to stay here tonight."

Scarlett sighed and crossed her arms, but didn't say anything until George raised an eyebrow. "I found out some information earlier tonight that makes me worry my nightmares from when my dad died will come back. Fred doesn't think I should be left alone."

"It worries me," Fred said. "If these nightmares are as bad as you say they are…."

"They might not even come back."

"But you think they might."

"Maybe not. It's ridiculous, really, that they might. It was a dumb thought."

"No, it's not," Fred argued.

"Scar, maybe you should just stay here," George said. "It'll be the only way to get this lunatic to shut up." He jerked his head towards Fred.

"Thanks, George," Fred sighed. "Thanks a lot."

"I'm here for you," George said. He was smiling, but at the same time, he was giving Fred a quizzical look.

Fred ignored George's expression and turned back to Scarlett. "Come on." He dragged her into his room and began rummaging through drawers while Scarlett looked around.

Binky was sitting on the nightstand, fast asleep. Scarlett smiled and gently patted the top of his head before wandering towards the window. "You're reading this?" she asked, picking Peter Pan up from them window seat. There was a bookmark halfway through it.

Fred paused in his search through the drawer to glance up. He smiled when he saw what Scarlett was holding. "Yeah. It's not the same was when you tell it, though." He pulled two t-shirts and two pairs of pajama pants out of the drawer. "Here," he said, tossing one of each at Scarlett.

"What are these?" she asked, catching them.

"You can't sleep in that," Fred said, gesturing towards her dress. "I mean, as nice as it is…."

"I can manage," Scarlett said, blushing slightly. "I'm not going to wear your clothes."

"Scar," Fred sighed.

"Fred," she answered, almost pleadingly.

"I'm not asking you to do anything immoral," Fred said. "You're not going to be comfortable in that dress, so I'm giving you something to put on."

"I shouldn't even be staying here. I really—I can't. I'm just going to go home."

"No, you're not. I wouldn't feel right. I wouldn't be able to sleep. I'd be too worried."

"Fred, don't be dramatic."

"I really would worry, though," Fred said. "I really think you should stay here. As much as you try to hide it, I can see you're nervous about the nightmares coming back and if you stay, you won't have to go through it alone."

"But-,"

"Scar," Fred said again.

Scarlett didn't answer for a moment. "Fine," she finally sighed.

Fred smiled as he finished pulling off his tie. He threw it haphazardly onto his desk. "I'll go change in the bathroom so you can have some privacy."

Scarlett nodded. "Okay."

Fred headed for the door and turned to close it. Before he did close it, he stuck his head back in the room. "See? I have morals. I'm giving you your privacy when I could have very well suggested you change right in front of me."

Scarlett smiled. "I know you have morals. Deep down, maybe, but you do have them."

Fred laughed. "Thanks," he said. "Really, you're too kind."

"I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea from me staying at your flat and wearing your clothes."

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Nobody else is going to know," Fred said in a dramatic whisper.

Scarlett actually laughed. "Okay, okay. Now get out before I hex you."

"There's the Scarlett I know," Fred said. He smiled before slowly closing the door.

Once the door was shut, Scarlett looked down at the items in her hands and sighed. She set them on the bed so she could get out of her dress. Fishing out her wand, she used it to unzip the back. There was no way she was asking one of the twins to do it.

Wearing Fred's clothes was odd, Scarlett realized, once she had put them on. Even on the few occasions where she wore Justin's clothes, it was only ever a sweatshirt or a jacket. And now here she was in Fred Weasley's pajamas. She sighed again and turned away from the mirror to neatly drape her dress over a chair in the corner.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Scar?" Can I come in?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," she answered, sitting down on the window seat and flipping through Fred's copy of Peter Pan, if anything just to have something to do besides awkwardly standing there.

Fred came into the room, tossing the clothes he had been wearing earlier onto the back of the desk chair. He looked at Scarlett. "Are you tired?"

She shrugged. "A little…I can go make myself comfortable on the couch if you have any extra blankets and sheets."

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch," Fred said. He climbed into his bed before scooting further under the covers and propping himself up on his elbows. "What's wrong with here? There's plenty of room." He gestured to the spot next to him with a tilt of his head.

Scarlett hesitated. "I just—it's—,"

"Scarlett, this isn't a big deal. We can stay on completely opposite sides of the bed. We're not even going to be touching. Think of it as practice for when we get married because this is how it's going to be, isn't it?"

"We could have separate beds." Scarlett shrugged one shoulder as she set the book in her hands beside her on the window seat.

Fred snorted. "What's the point of that?"

"Won't it be weird?"

"It'll only be weird if we make it weird. Besides, we used to fall asleep on the couch in the Burrow together all the time when we were younger."

"That's different."

"Not really. Anyway, if anything, I'm the one who should sleep on the couch tonight. You're a guest here."

"I can't let you do that. You live here. You shouldn't have to be kicked out of your own bed."

Fred smirked. "Then it seems we're out of luck if we both won't let the other sleep on the couch. That leaves us with one option." He patted the spot next to him.

Scarlett scowled at him before flinging back the covers and climbing into the bed. "Sometimes you really annoy me," she muttered, getting comfortable on her side, facing away from Fred.

"The feeling is mutual," Fred teased.

Scarlett turned her head just enough to stick her tongue out at him.

"Haven't we grown past the age of sticking our tongues out?" Fred asked with a grin.

"Speak for yourself," Scarlett mumbled, pulling the covers up to her chin.

Fred laughed and reached over to turn off the lamp. "Goodnight, Scar."

"Goodnight, Fred."

The room was thrown into silence. Scarlett kept her eyes open and stared at the window. "Fred?" she finally whispered.

"Hm?" he answered quietly.

"Thank you for being so nice to me."

"I wouldn't dream of being anything but nice to you, Scar. You're one of my best friends."

Scarlett rolled over and faced him. "Don't you mean I was one of your best friends?"

"No," Fred whispered, turning onto his side and looking at her. "You still are."

"How can you say that?"

"I realized that even though we didn't speak for years, I still feel really close to you. Is that weird?"

Scarlett didn't answer right away. "No, I feel the same about you. I mean, we're older and a little different now, but at the same time, things are still the same."

Fred nodded. "Exactly."

They were quiet for another moment before Scarlett smiled. "Well…goodnight then."

"Goodnight," Fred answered quietly.

Scarlett rolled over again and faced the window, closing her eyes and drifting off into sleep, praying her nightmares stayed away tonight.

A/N: So I really like this chapter a lot mostly because it's kind of a big one for Fred and Scarlett, even though they aren't together yet. On that note, the Scarlett/Justin breakup will be happening somewhere in the next two chapters, but I'm still working things out so that it can happen as soon as possible. That being said, the next chapter might have to be a bit longer than my usual chapters just to move things along, which I'm sure won't be too much of an issue because I know how anxious everyone is, and trust me, I am too!

Thanks for all of the feedback!