"You've got troubles, I've got 'em, too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."
-Toy Story
"Scarlett…Scarlett, wake up!"
Scarlett's eyes snapped open and she immediately began taking in her surroundings. She was in Fred's flat, sitting up in his bed and she had just had a nightmare. That much she knew for sure. The next thing she became aware of was that Fred had his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to calm down. She was trembling from head to toe and gasping for air. Her ears were ringing with the sound of her own screams.
"You're okay, you're alright," Fred whispered, rocking her back and forth. "It was only a nightmare."
"What's going on?" George had flung open the door and turned on the light. "I heard screaming."
"She had a nightmare," Fred said. From his tone, Scarlett knew he was scared. He clearly hadn't expected her nightmares to be this bad.
George came over and sat down on the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Scarlett's knee. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Do you need anything? A glass of water, maybe?"
Scarlett managed to nod her head.
"Okay, I'll be right back." George got up and left the room, sharing a look with Fred that Scarlett knew to mean he was shaken up by her reaction to the nightmare as well.
"You're still shaking so badly," Fred whispered once George was gone. "You were screaming terribly as well."
Scarlett didn't answer. Instead, she closed her eyes and sighed. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool out of herself in front of Fred. She didn't want to make a fool out of herself in front of anyone, but especially Fred.
"You even woke Binky up," Fred continued, "and pygmy puffs can usually sleep through anything."
For the first time, Scarlett noticed the frantic little squeaks coming from the nightstand. Glancing over, she saw Binky trying to jump over the gap between the nightstand and the bed, but stopping short at the last minute.
"I think he's afraid of heights or something," Fred said. "He always has trouble jumping over gaps. Not that it matters if he fell. He'd just bounce right off the ground." Removing one arm from around Scarlett, he leaned over and scooped Binky up off the nightstand before depositing him on the bed.
Almost immediately, Binky scurried into Scarlett's lap, crawled up her arm, perched on her shoulder, and nuzzled into her neck.
"Look at that," Fred said, shifting Scarlett's thick hair off of her shoulder. "He wants to make sure you're alright." Scarlett could tell from his voice that he was smiling slightly. After a second, he continued again, his voice low. "You are okay, aren't you?"
"Yeah," she whispered hoarsely, speaking for the first time since she had woken up. She reached up and gently stroked Binky's fur. "Calm down, Binks," she said. "There's no reason to get yourself all worked up. I'm fine."
George returned with a glass of water just then and Scarlett took it, her hand still shaking, but only slightly. Fred let go of her, but kept one hand on her lower back, comfortingly rubbing circles into it.
"Are you sure you're alright?" George asked, frowning slightly with concern.
Scarlett nodded as she lowered the glass and held it in her lap, tracing the edge of the rim with her finger. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm used to these nightmares."
"How could you ever stand it when you were little? How can you stand it now?" Fred asked. "The way you were screaming…it was as if you were being tortured or something."
"In a way I suppose I was," Scarlett shrugged, keeping her eyes downcast. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the twins. She felt embarrassed when she knew she shouldn't. She had been so close to them at one point, so much so that she could tell them anything. And she was finding that she could still talk to them about anything and everything—especially Fred. They had just discussed that subject before going to bed. All the same, knowing they had seen her at one of her weakest points made her uncomfortable. Clearly, things still weren't completely the same between them.
"I mean, from what you said earlier," Fred continued, "I figured the nightmares were pretty bad—it is why I insisted you stay over after all—but I didn't know they were this bad."
Scarlett kept quiet. She wasn't sure if she wanted to voice her feelings just yet—or even at all.
"Do you want to talk about it?" George asked.
Scarlett hesitated. "No, I'd rather not." She glanced at Fred. "I'm sure you can figure out the general idea of it anyway."
"How long do you think the nightmares will go on this time?" Fred asked.
Scarlett shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure it won't be very long. Tonight may very well be the only night. Maybe I got it out of my system. I mean, what influenced the nightmare tonight is upsetting me, but it's nothing compared to when my dad died so I doubt the nightmares will last as long this time."
"What is influencing them this time?" George asked. "If you don't mind my asking, of course."
Scarlett sighed. "Fred can tell you later." She glanced up at George and managed a small smile. "Sorry, it's just that I don't feel like recounting the story all over again."
"I get it," George said, nodding. "I completely understand."
"Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep tonight?" Fred asked.
"I should be able to," Scarlett replied, shrugging nonchalantly as she tried to make her nightmares seem like they weren't a big deal.
"Alright, well, I think you should do that, then," George said, standing up. "I think you need some rest after all that exercise you just gave your lungs."
A smile flickered across Scarlett's face. "You're right, I'm exhausted," she said.
George smiled. "Everything will be okay, Scar."
"You haven't even heard the full story yet," she said, looking up at him.
"I know, but I'm just trying to make you feel better."
"Thanks, George. I appreciate it. I really do."
George sent her one last smile before leaving the room and closing the door quietly. Fred took Scarlett's empty water glass and set it on the nightstand before readjusting his pillow and scooting back against the headboard. "Come here," he said, gesturing for Scarlett to move next to him.
Scarlett hesitated before moving to sit where he had indicated. She rested her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her. Binky scurried down Scarlett's arm and made himself comfortable in the crook of her elbow, snuggling against her stomach.
"You're doing this as a friend, right?" Scarlett asked before she could really stop herself.
"Doing what?" Fred asked.
"Comforting me."
"I'm doing it because I care about you. Besides, you were there for me when I needed someone so I'm going to do the same for you."
"Yeah, but you care for me as-,"
"Shh," Fred whispered. "Stop worrying and stop analyzing every little detail."
"I can't help it," Scarlett whispered.
"Worrying too much never did anyone any good," Fred said. When Scarlett didn't answer, he continued. "Want me to tell you a story?"
"You're offering to tell me one?" Scarlett asked. "That's a pleasant surprise."
"Isn't it?" Fred asked with a smile.
"I'd love to hear a story," Scarlett sighed, closing her eyes.
"Which one?"
"Anything. You choose."
"Okay, well….All children, except one, grow up…."
"You aren't sick of this story yet?" Scarlett asked with a laugh as she raised her head to look at him.
"No," Fred answered. He hesitated. "Are you?"
"Never," Scarlett replied, resting her head on his shoulder again.
"Good," Fred answered. "I only hope I can do it justice when I tell it."
"Well, give it a go and then I'll tell you how you did."
Fred laughed. "Alright, well, here goes…."
Scarlett woke up the next morning to something tugging at her earlobe. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head. Binky was sitting on the pillow, right next to her head, squeaking happily.
"What time is it?" Scarlett mumbled, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. "Eight thirty," she sighed. She glanced at Binky. "I'm guessing you're a morning person…or pygmy puff, I should say."
Binky squeaked in response.
Scarlett sat up and rubbed her eyes. "How can you be this cheerful right now? Especially considering I ruined everyone's sleep schedule last night." She yawned and looked around. It was then that she realized Fred wasn't next to her anymore. She then realized it made sense considering the shop was open on Saturdays and Fred had to work.
Scarlett placed Binky on the nightstand and got out of bed. She stood there for a moment with her hands on her hips and biting her lip before coming to a decision and making the bed. Then, she looked down at what she was wearing. She didn't want to go down to the shop wearing Fred's clothes, and she didn't want to put her dress back on either.
"It seems I have a predicament," she sighed, looking at Binky and blowing a puff of air out of her mouth.
Binky squeaked a few times and nudged Scarlett's wand, lying next to him on the nightstand.
"What are you getting at?" Scarlett asked, tilting her head in confusion. Binky nudged her wand a few more times before Scarlett understood. "You're so smart," she cooed, scratching Binky's tiny ears. She picked up her wand and transfigured the pajama pants into jeans and simply shrunk the t-shirt to fit her better. As for her hair, she threw it in a ponytail before heading for the door. Binky squeaked frantically from behind her.
Scarlett turned and smiled. "Alright, come on." She walked back to the nightstand and picked Binky up, placing him on her shoulder.
She left the room and walked through the silent flat to the door that led to the shop's back room. Pulling it open, she tiptoed down the stairs and peered around the corner. Fred was standing on the far side of the room with his back to her, taking small bottles out of a box and putting them on the shelf.
Scarlett bit her lip, trying to figure out the best way to let Fred know she was there. Binky, however, took it upon himself to squeak in excitement, causing Fred to jump slightly and whirl around.
"Hey," he said with a grin, noticing Scarlett.
"Hi." Scarlett smiled shyly and stepped completely into the room.
"Did you sleep well?" Fred asked. He paused and cleared his throat nervously. "After you fell asleep again, I mean."
Scarlett nodded. "What about you? I know you couldn't have slept as well as you could, though….I mean, I did wake you and George up in the middle of the night. You must be exhausted."
"We were only up for a little while. It wasn't a big deal."
"Yeah, but-,"
"Scar, it's really not a big deal," Fred said with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Really."
Scarlett chewed on her lip again. "Need some help?" she finally asked.
"Sure," Fred replied.
Scarlett crossed the room and knelt down beside the box. Binky scurried down from her shoulder and began happily moving around the room, sniffing at everything as Scarlett began passing some of the bottles to Fred. She kept silent as she did so, thinking about the best way to tell him how terrible she felt about being such an annoyance.
"I'm sorry," she finally blurted out.
"For what?" Fred asked, glancing down at her.
Scarlett didn't answer him and she couldn't look at him either. Instead, she looked down at the bottle she was holding and turned it over repeatedly in her hand.
Fred crouched down in front of her and put his hand over hers. "Scar," he sighed. "Please tell me what's bothering you. Is it the nightmare you had?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
She didn't answer for a moment. "I'm embarrassed," she finally whispered. "I didn't want you to witness one of my nightmares. It's part of the reason why I didn't want to stay the night. But I was scared of them coming back and didn't know what to do and you were so insistent, I—"
"Scar," Fred interrupted, grabbing her shoulders. "Stop for a minute."
"I just—I didn't want—," she stopped talking, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "The nightmares aren't pretty. I act totally messed up and it's when I'm at my weakest."
"Scar?" Fred said gently.
"Yeah?" She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"If we're going to make this vow thing work even a little bit, don't you think we need to let each other see our weaknesses? Don't you think we need to see each other at our lowest? We never hid our fears from each other when we were little."
"Things are different now, Fred. They're darker and more complicated."
"Exactly. It's why we need to do it all over again."
Scarlett took in a shaky breath before managing a small smile. "When did you become so insightful and wise?"
"The day I was born, of course."
Scarlett half-smiled again. "You know, it's not often I see you like this. I like it."
"See me like what?" Fred asked.
"So…serious. You usually try to make people feel better by joking and making them laugh. Not that I don't like it when you do that, but it's nice to see your serious side sometimes."
Fred smiled and let out a quiet laugh of his own. "So you're okay?"
"Of course," Scarlett replied. "I'm completely fine."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah…I mean, this is still difficult for me. I do appreciate you letting me stay over, but I'm so used to dealing with the nightmares on my own."
Fred smiled again. "I know it'll sound a bit cliché, but you really don't have to do anything alone."
"Thanks," Scarlett said, letting out a breath of laughter.
They stared at each other for a moment longer before Fred tilted his head and looked at her questioningly. "Did you transfigure my shirt to fit you better?"
Scarlett blushed and nodded as she fiddled with the bottle in her hands again. "I transfigured the pants into jeans, too. I just—I didn't think—it seemed weird coming down here in your pajamas. I hope it's okay. I can transfigure them back once I get home and return them to you as soon as possible."
Fred chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Take your time."
Scarlett nodded. "Thanks, Fred, really…for everything."
"You're welcome for everything," Fred replied with a grin.
Scarlett returned the smile somewhat nervously before passing the bottle in her hand to Fred. He took it and stood up to put it back up on the shelf.
"You know," Scarlett said slowly, taking the last few bottles out of the box and standing up with them in her arms, "something occurred to me last night while I was sitting on the bench waiting for you to come outside. It's something I forgot to mention to you the first time I was here."
"Yeah? What's that?" Fred asked, glancing at her as he took the remaining bottles from her hands.
"You-No-Poo," Scarlett answered.
Fred grinned. "Brilliant, isn't it? George and I are quite proud of that one."
"Yes, but I just meant…well, please don't tell me that Justin inspired that," she smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, now looking confused.
"Remember when we were in the DA and first learning how to make a Patronus? When Justin first tried, you told me he looked constipated. I just thought…I thought you were poking fun at him again.
Fred started to laugh. "I did say that, didn't I? I forgot, actually. You-No-Poo has nothing to do with Justin."
Scarlett let out a tiny sigh of relief. "Good. Because if it did…."
"What would you do?" Fred asked, smirking as he looked down at her. "Beat me up?"
"Yeah, maybe I would have," Scarlett answered, staring up at him and smirking back. She tilted her head to the side. "I could take you. No problem."
"You sure about that?" Fred asked. "You're about a foot shorter than me."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"You're smaller than I am," Fred smirked. "I don't think you'd be able to beat me up."
"You're just too bigheaded to see that I could," Scarlett retaliated, crossing her arms and staring at him unblinkingly.
"Oh yeah?" Fred asked, continuing to smirk.
"Mm," Scarlett nodded, smiling.
Before Fred could reply, the curtain in the doorway was suddenly thrown back, causing Scarlett and Fred to hurriedly take a few steps away from each other.
"Fred! I came to surprise—oh, Scarlett. Hi." Angelina stood in the doorway, staring confusedly at Fred and Scarlett as they looked back at her.
"Hey, Angelina," Scarlett said, managing a smile. "I was just helping Fred out back here. I came over to say hi and then I end up helping him."
"You aren't working today?" Angelina asked. "I heard you got a job at St. Mungo's. Congratulations, by the way."
"Thanks, and no, I had this weekend off. How are tryouts going for all of those Quidditch teams?"
"Fine. I'm done with tryouts and I should be hearing back within the next week or so and then I'll have to decide which team I want to play for. I'm hoping Puddlemere United will want me. They're a really great team and they've had an impressive past few seasons. Besides, that's where Wood is and it'll be good to play with him again."
"I'm sure they'll ask you to be on their team. You're a great player," Scarlett said, managing another smile.
"Thanks," Angelina replied. "I tried out for Ireland as well. I'm guessing that's your favorite team." She pointed to the shirt Scarlett was wearing.
"I, uh, yeah…yeah they are!" Scarlett said, quickly glancing down at the shirt and turning a light shade of pink.
Angelina looked at Fred. "Don't you have that same shirt?"
Scarlett blushed even more as Fred cleared his throat. "Er, yeah, I do."
After a pause that felt entirely too long, Scarlett turned to Fred. "I should get going now," she said. "I'm sure you're anxious to spend time with Angelina."
Fred nodded. "Okay," he answered quietly. "I'll, uh," he cleared his throat again and half-smiled, "I'll see you around."
"Yeah," Scarlett replied, "sure." With that, she squeezed past Angelina and headed through the shop to the front door as fast as she could.
Once she was outside, she took a deep breath and leaned against the wall of the shop, closing her eyes. That had been incredibly awkward. After a few seconds, she Apparated back to her flat and unlocked the front door. Erica wasn't back yet and the flat was quiet, which Scarlett was thankful for.
Sighing, she sunk down onto the couch and buried her head in her hands. She felt as if Angelina had caught her doing something terrible. If she had stopped by earlier that morning or sometime during the night before, things surely would have seemed terrible. Scarlett was glad the timing had worked out the way it had. The last thing she wanted was to give Angelina another reason to hate her, because that was certainly going to happen once she found out about the vow. If she thought Fred was cheating on her with Scarlett, it would only make the vow news that much more unbelievable and crazy when she heard it.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Scarlett's head snapped up. Who could that possibly be? It couldn't be Fred. If it was him, then Scarlett would be incredibly surprised. Although, not as surprised as she was when she opened the door and saw Justin's mother standing on the top step.
"Mrs. Finch-Fletchley?" Scarlett asked.
"Hello, Scarlett. I was hoping you'd be home." Mrs. Finch-Fletchley smiled at her warmly, but her smile held a hint of nervousness.
"Oh, well, yeah, I'm here," Scarlett said brightly, despite the fact that she was still thoroughly confused.
"I know coming here was very much on a whim, but, well…." Mrs. Finch-Fletchley smiled nervously again. "I felt so badly about how I treated you last night that I thought today could be the day I take you out shopping!"
"Oh, no, you have no reason to feel badly!" Scarlett said quickly. "It's me that should be apologizing to you!"
"Rubbish!" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "You did nothing wrong! How about we put last night behind us and forget all about it?"
"Er, yeah, alright," Scarlett said, unsure of what more to say.
"So, are you free today?" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley asked cheerfully.
"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly.
"Shopping?" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley's voice was hopeful.
Scarlett sighed. "Okay, I'll go. But," she bit her lip as she realized a sudden dilemma, "I don't have any Muggle money."
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley laughed and waved her hand again. "I'll take care of everything!"
"I really can't let you do that," Scarlett said, shaking her head.
"Scarlett, dear, if I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't be offering."
"That's not what I-,"
"Dear, don't worry about a thing. You deserve this! And like I told you last night, it can be frustrating being the only girl in my family! Now, come on, the car is waiting!"
"The car?" Scarlett's eyes widened as Mrs. Finch-Fletchley dragged her towards the shiny black car waiting outside. Scarlett barely had time to close her front door. The only things keeping her from protesting further were, firstly, that she was still trying to process what was happening, and secondly, Mrs. Finch-Fletchley looked so excited to be doing this.
Sighing, Scarlett followed Mrs. Finch-Fletchey, deciding the best thing to do would simply be to not protest, no matter how uncomfortable the day was going to be.
With an exhausted smile on her face, Scarlett waved at Mrs. Finch-Fletchley's car as it drove away before sighing and digging out the key to her flat. "Erica?" she called as she opened the door, knowing her friend must be home by now.
"Scarlett?" Erica stuck her head out of her bedroom door.
"Hey," Scarlett said, dumping her bags on the couch and staring at them.
"Where were you?" Erica asked, coming down the hallway. "I got home a few hours ago and I've been wondering where you've been. I want to hear all about meeting Justin's-," she stopped short at the end of the hallway as her eyes found the shopping bags. "What are those?"
"Er," Scarlett said, chewing on a fingernail. "Mrs. Finch-Fletchley took me out shopping today."
Erica raised her eyebrows. "Looks like you two hit it off." She walked over to the couch and peered into one of the bags. "Let me rephrase that," she said, raising her eyebrows again, "it looks like you two really hit it off. I'm guessing dinner went well."
Scarlett sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I actually don't know if it went well or not. It's a long story."
Erica studied her for a moment before smiling slightly. "Come on. I'm just about done unpacking. You can tell me as I finish."
Scarlett nodded and followed her friend down the hallway, the idea of re-telling everything that had happened making her feel even more exhausted than she already was.
Scarlett closed the door to her flat with a sigh and tossed the key and her wand onto the couch. After telling Erica the entire story from beginning to end, Erica had advised going to see her mother right away so that Scarlett could get the truth about what she thought happened.
All in all, the weekend had felt entirely too long and Scarlett was eager to get back home, curl up on her bed, and not think about anything for a little while.
Suddenly, Scarlett heard low voices coming from the kitchen. She had been so absorbed in thinking over the discussion she had had with her mother that she hadn't noticed until now. One voice was most definitely Erica's. It had to be. The other voice was too low for Scarlett to make it out.
"Erica?" she asked, making her way towards the kitchen. When she got there, she froze in the doorway. Erica was sitting at the kitchen table with none other than Fred.
"Scarlett, you're back," Erica said with a smile. "Fred stopped by. He actually only got here not too long ago."
"Oh," Scarlett managed to breathe out. "Hi, Fred."
"Hi," he said, giving her a tiny smile and wave.
"What are you doing here?"
"You left your dress at my place," Fred said, "so I thought I should return it."
Scarlett's eyes widened. "You're right! I did forget it! I'm so sorry! I hope Angelina didn't see it!"
Fred chuckled. "Scarlett, relax. She didn't stay very long. She only stayed through our lunch break so that we could eat together. Really, no harm done."
"I put the dress on your bed," Erica said.
Scarlett nodded. "So," she said slowly, "just out of curiosity Fred, what are you still doing here?"
"I told him you were at your mother's and would be back soon if he wanted to stay and have tea," Erica said.
"Which I did," Fred added, smiling. "Is that a problem?"
"No, not at all," Scarlett replied. She plopped down at the table. "I just hope Erica was nice to you and didn't force you into staying."
"Why would you think I would force him to stay?" Erica asked, pretending to be offended. "Fred, tell her I didn't force you."
"Well," Fred said slowly. Erica gave him a look and he laughed. "No, she didn't force me, but I think only because she didn't have to. I had no problem with hanging around a little longer until you got back. Otherwise, though, I think she would have tied me to the chair."
"That doesn't surprise me," Scarlett said with a small smile as Erica rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Did you eat at your mother's?" she asked.
Scarlett nodded. "Yeah," she sighed, "and we talked."
"Did you ask her?" Erica looked at Scarlett with an expression of curiosity mixed with nervousness. "You know...about what you needed to find out?"
Scarlett nodded again. "Yeah, I did."
"What did she say?" Fred asked quietly, slowly spinning the mug of tea in his hands.
"Well," Scarlett began, blowing a puff of air out of her mouth, "she was shocked at first, and it obviously concerned her as well. As it turns out, she didn't know much about the other people involved either, but she did say that the two cars kind of hit each other. It wasn't one hitting the other first like I originally thought. Anyway, she also said that she was expecting to have to pay some of the other family's medical bills, but she never had to, which is why she never came into contact with the other family. And Justin said that his mother never wanted to see the other family. She couldn't bear it. So she took care of the medical bills herself. And there was no legal trouble because my dad didn't survive."
"I still don't think that proves anything," Erica said, leaning back in her chair.
"What more proof do you need?" Scarlett asked in disbelief.
"Actual names," Erica shrugged.
"Yeah, those would be great, but we don't have any," Scarlett retaliated, "and like I said, we can't really get them. I know it's weird neither family got the names of the other, but I think Mrs. Finch-Fletchley really saw to that and that's where everything fits. I think we can safely assume it was them."
"No, we can't," Erica said. "We can't prove it."
"But it makes sense. If Justin's parents hadn't paid the medical bills and if they hadn't been too upset and distraught to even look the other family in the eye, then the two families would have met. They would have at least known each other's names. Maybe we can't be one hundred percent sure, but I'd say we can be ninety five percent sure."
"What are you going to do?" Fred whispered.
Scarlett shrugged. "Break up with Justin. I'd have to do it anyway. So I'm going to just tell him everything."
"What would you have done if there wasn't a vow?" Fred asked.
"I would have told him anyway and then we could have decided together where to go from there, but either way, I'd feel better if he knew what I think happened. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to break up anyway."
Fred snorted. "I'd be surprised. It'd be dumb to break up with you over something that, firstly, you're not completely sure happened, and secondly, something that you had no control over. If Justin agrees with this breakup than he's not worth it anyway."
Scarlett looked up and smiled briefly. "I appreciate that, but I think he'll agree with it. Don't forget, I'm also telling him about the vow."
"Again, something you had no control over," Fred shrugged.
"But the breakup has to happen and Justin doesn't exactly like you and he won't like that I lied all this time. All I'm saying is that the vow news will make him want to break up with me for sure."
"And what I'm saying is that he shouldn't be angry with you about it," Fred argued.
"Maybe he should be. I did hide a pretty big secret from him for a long time."
"Yeah, well, that was your decision."
"I know. I didn't say it wasn't. And it's not like you haven't done the same."
Fred sighed and leaned back in his chair. He looked at Erica. "You've been awfully quiet. What's your opinion?"
"Firstly, I've been quiet because I couldn't get a word in the way you two were going at it. Secondly, I think it's good Scarlett's breaking up with Justin and I think he will be hurt, but Fred, I think you have a point as well. Justin should at least try to be understanding and not hold the vow against Scarlett. I do think he will be mad initially, though. I mean, can we really blame him?"
"No, we can't," Scarlett said. "I'd react pretty badly if it were me in his position."
"Agreed," Fred sighed.
Scarlett let out a puff of air and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I'm just going to do it next Friday. Maybe the two of us can go to the Leaky Cauldron and I'll tell him there. Maybe since we'll be in a public place, he'll be able to tone down his reaction a bit."
Fred laughed. "You're almost as devious as me and George."
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Great."
"If it makes you feel any better," Fred added, "I like it."
Scarlett glanced up at him. "You shouldn't. I'm not sure it's a good thing."
"Why not?"
"I'm not sure breaking the news to Justin in public to simply lessen the intensity of his reaction is very nice. In fact, I'm positive it's not very nice."
"This is the Finch we're talking about here."
Scarlett shot Fred a look. "I'll have you know that Justin's been nothing but nice to me ever since I met him. Just because you don't like him for some reason doesn't mean that you can't be nice to him."
Fred stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut."
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "No you won't."
Fred smiled. "You're right. I won't."
Scarlett chose to roll her eyes this time. "Tell me why you don't like him."
Fred shook his head. "No."
Scarlett stared at him, trying to decide what to say next. "This isn't easy for me," she finally said, her voice quiet. "And joking about everything only goes so far. At least for me it does. In the long run, there's a lot for me to deal with. And I'm not sure I'm as good at it as you are. Dealing with things, I mean."
Fred raised his eyebrows. "Scar, I'm not trying to make things harder for you and there's a lot for me to deal with as well. I just—it's easier if I—"
"Spit it out," Erica piped up, smirking at Fred.
Fred shot her an exasperated look.
"Erica," Scarlett sighed.
"Okay, I get it. I'm not helping. I'll just leave you two alone, then. It's not as if Scarlett won't end up telling me everything you say anyway."
"Erica," Scarlett groaned as her friend stood up, deposited her empty mug in the sink and smirked before leaving the room.
After a few seconds of silence, Fred spoke again. "What I was trying to say was that this isn't easy for me either."
"But you're handling everything better than I am."
"Because I'm not constantly worrying about it and talking about it. It's how I am. I'd rather joke about it than talk seriously."
Scarlett snorted. "I wish I could do that."
Fred smiled. "It's a gift." There was a pause. "If I'm being honest, though, you could do it if you wanted."
Scarlett shrugged one shoulder. "So if you're not all that worried, do you even care about Angelina's feelings on all of this?" she asked.
Fred sighed. "You don't get it, do you? I joke about all of this and act like I'm not bothered, but that doesn't mean I don't care. It's like you with your dad. You said you didn't like to talk about the accident, but that doesn't mean you didn't care."
"That's different," Scarlett whispered.
"Is it?" Fred asked. When Scarlett didn't answer, he leaned over and put his hand on top of hers. I didn't say that to upset you. I said it because I want you to understand that I do care even if it seems like I don't show it."
Scarlett nodded. "I still think I'm more worried than you, though."
Fred smiled again. "Yeah, most likely," he laughed.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. "How are you really feeling about breaking up with Angelina?" Scarlett asked. "I just want you to be honest. No jokes this time."
Fred sighed and leaned back in his chair, removing his hand from Scarlett's in the process. "Honestly, I'm not too worried."
"But I thought you just said—"
"I said I cared. I'm not worried about actually breaking up with Angelina because it has to be done and it's inevitable. It's out of my control, so why worry? As for how she'll react, well, I'm sure she'll be upset, but I know her well enough to know she won't be mad forever. She'll get over it. We've been friends for too long to let anything completely ruin our friendship. However, like I mentioned before, she's going to be busy and so will I. I'm not sure we'll be able to see much of each other after she's playing Quidditch and for a while after I tell her the truth, she might not even want to talk to me, but I know we'll be okay in the end even if we aren't always as close or even still in constant contact."
"I think that'll be what ultimately happens with Justin as well. I'm sure he'll get over it, but we'll end up going our separate ways."
"So don't worry about everything so much. Like I said, it's out of our control."
Scarlett nodded. "You do have a point."
Fred grinned. "I know I do," he said as he stood up and stretched. "Anyway, I really should get going."
Scarlett nodded. "Oh, hold on just a minute. I have your, er, your clothes," Scarlett said with a slight blush. "I'll go get them."
Hurrying down the hallway, Scarlett grabbed the clothes before making her way back to Fred who was standing by the door.
"There really wasn't any rush to get these back," he said, taking them.
Scarlett shrugged. "I know, but I figured I had them and you're here so why not, right?"
Fred nodded. "Are you, er, going to be okay tonight?"
"Fred, I'll be fine," Scarlett insisted. "You don't have to feel obligated to take care of me just because we're getting married or because of what I told you last night."
"I don't feel obligated," Fred shrugged.
Scarlett smiled. "I appreciate it. I appreciate everything you've done for me. Really, I do."
Fred nodded again. "Okay, so, I probably should get going now. Let me know if you need anything."
Scarlett smiled and rolled her eyes as she opened the door so that Fred could leave. "Okay, okay," she sighed.
"I'm serious," Fred said, walking outside and turning around.
"I know you are," Scarlett replied quietly. "And thank you."
Fred smiled. "Anytime, Scar."
A/N: So this chapter is a little longer than usual. I try to keep chapters between 3,000 and 4,000 words, sometimes 5,000 but this one reached 6,000 words. But on the plus side, the break up's going to happen a chapter or two earlier than I originally planned, which is exciting!
Thanks for all of the awesome feedback!