"There's one last thing I want to show you before you head back." Charlie took her hand and lead her to the other end of the sanctuary.
The leaves high up on the trees were turning brown and red slowly twirling through the air to the ground. The fallen ones crunched under their feet as they walked slowly past the dragon enclosures. Many of the large beasts were sleeping or caring for their young, and it made her heart pang.
Charlie stopped them in front of what seemed to be an empty enclosure.
He raised his arm and pointed toward a small pile of leaves in the corner close to a cluster of trees. "Hiding under that pile of leaves is June. That is a young Ukrainian Ironbelly female. She was the smallest of all her siblings and two months ago she lost her first young." He took a deep breath and the dragon moved out from her hiding place, "The egg never hatched, and when we took the egg from her she went into a rampage."
Tears prickled the corner of Hunn's eyes as they watched the young dragon move out into the open. She was beautiful, her scales glistened a deep blood red and her claws dug into the earth as she walked toward them, eyeing them both carefully.
"We gave her a rock until we could think of what to do but she figured us out in no time and crushed it to dust."
The dragon walked to the center of the field and bowed her head low her nostrils flaring wide.
"She's sad."
Charlie nodded and waved his wand sending soft butterflies to the waiting creature. The dragon took a deep breath as if to turn the butterflies to ash, but no flames emerged and the dragon blew the butterflies high into the sky.
"She can't produce fire, she was born underdeveloped and that's why we think she can't have her own eggs."
"What are you going to do?" a feeling struck her heart deep. "She needs to be a mum. Her heart is so big and open. She needs a baby to love." Hunn whispered softly
"We have an ailing mother on the other side of the park. She's beyond saving and doesn't have much time left. As a whole, we decided it was best to separate the mum from her eggs before she harms them. We're going to give them to June as soon as we swap them."
Her heart swelled and she let the tears roll, "She's going to be a mum?"
Charlie nodded and gave her a warm smile. "Yes, she doesn't know it yet but we're going to give her three eggs and soon she'll be a mum."
"Oh, Charlie that's beautiful!"
"Hunn, I know mum talked to you already, but I wanted you to know we're all here for you."
She threw her arms around Charlie and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for that. Thank you for letting me stay with you. I needed this."
"You're like my sister, you're always welcome here." He whispered
They separated and Charlie lead her to the portkey. With a deep breath, she took the old can in her hand and it pulled her through the air squeezing her tight before throwing her onto the ground in front of the Burrow.
She flopped onto the grass and gazed up at the clouds. They were dark and casting long shadows as they gathered together.
"Hunn?" Molly called from the doorway sounding a little nervous
Not wanting to worry her she shot up to her feet and jogged over to the Burrow. Molly gathered her up into a warm hug and held her tightly. "Oh, we've missed you."
"I missed you too. How are things?"
"The children are in school and Fred and George are…. Well, they're Fred and George."
Hunn laughed softly and squeezed Molly close before letting go. "Do you have time for a cuppa?"
Molly beamed and waved her wand, "Anything for you dear."
They walked arm in arm to the kitchen where they shared a cuppa and whispered to each other quietly, laughing softly and comforting one another.
Before the sky could darken further Molly rushed her through the Flu giving her hugs and kisses for her boys.
"We love you, darling," Molly whispered softly letting her step into the fireplace
"I love you too, mum." She gave a small wave and shouted for the flat letting the green power engulf her in flames that carried her through space before depositing her in the hearth of the empty shop.
The displays hadn't changed much and the shop seemed to have stood the test of time while she was off with Charlie. Listening carefully she followed the soft sound of their voices up the stairs to the second floor of the shop.
She crept around the corner and saw Fred trying to brush the Pygmy Puffs.
"Hold still you little bugger. No girl is going to want you if you have knots in your fur." She had to stifle a laugh as Fred yelped loud and high
"You little fuck! Gonna bite me are you?!" he raised his wand and Hunn acted before he could hurt the poor creature
"Fred!"
His head snapped up at the sound of her voice and he turned slowly to see her. "Hunn?"
She nodded and he seemed frozen where he was.
"Surprise!" she smiled slightly hoping he was happy to see her
"Your home?" he choked softly, "You're really here? This isn't one of Ginny's awful pranks is it?"
She took his hands in her and shook her head, "I'm really here." She whispered
He tossed the little Pygmy Puff to the table and engulfed her in his arms. He buried his face in her hair and clutched her close to his chest. "I've missed you. You have no idea how much I've missed you."
Tears filled her eyes so she buried her face in the crook of his neck and held on tight. "Fred, I missed you too." She whispered to him softly
He didn't say a word just held her closer and tighter than he was before. "Don't ever leave us again. We're a mess without you, Hunn. You hold us together."
She pulled away and let out a small laugh, "I doubt you were falling apart…"
He took her shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes, "We were a mess. George and I haven't spoken in ages and mum's been ignoring my owls. They're all mad that I drove you away."
"Oh, Fred…"
"They have a right to be mad. I fucked up." He let her go and turned away from her back to the Pygmy Puff. "I shouldn't have done what I did…." He whispered placing the Puff back in its cage
"Fred. We were going through a hard time…."
He shook his head, "Yes. WE we're going through something and I turned to someone else." He looked back at her with a broken smile, "I need to show you something." He held out his hand and without a thought, she placed her in his and let him lead her into a room off the second-floor stairs.
The room was crowded with their best sellers stacked high. Among all the boxes there was a small table with a large bowl resting on the center of it.
"What's this Fred?"
He tugged her over to the table and took a deep breath, "It's a pensive. I want you to see my memories." He whispered
"Fred, I don't need to see…"
'Don't. Please, I need you to see them so you won't wonder for the rest of our lives if I was telling you the truth."
The look in his eyes told her not to fight it so she nodded and allowed him to tug her closer to the pensive. They stared down at the cool liquid and when Fred reached out and touched the surface that sucked them into its depths she felt a chill rack her body to the core.
…..
They were in the shop near the entrance. Fred stood beside her and held her hand as they watched George and Fred move around the shop acting out his memory flawlessly. Fred stood near the counter and George peaked out the window.
"I don't know about this Georgy….. Hunn isn't feeling well at all maybe we should just close the shop down."
George shook his head, "We can't do that. She'll kill us. We'll hire someone on to help us around here and when Hunn is up to it she can come down and take over again if she wants." George explained
Fred looked unsure but let the silence take over as they waited. People were milling around the entrance and when a young girl walked up to the door she knocked and George let her in opening the door wide.
"You must be Mary."
She nodded and looked down flustered. Hunn could feel her jealousy rising just watching their encounters through the memory.
"Ello!" Fred called from the counter
The girl looked up and blushed a deep red. "Hi."
George motioned for her to follow and they walked to the register. "So, you're a seventh year at Hogwarts?" George asked
She nodded, "Yeah I saw your fireworks during Umbridge's exam. It was amazing." She said dreamily
George looked flattered and Fred laughed, "We did put on quite a show for the old bat!"
"Yeah. It was the biggest news to hit the school in forever!"
"You'd like to work here?" Fred asked
She nodded again and blushed, "I would love to. I can only work the summer but I'm a really hard worker!" she promised
"Our Hunn was hurt very badly in an accident and we just need someone to help us until she's ready to get back into it again," Fred explained. Hunn watched as a shadow crossed over Fred's face and in a flash, it was gone and he flashed a smile that didn't reach his eyes to the young girl
Mary nodded, "I understand. I'm willing to help as long as I'm needed." She vowed
George nodded and gave her a small smile, "We really need the help. When can you start?"
"Right away! Today even!"
The boys laughed and nodded, "Alright! Today it is then!" George pointed to the back rooms, "You can place your things in there and come out when you're ready."
She beamed and jogged away to where he pointed.
George looked at Fred and smiled, "She has energy!"
"She does. Something about her seems so familiar. I can't remember where I know her from." Fred pondered
George's brows knit together and they were both in deep thought. Neither one of them could put a finger on it. But when Mary came bounding out from the back room exclaiming, "It's time to make the biscuits!" they blanched.
"Mary Gobsworth." Fred whispered in horror
Mary's smile fell, "How did you know my last name?" she asked looking between the two confused
"Nothing just remembered you from school." Fred lied smoothly
George nodded in agreement, "Yeah just remembered you from school."
She smiled brightly, "Oh goody! I remember you two as well. We had a few encounters around the castle before you left."
Fred and George smiled politely and asked Mary to grab a few boxes from the back room to reload the displays.
"Fred. This is the girl you had a crush on in school, isn't it?" George whispered
Fred only nodded and ran his fingers through his hair, "She can't know. That would make working with her very weird."
George laughed, "You had quite the crush on her when we were younger."
"Yeah, I did. I can't believe she applied for the job. Her of all people?"
The memory blurred before their eyes and morphed into the next memory Fred had lined up for her to view. The world of the shop morphed into their flat above where she saw Fred pacing in the kitchen looking distressed and nervous.
George walked into the kitchen looking worn and tired.
"How is she?" Fred asked softly
George shook his head, "She's staring out the window again. She won't talk to me. She won't do anything, Fred."
"I'll try to talk to her. Why don't you go let Mary in downstairs and get the shop started for the day," George nodded and walked downstairs without another word
Fred watched his brother go with the saddest look on his face and then turned to walk through the flat into their shared bedroom.
He entered the room slowly. Hunn and the present Fred walked behind him slowly watching the scene unfold before them. There was a lump under the blankets facing the window. Fred sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Hunn's.
This Hunn withdrew from his touch and covered her face from his view.
"Baby?" Fred's broken voice asked
No reply.
"Hunn, baby we need you."
No reply.
"Hunn, please. Let us help you. Let us help you through this."
No reply.
"We're your family, Hunn. George and I want to help you, and we need you to help us."
No reply.
"We need you to help us too…"
No reply. This time Fred didn't say anything he just stared out the window and basked in the silence.
"We love you. We love you so much." He whispered before getting up and leaving the room.
The memory morphed and Fred and Hunn were carried out through to the next memory.
"This is the last one," Fred promised squeezing her hand tightly
Hunn's heart squeezed and she felt like she was being ripped apart. She didn't remember being so cold to them. Didn't remember any of it. She hadn't realized their struggles while she was wallowing in her own pain.
"I had no idea it was so bad." She whispered brokenly
Fred said nothing just squeezed her hand tightly.
The pensive pulled them into the back room where Hunn had found Fred laughing with Mary. They stood off to the back and watched at Mary joined Fred at the work table. Mark tried placing a hand on Fred's leg, but Fred brushed it off immediately. Mary moved closer and Fred moved away from her.
Then they talked. They laughed and Fred pushed off her advances as they came. When Hunn pushed her way into the room they hadn't noticed but Mary pushed closer to Fred and held herself there as he laughed. Mary leaned closer and closer until Fred opened his eyes and Hunn flipped storming out of the room leaving a distressed Fred and a smug Mary behind.
Hunn waved her hand through the memory and pulled them out into the shop again. She turned to Fred with tears in her eyes and hugged him close.
"Oh, Fred. You were never doing anything wrong were you?"
He said nothing and just held her close, burying his face in her hair.
"I love you, Fred Weasley."
"I love you too, Hunn." The tension left his body and he felt relaxed for the first time since she had left them.