"So… Fred, huh?" Her cousin Mary commented slyly as they sat outside on the porch, taking swigs from a bottle of whiskey every once in awhile.
"Yup." She replied, smiling almost reflexively. It was a smile that Mary hadn't seen in a long time. Before her father had dragged her away to England, Odile had stayed with her grandparents. She was young, but she knew exactly what was going on. When her mother finally passed away, she barely left her room the entire time she spent at the house. She was always tired but barely slept. She hardly touched her food and had to be reminded constantly to drink water because she was constantly dehydrated from the amount of crying she did. And she certainly never smiled. To see her transformation was pretty amazing.
"He's good for you." She nodded absentmindedly at that statement, taking another swig of the drink. Mary smiled fondly down at the girl before looking out at the garden in front of them, the long piece of land stretching into the woods beyond.
"Is it weird being back here?" Odile chuckled and shrugged.
"A little. I guess it's just strange knowing how different is this time around."
"You mean without your mom?" Odile sighed but shook her head.
"I mean, it's obviously different, but I guess they're right when they say time heals wounds. Well, maybe it doesn't heal them, but it certainly dulls the pain." Mary nodded, the two not feeling the need to fill the silence much anymore.
#########
"So, how'd you two meet?" Odile's Uncle John asked Fred as he polished his wand, making the cedar wood shine.
"Technically we met on the train. But we really got to know each other after I pranked her and she punched me in the face." The man let out a hearty laugh at the boy's embarrassed face, and he shook his head.
"Sounds like our girl. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He let his grin drop slightly at Fred's inquisitive look.
"My sister, Odile's mother, was one hell of a woman. She did everything the boys did, but did it better, while also holding up the class of a proper Southern lady. She was kind, but tough. And nobody had better mess with her family, or she'd knock you out. But, she cared about that little girl with all her heart, and raised her right. Taught her how to protect herself, but also to take care of the little guy. And that little girl grew up wild. She was just like her momma, strong fists and a big heart." Fred let out a light laugh, and nodded, knowing that that description described her perfectly.
"When her momma passed, we thought all that fire was gone. But there's something different in her this time. Whatever you're doing is good for her. She seems happy this time around. So, you better not mess it up, understood?" Fred smiled and nodded his head.
"I don't intend to sir."
#########################
"So that colour is natural?" Sal asked, gaping at Tonks with wide eyes.
"Yup," she chirped, "I'm a metamorphmagus, so I can look any way you'd like me to. Works great for disguises at during undercover raids and such."
"So you could even turn your hair... blue?" Tonks snorted and wiggled her nose and a rush of bold cerulean coated her naturally pink locks.
"Well bless my soul, the girl's got Tarheel hair!" Sal exclamined, snorting with laughter as she poked her son John David. Tonks screwed up her nose in confusion.
"What's a... Tarheel?"
#########################
"Odile, come on! We're going to be late. Mum's going to kill us!" He nagged, as Odile took her time saying goodbye to various relatives. He'd already done his rounds, and his hand was a bit sore from all the rough handshakes he'd received from her family.
"Coming Fred! Goodbye everyone! I'll write you as soon as I get to Hogwarts!" She cried with a wave. His heart soared at that thought. Hogwarts. That meant home. As much as he enjoyed his time off with Odile, there was only so much football and cheese grits one could tolerate. Although the family were magical, they didn't really keep in touch with Quidditch. In fact, they didn't really use magic all that much, hardly ever. Had he not known that Odile was from a pureblooded familial line, he might of thought they were none the wiser to the wand he kept in his jacket pocket. He was knocked out of his thoughts when Tonks knocked into his shoulder.
"Come on then Weasley. Let's get a move on." He nodded, and stretched out his hand for the brunnette on his right, giving her a soft squeeze when he felt her begin to shake. She blew a couple more kisses, before a crack sounded and they found themselves at the international floo station. He looked down at Odile to see her attempting to blink tears out of her eyes, determined not to let them fall. He bent down to kiss her forehead, and he felt her squeeze his hand in answer, not trusting herself to speak.
"Don't worry Odile, you'll see them again. Sooner rather than later." Fred told her in a consoling tone. She mustered up a fake smile, and nodded. It was hard, to be home for such a short time, then to be whisked away back to a place that still felt so foreign to her. But she would see them all again soon. She just knew it.
############
"Oh thank Merlin you three got back alright. It's been mad here! Now, Ginny do you have all your books? Ron, go double check your bag, you're always forgetting things!" Molly Weasley greeted them briefly before rushing after her clan. Odile grinned, cheering up a bit at the sight of the woman bustling around, hair falling haphazardly around her shoulders, face red from exertion.
"Are your trunks packed?" Fred asked her and she looked up to him, smiling once more.
"You know, I just realised something. I never gave you your Christmas present." She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"You got me a present? Well, I'm touched."
"Yeah. Sorry, I just kind of forgot about it when you- uh-"
"Gave you something sparkly. Got to remember that tactic then." She laughed before giving him a light shove.
"You suck Weasley."
"You love it Black Swan."
############
"So, where, pray tell, is this wondrous gift you were telling me about?" Fred asked, as he sat on the floor, with his eyes covered by his hands.
"If you hush, and wait a second, you'll know." He grinned as he heard her rustling around in her trunk, which had been previously tidy and ordered.
"Ah! Found it!" She cried in triumph before hurrying over to where Fred sat, hands still covering his eyes.
"Ok, now, hold out your hands, but don't open your eyes." He sighed but complied, still grinning at his girlfriend's antics. He felt what seemed to be a notepad pressed into his hands, and he could practically feel her beaming.
"Alright, open them." He opened his eyes and looked down to see a drawing of a storefront on a sketch pad. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" was emblazoned across the sign with a figure of a man lifting his top hat to reveal a white rabbit.
"What is this?" Fred asked in wonder as he flipped through page after page of ideas and outlines of the store.
"Well, you were telling me that you and George wanted to open your own store, right? Well, these are just a couple of inspirations. See, I was thinking-" She was interrupted by two hands clasping her face, and a passionate kiss being planted on her lips. She was shocked at first, but quickly kissed him back, pleased at his obvious excitement.
"Merlin, you are the best thing to ever happen to me Odile Reisinger." Fred said breathlessly once they had parted. She smirked, lipstick a bit smeared from the kiss the two had just shared.
"So I take it you like the present?" He laughed before flipping through the pages once more.
"When did you have the time to come up with all this?"
"I finished it the day we left for my grandparents. Alright, so technically, I didn't get you anything for Christmas. So… Merry belated Christmas." He chuckled at her confession, shaking his head in both amusement and wonder at the detailed art in front of him.
"George is going to love these. He's always been a sucker for a good art piece."
"Oh really? Good then, I guess I gained some brownie points there then."
"Some what?"
"Some- you know what," she sighed throwing her hands up in the air, "I give up. We are just too different. This will never work. Not if we speak two different languages." She moaned melodramatically, placing a hand on her head airily, and feigned a collapse backwards. He crawled on top of her, smiling brightly at the insane woman below him.
"You are mad, you know that right?" She burst out into a fit of laughter, making him shake his head, a grin forming. After all, how could you not smile when hearing a laugh like that? It was musical, yet utterly ridiculous, ranging from a deep guttural chuckle to a silent one, where all she could do was hold her belly, nary a sound escaping her lips. Once she had finally calmed down, she looked up at the man bracing his arms on either side of her head and bit her lip.
"That's what you get for dating someone who punched you in the face. And you call me crazy." A sudden evil glint went through his eyes before he unleashed a tickle attack on the poor defenceless girl.
"Sorry, love, didn't quite hear that. Try again." She giggled loudly, trying to escape his unrelenting fingers.
"Stoho- stop! I yield! I yield!" He finally released her and she laid there a few moments, panting. He smiled fondly at her, and tucked a piece of hair gently behind her ear as he gazed into her eyes.
"Just where did you come from?"
"North Carolina. My mom's uterus if you want to get technical." He snorted at her reply, before sitting back on his legs, pulling her up with him.
"As much as a moment ruiner you are, I still like you. One day I'll figure out what I did to make me so lucky." She groaned and shoved him gently.
"Merlin Fred, you are so corny. What did I do to deserve such a cheesy boyfriend?" He chuckled before giving her chaste kiss on the cheek and helping her stand.
"Come on then. My mother does not like to be left waiting. And there is a train to catch."
"Ah yes. Can't forget about school, can we?"
"Not just yet."
A/N: Oh my god, I'm about to cry. We are nearing the ending of book one oh my god. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed that little fluff there. THANK YOU FOR READING!
THANK YOU TO brittany9901 AND yukicarr AND XxCrimsonSnowxX AND sbitzer8293 FOR FOLLOWING THIS STORY
THANK YOU TO Person8444 AND yukicarr AND brittany9901 AND svitzer8293 FOR FAVOURITING THIS STORY
THANK YOU TO Chelsea always AND Love. Fiction. 2017 FOR REVIEWING THIS STORY
EDITED= 09/14/17