"And then we came here. That's pretty much the whole story." Odile said as calmly as possible, looking up when her tale was met with silence. She saw three matching looks of shock and disbelief, and a raging fire in Fred's eyes.

"What?" She asked innocently, eyes flitting between the three. She couldn't help but sigh when all three clammered at once, and settled against the chair. It was going to be a long night.

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"There's just one thing I still don't understand." Angelina piped up after Odile had finished, the boys still absorbing the sordid tale.

"Which is?" Odile asked, turning to the girl who was obviously deep in thought.

"Well you said they gave you veritaserum right?" Angelina said slowly, brain going a million times an hour.

"Yes, but I outsmarted them. That was a big part of the story Ange." Odile joked, but the girl didn't seem to react.

"Yeah, I know but… well it's not possible."

"What do you mean?" George asked, looking down at his girlfriend with interest.

"Well, you remember potions class, right? Veritaserum puts you in a trance of sorts, where you legitimately can't say anything but the truth."

"Where are you going with this Ange?" Fred hissed, worried that any further poking would upset Odile more than she was already.

"All I'm saying is whatever they gave you was either a fluke or someone diluted the potion." She placated, hands up in a surrender pose.

"One of them could have simply made a mistake while brewing it." Fred offered, folding his arms over his chest while he watched Odile for any signs of discomfort. Angelina rolled her eyes at that, and sat back on the couch.

"Well yeah, but they're Death Eaters, you know? I'm sure they've had a lot of practice with these sorts of things. I doubt any of them would have been stupid enough to mess it up and deal with His rath."

Odile blinked, mulling over the girl's thoughts in her head. Perhaps it was Adrian, but she doubted the boy would have had any access to said potion. A small part of her hoped it had been Matthew, but she squashed that pretty quickly. Still… Ange had a point. Someone had played with the potion. Someone there was in her corner. But who could it be? She just didn't have an answer for that.

"Odile? Can we talk?" She glanced over at Fred, as he wrapped yet another blanket around her form. Angelina and George had finally wandered back to their bedrooms as the sunlight began to pour in from the windows. They all need some rest, especially given the night's events. Fred had helped, i.e. carried, Odile back to her former bedroom. It was strange, seeing it so empty. The cry of delight that fell from her lips as the calico form of Tchaikovsky flew at her succeeded at making Fred's day. Angelina had never been able to capture the cat long enough to take him to Grimmauld place. He'd been very determined to stay where he was, evidently aware the relocation would only be temporary. Animals were funny like that, smarter than their owners. She was thankful for the fresh sheets and the bundle of blankets being piled on top of her, even if Fred was being a bit of a mother hen.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked softly, avoiding his eyes.

"I think you know." She did know, and boy was she nervous. She groaned as she shifted in the bed, facing him a bit more.

"Fred, I'm tired, can we ju-"

"No, please. I need to say this." Fred cut across her, clasping her much smaller hands in his. She let out a slow exhale, and looked up at him. There was something in his eyes, something urgent. She watched him for a moment before nodding, allowing him to finish.

"I am so so sorry. I was wrong, ok? So wrong, and I wanted to tell you I was wrong the moment the words came out my mouth. I can't believe I messed it up so badly, but I love you Odile. I've loved you since our first Christmas. Practically since I first laid eyes on you. I was so scared I'd lost you. I didn't know how to tell you that without hurting you more," he stood then, wildly gesticulating as he tried to put his emotions into words,

"I could barely function without you, George can tell you. It was like losing a lung and half of my heart. And everything I did seemed wrong, and I was too bloody stupid to know how to fix it. And now," he bent down to her level once more, pouring all he had into her eyes, "I never want to lose you again. I can't. I won't. Please, please stay. Please don't ever leave again. I'm sorry, I love you, don't go." He was huffing a bit at this point, voice breaking and eyes shining with unused tears. Odile's eyes glistened with tears as well, mirroring her partner as always. She scoffed endearingly, and regarded him with a watery smile. She brushed the hair from his face, and pulled him closer so that her forehead rested on his.

"That's all you had to say idiot, what took you so long?"

"Well, you always were the brains to the operation love." She giggled at that, shaking her head in amusement. Fred grinned cheekily before pulling her in for a gentle kiss. It had taken far too long, but all was right with the world once more. The swan had her magpie, and life could go on.

A/N: Come on, you guys didn't think I would let my babies stay parted for much longer, did you? That simply wouldn't do. Ange had a bit of point there, hmm? Wonder if that'll ever come up again *wink wink, nudge nudge* Anyhoo, thanks for reading, sorry it's a bit short. Please remember to review because honestly I need a bit of positivity in my life right about now, we all do! Favouriting and following also gives me joy so uh, please and thank you?

Special shout-out to itsnotred for your lovely reviews and for the moniker Bratty Matty which shall forever be ingrained in my mind when I write. Another thank you to itsnotred for following, and favouriting. Mate, you are making my week right now and it is appreciated! See you all on the next one!