"You said you'd always be there for me, but you're not. And it's because of me. It's my fault."
-Simba (The Lion King)
By the time it was eight o'clock the next morning, Scarlett was still reading. Her eyes were burning with exhaustion, but she had put off the nightmares for at least one more night. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. She supposed it was time to get up and start getting ready for the most exhausting day of her life. Just as she was closing her book, there was a sharp knock on the door.
"Time to get up," Mrs. Weasley's voice called. "When you're ready, come down for breakfast."
"Okay, Mrs. Weasley," Scarlett called back, pulling herself up to a sitting position as she heard Mrs. Weasley's footsteps continue down the hallway.
Beside her, Fred let out a quiet whine in his sleep and rolled over onto his side so that he was facing away from Scarlett. She smiled slightly, set her book down and turned back to Fred. "Hey," she whispered, looking down at him and trailing a finger over his jaw. "You have to wake up."
Fred groaned and tightened the covers around him. "Already?" he mumbled.
"Mhm," Scarlett answered, pulling away and getting out of bed. She made her way over to the closet and opened it, her eyes zeroing in on the black dress hanging inside. She stood there, just staring, almost afraid to reach out and touch it.
Just then, she felt Fred's arms snake around her from behind and she almost jumped. She hadn't heard him get out of bed.
"You okay?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Yeah," she nodded, relaxing against him. "Just thinking."
Fred kissed her cheek and pulled away as Scarlett stifled a yawn. She hoped Fred wouldn't see, but, unfortunately, he did.
"Scar?" He reached out and gently tugged on her arm so that she was looking at him before he began studying her face. "You didn't sleep, did you?"
Scarlett felt herself actually blush and she looked down at her feet as she shook her head. "No, I stayed up and read."
"Scarlett," Fred groaned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Why would I do that? It's silly for you to stay up with me."
"And it's silly for you to force yourself to stay awake every night. Look, if I have to use a sleeping charm on you, I will." He tried to fight back a smile at the memory of George threatening him with sleeping charms only a few months ago.
"Threatening me is funny to you?" Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"No, it's just—George always said—he used the same threat on me back when I wasn't sleeping," Fred said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"When was that?" Scarlett asked.
"When you were missing," Fred answered. "I told you it was hard for me."
Scarlett blinked at him a few times. It was almost a little bit of a surprise that Fred hadn't held up all that well when she was gone. He was usually the one comforting her. He was the strong one. She never thought he'd have trouble sleeping because of her. "You had trouble sleeping?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah, and now you know how I feel watching you not sleep," he said.
"And you now know how I feel, isn't that right?" Scarlett asked.
Fred sighed. "Look, Scar, I understand how you feel, but I just—"
"You don't," Scarlett said quietly, gently pulling out of his grasp and turning towards the closet. She grabbed her dress off the hanger and turned towards him again. "You don't understand. It's okay and I get it. I appreciate your help and I appreciate the fact that you care, but there's no possible way for you to understand what I'm feeling and just how scared I am." With that, she turned and headed for the door. When she reached it, she paused with her hand on the doorknob and looked back at Fred, who was looking at her with an expression of such confusion and hurt on his face that Scarlett wanted to run back to him and apologize. But she didn't. "I'm going to go get ready," she whispered. "I'll see you downstairs." And then she forced herself to exit the room and walk towards the bathroom, leaving Fred behind.
Once Scarlett was ready, she examined herself in the bathroom mirror. She had tried to fix her appearance with makeup, but she could still see dark circles under her eyes and she actually looked paler than ever. Maybe it was the fact that she knew those things were present in her features that made them seem so obvious, but even so, she felt like a member of the Addams family, minus the black hair.
Sighing, and knowing that this was as good as it was going to get, she opened the bathroom door and made her way downstairs. When she passed the dining room, she saw everyone inside, taking their seats as Mrs. Weasley put breakfast on the table. Scarlett exhaled slowly and completely bypassed the door as she headed for the kitchen. All she wanted was a cup of tea and a piece of toast and even that was half because she didn't want to hear everyone else complain later. She also knew that she couldn't go eat in the dining room because everyone would be on her to eat more.
She was just pouring herself some tea when the kitchen door swung open. Scarlett glanced over her shoulder to see who it was. "Oh, hi George," she said, turning back to her tea. She picked it up and cradled it in a both hands as she turned and leaned against the counter.
"We were all wondering where you had gotten off to," George said with a small smile. He headed for the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of orange juice. "Mum forgot this so she sent me in here to get it," he explained, holding it up. He paused. "Are you going to come eat?"
Scarlett shook her head and gestured to the toast she had made. "I have toast. And tea." She held up her cup and half-smiled.
"Oh," George replied, frowning slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Er, what happened between you and Fred this morning?"
Scarlett shrugged one shoulder. "It wasn't anything too serious…I'm not mad at him or anything, but I just told him he didn't understand how I was feeling and why I'm not able to sleep. Is he upset? I didn't snap at him, I just—"
"He's not mad," George interrupted. "He's just a little hurt. He wants to understand and he wants to help you. He wants you to be happy again."
"Well, it just so happens that the one thing I really want right now is something he can't give me," Scarlett said with a shrug and a sad smile.
"Your mother," George whispered, nodding. "And Justin."
Scarlett took in a deep breath and nodded. "And it's not his fault. It's not anybody's fault. I just—it's hard. And I'm working through all these feelings and it's confusing and difficult most of the time. Fred hasn't done anything wrong and he's been really wonderful so far."
"So then why are you in here if you aren't avoiding him?"
"I don't want them all to force me to eat a huge breakfast. Not today," Scarlett replied, looking at him a bit guiltily. "I'm only eating toast so that I won't totally let them down."
"Ah," George answered. There was a pause. "Keep your chin up, Scar," he finally whispered. "Things will be okay again."
Scarlett nodded. "I hope so."
George smiled reassuringly and playfully tugged on a piece of Scarlett's hair before exiting the room, leaving Scarlett in silence.
She turned back towards the window and looked out. It was overcast, but it wasn't raining. Scarlett almost felt like it should've been raining, though. Down pouring, actually, to perfectly reflect how she felt on the inside.
She stood at the window until her cup of tea was empty and her toast was gone. Just as she was rinsing her mug, the kitchen door opened again and Mrs. Weasley came in, levitating all of the breakfast dishes in front of her.
"There you are, dear," she said, charming the dishes to wash themselves and turning away from the sink to look at Scarlett. She put her hands on either side of her face. "Doing okay?"
"I guess so," Scarlett shrugged.
"Did you eat something?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Toast," Scarlett answered. "My stomach isn't being all that cooperative today."
Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly and pulled Scarlett into a tight hug. "You've been so strong," she whispered, stroking Scarlett's hair.
"I miss her," Scarlett whispered. "I keep hoping that this isn't real and that she'll just show up at the door."
"I know, dear, I feel the same way," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling away and wiping her eyes.
"And I miss Justin, too," Scarlett said, looking at the ceiling. "Even though things weren't great for us towards the end of our relationship, I still cared about him."
"Of course you did," Mrs. Weasley said, patting Scarlett's cheek. "And he must have cared for you very much for him to do what he did."
Scarlett nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. It didn't do much, though. It only settled in her chest and stomach in the form of a knot of grief and anxiety.
The kitchen door opened again and Mr. Weasley stuck his head in. "Ah, good, Scarlett, you're in here. Are we ready to go?"
Scarlett nodded as her stomach flipped unpleasantly. "Yeah, let's go," she managed to say. Mr. Weasley stepped aside and held the door open to let Scarlett and Mrs. Weasley through. When Scarlett reached the front hallway, she saw Ginny, Fred, George and Erica waiting by the door. None of them asked where she had been and she was grateful for that. They must have known how upset she was. Either that, or George had told them he had run into her.
"Okay, so we'll Apparate in pairs of two and one group of three," Mr. Weasley said. "Molly and I will go with Ginny. The rest of you can pair up how you'd like."
Fred immediately slipped his hand into Scarlett's and looked at her. She nodded her head in agreement with his unspoken question.
"We'll be Apparating to the safe spot we discussed considering it's a Muggle cemetery. Don't forget, the safe spot is around the corner." He paused and looked at Scarlett. "This is the same cemetery your dad is buried at. I'm not sure if I mentioned that to you. Your mother is going to be buried beside him."
Scarlett nodded. "Okay." She felt a wave of nausea. She hated talking about burying her mother. And for some reason, she hated that no one had even bothered to keep her informed of these plans even though part of her wanted nothing to do with them. It was her mother, after all. But then again, she was in hiding and she was only a little bit shy of twenty. She supposed it technically wasn't her responsibility to deal with her mother's funeral at this age.
"We'll also be getting there early and meeting Emily and her family at the gate. Scarlett, since you are direct family, we all thought it would be best for you to be there with them before others start arriving."
Scarlett nodded again. "Okay."
The seven of them left the house then and walked to the outskirts of the protective charms in silence. Scarlett's nausea was getting progressively worse and she was beginning to regret the two measly pieces of toast she had forced herself to eat.
"Ready?" Fred whispered against her ear.
"No," she said as her chest tightened anxiously.
Fred gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm right here," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."
Mr. Weasley counted to three and everyone Apparated at the same time. Scarlett felt the familiar squishing sensation and that, combined with her terrible nerves, made it the worst Apparating experience she had ever had.
As they walked towards the cemetery gate, Scarlett felt like she was a robot on auto-pilot. She wanted to turn and run back, but she couldn't. That wasn't an option. Eventually, the cemetery gate came into view and Scarlett could see a group of people standing there. There was her Aunt Emily, Uncle Nick, and her cousins, Leah and Grace, who were six and seven years older than her. They had been relatively close as children, but Scarlett hadn't seen them in years and that made her nervous. Besides, this wasn't how she wanted to see them again at all. Leah and Grace's husbands were there as well, but Scarlett didn't see any kids, even though she knew Grace had two already. They were young, though—not older than four or five— and were most likely at home, unable to fully grasp what had happened. Scarlett envied them in a way.
Scarlett watched as Aunt Emily looked up and saw them coming, keeping her expression flat until they had stopped in front of her. That was when she zeroed in on Scarlett and practically pounced on her, pulling her into a hug and bursting into tears. Scarlett felt Fred drop her hand and wanted to desperately latch onto it again, but she forced herself to return the hug her aunt was giving her.
"Oh, Scarlett!" Aunt Emily gasped through her tears. She didn't say anything else. Instead, she continued to cry and pull Scarlett to her. Scarlett closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to admit that the hug felt nice, but at the same time, mixed with the sobbing, it was making her uncomfortable. She hated herself for feeling that way, though. This was her mother's sister and she had every right to behave like this. It was totally normal. And clearly, she didn't struggle with breaking down in public like Scarlett did.
Finally, Aunt Emily let go of Scarlett and held her at arm's length. "You've changed since I've last seen you. You're taller and so grown up!" She let out a watery laugh and shook her head. "You look just like her," she whispered. "Just like your mother."
"I always thought so," Scarlett answered. "But I've heard I look like my dad as well."
"You have his ears, believe it or not…and his nose. And that one green eye you have is the same shade that both of his eyes were. But the rest of you is like your mother."
"I'm glad," Scarlett whispered as her lip trembled a bit. On instinct, she forced the tears down and managed to calm herself.
"You should be," her aunt whispered, gently running a hand through Scarlett's hair.
Once Scarlett had greeted the rest of her family and hugged them for what seemed like hours, they made their way into the cemetery. Fred caught up to Scarlett and took her hand again.
"People shouldn't start showing up for another fifteen to twenty minutes," Aunt Emily explained as they walked. "But everything should be set up at the gravesite so we can have some time before people get here."
Since Scarlett knew the way to her father's grave by heart, she knew exactly when they were getting close and her eyes instinctively moved to the ground. She didn't want to look just yet. She was scared. She was scared that if she looked, she would lose it completely.
"We've also decided to keep the casket open until people start showing up," Aunt Emily continued, "so that we can all say—say goodbye."
That actually froze Scarlett in her tracks. She hadn't expected that part at all. Now she knew she couldn't do this. She was feeling sick. She couldn't look at her mother's body. Not again.
"Scarlett, come on," Fred whispered, pulling at her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance at the others and gesture for them to keep going.
"I can't go over there, Fred," she whispered. "I can't look. I can't do it. I can't look at her again." She knew that ultimately, she had to go. It was her mother's funeral. She would look insane and heartless if she didn't go. But she couldn't help the memories and feelings from her father's funeral that were flashing through her mind. She was remembering how terrified she had been to see his lifeless body in the casket. It had definitely been him, but at the same time, it hadn't. Her father had always been so full of life. Nothing about death suited him. Not the eerily pale and waxy looking skin, not the forced, supposedly peaceful smile, and certainly not the stillness. Her father had always been going and doing and even at age nine, Scarlett knew that everything was wrong about him lying in that casket. And now she had to see her mother in the same setting.
"You have to," Fred whispered, resting his forehead against hers. When he spoke again, he seemed to be reading her mind. "I know it must be hard for you to see her like this, but you have to. I wish you didn't. Believe me, I do, but you can't run away. Your aunt and uncle and cousins are feeling the same as you are right now. And remember, I'll be right next to you the whole time, okay?" Scarlett could hear his voice wavering and she knew he had tears in his eyes.
"I know I have to go," she whispered, "but I just—I can't—she'll look so—so—"
"I know," Fred whispered. "I know."
Scarlett took in a shuddering breath as she tried to keep her feelings at bay. She hadn't made much sense, but something told her that Fred had understood what she was getting at and that made her feel better. But only a little.
"Come on," Fred whispered, pulling away and taking her hand.
They walked the rest of the way to the gravesite together and when they came to a stop, Scarlett finally tore her eyes away from the ground to look at the casket.
Immediately, she felt as if the wind was being knocked out of her and she felt the rush of tears behind her eyes and in her throat and chest, but she continued to hold them back, which was a struggle and made her feel like she couldn't breathe. She was standing level with the Weasleys, Erica, and Leah and Grace's husbands, about two feet away from the casket. Her aunt, uncle and cousins, however, were all crowded around it and Scarlett knew the right thing would be to join them.
Taking a deep breath, she dropped Fred's hand and stepped forward to the empty space right by her mother's head and next to Aunt Emily.
Her mother's eyes were closed and her hands were neatly folded across her stomach. She was wearing her favorite purple dress that Scarlett always said had looked wonderful on her. It still did look wonderful on her. But it was the same as with her dad. While it was her mum lying in front of her, it wasn't at the same time. Her mother was never this still. She was always busy, always smiling and always laughing. She was always there to help Scarlett and make sure she was safe, even after Scarlett had left home. And now Scarlett had none of that anymore. She would no longer hear her mother's laugh or see her smile. She wouldn't have her to go to for advice or help. She wouldn't be able to hug her anymore or spend time with her. Her mother was going to miss her wedding. She wasn't going to be able to meet her future grandchildren.
With each of these thoughts, Scarlett had to struggle harder and harder to keep her tears at bay. It was like a battle going on inside of her and she didn't know what side was going to win.
After a moment, Uncle Nick, Leah and Grace, apparently having taken all the time they needed, stepped away from the casket, wiping at their eyes and sniffling. Aunt Emily took a small step back a moment later before pausing to put her arm around Scarlett and quickly kiss her temple. "She loved you," she whispered. "And you made her so proud." She walked away after that and Scarlett felt herself lose the battle she was fighting against her own tears. She buried her head in her arms, which were resting on the side of the casket, and began to cry. She managed to keep the sobs silent, but she could feel her shoulders shaking violently.
She didn't know how long she stayed there before she felt someone's hands on her lower back. "People are coming," Fred whispered, his voice thick with tears. "We have to close the lid now."
Scarlett lifted her head from her arms, her breathing coming in quick little gasps as a result of all the crying she had just done. Fred began to gently pull her away, but she stopped. Pressing a kiss to her fingertips, she reached in and touched her mother's cheek. "I love you, mum," she whispered, her voice cracking. After that, she let Fred lead her back to the others as the casket's lid was closed and a bouquet of flowers was put on top.
She slipped her arms around Fred in the silence and closed her eyes. She focused on his heartbeat again as he wrapped his arms around her. The constant, steady rhythm of his heart calmed her down enough for her breathing to return to normal and for the tightness in her chest to lessen a bit.
Soon after that, she had to let go of him again as people arrived at the gravesite and began hugging her and her other family members. Faces began to blur together and Scarlett only recognized some. She recognized some people her mother had worked with, but not all of them. The ones she didn't know introduced themselves, but Scarlett forgot them moments later. She knew it was probably rude, but she couldn't help it. She also saw a lot of her mother's friends from Hogwarts, most of them familiar at least. The Order also came, which was obvious. Bill, Fleur, Sirius, Kingsley, Remus, and a very pregnant Tonks were all there. In addition, people that knew her aunt, uncle and cousins attended. People that Scarlett had never met. Nonetheless, she politely greeted them and thanked them for coming just like she was supposed to. She was slightly surprised but grateful when Professor Sprout showed up, but she was even more surprised by the fact that Dani was there.
"Scarlett," she said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
"What are you doing here?" Scarlett asked.
"Bill Weasley stopped by St. Mungo's and told me what happened. He wanted to see if we were aware of what happened and to make sure you still had a job. You do, by the way. You're one of our best Healers, actually, and your absence was not your fault."
"Oh, well, thank you," Scarlett said, glancing at Fred, who looked relieved that Scarlett still had her job.
"Keep your head up," Dani said with a small smile, "and we'll see you back at work when you're ready."
Scarlett nodded. "Thanks."
Once people had stopped arriving, there was a ceremony, where a man that Scarlett assumed was from the Ministry stood up to speak. Then after that, it was time for the burial. Scarlett grabbed onto Fred's hand as the flowers were removed from the casket and it was slowly lowered into the ground. Aunt Emily was sobbing again and Grace and Leah were crying into their husbands' chests. Scarlett kept her expression flat, though. She felt numb at this point.
A moment later, it was done. The casket was at the bottom of the pre-dug hole and the dirt had magically been filled in. It was over. By tomorrow, her mother's name, birthdate and date of death would be added to the grave stone and that would be it.
Scarlett continued to stare at the spot where the casket had disappeared as people began to mill around, talking and consoling one another. She thought of her dad, buried here eleven years ago. She wondered if he and her mum were together somewhere. Maybe they had had a fairy tale reunion like the one Scarlett and Fred should have had. Scarlett hoped so.
"Are you two about to get going?" Mr. Weasley asked, approaching Scarlett and Fred. Scarlett looked up, jolted out of her trance by his voice. She suppressed a sigh. She still had Justin's funeral to go to.
"Yeah, we'll just find Erica and we'll be on our way," Fred said.
"I'm right here," Erica said, as she made her way around a group of people to Scarlett's left. She gave Scarlett a small smile although her eyes were watery.
"Alright, well, be careful," Mr. Weasley said, "and meet us back at the house when you're done. Scarlett, your aunt and uncle know where you have to be and they know you're leaving. Molly and I will say goodbye to them for you."
Scarlett nodded. "Thanks," she whispered. She met Mr. Weasley's eyes. "Really, thank you for everything."
He reached out and squeezed her arm. "Anytime."
"Ready?" Fred asked her quietly.
Scarlett nodded again and reached for Erica's hand. As soon as she had grabbed it, Fred Apparated them to the gates of another cemetery. Scarlett guessed it was another Muggle one. That would only make sense considering Justin was a Muggleborn. She had never been here before, though, she realized as they walked through the gate.
"You know where the gravesite is?" she asked Fred.
"Yeah, my dad gave me all the directions," Fred answered.
The three of them walked in silence towards their destination. Scarlett was feeling anxious all over again, but she also felt tired, as if the emotions from her mother's funeral had worn her down. At least by this point, Justin's family and friends would have already had a chance to say their final goodbyes and the casket would be closed. She didn't think she could bare seeing Justin's body for a second time too.
Finally, Scarlett noticed a gathering of people around a casket up ahead. It was on a hill and under a tree. It was a really lovely spot. Of course the Finch-Fletchleys would pick something nice. She sucked in a breath and gripped Fred's hand tighter in preparation for what was to come.
"There are a lot of people there," Erica observed. "I can see Ernie and Hannah already. And look, Professor Sprout beat us here."
She was right, Scarlett noticed. A lot of people had come for her mother, but even more had come for Justin and it only made sense. He was young. He had a good amount of friends and so did his parents from the looks of it.
The service had just started by the time Scarlett, Fred and Erica reached the gravesite. A man in a suit was making a speech about Justin. The very same Justin that Scarlett had dated and laughed with and spent time with. The same Justin that was now lying in a shiny wooden box adorned with flowers. Scarlett felt the nausea returning as she looked at it.
The man continued to speak, words spewing out of his mouth about a boy that he hardly knew. Did he know about the birthmark behind Justin's ear that he absolutely hated? Did he know that Justin's favorite subject was Charms, but he was amazing at Arithmancy and wouldn't admit it? Scarlett doubted it. It didn't seem fair that this man was making this speech right now. It was the same way with all funerals, Scarlett realized, and it was kind of upsetting. The people who had spoken at her parents' funerals hadn't known them and this man didn't know Justin. It irritated her for some reason.
The man droned on and Scarlett tore her eyes away from the casket to scan the crowd. She was standing at the end of the right side of the semi-circle formed around the casket and she had a decent view of most of the people in attendance. Ernie and Hannah were here, like Erica had said, but they hadn't seen her yet. There were some other people from school here as well. Hufflepuffs that Scarlett knew, but not well enough where she would talk to them. Her eyes continued to scan the semi-circle until she got to the other end and that's when she felt her stomach drop.
She saw Justin's mother at the same time Justin's mother saw her. She was clutching onto her husband and had a trembling hand pressed to her mouth as she cried. They made eye contact over the casket that contained the body of someone they both cared for and, for a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. Mrs. Finch-Fletchley was so surprised that she even stopped crying. Scarlett felt her breath catch in her throat. She could feel the tension radiating between them, but everyone else seemed oblivious to it. Everyone else continued to cry and sniffle and the man in the suit kept talking.
After a moment that seemed to drag by forever, Mrs. Finch-Fletchley's expression contorted into one of rage. "You!" she screamed, and everything immediately came to a stop. Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Finch-Fletchley in surprise and the only sound was the quiet rustling of leaves.
Scarlett didn't move. She hardly dared to breathe. She just stared back at Mrs. Finch-Fletchley, her heart pounding like crazy.
"It was you!" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley screamed, pointing at Scarlett. In one swift movement, everyone turned to stare at her now, mainly in confusion. "You killed him! You killed him and you killed Anna! He told me about what happened, you know! He didn't want me to do anything. I was going to come give you a piece of my mind, but Justin convinced me to—to—." She broke off and shook her head. "But now he's dead and it's all your fault! You killed him! You took my babies away from me! You killed them! You killed them!" She began to sob and turned into Mr. Finch-Fletchley's chest, continuing to scream those three horrid words over and over through her tears.
Scarlett didn't know what to do. She was at a loss for words. Every single person was staring at her. Some were craning their necks to see her better, some were glaring at her and some were whispering to each other.
After a few seconds, Mrs. Finch-Fletchley whipped her head around to glare at Scarlett again. "How dare you even show your face after what you did?" she screamed. "You should feel ashamed of yourself and I want you to leave right this instant!"
Scarlett's mouth dropped open. She was still at a loss for words. She was literally speechless. She hadn't even prepared for Mrs. Finch-Fletchley to be angry and upset. It hadn't even crossed her mind even though it should have. But even if she had prepared for a reaction, this would have exceeded those expectations by a landslide.
"Why shouldn't she stay?" Fred suddenly asked loudly. Now everyone turned to look at him, including Scarlett. "She didn't kill him and you know it. She was trying to protect him. She was trying to protect you."
"She led those men right to him! If it wasn't for her, Justin would be alive!"
"He did it to himself. He wrote her a letter," Fred argued. "He put a return address on it!"
"He did no such thing!" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley screamed. "He wouldn't! He knew it was dangerous and I wasn't allowing him to contact her anymore anyway! Not after I found out what she did to Anna!"
"That wasn't her fault either!" Fred cried.
"Her father was driving the car! She lived and my daughter didn't! They caused the accident, but my daughter had to be the one to die!" Mrs. Finch-Fletchley sobbed. "She's the reason my children are dead!" She paused to press her hand to her mouth again. "And don't think I know who you are!" she finally continued. "You're the Weasley boy she left my son for! One of the reckless twins who spent their school days goofing off and then dropped out to open a joke shop! It's despicable!" She looked back at Scarlett and when she spoke again, her voice was oddly quiet and composed, but her words rang out loud and clear in the silence. "All you are is a worthless, disrespectful brat that tore my family apart and I will never forgive you. Now get out of my sight."
That was all Scarlett could take. She spun on her heel and left, walking as fast as she could without running. She made her way down the hill, feeling everyone's eyes on her back. She knew Fred and Erica were following her, but she didn't slow down to wait for them. The nausea was back worse than ever, her chest ached, and her head was spinning. Hot tears were spilling down her cheeks, but she managed to keep her composure and whatever dignity she had left until she had left the gate and rounded the corner. That was when she finally crouched down and vomited all over the sidewalk.
She felt a hand come out of nowhere and gently start gathering her hair at the nape of her neck so it wouldn't get in the way. After a second, she had finished vomiting—it hadn't been much considering she had only eaten two pieces of toast—but she kept her eyes squeezed shut as she lowered herself to her knees, doubling over as her breath came in gasps and quiet sobs escaped her throat.
"Go back to Muriel's," she heard Fred order Erica. His voice was urgent. "Tell them what happened and that I'll be back with her soon."
Erica must have nodded because Scarlett heard no reply. She did, however, hear the pop of her best friend Disapparating a second later.
"You're okay," Fred whispered, continuing to hold her hair with one hand and rubbing circles into her back with the other. "You're okay, everything's fine," he whispered.
"No, Fred, I'm not okay," she said, sitting up straight and looking at him as she managed to slow her crying. She wiped her mouth with the back of a shaking hand and took a deep breath. "I'm not okay at all. How can I be after what just happened?"
Fred didn't answer for a moment. Instead, he let her hair loose and stood, reaching out and gently pulling Scarlett to her feet as he did so. "I'm going to Apparate you back now. Do you think you feel strong enough or—?" He stopped midsentence and looked over Scarlett's shoulder in confusion.
Scarlett turned to see what he was looking at and saw Mr. Finch-Fletchley rounding the corner.
"Ah, I had hoped you would stop out here to talk for a minute," he said in a low voice. "The service just ended and I had to speak to you."
"Why?" Fred snapped, pulling Scarlett to him protectively as if he thought Mr. Finch-Fletchley was going to hurt her.
"Look," Mr. Finch-Fletchley sighed, "I don't have a lot of time to talk to you before people notice I'm gone and get suspicious, but my wife is naturally a bit hysterical at this time. We're grieving and we—"
"We're grieving, too!" Fred interrupted. "We just came from Scarlett's mother's funeral! And Scarlett cared for your son very much. She's devastated that things had to end this way. She was trying to protect him!"
"I know that," Mr. Finch-Fletchley said, holding up a hand. "But my wife—." He looked at Scarlett. "You know how she is and why. I hope you can forgive her."
"I didn't want to hurt anyone," Scarlett sniffled. "I swear."
"I know," Mr. Finch-Fletchley said sadly. "I want you to have something. I was actually hoping you'd show up today so I could give it to you." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the letter that Scabior and Greyback had intercepted. "My wife doesn't know about it. I saw it on the table by the door and took it before she could see it. I thought you should have it since it's addressed to you." He held the still sealed envelope out to Scarlett and she took it, her hand still trembling.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Mr. Finch-Fletchley nodded. "You're a good girl, Scarlett, and my son loved you very much. I hope you know that. Once things have calmed down here…whenever you have a chance, really, come back and see him. Visit, you know? He'd like that." He cleared his throat and Scarlett knew he was trying not to cry. She also noticed how he spoke almost as if Justin were still alive.
"I will," she promised. "I'll come back."
Mr. Finch-Fletchley smiled briefly and gave them one last wave before turning and rounding the corner.
"Come on," Fred said gently as Scarlett looked down at the letter in her hands. Fred took her arm and Apparated back to Muriel's. The second they arrived, Scarlett pulled away and quickly walked inside.
"Whoa, Scar, slow down," Fred said, hurrying to catch up to her. "Where are you going?"
"I need to be alone," Scarlett said firmly. She could feel the isolation instinct kicking in again and she knew she was going to pull away from everyone, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone.
"Okay," Fred said, "but later-,"
"No, Fred," she snapped, turning around. They were just down the hall from her room and she had to prevent him from following her. She felt somewhat bad for snapping at him, but she was feeling too many other things right now to focus on that. "There is no later," she continued. "I need to be alone and I don't know when I'll be ready to talk, but when I am I'll come to you, okay? Today has been awful and I need to deal with it and sort myself out…alone. So just—just stay away, alright?"
Fred's mouth dropped open and he looked completely crushed, but Scarlett didn't allow herself time to dwell on it. Instead, she turned and walked to her bedroom, where she locked the door and put up a charm against Alohomora. She locked the window and charmed that as well for good measure. Then, she closed the curtains, flopped onto her bed and began to cry.
A/N: This chapter is officially the new hardest chapter I've had to write. I kind of knew for a while that this was how the funerals would work out, but writing it was definitely sad.
Thanks for reading!