The five of them sat around the circular table, which was littered with scattered cigarette buds and empty coffee cups. Though all of the men wore dark pinstripe suits, their clothes were rumpled and hair disheveled. Black circles were dotted across most of their eyes, and there was a tense silence lingering in the atmosphere.

The women were seated with their legs crossed. One was a tall blonde, her hair pulled back into a severe bun that hung low at the nape of her neck, a contrast to her sharp, youthful features. The other, a dark brunette lounged next to her casually, a cigarette dangling from her fingertips as her sharp blue eyes took in the scene in front of her.

The conversation was hushed and desperate, with an underlying aura of hope flickering about.

"We can get him. We're so close. All we need is the final approval," one man insisted. His fingertips were stained dark from years of rolling cigarettes, the nicotine leaving a permanent mark.

The blonde woman pursed her lips, her hands unconsciously reaching for her white doctor's coat. "If you think I'm going then forget about it, especially with what happened last time. We take an oath to protect life above all else. Even if that life is not the ideal human being."

"Great," the man next to her grunted. His unruly hair was spiraling in different directions, much like he had run his hands all over it. His eyes were dark and bright, full of a ferocious intensity as he continued speaking.

"I say we toss a bullet in the wanker's head and get it over with."

"Don't be a fool," the dark brunette spoke up sharply. "We're this close, and I don't want you sitting behind bars when there is a legal way to do this."

"Right," the first man snorted. "It's not like we will be able to get a conviction easily. He'll just deny knowing anything of substance. And if he does know something, he'll claim he was just following orders from above."

The brunette gazed at him coolly, "It will work, Daniel. Don't start reeking of failure and desperation even before we have begun."

The man called Daniel immediately turned red, his face growing darker by the second. "Why, you-," he spluttered.

"Quiet all of you," the third man finally interjected. He was older than the rest, his temples graying and his eyes tired. Everyone hushed as he spoke and turned their gaze towards him.

"The Prime Minister is here."

"So is this the standard pub every witch and wizard hangs out at?" Laila questioned Fred. They were walking hand in hand, getting closer to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron as shouts of laughter rang out in the well-light building.

She stopped walking for a second, pulling back Fred in surprise as he tried to continue going forward.

"What's wrong," he probed. When she didn't answer, he paused before choosing his next words carefully.

"We don't have to go in," he began softly. "I can pull George aside and-"

"What? No, no I'm fine," Laila interrupted hastily. "It's just everything is happening so fast, you know? I mean the last thing I thought this morning when I woke up was that I would end up spilling most of my secrets out to you."

"Most, huh?" Fred grinned. "So there are things you haven't told me, we'll have to remedy that fast, Vikander."

Laila smiled, "Try all you want, Weasley, I'm very good under torture."

She winced as that last sentence came out. "Yikes, that obviously was a very poor word choice. I mean choice of words." She shook her head in consternation and slowly unlaced her hand from Fred's.

Rather than responding to her very poor attempt at a joke, Fred furrowed his brow and began to open his mouth, only to be interrupted just in time by the sound of a door slamming open and a resounding tinkling of a bell being jerked by the door's movement.

"There you are," George grinned, leaning against the door as he glanced out at his twin. "We were wondering what was taking you so long."

Fred turned his gaze away from Laila and scoffed good naturedly, "What the devil are you on about? We're only ten minutes late."

"To a pub, everyone knows you only show late for class, not to a place where they serve you drinks," George responded.

"And besides," he added, "Alicia came through with the goods."

Fred clapped his hands in excitement, "Excellent! Spinnet sure works fast. And if this succeeds you know what that means."

"Our empire of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes will grow and soon everyone will know our name," George exclaimed gleefully as he eagerly rubbed his palms together with enough friction to generate a small flame.

"And, we'll be the bane of the existence of every magical school in the world, beginning in Ilvermorny. Just imagine the number of the mail orders," Fred grinned wickedly.

Laila kept glancing between the twins in a mixture of amusement and confusion.

"If you're talking about some kind of smuggling operation, you're really failing with your code language here."

Fred gasped and mockingly placed his hands on his chest, "What do you take us for? We run a completely legitimate business here."

"Of course, school professors try to ban us, but the students keep us running," George grinned.

"And besides," Fred finished, "Smuggling would just drain our profits. Imagine the number of people we would have to pay to keep quiet about the whole thing."

"Beginning with you," George said, pointing his finger dramatically at Laila.

"And then of course there is always the risk that you'll blab and sell us out for a shorter prison sentence if someone ever gets hot on our trail," Fred added.

"So you see," George explained, "it would be rather counter-productive to begin some kind of smuggling operation. The black market funds would hardly be worth the money we would lose, and even if we did begin it, the last person we would discuss it in front of is you."

With that, George turned to Fred, "I thought she was supposed to be a smart one."

"She is," Fred laughed. "Just lacking in some common sense. Why do you think it took two of us to point out the faults in her thinking?"

Laila glared at the twins, "All right, enough laughs at my expense. Can we please go inside now?"

Fred cocked his head, his voice taking on a serious tone that was contradicted by the mirth in his eyes, "I thought New England was supposed to be much colder than here. Is the little breeze getting to you?"

"Nope, just the fact that the two of you are denying a smuggling operation but at the same time saying if you were to begin one, you would bribe authorities. Keep talking, and I'll find something to arrest the two of you for," Laila retorted drily, her mouth twitching slightly in amusement.

"Even me, your own fiance and to be husband," Fred gaped. "Oh the betrayal!"

Laila shot him a withering look, "Yes even you, unless we go in now and you get me something to drink."

"I thought you said bribery was against the law," George quipped.

"Well, it is, but if asking you lot to buy me a drink is against the law, then Angelina and I would be the only ones in jail," Laila smirked.

"Bloody hell," Angelina appeared at the door, sticking her head out and laughing. "She got the two of you there."

She gestured the three of them inside, and Laila gazed around the Leaky Cauldron. It didn't look too different to what she imagined a British pub would look like, but memories of dragging her father out of bars after he had drank himself into a stupor reverberated through her mind. Trying to gain some semblance of control, she tamped down on the memories and took in her surroundings.

She felt a gentle tap on the back of her arm as Angelina appeared in her line of sight.

"Come on," she gestured. "Let me introduce you to everyone."

Laila followed Angelina as she began the introductions. "You already met Lee of course."

"Very briefly," Laila smiled in greeting.

"Good to see you visiting the local haunts, Laila," Lee grinned and raised his glass of Butterbeer in greeting towards her.

"And that lovely woman who understands the pain of living with an idiot much like I do and soon you will too is Katie Bell, Lee's girlfriend."

Katie was short with dark hair and eyes and a welcoming smile that immediately put Laila at ease.

"Hi, there!" Katie smiled brightly as she gestured at an empty seat next to her that Laila gratefully slid into.

"So," Laila began, "how did you get together with this one?", pointing at Lee for emphasis.

"He got better with age," Katie grinned. "And besides, it saved me from jumping across the continent to marry a random stranger, and an American at that!"

Laila laughed, "I will happily drink to that once I get my hands on some club soda."

"Oh," Katie blinked. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you weren't a drinker. I hope meeting in a pub is okay for you. The twins and Angelina didn't say anything otherwise."

"You're completely okay!" Laila reassured her quickly. "I just don't like to drink. I don't have a history of alcoholism or anything like that."

"Don't get the club soda," Angelina popped her head in. "Try some Butterbeer! It's the perfect combination of fizzy and sweet. I have a feeling that you might enjoy it."

"Butterbeer?" Laila shot her an amused look. "I'm guessing it doesn't have any beer in it then, so the name is just a misnomer?"

"It'll give you a nice buzz, but you won't get pissed on it," Katie grinned. "We drank it back in Hogsmeade a lot in school. It takes me back."

"Ah yes," Angelina commented. "To the good old days of studying for exams and getting bewitched by Dark Objects when Voldemort was at the peak of his power."

Laila glanced sideways at Angelina. "Come again? Did you just say 'getting bewitched.'"

Katie grimaced slightly. "It was a whole thing that happened to me back in school. But forget about it honestly. We're here to toast good things."

"You got that right," Lee grinned, "And I have some more good news now that all of us are here."

Laila felt a presence behind her and immediately realised it was Fred when he began to speak. "Did you finally decide to change up your drink of choice and get something other than a scotch? No judgment here, but I am sure you can find a good club of antique wizards to drink with you."

Lee scoffed, "Please, you wish you had my taste. No, what I was going to say is that the deal has been approved, and the American representative will be here today."

"No way," Fred grinned. "This is brilliant news! After all this time we're finally spreading across the pond."

"This calls for more drinks!" George replied

"Come again?" Laila asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"We've been trying to find ways to expand to the States for a while now," George explained. "And now thanks to Lee actually putting in some work, we have an opportunity."

"Which means," Fred bounced back, "more American students who can use our products to escape their mundane classes and get more out of their lives. So of course, the more money they will spend on us, which means more mail orders for us to send."

Laila smiled, "That is absolutely amazing, but you do realise it is only a matter of time before your products are also banned at Ilvermorny right?"

Fred shrugged, "Which is why it is absolutely perfect that I am marrying you. An American lawyer, so I am sure you can come up with ways around that to help us run our business."

Laila raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Remind me again, why would I want to do that?"

"You'll be a Weasley soon," George grinned. "So we expect complete and blind loyalty to our entire cause. Plus, if you want to live in the lap of luxury with this one-" George casually jerked his finger in Fred's direction. "-I think you would want to help us expand."

Laila's mouth grew dry at George's words, and she felt a lump in her throat. It was foolish, she thought to herself. She had a family back home who loved her, but being the only witch in her family, it was hard to relate to her sisters and her parents. Not to mention, much of her childhood was spent seeing her father drunk from the pain of losing her mother. The thought of becoming part of another family warmed her heart. It had been a long time since she felt this welcomed, and the last time she could remember feeling this happy was when her mentor Patrick and his wife Teresa took her in as a part of their family.

"You okay there?"

Laila felt a slight nudge on her shoulder and turned to see Fred gazing at her with a slight concern on his face.

She blinked and replied, "Yeah sorry just zoned out there. I only do that if the conversation gets really boring." She expected Fred to laugh and return her poor attempt of a joke with a witty remark. Instead, he just furrowed his eyebrows and continued to look at her.

Laila felt exposed. His dark eyes glowed with a warmth that she felt could also melt the ice blue that coated her own irises. It had hardly been a week since they had met, and Fred already could read her so well. To some extent, she was getting better at understanding him too. But it was a disconcerting feeling, especially with her history of letting people get so close.

So, she decided to change the topic and averted his intense gaze. "So where's the Butterbeer that I was promised?"

Luckily, Angelina rescued her at the right moment and placed a huge mug in front of her. It was frothy and completely full to the brim.

Laila blinked. "Well, you weren't kidding that this was going to be an experience."

Angelina laughed, "Trust me, and you will never be wrong. Cheers to a new friendship and new beginnings."

Laila smiled in return, "I will happily drink to that."

The night was already beginning to look brighter. The group made their way to a table, and the conversation continued to flow. Laila let herself relax and listen to the banter. She had deliberately chosen a seat away from Fred. It had been a lot, confiding in him about her past and her assault. She needed to breathe. Of course, he must have sensed something because he sat down next to her and squeezed her hand under the table briefly before arguing with Lee about the profits of selling Pygmy Puffs.

"I am telling you, they are an excellent idea! The number of teenage girls that buy them is absolutely insane, and it doubles our revenue." Fred insisted.

"Sure, but they are horrible to breed. I blink and then they double. It's a bit much, Fred. Do we really need to go on?" Lee questioned.

"Oi," Angelina jumped in. "You two can argue the logistics of breeding later. The representative you were waiting for from the States is here"

Laila looked up in curiosity to see Katie escorting a young woman with dark hair and eyes to the table. She was petite with a beautiful dark complexion, and her eyes glistened a brilliant black in the pub. And Laila felt the blood freeze in her veins.

"Everyone," Katie smiled, "this is Eleanor. Eleanor, my boyfriend Lee you know with all the communication that you guys have going on. The proprietors of the Weasleys' establishment, George and Fred. That is Angelina, George's fiancee and a brilliant Quidditch player in her own right. And Laila, Fred's fiancee and a new lawyer at the Ministry of Magic. Oh, and she's a fellow American!"

During the introduction, Eleanor's face had been bright and excited. But the smell fell from her face when her eyes met Laila's. A sudden rush of nervous energy seemed to flood her, she seemed to grow smaller, and her cheeks were stained a slight pink.

Laila, on the other hand, felt her body take on a stiff demeanour. The ice in her veins hardened her. She felt that nervous energy too, if Eleanor's face was any indication of how she was feeling, but Laila had become excellent at masking her true feelings.

"Eleanor," Laila greeted coolly. "It is lovely to see you after so many years."

Eleanor's face blanched slightly, "You too…I didn't expect….I mean I heard about your promotion and that you were chosen by the Marriage Law…but I didn't…"

"You didn't expect to see me in a country full of wizards that you would run into me here," Laila finished for Eleanor. Laila's eyebrows were raised delicately and she took a sip of her Butterbeer.

"Sit down, Eleanor. Join us." Everyone at the table glanced back and forth between the

two, so Laila explained, "We were in the same year together back at Ilvermorny. Eleanor and I go back."

Eleanor gave a small smile as she sat down gingerly. "It's nice to see you doing well, Laila. I always knew you were going to do great things even when we were just first years."

For a second, Laila felt herself flash back to a time when this woman was one of her closest friends. "You too," she answered. "I'm happy to see you're prospering in the marketing and business arena."

Eleanor smiled, "Honestly, you were a big help when I got started. You and Liam-" Her voice faltered, and she suddenly grew even more nervous.

Laila suddenly felt sick at hearing his name. She needed a second, and the best excuse was drinks.

"Right well, you should discuss your plans with the twins and Lee, and I will get everyone a refill of their drinks. Just excuse me for a moment."

Laila said all of this while standing up briskly, pushing her chair in, and practically running to the bar counter. Her heart was in her mouth, and she was desperately trying to stamp it back into her chest. The stupid thing would not go down.

"Nice excuse, especially when everyone still has more than half of their drinks still left," Angelina joked. Laila turned to see Angelina looking at her with concern that belied the lightness of her tone.

Laila grimaced, "Yeah definitely not my best." She sighed and sat down on the counter and glanced back at the table briefly. Eleanor's back was to her, but she made eye contact with Fred, who slightly nodded his head at her and made to get back. Laila gently shook her head and gestured to him to keep sitting and continue the conversation. As grateful as she was for Angelina's presence, she was surprised by her longing to confide in Fred about the whole situation. But despite her past with Eleanor and Liam, she knew this new deal would be a huge thing for the twins, and she did not want anything to hurt that.

"So," Angelina gently nudged. "What's the story behind that interaction?"

Laila sighed and took a sip of her drink. "Eleanor, Liam, and I used to be really good friends back in school. Liam and I began dating in our fifth year. After we graduated, and I got a job in MACUSA, I became busy."

Laila paused for a moment to compose herself. The lump in her throat was back again, but she was not going to let it win. "I loved Liam," she stated bluntly. "Honestly, Ange, I thought at one point I would marry him. Then the war happened, and we were fighting just to stay alive."

She shook her head despondently. Angelina reached out and squeezed Laila's hand in comfort. It gave Laila the strength to continue.

"Then, I was…raped. And I just shut down for a really long time. I worked through everything, but our country and our community was in danger. And I focused more on that instead of my relationship with Liam."

She sighed and stared at the drink in her hands. "I wouldn't let him touch me anymore. The nightmares were horrible, and I couldn't confide in him. I shut out Eleanor too."

Angelina's eyebrows rose up at that point, and Laila knew she had made the connection. "Stop for a second, Laila. Before you say anything else, don't you dare put the entire blame on what happened to yourself. You went through so much shit, and you didn't deserve what they did."

Laila gave her a sad smile. "You picked up on that quickly. I didn't realise Liam was cheating with me on Eleanor until I caught them in bed together. Very cliche honestly, but I don't know what I expected. I mean, I am normally so observant, but I never thought-"

She gritted her teeth before continuing. "The real kicker was that the bastard impregnated her. He apologised of course, but at that point it was too late. I left and never looked back. The last I heard they had a daughter, got married, and are still together."

Angelina was silent for a moment before she began speaking. "Do you want me to kick her arse back across the Atlantic?"

Surprised, Laila let out a loud laugh that got the rest of the table's attention. Fred gazed at her in amusement, and his concern for her seemed to lessen. She shook his head at him, silently letting him know that she would fill him in later.

"Seriously, Laila. I know you think this is a joke. But I will do it. Ask my idiot future husband and your idiot fiance. I am very good at staying true to my word."

Laila grinned, "You were the one thing missing in my life, Angelina. When you meet my friends Mila and Adrian, I think we will all mesh very well."

"Jokes aside though," Angelina smiled. "I don't care if you feel the tiniest bit responsible. You were fighting for your life, trying to overcome trauma, and helping our community during one of the darkest moments of our lifetime. They had no absolute excuse to fuck each other just because you were in survival mode."

Laila blinked and smiled slightly. "Thank you for saying that, but at this point, I am done looking back into my past. I am happy where I am right now, and I think my past is the reason why I am here and met you."

She glanced back at the table to see Fred making a remark to Lee, who snorted his drink in laughter. Laila felt a fond smile growing on her face, and Angelina noticed right away.

"Well, Fred's certainly growing on you," Angelina responded with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Laila felt herself blush slightly as she swatted Angelina's shoulder. "No comment" was all she could muster.

"C'mon," Laila said after a brief pause. "Let's get back to the table and enjoy the rest of the night."

As the two made their way back, Eleanor stood, made a comment, and stood face-to-face with Laila.

"It was nice seeing you, Eleanor." Laila found it was easier than she expected to seep warmth into her voice. "I wish you the best of luck with everything."

Eleanor looked surprised. "Oh…I…you too, Laila." She smiled and briefly gave Laila a hug before walking out the door.

At that point, Laila was out of words. Thankfully, Angelina jumped at the opportunity and decided to fill in the silence.

"So?" Angelina questioned George. "Did it go through?"

George widened his arms out. "Like a charm, my lady. You're looking at the new owners of Weasley products that will make their way across the land of the free and the home of the brave."

"We'll be the talk of the entire nation soon enough," Fred chimed in with a grin. "Just think of all the new young minds we will help to nurture."

Laila snorted. "God save those poor souls, for most of them will not know any better."

Fred gaped at her. "You wound me, Vikander-"

"Okay, okay," Katie interrupted. "We get it. You two can continue your steamy flirting once you get home. It's nice to see you are getting along, but I really do not need to see your foreplay."

Laila immediately coloured, and she felt the blush spreading through her. It certainly didn't help that Fred shot her a knowing smirk that made her insides go wobbly. Good God, was she really marrying this man in almost ten days? Tomorrow was December 21st, Christmas was almost four days away, and her wedding was on the 31st. Time was moving much more quickly than she had anticipated. But maybe, that was not so bad.

"You're always welcome to join us, Katie," Fred winked cheekily. Katie wrinkled her nose in disgust, "I feel bad enough that Laila has to join you, Weasley. I am good where I am. Besides, one man-child is enough." She thrust her head in Lee's direction as laughter bubbled out of her throat.

"Ouch," Lee replied. "You certainly weren't saying that last nigh-OW! Damn it, woman! I have sensitive and delicate skin. You should know better than to hit me."

Katie rolled her eyes in good nature, "Oh please. You're stronger than you look. I just lightly tapped you. And stop with the delicate skin remarks already."

"Preach, Katie," Angelina laughed. "This idiot-" she gestured at George, "-complains about the same problem. No wonder he sucked as a beater."

George gaped at Angelina in return, "Excuse me. We lead our house teams to numerous victories. All thanks to mine and Fred's brilliant strategies."

"Wait," Laila questioned. "Doesn't a quidditch game end when the Seeker catches the snitch? So wouldn't that mean that technically Harry was the reason you won all of your games?"

"Technicalities, Laila," Fred responded with a snort. "And to think that I would live to see the day where my future wife doesn't support the Weasley name."

"Oh please," Laila rolled her eyes in good nature. "I'm not a Weasley yet, and I thought support was earned."

"Not in this household," Angelina replied. "They sadly expect blind loyalty. Too bad the two of them ended up with actually intelligent women."

Laila snorted in laughter at Angelina's comment before glancing down at the time. "Oh gosh," she exclaimed in slight surprise. "It's midnight, and I didn't even notice the time fly by. I'm sorry guys but I have an early morning. I want to get a few things in place before the holidays come and vacation starts."

She looked up and smiled, giving Angelina and Katie hugs before turning to the door. "Lovely to see everyone! I will see you all later."

Laila dashed outside to the cold air and breathed in deeply. It was refreshing to be outside and just be by herself for a moment.

"You keep doing that," Fred's amused voice piped behind her.

Laila gave him a half-smile as she turned towards his direction. "What can I say? I have a talent. Congrats again, by the way. Seriously, I think it is amazing you guys are working so hard to expand your business and introducing new products and stuff."

Fred gazed at her softly, "Thanks, Laila. Are you okay to be alone right now? With everything that happened today, and the story with Eleanor…"

He paused and gazed at her questioningly, waiting for her to finish his sentence. Laila didn't hesitate. "It's a long one, Fred. And that is a conversation for our Saturday night dinner. Unless you're planning to bail on me."

Fred smiled, tucked his hands into his coat pockets, and kicked the ground aimlessly. "Not unless you're planning to. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Laila smiled, "Good to hear." She paused, and before all of her courage could run out, she gave Fred a quick hug and kiss to the cheek. When she pulled back, he looked slightly shocked. She didn't even give him a chance to respond.

"Good night, Fred. See you Saturday." With that, she apparted back to her flat.

NOTES:

Hi guys! I am sorry for the really late update! I had a lot going on, but I am excited to be back and am aiming for an update every month at the minimum! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!