"You can't go, Hunn. Please, Fred was stupid, but don't leave us," George begged as she packed away her clothes and books.
"I don't think I can stay here, George. He claims to love me, but he went out of his way to be validated by another woman. Even if he didn't cheat on me, he still needed attention from another woman to make himself feel better."
He took a shaky breath and nodded, "Don't leave me then. I love you, and I know he does too."
She shook her head and turned to face him. He was crying, breaking her heart, "Charlie offered to let me stay with him in Romania for a while. I said yes and will go there and finish my Medi witch training."
The look on his face made her want to take it back, but just thinking about everything that happened made her more determined to go there and finish her training.
"Promise you'll come back," He asked, his voice breaking as he took her hand in his larger ones.
She nodded, "I'll always come back, George. Even if when I come back, it's just you and me. I need time to think about everything, and Fred needs time too. He doesn't know what he wants, and maybe some time apart will do us all some good."
He shook his head, "You know you're wrong. I love you. Fred, even though he's a dumb fucker sometimes, he loves you too," He cupped her cheek and held her gaze, "He's the one who told me how wonderful and amazing you were back in school. He is the one who opened my eyes to the three of us working together."
"What he did..."
"What he did was inexcusable. It was wrong, and he should have come to you," He kissed her cheek softly, "Neither of us knew how to go to you, love. You were in so much pain, and when you pushed us away and forced us to keep the shop open, we both felt alone. You wouldn't look at us, and you would barely speak to us, let alone touch us or let us hold you."
Her mouth gaped open.
She had never thought of it that way. She had just been wrapped up in her world, her pain that she never thought could be hurting just as bad. They had needed each other, and she had only thought of herself.
George hugged her and held her to his chest, "Nothing will ever excuse what he did, but maybe you should talk to him. Write him while you're in Romania, work things out, and then come home and see if we can all make things work together."
"Okay. I'll write to him, and when I come back, we'll all talk and see if things can work," She paused for a moment, "I need you to talk to him too, George. Find out where his head was and why he did what he did."
"Of course I will, darling," He squeezed her close and stroked her hair.
She leaned into him and soaked up his warmth and touch, "The portkey is leaving soon, George," She squeezed him close again, "I love you, George."
He pulled her under one arm and led her down to the shop floor, "Let's say goodbye to Fred."
She nodded and let him lead her down the stairs. The floor was silent in the early morning, and a few patrons were waiting outside the closed door for opening. Fred stood by the fireplace with one arm against the wall, and when he heard them coming, he turned to face them.
His face was tear-stained, and he looked hopeless. Her will nearly disappeared, but she held back the urge to run to him as George led her closer.
"Hello, love," Fred greeted her with a sad wave and a small smile.
"Hi, Fred."
"I know it won't help, but don't go. Please don't leave us."
She saw tears well in his eyes and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him close to her, "We need to talk this out, Fred."
"So you'll stay?" he asked, hopefully embracing her.
She shook her head, "No, I need to go. I will take three weeks to finish my Medi witch training there. I'll return in early December before Ginny, and they are home for the winter holiday."
"What does this mean for us?"
"It means we'll write. Often and sort everything out before I come back. If we decide to make it work, we'll give it all a go and see if our relationship is worth it..."
"It is, and it will. I promise we'll work this out."
She nodded and pulled away from him, "The portkey is leaving soon. Goodbye Fred, I love you."
"I love you too, Hunn, more than anything."
"I hope that's true, Fred. I do," She kissed his cheek and then turned to George, who had been watching their heartfelt exchange in silence, "I love you, George."
He scooped her up in a hug and squeezed her tight, "I love you too, baby. Be safe over there. Let me know if Charlie tries anything funny."
Hunn laughed at that, "I'll write you both. Be safe over here, too."
She kissed his cheek and then let him go. She held her wand tightly in her hand, grabbed a tiny glass teacup, and held it tightly. She took one last look at them and then was swept away by the force of the portkey pulling her through a small space no bigger than the tip of a pin.
Week one, moments after Hunn's departure by portkey
Hello love,
You've just left through the portkey now, and I already miss you. Be safe with Charlie and the dragons. He's a good wizard, and he can protect you if needed. Write to us soon, we miss you already.
I love you.
Be safe,
Love,
George
To the love of my life,
Hunn, I want you to know that I felt lost as soon as you left. I felt like the other half of my soul had gone with you.
I love you.
Write as quickly as you can.
Love,
Fred
Dear George,
I miss you already. The dragons here are beautiful, and Charlie has shown me only a few of them so far. My Medi witch training starts tomorrow morning, and I'm feeling a little nervous, but I know I can handle this.
Love,
Hunn
P.S. I'll be back before you know it.
Dear Fred,
There's no time like the present to start figuring this out.
Just tell me what you were feeling.
Tell me why you couldn't talk to me.
Let's start there first and see where it takes us.
I've seen a few dragons so far, and they're beautiful. One of them had scales as red as your hair, and others were as blue as the sea. It was incredible.
Hunn
Week Two in Romania
Dear Hunn,
Fred has been writing a lot lately. I hope your questions weren't too hard. He might blow a gasket if he searches his brain any harder. The shop is doing well, just not the same without you here. We're still making jokes, but our inspiration has left with you.
Tell Charlie to take you to see the Wayvern. They have one on the reservation that's the color of the setting sun. You won't regret it. I promise. I hope your first week of Medi training is going well so far. Just two more weeks left, and I'll have you in my arms again.
I love you.
Yours always,
George
Dear Hunn,
I have written this letter repeatedly, trying to get the words right.
At the time, I was feeling lost. We had lost our baby, and I had nearly lost you as well. When you were almost killed, it tore me up inside, George, too. I tried to go to you in the beginning, but for weeks, you didn't want to see either of us.
We tried to shut the shop down to be with you, and you refused and practically hexed us for even offering. After that, you wouldn't talk to us. You just cried and refused to be touched. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you everything I felt, but you couldn't hear it when I tried.
I'm sorry.
Love Fred
Dear George,
Fred and I are working things out the best we can right now. My training is going great! I'm at the top of the class and have two more weeks left. I'm sorry we haven't been able to write more. I want you to know I love you. I love you more than anything.
Can you tell me what I was like before your mom showed up and talked me out of whatever I was in? I don't remember much, just a lot of pain and a lot of guilt.
I hope you're doing well, baby.
I miss you,
Love,
Hunn
Dear Fred,
I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I guess I should have been better... I should have been what you and George needed me to be...
I don't remember much after the hospital. I know I couldn't feel much. I couldn't think of anything other than the moments before I left the baby shower. The moment I decided to go on my own instead of waiting five minutes for you and George to get me.
If I could have just waited, our baby would be alive. We'd be holding our baby boy right now.
Those months I was sitting in bed, that's what I was thinking. I couldn't convince myself of anything else.
Maybe I'm not what you need after all...
I'm sorry,
Hunn
Week 3 in Romania
Dear Hunn,
After we brought you home from the hospital, you weren't all there. You cried a lot and spent all of your time in bed. We tried for weeks to get you up and moving, but the more we tried, the more you fought us. You even came close to hexing us a few times near the end before Mum arrived to see you. You were in a lot of pain, and no one knew what you needed to get moving again. We asked all the healers, and they said you needed time alone until you were ready to come to us and share with us.
Fred and I hated that idea, but we gave you the space we thought you needed after you almost hexed us for offering to shut the shop down.
About that girl we hired. She came in one day and asked us for a job, and we gave her one. Fred didn't even want to hire anyone. He thought we were fine on our own. But we struggled to keep up with the demand and be on the floor all the time without you, so I hired her to help around the shop.
I don't think what happened is anyone's fault. I think it's the result of everything that happened over the months we weren't ourselves. We were a mess. All of us were. You were hurting, I was hurting, and Fred was too.
I hope that helped, darling. Hurry home to us, please.
Love always,
George
To my beautiful fiance(I hope I can still call you that),
I didn't go to that girl to make myself feel better. We hired her because we were falling behind in the shop, and we needed someone to help out where needed. She was good at listening, and when she asked what was wrong, I told her how I felt because she was willing to listen to me talk.
I tried waiting it out to see if you'd be more willing to talk and let me help you and have you help me. It just never happened. And as the weeks went by, I opened up to her more and more about everything that was happening. She knew I was engaged. She didn't know to who. She also learned about the baby and how I almost lost you both. I never really thought about why this was wrong. She just made me feel better about everything that had happened.
None of this is your fault. Not leaving early. None of it.
All the blame lies with those Death Eaters who attacked you, and I never want you to think that you had anything to do with our baby's death ever again.
I'm sorry that things happened the way they did. I never wanted us to lose our son, and I never wanted you to get hurt. I never wanted to hurt you either.
Please give me another chance. You're everything I need and more.
I love you,
Fred
Dear Geroge,
Thank you for being honest. I'll be home soon, I think.
Love your soon-to-be wife,
Hunn
Dear Fred,
Things were very messy after everything that happened. You were wrong for going to that girl. I won't change my mind on that, but I was wrong, too.
I should have asked for help. I should have leaned on you and George for help. We should have been able to depend on each other.
I think we have much more talking to do and things to say that can't be put into a letter, so I'll see you soon.
I love you.
Your soon-to-be wife,
Hunn