Cursing (Fred Weasley)

THIRTY

"No one can know about this," Kingsley Shacklebolt started as he paced around the room.

Elle hadn't let go of Fred since he returned, constantly touching him in some way, whether it be holding his hand or resting her hand on his knee. She didn't want to let him slip through her fingers again.

"Those inside this room right now are the only ones who can know that Fred isn't really dead," he continued.

Those in the room included all of Fred's brothers, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, Sirius, Harry, Draco, Sammy, Teddy, Callie, Elle, and Fred's children. None of his nieces or nephews- besides Callie and Teddy- could know until Marvello was gone.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They wouldn't leave Fred and his family alone if they knew Fred was alive. Or worse, they would torture him for the information about how he was able to come back to life. If they found out about Flamel and his innovation in magic, they would be fearless in battle because they would know that they could come back. It would ruin everything and drag out the war.

"And those of you in this room are going to go into hiding. You all will be each other's Secret Keepers, so as to avoid a situation like Sirius's," Kingsley continued.

"We don't need any of you getting captured and tortured, or to drink any Veritaserum. You all will be spread out across the country, so that it would take more work for Marvello to find all of you, heaven forbid," Kingsley finished, finally taking a seat at the head of the table.

Elle squeezed Fred's hand gently, still terrified that he would disappear at any moment. Fred understood why she treated him as if he was about to break at any moment, since it's exactly how he felt after Elle came back. He was sure to be patient with her and to make sure she knew how much he loved her and the kids, should anything like this happen again.

After the meeting, everyone went home to pack. They were instructed to take only what they absolutely needed. The kids were to go back to Hogwarts and speak not a word about their father's resurrection after the funeral, which would be closed casket so no one would see that Fred really wasn't in there.

With everything sorted out, the only thing left to do was pack. They packed clothes, heirlooms, photo albums. Only enough to fill one large trunk and one slightly smaller trunk per person.

With the packing done, the family spent the evening going through pictures. Looking at how life was before Marvello.

The kids loved the pictures of young Fred and Elle, especially after they had gotten together. The two younger ones didn't much like the ones where they were kissing, though.

Reese loved seeing her father smiling at her and waving, since it was a moving picture, while Brady loved seeing his mother smiling at him and waving. They looked so young and happy.

There was one in which Elle had slipped and Fred had tried to help her up, but he fell himself and so they were laughing as snow fell into their hair and onto their eyelashes. Fred leaned forward and kissed Elle quickly.

Fred can still remember what he was thinking. Merlin, she's gorgeous. Look at how there are snowflakes in her mile-long eyelashes and her wavy, unruly blonde hair. Look at her rosy cheeks, her breathtaking smile. She's simply stunning. And she's all mine.

Elle can still remember what she was thinking too. She couldn't stop looking at the sharp contrast of his red hair to the white snowflakes, or how they made his bright ocean blue eyes pop even more, how the snowflakes meshed perfectly with the golden specks in his eyes and his freckles.

When Molly had taken that picture, she knew that Fred and Elle would be together forever. She seen it in the way they looked at each other. Not to mention the fact that they had been best friends since they met when they were eleven.

And now here they are. They have four beautiful children, a happy home, and fantastic jobs. Their life was almost picture perfect. Almost. There was still the whole Marvello thing and the whole Fred's-supposed-to-be-dead thing. But they were happy. They were together. Everything would be fine.
——
After the kids had went to bed, Elle roamed the house, running her fingers along the wall as she remembered everything that happened inside these walls. She didn't want to leave, but she knew it was for the best. They would return.

When Elle finally got in bed with Fred, he held her close and kissed her neck, her jaw, behind her ear, all while muttering how much he loved her and how lucky he was to have her.

It comforted Elle more than anything else.

They were going to be okay. They had each other. They had the kids. They had their parents. They had Fred's brothers and their wives and Ginny and Harry, as well as Draco and Sammy. They had family. That was more than enough.