Petals & Thorns | Fred Weasley

seventeen

"Boring, really. Lots of time to read and get on Draco's nerves. Mum and Dad are coming around a little bit." Fred knew about their dislike over her breakup. He reached down to her wrist, fingers touching the emerald bracelet on it. She almost flinched, afraid he might disrupt the sleeve on her arm; she stayed still.

"You get that for your birthday?" He asked.

"Yeah, my parents like to show off their money when they can." She laughed, looking away. "Sometimes I wish they weren't so upfront about it. I used to like it, now it's annoying." She explained.

"I'd kill for that kind of money," he whispered. Her heart ached at the sound, not realizing the insensitivity of her statement.

"I'm sorry, Fred. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay, I get it." He gave her a smile, showing her he wasn't bothered. "Promise." She leaned up and captured him in a kiss, she had apology in her actions. "So, got any plans made for after school, yet?" She sighed at the thought.

"I want to open a bookshop. My parents would never allow that, though."

"Why not? Everyone needs books, kids are always buying them for school." He nudged her, bringing her around a bit.

"Yeah but it's not high profile enough for a Malfoy. They want me somewhere in the ministry." She looked to their intertwined hands, thinking about her words. "It wouldn't make me happy, though. I never wanted a job where I have to dress up for it everyday. Draco used to call me names because of it." She laughed slightly. "I don't like working for other people. It's like you, with your joke shop. I love books, and I love learning. I want something that I can control, that's up to me."

"Then do it, Addy. You'll never be happy if you live just to please your parents." He looked down at her but she didn't return the glance. "You have a passion for reading, and I think if you love something that much you should dedicate your life to it."

"You're right, Freddie. I just don't want to make them angry, you know? It's like..." she trailed off, furrowing her eyebrows. She tried to come up with a good answer. "It's like, you're born into a family of perfectionists, and they live to please the public eye. They give you everything you could ever want, but in return they need loyalty and a promise to keep up a reputation." She shifted against the ground, pulling a knee up to her chest. "You don't feel like you can disappoint them because they've given you so much. It's like a game of control."

"It is a game of control. They want to own you, like a possession. You're your own person. They're trying to make you into another version of them, but they don't realize that everybody's different. Mum's like that, too. She wants us to work for the ministry as well, but that's not who George and I are. We love laughing and making jokes, so we want to do something with it." She finally met his eyes.

"I'm tired of the reputation." She whispered. Fred could see the look of hurt in her eyes. Something had changed her over the month they'd been apart. She was never this open with communication, and she didn't hold the pained expression before. "I'm tired of everything, Fred. I don't want to lie about who I am anymore."

"Then don't, you're almost out of school, and you can do whatever you want once you move out of their house. They don't control you." She gave a humourless chuckle and looked away again.

"They do." She licked her lips, staring at the ground. "It'll never be that easy."

"We can make it that easy, Ad. We buy our own flat, we start our own life. We make it ours, not our parents' lives." She took a sharp intake of breath, but covered it with a small cough.

"Fred, trust me. It's not that simple." She was starting to close off again. He caught glimpses of her emotions, her true feelings, but never long enough to make anything of it. So far, they were just two people who kissed. She wouldn't let him in long enough to make a true relationship out of what they had. Maybe it was on purpose, but Fred wasn't sure.