The Weasley Twins One Shot Book

Fred Weasley: Protector

Prompt:  an ex stumbles upon you while you browse the twins' shop. Fred sees him and how uncomfortable he's making you. waiting for him to make one wrong move to strike. just to give you a chance to take care of it yourself. knowing you're fully capable. this mentions past relationship abuse but only briefly.
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"Invisible quill ink? No," You set the ink pot back on the shelf. Your best friend Hermione's birthday party is today and you've yet to find her the perfect gift. Having searched endlessly for what seems like the whole day, scanning every shelf in every gift shop in Hogsmeade, you resorted to the last place on your list. Your boyfriend's joke shop.

You didn't think to go there first, knowing Hermione isn't one for jokes or tricks. But you were hopeless at this point and didn't know where else to go. You had already greeted Fred and George, seeing as they make it a point to say hello to everyone who enters their shop. A customer service thing which you thought was very sweet of them.

Fred had told you that once he had gotten most of the rush out of the store, that he'd help you find a gift for Hermione. But the rush has yet to be diminished, especially now that a large group of students had wandered in to browse.

You ventured to the potions section of the twins' shop and decided to look through the wide selection and see if anything would even briefly interest Hermione. You picked up a pink potion bottle with flowers all over it, the label explained it as a potion to add to flowers' water to keep them alive longer if not forever with the right dosage.

Until you saw a face in the potion's glass bottle reflection and softly gasped. You set the bottle down, hoping you were just seeing things. That his face was just a figment of your imagination. Much to your dismay, the same face was in another bottle's glassy reflection only he wore a smirk now.

"Hello there, kitten," The all too familiar voice spoke. You gulped and set the potion bottle down and turned to face him, putting on a brave face.

"Malfoy."

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you here."

"I could say the same for you," You returned, staring into his cold grey eyes. "What would someone like you be doing in a joke shop?"

"Oh, odds and ends," He shrugged, but looked you up and down, biting his lip. "You haven't gotten any less beautiful."

"As if you'd expect me to."

"Quite the opposite, pet," He grinned, putting emphasis on that last pet name. The one he used when you were involved with him a little over two years ago now.

"It's been two years, Malfoy. Drop the names. I'm no ones pet."

"Ah, bet Weasley wouldn't appreciate hearing that," Malfoy snarked, stepping closer to you, causing you to stumble back into the potion shelf.

"Fred doesn't control me like you did. He actually has a heart unlike yourself."

"Ooh, not very nice," He cleared his throat, biting his lip again. "But you liked it when I'd do this... and it would have that brilliant effect on you," Draco's hand slid up your arm, causing you to jump, yelp, and knock a few potions off the shelf.

The glass shattered and that seemed to be the gunshot that set Fred off. Who had been watching the whole thing.

"Get. The hell. Off. Her. Now," Fred growled, gripping Draco's shirt collar with one hand and the other his wand pressed to the boy's pale throat. Draco's eyes went wide in shock. "If you step foot in my shop ever again, I'll see to it that you lose that same leg. Got it?"

Draco shoved himself away from Fred and stormed out of the shop in a huff. After Fred had simmered down a bit, he turned to you as your eyes filled with tears. Hot beads of salty water drifted down your face, sobering Fred from his rage in seconds.

"I'm so sorry, love," He pulled you in. That's when he realized just how many people had witnessed the entire exchange between you and Draco. He needed to get you somewhere private and quiet. After nodding to George, who understood what he had to do, he took you up the stairs to his and George's flat and sat you on his bed.

You were still panicked and shaking, feeling so exposed and vulnerable because of what Draco had done and where he had touched you. Even Fred's touch had you flinching. The horrible flashbacks of all of the times Draco had given you bruises were your only focus.

"Darling, hey," Fred crouched down onto the floor in front of you, then showed you his wand and threw it across the room. Showing you he was in no way any kind of threat to your safety. You sniffled and wiped your eyes with shaking hands. Gently, Fred took those shaking hands into his. "I won't hurt you. I promise. I'm not like Malfoy."

You softly whimpered at the sound of his name, making Fred get up to sit next to you. Cautiously, he pulled you in, making sure you were fully comfortable with what he was doing. Before you had realized it, Fred had pulled you up into his lap to face him in a warm hug.

Burying your face into his shirt, smelling his unique cologne mixed with his natural scent, and his arms around you ended up being just the right combination to calm you down. "Sorry, Freddie..."

"Why? You don't need to apologize for anything."

"I b-broke potion bottles..."

"You've seen our stockroom. We have plenty of those," Fred reassured you. "You're just fine, my love. Are you okay? I saw where he touched you. Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I am now," You pulled back and wiped your eyes. Fred watched as you took a deep breath and opened your eyes again. He gently stroked your cheek and pressed a loving kiss onto your lips. "Thank you. For... everything you just did."

"Of course. I can't stand him," Fred scoffed. "But I'm glad you're okay. I know you have Granger's party to get to. George and I are gonna be late, we have to close up the shop. Would you want to stay up here and calm down a bit longer, or we could go down and look for a gift for Hermione together? What sounds good to you?"

"I um... I think I'm okay to go back now," You stood up slowly and crossed your arms over your chest tightly. "As long as you're with me."

"Always. Now, I have a few ideas in mind for our little bookworm friend," Fred led you back down the stairs into the shop. Thankfully, everyone seemed to have moved on from everything that happened and George had cleaned up the spilled potion and broken glass. It was like nothing had happened.

George finished up with a customer at the register, then assigned another store employee to run the register while he joined you and Fred. Unintentionally, George startled you when he came up behind you and placed a hand on your back.

After your initial reaction, you sighed in relief and hugged your boyfriend's identical twin, then turned your attention back to Fred when he showed you a selection of beautiful bookmarks that were charmed with soft glowing lights for night reading. They ended up being the perfect gift and Hermione couldn't thank you enough.