Molly cried.
She took one look at Cosette and burst into tears. Happy tears, Cosette hoped but she wasn't about to ask.
Molly instantly pulled her away from the kitchen where she was helping Fleur with the baking, much to Fleur's dismay. She gave Cosette a desperate look but all Cosette could do was remind her to follow the recipe before being dragged out by Molly.
The two of them sat in the corner of the living room for the next while, chatting away. Well, Molly did most of the talking and Cosette didn't have the heart to interrupt her. She seemed so incredibly happy and after not seeing her for years, Cosette wasn't about to do anything to tarnish the joy on Molly's face.
Arthur joined in with the conversation as well, sitting on the armrest of the chair Molly was in. He asked how her family was doing, asked what she was doing. He was the only one who questioned what was going on in her life without drawing attention to the one obvious missing piece.
"I actually became a duelling instructor," she told them, earning a look of surprise from Molly. Arthur, on the other hand, didn't appear to be shocked at her career choice.
"Duelling instructor?" Molly repeated, "How did you manage to get into that?"
"Well about a few months before everything happened at Hogwarts I took it upon myself to study defence against the dark arts on a more technical level. Less material-based and more of a hands-on approach," Cosette started to explain. "I actually ended up getting a job at a duelling gym in London, only it's disguised on the outside to look like an abandoned fencing studio. I took a bit of a leave after..." She didn't finish, both of them knew what she was going to say anyway. "But I've been there for a few years now. I love it. We train wizards who are of age who want to expand their knowledge on defensive charms and spells."
"You're joking?" Ron's voice could be heard from the couch on the other side of the room. He had been listening in on their conversation and seemed to be pretty impressed with Cosette's career choice.
"No, I believe that's what you do for a living, right?" Cosette turned to look over her at him, hinting towards his position at the joke shop.
"So you teach people how to fight for a living?"
Everyone's heads turned towards Lottie who was leaning against the fireplace. She had her eyes focused on Cosette, awaiting an answer.
"I teach people how to defend themselves in combat," Cosette further explained. "The use of offensive charms are taught to be one's last resort."
"That's still bloody cool," Ron piped up again. "I didn't even know that was a real job."
"Ron we were literally taught the same things at Hogwarts," Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "Setty just teaches it to more extent."
"Yeah but it was mandatory then," he retorted. "I didn't know it was something that you could continue doing after school."
Everyone in the room laughed at his comment. Well, everyone except Lottie. She had this permanent unimpressed scowl on her face the entire time anyone else was speaking. It only transformed into a smile when Molly or Arthur were talking to her.
"Cosette, I need your help," Fleur entered the living room, looking distressed and panicked. It wasn't common for Fleur to look anything less than calm or collected so Cosette stood up instantly, offering a hand.
"What's going on?" She asked, scanning the kitchen for any signs of danger. But there was no fire, not even any smoke so she wasn't sure what the issue was.
"I just can't tell if they're ready to come out of the oven yet," Fleur laughed nervously. She nodded her head towards the mitts that sat on the counter and Cosette slid them on before taking over for Fleur.
She pulled the door to the oven down and was a little impressed to see that Fleur had successfully baked the cranberry crumble without any mistakes. When she pulled it out and placed it down on the heating rack, she scanned the sides for any burnt edges but the entire dish seemed to be perfect.
"Fleur Delacour," Cosette started, wiping her hands on her pants before turning to face her, "You did it."
"They are alright?" Her eyes went wide. Even she didn't believe she could do it.
"Well we won't really know until someone tries it," Cosette chuckled and then peeked her head back into the living room. She made eye contact with George first and beckoned him to come over. "How'd you like to be the taste tester?"
"Am I qualified for that position?" George teased, but he instantly smelled the dessert and anxiously started to cut himself a piece.
"Wait it's-" She tried to stop him before he put it in his mouth but it was too late. George put the scolding hot cranberry crumble in his mouth only to spit it out onto the counter. "Hot. It's hot, George. We literally just pulled it from the oven."
"Well how was I supposed to know that?"
"You can see the steam for starters!" Cosette laughed at him, handing him a napkin to wipe the excess crumbs off of his lips. Fleur started to mutter a few choice words about him in French that neither of them understood as she walked out of the kitchen.
Since she did pretty much all of the baking, Cosette took it upon herself to start cleaning up. And by cleaning up she pulled out her wand to cast a few household spells on the dishes.
"So you don't have any desire to leave yet?" George asked her, trying not to smile. He had been keeping a close eye on her since the rest of his family members started to show up, expecting her to take a minute or excuse herself entirely but Cosette managed to hold it together. She knew that he had been watching her as well, ready to pull her aside and calm her down at a moments notice.
"Not yet," she nodded. "We'll see what happens when someone asks me to enter Fred's room again."
She meant it as a joke but a flash of sorrow still crossed over his face. George leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "No one's going to force you to do anything and I'm sorry for trying to push you into it earlier. That wasn't right."
"You meant well," Cosette defended his actions as she grabbed a towel to start wiping up the mess of crumbs that was left on every single surface imaginable. She wondered how Fleur even managed that. "You were right, also."
"Sorry?" He asked, bringing his hand up to his one ear. "I didn't quite catch that."
"Don't make me say it again," Cosette averted her gaze as she laughed quietly.
"No, I would really like for you to say it again," his lips formed a mischievous grin.
She sighed, still keeping her head down. "You were right, George. Being around everyone...it's nice. I think it's what I needed."
"Does that mean you'll visit more often?" George pulled out his wand as well, casting a separate charm on the dishes that were now drying to get them to fly back into their spots in the cupboards.
"You don't even live here," She rolled her eyes.
"Well you can visit me at the shop," he pointed out. "I also have the flat right above it too. It's small but it's home. You're always welcome there."
Cosette was familiar with the flat. She helped him and Fred move in the summer after her graduation, although there was still a good portion of their belongings that stayed at the burrow, hence why everyone was gathered today to finally empty the old bedroom.
She was there a lot of the time too after graduation, having stayed to finish her education while Fred and George took an early leave. Cosette didn't have a job for a while after finishing at Hogwarts and ended up helping out at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes from time to time. However it was George who essentially 'fired' her after a few months because Fred never seemed to get any work done when she was around.
---
"You're firing me?" Cosette couldn't help but laugh as she stood on the opposite side of George's desk in the office of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. He had his hands folded together on the surface and was struggling to meet Cosette's eyes. "Can you even do that? Was I ever an actual employee here in the first place?"
"Well, technically no," George explained, running a hand through his hair. "It's just, Fred can't concentrate when you're here."
"That's something you need to talk to him about then," Cosette crossed her arms before sticking her head back into the shop and yelling for her boyfriend. He showed up within seconds and greeted her with a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You called?" He asked her.
"George has something he would like to say to you," pressing her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Clearly dragging out this conversation was not George's original plan but it was fun to see him grow more and more annoyed with each passing second. Cosette really got a kick out of pushing his buttons at times.
"What?" George furrowed his eyebrows together. "No. No, Setty. Clearly I can't fire Fred, he owns half the shop."
"I'm fired?" Fred asked, not quite getting a grasp on what was happening. "Wait, you can't fire me."
"I'm not firing you!" George finally stood up. Both Cosette and Fred were holding back smiles but George wasn't. "Fred you barely get any work done when Cosette's around. She's fired."
"Are you really just going to stand there and let him fire me?" Cosette turned to Fred. If she was being honest, she didn't care too much for the job. It was really only something to do during the week and it gave her the opportunity to spend more time with the love of her life, but it was very entertaining watching George get so worked up.
Fred glanced back and forth between his brother and his girlfriend, not sure who's side to take. Instead of answering he tilted his head back towards the shop, acting as though someone was calling for help. "What's that? Oh yes, I'll be right-"
And then Fred was gone.
"He's really not that good with confrontation," Cosette said quietly, earning an eye roll from George. "I'll tell you what, Georgie. I'll make this easy on you and just quit."
He didn't even know how to respond. This entire conversation had taken so many quick turns and he didn't know how to keep up with anything Cosette was saying. He chuckled to himself before rubbing his hand over his face.
"You know you're still welcome here whenever, obviously."
"Oh, really?" Cosette said sarcastically, tilting her head, "That's good because I thought 'fired' also meant banned."
"Get out," he shook his head. He was still a little annoyed with her, but it was mostly directed at her joking behaviour.
"I can still use you for a reference though, right?"
"Go!" He pointed towards the door, but Cosette could see the corner of his lips turn upwards. He was trying his hardest not to laugh.
Cosette grinned at him before pressing her lips against her fingers and blowing a kiss in his direction as she backed out of the office, "Love ya' Georgie."
"Yeah, yeah, love you too," he muttered under his breath, feeling forced to say it back.
Ever since she started dating Fred, there was a lot of back and forth between her and George. Every so often, a line would be crossed as they got on each other's nerves but overall, Cosette was thankful for the relationship she had with him. With all of Fred's siblings, actually.
They always made her feel like part of the family.
---
"Do you live there alone?" Cosette pulled herself away from the memory of the shop, darting her eyes up for a split second. She really was just dying to know if Lottie had moved in with him, but there was a good chance she hadn't, seeing as she had yet to meet his family before today. George was never one to make rash decisions like that, that was more of Fred's thing.
"Ron's has a room there," he told her. "Hermione has her own place though so most night's he's with her. I don't know why he hasn't just moved in with her yet."
"Well they've only been together for-" She cut herself off, trying to think of when the two of them actually started dating. "Three years, right? There's no rush for either of them. I was with Fred for six and we never moved in."
"First of all, we were at Hogwarts for most of those years," George laughed softly to himself, attempting to help tidy things up in the kitchen as well but every time Cosette tried to put something in its place, George only ended up in her way.
"So?" She questioned, pushing on his chest lightly so he'd get the hint and back up. Cosette reached forward to open the cupboard and put more items away. "We could have looked for a place right after I graduated but I knew that he wanted to be with you and close to the shop and I wasn't in any hurry to move out."
"Would you have?"
"Pardon?" Cosette pulled her attention away from the dishes and tilted her head towards him.
"Would you have moved in with him?" George repeated, "With Fred? If he asked you to?"
The idea of living with Fred always seemed so far away, even after she had left Hogwarts. They didn't speak about it too much and Cosette knew he was happy living in the flat with George. She stopped by often enough and even took up two drawers in his dresser and she was always content with that.
Of course, she would have loved to find a place with him someday but maybe it was a good thing that it never happened. Cosette wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle living in a house alone after buying it with Fred. It would haunt her.
"Yeah," she nodded after taking a second to think about it. "Yeah, I loved him. I would have done anything with him if he asked."
Cosette's eyes started to feel heavy and she turned away from George, not quite ready to cry in front of him for the second time today. She closed the cupboard doors and released a quiet breath. She wanted to gain some control over her emotions before heading back into the living room.
"Cosette..." George's voice was gentle, knowing that he had accidentally struck a nerve.
"No, it's fine," she shook her head, forcing out a quick laugh. "Really it's- it's fine. Talking about him is good for me. It's part of the process, right?" She headed towards the table in the middle of the room, trying to find something else to clean but the charms had already done a pretty good job and her hands were starting to shake.
"I didn't mean-"
"George it's okay," Cosette assured him, trying to make her voice sound as light as possible. But even though her back was towards him, George could still gather that she wasn't being sincere.
"Then why won't you look at me?" He asked out of concern and took a few steps towards her. Cosette could feel his presence right behind her but she didn't turn around.
"I just need a second," she told him quietly. Cosette was thankful that everyone else was in the living room so that she could take a moment to get back into the right headspace without them worrying about her. She took another breath before speaking slowly, "I need you to understand that it's not easy to think about the life I could have had with him, okay? Thinking about it is hard enough but imagine what it's like when someone who looks identical to him is the one bringing it up in conversation."
George didn't say anything. If it weren't for his faint breath hitting the back of her neck, Cosette would have assumed he walked out. A minute passed before she was certain she wasn't going to cry when she turned around.
So she pivoted on her heels and became face to face with George.
Cosette never had any issues telling them apart. From the first day she met them, she was able to point out differences that other students weren't able to notice. Including the freckle on the side of George's neck and the fact that Fred had a slight bump on the bridge of his nose.
But she had to admit they were scary similar. They were identical fucking twins, of course they were similar. The year when they both had a growth spurt over the summer, Cosette couldn't tell who was who from the back, if she was only looking waist up, that was.
So even though she knew that there was no possible way for Fred to be standing in front of her in the burrow three years after his death, it didn't make it any easier to look at George right now because when she met his eyes, all Cosette could see was Fred.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
George had many of the same mannerisms as Fred, including the way he licked his lips slightly before speaking or when he was really deep in thought and Cosette knew that George was thinking about something important because of the way his eyes desperately scanned over her face.
God, he looked so much like Fred it was haunting.
And Cosette couldn't ignore how fast her heart was beating and she tried not to think about how that always seemed to happen when she was anticipating for Fred to kiss her but this wasn't Fred.
She was staring into George's eyes, glancing down at George's lips and taking in the details of George's face. Cosette wanted to scream at herself for even momentarily thinking otherwise.
This was not Fred standing in front of her.
"George, I-" Cosette cleared her throat and tried to take a step back but the table prevented her from doing so. George noticed her uneasiness and nodded once before backing up as well.
Neither of them knew what to say. Cosette swallowed a dry lump in her throat before finally pulling her eyes away from. Her heart was still racing but if she was lucky, George had no idea of the thoughts that were running through her mind.
However, he really was a lot smarter than she often gave him credit for.
"Fleur told me that cranberry crumble should be cool enough by now," Ron's energetic voice pulled them both to direct their attention to him as he entered the kitchen, but he instantly noticed that something seemed off. He narrowed his eyes at George first, "You two alright?"
"Yeah, we're all good," Cosette answered for them. She tightened the elastic that held her hair together and nodded her head towards the pan on the counter. "Feel free to bring those out to everyone. But make sure people know that this was all Fleur. She deserves the credit."
Ron nodded, still giving his brother a questionable look before loading up a plate of the dessert and walking back into the living room. Only when he was certain no one was going to enter the kitchen again did George look back at Cosette.
He tilted his head, trying to get a read on her features but Cosette was doing her damn best to keep from acting any differently.
"Were you-" George paused, sucking in a breath. "For a moment there it seemed like-"
Cosette knew exactly what George was hinting at but she wasn't about to admit to anything first, so she played dumb.
"Seemed like what?"
And for a split second, it seemed as though George was going to drop it altogether. He licked his lips again and glanced over his shoulder, still on edge that someone else would walk through the doorway.
"You were looking at me the same way you used to look at Fred," George breathed out and Cosette could hear the painful tole that saying those words had taken on him.
"I wasn't..." Cosette looked at the floor, not willing to meet his eyes again. Instead, she inhaled sharply and nodded to herself, "I know that you're not him, George."
"But it's been three years and I look a lot like him." He finished the rest of the sentence for her, ending it with a short laugh, "I get it."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Setty you've really got to stop apologizing," George laughed again as her cheeks started to turn red.
"Shall we join the others?" She then suggested, wanting nothing more than to get away from this topic. She didn't even wait for him to respond before walking out to the room where everyone else was chatting away. George followed close behind her. Cosette was already thinking of new topics of conversation so she could quickly move on from this strange moment in the kitchen, but as soon as she stepped into the living room, her steps came to a halt at the sight of who just arrived.
It wasn't just Cosette who was speechless, everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for her to say something.
"Hey, Cosette," his familiar anxious voice made her heart drop to her stomach.
If there was anyone in the world she wished she had never seen again after the Battle of Hogwarts, it was Harry fucking Potter.