The pub was loud and crowded but it was a friday night so Cosette shouldn't have expected anything else. It took a few minutes until she was able to spot her brother towards the back of the place in the middle of a conversation with a guy she didn't recognize.
Nick did a double take as she stepped up to the table, certainly surprised to see Cosette here after all, but he was still happy to see her, "Hey Sets, grab a seat."
Cosette grabbed a chair from an unoccupied table and slid it over to join them. The man sitting beside Nick held out his hand to introduce himself, "Elliot McCoy," He had a very thick Scottish accent. "And who might you be?"
"Cosette," she smiled, "Nick's sister."
"Ah, so you know what it's like to be stuck with him?" Elliot took a sip of his pint, earning the glare from Nick. "I'm a Beater on the Falcons. Quidditch with him is hard enough but I can't imagine ever growing up with the lad. You, little lady, have my deepest condolences."
Cosette laughed, not having expected to have such a casual welcome. Elliot spoke like they were old friends catching up over a few drinks, but maybe that was just his personality.
He definitely looked like a Beater. Very broad build, large arms. The pint glass in hands looked quite small compared to the rest of his body. Cosette wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch but she knew that Beaters had to be strong. Fred and George had very strenuous workout plans that they followed while at Hogwarts in order to stay in shape and build muscle.
"Can I get you a drink?" Elliot offered, already standing up to head over to the bar. Cosette nodded and told him that a beer was fine and she waited until he had stepped away from the table to look at Nick.
"So," she sucked in a breath, taking a glance around the pub. "Where's Ben?"
"Funny you should ask," Nick raised his eyebrows as a very childish smirk spread across his cheeks. It was clear to Cosette that this was not his first drink of the night. "He left shortly after I arrived, sort of bummed him out that you weren't with me. I think he really wanted to see you."
She nodded, not wanting to be too disappointed, but that was really the whole reason why she came here. She needed a distraction from George but was also craving some sort of attention. Ben had already shown interest in her and from the sounds of it, he was still interested even after the rejection.
It made sense in Cosette's mind. If George was only with Lottie because she proved to him that she cared, why should Cosette settle for any less as well? She wasn't going to waste her time fighting for George to start giving a shit when there was already somebody who did care.
But he wasn't at the pub.
What was she going to do anyway? Would she have let Benjamin buy her a drink? Would she have gone home with him? Cosette wasn't thinking straight when she left the burrow, she was just desperate to be in the company of someone who actually wanted her.
"Are you ready to let me set you up on a date with him?" Nick asked, finishing off his drink and wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist.
"I think so, yeah," Cosette nodded again. "The sooner the better."
"Someone's eager," Nick teased, sitting up slightly. "Why the sudden change of heart, Sets?"
Cosette opened her mouth to offer a bit of an explanation but then promptly shut it. What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't come right out and say that she slept with George or that he cheated on Lottie or that she called him Fred. The whole situation was messy and confusing and it wasn't something that Cosette wanted to talk to her brother about.
Cosette could barely grasp onto everything that happened and Nick was already a few drinks in so there was no way he was going to understand anything either.
But even though he was drinking, he recognized the painful look on Cosette's face and cleared his throat as the conversation took a more serious shift, "Do you want to talk about it?"
She really did.
Everything had been weighing heavily on her shoulders since the morning she woke up in George's bed.
But she needed someone who wasn't going to judge her. Nick knew Fred, barely, but still. If Cosette told Nick that she slept with his twin brother, she was going to be met with some sort of criticism and it wasn't going to be helpful at all.
Cosette hadn't often found herself in this sort of dilemma. For the most part, she stayed away from drama and thought it was unnecessary. There were a handful of times at Hogwarts when she was annoyed with Fred or George if they pulled a stupid prank or needed space from them and she would turn to her friends. Angelina and Alice always offered words of encouragement and were an easy way to forget about the twins, even just for a day.
But she wasn't at Hogwarts anymore and her best friends didn't sleep in the beds across from her. She couldn't wake them up and sneak down to the kitchen to get a midnight snack and gossip late into the night.
She could always write to them.
Angelina, maybe not. She dated George on and off for a while and probably wouldn't like to hear about how Cosette slept with him. It didn't matter if they were on good terms, she didn't want to risk being judged by her.
Alice was always very positive, very loud too. Not just her voice but her personality. She was warm and welcoming to anyone she met and never went out of her way to make someone feel bad about themselves. She tried to look on the bright side of things whenever possible and Cosette needed someone like that in her life right now.
After graduation, Alice took a job at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Transportation so it wasn't shocking that her job involved a lot of travel. Her and Cosette kept in touch for a while, but it became hard. They never had a bad falling out, they both mutually just stopped talking.
Maybe it was time to reach out again. She could use a friend like Alice.
There was one other person in her life that Cosette turned to from time to time, but ironically enough, it was the one person she was going to try to avoid.
George was always there for her whenever she got into a fight with Fred. It was rare that the two of them really went at it on each other but once in a blue moon, it would happen and when it did, Cosette turned to George for advice.
George knew exactly how to calm her down and talk her out of doing something stupid. Cosette relied on George to be the voice of reason in her relationship when things went south.
---
Cosette apparated into Fred's flat, eager to see him after being away at a training camp in Edinburgh for the last ten days. It was excruciating and tiring and Cosette was worn out from it all and all she wanted was to see Fred.
She was a little worried because he was supposed to meet her at Kings Cross so the two of them could get a late dinner and he never showed up.
However, she didn't want to panic. Cosette had planned her train ride so she would arrive back in London after the shop closed but there was a chance that it got busy and the closing tasks took longer than usual. Cosette didn't want to jump to any conclusions so she grabbed her bag and went directly to the flat after waiting around for twenty minutes.
But the second she arrived, she noticed that things were slightly out of place. Dishes had piled up in the sink which was strange because both of the twins liked to keep their place tidy. There was an open pizza box on the table with a few slices left in it and Cosette didn't want to know how long it had been sitting out.
Not only that, but there were dozens of beer bottles scattered around the place. Some by the couch, some on the table but all of them were empty. Cosette knew that neither Fred or George were heavy drinkers so this was just one more thing that wasn't adding up.
Walking further into the flat, she found a trail of clothes in the hallway and a pile in the bathroom. Cosette regretted looking in the bathroom. She had been gone for a week and a half. How did this place get turned completely upside down?
"Freddie?" Cosette knocked on his bedroom door but when she got no response, she pushed it open. The floor was littered with god knows what, but Cosette couldn't see the floor at all. She flipped on the lightswitch and that's when she noticed Fred tangled up in the sheets. He groaned loudly when the lights woke him, but he didn't get up.
Cosette picked up a rubber ball that was left on his desk and tossed it at him to get his attention and that's when she heard him sigh and mutter something under his breath.
"Fred wake up," Cosette crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, trying not to dwell on the empty case of beer that was next to his bed frame. "You were supposed to meet me at Kings Cross- have you been sleeping all day?"
He finally sat up and rubbed a hand over his face as he blinked a few times to fully bring himself into reality, "What?"
"What?" Cosette scoffed. "That's all I get? Really? I've been gone for ten days and the first thing you say is 'what'? You forget to meet me for dinner and I don't even get a hello or a fucking apology, just...'what'?"
"Hi," he huffed out, sliding out of bed. He only had on a pair of briefs and a t-shirt that had what looked to be grease stains covering the front of it, "How are you? How was your training camp?"
"I'm extremely tired," she responded flatly, taking another look around. "What the fuck happened here when I was gone? Why does it look like a tornado came through your entire flat?"
He shrugged his shoulders, giving Cosette nothing to work with, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Stop repeating everything I'm saying, Cosette," Fred rubbed his eyes again and the dark circles forming underneath them caught Cosette's attention. For someone who had spent the entire day in bed it seemed as though he had barely slept since she left. As he took a step forward, they both heard the crunching under his foot of him stepping on an open bag of chips. "Can we talk later, please?"
This was completely unlike him. She knew that he and George had only been moved out for a few months, but they weren't messy people. Cosette tidied up here and there and she always made sure to clean up after herself but she didn't think that her absence was a good enough reason to let the place be turned upside.
"No," she stated firmly. "What happened? Why is this place such a mess?"
Again, Fred shrugged his shoulders and Cosette stared at him in disbelief.
"Is that what's going to happen from now on?" Cosette asked, trying to get more of a response out of him. She wanted to have a conversation but this was all completely one sided. "Do you just expect me to clean up after you and if I'm not here then you're just going to let it go to shit?"
"I mean," Fred scratched the back of his neck. "It would be nice if you helped out a bit."
"This is not my fucking mess. I am not your mother. If you wanted someone to clean up after you, you shouldn't have moved out of the burrow."
"Well what else do you fucking do?" He started to raise his voice back at her and both of them felt the sudden tension start to rise in the room. Cosette didn't expect to come back to a frat house and Fred didn't expect to be yelled at right after waking up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She scoffed, pressing her tongue against the inside of her cheek to keep herself from yelling at him.
"It means," Fred started off bitterly, "You don't have a fucking job. You're at the shop maybe once a week and when you're there you don't do anything. Otherwise you spend your time hanging around my flat, eating my food and offering no financial support in this relationship. I'm not a bank, Setty and I'm tired of you sitting on your ass all day."
"Wow," She huffed out, pressing her lips together firmly as she scanned Fred up and down. This was not the same man that she left ten days ago. Cosette didn't know what happened during her trip but this sudden attitude towards her was not what she wanted to come home to, "Tell me how you really feel, Fred."
But he kept his mouth shut. Cosette raised her eyebrows, expecting him to say more but after he shrugged again, Cosette rolled her eyes and reached into her purse. She opened up her wallet and pulled out a handful of sickles and galleons, throwing them directly at his feet.
"Is that what you fucking want?" She asked rhetorically, "I didn't realize we had to pay to date each other." Cosette gave him one last challenging look before storming away from the bedroom. She wasn't going to put up with this.
Fred instantly went after her and grabbed her wrist before she could reach for the door, "Setty-"
"Do not touch me," She ripped her arm away. The last thing she wanted was for his hand to be on her. "You know exactly why I don't have a job. I'm in the middle of trying to get my credentials to become a fucking defense instructor, it's not something that just happens over night, okay? Sorry that I didn't fall into a pile of money and decide to drop out of school."
"I didn't just drop out of school," Fred instantly became defensive. "Why do you always have to say it like that? George and I opened up our own business and you treat it as though I threw away my future."
"You did!" She snapped at him, but Cosette wasn't sure if she even meant it. She was just angry at him and this conversation turned into an argument so fast and she had to stand her ground against him. "Congratulations, you work at a fucking joke shop. A ten year old could probably do what you do. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get a real job but that takes time, Fred, and you knew that. You were fine with me taking the time I needed to figure out what I wanted to so why the sudden change of heart? What's the fucking problem?"
"A real job?" He repeated loudly. The vein on the side of his neck was starting to grow and Cosette knew that only happened when Fred was truly angry.
She might have crossed a line, taking a jab at the business, but he had no right to attack the path that she chose to take either.
"I didn't realize you hated the shop so fucking much," he let out a disgruntled laugh in response. "Sorry that I gave you a few shifts a week there to give you something to do but please, by all means, leave. Go find something better for the time being."
"I'm fucking trying," She screamed at him. The rage was coursing through her veins and there was nothing Cosette could do to control anything that was coming out of her mouth. "I am literally trying to find something better but you're over here making me feel like shit about it now. Genuinely, what do you want from me? Do you want me to work more at the shop or do you want me to try and get an actual career? Make up your fucking mind and stop dragging me down."
"Oh I'm dragging you down? Okay," Fred repeated back sarcastically. "Sorry that I'm dead fucking weight for you and not the supportive never-ending bank of a boyfriend you thought you could piggyback off of. I'll make this easy for you, yeah? Just leave, Cosette. Just fucking go. Go do whatever the fuck you want with your life and I'll make sure to stay the hell out of it."
Cosette's jaw dropped.
Was Fred really breaking up with her?
After everything they had been through together, he was done. She wondered how long he had been waiting to do this seeing as there was absolutely no build up. This fight pushed him over the edge and he was using it as a chance to end their relationship.
She was more in shock than she was mad at this point. Cosette thought that Fred was it for her, she never wanted anyone else nor did she want to go through life without him. She was trembling with anger and trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
One fight and he was ready to give up on them.
"That's it? You're done? Just like that?" she asked hopelessly, but her voice still cracked. Fred didn't say anything. He only clenched his jaw as he also tried to gain some control over his breaths.
Cosette took a step closer, trying to find any hint of regret or doubt on his face but there was nothing there. There was nothing keeping them together at this point. It was over.
"Fuck you, Fred Weasley," Cosette spat out, feeling her eyes gloss over, "Don't even think about crawling back when you realize what you've thrown away. You want to be done? Fine, we're done."
Cosette wasn't about to let him get the last word in. She turned on her heels and headed towards the entrance of the flat that led down to the shop, slamming the door behind her with a force big enough to make the entire staircase shake.
She got halfway down the stairs before feeling her knees go weak. Cosette dropped down to sit on the steps and as hard as she tried, she couldn't keep anything in anymore. She struggled to catch her breath as she began to sob into her hands.
Part of her thought that the door would open up behind her and Fred would be standing there, ready to go after her, but after a few seconds she realized that that wasn't going to happen.
He was done.
They were done.
Her stomach hurt just from playing back that fight in her head but it was nothing compared to the weight collapsing over her. It felt like someone had plunged a dagger into her chest and was slowly twisting it into her heart.
And Cosette didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to do. She just wanted to be alone and cry until her body ran out of tears.
But she wasn't alone in the joke shop.
George was in the stock room, putting away a few boxes when he had heard the slam of the door above him. He didn't think anything of it at first, but then the sound of footsteps came to an abrupt halt which was strange.
With a box in hand, George stepped out of the stock room and made his way down the aisle, not sure what he was expecting to see but the second he spotted Cosette crying into her hands, he dropped the box and ran to be with her.
Without saying a word, he sat down on the step below her and gently reached out for her arm, coaxing her to pull her hands away from her face.
"Setty," he breathed out, feeling a crushing pain in his chest seeing her so hurt. He had no idea what happened upstairs but the sight of her looking so broken was destroying him. "What's wrong, love?"
"Fred," she choked out, trying to suck in a breath as she glanced back up at the door. She met George's eyes again and instantly the tears came back, "He- he broke up with me."
George couldn't believe it.
Fred was in love with Cosette. He wouldn't have broken up with her.
He knew he had to say something but he was probably just as lost as Cosette was. He stood up slowly, taking her hand in his, "Let's get you off the stairs, okay?"
Cosette nodded and glanced back up at the stairs one more time before reaching for her wand, "I need to get out of here."
"Absolutely not," George stated firmly and his hand tightened around hers. "Setty you're falling apart, I'm not letting you go anywhere by yourself in this state."
She tried to wipe away her tears but it was no use, "George, I can't be here."
"Wait-"
But she had already apparated herself out of the joke shop and since George's hand was on her, he was forced out as well.
When they arrived at the base of a hill surrounded by trees and flower patches, George released the grip he had on her and turned in circles a few times, trying to make sense of the new surroundings.
Cosette made her way up to the top of the hill and when George realized he had no idea where they were, he looked up and followed her. It wasn't until the two of them sat down did George spot the burrow off in the distance.
"Setty, where are we?"
And through broken sobs, she responded weakly, "This was where he told me he loved me for the first time."
George kept quiet for the first little bit. He didn't know what to say to that, but it made sense that after something so heartbreaking, Cosette would want to return to a place that brought her nothing but good memories.
She leaned her head down to rest against his arm and George instantly brought his hand up, switching between rubbing her arm and stroking the hair on the back of her head because he didn't know what else to do. He had seen Cosette cry a number of times but nothing like this and he felt completely useless. George didn't know what would help her in this situation but he still wanted to be there for her.
"What happened?" He finally asked after some time had passed.
"I have no idea," Her voice was unsteady and quiet. "I asked him why the flat was so messy and it just spiraled out of control. Everything came out, all of these problems that I didn't even know existed. I didn't realize I was such a fucking burden to him."
George's eyebrows furrowed together. That didn't sound like Fred. He talked about Cosette like she was a Goddess who walked among men. He called her his world, his everything, but not once did he say she was a burden.
Cosette's lips trembled as she looked out towards the burrow before frantically looking for her wand in her pockets.
"I'm so-" Cosette cut herself off as she finally pulled it out, "I'm so fucking mad at him. He just ripped my heart out like it was nothing, like the last five years meant nothing. I want to go back there and scream at him for being such a-"
But George stopped her before she could do anything. He grabbed the wand out of her fingers and tossed it behind them, letting it roll down the hill. Cosette looked at him like he was insane and for a second, George regretted his actions.
"You can't go back there," he blurted out.
"There is so much more I should say to him," Cosette argued back.
George didn't know what had come over Fred to do something as incredibly stupid as break up with her, but he knew that if he didn't stop Cosette from going back to the joke stop and yelling at him, she would cause irreversible damage in her relationship with Fred.
And he cared about her too much to let her make that big of a mistake.
"Setty, if you go back there you're going to say something you regret and you might not be able to take it back," George warned her. "You two need space right now before this gets worse. I don't know what happened, but I know that Fred needs to cool off. When he does, I assure you that he'll instantly regret letting you walk out that door. If you go back there now and add fuel to this fire, it'll only get bigger and you won't be able to put it out."
After a few seconds of processing George's advice, Cosette still tried to stand up to go after her wand but George grabbed her wrist and looked up at her desperately.
"You know I'm right."
As much as it killed Cosette to not apparate back to the flat and tell Fred exactly what was on her mind, she knew that George had a point. So she sat back down and shrugged her shoulders, feeling absolutely helpless in this situation, "What happened when I was gone, George? Everything was fine ten days ago and I'm back for five minutes and he breaks up with me."
George didn't have an answer for her in regards to Fred. He didn't know what was going through his mind or what would lead him to be so fucking stupid and let Cosette go, but he did know what had gone on during her absence.
"We calculated this month's numbers a few days before you left," George breathed out, feeling embarrassed to even say it out loud. He averted his gaze away from her and turned towards the field in front of them instead.
Cosette wasn't sure where he was going with this, she didn't even know what he meant by 'this month's numbers', "Okay, and?"
George licked his lips before answering, "It's just not looking good."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I don't really want to get into it," George was hesitant even saying this much. This was his and Fred's problem, he didn't want to drag Cosette into it and it seemed like Fred didn't want to either, "But if we don't figure something out, there's a chance we could lose the shop"
Her jaw dropped slightly. She was wanting an explanation for Fred's outburst but she didn't realize it was something as big as the shop. The joke shop was their everything, it was their dream. Cosette didn't realize that this was at stake.
And she was shitting on it less than five minutes ago.
Cosette didn't realize how much her words about their business must have affected him.
"Why didn't he tell me?" Cosette wiped her fingers against her cheeks but George saw how red and puffy her eyes were and he knew that she wasn't done crying yet. "Why didn't either of you tell me?"
"Because it's not right for me to drag you into our issues," George sighed. "That's why I didn't say anything. Fred, though? I honestly thought he was going to tell you. I thought he said something to you before you went on your trip."
"So what happened when I left?" Cosette thought about the beer bottles and the disaster that had been left in the flat and she instantly thought that it was due to his laziness or that Fred was expecting her to clean it up. She never thought about how possible it was that Fred was slowly falling into a depressive state.
All she did was yell at him and make things worse.
"Fred doesn't usually let things get to him but this time, it took an instant toll," George rubbed his hand over his lips as he recalled the events of last week. "He really let go of himself, Setty. I thought maybe it was because you were gone but then he just stopped coming down to the shop. All he did was drink and sleep the days away."
George glanced over at Cosette and could see the guilt start to take over, but it was never his intention to make her feel bad. Even if she had known about what they were at risk of losing, it wasn't like she could have done anything anyway.
"This has just been a really bad month for us but I think maybe it's affecting him more than I originally realized. I tried to help him but I needed to be in the store to pick up for his slack," George rubbed the back of his neck and out of the corner of his eye he saw Cosette start to cry again. "I thought you coming back would have helped him, honestly. He never once made a comment about ending things with you once you returned, I don't know where that came from."
But Cosette did.
She made fun of his business, the business he was about to lose. And gave him hell about dropping out of Hogwarts for it. Cosette was being selfish and didn't think for a second that there was an underlying issue.
"He did mention something about money when we were fighting," Cosette sighed, thinking back to her argument with him. She said things that she really shouldn't have said but it was in the moment and she was mad. "He was upset that I didn't have a job and said that he wasn't a bank and I just- I threw coins at him, no wonder he fucking broke up with me." Cosette pulled her hands over her face, tugging at her hair, "Oh my god, I'm the worst. He's having financial problems and I completely shit on the shop. I didn't even try to listen or help, I just got so angry so fast."
"He shouldn't have taken it out on you," George was quick to point out Fred's mistake before she could blame everything on herself. "Your relationship is none of my business but he really should have spoken to you first instead of lashing out."
"He didn't just lash out, George," Cosette swallowed a lump in her throat as she dropped her head back down to his shoulder. "He broke up with me."
"Well what else did you say to him?" He asked her, wanting to get more of a feel on what happened during their fight. He could understand Fred getting angry about Cosette misunderstanding his situation, but it still didn't make sense as to why he would end things so abruptly.
Cosette took in a heavy breath and a look of guilt flashed over her face as she dropped her gaze down to her lap. She fiddled with her fingers and it reminded George of a child being scolded, "I yelled at him for dropping out of school and told him a ten year old could do his job."
"Ouch."
"I didn't mean it," Cosette assured him, knowing that those words would hurt George as much as they hurt Fred. "He was giving me shit about my career path and I needed to say something and then he told me to leave and apologized for being dead weight, but the way he spoke to me, George-" She let out another shaky breath, "It was like he was trying to hurt me."
"Maybe that's it," George shrugged his shoulders, trying to piece together the mess that just happened. "I know that he always wanted to be the person to take care of you but with the money struggles, he might have panicked and saw a future where he couldn't support you."
"So he thought the best thing to do would be to break up with me as opposed to working it out together?" She asked for clarification and George nodded.
"What if Fred saw this as the only possible way to let you go?" George was trying to think of any sort of reason that would explain why Fred would end things with Cosette and that was the only thing that came to mind that made sense. "In the moment, he probably thought he was doing what was best for you. He didn't want to drag you down with his financial problems so he ended it before it would come to that."
"But that's not what people in relationships are supposed to do," Cosette argued back. "We're supposed to be there for each other's downfalls and I want to be there for him and support him but he didn't even give me the chance."
"He's a dumbass," George said with a bit of a chuckle after a few seconds. "But he's also never been in this position before. Neither of you have. I can't blame him for acting irrationally."
Cosette nodded and sucked in a breath. Her cheeks were stained with tears as she looked around where they sat on top of the hill before her eyes finally landed on George, "Do you think he'd take me back?"
George couldn't help but smile in disbelief at her question, "Setty, Fred looks at you like you put the stars in the sky. He cherishes you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him and he knows it. Fred loves you more than anything, he always has and I know that he always will. He wouldn't let someone as amazing as you slip through his fingers."
As painful as it was for George to talk about how much Fred loved her, he knew that it was what she needed to hear. But it wasn't hard to find the words. George spoke from the heart and said exactly how he felt when he looked at her.
The hard part was putting Fred's name in the sentence.
"He'd also be an idiot not to take you back," George added on once he saw the corner of her lips turn upwards slightly.
Cosette sniffed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand as she chuckled softly, "He's already an idiot."
Once George saw that Cosette's spirits were starting to lift, he was determined to keep the smile on her face. Seeing her so heartbroken was devastating and knowing that his brother was the reason behind it was even more painful. All George wanted to do was ring Fred's neck for making her feel like this.
"And even if he doesn't take you back," he nudged his knee against hers gently, "I've been told we look a lot alike so..."
Cosette's smile grew as she rolled her eyes and pushed on his shoulder, "Oh, what? I'm supposed to believe that you would date me after all this?"
George didn't know what the right thing to say was. He knew what he wanted to say, but the answer sat on the tip of his tongue and burned his mouth the longer he contemplated saying it out loud.
He glanced away momentarily to regain his thoughts before meeting her eyes again, "Setty I know that any guy would be lucky to have you and the fact that Fred had you and then let you walk out the door is insane to me."
He found a way to tiptoe around Cosette's question, not necessarily saying he would date her but not saying that he wouldn't either.
George licked his lips, "Any minute now, he's going to realize he fucked up and he's going to come looking for you."
Automatically, Cosette looked over her shoulder to where her wand laid at the base of the hill. "Should I go to him?" She asked quietly, trying to weigh her options.
"No," George scoffed as she pulled her attention back to face the field. "He's the one who should be fighting for you, not the other way around."
Cosette nodded and took a deep breath. George could tell she was really trying not to cry again and he just wanted to hold her and tell her it alright if she did.
If George really wanted to, he could have convinced Cosette to leave Fred. She was in a fragile state with dozens of emotions running through her mind and now was as good a time as any to tell her to leave him.
But there was no way he could have ever brought himself to do that.
He saw how happy Cosette was with Fred and her happiness was one of the only things that George cared about. He could live without being the reason as to why she got out of bed in the morning, but as long as she was there he was content.
"Thank you," Cosette offered up a smile, but George noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. He knew that she was still in a lot of pain. "For not letting me go back to the shop to do something I'd regret."
"Of course," George let his head dip down to rest on top of hers. "Between you and me, I think you could probably do better than Freddie, but I like having you around so I felt like I had to step in before we both lost you," he finished that sentence off with a shrug and Cosette laughed again.
She opened her mouth to say something in return but then they both heard the sound of an apparition crack coming from behind them. Cosette didn't hesitate for a moment before standing up and turning around. George stood up as well, spotting Fred at the base of the hill.
"Oh thank god," Fred breathed out once he saw Cosette. He started to make his way up towards her as words fumbled out of his mouth, "I went to your dads but you weren't there and then I went to that weird muggle coffee shop that you like in London and then I thought maybe you were at the burrow-"
Cosette met him halfway down the hill and promptly shut him up by kissing him. Freds hands instantly went to her waist to hold her close against him. He then snaked them around her body and pulled her into a tight embrace.
From where George stood at the top of the hill, he couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. But if George had to guess, Fred was apologizing profusely, which was good. He needed to own up to acting so impulsively and stupid.
There was nothing left for George to do except go back home.
He apparted himself off the hill and back to the joke shop and went right back to work. George picked up the box that he originally dropped and tried to go about business as usual, but it wasn't easy. The image of Fred and Cosette holding each other like their lives depended on it was now burned into his mind and he was met with the bittersweet reality that Fred would never let her go again.
hi friends, my beautiful co-author and best friend (dracofred on tik tok) has made fun social media accounts for this story as a way to promote it and connect and share things and if u follow them and say u came from this chapter we'll follow you back :)
insta - elusivewattpad
tiktok - elusivewattpad
and then as always u can follow us on tik tok if u want too as well infinityemm and dracofred
SIDE NOTE YOUR GUYS FUCKING COMMENTS ACTUALLY KILL ME AND I LOVE READING THEM SO MUCH, my favorite thing is reading what you guys call lottie and i've made a list of a few of my top names
Pottie
Crack Pot
Lottie McThottie
Litter Box
Lottie the Lolly Head Hog (like what where did this come from)
like how do u come up with this stuff honestly it kills me okay bye love u