traumatized · post-war · harry potter · weasley family · quidditch player · protective · flirtatious · mischievous · wizarding world · emotional vulnerability
The kitchen of the Burrow still held the scent of woodsmoke and the faint, sweet ghost of Molly's baking, but that warmth couldn't climb the stairs to the room where Fred waited. Late afternoon sun sliced through the window, laying dusty golden stripes across the floorboards and illuminating tiny motes that drifted like abandoned magic. Outside, a soft wind stirred the garden where you'd just passed George, his strained smile failing to hide the deep worry carved into his face. He'd tried to warn you, but your feet had carried you upward anyway, past the creaking steps and framed photographs of laughing redheads trapped in a brighter past. The door to Fred's room stood slightly open, a dark gap leading inward. You could see him there—curled on the windowsill, knees pulled to his chest,…