Take All The Time You Need ** (FRED)

[Deleted]

@fred
187
<3

Elias was nervous. He wasn't sure why, but he was nervous. After getting a letter from a certain Fred Weasley, they had made plans to meet one another in Hogsmeade after school had started. Elias had gotten word from a few people he had met at Hogwarts on how to get to Hogsmeade and they brought him here. He wasn't too positive what Fred actually looked like, but he hoped that once he saw him he'd know it was him.

It was early, and he had grabbed a large cup of hot coffee as soon as he got there. Elias wore dark jeans, and a V-neck light blue t-shirt. He had on white shoes and his hair was down, curls and all. He leaned up against a wall of a store that he couldn't pronounce, and glanced around. Mostly people watching, he tried to figure out if any one of the men walking was Fred. He didn't want to make eye contact as he didn't want to seem creepy, but as time ticked on he became more and more nervous for the person that might show up.

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Fred hadn’t known what to wear that day. He had almost left the house wearing his work robes, but then decided against it. He had first contacted Elias Greyback for official, work-related reasons, but this meeting hadn’t been sanctioned by his father, and he wasn’t meeting the other boy as a Weasley’s Wizard Wheeze’s representative. He was just meeting him as Fred Weasley. He had finally settled on some plain black robes that looked similar to the Hogwarts uniforms, though the silver trim differentiated him from the students. Fred’s confusion hadn’t stopped at wardrobe choices, though. He hadn’t realized until it was too late that he didn’t have a clue what Elias looked like. He had just written owls, and never thought to ask for a picture, because that was just a strange request.

When he had gotten to Hogsmeade, therefore, Fred hadn’t known who or what to look for. Eventually he had decided to look for anyone who looked like they didn’t know what was going on. Males waiting alone were actually not that common in Hogsmeade, and while he had accidentally asked the wrong person if he was Elias – turned out to be some Beauxbatons boy – Fred was fairly certain that he had found the boy leaning up against the side of one of the stores. “Are you Elias Greyback?” He asked plainly. Best not to beat around the bush.

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
131
<3

His eyes were going left and right, looking at all of the possible men there were. He hadn't asked him what he looked like, or where to meet; they had just planned for him to go to Hogsmeade and to meet one another there. It probably wasn't the best plan. And then, as if on cue, he saw someone walking towards him, staring at him.

And gosh, the eyes that were looking at him were mesmerizing. His breathing became faster, and then the man stopped in front of him, and asked if he was Elias Greyback. Well, howdy doo he found him. Elias coughed, stood up straight and nodded his head. "Ah, yes, yes I am Elias. I take it you must be Fred?" His thick accent showed, and he smiled warmly.

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Fred was proud to say that when it came to searching for people in a crowd, second time was the charm. Elias coughed before introducing himself to Fred, but the Gryffindor didn’t say anything about that, just raised his eyebrows. “I’d say I’m the one and only, but that’s a lie.” Fred said jovially, hoping to gloss over the fact that he’d been named for someone deceased. “It’s so nice to meet you after exchanging so many letters.” Fred continued, still looking Elias up and down. He hoped they weren't supposed to shake hands. “You’re a lot taller than I imagined you to be.” Fred laughed. He was no shorty himself but Elias stood a healthy inch, maybe more, taller than him. He hesitated for a moment, and wondered if it would be appropriate to mention that his cousin Harper was dating one of Elias’s siblings. That would probably be weird for an introduction, Fred decided, so he just continued his easygoing smile as he looked at the other boy.

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
151
<3

Elias gave him a confused look. "So I suppose that means there is another Fred Weasley? Sorry, I'm not so well educated with everyone here as the rest of the students are..." It probably wasn't something he needed to apologize for, but he still wanted to. Especially if it was some type of joke that he didn't understand. He noticed those beautiful eyes looking him up and down, and if Elias' skin wasn't a shade darker than most, his face would be beat red. However at the moment it was just a tinged pink. Fred mentioned his height and Elias laughed. "Yeah, that's what most people say. I got the height from, well, unfortunately, the man who made me." He smiled; it seemed as if people here didn't care about your name or your appearance or what you were, they just wanted to get to know you for you and Elias enjoyed that.

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Fred offered Elias a small smile when he reached the correct conclusion that another Fred Weasley had come before him. It was strange to have someone who didn’t know everything about his family’s participation in the war, but also kind of nice. “Yes, my father’s twin brother was named Fred. He died a long time ago, during the final battle against Lord Voldemort.” He didn’t know if the Durmstrang kids were still suspicious about the name like some of the Hogwarts students were, but Fred didn’t really care. The old codger was dead and gone and if he wanted to say the name, then he was going to say the name. “Trust me, if you saw me next to my old man, you would not be able to pick out that we were father and son.” Fred said when Elias brought up the subject of his own parentage. “Bright red hair, white as a ghost, freckles all around…Well, as you can tell, I take after my mother.” The only thing that Fred had maybe inherited from his father were his green eyes – those were still a mystery, though, so maybe that wasn’t the truth.

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
126
<3

Elias listened to Fred as he spoke. He had heard plenty of stories about Hogwarts and the battle that occurred in it, but he had only really heard of the main people in the event such as Voldemort, Harry and Harry's closest friends, which one of them was Fred's uncle. Elias nodded his head, "Ah, yes, well, at least you're named after someone special." Elias smiled, he had thought about apologizing on behalf of Fenrir for any deaths he may have caused during the battle, but that probably would've made the conversation sad and Elias didn't want to deal with that. "Well, on my part I mostly look like my mum as well, however I've got a rotten dad that I kind of look like too." He laughed.

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Fred shrugged when Elias insisted that he was named after someone special. “It’s a bit of a burden, you know. My uncle died young so I’m kind of…his replacement, I guess?” Fred shrugged again. “I’ve actually considered going by a different name – Cass, for my middle name.” The Gryffindor didn’t know whether it was an invitation for Elias to start calling him that nickname or not, but he certainly wouldn’t mind it. Elias was his fresh start, and a new name for a new start wouldn’t be a bad idea. “I’m sure your dad was rotten, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be good.” Fred said, blinking a few times. “My cousin Harper is dating your sister, and she doesn’t seem like a bad person – I mean, Harper isn’t dead or anything – so I think it’s pretty chill.” Fred shook his head, and then smiled at Elias. “Okay, you want to start our tour now, or are we going to keep moping?”

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
137
<3

Elias wouldn't consider Fred a replacement; that's a big burden to live up too, and he was sure it caused him a decent amount of stress. Elias had it backwards, he had to prove to people that he was better than Fenrir, and not as bad. So he knew some of what Fred was going through, but it of course was not the same. "Ah, yes. My sister..." Elias trailed off, staring at his coffee for a moment, and that was all he said on the subject. Whether it was the sister he met or the other two he had yet to meet, he did not know. Taking a sip of coffee, Elias held out his hand. "Well, Cass, why don't we get to our tour?" Eli smiled, hoping it wasn't a bad thing that he called him that.

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Fred picked up on Elias’s hesitance to talk about his sister, and marked that down as a subject to avoid with him. He was getting really good at that, as both a businessman and family member – sometimes family reunions were like walking through minefields of tings they all remembered, but weren’t allowed to talk about. Like the time Albus had almost blown up James. “Sorry.” Fred said with a shrug, hoping that his apology was enough to alleviate any awkwardness Elias felt.

A thrill ran through Fred’s body at Elias using his nickname. Cass. That felt good, that felt right. That was his own. “Great!” He enthused to channel the happiness at the nickname into something more productive than just smiling like a goof. “Well, this building that you saw me waiting beside is the one place in Hogsmeade I’ve never been inside. It’s Madame Puddifoot’s, a tea shop. Mostly boys just get dragged in there by their girlfriends, but I’m not much into the whole girl-dragging thing, so never been in.” Fred laughed. “Anything you’re interested in, so I don’t have to show you all the boring places?”

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
<3

"Oh, don't be sorry." Elias didn't know what else to say. He wasn't comfortable enough to talk about his siblings. He had just found out who they were, ans kt wasn't everyday that you go to a different country and find you have five siblings. It was stressful and confusing.

Elias smiled when Fred seemed extremely happy about him calling him Cass. It was nice to see someone get excited like that over something small. He glanced up at the tea shop and nodded his head. He enjoyed tea, but liked coffee more. "What do you mean you don't do the whole girl dragging thing?" Eli was slightly confused. What did that mean?

Having a large stomach to fill, he smiled at Fred. "What do you recommend for food?"

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Fred took a deep breath when Elias asked about being dragged by girls into Madame Puddifoot’s. He had promised himself he was going to be more open about his sexuality, but at the same time, he kind of wished that Elias was able to take a hint. Fred wasn’t sure if Durmstang was as open-minded when it came to non-heterosexuality, but oh well. Here went nothing. “I’m gay as the day is long, Elias.” Fred said, laughing to cover up how uncomfortable he was with the proclamation. “The last time a girl dragged me anywhere was when my mum forced me to get fitted for new robes.” There. The joke was sufficient to lighten the mood, right?

“Well, define food.” Fred said, grinning. “Because if you want real food to eat for lunch, there’s The Three Broomsticks and The Hog’s Head, though I wouldn’t advise going in the Hog’s Head without at least three armed security guards and a will to die.” The Hog’s Head was creepy, even for Fred. Maybe not for Elias, though, since he was taller and also a Durmstang student. Still, people didn’t go into the Hog’s Head often. “For tooth-rotting food, aka candy, there’s Honeydukes, which I cannot recommend enough.”

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
<3

Fred had taken a deep breath and Elias rose an eyebrow. Hmm, why did he seem frustrated? Had Elias done something wrong? And then he spoke. Elias couldn't stop the smile that came over his face. Fred had a funny way of putting it. Eli nodded his head. "Well there's nothing wrong with that." Elias himself was bisexual, however he hadn't told anyone except Maria. But now that Fred had mentioned his preference, Elias looked at him differently. Especially those gorgeous eyes.

He coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Uh-The Three Broomsticks. Okay. I'll definitely remember that." Fred then mentioned sweets and Elias chuckled. "I do like my sweets..."

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Fred gave Elias a weak smile when the other boy said there was nothing wrong with liking boys. That was a relief – maybe Durmstang wasn’t as conservative as he had originally consumed. Elias’s smile gave Fred pause, but he shrugged. There were plenty of innocent reasons to smile, and he had someone waiting. Sort of. Fred still wasn’t exactly clear what his relationship was, especially not after he had spoken to his aunt, and…well, it wasn’t like a smile expressed romantic interest. Only creepers thought that way.

“Everyone likes sweets, Elias!” Fred exclaimed jovially, moving on to the next point in his plan. “And speaking of things everyone likes: jokes. If I ever see you going in Zonko’s Joke Shop, I’m afraid I might have to excommunicate you.” He said, putting on a faux serious front. “And if you happen to tell your friends not to go in there, either, well…that would be helpful.” Fred said with a wink. There was nothing in business like a monopoly, and he intended for the Wheezes to be able to buy out Zonko’s by year’s end. Recruiting help could never be a bad thing.

@jill6

[Deleted]

@fred
<3

Fred ignored his staring, which Elias was extremely grateful for. If he hadn't ignored it, well, that would be extremely embarrassing. He was intrigued to go see what was in this sweet shop, but he had plenty of time to do so. And when Fred got serious about the other joke shop, Elias couldn't help but smirk at him, trying to hold in a laugh. "Well, if that's the case, I suppose I'll just try to go in without you noticing." He finally let the laugh out, hoping Fred knew he was joking around. Elias didn't know if he could notice or not, but when Fred winked at him he felt the blood rush to his cheeks. "I don't have many friends, but if I make any, I'll definitely let them know."