baby, there's a shark in the water [finn]

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It was another beautiful (gross) January day, which meant that Fred was safe in the warm arms of his beloved Wheezes. He liked being outside, but he liked being inside a climate-controlled store even more, especially since it was sleeting outside. The weather meant that not many people were out in the alley shopping, which was just fine with Fred. He liked it when the store was busy, but his dad had told him not to worry if profit margins took a hit during January - apparently that was a regular occurrence, and things would pick up again in February when people came looking for love potions for Valentine's Day. Fred shifted uncomfortably at the thought - Roxy had told him what Ondina had done to some poor guy with love potions, and he knew that his sister hated the idea that the Wheezes sold love potions at all...But still, a sale was a sale, and it wasn't like they were trying to be immoral. In any case, it was nice to be in the warm store...except for when Fred heard a loud noise outside. Maybe some of his products were used for immoral reasons, but he wasn't going to ignore a boom like that, even if it did mean leaving the store unattended (since he was the only one working). Fred grabbed his wand off the counter and opened the door into the sleet, searching for the source of the noise.

@finn

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Finn had to admit, he was feeling a little lost. His partner in crime, Rai, had been put on an assignment in Romania where the vampire who had turned her was last spotted.  He could understand why she had gone of course; the idea of taking down that beast was too much to give up.  But he missed her, more than he thought he would really.  They could write, of course and they were writing, but it just wasn't the same.   He'd had a briefing at the Ministry that morning with newly appointed Minister Hermione Granger, and he had kept looking over to see someone that just wasn't there.

Finn didn't need to be back at Hogwarts until the next day; he was planning on heading home to visit his parents, but first he wanted to clear his head a little.  He wandered aimlessly, not really noticing where his feet were carrying him.  Soon he was passing through the Leaky Cauldron, pulling out his wand in the back alley to tap those familiar bricks and was wandering down the alley.  His head bowed against the sleet, he knocked into a bin of rubbish and it loudly clattered to the ground.  "Bollocks," he cursed, pulling out his wand to clean it up when he heard the shop he was in front of open.  He looked up, and realized which shop he was in front of, and who was looking outside.  "Hi Fred," he said simply, after a long pause.


@fred

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Fred should have put on a cloak or something before coming outside, he realized belatedly. It really was cold outside, cold enough that he was surprised that the sleet wasn’t just full-on snow. So distracted was he by the chill in the air and his own dragon-like breath, Fred didn’t register who was standing in front of him until the other man spoke. Finn? It had been a long time since the two of them had spoken, due to various circumstances. Fred had just talked to Abby the other day, and they had had a good conversation – well, as good of a conversation as the two of them could have had – before Abby had been called away on some Auror duty or another. Apparently fate was intent on slamming him back together with his old friends, though Fred hadn’t the faintest idea why. “Hi, Finn.” He responded. Having determined part of the source of the noise, Fred then looked around for the other part, and through the greyish haze of sleet, saw an overturned rubbish bin. With a flick of his wand, Fred set it upright and placed all of the scattered refuse back into the receptacle. “Do you want to come inside?” If Finn just wanted to go on his way, that was fine, but Fred had a feeling that if he wanted to stay and talk, then they’d be more comfortable doing it inside the store.

@finn

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Finn felt a little awkward standing in the sleet in front of Fred; they hadn't spoken much since Fred had walked off that night with James and Casey. He had wondered if Fred had talked to anyone else of that group; at this point reconciliation between Casey and Fred seemed like a hopeless case, but it was not too late for the rest of them.  Or at least, he hoped not.  "Sure," Finn agreed, sounding relieved to get out the cold.

He stepped into the familiar shop and blew into his hands, trying to warm them from the freezing weather.  Looking around, he remembered countless memories of horsing around when they were younger.  His godfather George and his father had been friends since almost Day One at Hogwarts, and the friendship had never diminished.  Indeed, it had been passed on in a sense to Fred and Finn, though that had obviously changed over the past few months.  "So...what is new in the shop?" he asked Fred, looking back over to him.


@fred

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Finn agreed to come inside, which sent a rush of something like relief through Fred. He opened the door and immediately retreated back behind the cash register, partially because he was still on shift and needed to act like he was doing his job and partially because he felt safer with something to hide behind. When Finn asked what had changed in the shop, Fred shrugged. “Not much.” He said, even though that obviously wasn’t the truth. They had rearranged the shelves after the dragon mishap with Uncle Charlie, and the accidental fireworks explosion that had sent him to a coin flip with Uncle Ron. The floor plan was a lot more open now, so that more could be seen from the register. It kind of sucked that there had to be rules even in a joke shop, but hey, the stuff was expensive, and Fred didn’t want it coming out of his paycheck if something got broken. “I work most days now. Saving up for my own place.” Honestly, Fred probably could have moved out by now, but since his family lived above the shop, it was just simpler to stay.

@finn

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Finn nodded as Fred explained he worked most days now; he certainly knew how that felt. “Yeah, with the Tournament happening at Hogwarts, we barely have any days off. I just have this afternoon because I went back to brief Mr. Potter and Mr. Abbott on the ongoings at Hogwarts. Rai left for Romania the other day so….it’s just me up there out of the new recruits.” Finn trailed off, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He hadn’t really spoken much to Fred since that fateful summer night; he told himself they had both been busy so of course there was no time to sit down and hash things out. But, truth be told, he could have made time. “Listen Fred..” he stopped, and took a deep breath, then sighed. “I’m sorry for not reaching out sooner after that night; I figured that you and Casey had your differences and would settle eventually, but now I see that’s not really the case. I just...I don’t want you to think that I supported what he said, even if it was just a joke, albeit a little mean-spirited. If you have someone that makes you happy, they can be a boy, girl, green, purple...you get the picture. What’s important is your happiness and what’s best for you in the end,” He closed his mouth, unsure of how to continue.


@fred

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Fred nodded when Finn said that the Tournament at Hogwarts kept all of the Aurors in training pretty busy. It was a little weird to hear anyone refer to his uncle as ‘Mr. Potter’, but Fred supposed that was what you got when you were related to a bunch of famous people. You hear people call your cousin ‘Minister Weasley’ and your uncle ‘Mr. Potter’ and all the other weird stuff. Fred nodded vaguely when Finn said that Rai had left for Romania – she had been in their year but he hadn’t really paid her much attention, because there were other things to do and other pranks to plan. Finn apologized for not coming to see him sooner, and any witty quips Fred was going to make died when Finn brought up Casey, and Fred’s sexuality, and…everything that had happened. “You’re a little late on that, Finn.” Fred said honestly. He would have loved to hear those words months ago, but it was just…too late. He had gotten over it himself, in probably one of the more painful ways – that was, shoving his emotions aside until he simply couldn’t anymore. “I appreciate it, but…Like I said, you’re late.” He knew it wasn’t really fair to blame Finn for any of this, especially since Fred could have just as easily reached out himself, but Fred also wasn’t going to put himself through any more agony just for feeling what he felt.

@finn

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Finn looked at Fred for a few minutes after he responded, processing. He got that he was a few months late with the apology but...Fred was prepared to throw away eighteen years of friendship because it had taken him a little longer than he liked to come round? He scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look man, I know it's late and I'm sorry for that, but you were my best friend for almost eighteen years and...it hurts that you didn't think you could confide in me about this." Finn began pacing; he was feeling agitated but there was no holding it in anymore.  "What Casey said to you was wrong, and if you had stuck around for another ten seconds you would have heard James and I telling him off over it.  I know I know, telling him off is not enough.  But do you realize how angry you looked that night?  We thought you wanted your space.  I thought you'd reach out when you felt ready to talk because there was no way in hell you were doing that in front of Casey."  


He took another breath and continued.  "And yeah my work life took control of everything; I'm in first year Auror training and they have me stationed at Hogwarts where our classmates were kidnapped and killed, and they decide to have a Triwizard Tournament on top of it all!  And don't act like you didn't have time, I saw you with that guy in Hogsmeade but you looked like you didn't want to be interrupted so I didn't."  Finn had had enough; this wasn't going to be a productive conversation and he knew he didn't want to say something he'd eventually regret.  "By the way, Rai's a vampire; that's why she's in Romania.  She was kidnapped and held captive for four days while the vamp turned her.  She's hunting him down."  With that, Finn upturned the collar of his jacket, bracing himself for the sleet outside.


@fred

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This was a lot. This was a lot to take in, and Fred wasn’t sure how to respond – or if he ought to respond at all. He didn’t want to start an argument, and it seemed like everything he could think to say would either be attacking fin or groveling at his friend’s feet for not being ready to talk. “How could I expect you to accept me when I couldn’t even accept myself?” He finally said after a long pause. “I waited for you to come to me because it was hard enough to say it once. It was hard enough to show the world the side of me that I’ve kept hidden from the light for…as long as I can remember, really. They don’t call it coming out of the closet for nothing, Finn. I hid, and I hid, and I hid, and then when I stopped hiding, I thought it would be easier. And it wasn’t.” Fred sighed. It had been this thing that he thought he’d never be able to do, and it was supposed to feel like letting go of all of his baggage, like stepping into the sunlight…and it hadn’t been that way. It had just been like saying everything else, except that when Casey had made a joke, Fred felt like he was being punished for even trying to say anything at all. He didn’t belong in Gryffindor, because he was a coward who hadn’t been able to face himself, and he was a coward who hadn’t been able to heal his wounds and throw himself back into the fray. He was a coward.

And he was about to be a coward again. Because Finn had seen him with Elias, and he was going to be quiet. Because Finn was hurting, and he was going to be quiet. Because Finn was going to leave, and… “You don’t have to go.”

@finn

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Finn paused as he had one foot out the door, one foot out into the drizzling, misty grey freezing January day.  He listened to what Fred had to say though, how he couldn't accept himself, and how long it had taken him to get to this point.  He wasn't sure what he wanted to do; he could stay and talk to Fred, to find out about what had been going on with the young man for the past few months and not just with the joke shop.  He could leave, turn his coat collar up and brace himself against the cold and wet, back to the Ministry to go about his day.  The two options battled within him, until finally he sighed and closed the door, with himself on the inside.  "You don't have to hide anymore, Fred," he said simply, shoving his hands in his pockets.  "So..what else do you want to talk about," he asked finally.  He was curious about the boy he had seen Fred with, but didn't want to pressure him into talking about whatever that was too soon.

@fred

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Waiting for Finn to decide whether or not he was going to stay felt like an eternity, and different emotions flashed through Fred like a strobe light, with fear being the most common. Coward the voice whispered to him, even when Finn stepped back inside and said that he didn’t have to hide anymore. This was the same voice that had been telling him his whole life that he was destined to die, so Fred wasn’t expecting it to be kind to him, but he could still have done without the constant reminder of his own failings. Finn asked what he wanted to talk about, and Fred shrugged. Now was probably not the time to bring up Elias. “Tell me more about you.” Fred finally said. It was easier to listen than to talk, and while Finn had exploded a bit about Rai becoming a vampire, there must have been more to the story than that, and if Finn needed someone to talk to about it…well, that was how friendships mended.

@finn

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Finn wasn’t sure how much longer he’d stick around at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, which was an odd feeling. He’d grown up at that shop, horsing and joking around with Fred while George and his father pretended to be responsible adult parents. He’d even taken to calling George Weasley ‘Uncle George’. So he was relieved when Fred asked him to tell him more about what had been going on in his life; he had spouted out about how Rai was now a vampire after all during his little outburst. “Well...Rai’s a vampire,” he started, clearing his throat a little. “She was taken during the First Task; we’re pretty sure Uriah had something to do with it because she’d gone to visit her brother at Club Indigo. Then she returned to Hogsmeade four days later and...she was changed. She was scared to see people at first because she didn’t know if she could control herself. But over the past few months she’s gotten a lot better about it, which is why she’s now in Romania hunting down the vampire herself.” Finn couldn’t help but smile a little at Rai’s determination to track down this vampire herself; he just hoped she could do what she needed to when she inevitably did find him. “Other than that...not too much has gone on. Casey got dragonpox, but he’s okay now,” he added after a moments hesitation. There it was, the source of the rift; Fred and Casey. He wondered what the boy in front of him would say to that news.

@fred

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Fred listened when Finn explained the situation with Rai and her vampirism. He didn’t know who Uriah was, but by the way Finn was talking, he must have been related to Railynn. That was an interesting plot twist – a brother being the cause of a vampire attack. He agreed with Finn that the whole thing sounded fishy, but since his opinion on the situation didn’t really matter since he wasn’t part of the Ministry and wasn’t an expert on vampires, he just nodded, not offering any further comment. Fred nodded again when Finn said that Casey had contracted dragonpox. “Abby came to visit.” Fred said. “She told me.” He added, to explain his lack of surprise at news that otherwise might have been serious. Fred wasn’t Casey’s biggest fan, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone being ill, especially with a potentially fatal disease – unless, of course, they had gotten that way by eating a Skiving Snackbox. “I’m pretty sure she also stole some things.” Fred said drily. Really, he ought to expect that some of his merchandise would go walking away every time one of the Marauders entered the story, but it was a lot easier if they just let him give them the friends and family discount, so he could at least keep track of what was walking out the door.

@finn

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Finn chuckled wryly as Fred admitted Abby had come to visit, and possibly had stolen a few things for the road. “That sounds like the Abby we both know and love,” he agreed, shaking his head a little at the thought. Abby had always been the most reckless out of their little group, and she hadn’t changed a bit going into Auror training. Finn liked to think he had gotten a bit more serious since he started in his serious career, but working with Railynn had had him kept his silly side. He had run into Andromeda Lestrange though that one time in Hogsmeade; he had hoped he’d helped her, but with her now in Saint Mungos he wasn’t sure what to think anymore. “Uriah is Rai’s brother, half-brother really,” he added suddenly, realizing his anecdote about his best friend wouldn’t make much sense without that tidbit of information. Not that many people realized Uriah and Rai were related due to the last names and vastly different personalities and social circles, but Finn of course knew, and had immediately suspected him in her disappearance.

Finn looked back down at his watch and saw the time. “I-I should probably get going,” he said, then hesitated. “I’m glad we got to talk,” he added, then held out his hand for a handshake. Who knew, perhaps this would being to rebuild a tentative bridge back to at least something similar to friendship between the two childhood friends. He supposed only time would tell for sure.


@fred

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Fred grinned when Finn said that Abby nicking things sounded like the girl they knew and loved. “Little worrisome that she’s the one apprehending criminals, if I’m honest. Doesn’t really like to bend to the letter of the law herself, does she?” It wasn’t that Fred wanted to doubt his friend, but he did sometimes wonder why she got into the Auror business when she had trouble with authority. All of the Marauders did, really – that was why they marauded, or whatever. Finn was slightly better, and Casey had been Head Boy so he pretended to be good about following the rules… which meant that really it was Fred, James, and Abby that had the authority problems. Maybe it was something to do with being related to the Minister of Magic, Fred thought with a wry smile. Of course, he and James had still had horrible, horrible authority problems even before Vic had become Minister. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that Abby’s dad had been an Auror? Family pride and all of that. Finn added that Uriah was Rai’s half-brother, and Fred nodded again. Things made more sense with that piece of information.

Fred nodded when Finn said that he had to get going. The only place Fred ever had to be was the Wheezes, so he wasn’t all that great about time management, but he was glad that his friend was better at that stuff, since he was saving the world or whatever it was that Aurors did. Fred arched his eyebrow at the extended hand, but took it, shaking firmly. “My door is always open… between the hours of eight and six, of course.” Fred said with a smirk. Finn always seemed to be on the move or otherwise doing things, so Fred figured it would be easier to just say that he was always around, and let Finn do with that information what he would.

@finn