CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
BORROWED TIME

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FREYA HADN'T KNOWN IT then, but she and George were running on borrowed time. Three days had passed since Travers escaped, since Freya sent that letter to her father (and received no response), since Freya McKinnon kissed George Weasley. He hadn't said anything about it, and neither of them had tried to kiss the other again. Really, the only thing stopping Freya from disappearing off the face of the earth with crippling embarrassment was just how close George had been sticking to her side. He was there every time a Slytherin made a sly remark, popping up with a harsh retort or a jinx to shoot at them, whatever he thought of first. Whenever the stares and whispers became a bit too much, he appeared to distract her, pulling a prank to make her laugh or saying something cute to make her smile. It was plain odd, if Freya was being brutally honest, how much George wanted to be around her.

It made her think he was up to something -- well, more so than usual.

Of course, Freya would never have expected this.

Fred and George Weasley had made it obvious from the start that their education was never a priority of theirs. Their grades were mediocre at best, studying was a rarity for them, and that was okay. Freya wasn't really one for studying herself, but at the very least, she'd always known she would graduate at the end of it. Perhaps it was foolish, really, but graduating without Solana, and later Fred and George -- and Lee, though she'd never admit it to him -- by her side was just out of the question.

Until it wasn't.

Yet another thing that Umbridge had changed (ruined.)

Bit by bit, the usual chaos the twins created transformed into something untamable. Each prank was more and more reckless, almost like they were daring Umbridge to challenge them. Freya didn't notice it at first, but something seemed to shift on the fourth morning when she woke up to Solana storming into the dormitory with misty eyes.

"Sol?" Freya frowned, hairbrush suspended in the air. She tore her eyes away from the vanity mirror, frowning when Solana didn't look at her. "Sol? What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled.

Freya's heart lurched. She was suddenly grateful that their dorm mates had left already. "Solana."

"It's Fred," the Thomas girl sighed. She sniffled then, sinking down onto the edge of her bed while furiously brushing away a tear. "He and George are leaving, Frey. Today. And he didn't even tell me! I had to find out from Lee. Lee! I'm his girlfriend, and he didn't even think--"

"Wait... what?" Freya cut in with a frown. Solana stared at her with wide, guilty eyes. "What do you mean they're leaving? How..."

"I didn't ask for the details," she scoffed almost bitterly.

Freya's head was spinning, her thoughts a blur of George is leaving and today, today, today and how was she supposed to stay here without George? Deep, deep down, Freya felt betrayed. Then she felt stupid for feeling betrayed, because George Weasley wasn't her boyfriend, and he made that crystal clear. So why did she feel like this? Why was it suddenly her wanting to cry, when Solana and Fred were the couple of the group?

"Frey?" Freya tried to smile, but Solana saw right through her. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have just dumped that on you..."

"It's fine," she muttered.

Solana shot her a look. "I know you and George are--"

Freya couldn't be in there anymore. She needed air. "I'm going out," she blurted, lurching to her feet despite Solana's pointed sigh of her name. "I'll see you in class, Sol."

"Freya, come on--"

The door slammed behind her, the sharp sound echoing down into the Common Room as Freya took to the stairs two at a time. No one spared her a second glance, not until she reached the Seventh Floor and came barrelling to a stop outside the Gryffindor Common Room. She hadn't meant to walk this far, but she wanted to hear it from George himself.

Freya needed something to justify this disappointed, withering ache festering in her chest. Even if she didn't like the answer.

"Freya?" Ron frowned at her as he, Harry and Hermione left the Common Room. They were surprised to find the blonde girl outside so early, especially after recent events. "What are you doing here?"

For a second, Freya merely blinked back at him. Then, she murmured, "I need to see your brother."

Ron huffed. "Which one? I've got a few of those."

"George."

"Thought so. He's inside."

Without another word, he opened the portrait door for her, ignoring the Fat Lady's childish protests about a Hufflepuff entering the Gryffindor Common Room. As if Freya hadn't been there several times already.

Unlike the other times Freya had spent in the Gryffindor Tower, she felt impossibly cold inside, even with the fire roaring away in the grate. A group of third years were huddled in front of the flames. They looked up at her as she marched past, whispering amongst themselves as they watched her stop in front of the twins and Lee, her shadow blocking out the nearby warmth.

"Hey, Freya," Lee chuckled nervously.

George's head shot up like lightning. Immediately, a sheepish expression settled across his face, mirroring Fred's already sour frown. Freya folded her arms over her chest, jaw clenching in a way that made George wince.

"You've seen Solana," he said.

It wasn't a question.

Freya sighed. "Can we talk? Alone?"

Without waiting for a response, she headed for the dormitory staircase and let herself up the boy's side. She could hear George following behind her, his footsteps hesitant as they came to a stop in a dimly lit alcove just outside the Seventh Year door. For a moment, Freya stood with her gaze locked on the window, watching as water trickled down the glass panes from the gloomy weather outside. Just when George was debating reaching out for her, she spoke, careful not to look at him.

"Were you going to tell me?" she asked. "Or was I going to find out once you were gone?"

She felt foolish the second she said it. Merlin, she sounded like a jealous girlfriend. But she couldn't help it. At some point, a part of her had fallen for George Weasley. There was no point denying it when her heart physically hurt at the thought of being apart from him.

It was a feeling she couldn't keep off her face, so she knew George could see it. He didn't say anything at first. When he did, Freya was surprised by how genuine he sounded.

"Frey... I really was going to. But I didn't want to upset you, after everything--"

She wanted to be selfish, to tell him that she couldn't do this without him. Was he really going to leave her behind after Travers escaped? No. Freya refused to guilt-trip George, not as he went on to explain his now official plans with Fred. A joke shop. Everything he wanted and more. She smothered it down and smiled in the face of his frown.

"At least tell me you're going out with a bang."

The corners of George's mouth tugged up in a relieved, boyish grin. "It'll certainly be memorable."

Freya wasn't sure how it happened, but in a blink, the space between them had closed and George's lips were ghosting hers.

"Can I?" she heard him murmur, and she nodded.

The kiss was fleeting, but it held more meaning than the last. This was intended, consented, the confirmation that this -- the fractured thing otherwise known as a relationship between George and Freya, or the possibility of one -- had changed, perhaps for the better now.

Freya couldn't figure out how she felt about it. She just knew she'd miss it.

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MEMORABLE, WHEN FREYA LOOKED back on it after, was a downright understatement. Fred and George had truly left their mark on Hogwarts, going all out with their best pranks yet, the best being their own personal swamp -- of course, trademarked by their new joke shop brand, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Through the ache in her chest, Freya felt glorious pride watching them stand up against a furious Umbridge. The wicked woman's face blew bright red when she came across the chaos, and if Freya looked close enough, she would've seen a vein twitching dangerously on her forehead. As the rest of the school eagerly gathered around to watch, she barked something at Filch and stood, breathing heavily, waiting for him to return.

"So!" she exclaimed. Freya and Solana watched carefully from the top of the staircase, Umbridge having cornered the twins at the bottom. "So. . . you think it is amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," Fred quipped.

Solana chuckled, the hard edge of her glare softening, only hours too late. She hadn't spoken to Fred since she confronted him that morning. Looking at her now, Freya knew she regretted it.

Before Umbridge could retort, Filch returned dutifully to her side, elbowing his way through the sea of students with a piece of parchment clutched in his fist. "I've got the form, Headmistress," he exclaimed, sounding gleeful. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting... Oh, let me do it now..."

"Very good, Argus," Umbridge was positively beaming. Filch looked ready to pass out from happiness.

For a second, Freya's heart dropped. Whips? What kind of mediaeval bullshit was Hogwarts facing? If she wasn't so set on proving to herself she could graduate, Freya would've asked Fred and George to take her with them.

With this reminder that Fred and George weren't staying, that neither Umbridge or Filch would be able to hurt them, Freya breathed a sigh, listening closely as Umbridge turned to smile sickly at the twins. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

"You know what? I don't think we are." Fred shared a knowing look with George. It was now or never. "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," George nodded in agreement.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, do you reckon?"

"Definitely."

With that, they raised their wands in unison and exclaimed, "Accio brooms!"

The response was immediate. Through the excited murmur of the crowd, Freya caught the unmistakable crash of the twins' brooms breaking free from where Umbridge had been keeping them captive. Seconds later, the crowd parted with a gasp, and said brooms hurtled towards their owners, the remnants of Umbridge's chains still hanging from the handles.

Catching his broom in one hand, Fred waved cheekily at Umbridge with the other. "We won't be seeing you," he said, and swung his leg over the broomstick as the woman watched on in sheer disbelief.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," added George as he copied Fred's actions.

Over Umbridge's spluttering, Fred made sure to shout a quick promotion at the sea of onlookers, "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three Diagon Alley; Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, our new premises!"

As the excited whispers erupted again, George finished for him, "A special discount to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat."

Umbridge shrieked as he gestured at her, stomping her foot and screaming commands at Filch and her Inquisitorial Squad. But it was too late by then. The crowd got in the way of the Slytherins, allowing Fred and George to kick off from the floor, floating higher and higher until they were far above even Freya and Solana's heads.

Pausing, Fred shot a wink at his girlfriend, who forced a small smile, then turned to smirk mischievously at Peeves. "Give her hell from us, Peeves."

The Poltergeist, in a rare act of camaraderie, raised his hand to his head in a dutiful salute as Fred and George set their sights on the sky outside, now a slowly setting sun, and disappeared into its evening light. Freya watched them fade into dots on the horizon even as Umbridge furiously started shouting at the crowd, hoping against hope that she'd see George Weasley again someday.

For now, she was going to do her damn best to graduate.

Her future, and George -- whatever role he had to play in it -- could surely wait a few more weeks for Freya to join them.

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A/N: lol hi... it's been a while. i promise i haven't abandoned this fic, i just had major writer's block for it but i'm so close to finishing this act, just one more chapter then freya is out in the real world!! who's excited? i certainly am, i've got a lot planned 😌 now let me know what you thought! i hope y'all have missed freya as much as i did <3 thanks for reading!!