Redamancy

• Chapter 6 •

An eventful shopping trip

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The small group of four had been casually filtering in and out of shops for a while now, their hands each holding at least 2 bags of clothes and all the other necessities that they needed.

Not long after they had all started this little shopping trip, it had become increasingly obvious to both Katherine and George that Fred and Nicolai were in their own little awkward bubble of tension.

Neither boy really knew what to say to each other, and had instead opted too chatting with their best friends whilst standing as close together as they could.

However, it was due to this closeness that Nicolai felt Fred's hand brush against his own, enticing goosebumps to spread across his flushed skin, and butterflies to flutter in his stomach.

The weasley twin wasn't much better.

Fred's breath caught in his throat upon noticing the delicate touch, and it took everything in him to not just grab the shorter boys hand. Instead, he let his wide-eyed gaze shift from George, too the boy next to him. His eyes met Nicolai's and neither looked away.

The other two, Katherine and George, shared a glance behind their backs, before smiling mischievously.

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Fred and Nicolai were alone now. Though neither were sure how, at some point in their little stare down, both of their friends had left to get ice cream together, claiming that it was too hot for anything else.

Nicolai decided to speak up upon noticing Flourish and Blotts and becoming increasingly excited.

To say that the brunette loved books was a huge understatement. He utterly adored them. They were his escapism.

When growing up in the environment he did, Nicolai had always found that it was terribly easy to lose himself in stories of heroes who fight back against evil in a way he never could. Not to mention the romance in such novels. The young boy craved to have someone hold him close on his bad days, and even closer on his good ones. A partner who didn't care about his past, and instead just wanted to be a part of his future.

Unfortunately for Nicolai, that kind of love was simply impossible. Maybe, with how things were going now, he could finally have a family who loved him. However, he could never hope to actually find love as well as. No matter how much he wanted it, especially now that he had met someone as perfect as Fred Weasley.

Said ginger had noticed Nicolai's longing gaze that was being directed towards the bookstore, and couldn't be happier to endulge him.

"Do you want to go inside Nico?" He questioned in amusement upon seeing Nicolai's smile.

Nicolai turned to Fred and nodded his head in excitement, before grabbing his hand, and dragging him inside.

Fred took note on how the younger boy immediately skipped upstairs, seemingly knowing where to find his desired genre of books, and affectionately tighted his grip on Nicolai's hand.

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"This was the book published by Rita Skeeter called The Life & Lies of Albus Dumbledore, I haven't read it yet an I don't really plan too, but it's essentially a nine-hundred-page biography of Dumbledore's life, published shortly after his death in June 1997." Nicolai explained after he noticed Fred pick up the book curiously.