Kiara Cartier (Fred Weasley Love Series)

Ch. 17: Shell Cottage

"Kiara Cartier."

Chapter 17: Shell Cottage

November was finally upon them, with hints of winter and Christmas around the corner. Kiara woke up from a restless sleep next to Fred, after she woke up from a nightmare where masked figures kidnapped her in the middle of the night and took her to Voldemort. Her head was on his chest with his arms wrapped around her in a tight hold. She could hear his soft breathing and she smiled softly, thinking about how much she loved him. When she knocked on his door at 2:36am with glistening cheeks from her tears, he didn't hesitate to lay by her side and kiss her forehead until she fell asleep once more.

"Are you awake?" Fred murmured, rubbing his eyes. Kiara nodded, not realising that he was awake as well. It was as if he read her thoughts as he responded. "I could feel your breathing change when you woke up."

Kiara hummed softly in response. "That's creepy, yet sweet."

"I'll go with the latter," Fred remarked, kissing her head softly. "I don't want to work today."

"Neither do I," Kiara said in agreement. "It's been so quiet. I think I started counting the floor tiles in the backroom the other day for an hour."

"187," Fred muttered, shifting his position so that he was facing her. She looked at him with raised eyebrows, resting her head on the pillow next to him. "That's the number of tiles in the back room. I may have been bored yesterday as well."

"Well, that ruined my task for today," Kiara sighed, faking grumpiness. "What else will I do? Besides the obvious, like, actually working. But, there is only so much work we can do with how quiet we are."

Fred thought for a moment. Clearly, neither of them were motivated to work and realistically, why would they be? Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was as quiet as ever, with an average of ten to fifteen customers per day. Fortunately, their Owl Order service was still as busy as ever, which meant they were maintaining a considerable profit. "What if we close the store today? You and I don't want to work, and I'm sure that George feels the same. So, what if we spend the day doing something else? We can just put up a sign in the window that says we are doing stocktake and to come back tomorrow."

Kiara propped her head up with her elbow, considering the suggestion. "Can we do that?"

"Well, between you, George and I, I think we will have the full support of the owners," Fred grinned knowingly, causing Kiara to laugh. "So, why not?"

"Yeah, why not?" They whipped their heads to see George leaning against the door frame, sharing a matching grin to Fred's. Kiara squeaked in surprise, pulling the sheet over her pyjamas which consisted of grey trackpants and Fred's jumper. She forgot momentarily that they shared a flat with George.

"What the hell?" Fred groaned, scowling at his brother's interruption. "How long have you been standing there listening to our conversation?"

"I overheard you from the hallway suggesting that we close the store today, which perked my attention. Even with one ear, my hearing couldn't miss that one," George explained, walking over to Kiara's side of the bed. To Fred's disgust and Kiara's amusement, he lay next to Kiara and wiggled around the mattress until he got himself comfortable. Kiara sniggered as she lay between the two brothers. "Oh wow, Kiara, your bed is fantastic. Anyway, I have the perfect plan for today."

"George, get-," Fred threatened, glowering at his brother. George smirked, knowing that he was irritating his brother by lying next to them.

"Let's go to Shell Cottage! We haven't seen Bill and Fleur's new place and today is warmer than normal. We can go swimming."