In The Fight To Survive (Golden Trio Era) {4}

A White Winter

The weather grew colder with each passing day, the whole of Great Britain and Ireland covered in a nice blanket of snow as Christmas grew closer. The time of year where everyone breaks out their horrendously ugly sweaters as they sit by a roaring fire with hot chocolate in hand. Or where the brave, buried under a magnitude of well insulated layers, push to explore the karst landscape to take part in glorious winter sports/activities. It was those people that made sure that most gardens became homes for large, wildly disproportionate snowmen with dashing top hats, oversized winter coats and a wide variety of colourful knitted scarfs.

Mikayla has spent the better half of the last month and a half, tucked away in the Carra Manor library with Fred, making some leeway into breaking Avery's Blood Vow. Fred officially moved in with the blonde after the Sundry attack, Molly had suggested the moved after she and Ginny stayed over, she thought Mikayla would go stir crazy in the big Manor by herself. The young couple didn't object to the suggestion, they had always planned to live together after Mikayla graduated, but when Mikayla was first assigned her mission they pushed it back. After all, Mikayla had planned to cut off all contact with everyone and fight alone.

At first they struggled, as all couples do when they first share a space all to themselves, but soon they relaxed around each other and fell into a nice routine. Fred always woke up early and made breakfast, while Mikayla slept in and made the tea. They always ate lunch in the sunroom, it was the closest thing to eating outside without having to face the winter chill. They took frequent breaks in their researching to do something fun, whether it was to wrap up and visit someone, or cuddle up on the sofa to watch a Christmas movie, or brave the cold and go ice-skating on the lake.

Mikayla's favourite activity was reading before bed, they took turns to read a chapter every night while cuddled up and sharing sleepy kisses. For those few minutes, they were allowed forget about the war and what the future holds, to just be with each other. To escape to an unfamiliar world, explore landscapes they never tracked and learn about people just like them living a peaceful life. Fred often said that he liked the idea of remote living, to be away from the craziness of the world as they continue to grow together and fall helplessly in love each day.

He always brush it off, saying that he'd probably go stir crazy in the silence of solitude, but Mikayla could see that he longed for that escape. She made a promise to him every night when she knew he was fast asleep, that she'll make his dream come through. Mikayla knew that the second the war is over, that journalists and press will stalk her and her friends for the rest of their lives. She didn't want that, there's nothing that she and her friends deserve more than a life of peace after the war. They'll be made celebrities for their heroics, and their every move will be hottest of news in all the Wizarding tabloids. Mikayla didn't want her kids to grow up in that environment, she didn't want them to be forced to grow up too fast, and she knew neither did Fred.

Mikayla and Fred always made sure to visit the rest of the Weasleys at least once a week, and liked to spend the odd night with them. Mikayla sneaking off every now and again, when Fred was busy with Owl Orders for the shop, to go visit Ron. The Order wasn't as busy with the war lately, the Death Eaters' attacks have become sparse since the first snow fell. There's been twelve attacks in the last six weeks and five of them were repeat attacks that Mikayla wasn't allowed interfere with either way. The lack of attacks gave everyone some much deserved peace, and also gave Mikayla plenty of free time to make her way through the tasks on her to-do list. The main topic being finding a way to save Avery from her forced fate.

Thanks to Cairo giving the Order all of his research related to Pureblood dark practices, the young couple have made a breakthrough in their work towards breaking Avery's blood vow. They found an incomplete potion recipe in Cairo's workings, and after over a month of being buried in information, the young couple were able to fill in the gaps with some extra help from George. Avery's suspicions that her and Mikayla's favourite flowers had something to do with it was confirmed by Daphne's notes. A purple rose can be used as a stabilising agent with calming aftereffects and are a key component in the potion's success. As for Mikayla's almost black tulips, their concentration in the potion determines its strength.