Pubs and Broomsticks

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    An hour later she reaches a small pub nestled just off the road and ducks inside. Her clothes are soaked through and she's shivering. The pub is warm and inviting, yet mostly empty. She drips her way to the bar and the elderly man polishing glasses looks up at her with a worried frown. He sets the glass on the counter underneath and pushes his wire framed bifocals up the bridge of his nose. He peers down at Lucy before asking what she'd been doing out in the rain in the middle of the night. She apologizes for tracking water across the floor before telling him that she had a disagreement with her boyfriend and in the heat of the moment decided to walk home, but she lived very far away and was too scared to go back. He tsks lightly before shakily pointing his wand at her and muttering a spell. She braces herself for something bad to happen but opens her eyes to find her hair and clothes fully dried. He smiles at her before motioning to an old broom in the corner.
"Take it, Dearie. Use it to get yourself home."
"But it's yours, Sir. I don't want to take it." She reasons, truly not wanting to take the elderly man's items.
"S'Alright. When you get to where you need to go, dismount and tell it to go home. It will come back to me."
She finally concedes, knowing it was her best option to get home faster. He points his wand at her again and says a spell she recognizes as one that repels water. Lucy thanks the man repeatedly before taking the broom in her hands and walking out of the pub, the bell above the door tinkling cheerfully. The instant she steps out, the rain tries to soak her but the spell keeps most of it at bay. She checks the street before stepping into the glow of the streetlight and mounts the broom and it lifts off the ground smoothly. She eases it forward and the broom speeds forward, blinding her and leaving her holding on for dear life. She tells it to slow down and it listens, easing into a smooth glide at a safer speed.
She lands in the early hours of the morning outside the shop. The rain stopped a while before, something she was grateful for. Lucy dismounts and tells the broom to go home. She thought it to be highly unlikely that the broom would do what the old man said, but at her words it shudders and speeds off into the night. Her eyes move up to the windows of the apartment to find the lights off. She frowns and moves the faux brick from the wall to grab the key to let herself inside. After tucking it back, she silently enters and locks the door behind her. Her steps are light on the stair case as she climbs them and unlocks the door with the key on the ledge above. The door clicks quietly and she turns around to find the main room empty. She pushes the other doors open and finds them empty as well. With a sigh she pulls one of Fred's t-shirts out of his dresser and takes a hot shower before crawling into the empty bed and falling into a restless sleep.
Lucy rolls over toward the warmth next to her and sleepily opens her eyes. She focuses on the well-toned torso in front of her and vaguely notes a series of freckles on his stomach that form a star. She slowly lifts her finger and delicately traces the design until the body starts to move beneath her. She looks up at the man next to her and smiles at his grinning face. His hand moves to rest on her head and he begins to thread his fingers through her hair.
"I'm glad to have you back Lucy." He mutters quietly, his voice still thick from sleep.
"Me too. Where did you all go?"
"Looking for you. We searched Diagon Alley ten times then visited Mum to see if she'd seen you. What happened?" He asks.
"Malfoy broke in again. He tried to act nice and genuine, telling me that the Addams were going to lock me away so I'd learn disobedience meant death. I didn't buy it and was trying to leave when Lee opened the door. Malfoy got scared and apparated back to his manor with me. I broke out of his room but his father caught me and tried to take me back, but Malfoy convinced him to wait so that he could prepare me for what was to come. After that he tried to defend himself to me, trying to make him seem like a good guy that cared... Nice Instant Party by the way. I remembered it was in my hand and asked for a glass of water. I tossed it all at him and he was so surprised getting attacked by balloons and glitter that I snuck out the front door and ran two miles in the rain before walking for almost an hour to get to some pub. The old guy let me borrow his broom that tried to kill me on the way here and I rode it back and I don't know how he did it but all I had to do was tell it to go home and it did. Now I'm here. I missed you. Sleeping alone is awful."
Fred looks bothered by her story but grins at her pouting face from the last part.
"I know Sweetheart, I did too. Now, let's get ready for the day."
He moves to get up but she rolls over on top of him and mutters dead weight before letting her weight settle on him. He chuckles lightly and pretends to be crushed underneath her.
"Can we stay in bed all day and avoid the world?" She asks.
"Well, I don't see why not. George and Lee can handle the shop without us."
"Good. I don't want to be without you for even a moment today."
She turns herself over and lightly kisses him until he deepens it.

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