My Father's Legacy - Fred Weasley 18+

At dawn, Ellen had made her way out of her apartment and sauntered towards The Leaky Cauldron. She preferred Diagon Alley when it was first light. It was quiet, the sky was misty and blue, and the morning was perfectly crisp - announcing the beautiful weather that the coming day held. Ellen carried the present for Fred in her tote, passing a few looks through the unopened shop he owned as she walked towards her workplace.

Thankfully, The Leaky Cauldron was an extremely busy pub at all times of the year- and with Tom and Dorota choosing to retire soon, it made sense to hire Ellen so they could take some time off to travel and explore before the decision was final. The pay was enough, and the environment was perfect for her. As a joke, Jacob forced her to 'try out' for the role of bartender and requested an array of fake drinks that she'd never heard of. They'd bantered through this exchange as she did her best to fulfil the order, but luckily she was excellent in potion making, and her natural talent for pairing a harmony ingredients earned her her already guaranteed spot behind the bar. They'd even added one of the drinks to their Specials menu: a drink called a Glossy Tonic that was everything but. Ellen enjoyed going against the grain with Jacob, but the flavours of Vanilla, Elder Flower, Ginger and Firewhiskey caused his eyes to prick in a fiery douse of fresh warmth, and the drink was addictive.

Glossy eyes for sure!

Ellen entered the pub and began her shift.

The day had passed swiftly, and Ellen had fulfilled hundreds of orders, many of which featured the April Specials which were charmed with harmless firecrackers to combust at any given moment. She shared many pleasantries with the new customers and the regulars- beginning to enjoy the calm that surrounded her release. The excitement was starting to die down and she finally felt she could walk around town without feeling like a celebrity in hiding.

As Jacob entered the bar, he nodded to Ellen and cued her leaving time. She smiled back and grabbed her things, waving goodbye and giving a friendly kiss on his cheek before exiting to Diagon Alley.

It was twilight now, shops were closing, and the visitors of Diagon Alley were making their way to the small restaurants, the pub, or home. Ellen reshuffled her appearance, smoothening her hair and patting her face to ensure she looked fresh and awake. She didn't plan to stay long at Fred's, she imagined he would have family with him and she didn't want to intrude.

Making her way to the front door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, she noticed it had closed early rather than its usual late opening hours. She could see the same light lit in the distance, the door at the back of the shop was ajar and a faint glow filled the darkened shop floor.
Ellen breathed in and gulped before lightly knocking on the wooden pane of the glass doors before her. She saw no moment and waited a while before knocking again, looking up and down the alley as darkness began to fall. Her brow furrowed, she decided to knock once more, and if he didn't answer she would come during lunch the next day.

As she lifted her hand to knock, a loud crash and shatter reverberated inside the shop, and a yell was heard. In a flight of panic and concern, she rested her hand on the door handle and pushed into the shop.

Did he not think to lock after himself?

She rolled her eyes at the thought of her loitering for so long when she could have easily just let herself in. She closed the door behind her and jumped when she heard yet another crash, the sound of glass falling to the floor and grunts echoed from the doorway in the back.

Maybe I shouldn't be here?

She hesitated. But the sound of a sniffle made her heart ache and she let her feet lead her to the door.

She peeked through and saw a potions room in a chaotic mess. A box and papers were scattered across the floor and on the table that was closest to her. Ingredients had scattered and a cauldron lay dented on the floor. But what caught her off guard was the sight of Fred Weasley throwing his fist into a mirror that leant against a baseboard on the other side of the room. As his right fist collided with it, everything shattered, and the mirror shards scattered and fell around him as he aggressively punched the mirror again and again.

He's going to hurt himself!

Ellen panicked and intuitively leapt through the door, setting the gift and her work tote she had down next to the scattered papers before diving towards Fred.
"Stop! You're hurting yourself!" She yelled, moving her body in front of the red headed man.

In a fit of surprise and rage fuelled grief, Fred, covered in his own blood, stepped and turned his body to face away from her. He cowered down and yelled into no particular direction of the room,

"FUUUUUUUCK!!!!!"

It was a yell filled with heartbreak and pain, and the tears and cries that were flowing from him only came harder. He didn't even care that she had found her way inside. He was too distracted, too much in pain.

As silence filled the room, a stark difference from the previous expression that escaped his lips, Ellen watched as he rested his hand and slouched over the work bench in front of him, now filled with broken pieces of glass and mirror. He leant forward, a whimper escaping him and his left hand found one of the shards, gripping it furiously.

Ellen hadn't yet noticed this and began to pick up some pieces that had been scattered on the floor, she didn't know what else to do. This was a state she was familiar with in herself, and the only thing she knew could possibly help him would be to tidy some of the mess. It would be a reasonable excuse, she knew she couldn't leave him like this alone.

She picked up a few things, and placed the cauldron on the table that housed her present for him and the messily strewn papers.

Her attention moved to the box, and she noticed a label written in a messy handwriting on the lid "Just in case". Her eyes peered inside and there were hundreds of folded parchments inside, a handful had been opened and scattered about. Ellen reached to pick them up and return them to the box and as she bent down to collect the last one that was on the floor, she spotted the words that signed the bottom of the letter:

...
I love you,

Georgie

Her body ached.

These are all from George.

She realised, and she looked up from her position to catch a dishevelled Fred Weasley sinking to the floor with his back against the wooden panel of the work bench. He looked defeated. Grief stricken. 

Ellen stood, placing the letter next to the other opened ones, catching words as her eyes grazed across them;

I want you to be happy without me, don't be grumpy because Ginny will hit you.
-
If you're sad I've enchanted one of these letters to hex your hair Slytherin green and then everyone will know you have feelings.
-
Don't be a wuss, you're the star here and if I'm gone then you need to shine for both of us.
-
If I do go, just remember that I'll always be next to you. You'll never truly be alone.

A small gasp left her lips and her fingers grazed the letters.

"Oh Fred" she started, sending her gaze to the crumbling man on the ground whose silent tears fell down his exhausted expression.

"Did you bite off more than you could chew?" She cooed, feeling a deep sadness fill her heart.

He released an audible whimper - his stare still fixed on the spot in front of him, as though if he moved, everything would hurt again, but this time, worse.