Blair exited the supermarket with three reusable bags in her hands. She had been able to get something for tea, dessert and some snacks that the twins were bound to ask for in the coming days. After spending months living with the two, she had learnt that their stomachs were endless pits that needed to be filled 24/7. She knew Ron was also like this as he was always seen grabbing at the chicken dishes at meal times in the Great Hall until he eventually passed out into a food coma. But now it seemed that Fred and George also possessed the trait, making the fridge a sacred place that was raided frequently by both of them.

The supermarket had been surprising filled with customers, as the Christmas holidays were now over and people wanted to get back into their routines of keeping producing meals on tables for their families. But the streets were still empty. Blair assumed that most people apparated from their homes to the store, before doing the same to get back to their house. This was obviously from the ongoing fear of Death Eaters lurking around corners with the intent to curse anyone they saw regardless of them being Muggle-born, halfblood or pureblood. If Blair had known who was following her, she would have done the same. But the exhaustion from the busy day at work and the stress of serving hundreds of customers had jumbled her better judgement.

Instead, Blair walked up the pebbled street that weaved around small cottages and closed down shops. It hadn't yet gotten dark enough for the lampposts to turn on, but the evening was well under way and the sky had begun to darken once the sun had set over the hills. She trudged up the hill and was three turns from being back at the shop, when a familiar meow brought her attention from her feet to the cat up ahead.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned as Jasper padded towards her, rubbing his head against her leg once he was close enough. He purred and meowed, his tail high in air and curling around her knee.

"I must have left the door open when I went to grab some more of the swamp potion," she pondered aloud and sighed. "How did you even find me? I don't suppose Fred or George saw you walking around and thought you were a customer."

It was lucky that the street was deserted; otherwise Blair would have received some odd looks from talking to herself. She rolled her eyes when Jasper liked his lips before yawning obnoxiously. She didn't know how the cat had found her and she was sure that he hadn't been following her to the supermarket as she would have noticed.

"Are you going to be good and walk beside me? Or will I have to put you into one of these bags-"

"Blair!"

She looked up questionably and saw her boyfriend running down the slope that she was yet to climb. His dress shoes slapped against the street loudly and his lanky arms pumped in sync with his long legs. His cheeks were pink and were shining from the exquisite sweat that had gathered at his hairline and ran down his face. Blair noticed that he was still in his work suit with his bow-tie still flashing it's red and green circuit.

Once he reached her, he put his hands on his knees and hunched over to catch his breath. George scrunched his eyes shut and first tried to control his heavy breathing. Blair waited patiently and noted how unfit he had become since being banned from Quidditch by Dolores Jane Umbridge. Blair and the twins hadn't played Quidditch since the previous year when they all left Hogwarts on their brooms. There was simply no time or place to play any friendly games, but their fitness level had truly suffered from that. Fred and George would refuse to admit that, however.

"Take your time, Georgie," she joked as he panted. "Although Fred will start wondering where his food is-"

"Why the hell did you leave without telling me?!"

She nearly jumped back when he shot up from his hunched over posture with his unexpectedly harsh tone. His cheeks were slowly turning from an exhausted pink to a fiery red, showing that he was upset and frustrated. George put his hands on his hips and stared down at Blair with narrowed eyes, barely glancing towards Jasper who nudged his head against his shoe before slinking back through Blair's legs.

"What do you mean?" she questioned with pinched eyebrows.

"You know what I mean!" he replied, his brown eyes angry and deep. "You know that the shop closes at five! And you decide to just walk out with a fleeting comment to Verity?! Come on, Blair!"

"Is this about the safety thing? George, I've told you..." she trailed off with her hand to her forehead, sighing loudly. The bag that was in her hand slipped down her arm and hooked in it's bend, hanging just about Jasper's head. The cat bobbed his nose against it in a sniff, before perching himself down on the street as the humans argued loudly next him.

"There's no point in you shrugging me off, Blair. Have you forgotten about these?!" he pointed to the bruises that were nearly invisible around her neck. "Have you forgotten that you nearly died?! You can't just go leaving the shop by yourself anymore!"

"This is ridiculous!" she retorted, now angry with him as much as George was with her.

She was at her wits end with George's constant presence whenever she wanted to leave the flat's premises. It had gone from boyfriend protectiveness to a controlling obsession. If she wanted to leave the shop without Fred or George by her side, she would have to sneak out without them knowing. She hated to lie to them about where she's been, but she felt her independence becoming threatened. She could take care of herself and George always used her fading bruises as an excuse and leverage on her.

"I'm sick of you breathing down my neck all the time!" she seethed. "It's gone past you being protective! They're so many other things in the world that you could worry about! You've got your family to worry about! Your shop! Why are you-"

"This isn't about-"

George stopped halfway with his expression suddenly pulling downwards. As if a fishing hook had sunken into his chin and pulled it down, his slanting eyes loss their fiery glaze and his lips tightened into a frown. Blair thought for a moment that he had fallen asleep or passed out on his feet. She raked her eyes over George to try and find something that would explain his sudden change, and found that his gaze was focused on something over her shoulder.

Blair momentarily forgot about her anger and turned around, seeing what George was looking at. Standing metres away was Fletcher Potts. Jasper had even turned around to see what his humans were looking at and stood up on all paws, blinking at the man who was once a snobby, over-privileged boy. Immediately, Blair noticed how much Fletcher had grown since the last time she had seen him. His once chiselled jaw and tanned skin had sunken in and paled. The boy had once been swooned over by girls at Hogwarts, but had turned into the very image of what was considered a Death Eater. He truly appeared like he had eaten something that died; his curly hair flattened and looked in need of a combing with his aura stinking of rotten ambition.

"Nice to see you again, Rosier, Wealsey. Always knew blood traitors stuck together like soiled rubbish," his voice hadn't changed from its mocking tone. The same smug grin attempted to appear on his face, but looked wrong against his severely aged skin. Blair and George didn't need to see the tattoo of the skull and serpent that was on every Death Eaters' wrist to know he had been recruited and accepted into You Know Who's following.

Despite their previous argument, Blair let George take the role of the overly protective boyfriend and willingly moved behind him when his arm inched her backwards. His broad frame was able to cover most of her from view, but Fletcher had already seen her before George had even arrived at the scene. Blair clutched at her shopping bags and knew that Fletcher's appearance wasn't anything good.

"What do you want, Potts?" George tried not to sound too bitter. He had thrown him out of the shop before because he had hated the boy back at Hogwarts, but seeing him now so changed and dark was unnerving him.

"I'm actually not here to talk to you, Weasley," Potts sneered back with just as much bitterness. He tried to smile innocently at George who only glared back, before switching his gaze to the small girl behind him. "I've been sent to negotiate with Rosier. So why don't you run along to your little boutique and leave us to talk, alright?"

George pressed his lips together to suppress the insult that was bubbling up in his throat. Like hell he would leave them to talk. He was ready to apparate away and leave Potts standing there pointlessly. He also wanted to stop Blair slipping past him, but was able to pin his arms by his sides with the willpower of his entire being. If one thing had sunk in from their argument, it was that Blair was feeling oppressed and caged. He needed to give her a moment and if he needed to step in, he would.

"Is this a recruitment seminar?" Blair crossed her arms over her chest and put on her sassiest expression. "Are you going to give me an offer that I can't refuse?"

"I don't remember you being this much of a slag-"

"Oi," George growled, his wand now out of his jacket and in his hand.

Blair glanced at him and said nothing. She couldn't believe that she was standing in the middle of a deserted Diagon Alley with Jasper around her legs, bags of food in her hands, George by her side and Fletcher Potts, recently turned Death Eater, standing in front of her. Even though the scene was comical, there was a weight of fear and uneasiness over her chest. She had once teased and mimicked Fletcher for his pompous attitude, but seeing him with his sunken in cheeks and ghostly complexion made her almost afraid of him. She knew George felt the same and had his wand at the ready for any unpredictable moves that Fletcher decided to pull.

"Yes. I'm here to present to you an offer that comes from the Dark Lord himself," Fletcher made it sound like it was Merlin had contacted him from the heavens. He looked proud and giddy to be the messenger for You Know Who, which scared Blair even more.

"Well come on then," Blair pushed, believing she looked stern and challenging. "What's the offer?"

"The Dark Lord has been taken with your potioneering abilities and believes that some of your father's loyalty has been passed on to you. I tried to say that you were basically a waste of talent-" Fletcher smirked. "-but I suppose he thought that you could be persuaded. So, what will it be, Rosier? Would you like to make your father proud?"

"I can tell you where to stick your offer," Blair was right on to a reply and feigned confidence. "If you think that I'd ever join people like you, you're more delusional than I thought. My father was a horrible man and I will never make the same mistakes he did."

"The Dark Lord thought you'd say something like that."

George now really didn't like how Fletcher was staring at Blair. The man had brought out his wand and was passing it between his hands. A crazy tinge could be seen in his eyes even from the distance he stood from George and Blair. George saw the posture of a man that was ready to be irrational and dangerous, making him take Blair's shoulder and inch her back behind him. He had feared for this confrontation for months, but he wasn't prepared for the insanity that Fletcher was displaying. There were no witnesses around them and the man could kill the both of them without any remorse. George refused to be put back into another situation of being helpless.

"She doesn't want your offer, Potts. Leave it and go home," he said with motion of his wand. A duel could commence and he would do his best to be ready.

Fletcher's eyes trailed down from the two and met the yellow eyes of Jasper. The feline had watched the ordeal quietly, not understanding the immense danger he was now in. He blinked at Fletcher with his ears twitching from distant noises and watched as he raised his wand. The green flash of light reflected off of the shop windows and caused an almighty shriek from Blair, followed by the 'pop!' of apparition.