Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 2: 365 Days Before

"Are you ready?" Fred asked. He had Addison propped up beside him, his arm tucked firmly around her waist. She leaned on him heavily, her injured arm clutched tightly with her good one. She looked up at him and nodded. 

There was a loud crack as Fred apparated, taking Addison along with him. She was sucked into a lightless void, and a deep pressure built up around her, pushing against her on all sides. Her injured arm felt as though it was being clutched by an iron fist, and she let out a scream that was quickly swallowed into the darkness. She could feel Fred beside her, feel his arm wrapped snugly around her, although the added pressure of his hand was painful against her side. She tried to pull away, desperate to release some of the pressure, but he held on tight.

Just as she began to think she couldn't take one more second of it, Addison's feet found solid ground once more. The sudden burst of light blinded her after so long without any. She blinked against the orange light of the setting sun, and slowly her eyes adjusted and she began to make sense of her surroundings. 

And what unusual surroundings they were. 

They had apparated into a valley, seemingly unending hills rising slowly on both sides of her. And in the middle of the valley lay the most peculiar house she had ever seen in her life. She couldn't be quite sure how many stories high it was, as certain rooms seemed to be tacked on in between levels, but the house reached far into the sky. The more Addison looked at it, the less sense it made. In fact, as she stared, she was sure that without magic it would have toppled to the ground long ago. The top floors were held to the bottom by thin pillars, the many rooms seemingly thrown together on top with no concern for how they landed. 

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice filled with wonder.

"The Burrow."

A woman appeared in the doorway of the odd house, and quickly hurried towards them. She was a short, stout woman, with a shock of red hair much like Fred's. The sleeves of her robes were pushed up past her elbows, and her hands and forearms appeared to be coated in flour. "Fred, dear," she said as she approached. Worry lines creased her face and Addison could feel the stress emanating from her. "I wasn't expecting you until tonight. What's happened?" 

 "Everyone's fine, mother." He let her embrace him, leaning in to kiss her quickly on the cheek. "Well, kind of," he added, his eyes flickering to Addison beside him. His mother's eyes followed and widened in shock at the sight of the girl who arrived with her son. Addison knew her appearance must be a mess after the events of the day. "This is..." Fred began, and then froze. His cheeks crimsoned as he sheepishly said, "I guess we never did get through introductions, did we?" 

"Addison," she told Fred's mother. "But everyone just calls me Addie." 

"Well then, Addie it is," the woman replied warmly."I'm Fred's mother, Mrs. Weasley. But you can call me Molly." She reached out a hand for Addie to shake. 

Addie moved to shake her hand, only to realize she had attempted to lift her injured arm. She sucked in a painful breath. Molly's eyes were drawn down to her arm, and the bloody mess that had become her sleeve. She turned to glare at her son. "How could you just let me stand out here chatting like this?" she scolded. "Come on dear, let's get you fixed up." And she ushered Addie inside. 

The inside of the Burrow was as peculiar as the outside. It was cluttered in a cozy sort of way and Addison immediately fell in love with it. None of the furniture quite matched and everything was slightly worn as if it had been well used. A maroon colored sweater was being magically knit next to the chair beside her, yarn curling up from a basket on the floor. An old wizard who looked vaguely like Fred watched her from his portrait on the wall, and the clock on the wall made a chiming sound as the hand marked 'Fred' slid onto the portion marked 'home.'

Molly gestured for Addie to go sit on the couch before excusing herself to go grab some supplies for Addie's arm. When she returned she carried with her a small red bag and her wand. She directed Fred to go make some tea and sat herself down on the couch beside Addie. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a small glass phial, unstopped it, and pushed it into Addie's hand. "Drink this, dear, it will stop the bleeding." 

Addie eyed the bright green liquid inside uneasily before swallowing it all in a single gulp. She grimaced at the bitter taste. 

"Yes, it does taste awful, doesn't it?" Molly commented. 

Fred came back into the sitting room with a pot of tea and passed a small, chipped cup to Addie. She breathed in the scented steam and sipped at it eagerly. The liquid warmed her, allowing her whole body to relax after the excitement the day had brought. Molly rolled up Addie's shirtsleeve, using a cloth to wipe away the dried blood to reveal that the potion had almost entirely healed Addie's arm. The only remainder of the injury was a pink, slightly puckered scar.

"Now, dear, why don't you tell us what happened?" Molly asked as she tucked the empty phial into the bag. With the flick of her wand, she sent the bag floating up the staircase, back to where it belonged. 

And Addie told her. She wasn't sure why she trusted this woman so much, nor the young man who still stood by the fireplace. He kept his distance from her, but listened attentively. Addie spared no detail. She told of the day she was put under the Imperius Curse, and the miserable, repetitive existence she had lived since. As she told them what she had overheard as she went to report her daily findings to Avery, Molly let out a gasp. She finished her story, turning to Fred and giving him a grateful smile. 

"I owe your son for my life," she told Molly, and the proud mother beamed at her son. 

Molly's smiling face turned serious and she turned her grim face towards Addie. Fred interrupted just before she could speak.

"Mother, don't," Fred warned. 

"Oh, Fred. Think of what good this would do. I understand that Addie here has had a very difficult six months, but everyone has suffered. She could help to end it." She turned to Addie. "Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" 

Addie's mouth went dry at the words. Everyone had heard of the mysterious Order, a group that had worked to stop the Dark Lord so many years ago. The rumor was that they had formed together once again at You-Know-Who's return. Addie looked at the woman in front of her, and couldn't believe that this warm, kind woman could be a part of such an organization. "Of course I have," Addie finally said as the silence stretched on. "Y-You're part of it?" 

Both Molly and Fred nodded. 

"I know you've been through so much, dear," Molly continued. "But in these hard times, with You Know Who's rise to power so close, any information we can get is so important. We're meeting tonight..."

"Mother, stop," Fred repeated. "She's been through a lot today. You can't expect her to-"

"No," Addie said, cutting Fred off. "It's okay. I want to help in whatever way I can." 

"It would just be a couple of questions, dear. To find out if you've heard anything of interest in the ministry. My husband, Arthur, works there too. But I'm afraid they are much more careful with what information they expose around him."

"I'll tell you everything I know." They discussed the details of the meeting that night until Addie let out a large yawn, blinking sleepily. 

"I imagine you must be exhausted," Molly exclaimed. "Why don't we find you a bed so you can rest. The meeting isn't until midnight, so you have plenty of time. You can go up and use Charlie's old room." 

She showed Addison to a nearly empty room. It was obvious that Charlie no longer lived at the burrow, the room depleted of almost everything except for a neatly made bed. Addie kicked off her shoes and collapsed into it, falling asleep almost instantly.