Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 10: 308 Days Before

Ginny was fuming. Her face had gone as red as her hair as she plopped down on the couch beside Addie, her face scrunched up in disgust. "It's not fair," she grumbled, glaring at the door her mother, father, and half of her siblings had just exited. "I've fought Death Eaters before, and yet the fact that I don't turn seventeen for another year is the deciding factor that I don't get to join the Order. "

Addie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was about to ask Ginny exactly when she had fought Death Eaters before, but then she remembered that Ginny had been a part of the group that had fought in the Department of Ministries a year ago.

"Your mum's just being protective," Addie said, but it didn't soothe her.

"Of course she is," Ginny grumbled. "In her eyes I'm still eleven years old. I'm so sick of everyone trying to keep me safe all of the time!" Ginny's voice raised to practically a shout. "I can take care of myself!" Addie was surprised to see tears glistening in Ginny's eyes.

Addie knew then that this wasn't just about her mum.

Ginny let her head fall back to rest on the back of the couch. She closed her eyes, and Addie could tell she was desperately trying to hold back her tears. "I'm one of the smartest witches in my year, I'm tough, I've had experience fighting. But it's not enough. Even Harry doesn't think I'm strong enough to handle myself."

There was an awkward paused. Addie wasn't sure what to say about that. It had been over a week since Ginny had returned home, and she had never mentioned Harry Potter out loud.

"He broke up with me, you know," Ginny said quietly. A single tear fell down her cheek. "It was the day of Dumbledore's funeral, too, for goodness sake. He said it was to keep me safe, so You-Know-Who wouldn't try and get to me. Which is rubbish, if you ask me. But I just nodded my head and acted like everything was okay. Like I was perfectly fine with the break up." She shook her head. "I wanted to scream my head off at him, tell him he was treating me like a child. But I didn't."

"There's still time," Addie said, trying to bring a little humor to the conversation. "He's coming for the wedding, right?"

"Yes," Ginny said grudgingly, as if she was dreading it.

"There will be plenty of time to yell at him there," Addie said, and Ginny let out a tiny laugh, although another tear slid down her cheek.

"Why don't you join?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Join what?" Addie asked, confused. "You in yelling at Harry? I mean, I'll gladly do it, but it's not really my place..."

"No, the Order," Ginny clarified. "You've been around here for almost two months now. I'm surprised you haven't joined. You're old enough, and you're not family, so mum couldn't stop you."

Addie shrugged. "I've thought about it loads of times," Addie confessed. "I've even brought it up to Fred a few times, but he's never been too impressed with the idea."

Ginny rolled his eyes. "I never thought I'd see that particular brother develop a protective side."

"I don't think that's it," Addie said. "He just says-"

"I don't care what he says," Ginny said. "He's lying. I've been around Fred all my life, and I've never seen him like he is with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Fred doesn't worry," Ginny said. "At all. About anything. It's just who he is. He's too busy worrying about the next big prank, the next big laugh, to really care about an individual person. Its why he never really dated at Hogwarts, in my opinion. But from the way mum talks, its different with you. He's always checking in, always ready to help you out. Like getting you that job at the Joke Shop. He cares about you."

"Its just because he saved me," Addie said defensively. She wasn't sure why she wanted to defy the words that had just come out of Ginny's mouth, but she was determined to make Ginny see the faults in her words. "He's protective because he feels he has to be."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "You really don't know him that well, do you? Fred would save anyone, in a heartbeat. But he's not the type to get attached."

"He's not attached to me."

"Yes, he is. And that's why he doesn't want you to join the Order. He thinks you might get hurt, or worse. And he's not willing to risk that."

"But he's in the Order, too. He could get hurt, or..." Addie couldn't make herself say the word killed. She moved on. "Any day, it could happen. To any of us, whether we're in the Order or not. It doesn't make any sense. At least if I joined I'd be doing my part to help. Why wouldn't he be okay with that?"

Ginny shrugged. "If you don't want to see it, I can't make you see it." She gave Addie a cheeky grin. "And I also don't think you'd still be hanging out around here if you weren't just as attached to him as he is to you."

Addie spluttered uselessly, trying to think of a way to deny what Ginny just said. She could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks. Addie tried to calm herself down enough to respond. "He's been a really good friend to me these past couple of months. And your family has been so nice to let me stay here while I get on my feet. But now that I'm working, I actually think I'm going to get a place of my own again."

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, I wonder how everyone's going to take that."

"Why wouldn't they be anything but happy for me?" Addie questioned. "I've been a burden to everyone here long enough."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You really are oblivious, you know that? Mum's loved having another girl around the house, someone actually helpful. You should hear her rave about you." Addie blushed even more. "And Fred likes having you around more than either of you will ever admit."

Addie started to argue, but Ginny interrupted her before she could start. "I think its great that you want to get on your feet again, find some independence. I'm just saying there's no need to rush. However, if you do get your own place, I think you definitely should let me come sleep on your couch every now and then, so I can get away from the insanity of this house."

Addie laughed. "Of course. You can come over anytime you want. You could even help me shop for flats in the next couple of days, if you wanted."

Ginny clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, I'd love that."

And just like that, Addie had made a very good friend in Ginny Weasley.