Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 12: 302 Days Before

It took Addie a total of five days to find a flat in London. She was amazed at the speed of wizarding real estate, but thought that it had to do with how little was being sold in times like these. Her new flat came with a muggle-repellant charm, a full kitchen, and two bedrooms. Addie happily handed over the gold for the first months rent, and watched the landowners eyes light up in delight.

Ginny helped her move in. Her furniture from her previous flat was magically conjured into her new one, as well as the small array of personal items she had kept at the Burrow. It only took the girls a few hours before everything was tucked away in its proper place.

"You don't have a lot of stuff," Ginny commented.

"I didn't really have a chance to acquire a lot of things," Addie explained, plopping down on her couch. "I moved to London, was absolutely broke, and then less than a week later, I was put under the Imperius Curse."

Ginny came and sat down beside Addie. "I guess I didn't think about that." She was looking at Addie with pity, and Addie hated that. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine how messed up that would be."

Addie shrugged, becoming slightly uncomfortable with the subject. "Its over now," she said simply, and wouldn't say anything further about the topic.

Time was starting to catch up to Addie, and the realization of just how much she had missed in those six months was starting to bother her immensely. It was six months of her life wasted. Six months without seeing friends, visiting family, or doing anything other than what was entirely necessary. This newfound freedom the past couple of months had been overwhelming. She thought that was maybe why she had spent so long at the Burrow.

Ginny soon left, and Addie was left to herself. She lay back on the couch, grabbing her old Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and idly flipping through it.

Her life finally felt as if it was coming together. She had gotten her own place, she was going to join a cause she fully believed in, and she was finally tasting happiness for the first time this year. She thought of the Weasley's, and how much she appreciated everything they had done for her the past two months. When she had told Molly she would be moving out, Molly had looked like she was going to cry. She had hugged Addie tight, telling her that she was welcome back whenever she wanted.

Fred hadn't said much about it at all. Anytime the subject was broached, he quickly found an excuse to leave. Addie didn't know why he would be so bothered by the idea. It wasn't like she was disappearing completely, and she would still see him almost every day at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

There was a knock at her door, and Addie sat up straighter on the couch, eyeing the door suspiciously. Molly would be coming later tonight with a few members of the Order to put some protective charms on the flat, but that wouldn't be for hours yet. She walked over to the door, peering through the peephole, but the visitor was so tall she could only see the blue of his shirt. There were only a few people she knew that were that tall, and she swung open the door excitedly. Fred Weasley stood before her, and Addie couldn't help the broad smile that spread across her face at the sight of him.

"I didn't think you were coming until tonight," she said, stepping back to let him in.

Fred walked in, looking around at her new flat and nodding his head in approval. "Not bad at all," he told her. "We could throw some wild parties in here."

"Which we will not be doing," she added.

"You're no fun," he teased.

It was then that Addie noticed the small cloth bag in his hands. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously. "I swear if you dungbomb my place the very first day, I will kill you."