Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 14: 291 Days Before

Addie was ringing up yet another customer at the end of the day when Fred ambled over, leaning against the counter and trying way too hard to look casual. "Watch over there," he mumbled quietly, and nodded his head towards the back of the Joke Shop.

Addie turned her head to see George talking with a blonde haired girl. Addie had seen her come in to the shop quite often the past couple of months but had never talked to her. "Who's that?" she asked quietly.

"Her name's Charlotte," Fred said. "She comes in here all the time. George is half in love with her."

Addie watched closely as George talked animatedly to the girl, his arms gesturing so wide one of them smacked into the shelf behind him, knocking over a stack of fake wands. George's face turned bright red in embarrassment, but the girl laughed good-naturedly and returned the merchandise back to its place with a flick of her wand.

"I've never seen him nervous before," Addie commented.

"George has been working up the nerve to ask her out," Fred said. "Apparently today is going to be the day he actually goes through with it."

Addie watched, noticing George's nervous habits come to the surface the longer the conversation went on. His face stayed a violent shade of red, his hands constantly reaching out to fiddle with something, and he was constantly shifting from foot to foot. Addie watched in bated breath as George finally found a space in the conversation to ask his question. She couldn't hear it, but she knew it was being asked because George finally stopped fiddling for a moment. She could see the tension in his shoulders.

And she watched all that tension release as Charlotte nodded her head and gave him a smile. She had said yes. George Weasley had a date.

"Thatta boy," Fred said quietly.

**

That night there was another Order meeting. It was the first Addie would participate in as a new member, and it would also be the first held at her flat. It was originally supposed to be at Andromeda Tonks' house, but after a sighting of Death Eaters in the same neighborhood, the Order had been eager to move it. Addie was a new enough member that they believed You-Know-Who wasn't aware of her involvement just yet and that her flat would be safe.

The members arrived slowly that night. Ginny had come to Addie's for supper, secretly hoping her mother wouldn't notice, but had quickly been kicked out when Molly arrived.

Tonks came over to Addie immediately upon arrival, shaking Addie's hand enthusiastically. "It's always great to have another woman join the fight," she said, her hair going from a plain brown to a violent blue as she spoke.

"Thank you," Addie said, finally releasing her hand from Tonks's surprisingly strong grip.

Someone shouted Tonks's name and she looked over to where Remus Lupin was standing with Arthur and Mundungus, looking quite serious. He looked Addie over, his eyes narrowed, looking for something out of place. Addie grew uncomfortable under his stare.

Tonks let out a dramatic puff of air. "I love that man," she told Addie. "But he's much too paranoid after Snape's betrayal. Don't worry though, he'll come around." She walked away, heading towards the group of men, before Addie could respond.

George arrived next, heading over to Addie, still looking quite happy about the events earlier in the day.

"I hear you've got a date," Addie said as he approached.

"Sure do," he replied happily. "Friday night. I'm going to take her to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer." He said it confidently, but quickly after asked, "That'll be all right, don't you think? I mean, she's got to like Butterbeer, right?"