Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 15: 286 Days Before

Addie was happy to back at the Burrow. She arrived Sunday evening to the towering, lop-sided home, looking up at the odd house with a smile. It had been a couple of weeks since she had been back, and she hadn't realized how much she missed it until that moment. Molly had sent her a letter by owl the evening before, asking her to come for one last family dinner before half of the Weasley's went off on their mission to retrieve Harry Potter.

Addie trudged up the well worn path to the front door, entering without bothering to knock. This had been her home for two months, it felt silly to bother with formalities. She found Molly in the kitchen, wand in hand, directing a salad bowl to the table. "Oh, Addie! You're here!" she exclaimed upon seeing the girl. The salad bowl clattered to the table, tipping over. Molly waved her wand to clean it up before enfolding Addie in a hug. "It's so wonderful that you could come!"

"I wouldn't miss it," she told Molly, hugging her back. She had grown to love the older woman dearly. "It's so weird coming back here after so long!"

"You've been missed," Molly told her. "It's been so quiet without you here. Well, a little less so now, I suppose." She turned to smile in greeting at the three others who had just come into kitchen. Ginny and Ron nodded at Addie in greeting. Behind Ron was a girl Addie had heard all about but had never met before.

Hermione Granger looked slightly confused at the sight of Addie talking with Molly. Addie remembered her from school, and thought that she hadn't changed much in the years since Addie had graduated. Her bushy hair was pulled up into a ponytail, a typical pensive look fixed on her face.

Molly took it upon herself to give introductions. "Addie, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is Addie." Hermione greeted Addie warmly, although she still looked confused as to why Addie was at the Burrow. "Addie stayed with us a little while back," Molly explained. "She ran into some trouble with some Death Eaters and needed time to get back on her feet. So we took her in."

"And now we can't get rid of her," Ron added with a laugh.

"Ron, that's rude," Molly scolded. "Addie has been a great help around here. And now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time you helped out around the house."

Ron's eyes widened in terror. "I think I forgot something upstairs," he said quickly, making his exit before his mum had time to think of a chore for him to do.

"Why don't you girls go out set up some tables in the yard? I think we'll eat outside tonight. It's such a lovely evening." Addie, Ginny, and Hermione exited through the back door, and set to work conjuring tables, chairs, and table cloths. Hermione easily proved to be the most skilled at moving the objects precisely, and it didn't take long for Ginny and Addie to realize this. The two sat back, watching Hermione charm the tables to move with ease, and enjoyed the evening. It was nearly dusk, the sky darkening to a deep blue, the sun falling behind the hills that surrounded the Burrow. The air was cool against Addie's skin, and the sound of birds chirping and the chicken's squawking filled the air.

"She sure is something," Addie commented, nodding to Hermione, who had now conjured plates out of the air and was deftly maneuvering them with her wand to be evenly spaced out around the table.

"They don't call her the brightest witch of our age for nothing," Ginny replied.

Hermione finished her magic and turned to notice that Ginny and Addie had stopped helping long ago. "Sorry if I kind of took over just then," she said. "I get carried away sometimes."

"Fine by me," Ginny said. Addie nodded her head in agreement.

"So you've been staying at the Burrow?" Hermione asked Addie.