Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 20: 260 Days Before

Addie sipped at her cup of coffee, wincing at the bitter taste. She had never liked the drink, and had never understood people's dependence on it. She and Fred were seated in a cafe on Whitehall Street, sipping on fancy coffee and pretending to watch the crowds of people passing by. They had situated themselves by the window, and their eyes were trained on the building across the street. It was nothing special, just another office building, but what was of interest to the duo was the two identical stairways leading down below street level, labeled "Ladies" and "Gentlemen" respectively. It was the most commonly used entrance to the Ministry of Magic since You-Know-Who had taken over two weeks before, and her and Fred had been coming regularly to watch ever since they had learned Thomas was still working in the Department of Mysteries.

It had only taken Arthur a few days to discover that there was still an employee named Thomas Wright working in the Department of Ministries, and Addie had been eager to look for him immediately. Since their discovery, her and Fred had sat in that specific window of that specific coffee shop, watching the bathroom-like entrance and hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

They knew they had the right set of restrooms, because the type of people walking down those steps to the restrooms were not as inconspicuous as they were trying to be. Although they were dressed in muggle clothes, the pairings they had chosen did not match. Addie seen a particularly funny looking wizard wearing checkered pants with a polka-dot button-up shirt. The look was completed with a flowered tie and a top hat. Addie nearly snorted the bitter coffee out of her nose when she seen the man.

"They really should teach wizards about blending in when they go through Ministry training," Addie muttered. "Some of these people look absolutely ridiculous. Wizard robes look more normal than whatever that man is wearing." She gestured to the man she had just noticed. "At least it'll be easy to separate Thomas from people like that. He's smart enough to figure out muggle clothing."

"Maybe today will be our lucky day," Fred replied.

"Maybe," Addie said, but she sounded doubtful. They had been watching this particular entrance for ten straight days, and they still hadn't had any luck. If Thomas was using this entrance, surely they would have seen him by then. "Are you sure there aren't any other entrances?" she asked for the thousandth time.

"Just the floo network," Fred said. "And the telephone booth. But that's mostly for visitors."

"So in all odds, he's probably just using the floo network from wherever he's living now."

"It's possible."

Addie sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "This is impossible."

"Don't say that," Fred said, reaching across the table to hold her hand in his. "We've barely been watching for a week. For all we know, he's on summer holiday."

Addie raised her eyebrows. "You-Know-Who has taken over the ministry. Somehow I doubt he's handing out holiday time in his first two weeks of takeover."

Fred smiled. "Maybe You-Know-Who likes his holidays too. Maybe as we speak he's laid out on a beach somewhere, tanning his bald head. He could use a bit of sun. He's absolutely pasty, from what I've heard."

Addie stifled her giggle. "Fred, that's not funny. This is serious."

"I'm being serious. Why can't evil wizards like holidays too?"

Addie rolled her eyes before turning to stare out the window again, unconsciously sipping at the coffee in her hands again and wincing.

"Why don't you just get a glass of water?" Fred asked. "Instead of sipping at something you hate?"

"Because I'm trying to blend in," Addie said. "And places like this don't like you taking up prime table space if you're not spending money." She turned back out the window, watching an old wizard who hadn't bothered to hide his lime green robes. Walking beside him, talking animatedly, was a wizard that at first Addie didn't recognize. His black hair was slicked back, his expression stern and serious. Addie watched his side profile for almost a minute as the men stopped above the staircase, talking, before the man turned his head enough for Addie to see his face.

Thomas.

She was out of her seat, nearly knocking her chair over, and running out the door before her conscious caught up with her actions. Fred yelled after her, but she was already out the door, crossing the street without noticing her surroundings, her eyes focused only on the boy standing just in front of the steps, still talking with the elderly man. She was determined to reach him before he could go down the stairs and out of reach.

She didn't see the car until she was already out into the street, and the driver was forced to swerve violently to avoid hitting her. The driver honked angrily as he sped off down the street. Thomas's head swerved in her direction, eyes widening as he seen Addie approaching. He quickly mumbled his excuses to the old wizard beside him before dashing down the steps.

Addie ran up to the open doorway, looking down at the steps, but Thomas had already entered the men's restroom, and Addie wasn't sure how she could go down there without drawing too much attention to herself. Fred caught up to her then, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the street and into a quiet alley, where he held on tight and disapparated, taking her with him.

They popped up again just outside Addie's flat. He silently motioned for her to take him upstairs, and Addie reluctantly led the way, letting the two of them into her flat.

"What was that about?" Fred demanded as he shut the door behind him.

"That was him!" she said excitedly, her heart still racing from her near encounter. "That was Thomas! I almost had him!"

Fred did not find this as exciting as him. "Why would you run after him like that? What was that going to accomplish?"

"I thought the whole point was to find him so we could talk to him? What did you think we were going to do when we found him? Just let him walk away?"

"Yes."

"Why would we do that?"

"Because now we know he's out there," he told her. "He's reachable. But now, if he does have something to hide, he knows we're looking for him. He's going to be on the lookout for us." He shook his head. "I don't think he'll be using that entrance again now that he knows we've figured out he uses it to get to work."

"But why wouldn't he want to be found?"

"I don't know Addie. But by the way he ran, I'm sure he has his reasons."

She went over to her couch, plopping down in defeat. Fred slowly approached, sitting down beside her as well. "I don't get it," she said. "This isn't like him. He's not himself."

"We'll find another chance," Fred said, draping his arm around Addie's shoulders. Addie leaned her head on his chest, curling up as close to him as possible. Fred absently ran his fingers through her hair, and Addie felt shivers go down her spine at the action.

They sat in silence, neither one willing to move. Addie found more comfort than she ever would have thought in Fred's arms. "I'm sorry for messing everything up," she said quietly into his chest.

"It's okay. We'll still figure something out."

"How?"

"We get into the Ministry and find him. And we don't give him another chance to run."

"Are you suggesting we go into Death Eater infested territory, find Thomas and ask him what's going on, all without being caught?" She tilted her Fred up to see Fred nod. "How are we going to do that?"

Fred smiled down at her. "You really underestimate my diversion skills. And my expertise with explosives," he added as an after thought.