Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 25: 251 Days Before

Fred and Addie woke up early the next morning and quietly made their way up to the owlery. Although most of the owls had gone home with their owner's over the summer, there remained a few old barn owls that belonged to the school. Fred whistled and one flew down to him, perching on his shoulder. Fred tied the message to the owl's leg and gave it the address to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. He and Addie had decided last night that it would be much less likely to be intercepted, as Fred and George received a lot of mail orders and hopefully this message wouldn't stand out. The note was a simple one, stating briefly that they were alive and well. Addie and Fred hoped it would be enough to ease the panic until they could get back to London.

For nostalgia's sake, Fred and Addie ate breakfast in the Great Hall. Two golden plates sat at the Gryffindor table, and as the two sat down across from each other, platters of food appeared in front of them. Addie filled her plate with eggs and bacon, absently eating as she took in every detail of the Great Hall. It hadn't changed since she'd been there nearly three years ago. The banners of each house were still strung along the wall, the raised dais in which the professor's sat still facing the students. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky, and the early morning light shone down on them, warming Addie's face.

"It feels so weird to be in here when its empty," she said, glancing at the doors to the Great Hall as if expecting other students to come pouring in. The Great Hall was always loud, filled with laughing, cheerful students. Now, the only sounds were of Addie and Fred's chewing. "I want to go to the library if we have time today," she said.

Fred raised his eyebrows at her. "The library? Why on earth would you ever want to go back to that place?"

"There's something I want to show you," she told him.

This piqued Fred's curiosity. "Does this mean learning more about school-age Addie?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then I'm in. But I want to go down to the Quidditch Pitch first." He laughed at Addie's startled expression. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you fly. Although if I can find a way into the broom shed, I'd love to get out on the pitch again. Did you ever see any of the Gryffindor games?"

"I think everyone's seen a Gryffindor game. No one missed those Gryffindor versus Slytherin matches."

"So you seen me in action, then?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Addie giggled. "Well, I don't know if I knew which one was you. I remember your brother, Charlie, though. He was Captain during one of my first couple of years at Hogwarts. He was an amazing Seeker."

Fred pretended to look offended. "So while I was out there, practicing nearly every night so I could show off to you, you were busy thinking about my brother? That's just wrong."

"Show off to me? I don't think you even knew who I was."

"That's not important," Fred said, waving away the statement. "What matters is that now I know who you are, and its tragic that I didn't leave an impression all those years ago. Maybe if you would have noticed me, you might have come to congratulate me on my game. You could have had years of me in your life at this point."

The two finished up their breakfast, and watched the plates vanish off of the table before heading outside to the find the shed where they kept the school brooms. It was, of course, locked for the summer, but this didn't deter Fred one bit. Even without a wand he seemed unstoppable when it came to causing mischief. Out of his pocket he produced two bobby pins and in a matter of second Addie heard the click of the lock and the door swung open.

"Unbelievable," Addie muttered as he came out holding an old, well-used Cleansweep broom. He swung it over his shoulder and held out his hand. Addie took it, and the two walked across the grounds to the Quidditch pitch hand in hand. At the entrance, they diverged, Addie climbing the steps to the stands, while Fred slipped inside the change room, emerging on the pitch in a pair of Gryffindor Quidditch robes. He straddled his broom and took off, climbing steadily in the air, high above the pitch, before leaning forward and swooping back down as fast as he could. He looped around the pitch once before coming to a halt just in front of Addie's seat.