Traitor : Fred Weasley, Draco Malfoy & OC Fanfic

Chapter 23 - Broken Glass

It was that strange time of year between Christmas and New Year's Eve, that drifted by in a haze of leftovers and hangovers. Nobody knew what they were meant to be doing and it seemed to simply be a continuation of the festive season.

On the 29th of December, 4 days into my daze of cold turkey and finishing off the last of the nettle wine, a note arrived via our family owl, Atherol. It was addressed to me and I recognised Ginny's handwriting instantly.

"You're coming for dinner tonight, I'll be cooking. 8pm sharp - Ginny" it read.

Admittedly, since Christmas I had vowed to spend sometime alone with my family. I hadn't been ignoring The Weasleys, though Ginny had invited me over a few times, but after Colin's abrupt arrival on Christmas Day, my parents hadn't been the same. They moped around the house and usual activities, like country walks or having dinner together, didn't bring them joy. I couldn't just run off and have fun with my friends while they were like this.

The only thing that brightened my mother's face was planning her annual New Year's Eve party but that wasn't for another couple of days. I had been hoping not to have to socialise with anyone until then, but from the blunt tone of Ginny's note I knew I had to go.

It was one of the coldest evenings of winter so far and I arrived outside of The Burrow wrapped in my warmest coat and the scarf that Molly had knitted for me. I gave two short raps at the door and Ginny opened it and pulled me into an embrace before I could give a third.

"It feels like forever since you've been round!" Ginny cried, holding me at arm's length to look at my face.

"It's been 4 days! You're acting like it's been a year" I laughed. She moved us into the kitchen and began opening bottles of beer for us.

"So where are have Molly and Arthur gone?" I asked.

"They're visiting Charlie in Romania, they'll be back tomorrow. How are your parents doing?" Ginny asked in a concerned tone, handing me a bottle.

I sipped down the foamy liquid and thought about her question for a moment. I didn't know whether to tell the truth, but they had all seen Colin the other evening and there was no way my parents could be expected to cope after that.

"Not great to be honest", I started, "but my mother's looking forward to New Year's Eve, it will take her mind of things"

"Good, we'll make sure she has fun. Well, hopefully tonight will take your mind of things too! Follow me, the boys are playing cards already" Ginny said, stepping round into the living room area.

I walked out to see Fred, George and Ron hunched around the coffee table playing, what sounded like, a very vicious game of Rummy. They were so engrossed they didn't even look up when I came in.

"Hello!" Ginny shouted sarcastically, "we have a guest?"

Fred looked up first and his furious expression softened as he nodded me a hello and the others followed.

"We'll be with you in a minute, I've just got to win this" George called, slamming his cards down to show the others he'd won.

"How did you manage that!?" Fred shouted, throwing his cards at the table.

"You're cheating!" Ron exclaimed, looking down at his own cards.

"Never mind! Dinner's almost ready" Ginny shouted over their bickering, "Ron, when will Harry and Hermione get here?"

Ron's friends joined us shortly and we all sat round the dining table to dig into the delicious meal Ginny had prepared for us. It felt like summer again, the beers carried on coming and we got on to the topic of school, as usual.