Invitation Only ~ Fred Weasley

SIXTYSEVEN

TRIGGER WARNING!
This chapter contains a sex scene without consent, so if you feel uncomfortable reading that kind of stuff, simply scroll ahead and skip the cursive text.

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The bright light was shining through the window and drowsy as all hell, Viola opened her eyes. She looked around and saw that she was still lying on the couch in the living room. It took her a few seconds before the memory of the day before came back. She closed her eyes in despair and almost started crying. The only thing that stopped her from crying was the realisation that she had a blanket covering her. She had no memory of grabbing the blanket herself and as far as she could remember, that very blanket had been neatly folded and was placed over the back of the armchair on her right. She sat up quickly and looked around. Chewie was in her nest, sleeping. And that's when she heard it. Footsteps coming from upstairs and towards the staircase.

Viola looked at the stairs in anticipation and true enough - Fred was coming down the stairs, only wearing his pajama pants and with a towel over his shoulders. He gave her a quick glance before he walked towards the kitchen without a word. A sigh came from Viola's lips and she slowly got up from the couch.

"Want some tea?" Fred suddenly asked from the kitchen. His voice was calm and back to its soft self. With relief, Viola visibly relaxed.

"Yea, thank you." She said and began walking slowly towards the kitchen. Fred grabbed the kettle and filled it with water, grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and some tea leaves.

"I'm still mad, Vi." He said, still with his back turned to her, but at least his voice was calm and controlled.

"I know. Rightfully so." Viola said softly and pulled out a chair from the table. She sat down and curled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. When Fred placed the kettle on the stove and turned it on, he took a deep breath and then turned around to face her. "When did you come home?"

"Last night. You were asleep and I didn't want to wake you up." He said and leaned against the counter.

"Can we talk?" Viola asked with caution and looked at Fred with a pleading look. He let out a long and deep sigh, before he slowly nodded.

"Let me just get the tea ready and we'll talk."

A few minutes later, Fred had both mugs in his hands and took the seat across from Viola. He pushed one of the mugs towards her and she grabbed it.

"Fred... I'm really sorry." Viola began and looked down at her tea. She felt extremely vulnerable and regretful. "I can't even begin to explain how much I regret reacting the way I did."

"I'm sorry too. I should've told you sooner, but it was this I was trying to avoid. Not very smart, I know that." Fred said calmly and took a sip of his tea.

"It shouldn't make a difference. I guess I just got overwhelmed. I am really happy for you guys and there's no doubt that you should go and open up the new shop." She said quietly and finally looked up and met his gaze.

They both fell silent for a while as they both took a few sips of their tea. It was chamomile, her favourite.

"But, Fred... What you said before you left..." Viola quietly began and gulped. She could feel her voice cracking and she fought not to allow the tears to emerge.

"Don't sweat it, Vi. I didn't mean that, at all. I was angry and frustrated, but that's no excuse. That was not fair of me to say." Fred said and gulped as well. Very visibly, Fred began avoiding her eyes - he was very shameful of his words.