An Affair to Remember (Fred Weasley)

46) Beautiful Boy

'Close your eyes, have no fear. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...beautiful boy'

Today was the day he would do it.

Today was the day he would confront Adrienne Ellis about everything.

He had been working up the courage for ages, every little thing seemed to lead up to her. Especially his visions and strange appearances of people he didn't know. Frederick Gideon Weasley was a stubborn man and he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

He stared at the letter in his palm, folding it and pushing it in his pocket. It was about 12 PM and he hoped that Adrienne would be on her lunch break so that he could talk to her in private. Fred had only seen her once after the double date but he hadn't had a chance to talk to her because she seemed to be in a rush.

"I'll see you later George, going to be back in a bit" Fred called out to his brother before apparating to the nursery. He could smell the scent of the mud and the herbs as he pushed the glass door open, stepping into a world of green and splashes of red, purples and yellows of the little flowers that grew about.

His eyes scanned the store and he did a sharp intake of breath when his gaze landed on the woman he had been searching for. She had a small smile on her lips as she bade goodbye to an elderly couple. Her hair fluttered slightly as she turned around, walking into the cloakroom to presumably collect her belongings for her lunch break. Fred took small steps towards the room, hoping she would be the only one occupying it.

When he entered the room, he stopped at the doorway to get a good look at her, the woman who lived in his visions like she belonged there, taking up ever little space in his mind until he had none to spare even for himself.

"Adrienne" he spoke, his voice coming out cracky and deep.

Adrienne froze in her position, she could recognise that voice even in her dreams. The moment she heard her name fall from his lips she knew that something was wrong. He couldn't have found out could he? She slowly turned around, heart beating loudly in her chest as she met Fred's eyes searching her desperately.

He didn't waste time on preamble, "Please..." he whispered, his voice cracking once more as he walked forward "Who are you? Why...why can't I stop thinking about you?" his voice shook and she could see the beginning of tears form in his eyes,

She wanted to run over and hug him, give him everything she had stolen from him. If only it were that easy. "I'm no one Fred, I'm just Adrienne" she said softly, taking a step back.

But Fred took another step forward, "Are you some sort of enchantress? Like a Veela? Why are you always in my head, in my dreams, why the fuck can't I get you out of my goddamn dreams" he raised his voice slightly, a tear trickling down in his cheek. He had been trying to control his sobs the whole day but they were getting to him now.

How could Fred explain to Adrienne that he had fallen in love with a dream?

Adrienne hated seeing him like this "What do you mean, Fred? I'm no enchantress, just an ordinary witch" she said, trying to stop her own tears. Her hands fisted by her sides as she tried to control her sobs.

Fred dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out the letter. He opened it and started to read it out loud after giving her one pleasing glance. Each word was laced with pain and confusion, each sentence falling from his lips like a melancholic poem, one which he had memorised for hours on end in the course of all those sleepless nights he had had to endure. It was this poem that had put him back to sleep: Assurance that the poet loved him, that he was her muse. But uncertainty because he didn't know who the poet was.