𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 | f. w

iii. the morning after

chapter three
THE MORNING AFTER

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» » EDITH AWOKE the following morning with a throbbing headache. A headache much like the one you get after getting completely hammered on Fire Whiskey. She knew the feeling all too well, seeing as she'd spent nearly every weekend getting drunk in the Gryffindor common rooms when she was still in school. The twins would invite a select few to come to spend the evening in their shared dormitories, usually ending the night by passing out on the stone-cold floor. It was fun, though. Edith couldn't help but feel sentimental as she looked back on the memories she had of the three of them. They were like peas in a pod, after all.

Stretching her legs and arms, yawning, Edith quickly found that she had been left alone in bed. Being the overanalyzing type, she couldn't help but think he must've regretted their evening together. Maybe he woke up that morning, realizing that it was a complete and utter mistake, what they did. Maybe it didn't mean anything to him, other than the fact that they both felt the nostalgia of being together again. Perhaps the safety of it was what caused them to even go there in the first place.

After finding her clothes in the pile on the floor, and drawing a few fingers through her tousled dark brown hair, Edith headed downstairs. She had no idea whatsoever, what to expect, but she knew she had to face him sooner or later. There was no going back from what they did, she knew that.

Edith quickly learned that the shop was just as empty as the flat. There was no sign whatsoever of Fred being there. It might've been early in the morning, but she found quite weird that he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Kind of like the way she had done four years ago.

Perhaps this was his way of getting back at her.

Edith found herself letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the doorbell chimed, and in came Fred Weasley.

"Good morning", she smiled.

"Mm—morning", he said unconvincingly, barely giving her the time of day. Instead, he just walked through the shop, all the way back to the storage room, saying absolutely nothing. It was almost as if he wasn't the same person who went to bed with her last night. She fell asleep beside Fred and woke up alone, only to have him treat her like a shadow.

"Is everything okay?", she asked shyly, feeling the tension return to the air between them.

Fred looked up from whatever he was doing.

"Yeah—I'm just getting ready to open up for the day. It's nearly 10 o'clock", he looked at her for a split second, as if having eye contact any longer than that, would somehow hurt him.

"Okay". She peered around the room. "Is there anything I can do to help?".

"Not really. Verity'll be here any minute".

Edith felt her stomach churn and her cheeks flush.

"Verity. So— is she like— your girlfriend or something?", she asked hesitantly, silently cursing herself for even caring. She shouldn't even have been in his bed, to begin with, and now she's acting like a jealous girlfriend all of a sudden? All they did was shag. Once. She's not allowed to feel like this.

"I don't really understand why that's any of your business", he responded. The sudden harshness of his voice took Edith by surprise, and she couldn't seem to understand why he was acting so defensive all of a sudden. It was just a simple question, right?

"Right—of course. Sorry", she muttered before turning around, heading upstairs to collect her things. She didn't really want to stick around long enough to see him throwing dirty glances her way. She didn't know why he was acting the way he was, but she wasn't about to stay and find out either. Perhaps all he needed, was a bit of space. Surely, she could be mature enough to give that to him.

So she left, taking a trampled-on piece of her heart with her, leaving the rest of it behind for him to tarnish further. She couldn't seem to fathom why, but he had a power over her, something that made her completely submissive to his touch and made her crumble whenever he seemed to discard what little was left of her.

It's not that he treated her poorly, necessarily, but he left her feeling shitty all the less. The way that he spoke to her, or rather, didn't speak to her, broke her heart, and she didn't even know he held the power to do so. In some weird way, he had become more than just an old best friend, and she didn't if they'd ever be able to move on from this. Whatever 'this' was.

Edith Apparated back to the Burrow that very same morning. She almost scared the life out of poor Molly Weasley, as she popped out of nowhere making Molly drop her teacup as she shrieked.

"Molly! Godric— I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you okay?", she exclaimed.

"I'm alright, dear", the middle-aged lady smiled motherly. "Care for some green tea?".

"Please".

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