Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape

Chapter 131 - Fred's Wife

I am in a bit of a slump after my conversation with Fred.  I've just been... avoiding thinking about the effect that killing Anthony had on me.  While I wasn't in love with him by any means, I actually had been a bit upset with him about the whole bite thing, I still cared for him.  In some weird twisted way, I had liked him.  He had been something good in a sea of things tearing me apart.  And I tore him apart.  I completely destroyed him.  

And yes, I am aware that I was preventing him from killing someone else.  But feelings don't work by logic, so I feel the guilt.  I don't got to bed until the early hours of the morning, spending some time in Charlie's room, letting him comfort me.  I don't deserve to be comforted.  I should feel terrible.  I did a terrible thing.  But I'm too selfish, and I curl into him, letting him hold the once again shattered pieces of me.

When I wake up in Ginny's room in the actual morning, my head is pounding.  Teddy yells at me from his crib, demanding to be gotten up.

"Just a minute."  I tell him, rubbing my still swollen eyes.  Ginny stirs in her bed, awoken by the yelling as well.  I roll out of bed and shuffle over to him, scooping him up out of the crib.

"Good morning."  Ginny grumbles, pushing her messy red tangles out of her face.

"Good morning."  I set Teddy on my hip and squat to dig his bottle and a clean nappy out of his bag.  I am repaid for my efforts with a smack on the side of the face.  "Merlin, kid.  I'm trying here."

He just smacks me again.  I hold his hand to stop the attacks, setting him down to change him.  Once clean, I prep his formula and hand him the bottle.  He eagerly shoves it into his mouth, drinking it greedily.

"You act like I starve you."  I tease him, placing a kiss on his little head.  He responds by changing his hair black like Harry's.  "I know Harry's your favorite.  You don't have to rub it in."

Ginny giggles from her bed.

"Speaking of Harry."  And idea strikes me.  "I would love a peaceful shower."

I scoop up the baby, and with a wink to Ginny, I head to Ron's room.  

"Wake up Harry!  Time to parent!"  I bang on the door.  I hear a thud from inside the room and a moment later, a very sleepy looking Harry opens the door.  "Here you go!  I'm gonna go shower!"

I hand him Teddy and Harry's sweet face lights up. 

"Hey Teddy!"  He coos, kissing the baby.  "I love the hair."

Smiling, I head back to get my stuff to shower.  I reach the landing with the bathroom door at the same time as someone else.  Fred stares at me with wide eyes, awkwardly unsure of what to do.

"You can go first."  I offer, stepping back for him.

"No, it's fine.  I can wait."  He counter offers.

"Okay.  Thanks.  I won't be long."  I promise, ducking inside.  I stay true to my word, showering and changing quickly.  I leave the bathroom about fifteen minutes later, finding him leaning against the far wall.  "All yours."

"Thanks."  He brushes past me, our shoulder touching a bit longer than I think is necessary.  I quickly step away with a frown.

"Where's your wife?"  I blurt out.  Fred freezes, hand on the doorknob.

"My what?"  He asks without turning.

"Your wife?  Is she not here?"  I repeat.  "I haven't actually met her."

"No.  She's not here.  And we aren't together anymore."  His voice is calm and steady for making such a hard declaration.

"Oh.  I'm so sorry."  I clutch my folded pajamas to my chest.

"It's fine."  He grumbles, slipping into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.  The moment he's gone, I let my jaw drop and let out a silent gasp.  What happened with his wife?  It's not even been six months, and they're already broken up! 

I dash up the steps, bursting into the shared room.

"Ginny!"  I whisper yell, needing explanations now.  

"What?"  She asks, looking up from the quidditch magazine she's reading.

"What happened with Fred and his wife?"  I ask, dropping onto her bed.

"Wait, Charlie never told you?"  Her eyes wide with surprise.

"No!  Tell me, please!"  I fold my legs up underneath me on her bed.

"Okay, so they actually never got married."  Ginny reveals.

"What?  No way!"  I gasp.

"Yeah!  Everything was all ready to go, and then they broke up like an hour before the ceremony.  They had been fighting about something the whole week up until the wedding, but were very hush hush about it.  Still don't know the official reasoning.  Although I suspect Mum knows because she didn't make a fuss when it ended."  

"Merlin!"  I shake my head in disbelief.  "I wonder what happened."

"Me too.  Mum refuses to say anything about it though.  It was just so weird.  One minute they were so ready, and then bam, it was over."  

"Yeah."  I mutter.

Then I start putting things together.

"Oh no."

"What?"  Ginny looks concerned.

"I'll be right back."  I climb off the bed and hurry back to the bathroom,  knocking on the door.  "Fred!"

"What?"  He snaps through the door, the water shutting off.

"I need to ask you a question."  

The door pops open and I ignore the fact that he's standing in front of me, soaking wet with only a towel on.

"Was it because you thought Teddy was yours?"  I ask, not even providing context.  He seems to understand though, and lets out a long sigh.

"Honestly, yeah."  He admits.  "Obviously we didn't know for sure.  But I wanted to look into it and figure it out, and she wanted me to drop it.  And if the kid ended up being mine, she wanted me to give up parental rights.  I couldn't agree to it."

"I'm so sorry, Fred.  If I had known it was going to be an issue, I would have told you that day.  I didn't even consider that you might think that."  I cover my face with my hands, feeling terrible that I managed to mess up another relationship for him.

"Hazel."  He sounds tired when he speaks.  "It's not your fault.  I jumped into things too quickly anyway.  Besides, I wasn't going to marry someone who asked me to abandon my child."

"I'm sorry."  I apologize once more, because I still feel some guilt.  He sighs, and then I feel his hands on my shoulders, pulling me closer.  He wraps his arms around me, hugging me for the first time in a year and a half. 

"Don't be.  For anything."  He says softly.

"Oh."  The meaning of his words slowly sink in.

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you."  He mumbles into my hair, his grip tightening on me. 

"I-"  I'm at a loss for words.  So I just hug him back, letting him know how much his words mean to me.

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