Golden Boy

4. Amidst the Storm

The next morning, Camellia was awoken by the deafening boom of thunder outside her window.
She gasped and bolted up, glancing over at Hermione, who'd also been startled awake and was sitting up.

"That nearly scared the life out of me..." Cam told her friend. Hermione was bleary-eyed and bushy-haired, and she nodded. A sudden flash of lighting briefly illuminated the room, making her yelp.

"What time is it?" Camellia asked. Hermione stretched her arm across to Ginny's nightstand, where her solar watch was sitting. "Half-past five," she groaned.

Another clap of thunder shook the room. The pounding rain was deafening on the roof and the windows, the sheets of raindrops being whipped around by a vicious wind.

"Looks awful out there..." Hermione said, watching the torrential downpour. "I wonder how long it's-"

She stopped mid-sentence to watch a drop of water fall from the ceiling and into a massive puddle on the wooden floor.

"Oh, bloody hell-" Camellia exclaimed, hopping out of bed and running down the stairs hurriedly.
She didn't know the charm to stop a leak, and apparently neither did Hermione, because she came jogging down right afterwards. They both halted at the bottom of the stairs.

About a dozen steady drips were falling from the ceiling, soaking the floor and the furniture in huge puddles all over the dining room and den.

"Go get the boys," Cam instructed, and Hermione swiftly ran back upstairs. Camellia ran down, her feet splashing through the puddles freezing water, and she started pushing the loveseat out from underneath a leak. The rug under her feet was completely soaked, so she pulled it out of the way and onto the back of one of the dining chairs to let it dry.

The loud creaking of the stairs and heavy footsteps announced the arrival of the four boys, along with Ginny.

"What the hell-?" George muttered, staring in shock at the mess in the main room. "Right, someone needs to go get buckets from the broom shed outside, the rest of us need to move things out of the way of the water. Come on!"

"Cam, you and me," Fred said, jogging up to her.
"Ron, come with us! We need buckets!"

"Right," he said, clearly still half-asleep, but he joined them.

Camellia opened the door and ran out into the bitter-cold rain. Within seconds she was soaked to the bone, and she could barely see. She ran towards the locked shed and reached for her wand, but suddenly realized she'd left it upstairs.

Fred and Ron skid to a halt beside her, both drenched.

"I haven't got my wand," Cam yelled over the rain to the boys and gesturing to the padlock. "It's locked!"

Fred turned to Ron. "I haven't mine either, Ron go grab yours, I saw it on the dining table!"

He nodded and ran swiftly back inside. Fred turned to Camellia and said loudly, "Go next to the shed, under the tree! That way we won't get so rained on while Ron's inside!"

They both ran over to where Fred had indicated.
Fred was looking out towards the house, then turned his attention to Camellia. His eyes wandered slowly down to her chest, and quickly back up to her face again.

"Fantastic day to wear a white t-shirt, Cam..." he crooned. "Did you do that just for me?"

Camellia glanced down and gasped, hastily crossing her arms in front of her chest, which was almost fully visible beneath her tight, now-transparent shirt.

"Oh, don't do that," Fred whined childishly. "I don't mind!"

Camellia giggled, blushing furiously. Fred looked irresistible as he stood in the rain, his wet hair turned dark by the water and brushed back, his shirt clinging to his toned body. Tiny rain droplets ran down his face as he smiled down at her.