Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 88 | Marriage

The Burrow was lit up in golden light from the setting sun. It was beautiful, and usually Sarah would be running to get inside.

Now, though, Fred and Sarah loitered outside. It was if their feet were glued to the dirt path with mud. They had apparated in but were yet to move an inch.

"We should go in," Sarah said, but her statement lacked conviction.

"Yeah, probably," Fred agreed, but still, he didn't move.

"She's gonna kill us, isn't she?" Sarah whispered, a statement that had been repeated between the pair of them about a thousand times.

They had said it as they drove from Pisa to the beach. As they lounged on the white sand, it had come up again. Before they were about to take the international portkey back to England, Fred had said it again. Finally, Sarah repeated it once more at the Burrow.

They had only returned from Italy about twenty minutes ago, and all the relaxation Sarah had got on the trip felt like a big waste of time. She was already stressed again.

She was beginning to believe that she was just one of those people who were perpetually stressed.

"We can't stand here forever, though," Fred responded, his face unusually pale.

"Maybe we should just go back home," Sarah suggested weakly, feeling like a coward.

"We could go back to Italy for all it mattered. Eventually, she would find us and skin us alive there," Fred said, letting out a sigh. "Do you think he'll be angry, as well?"

Sarah shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised."

Fred's expression slipped even further into a frown. That look on his face would usually have Sarah thinking of ways to cheer him up again, but she knew there was no cheering him up from this. They were - as muggles so eloquently put - toast.

See, standing outside the Burrow and thinking someone was going to kill you? Everyone would assume you somehow caught Molly Weasley's wrath. Sarah wished it was Mrs Weasley, who was angry at them. At least she would forgive them eventually.

Capri Di Milano, on the other hand? Well, that woman could batter them good and proper. She would leave the pair of them wishing they had never crossed her path. She could hold a hell of grudge. Sarah had seen it for herself.

And if George was angry, too? Well, they may as well dig their own graves and lie in them.

Everything had been reasonably fine when they got back to the flat. It was blessedly empty, which gave Fred and Sarah a chance to discuss strategies about how to approach Capri and George. It had been two days since the couple had visited the Di Milano residence in Italy, two days since Capri's secret had been out, and there was absolutely no chance that Capri wasn't aware of this.

This had all been confirmed when they received a letter from Mrs Weasley asking them to come to the Burrow that evening, as everyone was there, including Capri's parents.

"Maybe she's happy?" Sarah suggested. "It's always a weight of your shoulders when you don't have to keep secrets anymore?"

"Your optimism is inspiring - " Fred commented dryly, " - and very misplaced."

Sarah sighed and began walking towards the front door, "Let's just get this over with. If we're lucky, at the end of this, I might still have a friendship with my best friend."

Fred followed, his brows still furrowed, "Shall I reiterate my optimism point?"

"Not necessary," Sarah called back to him. "I understood it perfectly the first time."