Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 105 | Bet

Moody, after some extra convincing by the others, agreed to give Sarah a week off from Order business unless an emergency arose. Fred had frowned at only one week, but Sarah agreed to dissolve the tension.

So, Sarah spent the next week doing nothing order-related. For once, having nothing of importance to do was refreshing. Fussing with her vegetable patch, running with Moose, and completing jigsaw puzzles were great distractions. Halfway through her allocated week off, Sarah realised how much better she felt already. Really, all she needed was a reset.

She even picked up her guitar again, something she hadn't done in months. Music had always been an outlet for her, so having it back in her life was a relief for all her pent-up emotions.

Fred looked pleasantly surprised to see Sarah pull out her guitar in the evening. He lounged on the sofa in the living room with his legs stretched out on the coffee table.

"Working on a song?" Fred asked, lifting his legs to allow Sarah to get past and sit beside him.

"Yeah, actually," Sarah tucked her leg under herself and propped the guitar up. The instrument wasn't in the best condition, with scratches and stickers on its wood. Still, Sarah had owned this guitar since she was eleven, and she wouldn't be letting it go anytime soon. "I'm perfecting the melody at the moment. You know, how the song will actually go."

"Let's hear it," Fred demanded eagerly, sitting up. He hadn't seen or heard Sarah play in months and wanted to encourage her interest in music again.

With a surprisingly shy smile, Sarah nodded, "Alright, but don't judge me, yeah? I'm a bit rusty."

"You know I'd never judge you," Fred answered earnestly.
Sarah took a deep breath before strumming the melody. Her fingers moved across the strings as smoothly as they had done months ago. With one final pluck, she looked up at Fred.

His gaze was so focused on her, so intense. He was mesmerised by her, by her talent. He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I missed hearing you play," Fred muttered, cupping her cheek. Her skin was smooth under the roughness of his hand.

"I didn't drive you mad with all my singing?" Sarah leaned into his touch, smiling.

Fred brushed his thumb across her cheek, "Not even."
Fred let his hand drop, "The song sounds quite good,"

Sarah giggled, "It's no use asking you for advice, is it? You say everything I play is good."

"Well, it's true!" Fred shrugged exaggeratedly.

"You're ridiculous," Sarah rolled her eyes with a smile, setting her guitar on the portion of the coffee table that wasn't occupied by Fred's legs.

"I'm being a supportive boyfriend," Fred grinned, draping an arm around Sarah's shoulders and pulling her closer to him.

Never refusing an opportunity to cuddle, Sarah lay her head on Fred's chest, submerging herself in the warmth and comfort that he offered.

"Boyfriend?" Sarah raised a brow, "I don't remember having a boyfriend."

"Fiancé!" Fred corrected, laughing. He ran his hand down her arm.

Sarah huffed a laugh before asking, "How was work today, anyway?"

She could feel Fred inhale deeply at that, so she asked, "Not good?"

Fred inclined his head slightly, "You wanna guess how many customers we had today?"

Sarah pursed her lips, already anticipating the answer, "I think I know, but I don't want to say it."

"If you're thinking zero, then you'd be correct," Fred answered. His tone turned bitter, "We're just wasting our time even opening."