[1] Lemons into Lemonade ✓ | FRED WEASLEY

Chapter Forty Two

Having not seen Aubrey all day, Fred was rather looking forward to being her at lunch so was a little dismayed to find her missing. Since she'd run off the day before, Aubrey had done a rather spectacular job at avoiding him and hoped this was just a temporary coping mechanism; the prospect of her disappearing from his life being both inconvenient and upsetting.

For some reason, George has sat completely alone at the table which only intensified the awful butterflies of worry, flitting around in his stomach.

"Hey George ... why aren't you sat with Lee or Angelina or ... Fred?" He asked as he sat down.

George shrugged, "Well, use your eyes, they're not here so I can't ... and I needed some time alone to just think."

"About...?" Instead of saying something, he did a sort of pointed nod which was luckily understood.

"Yeah, that ... it's weird," George said, "I feel bad though, did I overreact?"

Fred shrugged, "I don't think so, what happened later?"

With a guilty look, George toyed around with his peas as he replied, "Nothing. I know her bed had been slept in because I saw the covers all moved in the morning but she got up really early and came in late. It's uncomfortable but I can be civil about it if we just get on with it, I won't be an arse about it. Probably worse for you and her anyway, which is why I'd rather not dwell on it."

"Wait, so she's ... avoiding you? When you're literally sleeping in beds next to each other? That takes effort and skill," Fred was reminded of why he liked her in the first place which was probably not the best thought at the present moment, "She's not great with this stuff, I remember when I found out about it she got defensive and used a silencing charm and then we never talked about it - "

"Nevermind," George cut in, looking down at his plate, "She's over there with Lexy."

Fred turned around to see the two of them standing across the room in a surprisingly confident stance. For a moment, he considered going over to fetch her but to his surprise, Aubrey and Lexy were coming over on their own accord.

"Quick," George hissed, "Make it look like we weren't just talking about her."

Although he felt like the two of them not addressing it would cause some issues, very deep emotions which couldn't be dealt with by joking around made him slightly uncomfortable so chose to go with it.

Quickly he turned back, thinking of the first one-liner that came to mind, "Hey George ... you know I bought these shoes from a drug dealer?"

Even though he was looking down, Fred saw a smile curve onto his brother's face as he stared at his peas, "Oh, you did, did you?"

"Yeah, dunno what he laced them with but I've been tripping all day..."

"You have? Hope you're not hurt, hon," Aubrey's voice came from behind him as she cheerfully took a seat, ruffling his hair in a surprisingly playful gesture which was not like her at all. Lexy giggled slightly before walking around the table to take a seat next to George who was still locked into an intense staring contest with his plate.

"Are there any potatoes?" Aubrey grinned.

"Yeah, I think so," Lexy replied, snickering slightly, "Hey Aubrey, you may not eat loads but when you do, you eat potatoes so ... you should grab some tea, Aubrey."

It took Fred a moment to register she was talking to him, the unexpected presence of an outsider spooking him a little. Quickly, it occurred to him that perhaps Aubrey had lied to Lexy to get her to sit with them for some moral support, making him wonder if she was actually doing okay despite her cheery facade.