[2] The Great Orangenie | FRED WEASLEY

Chapter Thirty Three

Angela was wasting no time at all, clearly enthusiastic about the chance to reconnect with her friend. Aubrey and their friends were sat in a carriage when she first approached, confidently sliding the door open.

"Um, Aubrey ... and Fred, I guess, do you want to meet tomorrow after supper? I know Umbridge technically banned it but we can just say it's N.E.W.T revision or something..."

Hermione had already set the date for the DA the next day, clearly trying to start as early as possible but they were masters at fitting things in.

"Sure," Lexy's eyes widened when Aubrey said this, "Sounds good, right Fred?"

"Wicked."

Angela clearly wanted to stay longer so Aubrey decided to extend the hand, "Do you want to come and sit? We can make room for you, hon, Fred and George were describing some of the new products they want to work on."

"No, no, I have to go and find Kenny," She laughed, peering out, "He was so close, I thought he was behind me..." The silence suddenly grew tense and she stepped out of the carriage, "Just thought I'd stop by to say that but seeing as I have ... bye."

The moment the door slid shut, Lexy slid forward on her seat, "You two are talking again? Aubs, I know you spoke once when you and Fred were ... having troubles."

"I'm a troublemaker, what did you expect," Fred joked.

"Whatever," Lexy shook her head, "But hanging out without me is quite big... very big, do you need me there at all?"

Aubrey smiled and shook her head, "I think we're okay, Lexy, but thank you."

There was a slight droop to Lexy's shoulders as she sunk back next to George, "Oh, yeah, that's fine..." although she was sure to mouth 'Tell me later!', with a furtive glance at Saskia. Oddly Saskia had remained quiet again for the duration of the journey so far even when Lee and Fred had engaged in an intense arm wrestle. Usually, some silence was appreciated, Saskia was alright sometimes but others times her voice grated on Aubrey's nerves. Now, however, Aubrey was dying to get her to talk so she could easily cross-check when Umbridge gave her away what Gil was like.

"Saskia, good summer?"

"Hmm?" Saskia looked up, "Oh, yeah. It was a bit lonely."

"Absent parents?" Lexy launched into a speech, "Tell me about it. I was at the Villa and I wake up to find they've gone on all day Whale watching boat..." This went on for quite some time but Aubrey didn't have the heart to interrupt. The moment it was done, Aubrey immediately cut back to Saskia, her mind thoroughly on one unwavering track so that she was unaware of the slight hurt on Lexy's face.

"Lonely like that?"

Saskia shook her head, "Not really. I wasn't in Fiji. Just lonely."

With that, she turned back to the window sill and Aubrey's eyes lit up. It was all making so much sense, a dead girl wouldn't have family and maybe Saskia had spent the entire Christmas running away from creepy blue haired men. Either way, lonely was very telling.

It felt odd knowing that she'd seen Angela and Kenny separately the next day, Aubrey had come to associate them as a pair despite having been separate friends with them at the start. Still, she and Fred had become inseparable in a short time so it appeared things had changed drastically from what Kenny had told Fred. Anyway, it wasn't like she really saw Kenny there anyway. He'd made a couple of friends when forced to pair up with them and they hadn't had a load to talk about what with everything spinning around her mind.

"Won't Umbridge give us detention if she finds us?" Aubrey asked, as she and Fred found Angela in the library the next evening. Instantly Aubrey could tell something was off, her lips were curved down in irritation which was never a good sign.