𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, fred weasley

˗ˋ 38

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH SOMEONE COMES TO VISIT

. . .

"You came all the way down here for once." Was the first thing that Elodie said as soon as she stepped out of the Beauxbatons lodgings, being greeted by the somewhat hopeful face of Fred.

"Ouch." He said, and for a moment Elodie panicked, wondering if what she said was too mean. "But true. I thought we could maybe talk with a bit of a change of scenary, you know? Switch it up a bit?"

If it was too mean, Fred had taken it in his stride, turning it into something with a bit more humour infused with the words.

"Another serious one?" Elodie asked.

"Yep, and this time you know what it's about." He continued. The girl nodded, and checked that the door into the Beauxbatons carriage was closed before stepping forward, Fred taking her hand as they walked in silence.

It took them a moment to get to the place that Fred had in mind, and the pair sat down on top of a hill, that looked down across the valley that Hogwarts sat in, the early evening light casting a blue reflection down on the lake.

"So." Elodie began, Fred tapping her shoulder gently to get her to sit up for a moment, laying his coat down on the slightly scratchy grass.

"Is it ok if I just talk for a while?" Fred asked, and Elodie nodded, getting comfortable on the coat, looking out at the water.

"Right.. I never meant to pressure you into making a decision. I just thought it and it came out and then everything happened at once. You don't have to stay, you can go back if you want to." He started.

"You don't have to stay because of me, or even stay with me. You should just do what you want." Fred said, and it seemed that he had been holding it in, as a sigh of relief fell from his lips, his body physically relaxing. "Ok, I'm done." He said, a slightly smile on his face.

"Right, my turn." Elodie said, sitting up. "I had come to the realisation that night that I would have to return to Beauxbatons at some point, and I completely forgot that I didn't even attend Hogwarts until then."

"I would consider staying here, and Fleur said I should go for it if I don't mind. But I need to talk to my parents and figure it out for myself. And I'm not planning on breaking this off when it's time to go back to Beauxbatons."

"Oh thank Merlin." Fred breathed out, and Elodie's eyes were stilll trained on the lake below.

Beside her, as the silence overcame conversation for a while, Fred debated with himself for a moment. But something shifted, and so he edged that tiny bit closer to Elodie's and leant his head on her shoulder.

She flinched, just the tiniest movement that had Fred hesitating his decision. But he felt her relax, and so he stayed there. Elodie and Fred had done things like holding hands and cheek kisses for a while - acts of something a little more than friendship.

Somehow, the act of Fred balancing his head on her shoulder was far more intimate than he had imagined, a touch of closeness that differed from the others. It seemed so different from the moment in the owlery, a intimacy

"I don't want to feel like I've pressured you into anything." Fred mumbled, and a shiver of goosebumps travelled down Elodie's spine as she felt his warm breath on her neck.

And then, almost all of a sudden, the feeling of soft kisses pressed into Elodie's neck, and her breath caught in her throat.

A trail of soft kisses travelled up to her jaw line, and Fred paused there, just for a moment, before continuing the path back down her neck reaching her collarbone.

The shoulder of Elodie's sweater slipped off her shoulder, and she felt her cheeks burn pink as the kisses progressed further down, and Fred pressed a final kiss to her shoulder.

"No-" She said instinctively as he stopped, and Fred smirked, looking up at her her rather cockily. Elodie took a deep breath, trying to remember the last thing the boy said, ultimately trying to distract her mind from the path it was taking.

"You didn't, I've just been confused." Elodie finally said, and Fred sat up, their eyes meeting. "One day I'll get you all flustered, Freddie." She said, a look of determination setting in her features.

Fred laughed, a smirk appearing as he meant forward and pulled her chin upwards, so their eyes met once again.

"Good luck with that, love."

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