An Affair to Remember (Fred Weasley)

13) Tension

Adrienne woke up the next morning rather surprised to see that she was lying on the grass, her clothes damp. She got up and saw that Fred was lying a bit further away from her, wearing only his trousers.

"What the fuck happened last night?" she muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes and standing up on her feet. She walked over to him and shook him lightly. Her vision was barely focussing as she adjusted to broad daylight.

"Wake up Fred" 

When he finally stirred a little and opened his eyes, he looked as if he had just descended from another dimension.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice cracking as he sat up, looking around him in confusion.

"Outside" she said, before getting up from her kneeling position and heading off to the porch where Harry and George were still asleep.

She woke both of them up too before heading into the cabin and waking up Hermione and Ginny who had passed out on the couch, Ron on the floor.

"How did we end up on the porch?" Harry asked, wiping his glasses on his t-shirt as he walked in. George followed, looking dead tired.

"Hang on, I think I remember how to make that sobering solution Madam Pomfrey told me about years ago" Hermione said tiredly, making her way to the kitchen. Everyone else followed her and sat at the counter as Hermione got started on the potion.

Adrienne put her head in her hands, trying her best to remember what happened last night. Fortunately, she wasn't completely clueless and seemed to remember a sufficient amount. Images flashed in her head of running around on the grass, taking a dip in the pond, Fred's handsome face emerging from between the smoke, his eyes unfocused as he laughed at something that she had said, Ginny falling asleep on her shoulder, the taste of smoke on her tongue.

She felt a nudge on her shoulder and looked to her side to see Fred looking at her worriedly.

"You okay?" he mouthed. 

Adrienne nodded, still stuck in her train of thought.

When no one was looking, he quickly snaked his hand up her arm, interlaced her fingers with his and brought her hand down to under the table, resting both their hands on his thigh. He stroked the top of her palm with his thumb.

Adrienne smiled down at their hands intertwined together and then looked up at him so see him already smiling at her. When she caught him staring he blushed and looked away, and Adrienne chuckled to herself silently, squeezing his hand under the table.

"George you didn't tell us why you've been so quiet about Olivia" said Ginny.

"Y'know Gin I really thought she was the one but she's dating that prat Zabini" George grumbled.

"I still find that hard to believe" said Adrienne.

"I saw them together" he shrugged.

"Maybe you should talk to her" Hermione offered.

"I tried but she wouldn't listen to me" George said exasperatedly.

Suddenly, a memory from yesterday hit Adrienne like a brick on the head.

"Remember, he's your husband. At the end of the day he's the only man you'll end up with"

"I hope I don't have anything to worry about, wouldn't want the Weasleys to tarnish the pure-blood names further. And you know how much reputation matters to us don't you?"

Adrienne felt the familiar, uneasy feeling in her stomach once more. She hurriedly freed her hand from Fred's grasp, clasping her own hands together on the table. Fred looked at her in confusion and she didn't know if she was imagining it or not but she thought she saw hurt flash across his features.