𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • (𝐝.𝐦.)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐢𝐱

♔

Bill and Fleur's wedding was beautiful. Molly made sure it was decorated flawlessly, all the trimmings calculated perfectly.

I looked around in awe as I first entered the large tent that had been put up. It was truly something to behold.

I had on one of Ginny's dresses, a baby blue one with short puffy sleeves and a heart neckline. It fell to midway down my shin, and was tight on top, flowy on the bottom.

I had my hair done up in a loose updo and put on thin silver jewelry matched with simple, dangly silver earrings that Fleur said I simply had to wear.

I wore white heels with it. The look was completely out of character for me, but I liked it, I truly did.

Hermione was already at one of the tables, and I found my name card next to hers. The table was not full, however.

The rest of the name cards told us we were still waiting for George, Ron, Harry, and Fred.

My heart sunk to my stomach went I saw his name. I knew I had to tell him about Draco and I, but I didn't want to hurt him.

He was a good friend, and I didn't want to make him hate me.

Hermione noticed my hesitation. "Are you alright, Maggie?" She asked worriedly, and I tensed up a bit.

"Can I get your opinion on something?" I asked, and she nodded. I took her hand in mine, basically dragging her out of the tent.

"I had an interesting conversation with George yesterday. He told me... well, he said Fred liked me. In a way more than just friends, that is," I said.

Her eyes widened. "Oh... what are you going to do?" She asked.

"That's where I'd need your opinion, Granger," I chuckled nervously.

"Right, oh my, okay. Well, you should pull him to the side maybe. Try to get him alone. When you do, you should tell him as straightforwardly as you can. No beating around the bush, that'll end badly for both of you," She said.

I sighed, knowing she would have an answer, and I looked back towards the tent. "What about dinner? Won't it be awkward?"

"Do it after. Try your best to seem oblivious to the whole thing during the meal. I think that's best," She said.

I nodded. She was right. "Okay... yeah," I said slowly, nodding along as I regained my confidence in the plan. We walked back inside slowly, seeing that more people had sat at our table already, including Fred.

I tried my hardest to be calm, but the anxiety bubbling up inside of me was getting ridiculous. George shot me a funny look and I glared back. He didn't know my plan, but he also couldn't read my mind, so how could he?

"Who's hungry? I know I am," Ron announced to the uncharacteristically quiet table. "I am too, when's the food coming?" Harry asked, agreeing with the statement from his best friend.

Almost instantly, the table was magically filled with food as far as the eye could see. It was amazing, and it made my mouth water just looking at it. Hermione and I, as ladylike as we could be, wasted no time in piling food onto our plates and digging in. 

We nearly cackled at each other as we ate hurriedly and caught glimpses of each other's ravenous faces. Ron was eating nearly as fast as us, but when we were done, I looked up and saw everyone still had a good amount of food on their plates. 

"Shit, I was hungry," I breathed, sitting back in my seat feeling very satisfied. "We could tell," Harry snickered. I jokingly cast a glare in his direction, which only made him laugh more. "How have things been... at school, I mean," I asked the table awkwardly. 

"Slow. Boring now that you're gone," Ron said with a shrug. 

"Hold on... you left school?" Fred asked, clearly not informed of this. I looked at George for help, but he looked just as lost. "I... yeah, I did. It was a family matter, some stuff about my dad and his involvement with his work," I said, trying my hardest not to lie but also not reveal too much. 

"That's crazy, why would he pull you out of school?" Fred asked, and I looked back at George again, but he seemed to understand now. He put two and two together, but Fred was still a little behind. 

"It was more of a personal choice," I said, not sure how to explain this to him plainly. 

"We've gone over this, Fred. Her dad's a... ya know," Ron tried helping me out, but Fred only stared, looking between us. "Even I get it, mate," George said, patting Fred's back twice patronizingly. 

"You... but why leave school? I thought you and your father weren't on good terms," He asked. 

"I didn't go to him when I left. I went somewhere else," I said. 

"Where?" 

"Well, we've been with Fleur for a while now," I said, and his eyebrows furrowed. I slipped up. Why was I not more careful with my words? My plan was taking a nosedive now as I scrambled to cover up my tracks. 

"I spent time with her in France, I mean," I attempted. 

"We? Who's we?" 

"Me." 

"No... no, you said we. You and who else?" He asked, not accusing me of anything, but genuinely asking. 

"It's a little hard to explain. Can we... can we not do this here? Come outside with me?" I asked, not caring if the people at our table heard, but more concerned about him making a scene.

"Well, I guess. Why is this so secretive?" He asked as he stood up with me, everyone looking at me sympathetically. 

What do I do? I mouthed frantically to Hermione, but she seemed to be as flustered as I was. 

I walked outside of the tent with Fred and when we were far enough away from the festivities after having rushed through trees and bushes to get there, he had stopped, looking at me intently. "Well?" 

"Don't get crazy, please," I pleaded, and he shrugged. "I won't. What's going on, Maggie?" He asked. 

"Let me start from the beginning..."

♔

this took for-fucking-ever and i am so sorry. i didn't have service where i was for a good week and i couldn't finish this chapter for the life of m