Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 66

My thoughts were eating me alive as I waited for Mrs. Weasley's letter about Mr. Weasley still being alive, just like how it was written in the books.

     But then, at ten past five, the kitchen door swung open and Mrs. Weasley finally entered the kitchen, looking pale and tired.

     "He's all right," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."

     Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother, and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his butterbeer in one.

     "Breakfast!" said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"

     But Kreacher did not answer the summons.

     "Oh, forget it, then," muttered Sirius, counting the people in front of him. "So it's breakfast for — let's see — eight . . . Bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast —"

     "When are we going to visit Dad?" Ginny asked her mother hopefully, just like how I had told them they would be visiting their father soon.

     But Mrs. Weasley only smiled and shook her head, looking sideways at me, "That won't be necessary. He's going to be home tomorrow."

     "He — he is?" I stammered, looking at her with raised brows.

     "Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled at me. "Dumbledore told me what you did... told me so much more damage was going to happen if it weren't for you. So thank you." And with that, she came forward and pulled me into a hug.

    So this was the only consequence of warning Dumbledore, I thought to myself in relief. Then maybe not all consequences are bad...

     Mrs. Weasley then let go and turned to Sirius, "Thanks for taking care of the kids."

     "It's alright, Molly," he smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm very glad that I could have been any help."

     "Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful . . . Of course, Dumbledore thinks it's better that we all stay here until Christmas. . . ."

     "The more the merrier!" said Sirius earnestly and Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, threw on an apron, and began to help with breakfast.

After breakfast, I started to take the plates off the table, but before I could put them in the sink, Fred came forward, his lips pursed and his brows knitted together as he looked down at me.

"Can we talk?" he said in a muffled voice.

Nodding, I put the plates down and followed him out of the kitchen and upstairs, through the empty hall.

"Look... er..." he started awkwardly. "Sirius had a talk with me... and... um... I realized that... the things is..."

"Yes?" I urged him on, folding my arms.

"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you, Lexi. I don't know what had gotten into me. I guess I was so stressed out that I was emptying it all on y—"

But before he could finish his sentence, I cut him off my going on my tiptoes and bringing him into a kiss.

When I pulled away, he looked like he was in a daze as he stared down at me with a goofy smile dangling on his lips.

"Does that mean you accept my apology?" he said hopefully.

"Yes," I said earnestly and smiled. "I understand what it must've felt like, being so scared of losing someone you love so much..." My voice trailed off as I looked at him, feeling my throat go sore once more.

      "So..." Fred started with a mischievous grin, walking closer to me again and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Do you want me to make it up to you?" I chuckled.

      "Look, as tempting as that offer sounds," I said sarcastically and Fred gave me a look, "but we have to get back downstairs. I'm pretty sure that the next someone catches us, we're both dead."

     "By someone you mean Sirius?"

     "Yup."

     Fred groaned playfully, pulling away. "Why does he care?"

***

The next day, just as promised, Mr. Weasley arrived at Grimmauld Place along with Bill and Mrs. Weasley.

     He didn't look too bad, but there was still a bandage wrapped around his head. First to greet him were the Weasley children, and then of course me, Harry, and Sirius.

     We all sat once more in the kitchen, this time joined by Mr. Weasley as Molly served us all a delicious soup she had made.

     "So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" asked Fred, pulling his chair closer to the table.

     "Well, you already know, don't you?" said Mr. Weasley. "It's very simple — I'd had a very long day, dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten."

     "Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?" asked Fred, indicating the newspaper which laid before Mr. Weasley beside his soup bawl.

     "No, of course not," said Mr. Weasley, with a slightly bitter smile, "the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got —"

     "Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley warningly.

     "— got — er — me," Mr. Weasley said hastily, though obvious that, that was not what he had meant to say.

     "So where were you when it happened, Dad?" asked George.

     "That's my business," said Mr. Weasley with a small smile. He snatched up the Daily Prophet, shook it open again to keep on reading it.

     "When you say you were 'on duty,'" Fred inquired once more, "what were you doing?"

     "You heard your father," said Mrs. Weasley sharply, "we are not discussing this! Go on about Willy Widdershins, Arthur. What were you saying—?"

     "You were guarding it, weren't you?" said George quietly. "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

     "George, be quiet!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

     "Anyway," said Mr. Weasley in a raised voice, "this time Willy's been caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles, and I don't think he'll —"

     "Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" asked Fred, looking at his father for a reaction. "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

     "That's enough," said Mrs. Weasley crossly as the doorbell rang and Mrs. Black's portrait started shouting from upstairs. "That must be Mad-Eye and Tonks. They said they would drop by to see you, Arthur."

     And so she stood off her seat and left the kitchen, probably to go up to open the door and silence Sirius's mother as she kept raging on.