Delicate * { Fred Weasley }

Daylight

I didn't set out to crash Alicia and Lee's first brunch as newlyweds, but in my defense:

1. They were eating in the hotel restaurant at a table that was fully visible from the hotel lobby.

2. I was walking though said lobby on my way to pick up something to eat.

3. Initially, I was simply going to continue on my way because although I was annoyed with Alicia, I am a sensible person, and I didn't want to impose on their first morning together.

4. But then Alicia happened to look up.

5. And then she made eye contact with me.

6. And instead of allowing me to proceed on my way like a normal person would have done, she gave me what could only be described as the unrepentant smile of a criminal mastermind.

7. It was at this point that I remembered that she had, in fact, betrayed me in the most outrageous way possible not even twenty-four hours ago.

8. Really, she had brought this upon herself.

So, instead of minding my own business, I made an abrupt turn into the restaurant, dodging past the empty hostess stand and hoping that it wasn't the sort of place that would immediately throw me out for being underdressed and without a reservation.

I narrowed my eyes at Alicia as I approached their table. "You."

It was perhaps one of my fiercer looks, but Alicia looked completely unbothered by it, instead sighing and turning her gaze to Lee. "I think she might've worked it out."

Lee shrugged, barely glancing up from the menu he was perusing. "I told you she would."

"It was for your own good," said Alicia to me, using the same sort of tone that you might hear in a lecture about eating your vegetables or flossing. "Fred's as well. The obvious pining was getting ridiculous."

I scoffed. "Oh please. There was no pining."

The sound that Alicia made was a bit of a cackle, an exaggerated, sarcastic Ha! that I only ever heard when she thought she had the upper hand in an argument. Lee sighed heavily and looked up at me from his menu.

"Listen, Mags," he said in a voice that sounded as though he was trying project an aura of utter reasonableness (an obvious trap), "you know I don't like taking sides in this sort of thing, but she is right about the pining. Neither one of you was especially subtle."

I scowled, crossing my arms. "You're only saying that because you don't want to be in the doghouse less than twenty-four hours into your marriage."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked in a manner that I did not care for at all. "You know that Katie and Oliver actually made a game of it? Katie got five points every time she saw you sneaking looks at Fred, Oliver got five for every time he saw Fred sneaking looks at you. The score was constantly tied because the two of you are shameless."

"It's true," said Alicia smugly.

I ignored Alicia and narrowed my eyes at Lee. "I don't believe you."

Lee's eyebrow inched higher as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "Do you really want to take that bet?"

"You are very clearly aligned with Alicia, who I can no longer trust to keep her promises, so I feel fairly comfortable betting against you."

Lee looked mildly puzzled. "Not sure I follow that logic."

Alicia cleared her throat. "Technically I only said I would take a rain check on a conversation about your various concerns about your romantic life. I never said I wouldn't give Fred a bottle of champagne and tell him to get on with it already."