unrequited requited love- fred weasley

Part 52

The girl had decided to join the four with their school shopping until Fred and George finished their shift- "Yes?" Athena asks, an eyebrow raised, confused as to what was going on. "I think Malfoy's a death eater," Harry blurts out, "Hermione and Ron- they think I'm crazy, but we saw him- while you were with Ginny, and I think he is."

Athena couldn't seem to wrap her head around it, while she knew his family was known for being loyal followers of Voldemort- but Draco? He's just a boy, how could he become a death eater at such a young age? He's not even in his final year of school yet! 

"Do you have any proof?" She asks her brother, hoping something he would tell her would make him sound more rational. "He was in Borgin and Burkes," Harry answers back confidently, making Athena stifle a laugh. 

"Harry," She deadpans, narrowing her eyes at her brother- who had a crazed look on his face, "That's just a furniture store, it's hardly enough proof to claim that he's a death eater." She continues, making him pause for a minute to think, "I guess you're right," He says, although still not sounding fully convinced. 

Athena bores her eyes into her brother's, "Harry, you need to promise me you aren't going to go out of your way to find out, okay?" She says, "If he is, by any chance, a death eater, and you go snooping around- it's only going to make things worse for yourself." She says firmly, knowing her brother and how he'd often let his curiosity get the best of him.

Harry stayed silent after that- he'd learned his lesson in the past sixteen years, that it was always better to just shut up and listen when it came to his sister. 

***

When Fred, Athena, and George had arrived at the Burrow- the house seemed busier than usual. 

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had arrived not long before them, after running into them at Diagon Ally- Fred, George, and Athena had decided to head to the Burrow and spend dinner there, it'd been a while since they'd seen them anyways. But George had forgotten his wand at the loft and needed to head back upstairs- which had explained why the three had shown up later. 

"Athena!" Molly exclaims the second the three apparate inside the home, running over to the girl and pulling her into a hug right away. Fred and George laugh behind the two women, "Gee, Freddie, you'd think your girlfriend's her child, not us," George says, nudging his brother slightly- watching their mother and Athena embrace and gush over each other happily. 

Athena was glad to be back at the Burrow, with them being in Grimmuald Palace last year, and now she was living with George and Fred- it'd been a while since she'd properly spent time inside this place. The three hadn't seen Molly and Arthur in a few weeks, and they'd missed them dearly- more specifically, Molly's food. Athena wasn't exactly the best cook, and every time Fred and George went near the stove it resulted in them setting something on fire, so for the most part they relied on ordering food.

Bill, Fleur, and Charlie were all also at the house- another reason as to why they wanted to visit as they hadn't seen Charlie in a long time, and considering that nearly all the Weasley's- with the exception of Percy, and Harry, Hermione, and Athena were all in the Burrow- the place was full for dinner. 

"Missed me?" A voice says behind Athena, nearly startling her to death.

She turns around, a smile on her face as she knew exactly who it was, "Charlie!!" She exclaims excitedly, throwing her arms around the Weasley, making him chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes then," He jokes, pulling away from the girl after a few moments. 

"What are you doing here?" She asks, slightly confused about his sudden visit.

The last time the two had spoken- Charlie had been extremely busy in Romania, and said that there was no chance of him coming to London any time soon, which upset Athena- but she had understood. "Decided that taking care of Dragons could wait a while, I missed you guys," The Weasley said sheepishly, embracing his two brothers after Athena- who had just left them to go say hi to Arthur, Bill, and Fleur- embracing them the same way she'd just embraced Charlie and Molly.

***

It was safe to say that everyone in the Burrow was stuffed. Molly had made an amazing dinner, and everyone had dug in happily. It was an enjoyable dinner as well, considering it was the first time the whole family had been there in a while, everyone chatted happily the entire time- talking about all sorts of things. 

They'd just finished eating a couple of minutes ago, and now all of the kids were spread lazily across the living room. 

Fred and Athena on one couch, his arm around her shoulder, as hers were wrapped around his middle- her head on his chest. Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were on another, Hermione's feet on Harry's lap, Ron was sitting on the floor, and Charlie sat on the single sofa. 

"I still can't believe you two ended up together," Charlie says suddenly, looking at the couple across from him, "I mean we all saw it coming- you were terrible at hiding it, but the fact that Fred got the courage, beyond me." 

Athena laughed, while Fred scoffed, looking around at his family and friends, "What's that supposed to mean?" He asks,  feigning offense. Ginny's the one to speak up this time, "She's amazing!" The girl exclaims, which made Athena shoot a wink her way, "And you're well... you," She says, in a teasing manner.  

Another laugh escapes Athena's lips, she looks at the boy next to her- who was pretending to be hurt, before a smile cracked on his face. "No you guys are right, the fact that I ended up with you, love," He says, looking at Athena now instead of the rest, "Is truly a mystery," He continues. 

The girl rolls her eyes, a blush forming on her face at his words. She cupped his jaw, and pulled him into a kiss- which made Ron groan in response, he'd done this anytime they'd shown affection in front of him, "Oi! If you're going to snog in public, at least don't have it be in front of your siblings!" He complains, making Fred point the middle finger his way and deepen the kiss further. 

Athena eventually pulls away- they were still in front of his family, and her family for that matter. Her face was even redder than before which made Fred smirk, he loved that even after all this time, he never failed to have an effect on her. 

And just for a moment, during this seemingly dark time- all seemed well.