Semper - Fred Weasley

Chapter XLIV

„Thank you.“ he returned her smile and followed her into the house.

Penny woke up only to find that Fred was gone.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then dressed and made her way downstairs to the shop.

She saw George sorting something behind the register.

„Hey Georgie.“ she greeted her brother-in-law, who turned around and met her with a smile.

„Do you happen to know where my husband is?“ she asked, leaning against the register.

„Actually, no. He was here and I tried to talk to him, but then he got mad and took off. I have no idea where to.“ George saw no reason to lie to Penny about it, but once the words left his lips, he saw the pain in Penny’s eyes.

And Penny’s heart sank at George’s words, she nodded sadly.

„Well, I have an appointment with Healer Mary,“ she began.
„I don’t know if Fred thought of that, so if you see him, can you tell him?“ she asked George, who nodded.

„Of course. Take care.“, he said goodbye to Penny, who left the shop shortly afterwards.

George threw back his head and closed his eyes.

He hated himself for not telling Penny what he saw the other day, but as much as he loved her, Fred was still his twin.

And that doesn’t mean he would cover for Fred, but he needed to hear the truth from him first and give him a chance to tell Penny himself.

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„We are making great progress Penny, the treatment is working very well and I have no doubt that you will make a full recovery.“ Mary smiled as she walked Penny to the door after the appointment.

„Thank you. I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that. And thank you for continuing my treatment, too.“ the red-haired girl smiled back.

„Oh no, never mind. Oh and Penny?“ the Healer asked before Penny could leave.

„Yeah?“

„You know you can talk to me about anything, right?“ she raised an eyebrow knowingly and Penny frowned.

Did she know?
No, that would not be possible.

„Err, of course,“ Penny replied, waving goodbye, not ready to engage in that conversation just yet.

Penny was heading home, today was a good day, despite everything, so she decided to go for a little walk through muggle London and walk to the passageway to Diagon Alley.

She strolled through the streets and enjoyed the fresh air that filled her lungs and she hadn’t felt this good in a long time, physically spoken.

She let her mind wander and for a long time she had been confident, so she decided that she would talk to Fred tonight.

She went through the conversation mentally, a smile playing around her lips at the thought.

Until she turned onto a street and suddenly her smile faded, her stomach clenched, her heart pounded wildly and her hands got sweaty as the world started spinning around her.

Because there, right before her eyes, was Fred, her husband, the love of her life, her safe haven, coming out of an unfamiliar house and waving goodbye to someone.

Penny stopped dead in her tracks and hid, she couldn’t see who it was that Fred was saying goodbye to, but the worst thoughts came to her mind at that moment.

And in that moment she was sure that Fred was cheating on her.

She immediately apparated to the flat where she locked herself in the bathroom crying.