Stumble - A Fred Weasley Fanfiction

Chapter 44: 120 Days Before

Addie sat by the fire, staring into the flames. Stray sparks landed on her clothes, burning small holes in the fabric, but she didn't move away. She barely noticed it. She was happy to be back in the caves, back with the other muggle-born witches and wizards. She felt safe there, knowing that she was with others like her.

But there was an uneasiness in her stomach. One that was there for an entirely different reason, a reason that wasn't about Thomas, or being on the run, or that she had almost been killed by a man she had considered her best friend for the second time.

Her uneasiness was all because of Dirk's words. 'Cresswell's have always been good healers,' he had said, and Addie couldn't get the words out of her mind.

Surely, he had been delusional in his pain. Splinching both legs would cause anyone to lose their senses and say things they didn't mean. She wasn't ready to face the other option, the one that kept trying to make its way into her mind, to force herself to consider the truth hidden behind his words.

She needed to talk to him. She had tried to, for the past week, but every time she looked he was either surrounded by people or simply gone from the caves without explanation. Her gut said that he was avoiding her on purpose, but she wasn't ready to face what that meant if it was true.

Fred sat down beside her, interrupting her thoughts. "Still sulking?" he asked.

Addie frowned. "I'm not sulking." Fred raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I am a little bit."

"Still no luck in talking to Dirk?"

"No. I think he's avoiding me." She had told Fred about Dirk's words the same day of Thomas's attack, and Fred had been nothing but supportive.

"I knew something was weird about him," Fred had said when Addie had told him. "But if he said that...and that means..." He hadn't uttered the words, and Addie had been grateful. "Is that even possible?"

"My dad is dead," she had said, although she hesitated first. "There's no way. He's dead."

"What was your dad's name?" Fred asked.

"It was..." Addie had thought about it for a long time. "I honestly don't know. My mum never said."

"I think you should talk to Dirk," Fred had said quietly. "It may not be true, but you should get your answer. Just in case."

She had been trying to for a week now.

Now, as Fred and her sat together, talking quietly, she noticed someone slinking along the wall of the cave. She peered into the shadows, catching sight of the tall, bulky figure of the man she had been trying to chase down for a week. He was walking quickly towards the exit, his eyes glancing around, landing on Addie. When he saw her, he quickened his pace.

"Fred-" Addie started, but Fred had already seen what she had.

"Go," he told her.

Addie began to move away, but Fred grabbed her hand at the last minute pulling her back. He leaned in to kiss her. "Good luck," he said, and then she was running after Dirk, who had already left the cave.

Outside, she glanced around, nearly missing the sight of his brown coat disappearing through a cluster of trees. She darted after him, winding around trees and pushing through bush until she caught up. He didn't turn, didn't slow. She had to grab his arm to get him to stop walking. When he turned to face her, his expression was one of false surprise, a lingering sadness and worry in his eyes. "Addie," he said, feigning surprise. "What are you doing here?"