Adrienne woke up the next morning rather surprised to see that she was lying on the grass, her clothes damp. She got up and saw that Fred was lying a bit further away from her, wearing only his trousers.
"What the fuck happened last night?" she muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes and standing up on her feet. She walked over to him and shook him lightly. Her vision was barely focussing as she adjusted to broad daylight.
"Wake up Fred"
When he finally stirred a little and opened his eyes, he looked as if he had just descended from another dimension.
"Where are we?" he asked, his voice cracking as he sat up, looking around him in confusion.
"Outside" she said, before getting up from her kneeling position and heading off to the porch where Harry and George were still asleep.
She woke both of them up too before heading into the cabin and waking up Hermione and Ginny who had passed out on the couch, Ron on the floor.
"How did we end up on the porch?" Harry asked, wiping his glasses on his t-shirt as he walked in. George followed, looking dead tired.
"Hang on, I think I remember how to make that sobering solution Madam Pomfrey told me about years ago" Hermione said tiredly, making her way to the kitchen. Everyone else followed her and sat at the counter as Hermione got started on the potion.
Adrienne put her head in her hands, trying her best to remember what happened last night. Fortunately, she wasn't completely clueless and seemed to remember a sufficient amount. Images flashed in her head of running around on the grass, taking a dip in the pond, Fred's handsome face emerging from between the smoke, his eyes unfocused as he laughed at something that she had said, Ginny falling asleep on her shoulder, the taste of smoke on her tongue.
She felt a nudge on her shoulder and looked to her side to see Fred looking at her worriedly.
"You okay?" he mouthed.
Adrienne nodded, still stuck in her train of thought.
When no one was looking, he quickly snaked his hand up her arm, interlaced her fingers with his and brought her hand down to under the table, resting both their hands on his thigh. He stroked the top of her palm with his thumb.
Adrienne smiled down at their hands intertwined together and then looked up at him so see him already smiling at her. When she caught him staring he blushed and looked away, and Adrienne chuckled to herself silently, squeezing his hand under the table.
"George you didn't tell us why you've been so quiet about Olivia" said Ginny.
"Y'know Gin I really thought she was the one but she's dating that prat Zabini" George grumbled.
"I still find that hard to believe" said Adrienne.
"I saw them together" he shrugged.
"Maybe you should talk to her" Hermione offered.
"I tried but she wouldn't listen to me" George said exasperatedly.
Suddenly, a memory from yesterday hit Adrienne like a brick on the head.
"Remember, he's your husband. At the end of the day he's the only man you'll end up with"
"I hope I don't have anything to worry about, wouldn't want the Weasleys to tarnish the pure-blood names further. And you know how much reputation matters to us don't you?"
Adrienne felt the familiar, uneasy feeling in her stomach once more. She hurriedly freed her hand from Fred's grasp, clasping her own hands together on the table. Fred looked at her in confusion and she didn't know if she was imagining it or not but she thought she saw hurt flash across his features.
She knew that her mother's words were not empty threats, she was from the Ellis family for heaven's sake, it was in their genes to force traditions and expectations on their children. It's why she had married in the first place.
Hermione handed her a glass of the potion and she drank it with shaky hands and quivering lips. She could feel Fred glancing at her but she ignored him. She slammed the glass back on the table, causing everyone else to jump at the sudden noise.
"Sorry" she said sheepishly, "I-I'm going to go for a shower"
Adrienne quickly got up from her seat and rushed towards her room. She shut the bathroom door behind her, stripping naked, as if the clothes were going to suffocate her.
The water of the shower washed off the tears that were flowing from her eyes. She cast the muffliato charm so that no one else could hear her choked sobs.
Ever since Adrienne had been a child, she had been forced to live and behave a certain way. She remembered flashbacks of the menacing looks her parents gave her when she stepped even a little bit out of line, how they would yell at her.
And that is why, Adrienne had always been afraid of disobeying them. Her fear of being caught stemmed from there.
But she couldn't just stop being with Fred. She was too far in now, he made her feel a way no one else ever could.
She left her room an hour later to see that everyone else had also showered and were all lazing around in the living room. Fred's gaze followed Adrienne as she walked into the living room and seated herself as far as she could from him.
The stress of getting caught was catching up with her, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.
The next two hours passed by with Adrienne dodging Fred's glances and questions. He tried to get her attention many times but she didn't entertain him, causing him to feel slightly irritated. Why was she pretending as if nothing had ever happened between them?
"Hey, wanna play a round of exploding snap?" Ginny asked.
"Ooh that's a good idea" Adrienne said, thankful for the distraction.
But even that wasn't enough to get the thoughts swarming in her mind. The cards exploded in her face four times, nearly singeing her eyebrows off the fourth time.
"Adrienne what's going on with you? You used to be better than all of us in this game" Ron said in confusion, collecting the cards and reshuffling them for another game.
"Nothing at all, I'm fine" she plastered a smile on her face, "Just a bit tired from last night is all"
Harry glanced at her as if he knew what she was thinking. Fred noticed Harry and Adrienne looking at each other. He was already confused and a little angry as to why Adrienne had been ignoring him, but then he realised that Harry knew something that he didn't.
"Adrienne, want to play a game of chess with me?" Fred challenged.
She couldn't exactly say no when everyone was staring at her, waiting for her answer.
"Okay" she agreed.
Ron brought out the chess board and set it between them. Everyone sat around them in a circle as Adrienne started the game.
This had definitely been one of the most intense games the group had ever witnessed. They were both determined to win, each making calculated moves as they let out their frustration on the chess board.
"Bloody hell that's a good one" Ron murmured as Adrienne moved one of her pieces across the board.
But Fred came up with an even better move, a smug smile on his face as Adrienne's bishop was defeated by one of his pieces.
"Thought you were good at chess? What happened to that?" he smirked.
"Oh I am, and I'm going to show you" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Let's see you put up a fight then"
"Ass" she muttered under her breath, Fred heard her, his smirk widening which irked her further. If she hadn't been before, she was even more determined to win now.
"Someone bring a knife to cut the fucking tension in here" Ginny said, letting out a deep breath as Adrienne defeated another one of Fred's pieces. They both ignored her, too engrossed in the game.
As of now, Adrienne was on the winning side and was also the one smirking instead of Fred who looked rather irritated.
"There, I put a fight, and you have nothing to defend yourself" she said sweetly.
"The game's not over yet Ellis" he grumbled, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. He interlaced his fingers together and stretched his hands out in front of, the veins popping up from the top as he prepared for his next move. A small strand of hair fell over his eyes as he stared intently at the chess board.
Unfortunately, he had a lot more on his mind than just chess, leading him to make a rookie mistake.
"Come on Weasley, that's all you've got?" Adrienne said complacently, she moved a piece across the board and then looked up at Fred, a smirk gracing her lips.
"Checkmate"
Fred's pulled his lips into a thin line, his fists clenching on his lap as everyone congratulated Adrienne on winning.
"What happened to that big mouth of yours? Cat got your tongue?" Adrienne laughed when she noticed that Fred hadn't said anything.
"Fuck you" he muttered under his breath, getting up from his seat on the floor.
"What did you say to me?" Adrienne asked, standing up too, anger beginning to seep into her once more.
"I said fuck you" he pronounced the last two words more clearly.
"Oh fuck off! Stop being such a sore loser!"
"You and I both know that me losing isn't what this is about Adrienne" he said, his voice dropping low before he turned around and walked off to his bedroom.
"What on ever-loving earth was that all about?" Ron asked, his mouth wide open.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Fred's being a dick" Adrienne muttered.
Harry cleared his throat, trying to get the attention off of her, "Um do you guys want to play a muggle board game? I'll teach you"
Adrienne gave him a small smile, thanking him silently.
"Of course, I'd love to play" she smiled, sitting back down, willing to do anything that would get her mind off of Fred and off of how vexed she was feeling.