Semper - Fred Weasley

Chapter XL

Because the truth was, he wasn’t okay.

He wasn’t even close to being okay.

Truth was, he had never been so scared in his life, not even the battle and his near-death experience made him feel the fear he now had for Penny.

And he didn’t know how to deal with it.

Penny had enough to deal with on her own and he had to support her.

The last thing she needed is for Fred to burden her with his feelings as well.

It was probably wrong, he probably should have played his cards straight, after all, honesty was one of the most important things in a relationship and marriage.

But does it even count as a lie?

He just wanted to protect Penny.

A little white lie never hurt anyone, right?

What he didn’t know yet was how wrong he was, and if  he could, future Fred would travel back to that moment and give the present Fred a good kick in the balls.

„If you say so.“ she mumbled and gave him a small peck on the cheek, then slid back down and made herself comfortable.

„Good night, Fred. I love you.“

„Good night, Peppy. I love you too.“

-----

„Are you ready?“ Fred looked down at Penny as they stood hand in hand in front of the Burrow.

„Yep. Let’s do it.“ she nodded and Fred opened the door.

They were immediately greeted by the familiar smell of the Burrow and they smiled as the babbling of voices from the living room reached them.

„Penny! Freddie! Ooh it’s so nice to see you. Come in, come in. Take off your jackets and make yourself comfortable. Dinner will be ready soon.“ Molly hugged her son and daughter-in-law in , it didn’t matter how often one went there or how long they hadn’t seen each other, a welcome from Molly Weasley was always warm and motherly, and it left no doubt to the pure love she felt for her children and the ones she considered her own.

The two made their way over to where the others were, where a big round of greetings ensued, which – to no surprise - took some time, seeing as the Weasley family is not particularly small.

„Penny?“ Arthur asked through the other conversations going on at the dining table, but the redheaded girl was stabbing her food without noticing him.

„Penny?“ he asked again and at this point the other conversations stopped and the attention was now on the girl, who still didn’t notice anything until Fred gave her a little nudge under the table, causing her to stab the fork into the plate with so much force, breaking it in two.

Penny jumped up, as did Fred and Molly.

„Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I – I’m.. oh god, sorry! I was in thought. I'm so sorry.“ she said while trying to pick up the shards with her hands, which Fred was able to stop in time before she seriously hurt herself.

„It’s not that bad, Penny. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this quickly. It does happen. If anything, it’s Fred’s fault, he scared you so badly,“ Molly reassured Penny with a scolding look at her son, while she removed the shards with the help of her wand.

„Speaking of thoughts, dear, something’s bothering you, would you like to tell us?“ the other Weasley‘s looked at their mother, a little amazed at how openly she was speaking out about what the others think but no one dared to bring up.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a worried look, as did Fred and George, all four of them knowing what was coming next.

It was inevitable and sooner or later she had to come out and speak up.

„Sorry again. Er-, but I in fact like to say something,“ she began, grabbing Fred’s hand, which was reassuringly caressing her thigh.

And with that she told it all again.

To say the others were shocked was an understatement.

Molly busted into tears as did Fleur while the men tried to keep their composure.

Even though Penny kept assuring them that she didn’t want any pity or tears, it was very difficult, especially for the other two women.

Everyone promised their support.

Of course, because that’s how you do it in a family.

And Penny was completely overwhelmed and it also took a load off her shoulders because she knew she wasn’t alone.

AN: I'm alive haha, sorry it took me that long..
Stay safe <3