Sorry this is a bit short; I'll try to make the next chapter longer...if you review ;)
Disclaimer: Gustav was no fun at all—it barely even rained. But now I have Ike to look forward to. Lovely. Yeah, I'm obviously not JKRowling.
--
France:
"Katie, honey, wake up. It's almost ten o'clock."
I slowly open my eyes, blinking several times as the sunlight blinds me. I roll over to face the voice and notice Oliver laying on his side right next to me, smirking jovially. I groan and close my eyes once more.
"I don't want to wake up," I argue. "I want to go back to bed."
"Oh, no you don't," he says, shaking me gently. "I've already let you sleep way longer than I should have. Every one else is probably at St. Mungo's by now." I sit straight up in bed as the events of the previous day come rushing back to me.
"Alicia!" I cry, hopping out of bed.
"Well, good morning to you, too," Oliver says with a laugh.
"Oh, sorry," I say sheepishly, sitting down on Oliver's bed once again. "Good morning."
"Good morning," he replies, pulling me over to lie down next to him.
"Sorry I came in here last night," I mutter. "I don't like thunder."
"It's not a problem at all," he says, kissing the top of my head. "Actually, I'm kind of glad you did."
I can't help but smile to myself and although I want nothing more than to stay in his arms all day, I sit back up. "I probably need to get dressed," I mutter.
"Yeah, okay. Do you want to eat breakfast here or go to St. Mungo's first?"
"St. Mungo's. I really want to see Alicia."
"And you're sure you want me to go?"
"Positive," I say sternly before walking out of the room.
As I pass the kitchen on my way to my self-made dresser/entertainment system, I don't notice Ben sitting there.
"Good morning," he says cheerfully, sneaking up behind me as I try to find my pair of jeans.
"Holy shit, Ben," I say, clutching my heart. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," he mutters, sitting down on my bed.
"Where were you last night?" I ask absentmindedly, tossing shirt after shirt aside.
"Do you really have to ask that?" he replies.
"Oh," I say after thinking about it for a second. "Nope, nevermind. Is Mallory happy about your newfound freedom?"
"Yes, she is actually. Where were you last night?"
"Do you really have to ask that?" I answer smugly. He just rolls his eyes as I head for the bathroom.
I change quickly and then make my way back to the living room where Oliver's already waiting. We Apparate to St. Mungo's together.
We pass through the crowded lobby, but make our way instead up to the fourth floor waiting room. When we get there, I instantly spot Angelina and Fred waiting in the far corner. Oliver and I make our way over.
"Hey," I say, sitting down on the opposite side of Angelina. "How's Alicia?"
"George says she's doing fine, but I haven't actually seen her yet," Angelina answers. "He's in there right now. They're only letting in two non-relatives at a time, so we're going to have to wait a bit. Hi, Oliver."
"Hey," he says, pulling her into hug and then turning to Fred. "Fred," he acknowledges.
Fred simply nods in his general direction without replying. Slightly taken aback, Oliver sits down next to me.
"Are you sure he doesn't know about us?" he whispers in my ear. I just shrug in response "Well, should we tell him?" I just shrug once more.
"I'm going to go get some tea, Ange," he announces, standing up and leaving the room without saying a word to Oliver or me.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" I ask as soon as he's out of ear shot.
"What do you mean?" Angelina asks.
"Fred! He hasn't said a word to me since he came and got us from Leanne's yesterday."
"Oh," Angelina says, brushing it off. "I'm sure he's just a little stressed right now."
"You haven't told him about me and Katie, have you?" Oliver asks.
"Hell no," she says, her eyes getting wide at the very idea. "I am not about to tell him that. That's up to you two."
"So, you don't know why he's mad at me?" I ask desperately. This is just not like Fred.
"He hasn't said anything to me."
"I'm going to go talk to him," I decide, picking myself up from my chair. "I'll be back in a minute." Neither of them makes any move to stop me, although I can tell from the look on Oliver's face that he's thinking about it. I ignore that fact and begin making my way to the lounge.
I arrive on the fifth floor and it doesn't take me long to spot Fred sitting by himself, holding a cup of tea. I slowly walk over and take the seat next to him.
We sit there in silence for a few minutes, before he chooses to speak.
"Do you want this?" he asks, offering me his cup. "I'm really not that thirsty."
"Thanks," I say taking it from him. "Fred, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he says, harsher than was necessary.
"Fred, seriously! What the hell is wrong with you?" I ask, my anger raging inside of me. "You're treating me like shit and I know that you wouldn't do that unless you have a reason."
"You know, my whole life doesn't revolve around you. Maybe I just got sick of your perky voice and cheerful demeanor," he says, never meeting my gaze.
"My perky voice and cheerful demeanor? I've never been perky in my entire life! You're making crap up now. What is wrong? Did you find out about me and Oliver? Because this is a ridiculous reaction to that!"
"Katie, can you please just…you and Oliver? What about you and Oliver?" he yells, leaving his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude behind, and turning to me with his eyes blazing.
"George didn't tell you?" I ask, sheepishly.
"No," he retorts.
"Oh, well…nevermind, then."
"Katie!"
"Okay," I give in, just happy that he's actually talking to me. "We're kind of dating again. But it's nothing for you to freak out about! I mean, you know I've liked him for a long time and—"
"Katie?" he asks, his face relaxing into a smile. "Don't scare me like that again! Of course you're dating—I'm not bloody oblivious. I realized you were going out when I picked you up from Leanne's."
"Then why did you just get so mad?" I ask, a bit shell-shocked.
"Oh, nothing, really. I just have this irrational fear that he's going to take you away from me," Fred says, shrugging as if that doesn't mean a thing.
"What?"
"I just don't want him to think that he has sole control over your life. A lot of people are leaving the country now that You-Know-Who's really back. I just don't want you to go."
"Fred, I would never do that!" I argue. "And neither would Oliver, for that matter! You know I'm not going to leave—especially now."
"I know. That's not the only thing that's scaring me about this relationship, though. Just promise me you won't have sex with him until you're ready. Please?"
"That's a bit random," I say with a laugh.
"Not really," he counters. "You don't have a parent around to tell you this sort of stuff. I just…don't want you to rush things. You may not believe me when I say this, but I honestly never expected you to end up with anyone besides Oliver. Just take your time, please."
"I will," I promise. Unable to stop myself, I lean forward and wrap my arms around Fred's neck. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Katie," he whispers back.
"But you never did answer my question," I say, pulling away from him slightly.
"And what question would that be?"
"Why have you been so mad at me? We've barely spoken since this fiasco started." I ask warily, hoping that he doesn't suddenly remember his anger.
"I wasn't mad at you," he says with a laugh. "I could never be mad at you. And even if I was, it wouldn't stop me from talking to you. I was made at me."
"Well then, why were you mad at yourself?"
"Because…because I'm a horrible boyfriend."
"No, you're not. But what does that have to do with—"
"You? Everything. When Alicia was being attacked, do you know what I was thinking about? The only thing that came to my mind was you. I was worried about you and whether or not you were at home safe. Not Angelina. And that kills me."
"Fred, there's nothing you can do about things like that. You love Ange. You were probably only thinking about me because I'm more likely to be a target than Angelina is."
"No," he argues, more with himself than with me, "That's not it. I compartmentalize people. You came straight to my mind because I know what my future is with you. You're always going to be my best friend and that's never going to change. Angelina, on the other hand…I mean, if we ever broke up, there's no telling what would happen between us."
"I don't really understand…" I mutter.
"Katie, Angelina and I have been going out for almost three years. Don't you think that it's time that we took that next step?"
"Um…"
"I've been thinking about it all day. And I love her—I'm never going to feel this way about anyone else—and I have the money. I think I'm ready for this. I need to know that everyday she's going to be there. I want her to be a constant in my life, like you are."
"Oh my God," I mutter when I am finally capable of stringing words together. "You're going to ask her to marry you!"
"Yeah," he says, a smile appearing on his face at the sound of the words. "Yeah, I think I am."
"Oh my God!" I cry again, more ecstatic this time. "Fred Weasley—married. Why do I find that so hard to comprehend?"
"Shut up," he mutters.
"But seriously! Did you ever think that this would happen?"
"No, seriously, shut up," he urges, tilting his head to the side sharply. I turn to see Angelina making her way over to us.
"Hey," I say when she gets near enough. The grin on my face is probably a little too big to pass off as a greeting.
"Hi," she says back, as if doubting my sanity. "George is out of Alicia's room and Oliver's in there now. He told me to tell you to meet him there."
"Okay," I say, getting up from the couch. "I'll talk to you two later." Throwing Fred one last knowing glance, I exit the room.
Making my way back down to the fourth floor, I can feel that some of my worries have been lifted. I knock on Alicia's door gently and I hear her voice telling me to come in. I open the door warily, scared of the state Alicia might be in.
She is sitting up in bed as I enter, looking happier than I've seen her in a while. "Hey, honey, how are you?" I ask, pushing past Oliver to hug her tightly.
"I'm good," she says. "Still a little weak, and I don't even remember much of what happened. But George said that that's probably for the best."
"Yeah, it is," I agree.
"So," she says as I sit down in the chair next to my boyfriend, "Oliver was telling me that you two are going out again."
"Yeah, we are," I say, looking over at him. "Is that the only thing that you could think to talk about?" I ask him.
"No," Alicia says from the bed, "he was also telling me about Puddlemere's chances at the World Cup."
"You didn't have to tell her about that," he groans and I can't help but laugh along with Alicia. It's actually amazing how normal she seems.
All three of us stay in there talking for about half an hour before Alicia asks to speak with me alone. Oliver excuses himself, saying he'll meet me in the waiting room.
I get up from my seat and join Alicia in her bed. "What's going on?" I ask and although her face doesn't show it, I can tell that what she's about to say is causing her a great deal of pain.
"I just…I need to tell someone and you're the only person I feel like I can talk to right now," she says, her voice becoming more and more strained.
"What's wrong?"
"I—I talked to my parents last night and they don't want me to stay here."
"What do you mean?" I ask, wrapping my arms around her.
"You know my brother, Liam, right? Well, he's gotten a job in France and he offered for me to go live with him there."
I'm shocked into silence as that information slowly makes its way into my head. France?
"Do you want to go?" I ask, slowly.
"I don't know," she answers as tears begin to well up in her eyes. Although crying hasn't been a rare thing for Alicia in the past, I can tell that this time is different. "I kind of think that I do...and that kills me. But I'm so scared, Katie. I'm not strong like you and Angelina. I'm just not."
"Shh, honey," I whisper as her tears begin to fall.
"I think I'm going to go," she says. "I think it'll be good for me—at least for a little while, until things cool back down over here. I just can't imagine going back to my normal life right now, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," I say, feeling tears stain my own cheeks. "But what about George?"
The intensity of her tears increases and without words, I have my answer.
--
After leaving Alicia's room and stopping by a bathroom to make sure my face doesn't betray her future plans, I head back towards the waiting room.
"Katie!" Angelina cries as soon as I get through the door. Her voice is so loud and shrill that several people in the room jump. "Guess what?"
I look at Fred in shock and he just smirks. "You asked her here?" I accuse. He just shrugs as the smile on Angelina's face disappears.
"He told you? You told her?! That's supposed to be my job!"
"I'm guessing you said yes?" I laugh.
"Of course I said yes—I thought he was never going to ask me. You've got to be a bridesmaid, okay? And don't even complain about the dress because it's going to be gorgeous."
"I'll keep that in mind," I say.
"Oh my God!" she shrills, running over and hugging Fred. He laughs at her, but gladly hugs her back. "I've got to go tell Alicia!" Without another word, she takes off towards Alicia's room, Fred following close behind.
"So," Oliver says as I take the seat next to him. "Is Alicia okay?"
"Yeah, I think she's going to be fine," I answer and I honestly believe that it's the truth. France will be good for her.
"Well, Fred invited us to the Burrow for Christmas. I told him we'd be there."
"Christmas with the Weasley's? That's bound to be entertaining."
"Yeah, it is," he says, throwing his arm over my shoulder. "And I was kind of thinking that we could stop by my parent's house afterwards…if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind," I laugh. Truth be told, Oliver could have said that we were going to go to Hogwarts to spend Christmas with Snape and I would have followed him there.
"Good, because there's someone coming to see you."
"Who?" I ask.
"My grandmother."
Oh bloody hell.
--
Next time on Love and War: Christmas.
Review, please. And I've kind of been wanting to write something in Oliver's POV. Not in this story, obviously, because I don't like changing POVs, but in like a oneshot or something. Let me know what you think :D