The room was so bright, even with her eyes closed the backs of her eye lids felt illuminated. She didn't dare open her eyes to see how long she had until she had to get up for work. At some point when it was still dark, she had half woken up, drunkenly stripped and gotten under her sheets rather than being passed out on top of them. Her make up felt dried and crusty on her face. She groaned. At what point did she become so drunk? The night had been going so well and then everything was blurred. She barely remembered anything after stepping out of the Three Broomsticks. Only moments. His hand on her back. The way he looked at her. His face close enough to kiss. Her stomach flipped, but it could have been her hangover. It took all her will power to peak a look at the time. Squinting at the clock, 7:30, she needed to get up for work.
She had to basically crawl to the bathroom, barely able to stand as she opened the cabinet, she and Hermione kept some hangover remedy for occasions such as these. The sheer amount of midweek girls nights that had gotten out of hand was astonishing, and neither of them could work with a hangover clouding their judgement. God, she loved being a witch. Muggles drank raw eggs to get rid of hangovers, and all she had to do was take a shot of a slightly bitter potion. She didn't even wince when she took it anymore. By the time she stepped in the shower, she felt her head clear and her stomach settle. She would say she had returned completely back to normal but her thoughts were still plagued with him. How could a person do this? A passing teenage flame had completely reignited in the space of one evening because he had looked her way? Joked with her? Helped her when she had been drunk? Deborah knew that her feelings were one sided, and imagined. She barely even knew him, anything she thought she liked was romantised, based on the idea of him rather than who he actually was. Pushing her fantasies to the back of her mind, she stepped out the shower and got ready for work. She was running late as always and knew her boss wouldn't be kind as he knew she was out celebrating last night as Hermione had booked today off.
Despite the hangover potion, she still felt off all day. Everything she did seemed to go on forever, and her head was muddled. Even the simplest of tasks took all of her attention, and brain power. She supposed it was the lack of sleep and not having Hermione with her to brighten her day. By the time five o'clock rolled around, Deborah felt like she had been at the office for an eternity. In a zombie like state, she hurried towards the floo network, whisked away in the sea of other Ministry workers, desperate to get home after a long Monday. When she stepped into her home, she hadn't been expecting Hermione to be there, half thinking she would want to be around Ron every second of every day now they were engaged. Hermione looked as bad as she did. Face down on the couch, hair in every direction, in one of Ron's old jumpers and a pair of pyjama bottoms. Hermione was startled awake by the light and noise of the floo.
"Dee, you are finally back!" She croaked, her voice hoarse. Deborah was happy that she wasn't the only one that was blind drunk last night, judging by Hermione's current state.
"Hello blushing bride to be! Did you have a good time last night?" She plonked herself down on the sofa next to Hermione's legs. A hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Oh I did! We need to do that more often!" Hermione's complexion seemed to brighten as she thought back on yesterday evening. "I would say that maybe you had a good time too." She continued, raising her eyebrows at Deborah. Swiftly, Deborah responded with a glare. Hermione sat up, "Oh come on, don't give me that look! Fred Weasley running after you two seconds after you walked out the door, to 'make sure you got home okay', he was asking loads about you when he came back too!" She giggled.
Deborah blushed. "I'm sure it's not like that, he was just being nice." Thoughts she had been pushing to the back of her mind all day were leaking into front. She was picturing how his biceps looked in his shirt as he lent against the fireplace. "I don't even think about him in that way, you know." She blatantly lied, to herself more so than Hermione. "And even if I did, I have the ultimate worst luck when it comes to my love life, so I am sure something would go wrong, no point getting my hopes up."
"Tell yourself whatever you need, but when you wanna talk about it, I'm here." Hermione said to her, a knowing glint in her eye. Sometimes your friends just know you better than you know yourself. Hermione moved across the couch to hug her. "Takeaway and a rom-com?" Hermione mumbled into her shoulder, and Deborah happily agreed.
She was so happy to have been raised in a muggle household, and so happy to have found Hermione. She had the best of both worlds. She couldn't imagine her life without cheesy rom-coms and good music. Without a telephone or a tv. Magic had changed her life, and she couldn't live without that either. But she felt her happiest eating Thai, in her pyjamas, crying to a film or dancing around the living room with her best friend. And even the most muggle friendly wizards weren't accustomed to muggle technology. She was happy to find a comfortable in between her two worlds. She would miss this once Hermione had married Ron. Hopefully she would find someone who understood the muggle world, or was willing to be taught by her.
The rest of the week passed quickly. Hermione returning back to work on the Tuesday had meant that work was never to gruelling between their chats and laughs with each other. Hermione was a great person to work with because she compensated for all Deborah's blind spots, and Deborah compensated for hers. The perfect team, always sharing the work load. Their evenings were filled with relaxation, and movies. When Hermione would spend the night with Ron, Deborah would treat herself to a calming pamper evening. Before she knew it, it was Friday night, girls night. Ginny had persuaded them to go out for a quick drink, given the fun they had the previous weekend.
This is how she had ended up in this situation. At the Three Broomsticks. All her friends were drunk, yet she was the sensible and sober one. Tomorrow she would be going to The Burrow for the first time, to help with wedding planning, thinking about this all night had made her anxious. Not about the wedding planning. But Molly Weasley had once known her mother, and Deborah was fretting she would make a bad first impression. Molly was a mother figure to all of her friends, and Deborah craved to have a mother figure in her life. But at this moment she had to push that to the back of her mind. Her current situation needed swift manoeuvring. A handsome but uninteresting man was stood at the bar with her, drawling on about quidditch. She loved the game, but some men could talk about it as if their lives depended on it. Making excuses, she moved back to her friends, who were sprawled around the booth, completely intoxicated.
"Come on you lovely lot, let's get home, got lots to plan tomorrow!" She shouted to her friends. Feeling like the only way she could get them home was to treat them like unruly toddlers. "Let's get down to the Leaky Cauldron and floo home." She started to help Luna up, who was nearly passed out in her seat. For such a tiny being she could sure knock back some alcohol.
"Oh no!" Ginny exclaimed, swaying slightly as she sat up. "The twins said we could use the shop, they are in tonight doing some product development!"
"Thank God." Hermione moaned. "I couldn't make it to the Leaky, I can barely see straight!" But Deborah wasn't listening, the thought of seeing Fred made her stomach feel like there were tiny snitches fluttering about in there, trying to escape. She had pushed him to the back of her mind all week, thinking that they would be unlikely to see each other anytime soon. However, she was wrong.
All her strength was focused on getting Luna to stand and getting her to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes without dropping her. It seemed like Luna was trying to string sentences together, but it all just sounded like a baby's babbling. Ginny was clearly the most sober out of her and Hermione, so they helped each other along, swaying across the street. At the top of her lungs, Ginny was shouting quidditch chants and any song that came to her mind, Hermione and Deborah laughed and slurred along with her. While Ginny knocked on the door, the three of them were singing Sweet Caroline, which Hermione always played around the flat. When George opened the door to them, he looked completely taken aback, but then a huge grin settled across his face.
"Well, hello ladies!" He laughed. "Thank you for reminding us so kindly, that instead of going out and enjoying ourselves on a Friday night, we are here working away." He said sarcastically.
"That's what happens when you decide you are gonna outshine all your siblings and become wealthy entrepreneurs!" Ginny sparred back to him.
"Someone had to become the pride and joy of the Weasley family!" Fred's voice called from the back of the shop. Deborah set all of her attention on getting Luna to the fireplace, as the siblings bantered back and forth. She knew she was over exaggerating her feelings in her mind, but that didn't stop her heart racing at the sound of his voice. Although, all she could currently hear was Ginny threatening George with a fight and Hermione giggling along behind her.
"Do you need some help with her?" A voice asked softly beside her. She turned to meet his eyes, already gazing at her, and she melted a little bit. His tie was hanging low, top button undone, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Bright, ginger hair was messy, hanging over his forehead, he nervously ran his hand through it as she was staring up at him. This made her take notice of the veins running up his forearms onto his large hands, and she remembered how his hand had felt against her lower back.
"Erm… yeah… please…" she managed to stutter out, taking her eyes away from him. He smiled down at her, and moved closer to take Luna out of her grasp. He was so close she could see the freckles across his face. As he went to pick Luna up, he ran his thumb along the arm that Deborah was supporting Luna with. Blushing furiously, she watched as his strong arms delicately out Luna in the fireplace. She would do anything to be in Luna's place right now. Ginny had stopped threatening George and they made their way over to the fireplace with Hermione. Fred stepped away from Luna, locking eyes with Deborah who couldn't take her eyes away from him.
"Thank you, Fred. Erm... I'm gonna go with Luna, it's not like she's going anywhere by herself in this state." She said as she stepped into the fireplace, and Luna giggled incoherently. He leant on the mantelpiece, as he had the last time they had been together. She couldn't help but gawp a little bit at the way his muscles pressed against the fabric of his shirt. He had to know what he was doing.
Ginny coughed, and she remembered they were in a group, and they were all watching her. "We will see you back at the flat in a minute then?" Ginny smirked down at her, a smirk that was mirrored by Hermione.
"Yeah, see you in a minute! Just give me time to get Luna out of the fireplace at ours." She tried to say coolly, and she went to grab the floo powder.
"It was nice to see you again Deborah, see you tomorrow too?" Fred interjected, just as she was about to leave.
"Tomorrow?" She questioned, confused.
"At the Burrow? I assumed you would be there?" He furrowed his brow a bit.
"Oh right, yeah. I thought it was just the bride party! See you then!" Shit. Her heart dropped to her stomach. But she left before she showed any real reaction. How was she supposed to be around him all day without embarrassing herself? She was already ogling him like a twelve year old girl with a crush when she was around him for five minutes!
With great difficulty, she managed to drag a passed out Luna through the flat and into her room to put her to sleep. By the time Luna was tucked in and snoring softly, Hermione and Ginny had returned and were chatting away on the sofa. As Deborah made her way to join them, Ginny turned to face her and raised her brows suggestively.
"Here she is! If you are gonna mentally undress my brother, can you please wait till I am not in the room?! I already have enough of it having to be around Hermione and Ron!" Ginny sniggered, while Hermione was loudly cackling.
"I wasn't mentally undressing him! I was just... looking." Deborah started her sentence so confidently, but ended it mumbling. She couldn't even deny it because it had been plain as day.
"And he was 'just looking' at you too, you two have such good chemistry, it's like watching a film!" Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend. "He's been asking about you all bloody week too, it's been really annoying actually."
"Don't get a poor girl's hopes up Ginny, you know that's not fair!" Deborah responded.
"Are you that oblivious? Can you not see how he looks at you? He fancies you!" Hermione butted in, in disbelief at her friend.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see. We should go to bed, your mum is gonna kill us if we all turn up tomorrow half hungover and sleep deprived!" Mumbled Deborah, to put a quick end to the conversation. And she hurried herself away to her bedroom. Absolutely shattered, she slipped into bed next to Luna, though her mind wouldn't allow her to drift off. Thoughts of what could be ran through her head. Scenarios she was sure would never happen. She imagined him kissing her; she imagined him touching her just how she wanted him too. She squeezed her legs together as she felt a flutter in her lower abdomen. If her friend wasn't there, she would have allowed herself to get carried away with her fantasies. But for now, she needed to sleep.
