Alexandra Weasley: Book 5

9

"When did you see a mind healer?" Hermione stormed in. Alex looked up sharply.

"What?"

"Don't lie to me. Your mum asked me if I could convince you to start seeing one again. When did you go in the first place?" Alex looked down.

"Last summer." Hermione took a seat on her own bed.

"Why wouldn't you tell me? You know I wouldn't have judged you for it." Alex avoided Hermione's accusing glare. "Alex?"

"I know you wouldn't have judged me. I know. But it started before that. Back when I was having trouble with my patronus. I asked Snape if we could have more occlumency sessions so that I could protect myself in case I came up against dementors."

"But that was before my research. Why wouldn't you tell me then?"

"I didn't start then. But Snape made me promise to try to go to a few sessions in the summer. And then I didn't tell you, which I should've but I didn't know what to say. By the time I was going to tell you, you came up with your own plan to help me and did all that research and got all those papers and sources and books and it felt like it would've been for nothing. So I didn't say anything and then summer came. Snape made me promise to go to at least three sessions and I did. I wasn't planning on continuing after that but by the third session, I'd finally come around and I kept going and I'd been going for so long and it never felt like the right time to tell you. And then, when I was mad at Snape, I stopped going and there didn't seem to be any point."

"Why would you stop?"

"Honestly, I got scared. I was running out of things to talk about and I didn't want to get started with the real things and I told myself it was because I couldn't trust Snape so I couldn't trust her."

"So what if you start again? It can't hurt."

"I don't want to." Hermione got off her bed and moved over to Alex's, squeezing in beside her.

"Maybe not. But can you honestly say you don't need it?" She asked softly. "I know your sleep's worse than usual, and you're sad all the time. Even when I manage to get a smile out of you, there's always a look in your eye. Now that Voldemort's back, I know things are scarier."

"I was rude to mum earlier. I was taunting her, and just trying to get a rise. It just feels like there's this energy in me, and I need to do something. But I don't want to do anything."

"I've got an idea." Hermione rolled off and crouched on the ground pulling Alex's katana from under her bed. "Teach me how to use this."

"Where? We can't go outside."

"No, but there are several empty rooms." Hermione enticed. "Oh, come on. And if we break something, it's just Sirius's house."

"Okay." She let Hermione pull her out and into an empty room.

"Okay, now slice and thrust." Alex instructed. "Keep the sword parallel as you slice." Hermione did so. "Alright, that's good, but remember. Twist and step, twist with the slice, step with the thrust. And a flick in the wrist before you thrust. Like this." She moved behind Hermione and guided the arm that held the katana. "So you twist your body as you slice and then flick this like this before taking a step with your left leg and then thrust."

"I think I got it." Hermione cheered. Alex let go and let her try the move on her own. She stumbled a little between the slice and the thrust. "Or not."

"Practice makes perfect." Alex smiled. Hermione grinned and tried again.

"Dinner ti- oh woah." Tonks stopped as she saw Hermione with the sword.

"Hi, Tonks. Alex is teaching me how to use her katana." She explained.

"Wicked, but is this safe?"

"She knows how to use it. She fought with it hundreds of times." Hermione defended.

"Hundreds?"

"Against Emiko and my other classmates at Mahoutokoro." Alex rolled her eyes.

"She took a class there."

"Damn, wish I got to go to Japan." She said, her eyes sparkling.

"Okay, let's sheath it for now, and go down for dinner." Alex pouted. "You promised twice a week."

"Okay, fine. Whatever. Take me to my doom."

"You're so dramatic." Hermione smiled. She wondered for a moment if she should bring up the mind healer, but thought better of it. Alex was in a good mood and she didn't want to destroy that.

Molly had conjured a banner for Hermione and Ron, thankfully leaving Alex's name out. She smiled at Ron and walked over.
"Congratulations, dork." She smiled.

"Thanks, I can hardly believe it myself."

"Yeah, well. Pretty sure McGonagall's thought you were the only choice since you defeated her chess board in first year." Ron grinned.

"Are you really going to say no?"

"I already sent off the letter and the badge."

"But why?"

"Because I don't want to." She said and moved away. She sat in her usual seat between Hermione and Ginny and struck up a conversation with her sister. "So, no pressure or anything, but even Ron's a prefect. You have a lot to live up to next year."

"You'd tell me something to make me feel better, so I'm not worried." She shrugged and Alex shook her head.

"Nope. You'll be a disappointment." Alex kept a straight face.

"Well, that's just rude and a total lie." Ginny said. There was a faint chime and Molly looked confused.

"Who'd be sending an owl at this time?"

"I'll get it." Alex stood up from the table and dashed out. Considering the house was under a fidelius charm, owls couldn't get through, so they'd put up charms to alert them when messages tried to get through. Alex found the owl, flying dizzily trying to find the intended recipient and called it down. It flew onto her arm and she untied the letter. It didn't stay long and flew away almost immediately.

"Who is it for?" Bill ask, glad to exit the conversation about his hair with his mum.

"Me." She frowned. She opened it. "It's from Charlie." She scanned through the letter, her face dropping the more she read.

"Alex?" Hermione asked.

"It's Saphira. She's sick." Alex replied, her hand trembling.

"How?" Alex shrugged.

"He says she's been more tired and now she can hardly move. As far as they can tell, there's no reason for it. Just a decline in her magical energy. She's got less than a month." Alex dropped the letter and turned and ran up the stairs.

A/N- yeah, I did that. I did that to Saph. IM SORRYYYYY.
Favourite line is "Pretty sure McGonagall's thought you were the only choice since you defeated her chess board in first year." I just love the Alex and Ron relationship. I love when she's nice to him and takes care of him and reassures him and is just a big sister to him 🥺