Rebel Rebel (A Fred Weasley fanfic)

20

"Run!"

"Get to the forest!"

Stevie's heart pounds in her ears as she follows the Ministry's instructions.

She had gone to bed that night to the sound of cheers and jubilation but she awoke to the sounds of screaming and crying.

As her father ran by her tent, he had yelled at her for to stay put, that he'd come back once he'd worked out what was happening.

She'd gotten up quickly, shoving her shoes on and wrapping her cardigan around her shoulders before peeking her head out the tent where she had been met with masked figures levitating the Muggle field owner and what looked like his family - two of the figures had been rather small.

She watched as the masked people made them do humiliating things; turn the wife upside down so her nightdress flipped down over her head, made the little boy spin in ridiculously fast circles high up in the air...

That's when the Ministry Officials ran by her location, yelling for everyone to make their way to the forest.

And so Stevie did just that, leaving the tents and everything that they'd brought with them behind.

She gets caught up in a crowd when she's close to the tree line, they too were desperate to get out of here and she knows she had to be careful. These people weren't going to care that she was young, they were terrified and the only thing that was on their minds was getting out of here safely so she isn't really surprised when she trips and falls, no one comes to her aid.

She knows better than to try and get up and so she curls up into a ball and does her best to protect herself from any injuries.

She doesn't know just how long she lays there but she doesn't move until she hears that someone comes to a stop beside her.

"Stevie?"

She knows that voice - she goes to school with that voice!

"Cedric!"

Cedric Diggory was the handsome Hufflepuff who she shared some classes with but in all their years at Hogwarts together, she doesn't think they've spoken ten words to one another - except for the odd polite hello in the corridors.

"Come on," he wastes no time in helping her up and then the two of them continue their way into the forest.

They're met with another sea of people and in all of the confusion, they get split up and Stevie thinks that she might start crying because they might not be close or anything but it would have been nice to be with someone that she knew.

She manages to break away from the crowd a little way into the trees and she stops for just a moment so she can have a check to see if she's injured in any way. She can feel that her cheek is wet, it's probably scraped from where she was lying on the ground and her clothes are a little torn up, probably from the exploding tents that she was running away from.

She presses on though, pushing branches and whatnot out of her way. She had to get out of there.

~~|~~

Fred and George were doing their best to reassure their terrified sister that their party would be alright but nothing they could say would really do anything.

They'd managed to find a clearing in amongst the trees, sitting down on some tree stumps as they waited for word.

"Ron was right behind us," Ginny chokes, "Where could they have gone?"

"It's alright, Gin," George rubs her shoulder reassuringly, "They'll find us."

"And what about Bill and Charlie?"

"They'll be trying to help," Fred murmurs, "They'll be fine. They can handle it."

Both twins look up at the sound of branches snapping, glancing at one another before Fred stands and pulls his wand from his pocket. George joins him, standing protectively in front of their sister as the sounds of approaching footsteps grow ever closer.

He feels Ginny's hand gripping the back of his jumper tightly and they both raise their wands as someone comes stumbling out of the trees.

"Stevie?" her eyes meet his, letting out a shaky breath when she steps toward him.

"Fred?" she whispers, eyes watering, "Fred."

He steps forward as she reaches him, practically falling into his open arms.

"Hey," he whispers, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck, anchoring herself to him. He can feel George and Ginny's concerned gazes as he wraps his arms around her waist, "Hey, you're alright, love."

"I was so scared," she chokes out, "I thought I was going to...and then I was with Cedric but we got separated-"

He pulls back to look at her, frowning when he notices that she's bleeding.

"Are you alright?" he asks, inspecting the cut that's on her forehead, "You're bleeding."

"I tripped," she whispers, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, "I think it's from a branch or something."

"Come sit down," he says softly, leading her to the free tree stump beside Ginny before he rips a strip off of the bottom of his shirt so he can press it against her head. He could use his wand but he was still underage and the last thing their father needed was for him to get in trouble for using underage magic.

"Are you guys alright?" Stevie asks quietly, looking around the small clearing with a frown, "Where's Ron? Harry and Hermione too?"

"We got separated," Ginny murmurs and George rubs her shoulder, "Dad's with the Ministry."

She nods, scooting over on the stump so Fred can sit himself down on the edge beside her, "Mine too. Do you know how those people were?"

"Dad reckons it's Death Eaters," Fred murmurs as he lifts the makeshift bandage to check her head, "He thinks they're doing it for a reaction."

"Well, they sure got one," George mutters.

Fred looks down when he feels Stevie slip her hand into his, lacing their fingers together as she leans her head on his shoulder. He rests his against hers and squeezes her hand tightly.

He can't explain the relief he feels at knowing that she was alright.

~~|~~

They don't know how long they sat there, it had felt like hours but in reality, it might have only been minutes.

Stevie startles when there's a loud bang from nearby, a flash of green illuminating the forest as a spell is fired up into the air.

Fred wraps his arm around her shoulder when he sees her body tense, looking up to where she's looking and that's when he sees it; up in the night sky, is a ginormous skull the colour of emeralds and protruding from the mouth, like a tongue, is a snake.

The screams that were starting to quieten down, started back up again and he can't be sure, but Fred is sure that he feels Stevie shaking.

"We should go," she whispers, tugging at his hand, "I-we need to go."

"Woah," Fred pulls her to a stop, "What are you talking about? We need to wait for dad."

"Fred, look at the mark," she hisses, "It's his mark, You-Know-Who's."