Sunflower. [F. W]

78. Atlas

Tw: Mention of suicide and mental health 

Narcissa and Draco sat down in the flat, sipping on the tea Fred had made for the three of them. Bee had thrown herself into work and falling into bad old habits, so she wouldn't be at the flat until late. Fred was happy to see the duo, Narcissa looking happy and healthy for the first time in a long time. Draco on the other hand had bruises all over his body and face.

"So, what happened to your face, Draco?" 

"It was Lucius," started Draco, trying to find the words "he is after Bee. I was put in the same room as Angelina and he wanted me to join them." 

"Join who?"

"Death Eaters. Bellatrix is restoring the army so they can finally rule. They still need Bee for this, but somehow they know she remembers. They are sending warnings, I don't quite know who will be the second one. I thought it was going to be me, but they just let me go. I reckon it could be any of us at this point." 

"We should tell Bee, dear" said Narcissa. 

"I know we should, but I have to talk to Lee and George first. Angie's death took a huge toll on her mentally, and she feels really guilty. We have to find the words, I don't want her to snap like a rubber band with this news." The concern in Fred's voice started to come through. "The aftermath from the war has been hell for her and I don't want this to be yet another thing that pushes her into jumping in front of curses for any of us."

"You should probably tell Hermione too, she is a- she has Muggle parents, and is friends with Bee. She is an easy target for them, even more so since she is working at the Ministry." Added Draco, correcting himself mid sentence from using the slur he had said so many times before. 

"We should tell her, yeah." Said Fred softly. "Why do they need her? Don't get me wrong I wished  they would all be gone by now but aren't there other powerful wizards and witches in the Wizarding world? Why do they need Bee?"

"Because no matter how powerful they are, they don't hold the gift of life. She does. Having Bee with them would mean that no matter how many times they died, they would be alive in seconds."

"But it doesn't work like that! They could kill her!" 

"They don't know that, Fred. Lucius told mum that what they knew was what the Dark Lord told them. Maybe they want her for the other powers too. We can't be too sure."

As Narcissa and Draco left, Fred's mind was all over the place. He had watched her relapse into old habits trying to cope with the trauma and loss she was facing. It was like being 15 again, something she feared, but Fred feared even more. She was eating less and less, throwing herself into work so she doesn't have to think, the panic attacks were slowly crawling back and she was losing her light again. It hurt his soul but she wasn't reaching out for help and he wasn't sure how to approach it. So he turned to the other two people who watched her slip when they were young. 

"It makes no sense to me how now that Voldy is gone they want to continue this! And take her!" almost screamed George. "They won't! I refuse. Not after all of this shit!" 

"Georgie please calm down." 

"No! I can't calm down Lee! It's my best friend we're talking about! Does she know?"