my best friends brother - fred weasley

liv. attack on christmas

I had spent all of the day in Fred's room since getting to the Burrow, talking about the things I forgot in my letters, the things that I didn't mention, and whatever came into my head while I was talking, with a few make-out breaks in between, because we are teenagers after all. Once it started getting cold he let me wear one of his old Christmas sweaters, it was still several sizes too big on me despite being a few years old. Around midnight, I heard the door to the Burrow open, Fred was asleep next to me, and the house quiet, suggesting that everyone was asleep. 

"Fred." I whisper shouted, trying to nudge him awake, instead he just rolled over. There were footsteps making their way up the stairs and I had to grab my wand to defend myself. Climbing over Fred, I held it up in front of my face and tiptoed to the door. There were creaks right outside, in one motion I whipped the door open and aimed my wand at whoever was in front of me. 

"What?" I drop my wand, coming face to face with Remus and Tonks.

"Clover?" Remus says, an almost disgusted look spreads across his face, realising why I would be in Fred's room. 

"Oh my." Tonks delicately lifts her hand in front of her mouth. 

"What are you two doing here?" I close Fred's door.

"Molly invited us for Christmas. What are you doing in there?" Remus points his eyebrows at me. 

"Um... if Molly asks, then I was in Ginny's room." I hesitate. 

"Me too." Tonks winks at me, then glances at Remus, who's sending her a disappointed look. 

"Okay... well I'm going to go back in there, and you two can go wherever you're going." I dart back into Fred's room and shake the image out of my mind. 

"Merry Christmas, Clover." Remus whispers from the other side of the door. A small smile appears on my face as climb back into Fred's bed. 

"Who was it?" Fred mumbles in his sleep, rolling over and throwing his arm around me. 

"The Queen of England." I reply dryly, trying to see if he's actually awake.

"That's nice." He sighs, falling back asleep. 

⊱✿⊰

Christmas morning was hectic to say the least, with 12 people all rushing around the burrow, exchanging gifts and thanks. I had gotten a few knick knacks from everyone, and a huge, knitted blanket from Fred, similar to the ones that were sprawled around his flat in Diagon Alley. The day was spent with snowball fights, naps and enough food to feed a village. After dinner, I sat on one of the arm chairs with my new blanket in the living room, talking with Remus and Harry about what we heard at Slughorns party. From where I was seated, I was able to watch Fred in his natural habitat, pissing Molly off in the kitchen. 

"Dumbledore trusts Snape, therefore I do." Remus argues against Harry, who's certain that Snape is plotting something. 

"But Dumbledore can make mistakes too." Harry speaks a bit louder, catching everyone's attention. Fred slowly walks over behind me, giving my shoulders a supportive squeeze to relieve some of the tension in the air. 

"You're blinded by hatred!" Remus continues to argue. 

"No I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!" Remus has to take a deep breath to keep himself calm. "If we start fighting among ourselves, we're doomed." He leaves the room before anything else can be said, followed by Tonks. Fred slides into the chair, squeezing next to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I can feel Arthurs eyes burning into the side of my head so I keep my hands above the blanket. Luckily, Ginny plops herself next to Harry, taking all of Arthurs energy and focus way from Fred and I. We all sit in an uncomfortable silence, too scared to talk, when Fred starts to snicker in my ear, watching his sister and Harry. 

"Well, I'm going to see if the dishes need doing." Arthur clears his throat and leaves the room. 

"Open up." Ginny whispers to Harry, picking up a mince pie from the tray in her lap. "Don't you trust me."

"Do you think she realises we're here?" Fred whispers in my ear as we watch the awkwardness unfold. 

"Not a chance." I whisper back, not taking my eyes off of them. Harry ducks his head down to take a bite of the pie, nodding in approval. Their intense eye contact sends a shover down my spine and I have to close my eyes. 

"I'm just gonna- excuse me. I'm here, I'll sit down, sorry- excuse me." I hear Ron mutter his way through the room, sitting himself comfortably between the two. Fred starts to audibly laugh, causing both Ginny and Harry's faces to burn bright red. 

"Pie?" Ron offers Harry, who just shakes his head aggressively. 

⊱✿⊰

Molly rounded us all up to say our goodbyes to Tonks and Remus, who had to leave due to the moon and the whole werewolf thing. I stood shivering behind Arthur, waving slightly to my father, who gave a slight smile back before something caught his attention in the distance. Fred notices my teeth chattering and drapes his arms over my shoulders, hugging me. 

"Merry Christmas, Clover." He whispers into my ear, placing a peck on my cheek. 

"Merry Christmas, Fred." I whisper back, meeting his lips for a small kiss. Everything was perfect for a second, before the flames appeared. They circled the Burrow, trapping us all in, while the dark shadows of Death Eaters flew around tauntingly. Bellatrix Lestrange appears, her presence making us all uncomfortable immediately. 

"I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black!" She cackles her way out into the field, luring Harry behind her. Remus and Tonks chase after him, trying to tame the fire that surrounds the rest of us, and Ginny trails along, ignoring everyone's calls. Without hesitating, I follow suit, running through a gap in the flames, after Harry and Ginny. 

"Clover!" I hear Fred shout behind m, his calls getting quieter and quieter as I run further into the field. The grass is taller than me and all I can hear is my own heavy breathing mixed with the sound of my feet in the mud. The leaves of the weeds sting my face as I run through them, cuts being left on my face. I start to slow down, holding my hands to my face to ease the stings, and to catch my breath. Looking down, I'm ankle deep in a puddle. 

"Eww..." I groan, wiping sweat and blood off of my forehead. I start to turn to head back to the Burrow, only to come face to face with Fenrir Greyback once again. I pat down my pockets, looking for my wand, but in the time it takes for me to grab it I'm already thrown across the puddle. "Stupefy!" I shout, laying in the mud. He flicks his wand to block the spell as he walks closer and closer towards me. I keep sending spells towards him, thinking of whatever attacks that I can, when his hairy hand reaches down and picks me up by my throat, strangling me in the air. His sharp, werewolf nails dig into the skin of my neck, causing more blood to trail down my back. I kick and thrash as hard as I can against him, trying my hardest to breathe

"It's a shame it's not a Full Moon, I'd love to turn you." He snarls behind his teeth. He points his wand into my stomach and whispers. "Crucio." All of my thoughts cease as my body stiffens in pain, my body feels white-hot, as though its starting to melt and drip into a puddle. I feel my bones crack into pieces and rip out of their sockets over and over again as he digs his wand further into my stomach. I'm in so much pain that it all turns into a hallucination, I can't tell the difference between what's real around me and what's a figure that my mind has made up through the torture. I am almost certain that I'm back in my mud puddle, watching the fire around the Burrow grow taller, the only thing that seems to be my imagination is the Burrow being on fire, burning down to the ground. I can hardly keep my eyes open when Ron appears over me. 

"Hi Ron." I croak, trying to crack a smile. 

"Hi Clover." He tucks his arms under me and carries me out of the field, despite the blood and mud dripping all over him.