Songbird ; Fred Weasley

Ninety-nine

I had my oral exam this morning.

In Biology.

I hate biology.

I got a fucking C.

-

When we got home, I pushed my shoes off my feet and hung my jacket on the wall.

Dad shut the door before turning to face me.

"You don't believe a word he said, do you?" He asked me.

I looked down at my hands, picking at some old nail polish on my thumbnail.

"Eric has always been manipulative whenever he gets upset." He told me. "And right now, he's not only upset but he's also stressed with the trial coming up. Anything he said, was only to make you crumble."

"I know." I said weakly.

"What happened?" Max walked into the room, arms folded over his chest. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." I exhaled. "Where's Fred?"

"Upstairs. He's—"

I hurried up the staircase, taking them two steps at a time. I made my way into the bedroom where Fred was folding laundry at the end of the bed.

A frown was stitched onto his face, and I knew he was worried. He only ever folded the laundry without magic whenever he had something on his mind.

I walked over to him and I wrapped my arms around him from behind, pressing my cheek to his back.

Fred paused, and I felt his muscles relax when he realised I was home. He dropped the shirt he was in the middle of folding, and his hands frappes onto mine, keeping them locked against his chest.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I didn't mean to snap at you when I left."

"It's okay." He assured me, rubbing his hand up and down my wrist. "Where did you go?"

"I had Eric transported to the ministry so I could talk to him."

Fred turned his head to try and look at me, so I let go of him, giving him room to turn around.

"Why would you do that?"

I shrugged.

"I wanted to speak to him."

"Darling." He sighed, running a hand along my jaw, making me look up at him.

"I know." I said. "But it's— I needed him to know what he's ruined. I almost died because of what he did. Callum almost died."

Fred pressed a kiss to my forehead before wrapping one arm around my shoulders, bringing me against him.

"I would have gone with you, had you just asked." He whispered against my hair. "I don't ever want for you to face him alone."

I pressed my face into his chest, holding onto him as I felt everything break inside of me. Tears starting pouring from my eyes, sobs breaking from my chest.

"Hey... hey what happened?" He asked, hugging me tighter. "What did he do? Or say? What did he say?"

I shook my head.

"I have his genes." I cried. "I'm just like him."

"What are you talking about? You are nothing like him, baby."

I cried harder at the nickname. The nickname he so rarely used. Only when he knew I was breaking down.

"You are sending me away just like he was sent away. I'm angry just like he is and—"

"Mavis." Fred pulled his head back a few inches, looking at my mess of a face. "No one is sending you away. Do you hear me?"

"What? But—

"I've been thinking about it for the past hour while you were at the ministry. How about we start with finding you a therapist? If that doesn't work, we can look into inpatient treatment."

I stared at him, blinking a few times, tears dropping from my eyelashes.

"No matter what, it isn't sending you away. We would never do that. It would be getting you the help you deserve, and it would be with your consent. We would never force you to do any sort of treatment that you didn't want."

"But—" I rubbed a hand over my forehead. I shook my head, feeling an headache come on.

"I don't want you to be away from the kids. We'll try therapy, then go from there, yeah?"

I nodded, pressing my face into his chest again.

"We'll pick them up in a few days once you've calmed down a little." He told me, kissing my forehead again. "I'll ask George to watch the shop meanwhile. You and I will spend some time together."

"I'd like that." I whispered.

He ran a hand to the nape of my neck and urged me to look up at him again. His head came closer, and his lips met mine in a soft and sweet kiss.

"I love you." He whispered. "If you ever want to talk to him again, for whatever reason, tell me. I'll go with you."

"Okay." I nodded, leaning up to get another kiss.

He smiled down at me, and we exchanged a few more kisses before he leaned down to kiss the corner of my mouth, then my cheek and then my jaw.

I ran my fingers into his hair, feeling his lips ghost across my neck in a faint kiss.

"You want to go take a shower?" He whispered, causing me to look at him again.

"Jesus, Freddie. If I stink, just say so."

Fred laughed, pressing another kiss to my lips.

"I meant with me." He nodded towards the bathroom.

I grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers. I led him into the bathroom and made sure all of the doors were properly locked.

While Fred pulled off his shirt, I placed myself in front of the mirror and wiped at my wet cheeks.

My eyes fell on the scar on my forehead. I reached up and traced it with my fingers, feeling the raised skin.

"Did he say something about the scar?" Fred asked when he noticed the way I ran my fingers across it.

"No." I muttered. "He couldn't look at it. Almost like he was regretful."

My fiancé placed himself beside me, watching me through the mirror while he undid the buttons in his jeans.

"Don't fall for it, love."

"I'm not." I said. "He's manipulative. Even if he is regretting what he did, it isn't something I'm willing to forgive."

"I would agree because I hated him and I really want to fucking bash his head in, but someday, you should figure how to forgive him. Not for his sake, but for your own."

I frowned at him through the mirror, but he didn't seem to notice. He reached for the hem of my shirt, and I raised my arms, letting him pull it off.

"The best way to punish him for what he did, is to live your life and be happy. If you're miserable, it'll only please him."

"I know. But I can't right now. I can't. I'm so fucking angry. He's the reason why everything is fucked. Daniel tried to kill himself because of  what that arsehole did."

"And I'm not saying you should just let go of it. I know it doesn't work like that." Fred slipped his arms around my shoulders, kissing the side of my head before he dropped his hands to the button of my trousers. "All I'm asking is for you to work to get there. With therapy."

I nodded, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

"I will." I said. "I promise."