Death Eaters Daughter Part Two

Two Hundred Twenty Five

"She got splinched?" I heard Fred's voice asking

I must have actually fallen asleep during the night, I meant to stay awake long enough to be released
That didn't work, I suppose after two nights without sleep my body demanded it finally
I felt Fred's damn hand rubbing stupid circles on my back
I hated how it made me feel

"She's apparated plenty of times before I'm a little surprised she was hurt" Fred said again

"She had a wizard's flu" Madame Pomfrey said "it affects the nerves different for our kind, if she had come to see me first I would have warned her"

"How long does she have left in the hospital wing?" George asked next

"She leaves today"

"Right before Christmas what a bad time to get splinched" Arthur Weasley said

"Will she be able to apparate on the holiday?" Fred asked
Cor...if I couldn't apparate I couldn't see my dragon
Just that thought alone made me want to sob

"It's typically best to rest for a full week after being splinched but a few days is the minimum so she should be fine. Her shoulder will have to be bandaged and in a sling for the full week though"

I opened my eyes slightly to see my surroundings
The scene unfolding looked so familiar, I've been in this spot a few times in the past
Fred's always been there to see me, when he was allowed i should say
Draco was too, but Draco wasn't here
He didn't show up the entire time

Fred noticed I was awake and bend down to kiss my forehead
He didn't mention my open eyes to anyone, he just kept rubbing my back while listening to his family talk to Ron
His hand bringing me comfort was enough to put me back to sleep again, I didn't realize how badly I needed physical touch from someone I loved until that moment

When I woke up again, everyone was gone except for Fred
He got up and kissed my forehead again
"Hey" he said sitting back down

"Hi" I said back

"It was nice of Draco to get you flowers" he said pointing to the vase at the end of my bed "I would have too if I knew you were hospitalized I'm sorry"

I felt my throat tighten
"Not from Draco"

He looked at me puzzled
I was able to read emotions again, his were tart meaning he was curious about my flowers
"Hermione I assume?" He said next

I looked at the vase, it exploded
Fred didn't jump, neither did I
I used a nonverbal to rid myself of them
"Neville"
My mouth was filled with so much tartness it made my nose pucker
"Hes got a thing for me this year it seems"

"Oh really?" Fred said smirking
He knew his only real competition was Draco. If it wasn't obvious with me destroying the gift, I clearly wasn't a fan of his advances
"Neville huh"

"Yeah, well I've told him off a few times he's pretty persistent"

"I'm surprised he's still alive, does Draco know? The amount of times we fought last year over you, I can't imagine he hasn't done anything about Neville"

I looked from the vases to Fred, he couldn't hide emotions from me
He was curious still, I looked from him to my bed that I was still laying belly down on
"Well things are different this year"

I felt it then, his joy from hearing me say that
I could taste sweetness mixing with tart, almost like candy
He was happy that I was seeing a downside to Draco. Everyone has warned me about him, told me to stay away even Draco himself. I'm sure Fred feels like they've finally won me over
"How interesting" he said rubbing my back still

I didn't say anything, his satisfaction about Draco's lack of care this year hurt my feelings. I couldn't blame him, Draco is his literal only competition for me. To hear he's messing up is music to his ears

"I'm sure he's been here to visit right?"

My refusal to answer was enough of an answer for him

"How interesting" he said again

I felt my eyes burning but I didn't let anything escape. I wouldn't cry over Draco not with Fred beside me.

"Mr.Perfect isn't so perfect" he whispered to himself
I couldn't find myself defending him, I was too exhausted from this conversation to try

"My dad didn't visit me either" I said pained
Fred's emotions turned metallic now
"Has he been at order meetings?"
Now that Fred and George are out of school they have been active in meetings

He looked like he didn't want to answer me
"He has"

I closed my eyes
"When was the last meeting"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat
"Yesterday"

"Did he mention anything about me being injured?"

Fred didn't answer

"Did he mention how I was unwell?"

Fred still wouldn't answer
Just like my refusal to answer his hard questions, his silence was enough for me

"I'm sorry" Fred said
I turned over in my bed and stared at the wall
He rubbed my back, all it did this time was release emotions I was forcing myself to hold in
I silently cried, I'm sure Fred could tell I was but he didn't say anything more to me
He just rubbed my back until I went back to sleep