Falling Slowly (A Hogwarts Lovestory) - Fred Weasley Fanfiction

41 | Open Wounds

The girl was crying. Big salty tears were running down her rosey cheeks and left dark wet spots on her dress. "I don't want you to leave!", she sobbed.
The boy embraced her. He was a few years older than she was, about the age of twelve, and they could not have looked less alike. The boys skin was the colour of a bright brown, his hair was dark and shaggy and his eyes, with which he looked caringly down at the little girl, were of the warmest brown. She on the other hand had pale and slightly freckled skin, sad green eyes and honey blonde hair tied in pigtails.
The girl started to cry again and buried her face in the boy's chest, where her tears were now wetting his green sweater which was way too big for a skinny boy of his age.
"Please don't leave me alone", she whispered.
The boy's heart was breaking. He was told he could leave the orphanage at the end of the week. The foster service had found a place for him, but only for him alone. He hasn't met his future foster father yet, he only knew he was an older man who could only afford to take care of one child. But he didn't want to leave the girl behind. He wanted to protect her and he knew he couldn't do that anymore when they were apart. The orphanage was no place for pretty little girls. He knew exactly what she was so afraid of.
"I'm coming back for you", he whispered in her ear. "I'm coming to get you. I promise."
She looked at him with swollen red eyes. "You can't promise that. And if you do, I don't believe you", she said stubbornly.
He laughed quietly at her. "I can. And I will."
Then the boy had an idea. He pulled off his green sweater and handed it to the little girl. "I am certain they will let me come back to get a piece of clothes. And you're so tiny anyway, nobody's gonna notice if I hide a little girl in there."
The girl's face brightened up. She pulled the sweater over her head and almost got lost in it.
"Promise you keep it for me?", asked the boy.
"Promise", answered the girl.

************************************************

I didn't close my eyes for a second the night after the incident with Jess. I was relieved that nothing worse has happened, but the fear I had felt during the assault has ripped up some old wounds I still carried with me.
I wasn't angry. Even after everything that had happened, everything I felt for Jess was pity. That's why, regardless to what he did to me, I decided to make the phone call I had planned to do at the youth departement anyway. So I got up early next morning to secretly leave the house. I didn't want to run into somebody. I grabbed Ben's green sweater, slipped into my shorts, closed the door to my room quietly behind me - and stumbled over a pile of clothes on the floor.
Someone had left a towel and a hoodie there. It was Fred's hoodie. Why would he throw his stuff away in the middle of the floor where everybody could easily fall over it? I wondered when the time would come that Fred Weasley would eventually start to think about the consequences of his actions.
But I didn't want to worry about him any more. That's why I swallowed my anger and made my way down to the village to use the local phone booth. I didn't expect to meet anyone this early, but of course I was wrong. I had to hide for almost 30 minutes between some garbage cans to avoid running straight into Jess, the last person on earth I wanted to see right now.
Due to this delay I appeared much later at the Burrow as I had originally planned. Everybody was already ready for departure.

I kept about five feet distance to everybody else while we were traveling. Hermione and Ginny were giggling about Cedric Diggory the whole time and I had really no interest at all in joining them. I only nodded towards Ced as a greeting even though I liked him. He was still the ex boyfriend of one of my best friends. There were boundaries I wanted to respect and you simply don't keep up a friendship with your friend's ex. And of course, I had still my own ex boyfriend trouble to handle.
I tried my best not to look at Fred on our journey to the campsite, but of course I watched him out of the corner of my eye. Why was he giving me that look? If I didn't know it better I had said he looked yearningly at me. But let's be honest, that could not be true.

When we finally arrived and were finished setting up the tent, my way and Fred's separated.
I went with Hermione, Ron and Harry up to the tribunes. We wanted to see the game from one of the highest points possible.
"Are you okay?", whispered Hermione to me while Ron and Harry fitted themselves put with all sorts of merch by the Irish National Quidditch team. Even though he was fan of the Irish team, Ron did completely freak out when he found a little toy figure of the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum.
"No", I answered to Hermione's question. I smiled uncomfortably at her.
"Is it Fred?", she asked.
"No", I said again. Then I sighed. "Well, not only."
"Promise you talk to me about it if you are ready."
"Okay", I smiled. "Thanks, Hermione." Suddenly I felt bad for avoiding Hermione's company because I couldn't stand her going on about Ron over and over again. My own behavior wasn't even better. I had been an awful friend.
"I promise", I said. Then I lowered my voice. "And you promise to tell me all about your problems with Ron okay? I want to be there for you too. I know I tend to get all self centered sometimes and forget to listen. I'm sorry."
"Actually, Julie", Hermione said and sighed, "I'm kind of grateful that you don't always talk about this with me. I sometimes forget that the earth doesn't spin around Ronald Weasley."
I laughed and Hermione put her arms around me. She giggled and it felt so relieving to finally be able to smile this day.
"I guess we're both idiots", I said and laughed.
"Maybe I should forget this whole Ron thing and start looking out for someone else. Someone more mature would be nice. I don't even know why I'm into him. He is such a jerk and constantly gets on my nerves." Hermione threw a yearning glance at Ron, who was just trying on the Omnioculars Harry bought us all the wrong way.
"He's challenging you. He make's you feel alive. And in those moments when you two do get along and forget about all your little disputes everything's just easy with him. You get to spend the best days with him."
I got lost in my own thoughts for a while and so I noticed Hermione's raised eyebrows a few seconds too late. "Oh, shut up", I mumbled and blushed.
"You love him", Hermione concluded.

"You love who, Daniels?", asked a familiar but unwelcome voice behind me.
"What do you want, Malfoy?", snapped Hermione at Draco, who seemed to have listened to parts of our private conversation.
"You jealous Granger? Don't be. Only a fool would date a mudblood like you."
Faster than Draco Malfoy could say mudblood, I had pulled my wand out and pointed it onto his pale pointed chin. He suddenly fell silent.
"You should back off, Malfoy", I said lowering.
"Are you threatening me, Daniels?", he asked.
"Yes, I am. And I warn you - you better don't underestimate my willingness to turn you into a ferret. Now back off."
"No, you back off. Now", demanded a cold female voice behind me.
I turned my head around, but I didn't lower my wand. Behind me stood a woman. I have never met her before but I knew her face. She was tall, slim, very pale just like her son, with blue eyes and long blonde hair.
Narcissa Malfoy inspected me from top to bottom. She looked as arrogant as the rest of her family, but unless me she didn't seem to recognize me at all. How could that be possible? I knew from the photograph I found in the old library book that I looked almost exactly like her dead sister. Phineas Nigellus Black, Nearly Headless Nick and Sirius Black had no troubles at all to recognize me immediately.
"I said back off", she repeated quietly. I did how I was told. Not because I was scared of her but because this encounter totally confused me and I couldn't think clearly.
"I see you in school, Daniels", said Draco and spit on the floor in front of me.

I didn't move even after both of them were gone. I didn't understand. How was that possible? What secrets were still left for me to discover?
I didn't pay much attention to the game after the incident - I was too distracted.
Even after the game was long over and we were all back celebrating in our tent, my thoughts where anywhere else. I pretended to read a book so nobody would bother me which worked pretty well for a while until Charlie came to sit with me.
"Everything all right?", he asked. "Here, I brought you something to drink."
I shrugged, but I thankfully took the drink.
"Hermione said you didn't want to talk with her about it either."
"That's right."
"Is there anybody else you want to talk with?"
I stayed quiet but I couldn't prevent my eyes from looking over to Fred on the other side of the tent.
"I see", Charlie said and grinned. He nodded over to his brother and Fred indeed walked over to us and swapped places with his brother.
"Can we talk?", he asked and by the look he gave me I suddenly felt warmth rising inside me.
I opened my mouth to reply but we were suddenly interrupted by Mr Weasley.
"It's not the Irish outside", he said breathlessly as he walked back into the tent. We all look at him in confusion. "It's the Death Eaters. We've got to get out of here. Now!"

There's a hole in the earth here
And we're walking round the edges
I'm still haunted by those open wounds
I won't express them truly to you
- Daughter