just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

77. a totally average Christmas night

The aroma and comfort of Christmas lunch lingered long after the plates were clear and the dishes were clean, leaving everyone to hang around lazily, too full to even think of dinner. Mrs. Weasley had put herself to bed for a nap, and Ginny had retreated to her room to wait for an owl from Dean Thomas. Juniper, lounging in an armchair in front of the fireplace, drifted in and out of sleep. Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Remus were nearby, also absorbing the warmth of the fireplace. Fred sat on the floor in front of Juniper, his back leaning against her legs as he and George forced everyone to watch their game of 'extreme wizards chess', which was just regular wizards chess that they made up new rules for as they went. The trio eventually joined them, looking  much more grim and cautious than they should've, shifting the energy as they crowded onto the only empty couch left.

"I'm going to go check on Ginny." Tonks excused herself, seeing the way Harry's eyes were darting around at everyone.

"What's wrong Harry?" Remus asked, taking a long sip of his tea.

"We had a few questions that we thought you'd be able to help answer." Harry said, looking between Remus and Arthur. Both Ron and Hermione sank further into the couch, more anxious than excited for whatever answers they could possibly receive.

"I thought Molly already had this discussion with all you kids." Arthur sighed, loosening his tie. "Well... when you meet someone you really like-."

"Dad! No!" Ron yelped, making is father stop before he could go any further. Juniper laughed to herself from her seat, her eyelids slowly fluttering closed as she exhaled.

"We had questions about something we saw- well heard." Harry continued on shakily. "About Draco Malfoy."

Juniper's eyes shot back open, staring directly at Hermione. She felt Fred sit up straighter against her legs, ignoring his rook that George had set on fire.

"Oh." Remus said, shifting in his seat. "What is it?"

"Did Tonks tell you about the train to Hogwarts at the start of the year?" Harry asked. Remus tried to hide his look at Juniper.

"Yes, she told us about your altercation with Draco." He cleared his throat. "Not much else, though."

"Before that he was talking about not coming back to Hogwarts next year, he said Voldemort might need him for something." Harry said, before looking over at Juniper. "Right, Juniper? You were there, you probably remember it better than I do."

"I think that's what he said." Juniper muttered, not raising her voice any louder than it needed to be. Fred glanced back at her, a frown already forming on his face.

"Well, after that there was the incident with the cursed necklace and Katie Bell." Harry added, getting a nod from Arthur and Remus.

"Snape told us about that." Arthur said. "He also said that you believe Draco Malfoy was the one that cursed the necklace."

"The Order knows about all of this, Harry." Remus sighed, readjusting his position. "Has anything else happened that we wouldn't know about."

"That's what I was getting to, we're not sure if Snape would've told you." Harry looked to Hermione, who was still looking at Juniper. "Malfoy got caught trying to drop in on Slughorn's Christmas party the other night, and Snape was the one to escort him out."

"That sounds about right." Fred inserted himself into the conversation, leaning his arm across Juniper's knees, his fingers drumming against her skin. "Snape has always covered for Malfoy."

"They were whispering in the hallway like they didn't want to be overheard." Harry continued, ignoring the warning look her got from Arthur and Remus. "Snape told him he took an unbreakable vow to protect him, and Malfoy said he was chosen for something."