She was a misfit, he was a git.
Matilda Diggory enters her fifth year of school, ready to remain as under the radar as possible, only there's a catch. She's somehow managed to catch the eye of a particularly annoying redhead, who seems hell-bent on...
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Just as Fred promised, Matilda woke later that afternoon with him clutching her hand by her side. She shifted, turning onto her back while being careful not to stretch apart the scabs holding together her skin. Fred released her hand and helped tie her hair back out of the ointment that had been spread to cover her wounds. He gave her another smile as she drew her knees to her chest, holding the sheet between them to hide her exposed body.
Fred smacked his head, clearly remembering something. "Here. I brought you this. Actually, Angelina and Alicia brought it from your dorm when I went back to get you some clothes to change into, but considering I know this jumper quite well..."
Matilda's brows furrowed as she watched Fred hand out a familiar navy sweater. "Thanks," she said quietly, realising it was the jumper she basically stole from him earlier that year. "Sorry, I completely forgot to return it."
"I figured. I'd seen you wear it a few times around," he said, grinning sheepishly. "I never commented, I just thought it was cute how you still wore it."
Her cheeks flushed red as she held it in her hands. It carried the faint smell of honey and gunpowder. She turned away from him, facing the curtain and shrugged on the jumper, relishing in the warmth she was wrapped in. If this was what being friends with Fred was going to be like, Matilda could get used to it. She'd sold his compassion short, that's for sure.
"Dumbledore called your parents, too," Fred said, making her snap her head over her shoulder at him. "They're coming to pick you up any moment now."
"What?" she breathed, nervous about how that would go. Her parent's number one rule was that no one was to find out about her condition. She didn't want to imagine the rage that would ensue on her return home. She slid to the side of the bed, her striped pyjama-clad legs swinging. Her legs were in between Fred's and his hands rested on either side of her knees. He grabbed hold of her hands and held them soothingly. A bandage on his arm caught her eye and she went to reach for it, but he used his spare hand to catch hers.
Her lips pulled into a frown, "What happened?"
"I fell over last night, nothing to worry about," he said. Noticing her unconvinced gaze, he squeezed her hands gently. "I promise."
Matilda sighed. "I'm sorry to drag you into all of this. I wish it were different–"
"Please don't apologise for this, Diggory. You can't control it, I get it."
She shook her head, "I don't think you do, Weasley. I'm tainted. Not in a my-life-sucks way, but in an actual god-fearing creature way. You heard what Ron said, I'm dangerous. There's no doubt about it, hundreds of books have been written to support that."
"Yeah, but you've got the wolfsbane–"
"Didn't do me any good last night, did it?" Matilda's voice was sharp.
Fred pulled back and his face turned serious. "Til, there's no changing what happened last night, alright? But the least we can do is not let it happen again."
