Photograph | fred weasley x fem reader

Chapter Twenty- Five: Cillian Summers

You stared down at the bowl of cold porridge, slowly stirring the congealed syrup around the oats. The bowl was stone-cold and, other than the prodding of your spoon, completely untouched.

You pressed the bottom of the palm of your hand deeper into the crevice of your cheek, your eyelashes brushing against your hand as you blinked, your gaze glued to the table. The sound of the Great Hall seemed oddly muffled, the voices and the laughter and the clinking of goblets faded, as though your ears were underwater.

"Y/N!" Selene's sharp voice suddenly snapped, and you felt your arm shift a little as she nudged you. You reluctantly glanced up from your porridge to meet her eyes.

Selene was frowning, her eyebrows forming deep, concerned lines above her dark eyes. Her mouth was a tight line and she watched you intently.

"Yeah?" You croaked, your voice a touch raw from the morning air.

Selene let out a long sigh through her nose. "I've been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes. Are you okay?" She asked, her tone serious, as though she already knew the answer.

You shrugged, dropping your focus back to your uneaten breakfast. You'd held the spoon for so long it had begun to leave a little red indent in your index finger. "'Course," you replied, clearing your throat of the remnants of sleep. "Just tired. And stressed. Start of the new term, you know, exams are coming round quick..." you murmured, the words feeling odd in your mouth.

"Hm," Selene hummed, unconvinced. "Fred and George have been trying to get your attention too. Seems like you're in your own little word again. Though the twins are normally in it with you, and you haven't even glanced their way."

Selene had chosen her words carefully and as she said Fred's name, her eyebrows lifted a little.

You focused, hard, on the rising and falling of your chest. You tried to keep your expression unwavering, though you had stopped blinking. Nerves gnawed away at your empty stomach, sending an uneasy, unwelcome feeling through your bones.

"They probably want me to finish reading through their homework before class. I don't have the energy for that," you said simply, forcing a smile.

Keeping your head lowered and still, you swallowed and raised your eyes to find the Gryffindor table. Fred, George and Lee were laughing raucously, Lee covered in a splatter of jam. George had his hand clasped over his forehead as his shoulders shook and Fred held onto his twin, his red hair dancing messily as he threw his head back.

Across the room, you watched them, biting your lip as you forced yourself to maintain your gaze, trying to shake of Selene's concern. Though George was far too engrossed in picking up a slice of toast and scooping the jam off Lee, Fred shifted and his eyes found yours.

He grinned as he always did, the smile slightly crooked on his freckled face. His eyes were bright and he sat up eagerly to catch your gaze. If the Hall was muffled to you before, now it was silent. Fred's face was full of the same light it always was, but for the briefest, most fleeting second, you wondered if his expression twitched. If it had, you were sure to be imagining it. Obviously, you had grown accustomed to seeing things that hadn't been there. 

As you watched him wave and laugh, seemingly preparing to pick up a grape and lob it at you, your heart seemed to grow heavy.

You weren't sure if his seemingly unchanged, unbothered reaction made everything better or worse. It was as if nothing had happened, as if no words were spoken. Which, you supposed, they hadn't.

Fred grabbed a handful of dark purple grapes and he grinned mischievously before firing them across the room, towards you. They fell short and hit a random sixth-year Ravenclaw on the back of her head, missing you entirely by about a meter.