SPARKS FLY | fred weasley x oc |

chapter 18 - crickets

"Tell us again exactly what you each saw." Arthur repeated as he and my dad sat across from Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I.

"I told you, I was on the hill. I barely saw anything, just the sparks flying from the ground and the mark in the sky." I understood that it was a serious situation. Nobody had seen the Dark Mark like that in fifteen years, right before Voldemort was destroyed. But the Ministry members who questioned us at the scene assured us that we had nothing to worry about. Can't we just drop it?

"Harry got separated from us." Hermione recounted for the third time. "We waited near a patch of trees and waited for there to be less people. When we found him he was lying on the ground. We heard a yell and saw the sky."

"That's when your scar stung, Harry?" Arthur was standing again and pacing.

"Yes." Harry answered blankly. Us all being the same age meant we'd all grown up with the same stories. Even in America we'd heard the story of the boy who lived. Almost everyone at Ilvermorny had said that meeting Harry Potter was a huge plus about moving to England, as if I needed a reminder that I'd be going to school with one of the most famous people in the modern wizarding world. I wonder what they'd all say if they knew he was now one of my closest friends. "Things were just starting to go back to normal." Ron groaned as he dropped his head. "Now we have this to worry about along with all the school stuff, too. My head is going to explode."

"You're being so dramatic." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me for worrying about a real problem." He shot back. There was already a tense air surrounding us and I knew sibling bickering would only make it worse.

"Are you seriously going to start an argument right now?" Charlie took the words right out of my mouth.

"Charlie, be quiet." Molly tried to stop him, but it was no use. My parents and I sat and watched as the whole Weasley family began screaming obscenities across the room, it was almost impossible to determine who was hurling what insult at who.

"Everyone, stop! Stop!" Arthur finally quiets them down, a stern look in his eyes. "We've all had a long and exhausting day. Let's just try and get some sleep. I'm sure we'll have a letter or two from the Ministry in the morning." The air was thick as the red-heads quickly dispersed to their separate rooms.

"You sure you're okay?" My mom approached me as I filled a glass at the kitchen sink.

"Tired. Fred made us run."

"I'll remember to thank him in the morning. I don't even want to think about how much worse it could've been."

"Well, if you do, please think quietly. I don't know if I'll even be able to sleep."

"Take a tea bag, maybe read." She rubbed my arm as she held me a small tea bag with lavender seeds. "I have some of that chocolate in my bag if you get desperate." She winked and then pulled me into a hug. "Good night."

"Night, mom." I sighed. I watched her walk up the stairs before slouching into a wide armchair in the corner. I pushed the window open and let the cool night arm blow gently on my face. The moon was bright and lit up the whole back garden, the pink and orange flowers easy to see in the shadows.

"I thought everyone went to bed." Fred whispered as he sat on a stool next to the window.

"Ginny's room is too hot. I've done enough sweating for today. I'm not going to forgive you for making me run earlier."

"Next time I'll leave you with the bad guys then."

"At least give me the option." I gave a half smile and dunked the tea bag into my mug, bouncing it as I let my eyes drift back outside. "It's quiet here."