Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 109 | Visions

"Fred? Fred?" A distant voice asked, "Can you hear me?"

It took a lot of his strength, but Fred managed to peel open his eyes. He found himself propped up in his bed with the duvets draped over him securely. George was perched on the bed beside Fred's legs, and Mrs Weasley was fussing with potion bottles on his bedside.

It took a moment, but everything flooded back to him: Kingsley's low, rumbling voice calling for help, the abandoned, damp tube station, and the rapid fire with Montague. Most vividly, he remembered struggling to breathe on the floor, Sarah's imploring, cerulean gaze, indescribable pain in his stomach, and the haunting sounds of Sarah's screams...

"You're awake!" George exclaimed, and was immediately hushed by their mother.

Mrs Weasley leaned over Fred, feeling his temperature with her hand. "Are you all right, dear? Any pain?"

"I'm fine." Fred's gaze flickered to the empty side of the bed. "What happened?"

George and Mrs Weasley shared uneasy expressions. George fidgeted with his wedding ring as he answered.

"Uh, I'm not sure how much you remember," George muttered, avoiding Fred's gaze. "Montague hit you with something, some sort of slicing spell mixed with dark magic. It was wandless magic, which made it all the more complicated—"

"—George," Fred interrupted, his voice hoarse, "I don't care about me. Where's Sarah?"

"You should rest—" Mrs Weasley began, reaching behind Fred to fluff his pillows.

"Mum," Fred insisted, his breath quickening, "What happened to her?"

"We were all knocked out, Fred! None of us could breathe!" George began, putting his head in his hands. "You have to understand! If we could have done anything—"

"Where is she?" Fred insisted, leaning forward with difficulty. His abdomen felt stiff and uncomfortable.

"She's gone," George's voice was strained, "They took her."

Fred took a deep breath, nodding, "Alright...alright...it's fine...we can just...we can get her back."

Mrs Weasley ran a hand through Fred's tousled hair, her eyes glistening with tears, "Fred, I don't think—"

"—No," Fred pulled away from his mother's hand, "No. No, okay? We're gonna get her back. I'm going to get her back."

He sat up, and tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He let out a pained grunt partway through.

"Fred, stop," George grabbed his shoulders, "I know this is hard, but you—"

"No, you don't know!" Fred exclaimed, a lump in his throat, "Your wife is downstairs, mine is—"

Fred's voice cut off as he let out a sob. The fight left his aching body as George wrapped his arms around him. Fred's cries were muffled into George's stomach. Mrs Weasley rubbed Fred's back, dabbing her eyes.

George took a deep breath, his eyebrows pinched. "We're gonna figure this out, alright? I promise you, but we can't go tearing off to Malfoy Manor. Remember, you're Sarah's Secret Keeper."

Fred pulled away, scrubbing the tears from his cheeks. His voice wavering, he said, "So, what, I'm useless? I just have to sit here while..."

He couldn't finish that sentence, couldn't bear the thought of Sarah suffering.

"I'm sorry, Fred," George looked away.

"We're abandoning her," Fred muttered miserably, his head in his hands.