✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

39 | F A C E D

•••
kiss me it'll heal
but. it. won't. forget.
•••

   "Lynnea, dear", Mrs Weasley said with a bright smile on her lips as Lynnea entered the Burrow's kitchen, immediately pulling her in one of her bone crushing hugs. "How was your summer? Are you alright? What happened to your face?" She held Lynnea an arm length away from her now, watching the girl's bruises with sorrowful eyes.

   "Oh - that's nothing, really", Lynnea muttered. "Cracked cheekbone, Dumbledore already fixed that. I - fell down the basement stairs."

   Sceptically Mrs Weasley raised an eyebrow, but didn't asked further. "You sure are hungry? You look way to thin. Dinner will soon be ready."

   "Lynn!" Before she could even fully turn around to the causer of this yell, Lynnea's sight was taken by a bunch of bushy brown hair, as Hermione flung her arms around the girl. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

   Hermione let go of her, just to be replaced by Ginny, who hugged her with a wide smirk on her lips, before Ron engulfed Lynnea in a one armed hug.

   "Oh Merlin, what happened to your face?", Hermione gasped, clasping a hand in front of her mouth, as her eyes grew large.

   "That's nothing, really", Lynnea repeated, unable to look at Hermione.

   "Nothing? You look like you've been hit by a truck!" Her muggle-born friend placed her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow like Mrs Weasley did before.

   "Really, Mione, it's nothing, I just fell down the stairs."

   "What the bloody hell is a truck?", Ron asked, a ridiculous grimace on his face. Lynnea opened her mouth, but the sound of a crack made her close it with a flinch.

   "That's just George", Ginny softly said. "Don't worry, Fred doesn't have the nuts to show up", she added in a whisper, so Mrs Weasley, who was working at the kitchen counter didn't hear her. "By the way you need to tell me what happened to the both of you. Not that I want to be nosy, but -"

   "Of course not!", Ron snorted in a sarcastic tone.

   George stepped into the kitchen and as his eyes fell on Lynnea, a wide grin enlightened his features. With huge steps he crossed the kitchen and lifted her off her feet in a bearlike hug.

   "If you tell me who did this to you, I'll beat the bloody shit out of him", he whispered in her ear, before placing her back onto the ground.

   "It's nothing ..." Her bruises were puckering as her face heathened up.

   Lynnea left the kitchen together with Ginny, Hermione, Ron and George, sitting down in the living room. Lynnea sat down next to George, not looking at anyone of her friends.

   "So how are you, Georgie? How is business going?", she muttered to her best friend when the rest of them started talking about Harry's arrival. "And how is - you know ..."

   "Oh I'm fine, the business is booming", he said with a smile. "But Fred didn't really seem to enjoy it fully. He's in a horrible condition. He really is missing you, Lynnie. It's a bit annoying, he's such a whiny wanker." Lynnea laughed slightly. "But does him just right, the bloody git. He really believes that he's doing you a favour. And if you ask me, he does. You deserve much better than my arse of a brother."

   Her eyes met her knees, she could hardly believe that Fred was affected by their brake up in any way. He made it very clear that he didn't want her. He didn't even come up to see her, and even though she was not sure if she could handle being faced with him right now, she couldn't deny she was upset about that.

   Time flew at the Burrow. George visited her as often as he could, which was almost every evening, and soon Harry would arrive. Lynnea slept in the twins old room, as it was almost empty now, just Fred hadn't taken all of his stuff with him yet. And again the nights were long, the room was filled with Fred's abscence and when nightmares kept her awake, she had the feeling to choke on his scent. She got out of bed as another attack stroke her, leaving the house on tiptoes to not disturb anyone's sleep. The air in the backyard was cooling her down immediately, making it easier to breathe. She walked a few meters around the house, when suddenly a voice left her frozen on spot.

   "- you don't hear her at night, Fred! It's horrible. She thinks we don't hear her, but ... She's in an awful condition, and this is all your fault, dickhead! What the heck have you even thought when breaking up with her? Have you even thought at all?"

   "What do you want me to do, Ginny?", Fred hissed, and Lynnea pressed her back against the house's wooden wall, holding her breath. "I just can't! Someday she'll understand, and so will you."

   "Gosh, listen to you, Fred!", Ginny spat in a furious voice. "All grown up, huh? Doesn't suit you well. You wanted her the whole damn last year, and then you finally got her just to give her the most dreadful breakup a girl could imagine? You're an arse, Fred!"

   Fred sighed. "Listen, I'm just here to catch some of my stuff and not bother her, okay?"

   "Good luck with that", Ginny snorted. "Mom gave her your room."

   There were a few seconds of silence, before Fred started talking again. "Okay, do me a favour and keep her away from my room for a while tomorrow, like around six. I'll get my stuff then and no awkward situation -"

   "I'll do shit", Ginny laughed. "Grow some nuts and face her, you owe her. You want to act grown up? Start with that, Fred."

   "You don't need to hide from me", Lynnea said, stepping out of the shadows of her hideout. She put her shaking hands in the pockets of her pants. "Just get up and take your stuff, I don't mind."

   "Lynn!", Fred breathed and his lips parted, while Lynnea herself fought against the knot building in her throat.

•••

   There she stood. Her auburn curls shining in the moonlight, her sparkling green eyes piercing right into his hopeless soul. Just as beautiful as Fred remembered her, and he had a hard time to breathe. But his eyes landed on the normally pale skin of her face, and despite the cute little freckles he saw a big faded bruise all over the right half of her face, some old died blood on her lips. Automatically his feet started making their way to his love, out of his control.

   "What happened to your face?", he whispered, watching her eyes already swimming in tears.

   "What would you mind?", she snapped, and those beautiful green eyes narrowed to slits. Fred stopped. "Just grab your stuff and leave me alone, at least that's what you're perfect at, aren't you?"

   She turned around, tears falling to the ground, reflecting the moonlight. It took everything from Fred to not just follow her and take her into his arms. Instead he watched her stomp away, and he slowly turned back to Ginny.

   "See what I was talking about? She's totally wasted", his sister whispered.

   "What happened to her face?", he asked and his eyes flickered back to the point where the darkness had swollowed Lynnea.

   "She said she fell down the stairs, but I asked Harry and he told me, she got beaten up by some muggle." Ginny laid a hand on Fred's arm. "He also wrote, that she's talking in her sleep, every night begging you to come back. Fred, you miss her, I see it in your eyes. Talk to her."

   "She'll forget about me, when she's returned to Hogwarts", Fred muttered, shaking his head. "She'll be fine."