Blue Belle {Fred Weasley}

Chapter 93

"Maybe she should come home with me for a little while."

Belle woke up, after falling asleep on her grandfather, to the sound of a conversation happening around her. She kept her eyes closed in an attempt to listen in without anyone noticing her being awake.

"How will that help?"

"There is so many people here, she's surrounded so grieving is going to be much harder to do under the watchful eye of about twenty people. She can come home and in the day if she wants to come back, I'll bring her here, but I think being in a creepy old house is not going to help her at all. No offence, Sirius."

"None taken. I agree with you, Lyall. Belle needs comfort and this hellhole is far from that even with everyone here. She should be at home where she can breathe, have space to herself and I know being at home helped Remus when Hope passed. It will no doubt help her, she and Remus are so alike it's uncanny."

A sigh was heard and then her father's voice whispered, "but her nightmares...?"

"May subside in a happier home, Moony. Give it a try, mate, if it doesn't work, your dad will bring her back."

Belle decided that now was the time to open her eyes and alert them of her consciousness. A yawn tumbled from her chapped lips and she rubbed her eyes. In front of her sat her grandfather, Sirius, Madison, Remus, Harley and Tonks. She quickly realised that only now she was in Bill's lap.

"Your grandpa needed to get up and, to be honest, I could do with a cuddle," Bill whispered. Belle nodded her head and snuggled further into the man, returning the cuddle.

"How are you feeling now, sweetie?" Tonks asked standing up to get her a drink.

Belle simply nodded as a bottle of butter beer was slid towards her. She took a small swig and sighed. Her limbs and eyelids weighed a ton and it was as if her throat had thrown away her voice.

Subconsciously she went to twiddle with her hair to avoid the awkward glances her family were sending each other only to grope air. Moving her hand, the girl placed them into her lap where her thumbs fought for dominance.

"We can sort that out in a flick," Said Harley, taking out her wand.

"No." Belle finally spoke, freezing Harley mid swish of her wand.

"No?" Questioned her father, his eyebrows furrowing together.

Sirius chuckled, "darling, no offence, but your not a very skilled hairdresser."

Madison nudged the man who raised his arms in surrender. "Belle, don't you want to fix your hair?"

"I don't want it."

"Huh?"

"Get rid of it."

* * *

Belle sat on a stool in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, a bin bag with a hole in it over her hair covering her body. Behind her stood Harley, some hair clippers in her hand.

"Are you sure?" Harley asked her cousin once again.

Belle nodded, "It can go."

Everyone had left the two cousins along in the kitchen, the exception of Kreacher who perched on the counter top staring at Belle. Silence fell upon the room until the harsh buzz of the clippers echoed, bouncing from the tiles. Harley wanted to close her eyes but thought better of it and slowly pressed the clipped to the roots of Belle's hair at the front of her head and drew it back watching the remainder of Belle's long locks flurry to the floor, one line after another until all was gone.

As soon as the buzzing stopped, Belle rose to her feet, tugging off the bag and standing before an old, dirty mirror. Her hands ran across the minuscule stubble that etched her head like small blue prickles.

"Thank you," she muttered to Harley as Kreacher hopped from the counter and collected up Belle's hair using a dustpan and brush.

Harley led the way out of the kitchen, Belle behind her as the whole group awaited to see whether Belle went through with it all. Harley moves out of the way a smile on her face as Belle looked at everyone shyly, her left hand playing with her right elbow.

Fred was the first to react, climbing to his feet and marching right over to his girlfriend. "You look beautiful, Bella," he told her, wrapping his arms around her. Belle nuzzled into his hold, gripping the back of his shirt tightly.

"Can you come too?" She asked him, her voice small and delicate.

"Where?" Asked Fred, lifting her into his arms when

"Home."

Fred looked over Belle's shoulder at everyone else, his eyes wide, hoping that Remus wouldn't attack him and more so his mother. Molly wanted to oppose. She really did. However, she knew that Fred would not rest without knowing how Belle was and how Belle really needed Fred right now. She couldn't say no. She wanted to but her heart said no.

"If Lyall and Remus are okay with it, then I don't see why not." She said which shocked her children and her husband quite a bit. Even Fred turned to his mother, still holding Belle in his arms, and raised his eyebrows. "What? I'm not evil!"

"Well I am okay with it, Fred'll be good for Belle." Said Lyall, glancing at his son who scratched the back of his neck unsure of what to decide. 

Harley nodded, "Look she's asleep again and that's only from having a cuddle with Fred. Look, Remus, in school they probably bunk in with each other and you don't have any control over it whereas now Uncle Lyall will be there plus Belle is in no way suddenly going to jump all over Fred when she's just lost her mum."

"I mean she kinda just jumped on him..." mumbled Ron who received dirty looks from the group. 

"Fine, but any funny business then you'll get kicked so hard in the bullocks that some random Australian will be grilling them on their barbecue!" Warned Remus making Fred nod quickly.

 He rubbed Belle's back and sat down with her on his lap, pressing a kiss to her forehead and running his fingers across her now shaven head. "You're so beautiful," he murmured into her ear. "Is she packed?"

"Yeah, I got some stuff packed up earlier, mate," said Bill who was more so busy admiring his girlfriend, or so he portrayed, he kept glancing at her stomach suggesting that he still was in pain from losing their baby so soon after finding out about the baby. 

"Oh, good, yeah, good that," Fred nodded distantly his eyes fixated on Belle who clutched tightly onto his shirt muttering incoherently. He rocked her gently as if she was a newborn baby who was just crying for their mother to cradle them. 

Belle shuffled in his lap, resting her cheek against his chest, "don't go... please... don't..."