Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

75.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you two?!"

"Mum just let us explain!"

"Explain what? Explain how you nearly put Sophia into cardiac arrest?!"

Fred and George sat at the kitchen table in The Burrow with their mother standing in front of them with her hands on her hips. Arthur also stood nearby with a stern look on his face, but Molly could be seen to be fuming. The Patronus that George had sent hadn't explained anything of what happened but when the boys emerged from the field with Sophia unconscious in Fred's arms, Molly was sharp enough to work out what had happened. After Fred had put Sophia into his old bed, Molly had forced the two into the kitchen chairs and had spent the last half hour scolding them with a bright red face.

"What you two did was foolish," Arthur added, his eyes flickering between the faces of his sons. "You could have jeoprodised everything that the Order has worked towards keeping Sophia hidden."

"No one recognised her," George mumbled grumpily and Molly glared fiercely at his words.

"Someone did George!" Molly put her knuckles to the table and leaned over to stare into George's frightened eyes. "Someone has seen Sophia! Why I ever agreed to letting you two take Sophia for the day, I just don't know-"

"We didn't plan for this Mum," Fred cut her off with an irritated look. "Everything was fine until the little runt showed up. She was having fun for once-"

"You never said who it was that showed up," Arthur asked, purposely avoiding Molly's glare at changing the subject. Fred and George quietly thanked their father for bringing up the topic they've been trying to bring up ever since they got to The Burrow. As soon as they arrived, Molly had pounced on them like a ion and made them sit as she ripped into them for their carelessness and immaturity.

"It was Draco Malfoy," Fred answered. "No one else was in the store when Sophia's potion wore off. We swear it. But she basically saw Malfoy and went into hysterics. It was like when she first turned up here only there was no blood."

"Do you think he hexed her or something?" Arthur inquired, now having his own conversation with Fred as George kept his head low from Molly's piercing glare.

"No. But she did say 'it's him' to me," Fred bit his lip at the memory. "I also remember Harry babbling about thinking that Malfoy was a Death Eater. I think that he was the one who tortured Sophia."

A silence hung over the kitchen once Fred finished and both Molly and Arthur looked surprised at his words. Molly's previous anger diminished and she now looked stumped, her arms loosening from their strong stance against her hips. Fred took the time to think about Sophia resting upstairs in his room, and about how guilty he felt for putting her through today. Yes, she had a lot of fun looking around the shop and overcoming her fear of strangers, but at what cost? If she had never left The Burrow, like the Order wanted, she wouldn't have ended up like this. Her run-in could even have set her back months of progress that Sophia has developed greatly in. Fred would hate to see her curl back up into her shell and return to acting like an abused puppy, whipping her head around whenever someone even whispered near her.

"We need to have an Order meeting then," Molly announced and grabbed her wand from the counter, marching towards the front door to send out yet another Patronus.

"Does that mean we'll get into more trouble?" George squeaked as he watched his mother forcefully yank open the door.

"Not still scared of Mad-Eye are you Georgie?" Molly mockingly smiled before disappearing out into the clearing in front of the house. George shrunk considerably in his seat with a gulp, dreading the arrival of the Ex-Auror who will most likely unleash his brutal anger on him and Fred.