Not Like The Rest - Fred Weasley x Reader

Chapter 16

     I awoke to the feeling of warmth around my abdomen. The cold that once occupied my body had been replaced by relaxation. My muscles, which were once tense, rested gently on the mattress beneath me. The white sheets must have fell on the ground over the night because the chill of the air kissed my bare legs. The air wasn't the only thing in contact with my legs though. 

     Fred's legs intertwined with mine. His arms also wrapped around my waist, his steamy breath steadily caressed my neck, and his chest was pressed against my mostly exposed back. My tank top was pushed up to my neck, exposing my stomach, chest, and like I mentioned, back. My face heated at the sight of my skin toned bra. Thank Godric Fred was still sound asleep. I gripped the end of my top and slid it over my chest and down to my stomach.

     I attempted to rise from my laying position, but as I did, Fred's grip on my waist tightened and his head shifted to the crook of my kneck. With a sigh, I rested back down on the mattress, letting him embrace me fully from behind. 

     I didn't completely hate having him hold me so tight. It made me feel important for once. I mean, with everyone's opinion on me open to my ears, I've never felt needed, let alone wanted. By his touch- his hold on me- I feel desired. I don't remember the last time I felt desired like this. Maybe it's because I've never been in a relationship in my life, but that's because of Uncle Remus's ridiculous rules. 

     Once when I was in my second year, I was asked out by John Henith, a third year in Ravenclaw. I made the mistake of ranting about it in a letter to Uncle Remus, and he sent me a howler lecturing me on why I couldn't date at my age. To my dismay, I had opened it in front of the whole school, causing me to become a laughing stock. They would taunt me with 'Daddy doesn't think his baby is ready to get some fuck' or 'Black still has to ask pops for permission'. I cried in my room every night for a month after that. Luckily I had the twins to comfort me. I remember that Fred would stay longer. He would hold me in his arms, whisper kind words in my ear, and stroke my hair. What a friend he had been.

     Or that one time Uncle Remus prevented me from seeing any of my friends, so Fred and George send me letters, and we would play games through those letters. We would play hang man and tick tack toe mostly, but once, we found a way to play wizards chess. It took a month to finish, but it was worth the time. I also remember that they would send letters from family over to me, like from Ginny and Charlie. Ginny just ranted about her annoyance with her brothers and Charlie spoke about his upcoming interview for work. Mrs. Weasley would send her regards with some cookies and some other sweets also. I would stay up snacking on them all night until I hit the bottom of the tray. Those were some great nights. I couldn't forget those memories, even after decades of my life. I will always cherish the thought of my friends. 

     Fred began to stir, loudly groaning in my ear. I suppose he woke from his slumber because of the slight panic written on his face when I looked back. His eyes darted towards his hands on my waist, then to my gleaming eyes. His breath quickened as he removed his arms from my body. It was perhaps too fast because as he did so, he shot himself backward off the bed. I laughed as I crawled over, peeping my head over the edge of the mattress. His body was sprawled on the ground and his face sheepishly glowed scarlet. By my presence, the scarlet turned into a dark maroon, causing me to giggle.

     Fred gave me an awkward smile. "I- I'm sorry." He stuttered.

     As he rose to his feet, I rolled my body to face upwards, still lying on the bed, letting my head hang off the edge of the bed. He sat back down next to me. "For what?"

     "For uh," His back was hunched as he only looked at his fidgety hands in his lap, not letting his eyes wander astray, "holding you like that."

     "It's fine." I sighed, resting my hands on my stomach. He finally allowed himself to glance in my direction. I met his chocolate orbs for a split second before they darted towards the entrance of the infirmary. Something was bothering him. "Are you ok?"

     He looked back at me. He hesitated, then said, "Yeah." I watched as he seized the sheets from the stone floor, then placed them back on the mattress. "Thanks for allowing me to sleep on the bed. I do have to admit, the floor would have been significantly more comfortable that that raggedy old chair."

     I laughed. "Well, I couldn't of just left you there. Even I wouldn't be able to stand such discomfort." Silence struck the room for a few moments. A few moments that felt like an eternity. It wasn't until those moments passed that Fred finally spoke.

     "So," He started, "when did you wake up?"

     "Only a few minutes before yourself." I replied, spreading the white sheets over my exposed legs. "I couldn't move because you were holding me so tight."

     His face flushed. "Sorry, if I had known, I would have stopped immediately." 

     I shook my head. "Again, it's ok. Like you said, you couldn't have known anyways." Plus, I enjoyed it, I wanted to add, but I would never dare. It was already too awkward for my liking. Saying such thing would only increase the feeling in the room. 

     Madam Pomfrey shouted across the room. "Y/N!" I sat up, watching her attempt to sprint. She wore a startled expression on her face as she galloped to the foot of the bed. "I need to speak with you at once."

     "Yes?" I asked.

     Her eyes darted to Fred, then back to me. "In private."

     Many questions entered my mind. Why couldn't she tell me this in front of Fred? Why did she need to speak with me in the first place? What's so important that she needed to run over to me? Is there something wrong with me? Am I dying? Am I going to die? I started to hyperventilate. 

     She motioned for me to enter her office and I did as she asked, tossing the sheet aside and leaving Fred behind. I did look back, making sure he was fine with this, and he gave me a reassuring smile and nod. That was enough to let me keep going, now looking forward. Madam Pomfrey gripped my forearm tightly, directing me through the threshold, then closing the door. Once she looked back, worry struck her face.

     "What I'm about to tell you isn't exactly confirmed," She began, " but I'm quite certain that my thought is correct."

     Millions of questions flooded my thoughts. "What exactly are you referring to?" 

     With a sigh, she walked over to her desk, gripping a thick book. "I've seen your symptoms before. Extreme types of illnesses, causing the wizard or witch to faint or become paralyzed in certain areas of their body. It has been a great length of years since I've seen such thing, but I could never forget a phenomenon like this."

     The book happened to be called Branches of Magic A-Z, quite different from what I expected her to place in front of me. The book was severely worn, the spine torn and the pages ripped, but still looked decently usable. She scanned the pages until she entered the D's, finally stopping at-

     "Dariem Wielders?" I asked. She smiled at me, though it didn't display amusement but rather a sense of nobility.

     "Dariem Wielders are wizards or witches with extremely powerful magic stored inside themselves. Their magic is so powerful, it not only doesn't require a wand, but also with the right training can outrank a wand completely." She said. I could see the gleam in her eye. "Now, these types of people are very rare among the magic community. The powers are only passed down from generation to generation, and can never be obtained by an outside source. With that, the Dariemese were used as weapons in many wars. Since other wizards couldn't obtain such magic, they would train the Dariemese to assassinate their enemies.

     "The Dariemese didn't do this willingly, though. Whoever desired their services would most likely kidnap a valued person to them, threatening to murder the subject if the Dariemese didn't succumb to their ruling. They would have no choice but to join. That's why you've probably never heard of them. Most likely, all of them went into hiding. With the Dark Lord being around at the time, it was extremely dangerous to be associated with such power."

     "And how does this all connect with me?" I asked. She sighed, closing the book in the process. She gave me a slight look of sympathy, then began to speak.

     "Your mother was Dariemese."