Oi Homeschooled - Fred Weasley x reader

*- 18 - A little victory after a long time of losing

It was cold since it was the beginning of January, so I picked her up and carried her inside the Owlery. I found a clean corner where we'd be covered from the wind. I took off my jacket, placed Y/N in my lap and wrapped it around her. She looked so broken, which broke my heart. How could someone do this to her? I kissed her forehead and noticed small whimpers, signaling that her voice was coming back. I rubbed her back and pressed her to my chest, trying to soothe her. She clenched onto my shirt as if she was afraid that I would leave her. I would never.

Bruises were starting to form on her wrists and jaw, which made my blood boil again. If I ever saw that guy again, I would kill him.

"T-thanks", Y/N whispered. Luckily the charm was wearing off. I couldn't imagine life without Y/N's beautiful laugh.

"Everything is going to be okay", I said. The adrenaline was also wearing off though and my nose started to hurt. A drop of blood fell from my nose on her hand and I wiped it off with my thumb.

"Sorry", I mumbled and tried to stop the bleeding, but every touch hurt. She looked up and her eyes widened.

"Oh Merlin, Fred", she gasped and cupped my chin. I couldn't help but wince slightly at the touch.

"You have a broken nose, I need to fix it", she said. How was she worrying about me after what had just happened?

"I'm fine, don't worry", I said, but she wouldn't listen. She was looking for a wand, but didn't have hers with her. She was not ready to go to the castle yet.

She whistled and not long after, a grey owl landed in front of her.

"Can you get me my wand? It's on the nightstand", she said and her owl flew away. I didn't even know owls could do that. She inspected my face and her hand was shaking. I could see that she was glad to be distracted for a while though.

Her owl came back soon after with her wand in its beak.

"This is going to hurt", she said. I had my nose fixed before, so I knew what to expect, yet I still grunted as she used the Episky spell.

"Sorry", she mumbled and I smiled. She was so innocent.

She used another spell to heal the swelling and to remove the bruises. She was so focused and all I did was admire her. She was so strong.

When all possible wounds were healed, she looked a bit lost. Her source of distraction was gone.

"Y/N, look at me", I said and gently held a finger underneath her chin.

"Everything is going to be okay", I said and her eyes got glossy.

"It's okay to cry, you know?" I said and pulled her to my chest again. She wrapped her arms around my torso and cried softly.

"I'll always be here for you", I said and kissed her head. We stayed there for quite a while and even though it was pretty cold, I knew she needed this.

"I didn't expect my first kiss to go like that", she said after a while and chuckled. How was she still joking after this? This girl was a riddle to me.

"I should've kissed you that time in the hallway. That would have made things so much easier", I said, more to myself than to her. At least she would clearly know how I felt. She looked up and I saw a mixture of emotions go through her eyes. It looked as if she hadn't expected that answer. It was so obvious that I had feelings for her, so why was she surprised?

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was quiet for a while.

"I thought you regretted that moment", she said, barely whispering. Why would she think that? I mean, I did kind of call her a friend, but she must have known I didn't really mean that, right?

"Of course not. I only regret going back to that party", I admitted and she looked puzzled again. She was finally realizing how I felt about her and I started to get nervous.

"That would've been a way better first kiss", she said and I chuckled. Even though those words probably didn't mean much to her, they meant a lot to me. It was a little victory after a long time of losing.

"I don't know what I'd do without you", she said and tightened her grip on me.

"It would've saved you a lot of trouble", I said and she laughed. Her laughing just made everything so much better. She looked up and her eyes were twinkling again.

"It would, but I don't know if that would be worth it", she said. I really, really wanted to kiss her, but I knew that it wasn't the right moment.

"Let's get you inside before you catch a cold", I said and she nodded. We stood up and walked out. The guy from Durmstrang wasn't anywhere to be seen and I knew that that made Y/N uneasy, so I held her a bit tighter. I was not going to let him hurt her anymore. I'd go to Dumbledore first thing in the morning. Normally I was more into solving things myself, but this was way too serious.

It was past curfew already, so we slipped through the hallways to the common room. We did have a valid excuse, but I knew Y/N didn't want to talk about it, so I tried to avoid it. And honestly, excuse or no excuse, no one wanted to come across Filch, especially not after the little prank we pulled.

We entered the common room and she let go of me. I reluctantly did the same, already longing for her touch again.

She walked to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories, but I could see the hesitation in her step. She was scared, scared of being alone perhaps.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked and she nodded, a bit too quickly. She was such a tough girl, yet so fragile. She didn't deserve what had happened to her.

"Hey, how about a sleepover on the couch?" I said with a wink and smiled. She let out a sigh of relief and tried to conceal it with a yawn, which only made her cuter.

"Sure", she said and walked back. I grabbed a blanket and some pillows and set up a makeshift bed. Anything would be comfortable as long as she was there with me.

"You want me to sleep on the other couch or ..." I started and didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. Of course I wanted her to sleep next to me, but after what happened, I would understand if she didn't want any guy to touch her ever again.

"No it's fine, I trust you", she said. Another one of those meaningless yet so special to me sentences.

I laid down and opened the blanket for her to join me, which she did. I covered her with the blanket as she laid down.

"Thank you so much, Fred. I owe you one", she said and turned around, looking up. Her eyes didn't twinkle the way they used to and I knew she was feeling sad, yet there was nothing I could do. She was so grateful and I barely did anything. I followed her, which is a wrong thing. Yet even though it felt, and maybe was, wrong, I was so glad I did it.

"You don't owe me anything, love", I whispered and wrapped an arm gently around her waist. She rested her head on my chest and yawned again. She was vulnerable now, and all I could do was be there, yet that somehow was just enough.

"Goodnight Freddie", she said, half asleep. I gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight Homeschooled."