Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 65

I went upstairs and locked myself up in the room which we used to stay in over the summer with Hermione and Ginny.

I leaned against the headboard of my and hugged my knees to my chest, placing my forehead on it.

     This was all my fault...

Five minutes had barely passed that I heard footsteps nearing the room and moments later, there was a knock on my door and when I didn't answer, the person slowly swung it open.

"Lexi?" At Sirius's voice, I raised my head a bit to see him pop his head inside, smiling at me sadly. "Can I come in?"

Feebly, I nodded my head, trying to quickly wipe my tears away so he wouldn't see them.

"You okay, Kiddo?" he asked gently, walking towards me.

I expected him to yell at me just like Fred, knowing that I deserved it. But when he spoke to me so softly, I was overwhelmed by emotions and so I uncontrollably let out another small sniff as more tears fell down my eyes uncontrollably.

I hid my face on my knees again. I hated crying in front of people, and Sirius was the last person I wanted to see me like this.

But my eyes shot open the moment I heard a small bark before me.

I raised my head up, seeing a big black dog in front of me, chasing after his own tail.

I chuckled, shaking my head at his silliness.

The dog then jumped on the bed and sat down next to me, nudging me on the face with his snout, making me laugh.

I wrapped my arms around the dog and next moment, I felt Sirius turn himself back into human and hugged me back.

When he pulled back, my tears were all gone and yet my eyes were still red and puffy. He smiled sadly down at me, saying, "Don't blame Fred. He's just scared for his father."

"I don't blame him," I shook my head, frowning. "I blame myself."

"Yourself?" Sirius repeated, raising a brow. "Why?"

"Because this is all my fault," I sniffed again. "I could've stopped it. I could've saved Mr. Weasley. I-I could've saved Cedric... but I didn't. I'm the reason he's dead."

"Look, Lexi," he said firmly, a hint of a grin on his lips. "Unless you were the one handing Voldemort his wand to kill the boy, then I highly doubt you had anything to do with his death."

"But I could have stopped it from happening," I reasoned. "That makes me guilty enough."

Sirius sighed, looking down. "I know how you feel."

As I glanced at him, I didn't have to ask what he was talking about. Because from the look on his face, I knew he was thinking about James and Lily.

He wasn't the one handing them out to Voldemort, but I knew he blamed himself for it, because he was the one who had suggested Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper, and so he felt just as guilty.

"I know what you're thinking, Lexi," he started, still looking away. "But sometimes, you just can't save everyone. Some things are just meant to happen, and you can't you stop them from happening."

By those words, as if on cue, I broke down to tears again as I looked at Sirius, thinking of what was going to happen in a few short months.

"But what you can do," he said, finally looking up at me, "is to go down to Fred and the others and tell them what you know is going to happen to their father; I know you told Dumbledore he's not going to die — Phineas told me. But they don't know that. And they deserve the truth."

     "But Dumbledore said —"

     "Oh, the hell with Dumbledore!" Sirius shook his hand with a grin, making me chuckle. "Let's go then, shall we?"

     I nodded weakly. He then helped me up from the bed and followed me downstairs to the kitchen where the Weasleys were sitting around the table with Harry.

     "Lexi, why don't you sit down?" Sirius smiled at me reassuringly and I obeyed, taking the seat next to Ginny, avoiding everyone's gazes.

     "That's right," said Sirius, "come on, let's all . . . let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!"

     He raised his wand and with that, half a dozen bottles came flying toward us out of the pantry, skidded along the table, and stopped neatly in front of the seven of us.

     Sirius then sat down as well, giving me an encouraging nod. And with that, I sighed and finally said, "Your dad's going to be alright."

     All their heads shot up at that, looking at me with both surprise and relief, as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

     "They've taken him to St. Mungo's and Mrs. Weasley and Bill are there with him," I said. "In a short while, we'll receive a  letter from your mother, saying that Mr. Weasley's still alive, which might not sound too assuring."

They all sat there in silence, staring at me. And so I went on,

"But after a few hours, Mrs. Weasley will come here with the good news that he's going to be alright. He's going to be at the hospital for the healing process until after Christmas. We can visit him tomorrow. But all in all, he'll be fine."

     Nobody said anything as they smiled to themselves, sipping on their drink more happily, relieved.

     But as hours passed, unlike my promise, Mrs. Weasley's letter didn't arrive.

     Just then, I thought back at Dumbledore's words, when he told me 'I hope you'll accept the consequences on your own account.'

I went pale at the thought.

What if something worse happens, and it would be because of me...?