Yellow - {Fred Weasley}

Chapter 12

I sat up straight in my bed panting heavily. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and found that it was four in the morning. Again. I slumped back against the headboard and closed my eyes. My breathing began to go back to normal and I took a deep breath.

Harry and Cedric. My eyes shot open again. I shook my head and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. Harry being dragged off of Cedric's body. I squeezed my eyes closed and shook my head. Harry being dragged away by Moody. Moody being someone else. The Great Hall decorated with black flags. Cedric's lifeless stare.

I let out a muffled cry and opened my eyes again. I glanced over at the calendar. July eighth. It's been nearly two months and I still couldn't stop the nightmares and the flashbacks.

I got up carefully and walked over to Minnie's cage. She stared back at me and tilted her head as I approached. "Hello," I said, reaching out to stroke her feathers. She nipped affectionately at my fingers and I smiled weakly. I turned away from her to grab a letter from my desk drawer. She eyed me curiously when I turned around. 

"Take this to Fred," I murmured as I attached the letter to her leg. She gave me one last look and flew out the window. I looked around for the clock and saw that it was only ten past four. I sighed heavily and plopped down in my desk chair. I stared out my window at the sky, studying the stars carefully.

I easily found the Canis Major which had the Sirius star in it. I remembered Dad telling me about it when I was younger and I always remembered because it looked like a dog and it had my dad's name in it. I put my head down on my arms and continued to watch the sky.

When I first woke up, the sky was black and the stars shone brightly enough to cast a dim light into my room. By now, the sky was a dark blue and the stars had lost a bit of their shine.  The floor creaked behind me and I shot up and turned around quickly. Dad stood in the doorway looking confused and slightly panicked.

"Dad?" I stood and walked over to him. "Are you okay?" I asked when he didn't respond. He stood there for a second and just shook his head. 

"What's wrong?" I asked him, leading him over to my bed. He shook his head again. Without another word from either of us, he pulled me in for one of the tightest hugs I've ever experienced. I hugged him back, but I felt so confused.

"Dad, you're starting to scare me," I told him after a while. He pulled back with a sigh and shook his head again. I raised an eyebrow and waited for an explanation.

"I... I had a nightmare," he admitted, avoiding my gaze. "Which one?" I asked the question automatically. We'd all been having nightmares since Cedric's death, and my parents had been having nightmares since my accident. Only I didn't know about those until I came back home from school.

"The tournament one," he replied tiredly, running a hand through his hair. I nodded and sighed. "I had another nightmare too." He turned to look at me and nodded. "I figured."

"But I sent a letter to Fred, so maybe he has some tricks on how to move past the nightmares," I told him, rolling my eyes when he gave me a pointed look. 

"Are they coming tomorrow?" Dad asked, causing me to be a bit confused at the sudden subject change. "I guess, why?" I replied, eyeing him suspiciously.

He shrugged. "No reason. But I was thinking about asking their whole family if they wanted to spend the summer here... and if they bring Harry with them... it'd almost be like it should be." Dad sighed sadly and I moved closer to him to lean my head against his shoulder. 

After a long pause, he asked quietly, "Which nightmare did you have?" I waited before I spoke, choosing my words carefully. I couldn't just say that I'd seen Harry break down like that. It was bad enough when I told him he'd witnessed Cedric's death.