moonlight (f.w.)

twenty

     Much to Fred's pleasure, the rest of the break was over in a flash. Genevieve had managed to calm him down and he found himself sleeping easier. He still had nightmares, but none controlled by the Dark Lord. As glad as he was that Gen was back under the protection of Hogwarts, he wasn't at all happy that he wouldn't be able to see her at night. He dreaded having a nightmare without her there to soothe him when he woke up. He supposed George would have to do. As soon as they got on the train back to school, he felt her slipping through his fingers. She immediately went to sit with Hermione, Ginny, Georgia, Josephine, and another girl he didn't recognize, who he assumed to be the other triplet he had learned about just two weeks ago. He sighed as he watched her go and went to sit with George, Ron and Harry in another cart. Fred couldn't take his eyes off of Harry the whole ride, his mind wandering to what would happen in February. 

     "Fred, mate, if you're going to stare at me the whole time, at least blink," Harry told him. Fred ripped his eyes away, muttering apologies to Harry. "Listen, Gen explained to us what happened. I'm not afraid. Not of you, at least," he added. Fred nodded. "Do you have any ideas as to what I could do? You're like a seventh brother to me, Harry, but by the name of Merlin, I would do anything to protect her," Fred replied. Ron stared at his hands, which rested on his lap. He knew his brother would never hurt Harry. He knew his brother was a genius, but he just didn't know how he would find his way out of this one. "Have you tried bargaining with him in your dream? Try telling him that you can't get me to the Lake and that instead you can get me to the Forbidden Forest? We can fight, defend ourselves, if that's the case," Harry suggested hopefully. "I haven't had much time to bargain what with him almost killing my girlfriend, no. I don't know how to get in touch with him, but if I have another dream I'll try," Fred replied, his voice half laced with seriousness, the other half laced with angst. Of course he didn't have time to negotiate while Voldemort was slitting Genevieve's throat. 

     "We need to get the upper hand somehow. Surprise him, do something he won't see coming," George suggested. "Like what? We don't know where he is or what he's planning," Fred retorted. "I bet... just maybe, if I tried hard enough, I could try and get into his head. Snape has been teaching me Occlumency, I'd bet Legilimency isn't much harder. Besides, we're supposedly connected somehow," Harry offered. Ron shook his head immediately. 

     "It's too dangerous, Harry. If he senses you trying, it could just set him off and drive him right mad," he stated. Harry squinted his eyes and cocked his head. "Ron, this is someone who murdered hundreds of people in cold blood. He's already right mad. But him and I have some sort of connection, and if I can use it to our advantage so that one of our friends stays safe... I'd rather do that than go through the next month and a half afraid for both our safety," he argued. Fred bit the inside of his cheek. "Harry, if you want to do it, we will. We'll plan an attack. But we can't tell the girls about it. Hermione will just tell Gen, and Gen will try to stop us. It's better if they don't know," he said. George slowly nodded his head in agreement. "We can't just lie to Hermione. Come on, Harry, this isn't setting off any red flags for you? This is definitely one of the worse ideas we've had," Ron debated. Harry nodded his head and sat in silence for a moment. "We'll do it. We'll get some people from Dumbledore's Army, maybe Neville and Luna, Lee. But we won't tell anybody else. We'll plan a careful attack with an escape plan, I'll even see if I can get Sirius in on it," Harry said with finality. "Won't Sirius try to stop us? Or tell our parents?" Fred asked. Harry shook his head. "No. If I'm honest, he'll probably tell me that this is something my dad would have done and when he sees I'm dead bent on it, he'll help," he said.  Fred nodded and they rode the whole rest of the way in silence. 

    "Fred!" Genevieve called happily as they got off the train. He smiled at the sound of her voice. He was grateful to hear it, already tired of going over and over attack plans in his mind. "Gen!" he called back goofily, opening his arms up to hug her as she ran up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss his cheek. "You're too tall, I can't even kiss you without you bending down at a right angle," she giggled, nuzzling her head onto his chest. He laughed and held her close, shooing George away behind Gen's back as his twin made mocking kissy faces at them. "Maybe you're too short, ever thought of it that way?" he teased, draping his arm over her shoulders as he led her to the Great Hall. "Um, I'll have you know that I am average height for a girl my age!" she argued with a chuckled. He smiled and looked down at her. "You're in a good mood," he noted. "What can I say, I was overdosing on testosterone the past couple of weeks. It was nice to talk with the girls for a bit," she joked. He laughed. "What did you ladies talk about?" he asked. "Oh you know, Christmas, gossip, the works," she said. He got the feeling she left something out and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Andddd?" he pushed, squeezing her shoulders playfully. "And... your dreams. We were wondering if there were any solutions to the whole situation," she admitted. "Did you find any?" he asked curiously, praying they came up with a safer, better one than theirs. "We thought we could surprise attack him and hit him where he's weak, but we all decided it's far too dangerous. I'm not willing to risk any of you if I can take the hit," she told him, her voice drifting softer as she spoke her last sentence. "Genevieve, you're not taking any hit. I'd jump in front of any bullet for you, love, rest assured this is a bullet you won't be hit with," he said confidently. "No... something tells me this isn't about you, Fred. I have one of my feelings. He doesn't just want me as leverage, I think he wants me dead out of spite for something. If you take this bullet and wind up dead, he's just going to shoot me with the rest of his rounds," she rambled, not making much sense. He frowned. "So... it's not just him making me choose you or Harry?" Fred asked confusedly. "I don't think so, no." Fred stopped walking and pulled Genevieve into an empty hallway. "Why are you thinking like that? What gives you this inkling?" he asked her seriously. "I had a dream, Fred. One like yours except far less dangerous. It was a memory, my father talking with a man that I can only assume was Voldemort. They were fighting, my father betrayed him. He was livid and swore he would get his revenge one day..." Once again he thought she wasn't telling him the whole truth. "How long have you been hiding this from me, Gen?" he asked, his eyebrows falling into a furrow. She bit her lip. "Since the night you slept for the first time in days. I had the dream that night. But I had just calmed you down and I didn't want to worry you again. You don't deserve the baggage I'm stuck with," she said softly. He shook his head and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Neither do you, Genevieve. I'm putting this to an end," he said with determination. "How?" she asked, worried he may do something rash. "I don't know," he lied, "But I am." He took her hand and walked with her to the Great Hall, where a 'Welcome Back' feast had been served. He kissed her forehead and left her to go sit at the Gryffindor table where he would plot every detail of the ambush with his brothers and Harry.