Petals & Thorns | Fred Weasley

twenty-eight

SONG OF THE CHAPTER -
hurricane • halsey

The snow was beginning to melt off the ground as she sent her owl out of the Owlery on the strangely warm February day. The snow never lasted long in England or at Hogwarts for that matter, and it upset her slightly. She always adored the snow and the peacefulness it brought. The delicate white flakes were beautiful and gave her a false comfort that everything would be okay. It was by no means summer weather, but it was warm enough to just wear her robes instead of a jacket. That's why she chose that day to send her next letter to her father. The Dark Lord had been asking more from her as her graduation grew closer. She had been sending weekly letters about Harry Potter and the 'information' she knew about The Order. She has still been giving vague information but she had to play the game a little smarter. She was making longer letters but she had begun to feed him false information. She knew it was dangerous but it was the only thing she could do to maintain her secret. Her father had also become gravely suspicious of her when she told him she would be remaining at Hogwarts for the Easter holidays as well, which were approaching fast. She said it was because many of the students whose families were in the order were staying, but the excuse was drying out.

As she walked back to the castle, she saw Tyler in the windows of the entrance to the castle. She gave a small smile at the sight, picking up her pace. Her nose was tinted from cold when she got inside. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her robes, warming them as she walked towards her friend. "Hey, Tyler." She greeted. He looked in her direction, waving with a grin. "How was your shift last night?"

"Boring, I caught two fourth years snogging in one of the broom closets. I decided to leave them be, I thought if they worked hard enough to find the broom closet they could stay a little longer." He laughed.

"Fair point," she chuckled. "Have you started studying for the N.E.W.T's yet? I've been trying but every time I open a book I want to tear my hair out."

"Not really, we've still got some time. Besides, I doubt you really need to study anyway. You're the best in every class you take." He responded.

"How do you think I got there?" She smiled.

"I'm pretty sure some of it's just natural." He sighed. "I wish I was that smart."

"You underestimate yourself, Ty. I think you're pretty smart."

"Well thank you, love. I guess I couldn't have gotten Head Boy for no reason." He agreed.

"That's the spirit!" She exclaimed, catching sight of a couple heads running down the hallway. She noticed her brother and his goon friends, and Filch was following not far behind. Her stomach dropped at the sight—there was a DA meeting that day, to which she decided to miss to catch up on some schoolwork. "Uh, I have to catch you later Tyler. I'll see you at the meeting on Friday." She didn't give him a chance to respond before she took off after her brother. She knew they'd be headed to the room of requirement, so she cut them off from a different path.

She stepped in front of the scurrying group and waved them down. They hesitated to stop but did anyway. Filch had always sort of liked her, as much as he could for being Filch. "Guys, I caught a couple Gryffindors in the entrance hall lighting Whiz-Bangs. You guys should really stop them before they set something on fire or break something." She said. They all looked between each other in annoyance, but agreed. They never missed an opportunity to get a couple Gryffindor's in trouble. Besides, they still weren't completely sure that Harry had a secret group. If they did know for sure, they didn't know how to catch them. To be safe, she still wanted to protect them.

They took off in the opposite direction. She waited until they were out of sight before she took off running in the direction of the room of requirement. Her high heels clicked loudly against the stone floor as she progressed. She took the stairs in haste and didn't stop until the door appeared in front of her. She went inside slightly out of breath. Everyone's heads turned to look at her, all of them looking confused. Harry took a single step towards her quizzically. "Filch and the inquisitorial idiots were headed towards here. I didn't want to risk it, I just wanted to warn you. It seemed like they knew you were meeting in here today."