Darling • Fred Weasley x reader

Chapter forty

I slowly walk back to my section on the train, sliding open the door and sitting down blank faced, feeling three sets of eyes on me. I keep my focus on my hands that I desperately try to stop from trembling with no success. "What did he do?" Fred demands in a deep, shaky tone.

"Nothing." I respond, not removing my gaze from my fingers that cradle each other tightly.

"Don't lie, I can tell when you are. You're shaking." He states sternly, I meet his eyes which are dripping with jealousy.

"No I'm not." I respond, trying to pry him from the topic.

"Bloody hell y/n just tell me what he did!" He bursts defensively in an aggressive whisper, his knuckles white and his nostrils flared.

"It's not your problem anymore!" I shout, trying to hurt him so he'd forget about it. I notice the pain burning in his eyes and knew that I had done well enough. I have to keep him away, to protect him, whether he likes it or not. My birthday is around the corner and I'm not risking his life and if that means pushing him out of my life for good to keep him alive, then that's what I'll do.

His glare makes the pace of my heart quicken, my strength slowly weakening, until he breaks contact, and looks away. I release the breath I had been holding and sit staring at my feet for a few minutes before sticking my nose back into my book. I silently can the pages, not taking in any of the words, and soon enough the train comes to a stop.

The last couple of hours went by quickly as I was in my own world for three quarters of it, my own universe of my spiraling fears and nightmares. Maddie taps me out of my trance, oddly glancing at the book for a moment. As soon as I realize that she was questioning why I wasn't farther into the book, I shut it abruptly and toss it into my bag. I notice that I hadn't turned the page at all.

I walk out of the car and slide my trunk from the storage above us. The fresh air of Hogsmeade train station rushes into my face, the air refreshing my lungs from the stuffy, tension dripping train.

"Mornin' y/n!" Hagrid greets from the other side as he leads the younger students toward the castle.

"Hey Hagrid!" I shout back, waving my hand cheerfully. Maddie, George, Fred, and I hop into a carriage that is magically pulled by the air.

The two minutes of silence while being wheeled toward the castle was tense, Fred stares up at the ceiling with a clenched jaw, visibly thinking about something that angered him; I assume it was about what I said since he had been doing it since then. I sit with a cold expression, my body pressed against the carriage wall away from Fred. Maddie and George sat casually beside each other like normal people would, occasionally glancing at each other with a worried expression after looking at either one of us.

The castle seemed to far away as we made our way to the front, but eventually we did and dismounted the carriage. Immediately, I float over to Belle, Hermione, and Ginny since the anger radiating off of Fred had begun to overwhelm me. "Hey." I greeted.

"Hey, you excited for the ball tomorrow?" Hermione asks, oblivious to the situation.

"Oh, um yeah." I stutter, all three of them picking up on my hesitation instantly.

"What's wrong-" Ginny questions, my immediate reaction being to avoid the situation.

"Nothing, it's fine. I think we should go in. McGonagall is already letting people in at the door." They eye me oddly, but ultimately follow me down the path towards our professor. "Hello, Professor."

"Welcome back Y/n." She smiles and nods towards the rest of us. "Girls." McGonagall had always taken a liking to me ever since first year. I happened to be the first one to get a handle on most of the transfiguration spells, leading to her class being my highest mark. Almost everyone struggled with actually doing the spells, even Hermione at times.