Darling • Fred Weasley x reader

Chapter forty three

TW: Blood and details of wounds// knives

The rest of last night was kind of a blur, my emotions were clouding my brain. I had to have fallen asleep beside Fred in the hallway because the next thing I knew, he was tucking me in and shutting off the light. He whispered "Goodnight y/n, you have no idea how much I've needed you." and shut the door. I laid there for a while, comprehending the past few hours, spiralling about what this would mean when Voldemort came around.

"Y/n!" I snap out of my daydream in an instant, being met by several pairs of curious eyes.

"Oh, um yeah," I respond quickly, waving off my complete unawareness of the conversation.

"You're going on the Herbology trip later?" Harry asks. If I'm being honest I didn't end up sending the permission slip to anyone to be signed because technically, the Parkinson's are still my guardians even if they're shit at it. I've gotten pretty damn good at forging their signatures though.

"Yeah. What time are we leaving?" I ask, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear as I think.

"I believe 1 o'clock right after lunch. We have to meet up with Professor Sprout and have our partners picked out by the time we get there." I didn't read through the permission slip much, moreso scanning it over and assuming everyone else would be attending. And in nowhere did I acknowledge the need for a partner.

"Why do we have to have partners?"

"Probably because they don't want another incident like that git last year, he got absorbed halfway into a tree before anyone saw him. Horrifying to hear if you ask me." Ron states with a disturbed look.

"That and because we'll be going off on our own for a bit to find something to research on. The partner you pick will be the one that you'll do the project with." Hermione adds on, taking a bite of her pastry.

———

"...Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." Professor Spout calls over the crowd of around a hundred students who signed up for this years' Herbology course. Two hands shoot up and they both respond with subtle 'here's.

"Alrighty, that is everyone." The plump woman tosses her quill and parchment into the air, vanishing within seconds. "Okay, as a recap since I'm assuming most of you didn't thoroughly read through the sheet-" She eyes the large group, one squinted in suspicion. "We will be hiking up the side of Surling Mountain and exploring what nature has to offer us, more specifically magical elements that you can find. You and your partner will always be together and you will have to find a plant or flower to research and write an essay on. Does everyone understand?" We all nod in unison at the woman who wears a crooked hat and grasps a short wooden walking stick, after all, she is at least a foot and a half below me.

My gaze instantly, but nonchalantly, shifts over to Fred who towers over the crowd beside George. He looks forward, not noticing my eyes on him, but when he does, the sides of his mouth curl into a gleaming grin that I always picture in my mind to make me feel better. I send him a look that asks 'partners?' without actually saying it aloud. He nods his head as the pack begins moving and everyone moves to their decided partners.

I am completely startled when he appears beside me, his look displaying his cheerfulness that I haven't seen myself in a while. "So, what were you thinking partner?" He asks, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe some sort of flower, Neville has been telling me about some that he read out of the book I got him for Christmas. One of them was a rose that only comes alive and blooms at night and people have said that it glows so bright that you can see it from thirty yards alway. " I reply the feeling of his arm around me causing butterflies to churn in my stomach.