Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Dementors

Fred

Once I was satisfied with the color returning to Cassidy's face inside the warm pub and we had each finished our drinks, we headed back out to the stone walkway and lead the way back to the school.

"They don't check students back into the school, just on the way there." I explained when Cassidy looked nervous.

"Oh, right." She murmured, scanning around the path for something unknown.

"It's no big deal, swear Cass. This is just a much shorter walk than the tunnels." George noticed her apprehension.

"Don't the..." She looked at my face quickly and then straight ahead. "The Dementors guard the edge of the property?"

She was right. We hadn't come this way yet this year, so it hadn't even crossed my mind. Still, the students all braved them to come to the village, so they couldn't be standing that close.

"If they are, you've got the two best beaters to ever have walked the Hogwarts grounds to protect you." George joked, trying to get a smile out of her, but failed. We continued the walk towards the castle in the distance.

No one had spoken for a few minutes when we finally neared the entrance gates. Although there were enough enchantments surrounding the property, the gates were more of a sign that you had entered the school's grounds. And on each side of the stone blocks were two dementors.

I stepped closer to Cassidy and snuck a peak down at her worried face. We hadn't been walking that long, but she was already going white again.

"Just a minute, Cass. They're just looking for him, they don't care about us." I said softly, not knowing or wanting to know if Dementors could understand me.

But as we drew closer to the cloaked creatures, I felt the weight of the small girl collapse into me. I stuck my arms out to catch her before she fell, and there was no flinch away this time. She was out cold, just like Harry had been on the train.

"Shit," George noticed her not at his side and finally looked back to see me scooping her into my arms. Her face was whiter than it had been before, whiter even than it was the day of the Hufflepuff match.

"Go George, move!" I yelled, budging around him to get her away from them. I was headed straight for the infirmary when I felt her stir in my arms and I stopped, sitting down on one of the stone benches lining the path towards the entrance hall.

"Cassy." I whispered, noting George standing above me, but not taking my eyes off her. It would be my fault, it was my idea to show her the tunnel, my idea to bring her along when her dad had said no.

"Freddie?" Her eyes blinked into the light a few times before she could place herself. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing, you're okay. You're safe." I rambled, absentmindedly rubbing circles into her back before she realized she was in my arms. She scrambled to get back to her feet but George held his hands out to steady her.

"Nothing happened? She passed out! Are you alright?" George gave me a wild look, as if to ask what I was thinking hiding that from her.

"Here," I tilted her to let her slide onto the bench next to me and reached into the bag in the pocket of my robes. "Chocolate frog. Told you we should get them. Eat."

She took the candy from my hand slowly and broke a piece off it's leg, popping it into her mouth.

"Any better?" George asked, kneeling down and touching his hand to her forehead and she whacked him away.

"I'm fine!" She shook her head with a tiny smile. "That's... I've never passed out before."

"The dementors are awful creatures, even adults can hardly stand to be around one. You passed by four." George shrugged, helping her up from the bench.