charmed//fred weasley x oc

four

MADAME POMFREY DETERMINED THAT ADELAIDE HAD A MINOR CONCUSSION, BUT NOTHING TOO CONCERNING. She just wanted Adelaide to stay in the infirmary for a few hours, so she could monitor her. Fred insisted he stay with her. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and wanted to see her functioning on her own before he left her alone. Hence how he ended up sitting at her bedside, making a dead fly dance for her enjoyment.

"You're horrible," she said as he made the fly's body leap in the air and twirl. "Let him rest in peace." "Come on, lighten up," Fred laughed. "You're laughing! You're laughing. Admit it's funny, come on." Fred made the fly land on Adelaide's bed cover, and she screamed. "Fred! Stop!" she cried through a laugh. Madame Pomfrey's head poked out of her office, a stern look on her face. "Mr. Weasley, I don't want to ask you to leave, but Ms. Hendrix needs to recover, and if you're inhibiting that, I'll need to have you escorted out." "Yes, Madame-Madame Pomfrey," Fred wheezed through a laugh as Adelaide shook her head at him.

"You're not helping," she told him. "Hey, I'm making you laugh. Laughter is is the best medicine," he countered. "Whoever made up that saying probably didn't have a concussion and a first-degree head wound." Fred shrugged and stuck his wand behind his ear.

"So what's the deal with the secret passageway?" Adelaide asked. Fred gave her a Look. "Oh, please. You know you're not getting off that easy." Fred huffed. "It didn't start with George and me," he started reluctantly. "It was way before us." He looked up to see if Adelaide was listening. She nodded intently. "We found this map in Filch's office. We were hiding from him in there once, and getting into things we shouldn't have been. We found a cabinet full of things he'd confiscated over the years. We knew we'd hit the prank jackpot.

"Turns out we didn't even know how lucky we were to have found the map that day. It shows everyone in Hogwarts, where they are, what they're doing, all the time," Fred explained. "And...it shows all the secret passageways in the school. Which comes in handy when you play pranks as much as Fred and I do." Adelaide shook her head in disbelief. "Woah. That's lucky." "You're telling me. We've relied on that map—the Marauders Map—countless times. And as I learned today, it's apparently good for more than hiding from Filch." Adelaide had so many questions. "How?" Fred smiled. "Don't ask me. Growing up in the wizarding world all my life, and there's still things that I can't explain. Things that are just magic and that's all. I don't know how or why, all I is it's useful."

"That sounds awesome," Adelaide said earnestly. "It is. We've had some close calls, but-" "I mean, growing up in the wizarding world."

Fred looked at her silently. "You're a Muggle-born?" he asked incredulously. Adelaide cringed at the name. "Sorry," Fred rushed. "It's okay," she said. "I'm used to it. It's just kind of demeaning." Fred blushed. "But don't beat yourself up about it." He half-smiled. "I was born in North Ireland, both my parents and all the family I know are Muggles. It was a complete surprise to them. But, after I did some digging, I found out my estranged great-aunt Bathilsa was a witch. My family never talked about her and my mum hardly knew of her. But wizarding genes can lie dormant for several generations, I learned that after I found out." She fiddled with her blanket. "My parents aren't against it, they just don't mention it. They hardly ask about school. And that makes me feel like a freak sometimes."

Fred put his hand on top of hers and gently pulled the blanket from her fingers. "I've never been in that situation," he said. "But I'm sorry. I've felt that way too." "It just feels like I'm something they want to hide away," Adelaide confided. "They just wanted to hush me up when I was curious about it. I mean, when you're twelve, all you want is to have magical powers. I wanted to know everything there was to know. It seemed unbelievable. I have Hogwarts now, and Mavis' family, but I'll never forget how it felt to show up to school for the first time, completely out of the loop."