1: Trouble - Fred Weasley

14. like real people do

why were you digging? what did you bury?

before those hands pulled me from the earth?

i will not ask you where you came from, i will not ask and neither should you

-

St Mungo's reply had arrived just a couple of hours after they'd sent it, and Fred had waited with her the entire time until she had read it ten times over.

Wilma Falker was in stable condition, expected to make a full recovery. Her eyes had drank up the words until she could have recited them off by heart. Fred had smiled and put an arm around her and she'd tried very hard not to cry with her gratitude for him. The letter had also mentioned that she'd been discharged and sent home, but at least Imogen knew she was okay.

A week later, Imogen received another letter. She recognised the disorganised scrawl as Wilma's hand instantly.

Dear Imogen,
Well, I seem to owe you an apology. I'm very sorry for giving you a scare on boxing day. I am perfectly well and healthy (if a little tiresome of living with Phineas again – but we both agree it's for the best that I stay at the manor for a while). Thank you for your concern, but please don't let my melodrama distract you from your studies.
When Zuri retracted herself as my emergency contact, I wasn't too keen on the idea of having Phineas take her place (you know how lovely and kind he is during difficult times -*wink wink*). Seeing as you'd turned seventeen I thought I'd put you down instead, but I now see that was unfair and inappropriate. I didn't imagine it would be so soon that you'd be contacted.
I hope you had a wonderful christmas. Look forward to seeing you again.
All my love,
Aunt Wilma

It was sardonic, and to-the-point, and laden with Wilma's usual diminishment of her need for other people. Which put Imogen's mind at ease far more than anything her father or the hospital could have said. If her aunt was already penning jokes at Phineas' expense, Imogen knew she must be feeling better.

Imogen was sure she could sense her father's influence in the letter too. She was sure he'd have given Wilma a hard time about including Imogen in her problems, and Wilma, being in a vulnerable state and having it in her nature to care for others (unlike Phineas), would have listened.

Imogen didn't like the idea of Wilma being at the manor with Phineas in her ear constantly. She made sure to assert to Wilma in her reply that she didn't impose on Imogen at all. That she would always want to be there for her. But she was already imagining Wilma dismissing that comment, with a laugh and a flick of her hand. Wilma loathed sentimentality and sappiness, just like Phineas.

It was a Friday afternoon that she sent off her reply at the owlery, and luckily Imogen had plans with Fred that evening. Well, technically it had been plans with Hetty, but they'd been sat near Angelina and Lee at the time, and they were invited too. And Imogen had been able to suggest subtly enough that the twins might want to come along too. So now the six of them were going to have a little fire out by the lake. Imogen could barely contain her excitement to tell Fred about the letter.

In the days between boxing day and receiving Wilma's letter, Imogen found herself switching constantly between feeling extremely grateful Fred had been there to help her, and extremely embarrassed she'd allowed him to see her like that. Some paranoid part of her had a feeling he knew more than he let on; that he somehow could look into her eyes and see what had happened.

Another part of her was warm, and glowing, and shy. Vulnerable. And though it was terrifying... it was pretty nice to feel vulnerable. To be taken care of.