Yours, Fred | f. weasley x reader

Chapter 58: The Left Behind

The three of you were quiet the night after Ron, Fred and George left. You had no idea where they were, or how long they'd be gone. And as you settled down onto the camping cot you'd shared with Fred most nights, you saw that he'd left his scarf, the one Molly had given him for Christmas in Grimmauld Place two years ago, and one of his red jumpers behind.

You picked them both up and held them to your face, and they smelled completely of him, his comforting, sweet and familiar scent, and you let yourself cry as you buried your face into the dark red wool of the jumper. You pulled it on over your head and it was far too big on you, but you didn't care. You curled up under the blankets and breathed in Fred's scent, forcing yourself to imagine that he was still there.

A few days later, the time came for you to leave and continue your journey. You packed everything up and a heavy feeling sat in your stomach as you realised that once you left, it would be impossible for Fred, George and Ron to find you again.

You held back tears as you walked away from the lake and up into the forested hills, and you watched Hermione pull off her scarf and tie it around a tree trunk, just in case they came back to that spot. She cried into her hand for a moment and then straightened up, gathering herself, and you waited for her as Harry walked on, deep in his own thoughts.

When she walked up beside you, she pulled you into a hug, both of you feeling the absence of the others like a hole in your chests. You held onto her tightly for a moment and then you reached down into your enchanted bag and pulled out your own scarf, wrapping it around her neck.

"You'll get cold," you said quietly and she looked down at Fred's scarf which you were wearing around your own neck and smiled sadly at you.

"Thank you," she said as she wiped her eyes once more, then she linked her arm through yours and you stuffed your hands in your pockets against the cold mid-November wind, and walked after Harry.

A short while later, you were a safe enough distance away from your campsite to Apparate without detection, so you and Harry both held onto each of Hermione's hands as you were swept away to another location. You opened your eyes and looked out across the unfamiliar mountaintop you were standing on, and you couldn't help the sob that left your mouth at the realisation of how far away you were from Fred.

Hermione squeezed your hand as she wiped away her own tears with her sleeve, and Harry gave you both sympathetic looks as he walked away to begin setting up the protective enchantments around the area.

On the fourth night without the twins and Ron, you all sat quietly listening to the radio. Thankfully no familiar names were mentioned on Potterwatch, but the increasing number of reported casualties turned your stomach.

You put your bag and coat onto the top bunk of the bed you'd shared with Fred and then sat next to Hermione on one of the steps inside the tent as she listened to the music that played through the radio's speakers. Harry was sitting next to the gas lamp and kettle in the common area of the tent but said nothing, his mind was clearly very far away. Hermione sniffled and you wrapped your arm around her comfortingly, and Harry met your gaze as he looked over at Hermione, whose mood was clearly very low that evening.

He smirked slightly, though at what you had no idea, and then he got up and walked over, stopping in front of where you were both sitting. Hermione looked up in confusion and he held out a hand to her, which she stared at, baffled.

Harry quirked an eyebrow at you, and you could tell he was trying to cheer her up. She looked at you, puzzled, and you reached over and took the locket off her neck and threw it onto the bunk that Ron had once occupied, and then Harry pulled her to her feet.