Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Caught

"I'm never coming out. I'll just live here. Tell all of the teachers, I'm much too dumb for OWL's." Hannah whined, taking another sip of the calming draught Madam Pomfrey had brought over when we had brought her into the Hospital Wing.

"Stop saying that, you're so dramatic." Bri rolled her eyes, gathering her book bag as we all stood up.

"Everyone is going to think I'm stupid." She dropped her head back against the pillows with a whine, discarding the half-full mug of potion on the bedside table.

"Only the Gryffindors." Maddie pointed out.

"That's everyone." Hannah groaned.

"Why do you care what they think?" I laughed, pressing the cup back into her hands to finish. "Who are you worried about?"

I knew exactly who she was worried about. The boy she had been looking at all year, thinking no one would notice. Still, I would let her tell us all in her own time.

"Well, we have to get to dinner if we're going to make it to DA on time-" Maddie whispered the last few words, remembering herself secrecy at the last moment.

"Ugh, and I have to miss that too." Hannah pouted.

"We'll learn it all for you and teach you tomorrow." Bri patted her head sarcastically. Madam Pomfrey had declared that Hannah would have to stay in the infirmary overnight, but that she would be just fine tomorrow if she kept an eye on her stress levels.

"Have fun." She called, finishing up her potion and then curling into the blankets on the bed.

We hurried down the stairs and into the Great Hall, the sun already setting in the sky above us. Everyone else was already eating, my eyes scanned over to the end of the Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione in an apparently heated conversation of some sort, the twins watching along amused before Fred's eyes skirted towards me, his lips pulling up into a smile as he shot me a wink.

We all dug into our dinners, already behind the rest of the school and not wanting to waste any valuable Defense Against the Dark Arts time.

"How's she doing?" Fred's voice appeared behind me, his fingers brushing through the ends of my hair softly.

"She'll be fine." Maddie answered with a chuckle. "Madam Pomfrey says she needs to 'manage her stress levels.'"

"Don't you all." Fred muttered under his breath, shooting me another wink when I turned to look at him. Maddie and Bri's eyes were latched on the famous Gryffindor trio as they walked briskly from the hall and started up the stairs, a few other Gryffindor's and Ravenclaws slowly trickling out after them. "Walk you ladies up?"

"What would we do without you, Frederick?" Maddie jumped from her spot, pulling Bri up with her and starting towards the hall.

"Less detentions, more schoolwork, better grades, less howlers," George cut in, appearing like magic as we started up the stairs.

"You'll be shocked to learn that not everyone gets howlers, Weasley." Bri chuckled. The five of us followed the familiar path up the stairs towards the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy and the dancing trolls.

"You don't get howlers..." Fred began pacing in front of the empty wall while we waited for the entrance to appear.

"Yet." George finished for him, holding the door for the rest of us to follow Fred inside.

"Reducto!" A voice carried over as the door snapped closed behind us.

"Oi!" George shouted, eyes wide as he watched the youngest Weasley who stood before a smoldering pile of ashes.