Darling • Fred Weasley x reader

Chapter fifty four

Ron had been babbling about Hagrid's half-brother they'd met in the forbidden forest during dinner. He says he's dangerous and he didn't understand why Harry would agree to keep him company if Hagrid were to get sacked.

"Oh Ron, you're being terribly dramatic. You just need to be firm with him and he'll say in his place." Hermione huffs and the red-headed boy mimics her words, being followed by a 'Yeah right.' She smacks her Herbology journal upon the top of his head as he ducks.

"Where's Harry?" I ask, acknowledging that he'd skipped dinner a few times this week.

"He's been in Snape's office, you didn't know?" Maddie whispers, scanning the people around us subtly. I shake my head at her question. "He's teaching him something to keep you-know-who out of his head. Quite necessary after all those dreams and whatnot." She informs me, but all I do is put on a faux understanding expression, now knowing I need to put all the pieces together.

After dinner, we collectively start toward the dormitories but as we near, I decide to take a detour down the hallway leading to Snape's office. I turn a corner, hearing whispers as I get closer.

"Yeah, it's not as bad as it seems. See? It's fading already." I spot George beside a crying first year and Fred is crouched on the opposite side.

"You can hardly see ours anymore. And the pain stops after a while." He assures the boy in a soft whisper. I slowly walk up to them, seeing the words in the boy's hand. I grimace at the thought that an eleven-year-old would be treated this way just as Umbridge appears in the doorway in front of us.

"As I told you once before, Miss Parkinson, naughty children deserve to be punished." She justifies with a grin, regressing down the same corridor she appeared from.

"I see no more light in that woman than the Dark Lord himself." I seethe, taking a seat beside the first year who's now silent with his head down. He glances up at me while I gently take his hand, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Vulnera Sanentur." The end of my wand ignites in a yellow light, retracing the words in his skin but this time in reverse. The boy stretches his hand once he realizes the pain is gone and he's only left with a scar.

Fred gives me a warm smile as the first year hugs around my waist, thanking me profusely in the process. Soon enough, he hurries along to his dormitory and Harry reveals himself from behind us wearing an almost shocked face.

"Harry, I've been looking all over for you. Is everything alright?" I ask him and he hesitantly nods, allowing the twins to take a hint and start toward the Gryffindor towers.

"So how does it work?" I ask after he explains a bit.

"Snape says it's because Voldemort gave me a part of him when he tried to kill me. I have a part of his mind so I can see what he does, apparently." He states, gazing out the stained glass window into the courtyard.

"Have you seen anything yet?" I ask, receiving a conflicted look.

"Mr. Weasley getting attacked of course but no, nothing after that." He responds and I mentally decide to just stop asking questions that I should already know the answer to. "But there was something I saw. When I used the same spell on Snape." He comments. "It was a memory of his time here and Dad was there."

"Really? That's brilliant." I display my intrigue but Harry only shakes his head.

"No, no, it's not. Dad was kind of a bully. He was picking on Professor Snape by the lake." He explains which only leaves us to spend time in our thoughts.

"Not a chance." I finally add. "Anyone we've spoken to has nothing but good things to say about James Potter."

"Except for Snape..." My brother continues and it almost begins to add up. Maybe he had a reason as to why he always had it out for me and Harry; it could've been the history with our father.