Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 172

The next moment, Draco and I Apparated into the enormous field near Muriel's house. I obviously couldn't take him straight to her home, seeing as I wasn't the Secret Keeper of that place.

      With one arm around me, Draco was supporting me up as he walked us across the field, even though after some point, he couldn't come with me any further.

      But as we were walking on, now that I finally found the strength to speak again, I whispered, "How could you do that? I trusted you. And you told her about me..."

      Draco came to a stop and so did I. I couldn't get myself to even look up at him and so I threw my gaze on the ground, right bellow my feet.

      "Lexi, what you need to understand is that I didn't mean to hurt you," said Draco after a long pause. "I didn't think for a second that they would come after you!"

      "Then what did you think, exactly!?" I said sharply. "That they would blow me a kiss?"

      "They were after Mud-b — I mean Muggle-borns," said Draco, correcting himself quickly much to my surprise. "You were one of their main targets. I thought if I told them that your father was a pure-blood, they would let you go. But they tried to look after you even harder!"

      I tried to open my mouth and reply, but was cut short when from afar I heard someone yelling.

      "Lexi!? LEXI!" Turning around, we saw Fred and George walking toward us hurriedly, two other members of the Order behind them whom I hadn't seen too often, all their wands raised at our direction.

     "Let go of her, you stupid ferret!" Fred shouted, raising his wand even higher.

      "No!" As if my legs were acting on
their own account, I stepped in front of Draco. "It — it wasn't him — he's the one who got me here!"

      Even Draco had now took out his wand, even though it was helpless against the other four.

     Fred glared at Draco from over my shoulder, but the expression on his face changed quickly when his eyes fell on me and he lowered his wand. He then paced toward me, bringing me into his arms, and I somehow felt calmer in his embrace as I closed my eyes.

      "I was worried sick!" he said, holding on to me tightly. "What happened to you? We looked for you everywhere!" he asked worriedly, pulling slightly away, but George and the other two Order members still had their wands at the ready.

       "It was the Snatchers — they took me away. They took me to the Malfoy Manor," I said, watching all the remaining color drain from Fred's face at those words. "But Draco — he saved me."  

     Fred was now looking back again at Draco in disbelief, who had lowered his wand at this point as well.

     "Merlin, what happened to you in there, Snappy?" said George in a hollow voice. "You look like hell."

      I shook my head at him weakly with a grin. "Jeez, way to make a woman feel confident, Georgie."

       But just then, we all jumped out of our skins when Fred suddenly leaped forward and punched Draco on the face, causing him to hurtle back to the ground.

     "Fred!" I gasped in shock, clapping a hand to my mouth.

     But Fred only glared down at Draco. "That's for kissing my girlfriend! Be glad I'm not turning you into a pumpkin! I'm pretty skilled at that."

      Our eyes were still wide as we watched them. But we were caught off guard even more when Fred sighed after some while and then raised his hand for Draco to take as he was still on the ground.

      Draco paused for some while, staring down at it until he took it and Fred helped him up again. An awkward silence followed.

     "I — I should better get going before they figure it was me who got you out," Draco finally said, now glancing at me, still looking guilty. "I'll... see you later." And with that, he Dissaparated.

***

I spent the next week mostly resting in bed, and Aunt Muriel certainly didn't help my state when she kept complaining and saying I was too pale that I looked like a dead gnome.

     After long weeks when March had finally arrived and we were reaching the end of it, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had moved in Muriel's house as well just as planned. It was also kept as a safe house for the Order members along with Bill and Fleur's Shell Cottage.

     Bill and Mr. Weasley couldn't go to work anymore, seeing as the Death Eaters and the Ministry were after them all now.

     We were often visited by Order members, including Moody, Kingsley, and even rarely Lupin, who all came with news or just wanted to check up on us.

     Although the first person to visit us was Sirius, who had showed up at Muriel's house throughout the Christmas break. It was the first time I had seen him in weeks or maybe even months, and I thought he looked to be in a foul mood.

      But all in all, he sat with me on the couch in Muriel's living room as I told him exactly what had happened the night I was taken away. Although I stopped in mid conversation when Mr. Weasley passed by, looking rather confused.

      "I though I just saw Crookshanks," he told Sirius in confusion. "How come —"

      "Oh, that's her way of silent-treatment-ing me," said Sirius moodily, rolling his eyes.

       Mr. Weasley nodded awkwardly and so went back upstairs. But just when I was about to ask Sirius what he was talking about, Crookshanks came into the living room, looking rather gloomy.

      "Oh, Hello!" I said cheerfully as she jumped up on our couch. "And where have you been all this time?"

     The cat then crawled onto Sirius's lap and looked up at me as I continued explaining, as if listening to every word I was saying. But then after a few minutes, Sirius and I both gasped when Crookshanks threw up on Sirius's lap.

      "Ugh, no!" He grimaced and so he grimly held her up and placed her on the floor, getting up from the couch. "Damn it! Look what you did!"

       "It wasn't her fault," I tried to reason as I watched the ginger cat jump weakly on the couch again and crawl up in a corner.

      "Of course it was her fault!" Sirius snapped. "Cats have the ability to throw up on will! She did that on purpose!" He then glared at the cat bitterly as he was cleaning his pants off with a wave of his wand.

     "Sirius, I really don't think she feels good," I said, glancing worriedly at the ill-looking cat.

     "R-really?" Sirius asked, now looking apprehensively at the ginger cat.

      "Let's show her to Mrs. Weasley. She'll know what to do."

        With that, I picked Crookshanks up and carried her to the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was cooking and placed her on the table.

       After studying the cat carefully, Mrs. Weasley took out a guide book by Gilderoy Lockheart and started reading through.

     She took out her wand and going from the instructions, performed a few spells on the cat, causing a few sparks to glow within her. Sirius looked more worried than what I had expected him to be.

       "Well?" he said anxiously after some while.

        "I'm not sure," said Mrs. Weasley, yet she started smiling as she looked back up at Sirius, "but I think she might be pregnant."