Unbreakable - Fred Weasley

Fred

"Olivia." Fred said, the name strange in his mouth, it had been a year since he'd seen her and he was almost entirely sure she wasn't real. Had he died?
—
Olivia turned to him, a tall boy with fiery red hair.
Fred.
But she wasn't sure where that name came from, or where she knew him. Who? Fred. The voice said again. She felt a strong tug of her arm, Tim hadn't let her hand go and was pulling her away. She suddenly didn't want to follow him, she wanted—no, needed—to go to the strange boy, with the strange hair, in the strange place, that said her name in a strangely familiar way. She slipped her hand out of Tim's, who watched—mortified—as she made her way through, quite literally, a battle to her Weasley.
Fred walked towards her, still unsure whether she was a real, living, being or not. She was watching him, cautiously, with curious eyes—but there was a scar that ran from the crown of her forehead down her right eye and across her cheek. He touched her face,
"You gave me quite a scare love, but I'm glad you're alright." He cooed, echoing his words from her fourth year at Hogwarts, after she'd nearly died by dementors. That was what did her in, any remnant of the imperius curse—which demanded she not know anything and be compliant—dissipated. Her recollections, however, were slower to come back.
"Freddie," she said breathlessly, tears sprung into her eyes, she turned back to Tim and tried to sift through memories, confusion setting in. She felt a hand on her face and turned back towards Fred, my Fred, she thought—still uncertain.
"O-Olivia, let's go," Tim's voice said, fearfully. Olivia frowned, not wanting to follow, but still not able to process why. The hand on her face stiffened and she felt it make its way to her shoulder, and pull her behind it.
"She's not going anywhere, mate." Fred said, voice calm, but with a dangerous edge to it. She knew that the fiery redhead was hers, and she knew she was his, and so she let him stand and defend her.
"Fred, listen, you don't want to do that. Just let her and I-" Tim began, before Fred interrupted aggressively,
"There is no 'her and I,' not with you. You're mad if you think I'm letting her out of my sight after thinking I'd lost her!"
"I'm sorry," Tim said, brandishing his wand, "crucio,"
Before Fred could say anything, he was on the ground writhing, screaming in a way she'd never heard before. His wand slipped from his hand, clattering into the ground loudly. The moment she heard him in any pain, everything found its rightful place in her mind. She knew he was hers, she remembered what Tim had done, and while she wasn't entirely sure what month or year it was—she knew it had to have been a long while. Tim had gotten the best of her before, so she knew she'd have to work carefully. She bent down and grabbed Fred's wand off of the floor, his screams piercing her heart while she tried to keep a straight face. Tim stopped, noticing she was still misty-eyed and confused. Fred was breathing heavily on the ground, trying to pick himself up.
"Olivia, let's go." Tim tested, eyes suspicious. Olivia walked over Fred, and towards Tim, breathing as evenly as she could manage.
"Wood, don't. Stay." She heard Fred say, his voice strained. Olivia kept walking forward, eyes forward, keeping her pace the same until she was a few feet away from Tim. He smiled, relaxing, she came back to me. Olivia met his eyes, it was now or never, but she'd never used this curse before.
"Crucio," she said coldly, and watched as Tim's face changed to surprise as he collapsed onto his knees.
"O-O-O-Olivia, w-w-why!?" Tim screamed,
"Where's my wand." She demanded. He looked down quickly at his robes, and she moved closer to where he was lying on the ground. Rifling through his robes, she found the very familiar wand that she'd grown to love. Snatching it away from the Slytherin boy, she ran over to Fred who was leaning against his hands and sitting on the ground.
Enveloping him in her arms, she kissed his face feverishly,
"Are you—alright? I can't—believe—you found me—I missed you—so much." She gushed breathlessly between kisses, his face growing wet with her tears.
"We need to go," Fred said painfully, body still raw from the curse Tim had casted. She nodded and jumped up to her feet, she pulled his arm around her shoulder and let him lean against her. Passing him back his wand, she held hers firmly in her left hand. Looking over to where Tim was just getting up himself she breathed deeply,
"Stupefy," she said, watching him crumple to the ground again. She walked Fred over to a nearby wall and leaned him against it. Making her way over to Tim she noticed his wand out on the ground beside him, picking it up gingerly she heard Fred ask,
"Love, what're you doing?"
"What needs to be done." She replied plainly, snapping the wand in half.
—
Fred watched as Olivia broke Tim's wand and let the pieces fall to the ground. The girl, who he hadn't seen in a year—who he thought was dead, sauntered over to him as if it was completely normal behaviour and what just happened was a regular occurrence. She looked different, which shouldn't have surprised him, but it did. Her hair was much longer, like when they first met, but it seemed darker somehow. She looked older, like she'd had to grow up a lot the last year. The scar on her face, she looked terribly thin, and her eyes didn't carry the laughter that they once had. After Cedric he wondered if she'd ever be bright as she was again, when she did eventually—he was ecstatic. Her demeanour now was entirely different, shifted, she was a different girl—he didn't care, he was in awe of her still.
They crept through the castle, Olivia terribly aware that Fred was in pain still, and trying to avoid the madness that was occurring throughout the castle. After a few minutes, her vision started clouding, and she began to stumble.
"Olivia," Fred said, noticing her clumsiness, "are you alright, love?"
"I think I-" she began, stopping as she spoke, her voice was light, "I-Fred, I'm so tired."
His reflexes were quick, even as suddenly as she fell. He scooped her up in his arms, and carried her through the castle. There was a mass of people at the front entrance of the school, mostly students, and Fred moved through the crowd to see what it was about.
—
George saw his brother, with something in his arms, furrowing his brows he moved towards his twin and what was now—clearly—a person in his arms. A girl. George wondered how Fred had ended up with a strange girl in his arms, stopping suddenly when he saw the scar on her right hand. George pushed past the crowd at this point, unable to move as quickly as he wanted to, until he was right in front of Fred.
"Olivia?" he asked breathlessly, Fred nodded, "but how?"
"Dunno." Fred replied, "she was with Tim."
"MacNair?" George asked, Fred nodded,
"What's all this about?"
"Dumbledore." George told him, sadness looming in his voice.
———
"Merlin! Is that—!?" Ginny squeaked,
"—It's Olivia!" Ron shouted,
"But how!?" Hermione asked.
Fred had walked into the infirmary of the school, Olivia still unconscious in his arms. He had tried not to get worked up about it, but he couldn't live with losing her when he'd only just gotten her back.
"Madame Pomfrey, we need you here." He said urgently, this caught his mother's attention as well, who was fussing over Bill.
"Frederick Weasley! We need you here, with your brother, look at the state of hi—is that Olivia?" She gasped, moving towards where Fred had put the girl on a bed.
"Yes." He answered, not letting the girl out of his sight.
"But how is she—we thought she was—well, wasn't she...?" Mrs. Weasley stammered,
"She's here, isn't she? Very much alive." Fred huffed, more upset at himself than anything, "I should've never stopped searching. She was out there the whole time... probably waiting for me." I can't believe you found me, she'd told him. She had been hoping for him, and what had he done? Put flowers on her grave, taken the shop girl on a few dates, stopped looking for her. He watched as Madame Pomfrey cast spells on Olivia, forced potions down her throat, she looked like a shell of the girl that he left last April. A shell, that had done nothing but wait for him, while he gave up.
———
It wasn't long before everyone was crowded into the Hospital Wing, waiting for a chance to see her, Oliver came with his wand out—demanding to see his sister, his parents trailing behind him. They all cried when they saw her, she looked so peaceful, sleeping in the white bed.
"She spoke to you?" Preston asked Fred, who nodded,
"She saved me."
"How?" Oliver asked, curiously. Everyone wanted to hear the answer to this question, and leaned in.
"I don't—I'm not sure what happened to her. She was being dragged along by Tim MacNair... I called to her, she turned, walked to me, he called her back—she looked so confused. He used the cruciatus curse on me and for a minute I thought she was going to leave with him... she seemed entranced. But she used it on him, and got her wand—he had it. And we left." Fred blurted, unsure of what was appropriate to say.
"He had her this whole time!?" George shouted,
"Why would she stay?" Oliver boomed,
"An imperius curse?" Hermione asked, and everyone looked at the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "It's quite obvious isn't it? Fred, you said she looked like she was in a trance, and let's be honest, that's the only thing that would've kept her away."
"Yes." Olivia said, and every head—as if on a swivel—turned to face her. She'd woken up while Fred was telling everyone what had happened, and thought it was her turn to speak. So she explained, the two weeks following the Department of Mysteries, how Tim had saved her initially and she stayed for two months to recuperate, how he'd placed her under the curse to "save her," how she woke up at Christmas, and then again just before the Battle in the Astronomy tower. "And Fred, well, he already told you the rest."
"I'll kill that MacNair." Oliver seethed, "no way is he getting out of this without—"
"Oliver, please." Olivia sighed, "I would be quite dead without him."
"But—" Oliver started to protest but Olivia shook her head,
"But nothing, now," she said turning to Madame Pomfrey, "what's the matter with me?"
"Your strength just isn't where it was. It takes a toll, mentally, physically, being put under so much stress, then to have so much magic used on you. You just have to be on bedrest, no magic until further notice." Madame Pomfrey told her,
"Not a problem," Oliver answered, "we'll have round the clock care for her, she won't leave my sight—in fact, I'll see to it that—"
"—actually," Olivia piped up shyly, "I thought I might go and stay with Fred."
Everyone watched her, then looked to Fred, who smiled at the brunette girl in the hospital bed.
"If that's alright with him, I mean. And George too, of course." She added, looking at her hands. She felt her face being lifted by his hands,
"I wouldn't have had it any other way, love."
—
Fred didn't let Olivia out of his sight, staying at her side without sleep all night. He watched her fall in and out of sleep, plagued with nightmares, he'd soothe her back to sleep. He didn't know what else to do, and couldn't bear the thought of sleeping and having her disappear again. The world stopped for him, the moment that he saw her.
—
"Mate, you ought to get some sleep." George said the next morning, Fred looked worse for wear, and was watching the sleeping girl like a hawk.
"I'm fine," he said sluggishly,
"You need some rest, Freddie, I can keep an eye—" George told him,
"—and have her get taken? Or disappear again? Or worse?" Fred snapped, drawing attention for all the occupants of the ward, "I already lost her—couldn't keep her safe! I'm not having anything happen to her, she trusted me, and waited for me, and I gave up George! She'll hate me, if she doesn't already."
"Calm down, she won't hate you. We all thought that she was dead." George tried to comfort his brother,
"When she finds out that I mourned her and moved on?" Fred asked, voice breaking.
"I could never hate you, Fred," Olivia said, having been stirred from sleep by the conversation, "but if you've moved on from me then I reckon I can't live with you—it'd be fairly awkward." She kept her voice even, as much as that had hurt to say. In all honesty, she still didn't know how long it had been since he'd last seen her and couldn't have blamed him for moving on.
"Olivia, love, that's not what I meant." Fred told her softly, he held her face, pushing her hair out of her face.
"How long has it been?" She asked, finding her courage. Both boys looked at each other uncertainly.
"It's been about a year, Wood. It's June." George answered, and Olivia felt a chill on her spine. She'd lost an entire year.
"But we want you—I—want you to live with us." Fred spoke quickly, but determined, "I could never stop loving you. But, we—we thought you were dead... I looked for you for months, and we had a funeral... I—I'm so sorry, I—"
"Don't be sorry for something that you thought was real." Olivia asserted,
"But I shouldn't have ever stopped looking for you, I—" he argued.
"Fred, stop. I'm fine. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. You saved me—you did. It doesn't matter how long it took, only that I found my way back to you." She insisted, then a sudden self-consciousness passed over her, "but you haven't fallen in love with someone else?"
"Never." He said, quite honestly.
———
I know I technically skipped a whole year, but this is how it was alwayyyys gonna go, so hopefully no one is too choked about it.

I hope you all like this chapter!!

As always, thank you so much for reading!