The Girl who Survived (Fred Weasley)

CH 41. Aftermath

 The sofa was vibrating. My vision was cloudy. My hair was pulled away from my face. There was a burning on my back. Moving statues in the corner, I couldn't hear, and I was cuddling a blanket. All of this was true. But all of this was also a lie.

"Where are his parents?" "With Professor Sprout, she was the head of his house," "I sent an owl to Sirius" "And they came for crouch?" "Yes" "What about Harry?" I made sense of the words coming from somewhere in the room.

​The truth was, I laid on the Recamier in Minerva's office. My head resting on her lap. I was barely able to see with all the tears desperately trying to escape my eyes. The vibrating was coming from her humming lullabies to me. Her gentle hand stroked the strands of hair away from my face. Molly was sitting next to her rubbing a warm hand on my back, harmonizing with Minerva. I blinked the tears out of my eyes, and could see the faces of Dumbledore, Snape, and Mr. Weasley. I took in a deep breath which caused a stabbing pain in the center of my chest as I was struck by a scent, I knew all too well. I realized, it wasn't a blanket in my arms, it was Cedric's jumper. ​I wanted to push away, I wanted to be anywhere but here.

​ "Sweet girl," Minerva pulled me out of my petrified state as she stopped humming and spoke to me. "You don't deserve this," She whispered and placed a kiss on the side of my face. "You deserve so much more, my sweet girl."

​I shut my eyes as more tears flooded out, but behind them I just kept seeing his lifeless body, laying there, unmoved. I clutched the jumper closer to my chest giving the stabbing pain comfort and turned slightly to hide my face in her lap allowing a sob to escape my lips. I felt Molly lay over me to try and engulf me in the biggest hug she could. I opened my eyes to see Dumbledore walk over and drop to a knee in front of me. He lifted my head slightly, so it was no longer hidden.

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears," he told me with a pained look on his face.

"It hurts," I whispered almost too quietly for even myself to hear. "Please make it stop," I said a bit louder. It couldn't have been too loud because the room went silent.

"I can't," Dumbledore said as he wrapped his hands over mine, still clutching onto the jumper. "My dear, if I take away your sorrow now, I'm afraid that would only make your heart grow cold."

Another wave of tears escaped my eyes. "I was supposed to tell him," I said as the realization of my regret hit me, giving life to the stabbing again.

"What's that my dear," Minerva asked confused.

"I never told him," I said in between sobs, gasping for air again.

"Darling I'm sure he knew you cared for him deeply," Molly told me sweetly, patting my back.

A moment later I felt the back of a hand stroke my cheek, causing my eyes to open. I looked and was met by Snape's eyes taking me by surprise.

"He would not want to see those eyes filled with tears," Snape told me and truthfully, in a strange way what he said helped.

"Well said Severus," Dumbledore told him. The breathlessness stopped and I allowed my lungs to fill as I closed my eyes. I eventually opened my eyes and looked at the first set I could find, Molly.

"Yes dear?" She said, looking at me desperately trying to figure out what she could do to help me.

"I want to go home," I told her.

Molly heard and she turned to Arthur and said, "Get the twins dear, ask them to see her to her dormitory," She told him and immediately Arthur was out the door.

"No," I said and looked at Minerva, nearly pleading. "I want to go Home," I repeated emphasizing what I meant. I didn't want to be in a dormitory surrounded by whispers, having to finish the year, and walk the corridors where I spent so much time with my best friend who was no longer here. In all honesty, I also couldn't imagine going back to a room in Godric's Hollow where he used to sneak in, to just hold me at night.