Explosive Love F. Weasley

Chapter 37. Patronus

A/N Possible trigger warning for: mentions of relapsing, mentions of body shaming/bullying. Nothing extreme in this chapter but read at your own risk.

When they first got the news Scarlett was sitting with Neville at the Gryffindor table. The paper was attached to a random owl, Neville paid the bird and took it. His eyes scanned the front page, his once cheery expression turned to horror.

"Neville are you alright?" Scarlett put her hand on his shoulder.

He faced her, "Bellatrix is out. She and ten others," his face was pale.

"Do you want to leave? We can go somewhere if you want to talk, or I can cover for you in class if you don't want to go," Scarlett was one of the few who knew the story of Neville's parents. After the practice's they had in the woods the pair had grown closer, the boy was now one of Scarlett's closest friends.

"It's alright Scar, I'll be okay. It's just upsetting she gets to walk around free after what she did, and the minister isn't even acknowledging the truth."

"I'm sorry Neville, if I could kill her myself I would." Scarlett meant it, after Neville told her off the torture Bellatrix but his parents through she wanted nothing more than for her to shrivel up and die.

"You and me both." Neville grabbed some food from the center of the table.

Scarlett was about to do the same when she saw Fred enter. She smiled waiting for him to reciprocate, but before he could even notice her he was stopped. Two girls walked directly in front of him, one directly approaching him while the other lingered. Her heart stopped as she realized who it was.

She watched the interaction that went on longer than it should've, Fred laughing at what the girl said as she put her hand on his chest. She couldn't hear the words but their laughs were audible. Normally when Fred laughed it made her heart soar, but now she wanted it to stop.

Watching them talk to the boy who they knew was hers made her angry, but she felt powerless against the older girls. Seeing the conversation unfold was too painful for her, even if Fred was unaware of who they were.

Without eating she stood up, "hey Neville, I have to grab something from my dorm. I forgot I need it for class. I'll see you later." She gave the boy a weak smile before grabbing her things.

"Alright, see you in class with she-who-must-not be-named." He gave her a weak smile as well, both people were going through things they didn't want to talk about.

Scarlett gave another quick glance at Fred, he was leaning on the Hufflepuff table, still chatting with the same girls. Their voices rang in her head, she still remembered every word they said months ago. Thinking of it made her stomach lurch.

She walked briskly to the exit, it felt as if she was in there any longer she would suffocate. She didn't want to walk all the way back to her dorm to wait the half hour before transfiguration, so she went to the library. There were only a couple people in the book-filled room due to the fact it was early in the morning.

She sat at her favorite table and pulled out one of her favorite books, "Pride and Prejudice." Scarlett had read it before, multiple times. This was the book Fred had gotten her for Christmas, filled to the brim with notes and messages.

She had read all of the comments, each one provoking a different reaction. Sometimes it was laughter or a smile, sometimes it was an eyeroll or scoff. On the rare occasion they made her blush.

She skimmed the book, trying to even out her breathing. She tried so hard to stop the nasty voices from replaying in her head, but they wouldn't. Tears fell, she shut the book in order to keep the warm liquid from damaging it. The sobs were silent as she didn't want to disturb the patrons of the library.