Mudblood • Fred Weasley

10. draco

"WILLA." Fred said as he entered the astronomy tower. Willa sat on the floor, her dress dirty from the run, her heels sitting next to her. Her eyes were swollen, she had been crying. Willa didn't answer him, she simply kept holding her knees and crying. "Willa." He repeated; his voice softer this time.

"Go away." Willa sniffled. She didn't want to be mean to Fred, she was just hurt and wanted to be alone. She felt guilty that Fred was even drug into her situation, anyway. Fred took a step back, sitting down but at a distance from Willa. He sat quietly and stared up at the ceiling; he was giving her space but wanted to be there if she needed him.

After what felt like forever of complete silence, Willa finally spoke: "I'm going to have to leave Hogwarts." She sobbed.

"What?" Fred said, quickly, scooting slightly closer to Willa but still giving her distance.

"They won't ever let me live this down, Freddie. I can't keep doing this everyday." She sniffled and put her head in her hands. Fred's face fell, he stared at Willa for a second.

Fred didn't know what to say, his hands clenched at his sides. "You can't! And you won't. You're too smart to give up on school. This is all Malfoy's fault." He whispered, wanting to punch Malfoy in the face. Then, he remembered: Willa already had. Willa nodded, agreeing that if Malfoy hadn't said anything than no one would've known.

"It's kind of my fault for lying though." Willa whispered, "I just wanted to fit in."

"It's not your fault he's a conniving ferret, though." Fred growled.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about." Willa said jokingly, waiting for a reaction from Fred, who picked up on her sarcasm and laughed as well. He wrapped his arm around Willa and pulled her close to him, Willa resting her head on his shoulder.

"There's my girl." He joked, rustling Willa's hair up. She smiled and dried her tears; she shot straight up when she realized Fred had completely abandoned his date.

"Angelina!" She said quickly, pointing to the door. "You left her! Go!" Fred pushed Willa's hand down and smiled.

"Something tells me George is keeping her busy." He wiggled an eyebrow at Willa. Willa's mouth formed an "o" shape as she got the hint, sitting back down with Fred.

Willa shivered as a cold of cool wind hit her bare shoulders. Fred took his jacket off and draped it over Willa. "Thanks." She smiled. She looked back down and fiddled with her thumbs, a habit she had since she was small.

Fred stared at her; he didn't even realize it, honestly. He looked at her tear stained face, still beautiful even though it was swollen from crying. It broke Fred's heart that she had been crying. He wanted to kill Malfoy for what he'd done; he wished he could take all of Willa's pain away. Six months ago, he couldn't stand her - but not because of her, because of who she had become. Fred had never felt this way about Willa; she was always his goofy little best friend, then a snobby popular Slytherin girl who had lost all respect for herself. As Fred stared at her under the moonlight, he saw a new Willa. A Willa that wasn't a little girl anymore. The girl he loved. Loved? He thought quickly, no, not romantically.

Of course he loved Willa, she was his best friend. He hadn't thought of her as anything other than that, until tonight. Fred thought about how her lips looked, how her hips were fuller, how her laugh sounded like music in his ears; he had spent 16 years with Willa, 16 years that he never noticed this beautiful qualities until now. Did he love her differently, now?

"Why are you staring at me, you creep?" Willa giggled.

Fred's faced turned into a terrified expression, he pointed a shaky finger at Willa's head. "Y-y-you have a s-spider on your head." Willa jumped up, squealing and shaking all over. Fred rolled over in the floor laughing.

"Oh, you jerk! You know I'm terrified of spiders." She laughed, kicking him in the thigh gently. He reached out a hand for Willa to help him up and the two walked back to the ball, together; Fred's jacket, and now arm, draped over Willa's shoulder.

•

Draco didn't tell anyone what he seen that night at the astronomy tower, more importantly, what he heard. Pansy was a dreadful ball date and he was just escaping for a moment alone, only to find Fred and Willa talking. He had stood back in the shadows, behind a wall. He assumed that he was probably the last person that should cross their paths at that time.

"This is all Malfoy's fault." Fred growled.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about." Willa giggled.

Brother? Surely not. Draco remembered thinking. She must've been joking; it was probably some kind of inside joke between the two.

Draco went to bed that night and his mind raced; for some reason, in the pit of his stomach, Draco knew, even with Willa's joking demeanor, that what she said wasn't a joke. He tried to dismiss it, convincing hisself that there was no way it was true. But, then he began adding things up:

His father's interest in Willa.

Willa being sorted into Slytherin, a mudblood in Slytherin.

Her icy blonde hair.

Her pale skin.

Her grey eyes, just like Draco's.

And finally, her habit: how she fiddled with her fingers whenever she was upset, when bored, nervous, excited.... just. Like. Draco.

But how? She wasn't his mother's daughter, Draco knew that. If she was, why was she raised by a muggle born woman? Surely they wouldn't give up a child... unless his mother didn't know about it.

By midnight, Draco had convinced hisself that Willa was indeed his sister. He only needed to figure out how. A sister? Draco had always been lonely his whole life, the revelation that he may have a sister changed everything.

Draco suddenly felt guilty for what he done to Willa and the repercussions that she was facing due to it. He understood why she lied; for fear of what exactly was happening now. Draco had spent his whole life trying to please his father and being cold and cruel was the only way he knew how to be like him, how to be close to him.

Draco shot straight up in bed; Willa's mother was killed at the cup. Did his father do it? If he did, what does he have planned for Willa?

Draco flopped back down into the bed, battling within hisself. Willa didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve none of this.