Friendship on Fire | Fred & George Weasley

Family feud.

I could hear a ringing in my ears, as my ear drum pounded along with the pumping of my blood. White light was trying to sneak in through my semi closed eyes, and the tiny amount of light I saw made me quickly shut my eyes. I remember now why my head hurt so badly.....I had been knocked into a window on the Hogwarts Express....And that pain was still completely unbearable. A soft hand i could feel was rested against my left hand, my right being positioned hidden behind my head. 

Blinking several times, I let my eyes readjust themselves to the bright lights of the hospital wing. The hand rested on top of my own gave me a gentle squeeze. I moaned in pain whilst I rolled over to my back and stared at the large ceiling. " Miss.Tonks How lovely to see you awake" A familiar voice said to me. My head shifted a little to quickly at the sound of their voice, causing me to wince slightly and grab my head. The voice let out a deep chuckle and let go of my hand....

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to wake up" they said in a teasing manner. It was Dumbledore I realized was talking to me, and looking over to see him smiling at me over his half-moon spectacles only confirmed what I already knew. "How long was I asleep?" I asked softly, my throat ached feeling like I hadn't had a sip of water in months on end. Dumbledore must have sensed this and summoned a small glass of water that hovered next to my bed. 

"Well, lets just say you missed a couple of meals" He said watching intently as i chugged my glass of water, so quickly it was almost as if I was scared it would evaporate before I could take a sip. "yeah, I'm starving" I told him as I set my glass down on the end table beside my wand and bag. "I didn't know where I was supposed to go...i couldn't find anyone" i said looking down ashamed and feeling completely dumb for not being able to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. 

"Well that is understandable" He said his smile lowering slightly. "But I know you are dying to know the details of your position here" He added, and I nodded my head eagerly suddenly extremely excited to finally start work. "Well you will be sleeping in the girls dorm as if you would have being a student. eat meals with your house and your friends since you are still a child" He said leaning forward. My smile fell realizing i truly would never be a child again, as my youthfulness was taken from me by force last year....

"Instead of going to classes like normal, after breakfast you will come here and Poppy will give you your  training and you will assist her on any students that need help"He finished. 

"I'm so excited!" i exclaimed, bouncing out of bed a little too quickly....My head thumping in the process. 

Dumbledore chuckled as he stood from his chair, " breakfast is starting now dear, now go along and make up for the food you missed" I didn't even have to wait for him to finish, the second I heard breakfast i was practically bolting out of the door...i didn't realize how hungry I was until I became light headed from jumping out of bed too fast. 

I skipped happily through the fifth floor corridor, thinking Dumbledore must have slipped some healing potion into my water, as almost all the pain in my head had disappeared. And only about five minutes later i had arrived in the great hall...

It was not what i expected when i arrived in the great hall.... I could feel deep in my bones that something was off, but I just couldn't put my finger on it....Students were eating pastries and bowls of fruit and cereal while washing it down occasionally with glasses of pumpkin juice...They were talking rapidly about their schedules for the year and what they did over the summer....First years were marveling over the floating ghosts and the enchanted sky that was bewitched to match the clear sky outside.....But something was wrong....And I knew it the second I glanced over to the Slytherin table.

Two people who mean the most to me in this world looked as if someone had killed every person they had ever loved. Aimee and Draco sat at the far end of the table, almost completely alone. It was almost as if the other Slytherins were avoiding them or something. Draco looked paranoid and kept glancing around rapidly and his eyes were darting over his shoulder. Aimee looked so sullen, almost like tears were about to pour over at any moment. It broke my heart to see the pair of them this way...

I took a deep breath and walked briskly to where they sat. Aimee saw me first coming this way, and her face whitened. Her eyes grew wide, and it was then I realized how angry I must have looked to her, and it was just then I realized my fists were clenched by my sides. I haven't seen Aimee or Draco since my graduation which was over 4 months ago...

Standing behind my lifetime best friend I spoke no words to the girl I trusted with my life, I could only shake my head with eyes full of questions....Her mother is on the brink of suicide thinking the worst about her only child, and I know how bad the worst can get....And the look in Aimee's eyes when I stood behind her told me anything I wanted to ask.

Draco was completely oblivious to my appearance and was staring at his wand that was clenched in his hands. I sighed and tapped him roughly on the shoulder, that motion being enough to cause him to jump out of his seat. Within the blink of an eye my cousin had me pinned to the brick wall behind me, his dark wand pointed right between my eyes. 

The hall was silent and all conversation dulled down to whispers. Draco looked me from toe up, and when recognition as to who he had pinned against the wall flashed across his face, he let his wand fall....

I saw Neville and Ron jump from their seats at the table behind us and make thier way over...oddly Harry was nowhere to be seen. I shook my head to them and looked back to my lost cousin....

Draco looked sickly, like he had lost way too much weight this summer...Aimee did as well, who just sat staring at her hands ignoring our confrontation. "D" I whispered and picked up his fallen wand, before placing it back in his rough hand. "V" He said shaking his head. "Go" he said roughly turning away from me, the second he turned around the Slytherins that had been watching him, turned away from us.

Not giving him the chance to sit down I yanked him by his robes and dragged him outside into the empty corridor. "Are you one of them?" I asked quietly, my arms crossed firmly across my chest as I stared down at my beated black converse shoes. "Veronica, go inside" He practically growled at me. I snapped my head up to meet his painful eyes. I could see anguish and so much loss with the one look my cousin was giving me, and all i wanted was to reach out and comfort him...But instead i reached out and yanked up his left sleeve, and suddenly wished I hadn't.

I felt like I was going to puke when i saw the dark mark branded on Draco's arm. Draco tried his hardest to put up a front like he wasn't bothered that I knew, but I knew that it was killing him inside. I choked back the tears that were coming, and stepped closer to him, who was almost cornered like a small animal about to be attacked. "And Aimee? is she?..." i asked closing my eyes not wanting to hear that my best friend had become a death eater. he cleared his throat before answering "Yes" was all he said...

I opened my eyes and without even thinking I slapped my cousin so hard across the face it echoed im sure up to the seventh floor. Draco's head turned with the slap but he made no effort to touch it... He only looked ashamed and sad...not the confident overly arrogant person I knew and loved.

"At least be smart enough to cover it up" I sneered to him before running out of the school and out onto the grounds. I was in no sense or form a runner, but the pain I felt for my cousin and my best friend and what she had gotten dragged into, made me sprint as if my legs were on fire.

Tears were pouring heavily down my face, and I hated that now I knew this....I couldn't tell anyone....I would be upset and angry and hurt and I would avoid them in fear of what they must do, and I could never tell a soul what was wrong with me...Aimee would never have been dragged into this if she would have just stayed in Beauxbatons, stayed in France and she could have avoided all of the drama my family brings... Draco was doomed from the start, our aunt is crazy and deranged and I know Bellatrix would murder me the second she saw me or my sister, and only because our father is a muggle...

Before I knew it I had managed to run all the way to Hogsmeade....and a nice tall fire whiskey in the Hogs Head was calling my name...