Blind Spots {Fred Weasley}

49.

"They are," Charlie nodded as he guided a filled fork to his mouth. "Not you though. It's not your job," he added. Fiona frowned at that.

"Why not me?!" Fiona had been dreading the task since George told her about it, but now the exclusion filled her with defiance.

"We brought you here to protect you. What's it going to look like if your dad comes to get you and you have a massive chunk of your arm missing?"

"It's a library! I think I can handle dusting off a few books!" Fiona snapped. She dropped her fork on the plate.

"Books can be dangerous," Charlie muttered grimly.  "There's a lot of nasty things that even I don't want to touch. Things have been growing here before the Order got established," he added in a voice that served more as a warning than informing.

"Where is this house? And What exactly is the order? And who are you protecting me from?"

"This house is old. The previous owners weren't exactly good people. The Order is the only organization dedicated to fighting you-know-who. And if you have to ask who we're protecting you from then you're dumber than I thought." Charlie said with no shred of patience left.

Fiona opened her mouth to argue, but Charlie quickly cut her off. "Shut it and eat your beans!" He ordered.

Mumbling her grievances, Fiona shoveled a fork of beans and fried egg into her mouth. The sudden substance in her empty stomach made her oddly sick.

"So what am I supposed to do all day?" She asked as she gulped down the warm food. Charlie shrugged.

"You have to retake your DADA exam, yeah? We could practice for that," he offered as he scrapped the last bits of food from his plate. Fiona nodded with a very displeased expression. She stabbed her fork at the plate, not caring if she was aiming for food or not.

"Fleur could help?" Fiona offered. "She was a champion, after all."

"'Fraid not, kid. Fleur and Bill are off to work for the day." Charlie said with a shrug, but he watched as an uncomfortable frown formed on Fiona's face. "C'mon, I'm a great teacher!" He boasted.

As the day dragged on at an absurdly slow pace, Fiona and Charlie remained locked in Ginny's room, reviewing notes she had made from what Remus had given her weeks ago. Their studying was partially broken by the constant shouts and screams coming from the floor below, where the rest of the house was cleaned.

It became abundantly clear to Fiona that whatever was taking place below them was more than a simple dusting of books. On more than one occasion she suggested they help with the cleaning efforts for practice, but each time Charlie denied the suggestion, each time with growing curiosity.

It was midway through the day when a rapping knock came at the door to the bedroom. "Charlie," The man said as he entered the room. Fiona recognized the voice from the night before. The man had been there when Fiona arrived at Grimmauld Place. The man looked past Charlie, narrowing in on Fiona for a moment before turning his attention to Charlie. "Buckbeak hasn't eaten in a few days," he said in a bored and dull tone. "Could you have a look at him?"

Charlie glanced at Fiona, and then back at the man. "Yeah," he said, and then turned to Fiona, "Just review those hexes. I'll be back in a bit."

Fiona listened as one set of footsteps left the room. She could smell the familiar sour stench that was so often on her father. The stranger watched Fiona with judgmental eyes.

"So," He finally said, after a long moment of observation. The tone of his voice seemed apathetic, but his continued presence in the room proved otherwise. "You're the seer." It wasn't a question.