Annalise

Chapter 22

**Annalise's POV**

"Anna!"

Fred shakes me awake and hugs me tightly.

"You're okay," he says, sounding relieved, "what happened?"

"Harry grabbed my arm when he disapparated," I yawn, "I didn't want to come back right away in case anyone saw me leave with them."

"Them? So he is with Ron?"

"Yeah, Hermione too, they're all safe," I lean back against the wall, my eyelids drooping. Fred touches my face and frowns.

"You wouldn't have been able to take your potions," he says, "wait here, I'll get one."

He leaves and I slump down onto the pillows, starting to doze almost immediately. I hear Fred return and the bed dips as he sits down.

"Come on," he coaxes. I grumble and turn my head away.

"Don't make me force you," he says, rubbing his hand over my back. I reluctantly sit up and take the potions, sipping at it.

"All of it," Fred says patiently. I finish it off and hand him the cup.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.

"Sure, I'll join you," he says, putting the glass next to the bed. He slides in next to me and wraps his arms around me. I snuggle into him and inhale deeply. He smells warm and homey, with just a touch of the soap we use. I entwine our legs and wriggle my arm under him, holding his shirt in the other. He starts playing with my hair, nearly causing me to melt into a puddle of happiness. I slowly drift off into a deep sleep.

When I wake the next morning the bed is empty. I feel more awake than I have in days. I get up and shower. Being able to use my own toiletries makes me feel so much better. I get dressed into my own clothes and go downstairs. Fred is making French toast and pulls me into his arms as soon as he sees me.

"I missed you," he says, kissing the tip of my nose.

"I missed you too," I say, "mm, that smells so good!"

After breakfast we head over to the Burrow to let everyone know that Harry, Ron and Hermione are safe. Mrs Weasley tries to get me to tell her what they're up to, but I feign ignorance, then flat out refuse when that doesn't work. Meanwhile they fill me in on what I missed. It all sounds very depressing, especially with the knowledge that You-Know-Who is immortal.

Now that the boys have had to close their shop, we struggle to find things to do. It's not until we Lee Jordan tracks us down, bringing with him the idea of an underground radio, that we really feel like we're doing anything. We throw ourselves into the radio, reporting deaths, missing people and anything we can find out about You-Know-Who and his followers. The boys love it, but after a few weeks I'm starting to struggle to keep my head up.

The potions I was prescribed are having less effects and I can feel my mood dipping down. I try as hard as I can to keep on moving, but I'm just going through the motions, and really it doesn't seem worth it.

"I'm going over to Mum's for a bit," Fred says one afternoon, "want to come?"

"No, that's okay, I want to do a bit of gardening," I reply, knowing that I won't. Fred kisses me goodbye and as soon as he disapparates I curl up on the sofa, letting the exhaustion wash over me. I close my eyes, lying to myself that it'll just be for a moment.

I wake the next morning in bed, unsure how I got here. Fred is beside me, obviously in a deep sleep. I feel a sudden rush of energy and get out of bed, dressing quickly, and going out into the garden. The sun is only just coming up, but I grab some tools from the garden shed and start weeding the roses.