International Love | Fred Weasley

Chapter 54

As Wormtail drags me out of the brewing room, I manage to make the Extendable Ears vanish. Confused, the man looks at his empty hand before narrowing his eyes at me. "It doesn't matter. Master Severus will believe me anyway."

Before we exit the room, I snatch the book I was reading from one of the tables. Wormtail almost sprints to the library while dragging me along. I try to get out of his grip but his hand is made of shining silver and almost cuts off circulation in my arm.

Wormtail pushes the door to the library open and pushes me inside. When I look up, I'm face to face with my uncle and the two women. One of them – the black-haired one – is standing near the fireplace looking at the moving pictures on the mantel. The blond woman is sitting on the couch opposite my uncle who is seated in his armchair.

The three people look annoyed to be interrupted. Wormtail steps forward and points at me, "She was eavesdropping on your conversation."

The two women move to look at me but I turn to my uncle. Holding up my book, I protest: "I wasn't! I was finishing the batch of Wolfsbane Potion and reading my book."

Wormtail snatches the book out of my hand and hands it to my uncle. The small man narrows his eyes at me and asks with a squeaky voice: "What were you reading?"

I manage to suppress the urge to roll my eyes as I answer with a forced smile: "The history of different woods that are used to make wands. Seeing I want to become a wandmaker, I thought it would be useful."

My uncle flips through the book as Wormtail sneers at me. He closes the book and holds it out to me. I take it back.

"Do you have any more prove, Wormtail?"

The smaller man mutters something about the ears but deflates when my uncle points at the door. "Get out. Don't ever dare to interrupt me again, Wormtail, or I'll fire you."

Wormtail begins to protest but after one look at the two women, he sprints out of the library. The black-haired one has taken a step closer to me and stares at me with her piercing eyes. I try to avoid her look and look at my uncle for permission to get out.

Before my uncle can say something, the black-haired woman speaks: "You must be Severus' niece. Elena Dubos, is it not?"

She takes another step and grabs my chin to take a better look at me. Her eyes scan my face as she digs her sharp nails into my cheeks. Smiling evilly at me, she turns her head to look at my uncle.

"She truly looks like your sister, Severus. I think it's the look of fear that does it."

"Bellatrix, let her go," my uncle says but the woman ignores him. She turns her attention back to me and hisses: "Did nobody ever teach you it's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?"

From the corner of my eye, I see my uncle opening his mouth to say something but the woman shuts him up with one look. With her attention back on me, she addresses my uncle: "If you want, Severus, I can teach her some manners. The absence of a parental figure makes children think they can misbehave without consequences. I'll make sure she'll behave in the future."

Her nails dig deeper into my cheeks and I have to dig my fingernails into the cover of the book I'm holding in order not to show any weakness. I turn my eyes away from the woman to look at my uncle for help. The witch sees it and with a pull at my face, she makes me look at her.

"I was speaking to you so you look at me. Didn't your uncle teach you any manners?"

Her hand lets go of my chin and for a moment, I think she's letting me go. She doesn't. Her hand drops to my throat and the position of her hand forces me to look up at her.

"Answer me. It's not nice to eavesdrop, isn't it?"

"I- I didn't-" I stutter.

"Ah, ah," the woman tuts. She starts squeezing my throat and breathing starts getting more and more difficult. I start to get a bit light-headed.

"Don't you dare lie to me, filthy half-blood. You have been eavesdropping on us, haven't you? What did you hear?"

As she squeezes my throat more and more, she laughs. I drop the book I was holding and crawl at the woman's hand to make her let go of me. Finally, my uncle stands up and when he places a hand on the woman's shoulder, she finally lets go of my throat. I stumble back a few steps and gasp for air. The blonde woman on the couch eyes me with worry in her eyes and my uncle takes a step forward in my direction.

The black-haired woman laughs and mutters something about weakness. She has a proud look on her face. Scared, I look up to my uncle and without a second thought, I storm out of the room. I sprint up the stairs and slam my door closed. Silently, I cast a locking spell and listen for any sound indicating someone followed me.

It stays silent.

Tears well up in my eyes but I quickly whip them away. After checking my reflection in the mirror of my vanity table, I see the marks the woman's nails left on my cheeks. My throat is red, and I can see vague prints the black-haired woman's fingers left.

I decide I'm not staying home any longer today and look around the room. After dimming the lights, I press myself into one of the corners of my room and mutter: "The Burrow."

Before our way parted after I returned from Hogwarts, Fred told me he and George visit home every weekend. Their other brothers do the same as Molly missed them too much when they stay away for too long. Fred told me I was welcome whenever I pleased, insisting Molly wouldn't mind an extra guest, and I decide to take him up on that offer.

When I open my eyes, I'm standing underneath a pair of stairs in the corner of a cozy-looking living room. There are a few armchairs and a sofa near a large fireplace. There are bookshelves piled with books and in the corner, I spot a large, antique clock.

I breathe out relieved when a familiar face runs past me and I hear Ginny yell: "Ron, give it back!"

It's Ron who ran past with Ginny on his heels. They run in circles around the living room and both freeze when they spot me.

Curious, Ginny stares at me and tilts her head slightly. I wave and when Ginny recognizes me, a large smile appears on her face. "Elena!"

Stepping away from under the stairs, I dust off my clothes and smile at the two youngest Weasleys. Ginny's eyes widen a little when she scans my face, and she pushes Ron out of the living room.

"Tell Mum we have an extra guest."

Ron grumbles something before doing as he is told. Ginny turns back to me and grabs my wrist. "Why don't you go to the kitchen? I'm sure Mum will make you a cup of tea when she hears you have arrived."

Ginny leads me to the kitchen of the house. The kitchen is located at the back of the house and through the windows, I can see the garden. There is a large wooden table in the middle of the room with enough room for enough people. There is a similar fireplace to the one in the living room with books stacked on the mantelpiece. Dishes are being done by invisible hands in the sink and there is something baking in the oven that makes the whole room smell delicious. Ginny lets me take a seat and smiles: "I'll grab Fred from upstairs. Wait here, alright?"

Before I have the chance to answer, the girl exits the kitchen. I look around, fidgeting with the hem of my sweater.

It doesn't take long before someone enters the kitchen. Molly looks at me with a bright smile on her face and she pulls me onto my feet to hug me.

"Hello, Elena. Fred didn't mention you would be joining us today!"

I hug Molly back and when we step away from each other, the woman eyes me with a worried expression on her face. I smile at her, but it doesn't seem convincing as the frown on Molly's face deepens.

"Why don't you sit down, dear? I'll make you some tea."

Molly walks over to the shove and a minute later, a cup of tea is placed on the table in front of me. Molly smiles at me and turns back to the stove. As I sip my tea, a plate of cookies is placed on the table.

I sip my tea and eat some of Molly's cookies and slowly, I calm down again. From somewhere in the house, I hear footsteps running down the stairs and it doesn't take long before Fred appears at the entrance to the kitchen.