International Love | Fred Weasley

Chapter 95

My head is pounding when I open my eyes. Bright light makes me squeeze my eyes shut again and slowly, the memories from last night come back to me. Bellatrix, the tortures, Harry, Fred...

My breaths begin to become rapid and I feel my head spinning again. Opening my eyes, I get used to the bright light. Is he alright? I sit upright, He didn't look good yesterday, I need to... I need to see him.

Stepping out of bed, I almost fall over. Grabbing the bedpost to keep my balance, I look around the room. This is not the twin's room. The room I am standing in is smaller and has only one bed. The walls are painted pink and are decorated with several posters. Looking out the window, I can see the orchard.

After kicking out the heels I am still wearing, I make my way to the door barefoot. Carefully, I open the door and when I stumble into the hallway, I hear voiced through the house. From the back of my head, I feel a headache coming up and I need a moment to realize where I am.

Looking around, I recognize the first floor and with difficulty, I walk up the stairs to the room of the twins where Fred, George, and I slept the last few days. When I reach the door of the twin's bedroom, I hear muffled voices on the other side.

Without thinking, I burst through the door.

The first thing I see is Fred sitting upright in his bed. Molly is sitting on the chair that is pulled beside the bed and George is sitting on his own bed, holding two bottles. The three of them look up surprised when I stumble into the room.

Immediately, Molly stands up from the chair and holds out her hand to me. Her facial expression is filled with worry. "Elena, dear, you need to-"

With a shake of my head, I silence her and look at Fred. "Fred, are... are you-"

Taking a step towards the bed, Molly grabs my arms and looks at me with a stern look in her eyes. With a soft voice, she tries again: "Elena, you need to lie down. You were quite startled yesterday."

"I'm fine, fine... yes," I respond quickly with a trembling voice. Turning my attention from Fred to Molly who is blocking my vision, I see her smile a bit unsure at me. Molly scans my face before turning so I can see Fred again.

My boyfriend holds out his hand to me and Molly lets go of me. Walking past the older witch, I accept Fred's outstretched hand and let him pull me into a hug. I lay down on the bed and hug him tightly.

"Hello there, love."

George stands up from his bed, placing the bottles on the nightstand. He shares a look with Molly before heading to the door. Molly keeps looking at Fred and me with a worried frown on her face, but George gently grabs his mother's arms and begins to pull her out of the room.

When the door is closed, I close my eyes and let out a sob. Fred feels so warm and I press my face in his chest. Fred softly caresses my back with his hand and keeps holding me. We lay in silence for a while and when I am calmed down, I look up at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Fred answers softly and I can see him tremble.

As if burned, I immediately let go of him and sit down at the edge of the bed. Wrapping my arms around myself, I say: "You shouldn't have done that, Fred. It-"

"I made a promise, remember?" Fred interrupts. Fidgeting with the hem of the orange dress I am still wearing, I don't look up. Fred continues: "I promised I would protect you in this war and that's what I did."

"But-"

I look up but Fred shakes his head. With one hand, he pulls up the blanket and gestures me to lay down next to him. Slowly and making sure I don't accidentally hurt him, I lay down next to Fred and wrap my arms around him. Placing my head on his chest, I hear my boyfriend say: "I would do it again in a heartbeat, love."

We lay in the bed for a while in silence before I ask: "What happened after- after everything?"

"The Ministry of Magic has been taken over by the Death Eaters," Fred begins. "And some of the other members of the Order have been attacked as well. The parents of Tonks were tortured, and Diggle's house is burned down."

A sigh escapes Fred and he remarks with pride in his voice: "Shacklebolt told Mum and Dad you make the right choice of sending the Death Eaters to Edinburgh. Nobody had an idea where Harry, Hermione, and Ron are and now, the Death Eaters are sent in the wrong direction."

The rest of the day, Fred and I spend in bed. Molly brings us food around lunchtime and Fred and I talk a lot about all sorts of things. George informs me Bill and Fleur have moved to Shell Cottage where they were planning on living. With that news, George also announces he is going to sleep in Bill and Charlie's room from now (with muttering something about 'not wanting to sleep any longer in the same room as that lovey-dovey couple' – his own words).

Around a week later when I am sitting at the breakfast table with Arthur, he asks: "Has Fred returned back to work yet?"

"He did. They wanted to make sure everything is ready before the Hogwarts students head back to school," I answer, looking up from the Daily Prophet I was reading. Arthur nods absentmindedly and takes a sip of his coffee.

It takes a moment before he speaks again: "As you know, I am the Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects."

Looking back up, I nod. Arthur frowns before continuing: "I have been thinking about you."

I raise an eyebrow, thinking about me? Why would he think about me?

"Fred told me you wanted to be a wandmaker," Arthur doesn't seem to notice or acknowledge my confused facial expression, "But when Mr. Ollivander was kidnapped, you stopped working in Diagon Alley."

Perhaps I should go back to work again, I wonder, I could send out some letters to-

"Would you like to become my assistant?"

Arthur's words help me out of my thoughts and I almost choke in the sip of tea I was taking. With wide eyes, I look at Arthur who smiles at me, "It's just a temporary job, but you get paid and when they find Ollivander again, you can go back to working for him."

With a bit of an embarrassed smile, he adds: "And my employees begin to suspect me of losing everything that is important."

I place my cup of tea on the table. Working at the Ministry – something I never thought I would do. I have to admit I quite like the idea of going back to work, Molly is a sweetheart but I begin to feel restless when I am stuck inside all day.

"Don't feel compelled, I thought you would like to have something to do again." Arthur smiles while taking another sip of his coffee. With a smile, I respond: "I would like it very much to become your assistance."

"Well then, congratulations on your new job," Arthur laughs and shakes my hand. An assistant, me? I guess we shall see what it will bring.