International Love | Fred Weasley

Chapter 106

George offers his arm to Flora and Fred wraps his arm around my waist. I barely have the time to grab his coat before he apparates us away. When I open my eyes again, we are standing in a small, humid room. I frown when the smell of mold fills my nose. George and Flora appear a moment later and from upstairs, I hear some voices.

Fred places a hand on the lower part of my back and lightly pushes me towards the stairs. Carefully trying not to bump my head against the low ceiling, I climb up the old stairs. After walking through the door at the end of it, I step into a familiar-looking pub. An older wizard is standing in the corner but I hear a girl gasp and when I turn my head, I spot Ginny.

"Hello there, Elena," I hear someone say and after hugging Ginny, I see Lee who flashes me a smile. The man standing behind him mutters something about a peaceful night and with a shake of his head, he walks to a painting of a young woman who smiles at him. The man pulls the painting open like some sort of door and on the other side of the painting appears a dark tunnel. Lee thanks the older wizard before climbing into the tunnel.

"Thank you," I smile at the older wizard while walking past him to the tunnel where Ginny has also disappeared into. With Fred's help, I climb up and begin to walk into the darkness. Halfway, I hear Fred behind me whisper: "I am right behind you, love."

At the end of the tunnel, I see light and when I reach the other end, I end up in a room filled with students, hammocks, and three banners on the wall: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. I notice the green banner of Slytherin is missing and wonder if this is some sort of hide-out.

"Aberforth begins to get grumpy," Fred says while he greets the group of students with a wave of his hand, "He would like to sleep, but people keep marching through his pub."

Around us, students laugh and I spot a brown-haired girl among them. "Hermione!"

Hermione looks up and when she sees me, she rushes towards me. Hugging her tightly, I ask the younger witch: "How have you been? Are you alright?"

"What is the plan, Harry?" George asks Harry who looks a bit confused to see us all here. Harry shakes his head and says with a stern voice: "There is no plan."

"So we will see when the time comes?" Fred interrupts while his characteristic smile appears on his face. He looks at me, winks, and remarks to Harry: "That's the spirit!"

Hermione steps away from me to Ron and Harry. Around me, different students begin to discuss a plan of attack and from the corner of my eye, I see Ron and Harry discuss something with Hermione. Besides me, I notice Flora look around with furrowed eyebrows at some of the students. When I follow her gaze, I notice quite a lot of students have injuries.

On the other side of me, Fred and George are telling jokes to the students that are standing next to them. The students laugh a bit harder than appropriate, and I suddenly realize they must have been hiding here for quite a while. Amycus and Alecto must have been punishing them as Neville told me during Halloween.

"Alright!" Harry calls out and everyone becomes quiet again, "We need to find something that is located here at Hogwarts. We think it has something to do with Rowena Ravenclaw."

His eyes shift to me and a couple of Ravenclaws standing behind me. I shrug and mutter: "I am sorry, I only went to school here for two years and I have no idea what you are talking about."

Luna does have an answer: "You must be talking about the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw – I've told you about that. Remember?"

Another Ravenclaw snorts and remarks: "That's the problem – it's lost."