Fred
I hadn't even reached Charlie and George when I heard her scream. Loud, bloodcurdling, terrified. I spun back to find her and my sight went red.
It was her father, I was sure of it. The way that Ron had described the Boggart all of those months ago. I was already sprinting back towards them, unsure if she was still screaming or if I would just never get the sound out of my head from this point on.
I didn't even think to reach for my wand, my only thought was reaching them. Getting him away from her. I was now only a few more steps away and I could see the blood. It leaked from her nose and dripped down her chin onto her pale yellow shirt as his bloodied fist collided with her face once more, letting her fall to the ground as I reached them, shoving the man hard to the ground.
"Get the fuck. Away from her!" I screamed, my fist striking his face on almost every word before I felt hands pulling me back up. "Stop! Stop! I'm gonna kill him!" I howled, not taking my eyes off of the mans face, now claiming more blood than his daughters.
"Fred! Get Cassidy. Get Cassidy!" George shook me, locking eyes with mine and pushing me slightly towards the blonde lying on the ground struggling to sit back up.
My jaw was numb from how hard my teeth were grinding against each other as I watched Charlie and George prop the gray haired man up, Charlie pulling his wand from his jacket pocket while George held him down.
"Cassidy." I muttered, pulling her into my lap and starting to wipe the blood from her skin before hearing her whimper in pain. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her body.
"Get the fuck away from me you freaks!" Mr. Olsen shouted from behind my brothers. "That is my daughter, who ran away from home and I will punish her however I see fit-"
I turned to face them when I heard the smack of skin, watching George wipe blood from the back of his hand onto his jeans.
"Shut up." He muttered as Charlie aimed his wand in the mans face.
"Confundo." He said clearly, letting the man fall backwards onto the grass and crossing to me and Cass. "Let's go, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you help."
Charlie and George grabbed onto our shoulders, our bodies colliding with the gravel of the road outside.
"Mum!" George shouted as I scooped Cassidy into my arms, trying not to let myself freak out that she wasn't making any sound anymore.
"What's wrong, dear? Where have you- Good God." Her face went white as her eyes landed on us, blood covering three out of the four. "What happened?"
I followed her through the doorway and into the family room, laying Cassidy onto the couch and taking half a step back, giving my mother space to help her.
"Took her to see her brother's grave." I started, feeling like I hadn't had a full breath since I had left her side at the cemetery. "Her father... must have been waiting for her. I looked away... not even five minutes,"
"It's not your fault, Freddie. Her nose is broken, and she might have some bruises left for just a few days, but she's going to be fine."
"M'okay." Cassidy mumbled, struggling to open her eyes as they were beginning to swell up from the force of her broken nose.
"Yes, you're fine dear. I'm going to fix your nose, okay?" Mum offered her best attempt at a smile and I dropped to the floor in front of the couch, grabbing at Cassidy's hand even though I knew she wouldn't need it.
"Episky." Mum spoke under her breath and Cass let out a small whine that I doubt anyone but the three of us heard.
"What the hell is going on?" Charlie shouted, looking from between George and my faces, apparently finally catching up from the whirlwind of the last fifteen minutes.
"Fred, take her to rest." Mum nodded towards her bedroom door as Bill, Ron and Ginny entered the room at the sound of Charlie's raised voice.
"No, no, I'm okay." She interrupted, trying to sit up, my hands pressing into her shoulder lightly to stop her.
"Honey, I really must insist. You've been through a lot. We'll come get you for dinner, okay? Fred?" She nodded at me pointedly and I grabbed her hand, pulling her through the white faces of my siblings and up to the bathroom to clean her up.
I set her on the counter in the bathroom just as I had last time she was hurt, careful not to grab too hard, worried about what bruises were forming underneath her clothes. I flipped on the water and waited a few seconds for it to heat up while I grabbed a washcloth.
"No kisses this time, don't get any ideas." I muttered, not feeling up to a joke but not being able to stand the silence any longer.
"You're quite funny." She winced as I pressed the warm cloth to her skin, wiping gently to try and get the blood off. "I can just shower, Freddie, it'll be much quicker."
"I..." I shook my head, not knowing what I was going to say but knowing I didn't want to let her out of my sight again. "It's my fault, least I can do is help clean you up."
"How is this your fault?" She tried to pull away from the cloth which was turning a dark red at this point.
"It was stupid of me to take you there this week, stupid of me to leave you alone, I should have checked around us, I was so stupid-"
I stopped as her hand grabbed mine, her fingers tracing the blood painting my knuckles.
"Not your fault. His fault." She breathed. "Do your hands hurt?"
I chuckled, wringing out the washcloth and turning back to face her.
"You're asking me if I'm hurt?"
She nodded and I finally let myself smile again now that her face looked almost back to normal.
"Such a Hufflepuff."
I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her gently to the ground, gesturing for her to lead the way out.
"You can come rest in my room, if you want." I shrugged, "It's closer."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly, it's indecent-" She smirked, letting me pull her through the door and into the bed we had climbed out of this morning.
"I really am sorry, Cassidy."
She shook her head vigorously as she arranged the blankets over us, settling down under my arm.
"I needed to see Tommy before school. It was good."
I was sure she was lying. That she would take it back if she could. I would take it back if I could. I told her he couldn't find her, couldn't get to her, and he did. Right in front of me.
"I was going to kill him."
"Yes, I heard that." She replied.
"He deserves it."
She didn't answer. Simply took in a deep breath and let her eyes shut and I didn't open my mouth again, letting her fall into a much needed sleep.
Cassidy
I jolted awake from my spot on the couch where I must have drifted off some time after lunch. Fred and George were going over some papers across the room, Fred catching my eye as I tried to catch my breath.
It had been two days since we'd come back from the Cemetery and I hadn't had a peaceful rest since. It was as if I was back home, never trusting myself to fall into any sort of deep sleep.
"The muggles are letting Harry come!" Ron shouted from the kitchen where he held a short piece of parchment while Pigwidgeon zoomed around near his feet.
"As if they had a choice." George scoffed.
"Can we floo to pick him up, Dad? We want to meet his family!" Fred insisted, an innocent smile plastered on his face that I for one was not buying.
"Yes, I do think that's the best option." Arthur nodded from his seat at the kitchen table where he had been reading today's Daily Prophet.
"You can't all go, you know that. The muggles won't want their home filled with kids that aren't their own." Molly said, shooting a look at Arthur as if to remind him who they were dealing with. "Ron, you ought to go get your room ready if he's coming tomorrow, and Ginny and Cassidy have you made up some room for Hermione? She should be here any time now."
"Charlie got her bed up for us, but we'll go make it now." Ginny nodded excitedly, jumping from her spot on the sofa and waiting for me to catch up before we headed towards our shared room.
"Does Hermione usually stay in your room when she's here?" I asked as the two of us pulled sheets out from the overfilled linen closet.
"Oh, yeah. It's nice having another girl in the house, I'm sure you're starting to feel outnumbered like I do?" She chuckled, pulling her half of the fitted sheet over the mattress opposite me.
I shrugged, honestly not even having noticed the lack of girls around the house. I was used to being around only boys until I had gotten to Hogwarts, but even then I always knew I would be going back home and leaving my temporary sisters behind until the next fall.
"I'm sorry it's going to be so cramped because of me." I stood back and looked around Ginny's once spacious seeming room, the floor barely visible under the three beds and two dressers lining the walls.
"No, don't be!" She looked up shocked. "I've seriously loved having you here this summer, Cassidy. I've always wanted a sister."
"Hermione's here!" The twins shouted from outside of our room and we instantly heard Ron's footsteps pounding down the stairs above us.
"Mione!" Ginny enveloped the girl in a hug and I stood behind the group as they reunited. Hermione looked different since the last day of term. I wasn't sure if it was just that she must have gotten caught up on her sleep and had no longer been working herself to death, but her eyes and skin looked brighter and even her curls which had usually been frizzy or tangled last year now laid more neatly at her shoulders.
"Hi Hermione, it's good to see you." I smiled as Ginny grabbed her trunk from her, struggling to carry it just a few feet before Fred swooped in to take it from her.
"I'll put this in the room for you, Granger." He shot me a smile as the three of us followed him into our bedroom.
"What have you been up to all summer?" Ginny asked, dropping onto her mattress and staring wide eyed at our new roommate.
"Started reading through most of the books, it looks like we're in for an interesting year Cass. My parents and I went camping for a long weekend, but other than that it was a bit boring. I bet you all had loads of fun here?"
Ginny shook her head with a shrug and I laughed.
"It's been loads of fun, but we're so excited you're here now. And for the Quidditch cup, right Gin?" I reminded the girl, who had to have been the most excited for the game out of the three of us.
"Oh, yes, I've been waiting all summer for this. It's the first Cup Britain's hosted in thirty five years." Ginny rambled on as Hermione and I shared a look.
"Harry arrives tomorrow I heard, right Gin?" Hermione asked, shooting the red head a knowing look as she stopped mid-sentence.
"Er, yes, tomorrow. They're getting him at 5. Yep." She stammered and I shot Hermione a confused look.
"Ginny's had a crush on Harry since the day he walked in here." She explained, Ginny's face burning red to match her hair.
"Hermione, it's not a crush! He's the boy who lived, I was just surprised he was in my kitchen!" She tossed her pillow straight at Hermione's head, causing the three of us to burst into laughter. "Besides, wait until you see Fred and Cassidy."
It was my turn to blush red, my stomach clenching up as both girls whipped their heads towards me.
"You and Fred?" Hermione squealed and I ran towards her bed, my hands moving to cover her mouth before the entire house heard her words.
"There's no 'me and Fred,' Ginny's seeing things." I shot her a glare which she ignored, a cheerful smile on her face.
"Not just seeing them, I hear things too. From Georgie."
"What have you heard? Just spit it out, or i'll have to ask the twins myself." Hermione whined as the door opened to our bedroom.
"Ask us what?" George asked from his place in the doorway next to Fred.
"Nothing!" I answered quickly.
"Ever heard of knocking?" Ginny asked, moving to slam the door on the boys.
"Dinner's ready, mum told us to get you lot." Fred held his hands up as if to shield his face from any possible attack from Ginny.
"She'll tell us later. We'll get it out of her." Ginny muttered as we follow the boys towards the kitchen.