Sylvia's boot was stuck in the mud. Right behind the house, just before the pathway leading to the side of the side door. Her foot sunk all the way down, sucked in up past her ankle. She could see the white edge of her socks turning brown as mud seeped in like blood. Fred and George were laughing, on the verge of tears, giggling every time she tried to tug herself out only to feel the ground suction to her foot and pull her further in.
"Stop laughing and help me." She said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she was. She didn't know exactly why she was annoyed, but she had to hold herself back from snapping at the two of them, from sending seething glares their way while they acted like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
"Isn't there a fucking spell for this?" She said mostly to herself, the volume of her voice raising slightly at the end. It was enough to shut the boys up. She tugged once more with all her might, only to hear the ground lurch beneath her and suck her another two inches deeper. She could feel them exchanging a glance. "Before you say anything, yes, I am on my period and I do not feel like hearing any bloody quips from either of you. So don't even think about saying anything snarky right now."
She finally looked up at them and they both raised their hands in unison surrender, eyebrows raised and lips sealed. Huffing a quick sigh through her nose, her eyes flicked between them impatiently.
"Are you going to stand there like a couple idiots or are you going to help me?"
George scoffed, and opened his mouth to throw back some word of retort, but Fred spoke before he could, smiling knowingly at Sylvie as he stepped towards her.
"Come on George, don't want to look like a couple of idiots, do we?"
He put one of her arms around his neck and George reluctantly did the same. They lifted her with relative ease, and the three of them stumbled back slightly, watching as the mud ate Sylvia's right shoe, leaving her foot dressed only in a white sock, the ankle brown and wet. She wanted to cry, watching it get swallowed whole like a bog body, left to become preserved for hundreds of years until it would be found by some archaeologist who would display this lone boot in a museum along with the other odds and ends lost in the mud.
"My boot," she croaked.
This was a particularly bad month. It felt like someone had grabbed an ovary in each fist and was squeezing and twisting them like stress balls, every once in a while delivering a kick to her uterus, just for fun. She was surprised she hadn't been meaner towards the twins. She laid in bed for the rest of the day, curled into a fetal position, holding a pillow against her stomach as she drifted in and out of sleep. She slept through dinner and only woke up when Fred came in well past dark.
"A right sight you are," he said as he leaned down to pull her hair from her face, receiving a groan of pain in return, "Well at least we know you aren't pregnant."
This coaxed a tight chuckle from Sylvia, just enough to bring a smile to her lips as she hugged the pillow closer. One more cramp, she thought, and she'd tear it in half. She closed her eyes and felt Fred sit on the bed, his hand still lingering near her face, brushing back her hair over her shoulder and behind her ear. She let out a long sigh and blindly reached out, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down to her. He laughed, a low hum at the back of his throat as he propped his elbow up next to her, their chests touching when she moved onto her back. His lips were warm and dry, and he kissed her gently, her mouth, her jaw, that spot right below her ear, down her neck, pressing his lips into her hot skin. She moved the pillow from between them and used her knee to guide him on top of her, holding his hips between her legs.
"Have you ever had sex with someone while they were on period?" She asked in a small whisper, feeling her chest rise and fall as he pulled down the neck of her shirt with his finger and his mouth brushed over her collar bones.
He shook his head, kissing down her sternum until her shirt couldn't stretch any further.
"Do you want to have sex?" He asked into the skin on her chest.
She felt her body adjust against his, her back arching slightly as she took a measured breath.
"I don't feel weird about it, Syl." The tips of his fingers left swirls of tingles as he brushed them in circles over her chest, "But it's alright if you do. We don't have to do anything."
"Well I'm really fucking horny right now." She whispered, receiving a quiet giggle from Fred.
He kissed her, grinning against her lips, "Let's fix that, then."
She didn't know what to expect, but it was strange. It was uncomfortable at first, and she let out a tight moan as Fred dropped his head onto her shoulder, looking back at her as his breath caught in his throat.
"You alright?"
She nodded and swallowed, closing her eyes as he moved back and forth against her again. The ache in her abdomen eased and felt a sweet relief wash over her. Her grip around him tightened and her nails began to curl into his shoulder blades as she let her breathe release and turn into light moans.
"Should I put a charm on the room?" He whispered, his breath already heavy and steaming against her cheek. She nodded quickly, and she could hear him pick up his wand from the bedside table and mumble "cave inimicum".
"Test it," she said so quickly, he didn't hear her.
"Hm?"
"Test it. I'm not taking any chances with the things I'm about to say from here on out."
He laughed out loud and cleared his throat, "Uh. Mum? Dad?"
"Don't call for your parents!" Sylvia hissed, widening her eyes at him, "That's who you want me to think of while you're literally inside of me?"
He guffawed and called out again, only much louder.
"Stop it!" She reached up to cover his mouth with her hand, and the two of them listened for any response, only met with the low creak of the house settling.
Fred licked against her palm and she recoiled her hand from his face, wiping it on his chest as he dipped down to kiss her, "Better?" He asked.
She nodded, wrapping her arms back around him, as he grinned devilishly at her, "So you'll take your chances with what you say from here on out now?"
"If you behave."
She liked feeling him smile when he kissed her, it was incredibly satisfying somehow.
"No promises."
He started again, and Sylvie pulled him to her chest, their chins resting on each other's shoulders. He kissed her neck, and said "fuck" when she crossed her legs around him so he was all the way inside her. He lifted his head to kiss her, but their breath kept coming out in laboured pants and the could only breathe into each other's open mouths.
Sylvia felt tears fall from the outer corner of her eyes when she came. She wiped them away and tried to hide her eyes with her forearm, but Fred noticed.
"Sorry," she laughed at herself, "I don't know why I'm crying."
"Is everything okay?" He asked, "You're not like, in pain, are you?"
She shook her head and smiled up at him, "God, no. It was great."
Fred raised his eyebrows, "So good that it made you cry?"
She laughed, feeling her cheeks burn. A slow smile grew on his face and he bit down on his lower lip smugly.
"Oh stop." Sylvia slapped his chest, "Don't think you're some sex god because of this."
He kissed her again, keeping his face close so their lips brushed against each other when he spoke, "I don't have to think anything. Didn't you tell me once that I was the only person who's made you finish?"
She didn't respond, but looked between his eyes, shrugging a shoulder off-handedly. "Maybe," she said, letting her hands inch up towards his face, her finger trailing over his mouth. He blinked, and his grin dropped slightly, his tongue pressed against the back of his teeth. "But no one's ever been able to make me finish twice in a row."
She smiled as she said it, unable to take herself seriously. And Fred smiled too, "Challenge accepted."
"Was it weird that we did that?" Sylvia asked him in the bathroom, their hair still wet from the shower.
"Why would it be weird?" Fred said with a mouthful of toothpaste.
She shrugged, running her fingertips up and down over her bare arm, "Do you think other couples are having period sex all the time?"
He spat in the sink and rinsed his mouth, "Mm. Maybe not all the time. Why do you care what other couples' sex lives are like?"
Sylvia felt her hand go up to tug at her bottom lip and she laughed self-consciously, "I don't know."
His hand found her waist and he pulled her over so she was standing in front of him, facing the mirror. He moved her hair to kiss her shoulder and reached his hand around her to brush his knuckles against her jaw. She wished he would undo her towel and touch her all over in front of the mirror, to show her what she looked like when she came.
She found his eyes in the mirror, letting out a long sigh, "Sometimes I think I'm too horny."
Fred snorted out a laugh and Sylvia grinned back at him.