AN
Here's a new chapter loves, a long one at that, making up for the week without any updates. My last exam is Friday, so this weekend announces itself to be quite prolific.
Thank you so much for reading, do feel free to react and comment, it means so much to me when you do. Now without further ado, enjoy the sweet moments between Sarah and Fred. I know I do love writing them ;)
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The following few days had been spent unsuccessfully planning.
Hogwarts had started, everyone's minds were kind of stuck on the friends they knew would go there, Ginny, Neville, Dean, Luna, Seamus. There were far away from Diagon Alley, but Dobby had come by to drop off newspapers so they could be aware of what is happening outside. Not that they were trusting the information, but just to be certain the main title 'HARRY POTTER NR.1 UNDESIRABLE' was still being printed.
Hermione was sleep deprived, Sarah could see it written all across her face, staring at her cup of tea in the kitchen, ruminating on how to get a set of teenagers into the Ministry.
"Please sleep, Mione," she pleaded. "Nothing good will come out of it if you're too exhausted to function."
"I know," she breathed out, let her head fall into her hands. Hermione rubbed her eyes and when she looked up again, they were bloodshot from tiredness but also holding back frustrated tears. "I have to figure it out."
"We will figure it out. You're not alone anymore, lovey," Selena walked in and told her. Sarah and Hermione turned to stare at her, silently questioning her choice of words.
"Lovey?" wondered Sarah as if reading Hermione's thoughts.
Selena scoffed at her, "Okay, I tried something, but I can't pull it off, I'm sorry." She shrugged and took a seat next to Hermione, poured herself a cup of tea as well. "What matters is we need a way in. And the only way in is through workers nowadays. Can't we use a Confundus charm or something?"
Hermione let out a small whimper and sniffed softly, "I dunno. I'm so tired, I don't even remember the wand movement for the charm." She dipped her head low and rested in on her hands, making Sarah and Selena look at each other and agree that it was time they used force to make their friend sleep.
With weak protests from Hermione, they led her onto the couch, warned the boys to keep quiet for the rest of the evening.
_
The surroundings were ice cold, she was back. The moon was shining grayer, like deprived of joy as well. It hit the small metal barrier just above the stone walls and now Sarah had woken up. She didn't believe it at first but she was shivering, the temperature had dropped again. She was confused, she couldn't have hallucinated getting out, she remembered Draco coming down here, Dobby getting her to Fred. But when she looked around, it was like she'd never left. The bucket of water was as she left it, she was wearing her pale green dress, ripped up, dirtied.
The stone froze her feet with every step she took, they began hurting, she felt like stepping onto needles every time her toes touched the ground.
That feeling of sickness overtook her once again, making her feel powerless, forgotten, weak, completely alone.
Alone. Because Ollivander wasn't there either. Did they kill him while she was asleep? Will they kill her, too?
Suddenly someone grabbed her arms from behind, started shaking her aggressively, "You left me! You left me!"
The shrieking voice was Ollivander's, he made her turn and Sarah saw he looked half-dead, face green, eyes hollow, empty, a ghost haunting her, blaming her. His white hair caught the light while he screamed at her.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
The ground swept off her feet and she was in Crouch's office again, seeing his sneer as he burnt her, she was before the Boggart, seeing Fred dead, she was at the hospital with the attacked member, she was on the ground after Bellatrix blew up the Training facility, she was at the Ministry and struck by the Crucio Curse, her throat raw from screaming and paralyzed, she was behind her mother that night in Godric's Hollow, seeing Voldemort getting closer to her, and closer, and closer while Ollivander was still screaming, "YOU'RE A PROTECTOR! YOU'RE A PROTECTOR! You're supposed to protect! You failed! You let me die! You let them die!"
She saw Dumbledore fall off the Astronomy Tower, Harry dead, Hermione dead, Ron dead, her parents dead, Sirius dead, Remus dead, Selena dead, George dead, Tonks dead, Fred dead, herself still standing, looking at their bodies and hollow eyes lined up, a voice hissing into her hear, "You let them die."
"No, I didn't! You killed them!"
"You. Let. Them. Die. You weren't there, you got away, left them behind, just like Ollivander."
"No, no," her eyes settled upon Fred, shaking her head, tears streaming down her face, "Not him, please. No! Fred!"
Sarah jolted up, broke away from Fred's arms which got him to wake up immediately. She scanned every inch of the living room everyone was sleeping in while hyperventilating, tears threatening to fall. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her against his chest, "Breathe with me, Sarah."
She whimpered quietly and trembled while he squeezed her arms gently to get her blood flowing and warm her up. After a moment she settled down, following his deep breaths in and out, her heartbeat slowing down to get in synch with his she felt against her back.
She let out a shaky breath, rested her head back against his chest, turned to the side to whisper against his ear, "I'm so sorry."
Fred shook his head, spoke softly into her ear, "You have nothing to apologize for, love. I've got you."
She put her hands over his, taking in long and deep breaths, trying to not wake anyone else up with her night terror. "Go back to sleep, Freddie."
She made him lean back again and when he was settled down, she slowly got up, stepped lightly until she got to the stairs, trying to not wake up anybody else. Of course Fred didn't listen, he followed in her steps up to an unoccupied room a couple stories up.
"McCauley-"
"I left him there," she blurted, her head snapping towards him when she realized he had come after her.
"What?" Fred squinted his eyes, the moon shined brightly through the window, he stepped to the left to get it out of his eyes.
"Ollivander," Sarah rubbed her temples, ran her fingers through her hair anxiously, "I left him- I- He could be dead-"
Fred was confused, his mind still foggy, and definitely not following her frantic pacing around the room. And that she could see. "Go back to sleep, Weasley," she said softly, turning away from him. "I'm sorry I woke you-"
He sighed loudly and it made her stop talking, "I'm not going back to sleep. Come here," he took a few steps towards her with his arms open and she met him halfway.
"He was chained," he croaked gently, pulling her into his arms, "You couldn't have done anything. Getting out was the best thing you could've done. You're helping here. They're onto two Horcruxes. And I won't lie to you—even though it is a bit selfish," he kissed her hair and up and down her neck gently, "I'm really glad you're back."
She hugged him and stayed in his arms for a while. Her mind had betrayed her once again, taking her back there, overflowing with her worst fears although she should be clear of them, being home and safe. She cupped the side of his face, pressed a soft kiss below his ear. "I don't want to go back to sleep."
"It's okay, you don't have to. We'll just watch the sunrise," he assured her with a small smile and stroked her hair, trying his best to comfort her, felt how her body relaxed slowly while he held her.
Sarah kissed below his ear again, tangled her fingers through his hair. "I don't want to go back to sleep," she repeated. After that quietly spoken statement, she trailed her lips over his neck knowingly, slowly, taking on a quite specific pathway that he'd missed tremendously.
Fred's breath caught, now understanding what she'd meant before and he slid his hand into her hair without a second thought so he could keep her there, then ordered himself to stay put, "McCauley-"
"I just want to forget about everything for a while," she ran her fingernails through the small hairs at the back of his head. His defenses were already down when nibbled on his earlobe and whispered almost tearfully, "I need this, I need you. Please."
Fred twisted his arm around her and angled her head up to meet her eyes, "I'll give you anything you want, anything you need," he murmured before capturing her lips earnestly, with such devotion and care that she felt herself lean against him, his kiss short cutting every her nerve.
"I love you," she whispered against his lips, clinging onto his neck.
Fred felt the world die down in that moment, he only kissed her deeper, showing her how much he loved her with that kiss, his tongue grazing over her lips, getting a soft sigh out of her. There was no putting into words what that did to him, but he still tried, his voice deep and raspy like it usually is when he wakes up, only now sleep was the last thing he wanted. He'd reached that spot on her neck, gathering some of her hair into a loosely formed fist whenever she breathed out a gasp. He took his time with every touch, keeping in mind her emotional and physical scars. "Are you sure, darling?"
She melted into his hold, the warmth and safe heaven his arms were creating around her and how the touch of his lips was tangling every rational thought of hers did that to her. Fred didn't stop kissing her awaiting her answer, he knew at the very least what he was doing helped bring some ease to her mind.
"Yes," she breathed out, managed to form a full thought and she slid her hands over his neck, looked up at him, eyes fierce, puffy lips and flushed cheeks, "Absolutely." She brought him down and kissed him ardently, made him step backwards towards the bed. It wasn't made, no one had stepped inside this room for long time.
"Are we crazy for doing this in a dusty room with all the people downstairs?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
Fred grinned, "Absolutely. Which makes it so much better." Suddenly his feet hit the bed's wooden board and his knees flexed, grabbed onto her arms as he fell down. They chuckled, Fred taking in the delicate shape of her smile, her hair flowing down and tickling his nose.
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his gaze scrutinizing every inch of her face, completely in awe of this woman before him, wanting him, loving him. He couldn't put it into words, and if he tried or thought about it too long his heart might just explode. "I don't think there are words to capture how much I love you, it's so powerful it's just...impossible," he crooned, his neck strained so he could keep contemplating her, his arm slowly sneaking around her, holding her so dearly. "You're so gorgeous." With that he pressed soft kisses over her clothes on whatever part of her he could reach from where he was standing.
He needed to be close to her, he had thought of nothing else, seeing her being taken away almost drove him mad. They stayed glued to each other the last few days, it was more of a need than anything, fingers intertwined, knees touching, Fred drawing small circles on her thigh, Sarah kissing the little dimple below his temple whenever he smiled fully, happening a whole lot since she was back.
Now was a different kind of closeness, needed to a point where it became all-consuming, "And you are simply wonderful," she mused, thankful for the bright glare of the moon. Because she could see his amber eyes, the starry sky outside the window seemed to be a mere reflection of them, they were rich, like they held the world. Freckles dusting over his face, she made a mental note to deposit a kiss on every single one. She brushed her thumb over his cheeks where the freckles lay, his eyebrows, saying with her hands, her touch everything her words failed to.
She set a leg on either side of him and straddled him. "You have the most adorable face, I don't tell you that enough," she said with a soft chuckle.
"Do I, really?" Fred grinned fully, bring her flush against him.
"Yes," she pressed a soft kiss on his nose, then up his cheek on his dimple, "Really."
"If I say something snarky will you get mad and stop saying things like that to me?"
"Yes."
Fred pouted, "Dammit."
"But I'll make it worth your while, Weasley," she winked at him and reached between them to hook a finger under the hem of his shirt, slowly lifted it.
She pushed him on his back, her hands pressing against his bare skin while her lips trailed over his jawline, leaving small nips on her way down to his neck. Every soft groan from Fred was stirring up her confidence, she hadn't felt this alive in a long time, grateful for this drop of peace beneath the fading moonlight, leaving its place to the sun unbeknownst to them.
"You are a daydream, Weasley," she whispered into his ear. Keeping her promise from a few moments before, aware he liked to hold a casual and cheeky facade, but deep down, whenever she gave him a compliment he would bite down a crawling blush. "You know there's a pattern in your freckles that I could map out in my sleep and I love it."
The sound Fred let out whenever she said something made her breathless, smile and dizzy at the same time, his hands took in the shape of her while she talked, a small voice at the back of his head still aware how it was more frail, promising himself he'll do whatever he can to rectify that.
"If you're trying to kill me, you're going about it the right way," he rasped, stroking her thigh gently and rocked her against him. Under her fingertips she could feel his pulse, his heart beating, more like thumping against his chest, much alike her own. She leaned down to whisper in his ear again in between kisses down his neck, every word giving him yet another reason to lose his mind. His hand grazed over the skin under her shirt, falling loosely on her shoulders, its fabric slightly bunched up between them. He caught a sliver of skin that didn't look bruised anymore, the Weasleys' bruise removal had worked, thankfully. Her voice was still echoing in his mind, sending it into a frenetic whirlwind.
He slid both hands up over her bare waist and pressed her against his chest, "Please keep talking." She chuckled softly at his plea, her breath catching inside her throat at his touch. The hot breath against his ear was enough for him to understand what she wanted, and her t-shirt flew back. The contact of her skin against his was enough to send him over the edge, he found himself taking a full breath in and staying still for a few seconds, just holding her.
She nudged his jaw with her nose, breathed out his name in some kind of a pleading whimper and slowly rocked her hips and it was all he could do not to go mental. Instead his hand traveled purposefully over her, minding he keeps his promise that he will indeed give her anything she wants, make her forget about the world for a while. He swiftly laid her on her back, completely melted at the small surprised laugh she let out. He angled her jaw to capture her lips, and muffle their husky breaths. "Godric, you're beautiful," was all the language he could parse before the sight of her, hair fanned out, fierce look in her eyes. It will never cease to amaze him that these moments are his.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, she gently trapped his lower lip between her teeth and deepened the kiss. She felt the corner of his mouth twitch, nothing on their minds except urgency and each other, retrieving into the privative world designed for them both. Hopeless, breathless, burning slow. A pure fire, wild and daring, all consuming yet through it only they seemed to breathe in properly once again. A beautiful chaos that somehow fit together perfectly.
His head rested in the nook of her neck, and Fred looked at her lovingly with a soft smile he reserves for her only, catching her breath and flushed, her curls all out of place, another sight of her he felt privileged to know. He let his eyes fluttered closed from the way her fingers felt through his hair.
Sarah turned her head and saw him with his eyes closed, smiled dearly and lingered, contemplated his face, eyelashes brushing over his cheeks and that particular pattern in his freckles that made her swoon, although she'll never tell him that.
"It's rude to stare, McCauley," he mumbled, then opened a single eye and smiled playfully. This kind of remarks being the reason.
She chuckled and reached for their clothes, because it was an early morning in London after all and also in case anyone noticed they were missing and went wandering around. "I don't care, leave me be. And go back to sleep. We both know you can't function without at least eight hours."
Fred remained shirtless because he wasn't really cold, and wanted to feel as much of her as he could. He locked her between his arms, their legs intertwined, she resumed playing with his hair. "I don't want to go back to sleep," he said, "I'll be missing out on snogging my gorgeous girlfriend," he grinned, hand still closed around her waist under her shirt and he slowly brought her to face him.
"Oh, my bad, is she around?" She turned away from him to look around the room.
Fred crashed her against him with a sultry smile, "Stop it and kiss me."
As soon as he got the words out, their smiling lips met into a deep and tender kiss. Fred keeping a delicate hold on her face and she wrapped a leg around him, fighting a small smile and savoring his kiss she dearly missed.
After a while she felt his lips stop moving completely, his head tilting a bit to the side like he'd fallen asleep suddenly and she pulled away, confused at what had happened.
"Did you just fall asleep?" she whispered disbelievingly and mouth agape.
"Weasley."
Nothing.
"Fred!"
Nothing.
Fred fought with everything he had not to burst out laughing, and when he felt he might give the little prank a bit of a stretch, he opened an eye and flashed her a bright grin, "I'm only joking."
She squinted at him, "I can't believe you."
"Oh, come on, it was funny." He had a glint in his eyes like every time he pulls a prank or messes with someone, like he just did something he loves and it shows. He leaned in to capture her lips again, but she didn't kiss him back, it was extremely unsettling. "What are you-" He gently kissed her lips a couple times, nothing changed, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. You were so hilarious that I simply died from it," she said mockingly, "You might have just found a new slogan, 'Fred Weasley: killing comedian. Literally.' I can see it already, people lining up to see it, word getting out throughout all England, men are envious, women swoon, all for a prodigy otherwise known as bloody Gred."
When she was done with her little fit, she looked back at Fred who was staring with a dense and intense expression at her. It made her raise an eyebrow at him quizzically. "What? Oh, don't tell me you've also killed yourself. That's a new kind of self centeredness."
"You smug pain in the arse," he blurted pointedly, "Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?"
That made her miss a beat, she was expecting anything but that, "Y-What?"
"You heard me," he smirked and turned to set her under him, pressed hot, open mouth kisses down her neck.
She chuckled, still a bit confused, "I don't think you understand how this works—I-" she let out a content sigh, it wasn't fair he knew exactly how to kiss her, "I'm mad at you, Weasley."
"Yes I know, keep it up," he reached down to wrap her legs around him, the golden specks in his eyes flickering wildly, "Be mean and smug again."
She frowned, crystal clear irascibility on her face, "No! Seriously?"
He let out a hoarse groan, like that just added fuel to the fire, "You're just perfect. Sexy frown and everything." He kissed her skin in that goofy, cute, yet needy way and it made her chuckle softly.
"Am I amusing you?" he asked, pulling away to look at her with a light smirk.
"Just a bit," she breathed out through a heartfelt laughter and set her hands over his jaw, "Mostly endearing, though." She tightened the grip of her legs around him, caused his lips to collide with hers in a sharp breath and from that moment on she simply saw stars.
_
Electrified in the afterglow, they watched the sun go up, her back against his chest and curled up in his arms, looking enchanted through the window at the tall and slim buildings of London, coated with the golden light. She could see far away windows, it was peaceful, like a quiet before a storm.
"Do you ever think this could be it? The end of it all?" she queried. "Of the world as we know it?"
"Well, that's gloomy," sassed Fred, a soft breath of hot air against her neck. "But it hasn't been all light and shiny lately, I can say that much. I just-" his voice faded for a second, "I just want us to make it. Good wins. That's how it works. That's how it has to work. I have to believe that. Otherwise what's even the point?"
"Well...Life sometimes has a way of working with a perfect amount of cruelty. Not enough to kill you but just enough to make you wish it had," she confided, a slight pinch at her heart.
Fred knowing her well enough to understand what she was talking about, he gently wrapped his fingers around her marked forearm and brushed his lips over her temple, nudged it with his nose. "We'll fight with everything we have. And pray it's enough."
She nodded and intertwined her fingers with his, placed a kiss at the back of his hand, "I love you."
Fred dipped his head to look at her and brushed his lips over her cheek, "I love you, Sarah, so much." He turned her head and reached her lips, murmured it again against them before going back to lying in that bed and looking through the window.
After a moment she realized he hadn't said or done anything stupid or funny, which made her wonder what he was thinking about, but when she turned to him, she saw his eyes were closed.
She knew he wasn't faking it this time so she simply let him be, he was unbelievably adorable. And just as she thought it wasn't possible for that scale to break, he twisted his arms in his sleep and pulled her closer, rested his head against hers.
Her heart soared and she kissed the back of his hand she was still holding, "Sleep well, my love," she whispered, and let her eyes flutter closed as well.
_
"What if we use the Invisibility Cloak to get through the Ministry?" suggested Ron, "We take a couple weeks to watch the comings and goings, their switches in guards and two can smuggle underneath it, Harry and I could-"
"But we don't have two weeks, Ron. Studying their schedule will take too much time," said Harry defeated, made Ron purse his lips and look dow thoughtfully.
Fred raised a brow at Harry, "I don't see you coming up with anything, mate."
He let himself fall back on the couch with a loud and frustrated grunt, "I know."
"It isn't such a bad idea, but we could still get caught, and the last thing we need is them getting their hands on the Invisibility Cloak," added Hermione, biting on her nail anxiously. "No, no, we need-"
Sarah and Selena were pacing alongside her, exchanging ideas that by now were becoming less and less realistic and they were tired of it. Suddenly Hermione picked up a newspaper from the ground and fluttered it in Sarah face, "I got it. I got it, Godric, Sarah, I GOT IT!"
She shook her by the shoulders forcefully, the paper creasing in the palm of her hand while everyone was watching them utterly speechless. Hermione was the only one knowing what she was talking about.
"Hermione, snap out of it, talk to us," said Ron, bringing her back to reality. "What did you get?"
"How to get inside. We said we needed a way in," explained Hermione, letting go of Sarah's arms and apologized before turning to the awaiting crowd of people before her. She held up the newspaper, showing Umbridge standing next to exactly four people, two right beside her and another set more retreated, but they had the faces of workers at the Ministry. "We're going to use Polyjuice potion."
"Expand on that, will you?" said Sarah, joining Fred on the couch.
Hermione elaborated the plan that should go as the following: thanks to that article, they could spot the names of the people in the picture, they were obviously close to Umbridge and they could easily get their hands on the Horcrux around her neck she wore so proudly. There were four people, which meant only four of them could walk in and since it was the trio's mission and Sarah was the only one who had seen the inside and could lead them without waisting much time. The idea of having her in the lion's den once again didn't exactly sit right with Fred and Harry saw that.
"The longer we stay inside, the more at risk we'll all be. This is our best chance," said Harry confidently, sending a nod Fred's way.
Sarah exchanged a look with Selena and Hermione then squinted at Harry and spoke sarcastically, "Yes, Harry. Thank you for reassuring Fred that it will be all right. It's not like I'm the one going inside."
Fred's jaw dropped, "McCauley-"
She held up a finger and shook her head, anticipating what he wanted to say. "I'm not arguing with you, Weasley," she winked at him and turned to Hermione, "Let's find out their names and get to brewing."
"A charm on your hair should be enough," said Hermione to Fred and George, "Selena, nobody is looking for you, that might be your greatest asset. You can walk in as a visitor for one of these people we'll transform into, you three will be our eyes while we smuggle through the restricted areas, making sure we can exit."
"But Percy's there, even without red hair, he'll recognize us. And I wouldn't put it past him to hand us over," reasoned George, getting a nod from Fred and Ron, a sigh from everybody else.
Hermione nodded pointedly and looked down to think for a second, "Okay, then you two ought to disguise yourselves as journalists. That means...Changing your hair color, wearing some type of glasses or a moustache to draw attention away from your noticeable features."
"That ought to be fun," snickered Fred, turned to George and started mumbling about him with a moustache and teased him about it.
That was it, they had it. Now, they only had to figure out how exactly. Needless to say they hardly slept that night.
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AN
I do have a question though, are may chapters too long? I tend to get carried away while writing. Let me know!
Lots of love,
S