My feet stung with every step I took, little pieces of gravel cutting into my already-blood-covered feet. My whole body ached, and my arms felt like they were going to fall off with the tiny bundle cradled to my chest. Ten pounds would normally not be a problem for me to carry, but after walking through most of the night it felt like I was carrying a sack of rocks.
Despite the night having been chilly, and my feet nearly going numb, I had sweat sticking to my forehead from the walk, and the sun that was now rising was shining right in my face.
I was considering stopping for a break, to rest my feet and check on the baby in my arms, who had gone scarily quiet after nearly three hours of constant crying. Just as I was nearly at a shaded patch of grass under a tree that looked heavenly, I spotted something from around the bend in the road.
Walking further along the path, I spotted a quaint, old cottage with vines growing up the walls and a stone chimney on the roof.
Gathering what little strength I had left, I continued along the dirt path toward the house. I didn't know if anyone was home or not, but I didn't have anywhere else to go.
When I reached the front door, I shifted the baby into one arm so I could knock with my other hand. There was several moments of silence, and I considered knocking again, when a voice called through the door.
"Who is it?" it was a man's voice, and he sounded guarded.
I cleared my throat before calling back, "My name's Annie Sullivan. Please, I need help. My parents were killed and I've been walking all night, all I've got on me is my pajamas and my wand. And my son! He hasn't had anything to eat for hours, and he's gone really quiet and I'm scared. Please! I need some help!" I pleaded, tears beginning to leak from my eyes again.
There was a few more moments of silence where I felt despair starting to fill my veins. Then, I heard a few locks clicking and the door slowly opened.
A tall, slender man with thin, red hair stood before me. He had glasses over his blue eyes and a wand in one hand. He looked me over and I could see sympathy and worry warring with his desire to keep his guard up. I imagined I must've been a sight. Wearing a baby blue cotton nightgown to my knees, dirt and blood covering my bare feet, tearstains turned any dirt on my face to dried mud, my shoulder-length honey-colored hair windswept and knotted, and a tiny baby clutched to my chest.
Just past the man in the doorway, I could see at least two women, one older with short, gray hair and a beak-like nose, and the other a short, plump woman with red hair. I felt like there were other people inside, but I couldn't see them.
"What did you say your name was?" the man asked me.
"Annie Sullivan." I answered weakly.
"And…how old are you?" he questioned hesitantly, looking me over again.
"Seventeen." I whispered, looking down. I heard someone make a 'tsk' sound inside, but I didn't look up.
"Well…" the man looked like he was struggling to say something, and I bit my lip. They probably didn't know how to 'politely' turn me away.
"Hold on." a new voice spoke before another redhead stepped up behind the older man. I blinked, recognizing him immediately. It was one of the Weasley twins.
"Annie Sullivan?" he repeated, looking me over, his eyes lingering slightly on the baby in my arms. I blushed and nodded. "I remember you from Hogwarts."
"I remember you, too." I answered.
The twin, I'm not positive which one it was, glanced at the older man, who I'm guessing was Arthur Weasley. He then looked down at me. "What house were you in at Hogwarts?"
I blinked. "Hufflepuff." I answered. He nodded.
"Do you remember what year I was banned from Quiddich, and why?"
I thought about it for a moment before answering, "It was your guys' seventh year, the year Umbridge was in charge." I paused to swallow as I thought about the next part. "And…Draco Malfoy and some Slytherins made up a mean song about your brother, Ron. Harry Potter and…George," I glanced at the twin, still unsure if it was George or Fred, "got into a fight with them, but Fred was held back by some of your Gryffindor teammates."
The twin nodded with a satisfied grin before turning to his father. Arthur looked between me and his son for a moment.
"Fred, anyone who was at the game could've known that. And anyone connected to Umbridge, or the Ministry. We can't risk anything." he whispered to his son, not wanting me to hear them. Fred bit his lip for a moment before turning and smirking down at me.
"Early on in my seventh year, which would've been your…fifth year, something almost hit you. What happened?"
My eyes widened at the memory, having almost forgotten it. "A bludger flew close to the stands and almost hit me, but you flew by and beat it away. Then you…yeah." I finished with a blush, remembering that, I'm assuming it was, Fred had winked at me after he knocked the bludger away.
As if reading my mind, Fred winked at me again, causing my blush to spread down my neck.
"So, does that prove it's her now, Dad?" another guy's voice asked, whom I'm assuming was George since they sounded very similar.
"Yes, that should be fine. Terribly sorry Ms. Sullivan. We can't risk anything lately with…You-Know-Who's followers lurking about and all. Anyone can easily get a hold of Polyjuice potion nowadays." Arthur explained quietly, stepping aside and gesturing me into the house.
"I understand." I spoke quietly as I hesitated in the doorway. I didn't want to get blood and dirt all over the floor.
The plump, redheaded woman must have noticed me glancing at my feet, because she hurried forward and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "Oh, don't worry about the floor, dear. Let's get you up to the bathroom to wash you up. Does your baby drink milk?"
"Um, yes he does." I answered quietly.
"Good. Arthur, could you make up a bottle of milk, please dear. And George, could you please get the medical kit from the kitchen please?"
"Sure mum." George said as he and Arthur left the room in the opposite direction.
"Thank you so much for helping me." I whispered, feeling tears burn my eyes as we walked up a flight of stairs and into a bathroom.
"Oh, it's no problem at all. In times like these everyone needs someone to lean on." she assured me. "Now, you have a seat on the loo there, dear, and I'll start cleaning up your feet. Those must've been painful for you to walk on." she rambled a bit as I sat down on the closed toilet seat. Once seated, I pulled my son away from my chest to lay him down on my lap, both my hands under his head. His eyes were closed and he looked asleep. I could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He squirmed a bit at the new position I had him in.
The woman knelt down in front of me with a bowl of warm water and a rag that she had summoned to her.
"I'm sorry, I don't know your name." I spoke quietly, suddenly feeling like I was being rude.
"Oh, you can call me Molly, dear. I'm Fred and George's mum." she smiled warmly up at me before taking one of my feet in her hand and cleaning it with the other. The baby in my lap squirmed a bit, opening his eyes. He started whimpering and his chubby face scrunched up. I bounced my one knee that Molly wasn't holding, quietly shushing him in hopes that he wouldn't start screaming again. I knew he was hungry, but I prayed he could hold on a few minutes for Mr. Weasley to get some milk.
Molly smiled at my son before looking down again. "He's a beautiful child. What's his name?"
"Adam John Sullivan. He's about four months old." I answered, not taking my eyes off my son's face as he stared back at me with bright green eyes, my eyes, thankfully.
Mr. Weasley appeared in the doorway then with a bottle in his hand, George peaking over his shoulder. He handed me the bottle, which I put in Adam's mouth as I supported his head with one hand. He drank it greedily, his tiny fingers clawing at the sides.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. I really appreciate all this." I smiled at him.
"Oh, call me Arthur. And you're very welcome." Arthur smiled warmly at me as he stepped to the side to allow George to hand his mum the kit. Arthur gently touched Molly's shoulder, "I'm going to Floo Bill quick, dear."
Molly nodded, focusing on healing my feet with some potion she'd pulled out of the kit. Arthur left and I glanced up at George just as he turned to watch his dad leave. My eyes zeroed in on the bump where his ear should've been. My eyes widened and I couldn't school my expression before George looked back at me. He blinked before smiling in an understanding way.
"Are you wondering about my ear?" he asked kindly. I bit my lip and nodded sheepishly.
"It's okay." he reassured me, "It got blasted off with Dark Magic, so it couldn't be saved. Funny enough, it was Snape who did it."
"Professor Snape?!" I asked in shock.
George nodded. "Yup. But it happened months ago. I actually don't mind it too much, bit of a battle scar. And I'm still the better looking twin." he joked, making me smile slightly.
"George, that's enough. Why don't you go downstairs?" Molly suggested tightly.
George winked at me. "She hates it when we talk about it."
"George!" Molly snapped, glaring over her shoulder at him.
"I'm going!" he shouted as he hurried out of the room.
I bit my lips together to keep myself from laughing while Molly shook her head, mumbling under her breath about idiot boys.
After Molly helped me clean up, both myself and Adam, she got me something to eat and then set me up in one of the spare bedrooms. I'd asked how a family as big as theirs could fit in this small cottage, since the Weasley family was known for their numbers, and she explained they'd had to go into hiding and were staying with a relative.
Molly was even kind enough to Transfigure one of the drawers into a simple, wooden baby cradle.
The only problem was, Adam didn't seem to want to settle. I had just given him another bottle before going into the room, so he wasn't hungry, and I'd already changed him twice, and he smelled fine, so it wasn't his diaper. I was rocking him, pacing with him, bouncing him. I tried everything I could think of and he would either be crying or fussing. He wouldn't settle down.
Someone cleared their throat and I looked toward the door, which had been closed. Fred had opened the door to peak inside and was smiling at me.
"You should probably get some sleep after the night you had." he pointed out with a smile.
I wrinkled my nose sarcastically at him as I turned to pace some more. "I would be asleep, but Adam doesn't want to settle down. So it's either this, or a screaming baby. Which would you prefer?"
"I could put a silencing charm on this room." Fred suggested with a grin.
I glared at him. "I'm joking Annie, chill." he held up his hands and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and watched me pace, holding my son to my chest and shoulder.
"Sooo…to be honest, you're probably the last person I would've expected to be a teen mom and dropped out of school. Didn't you get strait O's?"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I did not get strait O's, Fred. Yes, I got quite a few O's and E's, but I barely got an A in Potions, and I did get the occasional P on a test or essay. I'd say I was an average student."
"Still hell of a lot better than me." Fred pointed out with a smirk. I tried not to smile, but failed. He had a point.
"Well, I couldn't exactly go back for my seventh year, Fred. I would've been…about six months pregnant at the start of the school year. I didn't really want to walk around with a giant baby bump for people to see, especially with…certain people." I finished lamely, realizing I'd almost spilled one of my most important secrets to someone I hardly knew. There was a quiet moment before Fred spoke again.
"People like…the father?" I kept quiet with my back to Fred, looking down at my son and trying to ignore the sprinkling of blonde hair Adam was starting to grow. "Out of curiosity, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, uh…where is the dad in this picture?"
I swallowed thickly, looking ahead at the wall. "He's not in the picture. And he never will be if I have any say in it."
"You mean he doesn't even know he's got a son?" Fred asked incredulously. "He's got a right to know, Annie."
"Look, I don't know you very well, and I really don't want to fight with you," I started as I turned to face Fred, "but you know absolutely nothing about this situation. So I would really appreciate it if you didn't attack me on my decisions. I think I know the father of my son better than you do, if even a little, and I know I don't want that kind of person around my son."
Fred blinked before nodding, a small look of understanding briefly crossing his features. "You're right, sorry. It's not my place to say anything."
I nodded and took a seat next to him, still bouncing Adam, who was still squirming and whimpering.
"Um," Fred turned toward me hesitantly, "do you, uh, want me to try?" he asked, nodding toward Adam. I eyed him doubtfully, instinctively clutching my son a little tighter. "I'm just offering, cause you look tired and frustrated. I mean, I'm no Molly Weasley or anything, but I remember a few things from when my sister Ginny was a baby. It's completely up to you." he held his hands up innocently.
I debated for a while before I finally sighed, nodding as I gently handed my son over to Fred. He held him the same way I did, with Adam looking over Fred's shoulder. Then Fred stood up and started pacing around the room. At first Adam didn't appear to like being held by some stranger, and I was about to change my mind about Fred holding him, but then I noticed Fred rhythmically patting Adam's back. After several moments of this, there was a very quiet burp, and Adam spit up some white slime onto Fred's shoulder.
Fred didn't even have to look before his face screwed up in mild disgust, while I was trying not to laugh.
"Oh my God, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Of course he probably needed to be burped. I'm sorry, Fred." I spoke through my giggles as I stood up to take Adam back. Fred grinned as he handed the baby back to me. With one swoop of his wand the mess was cleaned off him.
"No problem. I should've remembered to put a towel or something on my shoulder. I have a question though, how did you not think of burping him?"
I stopped laughing as I thought of this. "Well, I haven't really had to do this alone before, and with everything that's happened, I guess I'm a little tired."
Fred nodded as I gently laid a now-sleeping Adam in his cradle. "So, your parents were…"
I nodded as I sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at the sleeping baby. "Yeah. Some Death Eater broke into our house last night, somewhere after midnight. They killed my parents, cause my mum's a Muggleborn, and my dad's a bloodtraitor. I just had enough time to run up to Adam's room, grab him with my wand in my pocket, and Apparate us out of the house." I laughed bitterly, tears brimming in my eyes, "Funny thing is, my parents didn't want Adam originally. When I first told them I was pregnant, they threw me out. They didn't want a pregnant daughter living under their roof. But then everything with Him being back, and Death Eaters taking over the Ministry and Hogwarts, they'd rather me be safe with them than alone. So they took me back in. I mean, they constantly pressured me on who the father was, but I could tell they loved Adam. They loved being grandparents, and they were always there to help me when I needed it."
The bed dipped as Fred sat next to me, and he put an arm around my shoulder as I cried.
"I'm sorry about your parents, Annie. I really am." he whispered, holding me close to his side. "But you're not alone in this, I promise. Okay? We'll help you though this."
I turned and looked up at him, reading the honesty in his eyes. I smiled with tears still rolling down my cheeks.
"Thank you, Fred."