I never really cared that much about Draco since our first year at Hogwarts. He and his Slytherin friends gave me hell for everything, even more so than he did to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, or Hermione Granger. Speaking of whom, they taunted me by calling me a blood traitor for befriending Hermione, and a disgrace to my family because I made friends with hers; Harry and Ron. We were all good friends, but I was nowhere as close to them as I was to Fred and George Weasley, even Lee Jordan. They became my best friends that same year.
Ever since my first year, they were always there for me, the twins never leaving my side. By my fourth year, Fred and I had grown particularly close; we were dating just before the Yule Ball that was hosted that year by the Triwizard Tournament.
It's the summer before my sixth year and I was spending it with the Weasleys. My father was sent to Azbakan merely a month and a half before and my mother was too engrossed with my aunt Bellatrix and Draco to even care or worry what I was up to these days. If I didn't know any better, she wanted me out.
I was lying in Fred's bed at the burrow, half asleep, when I felt the bed shift. Suddenly, I felt Fred's arms wrap themselves around me as his body pressed against my back.
"Fred?" I mumbled groggily.
"Yes, love?" he answered, barely above a whisper.
"Just making sure it was you," I mumbled stupidly.
"Who else would it be?" he laughed softly.
I turned myself around and gazed into his chocolate eyes. I smiled and blushed slightly at my silliness.
Under normal circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would forbid any of the boys or girls being alone in a room together after dark alone, but they were quite aware that Fred was serious about marrying me when I became of age and they knew we wouldn't do anything, so they allow us to sleep in Fred's room without problem.
"I love you, Adeline," I heard Fred whisper gently.
I opened my eyes, not having realized they were shut, and smiled. "I love you too."
His smile widened as he began to stroke my waist-long silver hair. "Come to Diagon Alley tomorrow to see the shoppe," he whispered, referring to the joke shoppe Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes he ran with George.
"Of course. I would love to," I smiled softly, finding his hand under the covers and lacing my fingers through his.
He looked away from me then and brought our hands up above to covers so he could study them. "I was thinking," he began, rubbing my hand with his thumb, "you would make the loveliest June bride."
I frowned slightly, avoiding his eyes when I realized his eyes returned to my face. "Are you suggesting we get married before I even finish school?"
"June 5th, your birthday, you'll be of age so it won't matter," he explained with a smile.
"And what, I return to school as someone's wife? As a Weasley?"
"Isn't that what you want?" he asked, sitting up, a pained expression taking over.
"I want nothing more than to be yours, Fred, honestly, but not before I leave Hogwarts. I want to do at least that for my parents before I turn my back on them and never speak to them again," I explained, sitting up as well. "I promise, I want nothing more to be Mrs. Fred Weasley, but not in June. My love, it would just be bad timing."
Fred nodded, still looking slightly disappointed. I leaned in and brushed my lips against his, and immediately, he deepened the kiss and lost his fingers in my too long hair. After several seconds, I broke apart before we got too carried away. I peered into his liquid brown eyes and couldn't help but muster a smile.
"I love you, Fred Weasley, more than Dobby loves socks," I breathed, and at that, he snorted, thinking of Harry Potter's house elf friend who had a sock obsession.
"And I love you, Adeline Narcissa Malfoy, more than Hermione loves the Hogwarts library," and at that, we both howled with laughter. We tried to be quiet but it proved a failure.
"I hope you realize that if we do wait to get married, it won't affect us. We love each other too much and we can wait," I assured him silently.
He nodded once more as he began to finger my hair.
"What do you suppose your family would do if they realized you married a Weasley?"
"I reckon I'd be burned off the family tree in the Order's headquarters and that they'd never speak to me again, but I don't care. I'd much rather be apart of your family than my own," I chuckled softly.
"I wish it wasn't like that," he mumbled. "Everyone should be able to love their family."
"Fred, I haven't seen eye to eye or gotten along with my family since I was eleven. I'm a disgrace to them, all except maybe my mom who still gives me her affection, but I know her loyalty to my father comes first. Your parents have been the parents I've wanted and dreamed of since Sirius came in my life. Caring, loving, accepting, hearts with room for almost anything, not worrying about blood purity..." I drifted off in the fantasy. "I do love my parents, and even Draco, but not like I love your family."
He didn't say anything and instead, continued to stroke my hair.
"It's odd. George and I couldn't be closer if we even tried and you and Malfoy hate each other. You can't stand to be in the same room together," he pointed out quietly.
"Yes, and?" I asked, getting annoyed. I always hated thinking about my relationship with my brother, if there was one, much less talking about it.
"Calm down, cranky, I was just saying it was odd," he said with a small laugh.
"It wasn't always like that, you know," I mumbled, digging deep into the childhood I wanted to forget. "Before we came to Hogwarts, we were best friends. Then, something in him began to hate me the minute he realized I wasn't like him, or our family, thus, my hate for him back."
"Well, if it weren't for him, George and I would never have had you," he smiled, kissing my cheek.
I smiled back and buried my face in his chest and he pulled me close, both of us falling fast asleep.
Not even a few hours later, I assumed, I felt a sharp nipping on the under skin of my left arm. At first, it wasn't too terribly painful, just irritating, and even as I continued to sleep I began scratching heavily at the skin. Then, second by second, it felt as if my skin were burning, which of course then woke me up. I bolted upright in bed, clutched my arm as I examined it, the pain grower worse.
"Fred," I said, shaking him gently with my right arm. "Fred!" I repeated when he didn't wake. "Oh God," I whimpered, crying at the pain.
"What, what is it?" he asked sleepily, sitting up, staring at me.
"My arm!" I screamed aloud, scratching at the skin. It continued to feel as though it were thrust in a vat of fire, though my arm looked perfectly fine.
"What's wrong?" he asked, bewildered at my cries. He obviously couldn't know what was going on because the pain I was feeling was only evident in my screams.
"My arm!" I screamed again. "It feels like it's on fire!"
Fred frowned, but knows I would never joke about something like that. We both knew that Remus Lupin and my cousin Tonks were downstairs with his parents, which would be the best option.
"Come on, I'll take you downstairs," he said over my wails and cries. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and George were all peering over the banisters of the stairs to see what was going on. Clearly, I had woken them up. "She's fine," Fred called up to them, not wanting to alarm them. "Go back to sleep," he added as he carried me into the den where Lupin, Tonks, and his parents were seated.
"Heavens, what's wrong?" Molly asked after jumping from her seat. I continued to cry, tears well all over my face as Fred set me down in an open chair.
"She says she feels like her arm is burning," he explained, kneeling in front of me. He tried to gently pull my left arm from the clutch of my right so Lupin, who has joined his side, could examine it.
"No, no, no," I whimpered almost silently, my sobs raking through my body.
"Sweetheart, it's all right. We aren't going to hurt you," Lupin said soothingly, taking my arm into his hands. He frowned at the sight; still, nothing was there, but they could all tell that I was telling the truth through my sobs and tears. He placed his hand over the skin, and his eyes widened and glazed over. "Her skin, it's hot," he mumbled. "Almost, burning..." He then cupped a hand around my neck and frowned. "It's just in the one spot."
I continued to cry because the pain continued worse than ever. It felt the skin was melting off my arm.
"What's the cause of it?" Arthur asked, now on his feet.
"I can't be sure. We'll just have to see if it stops," Lupin concluded, standing up and sitting back down in his own chair, his eyes locked on me.
"The girl's in pain, Remus, we can't just let her suffer!" Molly exclaimed.
"There's not much I can do, now is there, Molly?" he exclaimed himself. "She feels as if her skin is burning, yet by appearance, her arm is fine. I honestly can't explain it."
Then, all of a sudden, the burning stopped. The pain, for the most part, all floated away, but my arm was incredibly sore. I gasped at this, marveled at what happened, but continued to choke on my sobs.
"Remus, there must be something," Tonks mumbled, taking his hands.
"It stopped," I choked, and at that, Fred clutched my face in his hands, his eyes boring into mine. "It's stopped burning, but it's still sore," I whispered, rubbing at the skin.
Molly then hurried into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, which I drank to the last drop. I set the cup back in her hand, mumbled a thank you, then faced them all.
"I think sleep would be the best thing for me right now," I mumbled, feeling weary from what happened.
Fred pulled me from the chair gently, and into his arms, and began leading me back upstairs.
"Adeline," Lupin called, and I turned around. "If it happens again, maybe we should contact Dumbledore."
I held his gaze for a few seconds before nodding. "All right."
"Now off to bed, both of you," Arthur commented, motioning us upstairs.
"Come on," Fred whispered. He slid his arm around my waist as he pulled me up the stairs and into our bedroom. He pulled me over to the bed and sat next to me, his hands twined with mine. "Have you any idea what that was?" he asked, his eyes searching for something in my own. I avoided his eyes by looking down at my arm, still rubbing at it.
"No. Not at all."
"What in the world were you screaming about?" Ginny asked, bursting into the room with Ron, Harry, Hermione, and George all on her tail. She came and sat next to me on the bed, taking my left arm in her lap, cradling it.
You sounded...awful," Hermione said lightly.
I shook my head, and looked at Ginny. "It's unexplainable. I'm not sure what happened. My arm just felt like it was burning. On fire. But it's over. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure things like this happen to wizards all the time for odd reasons."
"I've never heard of anything like that, Adeline," Hermione pointed out to my slight annoyance.
"Whatever it is, it's over," Fred said, standing up and kissing my forehead in the process. "Now come on, she needs to sleep. And so do you Harry."
Ever since the battle in the Department of Mysteries where Bellatrix killed Sirius, Harry's been having nightmares. It leaves him restless, but he needs to try to get the dreamless sleep he needs.
Ginny let go of my arm and everyone left our room, Harry the last out. I walked from the room and stopped him in the hallway, everyone else having found their own rooms.
I have them too, you know," I mumbled, looking down at my feet. "Every night, I hear her say it and I see Sirius die, right there, in front of me. I wake up in tears, hardly able to breathe," I explained, hoping it would comfort him. "You're not alone."
He smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you."
I smiled back and kissed his cheek. "See you in the morning," I bid, then returned to Fred's room.
He was nestled into his side of the bed, waiting for me. I climbed in next to him and curled up right against him, glad he was by my side. "Are you sure you have no idea wh-"
"Fred, please. It's over. If it happens again, Dumbledore can hopefully help. I don't want to think about it any longer. I just want to sleep," I begged quietly.
He sighed, wrapping his arms tightly around me. "You're right; I'm sorry. I love you," he whispered, and kissed my head gently.
"I love you," I whispered, the tears already welling in my tear ducts.
I knew the minute after it happened.
When my arm felt like it was in a bath of flames, it clicked.
Draco's and my third year at Hogwarts, when he provoked the Hippogriff in Hagrid's Care of Magical Creature's class. I was there, and right when Buckbeak cut Draco's arm with his hoof, my arm burst with pain the same place Draco had been cut. It was odd, but since Draco and I were identical twins, we could literally feel each other's physical pain.
And I did know why my arm was burning. It was the same place my father had the Dark Mark. The underside of his left forearm. Draco had become a Death Eater the moment the pain in my arm began. The burning I felt was the burning of the Dark Mark into my twin's skin.
"'Ello, love." I didn't need to turn around to guess who it was, now sliding his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.
I smiled slightly, and placed my hands over his. I was at twin's joke shoppe with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Morning, dear," I replied, looking at Ginny and Hermione eying love potions as George teased them.
"How does your arm feel?" he asked. Of course he would ask. Fred, and even George, grew overprotective of me over the years. I couldn't get away with even a parchment cut without one of them fussing.
"Sore still," I answered. "But not burning," I half smiled. I could feel him wince slightly, then kiss my cheek before letting me go.
"What do you think of the shoppe?"
I looked around, my smile growing. "It's just like you and George. I love it. And I'm very happy for you both."
A grin of his own broke out onto his beautiful face, earning him a blush from myself. I loved when he smiled at me like that.
"Adeline, we'd better go," Harry said behind me. "Molly will want us back at the Burrow soon."
I turned around and nodded, feeling for Fred's hand, then squeezing it. "Go on, I'll be outside in a minute," I replied, not wanting to say goodbye to Fred. I wouldn't see him until later tonight.
"All right," Harry said, and left with Ron and Hermione.
"Please come home before I'm asleep this time?" I asked, giving Fred a tight hug.
"I'll try, but no promises," he whispered into my hair. "I love you."
"I love you too," I mumbled. I reached up and kissed him gently, then let him go.
"Smile, love. You look absolutely stunning when you do." I rolled my eyes and proceeded down the steps and left with a wave.
At first, I couldn't spot Harry, Ron, and Hermione, until I looked down a ways at Olivanders, where they were standing in front of the store window. I crossed the wide pathway and gazed into the window, which was broken and inside revealed the shop had been burned and looted.
"What happened?" I asked with a frown.
"Not sure," Harry commented.
"Harry," Ron said, looking in the other direction, "Is it me, or do Draco and mummy look like two people who don't want to be followed?"
We all turned and we saw my brother and Mother turning down Knockturn Alley. They didn't seem to have noticed us; if they did, mum would have had a fuss.
Harry and Ron glanced at each, then both hurried off, almost at a run, after them.
"Ron! Harry!" Hermione called, but it was pointless. We all knew Draco and my mum were up to something.
"Come on," I mumbled, pulling Hermione's arm as we ran to catch up to them.
We went down several turns and stairs until we saw Harry and Ron on a lowered roof, looking intently at something. Hermione and I climbed up and to our surprise, came across the perfect view of Borgin and Burkes, in which my brother was doing something to an odd looking cabinet, my mother and Borgin off to the side, surveying.
"What the bloody hell are they doing, Adeline?" Ron hissed when I climbed next to him.
"What, you think my family includes me in anything they're up to? My father forbade it the minute he realized I was a-"
"Shh!" Hermione hissed.
"They must tell you something!" Ron complained.
I shook my head angrily as I watched my mother whisper something in Draco's ear. "I'm going down there," I muttered angrily, already sliding off the roof.
"NO!" Harry grabbed my arm and gazed at me. "No offense but I'm not sure it would be the best idea."
I closed my eyes for a second, realizing he was right. I might as well have been him walking in there, disturbing what ever the hell they were doing.