Chapter Twelve - Betrayal and Fred
Sleep had come and gone.
Everyone had stayed up fairly late last night discussing the events that had just taken place and different ideas for my safety. I had sat silently through most of it. It was not until the end of the discussion and everyone was beginning to debate the topic of sleep that anyone turned their attention my way. Draco had found a place on the ground in front of me and insisted on holding my hand. The gesture startled me, as I did not expect such a display from him, but I suppose after what he had just said to his own mother, I figured the least I owed him was a hand-hold.
'I had fallen asleep holding his hand. Draco Malfoy's hand. How can that be? He is a git! I don't care if he is my mate, he has not earned my trust enough! How can he just do that?!' I was enraged now, and this would not do me any good. I needed to calm down. Draco was, after all, the only one I can recall even paying attention to my needs last night. Fred had been placed in solitary confinement within a makeshift bedchamber before supper. 'These emotional outbursts are going to drive me mad!' I raged within and kept the calm exterior I was desperately grabbing to for my sanity.
Gazing around me, I noticed that I was in another small makeshift bedchamber that was obviously originally intended for storage. No one shared a room with me, and for that, I was grateful. Wondering how I ended up in the room, I stood, cast a cleansing spell on myself, and changed into a fresh outfit consisting of a loose blue blouse and a pair of jean shorts from my beaded bag before stepping out into the main area.
Sitting on one of the armchairs in the main area was Fred Weasley. I was surprised that he was awake, let alone sitting in front of me. He turned to face me as I stepped further into the area and gave me a slightly goofy smile before staring straight ahead. Summoning my beaded bag, I had cast a spell to begin unloading the bag's contents into their proper places. From the diminishing light in the tent, it was just before dawn and I wanted to get everything settled before people woke.
It took about ten minutes for everything that could find a home to find said home. The kitchenette was stocked, people's items found their way to their bedchambers, and any miscellaneous items that would typically be used found a home on the only desk in the seating area. I decided that I would find a few logs later and transfigure them into a chest and a couple of bookshelves for my bedchamber. This meant we would need to expand my bedchamber slightly, but it was for a good cause.
With Fred continuing to stare at blank space, I decided to begin making breakfast. Needing some familiarity and comfort, I decided to make French Toast. My dad would cook it on Saturday mornings when I was a child for Thomas and myself. He would often reminisce of the year he spent in the United States. From what mum would tell me, it was just the same meal as when Phoebe would make pain perdu or even gypsy toast. She would laugh and tell Thomas and I that dad just likes the American version better. Needless to say, it was my favorite breakfast dish until I went to Hogwarts and he stopped making it.
So, this morning, I planned on making some French Toast with bacon and black pudding to remind me of mum and dad. I had no sooner finished cooking and getting a mixture of fruits on the table did I hear Ginny get up and begin waking the tent's inhabitants up.
"BREAKFAST! IT SMELLS DELICIOUS!" Gin's voice rang out through the decently sized tent. She startled Fred, who fell face first onto the floor.
"Ginevra Weasley! Help your brother up, now!" I shrieked as I realized Fred had not moved to get up. This behavior was something I really was far too used to. I would have to talk to Fred later about it. George would force himself in on it, so I planned on inviting George into the conversation as well.
"Fred, get up!" Ginny tugged on her brother trying to pull his stiff body back onto the armchair as I finished setting the table.
"Gin, cast a charm on him to help bring him over here. The Feather-Light charm would be fantastic. I want to make sure he eats with us," I commented before the others began to climb out of their bedchambers.
"Oi, Gin! No need to be loud! We could smell the food," George laughed as he mussed up the addressed witch's hair.
"George, help me with Fred and stop mussing my hair! What would mum say if she saw that?"
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Charlie gested before gaining an intense glare from Gin and shutting up.
"Food. Red mentioned food. Lets eat!" Draco jumped into the conversation before deciding where he was to sit.
After George and Gin helped Fred to the table, George took one side of Fred and Charlie took the other. From there, everyone scattered and found seats, but as we only had six chairs, three of us, Bill, Thomas, and I, sat on a sofa and ate. Conversations were light and steered away from the current ongoings. Bill spoke about Fleur and Victoire, and Thomas talked about uni and his experiences.
We had finished breakfast as the sun fully rose over the horizon. The tent was tense as we all realized that there was a list of things we would need to address before the day was done. With my mind and body having a chance to relax a little last night and this morning, I was finally able to begin to process what had been going on around me. It had been exactly thirteen days since we left Grimmauld Place, this left two days until the Ministry event, which left us two days to locate Harry and figure everything out. Taking a break today was out of the question.
Everyone settled into the sitting area, even Fred had a seat between his twin and Bill. Once Blaise noticed we were all situated, he stared at me to begin the unplanned meeting we all seemed to agree to silently at breakfast.
"With Fred back, we will need to continue our progress. Before we do, though, I just remembered about the Ministry event in two days. This leaves no time to debate and do more research. We need to rescue Harry before the sun sets tomorrow. I plan on writing to both The Daily Prophet and The Quibbler after this and scheduling an interview with each this evening. I want the word to be out about us before Harry is found, though. This is vital because if we have Harry here, that only secures my demise. This being said, I will need my mates to tag along to the location of the interview. We can discuss the location later, though…" I had begun to ramble on and it took a sharp elbow to my ribs from Ginny to get me back on track.
"Ah, yes… Harry. We will use my locket and devise a plan from there about how we will approach the location. Before we do anything else, I need to discuss a few things with all of you. Since each of you has had a part in this, it might as well be a group discussion. I just want everyone to be aware, I am not going to listen to excuses for what I am about to address. Please, no interruptions. I want to just get this off my chest and, hopefully, move on," I sighed and continued once I noticed no one intended to interrupt.
"Let me just go around the room starting with Draco. You are a git. Between what I have had to deal with during Hogwarts with you and now this! I understand that you trust Blaise, but allowing him to tag along without even discussing it with everyone else was foolish and it defied the little trust you had earned. You, in short, betrayed me by forcing my hand in the matter. That being said, thank you for protecting me at Malfoy Manor against your mother and Rosie, and for tending to me last night. You might have slightly redeemed yourself, but I still have not forgiven you, yet.
"This goes to everyone, apart from Blaise, Bill, and Thomas, you all knew Molly was after me and wanted me dead! Yet, none of you found the need to inform me of this?! Allow me the knowledge to better protect myself and you? Ginny told me everything, a little late, but she at least told me! The rest of you are my mates, you should have told me! BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE!" I shrieked as I felt my emotions intertwining to the point where they were becoming a muddled mess. This transitioning thing was really starting to annoy me. I hated not having full control over myself.
"Thomas, you know why I cannot trust you. Blaise, you are intelligent enough to understand my position with you. I do not feel the necessity to inform you of that. The rest of you, how could you? You each knew what Ron had put me through last year when he took off while Harry and I continued to hunt for Horcruxes! The betrayal, you all knew how it affected me. How you believed hiding your knowledge would protect me is beyond me and I will not stand for it any further. I want all of the secrets and information out, now," I demanded and began deep breathing to settle my emotions. So much for remaining relaxed.
When no one seemed keen on speaking up, I turned my attention to the only person I had no wrath for, Bill. "Bill, tell me what is going on, please".
"Hermione, it is difficult to condemn your own mother, and by telling you, I will be doing just that. You will be in power soon, and I'm not certain mum will be safe when you do. Promise me, no matter what I tell you, she remains safe after, even if you have to take her wand and house arrest her to justify this behavior," Charlie interrupted and pleaded.
"I won't promise to not take action, but I will not harm her physically. I cannot promise that whatever verdict comes and actions are taken will guarantee her emotional and mental safety. I will not put Azkaban on the list of justifications unless you're own brother, Fred, requests it once he is back with us," I vowed. Despite everything, Molly had been a second mum to me for nearly a decade, I would not throw that completely away just because of a mental breakdown, especially not when three of my mates are her sons.
This seemed to ease the Weasleys' fears and I watched as George pulled out his wand and summoned a letter. Charlie, Ginny, and Bill each did the same. All four handed the letters over and I began to read each. George's was addressed to both him and Fred, and told about Molly's plans to sabotage my speech at the Ministry event, "if she even shows her mudblood face" as the letter put it. Charlie's read similarly, except he was to get me alone, bind me, and leave me to Molly's "care" before the Ministry event. Ginny's had been full of rage that she would choose Harry and myself over her family. There were no plans in her letter, just the unadulterated rage of a scornful mother. Bill's was just informing him of a meeting that magically altered the time and place for the next one.
"There is a meeting tonight. Bill are you going?"
"Yes, but I will stop back here before I head back to Fleur to inform you of what I learn. But last meeting, Percy left before we even began, stating that the meeting was considered illegal and he refused to partake in such events. This does not stop Kingsley, the Browns, mum, dad, Andromeda, Ron, and a few other faces I'm unfamiliar with from meeting. I learned that there are a few Slytherins from your year they plan on recruiting. Once I know who, I want you to get to them first. Mum needs to be stopped before she goes too far for you to keep your promise". Bill stood after that and stepped outside.
"Draco and Blaise, when we discover these names, you both are to gain their loyalties. We cannot afford another war!" My deep breathing kept me from acting irrationally, finally.
"Of course, Asteriae. We would be honored," Blaise charmingly smiled at me.
"Next, we need to focus on the interviews. Hermione, we need to discuss what you will say to benefit you. Let's do that and then call this meeting complete until this evening. Sounds like a solid plan, eh?" Thomas redirected the conversation. With a collective 'yes', the discussion turned into a debate over the interviews and an hour later, we finally wrapped everything up.
xXx
Lunch had come and gone, and I found myself sitting in my bedchamber attempting to find the courage to face Fred. Doing so would force me to relive my torture and I had finally begun to recover from it. Deciding my mate's mental health was more important than my memories, I found myself standing in front of his bedchamber. With no need to knock, I opened the flap slightly and peeked in, he was sitting on his bed staring straight ahead.
Sighing, I stepped inside and sat beside him, one hand resting on his folded hands in his lap, the other around his back. I pulled him close to me and just held him silently. I am not certain how long we remained in that position, but eventually, I felt my blouse dampen, Fred had started crying. This was the improvement I needed to help him with. His walls were breaking.
"Fred, it's just me. No one else is in here. Do you want to talk to me? I know what happened. I wish it could have been me instead of you," I whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around my waist clinging to me.
"I know you underst- but I-I can't let you-" his cries began to interfere with his speech. "-no. I would do- again-save you".
"I'm here. You did save me. I'm right here. I will not force you to tell me everything, I just want you to know you can if you want to. I understand better than most," I tried to coax him, despite my fear of my own memories.
"Ghgh- I can't. Mum. She is dangerous. We never believed- capable of- deceit".
"All right, Fred. I'm not going to push you. I want you to just come back to me, please," I begged the twin.
He nodded into my shoulder and hesitantly unwrapped his arms from me. "I won't pretend I'm fine, but I'll try to seek you out before I sit down. Your hugs-" he sniffled "-are grounding". He tried to smile and I ran my hand across his cheek.
"Listen here. You and I are stuck together. There is no pretending. We will get through this, no matter what. Did you listen at the meeting?"
"Er- yes. I stopped listening-" another sniffle "-when they took too long to figure out the interviews".
"Good. We are caught up. Now, tell me, dear Fred, what is your favorite dessert?"
-Author's Notes-
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