Chapter 14

"What are you doing?" Hermione demanded as she entered the twins' flat and watched Fred flop down on the couch, immediately pulling off his shoes and propping up his feet.

"I am resting for a minute, Granger. You should try it some time." He reached for one foot, massaging the middle, his eyes closing in pleasure at the sensation.

"Fred! We don't have time to rest. Did you not just see your parents back there? Something is clearly very wrong. Not to mention that your other siblings and Harry are missing now, on top of George and Angelina, and then there's Louis and his groupies-" She paused for a moment to catch her breath, but instead of continuing she sank down on the couch beside him, leaning down with her elbows in her lap, hands in her face, and began to sob.

"And this is why we are resting. You think I don't want to find them just as much as you do? Or that I enjoyed that display with my parents back there? Well, I do and I didn't. All I know is that this has been one hell of a week and apparently, it isn't going to be getting better any time soon. I can't have you cracking up, too."

"So what then?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes red and face puffy from the tears. "We sit here and prop up our feet while things could be getting worse with every passing moment?"

"That's pretty much what we did last time, isn't it? Sit around waiting? But that's not what I'm suggesting here. I just know we haven't slept in a real bed all week and I don't remember the last time we had an actual meal. It's not doing us any favors."

"And sitting here on our bums while these monsters are out harming your family isn't doing them any favors!"

"I don't think one night is going to make a whole lot of difference," he said, his voice firm.

"But it might. It might make all the difference."

"When you are out with Harry and Ron all those months, did you guys never stop to eat or rest?" he asked, causing her to tense up. She was about to argue, about to yell at him that they had done the best they could, that it hadn't been easy figuring out the horcruxes, when she realized that he was sincere. He really wanted to know.

"Ron...he never told you anything?" she guessed.

"No, nothing. As far as I know Harry hasn't even told Ginny. We figured you would talk about it when you're ready."

"Well, if you are ever ready," he added after a moment's pause. "Look, Hermione, I don't want to pressure you. You don't have to tell me anything. Whatever went on during that time had to have been terrible for you."

"It's okay," she said slowly, lost in thought. "Do you remember that night at the castle? I'm being silly, of course you do, it was only the largest battle of our lives, anyway, do you remember that we were searching for something belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw? Her lost diadem?"

Fred only nodded, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"It was a horcrux, and it was not the only one. There ended up being seven and Dumbledore wanted us to find them and destroy them, only we had no idea where to begin. All we knew is that Dumbledore believed it was the only way to defeat Voldemort. That's where we went, after the wedding, searching for Horcruxes. Only, when you don't know what you are actually looking for…"

"There was a lot of sitting around and waiting?" Fred asked softly, a small smile crossing his lips.

Hermione let out a small laugh and nodded at him, the tears returning to her eyes. "It was awful. We couldn't risk being seen, Harry was the most wanted wizard in the world and Ron and I weren't far behind. So, we just hid out for months, trying to figure out our next move. It wasn't until Ron came back that we even had any clue if any of you were safe."

Fred leaned forward, putting his arm gently around her. He didn't say anything, not knowing what good words would really do anyway. He pulled her in closer and they sat quietly for several minutes, his hand rubbing up and down her arm trying to soothe her. He wanted to know more about that time. That time where he and the rest of the Weasleys spent every second hoping for even a scrap of news to let them know the three of them were okay. She would likely never know how much he had worried. Not just for Ron, his brother, or even Harry, but for her.

"I can't do it again, Fred. I can't wait and see if my loved ones are safe. I have to do something. Tomorrow might be too late."

He smiled grimly, but still shook his head in disagreement. "Sssh…I know, but it's not going to be too late. They want you, remember? They aren't going to jeopardize that now. Not when they think they might still have a chance at getting through to you."

"They aren't getting through to me." She started to pull away in protest, clearly upset at the accusation.

"I didn't say they were," he said, holding up his hand to stop her. "I just know that if you are going off fighting a bunch of weirdos it is certainly not going to be when you aren't at your full strength. Now, come on, I'm as…scared…as you are," he said swallowing hard over the word, before continuing on, "but we need to eat…and rest."

Hermione felt her defiance waning as he made his argument. Finally, she smiled softly. "Eat and rest…a true Weasley twin motto if there was one, I assume?"

"Oh, you know it," he grinned.

Thanks for reading. I would love to hear from you! Thanks to those that are sticking with me. :)