"I was so upset, I forgot to be happy."
-Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)
Hours had passed since Scarlett had arrived at Shell Cottage. She didn't know how many exactly, but she guessed it had been quite a few. She had been lying on the bed facing the window almost the entire time she had been there and she hadn't moved a muscle, even as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. She guessed it was around dinnertime by now, but she made no move to go downstairs and check.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Scarlett rolled over to face it with a sigh.
"Scarlett?" Fleur's voice asked. "Can I come een? I need to talk to you."
"Sure, come in," Scarlett answered, her tone flat.
Fleur quietly opened the door and crossed the room to the bed. She sat down on the edge and gave Scarlett the same half-smile she had given her earlier. "Did you sleep at all?"
Scarlett shook her head.
"You weren't tired?" Fleur asked, looking slightly surprised.
Scarlett shook her head again. "Surprisingly, no." She looked down at her hands and shrugged. She was a bit tired, if she was being honest. Even though she hadn't done much while she was being held captive, she hadn't actually slept all that well. But no matter how tired she was, she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. If she did, she was sure she'd have nightmares worse than ever before. She couldn't tell Fleur that, though.
"Oh, well, I have some news for you," Fleur said.
"I'm almost afraid for you to tell me what it is," Scarlett sighed.
"Eet eez not terrible news," Fleur said. "At least, not compared to all of zee other theengs that have happened to you."
"What is it, then?"
"Beel and I theenk it would be better for you to be moved to Beel's Auntie Muriel's house."
"Why?" Scarlett asked, pushing herself to a sitting position.
Fleur took a deep breath. "I suppose I should start by saying that Harry, Ron and Hermione were captured today."
"Who captured them?"
"Snatchers. Scabior and Greyback to be exact." Fleur looked at Scarlett bracingly as if the names of the two men would send her into a fit of hysterics.
"But I thought they were—I thought Sirius was going to—" Scarlett could barely formulate a sentence. She had thought Sirius and Percy were going to take care of them, even though deep down, she knew there wasn't much they could do without getting in trouble themselves. Besides that, they didn't have the power to arrest Scabior and Greyback. It would be difficult for anyone to arrest them now that Voldemort was in charge and they were basically on his side.
"Sirius stopped by again not too long ago. He said Justin's family came home while was at the house. He went outside to explain theengs to them and that was when Scabior and Greyback disapparated. Harry, Ron and Hermione were caught soon after. And that means that Beel's family is een danger since the Ministry now knows that Ron does not really have spattergroit. So, een order to keep them safe, Muriel's house was made a safe house and they were all moved there."
"So why is it better for me to be moved there?" Scarlett asked. "Surely it'll be chaotic with so many people and it's just as safe here as it is there."
"Muriel has plenty of room for all of you," Fleur said. "And there weel be more people there for you to talk to. People who are closer to you than Beel and I."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to talk," Scarlett said defiantly.
"Maybe you weel. And if you do, it weel be so much better for you if you do. This isn't to purposely get information from you, even though eet would be good for the Order to know about what happened. I don't want to pressure you to talk and that's why I think Beel's family will be good for you. You'll feel more comfortable around them."
"I'm actually fine here. You've been really great. You've been nice without pressuring me to talk or do anything I don't want to do, which is what'll happen if I go to Muriel's."
"No one can force you to talk if you do not want to, but my point is that maybe you weel feel more ready to talk on your own if you are around people you are very comfortable weeth."
"But that's my point! I won't be comfortable there with them constantly pestering me. I'm fine here. Honestly."
Fleur gave her a tiny smile. "That's sweet, but going to Muriel's will be good for you. I know eet. Just trust me, okay?"
Scarlett was silent for a moment. "Fine," she eventually muttered, looking down at her feet.
Fleur smiled. "You'll be okay, Scarlett. You are a very strong girl."
"I'm not so sure about that," Scarlett whispered.
"Well, eet eez a good thing that I'm sure of eet, then," Fleur answered, reaching over and squeezing Scarlett's hand.
"At least one of us is," Scarlett said. She looked up at Fleur. "So when am I supposed to go to Muriel's?"
"Beel said he could bring you now if that's all right weeth you."
Scarlett nodded and shrugged slightly. "Yeah, okay."
"And don't worry," Fleur continued wryly, "he'll Apparate you so you don't have to go by Floo."
Scarlett forced herself to give Fleur a fleeting smile, only because if things had been normal right now, she would have given her a genuine one. "Thank goodness for that."
Five minutes later, Scarlett was standing at the front door with Bill, ready to go. She thanked him and Fleur one last time for being so nice to her before stepping outside. Bill followed her out and the two of them headed towards the edge of the protective charms covering the house. When they got there, Bill turned towards Scarlett.
"By the way," he said, "after I drop you off at Muriel's, I was planning on getting Erica and bringing her there as well."
"Why?" Scarlett asked.
"Well, she's been worried sick about you. She, your mother and the twins were constantly getting together to figure out how to get you home safe. Since it's unsafe for the twins to contact her, I figured I'd just go get her and let her stay at Auntie Muriel's since I know she'd want to see you. Besides, she'll be safer as well, in case anyone wants to go to her and ask for information."
Scarlett looked away, unsure of how to feel. It was a nice thing for Bill to do, and she knew he was trying to prevent Erica from meeting the same fate as Justin and Scarlett's mother, but Erica would just be one more person who would want to constantly ask questions.
"Thanks," Scarlett finally whispered. "That's really considerate."
Bill nodded. "While I'm there, I'll pack up some of your things and bring them over."
Scarlett turned back to look at him. "Thank you," she whispered. "Honestly, it's really nice of you."
"Don't mention it," Bill answered with a smile. He patted her shoulder. "You'll get through this, Scar."
"That's what Fleur said, too, but…." She trailed off and shrugged.
"I know you, Scar. I may not have seen you in a long time, but I know you can get through this."
"Well, let's hope you're right," Scarlett sighed, staring out at the water.
"I haven't told them you're coming yet, either. They just got there a few hours ago as it is, and things were hectic enough for them, so it'll be a big surprise."
When Scarlett didn't say anything, Bill sighed and gently took her arm. A second later, Scarlett felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed into a small tube as Bill Apparated her to Murial's house. It was definitely a good thing they didn't travel there by Floo or else Scarlett was sure she would have thrown up all over Muriel's rug…again.
"Come on," Bill whispered, keeping a hand on her arm and leading her up to the front door. Scarlett stared up at the house as they walked. She had forgotten just how big it was. It had been years since she had been here and it had been a visit that she had tried to forget. When they finally reached the elegant front door, Bill knocked loudly as Scarlett stood numbly at his side.
After a moment, the door opened a crack and Mrs. Weasley peered out. "Oh, Bill, it's you. I wasn't expecting-." Her eyes fell on Scarlett and she stopped short, staring wide-eyed.
"Sirius brought her to Shell Cottage around noon," Bill said, "but once we found out you'd be staying here, Fleur and I both agreed that she'd be better off staying here as well." He looked at Scarlett. "I'm assuming you don't want to explain everything?" When Scarlett shook her head, he looked back at his mother. "Scarlett only gave me the general idea of what happened, so I don't know all the details, but I can tell you what I do know."
"Yes, of course! Come in, come in," Mrs. Weasley said, ushering the three of them inside. She turned to Scarlett and wrapped her in a tight hug that Scarlett barely responded to. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked. "You look dreadful! You're thin as a rail! And you look exhausted! I can-,"
"Mum," Bill interrupted. He jerked his head towards a room on the left. "Maybe we can talk in the kitchen?"
Mrs. Weasley stopped short and looked at Bill for a moment before nodding. "Yes, alright. Your father's in there as well. We were just having a cup of tea when you knocked. Would you like any?"
"No, I'm fine." Bill shook his head and looked back at Scarlett. "Why don't you go sit in the living room for now?" He gestured to a room across the hall. "My mother will show you where you'll be sleeping when we're done."
Scarlett simply nodded and entered the room that Bill had indicated. She stiffly sat down on the old fashioned couch and looked around the room. She was already starting to feel uncomfortable. She just wanted to go to her room and sit there, looking out the window.
After about ten minutes of listening to the ticking of the clock, Scarlett heard Mrs. Weasley letting Bill out the front door. Their voices were too low to hear what they were saying, but Scarlett didn't care anyway.
Finally, the living room door opened and Mrs. Weasley came in, her cheeks covered in tear tracks. She wiped them away hastily before sitting on the couch next to Scarlett, who refused to look at her.
"Scarlett, dear, I am so, so sorry that you had to experience such a tragedy this morning."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Scarlett said.
"Of course not," Mrs. Weasley said. She paused. "Your mother was a wonderful person, and I'm sure Justin was a lovely boy. Your mother certainly loved you very much and she—"
"Mrs. Weasley? I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about this at all right now. I'm just…not in the mood."
Mrs. Weasley looked at her. "You're sure?"
Scarlett nodded. "Positive."
"All right," Mrs. Weasley nodded, taking in a breath and letting it out. "Well, you know if you change your mind, you can always come to me."
"I know," Scarlett whispered.
"Come on," Mrs. Weasley said, standing up. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. You'll be sharing with Ginny and when Erica gets here, she can have the room next door."
"Actually," Scarlett began, "would it be alright if Erica shared with Ginny and I took the room by myself? It's not that I don't want to see Ginny, but it's just…I think I need to be alone. At least for right now." Or maybe forever, she thought to herself.
Mrs. Weasley hesitated. "Of course, dear, if that's really what you want?"
"Yeah, it is," Scarlett whispered.
"Okay, well, follow me."
Scarlett stood up and followed Mrs. Weasley down the front hallway and up a beautiful flight of stairs that Scarlett was in no mood to appreciate at the moment.
"Bill said he would be by later with your things," Mrs. Weasley said when they were halfway up the stairs.
"Yeah, he told me," Scarlett answered.
"He said he would also be in touch when he knows the dates of the funerals. Someone in the Order will be getting in touch with your Aunt Emily. She's your mother's only family left, isn't she?"
Scarlett nodded, but didn't say anything more on the subject. She hadn't thought about the funerals at all and she didn't want to. She didn't know how she was going to get through them.
"Here we are," Mrs. Weasley said, stopping in front of a dark wooden door. She opened it and let Scarlett inside, smiling at her slightly.
"Mrs. Weasley?" Scarlett whispered, turning around to face the redheaded woman.
"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I'm sorry if I'm being an annoyance. I know that you just had to leave your home and you must be worried about Ron, and-,"
"Scarlett, dear, you are in no way an annoyance," Mrs. Weasley said. "I'm glad you're here, actually. Very glad. Now, go relax for a bit and I'll let you know when dinner's ready." With that, she smiled again and left the room, slowly closing the door behind her.
Scarlett turned and examined the second bedroom that she had been shown to that day. This one was also very beautiful, but a different kind of beautiful than the one at Shell Cottage. It was bigger, for one thing, with a giant window on the far wall with a comfortable looking window seat. There was also a dresser, a vanity and a decent sized closet. Scarlett didn't even think she owned enough things to fill all of that space.
Sighing for what felt like the thousandth time that day, she began to cross to the window seat, but stopped herself. Once Mrs. Weasley told everyone else that Scarlett was here, they'd probably all run in at once to make sure she was okay. That's how the Weasley's were. Again, it wasn't a bad thing, but Scarlett couldn't handle it right now. Muriel's house was certainly big enough, so she needed to find somewhere she could hide out until everyone went to bed. Then, she could sneak back down to her room. Or maybe the library, if she could find it. She could spend the night reading because she sure as hell wasn't going to sleep.
Making up her mind, Scarlett slipped out of her room and quietly made her way down the hallway, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone, especially Fred. That was an awful thing to think, because she knew Bill had been right earlier when he had said Fred had been worried. She knew he must be desperate to see her and in some way, she was desperate to see him, but at the moment, her thoughts were consumed with isolating herself until her grief passed. It was almost as if she couldn't control it anymore. Isolating herself was just something she had to do, and when she came across the attic door a few minutes later, she knew she had found her hiding spot. Someone would surely find her eventually, but not right away. It would buy her some time.
She slowly climbed up the rickety staircase until she reached the top. Once there, she immediately turned, shut the door, locked it and performed a charm that would make using Alohomora useless. Then, letting out a breath she was unaware of holding, she turned and looked around the cluttered room. There was a circular window to her right, letting in what was left of the setting sun, and there was a window seat under it. It was perfect. Dusty, but perfect.
Scarlett made herself comfortable on the window seat, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her head on the window. It was completely and totally silent, which was just how she wanted it. She also knew the silence was going to be limited, so she was going to enjoy it while she could.
"This looks great, as usual, Mum," Fred said, sitting down at the dining room table.
"Honestly, your cooking is the best part of being in hiding," George added as he sat down beside his twin.
"Oh, please," Mrs. Weasley said, rolling her eyes and setting the last dish on the table. She sighed. "It's something to keep me occupied."
"Well, it's appreciated, especially after a long day of working our owl-order business."
"I hope you remembered to clean the owl droppings up off the floor," Muriel said, sitting down at the table.
"It's the basement," George sighed. "It's supposed to be dirty."
"Cluttered, maybe, but dirty, no," Muriel snapped. "Clean the droppings up or I don't let you work from my house."
"Alright, alright," the twins said, holding up their hands.
Just as Mr. Weasley was taking his seat at the table, Ginny walked in, looking extremely solemn.
"What's the matter with you, Gin?" Fred asked. "Did Arnold get lost again? I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
Ginny ignored them. Instead, she met Mrs. Weasley's eyes. "She's not in her room."
"What do you mean she's not in her room?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Of course she is. I brought her there."
"She's not there," Ginny said.
Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Well, she has to be around somewhere. She couldn't have left." She paused. "Where's Erica?"
Fred and George shared a glance. They were confused to say the least, and the weird part was that nobody else looked lost at all.
"She'll be here in a minute. She's just dropping off her things in my room," Ginny answered as she took her seat.
Just as Ginny had finished speaking, Erica slipped into the room as if on cue, looking just as solemn as Ginny.
"Did you hear?" she hissed, sliding into the empty seat beside George.
"No," Fred said, looking pointedly at his mother. "I was just about to ask what's going on. Mum, who are you talking about?"
"Who's not in their room?" George asked.
"Why is Erica here?"
"Are we missing something?" George looked around the table. "Why does everyone seem to know something we don't?"
"Well, you were down in the basement working on your owl-orders, so you weren't around when I told everyone…." Mrs. Weasley trailed off and looked down at her food.
"Told everyone what?" Fred asked in confusion.
"Scarlett's here," Mrs. Weasley whispered. "Bill dropped her off a little over an hour ago. She was rescued from the Ministry, but she won't say who rescued her. Sirius brought her to Shell Cottage and—Fred, where are you going?"
Fred had shot out of his seat so fast that his chair had tipped over.
"Careful of the furniture, boy," Muriel snapped.
"Where do you think I'm going, Mum?" Fred asked, pausing with his hand on the doorknob.
"Good luck finding her," Ginny said. "And even if you do, she probably won't talk to you."
"She's been through a lot," Mrs. Weasley added.
"That's not going to stop me," Fred replied, flinging the door open and taking off down the hallway.
"Let him go, Molly," Mr. Weasley said. He glanced at George, who had stood from his seat. "Sit down, let him go."
"Arthur, if she doesn't want to talk, we should leave her alone. Although, I think I'm going to bring her some food later. She's dreadfully skinny."
"If she's going to talk to any of us, it'll be Fred first," Mr. Weasley said gently.
"Okay," Mrs. Weasley sighed, sitting down. She tried to plaster a smile on her face. "Well, everybody dig in. Don't let the food get cold."
Fred raced up the stairs two at a time without even knowing where he was headed. He paused outside of Ginny's room and leaned against the wall to think. Muriel's house was huge and Scarlett could be anywhere. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall as he thought. He could eliminate the basement considering he had just left there. He could also eliminate the dining room, the kitchen and Ginny's room. He would've been able to eliminate Scarlett's room if only he knew which one it was. This house had a ton of bedrooms. It didn't matter though. He squeezed his eyes tighter and thought of places he would go if he was trying to hide and not be found. There was the library, of course, but Scarlett wouldn't hide there. The attic and the basement were also good places to hide. Since Scarlett wasn't in the basement, Fred decided to try the attic. If Scarlett wasn't there, then he would try each and every room until he found her.
Making up his mind, Fred raced towards the attic. He took the stairs two at a time and paused at the top to catch his breath. Biting his lip, he stared at the wooden attic door nervously. If Scarlett really was in there then he was about to see her for the first time in months. That made him nervous. His mother had also said she had been through a lot. What had she meant by that? Would Scarlett be different? Now that he had stopped to think, he couldn't stop himself from wondering what he would find on the other side of the door.
Finally, Fred composed himself enough to try opening the door. It was locked. He smirked, knowing that meant he had been right in thinking Scarlett was here.
"Scarlett?" he asked, resorting to knocking instead of immediately trying Alohomora. There was no answer. "Scarlett, I know you're in there, so please answer me," he pleaded. When he was met with silence for the second time, Fred knocked harder. "Scar, I'll find my way in there somehow, so it's no use ignoring me."
He waited a few seconds more and was met with silence once again. He blew a puff of air out of his mouth before trying Alohomora. To his surprise, it didn't work. He scowled. Scarlett must have put a charm over the door. Fred wasn't going to give up that easily, though. He would find a way in if it was the last thing he did.
"Scarlett," he pleaded again, resting his forehead against the door. "Please let me in." His voice was almost a whisper, but he knew she could hear him. He closed his eyes and listened for any kind of sound from the other side of the door, but there was nothing.
Suddenly, he was struck with a thought. He had thought of a way for him to get into the attic and he was willing to bet everything he had that Scarlett didn't know about it and hadn't blocked it.
Turning on his heel, he raced back down the attic stairs and ran until he reached the bedroom he shared with George. This bedroom was very special to them and they always slept in it whenever they stayed over at Auntie Muriel's house, but tonight Fred was more thankful for it than ever before. The reason for this was because there was a section of the wall that slid back to reveal a secret passageway that eventually split and led to either the basement or the attic. Fred and George had always used the passageway to sneak around the house and they were using it now for easy access to the basement, but at that moment it was coming in handy for something so much more important.
Fred made his way through the secret passageway as quickly as possible and up to the attic. He pushed on the section of the wall at the end and almost smiled when it opened. With his heart pounding nervously, he stepped into the room and looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. Finally, he saw Scarlett, curled up on the window seat, her forehead resting on the glass of the window. She was sitting completely still and looked so small and miserable that Fred wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be alright, even though he didn't fully know what had happened to her.
"Scar," he whispered, crossing the room to her and crouching down beside the window seat. He refrained from touching her just yet. Something inside of him told him that she'd only recoil if he did.
Scarlett didn't answer him and she didn't even move. She wasn't even blinking and if Fred couldn't see that she was breathing, he'd actually think she was dead.
"Ignoring me isn't going to make me go away," he said, "so you might as well say something."
"Then will you go away?" Scarlett asked.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On how satisfied I am."
"With…?" Scarlett prompted. She still wasn't looking at him.
"With you," Fred answered with a shrug. He waited a beat before standing up and positioning himself at the other end of the window seat. His eyes roamed over Scarlett from head to toe, searching for injuries. She looked unharmed and in fairly good health. Of course, she looked tired, worn out and underfed, but that was mainly it. "You seem to be uninjured."
"I splinched myself earlier," Scarlett said vaguely, "but Fleur healed it."
Fred stared at her. "Scar, you need to tell me what happened to you. From start to finish. Did Umbridge do something so terrible to you that you had to hide away in my great aunt's attic?"
"I guess you can say that."
"What did she do?"
"Don't act like you don't know. I'm sure your mother told you," Scarlett practically snapped. She was still looking out the window, something that was annoying Fred more and more with every passing second.
"She told everyone else I think, but George and I were in the basement getting our owl order business started. It's how we're keeping the shop going while we're unable to run it."
Scarlett didn't respond.
"Scar," Fred whispered after a few seconds. "What happened to you?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she answered. "Just go down and eat dinner with everyone else."
"No. I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened."
"I don't want to talk about it!" she said firmly. "Just go away."
"Why are you doing this?" Fred cried. "Why are you doing this all over again?"
"Doing what?"
"Pulling away from everyone! You're hiding in an attic and you refuse to talk to me. Of course, you've apparently talked to my mother, though."
"I didn't," Scarlett answered. "Bill made me tell him what happened when I was at Shell Cottage. I told him the basics and he told your mum. She told everyone else. Believe me, I wish nobody knew anything at all."
"Scarlett," Fred sighed, "I'm so lost. You were at Shell Cottage? Why were you there?"
Scarlett shook her head. "Just go back downstairs."
"No. This is insane. You're just pushing me away. You won't even look at me!"
Finally, Scarlett turned her head and glared at him. "Happy?"
Fred stared back at her silently. Behind Scarlett's glare, he saw complete and utter sadness and pain in her eyes and it practically killed him. "No," he whispered, "I'm not." He slid closer and reached out to cup her cheek in his hand, but she pushed his arm away and turned back to the window.
"Don't touch me," she said.
Fred looked away, his chest tightening unpleasantly and a lump forming in his throat. He was terrified, to say the least. He had seen Scarlett like this when they were nine and her father had died, but he had really only seen the surface of it and even that he hadn't fully understood. Then, when she had explained it to him back at school, he had understood it a little more, but even that was different than what he was experiencing now.
"I'm not going to leave," he said. "How do I know you won't barricade the secret entrance?"
"You don't know, that's the idea. But I probably will, just so you know."
"Which is why I'm not leaving." He turned towards her and gave her a steely glare. "I'm not letting you hide away in here because you're closing yourself off to everyone. I couldn't help you when you were nine, but I can help you now and I fully intend on doing just that." When Scarlett didn't answer, he continued speaking, his voice softer. "I happen to know from experience," he whispered, "that talking can help loads. Someone I care about very much once told me that and when I needed to talk, she sat up with me doing just that. I'd like to do the same for her."
There was a short pause before Scarlett's bottom lip trembled and then, just like that, she pulled her knees even tighter to her chest and buried her head in her arms as she finally gave in to the tears. It was the first time Fred had ever seen her really cry. He slid closer and pulled her onto his lap as she cried harder and louder, burying her face into his neck and closing a fist around a handful of his shirt.
The fact that Scarlett was crying like this was heartbreaking enough, but it was even worse that Fred didn't even know why. He wanted nothing more than to hurt whoever had caused her so much pain. He wanted to fix whatever problem she was going through. But he couldn't do that until she told him what was wrong, so he had no choice but to hold her in his arms, gently rock her back and forth and wait for her tears to subside.
A/N: I finished this chapter a lot sooner than I thought and I was going to put it up tomorrow but I decided to put it up a little earlier since it took me so long to update last time. It's a little longer than the last chapter too so I hope everyone likes it. :)