A/N: Hey guys! As you might have noticed: I'm back! I've been struggling with writers block for well over three years and I just managed to get myself back together. Thank you for those who stuck with me! And thank you for those who are just jumping in in this moment. I'm so happy that you are giving me a chance to take you back to the wonderful world of Harry Potter! Please do me a favour and send out a review! I will be forever grateful :)

Chapter 10

Amelia woke up early the morning after their shopping trip. She was planning on helping Mrs. Weasley with some chores, before taking a nice walk through the woods surrounding the Burrow. It seemed like most parents had let up a bit about the whole Sirius Black escaping situation, since they were allowed to go off on their own more. She had decided to keep her skirts and dresses for later in the summer, not wanting to ruin her clothes during her adventures with the boys, so she just pulled on one of her old jeans and a t-shirt she had stolen from George a while back. She took her usual morning shower, braided her hair and then headed downstairs. She smiled at Mrs. Weasley, who was making piles of breakfast, like she did every morning.

"Good morning Amelia. Did you get a good night's sleep, dear?"

"I did. Thank you." It was a lie, and Mrs. Weasley knew it was a lie. Amelia's sleep was disturbed by nightmares about sharp claws and her side that kept hurting. There was no doubt about the fact that Ginny had told her mother about the nights Amelia woke up screaming or sobbing. There was also no doubt about the fact that Mrs. Weasley was trying her hardest to make Amelia feel at ease. They both knew that Amelia would look or ask for help when she needed it, like she had always done. Amelia sat down at the large table, nodding in greeting towards Percy, who was just finishing the last bite of his breakfast, before heading to his new job at the ministry. Soon her plate was filled with pieces of toast and bacon and a pile of sausages. Growing up with Fred and George nearby was definitely of influence on her eating habits, making her eat a lot of food in a short time. When her plate was empty, about five minutes later, she rose and put her plate in the sink, before walking up to Mrs. Weasley.

"Is there anything you'd like me to do?" Mrs. Weasley shook her head.

"No, thank you dear. The boys helped me with a lot of the chores yesterday, so you're free to do whatever you want to do. Be careful of your side, though." After promising to watch herself, Amelia walked out of the house, into the sunny garden. Her face was immediately greeted by the warmth of the sun and the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing bees reached her ears. Blindly she walked into the woods, following the path she had walked a thousand times when she was younger.

X- Harry Potter -X

The tree house could be found a little ways into the woods, hidden in an old oak tree. There were wooden steps, covered in spells to prevent you from falling down. It used to be her favorite place in the world, but she hadn't been here for a while. Last summer they had not been allowed to go out in the woods and the year before that the twins had gotten grounded because of the whole flying car spectacle. She silently climbed the ladder on the side of the tree, while ignoring the pain in her side, excited to see the place she used to hide from the world, when she needed to. She halted on the platform at the top of the ladder, trying to breathe the pain away. She didn't like the fact that she had to catch her breath every so often. She was known as an athlete for Merlin's sake! Ignoring the hurting in her side for a while, she stared out at the clearing in front of her, enjoying the peace and quiet. She loved the Burrow, but at times it was a bit hectic. As she was staring out at the peaceful clearing, she noticed two red-headed figures making their way towards the tree house. She let a little smile make her way onto her face, before turning and disappearing into the tree house itself, making herself comfortable on the worn-down couch they had put up there. The scratches on her side had started bleeding again the night before, and hurt like bloody hell, but she was determined not to let it show. She had barely found a position in which she didn't hurt, when the door opened and the twins stepped inside. They had obviously known that she was there, seeing as they were not in the least bit surprised to see her. George sat down on the couch next to her, as Fred laid down on the carpet, of which Amelia couldn't for the love of Merlin remember where they got it from. She immediately felt that they wanted to talk about something, the silence between the three of them tense. It was Amelia who broke it, deciding that whatever it was, it was best to just make them tell.

"Okay, spit it out." She was answered by Fred throwing a familiar looking piece of paper in front of her feet. The letter her dad had sent her! "H-how did you get this?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" George's voice was soft, a serious tone to it.

"I would have. Eventually."

"This is big, Lia." Fred sounded sad, hurt even. "Really big. You find out your dad is alive, and you don't tell us about it."

"It's not that simple, Fred. My father… He isn't who we thought he was. Nor was my mother." Both twins frowned and looked up, her words having piqued their interest.

"What are you talking about, Lia?"

"I- I can't tell you who my dad is. It's complicated." Fred had sat up by now.

"Don't you trust us?" The hurt was still evident in his voice, making Amelia's heart break a little.

"Of course I trust you! You've read the letter, haven't you? My father is in hiding. And for good reason!" Her outburst made them look at her, eyes wide. "My mother was killed! My aunt and uncle were killed! My nephew keeps trying to get himself killed every single year thus far! And my dad can't show himself! My life is bloody fucking fantastic right now! I don't need more drama thank you very much!" By the end of her screaming, Fred had jumped up from his spot on the floor and both twins were hugging her close, like they used to do when they were young.

"We're sorry, Lia. You can tell us when you feel ready, okay?" It took the twins a bit more talking to her, before she had calmed down. It was also the moment they knew that, whatever the reason Amelia's father had to hide, it was not good. Not good at all.

X- Harry Potter -X

Over the next few weeks, Amelia always had one or both of the twins near her. They could usually be found in the twins' room, hanging out with Ginny or near the pond, where Amelia would watch as the twins held water fights. Every now and then you would see Amelia and George looking all over the Burrow, trying to find Fred, who had disappeared more than a few times a week. Amelia had still not taken out her new clothes, putting it off again and again. Maybe it was for the best, as the claw marks still bled every now and then. The twins didn't bring up Amelia's dad again, instead choosing to hear her out about the rest of her family. They had stated the obvious about Harry being her nephew and kept bugging her with stupid jokes and puns about Harry, who they had decided to call the-boy-who-just-wouldn't-die. Soon enough, they were walking up the hill, joined by the golden trio, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory and Cedric, who they vaguely knew from school. It seemed to irk Fred that Cedric was flirting a little with Amelia, making her laugh so hard, she had to grab her side with both hands.

"Cheer up, Freddie. You look like a jealous boyfriend." George laughed at Fred, before the latter pulled a face and jogged a little more to the front to 'save' his best friend.

X- Harry Potter -X

How in the bloody hell had she managed to lose both Harry and the twins? She knew for sure that Fred and George would take care of Ginny. They would listen to what their dad had said and hide in the woods. Harry, Ron and Hermione were a bigger problem though. Those three were undoubtedly getting into trouble somewhere nearby. Making up her mind, Amelia went out to find the three thirteen year olds, ignoring the burning pain in her side. She mindlessly ran through the burning campsite, ending up somewhere on the right from where the screams were coming from. She was just about to circle back to the tents, when she was stopped by a dark, cloaked figure. She took a step back, about to turn around, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Not so fast, kitten." Amelia paled.

"What do you want?" She growled lowly. She turned in such a way that she could keep an eye on both hooded figures, though the first one she saw did not pose an immediate threat.

"I believe I already made that clear before the summer, didn't I?" She turned her hate-filled eyes towards him for a millisecond.

"You will never get what you want, not while I'm alive and kicking!" The hissed words sounded strangely loud as they filled the air around the two of them.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be fun if you'd stop kicking." She could perfectly imagine the menacing grin that was on the face behind the silvery mask, and couldn't help but feel the slightest hint of fear chill her bones. She was determined not to show it though.

"Bring it on, you wanker." He suddenly had her arm in a vice-like grip, his fingers definitely about to leave bruises.

"You're coming with me, kitten."

"Get your hands off of her!" Amelia realized two things in that moment. One: Her attackers' eyes went comically wide. And two: Never before in her life had she been this happy to hear Fred's voice. Before either she or her attacker knew what was happening, the other hooded figure was laying on the ground, knocked out by a spell and a wand was pointed their way. The grip on Amelia's arm tightened even more. Suddenly George and Ginny appeared on both of Fred's sides.

"I believe my brother asked you to get your hands off of our best friend." George's voice held a deadly tone to it, and Amelia would hate to be on the receiving end of Ginny's stare. Her attacker seemed to think the same, as he gave her a big push, before disappearing. Amelia shot forward, tripping over a tree root and only avoiding falling flat on her face, because Fred jumped forward, catching her.

"Are you okay?" Amelia looked up at Fred's concerned face. She silently nodded.

"Did you get a look at him?" George and Ginny had ran to their side. "You seemed to know him."

"Flint." George immediately let out a low growl.

"There you are!" Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy came running into their line of sight. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? Just when I thought that was our biggest problem." It was only now that they realized there was a huge, floating skull visible above them, a snake slithering out of its mouth. Amelia looked at Mr. Weasley, frowning.

"Is that what I think it is?" He nodded solemnly. "And Harry?"

"He's okay." After hearing those words, Amelia stopped fighting the blackness that tried to suck her in and fainted, still being held upright by Fred.

X- Harry Potter -X

When Amelia woke up, she felt the softness of a mattress under her, as well as the warmth and steady breathing of the body that surrounded her. For a second she panicked, opening her eyes wide, but then she realized that she was laying in a bed at the Burrow. More specifically in Fred's bed.

"Oh, you're awake. Finally." She turned her head towards George, who was sitting on the side of his own bed. She noticed he was whispering, and figured it was because Fred was asleep.

"What happened?" She tried to move as little as possible, wanting to avoid waking Fred up.

"You fainted after the whole Flint ordeal." Amelia frowned. It wasn't like her to faint, just like that.

"Why in the world did I faint?" George raised his eyebrows.

"Surely you must know that you have gigantic scratches running down your side?"

"You saw those?"

"Really Lia? You didn't think we'd notice at some point? We knew something wasn't right when we were still at school, but we'd figured you'd tell us sooner or later. It wasn't until you started bleeding through your clothes that we realized just what you were hiding from us."

"Are you mad at me?" George shook his head.

"Not mad. Just hurt. Though I think Fred took it harder than I did." Amelia turned her head slightly, so she could look at Fred's sleeping face and bit her lip, a habit that she had been developing over the summer.

"I'm sorry George. I really am. But I don't think I'm quite ready to talk about it yet." George gave a short nod.

"I understand. But I think you should talk to Fred. You know how he gets." Knowing Fred for such a long time had taught her a thing or two about the twin sleeping next to her.

"You're right. I'll wake him up soon." George gave a nod and left the room. Amelia carefully turned towards Fred, waking him in the process.

"Lia! You're awake!" He carefully tightened his grip on her, trying to avoid her side. Amelia couldn't help but wrap her own arms around his neck, pulling him as close as she possibly could. She'd never know why, but she suddenly started crying. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and onto his shirt. He stiffened for a moment, before softly stroking her back. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here." It took him a while to get her to stop crying. When she finally did, it took her another moment to speak.

"I'm sorry Fred. I'm sorry for scaring you and I'm sorry for not telling you about the scratches. She felt his muscles tense for a second, before he softly let out a breath and pressed a feather light kiss on the top of her head.

"It's okay, Lia. You have no obligation whatsoever to tell me anything. It's not like I'm your boyfriend." There was a certain tone to his voice, which Amelia couldn't place. "Now, how about a little fresh air?"

"I would like that." They got up and Fred grabbed his broom and mounted it. Amelia, dressed in a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt of the Harpies sat in front of him and soon they were flying through the air, before landing on the deck of the tree house. Amelia smiled at Fred as he put the broom away, before coming to lean against the banister next to her. They stood there in silence for a while, just staring out at the trees surrounding them.

"I love it here." Fred's voice broke through the silence, making Amelia turn to him. "I know it seems like I love chaos and mayhem, which I do, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I like coming here to think." Something clicked in her head.

"So every time George and I couldn't find you these past few weeks?"

"Yeah. I had a lot to think about." Amelia frowned at him.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don't know if I should. It's complicated."

"Try me." Fred turned around and slid down the banister, until he was sitting down, shortly followed by Amelia.

"Okay. So, there's this girl. I like her a lot, but I don't think she could even think about me as something other than a friend. And that gets to me, because she's the most beautiful, charming and caring person I've ever met. I think I might even be in love with her." Amelia had mixed feelings about his confession. She was happy for Fred, she couldn't really recall him ever having real feelings for someone. Not this deep. But there was a part of her, kind of a big part actually, that was strangely… jealous. She had been so deep in thought, that she didn't notice Fred turning and looking at her. "Lia?"

"You shouldn't worry Fred. You're amazing. You're sweet, caring, know how to cook and you're fun to be around. I know the girl you're talking about will like you just as much, and if that's not the case, you'll be able to make her change her mind. I can't think of anyone in this whole bloody world who's a better person than you." Any words that might have followed her speech were gone the second his lips crashed into hers, turning her mind blank in a mere second. Her body responded automatically, her arms going up around his neck, her eyes closing of their own accord and, after the slight pressure of his tongue on her lips, her mouth opening to give him the opportunity to deepen the kiss. The moment his hands landed on her waist, her mind began to work again, and she pulled back with a speed like lightning had hit her.

"Lia? What's wrong?" Fred looked confused and a little bit hurt. She couldn't see that look in his eyes, she hated seeing him hurt.

"N-nothing. I have to go." She jumped up and grabbed Fred's broom, knowing he would forgive her for having to walk back to the house, and sped off.

X- Harry Potter -X

Amelia's mind was still racing when she entered the, thankfully empty, room. Ginny was probably out helping Mrs. Weasley with the groceries or hanging around the golden trio. Heart still thumping, she let herself fall down on her cot, staring up at the ceiling. Her sides were burning, and this time it wasn't because of the open wound in her side, but rather the remaining sensation of Fred's hands as they kissed. How had this happened? Within less than a year not one, but two of her best friends had kissed her. Amelia thought back to how she had felt when Oliver kissed her for the first time, but all she could see in her mind was that kiss Fred just gave her. She was shook out of her thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

"Lia? It's me. Can I come in? Please?" She kept quiet. "Please talk to me. I know you're in there."

"Fine." As soon as she said that, the door opened and Fred walked in. Amelia kept staring up at the ceiling, not wanting to look into his eyes just yet.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry." She frowned at the ceiling, when he said those words. "I didn't kn- I- I thought you- Will you just look at me?" She closed her eyes for a moment, before sitting up and looking at him. "I'm sorry, Lia. I really am. I shouldn't have kissed you without permission. I got a little carried away. It's just… Hearing you say those things about me… It got to my head." He looked at his feet, the top of his ears red. And then there was the stuttering. It wasn't too often that you heard one of the twins lose confidence in a thing they said. It actually was only the second time she'd ever heard one of the twins stutter. The only other time was when George had a little infatuation with a girl two villages over.

"Why did you kiss me, Fred? It can't just have been the things I said."

"I don't know. I only know that I was bloody scared when you fainted and I saw all that blood. There was so much blood, Lia." She heard his voice break, and quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him on the bed next to her, so she could hug him.

"It's okay, Freddie. I'm not going anywhere. It's gonna take more than a few werewolf scratches to kill me." He went rigid at her words.

"Werewolf scratches? That's what they are?" Amelia bit her lip.

"Yes." The word was barely above a whisper, but it was loud enough for Fred to hear.

"Why didn't you tell us, Lia? We would've been so much more careful." She looked down, blushing.

"I-it's kind of a long story."

"It's not good to keep everything inside, you know that, right?"

"Yeah. I know. But I'm not supposed to talk about it." Her evasion of the subject seemed to click inside his head, and he lifted her face to his, making her look into his eyes.

"Lia, the scratches… Do they have something to do with your dad?" Amelia nodded slowly. "I-is your dad a werewolf?"

"What? No!"

"Oh good. I was worried that Lupin might've been your dad." Amelia resembled a fish for a moment.

"N-no. He's not." She muttered something that wasn't quite understandable.

"What was that?"

"I said: just my godfather." Fred frowned.

"So, your dad used to be buddies with Lupin? I heard that all his old friends are either dead or-" Fred fell silent for a moment, and Amelia knew he had connected the dots. "escaped prisoners. Lia, don't tell me that you dad is-"

"Sirius Black."