for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 34

NARRATOR'S POV

Carina freezes on the spot. Her instant reaction is to move away from Fred, moving her hair back to its place, covering up most of her scars. Fred stays quiet, his hands on top of his knees, his eyes soft, glazed over as he gets a glimpse of some of Carina's treacherous past. "I forgot," murmurs the green eyed girl, staring at the wall blankly.

Whenever she's with Fred, she forgets all about her past. It had never been something bad in her mind, not until now anyway. Swallowing with difficulty, Fred moves closer towards her. As gently as ever, his hand raises, now resting on top of her shoulder. Carina tenses under his touch before relaxing slightly, her figure sagging. "May I?" Asks the younger boy in a quiet tone, his fingers trailing down her shoulder blades, teasing her long hair, wanting to move it away.

It takes a few seconds but Carina ends up nodding her head, tilting her chin forward to give him even better access. Her eyes shut tightly, even though she can't see his reaction. She braces herself when Fred moves her hair away, his fingertips grazing over the nape of her neck, adjusting her hair for it to fall over her shoulder. A shudder runs down Fred's back as he inspects Carina's, biting on his bottom lip.

The amount of scars shock him. So many sharp lines, one over the other, carelessly placed, yet meticulously planned. He can tell the person who did them thought about where to put them, not wanting anyone else to see. They go from both of her shoulder blades to right below her waist, some of them red and angry while others are paler than her own skin, thick and jagged. Unconsciously, Fred traces the largest one, making Carina's breath hitch in her throat. His finger is cold and tender against her mangled skin, respectful and kind.

So kind, it almost tears her heart right out of her chest.

Silence fills Carina's ears as she hugs her knees against her chest with her back curved, giving Fred access to one of her darker sides. The quiet is so loud, it's almost deafening. The red haired boy sighs profoundly, bringing both of his arms around Carina's smaller body, wrapping himself around her in a loving and much needed embrace. She can feel her eyes stinging at the feeling of comfort. Nobody had ever seen her like this.

"I am in love with you," comes Fred's voice, just above a whisper, lips pressed against her left cheek, on top of his favourite freckle. Carina can hear Lucius' voice, a low yet incessant murmur in her brain: love makes you weak... thanks to you, your weasel boyfriend will get the worst of it... "Carina?"

The use of her name, brings her back to reality, pulling her away from her thoughts. "Sorry, this is a lot for me," admits the green eyed girl, gulping down her emotions. She expects Fred to ask her questions, and the fact that he doesn't is actually what grants him answers. "Lucius is a monster," she starts. If Fred weren't leaning into her, he wouldn't have been able to listen. "I can't remember a time in which he didn't enjoy hurting me."

Fred wouldn't have expected to be reacting the way he is. Surprisingly calm and collected, listening with intention, wanting her to open up and feel better, rather than waiting for her to finish and going off to fight. After all, no matter how hard he wants to kill Lucius for doing this to her, this isn't his battle. "Those are from a lot of different spells he created... though, I'm pretty sure one of them he learned from a friend at school - or that's what he said after he casted it... I can't remember what it is... it felt like getting splinched, though." Carina stares at the bubbly, shimmery bath, taking a deep breath. "I was twelve."

At that statement, Fred's arms tighten around her in a protective manner and his lips pepper caring kisses along her cheeks. "There's so much you don't know," confesses Carina, tears forming in her eyes. "I want you to know everything, but I just - I just can't bring myself to -"