Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

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Cassidy

The ginger cat let out another purr as I scratched my fingers into his back, watching him stretch his paws closer to the sunlight shining in from the window. The twins and I had managed to get a compartment with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Usually this would have meant an exciting train ride, yet this year none of us were feeling very chatty.

The trio had been discussing something to do with newspapers and admiring some beetle that Hermione had captured, but I couldn't keep my attention on any of that. Voldemort was back. Harry had seen him. Dueled with him. He killed Cedric. Cedric was dead. I was an official orphan. Everything was changing.

Fred's fingers trailed down my thigh, breaking me from my spiraling thoughts. I bit my lip to try and hide the smile as I looked up at him, the smirk lining his face.

"I cant wait to be back home with y-" He started under his breath before the door to the compartment slid open.

"Trying not to think about it, are we?" Malfoy jeered, Crabbe and Goyle standing like amused statues behind him. "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened?

"Get out." Harry's voice rang through the cabin as if he was announcing the world cup.

"You picked the losing side, Potter. I did warn you. You'll see soon. I mean, sure, Diggory was first. Who do we think will be next? Granger or Olse-"

Before I had even registered his words, the entire compartment was on it's feet, orange, red and green sparks bouncing off the ceiling before the smoke cleared to reveal the three Slytherin boys on the ground before us.

"Oh, that's sick." George pretended to gag, taking a step towards the fallen fourth years. "Looks like our spells combined. How'd he get tentacles?"

"Serves him right." Fred growled, using his feet to kick Goyle's body into the hallway to make room for George, Ron and Harry to pull the other two through the doorway.

Once Hermione and I returned to the compartment after changing from our robes, Fred and George stood to take their turn.

"We'll be quick in case those idiots wake up." George gave us a lighthearted smile as the tall boys headed into the hallway, hardly bothering to step over the bodies.

I gave Crookshanks a light stroke across his back to tell him I was back and went back to looking out the window. The day was beautiful, and despite all of the darkness of the past few weeks, it felt fitting that this would be the kind of weather we would return to the burrow in.

After a few more minutes, my attention was drawn away from the blurry trees outside of the clear glass. That feeling, the one from the world cup, the feeling of eyes on me. I turned my head slowly, scanning over Hermione's eyes buried in a book to Ron's which were locked in on his chocolate frog card until I met Harry's green eyes. They looked dark, curious, and almost... scared?

"Harry?" I asked, thinking he surely must have zoned out.

Ron and Hermione's eyes flickered towards their friend before he quickly looked away.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Are you okay?" I asked, not wanting to ask why he was staring at me outright.

"I'm fine." He shrugged, turning his attention to his bag as he rummaged for some unknown object.

"I think she means why were you staring at her." Hermione muttered beneath her breath before turning back to her book.

"I wasn't staring at her." Harry retorted, earning a shrug from his two friends before the twins re-emerged. "Come on, Ron, let's go change."