━━author's note: Here's another Fred Weasley story! It was written for one of my very dear friends. I hope you enjoy

━━warning(s): swearing, mentions of injuries and passing out

━━word count: 2,909

Fred rolled his eyes as the pink, monster of a woman as she took them to her office yet again. George was right behind him, sighing quietly. They couldn't. Not when that first year had done nothing wrong. They had to take the blame.

"Ahhhh Miss (Y/n), doing good I hope?" she said, smiling wickedly at the student in front. (Y/n) bit her tongue, trying not to say anything that would get her into any more trouble. Her hand was already red and swollen.

Fred's gaze shifted to you, writing over the small round table. He furrowed his eyebrows. Didn't Umbridge support all Slytherins?

"Mr. Weasley!" came the teacher's shrill voice and Fred looked at the toad again.

"If you two could please take the quills here?" she said mockingly as they both picked it up, sitting behind a small table together.

"What do we have to write?" they asked taking out a sheet.

"Write, 'we must not destroy school property.'" She said, laughing. If there could be a worse sound in the world.

Fred started writing as he felt the familiar prick in his hands. Hundreds of needles, stabbing his arm as he tried not to hiss. He heard a small gasp beside as he turned to look at you. Your one arm was plump and you were writing from the other one. Did the witch made you write from both of them?

"Now Mr. Weasley, it would be nice to concentrate on your own punishment and let it sink in. Miss (Y/l/n), I hope you are getting the message?" she asked sipping her tea. Fred wondered if it was polyjuice hiding something far terrible from them, but then again, she was already horrendous.

"Yes, professor." You said with such contempt, that George looked up exchanging a glance with him. The teacher however didn't notice.

Fred kept sneaking glances at you throughout the next few hours. You were bit your lip as if trying not to say something. He never quite noticed you if he was honest. You were always with your close friends from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. You were a quiet person seemingly blending with the crowds. He always took it to be pride over your blood status, not wanting to mingle with the so called, 'dirty bloods'. Now as he saw you, he wondered if he was wrong. He wanted to know what brought you here. He looked down at his own parchment thinking what had gotten into him.

He scribbled furiously, wanting to get this over with. George raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged. He saw you stand up, showing Umbridge your arms, getting a tut for approval. He rushed through the next few lines, filling up the page as he felt tears prick his eyes.

He stood up as you left the room, rushing to the witch. He showed his arms to her and the page. Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him. Fred bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from saying something.

"You may leave Mr. Weasley. Remember not to repeat it again." She said as Fred tried to nod. Fred rushed out of the room, turning towards the corridor leading to the dungeons. He turned and finally saw you walking slowly towards your dorm.

"Heyyy! (Y/n)!!! Wait!" he called out as you turned to see the notorious boy with apprehension.

"What did you get detention for?" Fred asked out of breath as you let out a laugh little at his state and a little remembering the best moment of your life.

"I called her a stupid ignorant bitch who needs to re-attend all her classes at how not to be an idiot."

"You, WHAT?" Fred said barking out laughing. "You didn't"

"Well don't tell me; I have a hard time believing it too!" you said laughing nervously. There weren't many things that riled you up. But that woman was a monster, she infuriated you and the burst of anger was the result.

"Well, don't you support blood purity and stuff?" Fred said looking at you. You frowned, deflating immediately.

you asked.

you said sighing, shaking your head. You turned and walked back to your dorm, not wanting to continue the conversation. Gryffindors were mighty judgmental even though they upheld honor and bravery. Fred jogged to catch up with you.

"I didn't want to offend you." He said as you reached the Slytherin common room.

"Well, too late for that Weasley" you shrugged, moving inside leaving the red-head more intrigued than ever.

You tried to shake away budding thoughts as you lay in bed that night. You were done with people assuming that you upheld totally disgusting views on blood purity just because you were a pureblood and a Slytherin. Just because you were quiet didn't mean you agreed with every single one around you. So why did his thoughts still plague you? Maybe it was because of the way he asked, his face as it lit up when you told him what you did. Whatever it was, you were sure that the next day would come soon and he would forget this conversation happened all together. Maybe you would too.

***

You took out yet another book, placed haphazardly on the shelf. You sighed seeing it wasn't even in the right section of the hall. You took up to helping Madam Pince with the library long ago. You got to spend more time here than anyone, plus you had free access to the restricted section. There was a tap on your shoulder as you turned to see Fred. You raised your eyebrows at him.

"Need some help?" Fred asked.

"No, it's all good."

"Listen, I'm sorry for yesterday. I totally didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry for being judgemental."

"It's okay."

"Let me help you," he said taking the book from your hands, and going to keep it in the right section. You found yourself smiling at his retreating figure.

You weren't gonna lie, with his help, everything finished a lot faster and easily and you were thankful. Keeping the away the last stash of books you sighed. Fred grinned beside you. The two of you went to a secluded table at the back, hidden from Madam Pince. Unless, you shout at the top of your lungs, you could pretty much keep talking here.

"Thank you for helping me today."

"It is always my pleasure to help the badass women of Hogwarts." He said dramatically as you laughed.

"Believe me, I don't know what took over me. Maybe it was her just drilling everyone, I was done."

"It was still badass." He said with sparkling eyes and you smiled widely.

"What about you?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why were you being punished?"

Fred told you the reason as you felt the familiar knots tie up your stomach. She was horrid. You wondered why she was given the job of a teacher in the first place. Fred sensed your expression and changed the topic. You both laughed and talked and for the very first time, you felt at ease. The twins were like that, weren't they? Making everyone comfortable? Your eyes widened at the time. The two of you had been talking for hours! Fred followed your gaze to the huge clock and grinned.

"I must say (Y/n), for a quiet student, you sure do talk much" he said smirking down at you. You narrowed your eyes at him.

"Do I hear complains?" you asked, raising an eyebrow and Fred laughed.

"Not at all, miss!" he said, bowing down as you giggled a little.

***

Fred started seeing you almost everyday. It was always nice to talk to him, to be near him in general. You would laugh, have fun and just forget about everything, if only for a little while. George joined you two sometimes and the three of you would goof around. You felt light for the first time after years. Come to think of it, you didn't remember a time when your close friends talked about anything other than Umbridge and NEWTs. It was a great change.

Fred never not called you 'Miss' or 'Madam' having his little smirk on as you tried hard not to blush. Something had changed a while ago as you saw Fred helping a terrified first year Slytherin. Your heart had started to flutter whenever he was around. You had started to melt at his compliments. You knew where this was going and didn't like it. At all. Didn't stop your heart from doing it anyway. There were so many reasons against you for falling for the notorious red-head. You didn't want to destroy the new found friendship. Then why did you keep finding yourself staring at the freckles which covered his cheek, his sparkling eyes which were sharper and darker than his twin's? His smile that warmed your heart?

The three of you were coming back from the library as George and Fred told you yet another story of the burrow. As you turned the corner, you saw Umbridge holding a child's arm as he cried, leading him to her office. The grip was tight and sure to leave bruises, even you could see that, standing feet apart. You scowled trying to breathe. Fred and George looked at each other.

"Are you thinking what I am?"

"We have an important prank on our hands?"

"Yes, we do."

"I'll join you." You blurted, looking at them both.

"What?"

"I'll join you. I want in." you said as they grinned at you.

"You're most welcome, Madam!" Fred said winking at you as you felt your heart do flips. You tried hard not to blush.

***

You started pranking the pink disaster along with the twins and you weren't sad about it. Even for a moment. You had fun seeing steam rise out of Umbridge's ears, her face contort in the most hilarious of ways. She looked comical. One time turned into two and then three and you never quite stopped. You always did it when she was overlooking a punishment, so as to help the students. And it was never not funny. You did get caught at times, but you faced all the punishments bravely. There was a satisfaction in it, getting punished when you knew it was you who did something deliberately for it. And the twins made it easier too. It was like you weren't alone. All in this together.

Fred loved this side of you. The side that was wild and untamed. You would come up with the most crazy of ideas and were amazing at executing them too. Your eyes sparkled and there was a passion in them that he loved. Nothing seemed to deter you, not the punishments, not the scoldings, not the friends who held you back. Fred had overheard them telling you to take care of yourself as you'd just laughed and said, 'It's time I took care of others.' Fred's heart had strangely warmed on hearing it. He didn't know what it was, whether it was pride or something else.

It was yet another detention. Umbridge had made you go on for hours. You had taken blame for it all. Fred paced the corridor outside the office. He was worried. It had been four hours already. Not to say that you hadn't healed properly from the last punishment, now this? His heart beat faster with each passing second. Why the hell would you do it? They were in this together. Why did you have to save both their asses?

"Fred, sit down." George commented. He sat on the low stone wall and had seen Fred become more and more anxious for you.

"I can't. I can't. I need to see her. What is that witch doing to her? We need to get her out George. She-" Fred huffed as George shook his head. He was so oblivious to his own feelings.

"Do you like her Fred?" he asked softly as Fred stopped to look at him, frowning.

"Of course I like her, she's my fri-"

"Don't be dumb, Fred. Do you like like her?" he asked as Fred's eyes widened. It was as if on queue that he heard the office door opening and closing. You came out, wiping your face with your sleeve. They both jogged towards you. You smiled at them forcefully.

"Heyyy..." you said, your voice raspy. Fred's heart beat faster on seeing you. You had rolled your sleeves down so they couldn't see the wound.

"(Y/n)-"

"Could I see you two tomorrow? I'm very tired." You managed to get out. You knew Fred would flip on seeing deep cuts on your arm. He would do something reckless and get in trouble. You didn't want that.

George nodded, Fred didn't. His eyes were pleading as he looked at you. You couldn't take it. You knew that if you looked at him a second longer, you would break.

You turned, walking back to your dorm, trying not to let the tears fall. It hurt, it hurt so much. You felt your head zoom suddenly and you plopped down in a corner trying to take in deep, deep breaths. You whimpered, slowly rolling up your sleeves to see the damage. You slowly pulled away the cloths you'd wrapped your arms under, hissing at the sensation. It was still bleeding. Profusely.

"(Y/n)!!!" Fred's voice came as you tried to wipe away your tears, but weren't fast enough. Fred's heart dropped on seeing you. You were crouched in a corner, holding your bloodied arms. He gasped as he slowly walked over to you, sitting down on the floor beside you slowly. He didn't utter a word. Maybe the silence would fill in everything he wanted to say. He was scared he would hurt you. You looked at him, your eyes red, as he took your hands in his. He rummaged through his bag taking out a gillywater vial.

"Fred, that's the last batch. I ca-" you started as he shushed you. He transformed the vial into a large bowl, increasing the potion as much as possible. He let your hand sink in them as you hissed making his heart contract. He looked at you seeing how hard you tried not to cry. Tears pricked his eyes. As he saw your wounds slowly healing, he took the bloodied cloths, cleaning them. He dipped it in a paste Hermione gave him, which helped to calm the skin down. He wrapped them both on your hands, as you took them out of gillywater. You kept looking at him as he worked, his hands so tender and careful, you'd think they were flowers.

He looked at you as he was done. He wiped away the tears you didn't know had fallen. He kissed your forehead and heard you sniff. Wrapping his hands around you, he pulled you closer. He didn't know who needed the contact more, him or you. You broke down. He felt you shake as you cried into his chest. Fred felt as if someone squeezed his lungs as he let his own tears fall. No. Not you. He didn't want you to suffer. You didn't deserve this. He blamed himself for not coming forward as George had held him back. You were always strong and seeing you break like this, it triggered something in him. he wanted to keep you like this. If it was what it took to keep you safe. He realized something. He realized just how much he had come to love you, to cherish you and seeing you hurt, even if it was a little, killed him. He had to tell you.

He didn't know how long he held you. He picked you up when you calmed down and led you to your dorm, putting you to bed. He whispered sweet dream wishes into your ear and you sighed. He got out of the Slytherin house dorms and started planning.

***

You woke up to a shuffling in your bed. Your eyes widened as you saw someone shifting. You were about to scream as a hand stopped you and you met with familiar brown eyes. He took his hands away smiling at you softly. You squinted at him. Was he blushing?

"Fred?"

"I'm sorry I woke you up, but this couldn't wait. And it's almost afternoon anyway." He said nervously as you looked at the time. 12pm. He wasn't wrong. You let out a laugh. Maybe you were pretty exhausted since yesterday.

"Ummm, these are for you." He said, giving you your favourite flowers. You were confused but smiled widely nonetheless.

"Thank you, are-" you started but Fred shushed you.

"(Y/n), I realised just how much I love you yesterday. Seeing you hurt, it broke me." He said cupping your face. Your heart flipped. "I am in love you. And I hate myself for taking it so long to realise. It's okay if you don't like me back. But I really needed to tell you. I-"

You pressed your lips against his. He gasped but pulled you closer, kissing you like he was dying to. Maybe he was. He pulled away breathless.

"Wait, I wanted to ask you out on a date!" He said as you laughed.

"We can go on as many dates as you want. But first let me kiss you properly" you said pulling him down to kiss again.

━━P.S. Lmk what you think!