75.
"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you two?!"
"Mum just let us explain!"
"Explain what? Explain how you nearly put Sophia into cardiac arrest?!"
Fred and George sat at the kitchen table in The Burrow with their mother standing in front of them with her hands on her hips. Arthur also stood nearby with a stern look on his face, but Molly could be seen to be fuming. The Patronus that George had sent hadn't explained anything of what happened but when the boys emerged from the field with Sophia unconscious in Fred's arms, Molly was sharp enough to work out what had happened. After Fred had put Sophia into his old bed, Molly had forced the two into the kitchen chairs and had spent the last half hour scolding them with a bright red face.
"What you two did was foolish," Arthur added, his eyes flickering between the faces of his sons. "You could have jeoprodised everything that the Order has worked towards keeping Sophia hidden."
"No one recognised her," George mumbled grumpily and Molly glared fiercely at his words.
"Someone did George!" Molly put her knuckles to the table and leaned over to stare into George's frightened eyes. "Someone has seen Sophia! Why I ever agreed to letting you two take Sophia for the day, I just don't know-"
"We didn't plan for this Mum," Fred cut her off with an irritated look. "Everything was fine until the little runt showed up. She was having fun for once-"
"You never said who it was that showed up," Arthur asked, purposely avoiding Molly's glare at changing the subject. Fred and George quietly thanked their father for bringing up the topic they've been trying to bring up ever since they got to The Burrow. As soon as they arrived, Molly had pounced on them like a ion and made them sit as she ripped into them for their carelessness and immaturity.
"It was Draco Malfoy," Fred answered. "No one else was in the store when Sophia's potion wore off. We swear it. But she basically saw Malfoy and went into hysterics. It was like when she first turned up here only there was no blood."
"Do you think he hexed her or something?" Arthur inquired, now having his own conversation with Fred as George kept his head low from Molly's piercing glare.
"No. But she did say 'it's him' to me," Fred bit his lip at the memory. "I also remember Harry babbling about thinking that Malfoy was a Death Eater. I think that he was the one who tortured Sophia."
A silence hung over the kitchen once Fred finished and both Molly and Arthur looked surprised at his words. Molly's previous anger diminished and she now looked stumped, her arms loosening from their strong stance against her hips. Fred took the time to think about Sophia resting upstairs in his room, and about how guilty he felt for putting her through today. Yes, she had a lot of fun looking around the shop and overcoming her fear of strangers, but at what cost? If she had never left The Burrow, like the Order wanted, she wouldn't have ended up like this. Her run-in could even have set her back months of progress that Sophia has developed greatly in. Fred would hate to see her curl back up into her shell and return to acting like an abused puppy, whipping her head around whenever someone even whispered near her.
"We need to have an Order meeting then," Molly announced and grabbed her wand from the counter, marching towards the front door to send out yet another Patronus.
"Does that mean we'll get into more trouble?" George squeaked as he watched his mother forcefully yank open the door.
"Not still scared of Mad-Eye are you Georgie?" Molly mockingly smiled before disappearing out into the clearing in front of the house. George shrunk considerably in his seat with a gulp, dreading the arrival of the Ex-Auror who will most likely unleash his brutal anger on him and Fred.
"I'm not scared of him..." George whined to himself.
The arrival of Order members was familiar to the time when Sophia had been found. There was a rushed aurora that followed in with each member, especially Remus who turned up with Tonks seconds after the Patronus had reached him. The man first asked where Sophia was but was calmed when he saw her fast asleep in the upstairs bedroom, allowing Tonks to settle him at the kitchen table.
Everyone had soon arrived except for Dumbledore and they all waited patiently at the table. Fred and George sat silently but could feel the penetrating stare that was coming from both Remus and from Molly. Their mother had purposely given everyone but them a cup of tea and now sat next to Arthur with a grumbling expression. Remus was no better. He focused primarily on Fred, sending him an accusing and distasteful sneer. Fred forced himself to stare down at the table and see the small carvings that he made in previous meetings with a toothpick.
"I apologise for being so late," Dumbledore's voice flowed from the front door, making the Order turn their heads to see the man with his usual kind smile. "I must say that apparating with this thing was quite the struggle."
It was impossible to miss the huge table-like object that sat next to Dumbledore, looking to be completely made from stone. It wasn't polished like a marble table would be. The base and outer edges of the bowl were rough and carved straight from what could have been a boulder. The basin of the small table was then filled with a silvery liquid that swirled continuously as if it was previously disturbed. Fred and George seemed to be the only ones who didn't know what the object was, as the rest of the Order pursed their lips or looked away from Dumbledore to avoid his knowing gaze.
"No," Remus snapped, glaring at Dumbledore before turning to the rest of the Order who didn't dare say anything back. "I forbade the use of the Pensieve on Sophia. Did I not make myself clear enough?"
"We can't wait any longer Remus. We need to know what really happened," Kingsley being the only one brave enough (besides Mad-Eye, who has been told to be quiet during meetings when Remus became hostile) to speak up.
"With the possibility that Lucius Malfoy's son could be involved, we have to know more," Arthur joined, staring intently at Remus. "Please Remus. It's the least painful option."
Remus knew he was outnumbered and felt defeated. He couldn't protect Sophia when she first got captured and now he couldn't even prevent her from reliving it again. He had spent most of the past months trying to come to terms with the fact that his daughter was different from the last time he saw her. He also knew that he hadn't been spending as much time with her as he should have been. It just painted him too much to face the girl who vaguely knew who he was. But if he had been coming more frequently, he would know that Sophia has progressed greatly and was starting to remember most things from her past.
"Fred, I think you should be the one to get the memory," Dumbledore took Remus' silence as an agreement. "She trusts you the most."
Fred gulped but nodded obediently, getting up from his chair and walking upstairs to reach his old bedroom. He stopped for a moment before turning the door knob and looked down at the wand that was clutched in his hand. He would have to get Sophia to rethink of her time in the hands of the Death Eaters in order for him to completely extract it from her mind. If she was going to react like how she did today when she saw Malfoy, Fred was sure that he wouldn't be able to take it. He had only kept it together today because he knew that if Sophia was seen by anymore people, they would be in even bigger trouble. But he was now in the comfort of his childhood home, leaving him to focus on the task at hand that was going to be agonising.
Before he could even register it, Fred had woken up Sophia with a small shake of her shoulder and was sitting on the edge of his bed trying to think of what to say. She had definitely calmed down since the last time she was awake but was still a bit fidgety and nervous. She had asked him what was wrong when she woke up but he hadn't been able to say anything since, avoiding her large eyes that shifted around anxiously.
"You're scaring me Freddie..." Sophia's voice was small and hoarse, the wheezing and crying taking a lot of the energy from her throat. She was ecstatic to be back in The Burrow, protected by the barrier and away from the eyes of strangers. She tried her best not to think about the boy she had seen down the end of the aisle at the shop, focusing mainly on the boy who sat in front of her with a reluctant gaze.
"You're gonna hate me after this," Fred mumbled while running a hand through his flaming hair.
"I would never hate you," Sophia insisted and shook her head truthfully, taking hold of Fred's hand into her own. He looked down at her small fingers that encased around his large palm, seeming so innocent and soft to touch. Fred finally looked up and met Sophia's eyes that pleaded for an explanation, and he felt himself begin to crumble within. She didn't deserve it the first time, and now she was going to have to live through it for the second time.
"I need you to... I need you to think about what happened when you were kidnapped," Fred exhaled and cringed when he saw Sophia's jaw fall open. Her eyes were wide and tears were immediately seen swimming among her irises', Fred feeling her hands pull away from his own and watched her cradle them against her chest.
"W-Why?" she squeaked and began to shuffle backwards to lean against the headboard.
"We have to see how they hurt you so we can help you," he went to reach out to take her hands again but she turned away from him, his heart breaking at the look of betrayal she gave him.
"I don't want to... I-I don't want to Fred," Sophia brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them close. Fred grimaced and took a leap of faith by shuffling further towards her and cupping her face with his palms. She thankfully didn't jerk away or pull at his arms, leaving him to stare into the eyes that looked severely troubled and resistant.
"I know you don't love. But please, I want to help you," Fred exclaimed as he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. "It'll help you grow from it. I promise. And remember where you are. You're safe here and what did happen, won't happen again."
"B-But... I saw him today..." Sophia's voice had now degraded into a whisper.
"You did," Fred was now running out of things to say and resulted to pleading to the best of his abilities. "I'm here with you okay? I'll take most of the pain out as soon as you feel it. Love, I want you to get better. I want you to be happy again."
"I won't... feel it again right?," she actually looked as if she was contemplating it, shocking Fred at how partially easy it was to convince her. "I won't have to be...-", she gulped. "-tortured again?"
"No no, of course not," Fred shook his head frantically and was trying to hide the hopefulness.
Sophia went silent and switched her gaze to Fred's wand that he held in his hand. She bit her lip and blinked away the tears that were still coating her eyes. Fred cautiously raised his wand into a better view and waited for Sophia to object in anyway. He watched as she shut her eyes and clenched them hard, suddenly diving into the memory she had hoped she would somehow forget. He quickly pulled out the small vial that he had been given by Dumbledore and lightly touched the side of Sophia's head with his wand, pulling out a silvery mist from her temple. The mist was long and fluttery, as if it was a thin piece of silk. He continuously looked from Sophia's face to his wand, watching closely as her lips parted before tightly grinding her teeth together.
He blessed the moment he encased the mist into the vial and lowered his wand, sighing in relief at the task being over. Sophia opened her eyes and a lonesome tear fell down her cheek, feeling what she could only describe as separated. Her mind felt like it had been split into sections, memories that were happy being on one side and ones that weren't on the other. The section that wasn't happy felt hollow yet crowded at the same time. It definitely felt like someone had poked around in her head and extracted something from it.
"How do you feel?" Fred dared to ask, leaning forward slightly to study her expression. Her watery eyes turned to meet his before she slowly slithered her arms around his shoulders and embraced him lightly. Fred didn't hesitate to wrap one arm around her middle and lean the side of his head against hers. She sniffled once before going silent, pressing her nose into his shoulder and staring at the wall she was facing.
"I love you," she murmured against his jacket. "I love you Fred."
"I love you too."
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