In which Fred Weasley has seen many things but when he pulls a prank at night and gets a metal pole to the head, he finds himself obsessing over a girl.
FRED WEASLEY X OC
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Maggie slides open the compartment door and lets out a sigh of relief when she finds it empty. Her muscles relax ever so slightly as she steps inside. The dimly lit train compartment offers her solitude, a precious respite from the suffocating atmosphere of the Crouch family home.
The witch carefully settles herself on the plush seats, her fingers trembling as she reaches into her bag to retrieve a worn, leather-bound book. The title on the cover reads "Advanced Dark Arts," a book that has become her secret ally in her plans to find a hiding place at the end of this year as the trace would be gone in a week.
Turning the pages with a sense of urgency, Maggie's eyes scan each word, each incantation, absorbing the knowledge with a voracious appetite. She knows that one wrong move, one misstep, could seal her fate forever.
Her grandfather, a formidable and relentless figure in her life, would gladly lock her away, using her as a pawn in his political machinations, only granting her fleeting moments of freedom during elaborate Ministry events. Marriage to the highest bidder loomed on the horizon, with whispers of an alliance between her family and Lucius Malfoy when young Draco Malfoy came of age.
Maggie cared for Draco but the thought of potentially marrying him in the future was unbearable. Her dreams were filled with notions of love, something her grandfather dismissed as mere fantasies, mere tales told to distract respectable, young witches from their true responsibilities.
With enough willpower, one can resist the Imperius curse. It requires extremely strong will and a focus point, something for a witch or wizard to use to ground themselves. A motive, a loved one, anything strong enough to give a person the will to fight.
Maggie flips back to the beginning of the book, where a faded photograph captures a tender moment frozen in time. In the image, a stunning blonde woman with piercing blue eyes cradles a swaddled infant in her arms. The baby's chubby cheeks break into a heartwarming smile as the mother playfully tickles its tiny stomach.
Her eyes flicker to the other picture. It was a mugshot of Julius Travers, one of the Death Eaters known to be involved in the slaughter of Maggie's mother and the entirety of her extended family. That picture was her motivation, her motivation to become a healer. To give everyone a fighting chance to live and see their family for another day.
Maggie glances at her arms which are littered with burn scars. Topsy had informed Maggie that her grandfather had refused to let the healer heal those particular injuries so they would serve as 'reminders of why she should be seen but not heard'.
"You're famous now, y'know?"
Maggie jumps almost a foot in the air when, one of her very few friends, Cedric Diggory pops his head into the compartment. He had the Daily Prophet in his hand which Maggie snatches, her eyes scanning the page.
MARGOT CROUCH-MCKINNON DECLARED WELL ENOUGH TO ATTEND HOGWARTS AFTER INJURIES AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP By Rita Skeeter
Margot Crouch-McKinnon, affectionately known as Maggie, has been given a clean bill of health just in time to return to Hogwarts. Her grandfather gave a statement the morning after the attacks, informing the public that Maggie had been severely injured during the attack:
'My granddaughter's tent was hit with a ball of flames, fortunately, she managed to escape and helped Harry Potter in the process. When we got home, the stress of the night overwhelmed Margot and she collapsed. She has burns littered all over her body and has suffered severe smoke inhalation. She is being treated by the top specialists and we would like our privacy respected at this time'
The darling of the wizarding world was in our thoughts and prayers and they must worked as she returned to Hogwarts today to enter her sixth year of academic study. But the rumour mill has been whispering to this writer and I have heard that Barty Crouch Senior is receiving union offers from prominent families in the community for Maggie's hand in marriage.
Who will be chosen to wed the darling of the wizarding world? Don't worry readers, this author will be eagerly waiting to find out the truth.
"Your grandfather is looking into arranged marriages for you?" Cedric asks.
"I'm running away at the end of this year," Maggie states. "I'm seventeen next week, I have enough money and he can't stop me"
"Maggie, he sent your father to Azkaban to die and your grandmother's disappearance has never been solved," Cedric murmurs. "He'll find a way to keep you at home"
"I'm not going down without a fight,"
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