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You were going to go insane.
“Ugh,” Ron groaned from beside you, dropping his head into the textbook in front of him.
Hermione barely batted an eye. “Powdered root of Asphodel is used in the creation of various potions, such as the Draught of Living Death and the Wiggenweld Potion,” she muttered to herself, scribbling madly onto a piece of parchment.
“It can’t be possible to memorize all of this,” you said to yourself, eyeing the four textbooks still waiting to be outlined next to you.
Ginny snorted from your other side. “I think I’ve read the same line about twenty times. I’m so tired, I could fall asleep right now.” She yawned widely and leaned her head onto your shoulder.
“Me too,” you yawned, shooting her a glare.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “I know, I know, when one of us starts yawning all of us-”
“Oh, mail is here!” Ron said happily.
You looked up and sure enough, you could hear the sound of wings. Helga swooped down and chirped happily at you.
“Hello love,” you greeted her. Reaching out to take the handful of letters from her legs, you reached into your robes for treats. “Thank you.”
She turned her big wide green eyes to you and you laughed. You scratched at the top of her wings, knowing she liked it when you did so.
“Hello,” Ginny said, holding out a treat in her hand. Helga eagerly hopped over to her and gobbled the food down. “Oh, you’re such a good owl, aren’t you?” Helga preened under the attention.
“Oi,” Abigail, a Ravenclaw sat across from you, tapped on one of the letters. “Since when are you Petal?”
You looked down, and sure enough, you saw George’s slanted handwriting. You rolled your eyes and Ginny laughed.
“That’s what he calls her when he’s cross,” she told Abigail. “He’s probably annoyed she’s holed herself up since the beginning of the month.”
“I need to study!” You exclaimed, opening up the letter.
Hello Petal,
You’ll be happy to know that I’m still alive, I know you’ve been worrying yourself into a tizzy over it but have no fear, I am in perfect health. Fred’s managed to find the correct batch of ingredients for our newest fainting potion. We’ve tried it a few times to be sure and Fred almost broke his nose.
Mum’s popped ‘round with Bill and Fleur this past week. She sends her love – so does Fleur. I reckon Bill’s excited for all the wedding planning madness to stop. Mum looked ready to strangle Fleur. Don’t roll your eyes, I know you always tell us to be nice to her. In our defense, Fred and I are always pleasant.
I know you’ve been busy with studying for your exams – however, it would be lovely if you decided you’d like to see your boyfriend at your next Hogsmeade trip. Please send Helga back with your response as soon as possible as I’m very busy and my schedule is filling up. Additionally, I’ll be keeping Helga around at the store. She likes it here better.
Please remember to eat today. Also, unroll your shoulders, you’re starting to look like a hunchback. I love you more than butterbeer.
Yours,
George
Instinctively, you straightened and felt your spine crack. Helga blinked at you and you wrinkled your nose. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.” You glanced at the other letters, one from your parents, and the last from St. Mungo’s. Your stomach flipped anxiously and you tightened your grip on the letter.
“Go take a nap,” you told Helga, “I’ll be up to the owlery soon.”
She hooted at you, rubbing her head against your knuckles one last time before flying out of the Great Hall. While watching her fly off, you caught Harry glance over at your end of the table. He stood up and walked out of the hall. Ginny cleared her throat and started packing up her stuff.
“I’m going to go change for dinner,” she said quietly. “I’ll see you guys soon.”
You watched her disappear down the same way Harry had gone. You smiled and looked back down at the unopened letter in your hands.
“Let it go Ronald,” Hermione muttered, breaking the comfortable silence.
Looking up, you saw a frowning Ron looking at the direction Ginny had gone.
“You said you were okay with it,” you added.
“I am!” Ron frown deepened. “They don’t have to be so bloody obvious.”
Hermione snorted and you smirked.
“That was subtle,” you defended Ginny. “Besides, I think they’re cute.”
“Aren’t they?” Abigail said, smiling sheepishly. “I always thought they’d end up together.”
Ron huffed and went back to the textbook in front of him. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued to scribble away on her parchment. You, however, pulled out a new piece of parchment and started on a reply to George.
Hello Sweetpea,
Yes, I’ll meet you this weekend at The Three Broomsticks in the morning. As I’ve stated in the last five letters, you’ll see me at graduation in two weeks so stop being a drama queen. Also, I’m not ignoring you! If I don’t get a job you’ll need to house and feed me forever since I’ll have no prospects. Please don’t break your nose. Tell Fred I said to put a pillow down for Merlin’s sake.
I love you more than Agatha’s shortcake.
Yours,
Badger
P.S. Helga is my owl, get your own.
You smiled, picturing his disgruntled expression. In fact, you were going to borrow Hedwig to deliver the letter. George would hold Helga hostage until graduation if he had his way.
“I’m going to go change for dinner too,” you said quietly, waving goodbye and running towards your common room. You quickly tapped the barrels and crawled into the common room.
It was deserted, most students in the library or the Great Hall – studying.
Your hands trembled just a bit as you stared at your name at the front of the envelope. Feeling nauseous, you ripped it off like a band-aid.
“-please reply with the dates and times that you are available to interview with the Head Healer. We look forward to your correspondence.”
Biting down on your lip, you kept yourself from screaming out in joy. Ripping out multiple pieces of parchment, you wrote letters to your parents, Tonks, and Molly. At the last moment, you added one last line to George’s letter.
P.P.S. I got the interview at St. Mungo’s!
You changed quickly and ran up to the owlery. You had a white owl you needed to ask a favor of.
The next day you sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. You were mid-chew when you heard the familiar rustling of wings. Instinctively, you looked up for Helga – knowing that she’d be carrying an answer from your parents. However, instead of your small owl, a flock of them carrying a package caught your eye.
They dropped it gently onto the table in front of you and you blinked at it. You could faintly hear your classmates around you murmuring excitedly.
“Well,” Ginny slid closer to you, “aren’t you going to open it? What’d you order?”
“Nothing,” you muttered, eyeing the package warily.
Ron eyed you. “What’s the matter?” He asked around a mouthful of pudding. “What’s that face for?”
Marie, a fellow Hufflepuff, sitting directly behind you snorted. “Don’t you see that Weasley logo on the side?”
Instantly, everyone at the table slid a few feet away from you. Even Ginny.
“Aw, thanks. Really brave you lot are,” you huffed and peeled off the tape at the top of the package carefully.
Multiple firecrackers burst out of their confinement and the whole hall cheered as they exploded above your heads. You watched, stunned, as they formed into various shapes and fell like confetti.
Looking into the box, you found a piece of parchment.
Congratulations on the new job!
You smiled. “I haven’t gotten it yet you tossers,” you said to yourself. The paper was suddenly snatched from your hands and you whirled around to find an angry looking McGonagall.
“Professor-”
“Oh, no, do not try to rationalize this,” she waved at the firecrackers, still going off.
“But-”
She shut you up with a glare.
“Ah, that was quite entertaining,” a familiar voice said, “one can assume it was from Mister Weasleys?” Dumbledore’s eyes gleamed. You smiled sheepishly and nodded.
“I didn’t know they were going to send firecrackers; I swear!”
“Well, from the shocked expression on your face I daresay that much is obvious,” he answered. “Come now Minerva, I need to speak with you in my office.”
“Albus-” Before she could finish, Dumbledore winked and walked off.
She sighed, handed you back the parchment and frowned. “Tell Mister Weasley to keep the fire crackers to their shop.”
“Yes ma’am,” you said dutifully.
She started to walk away but leaned forward and smiled. “Congratulations. Madam Pomfrey let me know this morning. I know you’ll be a great Healer one day.”
You grinned, clutching the paper to your chest. She straightened and almost tripped over a handful of ogling first year students.
“Move along!” She snapped.
“Thank you,” you told Hedwig – who rubbed her head against your hand. “I know they annoy you. You don’t mind?”
She stuck her leg out and shook it at you. You grinned and tied it to her leg. Before she left, you grabbed a few treats from your pocket that you knew she liked. She swallowed them quickly, chirping lightly, before disappearing out the window.
Helga flew down from her beam and landed on your shoulder. You scratched at her wings and she trilled. You grinned and kissed her head. “You need to rest. You’ve earned it after that package this morning.”
She hooted and flew back up into the rafters. You checked your watch and realized it was almost time for your rounds.
You hurried down the stairs towards the second floor and started your patrolling. You’d arranged to patrol separately tonight – the Head Boy and you agreed that you’d be done faster so you could go back and get the sleep you both desperately needed.
A few minutes into your round of the floor, you heard the tell-tale sign of giggling. You rounded the corner and came face to face with a redhead.
“For the love of-” you swore, “ten points!”
Ginny’s face dislodged itself from Harry’s – both of them bright red and eyes averted.
You hissed at Harry. “Merlin’s sake, you have an invisible cloak. I trust you will be able to get to Gryffindor tower by yourself?” You crossed your arms. “Or do we all need to suffer through the mortification of me escorting you two there?”
Ginny winced and grabbed Harry’s hand. “We’re going!”
Snorting, you continued your patrol. By the time the hour was up and your round had ended, you’d found four other couples. You dragged yourself back to your common room and got ready for sleep as quietly as you could.
When you were finally tucked in bed, you realized that you were absently rubbing your wrist and felt yourself come in contact with the metal. It pulsed softly and moments later, it became warm and red.
You smiled down at the bracelet and trailed another finger across it. It’d been almost a month since you’d last seen George. You’d taken to training with Madam Pomfrey any chance you got and studying the rest of the time. He had tried to lure you out for the last two Hogsmeade trips, but was unsuccessful. You’d already promised him that you would spend half the summer helping at the joke shop to make up for it.
What felt like moments later, you jerked awake.
“Whazzit?” You mumbled, eyes still half closed. You tried to get your bearings. The light from the window next to your bed was still dark. A glance at your watch made it clear that you should have still been asleep.
What had woken you? Your dormmates often joked that a snake could bite you and you’d still probably sleep through it.
Oh, you sat up straighter. You could hear something ...vibrating softly? You squinted at your table when you realized, it was the coin. Reaching for it, you watched the numbers illuminate.
Scrambling, you pulled on a pair of shoes and pulled George’s old Christmas jumper on. As you crawled out of the barrel, you heard someone call out your name. A familiar head of hair popped itself out of the barrel behind you.
“What’s going on?” Your best friend asked, sleep still clinging to her eyes.
“I don’t know,” you said, tugging on the hem of your sweater. “I don’t think it’s anything good.”
She nodded, grabbed your hand, and you both ran off towards the fourth floor. Once there, you saw Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Neville.
“What’s – happening?” You asked between breaths.
Your best friend leaned against the wall, gasping.
“What’s with you two?” Ron asked first.
“Well, our common room isn’t so close – is it?” You snipped.
Hermione pushed him aside and handed you a small vial.
“What is it?”
“Liquid luck, drink whatever little that’s left,” she insisted. “We’ll need it.’
You handed it to your best friend first and she shot you a look. Glaring at her, she conceded and took a healthy swig. You managed to get the faintest drop when you corked it shut and handed it back to her.
“Where’s Harry?” You asked.
“Harry’s leaving with Dumbledore,” Hermione explained, pulling you aside.
“Alright,” you frowned. “Where are they going?”
Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance and you huffed.
“Weasley,” you glared at him and he turned bright red.
Hermione rolled her eyes and a flash of amusement danced across her expression. “Have you heard of a horcrux?”
You had stayed with Ginny, Luna, and Neville to guard the room of requirement. You gnawed on your bottom lip. This was it. There was no going back from this.
You’d never gone head to head with a death eater. You assumed that one day you might, considering your blood status and their prejudice - but naively you’d never let yourself imagine actually being in a battle. You glanced at Ginny, Luna, and Neville. They were just students; fifth and sixth years. You were still a student but, at least you were of age - if something happened -
No. You wouldn’t let anything happen to Ginny, to any of them. Your determination must have shown on your face because a cool hand took yours and you startled.
Ginny smiled at you. “We’re prepared,” she said softly. “I promise, we wouldn’t have come if we didn’t know.”
Neville and Luna nodded, both smiling at you. You sighed and moved your hair out of your face.
“Besides, the Order just arrived,” Luna said dreamily. “Oh, how lovely.”
The four of you ducked behind statues and suits of armor to avoid being caught by McGonagall and Sprout who were patrolling the halls.
They disappeared as quickly as they arrived and you sighed. Please, you said out into the universe to whoever was listening, take care of Harry.
A light scratching sound caught your attention. You turned, tilting your head and trying to see where it was coming from.
You didn’t know if it was being on edge for the last hour, but you could’ve sworn you heard something.
“Do you hear that?” Ginny asked and you turned to her.
“The scratching noises?” You nodded. “I heard it a few minutes ago but I didn’t think-”
A door manifested on the side of the wall. Your heart started to pound and you stood closest, in front of the others. “Alright everyone, steady!” You said taking a deep breath and raising your wand.
Neville nodded; his determination evident.
Before you could fire off the first spell you could think of, a small familiar pouch skidded and landed by your feet. You stumbled back and Neville shouted your name.
“Get back!” You yelled at them right as the pouch exploded and a dark cloud surrounded everything.
“Ginny?” You screamed, your fear ricocheting.
“I’m okay!” She yelled back somewhere behind you.
You muttered a protective spell and held up your wand anyway. “Luna? Neville?” You called out.
“We’re okay!” Neville said back.
Okay, you frowned, how did you get rid of Peruvian darkness powder? You tried to think back on George examining the final packaging.
“Lumos!”
“Lumos maxima!”
“It’s no use,” you told them, still battering your hands in front of you, “that won’t work.”
“Come on! We need to find a way to the stairs!” Ginny shouted.
“Be careful!” You yelled back; the hallway quiet now. “Wands up!”
Blindly reaching out for a few minutes and you only managed to hit a wall multiple times and Neville once. You had a tight hold onto Neville’s robes and pinched the bridge of your nose.
“Lumos solem!”
The darkness didn’t lift entirely but it lightened enough to for you to tell where the light was coming from. You pulled Neville towards the torch on the right and found Luna sitting.
“Luna! Have you seen-”
“By the sound of it, she’s by the windows,” she sighed.
“Ginny?” You called out.
“I see you!” She ran in your direction and you clasped your hands together.
“Okay everyone, towards the torch at the end of the corridor!”
Once you were able to see everything clearly, your panic lifted a little. “Which way did they go?”
Ginny looked down but shook her head. Neville jumped onto a secondary staircase and looked upwards but shook his head also.
“Did you see who it was?” You asked Ginny.
“No, I wasn’t even looking at the wall – the powder took me by surprise.”
You chewed on your nail, anxious to alert someone when Luna spoke. “They went to the astronomy tower, let’s go.”
Without hesitation, you all began to climb upwards.
“How’d you know?” Neville asked, panting.
“I asked the portraits, they always know what’s going on,” she said, not sounding out of breath at all.
Ginny arrived to the landing first, jogging towards the open doorway and immediately bouncing back when she tried to go through it.
“Ginny!” You shouted, running to steady her.
“I’m okay,” she said, pressing a hand to her head. “What was that?”
Neville pushed against the invisible barrier and frowned. “It won’t let me through either.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe it’ll only let purebloods through,” Neville said.
“You are a pureblood Neville!”
“I’m the only muggleborn here,” you said, pushing your hand and feeling the barrier push back. “Luna, go tell McGonagall- Professor!”
You jumped, startled by Professor Snape’s haggard appearance.
“Keep quiet,” he said solemnly, “prepare yourselves.”
He moved to walk through the door but you grabbed his arm. He stilled, his serious eyes catching yours. “Sorry Sir, but it won’t let anyone in – we’ve tried.”
Snape turned to examine the barrier and nodded. “Whatever you hear, whatever anyone says, use any means necessary to defend yourself against whoever comes out of this room.”
Luna frowned. “But Professor-”
He held up his hand and turned his gaze to you. His eyes, you realized, they weren’t angry or indifferent as they usually were. He was scared. While you didn’t like Snape very much, you knew if he was scared - you should be too.
You nodded. His frown deepened and within a moment he’d slipped through the door. Not a moment had passed when a heaving Hermione appeared at the landing.
“Did – you – see - Professor – Snape?” She asked between gasps.
Ginny nodded, her hand coming up to Hermione’s shoulder. “He just went through. Where were you three?”
“He told us to go get McGonagall and Remus. We passed Tonks and Bill – they’ll be here soon.”
“Weasley? Longbottom-” McGonagall said, climbing up the stairs effortlessly. At the sight of you all, her eyebrows pinched towards each other. “What are you all doing here?”
“Harry told us that Dumbledore was taking him somewhere ma’am,” Neville said, “he said we needed to help the Order.”
Remus sighed but reached a hand out towards you. You half-smiled at him in greeting.
McGonagall sputtered. “You’re children! Go back down to your dormitories at once!”
“Professor, I’m of age and a member of the Order-”
Her eyes narrowed at you. “You are still a student at Hogwarts and you will do as I say! So help me-”
A rush of air came through the doorway, billowing your hair away from your face. The hair on your arms stood on end and your heart started to beat quickly.
“What was that?” Ron asked, arriving with Bill and Tonks.
“Nothing good,” Remus answered slowly bringing his wand up.
The answer seemed to come quickly as death eaters starting running out towards you all. You instinctively raised your wand and before anyone could mutter a spell, you yelled: “Stupefy!”
A bright blue light then flashed passed your face and hit one of the death eaters square in the chest. Two of them ran straight for you and Ginny and the rest scattered.
Your wands were moving quickly, you didn’t know what spells were hitting who. You and Ginny fought in tandem, both of you pushing the Carrows closer together. They were fast and you didn’t know how long you could continue for - you didn’t know how the two of you had managed to miss being hit. Just as you ducked another hasty spell, a back slammed into yours and you whirled around to see Tonks throwing someone down the stairs. A second body came flying at you from the side; instinctively, you rammed your knee up into his stomach and grinned when Tonks smiled at you.
“You wizards always think with your wands,” you muttered turning back towards Ginny.
You both managed to get one of the Carrow siblings cornered when one wave of McGonagall’s wand had them both scrambling down the stairs. Two more followed after them. You shared a grin with Ginny, catching your breath when a loud scream caught your attention. Bill was on the floor - Fenrir hovering him - with his hand dripping blood. Before you could even understand it, your wand was pointing straight at him and you heard your own voice scream.
“Oppugno!”
The suit of armor clamored to life and swung its sword down onto him. Fenrir screamed, stumbling away, and you ran to Bill.
“No!” Remus shouted, trying to cut you off. “No! Stay back!”
He was too late. You’d made it to Bill and you were reaching for him when Fenrir thrashed. His hand caught your shoulder and you slammed into the wall next to Bill. Your head throbbed and your vision went spotty. You threw yourself onto Bill’s slumped figure and forced your hand up. “Protego!” You held the spell, trying to stay conscious. Tonks scrambled over and stood in between you and whoever managed to throw a spell in your direction.
Your shaky hand came up to Bill’s face and you desperately tried to think of a spell that would heal the claw marks. Blood poured down his neck and you felt your heart drop into your stomach. You blinked rapidly, trying to make the spots go away, but you couldn’t think. It was so loud – spells were flying and hitting everything. As if emphasizing your point, a piece of rubble dropped down to the floor below.
Remus finally slammed into the wall next to you. “Go! Dora, go! Follow the rest – they’re all gone. I’ll stay with them. Hermione, you stay behind! You too Neville.” Remus’ hands pulled at your shoulder. You moved obediently and he pulled back your ruined sweater. “I have to see, did his claws catch you? Are you bleeding?”
“No, Remus, my head,” you mumbled, still trying to get the black spots to move. “Help Bill, I’ll be okay.”
Remus nodded, levitating Bill into the air and started running towards the infirmary. “You two help her and follow me to the infirmary, wands up - be careful.”
Hermione nodded, expression fiercely protective and you struggled to your feet. The moment you straightened, the stairs tilted and you reached for Neville. “I think - I’m not - I can’t-”
The last thing you saw was Hermione and Neville reaching out for you.
In the infirmary, you lied in bed with Hermione and Tonks fussing over you. Bill was groaning, still unconscious, and you hissed when the gash at the base of your neck started to fuse itself back together.
“There,” Madam Pomfrey said. “You shouldn’t feel much pain in a few hours.”
“Thank you-” The infirmary doors slammed open and a wave of people came through. Mr. and Mrs. Wealsey went directly for Bill. Tonks grabbed your good hand and squeezed it tightly.
“You’re a numpty,” she sniffled and an embarrassed look overcame her face. “I was handling it - I was going to help him!”
You smiled and squeezed back. “I’m quicker on my feet.”
Tonks eyes welled up and you shook your head. “I’m fine Tonks, it was just a scratch.”
“It most certainly was not,” Remus said with a worried frown. “That could’ve been-”
Your glare quieted him as Tonks and Hermione took on a green hue.
“And you, young lady!” Mrs. Weasley shouted, startling you. “I swore to your parents, that first summer you stayed over that I would keep you safe no matter what! You’re just as reckless as the rest of my children!”
Ron rolled his eyes but before you could answer, aggravated yelling floated in from the open doors.
“Merlin’s beard, what now?” Madam Pomfrey snapped.
Two redheads burst into the room. You zeroed in on one and they both paled when they saw you tucked into the bed.
“Hello you two,” you said quietly. “Missed the fun part, did you?”
George opened and closed his mouth a few times before almost knocking Ron down in his haste to get to your side.
“How did you two get here?” Ron asked, huffing as he relocated to the foot of your bed.
“Helga and Hedwig showed up at the shop. I – something was wrong. We went to look for Tonks and didn’t find anyone. Then we went to the Burrow and saw Mum and Dad who said they’d spoken to McGonagall- we apparated to Hogsmeade and took one of the tunnels. We heard - we saw the Dark Mark outside and - McGonagall said you were in the infirmary and my heart nearly stopped. Merlin’s beard.” He placed a hand on his chest. “I think my heart did stop for a moment.” He brought his face closer to yours to inspect the bruise on your temple, his fingers dancing over it.
You smiled, running your fingers through his hair. “It’ll take more than a death eater to take me down.”
Fred snorted and squeezed your shoulder. “Is anyone else-”
Mrs. Weasley’s smile dropped, her eyes going to Fleur and Bill - who was still unconscious.
“Blimey, is he-”
“-it looks bad, but he’ll live,” Remus said, his face twisted into an unpleasant expression.
“Wait,” you mumbled, your eyelids feeling heavy. “You said you saw the Dark Mark?”
George nodded. “We thought someone had died.”
Mr. Weasley and Remus shared a look. Just as you were going to tell one of them to go find out what had happened, Harry and Ginny came in through the doors with McGonagall close behind.
“What - what are you doing here? Are you alright?” She asked, eyeing you critically.
“They were attacked by Fenrir,” Molly explained. “Poppy says she’s tried everything she could think of.”
“Dumbledore might know something that’d work, though,” Ron said. “Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore’s orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can’t leave him in this state -”
“Ron — Dumbledore’s dead,” said Ginny.
Your head was still tender. You didn’t know if it was because of your injury, because you kept crying, or because of the fear that seemed to be consuming everyone. Madam Pomfrey had cleared you that day. She’d made sure that you knew which potion to take first and the schedule you needed to adhere to.
She’d spent the majority of the morning assuring everyone that you were okay to go home. George had taken to hovering protectively for the past week. It was both incredibly sweet and overwhelmingly annoying.
“Darling?” He called out for you.
You smiled as you clutched the railing on the way back down to the courtyard. “Since when do you call me darling?” You watched his expression become bewildered and tried to keep yourself from laughing.
“I don’t know, it just slipped out,” George frowned. “Is that weird?”
“No,” you kissed his cheek, “nothing is weird anymore.”
He smiled sadly down at you. “Are you ever going to let me help you with anything?”
You finally reached the landing and took a deep breath. Okay, you were mature enough to admit that you might still be getting winded.
“What are you talking about?” You asked him, sitting down in an alcove for a rest before taking on the last set of stairs. “The first two days you were the only one helping me get dressed.”
George rolled his eyes. “Right. I helped you put a shirt on,” he huffed. “I could levitate you down you know. Apparate and disapparate, it’s much easier.”
“I like walking, Madam Pomfrey says it’ll help.”
“You’re a witch! We’ve got magic!” He crossed his arms and shot you a mocking look.
You smiled and looked out the open window that overlooked the yard. You skimmed passed the tomb, still not able to really let it sink in. You could see Hermione and Ron, sitting on the few chairs that were left unfolded.
“Hey,” George said, his hands coming up to your shoulders. “It’s going to be okay.”
Smiling softly, you reflexively nodded and he frowned.
“I hate it when you do that, you look like a puppet,” he said, “why won’t you believe me?”
“Because look what happened George. He’s the only one Voldemort was afraid of,” you said quietly. “There’s nothing keeping him back now.”
George squeezed your shoulders. “We’ll keep him back, all of us,” he said, pressing a hard kiss to your forehead.
That’s what you were afraid of.
“I love you,” you told him.
He smiled. “More than the first snowfall of the season?”
You nodded, grinning.
“More than snow angels, warm butterbeer, and winning the annual snowball fight?”
“More,” you whispered, kissing him. He leaned over, almost encompassing you as he did, and you leaned your forehead against his. “I love you more than most things.”
“Most things?” He said exaggeratedly.
“Yeah, Ginny is still my favorite Weasley. Charlie is second,” you joked.
George cried out, his hands coming up into the air when Fred called out your names, waving you both over.
“Go ahead, I need a minute alone,” you told him, eyes still reverently not looking at Dumbledore’s tomb. Understanding, he nodded and jogged down the stairs.
You sighed. The burial had been nice – what with the mermaids and the centaurs. You hadn’t known him as well as Harry did but you thought he would’ve liked it. You continued to watch the people lingering on the lawn, your mind racing.
You could not have imagined that this was how your last week at Hogwarts was going to go. You brushed away a stray tear and straightened your shoulders. No, you couldn’t keep thinking in circles. You had to go pack soon and you needed to stop crying to do it. A floo had been temporarily connected for his funeral but you’d insisted on wanting to take the Hogwarts Express back to King’s Cross. Fred and George both said they’d tag along and help with the journey back.
No one argued with them.
You quickly grew stiff from sitting and went to stand when a pair of voices stopped you.
“What a shock, I almost didn’t believe it,” the first woman said.
“If I hadn’t seen the body myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either!” The second exclaimed.
“What do you think will happen?”
“With what?”
“With – well, with everything! The school, the muggleborns, the creatures – everything. Who will protect them with him gone?”
The second woman gasped. “I didn’t even think – my granddaughter is a half-blood. She’s only a third year!”
“Who knows if Hogwarts will be open? It’s clearly not safe if they were able to get him here.”
“Oh no, this is worse than I thought…” their voices trailed off as they continued up the stairs, oblivious to your presence.
You frowned. Hogwarts closing? You hadn’t even thought...you hadn’t thought passed Dumbledore’s funeral.
A flash of dark blue caught your eye and you recognized Ginny climbing the steps.
“Oh,” she said, seeing you immediately. She attempted to school her emotional expression as she neared. “How’s your head?”
“What’s wrong?” You asked, not answering her question.
“Harry – broke up with me,” she said, with a roll of her eyes.
“What?” You sputtered, not expecting that answer. Harry practically only had eyes for Ginny – how could, what.
She shrugged; her exasperation evident. “He’s doing it to protect me, the idiot. He said that You Know– Voldemort. That Voldemort would try to get to him through me.”
Ginny kept talking, explaining what he’d said, but your mind drifted.
Who will protect them with him gone? The woman’s voice echoed in your head.
Your eyes drifted across the crowd. To Harry, Hermione, and Ron huddled together, to Luna and Neville, and lastly to the Weasleys. You watched as George said something that made the people around him laugh.
“He’s right,” you said quietly.
You felt her eyes on the side of your head. You kept your eyes on George.
“He’s trying to protect you, because you’re important.” George looked up and caught your gaze. He smiled but you turned back to Ginny. You watched her eyes follow the direction you were looking in.
“Hey.” You took one of her hands. “We’ll be okay, right?”
She smiled then. Her eyes still sad but her happiness genuine. “Of course, we will. You’ll write, won’t you? Visit on the weekends? Hogwarts won’t be the same without you.”
You nodded, promising to do both. You accepted her offer to help descend the final set of stairs. Glancing back up at the castle you’d come to think of as your second home, you frowned.
Who will protect them with him gone?