Title: Here's To The Night
Summary: No whispered goodbye. No soft kiss before he left. No gentle hug, with him whispering in her ear that everything would be all right and that he'd love her forever. None of it. He left her without so much as a warning, leaving her to mend the pieces of her broken heart and put them back together again. FredxAngelina oneshot
Disclaimer: The four italicized lines at the end of this are from the song Here's To The Night by Eve 6.
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She couldn't believe it when she first heard it.
She couldn't believe that he would leave Hogwarts, the school they had grown to love and cherish.
Couldn't believe that he would leave all of his friends.
Couldn't believe that he would leave her.
At first she had dismissed it, passing it off as one of their foolish jokes. How many times had he tried to somehow trick her into believing that he had accidentally blown off Percy's head when Percy mentioned Crouch for the umpteenth time, or that he and George were going to somehow sneak into the Slytherin dungeons and turn all of their Quidditch players' hair shocking pink before the next big match? And how many times had she believed him? No, there was no plausible way that this was true.
But then she heard more and more of them talking. Surely the twins weren't that good at making up stories and having people believe them. And soon enough the entire school was talking about how Fred had pointed his wand at Umbridge and muttered some nonsense words causing her to swell up to three times her size while Peeves catapulted water balloons at her.
And she hadn't seen him after the gossip started. She searched in earnest for him. Went everywhere she knew he loved, the Quidditch pitch, the kitchens, anywhere she could think of. He was nowhere to be found and then she knew he was gone.
The realization came as a blow. She didn't know, didn't understand, how he could leave her like this, three months away from graduating. What happened to the idea of them leaving Hogwarts together and entering the bigger world with each other's comfort? What happened to the promises of friendship? What happened to the kisses out on the Quidditch pitch at midnight, with him whispering in her ear that he'd never leave her, ever, even if Voldemort came and threatened him with the Cruciatus Curse, that he'd stick by her?
2 years. 24 months. 730 days. 17520 hours. 1051200 minutes. 63072000 precious seconds.
And it had all come down to this, with him throwing those two wonderful years back in her face without so much as a whispered goodbye or kiss.
People were starting to pour into the common room now, and she knew she needed to get out. She left the room without an idea of where she was going, letting her feet guide her. She looked at the ground as she walked and soon saw the soft grass of the Quidditch field beneath her feet, now turned black with night's velvety cloak upon it.
Breaking open the lock on the broom shed as she and Fred had done so many times before, she pulled out an old Cleansweep, and leapt onto it. Pushing herself off the ground, she let the wind blow her hair back and with it, blow away any thoughts of him.
But it was impossible not to think of him. How could she not when every part of her life at Hogwarts was tainted with some memory or the other of them together? The nights when they'd mount their brooms silently and zoom around the Quidditch pitch, chasing each other, flying exhilaratingly fast, and diving down so close to the ground that it was nearly inevitable that they'd crash. And they always did as Fred would tackle her to the ground with them rolling on the soft grass breathlessly. And then they'd simply lay there and stare up at the starry sky, and they knew that no words were needed. His presence was enough for her and hers for him. Then after several soft kisses, they'd take each other's hands and walk slowly back up to the common room after everyone had left. They'd sit there in each other's arms, him telling her that they were forever and he loved her more than he imagined he ever could. And then she'd turn her head and kiss him gently, and they'd fall asleep together on the couch, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of his neck like they were made for one another.
This was what he left behind.
Here's to the nights we felt alive.
After flying around the Quidditch pitch several more times, she realized that it was impossible. Fred Weasley was as much a part of her as her own flesh and blood, and she could not erase these plaguing thoughts of him.
She flew back down and dismounted her broom. After placing everything back where it should be, she left the field and went back to the common room, finding that everyone had gone off to sleep.
Looking about the dark room, she waited for a pair of strong arms to wrap around her from behind, but they didn't come. Instead came the tears, fast and heavy, raining down her cheeks and pooling into her hands. She didn't stop them, hoping they'd serve as some kind of catharsis, relieving her of him. But as the tears began to slow, she found that the longing ache within her had only grown deeper.
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry.
Silently walking over to the couch, she sat down, as they had sat together so many times before. She gazed into the fire, burning bright. How it reminded her of him. His soft, red hair, his fiery passion, everything about him.
And so she continued to watch the fire burn. Tomorrow she'd get over him, incinerate all thoughts of him. Tomorrow she'd erase all traces of him from her life, but tonight she'd allow herself one more thought of him. One more memory, one last hope to hold onto all that they had gone through together.
Here's to goodbye.
And so she watched the fire burning brightly and drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled of a certain red-haired little boy holding her close and telling her that everything would be okay.
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon.
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AN: Reviews are always appreciated. :D
