Untruism

"The innocence with which the morning had begun was now a tragic loss; not a single onlooker safe… until one brave individual acted upon his wit and cunning, using unprecedented powers of genius to save the day, and wizard-kind as we know it." Fred Weasley chronicles a story of bravery, while Katie Bell gets in the way. FW/KB.

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

"Hundreds upon hundreds of faces filled the room, watching the source of loud and determined footsteps as they marched an unwavering path. Their rhythmic echoes formed the audible manifestation of sheer anger. As eyes averted in the direct presence of what could be described as only fury incarnate, the magnetic power exuding from this rage drew them back. The innocence with which the morning had begun was now a tragic loss; not a single onlooker safe… until one brave individual acted upon his wit and cunning, using unprecedented powers of genius to save the day, and wizard-kind as we know it."

"Fred, please do not refer to me as the fury incarnate," Katie interjected sweetly, pulling his tale to brief hesitation.

"No interrupting the story!" he shouted back quickly. "Anyway, as you all now know, the aforementioned force of savagery was indeed our very own Katie Bell," he continued, looking at Katie pointedly as if to silently communicate his annoyance at spoiling his climax. She shrugged, smiling.

"So, as Katie continued her course of destruction-"

"I destructed nothing."

"-our hero began to contemplate his plan of action. Was it even possible to find weakness in this horrific vision of annihilation-to-come?"

"Horrific vision, how charming."

"It seemed unlikely, but to this one extraordinary bloke-perhaps the bravest of our time-the safety of his people was a more than fitting price to pay for a violent demise."

"I hadn't realized that the students of Hogwarts were your people."

"Oy, Katie, please!"

"Sorry." She smiled again, the very picture of innocence.

"Yes, now you know that yours truly is, in fact, said extraordinary bloke. Now, if I may, the honour of continuing sans commentary…" Katie rolled her eyes at Fred's patronizing tone.

"So I thought to myself, what is the beast's one weakness?"

"Fred," came the inevitable interruption.

"What the flippity-jip is it now?" he demanded impatiently.

"Stop calling me a beast."

"I hope you know that you're ruining this for me," came his defeated reply.

"I do," she smiled once more, a sarcastic gesture of appreciation.

"Fine, I thought to myself, what is Katie's one weakness? Unsure, I approached the beas- sorry, Katie with my wand held high, prepared to defend not my honour, and not myself, but justice. I made my advance with only the assurance of my knowledge-"

"That's not very assuring at all."

"-and the power of morals and virtue on my side. With these as my weapons, evil would not prevail.

I took my first step, shaking with adrenaline, knowing that my people who surrounded me would mistake each tremble for fear; fear that I valiantly faced, earning the admiration and respect of each bystander. I could feel the support behind me thicken as each student made this same observation."

"'Mistake,' indeed."

"As my right foot followed my left, and my left foot followed my right, I found myself coming closer and closer to my opponent-"

"As is the general concept of walking."

"-which meant closer and closer to making a decision."

"Leave it to you to procrastinate such a matter."

"As I came upon the territory of the beast-"

"Katie."

"I became aware of the look in her eyes. The fury incarnate did have a weakness after all. I could see it in the blackness of her eyes."

"Her green eyes."

"A void so apparent, so obvious that one could not help but to notice."

"Funny, seems you hadn't until then."

"The emptiness inside of her came out through her eyes, acting as windows to what was not in her soul that she so clearly yearned for…"

"And here it comes."

"Me. Her anger all along had stemmed for her need of love, her need of a companion, and it was clear as day in my moment of life or death, as I faced my possible demise with complete vulnerability-"

"I thought you had a wand?"

"-that I was the only person to satisfy her of this need. So, having deducted this information, having solved the mystery and landing on the one undeniable outcome, I sacrificed my independence for the sake of my people. The moment my lips touched hers, and she melted against my chiseled frame, I felt the corruption seep from her pores, banished from the body of our now-innocent… Katie Bell."

Arthur and Molly stared at their beaming son, mouths agape and eyes wide.

"I told you not to ask him how we got together," Katie laughed, interrupting the dramatic silence that followed Fred's ridiculous anecdote.

"I did come into the Great Hall in a right angry mood, but that was only because Fred charmed my hair green and then ran away like a little girl. So I came to breakfast ready to charm him back, but her whimpered out an apology before I had a chance, and kissed me because he thought I wouldn't hit him if he did."

"She still did," he added quickly, his bottom lip jutting out. Katie narrowed her eyes, turning towards him.

"Fred, it's rude to interrupt a story."