A/N: Welcome! Just a few little things before we start. 1) You need to check out my bio before you read this, because it explains about Hayley. 2) This is set in the Entrance Courtyard after Voldy 'kills' Harry and has him laying at his feet. 3) None of this except Hayley's basic personality is mine. It's all Queen Rowling's. 4) REVIEW! Please! It fuels my creative juices and make me feel warm and fuzzy inside :D. That's all! Here you go!
She'd known this was going to happen. She'd always known. That didn't make it any easier. She'd always told herself, that when it happened she would feel the pain. That she wouldn't go numb, or kid herself it wasn't real. She hated herself for that now. This pain, this inescapable pain, was worse than any torcher she had ever encountered.
She wanted to cry, to scream. Yet she could do nothing but stand there and stare at his lifeless body, burning with those cursed emotions. Drowning in the emptiness. It was over. He was dead. Their only hope was dead.
She couldn't take the agony. She just wished the blasted Dark Lord would hurry up and finish her off already. She had nothing left worth fighting for, so why not?
She didn't hear Tom Riddle speak, gloating over his success. She didn't hear Fred Weasley calling her name desperately as he searched the crowd. She didn't hear the Death Eater's jeers and cheers, or the sobs of those who surrounded her. Riddle's black robes flowed in slow motion as he paced next to Harry's body. She could see Voldemort's pasty-white feet beside her dead brother's head. There was a stark contrast between the feet and the jet-black hair that was just like hers.
Strong hands grabbed the tops of her arms, spinning her around sharply. She was crushed against a warm body in a tight embrace. She didn't have to look at their face to know who it was. It was her Fred. He buried his face in her hair, letting the tears he had been fighting flow, whispering her name softly.
Hayley could move again. She could speak, hear, and cry. She sobbed into his shoulder, but only for a minute. The pain had become bearable. She had found her outer strength. He was always there for her when her inner strength failed, or even when it hadn't. He had helped her through the hardest times in her life. Why? Because he was Fred, and he loved her. She loved him too, more than anything else. Always had, always would.
Hayley pulled away slightly, turning her head so she could see what was happening in the courtyard between the two sides. This wasn't over yet. They could still win. Harry won't have died for nothing. She would make sure of that. But it wasn't just for him. It was for everyone who had fought in either of the wars, living or dead. It was for future generations, too. So they wouldn't be born into a world full of hatred, conflict, and grief. Yes, she would end this tonight, one way or another. She would keep fighting, because she had been wrong before. She had Fred, her outer strength, and as long as she had him, she had something worth fighting for.
Fin