"Blimey, that was some scene back there in the Room of Requirement, huh?" Fred asked George as they began to walk to the passageway of the one-eyed witch with a small cluster of students.

"You mean, with Percy?" George nodded in agreement. "I think he must have hit his head harder than Mum thought."

Fred frowned contemplatively. "I hope he can handle himself out there…" He sincerely hoped that Percy hadn't come back to their family just in time to get a concussion- he didn't want Percy to get hurt just because he had suffered some sort of shock to his system.

"He'll be fine, he's Percy," said George reassuringly. He paused in front of the one-eyed witch statue, looking at it thoughtfully. "You know, there are other ways to get into the school than just this one passageway," he said slowly. "Maybe one of us should stay here in the East Wing and the other should cover the West Wing…"

Fred turned to look at his twin in alarm. "You want us to split up?" he said sharply.

"It just makes more sense to," said George sensibly. "Here… I'll stay here with half the troops, and you can take the other half to that tunnel behind the bust of Paracelsus…"

Fred stood still for a moment, then gripped his brother in a tight hug. "Take care, George," he said thickly through the tears that had suddenly flooded his eyes. He didn't know why, but he had just sensed the premonition that they wouldn't see each other again. It had just hit him that this was a war; it wasn't some kind of a game, and there was a chance that one of them wouldn't survive…

He wasn't sure if George had sensed the same thing he had; but at any rate, his twin returned the hug and said into his ear, "Yeah, you too, Fred. See you- see you on the other side, okay?"

Fred gulped and nodded silently. Then the twins heard a bloodcurdling scream rent the air-

"That must mean the battle's starting!" Lee Jordan yelled from behind Fred. "Come on, we've still got to get in position!" Wiping his eyes hurriedly, Fred broke away from George and sprinted off down the corridor, waving at his twin over his shoulder for what he sincerely hoped wouldn't be the last time.

---

A clock nearby struck midnight, and Percy heard a bloodcurdling scream tear through the night. He remembered this from last time: it meant that the battle had begun. Again. Percy was still struggling with his newfound realization that he had the ability to save Fred's life. But there was one small problem:

He had no idea where Fred was.

After pursuing the twins down the corridors, he and the rest of his family had arrived in the Great Hall, where he, Bill, Molly, and Arthur had been told to go fight in the grounds; Ron had disappeared to who-knew-where. Ginny would hopefully be staying in the Room of Requirement, while Fred and George were leading the troops guarding the secret passageways. But in all the chaos of organizing the fighters, Percy had lost sight of his once-dead brother, and now he didn't have the slightest idea of how to find him.

Think, Percy told himself sternly. How did you find him last time? But though he racked his brains to try and remember, he couldn't quite remember how he had found Fred the first time. He could only recall certain disconnected images of the battle: bursts of light against the blackened sky; the shattered forms of the staffroom gargoyles; the sound of Fred's laughter… and the horrible sensation that the air had exploded-

Percy shook himself mentally. That wasn't going to happen again. He wouldn't let it.

His internal musings were cut off by the sudden appearance of a wave of Death Eaters rushing right at their little battalion. Curses streaked across the midnight sky – he gasped, for it all felt so familiar – and Percy drew his wand and began to fight…

It amazed Percy how his brain seemed to shut off as he fought off the Death Eaters; all thought seemed to cease as he became a creature driven by pure instinct, testosterone and adrenaline flooding through his veins as he Stunned Death Eater after Death Eater. For the first time in his life, his internal monologue had shut off completely, and only one lucid thought was running through his mind: Get to Fred.

Before he knew it, he was no longer on the grounds. The Death Eaters must have forced them back into the castle, for now he was running through the corridors, dodging curses and flinging jinxes over his shoulder as he tried to get away from the thick of the action. He stumbled and almost fell on his face; looking back, he saw that he had tripped over the remains of the old staffroom gargoyles.

"I remember you too!" he shouted stupidly at their stone faces.

"Well, good for you, sonny Jim," said one of the gargoyles morosely. "Now quit yelling at us and go fight your sodding war!" Percy scrambled to his feet and turned to face the two masked Death Eaters that had been silently advancing on him during his conversation with the gargoyle.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" rasped the first, pointing his wand at Percy's heart. "Wouldn't be a weasely little blood traitor, would it?"

"That's 'Weasley' to you," said Percy with a lot more bravery than he felt. He felt a shiver of fear travel down his spine, and he chided himself silently. Wasn't he supposed to be a Gryffindor? The second Death Eater laughed harshly.

"Likes to talk, this one does," he said roughly – Percy froze at the sound of the voice… it seemed so familiar, but he had no idea how to place it. "But we'll take care of that soon enough." He raised his wand.

But before the Death Eater could utter a single word, someone came bursting out from a passageway hidden behind a tapestry and pointed his own wand at the Death Eater. "Protego!" Fred yelled, deflecting the curse that had never come. The Shield Charm knocked the two Death Eaters back slightly, as Fred turned to Percy. "Perce, get out of here!" he yelled.

But Percy wasn't listening. "Fred!" he cried, overjoyed that his brother had managed to find him before something terrible had happened to him. "Listen… Fred, you've got to get out of here. Go back with Ginny to the Room of-"

Fred scoffed. "No way!" he said fiercely. "You all need me out here." He turned, noting that the Death Eaters had gotten back up and were now advancing on them. "Well, hello, boys," he said with the sort of playful air a superhero might have with his archnemesis in one of those comics Ron was always reading. "Come back to play, have you?"

Percy froze with the now-familiar sensation of déjà vu he had been experiencing all night. "Oh no," he murmured. "Fred, RUN!" He grabbed his brother by the collar and dragged him along the corridor, right as the Death Eaters began firing curses at the pair of them. Groaning with exasperation, Fred turned and ran with Percy.

"Bloody hell, Percy!" he panted as the two Weasley brothers dashed down the hallway, the Death Eaters right behind them. "You went and interrupted my heroic banter!"

"Sorry," Percy panted back, darting around the fallen bust of Paracelsus, "but we had to get out of there! You're about a split second away from-"

"From what?" Fred shot a half-exasperated, half-concerned look at Percy. "Look, I just saved your sorry arse from those two goons, so the least you can do is act grateful! And who says that just because we're in a war, we can't have any fun while we're battling evil?"

"Because – war – isn't – fun!" Percy bellowed, the awful memories of Fred's funeral drifting back to him. But as soon as the words were out he regretted them, feeling both childish and like a spoilsport. Fred was right: they were going to win the war anyway, so why not have a bit of fun with the losing side? His mind made up, Percy stopped running and turned around to face the Death Eaters, his wand drawn.

"Percy, what are you doing?!" But as soon as Fred saw that his brother was finally ready to fight, he grinned and took out his own wand.

"So the blood traitors are ready to fight," hissed the Death Eater whose voice sounded awfully familiar. "Well… so be it. Crucio!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Percy. He deflected the curse and began to duel, Fred taking the other Death Eater.

The Death Eaters' curses were driving them down the hallway, yet Percy had the distinct feeling that he and Fred were winning. Fred obviously felt the same way, as he crowed triumphantly and shouted to his dueling partner, "Oi, is this all you got?" He made quite a show of yawning as he fired a jinx at the Death Eater. Percy laughed; he had almost forgotten just how infectious Fred's good humor had been. At that moment, his Death Eater stumbled, his hood sliding off, and Percy finally realized why that voice had sounded so familiar: he had been dueling Pius Thicknesse, the Minister of Magic himself. Percy was suddenly seized with the mad desire to make a joke himself.

"Why, hello, Minister!" he said, shooting a neat jinx at his boss. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're JOKING, Perce!" Fred bellowed as he, too, felled his foe with a Stunner to the chest. Percy stopped dead, suddenly realizing what was about to happen. He looked over his shoulder anxiously: Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there too, standing off to the side, having obviously escaped from some sort of huge fire. Percy was drawn back to the task at hand as Fred burst into laughter.

"Perce… you actually ARE joking…"

Percy froze in horror as he heard that ominous rumbling sound that had haunted his nightmares for the past week. None of the others appeared to have heard it, all still too pleased with Percy's rare joke to care about what was about to happen to Fred...

"I don't think I've heard you joke since-"

"MOVE!!!!!!!" Percy screamed, throwing himself on Fred to get him out of the way. He was just in time – the air exploded, throwing Harry, Ron, and Hermione back against the wall, while Fred was pinned under him. It felt like the whole world had been blown apart by a simple spell… but if Fred was still alive, perhaps the world hadn't ended after all…

With the dust settling, Percy finally raised his head to look at the others. Harry was sitting up in a corner, feeling his wounded head gingerly; Hermione, meanwhile, was being helped to her shaky feet by Ron. Percy breathed a sigh of relief… good. They were all still okay. But there was still the matter of Fred…

"Perce…" came a muffled voice from under him, "I appreciate you saving me and all, but do you think you could get off me now?"

Percy obliged, scrambling to his feet as he helped dust Fred off. "Fred!" he gasped. "Oh, thank Merlin you're all right!"

Fred was sitting up; there was a great gash on his arm and he had a cut lip, but other than that he was just fine. Percy laughed with relief and hugged his brother tightly. "For a moment, I thought… I thought…"

"Percy, what is WRONG with you?" said Fred, exasperated, pushing Percy off him for what felt like the thousandth time in the past hour. "You've got to pull yourself together; we're not out of the woods yet!" He pointed over Percy's shoulder, as he turned to stare, horrified, at the acromantula who was fighting to get through the hole in the castle wall. The five of them worked together to drive off the spider, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran off down another corridor as more giant spiders began fighting their way through the hole.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fred shouted after the three of them; Percy, on the other hand, could care less what Ron and his friends were up to. He had Fred back, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

---

The battle had ceased for now: the Death Eaters had all retreated, though Voldemort's demand for Harry Potter was still ringing in Fred's ears. He walked beside Percy to the Great Hall, trying to ignore the fact that Percy wouldn't stop staring at him. He didn't know what exactly was wrong with Percy: for the moment, he decided to blame it on the concussion his brother obviously had. The two brothers burst through the door to the Great Hall when –

"Percy! Fred!"

Their mother came running up to the pair of them, enfolding both of them in her arms. "Oh, my boys!" she cried, kissing them both on the cheek. "You're all right!"

"Mum, get a grip!" said Fred, wriggling free of her grasp. He glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the family: Their dad was covered in dust, Bill was limping slightly, and Ginny's hair was so wild that she had obviously joined in the fighting… but where were Ron and George?

"Percy!" His brother turned to see his old girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, running toward him; he grinned and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her fully on the mouth.

"That's disgusting, that is," said a voice in his ear. Fred whipped his head to see George shaking his head at the couple. "What's up, twin?"

"Hey yourself!" Fred laughed as he hugged George, clapping him on the back. "You haven't seen Ron around, have you?" But no sooner had he spoken than Ron and Hermione came bursting through the doors to the Great Hall.

"Oi, looking for us?" said George cheekily, flashing a winning smile at the two young wizards. Ron scowled at the pair of them, wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist.

"When did they get together?" Fred muttered.

"Who knows?" asked George, unconcerned. "So… how'd your part of the war go?"

"All right," said Fred, distracted by his memories of the exploding corridor. It had been the most peculiar feeling: as soon as the wall had collapsed, he had seen his life flash before his eyes, and it felt as though his soul had nearly parted company with his body… only to be pulled back in at the last second by Percy. "I almost died," he said confidentially to his twin. "And I can't help but feel like… maybe I was supposed to."

George's eyes widened. "I know what you mean," he whispered. "Because when we said goodbye, it- it really did feel like the last time I'd ever see you again, and…" He gulped suddenly, tears welling up in his eyes. "I knew I wouldn't be able to handle life without you." He looked away, as though embarrassed of the sentimentality of his words.

"I'd feel the same way if it had been you," Fred responded firmly, placing a hand on George's shoulder. He paused, wanting to talk more about what had happened, but unsure of how exactly to voice the suspicions he was beginning to have about Percy. However, there was no longer any opportunity to talk, for Voldemort's voice had just rung out across the grounds again, making everyone stop dead in their tracks.

"Harry Potter is dead…"

Fred heard no more after that. Harry, dead? It just didn't seem possible. He inadvertently caught a glimpse of Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's faces… they were all frozen with shock, and for the first time in a long time, his little sister looked close to tears.

Voldemort stopped speaking, and all around him the Great Hall was completely silent, full of people waiting with bated breath to hear their new instructions. Professor McGonagall was frozen at the Head table, clearly at a loss. But just then, Neville Longbottom stood up and addressed his fellow Hogwartsians.

"Well?" he demanded of them all. "Are you all just going to stand there and let Voldemort kill you, or are you going to fight back?" He began to pace, and Fred was irresistibly reminded of a general giving his troops a morale boost. Neville's eyes were aflame, and he was the only person in the Hall at the moment who looked like he had a clue of what to do. "Harry wouldn't want any of you to give up the fight, would he? He'd want us all to keep fighting, because…" Neville paused, looking around at all the weary battlers. "Because someone has to keep fighting evil," he ended in a whisper.

Fred knew that Neville was right. Exchanging a fervid look with George, Fred Weasley grinned and drew out his wand, ready to see this war out to the end...