I looked in the mirror and I saw the white dress. It truly was amazing. The bodice molded perfectly to my chest and then the skirt puffed out in an A-line shape. The bodice was covered in beautiful hand knit lace that flowed down into the skirt. There was a long train that was edged with even more lace. The top had lacy cap sleeves that covered just the tops of my shoulders. I had never seen anything as beautiful in my life.

I pictured myself on the day I bought it. Beautiful and glowing with our secret. It was the last day in April and two days from then we were going to elope. Fred Weasley had asked me to marry him the day before and I accepted. I loved that boy more than I had ever loved anything in my life. He was absolutely wonderful and I couldn't wait to start the rest of our life together.

I had never thought that I would end up with Fred. Sure, he and George were my best mates at Hogwarts next to Alicia and Angelina. I was always closer to Fred. He had a quickness that I didn't see in George. Fred came up with the crazy ideas and George made them work. Like when they left Hogwarts, Fred came up with the idea of leaving with a big bang. He thought of the Skiving Snack boxes and George made them possible. Fred had the most ingenious ideas. He dreamed of impossible things. I remembered the late nights we shared, staying up till the wee hours of the morning just talking.

I'm still not sure when we morphed from friends to more but I'm so glad that we did. So many people just dismissed him as the jokester and never took the time to get to know the man underneath. The man who was caring and kind. He was thoughtful. He loved little kids and couldn't wait for his own. Our own. Children we will never have the chance to have.

I felt the pain of remembrance as I thought of the events of May 1. The day that changed everything. Lord Voldemort was defeated and my life was over.

Fred was dead. I would never wear this dress and I would never be able to step foot in Hogwarts again because it was full of memories of him. It was the place I met him. Fred would never hold me in his arms and tell me he loved me again.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I hadn't been able to even look at the dress until now. It had been six years since the day I was supposed to become Mrs. Fred Weasley and I finally put on the dress again. I'm not sure why I did it but I did.

I looked in the mirror hoping to see the same girl from the dress shop who was so excited about life but all I saw was a woman, too wise for her small number of years. All I could see were the scars. The one left by the dark magic the death eaters used on her six years and one day ago and the ones that were worse. So much worse, the ones you couldn't see, the scars on the inside that never really seemed to help but just sit open. It felt like salt was constantly being rubbed in, memories, places, and even completely random things burning away at her.

I shook my head. I had to accept it. I would always just be Katie Bell, never Katie Weasley.