Chapter 20

It had been three weeks. Three stinking weeks of getting up at six AM, avoid George at all costs and ignore Fred's heavy glances and muted questions. I wasn't mad with Fred exactly, but he'd clearly taken George's side in the matter, and since I couldn't be completely truthful with him in any case, it was simply easier not to speak to him too much. Ignoring George wasn't such a challenge, since he kept acting as though I didn't even exist. How a simple heated argument had grown into such a sticky unsolvable situation, I still didn't have a clue. The two of us had gone from being very mad at one another, to waiting for the other to apologise, and when that didn't happen, to finally not speaking and not even looking at each other.

The two of us were each much too proud, that was the problem. He wanted to be right just as much as I did; he felt his side of the argument was the right one, just like me. And the two of us were stubborn enough for this impasse to last on pretty much forever.

Fred couldn't stand it. He'd tried speaking to me about it, without any result, and to his brother as well. Now he just managed to get out of the flat as much as he possibly could to avoid the horrible atmosphere of the place.

I did exactly the same. I was at Alex's the biggest part of each day, practising with Valentine and getting to know all of the others, especially Oliver. Thank God he was there; I don't think my fight with George would have lasted nearly as long as it had if I hadn't had friends to complain to and to help me through it. When I was with the group, I felt detached from everything else, focused on my one goal; learning to fight and overpower opponents. It took my mind off of everything else, and it was really nice. I felt honestly fine.

But I missed the twins. The no-speaking situation was really weighing me down. Many times, I had resolved to break the stalemate and to try and speak to George; but, as always, my ego had held me back. It was just too hard to confess to having been wrong, or too harsh or whatever; I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. So I put it off.

It wasn't like George was so unhappy himself. Alicia was always visiting, and the twins were gone from the apartment almost as much as I was, always working at the shop. It was curious really, that whenever I went to Alex's there would be nobody in the streets, people too afraid to even leave their homes at times like these; and all the while, the twins spent time at the shop "attending costumers", or so they claimed. There was something fishy about it all, but I'd decided I didn't care about finding out what they were hiding from me; I had personal and private business myself too, after all. And I at least was doing it for the greater good.

But I missed George. It was astonishing that I had only realized how big a part of my life he'd become the moment he'd left it.

oOo

"This isn't fair, you know."

I turned my gaze from the mirror towards Fred as he leaned against the bathroom door. Since my mouth was kind of full of toothpaste foam and a toothbrush, I could only raise my eyebrows at him to convey my cluelessness.

"You," he clarified, rolling his eyes, "getting mad at George for caring so much about you that he was actually anxious when you didn't come home until 2 in the morning."

I spit the toothpaste in the sink and straightened up, wiping my mouth with my sleeve and avoiding his gaze.

"Very lady-like", he complimented when I finally turned towards him. I actually contemplated giving him the finger but ruled against it.

"I think you should tell him you're sorry."

"You know I won't."

"It could solve everything; it would all go back to normal. Don't you miss it? The talking and the laughing. Ever since your stupid stunt, this place has been as fun as a graveyard. I'm actually thinking about moving out."

I didn't let him make me feel guilty. I knew he was kidding about that last part anyway. I shrugged.

"Why doesn't he apologize to me? It's not like I started this whole thing."

The brother loyalty in Fred sparked up instantly, as I knew it would.

"Are you kidding? He hasn't done anything wrong! If I'd been the one waiting for you here, I would've yelled too; hell, you deserved much worse than that. You have no idea how anxious we were when we came home and you weren't there; most people would be thankful for people caring about them like that. So stop being your stubborn, pig-headed self, realize you were wrong and just apologize already!"

I wanted to. I'd been thinking about doing just that for days now. But this was much more complicated that he realized. Crossing my arms against my chest, I finally faced Fred.

"This has nothing to do with that night; don't you see it? Well, almost nothing," I added when he cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "I'm mad because the two of you refuse to fight against Voldemort. This is the real issue here, and I'm not about to admit I'm wrong concerning this argument, because I'm not."

He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. I waited, my eyes never leaving his, knowing he had no excuses this time, and wondering what he could possibly say next.

"Where do you go to every day?" he finally challenged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"What do you do at the shop all day?" I countered, pursing my lips. Because, as sure as I was that they were hiding something from me, I also knew they weren't about to tell me in the least. Which was also one of the reasons I wasn't about to apologize to anyone soon.

Beat.

"You've changed." He finally said, looking sad all of the sudden.

So have you, I considered saying. But because I'd had another nightmare the previous night, was in a really bad mood after this useless discussion and still sore from late night practise at Alex's, I replied instead, regretting it almost instantly;

"Piss off, Fred."

oOo

"How do you even know this?" I asked Valentine, as I collapsed on the couch beside a

very amused-looking Oliver. "Were you some sort of ninja-kid before you received your Hogwarts letter or something?"

"Nope, just a kid obsessed with Sherlock Holmes." Val smirked at my bewildered expression.

"What?"

He jerked his thumbs towards his face. "Muggle-born, remember? I'd read every book by the time I was nine – even the really scary stories. Holmes practised baritsu, so I begged my parents to let me take classes. It's as simple as that."

"That makes sense, I guess. You're not a battle-god, just a dorky kid." Grimacing, I rolled up my jacket-sleeve. "Yet another bruise. I'm never going to get the hang of it."

"I don't know," Oliver disagreed, eyeing the yet-to-turn-purple spot above my wrist. "He doesn't kick your arse as much as he used to a couple of weeks ago."

"Ha. Funny."

"I'm serious!"

"Sure…"

"No, he's right," Val smirked. "You are getting better. You just need to remember not to jump at a guy's throat without thinking through what you're going to attempt to do to him first. Remember, baritsu is mainly the idea of hurting your opponent by disturbing his balance, and then by using his strength against him before he's had time to regain his equilibrium. You're making progress, it's a fact."

I grinned. "Thanks. I'm not as sore as I used to be when I go home, either. Maybe I'm toughening up. But I still haven't beaten you once."

He ran a hand through his hair with exaggerated slowness. "Well, beating me is kind of impossible. I've been practising this for years." He lifted an eyebrow at me. "But I think you'd stand a good chance against someone completely inexperienced. You know, most wizards never take time to even learn self-defence or stuff like that; what's the point when you've got your wand with you at all times?"

"Which is why," Oliver said, draping an arm over my shoulders "we think you're ready."

"Ready?" I repeated, turning my eyes to him.

"To participate in an ambush."

My first reaction was fear; I couldn't possibly be that ready, could I? The second was uneasiness; did I really want to participate in such a massacre as the one that Emma had described to me weeks ago? The third one, overpowering the other two after I had taken a deep breath, was absolute resolve; this is what I had signed up for, and I would carry it through to the very end. If the guys thought I was ready, then there wasn't any doubt that I was. Squaring my shoulders, I looked at Val and nodded once.

"When?"

oOo

"About tomorrow," Oliver told me right before he left me in front of the twins' flat. "You should tell someone."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I thought you said that wasn't necessary."

"Well, that was before you started participating in illicit activities." He smiled once, but sobered up quickly, his eyes serious. "Mel, what we're about to do is dangerous. You know the Death Eaters must know something's up by now; there's been, what, thirty snatchers disappearances in less than two months now? Every time we pull the same stunt, we become more vulnerable to it backfiring against us. We haven't had any real problems up to now, but there's no guarantee tonight will be devoid of any danger."

"I know that, but I thought you hadn't-"

"Well, I think you should. If something happens to you, you'd want at least someone to know what had happened, right?"

"If I tell anyone, they'll stop me from coming tomorrow."

"Think about it," he insisted, stepping away from me with a small smile stretching his thin lips. "I'll see you in a few."

oOo

Hey Gin,

Hope things are good with you at Hogwarts. I've been wanting to write to you for a while; me and the twins are kind of not speaking to each other, so it often feels lonely here in London.

I joined some rebel group after Fred and George told me the Order had put a stop to their resistance actions. Tomorrow, I'll be taking part in a snatcher ambush, and some of my friends told me I needed to tell at least one person about what I was up to, just in case something happened to me, so here it is.

Tomorrow evening, we'll be drawing snatchers in by saying Voldemort's name (it's been Tabooed, in case you don't know) and taking them out one by one. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing; it's not the first time these guys have done something like that, and there's barely any danger at all. Just wanted you to know is all.

Miss you. I'll write again soon.

Mel

Ps: this might sound obvious, but please don't tell anyone. Thanks.

I put my pen down, feeling almost content with myself. Before realizing that the Hogwarts' post was being watched.

I crumpled the piece of parchment in my hand, a bitter taste in my mouth. Damn it.

oOo

I was shaking hard and was unable to stop. The disorientation wasn't helping, either. I couldn't remember where I was. Everything was dark, and my throat felt dry. George was standing in front of me, looking uncertain.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, my voice breaking. It was clearly the middle of the night, and he was in my room, looking down at me. The answer to my question must have been pretty obvious, but my brain was just too fuzzy to put the clues together.

He merely shrugged as a response. Oh, right, I'd forgotten we were supposed to hate each other and not speak anymore. I sighed, and sat up slowly, running a hand through my hair, the situation clearing up at the same time that my head did.

I guess I should be able to recognize the symptoms by now. Another nightmare.

Just another nightmare. Not concerning Jon, though, not this time. This was about the ambush that was supposed to take place next evening.

I swallowed, and willing the shaking to stop, raised my eyes to look at George again, vaguely wondering if I should thank him for waking me up yet another time. But he was already gone, the bedroom door ajar.

I blinked. George should have asked me what the nightmare was about, even when I refused to talk about it. He should have ruffled my hair and told me that everything was going to be alright. He should have told me not to worry. Maybe he would have hugged me. But what was certain is that he would never have left until I'd stopped shivering.

And I would have ended up telling him about the small rebel group I'd joined, and what we were planning for tonight. I couldn't imagine what his reaction might have been to this. More anger. Disappointment, probably. But at least he would have made it alright.

George always made everything alright, I realized, biting my lip.

My eyes burned as I curled back under the covers. And I couldn't help but feel disappointed that now wasn't as simple as it used to be.

And, God, at that moment, I missed my best friend so much that I felt as though a hole had been punched through my chest.

oOo

When I came out of the bathroom the next morning, I found myself staring straight at Alicia, dressed in a skimpy summer dress, and George sucking faces on the living room couch.

Sighing inwardly, I grabbed a bowl from the kitchen cupboard and poured myself some cereal, before sitting down at the living room table and carefully averting my eyes from the scene; I didn't actually have a choice about this, as there wasn't any other table in the apartment. Damn it. Fred was nowhere in sight. I resolved to make this as painless as possible and tried to swallow my breakfast in one mouthful.

"Melinda?" Alicia suddenly said, and I raised my eyes in surprise. She was sitting with her body angled towards me while George stubbornly faced the other way, his back facing me. I swallowed.

"Yeah?" It wasn't a very civilized answer, granted, but me and Alicia weren't exactly on speaking terms. The animosity between the two of us was a secret to no one; it wasn't even the fact that George had clearly decided to make up for the loss of our friendship by spending every single free second he had snogging her that angered me. She just annoyed the hell out of me, all the freaking time. Whenever she came to the flat, I always did what I could not to end up in the same room as her, or George for that matter, as those two were practically joined at the hip. I wasn't jealous, honestly. Besides, why would I be? She was just a bitch.

"I have something to ask you," she said, cutting the crap quickly.

"Right. Well, uh, shoot."

"Georgie would like his room back. This is his apartment after all."

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, and balled my hands up into fists. Sneaking a look at George, I realized he hadn't moved an inch and the fact that I couldn't see the expression on his face only increased my frustration.

"Well, I believe your boyfriend is a big boy. If Georgie" I spit the word out, "wants his room back, he can just ask me that himself, don't you think?"

"He felt uncomfortable doing it, as you haven't been very friendly to him lately." Alicia said in a sugary tone, as I simply stared at her in disgust. Everything about her screamed fake. Fake pink smile, fake rosy cheeks, fake perfect teeth. Fake person. "So I said I would talk to you on his behalf."

I didn't dignify this with an answer, only glared at the back of George's head, so she went on:

"The twins have been very generous to you, Melinda, providing you with a place to live for almost a month. I think Mrs. Weasley mentioned you had turned eighteen a couple of days ago?"

I nodded stiffly. Yes, my birthday had come and passed. I had received a card from the Weasleys and Amy, a box of sweets from Fred and a small jewel box from Ollie.

George hadn't even mentioned the fact that it was my birthday. So I hadn't, either.

And now I was vaguely anxious to see how Alicia would twist my being eighteen into something that could help her prove her point.

"Doesn't that make you an adult in the muggle world?"

She had done her research, I'd giver her this. She took my silence as an assent and quickly went on.

"Well, I was thinking, that since you and the twins seem to no longer be on speaking terms, that it might be time you moved out."

My mouth came open with an audible pop. I felt as though she'd just punched me. She smiled sweetly at me as I fought not to have a panic attack. Because I'd never even contemplated that I might get kicked out of the twins' apartment; I mean, yeah, we were currently in a rough spot, but things would get better, wouldn't they? And they'd promised they wouldn't leave me alone, hadn't they? Where the hell would I go if they simply kicked me out? Back to the Burrow? That was out of the question, of course. Alex's? Ollie's? Who the hell would even want me to live with them? I started hyperventilating, and Fred burst into the room, his face pale.

"What?" He and George both said at the same time, wearing the same expression of complete astonishment. I stayed frozen as I waited for what would follow, for the decision they'd make, my hands twisting and untwisting in my lap nervously. My head was spinning, and I was fighting to breathe regularly. The feeling of falling through a giant abyss that I'd first felt when my parents had died suddenly came back, loud and clear.

What would happen to me now?

"What the hell, Alicia?" George started, finally breaking the statue-like stance he'd adopted when I'd come in the room. "We never agreed to-"

"Georgie, it would be better this way," she soothed him, putting a hand on his forearm. My nails bit into my skin hard in response. "I mean, you and Fred have obviously done a lot for her already. I know your parents have asked you to look after her, but now that she's legally an adult…"

"No," George cut her off, his voice hard. "That's out of the question. Andy stays."

Andy. It had been weeks since any of them had used the stupid nickname.

"I think it might be time for you to leave now," he added more quietly and she frowned.

"Fine. It was only a suggestion. Forget I said anything." Getting up gracefully, Alicia grabbed her handbag from the coffee table and made her way to the entrance, slamming the door on her way out. And then it was quiet.

I could feel Fred looking at me, but I kept my eyes on George as my heart finally slowed down and the realization dawned on me. They weren't giving me up. Everything was fine. I swallowed, my throat dry.

"Thanks." I finally whispered, and since Fred was now waiting for his brother to answer, and I knew George well enough to know that he wouldn't, I grabbed my own bag and headed out as well.

I hesitated before crossing the threshold. Because I knew that tonight, as Ollie had said, would be dangerous, and that I might not be coming home. But it's not like I could say anything that could make all of this mess right. So I didn't.

oOo

Two chapters at once because I'll be gone for the next two weeks. Reviews would be lovely, as always.