A heartbeat. That's all that it was and yet it was an unmistakeable sign of hope for them all. Charlie was no healer but working with dragons meant that he had to be familiar with basic and essential healer training. None of them had moved as they were all too stunned to take any action.
"Someone should go find Madame Pomfrey if she's available, I doubt it but it could help."
No one spoke.
"I'll go." Hermione croaked.
Bill nodded at her, a new understanding developed between them. She spun on her heels and sprinted to the Great Hall where all of the remaining in the battle were gathered. The doors had been closed, to keep the cold air out more than anything else, and she didn't stop running until she was stood firmly in front of Madame Pomfrey who was having, what looked like a well-deserved, rest.
"Miss Granger? Is everything alright?" A strange question given the circumstances.
"It-It's Fred. He's alive but only just. Charlie's working on him but if someone who knows what they're doing doesn't get to him soon we'll lose him for good." She finished and took a huge gulp of air. She was feeling a little faint from the running but adrenaline was quickly overriding that.
"Where is he?" the Healer asked her.
"Fourth floor, next to the blown out wall and the portrait of the cherubs and the mermaid." The older woman nodded and hurried off.
Although she didn't want to, Hermione turned to the Weasley's next, pushing through the small crowd until she found them huddled together with grief.
"You've already done enough to us, leave us be." Percy spat at her angrily.
As her eyes stung with hot tears she ignored this comment and kneeled down next to his mother.
"Molly…" she whispered. "Fred has a heartbeat. Charlie and Bill noticed it. Madame Pomfrey's going up now. He's still here." She was certain only the first and final sentences registered with Molly but nonetheless she pulled her into a tight hug and whispered a single phrase to her: Thank you.
It wasn't long until Fred was brought back down to the hall, a murmur swooping across the hall as it happened. Bill and Charlie laid him where they were instructed and allowed Madame Pomfrey to work on him, coming away to inform their parents of the situation.
"It wasn't a stunning jinx but it must have been a relation of it, except this one stunned his heart. Merlin knows how long it was stopped. It's a miracle that his entire body didn't shut down." Bill continued but Hermione didn't hear him.
Instead she found herself crossing the short distance to stand behind Madame Pomfrey, watching her murmur spells and monitor Fred's body. She didn't try to interfere in any way; she was too tired to add her own input, and was content with sliding onto the table and sitting cross-legged at his feet. He began to stir minutes after Madame Pomfrey had finished but she still couldn't move. The Weasley's crowded around him excitedly, calling out to him as they did so, but he only responded with one word over and over and over again, getting louder each and every time until the entire family was silent, the rest of the hall looking over at the scene.
"Hermione."
She shook her head as her eyes began to well up with tears but couldn't make a sound or even bring herself to move closer to him. He was in this state because of her, Percy was right all along it was her fault and she could never undo that. She pushed herself off of the table and crossed the hall before sitting down again. Hermione wanted to be away from him. Hadn't she told him all those months ago that her path had been chosen for her when she was 11? What on earth was she thinking dragging him into all of this as much as she had, she should have never allowed things to get so…serious.
A short while later she saw the Weasley's arguing with Fred a little before George swooped in, wrapped his arm tightly around his twin's waist and helped him to his feet. Together they slowly made their way to where Hermione was sitting, still silent and teary-eyed, with Fred sat down next to her and George waved away. A few moments of silence followed.
"I'm dead for half an hour and you fall to pieces. Come on love, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You were dead Freddie. You didn't have a heartbeat, we included you in the fatalities list, and your brother told me it was all my fault, what else do you need?" she snapped.
"My brother did what?" he asked her quietly. His voice was still a little hoarse but he was recovering incredibly quickly. "Which one was it?"
"Percy. He's still quite adamant that I should be condemned." She told him bitterly.
"Well he's a pompous prat. I know you were trying to save me, I could hear you."
"What did you hear?" she asked, entwining her fingers with his.
"I could hear you shouting that I promised to marry you. If I could then I would have been grinning at that one, it was brilliant." He shifted his weight slightly. "Are we serious about that then? We'll really get married once things have settled?"
Hermione thought for a second before nodding, "Freddie, I was sure before I thought I lost you and now…well now I never want to have to endure that again."
"In that case…" he moved as best he could to kneel in front of her on one knee.
"Fred what are you doing?"
"If we're doing this then we're doing this properly." He told her sternly.
"Fred people are looking, I hardly think this is the time or the-"
"Hermione Jean Granger, will you become my wife so that I can love you and call you mine forever?" he was grinning up at her and she was reminded briefly of the way he acted at Bill and Fleur's wedding once they'd finished dancing together, all very elaborate but this time it was real.
"I'd love to." She said quietly before grinning at him in return. Before she knew it Fred had his arms wrapped around her and was kissing her fiercely, much to the joy of everyone who had been watching them.
"I don't have a ring right now but gimme a sec…" he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the necklace around her neck, the one he'd given to her that first Christmas, and transformed it into a gorgeous engagement ring, the heart shaped ruby now the centre of the ring. He slowly pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her passionately.
He placed the ring on her finger just as Voldemort's voice began to ring out once again:
Harry Potter is dead. Surrender your wands and join me and we can avoid any further loss of such valuable blood.
Hermione wasn't sure how it happened, or when she stopped registering everything around her, but the next thing she saw was the ceiling as her legs gave way and Fred struggled to catch her without doing himself more injury.