Hear the sound of the falling rain/ Coming down like an Armageddon flame...this is the dawning of the rest of our lives-Holiday: Greenday
Despite the best efforts of their neighbours, Katie and Hazel's flat was badly damaged. They had responded quickly, and saved a fair few items, but most of the place was black and scorched. Hazel moved in with her sister; Katie with her mother. After all those months she was back where she started: home.
There was a wailing noise coming from Katie's bedroom.
"Katie!" her Mum hollered up the stairs, "Will you pick that up?"
Katie was scrambling through her handbag, tipping the contents out over her bed. There was only one reason why that would be going off. She pulled the mirror out. "Fred?"
"Katie, this is it. It's time. It's time."
Katie swept her hair back into a ponytail as she, Alicia, Angelina and Oliver made their way down the stairs to the Room of Requirement. They emerged into a brightly lit room where several familiar faces were waiting for them.
She made her way over to Fred, and he grasped her hand. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief second, and said it all. There was nothing else to put into words. Enough had been said.
Harry Potter burst in, looking extremely surprised to see them all there.
"Wh-"
Katie fought the urge to laugh as he slipped down the stairs. Now was not the time to laugh, even as it was all so ridiculous, the world collapsing around them.
"Voldemort's on his way-"
Fred squeezed Katie's hand tighter. So, this was really it. Time to drop the jokes and show what he was really made of.
"We're fighting."
Katie nodded, leaned up to Fred, and whispered "Love you."
"I love you too." He said quietly, and she followed the others towards the Great Hall.
They waited in there while the students were evacuated, school day ghosts around them. Suddenly, Leanne and Hazel were at her side.
"Where did you come from?" she asked in a whisper. "Where's Rachel?"
"Here." She hissed. "We heard there was a fight."
Before Katie could reply, McGonagall pointed at the four of them. "You girls, come with me." She said. It felt odd with it not be followed by threats of detention or loss of house points, but instead with "We're going to fight from the Gryffindor Tower."
The nodded and followed her and several others. As the main body of the group passed through the Fat Lady portrait, Rachel stumbled. Hazel caught her and Katie and Leanne, who were just in front, turned.
"Are you-" Leanne began, but she was cut off as Rachel suddenly staggered to one side, crushing Hazel into the wall, then took several steps back. She flicked her wand and the portrait slammed shut.
"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?" demanded Katie.
Rachel was breathing heavily. "Following orders." She spat, shooting a spell at Katie that was blocked easily by Leanne.
"Are you mad?" Hazel looked dumbfounded, hauling herself to her feet. "You're going to try and take on all three of us?"
"I'm the cleverest out of all of us!" Rachel yelled
"Just because you got the best marks at school it doesn't mean you're the cleverest!" flung back Leanne.
Her words must have stung Rachel because she let out a scream and shot a stunning spell at Leanne; Katie blocked it; Rachel ducked the rebounding spell and tried to curse Hazel; Leanne retaliated and Katie pointed her wand in Rachel's face.
"Traitor." She hissed "I knew there was one around here."
Rachel laughed "Yeah, you could say that. But Hazel betrayed you and you took her back. Fred betrayed you and you took him back. Face it Katie- you're pathetic."
Katie stared at her friend in revulsion.
"You make me sick Rachel." Said Leanne "You're the pathetic one- is there an original thought in that head of yours?"
"How's the flat Hazel, Kate?" jeered Rachel. "It was great setting fire to all those photos of you. Really felt like the end of an era."
Katie felt as though she was going to vomit. "You were the masked one." She gasped. "You heard me get tortured?"
Rachel nodded. "And I was the one that told them that you were part of the Order. Very clever, hiding the stuff at Alicia's, where I couldn't access it. I told them about Lee's party at New Year. I even helped out at that Weasley wedding- I escorted you back to the kitchen after interrogation Kates, remember that? Oh, and let's not forget that night that you and Alicia were waiting for your precious twins to come back after getting Harry Potter away from his muggle family. The fear in your face was hilarious, especially as you tried to hide it- of course," she added thoughtfully "I was expecting them to be dead by the time I got home."
"Alright Rachel." snarled Hazel "You're You-Know-Who's bitch, we all get that. You can stop boasting now."
Rachel laughed. "You should have shut me up before." She told them "You just gave my friends time to get here."
"Stupefy!" shrieked a voice. Hazel punched Rachel in the jaw as Leanne ducked. At the end of the hall there was a couple of Slytherins from their year.
Katie sent a stunning spell whistling down to them. She missed, but suddenly Rachel was there, frantically casting spell after spell. Katie could do nothing but deflect them. Hazel was fighting Paul Parkinson; Leanne was battling Marcus Flint.
"Why are you doing this Rachel?" shouted Katie "I thought you were meant to be the smart one of the group!"
"I am!" screamed Rachel "But the Dark Lord sees more than the geeky girl than you see Katie! He sees someone with talent, someone who one day could wield power. Someone who could become something, someone who'd never be overlooked again!"
"Is this little-man syndrome?" Katie sneered "How very Napoleon. God, you're just- ugh!"
Katie was hurling spell after spell at her friend with all her might. "The thing is Rachel, you're just deluded aren't you? Do you really think he'd give you power? A half-blood 19 year old? Wake UP, Rachel!"
Her rage and hurt at the betrayal exploded out of her wand and Rachel was blasted back into a wall.
Katie turned to see Flint slash his wand and Leanne crumpled. Katie hit him with a bodybind curse. There was no time to check on Leanne; Hazel was still madly duelling Parkinson and Rachel was back on her feet.
Tapestries were torn, windows smashed, the floor and walls cracked with missed spells. Katie had never felt so furious before. She screamed curse after curse, hoping that she would find her mark.
There was a colossal explosion behind Katie, caused by Rachel's spell. She heard Hazel scream and turned to see her friend lying there, seemingly unconscious, Parkinson buried under a pile of bricks.
"Expelliarmus!" Rachel had taken advantage of Katie's distraction and disarmed her, so violently that Katie was forced to the ground.
"Sorry Rach," she said bravely "I think Harry Potter's bought the rights to that spell."
Rachel kicked Katie's wand to one side. "You always thought you were funny, didn't you?" she said condescendingly. "Pity you aren't."
"You always thought that you were better than us didn't you?" countered Katie "Pity you aren't."
"Any final jokes to tell before I kill you?"
"Well, actually I did hear one about a roof, but it's probably over your head."
"Shut up Katie." Rachel lifted her wand.
"Wait!" yelled Katie "One thing!"
"What?" Rachel snarled.
"That valentine from Oliver Wood in third year? It was from us."
Rachel pointed her wand in Katie's face. "Avada-"
Fred had never felt so invincible.
He was barely even thinking; the magic was making its own way out of his wand; the only thing he was conscious of was the faces that flashed in his head, reminders of what he had to lose, what he could lose forever.
His twin was not by his side, but he had another brother there: Percy. He would never have expected this, to be fighting side by side with Percy, perfect, pedantic Percy.
"Hello Minister! Did I mention that I'm resigning?"
A giddy, hysterical sort of glee rose in Fred, his voice rose in pitch excitedly as he shouted over to his brother "You're joking, Perce! You actuallyarejoking... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were –"
Then-
"Avada Kedavra!"
Katie stared as Rachel's eyes went blank and she fell forward. Katie scrambled backwards and turned. Hazel was standing, frozen, wand aloft, eyes terrified.
"Hazel!" gasped Katie, getting to her feet shakily and embracing her.
"I killed her." said Hazel blankly "I just murdered my own friend."
"You had to do it Hazel," Katie said with a firmness she didn't feel. "She was going to kill me. And this way- this way we can hide it...hide that she was a D-"
The portrait banged open and McGonagall burst through with various other students.
"What happened?" cried McGonagall.
"We were ambushed. Rachel was killed." Katie kept her words sparse, and truthful. She couldn't cope with the lies...not yet, anyway.
"Oh my-" McGonagall collected herself. "The castle has been breached, we're going to fight below. Put Miss Carlisle somewhere- somewhere safe. Any injuries, get to Madam Pomfrey."
The group, McGonagall in the lead, ran to fight, like animals, wary and close together.
"Leanne." Katie said, turning to Hazel. The two girls lifted her up and made their way slowly through the castle, leaving Rachel behind. They occasionally came across random patches of fighting, where they would hide Leanne and themselves, and join in, shooting secret spells at enemies.
"You have fought valiantly."
Katie almost dropped Leanne as You-Know-Who's voice echoed through the castle. She listened intently to his speech, losing track only to stun a Death Eater that she spotted running past.
"One hour."
"Let's go." Said Hazel quietly, and they made the last of their long, slow journey through the school. They helped Leanne onto the platform, where Alicia was helping to heal.
At the sight of Alicia, Fred popped into her head. Without a word she jumped off the stage, determined to find him.
She caught sight of the Weasley's all huddled together. Her heart stopped. For a second, it actually stopped with pure terror.
And then she was running towards them, screaming his name at the top of her voice, elbowing her way through them all.
She felt George trying to restrain her, as she saw.
Blinded by tears, she kneeled slowly by the body of Fred Weasley.
