He made his way very carefully through the rubble. The Entrance Hall had been demolished almost completely. Angelina found him on the stairs, half tackling him into a hug. George returned the embrace, rocking slightly, letting himself close his eyes. He couldn't explain it, but he had a horrible feeling.
"Your sister just saved my life," Angelina whispered.
"She was supposed to stay in the DA room," George frowned, glancing around for Ginny.
"She said that Harry and the others needed the Room. Have you seen him?" Angelina stepped back.
"Yeah, I saw him and Ron heading down to the Whomping Willow-"
George froze as they stepped into the Great Hall; his life was cut short. People were laid out on stretchers everywhere; the dead had been placed in a disturbingly long row down the center. Over the commotion, he couldn't hear his brother, but George could see Bill. He was crying. Bill was crying. Bill didn't cry. Why would he . . .
Ginny seemed to have made her way to the Hall, George didn't know how she had beat Angelina there. And Ron was staring at the floor in another world. Fleur cried too, but not nearly so much, and she tried to comfort Bill, half hugging him, half holding him. And the too long row of dead ended near them. On the ground at their feet was a peculiar set of hair. Short and tidy red hair, then less tame red hair, then bushy brown hair.
Red hair, red hair, brown hair. Red hair. Red hair. Brown hair. But that couldn't be right at all.
Three- Three-
"No- No! Fred!"George sprinted down the Hall. The Hall stretched on for eons. It was endless, no matter how fast he ran it was not fast enough. The row of dead beside him stretched on forever as he tried to reach them. He half ran over Bill, who had stood and wiped at his face, in George's effort to stop himself, then stumbled and fell to his knees between Hermione and Fred. Hermione's jacket was soaked in blood, but she was, at the very least, breathing. She had a cut dragging across her face and was in great need of a shower. Her hair was matted and crusted with blood. George forced himself to look at Fred, already shuddering with sobs. If that was what Hermione looked like...
Fred had a cut across his face too, but instead of dragging from his forehead to his ear, it stretched from his eye to his lip. There was hardly a scrap of unscathed skin on him, and he was covered head to toe in bruises. George touched his chest softly, sobbing. But Fred's eyes opened slowly.
"Gred," Fred smiled as if he'd needed to reassure George. He was hardly conscious, his head rolling to the side with a groan, "My knee."
George let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, except for Fleur's head buried in Bill's chest. Except for Ron's insistent vacant stare. Except for Ginny's red eyes and angry pacing. George had more than one brother. Only one was dead.
Percy didn't look hurt at all. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling above them. His chest neither rose nor fell, his face was not red from exertion, his hands did not twitch.
His father caught George's head before he could crash to the ground, dragging him up and away as the world swam. Though already filled with keening, George's cry echoed through the Great Hall.
"My knee," Fred groaned, twisting in pain. Fleur murmured a spell, and his stilled with a sigh. Bill sobbed quietly.
"What's wrong with his knee?"
"That's not what he was saying."
"It's not supposed to be like this," George whispered. There was a shriek at the end of the hall. His mother had arrived. George bowed his head into his father's shoulder, knowing full well he shouldn't. He clung to his father regardless. Bill stepped away from Fleur to intercept their mother. She wailed as he held her back for but a moment, beating her fists against him until he relented. She knelt by Percy. She touched his frozen face, sobbing so hard she couldn't even breathe any more. She made nearly no sound.
"How?" She asked, the word almost unintelligible. She took a spastic breath and hissed, spittle dropping against her chest, unable to close her mouth.
"Harry said-" Bill's voice faltered.
"The wall by them exploded, when the- the Death Eaters broke through. Hermione tried to- to- and then- R- Rookwood hit Percy with the Killing Curse. He saved Hermione, threw himself in the way," Ron said in a dull voice. He watched Hermione with a furrowed brow. Wondering why it was that every single one of his brothers seemed willing to die for her. Wondering why one of them had.
George hated her too, for a moment. Just a moment.
Rookwood.
George stared at the space between Hermione and Fred. Hermione made a small sound. George focused on them as his mother wailed. It wasn't fair. Percy had just come back to them; it was too cruel for them to have taken him away again. It wasn't fair.
Fred and Hermione were barely alive. By the end of the night . . . They might fall as well. And Percy-
Not fair, not fair, not fair-
"I'm going to kill them all," his father pushed him at Bill, dropping to wrap his arms around her. She shook, with sobs and sorrow and anger. Ginny knelt with her, brave enough to take their mother's hand.
"They're dead," Ginny agreed softly.
"All of zem," Fleur snarled.
.o0O0o.
Whooooo, boi. Y'all didn't think I'd do it to ya.
This is the part where I get my head bitten off. But, next time, or maybe the time after that, when I finish this bitch? That's when I cry. Because I'm giving y'all a list of all the shit I've done since I started writing this thing and whooooooooo boi is that shit gonna make me feel old (I'm technically not).
Also, not that any of you care, but I headcannon Charlie as ace but willing to fuck the shit out of his partner because he enjoys their enjoyment.
Also, also, my Jily fic is up! It's a hell of a lot more slow-burning, angsty, and generally depressing than this! You're welcome!
I am so mad that the formatting fucked up on this, this is why I fucking moved over to AO3, this hell site is almost as bad as fucking Tumblr and can get off my fucking nuts right the fuck now.
roon0: Heard you had an order of 'more'? Gave it something a lil extra, just for you
frizzy-dizzy-oringina: Thank you, Ida is a forever fav!
Fandomqueen104: Because of your emrude/em comment, y'all get the conclusion next year. (I'm kidding.) Thank you so much! No matter how many times you comment, it'll never get old.
Sheila Marie1: *Goes back to read chapter 26* honey that chapter is horny
Hollowg1rl: Eeeep, thank! Mucho gratitude *turtles awkwardly*
123a456e: Here it be!
Infernalbooks: Lmaooooo, someone once asked if Hermione would get with Charlie if Fred died and I am not doing that
hshepherd1235: Thank you very much!
