Another long delay. I'm sorry. I've never been this busy in my life! The Army is not for the faint of heart. I love my job and what I'm doing, but I wish I had moment or two to myself.
I was informed through a review that my guess at Dumbledore's age was way off. Sorry about that. I don't read all of Rowling's news conferences and I miss a lot.
I meant to write over the weekend, those are my days off, but I got carried away by my friends to hit the Monterey night-life. It was fun. I regret not taking advantage of the city before now, but I'll make the best of it from here on out. There are so many attractive girls out here, but there's a large gap where I seem to fall into. The women are either too old or too young. Not that I consider myself too far removed from high school, but the young ones around here are kind of annoying. Anyway…
Harry grabbed Fred's shoulder roughly and spun the tall boy back to face him. "You can't, Fred!"
Fred sighed and looked to his brother for support. By the clench in George's jaw he intended on going though with it whether Harry denied him or not.
George put a steadying hand on Harry's shoulder. "We've been over this, Harry. Voldemort sees that sending the trolls and giants isn't working. So he's going to bring his wizards and Dementors forward! We can't sit on our asses and wait for him to tear this castle down brink by brick."
George was right about one thing. Ron's Sentinels had deflected every one of Voldemort's waves of monsters. Hour after hour, Voldemort had sent the beasts forward and time after time, Ron and his men had forced them back.
The Sentinels had suffered their first loss in the last attack. Harry shuddered as he remembered the horrid screams of the dead Sentinel's bond-mate. The woman had instantly gone mad and began tearing at her face with a blank stare.
Several other bond-mates had tried to subdue the woman, but she had shrugged them off with amazing strength. She tossed aside her wand as if it were useless and had run forward to where her husband lay trampled under the feet of dozens of giants and trolls.
With a shriek she had seized her husband's sword and brandished it at the enemies surrounding her. Even from his tower, Harry could see blood flowing from her deep, self-inflicted gashes across her face.
"Aaron!" she had screamed and launched herself into the horde. Within moments, she was torn apart. Harry had turned and retched onto the stone tower ceiling.
It wasn't long before he had learned that 'Aaron' had been the name of her bond-mate. Her name had been Mary Beth. He ingrained the names into his brain. The dead would not be forgotten!
"Face it, Harry." George said quietly. "We're weakening. Most of the faculty can't even stand on their own. They're tired. They've been pushed to the limit and they can't hold on much longer. Fred and I can do a lot of damage to them before they even reach the walls. We just have to fly over them."
Harry shrugged off George's arm violently. "It won't work! They know what you can do and they're scared! They'll be gunning for you. You didn't have anything to worry about when it was just trolls and giants, but a Dark Wizard can bring the bus down with a single spell. You're going to die!"
George nodded as if everything Harry was saying made sense, but made no difference. "If we don't go, everyone might die." He said it with a straight face. George, who had never been serious before was calm and collected.
"You don't know that!" Ginny screamed. Tears had made clean streaks down her cheeks. She had begun crying when her brothers had told them what they planned. "We might hold them off!"
Harry turned to Draco, who was standing next to him. If Harry had wanted support form the thin boy, there was none coming. Draco agreed with the twins. He saw that the defenses were failing. Fred and George's idea might be the only thing that could save them all.
Fred shook his head slowly. "Gin, this is the only chance we have to do this. We'll make a quick run over the heads of the dark wizards and drop everything we have. If we're lucky, we can take out half of them in a single run."
My God, Harry thought, they're not even talking about coming back. They know it is suicide. Harry felt his throat tighten and tears build up in the corners of his eyes. He threw his arms around George's shoulders and pulled the gangly boy to his chest. He cleared his throat roughly. "You do it." Harry muttered. "You do it, but if you so much as think about not making it back, I'll kill you myself."
"What?!" Ginny gasped. "Don't let them, Harry!"
"They're right, Ginny." Harry said limply. "This might be our only chance."
George smiled sadly and hugged Harry back. Fred moved to Ginny, who was crying even harder. He lifted her up into a gentle hug that brought her feet off the ground. "Don't cry, Ginny." He said, his own tears in his voice. "It has to be done."
Not 'Don't worry, Ginny. We'll be back.' or 'Piece of cake!'. It has to be done. Harry cursed Voldemort for the thousandth time. War changed everything.
After all of the goodbyes had been said, the twins went through the trap-door.
Their bus was parked on top of a deserted tower, towards the middle of the compound.
Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny and pulled her away from the trap-door.
As they walked back towards the railing. Ginny looked up into Harry's face hopefully. "They'll be back, right Harry?"
No, Ginny. They're not coming back. "We can hope." He said quietly.
Ginny nodded as if he had made a promise. "They'll be back." She said firmly.
Three towers down, the twin's bus lifted off and sped through the air.
((()))
Fred stepped firmly onto the gas and the bus began to pick up speed. He looked through the rear-view mirror as Hogwarts slowly shrank. "Goodbye, old girl." He whispered.
George stood next to his twin and stared into the dark ahead of them. He turned to his brother with a wry smile on his face. "I didn't think it would end like this, brother."
Fred just nodded and stepped more firmly onto the gas, bringing the bus further and further from safety and closer to their destination.
George chuckled. "Not a bad way to go, is it, Fred?"
Fred smiled back at his brother. "No, George, it isn't."
"Let's just see if we can do a little damage before we-" George's words were cut of as a massive fire ball hit the bus head-on. The defenses that the twins had cast on the bus evaporated in an instant and the inside of the cab was an inferno. Fred heard George screamed as the fire rolled through. George!
The bus was falling and fast. Fred ripped at the gear shifter, trying to regain lost altitude but it did no good. He braced his hands against the wheel and the last thing he saw was the ground rushing up to meet him.
((()))
George opened his eyes groggily and looked around the cabin. Everything was smoking, the aftermath of the massive fireball. Where had it come from? George asked himself, rolling over with a groan. Every breath was a knife in his side. He was fairly sure he had broken a few ribs and at least two fingers in the fall. The broken joints were swollen and throbbing.
The bus was in ruins every window had been shattered as the fireball had roared through the cab. All of the seats was large lumps of meted leather and plastic. Good thing I hit the deck as soon as I knew what was going on, George thought. Even with his quick action, his clothes were charred and he had horrid burn on his left arm.
Not looking to good, Georgie. He told himself. No too good at all.
He crawled over to where Fred still sat in the driver's seat. Fred's chin was slumped to his chin, but George saw that he was breathing. Thank the powers that be, he thought. He didn't know what he would have done if Fred had died. Being twins, coming into being at the exact same moment brought a closeness that George had never been able to explain. He didn't think he could live without his brother. Not even for a moment.
He shook his brother's shoulder lightly and Fred's eyes opened slowly. "Ah, fuck, George. I'm hurt. I'm hurt bad."
George looked to where Fred's hands were and gasped. Both of Fred's hands were thick with blood. The blood didn't seem to be slowing.
Fred was taking huge gasping breaths. "Damned gear shifter got me when we hit." He looked up at his brother, his twin and smiled and weak smile. "Killed by a gear shifter. Can you believe it."
George began to shudder. No. No. No.
George bent over his brother and ignoring the pain in his ribs and hand, lifted his brother out of the driver's seat. "Shut up, Fred. You're not going to die." He whispered.
Fred groaned as he was moved. "Forget it, George. Just go. Whoever hit us with that fireball will be here any second."
George bent slightly and he carried his brother through the shattered windshield. "As if I could live without you, Fred."
George's whole body was numb, but he somehow found the strength to extract himself from the bus while carrying his brother.
He looked around into the surrounding forest. He heard the howls of trolls and sharp orders of men. They were close.
It doesn't matter, George told himself numbly. Fred is dying.
Dark shapes moved in the forest, but George ignored them. They don't matter. Fred is dying.
A troll moved into sight, but George merely kept walking, almost directly at it. Fred is dying.
The troll moved toward the easy prey. He lifted his club above his head.
"Wait, fool!" came a sharp crisp voice from the forest. George recognized the voice. It was Voldemort. The reason behind all the pain and suffering was within earshot. George kept walking. Fred is dying.
Fred's blood had soaked the front of George's shirt when he finally collapsed. He tried to get back to his feet,
Fred is dying
but his arms and legs wouldn't work anymore. He heard a cackling from behind him. Voldemort.
Voldemort strolled up to look down at George. George only looked at his brother. He could feel his brother slipping away. Fred's eyes were on George's as if he were trying to memorize his face. Fred's breathing was coming even harder. He wouldn't last much longer.
Voldemort nudged George with hit foot. "What did you think, boy? That you were going to carry your brother all the way back to the school?"
George kept his eyes on Fred. Fred's eyes were slowly closing.
Several other shapes came into the clearing where George and Fred lie. Death Eaters, dozens of them, staying as close as they could to Voldemort's side. It was probably the safest place for them to be.
A short, pudgy man waddled to Voldemort's side. "It's a Weasley, Dark Lord."
Voldemort nodded in irritation. "It's a shame it's not the younger one, Wormtail. It is said that Potter has a great love for that one. He won't leave his tower for these two. No matter, we'll bring that castle down around Potter's head. And then I'll be the only one left, prophesy or not."
Voldemort nudged George again. He seemed insulted by his lack of attention. His greasy hair and hawk-like nose quivered in anger. "You and your brother have been causing my army no end of trouble with that bus of yours. I had to take steps. I was the one who shot down your vehicle."
Fred's eyes closed and his breathing began to slow. To George it felt like half of his soul was floating away.
Fred, don't go! There was no answer.
Fred's breathing stopped.
Voldemort chuckled. "Looks like your brother had gone and kicked the proverbial bucket, my friend."
George felt his insides tearing.
Voldemort lowered his head towards George's ear. "And I was the one who killed him."
George reached out and grabbed his brother's hand. It was cold. There was nothing there but a corpse. George reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. Several of the Death Eaters eyed George uneasily. Voldemort looked at George as if he were a fly.
He thinks I can't hurt him, George thought. I couldn't hurt him with my most powerful spell. He has nothing to worry about.
I can't hurt him. At least not directly.
He and Fred had cast a small spell onto the bus before they had left the burrow. They had cast it with the knowledge that if they had ever gone down, with no hope of escape, they could activate the spell and take out as many of their enemies as possible.
It was a small spell, but it had taken both of the twins to their limit to cast it. They had designed it themselves. They hadn't even given it a name.
George pointed the wand at the bus. "Inferiano Suicidius!"
George looked straight into Voldermort's eyes and tightened his grip on his brother's hand. "You killed Fred, you bastard!"
The explosion was huge. It tore through the clearing, incinerating troll, human and tree alike.
Voldemort's eyes widened as the wave closed in. With a curse and a mutter, he Disaparated.
Voldemort's Death Eaters were not at quick on their feet. They were all consumed in seconds by the blast. George saw Wormtail fall to his knees as the wave hit him.
Good riddance, George thought.
The last thought George Weasley had before he died was simple.
I'm coming, Fred!
((()))
A huge cry went up from all of the towers when the far forest exploded. Night suddenly became day as the light from the blast drenched the sky. It was huge.
Harry wondered dimly what could have been the cause when he saw Ginny slump to the ground her face in her hands.
Harry reached down to put hand on her shoulder but froze when she looked up at him with dead eyes.
"Fred and George are dead."
OK…I'm sorry. It had to happen. There is a series of events that have begun with the twins' deaths. You'll see. You might not like it, but I hope you understand. Tell me you hate me.
I was informed through a review that my guess at Dumbledore's age was way off. Sorry about that. I don't read all of Rowling's news conferences and I miss a lot.
I meant to write over the weekend, those are my days off, but I got carried away by my friends to hit the Monterey night-life. It was fun. I regret not taking advantage of the city before now, but I'll make the best of it from here on out. There are so many attractive girls out here, but there's a large gap where I seem to fall into. The women are either too old or too young. Not that I consider myself too far removed from high school, but the young ones around here are kind of annoying. Anyway…
Harry grabbed Fred's shoulder roughly and spun the tall boy back to face him. "You can't, Fred!"
Fred sighed and looked to his brother for support. By the clench in George's jaw he intended on going though with it whether Harry denied him or not.
George put a steadying hand on Harry's shoulder. "We've been over this, Harry. Voldemort sees that sending the trolls and giants isn't working. So he's going to bring his wizards and Dementors forward! We can't sit on our asses and wait for him to tear this castle down brink by brick."
George was right about one thing. Ron's Sentinels had deflected every one of Voldemort's waves of monsters. Hour after hour, Voldemort had sent the beasts forward and time after time, Ron and his men had forced them back.
The Sentinels had suffered their first loss in the last attack. Harry shuddered as he remembered the horrid screams of the dead Sentinel's bond-mate. The woman had instantly gone mad and began tearing at her face with a blank stare.
Several other bond-mates had tried to subdue the woman, but she had shrugged them off with amazing strength. She tossed aside her wand as if it were useless and had run forward to where her husband lay trampled under the feet of dozens of giants and trolls.
With a shriek she had seized her husband's sword and brandished it at the enemies surrounding her. Even from his tower, Harry could see blood flowing from her deep, self-inflicted gashes across her face.
"Aaron!" she had screamed and launched herself into the horde. Within moments, she was torn apart. Harry had turned and retched onto the stone tower ceiling.
It wasn't long before he had learned that 'Aaron' had been the name of her bond-mate. Her name had been Mary Beth. He ingrained the names into his brain. The dead would not be forgotten!
"Face it, Harry." George said quietly. "We're weakening. Most of the faculty can't even stand on their own. They're tired. They've been pushed to the limit and they can't hold on much longer. Fred and I can do a lot of damage to them before they even reach the walls. We just have to fly over them."
Harry shrugged off George's arm violently. "It won't work! They know what you can do and they're scared! They'll be gunning for you. You didn't have anything to worry about when it was just trolls and giants, but a Dark Wizard can bring the bus down with a single spell. You're going to die!"
George nodded as if everything Harry was saying made sense, but made no difference. "If we don't go, everyone might die." He said it with a straight face. George, who had never been serious before was calm and collected.
"You don't know that!" Ginny screamed. Tears had made clean streaks down her cheeks. She had begun crying when her brothers had told them what they planned. "We might hold them off!"
Harry turned to Draco, who was standing next to him. If Harry had wanted support form the thin boy, there was none coming. Draco agreed with the twins. He saw that the defenses were failing. Fred and George's idea might be the only thing that could save them all.
Fred shook his head slowly. "Gin, this is the only chance we have to do this. We'll make a quick run over the heads of the dark wizards and drop everything we have. If we're lucky, we can take out half of them in a single run."
My God, Harry thought, they're not even talking about coming back. They know it is suicide. Harry felt his throat tighten and tears build up in the corners of his eyes. He threw his arms around George's shoulders and pulled the gangly boy to his chest. He cleared his throat roughly. "You do it." Harry muttered. "You do it, but if you so much as think about not making it back, I'll kill you myself."
"What?!" Ginny gasped. "Don't let them, Harry!"
"They're right, Ginny." Harry said limply. "This might be our only chance."
George smiled sadly and hugged Harry back. Fred moved to Ginny, who was crying even harder. He lifted her up into a gentle hug that brought her feet off the ground. "Don't cry, Ginny." He said, his own tears in his voice. "It has to be done."
Not 'Don't worry, Ginny. We'll be back.' or 'Piece of cake!'. It has to be done. Harry cursed Voldemort for the thousandth time. War changed everything.
After all of the goodbyes had been said, the twins went through the trap-door.
Their bus was parked on top of a deserted tower, towards the middle of the compound.
Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny and pulled her away from the trap-door.
As they walked back towards the railing. Ginny looked up into Harry's face hopefully. "They'll be back, right Harry?"
No, Ginny. They're not coming back. "We can hope." He said quietly.
Ginny nodded as if he had made a promise. "They'll be back." She said firmly.
Three towers down, the twin's bus lifted off and sped through the air.
((()))
Fred stepped firmly onto the gas and the bus began to pick up speed. He looked through the rear-view mirror as Hogwarts slowly shrank. "Goodbye, old girl." He whispered.
George stood next to his twin and stared into the dark ahead of them. He turned to his brother with a wry smile on his face. "I didn't think it would end like this, brother."
Fred just nodded and stepped more firmly onto the gas, bringing the bus further and further from safety and closer to their destination.
George chuckled. "Not a bad way to go, is it, Fred?"
Fred smiled back at his brother. "No, George, it isn't."
"Let's just see if we can do a little damage before we-" George's words were cut of as a massive fire ball hit the bus head-on. The defenses that the twins had cast on the bus evaporated in an instant and the inside of the cab was an inferno. Fred heard George screamed as the fire rolled through. George!
The bus was falling and fast. Fred ripped at the gear shifter, trying to regain lost altitude but it did no good. He braced his hands against the wheel and the last thing he saw was the ground rushing up to meet him.
((()))
George opened his eyes groggily and looked around the cabin. Everything was smoking, the aftermath of the massive fireball. Where had it come from? George asked himself, rolling over with a groan. Every breath was a knife in his side. He was fairly sure he had broken a few ribs and at least two fingers in the fall. The broken joints were swollen and throbbing.
The bus was in ruins every window had been shattered as the fireball had roared through the cab. All of the seats was large lumps of meted leather and plastic. Good thing I hit the deck as soon as I knew what was going on, George thought. Even with his quick action, his clothes were charred and he had horrid burn on his left arm.
Not looking to good, Georgie. He told himself. No too good at all.
He crawled over to where Fred still sat in the driver's seat. Fred's chin was slumped to his chin, but George saw that he was breathing. Thank the powers that be, he thought. He didn't know what he would have done if Fred had died. Being twins, coming into being at the exact same moment brought a closeness that George had never been able to explain. He didn't think he could live without his brother. Not even for a moment.
He shook his brother's shoulder lightly and Fred's eyes opened slowly. "Ah, fuck, George. I'm hurt. I'm hurt bad."
George looked to where Fred's hands were and gasped. Both of Fred's hands were thick with blood. The blood didn't seem to be slowing.
Fred was taking huge gasping breaths. "Damned gear shifter got me when we hit." He looked up at his brother, his twin and smiled and weak smile. "Killed by a gear shifter. Can you believe it."
George began to shudder. No. No. No.
George bent over his brother and ignoring the pain in his ribs and hand, lifted his brother out of the driver's seat. "Shut up, Fred. You're not going to die." He whispered.
Fred groaned as he was moved. "Forget it, George. Just go. Whoever hit us with that fireball will be here any second."
George bent slightly and he carried his brother through the shattered windshield. "As if I could live without you, Fred."
George's whole body was numb, but he somehow found the strength to extract himself from the bus while carrying his brother.
He looked around into the surrounding forest. He heard the howls of trolls and sharp orders of men. They were close.
It doesn't matter, George told himself numbly. Fred is dying.
Dark shapes moved in the forest, but George ignored them. They don't matter. Fred is dying.
A troll moved into sight, but George merely kept walking, almost directly at it. Fred is dying.
The troll moved toward the easy prey. He lifted his club above his head.
"Wait, fool!" came a sharp crisp voice from the forest. George recognized the voice. It was Voldemort. The reason behind all the pain and suffering was within earshot. George kept walking. Fred is dying.
Fred's blood had soaked the front of George's shirt when he finally collapsed. He tried to get back to his feet,
Fred is dying
but his arms and legs wouldn't work anymore. He heard a cackling from behind him. Voldemort.
Voldemort strolled up to look down at George. George only looked at his brother. He could feel his brother slipping away. Fred's eyes were on George's as if he were trying to memorize his face. Fred's breathing was coming even harder. He wouldn't last much longer.
Voldemort nudged George with hit foot. "What did you think, boy? That you were going to carry your brother all the way back to the school?"
George kept his eyes on Fred. Fred's eyes were slowly closing.
Several other shapes came into the clearing where George and Fred lie. Death Eaters, dozens of them, staying as close as they could to Voldemort's side. It was probably the safest place for them to be.
A short, pudgy man waddled to Voldemort's side. "It's a Weasley, Dark Lord."
Voldemort nodded in irritation. "It's a shame it's not the younger one, Wormtail. It is said that Potter has a great love for that one. He won't leave his tower for these two. No matter, we'll bring that castle down around Potter's head. And then I'll be the only one left, prophesy or not."
Voldemort nudged George again. He seemed insulted by his lack of attention. His greasy hair and hawk-like nose quivered in anger. "You and your brother have been causing my army no end of trouble with that bus of yours. I had to take steps. I was the one who shot down your vehicle."
Fred's eyes closed and his breathing began to slow. To George it felt like half of his soul was floating away.
Fred, don't go! There was no answer.
Fred's breathing stopped.
Voldemort chuckled. "Looks like your brother had gone and kicked the proverbial bucket, my friend."
George felt his insides tearing.
Voldemort lowered his head towards George's ear. "And I was the one who killed him."
George reached out and grabbed his brother's hand. It was cold. There was nothing there but a corpse. George reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. Several of the Death Eaters eyed George uneasily. Voldemort looked at George as if he were a fly.
He thinks I can't hurt him, George thought. I couldn't hurt him with my most powerful spell. He has nothing to worry about.
I can't hurt him. At least not directly.
He and Fred had cast a small spell onto the bus before they had left the burrow. They had cast it with the knowledge that if they had ever gone down, with no hope of escape, they could activate the spell and take out as many of their enemies as possible.
It was a small spell, but it had taken both of the twins to their limit to cast it. They had designed it themselves. They hadn't even given it a name.
George pointed the wand at the bus. "Inferiano Suicidius!"
George looked straight into Voldermort's eyes and tightened his grip on his brother's hand. "You killed Fred, you bastard!"
The explosion was huge. It tore through the clearing, incinerating troll, human and tree alike.
Voldemort's eyes widened as the wave closed in. With a curse and a mutter, he Disaparated.
Voldemort's Death Eaters were not at quick on their feet. They were all consumed in seconds by the blast. George saw Wormtail fall to his knees as the wave hit him.
Good riddance, George thought.
The last thought George Weasley had before he died was simple.
I'm coming, Fred!
((()))
A huge cry went up from all of the towers when the far forest exploded. Night suddenly became day as the light from the blast drenched the sky. It was huge.
Harry wondered dimly what could have been the cause when he saw Ginny slump to the ground her face in her hands.
Harry reached down to put hand on her shoulder but froze when she looked up at him with dead eyes.
"Fred and George are dead."
OK…I'm sorry. It had to happen. There is a series of events that have begun with the twins' deaths. You'll see. You might not like it, but I hope you understand. Tell me you hate me.