Okay...I'm sorry I disappeared for a while. But this is it! Last Chapter of Salvation Tourniquet! Thank you EVERYONE for reviewing and reading this! I'm quite proud of it as a whole...and I can't wait to write more!
Having said that, I had some troubles with this chapter. Maybe I was just too hesitant
to end it. I think I teared up when I finished. sigh
Enough notes and mindless prattleon to the story!
Docile golden rays of sun poured in through the window, rousing Angelina to life. She gave a reluctant little groan and rolled over onto Fred, who was snoring lightly. Taking in the clean and soapy smell of his freckled skin, she wrapped her arms around his bare torso and lightly kissed his back.
"Mmm…morning Freddie," she cooed softly, "I think it's time for me to go back now. Don't want your mum walking in on us like this…"
The old wooden bed creaked as Fred turned over and held Angelina to him, half asleep. "Mmph…too early…"
He yawned and kissed her hair, drifting back to sleep once more. Angelina rolled her eyes and wriggled out of his grasp. She left the warm and cozy bed and padded softly back to Percy's old room where George was now sleeping in what she realized was the exact same position Fred had been in. Weird twin thing, she thought.
She leaned over George and gently prodded his shoulder. "Up you get, Georgie-poo, time to go back to your room."
As she leaned forward to poke him in the nose playfully, his arm swung about and Angelina found herself in the headlock-like embrace of her boyfriend's twin. She mumbled angrily into his side but found her words too muffled to wake him.
Struggling for nearly half a minute, she resorted to desperate measures. George's eyes suddenly snapped open and he jump nearly a foot off the mattress. "Dammit! Angelina! What are you doing? Did you forget which one I am? Fred is in the other room! And what do you think you're getting at by biting me? That bloody hurt!"
Angelina grimaced and stuck out her tongue. "You put me in a headlock, George. I was trying to wake you up. Go back to your room! Better yet, stop by the bathroom and take a shower while you're at it. Yuck!"
They traded several immature and kindergarten-worthy faces before George shut the door behind him and Angelina hopped into her bed before all the warmth was gone. She was scarcely able to fall asleep again before finding herself suddenly unable to breathe as the over-large, furry rump of an ugly orange "cat" covered her face. She shoved the beast bodily from her face and watched it slink out the room before permanently shelving any further hopes of sleep and starting her day.
Downstairs, Angelina found Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione chatting amiably amongst a breakfast spread that would be considered grand by even Molly's standards. The matron jumped up upon Angelina's appearance and set to adding a bit of every food to a plate and handing it to the girl.
"Last day before the big move to Montrose, dear. Are you packed?" Angelina nodded as her stomach dropped at the thought of having to leave Fred and the Burrow to live alone during the Magpies' summer training. Of course, Fred promised to visit for the weekends; and though Angelina believed him, it just wouldn't be the same.
Molly ushered Angelina to a seat near Hermione, and Angelina shot the girl a menacing look, causing Hermione to flush indignantly. "I swear Crookshanks wouldn't bother you so much if you just closed your door all the way!"
Ginny, looking a bit devious, mumbled through a mouthful of eggs, "But then how would Fred get in?"
All four females burst into a fit of laughter, Angelina feeling the burning flush of embarrassment crawling across her cheeks. She refused to make eye contact, taking instead an animated interest in her waffles.
"Well," Molly began again, her voice a mix of amusement and disproval at Ginny's comment, "we'll all be out for the day. Business for the Or-…well it doesn't really matter what were doing. You two can have some private time; I know how little you've had so far. Arthur will be away at work for the day, and once Ronald (who has just walked downstairs bleary-eyed and disheveled) finishes getting ready, we'll be off."
The twins apparated downstairs completely dressed, sat down at either side of the table, and did their best impressions of muggle vacuum cleaners. With Fred, George, and Ron hard at work, the rest of the breakfast was quickly finished. Less than an hour later, everyone left at the house aside from Angelina and Fred were crowded around the fireplace, about to use the Floo.
Angelina found it strange that she was never quite able to make out where they were going. Obviously it had something to do with this 'order' they tried so badly to cover up. However, her curiosity was quickly won over by excitement at the prospect of one last day with Fred. As the last of the green Floo flames died away, she turned and eyed the redhead hungrily.
"A whole day alone…I do hope you've saved up your energy, Lovey. I fully intend to wear you out!"
She caught his lips in a passionate kiss, stopping once she sensed his lack of enthusiasm. Pulling back, she frowned as Fred refused eye contact. "Am I missing something? What's wrong?"
Eyes still cast downward, Fred mumbled his reply. "I don't want you to go."
His mood darkened even more when she began to laugh loudly. "I'm serious! You don't have to go! The shop's doing well…we can start a family…"
"Fred," she cut him off sharply, "What's gotten into you? You know how badly I've wanted this. I've driven you mad talking about quidditch since our 2nd year! What's this really about?"
"When you leave, I wont be able to protect you." His voice was small but strong, and carried with it so much more meaning than she'd expected. She found herself temporarily speechless. Two weeks, and she'd nearly forgotten that ominous and looming part of her life.
She laced her fingers into his and sighed heavily. She wanted to comfort him. She wanted to reassure herself as well. But no words would come. It was Fred that broke the silence. "Did you love him?"
Angelina winced, knowing immediately to whom he was referring. She knew because she was thinking of him just then. And for some reason wholly unexplainable, her thoughts were mingled with guilt. Sensing Fred's restlessness, she dutifully answered. "Yes, Fred."
And that's exactly what he didn't want to hear. The small house was soon filled with the sounds of shouting as Angelina tried vainly to calm her boyfriend down. "How could you…I wasn't gone for that long! I knew it—it started before. The hospital! It was his tie, wasn't it? Even when we were together-"
Fred clutched his cheek, his eyes wide with shock. Angelina shook her hand, relieving the residual sting from her palm crossing his face sharply. The slap had an immediate sobering affect on Fred, while Angelina became even more irate. "You just don't get it!"
She stormed up the stairs and into Percy's room, locking the door behind her with a particularly tricky charm. But for once, Fred made no attempt to follow her. He merely sat down on one of the beaten couches and stared at the wall, deep in thought. A floor above him, Angelina was leaning onto the door cursing herself for telling Fred the truth. But was it? When had she decided that she really did love David? Easy, a little voice came from the back of her mind, you knew the moment he broke your trust.
Long hours passed by, and Angelina blinked out of her somber trance and noticed dusk falling through the window. She stood and unlocked the door, slowly opening it to find Fred on the other side. Looking up at her from his cross-legged vigil, he began to speak but stopped when Angelina shook her head.
"No. No apologies. Let's just not do this, okay? Not today."
Angelina offered her hand. Fred nodded and took it, helping himself up to stand. Looking deeply into one another's eyes, neither quite knew what to do next.
"Fred!"
They never heard the loud crack signaling George's Apparition, but the panic in his voice was enough to send them flying down the stairs. George was pale and wide-eyed when they beheld him. He immediately made a beeline for his twin, grasping Fred's shoulders and addressing him as if Angelina wasn't even in the room.
"They've been taken! Lupin, Ronnie, Hermione…the Death Eaters found us a few miles from Grimmauld Place! Ginny and I were back a ways…I've sent her to get the rest of the Order…we've got to do something!"
As if on cue, both brothers whipped out their wands and prepared to apparate. Angelina stopped them. "Wait! What do you think you're going to do? Stop them yourselves? You'll be killed!"
"Angie, what do you expect us to do then? Just let them die?"
"Of course not, Fred. Just…let me go with you-"
"NO!" Fred's eyes bore into her own as he protested. "It's not safe for you."
Pulling out her own wand, she couldn't really be angry with him. Pleadingly, she put her hand on his chest. "You all are like family to me too. I can't not do anything."
Fred's eyes softened, but George quickly squashed the potentially tender moment. "Well let's go then! While we still have a chance! Angie, I need you to think really carefully about this location: you need to go to number 12, Grimmauld Place."
Oddly, she found it more than a little difficult to focus on the location, and couldn't quite picture what part of London it was in. Fred hit his brother's shoulder knowingly. "She can't…you're not the Secret-Keeper. She won't find it without Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore? What on earth-"
"Angie, just apparate downtown…4 blocks west of the Underground. In front of that little Italian café you took us to over Easter holiday."
She nodded, finding it much easier to come up with the general location in her mind's eye. Moments later, she was standing in the post-dusk windy blue of a London evening. Fred and George looked back at her, their faces mirroring bravery disguising apprehension. George's eyes scanned the horizon, lighting suddenly when he spotted a shock of bright red hair running at them.
"Ginny! You're supposed to be alerting the Order!"
"I know, but I wanted to follow them. What's the use of rousing everyone when we don't know where to go?"
Angelina nodded at the girl's logic. "Alright Gin, where are they headed?"
Ginny faced Fred, her expression dropping. "Fred…that's the thing. I don't know. They said something about "the lair". And…they all disappeared. I'm sorry…I don't know where they are…"
"So now not only do we have no idea where they are, but we're the only ones that know they're even gone? This is bloody excellent!" George drove a frustrated fist through the air.
Angelina bit her lip and exchanged a dark look with Fred. "It's unplottable, but not unreachable."
The three Weasleys suddenly perked up and started at her hopefully. She continued slowly, searching for words to properly explain the hideout's location. Somehow she managed to covey the lair's whereabouts, and she along with Fred apparated there while Ginny and George went to get the Order members.
Angelina directed Fred to a darkened corner as they watched Professor Lupin, Hermione, and Ron being interrogated before the Dark Lord and his loyalists. Angelina shuddered at the long-forgotten memories of herself as a small child playing in these very corridors…so unaware of what her parents were discussing.
"You'll tell me…" a high, cold voice equally foreign and hauntingly familiar spoke down to the trio. "You'll tell me where the boy is or I will force you to do so."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but before she could do so, a resounding crack filled the room. Angelina and Fred watched, horrified, as Ginerva Weasley apparated into the room. "Shit!"
Angelina quickly put her hand over Fred mouth after his reactionary curse. He quickly removed it. "George should have never let her try and apparate here. She's too young!"
Her eyes widened as he began to move away from the shadowed hiding pot. "Fred," Angelina spoke in a heated whisper, "what do you think you're doing? There's nothing you can do!"
He paused and slowly nodded. "I know, but…"
Unable to finish his sentence, Fred broke his gaze as Angelina's exes filled with tears. "I just…have to."
Fred and George both appeared in the doorway just as a pair of Death Eaters bore down on poor Ginny. "My, they seem to be coming out of the woodwork, don't they?"
The venomously soft voice beneath a dark hood laughed. Ron narrowed his eyes, searching his brain for the owner of that voice. It was Lupin who quickly identified Bellatrix Lestrange. She threw back her hood and smiled. She looked a bit healthier since their encounter at the Department of Mysteries. "They don't know. But let's at least take this opportunity to send Potter a message."
Lord Voldemort's bright red eyes considered the woman momentarily before mirroring her vicious smirk. "Kill them all."
Angelina watched wide-eyed as masked and hooded wizards raised their wands at the defenseless sextet. And all she could do was watch them die in front of her. Several wands began to glow slightly greenish at the tips, and she felt the sting of bile in her throat. There had to be something she could do…
"STOP!"
Every face turned to Angelina as she stood in the doorway, wand at the ready. "Really, this is just annoying now. Are you the last one?"
"Bellatrix, silence yourself." She shrunk slightly at the Dark Lord's admonishment, but still eyed the lanky girl dangerously.
"This is a pleasant surprise, girl. What brings you back? Surely you're not thinking of rescuing your friends. Perhaps you've reconsidered?" Voldemort's eerily soothing voice gave Angelina goose bumps.
Summoning the last dregs of her courage, she spoke as calmly as she could manage. "You don't want to kill them. Especially not just to spite Harry Potter."
She threw Bellatrix a nasty look. "This isn't about petty revenge. You have bigger things to deal with, and making martyrs of them won't provide you any real advantage. But I know I've not completely swayed you yet."
The huddle six watched the unfolding events rapturously as Angelina tried to spare their lives. Ginny cocked her head to the side and whispered to Fred, "Is that a smile on Voldemort's face? What's going on here?"
"So I propose a trade. Let them go…and you'll get me instead."
Lupin gasped, and Fred began to struggle against the magical ropes binding his arms and shoulders. "What kind of deal is that," Bellatrix snarled, "you're already here!"
"You know as well as I do I'll apparate out of here the moment I see a spell coming my way. And I know how badly you've wanted to get your hands on me for the last year. So do we have an agreement?"
"She is right about the martyrs. She can be of great use to us. I accept. They may go."
Angelina's eyes narrowed as she shook her head. "Wizard's Oath. All of you. I'm not stupid."
Every last Death Eater, as well as the Dark Lord himself drew a small "x" over their heart that glowed purple for a few moments and then faded. Angelina followed suit. The magical ropes then vanished upon completion of the deal, reappearing immediately around Angelina's wrist and arms.
"Professor Lupin," Hermione inquired worriedly as she rubbed her wrists, "I don't understand. Wizard's Oath? I've never read about that."
"That's because it's seldom invoked, Miss Granger. You know the muggle phrase 'cross my heart and hope to die'? This is where is stems from. Breaking a Wizard's Oath is immediate death. They have to let us go unharmed, or each one will fall where they stand…even Lord Voldemort himself."
Nearby, George and Ron we having a time trying to control Fred, who was hysterically trying to reach Angelina. "No! Angel! Don't do this, please!"
Angelina bit her lower lip to try and keep herself from crying as she realized what she'd done. But they're safe…and that's what matters. Looking at Fred, she felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. "Please, just go-AHHH!"
She was suddenly blindsided by the Cruciatus Curse at the hands of not only Lord Voldemort, but also Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew. "I hope you didn't think your rebellion over this past year would go unpunished? The Dark Lord will not tolerate such behavior."
Angelina dropped to her knees, doubling over with pain. She couldn't hear herself screaming over the violent buzzing in her ears. Ginny and Hermione both began to cry uncontrollably while Fred redoubled his effort against his brothers, pleading vainly for them to stop the curse.
At the brink of unconsciousness, Angelina felt the curse lift. She remained on the ground, trembling slightly as her clothes stuck to her back from the cold sweat covering her skin. She turned her head slightly to see the six terror-struck, mouths agape. "J-Just go. Now."
Professor Lupin picked up a large chunk of loose cement, and tapped it with his wand. It glowed blue and shook momentarily, signal the successful creation of a Portkey. He tried to get the Weasleys and Hermione to each touch it, but their attentions were glued to the unfolding dialogue between Angelina and the Dark Lord.
"Well, I suppose it's time now. My question for you is wholly unsurprising, Angelina, but it will be the last time it is asked of you. Now, will you join me?"
An odd sort of smirk pulled at the corners of Angelina's mouth, and her eyes darted over to the six as she pushed herself up to her knees and replied. "My answer is just as unsurprising. Never."
Slightly annoyed, Voldemort raised his own wand. "I rather thought you'd say that. But in these last brave moments, surely our tragic heroine has some final words?"
Angelina looked over and weakly called out. "Fred."
He immediately broke away from the others and knelt beside Angelina. "I'm here, and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…"
She put a finger to his lips and tried to smile reassuringly. "It was inevitable. But just remember to never stop fighting. Never. Someday you'll come to the point where you have to choose for yourself. But we always have a choice. Mine was easy. I choose you, Fred. Death isn't the worst thing. I love you. Now go!"
Professor Lupin, who was still holding the Portkey, pulled Fred back. Angelina watched as each of them placed their hands on the cement chunk before turning back to stare Voldemort's wand dead in the eye. "Pity," he mused, "this feels like such a waste."
Angelina turned her head towards the Death Eaters as Professor Lupin began his countdown aloud. Angelina's attention was drawn to one of the cloaked figures that looked a bit out of place from the rest. Very tall, his wand was clenched so tightly his knuckles went white. She tried however uselessly to see into the hood. He noticed and jumped slightly. Her eyes widened with recognition.
Out of her peripheral vision, she saw her friends vanish in a bluish swirl and a bright light began to emanate from Voldemort's wand. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes not leaving Montague's. He said he'd do anything for me…even become a Death Eater to try and protect me. He should have known better…
Her eyes snapped shut as she mouthed a single word to David: "tragic". She felt the bright light of the spell flash in front of her eyelids. In a single moment, she thought of everything. Everyone she loved and all the things she would miss. A single tear ran down her cheek. And then, there was nothing.
A/N: Whoa! oO Didja see that coming? That's it for this story! Don't forget to read and review, and feel free to flame if you didn't like the ending. I don't know if I like it either.