Happy Birthday Mike! My dearest brother is a teen today! haha. He wants you to know he's also single and not a geek like me. Two chapters left people!

Chapter 28

We stood there for a few more moments before I tugged on his hand.

"We have to go back inside," I said.

Harry's chin jutted out defiantly. "No."

"Harry… it's rude, and… I want to say goodbye to Bill." I gazed at the forever setting sun. He finally clasped his hand in mine and we walked back towards the heavy door. I opened it and allowed him to lead down the aisle, standing to my left and blocking me from any seats on that side.

I peeked around his lean torso and saw my Father glaring at me from his row. His face was livid. I stood back up straight beside Harry and allowed him to lead me to the front. Apparently he saw the glare; his grip on my tiny fingers tightened.

When we sat down no one in our row looked at us, they were all engrossed in the scene up front. Mr. Weasley was speaking in a slow mumbling voice about his son.

"… I remember this one time, he was talking about how he felt his wife. She died during the last battle, and they had only been married a sh-short time." He sniffled and rubbed his face into his robes. "They're together now. We'll… we'll miss you Bill. We really will."

He stepped back from the small alter and everyone stood. Bills casket burst into a pit of blue flames and I heard a loud shrill from Mrs. Weasley. She was standing behind her husband and pushed her face into the back of his robes, sobbing.

"Bill…" she sobbed. "Bill!"

§

I flooed home with my Father from Harry's home. I could see him itching to say something, but thankfully he kept it to himself and discreetly kissed me on the cheek before we left. Once again, my mind screamed insanity.

"Where did you go Bethany?" he asked. We had been sitting in the family room, and I stared into the glowing fireplace. The day had turned rather dreary for early august, and the heat felt good. My larger jumper was pulled up around my knees and I stared into the embers.

"What do you mean Daddy?" I asked quietly.

"You left the ceremony—which is rather rude—and then returned with that Potter fellow. Where did you go?" His voice was deadly cold.

"We just went out front Daddy. He… it was his birthday yesterday and he's been to so many funerals that he got up and left, and Hermione and Ron didn't go after him so I did." I continued to stare into the fireplace although I felt his eyes drilling into the back of my head from the kitchen table.

"I don't like you acting like a-a prostitute Bethany." He tumbled over his words.

I rolled my eyes, hoping he was just giving me a warning. "Daddy, who would… I'm not pretty enough to do that." I let out a laugh.

"That's not the point."

"Daddy. Honestly, I would never do anything like that. I swear." I finally turned my head back to face him.

The moment we made eye contact I was seeing things; death upon layers of death. My cat hanging from a tree and my Father apologizing, my bloody face, and then they slowed down. Harry kissed me, gently, salty tears on his lips, and I smiled in remembrance.

"SLUT!" He screamed. My head made contact with the wall behind me and I didn't scream, but allowed myself to fall limp to the floor. I knew the crack that came from myself was bad, but my first instinct was to stand up. I pushed up with my arms and let out a gasp as the blood rushed to my head, which felt extremely heavy.

"You EFFING prostitute!" Another blast and my nose crunched with the floor. I made no attempt to move.

"She died for you to live! When you were born she died and now you can't even live a normal life! Your mother would've been ashamed! Ashamed!"

I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come; I had run out.

"She'd be happy," I mumbled into the floor. The ceramic tile and shattered underneath the force of my body and the spell combined. The concrete was freezing.

"What? What did you say?" His voice echoed throughout the cold room.

"She'd be happy!" I screamed into the floor. "She'd love me!"

There was a silence and I heard footsteps rush towards me. He was on the ground beside me, rolling me over and cradling my head. "I'm sorry," he muttered. Over and over again he muttered those two words, his face screwed up with emotions.

"You're not."

He stopped rocking. "What?"

"You don't care." My face was still dry, and my body was so cold. I started to see things appear in the room; the once dull ceiling was covered in wings. "You never did."

"What?" he uttered again.

"They don't hurt me… Hermione and Ginny and Fred and… and…" I groaned. "They like me."

"Beth, your hurt and confused. Yo—you fell down the stairs…" I opened my eyes and peered into his. They were like windows to his soul: dark, wicked, and confused.

"I didn't fall down the stairs Daddy. I just didn't."

The doorbell rang and there was a banging. He dropped my head, and unable to hold it up myself, it smashed onto the concrete once again, causing me to let out what little of the shallow breath I had left.

Obviously unaware of the damage he caused me, he covered me with a blanket off the shabby couch. He rushed to the door and I heard it open with a creak. A few voices mumbled and shook through the tiny hallways.

All of a sudden there was a blast that was so loud and forceful it caused me to roll over once again onto my face. I let out a cry as my already crushed nose ground underneath the weight of my head.

"Where is she Jack?" I heard Remus' voice echo and let out an internal cry. They didn't understand. He does love me… I'm wrong….

My thoughts were scrambled in my brain. I didn't want to leave, but I didn't want to stay either. I deserve what I get… but no one deserves Hell. My teeth started to chatter and I laughed at the irony of it all; I had gone from Harry Potter heaven to Hell and didn't want to leave… at least I didn't think so. However, my ironic laugh came out as more of a cackle, and I found myself groaning and pleased at the same time. I'm insane, I thought, absolutely mental.

I heard my Father talking in a hushed voice, husky and obviously stressed. "… sleeping, she's tired from all the events. Just stressed."

"Go look." I heard Remus' voice as clear as day, and smirked at the charge of the situation he had taken. Immediately after I felt guilty for my Father.

Steps moved along beside me and around me before there was sharp contact with my thigh. The cover was removed and tossed aside hastily. Gasps and mumbles over my state were obviously heard although I wasn't fully aware.

I was looking into another world.

"She isn't going to live," said someone, "there is no way."

"Yes she will," said Remus. "Don't say that."

"She'd better," said another voice. I was almost positive that it was Ginny's fiery temper I was listening to. "Or I'll bring her back and kill her again." The sharp sound of a smack followed and Ginny gave a yelp. "Don't!" she said shrilly.

"Did it ever occur to you she could be still listening? Beth? Bethany? Can you hear me?" Hermione's voice echoed throughout my cracked skull.

I wanted to give them some type of signal, but found my body unable to listen to my pleading. Through clenched teeth I gave of some type of a hiss.

"I can't believe he was so right," said a male's voice. "His knickers would've been twisted right up tight if he saw this. Her dad's a thundering loony!"

"It's probably a good thing we didn't bring Harry along then… I'm assuming this is who you're talking about?"

The voices continued in the background as I felt myself being poked and prodded. The slender fingers passed over my face not three, but four times and I was progressively able to open my eyes easier. I stared around in panic, my eyeballs rolling like mad in my skull.

Remus' face was to my left, leaning quite close, stroking my hair. He was crying softly and I wanted to console him. Don't cry Remus; don't cry for me….

A woman's face was on my right,and although I couldn't focus I was stricken by the sternness of her face for someone so young. Her gray eyes were almost dead looking, and her eyebrows were almost knitted together in the center the way she held her face. He brown curls were pulled tight to her head, and she easily looked to be in her mid twenties.

My body slowly pulsed out and I groaned once again. The pain was beginning to be recognized by my brain, and my head felt squishy. The disfigured nose that now overwhelmed my face felt the same way, and I wanted to push it back into place. The ladies continued to mutter and use her fingers overtop my body.

A loud voice suddenly echoed in the background and I wanted to dissolve through the floor.

"WHAT THE EFF! Oh god… Beth!" Harry's voice dropped to a panicked whisper.

"Leave the lady to do her work mate," said who I assumed to be Ron. "She'll be fine, I promise."

"No," Harry grunted, "Let—me… GO!"

"Not going to happen," said two say-sos simultaneously. I received a mental picture of Fred and George holding Harry back.

"They held me back earlier mate…"

"It was most diplomatic of us—"

"If we do say so ourselves."

"Harry, calm down…" said Ginny, her voice shaky. I giggled as a particularly tender part of me grinded. It was an awkward giggle, and I knew it sounded mental.

"Where is he…? WHERE IS HE?" Harry's voice echoed in my head and I couldn't suppress a groan.

The pitter-patter of footsteps moved across the floor and I spared a glance upwards, at Remus' face, which was now pointing towards the kitchen behind me.

"You'd better live Beth, you hear me?" The matching face to these words appeared overtop of me and I felt a tear roll off my face. "Good. Because if you don't—"

I cut Ginny off using what little strength I had left. "… You'll kill me."