A/N: I know that this was supposed to be only a one-shot, but I just had to write this. I just had to. The Potterhead in me is making me crazy and I just had to get this over with before I could move on and do something else.
This is officially the last part of the story, although there might be an epilogue.
"Make it a powerful memory. The happiest you can remember." Heather said as she walked around the room, instructing the students. "Allow it to fill you up."
Students were divided up into small groups as they practiced the spell. Heather made an occasional stop by each of them to give out advice and instructions. Fred and George had their backs at each other, facing the other direction as they each tried to cast the spell.
"Keep trying, Seamus," she told the said boy. She then turned toward the Weasley twins. "George, your turn now."
Fred turned around.
"Expecto Patronum!" George flicked his wand.
A silvery strand flowed out of the tip of it. It seemed to expand into a foggy stream then collected into a vague mass of an unknown shape. Heather nodded with an approving smile. She walked around the two of them, passing Fred by only a few feet.
Heather threw a glimpse at him. Fred winked and smirked. Heather rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly, laughing. She then walked toward other students.
"A full-bodied Patronus is the most difficult to produce, but shield forms can also be equally useful against a variety of opponents." Heather's voice echoed above a variety of voices saying the incantation. "Fantastic, Ginny!"
Both Fred and George whipped their heads toward their sister. Ginny had just conjured up a Patronus that looked like a half-complete horse.
"Just remember, your Patronus can only protect you for as long as you stay focused. So focus!"
Fred turned back to his previous posture and closed his eyes. He shut out the noise around him, even Heather's voice as well. He only concentrated on searching through his memories for something that brought him joy and happiness.
The moment he and his brother made the house quidditch team.
The time he spent with George as they imagined opening up their own joke shop.
All the fun the two of them had as they came up with different ideas for their future products.
All the jokes the two of them pulled that made Heather laugh.
Seeing Heather Potter laugh.
Seeing Heather Potter until….
The sweet hesitant kiss he shared with her in the very room he was standing….
"Expecto Patronum!" Fred yelled as he whipped his wand midair, opening his eyes again. A bright silver stream came out of the tip of his wand and flew through the air. Like George's, his stream also gathered into a mass, and a bigger one, too.
"Making it into a competition now, eh?" George sniggered from behind him.
"Maybe I'm just a better wizard than you," Fred retorted with a smirk.
"Oh yeah? What about this?"
George repeated the spell. This time, the silver stream that came out of his wand formed a more recognizable, solid-looking form. Fred could see a bird not so big flipping its wings.
"What about now, brother?" George bragged with a prideful look.
Fred turned his back to him and focused once again. He tried to recall the best memories. This time, however, he did not focus too much on the memories themselves but tried to feel the happiness within them ― the raw emotion. And then―
"Fred? Would you like to give it a shot?"
Perfect timing.
Fred grinned.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Another silver stream shot out of his wand. It looked even clearer than the last one he had cast. It grew bigger and bigger, lowering itself toward the ground until four legs and a head grew out of it. A pair of antlers stuck out the silvery beast's head as it pranced around Fred and George, drawing a bright white circle. Fred looked at Heather proudly. Heather stood still as she watched the white stag playfully run around. She looked at Fred with a disbelieving look that soon turned into a big smile. She then turned around and walked over to a group of Hufflepuffs.
"This is really advanced stuff, guys," she said toward everyone. "You're doing so well!"
Fred gave George a smug look. George quickly cast once again. The silver bird reappeared and flew around them. Then, as if it had found Fred's stag, it hovered around it. The stag looked up and watched the bird in return.
They were all having a great time until the entire room shook. Laughters died down and fear overshadowed everyone's face. All the remaining silver streams disappeared into thin air as if they had never existed. The room dimmed.
The room shook again. Students gathered as Heather took the lead and approached a side of the room from where the shockwave was coming. Nigel Wolpert was the one nearest to the wall, and thus he and Heather slowly approached the wall covered with mirrors. Nigel nervously glanced at Heather from time to time while Heather took a slow step forward, her wand drawn. Fred shot forward and advanced toward Heather, but she turned around and made him stop with a gesture of her hand. Fred stood still and drew his wand instead. George came up to him shortly after and held up his guard as well.
The mirrors cracked. They shattered into pieces and showered onto the floor. Everyone flinched, taking a step back. Behind the broken mirrors revealed the bare wall. There was a hole in it.
Unable to control his curiosity, Nigel walked up to it. He looked into it only to be pulled back by Heather. She took Nigel's place as she carefully observed what was on the other side.
"I'll make short work of this."
Fred felt his blood run cold. That disgusting pitchy voice could only belong to one person. He and George shared a quick alarming glance.
Heather immediately grabbed Nigel and started running toward the rest of the students.
"Bombarda Maxima."
With a giant cloud of dust and a booming roar, the wall blew up at once. Heather ducked as she kept running, covering Nigel with her own body. Fred immediately ran forward, grabbed Heather's arm, and pulled her into his embrace. George also ran forward and held Nigel, pulling the smaller boy away from the explosion.
Students scattered about to avoid the debris. Fred held Heather in his arms as he also moved away from the flying remains of rocks. He kept his wand pointed toward the now big hole just as everyone else did as they prepared themselves for another assault.
Once out of immediate danger, Heather pried herself out of Fred's protection and stepped toward the now-dissolving dust cloud. Fred reached out to grab her, but she shook her head. She then moved to the center of the students, facing the intruders directly.
"Get them!"
At Umbridge's order, Filch and her oh-so-proud Inquisitorial Squad all came bursting in through the hole. The DA students squealed in panic as they were surrounded by Umbridge's forces. Heather glared at Umbridge but stood down instead of struggling. Fred and George also put their wands down, although reluctantly. The Inquisitorial Squad turned the whole place over, jinxing and disarming the DA members and destroying the objects in the room. One of them found the mirror in the corner and took the student list from it.
"Professor!" The Slytherin girl trotted up to Umbridge and handed her the parchment.
Umbridge quickly skimmed through it and looked at Heather. She was fuming.
"Bring Potter to me!" She shrieked. "As for the rest, lock them up in the Great Hall!"
Goyle walked up to Heather and grabbed the back of her cardigan. Fred reacted instinctively and almost attacked him if it weren't for the warning look Heather gave him. She just shook her head at him. Thus, Fred had no choice but to watch Goyle force her toward Umbridge in frustration. He had Heather stand next to Cho Chang, who was held by Malfoy. So she was the snitch.
Umbridge glared at Heather as if she would slap her right away. She then turned around and walked away from the Room of Requirement. Malfoy and Goyle followed her as they respectively dragged Cho and Heather with them.
After they disappeared out of sight, Filch had the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad take the DA students to the Great Hall. Fred hated seeing the disgusting smile on the caretaker's face.
There were no more dining tables in the Great Hall. Instead, rows of desks were aligned neatly toward the front of the hall. Where there used to be the Teachers' tables was also empty, with only one chair sitting in the middle like a throne. The DA members seemed confused, but no one dared talk. Once the last student entered the Great Hall, Filch and two of the Inquisitorial Squad stepped outside and closed the door while the rest remained inside, keeping their eyes keenly on the captured students.
Some of the DA participants began to voice their worries. Some speculated what their punishment would be. Some cursed the traitor. Yet, Fred could only think about just what might have happened to Heather. He just couldn't erase her face as she shook her head at him. Bloody hell, did she always have to be so responsible and self-sacrificial?
Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like years. Thus, by the time the Great Hall entrance opened again, Fred was on the verge of losing his damn mind. If he didn't see Heather walking in behind Umbridge, he might have just lunged at the toadswoman and choke her himself.
Umbridge looked furious as she strutted through the desks and toward the front of the hall, her pink heels clicking annoyingly against the stone floor. Well, Fred didn't care, for he was much more furious than she was. He tried to get to Heather only to be blocked by one of the obnoxious Slytherin brats. Heather spotted him and looked at him. And she smiled faintly at him. It was her way of reassuring him that she was fine. It didn't please him, but it at least calmed him down a little.
Umbridge sat down on the chair in the front as if she was a queen claiming a throne. She cleared her voice, which made everyone look at her.
"Take a seat, all of you." She was seemingly trying to maintain her usual pretentious caring tone.
Slowly, everyone walked over to a desk and sat down. Fred and George picked a seat that was back to back with each other. On the desk lied a parchment and a quill. But there was no ink bottle. Fred instinctively knew that it was the quill that Heather told him about ― the quill that cut opened her hand. Reflexively, he glanced at Heather, who was only a couple of desks away from him to the front.
"Now," Umbridge continued, "you are to pick up the quill in front of you and write down the following sentence. I must not break the rules. You are not to stop writing until you are told to. Now, begin."
Most of the students picked up the quill right away. Yet, Fred knew what was about to happen. He glared up at Umbridge as she waved her wand and summoned a teapot and a small teacup. As expected, gasps and squeals of pain broke out from everywhere. To Fred's disgust, it seemed to please the toadswoman. A smile crept upon her face as she poured herself some tea from the pot.
Fred then glimpsed at Heather. She was sitting straight in her chair, glowering at the woman. She sat still for a long moment before she slowly looked down, moved her right hand, and held the quill. Her hand moved above her desk, seemingly writing the assigned letters. Yet, unlike the others, she did not stop right away. She just kept going, without showing any sign of pain. Soon, she became the only one that kept quiet as she continued to write while cries and sniffles were coming from everywhere.
"Mr. Weasley, why are you not writing?"
At Umbridge's voice, Fred clenched his jaw and picked up the quill. He then slowly began to write the letters.
I must not bre
Fred nearly dropped the quill as a sharp pain ripped through the back of his left hand. It wasn't metaphorical, for something was indeed ripping his skin open. He hissed and clenched his fist, instinctively trying to lessen the pain. Yet, it didn't stop hurting as letters he had just written were being engraved on his own hand in his own handwriting.
It wasn't a punishment. It was torture.
Fred felt tears filling his eyes from the pain. He wasn't sure if he could finish writing even one sentence. He wanted to stop.
How the hell did Heather endure this multiple times?
Fred turned his eyes to look at Heather once again. Her face was solemn but there was no sign of visible pain. She just kept writing.
Fred wanted to hug Heather right there and then. He wanted to drag her out of the Great Hall, away from the toad. He wanted to hold her hand and kiss her where Umbridge had left her marks again and again. He probably would have if the Umbridge woman hadn't sealed the doors with spells. The only way for any of them to get out of there was to do the lines.
It wasn't until after two hours that Umbridge cleared her throat.
"Alright, children," she said, in a sickly pretentious manner, "you are now to return to your dormitories. And if you are to participate in any illegal organization again, your punishment will only get severe."
Everyone didn't waste any moment in standing up from their seats. Everyone except Heather did. Fred also stood up the moment the toadswoman finished talking, but he couldn't turn away from the still figure of Heather sitting in the chair.
George tapped him on his shoulder.
"C'mon," he whispered, "you don't want to give her another reason to torment Heather, do you?"
Fred could not object. He turned around and followed his twin toward the entrance hall. He could meet up with Heather in the Gryffindor common room, where Umbridge wasn't going to be able to interrupt the two of them.
When he stepped through the entrance of the Great Hall, he saw Cho standing in front of it with a worried look and uneasy gesture. Yet, none of the students gave her any acknowledgment. Some even gave her a resentful look, including Fred, who also glared at her as he passed by. Once they reached the Grand Staircase, students split ways to find their respective dormitories. As the Gryffindors made their way up to the seventh floor, none of them talked.
"That disgusting old hag!"
Ron exclaimed once the portrait hole was sealed with everyone inside. Just as they were about to respond to it, the portrait of the Fat Lady opened once again. Everyone jumped and whipped around as if they expected Umbridge herself to enter.
They all relaxed when Heather slowly walked into the common room.
Fred rushed to her immediately.
"You alright?" He asked. "Did she hurt you?"
"No more than you," Heather responded quietly. She looked up at him with a smile. "I'm fine."
Fred held her left hand and examined the fresh wounds on the back of it. Blood was still seeping through the clear letters of "I must not break the rules". Fred gave Heather a disapproving look. She just looked at him with a tired smirk.
"I'm used to it, remember?" she said. Then she turned toward the rest of her housemates. "I'm sorry, everyone. I got you all into this."
"No, Heather," Hermione answered. She approached her friend. "If it's anyone's fault, it's ours."
"Yeah," agreed Ron, "We talked you into it."
"But I agreed, didn't I?" Said Heather. "And I enjoyed doing it."
"Then we share the blame too," chimed in Parvati. "Because we enjoyed the meetings, too, Heather."
"Yeah. And we willingly joined you, remember? None of you forced us to put our names in," said Padma.
"You've taught us that we have to be able to fight on our own," said Neville. "That we need to take responsibility for ourselves."
"So you have nothing to be sorry for." Ginny joined in. She looked at the three fifth-years. "None of you."
Fred looked at Heather. "Heard that? You're not alone in this."
Heather nodded, blushing a little.
"Well, I'm going to bed," George declared loudly from where he was standing next to the fireplace.
It made some of the students join him and walk up to their dormitories. Being a late hour in the night, the common room quickly cleared out with only a few students including Heather, Fred, Hermione, and Ron left.
Heather looked at her friends.
"Are you all alright?" She asked.
"You're asking us alright?" Fred asked. "You're the one that had to go through this torture continuously and you're asking us if we're alright?"
"Like I said, I'm used to it," answered Heather. "The first time hurts the most.
"I doubt it," said Ron. "I just don't know how you managed to do that as much as you did."
"I'm really fine, guys," said Heather. She looked at Fred. "I'm really fine."
"Well, it's late, so I think I'll go to bed now," said Hermione. She threw a quick glance at Ron.
"Right," he said. "I'm exhausted, too. I'll see you in the morning, Heather."
That left Heather and Fred alone in the dimly lit common room.
Heather looked at Fred and smiled.
"By the way, you've never seen my Patronus, have you?" she asked.
Fred was confused.
"No," he said.
Heather pulled her wand out and made the incantation. "Expecto Patronum."
A pure white gleaming stream shot out in a form of a doe. It gracefully trotted around the common room. Fred looked at it in surprise before turning his eyes back toward Heather. Heather just smiled up at him. Then she reached up and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
"Good night," she said. Then she walked away from him toward the girl's dormitory.
The silver doe strolled around him before it dissolved into thin air.
Fred chuckled to himself as he headed to the stairs.
The next morning, it was announced that Umbridge had become the new headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"You know, George," Fred mumbled to his twin. "I've always felt our futures lay outside the world of academic achievement."
"I have been thinking exactly the same thing, brother," replied George.
Fred changed into his school uniform for one last time. His bed was made and all his belongings were packed into his trunk.
"Alright," George said from beside him. Unlike his twin, he wasn't wearing the uniform. "Make it short, will you? We need to start preparing soon."
"I know," replied Fred as he put on his robe.
He walked out of his dormitory and down the stairs just like any other day. Although, it wasn't just an ordinary day.
It was the day of the Ordinary Wizarding Level examination. But more importantly, it was the day of their great escape.
Everything was set. There was only one thing he needed to do now.
The Great Hall was filled with students as usual, but it wasn't hard for Fred to spot his girl. Heather was sitting at the table among the fifth-year Gryffindors. Many of them busily looked into their books as their last attempt to cram more knowledge into their brains before their test. Yet, Heather sat calmly as she played around with the food on her plate.
Fred approached her with light steps and quietly sneaked up from behind. Once he reached her, he lowered himself and pecked on her cheek.
"Morning, love," he whispered into her ear with a grin.
Everyone around her looked at him. Some of the girls looked from Fred to Heather and giggled. Hermione also smirked while Ron rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"Morning," said Heather. "Where's your other half?"
"Why mind him when you have this half?" Fred said. "Can I borrow you for a minute?"
Heather looked at him with curiosity. Fred simply grinned.
"You might as well just follow me now before a certain toad comes along," he said. "No closer than eight inches, remember?"
Heather turned to Ron and Hermione. "I'll be right back."
Seeing them nod in acknowledgment, Heather got out of her seat. Fred grabbed her hand and started walking at a high pace. He led her out the Great Hall, through the Grand Staircase, and to the first-floor corridor. He only stopped when he reached a tapestry hanging on one corner. He ripped it and went through it. There was a small space that looked like empty storage. It was only then Fred let Heather go and turned around to face her. The only light there was the one that seeped through the crack of the tapestry. Yet, it went straight across both their faces, allowing them to see each other.
"What's going on?" Heather asked.
"Saying goodbye," said Fred.
Heather frowned up at him in confusion.
"George and I decided that it is time to take our last bow here at Hogwarts and step out to the real world."
The frown on Heather's face dissolved as realization dawned on her.
"So you're leaving?" asked Heather. "Today?"
Fred smiled apologetically.
"Sorry I couldn't take you to Hogsmeade as I promised," he said.
Heather shook her head.
"Never mind that," she said. "It's not like I've never been to Hogsmeade or something."
"But not with me, and just me."
"Well then, promise me for a much better date later," said Heather teasingly. "I'm expecting a nice dinner and a great view."
"Noted." Fred grinned.
"When are you leaving exactly?"
"Can't tell you. It's going to be a surprise."
"Does it have to be?"
Fred gave her a clever look.
"It does. You'll see why later."
Heather laughed and shook her head.
"Just what are you boys up to?"
Fred only gave her a cheeky grin. Then he leaned in and brought his lips onto hers. He closed his eyes and solely focused on feeling the taste of Heather's lips. It wasn't as deep as the one they shared in the Room of Requirement, nor was it long. Yet, it was much sweeter.
The two of them came apart not long after. Fred looked into Heather's eyes.
"Write to me, will you?" He said.
"I would, but Umbridge is probably checking all the letters going out of Hogwarts," said Heather. "I don't want to get you into any trouble."
"I'm not just talking about now. I'm talking about after the year ends. During the summer." He paused. "We won't be going back to Burrow if we leave today, so I can't be sure when we'll be able to see each other again soon."
"Don't worry," said Heather. She caressed his face. "I will. And I expect to hear from you a lot, too."
"I can send you letters on a daily basis if you want. All you have to do is ask."
Heather chuckled.
"Be careful out there?'
"Sure. Although I think you need to be careful here more than I do."
"Sadly, I can't deny that."
Fred smirked. "And good luck with your OWL."
"Thank you." Heather paused and looked at Fred with a suspicious look.
Fred only grinned innocently. He then placed another short kiss on Heather's lips.
"Unfortunately, I have to go back and join George," he said. "We have much to prepare before we take our leave."
Heather nodded.
Fred looked at her for a short moment before he pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'll miss you," he said.
"I'll miss you a lot," came back from Heather.
Fred held her close and breathed her scent in for the last time before he finally ― and reluctantly ― released her. He gave her a smile before turning around to get back outside. He checked for any passers-by before he took the lead and stepped into the corridor in broad daylight. He then held the tapestry to clear the way for Heather to come out after him. The two of them shared a final glance. Heather smiled and nodded. Fred returned it in the same manner before he walked away from her.
He hastened himself as he walked up the stairs of the Grand Staircase. He pulled off his robe and loosened his tie as he headed up to the seventh floor. Within a few minutes, he was already back in the Gryffindor house and in his dormitory.
George was leaning against the post of his own bed, waiting for him. Fred threw his robe and tie on his bed. His twin smirked at him.
"Ready, Fred?"
Fred returned it with his own snigger.
"Ready, George."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading!
Please feel free to leave comments, fav & follow this.
I hope you all stay safe and have a great day, wherever you are.
Best, Lisa :)
