Chapter 1 - Grief

She awoke startled. The sound of the kettle warning her that the tea was ready. She had never been one to drink tea, but since she got in England to work at Gringotts she found herself drinking it more and more. She got up from the armchair, a little surprised to have fallen asleep and dropped the book that was sitting in her lap. As she bent down to pick it up the memories of the story came rushing her mind.
"What a strange book."She thought taking a look at the cover. A man in a long overcoat and cowboy hat with his back facing her, as a black ominous looking tower rose up in the back, in the middle of what seemed a desert with crows flying everywhere.

When she fell asleep the hero had just single handedly massacred an entire village with only two muggle weapons, leaving dead men, women and children in his wake. She didn't know what to think of it. Even if his actions were in self defense, how could that be considered a hero? But she enjoyed the story nonetheless, she had a feeling that the plot would only get deeper and deeper.

Remembering the tea, that was still making its shrieking lament, she laid the book on the small table in front of the armchair and found her way to the kitchen. With a flick of her wand the fire under the kettle has been extinguished. She raised her eyes to glance at the clock on the wall. 4 a.m. It had been six hours since Bill left.

She had just arrived from work to find Bill on the couch completely lost in his book.

" 'Ello, Bill " She greeted, taking the redhead away from the pages.

" Hey Fleur. Everything all right at work?"

"A bit boring, not much to do today. 'ow long 'ave you been home?"

"Three hours now. Ragnok told everyone to go home early. Something about a top secret operation in our sector."

" Zat's odd. And what are you reading?" She asked curiously dropping her purse on the arm of the couch and taking her coat off.

"The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It's about this man and his journey to find a mythical tower that supposedly holds everything together." He answered excitedly.

"Everyzing what?"

"Everything. Time, space, other dimensions. I'm almost finishing the last one."

"Seems... complex."

"Not much to be honest. Here, for when you get bored." He opened the drawer of the cabinet besides the couch and threw an old dusty book to her.

She caught it with one hand and looked at the cover.

"Ze Dark Tower Volume one, Ze Gunslinger." She read out loud. "All right, I'll take a look. But now…" a mischievous glint graced her eyes. " I wanna know everyzing." Her smile grew bigger as Bill blushed.

"About what?"

" 'Ow was wiz Leonard yesterday of course." She sat down beside him taking his hands in hers.

"It was…amazing?"
"Did 'e ask?" She asked excited.

"Not yet..." He seemed dejected.

"I'm sorry. But don't worry about eet. We know 'e will soon, don't we?" She tried to comfort him.

"ye.." He couldn't finish his reply as at that moment a bright silver light came rushing through the window.

They jumped to their feets as the phoenix Patronus made its way to the center table in front of them.

"The Ministry has been breached. Summoning William Weasley for emergency meeting." The thunderous voice of Albus Dumbledore spread through the small apartment they both shared.

Fleur looked at Bill. His face had been drained of all color. She knew what that meant. There would be a battle. For the Death Eaters to break into the Ministry like this could only mean one thing. They had found the weapon they were looking for. The worry and the fear were clear on Bill's face. Fleur's wand was ready at hand.

"Let's go." She said determined.

"What?" Bill turned to face her as the Patronus dissipated between them.

"I'm fighting as well"

"No, you're not. You're staying here, got it?"

"But…" She made to protest.

"Look, you have done nothing but help me since you got here and we moved together. Now it's my turn, ok?" He was serious, his face as if set in stone. "Let me at least keep you safe. Remember why you came back."

That made Fleur reconsider. She put her wand back in her pocket, a sad look on her face.

"Besides, you're not officially part of the Order. Dumbledore would have my head if I brought a civilian to war." He grinned at her as he got hold of a bit of floo powder and stepped in the fireplace.

"Bill" She called before he could be taken away. "Come back safe, you hear?"

He just nodded, smile still in place.

"12 Grimmauld Place" and he was gone in a blaze of green flames.

She made her way slowly to the armchair, worry settling in her heart.

"Might as well distract myself" She thought as she picked up the book again, taking another look at the cover before opening it.

"Ze man in black fled across ze desert, and ze gunslinger followed."

_

"Merde" She cursed out loud, turning on the tap of the sink and putting her now burnt hand under the cool running water. "Should 'ave used my wand. What kind of witch am I?" She berated herself for trying to pick up the hot kettle with her hands as the pain subsided. She glanced at the window's glass over the sink. As always her appearance was impeccable. It didn't matter that she had just woken up. No trace of bags under her eyes could be found, no imperfection on her skin or strand of her silver blonde hair out of place. Her veela blood took care of that.

"My curse." She thought. Not that it wasn't useful, never having to worry about spending hours in front of the mirror to leave the house. But still, when someone had a magic power capable of seducing everyone around them without their consent, life could be hard. Since she could remember, she had to deal with boys doing idiotic things to impress her and the jealousy of the girls that didn't also fall under her allure. There wasn't many people willing to be her friend and live under her shadow. Not even Bill was completely immune, even though he was extremely resistant due to his preferences. She often would catch him ogling at her with misty eyes. But never something that a few finger snaps in front of his eyes couldn't take care of. She never met anyone completely immune to her charm. Well, anyone except for him.

Averting her eyes from the reflection and taking her hand from the water, she withdrew her wand from her pocket and levitated the kettle, pouring its content in a cup. Putting the tea bag into the hot water, she took the cup and made her way to the living room to try and drown the sinking feeling that refused to leave her stomach. The clock now showed 4:05 a.m..

"He iz taking too long". She knew that an attack in the Ministry meant that there would be a lot of things to take care of afterwards and so she shouldn't be expecting him to get home early. But six hours were a lot, and she was worried. It didn't matter how good Bill was at dueling.

As she took her first step into the living room, the flames in the fireplace became emerald green once more and her heart jumped in her chest.

"Zank God!" As Bill stepped out of the fireplace, Fleur ran to give him a hug, completely forgeting about the tea still in her hand.

"Mon Dieu, I'm so sorry, Bill". She apologized pointing her wand at his shirt. "Exaresco."

Bill felt his chest become hotter, as the already hot tea slowly dried.

"That's fine." He said "Look, Fleur. We have to talk."

She felt so relieved to see him getting out of the fireplace that she missed his state. Now as she took him in, she realized what he must have been through. His clothes and face completely dirty, a small cut on his face and a bigger one on his forearm, his sleeve stained with dry blood. But what caught her attention was his expression. He looked sad.

"You're 'urt. Let me take a look at eet, while you tell me everyzing, ok?" He only nodded as she led him to the kitchen, motioning for him to sit on a stool. She moved to the cupboard, rummaging for the supply box.

"W..when I got to Grimmauld Place, everyone was already there." He began as she sat facing him with the box now in hand. She didn't know much of healing spells, but a cut like that she could probably manage.

"Zis may take a while, never been too good wiz healing spells." She interrupted him, pointing her wand at the gash on his forearm "Tergeo"

"Dumbledore was furious, never seen him like that. The Death Eaters broke into the Department of Mysteries." He paused, deciding how to continue as Fleur cleaned the dry blood on his arm.

"Vulnera Sanentur" She muttered, the gash now starting to close.

"They needed something there, Fleur. Something...that had to do with Harry." At this her eyes found his. "And to get it, they needed him. I don't know how, but they managed to get him and his friends to go to the Ministry."

She didn't like where this was going. Could this be the cause of the feeling she had all night? Would she feel it if it happened? Her hand now was trembling, no doubt making it harder for the cut in Bill's arm to close.

"A fight broke out, of course. We were in a room... Dumbledore explained it to us afterwards. There was a structure there in the middle, made of stone. Kinda like a big doorway. Dumbledore called it The Veil. He told us that the entire Ministry was built around it when it was discovered." He paused again to organize his thoughts "It used to be used for executions, when those still happened. The convicted was thrown through and nothing would come out the other side. Dumbledore seems to think that it is a portal to the realm of the dead."

Her hands started to tremble even more, the gash on Bill's arm completely forgotten.

"Everyone was fighting against someone. I was dueling against Nott, and Sirius...Sirius was facing Bellatrix Lestrange." His voice became weak " At some point, she got him. Nobody realized what had happened until it was too late. He fell through it. Through the veil, that is."

Fleur's eyes started to water at that. She met Sirius, she joked with him, they had lunch together in that haunted house the year before. The five of them. She couldn't believe it. Her heart ached to think about what Harry was feeling right now. Bill averted his gaze from hers, now determined to stare at a spot on the ground. He couldn't face her for what was to come.

"He... He tried to save him. Before any of us could do anything, he was running." Her watered eyes widened, her mouth opened a bit. In another situation, it would have been comic. "He fell, Fleur. I'm so sorry." He was crying now as well " Harry is dead."

She got up, her wand falling to the floor. Her knees trembled, her legs felt numb. She didn't know if she could take a step. Her face now completely wet as the tears ran freely. She couldn't believe it. For the first time since she found out she was bonded to him, she tapped at the connection. She needed to be sure. But she couldn't feel him. The desperation was too much. She gathered all the energy she had and just ran to her room leaving a crestfallen Bill behind. She needed to be alone.

_

Albus Dumbledore paced in his study. In all of his oh so many years, he felt like he's never been so puzzled

"What am I missing? This shouldn't have happened. It couldn't have happened." He mused trying to make sense of what had happened in the Department of Mysteries. "...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." He remembered the words Professor Trelawney spoke to him all those years ago.

But Harry didn't die at the hands of Lord Voldemort. And now that he was dead, did that mean that nobody else would be able to vanquish the Dark Lord? Dumbledore's heart was a mess. He felt so much sadness for the boy that had been like a grandson to him. But he couldn't let himself grieve. There was no time. Voldemort was out in the open now, with Fudge getting in the Ministry just in enough time to see him vanish with his own eyes. Which meant that he was going to act. There was no more time to waste making plans.

He moved slowly to where his Phoenix Fawks was perched. Stroking her feathers gently he muttered

"Hello old friend. What do you say about we make a trip?" He had a lead to go on, and now that Harry wasn't there, he didn't have to wait anymore. Fawks hooted softly, and a bright flame engulfed the two. As Dumbledore vanished from his office, a doubt crossed his mind.

"Does that mean that the one inside him is no more?"

A/N - Hey guys, for those who said the first chapter was way to short, don't worry about it, it really was just an intro. I don't think I'll ever post reeeeeally long chapters, but they will be at least as long as this one. Thanks for the reviews, and please, let me know if this format for the flashback in italics is too tiring to read. If so, I'll find another way.
Thanks again for those who took their time to review and for those who followed and favorited :)