Nearly there! These last few chapters are a complete re-write as I realised I had too much Bill and not enough Fred and George in the original version. Thanks to Amy for her input!
Chapter 14
Bill was quite glad to be left alone for a few minutes. It was good not to have to worry about anyone else for a while. But his ingrained habits as the oldest of a large family rapidly reasserted themselves, and he found himself looking round the Great Hall for his parents and siblings, needing to make sure they were all okay. He could see his father in one corner, deep in conversation with Professor McGonagall. His mother and Fleur were drinking tea at one of the long tables, and Ron and Ginny were among a large group of Hogwarts students at the far end of the Hall. Charlie and Percy were sitting at another of the tables talking quietly, each with a bottle of butterbeer in front of him.
But where were the twins? Bill stopped himself abruptly as he remembered that there was no "the twins" any more. Now it was just George. Poor George. Fred's death was dreadful for all of them, but Bill could not bear to imagine how much worse it must be for his twin. With mounting anxiety, he scanned the Hall for him. One thing about being a family of redheads, they were usually easy to spot in a crowd. But there was no sign of George anywhere, and Bill was worried. George should not be on his own right now.
With a surreptitious look at Madam Pomfrey, who was fortunately busy with one of her other patients, Bill clambered to his feet, holding onto the wall for support. He knew that they had moved the bodies of the fallen into the rooms adjoining the Great Hall, and that seemed like a good place to start. Where Fred was, you were likely to find George too…
He made his way slowly out of the Great Hall, cursing his own weakness and the increased pain in his face as he moved. In the first room he entered, the bodies of Lupin and Tonks lay with several more. Despite his anxiety for George, Bill knelt for a few minutes beside Lupin, mourning for his friend. Remus had been so good to him last year, after he had been injured. He had been the only person who had truly understood just how terrified Bill had been as the first full moon after his mauling by Greyback had approached. Bill would miss him.