Forbidden yet Foreseen
Death
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
Ginny awoke with a shriek; sweat covering her forehead, her heart pounding against her chest. She still felt the remaining bits of her disturbing dream. Disturbing and sad and painful… but when she sat up in bed, looking around tiredly, her bedroom slightly illuminated by the morning sun's light, she knew that it was much more than a dream.
It has been … real.
Her heart missed a beat and she suddenly realized what happened and what made her dream such terrible things. Most terrible things that would be hard to forget.
She was walking through the snow, snowflakes were falling around her and a beautiful melody echoed through the forest she was walking through. She looked around and felt a smile break from the corners of her mouth. She felt great. Just great. And when she saw something red shimmering behind some snow-covered twigs, she smiled even brighter. She approached the twigs, stretched out one hand to move it aside and –
She had expected to see Fred standing behind the twigs but what she saw wasn't Fred. It wasn't even George. It was –
She didn't know who it was but something was definitely wrong about it. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the weird shadow standing in front of her. She could see Fred's eyes but the face didn't belong to him. Nor did the hair that seemed to be a pile of flames, burning on his head like a dangerous fire. The rest of the figure was an undefined mess of swirling shadows. It seemed to be hovering; yet it didn't move (expect the flames on its head that were burning and cracking loudly and whose heat she could already feel on her skin).
She tried to step back – but when she did so, she saw a rush of blackness beside her and noticed that the shadow figure grabbed her with an enormous grip. She struggled to get free again but soon the shadows were all around her and the burning heat of the flame-head was so close to her she felt her skin peal. It was horrible. She couldn't even scream. She stared into the eyes that were supposed to be Fred's and felt hot tears stream down her cheeks. She felt the shadow's rough grip tightened around her, feeling how it squeezed her as if she was some toy an angry child wanted to tear apart.
She was about to close her eyes but something wouldn't let her. She felt like on fire when the flame-head leant closer, and when she felt the figure's lips on hers, she jerked back with her last remaining strength, feeling her lips ache with pain and agony. Whatever touched her, it wasn't nice… She stumbled backwards, the shadow's grip suddenly loosening. She fell onto her back and watched with horror how the black figure flew forwards and landed on her chest, pinning her to the ground. She felt a heavy weight; even though she couldn't see anything but swirling shadows.
Before she knew it the fire that used to burn on the figure's head spread over the whole body of the creature and every swirling black shadow caught fire. She felt the heat around her and everything she could do was stare into these blue eyes above her – before the fire sank into her and made her burn from the inside. Even her tears couldn't mend the pain she felt. And the snow was melting under her as if it was running away in shock and horror.
Sobbing slightly, Ginny was sitting on her bed, her arms around her knees. She shook her head – over and over again – to forget the dream that burnt itself literally into her brains. She felt as if she would never be cheerful again. Suddenly another feeling stroke her mind that made her jump up her bed and ran to the other end of her room to her desk. She looked around in bewilderment – before she found it.
Wiping away the tears with one hand, she grabbed the white object carefully from its place and looked at it intensely. It sparkled in the light of the sunbeams. She turned it around and read the writing, feeling a lump forming inside her throat.
"That's what brothers are for…"
Ginny sank slowly to her knees, the big snowflake held by two tiny hands. She began to sob again and this time, nothing would make her stop. She felt miserable. She'd never felt this bad before. It was her fault he was gone. She started it. She was to blame. Minutes turned to hours and before she knew it, she heard voices in the house around her. She still sobbed when she got to her feet again. She looked at the snowflake, before she decided to attach a string to it and carry it around her neck for the rest of whatever time will come.
She pulled on her jeans and a sweater and wiped the tears out of her face. She then walked to her bedroom door and touched the door handle. She suddenly felt something like a new risen hope. Something created by extrusion. She opened the door and ran down the stairs into the kitchen where her family sat around the table, eating, laughing, drinking, talking. A normal morning. Just a normal morning expect the fact that –
She looked around and was suddenly reminded by a horrible feeling that her dream and everything she had felt before, everything about never to be cheerful again, seemed to be true. She stared at the empty seat next to George where Fred was supposed to sit. But he was … gone.
"Ginny, dear, sit down and help yourself", she heard her mother say.
She then felt someone grab her arms and motion her towards a seat – before everything turned black.
"Gin? Ginny, come on, wake up!", she heard a distant voice in the darkness.
She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids seemed to be sewed together. There was a weird taste inside her mouth, she hoped it wasn't what she thought, thinking clearly about blood and its sulphurous flavour. She again heard the voice in the distance, and other voices, worried voices and suddenly there was a beam of light and the darkness broke apart.
And she saw blue eyes.
"Fred", she tried to say but her voice was nothing more than a husky whisper.
"No", she heard a familiar voice say. "I'm sorry I'm not", the voice added and she recognized George who knelt beside her.
She was lying on the couch in the Weasley's living room, surrounded by concerned faces.
"Oh Ginny, are you alright?", she heard her mother sob. "We've been so worried!"
"What happened to you? You suddenly fainted", she heard Ron's voice from the other side of the room, sounding awkwardly anxious. "Gin, you… you never faint…"
She looked around and tried to reply but she couldn't. She rather stared at George, who looked back at her and she suddenly felt the urge to – on one hand she wanted to slap him, on the other hand she wanted him to be Fred. She remembered how he had been standing in the door of her bedroom, staring at her and Fred, yelling in rage, punching Fred in a mixture of shock, hate and anger. She remembered how he had looked at her, how he had ignored her, how he had stormed out of her room – and how he somehow had made Fred leave her. It was his fault, George was guilty! He made Fred run away.
"You are –", she began, still staring into George's worried face, her eyes nothing more than small slits.
But her mother interrupted her when she moved closer to her daughter and touched her arm gently.
"Come, dear, you better go to bed again", she started – but this time, Ginny interrupted her.
"No!", she blurted out. "I … I don't want to go to bed again… I just need a bit… fresh air…"
"Well, if you please", her mother went on. "But you still look a bit pale…"
"I'll take her out for a while", she then heard her oldest brother Bill say.
She looked up to meet her brother's eyes. She nodded.
"She'll be okay, Mum", he said and helped her stand up from her lying position.
After that, she left the house, stepping into the morning's light that had absolutely no effect on her cold skin and iciness inside her heart and soul.
"So, Gin, is there something you want to tell me?", Bill blurted out right away when they reached the edge of the pond.
Ginny didn't even dare to turn around to stare at him – for she secretly knew that Bill already knew everything she might have had to tell him. She just gazed at the dark water surface, her thoughts trailing off immediately. She heard Bill step close to her but she still didn't want to look at him. She took deep breaths and tried to calm herself. Staring at the pond's surface, she watched the water budge calmly against some sea roses. She just wanted to look away when she saw something underneath the surface, swirling under water.
She stared at it, her mouth slightly open. There in the middle of the pond, deep within the dark water, she saw shadows swirl and amidst it, there was something burning. Her eyes widened when she saw two blue dots in the fire that seemed to be burning under water. She stumbled back at once, almost tripping over some roots. She lost her grip and fell backwards, with Bill catching her just in time. Her eyes glided away and when she caught the spot on the water surface again – it was gone.
"Are you alright?", she heard Bill say when he let go of her again.
She stood motionless at the edge of the pond, staring at the water, her limbs shaking slightly.
"I – I'm fine", she replied, her voice almost cracking up.
"No, you're not", Bill said and looked at her.
She finally dared to look back and met his gaze, which was not the gaze she had expected to see.
She'd expected him to be as angry and mad as George had been, but instead of yelling at her, Bill just looked at her, his eyes filled with a slight bit of disappointment and even more comprehension. He gave her the feeling that what she had done might not at all be bad. When she looked at her oldest brother, she suddenly felt tears burn inside her eyes. She desperately wanted to tell someone about the way she felt, but she never had been able to because no one seemed to understand. By looking at Bill, she saw a slight glimpse of hope.
Before she knew it, she threw her arms around her much taller brother and buried her face in his chest. He slowly put one arm around her and patted her back. After sharing things with Fred, she'd never share with her other brothers; she suddenly remembered how a brother (should) really behave(d). Bill just held her, patting her gently on the back – and there was nothing else – just the bond between brother and sister and nothing more.
She was glad that Bill was here over the Easter holidays – she seemed to not have survived otherwise. She sobbed against Bill's chest, before she pulled away after a while, wiping the tears out of her eyes and looked up at him.
He looked back and held out a hand.
"Come, I think we have to talk", he said, whispering.
She took his hand and they walked to the edge of the blossoming forest.
When they returned to the Burrow, Ginny had told Bill everything he didn't know yet.
"And don't be mad at George", Bill just said. "It must've been weird for him to share his twin, you know? And besides, it is weird to see one of them walking around alone. Unusual. Well, it's good no one else noticed, now is it?"
Ginny stared at him. "So, you don't think there are… more to know about… that?"
"No, I don't think so. They all live their own lives and mind their own business. For everyone doing so, they don't see a difference on how you two behaved. They just might think there's a strong bond between brother and sister – which is by the way normal in many, well, say, some families. Don't be afraid, I won't tell anyone and I don't think George will –"
"But he told you", Ginny pointed out.
"Be glad he told me and not someone else", Bill said with a wink.
Ginny watched him entering the Burrow. Thinking about following him, she turned around to look at the garden and the forest behind it. She sighed deeply and pushed the thought away that lurked on her mind. Shaking her head, she turned around again and entered the Burrow to find herself falling into a life that couldn't be less normal. As if nothing happened…
Days went past and every morning, when Ginny walked down to the kitchen, she hoped to see Fred sitting at the table, smiling at her. But every time she went down, she sat down opposite George and stared at Fred's empty seat. The end of the Easter holidays approached and she wondered why nobody had said anything yet. Didn't they notice that Fred was gone? Didn't they ask themselves why he was gone? Didn't they worry about him? Did they think at all?
Ginny watched her family with concern. No one said anything about Fred and his whereabouts and his reasons to leave the Burrow. What was wrong with those people? Didn't they see that something was… different? But no one behaved differently. Everything was just like before. And this drove Ginny mad.
"What's wrong with them?", she blurted out, entering George's bedroom at the last night at the Burrow before they all had to return to school (or in Bill and Charlie's case to work).
"What?", George asked, looking up from packing his trunk. "Gin?", he added when he noticed who had entered his room. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to ask you why no one asked about Fred yet", she said, staring at him.
He stood up from his kneeling position and looked at her, towering her with almost two heads.
It hurt to look at him out of this angle. Ginny stared up at him, feeling herself painfully reminded of Fred. She shook her head slightly. Even if George looked like Fred (which was obvious being his twin – damn, she hated herself for such stupidity), she felt different in his presence. Not so say weird…
"You want to know why nobody asked about Fred yet?", George repeated her question.
"Yes", she replied, locking eyes with him, ignoring the strange feeling inside.
"I can tell you why", George began, leaning against his desk. "Because I told them he would have to go to school earlier because he has to take extra lessons to pass the exams."
Ginny stared at him. "What –"
"What do you expect me to do? Tell them –"
"No!", she interrupted him. "But –"
"Ginny, come on. What else could I have done? They would ask and ask and ask… so I had to come up with an answer…"
"But –"
"Stop it, Gin", he said and pushed himself off the desk, walking to the door to open it for her. "Go to bed now!"
She looked up at him. "Do you know where he is?", she asked, her voice nothing more than a whisper.
George sighed. "I have no idea…"
Ginny tried to nod, before the lump inside her throat grew bigger and she just had to look away from him. She left his room and got back to hers, where she lay down on her bed and stared motionless at the ceiling until sleep hovered above her and took her away into distant lands.
It was way past midnight when Ginny awoke after hearing some noise inside her bedroom. She sat up quickly and stared into the dark of her room – only to see… nothing. She looked around and quickly shook her head before sinking back into her pillows. She had this feeling many nights before. She always awoke with a slight start, hearing a distant plop – before she looked around to see nothing but darkness and an empty room.
Even though she had the slight feeling to know what she heard every night.
When she awoke that next morning, she looked around drowsily – only to find a small object lying at the end of her bed. She took it into two tiny hands and blinked while examining it. It was a snowflake. Made of glass. Looking at the item, she felt her eyes fill with tears. She had been right. He had been here. She knew it. He visited her every night, she had heard him Apparate and Disapparate. Even though she now felt a bit better – knowing that he was okay – she still felt the cold stab of loneliness. He had been here, but why hadn't he woken her? Why hadn't he said anything?
She stared at the snowflake, sinking into deep thoughts. The next moment, she heard someone bang against her door, calling her name. She looked up, wiping the tears out of her eyes absentmindedly. She then got dressed and put the glass snowflake in the pocket of her jeans before she grabbed the rest of what she had to pack into her trunk, threw it inside and closed the lid of it - and finally went downstairs.
She ignored the sight of Fred's empty seat, helped herself to some toast and orange juice. After that the Weasley kids said goodbye to Bill and Charlie and headed with their parents towards King's Cross Station to catch the train back to Hogwarts. It was weird to sit between just Ron and George and no one else. She sighed and soon sat down in a compartment in the Hogwarts Express… again only accompanied by Ron and George.
Ginny's mind seemed to become blanker with every hour passing by and when they arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she couldn't think at all. There was nothing left to think. No tear to cry, no question to ask, no word to say. She was empty. She hadn't quite realized it yet but with Fred away for almost two weeks, she seemed to have lost something that had belonged to her. She couldn't really tell whether her heart was broken and some parts had gone astray or whether she just missed the way it used to be.
Two weeks and she already felt as if she had been slit in pieces by some invisible force. Wasn't that pathetic? She seemed to be totally addicted to Fred by now. What happened to her? What happened to her life? She knew it wasn't good to depend on someone else than herself so intensely - but on the other hand she wouldn't want to change that. She wished to be with him, spend every minute with him – he made her laugh, he made her feel loved, he made her feel good. He was everything – and yet it wasn't right.
The thought kept creeping through her mind until she stepped foot into her dormitory in the Gryffindor tower where a girl from her class gave her a small letter which she unfolded and whose words gave her heart a gentle strike.
"Meet me in the kitchens."
A/N: So, this was Part Three of Death... no Fred this time... I'm sorry but it was necessary... hope you liked it nonetheless... so, tell me about it and review please! Thank you!
Sexi Silver: Let's call it 'drums' Resurrection ... but bloody well guessed 'thumbs up' hehe... and I'm sorry for your tears... but yeah, it was sad... but trust me, it will be better... so thanks for the review!
mambosnowchick: I AM a cruel monster, no doubt about this.. I'm like Santa... hehe... bringing bad and good stuff... hehe... and yeah, George is a naughty boy... but I think he'll be better in this chapter... and Fred, well... he's planning something... that's why he isn't present in this chapter... soo... whee... thanks for your awesome review 'bows' (oh and 'g' means 'grins' .. sorry... I'm always to lazy to write it out)
QuietRebel: 'cries with you' sorry 'bout the tears... yeah... emotion... I love emotion... so Thank you so much for liking it so much! I'm so glad you liked it!
BlackGothFaerie: Sorry that Ginny didn't beat the sh't out of George... maybe later 'grins' oh and thank you sooo much... weird is always a good word... and I'm so glad you like the pairing... and it's really that different from everything you've read? wow... that's... 'bows' Thanks so much!
So thank you EVERYONE for reading and reviewing (I have to tell you that I've had 1400+ hits on this story so far ... which is... a lot... looking at the pairing and so... I really LOVE you guys! Thanks for the support!)
Alright, and I'm sorry this chapter took me again two weeks... I've been busy with so much stuff (school started again... and there's my other fanfic..) ... nevertheless, there'll be another chapter soon and... 'tatada' it's called: Resurrection One... stay tuned! Thanks!
-pops in again-
Could I have your attention please? (Damn, I always wanted to say that!)
I just submitted some alternative chapter to this story, some M-rated One-Shot about Fred and Ginny getting serious, obviously! You might like it! It's called "Breaking The Taboo" (id:2755377)! Thanks for reading and ... er... listening!
-pops out again-