A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! They really mean a lot to me! Third-last chapter—this takes place during the "Potterwatch" program that Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard that Fred was on. Also, something I found interesting: In an interview, J.K. Rowling said that Lupin and Tonks weren't originally supposed to die. Mr. Weasley was going to die. I also found a great site from TheLeakyCauldron. It's an interview for J.K. Rowling, with tons of questions about the book and unanswered questions from the epilogue. It's great—it made me cry! (Ron helps George with the joke shop! I might incorporate some of what happened-but not in the book-into the fanfic, so those ideas won't be mine, it'll be J.K. Rowling's)

Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Some of the beginning dialogue is taken directly from book 7.

Chapter 8

"…but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're planning on taking any risks." Angelina laughed, listening to "Potterwatch" with George in the dormitory. She was still in awe of Fred's ability to find humor in anything—with the war going on. "I'd never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first!"

Angelina looked at George who was nodding in agreement, staring intently at the radio, as Lee wrapped up the broadcast.

"Well they're certainly good at what they do." Angelina said when it was over. "Bound to make people feel safer hearing encouragement from people on our side."

"Yep. It is." George agreed nodding. "The humor really helps. When I was on, Lee called me Rudolph." He chuckled to himself.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so instead I had him call me Romeo."

"Romeo? Like from that Muggle romance play?" Angelina asked. George shrugged. "Speaking of romance, how's everything with Alicia? I heard you got back together!"

"Yep, we did." George beamed.

"Maybe she can move in here with us. Kinda like Hogwarts!" Angelina thought out loud.

"And Lee and Katie could move in too." George added. "Just like Hogwarts."

"Seems like a lifetime ago." Angelina said quietly. They sat in silence for a moment, deep in thought. George began absentmindedly stroking the dark hole in his head.

"George, stop doing that! It's disgusting!" Angelina exclaimed, laughing.

"Sorry Ang. It's hard to get used to having one ear." He laughed, standing up to pace the room.

"Did it hurt?" She asked.

"Not really. I kind of blacked out after it happened. Fred and I are tough though. We don't let on when we're in pain or scared—we usually laugh it off—" He explained, but stopped catching the worried expression on her face. "Ang, no. I shouldn't have said that. You have nothing to worry about—hey, where are you going?"

Angelina walked hastily to their bedroom and grabbed her mirror.

"You don't have to use that. Fred's fine and I was being an idiot."

"No George, don't worry about it. I just want to check in. Fred Weasley." She said, calling into the mirror. Within moments, Fred's face filled the mirror.

"Hey beautiful. You like the broadcast?" Fred asked Angelina with a playful grin on his face.

"It was inspiring, darling." George said, looking at the mirror over Angelina's shoulder.

"Glad you liked it, Rudolph." Fred grinned cheekily.

"Specially like the Snape comment, Rodent." George commented.

"Angel, I'm fine." Fred said seriously, noticing her worried face. "We're just finishing removing all the broadcasting and protection charms, and then I'll be back."

"Ok." She said, feeling George pat her on the back reassuringly.

"So I'll see you soon, Angel." Fred said.

"All right. Bye Fred." She said and he smiled at her before vanishing from the mirror.

"See? I told you he was fine." George said.

"Yeah." She mumbled, sitting down at the table, still clutching her mirror. "How long will it take to take down the enchantments?"

George shook his head and said, "You have nothing to worry about. But right now you need to distract yourself." He tool out his wand.

"What are you doing?" She asked, confused.

"Stand up and take out you wand. Fred said your magic was a bit off. Let's practice."

"Ok…" She stood up and took out her wand. "Are we going to duel?"

"No. I wouldn't want to hurt you—Fred would kill me. We're going to play Quidditch."

"What?" She asked, a smile creeping on her face at the thought of it.

"Well, kind of. We can't fly indoors, so what we'll do is…" He paused, conjuring three hoops with his wand and levitating them in the air. He then walked to a cabinet in the corner of the room and took out a Quaffle. "You can make the ball go through the hoops, but only with your wand. I'll play as Keeper." He tossed her the Quaffle. They began to play and George surprised her by blocking almost all her attempts.

"You'd make a good Keeper!" She exclaimed after a while.

"Thanks, but I prefer—" He stopped suddenly and listened. Someone was downstairs.

"Is that Fred?" She whispered. "He should be back by now."

"Ang, we should leave." George said grabbing a broken oil lamp from a cupboard. "I have a port key for the Burrow."

"What about Fred?" She exclaimed, the footsteps growing louder as it's owner ran up the stairs.

"Just come on." George said. "Portus." The lamp glowed blue.

"Don't use that!" A voice yelled as the door swung open.

"Expelliarmus!" George yelled immediately. Bill's wand flew out of his hand and Angelina caught it.

"Bill?!" George yelled in surprise. Angelina handed Bill his wand.

"Come on. Where's Fred? Angelina, you should come too. We have to go. Now." Bill ordered, looking worried.

"What's going on?" Angelina asked.

"Fred's with Lee. He was on Potterwatch." George said.

"But that was two hours ago, we heard it!" Bill exclaimed.

"What?" Angelina cried. She not realized so much time had passed. "But—"

"Ang, don't worry. They're with Remus and Kingsley, remember? He' safe." George said. Bill looked skeptical. "Remus and Kingsley are great wizards, though. They'll be able to handle things!"

"But look what happened to Moody. One of the best Aurors." Bill said. "They could be in trouble."

Angelina hurried to the table and picked up her mirror, calling Fred's name feeling faint.

Fred appeared in the mirror, wincing in pain and covered with sweat.

"Ang—I can't talk." He said, panting. Red light illuminated his face, as if a hex flew past him. "We'll make it back. I love you." He said, sounding faint. And he was gone from the mirror, before she could say, "I love you too". Angelina felt herself being lead to a chair and helped into it. George sat down in a chair next to her and held her hand in a brotherly manner, to tell her everything would be all right. But the feat Angelina felt was mirrored on his pale face. Bill sat down across from them, looking nervous as well.

"Listen, we need to move the whole family to Aunt Muriel's. You need to go into hiding."

George and Angelina looked up in shock.

"Why?" George asked.

"Ron, Harry, and Hermione just apparated to my house. They just escaped from Malfoy Manner—I think they were captured." Bill explained. "But the Death Eaters know Ron's with Harry, so they'll be bound to be after us."

"So we're leaving?" George asked.

"Yes. You need to go pack up whatever you're going to need." Bill said, with authority in his voice.

"What about Fred?" Angelina asked, her voice shaking as she stood up.

"You should pack his stuff, so we can leave as soon as he returns." He said, keeping the tone of his voice positive. Angelina nodded and she and George started to their rooms. "I have to go to the Burrow." Bill added. "To move the rest of the family. I'll be back soon. We'll be apparating, but I want to go with you to be safe."

"Ok." George said.

Bill hesitated. "If Fred doesn't return before I come back, we'll have to leave anyway. We can't afford to lose much time. We'll be able to reach him when we're at Aunt Muriel's though. See you soon." Bill said disapperating.

Angelina walked into their room feeling confused. Fred couldn't be… She couldn't even think about it. She couldn't think that she might not ever see him again. She looked around the room, feeling dizzy and disconnected from it. She didn't know what to pack; she grabbed random objects—not knowing if they were Fred's or hers—and put them in a bag with her wand.

After a while she picked up the bag and put it on the kitchen table. Not knowing what else to do, she walked over to George's room holding her wand and the mirror. She stood, feeling numb, at the doorway and found herself strangely noting that his room was cleaner than Fred's. George was stuffing pairs of socks into a bag and nodded to her, signaling that she could come in. Angelina sat down on George's bed, feeling disconnected from her own body.

"He said "I love you"." Angelina burst out, a tear falling from her eyes. "Like he knew it would be the last time."

"Don't say that, Angelina." George said sharply. He was pale and angry, but as he saw Angelina's tear-streaked face his expression softened. "Here." He said, grabbing a handkerchief from the open bag and handing it to her. "He's—he's not… I would know. You would know, too."

She nodded stiffly and continued to cry silently. George sat down next to her, his hands shaking slightly. Angelina looked at him and couldn't help thinking how—besides the missing ear—every inch of George was identical to Fred. She looked away hastily and walked into the kitchen, not wanting to look at him. She sat down at the table and looked at the mirror, as if almost daring it to show her Fred.

Suddenly, she heard a crack and she looked up to see Lee holding Fred up against him.

Immediately relieve filled her, but was replaced by panic almost as instantly. He was covered in blood.

"Fred!" She shrieked and ran towards him as Lee settled him on a couch, helping him lie down. George hurried over to Fred's side, tossing his bag aside.

"It's not all his blood, Ang, it's a Death Eater's." Lee exclaimed, to try and calm her down. He pointed his wand at Fred and siphoned up all the blood, so they could see the source of the problem. There was no wound, but blood was seeping into his shirt. Lee ripped open the shirt to find multiple criss-crossing gashes across Fred's upper chest.

"Sectumsempra." George breathed. "That's what it was. The same thing that cut off my ear."

"He lost a lot of blood." Lee said. "How do we—?"

Bill apparated in the room with a crack and ran over to the couch. He stared at his brother's body with a look of horror on his face, and then he pulled out his wand and mended the wounds. Fred awoke with a start.

"Fred." Angelina breathed, relieved. He squeezed her hand weakly, causing a few tears to fall from her eyes.

"He's going to need something for the blood loss, but he should be fine. We need to go though." Bill said.

"Where are you going?" Lee demanded as Angelina helped Fred up sniffling and George grabbed both of the bags.

"Into hiding. Ron was caught by Death Eaters along with Harry and Hermione. They escaped, but the Death Eaters will be after us. We need to leave now and I recommend you do the same." Bill said, turning to face George. He nodded, as if to signal that he should disapperate.

"See you mate." George said to Lee, and he turned on the spot.

"You got him?" Bill asked Angelina, who was holding Fred securely.

"Yes. Bye Lee." She said, and she disapperated with Fred alongside Bill, leaving Lee alone in the dorm.

They arrived inside a large old mansion and was greeted by the Weasley clan, who were waiting for them in a sitting room.

"Freddie!" Molly cried, her face white with shock. She helped Angelina sit him down on a couch.

"Here, drink this." Arthur said, handing him a goblet of red liquid. Fred drank it and slowly the color returned to his face.

"Dear, are you all right?" Molly asked worriedly, tears brimming in her eyes. "George says you were attacked after the broadcast tonight."

"I'm fine Mum, really." He said squeezing her hand as she sat down next to him. He searched the room for Angelina and found her standing beside George with tears running down her face. He smiled at her and said again, "I'm really all right."

"What happened?" Ginny asked anxiously.

Fred took a deep breath and launched into the story.

"When we finished packing up the station, we went outside the tent we set up to take it down and we heard someone hidden in the woods. We usually just apparate home afterwards, but we knew we were being watched so we started walking to get some distance between us before we apparated. We didn't realize that we were completely surrounded by Death Eaters, and so when we started walking they all kind of charged us, and we were completely outnumbered, eight to four. We fought them off pretty well for a while. Kingsley and Remus each killed one of them, I think. I'm surprised we all survived, with those odds. We managed to stun one of them and another got transfigured into a flobberworm somehow. But these last four were awful. It was Rookwood, Macnair, Dolohov, and one I didn't recognize. Macnair hit me with Sectumsempra and I fell unconscious pretty quickly. I came to right before Angelina called me on the mirror and then I turned around to see Kingsley kill the Death Eater I didn't know. But at this, Dolohov started using the Cruciatus Curse on him until Remus ran right up to him and punched him in the face. I guess I was looking pretty bad, cause Kingsley ordered Lee to disapperate with me, right after Lee stunned Rookwood. Kingsley was dueling with Macnair and Lupin was still fighting Dolohov, but I think they're fine." Everyone fell silent in the room, until Mrs. Weasley started to cry.

"Mum, there's nothing to cry about, I'm fine!" Fred exclaimed.

"Yes, Mum. He's so fine that he's ready for another round with Death Eaters." George said, chuckling.

"No. I'm feeling up to the whole army of them!" Fred joked.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO JOKE ABOUT THIS WAR!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. Fred and George stopped laughing.

"We were just trying to lighten the mood, Mum." Fred said.

"Fred, we almost lost you today!" Angelina cried.

"I'm sorry." Fred said, studying her carefully, hating to see her so worried.

"Oh Fred!" Molly said, pulling him into a hug. "I almost lost two of my boys today."

"Speaking of which, I should be going home." Bill said.

"Oh, of course dear. Take care of Ron and Harry and Hermione. And yourself, of course. And Fleur." Molly babbled anxiously, holding Bill tight in a hug.

"Yes Mum. You have nothing to worry about. The house is under Fidilius Charm, just like here." Bill said, pulling away. "Goodbye everyone." He left.

Angelina slumped on the sofa next to Ginny.

"You know… I'm kinda tired. Maybe I could get some sleep." Fred said, looking at Angelina.

"Oh yes. We all should go to bed." Molly said, prodding Ginny as if to see if she was still awake.

"Yeah, we should." Angelina said, standing up after Fred did. He put his hand on her back for support. As they passed, George handed Fred the bag, and turned to walk with them.

"Wait." Molly said. "Fred and George, you know you two are sharing a room? Angelina can share with Ginny."

"What?" Fred asked, incredulously.

"You heard me. This is your Great Aunt's house and she is kindly offering us her hospitality. I know you share a room back at the shop, but you and Angelina will not share a room unless you are married." Molly said firmly. Angelina felt her cheeks grow warm, and saw this reflecting on the faces and necks of every Weasley in the room.

"Molly, I…" Mr. Weasley started, but faltered under the vulture-like glare of his wife.

"That's fine, Mrs. Weasley. I'll stay with Ginny." Angelina said, though inside she was far from fine.

"No. Mum, it's been a long day. Angelina and I just want to get some sleep." Fred said.

"If sleeping is all you're planning on doing, you should be capable of doing so in separate rooms." Mrs. Weasley said curtly.

"Mum!" Fred exclaimed, flaring up at her. Angelina was surprised he didn't recoil under his mother's glance, but he instead stood his ground. She felt awful for this, like she was intruding. Maybe she should just leave all together.

"There are plenty of extra bedrooms, Mum. I can sleep in one of those." George offered, looking desperate to end the awkwardness and help out his twin.

"You know full well that is not the issue George!" Molly snapped.

"Hey, Mum? Can I be excused?" Ginny asked, blushing fiercely and looking like she would much rather be asleep.

"Yes." She said, still staring at Fred. Ginny threw Angelina a sympathetic look on her way up.

"This is inappropriate beyond measure. In your own house, you can do what you please, but not in here!" Molly continued.

"Mum, you're not being reasonable! Ang and I are in love." Fred declared passionately. He hesitated and added, "We're going to get married."

Mr. Weasley's jaw dropped. Angelina saw Molly's eyes search her ring-less finger. George let out a whoop. Angelina looked at Fred and he smiled reassuringly, though his eyes revealed that he had no clue what he gotten himself into.

"You're getting married." Molly repeated, looking dizzy with shock, as she fell into a chair.

"It's not official yet, but, yeah. We're planning on it." Fred said, slipping his hand into Angelina's. "That's how serious we are."

"That's… two of my boys…" Mrs. Weasley said to herself. She looked at Angelina and suddenly beamed, crossing the room to give her a hug. When she pulled away, her face was wet with tears. Speechless, Angelina smiled at her. "Freddie!" Molly cooed, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good for you, son." Arthur said, hugging Fred. "I'm proud of you." He beamed at Angelina and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Thank you. I always worried that no woman would be able to tolerate that one." He winked.

George clapped Fred on the shoulder and walked upstairs smiling.

"Well…" Mrs. Weasley said, dabbing her eyes. "That certainly was a nice end to the day."

"Mum, dad. It's not official." Fred reminded them, but they didn't appear to hear him.

"Let's get some sleep, dear." Molly said to her husband, walking upstairs.

Fred and Angelina followed, slipping off into their own room, finally alone.

"Well, all in all, I think that worked out in our favor." Fred said dropping the bag on the floor and helping Angelina pull back the bed sheets. "I hope they didn't creep you out."

"Not at all." She said. In truth she was beyond surprised at their reactions, but nonetheless flattered and relieved. And after the events of that evening, the boyish grin on Fred's face and the thought of being his wife made Angelina feel positively elated, happy that she still had him there to hold.

"Are you all right?" Fred asked, as they lay down in bed.

"Yes. I'm definitely better. Just glad you're alive." She said, regretting her word choice immediately, as tears prickled her eyes. Fred held her close. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Perfect." He mumbled, sleep starting to creep up on him. He smiled at her and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She said, relieved that she could say those words to him.

"Good night, Mrs. Weasley." Fred said, starting to snore peacefully a moment later.

A/N: So that was a long chapter! Thanks for keeping with it! Review!!!