"Fred, George, Claudia, Lauren, we're going to Number 4 Private Drive to rescue Harry," Mad Eye Moody tells us as we stumble out of the fire place.
"What?" I ask.
Right now, all the Weasley's - excluding Charlie - are here, we also have Mundungus Fletcher, Fleur Delecour - who is engaged to Bill - and Hermione. We're all here because we're going to rescue Harry and try to safely transport him here. Lauren, Fred, George and I are going to take Polyjuice Potion to become Harry and fly with whoever.
Once Moody finishes explaining the whole entire plan, we all apparate to Harry's. It goes in a bit of a blur, but when I see Harry, I give him a big hug. It's been a year since Fred, George, Lauren and I have graduated. We since have opened s hop called Weasley & Wizard Wheezes. We live in the apartment above the shop and it's all going great. Lauren and I are both working in the Ministry, under Law. We both go on cases for Human rights and we have both won every case we have been assigned. We occasionally help Fred and George out with the shop.
"Alright, you lot! Here's the potion, take a sip and pass it on. For those who haven't tasted this particular fine potion, it tastes like goblin piss," Mad Eye says.
When the potion reaches me, I take a sip, gag, and force myself to swallow it. I pass it to Lauren and look next to me at George, his hair starting to slowly change black. I giggle as he shrinks, then feel myself shoot up a centimetre. I no longer feel the plait that was on my back and my instantly shoots up to my hair. I realise that my fingernails aren't the light pink, but normal with no colour. I feel my hair and pull a strand down so I can just see it. Yep, it's black. I look down at my bare legs - there is hair on them, unlike mine, that are usually waxed. I realise that I also no longer have a chestal area. Hmm, I feel like a kid again.
"Alright, stuff in the bag, get dressed. Grab an owl cage and rucksack," Moody says. ]
I walk towards the trunk full of clothes and pull out a red shirt, navy blue jeans, glasses and a grey jacket. I change with Lauren shielding me and vice versa. I get put with Kingsley Shacklebolt and we have to fly brooms. As we walk out, I grab my Firebolt and mount it. When Moody says go, I shoot off, following Shacklebolt. I clutch my wand in one hand, the owl cage and rucksack on the back of the broom. As we fly high into the sky, the city below us shrinks.
"Where are the others?" I shout over the wind whistling in my ears.
"We all split up!" is my reply.
I search the sky in front of me and see a black cloaked figure.
A Death Eater.
"Shit! Stupefy!" I scream, aiming my wand at another figure that's ten meters away from me. He or she falls from the broom that they were on and I don't look at the limp figure hit the ground.
"Experlliarmus! Agumenti! Stupefy!" I hear Shacklebolt shout. Another figure drops to the ground.
I whip my head around and see a Death Eater heading straight for me.
"Experlliarmus!" I shout.
His wand shoots out of the sky and falls to the ground. A green light shoots in front of me.
"Shit!"
I shoot a curse at the Death Eater and he falls backwards off his broom. I can no longer see Shacklebolt, and I start to panic. A light blue curse heads my way and I don't have time to move. It hits me in the stomach, and I feel like my insides turn to stone. I can't move, I can't breath properly. I loose grip on my broom for a second. I will my eyes o stay open. Hold on, Claudia, you need to hold on. I'm suddenly rammed into, and I see it's a Death Eater, but with no wand. The one from before.
"You bitch," he snarls.
He shoves me and I fall off the side. I have one hand holding onto the broom. I am about to die. He slams his hand onto mine and my grip weakens.
"Stupefy!"
I turn my head around, barely having the ability to do that, and I see Shacklebolt fly next to me. He grabs me and hauls me onto my broom.
"Can you fly?" he shouts.
I nod.
"Keep going straight! Go, go, go! We've lost them for now!"
I focus on the house about a kilometre away and try to ignore the stone feeling in my stomach. I go into a steep dive, glad that all the practice that Quidditch has given me still helps. I feel my skin start to bubble and know that I'm changing back. My knuckles sting as I grip my broom harder. I feel my hair fly out behind me and my nose and lips change. I feel the hair disappear on my legs. I'm me again. I'm getting closer. My eyes start to droop. My head's pounding. My grip on my wand loosens, then I realise that I need to grip my wand. I grip it and then a whooping feeling comes over me. I'm through the barrier. I'm safe.
I near the burrow, feeling sicker than ever, and I see Shacklebolt behind me as he enters the dome. I see the ground coming closer. Closer. Closer. And smash, I'm on it. I tumble forward, feeling like I'm about to be sick. I lie, then I feel bile rising in my throat. I roll over to my side and throw up on the side, my insides burning. The concrete feeling inside me weakens a little bit. I see four figures rushing towards me.
"Claudia?"
I see a plait of bushy brown hair and know it's Hermione. I vaguely see the real Harry, Ron and Shacklebolt kneeling beside me.
"Hermione, I feel like my insides are concrete. I got hit by an ice blue curse," I mumble.
I feel someone pick me up and carry me inside.
"Oh dear, what happened?" Mrs Weasley cries, rushing towards me. I'm set on a couch, with a flannel put over my forehead.
"My insides feel like concrete, Mrs Weasley," I moan, "What's wrong?" Now I'm crying.
"Shh, shh, it's going to be alright. Hermione dear, grab the potions kit from the cupboard," Mrs Weasley instructs, "Now, Claudia, this is going to sting, and you may throw up again, but this is going to make the concrete feeling go away. There's a bucket beside you."
I nod, not really prepared for what's going to come. Mrs Weasley chants a spell and the pain inside me almost rips me apart. A scream tears from my throat as the concrete feeling increases. I lean over and throw up, the feeling of concrete weakening. I start to sweat and a few swear words fall from my lips. The feeling inside me burns and I squeeze Mrs Weasley's hand. I throw up again, and then fall back onto the couch, the feeling completely gone.
"What the hell was that?" I moan.
"It was a spell that pulls the bugs out of your stomach. The bugs create a concrete feeling that can even kill you. You need to get them out by throwing them up," Mrs Weasley tells me, "Hermione, may I please have the Potion Kit?"
Hermione hands her the kit and Mrs Weasley pulls out a small mixing bowl. She hands many different ingredients that I can't even count them. Not that I'm trying to, though. She hands me a cup of the potion and I scull it, feeling better instantly.
"HELP!"
The scream comes sharp and clear from outside. It rings through the air and panic is threaded through the scream. I recognise that scream. I'd recognise it anywhere.
Lauren.
I'm off the couch and sprinting outside before anyone else. I see Lauren crouched over something, no, someone. She has tears streaming down her face, her brown hair tangled. I drop by her side and see that she's Professor Lupin's head in her lap. He looks pale, way too pale to be human.
"He got shot by a green curse, but not the killing curse because he's still breathing, but barely. He needs help Mrs Weasley," Lauren says through tears.
Mrs Weasley levitates him and takes him inside. I pick Lauren off the ground and hug her. She cries into my shoulder and I cry into hers.
"I got his by a ice blue curse that could've killed me," I cry.
"Oh my Merlin," she sobs, and hugs me tighter.
After we stop crying and I explain everything to her, a pop sounds throughout the air. We turn around and see Arthur Weasley and Fred Weasley walking towards us. Lauren runs towards him and presses her lips to his. He hugs her and I realise: where's George? I run towards the two of them and Fred opens his arms. I run into them and he hugs both Lauren and I.
"Someone! Help, we need help!"
We turn around and see Bill and Tonks supporting a red haired boy. Who's twin is standing next to me. One side of his head is covered in blood. The blood pouring down his shirt. I rush towards him.
George.
I gasp as I see he has no left ear. Tears fill my eyes and I take over from Tonks. We haul him inside, dropping him down onto the other couch. Professor Lupin is resting on the couch, looking much healthier.
"My boy," Mrs Weasley whispers.
She starts casting spells and forcing potions down his throat. Fred and Lauren hug me, their arms wrapping around me. I rest my head on Lauren's shoulder. Fred detaches himself from us and walks towards him.
"How are you feeling, Georgie?" he asks.
"Holy." His reply is faint, but still audible.
"Come again?"
"Do you get it, Fred? I'm feeling holy," George whispers.
"Out of all the hole jokes in the world, you go for I'm feeling holy?" Fred laughs.
I start to kneel by George's side. His hands lifts up and strokes down my cheek.
"Are you alright?" I ask him.
"Better now you're here," he whispers.
I let a small smile grace my lips. I press a small kiss to his lips and realise that everyone's watching. Well, this is awkward isn't it? Red tinges my cheeks and Mrs Weasley announces something.
"George, we will be able to grow your ear back, though it may not hear that well, which we can fix once it grows back. It will be very painful, but won't take long. Or I can just clean it up and you leave it the way it is?" she says.
"I want it fixed," George states.
"Are you sure?" Mrs Weasley asks.
"Yes, I am."
She pulls out her wand and casts a spell. The skin starts to stretch over the hole. Once it's done, she gives George a potion to drink. I recognise it as a pain killing potion. He sculls it and Mrs Weasley casts another spell. I can see the bottom of his ear start to form and George squirm. I run my fingers through his hair to try and calm him down. He evens out his breathing. Mrs Weasley dabs some potion on his ear and George lets out a yell.
"Shh, shh," I whisper.
"I'm going to go put some food on," Fleur says. Everyone follows her out except for Fred, Lauren, Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and I.
The skin on George's to-be ear starts to creep up the side of his face and I can start to see the resemblance of an ear.
"From now on, it'll grow a little bit every hour. It should be done by tomorrow morning, but the pain goes for the whole hour, so you'll be in pain for around eight hours. You won't sleep very well," Mrs Weasley tells George. "Would you four like to eat in here? Oh, and Claudia and Lauren, can I talk to you two please? Just quickly?"
Lauren and I follow her up the stairs and to Fred and George's old room.
"Are you two okay sleeping up here? With Fred and George? I'm sorry, it's the only room that we have! Although, I think George will stay downstairs. Claudia, could you stay with him and give him his potion every hour? It's just, tomorrow, I have to start cleaning up the house and yard for the wedding, Merlin, it's only three days away from tomorrow! I have so much to do, I'm so sorry to ask Cl -"
"Mrs Weasley, it's fine. Honestly, I understand completely, I'd be happy to look after him," I say, smiling.
"Thank you dear," she smiles, patting my arm, "Anyway, girls, are you both ready for the wedding? Dresses? Look, I'm going to be assigning you plenty of jobs, everyone's going to be getting them. Now, Claudia, how are you feeling?"
"Fine, thanks," I say.
"Okay, girls, you can go back downstairs and I'll bring you some dinner in."
Lauren and I are about to follow Mrs Weasley down the stairs, when I pull her aside.
"You and Fred are going to have some privacy tonight," I smile.
"Oh, hush, Claudi," she laughs, smacking my arm.
"But seriously, with our new case, we need to be watching what we're saying. And Lauren, what if there's a major battle. At the end, what if it's major? Like actual spells?" I ask her.
"If there is, I'll never leave your side," she says, hugging me tightly.
I smile into her hair, so glad that I have a twin. We walk down the stairs and back to the living room. I sit back down next to George, taking his hand. Fred sits in an armchair and Lauren plops herself down onto his lap. He snakes his arms around her waist and she relaxes into him. He kisses her on the lips and I can tell that she is very happy.
"How are you feeling, Georgie?" I ask him.
"Good," he says. I smile. He brings my head down to his and slowly kisses me. I savour it, smiling into his lips.
"Did anything happen to you?" he asks me.
"Yeah, I umm, got shot by an ice blue curse and it gave me the feeling that my insides turned to concrete, which they slowly were and then Mrs Weasley got the bugs out of my stomach and yeah everything is good now," I murmur.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks me, worry filling his gorgeous brown eyes.
"Because you were missing an ear," I say.
"Oh, gorgeous, I wouldn't have minded," he says, smiling and kissing me again.
Mrs Weasley brings in four plates of large helpings of lamb, mashed potato, beans, peas, sticks of roasted sweet potato, crackling with gravy. She gives each of us a large glass of orange juice. With mine and George's meals, she gives us a a glass of disgusting looking potion.
"You need to drink this before you eat your food so that you don't throw up," Mrs Weasley says.
I smile at her and she leaves, shutting the door behind her, to block out the sound of the noisy kitchen. George sits up, and pulls himself off the couch. The four of us sit around the coffee table and I scull the potion quickly. It tastes foul. I start to shovel food into my mouth, starving.
"Are you guys ready for the wedding?" Lauren asks.
We all nod.
"Mum's going to be laying chores on us tomorrow," George says.
"She won't lay off on you," Fred laughs.
We all join in, laughter easing the tension. We hear the door open, and Bill walks in.
"Mad Eye's dead," he says solemnly.
I choke on my peas and look up at him.
"What do you mean, he's dead?" I ask, shock coursing through my body. Mad Eye dead? No, it can't be right.
"Mad Eye died. Fleur and I saw it," Bill says, leaving.
Tears splash down Lauren and my cheeks. I feel George's strong arms fold over me. I lean against his chest. How could he die? He always seemed…so strong. So…invincible.
"How could de just die?" Lauren asks, speaking my thoughts.
"I guess he just…did," Fred says, rubbing his hand in soothing circles on Lauren's back. "You know, people just…let go because they are happy with what they've achieved in life."
We finish our dinner and soon the whole house is asleep. I've cast a spell so the couch is wide enough for both George and I can fit on it. Well, only after Mrs Weasley went to bed. George takes his potion. It's around 8pm - early I know, but Mrs Weasley said that we all have a very big day tomorrow so we need to sleep, but we were all tired either way - so George's ear will have grown back by 4am, so we can still get at least three hours of sleep.
I rest my head on George's chest, listening to his heartbeat. He stokes my hair lazily, occasionally playing with one of my curls. I turn my head around and press my lips to George's. He responds enthusiastically, kissing me back. He flips me over and we dive into a heated snogging session. We don't sleep until 4am, once George's ear is fully done and I feel sleep start to tug me to its cave. Eventually, I give in, relaxing into George's chest, smiling as I fall asleep.
A/N: Long chapter! Sorry for not updating in a while, I had tremendous writers block and it was really bugging me. So one afternoon, I sat down and just started writing.
I know I changed a lot around, but I just felt like doing something a bit different :)
Happy Easter to everyone! My Easter holidays are over in a couple of days, so I may be slow updating, but I do have a long weekend! So hopefully, I can get another chapter done! Thanks so much to all my followers, favouriters (if that's even a word?!) and reviewers, I love you all!
Kill that review box!
Ginny xx