A/N: As always: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed !

Katy – I wasn't thinking about 'Bill's Story', but now you've mentioned it, I remember it, too. Of course I enjoyed reading that as much as your other stories, so I'm glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for betaing it – and so quickly, too!

XXX

May 2nd, 1998

George could feel his pulse racing and clutched his wand even tighter in his right hand. He needed it ready at hand for any moment a Death Eater could appear out of nowhere. He followed Fred as they made their way through the castle, fighting Death Eaters. Ahead of the twins was Percy who was throwing himself into every fight with a recklessness neither of his brothers had thought him capable of.

None of three had yet killed anybody. They had duelled, stunned and disarmed, but not killed. George was hoping desperately he would not have to kill. It was a war, yes, and he was aware of that, but he didn't think he would ever be ready to say the words. Avada Ke– no, he couldn't even think them.

What bothered him even more was that he had no idea where Alicia was. The last time he had seen her had been several minutes ago when Death Eaters had attacked them. Alicia, Angelina, Katie and Lee had had to go the other way, fighting for their lives. George had wanted to follow them but he had been held back by Fred and Oliver Wood. They pushed him out of the way when one of the Death Eaters suddenly had turned and sent a curse his way.

Wood had left them not much later to chase after another Death Eater whom he had tried but failed to disarm.

In front of George, Fred and Percy suddenly stopped in their tracks. They had reached the end of the corridor. George realised that they weren't far from where he had once asked Alicia to come to the Yule Ball with him. The Room Of Requirement. He almost laughed at the thought that they had taken it for being a broom cupboard back then. He remembered how every time they had been there with the D.A. their eyes would meet for a second and they would grin at each other – both knowing exactly what the other one was thinking.

Alicia.

Where was she? Was she alright? He needed to know. A thought came to his mind; he had to go back and try to find her. Fred and Percy seemed to be doing alright on their own.

His thoughts were interrupted by Fred suddenly shoving him hard against the wall. Then there was a flash of green light, swishing past him, followed by a high, nasty sounding laugh.

"Stupefy!" yelled Percy, the same moment as the Death Eater witch tried to send the Killing Curse at them again. Her curse missed but Percy's hit its aim and the witch fell. Her wand clattered across the floor

"Idiot!" hissed Fred, slamming George's head against the wall angrily. "She almost got you."

"I know," admitted George sheepishly, feeling the blood draining from his face.

"What were you thinking?"

Instead of answering George just stood where he was, watching Percy perform a body binding curse on the witch, then reaching for her wand. He handed the wand over to Fred, bent down, grabbed the witch's arm and pulled her across the floor and into a nearby bathroom. Seconds later he was back.

"Another one out of the way," he said, straightening his spectacles. He gave George a stern look. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Sorry Percy – I wasn't looking–"

"I know you weren't," said Percy, shaking his head. "But that's dangerous. We cannot save your arse all the time, George."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, honestly. It's just that –"

"It's because of Alicia, isn't?" said Fred suddenly.

There was no point denying it. "I need to go back and find her."

Percy shook his head. "No way, I'm sorry. I can't let you go. Look at what just happened! If Fred hadn't got you out of harm's way – the second time, I might add – you would be dead."

"I can look after myself."

"The way you just did? I'm sorry, George, but no."

"We could all go back and –" started Fred, but at that moment they could hear voices coming from down the corridor to their right, and Percy was already on his way into another fight. George remained where he was. He watched Fred turning to follow their older brother.

"Fred –"

"What?"

"I'm going back – I need to find her."

For a moment Fred stood before him looking unsure what to do. It was obvious he didn't want his brother to go and leave him and Percy. But one look at George's pleading face convinced him. "Go then. I had better keep an eye on Percy or he'll get himself killed. I'll see you later, mate."

"Okay," said George, feeling half relieved, half guilty. He walked a few steps back in the direction they had come from but then he hesitated and turned around. "Will you be okay, Fred?"

"Yes, of course I will. Not so sure about old Perce over there, though. Now go, you idiot!"

George still hadn't gone far when he heard Fred's voice behind him. "George?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself."

He nodded, feeling suddenly sick. "Yeah. You too. See you later."

He hurried back down the corridor they had come from and at the end he almost bumped into Oliver Wood, was leaning against a wall, looking battered. Blood was coming out of his mouth and spilling onto his robes.

"What the cursing hell happened to you?"

Oliver looked slightly embarrassed. When he spoke George noticed that he was missing several of his front teeth. "Got hit by a body bind curse." He was lisping slightly, and more blood spilled out of his mouth. "Fell onto my face."

If the situation hadn't been so serious George would have laughed. "That much is obvious. Want me to grow your teeth back?"

"If you can –"

George could. "But you could come with and help me find Alicia. I need to know if she's okay."

"Okay. Thanks," said Oliver, running a hand over his mouth as if to feel whether his teeth had really grown back. "I think they headed towards the headmaster's office. Shall we start looking there?"

George nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

While they were running George couldn't help asking, "Who freed you earlier? From the body-binding curse –"

"Colin Creevy. Do you remember him? Brave little kid. He must have come back after the students have been evacuated from the school. I told him to leave but he didn't listen for a second."

They reached the door to the headmaster's office without any disturbance. While debating whether to try and get up into the office or start searching the surrounding corridors they were suddenly interrupted by Angelina's voice.

"Oi! Weasley! Wood! Over here!"

She was sticking her head out of the door of a nearby classroom, waving at the two boys.

"Angelina," shouted Oliver relieved. "Thank Godric – you're alright."

Angelina nodded. When they approached her, George noticed that she was frowning at him. They spoke at the same time.

"Where's Fred?" she asked.

"Is Alicia with you?" he wanted to know.

Angelina nodded and motioned towards the inside of the classroom. She repeated her own question and George told her everything he knew. When he squeezed past her into the room he heard the voice he had hoped to hear.

"George!"

A second later Alicia had jumped on him and wrapped her arms around him so tightly part of him was afraid she was going to suffocate him. For a short moment nothing else in the world mattered to George but then he suddenly thought about Lee. He had been with the girls.

"Where's Jordan?"

"Over here," came Lee's low voice from the far corner of the room, where he was sitting on a desk holding his right wrist. Katie was standing beside him looking worried.

"What happened to you?" asked Lee when he saw Oliver, who's mouth and chin were still covered in dried blood.

"Fell. You?"

"Me too," said Lee, "had to duck away from a curse. I think I broke my wrist. Unfortunately it's the right one."

"Your wand hand, isn't it?"

Lee nodded darkly. "Yes. I don't think I'd be much use fighting with my left. Can't aim properly."

"And we can't mend it without the use of Skele-Grow," added Alicia.

"That's why we decided to get him into this empty class-room," explained Angelina. "And I'm afraid one of us will have to stay here and protect him."

"I can do that," offered Katie at once.

George grinned when he saw Lee's face light up.

Oliver obviously didn't notice that. "I can stay here, too. You go on with fighting. Unless – well, maybe you girls want to stay as well?"

Angelina and Alicia shook their heads.

"Maybe it would be better, if you stayed in here," said Georgeto Alicia. "It'll be less dangerous."

Alicia wrapped her arm around his waist but gave him a stern look at the same time. "Stop playing the hero. I won't let you go anywhere without me if I can help it – and you know that."

"But –"

Angelina gave George a furious look. "Shut it, Weasley. We're as capable of fighting as you are." She raised her up wand into the air and was out of the door before George got the chance to answer. "Come on, you two, let's kick some more arses!"

Alicia was ready to go after her friend but George was reluctant to let her. "Sure you sure you going to be alright?"

"I want to stay with you. Besides, I can do magic as well as you can – so I might as well fight." She walked out of the room. Her attention still being focused on her boyfriend she didn't see the Death Eater coming her way.

It all happened very quickly. George heard Angelina scream, "LEESH!" He jumped forward – just in time to see the hooded figure coming up the corridor, his wand aimed at the oblivious Alicia. George raised his own wand and before he knew it the words left his mouth.

"AVADA KE–!"

"George – stoppit!" Alicia's voice cut through his words, her hand raising to get hold on his wrist to spull down his raised wand-hand. Angelina stunned the opponent– and the moment of acute danger had passed. The Death Eater fell and remained, unmoving, on the ground while Angelina swung around and stared at George, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

George could feel the colour draining from his face. "I almost killed somebody."

It was an overwhelming feeling – overwhelming in a bad way. George had never thought himself capable of killing somebody and now that he would have done if Alicia hadn't held him back it he had no idea what to think of himself. Was he a murderer? No. It would have been self-defence. And they were fighting a war. That made a difference. But still – there was that nagging feeling that told him he could have just stunned the man.

There was no time to think about it now. George tried to push the feeling to the back of his mind. He would have to tell Fred about it, later, when all of this was over. Fred would know what to make of it. He always did.

It was Angelina's shouting that brought him back to the present. "There're more of them!"

Indeed, two Death Eaters were coming down the corridor. Oliver came out of the classroom and joined his friends. It was four against two. Soon both of their enemies were stunned, bound and unarmed. George felt relieved for a second. He hadn't tried to kill again.

At that moment a pain shot through his body like he had never felt before.

It felt as though he was being ripped into half; his eyes closed automatically and, like a film being played in his head, he saw Fred. There came a flash of green light, hitting hitting his brother, then an explosion and a wall tumbling down on Fred. Then – nothing.

The sick feeling he had had earlier, when he had left Fred and Percy, returned. For a second George was sure he would throw up, but it didn't happen. He felt Alicia's hand clutching his arm and her voice seemed to come from far, far away. "George, what's wrong? You're white as a sheet."

"Fred," he mumbled, "I need to find Fred."

"Why?" asked Angelina. She had her wand still raised when she came over and put her hand on George's other arm. "What's wrong?"

"I – I'm not sure. But – I think – I think he's dead –"

"No, he's not," said Angelina, shaking George. "Come on, tell me he's not."

"I need to find him –" He broke free from both girls and started running.

"George!"

Angelina and Alicia were behind him, but after a while he could hear the steps growing more distant. He was running much faster than the girls but he just couldn't wait. Throwing body-bind and disarming curses towards everybody in his way, he ran until hin lungs felt like bursting. He had to know now, had to see Fred. See if he was alright.

He felt like he had been running forever when he reached the place where he had left Fred and Percy. Every breath was painful and his lungs felt as if on fire. He looked around – the wall Fred had pushed him up against ealier wasn't there anymore. Instead he could only see bricks lying in a heap on the floor.

It was very quiet in this part of the castle. Angelina and Alicia caught up with George but none of the three said anything. They all just stood, staring at the crumbled wall.

But then Alicia grabbed George's wrist. "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"Shhht!"

George listened closely. There was the muffled noise of somebody retching. It seemed to come from the other side of the heap of lose bricks. George moved forward, careful not to stumble, until he could see who was there.

"Percy –"

Percy looked up. He stared at George for a minute, looking at him as if he was seeing a ghost. Slowly, he opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, and finally opened it and spoke, "Fred? Is it really you?"

Feeling suddenly very cold, George shook his head. "Percy – it's me. George. Where is Fred?"

Percy continued to simply gape at him, then, suddenly he hid his face in his hands and started to sob. "George – I – I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've looked out better. Should have protected him. But there was a Death Eater – and suddenly he sent a curse his way and then – the wall – and everything went black for a moment. Oh – why didn't I look out?"

George felt colder every with second as he listened to Percy's sobs. His own stomach was heaving, and he already knew the answer to the question he was going to ask. "Percy, is Fred – did he get – killed?"

Percy looked up at his brother again, tears still running down his face, and nodded. "There was nothing I could do –"

"Where is he?"

Percy started sobbing again.

George bent down to grab his brother's shoulders and shook Percy several times. He smelled of sweat and vomit.

"I – we hid him. In a niche. Down the corridor. Godric, how're we going to tell Mum?"

Telling their mother was the last thing on George's mind right now. All he could think of was that he needed to see Fred. He followed Percy who was still crying. A couple of steps down the corridor his older brother stopped and motioned towards a niche.

When George reached the niche he felt like his life was going to end. His stomach heaved painfully at the sight of what looked like his own dead body. He could hear Alicia gasp behind him. She reached out to hold him while a few yards away Angelina was crying and raging.

He knew he was going to throw up. He took a few shaky steps, so wouldn't vomit over his dead brother's body before he fell to his knees and retched. When finally his stomach had emptied itself he crawled back to his twin's body. He was completely unaware of everything else that happened around him. There was only one thing that mattered.

"Fred," he choked, "please, Fred, wake up, you can't be dead – I won't let you – wake up –"

But Fred didn't.

XXX

A/N: I added the fact that Fred got killed by the killing curse – the way he died in the book never really seemed credible to me. I don't think he would've been dead right away if it had "only" been the wall tumbling on him. So here he gets hit by the curse and then the wall explodes and falls down on him. Poor Fred. :-(

R.I.P. Fred Weasley!