A/N: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER :)

PLEASE BE KIND

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CHAPTER SIX - May 2 1998

George entered the room he was sharing with Fred at their Aunt Muriel just as Fred was sealing a letter. "Hey Freddie, what are you doing?"

Fred looked up at his brother and shrugged while putting the envelope in a box along with many other letters, all of which were orders from customers. "Nothing, just some last minute work. What's up?"

"Yeah about that, Harry has been seen at Hogsmead" the older twin answered grimly with a nervous tone. He sat on the bed sighing. "I think we're getting there, much sooner than expected though"

"And how are you feeling, Georgie? Feeling nervous yet?" Fred smirked lightly at his twin.

"Hella nervous. You?" George eyed the medallion he was gripping tightly in his hands and smirked back at him. "Definitely not relax, right? You should lessen the grip a little bit. It might break on you"

Fred sighed while looking down at the object, as usual he didn't received any response. "Hey George?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you mind distracting mom from me for a little while? I have to go somewhere really important" Fred looked at his twin, who had a thoughtful look on his face. "I'll be quick"

"Whatever it is you need to do, you better tell me about it after"

"I will. Don't worry"

George watched as Fred stood up and apparated away, a worried look on his face.

The sound of his apparition broke the silence of Avery's house as Fred finally made his appearance after several days of absence.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he began searching for her and immediately noticed her in the kitchen, busying herself with cooking. He wasted no time to go to her and hug her as tight as humanly possible.

"Hi Avi" Fred mumbled against her head, though instead of answering, she continued on with what she was doing. He inhaled her already familiar scent and slowly his nerves began calming down. "Will you talk to me please?"

Avery kept ignoring him and moving around the kitchen like putting a pot of water onto the stove. He followed her around trying to keep his arms around her as much as possible. He didn't know which one of them was trembling or if it was the both of them.

"Avery?" he called for her again, pain lingering in his voice. "Don't do this, please" he pleaded.

"What do you want, Fred?" she stopped chopping the carrots and dropped the knife with a deafening clang, as if it burned her. She took a deep and shaky breath. "You've already decided so what do you want from me?"

"What I want is to have a talk with my girlfriend, Avi" he took her hand in his and gently made her turn around to look at him. "It's necessary, Avi. I have to go"

Avery looked up at him, her eyes red and teary. "But you don't need to. Other people will be there and that's more than enough. Why do you have to go?"

"You know I can't do that, love. My family will be there" he patiently explained as he held her face in his hands and gently wiped her tears. She shook her head in denial. "I can't leave them or everyone else. It's a battle I have to fight too"

"Then let me come. You promised you'd let me come!" she tightly gripped the front of his shirt. "If you go, I'll go with you as well. I can fight too"

"I can't let you come, Avi" he firmly and with determination as he hugged her gently again. Just hearing her sobbing in his arm was enough to break his heart into million of pieces. "I'd never forgive myself if something ever happened to you, Avi. I'm sorry"

Avery shook her head adamantly with a look of pure desperation. Her voice shook terribly as she begged him. "Then what about me, Fred? How can I stay here knowing that you might not come back?"

"I will come back, Avi"

"You don't know that! This is a war, Fred! A fucking war where nothing is sure!" she untangled herself from him and took several steps away. He made an attempt to approach her again but she took a step back again in response.

"I will do everything I can to come back to you" he reassured her, though made no move to get closer to her. His voice was low and vulnerable, pleading for her to understand him. "I promise to come as soon as the war ends. And when I'll come, I'll bring George. He will definitely love you as well"

"Don't make promises you can't keep" Avery took in a shaky breath as she tried to collect herself. It pained her to see him pleading for her understanding but knowing he could die pained her more.

"Avery, you are the most important person for me right now. I'll do anything within my power to keep you safe and if this is one of the things I need to do, then I will. With or without your support" Fred looked into her eyes with such determination, she couldn't argue anymore. "So please before I go, give me your support and the biggest hug I've ever had for good luck, yeah?"

"But what will I do if you leave me?" she cried for him. "I don't think I can live without you anymore, Fred"

"Avery, I'll always be by your side. I'll never leave you" he firmly said. "I'll always return"

Instead of answering, Avery turned around and took something from a drawer. She began scribbling between her sobs, then turned back to him. "George better not get splinched like you did" she whispered as she handed him a small piece of paper.

Fred read the contents with trembling hands. As he was about to speak again, he felt heat coming from his jeans pocket. He took out the enchanted galleon of the D.A. and let out a shaky breath.

"It's time" he told her as he opened his arms towards her with a hesitant smile. "Can I have that hug, please?"

Without any hesitation, Avery went back into his arms while trying hard to keep her emotion in check, wanting nothing more than to see him leave in peace. They stayed in the same spot in a tight embrace, afraid that if they let go of each other it would be the last time.

"You have to come back" she whispered to him.

"Of course I'll come back. I have to propose after all" he whispered back, catching her off guard.

She looked at him with a frown but Fred merely smirked at her before kissing both her eyes.

"Are you serious? It hasn't even been a year since we met" she managed to say with her trembling voice. "And without a ring too?"

"Is that a no already?" he raised an eyebrow in amusement, confidence radiating from him.

"Of course it's a fucking yes!"

Fred chuckled as she hugged him tighter. Neither wanted to let go of each other and had to do it with much hesitation. Fred stared at her face as if in an attempt to memorise every detail and imperfection that he learned to love in the last few months.

"I'll give you the ring after we win, so you know I'll come back. It's a promise" he smiled at her before apparating away with a single last fleeting kiss.

The apparating took no longer than a second and when Fred opened his eyes, he found himself in front of George and Ginny at Hog's Head Inn, both of whom offered him a smile in reassurance.

"Sorry for being late" Fred said in such a manner as though he had a lump in his throat. "Got side tracked a little bit"

"There better be a good reason" George joked as the portrait that led to the Room of Requirements opened. "Thanks Aberforth. The others should be arriving soon"

The owner of the inn groaned in annoyance. "Fine, fine. Go on then"

"Ready Ginny?" Fred asked his sister, who nodded confidently, as he helped her up the passageway. "Good because now there is no turning back. Let's go"

They nervously walked through the passageway and upon entering Hogwarts, they reunited with Harry, Hermione and Ron.

As the trio began their search for the Horcrux, other members of the D.A. and of the Order of the Phoenix arrived along with other allies from the Ministry of Magic. The now acting headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall took the lead alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt, as they began to evacuate the students under the age of 17. Everyone took their own stances and positions all over the castle in an attempt to buy enough time for the trio to finish their business.

"We'll need somebody to organise the defence of the entrances of the passageways into the school!" Kingsley looked around at the people remaining in the Great Hall.

"Sounds like a job for us" Fred happily replied as he indicated himself and George, to which Kingsley immediately nodded in approval.

Fred and George went to their assigned spot along with their own group of younger students and some members of the Ministry. Both stood by the open area of one of the corridors, watching as everyone casted protective spells all over Hogwarts.

The scene would have been beautiful had the situation been different.

"Are you doing okay, Fred?" George asked to his twin in an attempt to lessen the tension.

"Yeah" he answered as his hand instinctively reached to grip his medallion. "Hey George?"

"Yes?"

"When this is all over, wanna come with me to meet a very important person?" Fred asked breathlessly, though never taking his eyes off from the sky. He could feel his brother watching him but made no move to look at him back.

"The one you've been visiting every night?"

Surprised by the question, Fred looked at him in shock as though wondering if he just heard him right. Then he chuckled and nodded. "I really can't get away with anything, can I?"

"Obviously. Avi, right?" George asked with an eyebrow raised to his shocked brother. "You tend to speak in your sleep when you're tired"

"Jeez, you already knew. Are you mad at me for hiding it?"

"Well, are you willing to let me meet her?"

Fred shrugged in response before answering. "I'm absolutely willing to. She is waiting for us back at home"

They both turned their attention back to the now half destroyed barrier that was protecting them. They nervously held their wands tightly and got ready to fight as the first Death Eaters came at them.

"Let's finish this as soon as possible then, Freddie. We can't make your girl wait too long, do we?"

"Yeah, I'd probably get beaten if I get home late" Fred joked as he directed a jinx to a Death Eater.

As the battle progressed curses and jinx flew in every directions with bright green and red illuminating the night. Numerous giants began attacking everything they could get their hands on and breaking walls after walls. Along with them arrived spiders from the Forbidden Forest, who began savagely attacking the school in every entrance and hole created by explosions and giants.

People were shouting curse after curses, some were crying for their fallen friend while others were shouting aggressively while fending off an enemy.

There were times when it was even hard to tell whether the person in front of you was a friend or a foe, due to the confusion created by the situation.

As Fred and George, now joined by Percy, fought with several Death Eaters, the trio came running on the opposite side of the corridor. Everything happened so fast that nobody was able to react immediately when an explosion shattered the wall behind Fred.

It was as if the time slowed down as he saw the rumbles fall on him. His first instinct was to immediately grasp the medallion around his neck, which had been hot for several minutes already, meaning that Avery had just tried to reach out to him, to check if he was alright.

He would never be able to read it though, nor would he be able to reply.

'Fuck, I guess I'll be late today, Avi' was what he thought as the wall collapse on him, not giving anyone the chance to even save him.

At their own home, Avery collapsed on the floor with her own medallion in hand. She sobbed and trembled as his last message faded away, almost as if it had never been sent.

The message read 'I love you' and she immediately knew that something didn't go as it should.

Suddenly, as the battle seemed to favour the Death Eaters, they stopped fighting upon being called by Voldermort. He had now given everyone an ultimatum of one hour to give Harry up to him and a possibility to collect their deads. As everyone gathered in the Great Hall, the damages caused by that short battle came crashing every single one of them. Dead bodies, one after another, were recovered and given to their loved ones to mourn.

Percy had now put the lifeless body of his brother amongst the others while the other members of their family came running to their side. Each and everyone mourned their fallen brother and son.

George came running not long after and was immediately beside Fred, a look of pure shock and pain was on his face. His mouth was open but no noise came out of it, just a silent cry for his partner in crime.

Ron was the last one to come along with Hermione and immediately threw himself onto his brother, praying whoever was out there that none of this was real.

"I'm sorry... It's my fault, all my fault" Percy managed to say between pained sobs. He held his eyes tightly close for fear of any retaliation but instead George hugged his brother, who shared his very own pain.

There was no need for words to express the pain they had.