A/N: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER :)
PLEASE BE KIND
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CHAPTER ELEVEN - Farewell For Now, Freddie
She closed her eyes shut and prayed for the morning to come without any pain. Whether she was actually able to sleep or if she had been too numb from the pain to realise she was awake, she didn't know. When she opened her eyes again, she felt the pain coming back in full force as she noticed the weird feeling of being wet between her legs.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Groaning and huffing, Avery craned her neck upwards in hopes of seeing herself over the belly, but unfortunately she wasn't successful.
"Georgie! Where are you?" Avery yelled from her room, previously own by Fred, as she tried to get up on her own from the bed. She huffed tiredly on her side and waited for his arrival, which never happened. "Out of all nights, this bitch actually chose today to be deaf" she mumbled with her hand wrapped around the medallion.
Just as she expected, it didn't take long before George finally appeared from the doorway, his pyjamas half hanging from his shoulders and his hair sticking out in every direction.
"What's wrong!? " he asked in panic, seemingly as equally tired as she was.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and both hands held high. "Did you have a fight with your bed or something?" she asked followed by a groan of pain.
Upon hearing her cries of pain, George was immediately next to her and was now carefully helping her up. As soon as the covers were off her body, he noticed the wet stain on the bed along with blood.
"Y-you're bleeding! Avi, wh-... You're bleeding!" he somehow managed to say through his panic, making her roll her eyes.
"George, I think I'm in labor" she slowly told him with gritted teeth, a creepy smile was on her face as though she was barely stopping herself from hitting him.
"It's too early for that!"
With even less patience than before, Avery took him by the collar of his pyjamas and growled at his face. "Well the baby doesn't think so! Get Molly now!"
"R-right... I'll get mom, yeah..." he breathlessly said as though in a daze. He turned left and right before finally apparating away.
Avery shook his head while looking at the spot he had just apparated from. "He better not get splinched, Fred" she mumbled under her breath, both of her hands were now on her belly trying to soothe it with caresses. She looked at the blood stained sheets on her bed with a sigh. "Baby, this ain't going to be an easy birth, isn't it?"
She slowly leaned against the headboard of the bed, waiting for George to come back, though she didn't have to wait long. George had now apparated back into the flat along with his parents and a midwife.
"Oh Avery, how are you feeling, dear?" Mrs. Weasley immediately ask while sitting next to her.
"It hurts like a bitch" she answered, trying to lighten the mood. Avery could feel tears in her eyes as the pain came back again sooner than before.
George turned towards the midwife. "What's wrong with her?" he asked as his voice broke, revealing all his fear and vulnerability.
The midwife approached the pained woman at the foot of the bed and raised her wand over her. She muttered a spell as the tip of her wand gave a bright light. "... How did she get to this point? She's about to give birth!"
"But isn't it too early? She's barely 8 months!" Mrs. Weasley asked nervously.
"Unfortunately, early births are very common for women with delicate pregnancy, especially someone who had been through a very traumatic event" the midwife explained with a sigh. "From what I can see, she should be ready to push in a few minutes. We need to a lot of things, Mr. Weasley"
George didn't react to the midwife's words. He just sat there next to Avery, looking at her as she gave out groans of pain and shallow breaths. Mrs. Weasley went to grab him by his shoulders, finally managing to wake him up from his daze.
"George, come on now. She's going to be alright" she reassured her son, though she herself was doubtful of her own words. "Right, Arthur?"
Mr. Weasley nodded and firmly grasped his son's shoulders. "Come on, George. Let's get everything they need and wait outside"
They waited for him to stand up but instead he merely shook his head. "I'm not waiting outside..." he said, then looked back at Avery, who became fed up of his weird behavior. She took him by the collar of his shirt for the second times that day and began shouting.
"You motherfucker will now listen to your mother and help get ready to get this child out of me, right now! If I see you looking like a lost puppy again, I'm going to choke you to death!" George looked at the fuming woman and gulped. He nodded slowly before finally standing up and helping his parents out.
" Sh-she's going to be okay, right mom?" he asked as he gathered the towels with shaking hands. Mrs. Weasley help the basin full of warm water and headed back to the room.
Mrs. Weasley looked at his son with a sad face. She was holding the basin so tight her knuckles were turning white. "Avery is a strong woman, so-"
Justs as she was speaking, the midwife came urgently while trying her best to be professional. "I can see the head, we have to start"
George, along with his parents, hurriedly went back to the room where a very pale looking Avery was lying down. She was now covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He gave the towels to his mother absentmindedly and didn't hesitate to sit next to her, holding her hand in his trembling ones.
Avery noticed the worry on his face and chuckled through the pain. "You still wanna choke your twin in heaven? Coz right now I sure do!" she joked, successfully making him grin.
"He can't die in heaven, Avi" he replied tiredly.
"More reason to do it, he gotta suffer like I have been in the past few hours" as she said that, another wave of pain hit her.
"Okay, Mrs. Weasley. It's time to push, okay? Push as hard as you can!" the midwife told her, positioning herself at the foot of the bed. She was now wearing gloves and peeking through the blanket covering Avery's lower body. "You can do it, come on"
George nervously licked his lips as he witnessed the amount of pain and struggle Avery was going through with every push. Just imagining that one day his own wife would've to go through that was horrifying and almost life changing.
He almost wondered how his mother was able to keep up with seven children and felt immense regret for making her go through a lot of things, despite the pain she endured.
"You're doing good, dear. Just a bit more, the baby is almost out" Mrs. Weasley encouraged Avery with a towel ready in her hands right next to the midwife.
Avery let out one last push and soon the cries of a baby began echoing through the room. Through her blurry eyes, she looked over at her mother in law, now gingerly holding a small bundle of joy next to her husband, who had entered the room again. Mrs. Weasley held the baby close to her and George, both finally seeing the very much small infant with a tuft of ginger hair on his head.
"You've done well, Avery. It's a healthy baby boy, dear"
"He's so small..." Avery cried tears of joy upon seeing her baby as he reminded her of her beloved Fred. "He looks like him..."
"Yeah…" George took her baby from his mother and held him close to his chest. He could feel his heart breaking at the idea that his brother would never be able to hold him like that. "Good job, Avi" he whispered to her, leaning to give her a kiss on the forehead.
Avery could feel all the pain and relief flooding her chest as she held her hand close to her baby, who by instinct took her index finger in his small ones. She could feel her body beginning to relax despite the pain and her eyes fighting to stay open. Her breathing began to slow down, though she was smiling just as her hand fell limp on the bed, leaving everyone in the room shocked.
"Avery?" George called her tentatively, looking back at her with quickened breaths while giving her baby back to his mother. He was starting to panic when she didn't respond and instead stayed limp on the bed, with the ghost of a smile etched on her face. "No, no... Avery, wake up… Love?"
The midwife hurriedly approached George and began pushing him away. "You have to leave" she struggled as he fought his way back to Avery.
"I am not leaving!" he protested strongly, managing to free himself from her and going back to Avery. He put his hands on both her cheeks and gently, tucked her hair away from her face.
When nobody of the Weasleys left the room as she had requested, she began raising her voice. "Mr. Weasley, if you want me to help her, each of you has to leave now!" she urged them firmly, once again tugging George away from Avery.
"I'm not leaving Avery, no..." George shook his head adamantly as his father now took it upon himself to force him out of the door followed by Mrs. Weasley with the baby. "Dad, she needs me! I-I have to be with her... What's wrong with her!?"
"Son, we need to let the midwife take care of her" his father replied and, after hesitating for a second, he sighed. "Avery has lost a lot of blood, she needs assistance right now. We have to wait"
"But she's going to be okay, right?" George's voice broke as he asked his parents, who lowered their heads to avoid his eyes. "Right!? She's strong, she needs to be okay! She's... She's the very last thing Fred left behind, she can't... No no no"
Instead of answering him, Mr. Weasley wrapped him arms around his son to console him. He looked at his wife, who also had a very worried look on her face. The baby was still letting out soft cries for a mother who was now in danger of dying.
Avery could feel her heart slower down as she looked around an empty room. Everything was black, there was no way to know where she was going. She just continued to walk ahead, hoping to soon see a hint of light somewhere. As her heart beat became fainter and fainter, the room began to lighten up until it was now completely white.
The feeling of her heart beating was now gone.
She didn't understand where she was, though she could feel her lack of clothing. Her hands automatically reached for her belly only to see it flat once again. Her preciously huge belly was now gone and soon the memory of her baby came into her mind.
"Am I dead?" she asked herself breathlessly. She didn't know whether to be happy at the possibility of seeing Fred again, or upset at the thought of her baby growing up without neither his father nor his mother.
"Supposedly yes" a voice came from behind her.
Avery froze in the spot. She could recognize that voice anywhere no matter how long ago she had last heard it. Her hands began to tremble in anticipation but didn't dare look back only to be disappointed.
Soon she felt a presence right behind her and a familiar scent invaded her senses.
"Aren't you going to look at me, Avi?" he whispered to her.
There were no mistakes this time. It was for sure him.
Avery quickly turned around, this time without any hesitation and just as expected, there he was smirking at her just like the very first time he visited her at her house.
Fred's arms were wide open towards her.
"Can I have the biggest hug I've ever had?" he asked her just like that time he left her to fight.
"Asking for a hug and then what? Are you going to leave me again?" her voice broke as she asked. She wanted to hug him but she feared that if she did, he'd leave again.
"I never left, Avery" he calmly responded. "I've always been with you, love. Here, always" he pointed at her heart.
She looked up at his smirking face, unchanged and as handsome as she could remember. Throwing away all the hesitation she had, Avery shortened the distance between them and hugged him just like the last time she had seen him. "I miss you, Fred..."
"I miss you too, love. Thank you for not giving up" he soothed her with loving caresses on her back, hugging her tighter as the pain of being separated from her came surfacing again. "Thank you..."
They stayed in that position for as long as they could and nobody said a word. It wasn't necessary anymore. Just the mere presence of each other was enough to lighten the pain in their hearts.
"How's Gideon?" he suddenly asked while playing with her hair. "Is he as handsome as me?"
Avery looked at him confused, before finally realising who he was talking about. "Gideon? Did you just give him a name without consulting me?" she asked after pulling away from him, though still in his arms.
"Gideon George Weasley. It's not that bad, right?" he raised an eyebrow in deep thought. "You know, your grandfather's name was Gideon and I am also a Gideon, then George is basically your guardian now so..."
She laughed at his reasoning, then shook her head and went back to hugging him. "No, it's perfect"
"Then it's decided. When you go back, give him the name as my gift for him. Apologise in my behalf as well for being unable to be there"
Upon hearing his words, Avery sobered up from her momentary happiness and looked back up at Fred with a pained look. "When I go... Back? I-I' m not staying with you...?"
Fred's smile broke as she began tearing up. It pained him as well but he knew it was for the best. "Avery, it's not your time yet"
"But... B-But I want to stay with you, Fred! I don't want to leave you behind..." she sobbed while shaking her head adamantly. "Come back with me... I just want to stay with you"
"I can't come back, love. My time is over but yours' isn't. George will break if you leave too and what about Gideon?"
"But I'm breaking apart without you... What will I do without you?" she breathlessly demanded a question she knew he didn't have an answer for.
"I'll be waiting for you here. I promise and this time I won't break my promise. Gideon and George still need you, love. We can't leave them behind"
Avery knew that Fred was right all along but the idea of living a life without him was too agonising. "When will I see you again?"
He smiled at her and slowly lowered himself to give her one sweet kiss. "It won't be long, love. Live your life, stay with Gideon and I'll be here waiting for you" he caressed her cheek nostalgically and lovingly, showing how much he missed her. "You have to go now. George is literally about to tear apart the room and Gideon is crying"
"How am I going to live with two babies now?" she joked heartbrokenly, making him laugh.
"Please tell them I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly"
They hugged each other once more as the sound of heart beat began echoing in her ears once again and the room darkened once again. Fred was slowly disappearing from her arms. She shook her head and cried for him until finally he was gone once again.
When she opened her eyes, the room was in complete disarray. She focused her blurry eyes at the figure of someone fighting against three people. She blinked a few times and soon realise that it was George trying to get free from his parents and his brother Bill, who came not longer after Gideon's birth. Fleur was on the other side of the room near the entrance with the midwife and Hermione. She was holding her baby in a soft towel and trying to calm him down while the midwife checked on him.
Percy was also in the room, sitting on a chair with his face concealed behind his hand. His shoulders shook as Ron comforted him while Ginny was hugging Harry.
"Georgie... You're so fucking noisy, the baby will become deaf" Avery complained. She was initially ignored but, as her words were processed by everyone, they all stopped what they were doing to look back at her.
George, who had been wrecking havoc up until now, rushed towards her followed by the midwife, who began checking up on her.
"Avi... You..." he broke and cried as he held her hand tightly. The fear of losing someone else precious was agonising, even more if that person was someone his twin loved dearly. "I thought you were gone as well..."
She chuckled humorlessly while staring at the ceiling. "I thought so too..."
"Avery dear, how are you feeling?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a damp towel in hand, carefully cleaning her face from all the sweat.
"Sore but overall relieved"
Every Weasley was around her bed, looking anxious and surprised as if she could just disappear out of the blue. Fleur approached her and carefully lowered her baby next to her on the bed.
"'e was a very good boy" she happily said before returning next to her husband.
Avery hugged her sleeping baby as she thought about her encounter with Fred. "Gideon George Weasley" she whispered against his forehead. "Fred wanted to name him this"
"Fred…?" George asked.
"I saw him George" she revealed, making his family emotional. "He wanted to apologise for leaving so suddenly"
