May 2 1998

Silence seemed to extend for hours. Time itself had frozen in that one moment of victory. Nobody moved, even dared to breathe. Some were blinking their eyes rapidly; unsure whether it all was a dream or if they had, in fact, eradicated the most evil man from the face of the earth. Then, after a few moments of stillness, the world breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. The Dark Lord had been defeated.

Crowds of people began to descend towards Harry Potter to offer him congratulations and praise his bravery. The boy had certainly acted beyond his years and had proved himself far bolder than any of the congratulators. But instead of joining the growing masses to suffocate Harry with praise, Fleur's eyes scanned for a glimpse of long, red hair. Praising Harry could wait until she found her husband. She had to be certain that he was alive. Making headway into the castle, Fleur frantically searched for Bill. He couldn't be dead. Not her Guillaume. She saw a great deal of red hair in the midst of the survivors, but none belonged to Bill. It wasn't until she had reached the end of the cheering crowd that she spotted him. Relief coursed through her. He was alive. Practically beaming from ear to ear, Fleur raced towards her husband and threw herself at him.

"Guillaume!" she cried and she flung her arms around his neck. He braced himself from the impact of her hug and held her tightly. His hands stroked her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh, Fleur," he whispered in her ear, pulling her mouth to his. Their tears mixed together from the closeness of their embrace. It was not until they broke away that Fleur realised he was crying; and not from happiness.

"Qu'est-ce que c'est, ma cherie?" she asked, trailing her fingers lovingly along his cheek. Bill almost smiled. As terrible as his French was, he had heard his wife ask him this simple question many times and had come to understand its meaning. But the sorrow that was filling him stopped him speaking coherently. Fleur watched, heartbroken, as Bill opened and closed his mouth but remained silent.

A wail from Mrs Weasley caused Fleur to break away from Bill and rush to her mother-in-law's side. She was kneeling over the body of one of the twins, tears dripping off the end of her nose and onto the boy's sweater. Fleur looked between Bill and Mrs Weasley. So this was why Bill had been crying. She instantly felt guilty and her heart filled with grief. Before, she had been so happy that she and Bill had survived, but Bill didn't share in her happiness. His brother had been killed.

"Oh, Freddie," cried Mrs Weasley, hugging her dead son's body and sobbing into his chest. Mr Weasley knelt beside his distraught wife, and put a supportive arm around her. Fleur didn't know what to do, so she patted Mrs Weasley's back gently and murmured soothing words to her in French. Her low, throaty accent always seemed to soothe Bill when he was feeling anxious, particularly when thinking about Ron. Mrs Weasley gave Fleur a watery smile which she returned. It was the least she could do to support her family.

George sat on the other side of Fred, with a teary-eyed Angelina Johnson. He looked as pale as a ghost, his lower lip trembling and his eyes fixed on his twin's face. Ron came in soon after; Hermione gripped his hand tightly. His face was grim as he regarded the body of his brother, but there was no doubting the happiness in his eyes. He was relieved that it was finally over. After seven years of chaos and danger, it was finally over for him, Harry and Hermione. Fleur gave him a comforting smile as he took his place beside George.

"Mrs Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey said softly, approaching the mourning family. "We need to move Fred's body so we can tend to other patients on this cot."

Mrs Weasley almost glared at the matron, clinging to her son's body desperately.

"No!" she screamed. "You will not take me away from Fred. I will not leave my son! Not my Freddie!"

"Molly," whispered Mr Weasley. "We will see Fred later. But there are other injured people who need to be tended!"

Molly whimpered and collapsed into her husband's arms.

"Come on, dear," he said, lifting her into a standing position. "We can see Freddie later."

Fleur rose from her kneel and went to Bill's side. He rubbed her shoulder as Madam Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn came in and lifted Fred's body off the cot and carried him out of the Great Hall. A young girl was placed on his cot, her body limp and her eyes fluttering madly underneath her eyelids. Blood covered her body and there were large, Acromantular bites on her arms and legs. Bill turned Fleur away from the horrific sight and they ventured out into the grounds.

She tightened her grip around him; burrowing her head into his shoulder. For now, it was all she could do.