Chapter 55: Sweet Fred
When Zoey and the rest fled outside the tent the sight in front of her was truly shocking: tents were burning and people were running around in fear trying to find a safe place. Tall hooded figured with masks walked down with their wands held out and their drunken laughter distinguished over the terrified screams and yells of different witched and wizards. Zoey felt her stomach churn when she heard a panicked witch screaming for her child. Zoey felt herself jump when she heard sounds like gunfire and more tents catching fire. She quickly brought her hand to her mouth and nose in order to not breathe in the smoke. The hooded figured multiplied and waved their wands in the air once more. Zoey's eyes widened in horror when she saw the scared witches and wizards float to the air and spin. The hooded figures roar of laughter echoed once more while they lifted more innocent people to the sky for their own entertainment.
Zoey felt herself frozen with fear when she saw the masks covering the faces of the hooded figures. Another tent was blasted out of the way. She shook her head and looked towards her peers; they were all staring at the scene. "That's sick," she heard Ron say to Harry and she could not help but agree.
"You lot – head to the woods and stick together. I'll come fetch you when this is over," Mr. Weasley shouted over the noise before joining the elder Weasleys in helping everyone out.
When Mr. Weasley gave his order everyone seemed to come to their senses. "C'mon," Fred said as he grabbed hold onto Ginny while George took Echo's hand. Fred looked back at her but a crowd of screaming witches and wizards came between them. When they were finally gone Fred and the others were already taken by another crowd and were heading to the woods. Zoey felt her heart thump against her chest. It was impossible to stick together in the chaos. There was another gunfire sound that echoes through the night sky.
This is what Bridgit warned me, She worriedly thought to herself, Why didn't I warn Mr. Weasley? I'm so stupid!
"Zoey!" Hermione's scared tone woke Zoey from her thought and she felt a tug on her arm, it was Ron.
"We have to get out of here," Harry's voice came from beside her.
Zoey looked at him and nodded her head. She grabbed hold of his hand and she saw Ron take Hermione's as well. They began to make their way to the woods in hopes to find the others. Zoey held her breath and ran with the others to the woods. Several times they bumped into other panicked witches and wizards but it didn't seem all too bad, considering the circumstances, since they didn't lose hand but one particularly large wizard had ran by them and pushed Zoey so hard she fell back and lost her hold with Ron. She fell to the ground with Harry and groaned in pain when she hit her head.
"Ow," Zoey groaned in pain and saw stars together with flames dancing before her eyes. The sounds of screams seemed to amplify with every passing second. The echo of hers and Harry's name drifted with the wind making Zoey shoot up and look around. Ron and Hermione were gone too. It was just her and Harry. She looked down at the Boy-who-lived and shook him.
"Harry, please wake up," she begged when he didn't stir after the first few seconds of shaking him, "Harry!" she tried with a firmer tone, "Wake up!"
"Zoey?" Harry said groggily. He blinked a couple of times before shooting up and looking around, "Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"I don't know, Harry. I'm guessing they're in the forest by now and listen, we have to get there too," She got to her feet and took Harry up. "Let's go!"
Harry nodded his head and grabbed hold of Zoey and they began to run to the woods. There weren't that many witches and wizards running around anymore. Most of them were in the woods or in another safe place while some of them were still floating in the sky begging for help from the Ministry wizards like Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory or from the other wizards who are risking their lives to help. This was both good and bad. Good because Harry and Zoey could now move freely, bad because they were in clear sight to any of the hooded figures who were still lurking around.
"Hurry yup," Harry told Zoey in a quiet yet urgent tone and began to pull her towards the woods.
They were just about a few more feet, or a hundred, away from the woods until something exploded in front of them blocking their way. "Over here!" Zoey called over to Harry and dragged him to another direction, which was a bad idea because they ended up coming across one of the hooded figures. Zoey pushed Harry down and they hid behind one of the tents that were still in one piece. Blaming their curiosity, they took a look at the hooded figure and saw that he was not alone. He was talking to someone.
Zoey's eye widened.
"Is that Bridgit?" Harry whispered to Zoey. Zoey quickly pressed her fingers to her lips to tell Harry to be quiet. The hooded figure looked around and Zoey held her breath in hopes that he won't find them. The hooded figure looked back at Bridgit sensing that no one was watching, though it was not true, and caressed her cheek. Zoey saw the disgusted look in Bridgit's eyes.
"So what's a young death eater like you doing here?" the hooded figure, now revealed as a Death Eater, asked with a hoarse tone before slapping Bridgit's face with little force but still made a sound.
Zoey winced and looked at Harry.
"What's a Death Eater?" Harry asked her. Zoey took his hand and dragged him away from the scene
"A Death Eater?" Zoey nervously asked as she tried her best to lead Harry to the Forest. She stumbled over a stone but caught her balance.
Harry nodded and avoided the stone Zoey stumbled on. "That man called Bridgit one," he paused, "Why's Bridgit even associated with him?" he stopped walking, "We should help her! That man is dangerous!"
"No, she'll be fine. Let's go find the others," Zoey pulled Harry.
"What's a Death Eater then?" Harry asked.
"A Death Eater…well," Zoey paused and avoided a tree, they were finally in the woods all that's left is to find their friends, "A Death Eater is a follower of… Voldemort – Ah!" she lost her balance a bit when Harry stopped walking. She held on to his hand and looked back at him. He, in turn, stared at her with wide eyes.
"A follower…. A follower of Voldemort?" Harry asked, his tone rising.
"Harry, please, inside voice," Zoey took a step back and fell to the ground.
"We aren't even inside!" Harry bellowed, "So she's a follower of him?"
"Harry –"
"She's been in cahoots with him all along?" Harry asked with anger in his voice. He opened his mouth to continue but stopped when he heard voices calling his name. He and Zoey swiftly turned to the source of the voices and saw Hermione and Ron making their way towards them. At the sight, Hermione ran to hug Harry while Ron helped Zoey to her feet, Hermione hugged her as well.
"We were so worried!" She said, releasing Zoey from the hug. Zoey stumbled a bit and Ron caught her.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"No, I think I sprained my ankle," Zoey said, "I've been tripping a lot over these stones and my own two feet"
"Come on then," Hermione tugged Harry's sleeve while Ron supported Zoey, "the other's are on the other side."
Zoey nodded her head and urged Hermione to lead the way. The steps they took were bumpy and Zoey was glad that even though she was taller than Ron, she was also lighter so it was easier for him to support her that and Harry decide to put aside his anger and help her. As they were walking Zoey's ankle began to throb once more. She yelped in pain.
"Okay, this isn't going to work," Ron said stopping and placing Zoey down on a smooth rock. Zoey apologized and rubbed her sore ankle.
"Why don't we get the others and bring them here?" Hermione suggested.
"That'll be a good idea," Zoey said with a nod of her head, "I'll just stay here"
"Would you want anyone to stay with you?" Harry asked
Zoey shook her head. "Nope, it's fine just –"
"Zoey?"
The Golden Trio and the Emeraude looked towards the source of the voice and saw Cedric approach them. His face was slightly dirty, most likely from the smoke and fire, but he still looked recognizable. He approached them and knelt down to check on Zoey.
"Are you alright?" he asked
"See, Cedric will keep me company," Zoey said with a smile trying to lighten up the mood, "Just go, I'll be fine"
The Golden Trio didn't look convince but agreed to her wishes. They each gave her a comforting pat before going further into the woods. Zoey mutely watch them leave until they were out of sight. When they were finally gone she turned back to Cedric and saw that he was looking her over. "You're injured," he pointed out the obvious.
Zoey nodded her head, "Yeah, it's my ankle. It's either twisted or broken. Maybe even strained," she said.
"I thought you wanted to be a Healer? Shouldn't you know the difference?" Cedric joked, bringing out his wand.
"Well, I'm still in training and I'll be healing other people and – Whoa! What are you doing?" Zoey looked at Cedric with wide eyes.
"I'm going to heal your ankle," Cedric raised an eyebrow, "You know, so it won't hurt?"
"I know what it an injured body part feels like after it's been healed but you can't do that!" Zoey furrowed her eyebrows.
Cedric sighed. "And why not? It's perfectly simple if you know what to do"
"I know that, but you're going to get in trouble! No under aged magic –"
"I'm not under age, Zoey," Cedric chuckled.
"Really?" Zoey looked dumbfounded, "Did you fail a grade?"
Cedric laughed. "No, I was just – look, now is not the right time to explain these things. Would you just let me heal your ankle? I promise, if I get a letter from the Ministry mentioning under age magic I'll buy you anything you want on our first Hogsmeade trip"
Zoey pouted a bit and considered his offer. After a minute or two she complied. "Fine," she said, "but I can get anything I want"
"Anything," Cedric nodded and brought his wand to her ankle
"Oh, I can't watch," Zoey covered her eyes and waited for a sign of her healed ankle. She waited about five seconds until she heard a soft crack and a soothing feeling in her ankle. She peaked through her fingers and peered down. She moved her foot in circles and slowly stood up and hopped a bit. She then looked at Cedric and smiled.
"Thanks, Cedric," she hugged him. At that moment there were footsteps that suddenly stopped.
"Oh, seems like I'm interrupting something," she heard a familiar voice say.
Zoey released Cedric and saw Fred standing a few feet away from her, he was glaring. She stepped back a bit, surprised by his look and looked at Cedric who kept a neutral expression as he looked at Fred. Zoey bit her lip, not sure as to what to say. She decided that Fred and Cedric should not be together right now and tugged Cedric's sleeve. "Hey," she began, "Thanks for the help, but I have to get back with the Weasleys"
Cedric looked down at Zoey and smiled, "Sure, no problem," he gave her a once armed hug before pushing her gently towards Fred. Zoey gave him a small wave before running up to Fred.
Fred's glare looked like it was permanently on his face but it soon disappeared the moment Zoey touched his arm. He looked down at her and offered a smile which she returned.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," she returned. She looked around, "Where are the others?"
"On the other side," Fred jabbed his thumb behind him before holding on to Zoey's hand, "We should go or they'll get worried"
Zoey smiled and nodded her head. They walked without talking to each other, just painfully listening to the aftermath of the attack. Zoey bit her lip as she listened to the relieved cries of family and friends when they were finally able to reunite. She listened to wizards and witches shouting spell after spell trying to save those who were still out there and also trying to put out fires and return everything to its once safe place. It had seemed like the death eaters had left but there was a frightening explosion that made Zoey feel like there was still one or two more out there. She felt Fred squeeze her hand and she looked up at him. He; however, was not looking at her. Fred was looking up at the sky.
Zoey looked up at the sky as well and she felt her eyes widening in fear. Up in the sky was a gigantic skull that looked like it was made out of green stars. Its mouth was open and it had a snake slithering out like a tongue. Zoey felt her heart stop.
"Oh my," she breathed out and felt Fred tug on her arm.
"Let's go to the others," he said, "quick!"
It was once again early morning and Zoey and the others were completely exhausted. Not too long ago they had taken the Portkey back to Ottery St. Catchpole and were now making their way to the Burrow. She listened to the numerous yawns coming from her peers and she watched as Echo's head began to bob a bit from trying to fight of sleep. She struggled to keep her eyes wide open as to not trip, fall and in doubt fall asleep on the slightly damp ground. Zoey was tired but she would not be happy waking up with bugs and worms crawling over her body.
When the Burrow was coming into view, Zoey felt her stomach rumble with excitement because even though she was sleep deprived and stressed she was also hungry. There was a cry that echoed along the lane.
Zoey squinted her eyes a bit, her glasses were astray on her face, and saw Mrs. Weasley who was still wearing her bedroom slippers running towards them. She was white in the face, stressed, worried and had a rolled up Daily Prophet news paper in her hand.
"Oh thank goodness!" Mrs. Weasley said the moment she reached them. She wrapped her arms around her husband, "Oh, Arthur, I've been so worried!" She dropped the newspaper to the floor and Zoey saw Harry look down at it. She looked back at Mrs. Weasley and saw that she had released Mr. Weasley and hugged the twins next. Zoey's eyes widened in slight surprise and amusement. The twin's heads banged together from the strength of the hug. At this, Zoey let out a small laugh. It was just like the first time she saw them.
"Ouch, Mum – you're strangling us –"
Zoey wore a soft smile as she listened to Mrs. Weasley rant about how worried she was; telling them how terrible she felt that the last thing she said to them was how disappointed she was with their OWL results. How she would never forgive herself if You-Know-Who got to them and that was their last memory of her. Zoey's smile began to falter. What was her last memory of her mum? What washer mum's last memory of her? What was the last thing her mum told her and vice versa? She couldn't remember. It was all very vague and blurry now. Zoey felt her already stressed out self get mixed up with a slight depression.
She shook her head a bit and watched as Mr. Weasley soothingly pried his wife of the twins and ushered her to the house. She looked back and saw Bill pick up the newspaper before following his parents. Zoey fixed her position a bit and trudged towards the house as well.
The moment she entered the Burrow she did not remember getting a bite of Breakfast or even changing out of her clothes. All she could remember was dropping her things at the foot of the spare bed in Ginny's room and collapsing on it and closing her eyes. The next thing she knew she was opening it to see Echo, Ginny and Hermione asleep on their own beds, their clothes fresh and their hair and skin clean from any dirt they got from yesterday. Zoey looked down at herself and the bed and made a face. She quickly got off the bed, got a new set of clothes and tiptoed out of the room.
"Hey"
Zoey felt herself jump a bit and conceal a scream. She stiffly looked towards the source of the voice and calmed down a bit when she saw that it was only Fred. She greeted him back.
"So, you okay? You didn't have breakfast," Fred said, approaching her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just pretty tired as all and I smell of – err – burnt tent," Zoey said sheepishly.
Fred gave a chuckle, "Come on, you don't smell that bad"
Zoe rolled her eyes. "Getting off the topic of my current scent – no, Fred, off the topic – I just wanted to thank you for coming to get me, you know from the woods."
"It's no problem. I mean, I only spent a few hours or so but I got to explore a bit," Fred rubbed the back of his neck
"A few hours?" Zoey asked with wide eyes, "Harry and the others only left a few minutes before you came."
"What are you talking about?" Fred raised an eyebrow.
"Harry, Hermione and Ron. Didn't they tell you where I was?" Zoey asked.
"No, they were in the woods. No one came to us. It was just George, Echo, Ginny and I," Fred slowly said.
Zoey blinked several times before asking: "So, how did you find me?"
"Well, it wasn't easy. The woods are so big, you see. The moment we settled down at a spot I just told them I'll look for you and the other and in an hour or two, I found you with Diggory," Fred explained, not looking at her.
Zoey felt a blush crawl on her cheeks. Fred had been looking for her from the beginning. She swallowed a bit and walked closer to him. She touched his cheek, making him look at her and kissed his cheek. She smiled sheepishly at him. "Thanks, Fred," her blush deepened, "That's really sweet of you"
She bit her lip and turned to enter the bathroom. She awkwardly waved at him before closing the door with a click. She heard a muffled cheer and a drum against a wall before skipping footsteps.
"Oh, good morning Zoey dear," Mrs. Weasley greeted the Emeraude as she entered the kitchen. Zoey let the towel hang on her shoulders as to not get her clothes wet from her hair. She sat down on one of the chairs and smiled.
"Is it still morning, Mrs. Weasley?" Zoey chuckled and watched Mrs. Weasley point her wand at one of the pans making it flip the food in it.
Mrs. Weasley gave a laugh. "No, it's almost lunch time," she paused to wave her wand at some pots, "but doesn't it feel nice to hear a 'Good Morning' after you wake up?"
"Well, I have to agree with you there," Zoey grinned.
Mrs. Weasley smiled in return and placed her wand on the table. Zoey gave her a curious look and felt Mrs. Weasley's hands on her bringing her up from the chair. "Come along dear," she said to her and brought her out from the kitchen and into the living room. There, she told Zoey to sit down and went away to fetch something. Mrs. Weasley came back with her arms filled with books and a rather large box. Zoey's eyes widened when she laid them out on the table.
"Well, while you and the others were gone I took it upon myself to shop for your school things," Mrs. Weasley said once all the things were fixed on the table. Zoey picked up one of her school books.
"That's sp nice of you, Mrs. Weasley, thank you," Zoey said with a smile a daughter would give to her own mother.
"Oh, it's nothing, dear. I was happy to do it," Mrs. Weasley smiled, "But what I was excited about is this one right here," she patted the box.
Zoey raised an eyebrow, "What's in there?"
"Well, it was requested in your Hogwarts letter," Mrs. Weasley said and began to open the box, "I already showed Ginny's, Echo's and Hermione's this morning and they loved it. So now, it's just yours to show"
"Show? What exactly is – whoa," Zoey's eyes widened at the sight.
"Do you like it? I thought it would go amazing with your height, eyes, hair everything. Also, it's your house's color," Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly and refolded it and carefully placed it back in the box.
"It's so beautiful," Zoey said as she looked at the box.
"It is, isn't it? The shoes are the only problem but you have enough time to think about it," Mrs. Weasley tidied up the school things, "Now, let's get back to the kitchen ad fill that stomach of yours."
Zoey shook herself out of her daze. "It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I'll wait for lunch and the others"
"Oh no you don't," Mrs. Weasley gave her a stern look, "You missed breakfast and you're skinny enough as it is. Come on, I made your favorites"
"Are there tomatoes?" Zoey felt herself giving in.
"Of course there is," Mrs. Weasley smiled.
"I guess I am a little hungry, come to think of it," Zoey grinned and followed Mrs. Weasley back to the kitchen.
And we have another update!
yey!
Sorry if it's rather short. But I had to sum everything up before the train back to Hogwarts so please bear with me.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter
and I like to thank you all for your reviews and the like they are all much appreciated.
Also, well just a thought. I don't know if you all do it but I find it enjoyable to read stories when the page is 1/2. It's just me since it makes them look longer but it's all up to you :P
Anyway, hmm... once again I find that my thoughts are coming to a blank. What was I going to say? Hmm...
Luxord's Xigbar: Yes, I do like Naruto :) The Anime, well nothing wrong with Naruto himself... err.. Okay, I know Naruto and I enjoy watching it. A little more info on it my favorite Male character is Gaara while Female is Hinata :P How about you?
Razbash: Hello, I'm sorry but when you said "The George/Zoey moment in the previous chapter was actually what I was going to ask about. " Can you please explain that to me cause I don't really understand it. Thank you :)
And now for my final words
I hope you enjoyed the chapter
Stay tuned for the next one
and
I only own what i own
