Chapter 19
George had never felt so guilty. As he sat with his daughter on his knee, he stroked her hair silently, hoping desperately he'd be forgiven. Fred and Mrs Weasley were talking in hushed voices in the kitchen so George couldn't hear any of their conversation except some occasional undistinguishable mumbling. He held his daughter close to him, taking in everything about her, trying desperately to remember every part of her.
George couldn't deny that he felt like the worst father ever. Not only had he forgotten both his children but also his wife. The last twenty years of his life had blurred into nothing! He'd never felt so alien in his life. It had suddenly been twenty years earlier, and George hadn't married or had kids. In his mind, he and Fred were successfully running their business together; Fred hadn't died, for all he knew, the final Battle of Hogwarts hadn't even occurred.
After about half an hour, George pried himself away from his daughter and headed into the kitchen to join his brother and mum. The two had ended their conversation and were merely sitting at the table sipping tea when George entered.
"Urgh," George moaned, sitting down heavily next to Fred.
"What's up?" Fred asked, looking up at his brother.
"You're joking!"
"Erm, I'm not. Why would I be?"
"Fred, stop messing on!" George sighed, "It's not funny, this is serious."
"Yeah, very serious," Fred agreed awkwardly, "This, this current situation, which I totally understand by the way, is, of course, deadly serious."
George stared at his twin, mouth open in shock, "You really don't know what I'm talking about."
Fred coughed and rubbed the back of his neck, "No."
George leapt to his feet and stormed into the living room, leading Fred by his arm. He walked over to his daughter, grabbed her arm too and disapperated.
Professor McGonagall hadn't yet returned from St. Mungo's, and with every day that passed, there was another teacher who entered the dining hall at breakfast and left pale-faced and confused.
"I don't get it!" Molly sighed one evening in the common room, "Professor Flitwick called me Ginny at least ten times just today! Fred told me earlier that in the space of one day, he'd been called George, Percy, Ron, Charlie and Bill!"
"Honestly, next thing we know, the teacher's will be sending James off to fight Death Eaters," Matt said, briefly glancing up from his homework.
"Professor Longbottom sat at the Gryffindor table at dinner, he sat there happily munching his food until a student asked him what he was doing."
Molly laughed, "What did he do then?"
"Turned bright red and shuffled back to the staff table, mumbling awkwardly about how he wanted to remind his students about their homework," Rosie laughed with her friend.
Matt, however, looked up again, his face grave. "That's not funny, though," he said, "Something… something not right is clearly going on. The teachers are going crazy!"
"They're forgetting we even exist!"
Just then, the portrait swung open and Steph marched in, an amused look on her face. She was being closely followed by Jake who wore a desperate yet impressed expression. Molly eyed the two. 'I'm messing with him,' Steph mouthed with a wink. 'I love this girl' Jake mouthed with a grin.
Molly laughed, "What's up, Steph?"
"Professor Weasley wants you and your cousin, Fred," Steph replied, "She says it's urgent. Fred's already on his way."
"Ok," Molly said slowly, climbing to her feet, "Any idea what it's about?"
"Not a clue, sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Thanks, Steph. I'll see you guys later."
As Molly approached her auntie's office, familiar voices began to ring into her ears.
"I don't see how bringing random students here is proving anything, George!" one shouted.
"Will you just listen to me?" The other shouted back, "Fred, you're acting crazy!"
"I'm acting crazy?" the first yelled, "You're the one who dragged me here for literally no reason!"
"He really has forgotten!" A third voice said in complete shock, "This is exactly what happened with Minerva!"
Molly knocked gently on the office door and all conversation stopped.
"That'll be Molly!" relief seemed to conquer the exhaustion in his voice, "You'll see now, Fred, you'll remember Molly!"
"Come in!" Angelina's voice called through the door.
Molly pushed the door open. It squeaked slightly then stopped to let Molly enter. She looked around the room. Angelina sat behind the desk, her hair messy as though she'd been rubbing her hands through it. Next to her stood Roxanne and Fred jnr, looking across the room in horror. And finally, behind the door, stood Molly's father and uncle, glaring at each other, mid-argument.