Chapter 59 – The Ministry Has Fallen
GN
The ceremony was beautiful, and the party was now in full swing. I nearly cackled when I saw Harry's disguise, the red curly hair. But now I was pouting, I knew I was. Everyone in front of me was dancing, and I was stuck to a damn chair. Cedric was twirling Molly around and Bash and Charlie were dancing in the corner. I sighed as I turned the glass of water in my hand. I'm stuck on a chair, drinking water because of the pain potions, and watching everyone dance and laugh around me.
"Why so gloomy?" I looked up to see George as he lowered himself on the chair next to me.
"I think you know." I let my glass drop on the table with a thumb. "I'm bored." A whine broke out, and George chuckled.
"Well, I think your strong enough for a dance, if you'll have me." He gave me one of his charming lopsided smiles like he used to as he held out his hand. I smiled as I let my hand fall in his. He pulled me up slowly, his eyes searched for any sign of pain. "You good?"
"Yeah." I chuckled. "I'm not a porcelain doll, George."
He squeezed my hand as his eyes traced my face. "Let's dance then, but -"
"If it gets too much, I'll let you know." I offered him a smile and we walked over to the dance floor.
One hand on the small of my back, the other in my hand as we slowly danced. Moving slower than the beat of the music, but I didn't mind. I could feel a little tinge of pain already and masked it so no one would notice.
"Tell me if it's too hard, you're already getting some worried glances." George whispered. I looked around the tent, and just like George said, people were looking at us with a worried look. Charlie and Bash were still dancing, but they glanced my way almost every other second. Bill and Fleur who had taken a seat at their table were looking at us with a worried frown. Then there is Cedric, he was leaning against the tent as he twirled his wand between his fingers, his eyes full of fear. My gaze was so fixed on my husband, I didn't see George signalling him.
"Huh." I said as I looked back at the ginger, who turned back to look at me. His ear still bandaged up. "We're curse buddies now."
"You know... that wasn't really a thing I wanted to have in common with you." He chuckled dryly.
"No, I guess you're right." I pursed my lips. "But here we are." I said with a shrug. "Does it hurt?" I asked as I glanced at the bandaged side of his head.
"No." He shook his head. "But it's completely gone, and I'm not sure I'm ready to see the gaping hole every day."
"You'll learn to live with it. You're still as handsome as before, and besides you're one of the famous Weasley twins, you could find a way to replace it."
"Hm." George hummed as he thought it over. "Maybe, but for now, there is someone who, finally, wants to dance with you."
George stepped aside, letting my hand go as Cedric stepped up next to him. "Can I have this dance, love?"
"Thought you'd never ask." I smiled broadly. I looked over my shoulder, to George who was making his way to the bar. "Thank you, George." He shot me a wink and I turned back to my husband.
He circled his arms around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his torso, not able to bring them higher. I hummed happily as I rested my head against his chest, swaying slowly.
"I'm sorry." Cedric murmured in my hair. "I should have asked you earlier, but I was afr-"
"I know." I answered, not looking up. My fingers traced small patterns of his back. "It's okay, we'll have plenty of time to dance later. Because you know... Till death do us part." My chuckle was dry and got caught in my throat.
"Let it be a long time from now." He kissed my temple softly. "Are you wearing the necklace?"
"Yes, don't worry."
"I always worry." He said so softly, the music almost carried the words away. Then we fell silent and just held on to each other in the middle of the dance floor. After a few songs, I leaned my weight in his arms, and he cupped my cheek, his eyes searched mine in a panic.
"It's getting a little hard." I admitted reluctantly.
"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked as he led me to one of the tables.
"Because I liked being in your arms. You've been distant the past few days. You never held me close or wrapped my up in your arms. I miss it."
"I was afraid of hurting you." He said, his finger grazing my jawline. "But I won't let you go, I promise. I love you."
"I love you." I repeated the words and leaned in for a kiss, that was interrupted by a Patronus in the middle of the tent and then it spoke;
"The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming."
Screams started to fill the tent, and everyone was disappearing with nothing than a pop. I saw black hooded death eaters appear in the tent. Cedric wrapped his arms around me, and I saw Bash running towards us. He laid a hand on Cedric's shoulder and before I could say anything we disappeared at the sound of our own pop. We landed in Bill and Fleur's kitchen at Shell cottage. The pain hit me in an instant as it soared through me, feeling like someone stabbed me in the kidney. If it weren't for Cedric, I would have crumbled to the ground, but even with his arms around me, I succumbed to the darkness.
GN
I woke up with soft whispers near my ear. I recognized it immediately. "I'm sorry, please be okay." I felt his presence next to me, his hand intertwined with mine as he combed his fingers through my hair. I reached out my free hand and grabbed a fistful of his shirt.
"I'm okay." My eyes fluttered open and tilted my head to look at him. "I'm here."
Cedric's eyes were brimming with tears, and he buried his head in my neck. That's when I noticed I was laying in our room at the cottage. My brows furrowed for a moment before the memories came flooding back.
"We need to go!" I said pushing myself up on the bed.
"Go?" Cedric asked bewildered, his worried eyes searching me.
"The wedding, the attack. What else?" I huffed.
"Winnie, love." Cedric said slowly, placing his hands on my arms to stop me from getting up. "The wedding was four days ago."
"Fo-four days ago?" I gasped and fell back on the bed. Cedric shifted so he could look at me, leaning his head on his hand, while the other rested on my stomach.
He was tracing slow circles on my stomach as he spoke. "The apparition was too much too soon. But we couldn't stay there, we had to leave."
"What about the others?" I asked as I turned towards him, just wincing a little. "Charlie wasn't with us. What about Bill and Fleur? The twins? Everyone."
"Everyone is fine. Most of them got out before they arrived. The twins stayed at the burrow for another day before they went back to their flat. Charlie, Bill and Fleur came back after the death eaters left."
"What is it? You're leaving something out." I said as Cedric looked at the cover of the bed.
"Harry, Hermione and Ron left."
"Oh."
"Charlie saw them disappear on time. They didn't find him."
"Where are they now?"
"Nobody knows." His hand left my stomach and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "I heard Remus and Molly discussing it before the wedding. They are on some personal mission from Dumbledore."
"I hope they're okay." I sighed and leaned my head against his chest.
"Me too."
GN
We stayed at the cottage for another three weeks, it was now the beginning of September. It was weird thinking kids are going to go back to Hogwarts right now. Bill and Fleur didn't want to let us out of their sight, at least not me, not until I was fully healed. I'm not sure if you can truly fully heal with the curse they had shot me with, but now we were finally heading to my parents' house. Bash and Charlie had gone back to Romania a little over a week ago. They asked us to come with them, but we thought we were better suited to help out here.
"You send us a Patronus the moment there is something wrong, alright." Fleur said as she fussed over me.
"I will." I smiled and pulled the French woman in a hug. "Thank you for everything." I pulled back and went to hug Bill. "The both of you."
"Anytime, love." Bill hugged me tight. "Be careful."
"You too." I stepped back as Cedric said his goodbyes. "Are we apparating?" I asked Cedric.
"No, don't want to risk it. Bill connected our floo with theirs."
"Is it safe?"
"We're two very capable curse-breakers, missy." Bill grinned.
"Well, if I have to rely on capable..." I pursed my lips as the corners of my lips twitched.
"It's just for tonight. After you leave, we're closing it. If you want to stop by, apparate when you're better or send a Patronus first and we'll open it up. But -"
"I know, they're watching us." I grabbed my bag from the floor, but Cedric quickly intercepted it. I glared at him, but he just grinned at me. "Do they know about the house?"
"Doesn't look like it. Remus has been keeping an eye out for the past two weeks and hasn't seen any movement. What about your parents?"
"Knee deep in Azia right now."
"Did you tell them?"
"No." I snapped a little. "If they can't find the time for my graduation or Bash's wedding..." I said a little calmer this time. "Well, see you two soon." I kissed both of their cheeks before stepping into the fireplace. Cedric cocked an eyebrow before he stepped up next to me. He waved at the newlyweds before I tossed the powder at our feet.
GN
The house was dark, the furniture was still cloaked with blankets and drapes. I shivered involuntarily at the sight of the house I once called home. Cedric raised his wand next to me as he pointed at the lights. "Lum-"
"Wait." I stopped him with a hand on his wrist. I pointed my wand at the windows and whispered a spell under my breath. The windows creaked and shimmered before they returned to normal. "Carry on."
"What did you do?" He asked as he lighted up the room.
"Put a spell on the windows so the light won't show on outside the house." I said as I let all the blankets and drapes fly folded into a trunk, revealing the furniture that was hidden for so long.
"You're amazing." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I sighed and leaned into him. It's been weeks since he had kissed me like that. Ever since the attack he was worried to hurt me if he held on to tight. I tilted my head to invite him in, and he didn't waste a second. He pushed me back until I bumped the piano in the corner of the room. He lifted me up on the instrument and I opened my legs to get him closer. My arms around him tightened and I wrapped my legs around him.
"Oh, Puff." I sighed as he latched on my neck. "It's been too long." I tugged on his shirt.
He pulled back and traced his thumb over my bottom lip. "Are you sure?" His heated gaze had an edge of worry.
"Oh, yeah." I said as I kissed him again, and my hands made work of tugging his shirt out of his waistband.
An hour later we were laying naked, halfway under the piano laughing, a faux sheepskin was shielding us from the cold. "We should probably have checked the house before... any of that." Cedric was hovering slightly over me, with a crooked little grin.
"Well, if they are people in here, they have just gotten a free show." I licked my lips that turned into a grin.
"Imagine that!" He barked a laugh. "But we should probably check though."
"Yeah." I kissed his shoulder and pushed myself up, holding the sheepskin against my chest. "Can you hand me my clothes?"
"If I have to." Cedric sighed as he handed me my shirt. He kissed between my bare shoulder blades before I covered them up. We dressed quickly and stood up wands raised. Quite a sight, if you know we just had sex and were now in attack mode in the same room. "Together?" He asked glancing towards the kitchen.
"Always." I smiled.