Just Like Magic (George Weasley)

Thirty-Two.

Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall lead groups of fighters to the highest towers (Astronomy, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw) and they took equal groups with them. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan took groups of fighters to man the secret entrances into the castle. The rest of them all stayed on the grounds. I stayed with Remus on the grounds.
   
As the Death Eaters stroked the grounds, I started to get worried about George. I began to lose track of time as I started dueling anyone who could take me on. I couldn't stop thinking about George though. Was he okay at the secret entrances? Was he even still alive? Or did the Death Eaters kill him on sight when they saw him? He was going to be right in the line of fire at the secret entrances. The thought of it made my stomach hurt.
   
No matter how much I told myself I was getting over him, I still loved him. I still loved him so much. I couldn't stand the thought of him possibly dead right now.
   
A jet of red light shot right past my head. I looked where it came from and saw Remus running at me, "You're distracted, kid, the guy was right behind you."
   
"I'm sorry," I tell him, "You're right, I am distracted."
   
"George?" he asks, I nod in response. "Go find him. Go tell him you love him." he places both of his hands onto my shoulders, "Go tell him you want to marry him. Trust me. Do it."
   
"Will you walk me down the aisle at our wedding?" I ask.
   
"Of course, kid, get out of here."
   
I ran and I ran until I came across someone familiar. It was the first dead body that I saw that made my heart stop. It was either Fred or George. I was too far from the to be able to tell. I ran over to him, kneeling to his level by his head. I used the quickest method I could to figure out if this was Fred or George. I took his head in my hands and moved it side to side to see he had two perfect ears.
   
"Freddie," I say, my voice cracking as the tears started pouring out of my eyes. I cradle his head to my chest, crying into his hair.
   
Fred was gone, and I didn't even know if George was still alive. I sat here for a good moment while others ran around me dueling. They paid me no mind. I went pretty much unnoticed by others until I heard a voice, a familiar voice, calling my name. I looked up and saw Lee Jordan was running my direction.
   
"Penelope! What are you doing? There's a battle - oh Merlin!"
   
He's on his knees next to me in a second.
   
"Fred is gone," I tell him, "he's gone!"
   
"I see that, Penelope, but there's a battle going on right now. We have to leave him here for a moment. We'll come back for him. They won't touch him if he's already gone. Come on." he takes my hand in his and pulls me up. He was right. Fred's body would be fine, what else could they do to him? He was already dead. 
   
We started running, and it was while we were running that I remembered what I was doing when I found Fred. Lee was supposed to be with George, he'd know where he was. "Lee," I say, getting his attention, "Where is George?" 
   
"I don't know!" he yells over the comotion, "He ran off soon after the battle started, said he had to go find you. He could be anywhere in the castle by now."
   
"Oh no," I say, suddenly worried.
   
"I'm sure he's fine, Penelope, he's a great fighter, you know that."
   
"So was Fred!" I remind him, "And look what happened to him!"
   
"Penelope, he's okay. You know he's okay. You're just worried. He's fine. We'll find him. He was headed for the grounds where you were, let's start there." We round a corner then, but we're stopped by the voice of Voldemort in our ears again.
   
“You have fought,” he said, “Valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magic blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.
   
“I speak now, directly to Harry Potter. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour.”
   
Everything instantly calmed down after that. Lee told me to go on while he gathered Fred's body. I told him I would help him but he insisted I go to the Great Hall and inform the Weasleys what happened to Fred. So that's what I did.
   
I ran to the Great Hall. I had to see the Weasleys and I needed to find George. I ran and I kept running untilI saw the small sea of red hair all standing around in the Great Hall. I ran to them all. I stopped right outside of their little circle. George and I share a look, just a look, and suddenly I am in tears looking at him. I wipe my eyes and shift them to the other members. The only ones that weren't here were Ron, Percy, and, of course, Fred.
   
"Penelope," says Mrs. Weasley, "is everything okay, dear? What's wrong?"
   
"I'm so sorry. Fred, he, he's gone," I say through my tears. I'm surprised I am able to speak right now. "I'm so sorry you guys. He's gone."
   
"What do you mean gone?" asks George, his tone kind of hard.
   
"I didn't see what happened, I was running through one of the upper corridors when I saw his body. Lee found me with him, he went back to his body when the battle ended to bring him here. He told me to come here straight away and tell you all what happened."
   
"Thank you, Penelope," says Mr. Weasley, placing his hand onto my shoulder.
   
"I wish I could tell you more," I say, my tears were letting up. 
   
George is in front of me now, "What were you doing by yourself during the battle, Penelope?" 
   
"I was looking for you," I admit, crying hard again. "I was too distracted because I was worried about you. Remus told me to go find you, so I did. That was when I found Fred. Lee told me you were off doing the same thing."
   
"I was," he admits, "I was distracted too."
   
"I wanted to tell you that," I pause, because I cannot speak because I am crying so hard. I couldn't form the words.
   
His arms are around me, hugging me tight, "I know," he says, his voice a soft whisper. "I know, darling. I love you, too. I'm so sorry I tried to pressure you into getting married. That wasn't right of me to do that."
   
I keep crying harder now, he holds me tight. I am holding onto him for dear life. I never want to let him go now that my arms are around him again. We don't get to have this moment long though, because Lee showed up alongside Percy with Fred's body.
   
Mrs. Weasley was on her knees cradling her son's head like I had been not too long ago when Lee found me. Mr. Weasley sat next to her, one arm around his wife as she cried, he was crying too, but not as hard as she was. I think he was trying to be strong for his family right now.
   
Lee stayed for a moment before he left to go help gather up more bodies. Percy began explaining what happened. There was an explosion and a wall fell right on Fred. It happened so fast that by the time he registered what had happened it was too late.
   
George was crying his eyes out, and I was holding onto him. He needed me right now, just like how I needed him when I lost my dad. I held onto him, running my hand up and down his back while he cried onto my shoulder while I said the same thing that he said to me when I lost my dad.
   
"There, there, love, let it out. It's alright. I'm right here." 
   
We stayed like this for a while until George had stopped crying. We were joined by Ron, Hermione, and Harry. They said they saw what happened to Fred and they came over to us as fast as they could. George started crying again as he watched Ron say goodbye to Fred.
   
I noticed Harry was being uncharacteristically quiet, so I looked at him and I saw him as he shifted his eyes around all over the people crying over dead loved ones. He was probably feeling like this was his fault. I knew he was. That's just how Harry thinks. I watched as his green eyes stopped and stared at something in the distance. I grew curious and I looked in that same direction as well and I saw Remus laying on a cot next to Tonks. It was obvious that they were both dead.
   
I gasped and I ran over to them. Now that George wasn't using me to cry onto anymore I was able to run to my Godfather and his wife to say goodbye to them. I clutched onto Rumus and started crying so hard onto his chest. Nadine was now standing next to me. She put her hand onto my back. I was glad to see she was okay. I cried onto Remus for a good minute before I was able to stand again. I hugged Nadine tightly.
   
Losing Remus was somehow worse to me than losing my father. I didn't really know Sirius all that well. He went to jail for 12 years when I was 2, and then we had one summer together, that was it. Remus was there when my dad wasn't. He was my true father figure growing up, and now he's gone too. Our last conversation was on replay in my mind. It hurt so much to know he will never walk me down the aisle at my wedding.
   
And Teddy, my Godson, he's only a few months old and he's an orphan. It was too much for me to think about. What was going to happen to him? He's just a little baby. A baby that will grow into a boy that will never know his parents.
   
George is at my side now. I let go of Nadine and I hug George tight, crying still. He pats my head, trying to calm me down. Once I had calmed down enough to speak again, I looked up at George and I said, "Will you marry me?" 
   
He actually smiles while looking down at me, "I'm supposed to be the one who asks you that, darling."
   
"I don't care," I say, shaking my head, "just answer the question."
   
"Of course, yes love, I will marry you."

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Here's part 32!

It got a little sad there for a moment, so I had to end it on a happy note!

-Emily Winchester.