Yellow (George Weasley)

75 - The Last Battle

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort's voice rang out, sending chills down my spine. It was accompanied by a chorus of cheers from the Death Eaters. I whimpered and buried my face into George's arm, even the sight of Harry's limp body was sickening. George looked down at his shoes with a solemn expression. I could almost feel the hope get sucked from the crowd as the news sunk in.

"No!" Ginny sobbed, running towards the man she loves. Thankfully, Mr. Weasley was able to catch her in time and drag her back or I'm sure she would've been killed. Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks, her and Ron clinging to each other as they cried.

"Stupid girl." Voldemort began to walk towards us, his snake slithering by his side. "Harry Potter is dead. From this day forward, you put your faith...in me."

My stomach lurched at his words. If this is true, the fight will not be ending anytime soon. Most of us will die. George's hand found mine, intertwining our fingers and squeezing. His eyes stayed fixed ahead, his jaw clenched in an attempt to not show his worry.

"Now is the time to declare yourself." Voldemort opened his arms with a jagged toothed grin. "Come forward and join us...or die."

I swallowed hard, clinging to the shred of confidence I have left. Part of me wishes I would have had the guts to tell George about the baby. But knowing the fight we're about to endure, maybe saving him the extra heart break was a kindness.

The air was silent, until gasps rippled through the crowd. Neville shocked us all as he slowly hobbled forward. Hermione let out another muffled cry in front of me and Ron placed a comforting hand on her arm. Neville was always such a strong supporter of Dumbledore's Army. I don't understand.

"Ah, well, I must say I'd hoped for better." Voldemort joked, causing the crowd of Death Eaters behind him to erupt in forced laughter. "And who might you be, young man?"

He knelt down, carefully picking up the tattered remains of the Sorting Hat. He knocked some of the dust off, not looking up as he replied. "Neville Longbottom."

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks." A grin spread across Voldemort's face.

"I'd like to say something." Neville nearly interrupted him.

Voldemort clenched his fist as he clearly struggled against killing him then and there for the rude intrusion. "Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say."

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone." Neville clutched the hat even tighter in his fists.

"Stand down, Neville." Seamus urged him.

"People die every day." He turned to face us now. "Friends, family." I exchanged a look with George, taking a step slightly closer to him. "Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in a way. So's Remus...and Tonks. All of them. They didn't die in vain." Neville shook his head before turning to face the Dark Lord once again. "But you will."

Voldemort laughed during the end of Neville's speech. The wide grin he displayed mocked his words. A few of his supporters aside him chortled. Fenrir Greyback crouched by his side, his teeth bared and drool practically dripping from his mouth as he waited for any signal to attack. Like this he looked more wolf than human.

"Because you're wrong. Harry's heart did beat for us! For all of us!" With one swift movement, Neville pulled the Sword of Godric Gryffindor from the hat. It glinted in the morning sun, it's appearance causing a wave of motivation to erupt through the crowd. "This is not over!"

A movement from the Death Eater's side caught my eye. Harry's body rolled from Hagrid's arms and to my shock, he took off running the minute his feet hit the ground. "Confringo!" He shouted as he jumped over one of the stone walls bordering the courtyard. Flames danced over the large python by Voldemort's feet.