PURIFY : Fred Weasley

52: Revived

Fred and George are supposed to be boxing up things for their business when they apparate in my room. Well, it's Ginny's room, but my room nonetheless.

"We need to go now," Fred grabs my wrist. "Hogwarts is in danger. We think this is the end of the war."

"Good or bad," George adds.

I nod. I'm not dressed for the occasion; I'm wearing a grey pencil skirt and a white button-up blouse, but I'm guessing we don't have the time to change.

Even though they didn't go out today, Fred and George are matching. It's not unusual, something I've gotten used to seeing in my time here. They both wear beige turtlenecks, and Fred has a purple jacket overtop while George's is green. At least they'll be easy for others to tell apart today.

"How do you know?" I offer my hand to Fred. He takes it and we apparate downstairs.

"Ginny sent a patronus," he tells me. "We're going to take the Floo to Aberforth's. There's no time to explain."

"How do we alert the others?" I ask.

"Lee's already covered that with Potterwatch," George explains. "He's meeting us there."

We each take turns getting in the firepit and going. Fred goes first, and then I'm up next. With just George and me left, I offer him the biggest smile I can muster, even though it's a rather pathetic attempt at a grin.

He furrows his brow. "Come along. It'll be fun."

I don't think he'd say that if he had suffered at the hands of Landry.

We end up at the house of a man named Aberforth and that is where we wait for Lee. Once he's arrived, we meet Ginny and head through a tunnel. After a bit of a journey, where Ginny pays me no mind, we end up in what they call the Room of Requirements, which I would've thought was a myth if I hadn't known that's where Dumbledore's Army had been uniting.

Inside, there are a ton of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, but no one from my house. I'm thankful that I'm not wearing my uniform because I would stick out like a sore thumb. Harry Potter is here too, and Fred tells him that Aberforth is getting frustrated.

Eventually, Harry says that he is looking for the diadem of Ravenclaw, but I sit back in silence and listen since I haven't got a clue where that could be. Eventually, Harry and a girl name Luna depart, leaving us there to chat.

Fred and George distract some of the younger students with fire-cracking toys they have from their shop. The two are really good with kids. I imagine Fred and me, with a gaggle of little children. We don't know how many kids we want. Once this war is over, we get to decide.

Ginny looks over at me, and I hide my hand, but it's too late. She sees it. She gets all stiff and rolls her eyes, but thankfully she doesn't approach Fred. I'm happy I brought it, at least. It reminds me that I'm his no matter what. I can't just up and leave again, even if I want to head for the hills. If it's true what they are saying, and Voldemort is bringing in all of his supporters tonight, I could run into Landry.

More people start to arrive. The Weasley parents, Professor Lupin, and even Kingsley Shacklebolt. They begin to create a plan of attack on Hogwarts, and I'm included in this conversation even though I have minimal experience in battle. Even Bill and Fleur come.

I help the children evacuate. Ginny argues with her mother, begs to stay, and eventually, Molly relents. I don't know why she does. I wouldn't.