I'll Catch You (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Responsibility, Reasoning, & Resurfacing

An unexpected green flame erupted from the Weasley twins' fireplace, although no one was there to see it. A frantic looking Lee Jordan burst from the ashes and took a quick look around the room.


"AYE YOU GITS!" he called into the apartment. Upon receiving no response he quickly tore from the flat with the speed of something entirely supernatural, practically tripped going down the stairs, and stumbled into the rather empty joke shop in Diagon Alley.


"ARE YOU IDIOTS DOWN HERE?!" he yelled, grasping onto a shelf for support. He didn't have time to look around for these guys; he had to get to St. Mungo's as quickly as possible.


But somehow, he didn't think he'd be able to do it without them there.


A familiar red head suddenly swung into view on a ladder that rolled along the walls. He smiled a bright smile before apparating down beside his frantic friend and clapping him on the shoulder.


"Lee, my good man!" Fred chuckled. "To what do I owe this grand visit? Don't you have father-to-be type things to be doing?"


Lee grinned, although his breathing was still irregular. "That's what I'm here about!"


"Well, as much as I love selling jokes and making money, not many of our products are child-proof" Fred scratched his head and looked around the shop for his twin.


"No, you dolt! Kelly's having the baby, like, now! We need to get to the hospital!" Before the words had fully made their way out of Lee's mouth, Fred grabbed his shoulder and apparated them to the front of the shop.


"That was bloody dangerous, mate. Trying to splinch me before I even get to have a child?" Fred ignored this comment, the grin wiped entirely off of his face.


"Congratulations mate" he said absently, walking over to the counter where George and their new co-worker Jacqueline were standing. Fred gritted his teeth, seething at the sight of George blatantly putting the moves on some other girl who wasn't Acelynne.


But then he saw something in George that made him settle down a bit. The complete lacklustre in his eyes as he laughed at something Jacqueline said, the way he tensed slightly when she touched his arm. Upon seeing this he was no longer angry at George.


He was definitely going to fire Jacqueline though.


Fred slammed his hand down on the counter between them, a playful look forced onto his face. "Jacqueline, you can go home now. George, we're going to St. Mungo's." Fred flicked his wand and the sign on the door flipped from open to closed.


"Oh, okay" the girl shrugged a piece of light red hair off of her shoulders. Fred couldn't help but grimace at the sight of her. He didn't even like her in the first place. It was George's idea to higher her in February. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then" and with a pop, she was gone.


George raised an eyebrow half-heartedly and pushed off from the counter. "Why are we going to the hospital?" he asked, plucking something invisible off of his jacket.


"Kelly's having the baby!" Fred pointed to Lee, who had suddenly sat down on the floor with a panicked look on his face. "Lee, mate, you're looking a bit green."


Lee remained quiet for a moment. "I'm going to be a dad...." he whispered. Fred and George cast a look at each other before each grabbing one of Lee's elbows and lifting him to his feet.


"Mate, we understand you're panicking and all-ˮ Fred brushed the dirt off of Lee's jacket.


"But you can deal with all of this life changing news later" George crossed his arms and looked at him.


"Because you're girlfriend needs you right now, so it's time to stop acting like such a pansy and man up. This is something that you're in together and if you leave her hanging, mate. " Fred cast a quick glance at George as he cut him off no less than twice during this little spiel. He hoped he got duality to his message.


"Uh, yah" George scratched his head and narrowed his eyes at his twin. He linked arms with Lee. "So, uhm, let's head to the hospital. Hold your breath" and like that, they popped themselves into the overcrowded lobby of St. Mungo's.

_____________________________________________________________________


Laura ran into Kelly's hospital room with a trunk following magically behind her, her face completely flushed of colour. "Do you know how much energy it takes to run from outside the castle, to the seventh floor, and then to the headmasters office? AND THEN all the way through this damn hospital trying to find your damn room?"


"Probably a lot less than trying to push something the size of a cantaloupe out of your-ˮ Kelly narrowed her eyes and gripped the side of her bed. "HOLY FUCKING HELL WHERE IS THIS LITTLE MONSTERS FATHER?" she screamed, her body tensing up for a seconds before she went limp.


"I'm sure he's coming" I reached over and patted her hand, pulling it away before she could get a grip and break it.
.

"Oh, Ace. I wasn't sure how long Kelly was going to be here for so I grabbed all of her clothes. And some of ours too, just in case she runs out" Laura shrugged and sat on the arm of my chair.


"I don't think she'll be here that long" I rolled my eyes. Laura stuck her tongue out at me, so I pushed her off.


"Well we don't have very much to wear that isn't those damn uniforms. Besides, I'm sure Kelly wants to look fabulous for her darling boyfriend, their gorgeous child, and even more gorgeous doctor."


Kelly laughed slightly before tensing up again. "I SWEAR ON MERLINS MOLDY OLD KNICKERS IF THAT BOY DOESN'T GET HERE SOON THEN I'LL-ˮ Just as she was about to finished the sentence, the door popped open and Lee sauntered into the room with a bouquet of flowers from the gift shop.


"Then you'll what?" he laughed, crossing the room and giving her a peck on the cheek. "Scream at me some more?"


Kelly grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, but I might get this child of yours to punch you in the gut. Fred, George, I think we might have another little beater on our hands" Kelly said towards the door, nudging Lee with her elbow.


At those names, I closed my eyes and forced myself not to look at the door. Maybe I could deal with Fred, if I really had to, but not George. Anyone but George.


"How are you feeling, love?" Lee said in all seriousness to Kelly, crouching down next to her beside the bed.


"Like absolute shit" Kelly sighed.


"Well good news" a new voice, the voice of Healer Cavanaugh, said from the direction of the door. "It's almost over. We're going to take you for prepping now, okay? You may come inside the operating room too if you'd like, Lee."


"Of course he is" Kelly grunted, causing a round of laughter.


"Ace?" Laura said in my ear. "Let's walk her to the operating room and then go for a talk, okay?"


"Sure" I said quietly and opened my eyes to the extremely bright lights. Several nurses were now in the room, adjusting Kelly on the bed as they prepared to roll her out. With Laura and I on her right, and Lee holding her hand (and looking as though she was breaking his) on her left, she was wheeled out of the room and into the corridor.


"It's going to be fine" I said to her, reading the look of panic on her face. That, and refusing to look up and possibly see one of the twins.


"But it's a month early. What if there's something wrong with it?" her voice cracked and she laid a hand on her stomach.


"We've done the tests" Healer Cavanaugh jumped in from the head of the bed. "It seems to be perfectly healthy. There's always a higher risk of premature birth in younger women" he said, although nothing in his voice made it seem condescending.


"See, technically this is perfectly normal" Laura said lightly as we reached the doors of the operating room. Everyone who heard her sent her a look of disproval and she stepped back. "Fine, I just won't say anything anymore."


"We promise we'll be here when it's over, okay?" I pecked Kelly on her sweaty forehead and Laura nodded in agreement.


I nodded to Healer Cavanaugh, who gave me a quick smile and wheeled Kelly into the operating room, waving in Lee after them.


I closed my eyes once more and Laura grabbed me by the elbow. "Let's go to the tea room" she whispered, and I opened my eyes again with a sigh.


"Yah" I said and let her lead me away.

______________________________________________________________________


"Does that look like the face of a cold-hearted bitch?" Fred hissed at George, who had slumped against a wall and attempted to look emotionless.


"You didn't see her when she said it..." George whispered. "She meant it."


Fred opened and closed his fists, unsure if there was ever a time when he was ever so mad at his brother. "If she meant it, then why is she refusing to look at either of us?"


George shrugged and toyed with the hem of his jacket. "Guilt, maybe. It must be pretty awkward for her too. That's why she left, I'm guessing."


Surprising himself, Fred grabbed the front of his brother's shirt and pulled him to his feet. "No, Laura took her to the tea room. And do you want to know why Laura took her to the tea room?"


George twisted his face into some sort of uncaring expression. "I don't know."


"Laura took Ace to the tea room because she could see that she was in physical pain even being in the same room as us. If she felt so guilty and so awkward for not having feelings for you, then why would she be in that much pain?" Fred began to pace back and forth, his hands wringing each other behind his back.


"Do you want to know what I think? Actually, I don't care. You're going to hear it anyways."

_____________________________________________________________________


"Merlin Ace, you're pale as a bloody ghost" Laura sat me down onto the couch in the tea room. "How are you holding up?"


I tried to stop my bottom lip from quivering as I spoke. "Fine" was the only word I could manage to get out without breaking down into tears.


"Are you sure?" she pressed and I nodded.


"Yah. I mean, I'm the reason we broke up in the first place. I practically forced him to leave, actually. So I shouldn't be upset, right?" I attempted to sound as logical as possible.


Laura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Ace, you've been through two long years with this boy. You pranked, danced, snogged, broke up, got back together, lived together, were kidnapped, he rescued you, worked through age difference and independence issues, dealt with crazy nightmares and psychological problems and a drug addiction." Her voice got suddenly very low. "Plus you lost your virginity to the boy. You've been through more together than any married couple ever could. I think that you'll always love him and he'll always love you, in some way or another."


"I know but-ˮ


"What I don't understand is that you've been through so much together, and yet you broke up over one little thing you said. What I think is weird is that you two know each other so well, every nook and cranny of each other's brains. You would know the exact thing to say to make him stay with you... or break up with you." Laura raised a thin, blond eyebrow and raised the teacup to her lips, looking for answers.

_____________________________________________________________________


"Mate, I know you're not going to want to hear it but you've got to" Fred said and leaned against the wall beside his brother.


"Ace obviously still loves you, just like you obviously love her. I don't care how much you pretend to like Jacqueline. Why would Ace say pretty much the only thing that would ever get you to willingly break up with her? Do you know why?"


George merely shrugged his shoulders again and became very interested in the ceiling tiles.


"Because she's Ace. She keeps secrets from all of us to protect us, just like about her dad, or the nightmares, or the potion. She's the biggest bloody martyr we know. She loves you more than anything, so to lose you like that ... it must be something big. The only question is what..." Fred's mind began to wander searching desperately for all of the possibilities why Ace would suddenly cut out such a big part of her life.


George opened his mouth to say something half-heartedly, but was interrupted by the meekest call of 'George' from a few feet away. With a half grimace-half smile, he turned around to face the petite strawberry blond girl.

______________________________________________________________________


I had been so close, so sure that no one would ever figure it out. But here I was, sitting next to Laura, the last person I'd ever think to uncover my secret. Holding my breath, I hoped she would come up with some conspiracy theory that I would confirm and go one with the rest of my day, glad that they were safe once again.


But that wasn't my salvation in this situation. My salvation came in the form of a stern-faced woman with a tight bun on the top of her head. "Ms. Connors" McGonagall said curtly, waving me to her.


"Professor, what are you doing here" I asked, rising to my feet and ignoring the look of anger slowly creeping up Laura's face.


"There is something of the utmost importance that the Headmaster and I must discuss with you" she said, raising her hand outwards as Laura rose to her feet. "Stay here, Ms. Pierce. We will not be needing your assistance today. But if we do not return before Kelly is brought back to her room, give her congratulations from me and an apology for whisking Ms. Connors away at this inopportune time."


In the blink of an eye, McGonagall was fast-walking down the corridor like all elderly people seem to do, her hands folded neatly in the hems of her sleeve. She had said, 'whisk'. Whisk seemed to be a rather positive word. Perhaps, for once, I wouldn't be in trouble.


I was escorted past the corridor where we had left the twins. Fred was leaning grouchily against the wall, glaring at George as he chatted casually with some short, strawberry-blond woman I didn't know.


We didn't stop until we reached the lobby of the building. There, McGonagall stopped dead in her tracks and turned to me with pursed lips. "Ms. Connors, would you mind explaining to me why this' she revealed an empty vial of Memoire Floue from inside her sleeve, 'was found in your room by one of the house elves?"


My heart slowed to a crawl as I felt my whole body relax. "I swear, it must have been left in my trunk from before. Laura went through it to pack some clothes for Kelly and it must have fallen out. I honestly had no idea it was there."


McGonagall smiled sadly and slid the vile back into her cloak. "Your tests have come back clean every week so far...So wee suspected as much" she adjusted her glasses, her face falling slightly. "But we were obligated to search your dormitory to ensure that you were not still attempting to create any more contraband potions."


She paused for a moment, almost lost for words. "Okay...." I said. Professor McGonagall was never lost for words.


With a final sigh, she clasped her hands in front of her and made some extremely unnerving eye contact. "We found the box you were hiding under the floorboards."


"No" I whispered, although I wasn't sure if it was even audible. For the second time in such a short period, my entire world began to collapse around me as it all went black.