keegan delaney has always been a part of george weasley's life. they were never close, though they both were always there for the important moments. it's only after hogwarts when keegan gets a job in a cafè right across from weasley's wizard wheezes...
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CHAPTER TWENTY: FEELS LIKE THIS
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DEAR MUM,
I don't want to die. I know when I was young, when Betty got old and passed, you told me that death felt like falling to sleep. You close your eyes, and a new life starts. One free of pain, of hurt. But I'm not nine-years-old anymore, and I'm not a cat, and I'm really scared I'll never see you again.
Where are you, mum? I need you now more than ever.
Love you always, Keegs x
"Keegan."
Someone was knocking on the door, but it sounded to Keegan like the world was submerged in water. Everything was cold, and dark, and Keegan was lost in the thick of it. She hadn't left the room she shared with George for three days. For the first two, she stayed in bed, only moving to the adjacent bathroom when she absolutely had to. She didn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured her mother's dead face, or Eleanor's, or Gen's, or Mrs Weasley's. Before she knew it, she was neck deep in a sea of lifeless bodies, her heart torn out in her hands.
They hadn't heard from the Weasleys or anyone else who had been at the wedding. Keegan had wanted to go back as soon as they arrived at the flat, but Fred and George obstinately refused.
It's not safe! George had argued before Keegan retreated to their room and slammed the door. You don't think I want to go back? I can't! I promised I'd keep you safe--
Keegan wasn't stupid. She knew he wasn't blaming her. Nonetheless, her mind liked to play tricks, and if one of the Weasleys were harmed, she'd never forgive herself.
Mum, I need you.
"Keegs, please. Don't shut me out."
George had left his family for her. Fredhad left them too. She didn't understand it. How they made that choice and stuck to it. If Vivian, Eleanor and Gen were found tomorrow, the decision to stay or go would drive Keegan mad.
That was the thing about Keegan Delaney. She loved too much, and she only ever got hurt for it.
Cedric hadn't visited her in her dreams for a long time. She wondered if that was a good thing after all. Now her dreams had room to wander, to seek out her fears and twist them into monsters, nightmares. George was only in the other room, yet as Keegan tried to sleep for the third night, she stumbled across his body, eyes open but empty of light, the bandage around his head soaked in blood...
