freya mckinnon may share the same face as her aunt marlene, but she was more than just the niece of a war heroine, though no one seemed to see that. no one but george weasley, her rival on the quidditch pitch who quickly became so much more.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: MORTAL COIL
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IN THE DEAD OF night, worlds away from Ottery St Catchpole and the lurking dangers of The Burrow, three figures appeared out of thin air. One-by-one, they crashed to the ground like dominos from the looming clouds; an older man, a young boy and a girl. Slowly, each of them stood, except for the girl. She laid there for a moment, twigs digging into her back, leaves caught in her blonde hair like spiders tangled in their own webs. The air was lost from her lungs. She gasped for breath, squeezing her eyes shut as the darkness became blood that pooled in a shadow on the floor. Night became a Death Eater's perfect opportunity for escape, her first and final friend caught in their grasp.
Freya knew no other grief quite like this.
"Solana," she murmured with every sharp breath. Both Fraser and Dean, who stood over her, were just relieved to know she was okay. They didn't realise the significance of Solana's name at first. Why would they?
"Come on, Frey," her dad helped her to her feet.
Immediately, he drew her into his arms, the place where Freya, as a young girl, would run to for comfort. She didn't feel safe there anymore. Her dad wasn't invincible. Nobody was. Deep down, Freya knew she'd never see Solana Thomas again. That this killing blow was the first of many to come. She didn't know how to live with it.
"Solana," she said again, the only thing she could think to say.
Her voice cracked, tears clouding her vision. She gripped her father's arms and pushed away from him. She couldn't be this close to someone. Couldn't put her head to his chest and know that, one day, the heart inside its cage would stop beating too. Her best friend, the girl who was larger than life itself, was a corpse that could rot. The essence of her, the person Freya had loved, was gone just like that.
What was worse, her family didn't even know. Dean was watching her cluelessly, his suit covered in dirt, tie loose around his neck. "Hey, she'll be fine, Freya," he said. He thought she was just worried for her best friend. Never would it cross Dean's mind that his big sister was capable of losing against death. "Sol's tough. And she has Fred. Whatever's happened between them, I trust him to protect her."
The tears welled over then. She couldn't bear it, this agony that tore at her relentlessly. She yearned for one last hug, to hear Solana's voice one final time, to know the last words they ever shared were something meaningful, not painful. As Freya sobbed, Dean's face dropped. His brows furrowed in a confused but fearful frown. Somehow, Fraser knew. He bowed his head, one hand on her shoulder, the other reaching for Dean. But he stumbled back and Freya traced his features, Solana's features, in despair.
"I saw her," she whispered, choking on every word. "The Death Eater's... I don't know what happened but she was bleeding, and then she... she fell and she didn't get back up. And they took her body--"
