Where The Sage Shrubs Grow,

Chapter 119

Fred's POV:
The entire place was destroyed. Papers everywhere, furniture flipped, dishes broken, you couldn't even tell if something was missing. Luckily Sage and Emilee stayed at the burrow, so I didn't have to worry about them. George and I searched the place first, making sure no one was waiting for our return. Then we started on fixing everything, we were going to be here for a while...

Hallie's POV:
I had come back to the Burrow as soon as I had heard what had happened to The twins flat. I wanted to be useful. I had spent the day calming Sage down and helping take care of Emilee while the twins took care of the flat. Ginny was away at school, Arthur still had work and everyone else was off doing their own thing.

I rarely saw Sage looking this stressed but the face was becoming more common.
"I'm sure everything is fine."
"No Hallie, everything is not fine. They were looking for me." She choked out "They want me and I'm dragging everyone into this mess-" she whispered
"Stop it. This isn't about you. This is a war that involves everyone. Something could've happened to the flat weather or not you were there or the twins knew you. Stop blaming yourself."
She looked at me tears brimming in her dark eyes. She carried too much on her shoulders, too much guilt and blame.

"Help me!" Emilee screamed
Sage and I shot up exchanging a scared look as molly rushed out of the kitchen. There was a moment of pause before we all barreled up the stairs. We separated into different rooms looking for her.
"Emilee!" Sage called
No response
"Emilee dear where are you?" Molly shouted
No response
"Emilee!" I mimicked
No response

"Me and Hallie will go downstairs to look for her you keep searching up here." Molly ordered
Sage nodded still frantically looking around.
Molly pushed me down the stairs looking determined "You will check outside." She spoke
I nodded in agreement landing on the last flight of stairs. We both turned the corner into the living room, Molly just behind me. I was moving so fast and frantically I almost missed the figure sitting at the table, but not quite.

"I think you have something I want." Mrs Jackson spoke
She was sitting at the dining room table examining the food.
"Where's Emilee?" Molly snapped pulling out her wand
Sage was just upstairs looking for her, what would happen if she came back down? Maybe the twins would come back in time.

"It took me quite a while to figure out my daughter had graduated this year." Mrs Jackson hummed "You can imagine my shock and disgust when I heard she was living with the Weasley twins in their flat above their shop." She let out a laugh sticking a grape in her mouth "But of course living in one of the most high profile shops also meant it was that much easier to get to her."

"What have you done with Emilee?" I questioned
"Oh my dear, stupid girl." She smiled "You haven't put it together yet? I am Emilee. Polyjuice Potion am I right?" She laughed "Of course I wasn't sure if they would be dumb enough to take the bait. Poor unfortunate child with a dead mother, I felt it was too obvious and too random, but to my surprise... they did."

"What do you want?" Molly questioned
"One thing. My daughter, I want her to come back with me."
"She would never agree to that! And we would never let you." I snapped
"I know, but in ransacking the flat I've left her without two of her strongest defenders and... I'm sure her third one won't be too difficult to take down." Her eyes drifted to me

"As my daughter I have a right to her. She's coming with me."
"You have no right to her! You were never a mother, you have never been there for her!" I teared up at my own words thinking about the shit Sage had gone through, the things I had watched her endure
"And she's better off for it I think. She has skills and capabilities she shouldn't have other wise."

"Like what? Shutting down when people get too close? Shoving people away because she thinks she has to have some sort of worth to be loved!"
Mrs Jackson stood up "Yes! Because unconditional love isn't real. I've been married for years and I have never loved him and he has never loved me. Oh, why am I telling you this? You are nothing. Just give me my daughter and I'll be out of your hair!"

I opened my mouth to speak but Molly seemed to have other plans.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I've come to love your daughter as my own. So I cannot and will not let you take her from me, from us, from my son."
"Please, who could love her? She's damaged goods. She's been damaged since the day she was born, she just wouldn't stop crying."

"I would cry too if the first thing I saw in life was your sadistic face." I remarked
"Yes, and I'm afraid ruthlessness isn't in your kind's nature either. Which is what will make this fight so easy to win." Mrs Jackson teetered, drawing her wand "This has been quite a nice chat, thank you for the hors d'oeuvres, it's time for me to uhm, kill you now." She simpered

"Have you found-" Sage let out a strangled scream seeing her mother standing there but she was already late to the fight
"Avada-"
"Stupefy!" I cried out
She blocked, grabbing Sage's arm and dragging her towards the door. I had never seen Sage fight like her life depended on it and I pray I never will again. She ripped herself from her mothers grip not caring if she tore her own flesh. Her wand fell to the ground and got kicked away before I could catch it.

"Just come home!" Her mother screamed still blocking mine and Molly's spells "You won't ever have to deal with any of this again!"
"I'd rather die!" Sage replied
Her mother stood a little straighter, her eyes darkening "Then do it." She raised her wand "Expelliarmus!" Her mother expertly disarmed not only me but Molly as well, leaving me to scramble for my wand

Mrs Jackson raised her wand again only aiming it this time at Sage. Her own child, it made me sick. I searched faster for my wand, determined to move faster than her. She wouldn't take my best friend from me. Not today, not ever.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Sectumsempra!"

Both spells rang out at the same time. It was a massacre of light and spells. The only thing I could think to do was duck hoping no one was caught in the crossfire. The green light crashed a window starting a small fire. A grunt, proved the other spell had hit someone. I stood up only to be faced with an entirely panicked Fred and a huge amount of destruction. It looked like the flat only I had been here to watch the place get ransacked. I grabbed my wand quickly, my thoughts trailing back to Sage.

Fred bounded over the couch practically falling over trying to reach sage who had fallen to the floor.
"Fred, Fred what did you do?" I asked looking at the Woman bleeding out for her life on the floor
It had all happened so suddenly I could barely comprehend what was going on.

"She was going to murder her Hallie!" He snapped
I couldn't deny she had it coming but I also couldn't deny it was more horrific than I could have imagined. Deep, blood seeping cuts appeared all over her body as she twitched and writhed in pain, coughing out for air.

Fred pulled a stunned Sage into his chest, his hands were shaking violently as Sage began to tear up. Molly coldly walked over to Jackson, she seemed to struggle with what to do before finally healing the cuts and sending her away permanently. She was by no means dead. Sage sobbed into Fred's shoulder gripping onto his arm tightly as tears slipped lazily down his cheek. Molly and I both stood there staring at him. Had he really almost killed someone?

He glanced at us almost angrily "I don't care what you think, I wasn't going to let her take Sage from me."
He pulled Sage closer to him as his mum nodded in acceptance. There was nothing to be said, what's done is done I suppose. I abruptly sat down on the floor burying my hands into my hair. Did we really just almost loose Sage? Did Fred really almost kill someone? Wherever Clementine is, I hope she's having a easier time than this.

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