Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [7]

⚡️ Chapter 30 ⚡️

Vega fell to her knees, and she felt Griphook's body hit her back, and the sword he had been holding onto so dearly cut at her arm slightly. But Vega could not feel anything anymore – everything was just hurting so much to distinguish things from each other. She turned around and attempted to lower Griphook gently to the sandy ground beneath.

"Are you alright?" Vega asked as the goblin stirred, but Griphook merely whimpered in response. She turned to face Harry. "Harry, where are we? Do I have to put up protective charms?"

"We're at Bill and Fleur's, I think," Harry answered. "Dobby, is this Shell Cottage?"

At the mention of that, Vega looked around quickly and hopefully. There seemed to be a cottage a short way away under the wide starry sky, and he thought she saw movement outside it. Her heart was beating rapidly in fear and concern of how exposed they were.

"Dobby?" Vega asked when he didn't answer. "Have we come to the right place?" She looked around and found him behind her and Harry. "DOBBY!" The elf swayed slightly, stars reflected in his wide, shining eyes. "Harry! The knife!"

Together, Vega, Harry, and even Dobby looked down at the silver hilt of the knife protruding from the elf's heaving chest. Vega scrambled for her bag, throwing her arm inside to look for the Essence of Dittany – she had made a lot more after using on Ron.

"Vega, do something!" Harry shouted. "Quick!"

But as Vega pulled out the bottle of Essence of Dittany, she froze as her eyes fell upon the clear bottle – it was empty. Hermione had used all of it on Nagini attack upon Vega, and Vega had not checked to make more. Harry stared at her, stunned.

"What?" Harry asked. "Vega?"

"Harry – Dobby – no – HELP!" Vega screamed towards the cottage painfully through her hoarse voice. "SOMEONE! HELP!" Fresh tears poured out of her eyes. "HELP! HELP!"

Vega did not know or care whether they were wizards or Muggles, friends or foes; all she cared about was that a dark stain was spreading across Dobby's front, and that he had stretched out his own arms to Vega and Harry with a look of supplication.

"Oh, Dobby!" Vega broke out, reaching to catch him and help him lay sideways on the cool grass while Harry cried, "Dobby, no, don't die, don't die –"

The elf's eyes found them, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words. "Harry ... Potter ... Miss Vega ..."

And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see. It was like sinking into an old nightmare; for an instant Vega knelt again beside Dumbledore's body at the foot of the tallest tower at Hogwarts, but in reality, she was staring at a tiny body curled upon the grass, pierced by Bellatrix's silver knife. Everything seemed to have frozen still.

"No! No! No!" Vega cried, horrified at the sight in front of her and she fell back, grabbing onto Harry's arm to pull at him. "Harry, please, do something!"

"Vega," came through Luna's voice came through but Vega did not have the time to be surprised at her appearance – it almost seemed natural for her to be there.

But Vega could not stop crying, and she knew she was still shaking as she reached for Dobby's body, trying to look for a pulse, his breathing, anything to tell them he was alive, and that he had only fallen unconscious – but there was no response from the elf.

Vega stuffed her face into her hands, her body racking with sobs. Tears pooling out of his own eyes, Harry wrapped his arms around the girl as she sobbed heavily against him.