Harry Potter Oneshots and Headcanons

Gone

Molly Weasley slowly walked into the large and cluttered kitchen of The Burrow. Everything was just as they had left it. Arthur and her had dropped everything and gone straight to Hogwarts, as soon as they could, when news of the battle beginning reached them.

The pots and pans still lined the walls and plates were stacked on the worktops, so high they looked as if they might tumble. However, Molly didn't look at any of this, she wasn't bothered by the mess or amount of cleaning that needed to be done. She was too focused on staying upright as she pulled herself forwards, willing herself to take each step. Leaning on the chairs as she went, and trying to keep some degree of composure, she shuffled over to the wooden table in the centre of the room.

Bags of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes sweets, in bright wrappers and little vials of colourful potions and magic joke items, were scattered everywhere. As she noticed them, her breath hitched in her throat. Biting her trembling lip, she reached out and touched the 'tongue lengthening toffees'.

It was too much. Her vision blurred and hot tears spilled down her cheeks, her body shaking with the sobs she was trying to hide. Her chest burned, her heart ached and suddenly she regretted every single time she had told Fred off. Every time she had shouted at him, told him what to do or to... get out of her sight. Not once had she meant it, not one word of it. She would just say these things like every parent does. Especially a parent with a pair of troublesome twins like Fred and George.

Except now she didn't have the chance to say sorry, or to hug him, and apologise for everything she'd ever said. Didn't have the chance to say anything at all.

Wiping her swollen eyes and unsuccessfully trying to control the floods of tears was all she thought about. She took deep breaths to calm herself down. There hadn't been any time after the battle to grieve since the children needed her and she refused to let them see her cry as much as this; not for her sake, but for theirs. Holding it all in had only made it harder, made it more painful, but she did it anyway. By forcing the tears not to fall, and by pushing it out of her mind, she had almost managed to stop herself believing it, and now it felt like a dream that never really happened. She half expected Fred to leap through the door, a cheeky grin on his face, making inappropriate jokes about faking deaths and crying mothers. She wasn't able to believe that never again would she knit him a Christmas jumper. Never again would she confuse her twin boys with one another, as she shouted at them to pick up their fake wands or extendable ears. Never again would her or Arthur receive an owl from 'Gred and Forge'.

Never again would she see her son.

She sobbed into her hands, not daring to look up at the wall. She didn't want to see it, wasn't ready for the final confirmation. The final confirmation that he wasn't there anymore and he would never come home again. Fresh tears pooled in her eyes once more as she stared at the enchanted clock, mounted wonkily on the cold stone wall.

'Fred Weasley', the delicate hand that had his name engraved on to it solemnly pointed to a single word.

'Lost.'

Molly collapsed onto the chair below her, not caring if she hit the floor, and let out a heart wrenching wail. It was painful to hear, the sound of the mother's grief. The grief that had threatened to tear her apart for a week. Not for one moment had she actually expected to lose him. The danger and the threat had always loomed over her family and friends and constantly she worried about Harry, Ron and Hermione and she always thought about Arthur and her other children. But deep down she had never really thought she would lose any of them. Not her family. Not her son.

Now, looking at the beautiful bewitched clock before her confirmed what she had denied. Through the silent agony she had no choice but to accept it as she saw each precious name on the clock. Ginny, safe. Arthur, safe. George, safe. Ron, safe...

All of them.

Apart from Fred, who was quite simply gone.

---------------------------------------

:D I'm so sorry.