A Master Of Mischief ~ George Weasley Love Story ~ Book 1

Chapter 64

**George’s POV**

                          

“Gather round! Don’t be shy!” I call. I grin at Fred. It’s great to be back at work.

There’s a large crowd today, mainly Hogwarts students stocking up for their return to school in a fortnight’s time. I keep a careful eye on them, while talking to Fred abut new stock. I hear the doorbells chime and glance over. Someone is pushing their way through the crowd.

“No need to push,” Fred calls, “now, as I was say-”

“GEORGE!”

I jump and spin around.

“Sirius, what’s-”

“Maddie,” Fred interrupts, blood draining from his face. I turn to Sirius, my mouth dry.

“What-”

“They don’t know,” he says, “she woke up this morning… There was blood everywhere… The baby…”

“The baby?” I cry, grabbing his arm, “is it okay?”

“I don’t know,” Sirius replies, “they’re trying to save it… She’s so weak…”

“I have to go,” I tell Fred. He nods once and turns to the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” He calls, “if I could have your attention.”

He turns to me and lowers his voice.

“Go, I’ll be there soon.”

I nod and disapparate with Sirius. We appear in Mungo’s and immediately begin sprinting down a hallway. Sirius skids to a stop in front of a big door.

“We can’t go in,” he says quietly. I stare at the door, tempted to kick it down.

“They’re doing everything they can,” Sirius says, putting his hand on my shoulder. I nod, feeling as if I could throw up. I hear footsteps racing down the hall and don’t need to look to know it’s Fred.

I back up against the wall and slide down to sit opposite the door. Sirius and Fred sit down on either side of me.

“Remus should know.”

I hear my voice, but for a moment I think it’s Fred until he agrees quietly. Sirius draws his wand and conjures two patroni.

“I let your mother know too,” he says. I don’t respond. My eyes are glued to the door.

                             

Within ten minutes Mum and Remus are striding down the hall.

“Alithea is with Charlie,” Mum says, bending to kiss the top of my head.

“Sirius, what happened?” Remus asks, kneeling beside Sirius and gripping his arm.

“She sent a patronus,” Sirius replies, his voice shaking, “all it said was ‘help’, so I followed it back to the house. I ran up the stairs… There was blood all across the floor… I pushed open the bedroom door… She was lying against the wall and there was a pool of blood on the bed. It was all down her legs too… I didn’t think, I just brought her straight here.”

He looks up at Mum.

“She’s pregnant,” he says softly, “did you know?”

Mum nods her head, looking horrified. Fred lowers his head into his hands. I keep staring at the door. I half-expect to hear a noise, a cry, anything to let me know she’s still there, she’s still holding on… But there’s only silence.

I wait, holding as still ask I can, barely breathing as if it could help her. I think of our new house. Alithea hasn’t even been there yet. She hasn’t seen Maddie for two weeks. She might never see her again.

“We can’t lose her!” I cry. Fred grips my hand tightly in his. His eyes are swimming with tears.

“We won’t,” he chokes, “she’ll be fine.”

I nod, unconvinced. Mum squeezes in between Sirius and I and wraps her arms around me.

“Oh, Georgie,” she whispers, stroking my hair. I lean into her, feeling five years old again. Fred leans his head against my shoulder.

“We’ll get through this,” he promises quietly, “the three of us. We always get through things together.”

I don’t reply. My throat feels like sandpaper. I feel something hot tickle my face and realise with a start that I’m crying. Fred wraps his arms around me and Mum holds me tighter. I feel someone lay their hand on my head and a soft, cold hand curl around mine. I open my eyes and see Maddie standing there, smile.

“Sorry for the scare,” she says, brushing some hair off my face.

“You’re okay?” I ask, trying to sit up.

“I’m dead,” she replies.

“What?” I try to sit up again, but something is holding me back. I look up into her eyes. She smiles sadly down at me.

“I have to go,” she breathes, “I don’t want to be a ghost.”
“No!” I cry, struggle against my bindings, “No! Maddie! Please! Don’t leave, don’t go! I need you!”

She waves slightly and begins walking away. I feel a cry get stuck in my throat as I begin to cry.

“George?”

I open my eyes and see Fred looking down at me.

“You fell asleep,” he says softly. I sit up, rubbing my damp eyes.

“Is Maddie okay?” I ask.

“We don’t know,” Fred replies, “you only slept for a few minutes, but you were crying out, so I woke you.”

“Fred,” I say shakily, “I don’t think she’s ok. I don’t want to lose her!”

“Hey,” he grips my arm tightly, “we won’t lose her.”

“Mr Weasley?”

We both look up. A healer is standing in the doorway. The door is open a crack, but I can’t see anything behind it.

“Your wife is sleeping,” the healer says. I leap to my feet.

“Is she going to be okay?” I ask. The healer hesitates, looking unsure. Mum puts a hand on my arm, more as a support than a restraint.

“She… She should be,” the healer says.

“Should?” Fred asks. The healer nods.

“We’ve stabilised her,” he replies, “but she’s… We don’t know. Something seems to be killing her, but we don’t know what.”

“Killing her?” I squeak. Fred’s grip on my arm is hurting, but I barely notice.

“Can we see her?” Sirius asks, his voice thick. The healer shakes his head.

“We want her to sleep,” he answers, “tomorrow morning when she wakes up you may see her.”

The healer back into the room and closes the door. I stumble back until I hit the wall. Fred has leant against the wall opposite. Mum is still staring at the door. Remus is gripping Sirius’ arm.

I slide down the wall to wait.

Again.