The Eye of the Hurricane [ Fred Weasley ]

Chapter Twenty Five

I walked slowly down the beach, hands in my pockets. The sand squished beneath my toes, and the wind brought the salty smell of the ocean.

But I didn't feel any of it.

I had just come from the funeral, where the fallen heroes were cremated, along with a beautiful silk with their godly parent's crest on it.

A somber mood had settled onto the camp, cloaking us in darkness. Nobody smiled. Nobody laughed. Even the Stoll brothers couldn't crack a joke.

I sighed deeply, and ran a hand through my hair. I couldn't handle death. I wasn't afraid of dying, no. I was afraid of other people dying. After my mother died right in front of my eyes, the fear had stuck with me through all these years. And with the war coming at full force, I didn't know if I could handle it.

Placing a sweatshirt into my bag, I zipped it closed and flopped onto the bed. Tomorrow I would be leaving for London, and staying with the Weasleys until September First came along.

I groaned as someone knocked on the door. I just sat down. Now I have to get back up again.

Annabeth stood in the doorway of my cabin, and I immediately grinned. I would definitely be missing this girl.

"Care for a walk? I- uh- want to tell you something," Annabeth asked. I raised my eyebrows, but agreed. I walked outside, shutting the door behind me.

We headed towards the strawberry fields, the fresh scent wafting up in the hot, humid air.

Walking along the rows and rows of strawberries, Annabeth turned to me with a nervous smile.

"I kissed Percy."

For a second I just stood there, her words not yet registered in my brain. Then, it clicked.

I literally jumped up and down clapping like a two year old who just got a new toy. I'm not even exaggerating.

Annabeth turned beet red, and she covered her face with her hands. A few people were looking over at us, but most didn't care. Making a scene was usually a weekly thing for me.

I finally calmed down, but I was still grinning from ear to ear. "Really?! Did you kiss him first?"

Annabeth peeked out from behind her hands and nodded. I grinned even wider, and to Annabeth's surprise, I ran towards the Big House.

"Wait!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going?" She narrowed her eyes, and gave me a look. The look where she knew I was up to no good.

I just winked and rounded the corner to find Chiron in his wheelchair playing pinochle with Mr. D.

Chiron looked up at me with a questioning look. I just held out my hand as a response.

"What?" He asked.

"I won," I said simply.

Then Chiron's face fell, and he pulled out five drachmas from his jacket pocket.

"Thank you," I said smugly. I fisted the coins in my hand, and slipped them into my pocket.

I turned to see Annabeth with an astonished look on her face. "You bet on this?!"

I shrugged. "Of course. Why wouldn't we?" I flashed her a smile, and she just groaned. "I bet that you would be the one to make the first move. Chiron bet that Percy would."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose and smacked my arm. Despite the small pinpricks of pain on my arm, I laughed. Soon, Annabeth joined in, and we stumbled around the camp looking like lunatics.

After saying my goodbyes, I mounted Bermuda and she took off into the air. I watched as the camp grew smaller and smaller, until it was just a little dot in the distance.

I sighed and rested my head on Bermuda's mane. I didn't like saying goodbye, especially in the times we were in.

"Stressed?" Bermuda asked.

I let out a small laugh. "How can you tell?"

Bermuda grunted. "Don't be stressed. Just don't think about the war, your brother, all your friends, and definitely don't think about the OWLS next year. I know how to stress on tests like that."

I gasped and clapped a hand to my forehead. "I totally forgot about the OWLS! Well great, just another thing to add to the plate."

"I said not to stress. Now look at you."

"Thanks Bermuda. You give the greatest advice," I replied flatly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Let's not get sassy here."

"Oh come on," I retaliated. "You are the queen of sass. Give me a break."

Bermuda laughed- or made a sound that sounded like laughing- and replied, "That's true. Now take a nap. You're annoying."

I wrinkled my nose. "You know, you're not a joy to be around either." She just grunted, and despite a horse- sorry, pegasus- telling me what to do, I laid my head down anyways. The stress of the past week all caught up to me, and my eyelids grew heavier, and heavier, until I had slipped into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

I woke up to a bird in my face.

"Ew, ew, get off me," I pushed the bird off my face, and quickly looked back to see if it was okay. I let out a relieved sigh as it continued on its way.

"Look," Bermuda said simply.

I turned my head and peered through the clouds. A grin spread across my face as a slightly lopsided building loomed into view.

The Burrow.

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Hey guys! I'm getting some more inspiration for this story so probably expect some updates in the near future! (No promise though!!) also I'd like to thank you guys so much for all the reads and votes and comments! We're almost to 2K!! Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to comment and vote!

xoxo
Michaela